Liverpool go into this season full of hope as they have a manager who took them from near the relegation zone back up to the top end of it last season, as well as the strong new signings they have made. Sunderland however have a completely new look about them after signing Larsson, Vaughan, Brown, O'Shea and Wickham and we were unsure how they were going to look.
First half looked very much one sided with Liverpool dominating possession and looking very much in control of play. Richardson was very lucky not to have been sent off after taking down Suarez in the box and Suarez who went on to take the resulting penalty skied it over the crossbar. However not letting this put him off his game 5 minutes later nodded in a header after a superb Charlie Adam free-kick. Later in the half Stewart Downing had a terrific run from just past the half way line cutting into the centre of the pitch between two defenders and then smashed a shot from distance which slammed against the crossbar. Had it gone in would have been not only the perfect debut for the guy but also a potential goal of the season due to the fact it came from nothing. At half time Liverpool went in a goal infront and may have been dissapointed it wasn't more.
Second half and Steve Bruce had clearly had a word with his players as they were suddenly creating more chances and having more time on the ball. This was making the game more open and started being a bit end-to-end. This style of play seemed to benefit Sunderland as 10 minutes into the second half they conjured up a bit of magic. Gyan held the ball up around the corner flag then neatly laid the ball off for Elmohamady who picked out Larsson at the back post unmarked who smashed a volley past Reina into the back of the net levelling the game. Liverpool tried to fight back but struggled to make many big chances for themselves. The game ended level.
Liverpool will consider themselves unlucky not to have taken 3 points from this match but they failed to convert their chances in the first half. Sunderland however will be thrilled to have got even the one point away at Anfield. Their new signings also showed promise with Wes Brown looking strong at centre-back and Larsson causing mischief up-field.
Saturday, 13 August 2011
The New Season Kicks Off !!!
Finally after a long wait and lots of weekends spent wandering what to do, the Premier League is back! We all have high expectations after witnessing one of the tightest and most entertaining seasons in the leagues history last season, so who is going to push for the title and who is going to be in the relegation scrap?
BLOG CONTINUES
Sorry for the long delay but I will now try and work on this blog every week to give you my personal opinions on the world of football and individual match analysis
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Player Celebrations
Not that long ago in football players were allowed to celebrate with their fans. These days rules restrict what players are allowed to do. If players take off their shirt or jump into the crowd they will be given a yellow card. Should players really be getting punished for this?
It would seem crazy to me if a player was to receive a second yellow and be sent off for celebrating a moment the whole team has worked for. As long as they do not waste too much time or celebrate in an inappropriate fashion, for example infront of the opposition supporters then their is no reason why they should not be allowed to jump over the advertising boards and engage with fans.
For example on the 22nd January 2011, Frederic Piquionne scored what he thought was to be the winning goal for West Ham against Everton in the 85th minute. He jumped over the advertising boards and celebrated with his team mates infront of the travelling West Ham supporters. When he came back onto the pitch the referee gave him his second yellow and dismissed him. To make things even worse for West Ham, Everton then scored an equaliser in stoppage time, arguably due to the extra player on the field. After the game Avram Grant was very extremely angry with the referee's decision, calling it a "joke".
Also as an example of an inappropriate (though funny) celebration was when Adebayor faced his old club Arsenal, playing for Manchester City. He obviously felt he had been treated badly at Arsenal as usually players who score against their old club refuse to celebrate or keep it low key. Not Adebayor, he sprinted the whole length of the pitch, faster than the cameraman could keep up with, just to celebrate in front of the travelling Arsenal supporters. As you can imagine this didn't go down well with the travelling supporters and objects were thrown in his direction. To me this is behaviour that warrants a booking as he has caused fans to start being violent, making stewards have to hold fans back.
I think the FA needs to take a more relaxed view on players celebrating as I feel players engaging with the fans can only be good for the club. Obviously there are always going to issues with when players take it too far and when this happens I can understand bookings etc, but on the whole it is a good thing for the game and keeps greater interest and passion in the game.
I couldn't finish this article without talking about the Icelandic club Stjarnan that specialises in funny celebrations. They have a huge variety of celebrations that are all on YouTube, I think this is their most well known and probably their best celebration so far.
