Move Aside Drogba, The Torres Revival Takes Shape

Torres has had to endure tough times since his transfer to Chelsea. Even if his desire to move was to win trophies, he obviously had not figured how difficult it would be to firstly, fit into a world-class team and secondly, to displace Didi Drogba.

The best striker in the Premiership, Fernando Torres had to deal with a trophy-ladened but ego-filled dressing room. And as far as world class strikers go, El Nino had to contend with the ill-fated Chelsea strikers' graveyard. And then there is the looming monster shadow of a defiant Drogba, seemingly oblivious to his diminishing powers.

So you see, Torres had to endure an environment completely different to the one he fondly remembered at Liverpool. Far away from the Anfield adulation he enjoys, he had to undergo a transformation to be successful in a club like Chelsea. So, to replace Drogba is to be like Drogba.

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Liverpool March On To Dream-Like Domestic Cup Double

The dream of being double Cup winners is slowly materialising. Liverpool got past a potentially difficult quarterfinal match and comprehensively beat Stoke City. Goals from Luis Suarez and Stewart Downing handed a semifinal berth to the Reds.

Like every season, FA Cup semifinal drama could be in store with the prospect of a special Merseyside derby. I'd prefer that Liverpool meet Sunderland instead. Being in the semifinal of the FA Cup should be a big enough game for the Reds to be fairly motivated even if they were to face Sunderland. Besides, Liverpool have unfinished business with O'Neill's men, having lost due to Bendtner's winner recently. Storming into the FA Cup final while demolishing a side with x-Devils O'Shea, Bardsley and Richardson, would bring a happy smile to my face.

Three things stood out in the win over Stoke last weekend.

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Suarez And Carroll Partnership Blossoms For Liverpool

Luis Suarez never has a bad game. A body of perpetual motion, the Uruguayan's movement and elusiveness remain Liverpool's most dangerous attacking threat. El Pistolero's immensely positive contribution in games are often tinged with slight regrets. He does not score as many goals as he should have, considering the amount of chances he creates game in game out. Having said that, his presence in a Liverpool red alone is worth the admission fee to the match as he gives his all and tries his all for the team and for the fans.

True to form, the wee man, Luis had a major influence against West Brom. His very presence in the Baggies' penalty box frightened the life out of Olsson and forced Jerome Thomas into conceding a penalty. A penalty that allowed the Reds to take early control of the match against their former manager's team.

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Adam Johnson's Stunning Strike Glosses Over Citizen's Gritty Win

Mancini and his Manchester City have shown us many sides to their character this season. They are resolute in defence, even without the collossal Nigel de Jong. City have shown that they are not content to sit back on a lead. They have served up game after game of excellent attacking football, never resting but always probing. And against Wolves, they showed that they can be patient, they confirmed that they have believe in themselves and more importantly, City proved that they too know how to win while playing "ugly".

This match against Wolves at home, was supposed to be the crowning glory of an excellent week as Mancini's City came back expecting to bask in the adoration of their fans. Unfortunately, Wolves proved tougher to subdue with Welsh No. 1 Wayne Hennessey equal to everything that Aguero, Silva, Nasri and Dzeko threw at him.

In the end, Manchester City had to wait before they scored their customary three goals against Premier League opposition. Adam Johnson racing all the way from defence, collected a pass from Yaya and fired home a 20-yard curler past the Wolves keeper.

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Captain Vantastic's Derby Hattrick Makes It 29 Out Of 28

A high scoring game was not something that I had expected from a Chelsea-Arsenal derby match. Then again I had forgotten that Arsenal does not know how to defend this season nor did I remember that Chelsea has yet to keep a clean sheet this season. And so, we were treated to an eight-goal slugfest in which the Blues and the Gunners went after each other blow-for-blow until that defining John Terry slip. If blame throwing would be allowed, Florent Malouda's right foot must take sole responsibility for this heavy Chelsea defeat.

And so Arsenal's inspirational Captain Vantastic struck a much deserved hat-trick against their London rivals. He also scored his 29th goal in 28 matches, a remarkable record huh? He must surely be the most in-form striker in the Premiership, ahead of even Kun Aguero and Super Mario. The flying Dutchman has had so many injuries in the last two seasons, we had forgotten just how good he really is. This season RVP's goals has lifted Arsenal from the bottom three into seventh place.

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Liverpool Still A Work In Progress After Stoke Stumble

International matches are proving a bona-fide bane to Liverpool. It has been so since the Benitez days. Charlie Adam came back from Scotland international duty with a slight injury concern. That clearly hampered his performance at the Britannia last weekend. Even the hardworking Dirk Kuyt looked very lethargic and contributed little at Stoke.

