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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Liverpool Still Unbeaten At Anfield, But Champions League Spot Is Slipping Away

After nine matches away, El Pistolero was back in the Liverpool line up. The Uruguayan had been watching in the stands as the mighty Reds gained excellent results against Manchester City and Manchester United without him. Suarez came on as a substitute and could not inspire Liverpool against a weakened Spurs team.

If not for Gareth Bale's uncharacteristic miss late in the game, Liverpool might have had to endure a night where they dominated the game but had no end result as usual. It's the eighth draw at Anfield and these "undeserved" draws are starting to kill the Reds' pursuit for the final Champions League spot.

After some enterprising wins over City, United and then Wolves, Liverpool could not break down a solid Spurs defence in which Michael Dawson was outstanding. Still there weren't enough shots on goal and it was all huff and puff from the Reds in the end. Even with a classy frontline of Bellamy, Kuyt, Carroll and Gerrard, Liverpool could only manage four shots on goal and clearly for a team with a 9% conversion rate, more shots would have meant more probability for a goal.

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Relegation Threatened WAGS

This is the 3rd edition of the WAGS series, following up from the ArseWAGs and Promoted WAGs. This time, the spotlight falls on teams threatened by relegation. We may not be able to see these WAGs for some time if Middlesborough, Newcastle and Sunderland do get relegated. So hope you will enjoy these!

Leilani Dowding have been seen with Middlesbrough's Stewart Downing and Jeremie Aliadiere. Rumoured also to have dated ex-Toon Kieron Dyer. A Page Three girl, glamour model, television celebrity and former beauty queen. She has travelled to Bosnia, Kosovo. Iraq and Cyprus on morale-boosting trips for British troops abroad.















Michaela Henderson-Thynne was part of the WAG circus in Baden Baden when Stewart Downing was with the England squad during World Cup 2006. Still a student but already living the luxurious lifestyle of a WAG. Ooh, the joys of being a footballer's girlfriend. Too bad she is no longer with Stewie.

Channelle Hayes who dates Boro defender, Matthew Bates created a swine flu scare recently when she came back from a WAGs holiday. She was a Big Brother reality show contestant which brought her into fame and prominence.

















Staying on the subject of defenders, Justin Hoyte and girlfriend, Madeleine Bowden. Madeleine starred in the reality show WAGs boutique.



















Sunderland Trinidad & Tobago winger Carlos Edwards has a pop star wife named Teressa. Now where have we seen that before? Hmmm....























Sunderland star striker Djibril Cisse and his wife Jude on a night out apparently. Some of you may know that Cisse is actually inherited the title of "Lord" in England courtesy of his 2005 purchase of a mansion in Merseyside. Officially he is Lord Djibril Cisse of Frodsham.

Roy Keane once famously said that it was difficult to sign players for Sunderland because the wives and girlfriends would not move to places like Sunderland. He does have a point as highlighted by Locallife.co.uk. Wearside has fewer beauty salons, jewellers, nightclubs, au pair services and tanning salons for every 10,000 residents than most other footballing towns in the UK.

Sunderland came in 13th place in the UK's bottom 20 WAG magnet clubs (Wagnet), beating rivals Middlesborough by 0.21 points. Newcastle, however was named the best transfer destination.















Mark Viduka just regained fitness and starred in the Tyne Tees basement battle. Here he is with his wife Ivana Viduka. It would be a shame to lose him to the Championship.














Sophie Bovington-Kerr once shared a toilet with Newcastle's Alan Smith. Old Smithy is a real cad judging from some of the stories about him.
















Georgia McNeil, an interior designer met with Newcastle troubled star, Joey Barton and decided to move in with him. This picture is taken from the Daily Mirror.

Newcastle striker, Michael Owen's wife, Louise Owen looking very good indeed. She is also crazy about horses. If Michael loves gambling on them, Louise loves caring and riding them.

If you find these sort of news interesting, there are several sites which are excellent for gossip and WAGspotting, Kickette and The WAGs section in The Spoiler are real popular. A personal favourite is My Relationship with Football.