It would seem crazy to me if a player was to receive a second yellow and be sent off for celebrating a moment the whole team has worked for. As long as they do not waste too much time or celebrate in an inappropriate fashion, for example infront of the opposition supporters then their is no reason why they should not be allowed to jump over the advertising boards and engage with fans.
For example on the 22nd January 2011, Frederic Piquionne scored what he thought was to be the winning goal for West Ham against Everton in the 85th minute. He jumped over the advertising boards and celebrated with his team mates infront of the travelling West Ham supporters. When he came back onto the pitch the referee gave him his second yellow and dismissed him. To make things even worse for West Ham, Everton then scored an equaliser in stoppage time, arguably due to the extra player on the field. After the game Avram Grant was very extremely angry with the referee's decision, calling it a "joke".
Also as an example of an inappropriate (though funny) celebration was when Adebayor faced his old club Arsenal, playing for Manchester City. He obviously felt he had been treated badly at Arsenal as usually players who score against their old club refuse to celebrate or keep it low key. Not Adebayor, he sprinted the whole length of the pitch, faster than the cameraman could keep up with, just to celebrate in front of the travelling Arsenal supporters. As you can imagine this didn't go down well with the travelling supporters and objects were thrown in his direction. To me this is behaviour that warrants a booking as he has caused fans to start being violent, making stewards have to hold fans back.
I think the FA needs to take a more relaxed view on players celebrating as I feel players engaging with the fans can only be good for the club. Obviously there are always going to issues with when players take it too far and when this happens I can understand bookings etc, but on the whole it is a good thing for the game and keeps greater interest and passion in the game.
I couldn't finish this article without talking about the Icelandic club Stjarnan that specialises in funny celebrations. They have a huge variety of celebrations that are all on YouTube, I think this is their most well known and probably their best celebration so far.
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Players Doing Well At The Moment
The Premier League has been very entertaining and unpredictable this season, so which players are showing their qualities on the pitch?
- Samir Nasri (aged 23)
He was not included in France's World Cup squad at the end of last year and has said that he has been motivated to prove that decision was wrong. So far this season he has scored 14 goals in total making him Arsenal's top goalscorer. He also did a good job near the start of the season covering for an injured Fabregas and taking charge of the midfield. I feel we first saw Nasri's talent at the end of last season when he scored a great goal for Arsenal in the Champions League against Porto, taking on 3 defenders and finishing from a very tight angle helping Arsenal to get into the quarter finals (as seen below). A young player who is developing into a big talent for the future.
- Gareth Bale (aged 21)
Another young player who has been on great form at the start of this season. I feel his best performance was against Inter Milan in the Champions League where he made Maicon (arguably the best right-back in the world) look like an amateur, as he was constantly skipping past him with amazing pace. He has also formed an un-stoppable partnership with Rafael Van der Vaart as well, where he always manages to get on the end of Van der Vaart's great passes. He has also scored 11 goals for Spurs this season as well as getting lots of assists. Spurs need to hold on to such a good player as they can be sure there will be a lot of demand for him near the end of his contract.
- Dimitar Berbatov (aged 30)
Not as young as the others but he has taken up the role of scoring the goals for United this season with Rooney not in the same form he was last season. Arguably he is not the most active player on the pitch and has got a lot of slack from United fans for not running very much, but if he keeps putting the ball in the net they'll have no complaints! He has scored 19 goals in the Premier league making him the highest goalscorer in the league. His best performance this season was against Blackburn where he scored 5 goals and had one of the best games of his career.
- David Silva (aged 25)
It's taken him a while to settle into the City squad but he has now found his touch and proving why City paid the big bucks for him. A tricky player for any defence to handle and he is creating a good partnership with Tevez. He could be the final peice in the jigsaw for City and I think he's going to do very well for them at the end of this season and perhaps for much longer as well.
- Raul Mereiles (aged 27)
Bought by Roy Hodgson, he has only recently shown his potential scoring multiple volleys from distance and providing good distribution to his team-mates. He may prove to be Hodgson's only good act at the club. He has scored 5 goals for Liverpool this season. I feel he has been one of the key players that has turned Liverpool's season around. He also had a good World Cup with Portugal, having a big part in the 7-0 win they had over North Korea. His best goal this season was against Wolves in the Premier League, where he hit the perfect volley from the edge of the box.