Still it wasn't a completely insipid performance. 24 shots on goal and 72% possession time on the ball typifies another solid Reds' performance under Kenny Dalglish. Liverpool must show lots of heart and combative spirit whenever they go to a fortress like the Britannia Stadium. For the first time, no one shirked their duties, and everyone in a Reds' shirt fought hard. Going behind early to Walters' penalty goal allowed Stoke to effectively park the bus and they did that expertly with Shawcross a key man defensively.

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Impressive Reds Outplay Trotters For 10th Consecutive Win

With over £110m spent over the summer and more to come, Liverpool impressively outplayed Bolton at Anfield over the weekend. As a true measure of Liverpool's stylish performance, Kevin Davies was substituted in that match. Liverpool completely subdued the Trotters' captain and talisman!

Two summer recruits, Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam scored two excellent goals in a game that Liverpool could have won by four or five. Luis Suarez once again became the Reds' one-man demolition team, and he literally brought Bolton to their knees. Liverpool's quick movement in the Bolton half truly left Owen Coyle's men chasing shadows and Liverpool always found a free player to start attacks from.

Though Suarez was menacing, his theatrical dives and rants do make him walk a tightrope with referees. El Pistolero will need to be a lot more clinical with his finishing if he harbours hopes to win the Premier League golden boot. Nevertheless, the Copa America winner remains King Kenny's most creative player and he is such a thorn for opposition defenders.

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Chicharito Two-Goal Show Puts Pressure on Berbatov

The Red Devils went into a crucial away match against Wigan, needing to put some distance between themselves and Arsenal. Considering that Manchester United are due to face Chelsea and then Liverpool, three points would be a comfortable cushion in Ferguson's eyes. United romped to a 4-0 win but the lineup raised some eyebrows with the exclusion of the Premiership's top scorer, Dimitar Berbatov.

Manchester United started with Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez as striking partners. In previous games, Ferguson left Berbatov out whenever he felt the need to go with a 4-5-1 formation. Against Wigan, Ferguson put out a more positive lineup and yet preferred Hernandez over the Bulgarian.

Dimitar Berbatov simply does not have Fergie's trust in big games.

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Scott Parker Brings Out The Best In West Ham!

Scotty Parker was one of the reason for West Ham staying up last season. Parker's goal against Wigan last season was the highlight of a personal desire to keep the Irons in the Premiership.

The other reason West Ham managed to stay up last season was because they won more points against fellow relegation strugglers. This season, they have been less fortunate, failing to win against Birmingham, Wolves and West Brom. Without those much needed points, the Hammers will find it extremely difficult to stay in the Premiership this time around.

Not if "Great Scott" Parker has anything to do with it. His involvement both in the dressing room and on the pitch has been well published and that's Scott Parker in a nutshell. A fighter, a braveheart, a loyalist and an all-action midfield dynamo. Parker is the leader on the pitch, the player that the team look towards for inspiration, much more now than ever.

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Left Side Of Defence Is Liverpool's Weak Link

The purchase of Paul Konchesky was meant to plug a glaring weakness at left back for Roy Hodgson's Liverpool side. The signing of free agent Fabio Aurelio was also designed to do so. Hoping Daniel Agger to be an adequate left back is plainly tomfoolery. Agger has a great left foot but he does not have the tools to play on the left.

Konchesky was replaced by Agger on the 82nd minute of the English "Superclassico" with the score at 2-2. Daniel Agger could not get into the game and his concentration affected by Nani's diving antics, he promptly conceded space for John O'Shea to provide the assist for Berbatov's hattrick. Paul Konchesky may yet prove himself worthy of the leftback position but for now, left back is a problem area for Liverpool.

Debates are rife about whether O'Shea should have been sent off and that decision turned out to be a pivotal moment for both clubs. Steven Gerrard scored from the ensuing freekick while O'Shea made amends when he provided that cross for Berbatov's winner. Jamie Carragher looked past his best and Berbatov's winning header is testament of how aged Carragher has been since last season. Danny Wilson's Liverpool  Premier League debut may be coming sooner than we think.

Manchester United have been leaking late goals lately and when Liverpool scored two quick goals to tie the match, it looked like it could be Everton all over again. In the end, it was a fair result and United deserved the three points. Dimitar Berbatov finally stamped his mark as a player at Old Trafford with a virtuoso performance, becoming the first Devils player in 64 years to score a hattrick against their fiercest rivals.

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Mauro Formica, West Ham's Rumoured January Signing And Team Jesus Revisited

Sport.co.uk reports that West Ham will sign Mauro Formica from Newell’s Old Boys for an undisclosed fee (but likely about £3.2m) during the January transfer window. The 22-year-old is highly regarded in his homeland and has been tipped for a future in the national team.