The Relegation Battle Heats Up for Newcastle and Middlesbrough

The relegation battle heats up with Newcastle and Middlesbrough doing battle on Monday night. The fact that Hull City lost their match against Stoke City means that neither team should settle for a draw. West Brom's win against Wigan added more pressure on both teams and now the bottom three teams are level on 31 points apiece. So this derby is a must-win game for either side and the least we can hope is for both sides to treat the match with the intensity and the effort that it warrants.

I tend to agree with Steve McMahon (now an ESPNStar soccer analyst) that he has been extremely disappointed that teams at the bottom are not showing fight and commitment to beat the drop. If we had a choice, Sunderland, Hull, Newcastle and Boro should be relegated right now! WBA should stay up simply because their playing philosophy merit another shot at the Premiership even if their defence require a complete overhaul.

Whenever I have watched Newcastle, they have been nothing but disappointing. Their form at home has been abysmal, ranking 19th in the league. They have won only 4 games at home, so much for fortress St. James Park....overall Newcastle have been winless in 10 games, dating back to February. So what does Alan Shearer do to bring some joy back to Newcastle fans?

He could start by playing his fearsome threesome. The time has come to play Owen, Viduka and Martins in a three pronged attack 4-3-3 formation. On paper, this is mouthwatering, all three are match winners in their own right and hopefully together, they can create and take chances which should come their way.

The fearsome threesome - can they save Newcastle?

Shearer need to pack the midfield with fighters and grafters. The "Dogs of War" mentality must set in - it's the fight for survival! Players who will give you 110% commitment and fight for the cause.

Nicky Butt has been one of the few committed Newcastle player. A very good midfield defensive cover for the back four. Still, he is no box-to-box player. Kevin Nolan and Jonas Gutierrez are the sort of selfless players that Newcastle need to provide the support and extra bodies at both ends of the pitch. Shearer cannot do much worse than playing Nolan and Jonas either side of Butt.

Defensively, they have been a shambles....Coloccini is not coping with the pace and power of the Premier League. Pair Steven Taylor (who can score goals as well) with the impressive Sebastien Bassong at centre defence. I do think that Damien Duff at leftback is a great idea, though. Shearer and his coaching staff need to work hard to ensure that Newcastle backline understands what defending means i.e. marking and interceptions.

On the other hand, Middlesbrough biggest problem is scoring goals. They have scored the least goals in the Premier League this season. Yet, they sold one of their biggest threats in Mido.

Also, they are woeful away from home, gaining only 8 points on the road, ranking 19th in the league. Boro's strongest area is in midfield where Tuncay, Downing and O'Neill have consistently given their all for the cause. Between them, they have contributed 28% of the total Boro goals (25) to date. More significantly, this midfield trio are responsible for 47% of the total assists (15).

Boro's midfield trio - Are they able to carry Boro over the line?

Clearly, Boro's best creative work is through the tirumvirate of Tuncay-Downing-O'Neill. Gareth Southgate must tell his players to get the ball quickly to this trio. Only when this trio control the flow of matches, will Boro have a chance of winning matches and subsequently staying in the Premiership.

The one thing that Southgate need not worry too much is defence. It is a solid flat back four with imposing physical presence and tight defending. Brad Jones have slowly matured into a very skilled goalkeeper.

If both teams play to their strengths as mentioned, they can win their next remaining matches ensuring survival for both teams. Hull City has to play Bolton away and Man Utd at home in their last two games, so no points gained is quite possible. Sunderland have Portsmouth away and Chelsea at home as their last two fixtures, again zero points could be on the cards.

This makes Newcastle's and Boro's last two matches really important six-pointers. The make or break matches, so to speak.

Another interesting fact....since 2002, there hasn't been an instance when the same three relegated clubs came straight back up to the Premier League the following season. The closest to that happening had been in the 2006-2007 season, where Sunderland and Birmingham came straight back up after relegation in 2005-2006. That just goes to show how tough it is to firstly, recover from the shock of relegation and secondly, to gain promotion back into the big time.

Notwithstanding the stats and the complicated match permutations, I have no doubt that West Brom, Boro and Newcastle can make it back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

In case you are wondering....yeah, I do believe all three will be relegated come May 24th....