These are the players that have shined so far this season, whether they continue to or not who knows! Maybe we'll have some others for me to talk about at a later stage.
- Samir Nasri (aged 23)
He was not included in France's World Cup squad at the end of last year and has said that he has been motivated to prove that decision was wrong. So far this season he has scored 14 goals in total making him Arsenal's top goalscorer. He also did a good job near the start of the season covering for an injured Fabregas and taking charge of the midfield. I feel we first saw Nasri's talent at the end of last season when he scored a great goal for Arsenal in the Champions League against Porto, taking on 3 defenders and finishing from a very tight angle helping Arsenal to get into the quarter finals (as seen below). A young player who is developing into a big talent for the future.
- Gareth Bale (aged 21)
Another young player who has been on great form at the start of this season. I feel his best performance was against Inter Milan in the Champions League where he made Maicon (arguably the best right-back in the world) look like an amateur, as he was constantly skipping past him with amazing pace. He has also formed an un-stoppable partnership with Rafael Van der Vaart as well, where he always manages to get on the end of Van der Vaart's great passes. He has also scored 11 goals for Spurs this season as well as getting lots of assists. Spurs need to hold on to such a good player as they can be sure there will be a lot of demand for him near the end of his contract.
- Dimitar Berbatov (aged 30)
Not as young as the others but he has taken up the role of scoring the goals for United this season with Rooney not in the same form he was last season. Arguably he is not the most active player on the pitch and has got a lot of slack from United fans for not running very much, but if he keeps putting the ball in the net they'll have no complaints! He has scored 19 goals in the Premier league making him the highest goalscorer in the league. His best performance this season was against Blackburn where he scored 5 goals and had one of the best games of his career.
- David Silva (aged 25)
It's taken him a while to settle into the City squad but he has now found his touch and proving why City paid the big bucks for him. A tricky player for any defence to handle and he is creating a good partnership with Tevez. He could be the final peice in the jigsaw for City and I think he's going to do very well for them at the end of this season and perhaps for much longer as well.
- Raul Mereiles (aged 27)
Bought by Roy Hodgson, he has only recently shown his potential scoring multiple volleys from distance and providing good distribution to his team-mates. He may prove to be Hodgson's only good act at the club. He has scored 5 goals for Liverpool this season. I feel he has been one of the key players that has turned Liverpool's season around. He also had a good World Cup with Portugal, having a big part in the 7-0 win they had over North Korea. His best goal this season was against Wolves in the Premier League, where he hit the perfect volley from the edge of the box.
These are the players that have shined so far this season, whether they continue to or not who knows! Maybe we'll have some others for me to talk about at a later stage.
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
Referees, Microphones and Post-Match Interviews
After talking the other day about goal-line technology and how we cannot simply introduce systems from other sports I started thinking about how this might not be true in all situations. In rugby the audience can hear everything the referee is saying between the players and the other officials. This allows the audience to understand the actions the referees take and may help them understand the decisions made later in the game. Currently in the Premier League the officials use microphones to discuss decisions between themselves, though the audience are not able to listen into these discussions. Due to this we are forced to come to our own conclusions about the decisions they make. There have been calls for referees to have interviews after the game to discuss their decision making. However I feel anyone who has been watching the game will have already come up with their own conclusions by then which may increase the pressure on referees rather than reduce it.
At the moment referees are given a lot of protection from the FA. This is due to the amount of criticism they often receive from players and fans. It would be interesting to hear more often about their views on the game and how they feel things could be improved. Though at the moment there is far too much criticism aimed at them for people to take them seriously. This is predominantly due to the fact that on TV we see multiple slow motion replays from a variety of angles to watch the instants they have one angle at full speed to assess. Therefore the introduction of microphones for us to hear on the TV would help us understand how they make their decisions, based on what they say rather than what we see. I have to admit post match interviews would be a step in the right direction and hopefully we will start seeing these soon to help us reason with the referees in our game.