The Argentine plays as an advanced playmaker, the classic Argentine no. 10. With a nickname like "El Gato" or "The Cat", his stealthy skills will be just what the Hammers fans enjoy watching, but will he help West Ham's relegation troubles though?

Mauro Formica represented Argentina at the U-17 level. The video suggests that El Gato is a cross between Kaka and Ronaldinho. If he can play like any of these Brazilian maestros, then Boleyn Park will be rocking with excitement. The video footage do portray the young Argentine as a Ronaldinho-type player, busy, skilled, influential and ever ready to try the spectacular. West Ham fans will lap it all up, for sure.

Avram Grant's absence from today's crunch match against Stoke have been well-documented in the newspapers and media. This is yet another example of how fortune continue to hide from West Ham, but perhaps there will be a divine intervention in the end.

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2009/2010 Barclays Premier League Season Review

This season turned out to be a really interesting one. Being World Cup season, I was worried that some players would burn out before South Africa. What was worse were players not trying hard enough, hoping to conserve energy for the World Cup. Steven Gerrard could be accused of that this season while Fernando Torres' numerous persistent injuries meant that El Nino again had upset Liverpool's title plans this season. On the other hand, Wayne Rooney is already looking tired and stricken by injuries in a season where he singlehandedly took an ordinary Manchester United to second spot in the Premier League.

With Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur building deep and quality squads, the Big 4 clubs status were seriously threatened. In the end, Liverpool lost their place among the elites of the league. Arsenal continued to impress this season, especially as most pundits opined that Arsenal were the club most in danger of losing their Big 4 status.

Here are my seven memories of the season gone by,

1. Chelsea's record breaking season

What more can you say about Chelsea? 103 goals, seven goals or more in four matches, Didier Drogba,  is back to his menacing self. Lampard has had his most prolific season thus far, scoring 22 goals. The Premiership double also added more gloss to a fantastic season. Carlo Ancelotti's special skill of extending the playing styles of veterans are now paying dividends. Next season will be challenging for Chelsea when the Premier League imposes squad limits and player regulations.

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The Wenger Gyrations, Cristiano Worshippers And Rafa Benitez Is A DVD Pirate And "Silhouette"?

The horrendous pictures of Aaron Ramsey's broken tibia and fibula continued to haunt my weekend's memories. The best part of the weekend's matches was that West Ham United stays 13th, three points above the drop zone with all rivals playing the same amount of games. A good home win against Bolton will further consolidate the Hammers' position in the Premier League table.

Hilario and Obi Mikel combined to gift Manchester City two goals as Mancini's men overcame a lethargic Chelsea. Manchester City have now lost the least games among the top six clubs chasing for Champions League position.

Arsenal moved to within three points of leaders Chelsea with a gritty 3-1 win over Stoke. The Gunners have an easier fixture run-in than both Chelsea and United and as such, must be considered a serious contender for the title. Andrew Weber writing in the excellent Arsenal FC blog will be happy to note that the Gunners faces ball-playing sides  rather than bruising sides in this crucial late stage of the Premier League title race.

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Rory Delap: From Midfield Dynamo To Awesome Throw-In Specialist

Rory John Delap first came into Premiership prominence after a big-money move from Derby County to Southampton. He was seen at that time as an uncompromising midfielder who couples impressive forward runs with strong tackling and excellent passing. That's what I remembered him as, a fantastic athlete who was never flashy but very effective. He could even chip in with some spectacular goals from time to time. But mostly, he was a midfield dynamo and battler.

That image of the former Republic of Ireland international stayed with me while he was at Derby, then Southampton and later on Sunderland.

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Top 10 Most Creative Players In The Premiership 2009/2010

Basking in the afterglow of a rare West Ham win, I have been browsing at some statistics on the most creative Premiership players so far in the English Premier League 2009/2010 season. What I used to gauge creativity is the amount of chances created and assists credited, which should be a fair enough assessment of a player's creativity.

The Top 10 Most Creative Defenders

Leighton Baines is tops among the defenders. More interestingly, he is Everton's most creative threat with 36 chances created and 4 assists. Glen Johnson and Emiliano Insua are in the top four and the attacking fullback mentality is the reason the Liverpool defence are so shaky this season.

The Top 10 Most Creative Midfielders

Regardless of his lack of goal output this season, Frank Lampard at times, has looked the best player suited as the diamond head of Ancelotti's midfield. The chances he created (60) for Chelsea's frontline is the best proof that this intelligent player is one of the best attacking midfielder in the game today.

The Top 10 Most Creative Forwards

The clamour for Bobby Zamora to be included into the England squad seem justified from the statistic above, 35 chances created and 3 assists for Fulham. His all-round game has improved this season and the intelligence is starting to show with sterling performances against Manchester United and in Europe.

Let's see if these stats stay the same at the end of May.