At the moment referees are given a lot of protection from the FA. This is due to the amount of criticism they often receive from players and fans. It would be interesting to hear more often about their views on the game and how they feel things could be improved. Though at the moment there is far too much criticism aimed at them for people to take them seriously. This is predominantly due to the fact that on TV we see multiple slow motion replays from a variety of angles to watch the instants they have one angle at full speed to assess. Therefore the introduction of microphones for us to hear on the TV would help us understand how they make their decisions, based on what they say rather than what we see. I have to admit post match interviews would be a step in the right direction and hopefully we will start seeing these soon to help us reason with the referees in our game.
Monday, 21 February 2011
Should Goal-Line Technology be Introduced into Football?
Ever since the World Cup one of the big discussion points was about the introduction of goal-line technology. England fans walked away from the match against Germany feeling gutted but with the thought of "what if" in their minds after Frank Lampard's shot clearly went over the line but was not given. FIFA originally announced on the 6th March 2010 that it would not be pursuing goal-line technology any further after The International Football Association Board (IFAB) voted against any further experiments. However in October IFAB (during its annual business meeting) went back on their earlier decision and agreed to re-open the discussions concerning the matter.
So would it have a positive impact on the game?
If the technology was introduced it would prove decisive on whether the ball crossed the line or not, therefore supporting the referees by helping them make less mistakes.
Some of the reasons why FIFA are cautious about introducing goal-line technology are:
- It may ruin the rhythm of the game
I think this is the biggest issue that we may not be able to judge until we see it in action. We cannot simply introduce the same technology as sports like rugby, as the excitement we get from football is from it being a fast tempo sport, whereas rugby is very stop-start and played in stages. Therefore any technology that is introduced to the game would need to act instantaneously allowing the game to flow as it currently does.
- They like fans discussing controversial decisions
There are always going to be controversial decisions in football whether they are for a disallowed goal or a free kick that isn't given, but to have FIFA reject goal-line technology due to the fact they want to keep some bad decisions in the game seems a bit silly. This will keep the pressure on the referees all for the sake of some good headlines. Admittedly FIFA may be worried this could be the first step into introducing more technology into the game, which could lead to other controversial decisions being being removed, but I don't think it should be a reason behind not bringing goal-line technology into the game.
- The cost of the setting up and testing the technology is expensive
Surely with all the money available to FIFA if they believe this will benefit the game then it is worth spending the money to investigate!
- They want the game to be played in the same way whether this be kids in the park or professionals on the international stage
This is an interesting point, though there are already a number of differences between them. For example the quality of the pitch being played on, ball being used and the standard of refereeing. You are always going to be have better conditions when playing as a professional and as long as the nature of the game stays the same there is no reason why this should be a bad thing for the sport. Local people at the park manage to play rugby, tennis and cricket without having video technology so why should it be different for football.
Hopefully in the next couple of months we should start to see the technology being tested on the big stage. Will be interesting to see whether it will work or not and how often it needs to be used.
So would it have a positive impact on the game?
If the technology was introduced it would prove decisive on whether the ball crossed the line or not, therefore supporting the referees by helping them make less mistakes.
Some of the reasons why FIFA are cautious about introducing goal-line technology are:
- It may ruin the rhythm of the game
I think this is the biggest issue that we may not be able to judge until we see it in action. We cannot simply introduce the same technology as sports like rugby, as the excitement we get from football is from it being a fast tempo sport, whereas rugby is very stop-start and played in stages. Therefore any technology that is introduced to the game would need to act instantaneously allowing the game to flow as it currently does.
- They like fans discussing controversial decisions
There are always going to be controversial decisions in football whether they are for a disallowed goal or a free kick that isn't given, but to have FIFA reject goal-line technology due to the fact they want to keep some bad decisions in the game seems a bit silly. This will keep the pressure on the referees all for the sake of some good headlines. Admittedly FIFA may be worried this could be the first step into introducing more technology into the game, which could lead to other controversial decisions being being removed, but I don't think it should be a reason behind not bringing goal-line technology into the game.
- The cost of the setting up and testing the technology is expensive
Surely with all the money available to FIFA if they believe this will benefit the game then it is worth spending the money to investigate!
- They want the game to be played in the same way whether this be kids in the park or professionals on the international stage
This is an interesting point, though there are already a number of differences between them. For example the quality of the pitch being played on, ball being used and the standard of refereeing. You are always going to be have better conditions when playing as a professional and as long as the nature of the game stays the same there is no reason why this should be a bad thing for the sport. Local people at the park manage to play rugby, tennis and cricket without having video technology so why should it be different for football.
Hopefully in the next couple of months we should start to see the technology being tested on the big stage. Will be interesting to see whether it will work or not and how often it needs to be used.
Sunday, 20 February 2011
FA Cup Quarter Final Draw
Stoke City v West Ham or Burnley
Manchester City or Aston Villa v Everton or Reading
Birmingham City v Fulham or Bolton
Manchester United v Leyton Orient or Arsenal
There could be a few good fixtures coming up then. The old rivalry between Manchester United and Arsenal depending on the result later today, a Premier League clash and still the possibility that Reading and Burnley could go further. Who knows??? That's why people like the FA Cup, anything can happen!
West Brom v Wolves (1-1)
A derby match and a chance for either team to help themselves in the relegation battle. So would it live up to expectations. Well it took 39 minutes for the first goal, and it was a cracker by Tottenham loanee Jamie O'Hara who smashed the ball into the top corner after it was laid up to him from the free kick by Nenad Milijas. It looked like this would be the winning goal as the game went into injury time but it wasn't to be. James Morrison took a shot from the edge of the penalty area, the keeper couldn't hold onto it and Carlos Vela followed up to give the home fans and new boss Roy Hodgson something to cheer about. Not the best result for either team, though West Brom will be the happier as they could have easily gone away with nothing. Wolves remain bottom of the table and West Brom sit just outside the relegation zone 1 point clear of Wigan.
Saturdays Other FA Cup Action
Birmingham City v Sheffield Wednesday (3-0)
A simple win for Birmingham helped by some poor defending. Martins got his 1st goal for the club after skipping past a few weak tackles then easily slotted the ball past the keeper. Beausejour and Murphy scored the others. A game they will be happy to have won so comfortably but there was no real competition.
Stoke City v Brighton (3-0)
All the goals in this match came in the first half and all from headers. Carew, Walters and Shawcross scoring them. Stoke will not have been happy to see Matthew Etherington limping off at the end of the first half with a hamstring injury. He has only just come back from a period out with the same injury and perhaps the club rushed him back too quickly. Brighton created a few more opportunities in the second half but none that really troubled Sorensen. An easy match for Stoke to put them into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Manchester United v Crawley Town (1-0)
Manchester United took this match as an opportunity for some of their younger players to have a chance. I have to admit I was hoping a certain Joshua King on the bench would play some part as I had seen him play a few minutes in the Carling Cup and felt he had some real talent. Unfortunately he never came on. Darren Gibson was the player who showed the most quality in this match. His passing was amazing and he also provided the cross for Wes Brown's goal. Crawley Town were very much part of the game and came very close on multiple occasions to getting an equaliser in the second half. United brought on Smalling late in the game to tighten things up at the back and he again showed why they paid the big bucks for him. A hard fought match that went on till the final whistle.
A simple win for Birmingham helped by some poor defending. Martins got his 1st goal for the club after skipping past a few weak tackles then easily slotted the ball past the keeper. Beausejour and Murphy scored the others. A game they will be happy to have won so comfortably but there was no real competition.
Stoke City v Brighton (3-0)
All the goals in this match came in the first half and all from headers. Carew, Walters and Shawcross scoring them. Stoke will not have been happy to see Matthew Etherington limping off at the end of the first half with a hamstring injury. He has only just come back from a period out with the same injury and perhaps the club rushed him back too quickly. Brighton created a few more opportunities in the second half but none that really troubled Sorensen. An easy match for Stoke to put them into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Manchester United v Crawley Town (1-0)
Manchester United took this match as an opportunity for some of their younger players to have a chance. I have to admit I was hoping a certain Joshua King on the bench would play some part as I had seen him play a few minutes in the Carling Cup and felt he had some real talent. Unfortunately he never came on. Darren Gibson was the player who showed the most quality in this match. His passing was amazing and he also provided the cross for Wes Brown's goal. Crawley Town were very much part of the game and came very close on multiple occasions to getting an equaliser in the second half. United brought on Smalling late in the game to tighten things up at the back and he again showed why they paid the big bucks for him. A hard fought match that went on till the final whistle.
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