The Flat Back Four

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Premier League Young Player Best XI

Congratulations to Jack Wilshere and Gareth Bale for being voted PFA Young Player and Player of The Year respectively. Funnily, there is no Liverpool representative in the PFA Team of The Year although I would have put Reina (probably on sentiment) above Edwin Van der Sar.

Here's my best eleven of Premier League young players.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Rash Eboue Challenge Ends Arsenal Title Charge

Prior to the match against Liverpool, Arsenal had a run up as difficult as is conceivably possible. Liverpool, Spurs, Bolton and Manchester United are a very tough set of fixtures for any aspiring title contenders. For a team as fragile as Arsenal, this looks a very daunting task. And their crucial title run-in crashed against Liverpool. Once more, Arsenal lacked the ability to deliver when needed. This draw, where both goals were scored in injury time, meant that Arsenal is psychologically out of the title race.

In the wake of this disappointing result, Andrew Weber from Arsenalblog started out by talking about how Arsenal seemed to be a master at throwing away leads this season. Emmanuel Eboue did clatter into Lucas and it was a rightful penalty. In the end, Liverpool got a point from a match that they did not deserve to lose. Their brilliant defensive display alone, even with Krygiakos and Skrtel as the central defensive pairing, deserved a point.

This remarkable match had Liverpool finish the match with four Academy players, following injuries to Carroll, Aurelio and Carrragher. Performances from Jack Robinson, John Flanagan (who started), Jonjo Shelvey and Jay Spearing has Nate from ohyoubeauty gushing positively at the future of Liverpool. He sees great things happening at Liverpool with the youngsters that are being blooded by Dalglish. It's hard to argue with him when these youngsters show that much composure in such a high pressure situation.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Arsenal-Liverpool Preview: The Forgotten Duo

It was Liverpool's best season since the start of the Premier League. A season which saw Liverpool scored the most goals and lost the least games but yet could not win the Premiership title.

But the Reds under Rafa Benitez gave us some wonderful moments with last minute winners and high scoring games. One of the most memorable game from that season came for the Anfield April 2009 match against Arsenal. The result? Liverpool 4 Arsenal 4.

Two of the players who starred at that match are now looking pale shadows of their old self. Fernando Torres and Andrei Arshavin.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

The Celebratory Camera Kiss

What's with footballers these days? Steven Gerrard started it by kissing the camera when overwhelmed by the emotion of scoring a goal against long time rivals Manchester United. Suddenly, every footballer worth his salt could be seen planting his smackers against a camera as a celebratory move.

I am all for it, I love it. Here are Mark Noble and Scott Parker kissing the camera in response to scoring goals for West Ham United.

Liverpool's Andy Carroll Off The Blocks!

Andy Carroll finally proved his worth to Liverpool against Manchester City on Monday night. In his fourth full game for the Reds, the giant Geordie scored two brilliant goals underlining his potential and ability as a big-game player. The goals showcased Carroll's talents and strengths, a lethally accurate left foot and superb heading ability. I have not forgotten that powerful shot he scored from against Dalglish's Reds at St. James Park in December last year.

Carroll was frightening in the first half when the damage was done. Manchester City was left shell-shocked by the early onslaught from Liverpool and could not keep pace with the Reds. Unlike against West Brom away, Liverpool swarmed forward at every opportunity, Meireles, Spearing and Kuyt were taking up good positions at the edge of the box to keep the pressure on City. That pressure kept City on the back foot and helped Liverpool maintain the upper hand.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Terrific West Ham Withstood Late Liverpool Surge

Liverpool had not lost to West Ham in 17 meetings prior to this season's fixture at Upton Park. If Liverpool had thought that bottom-placed West Ham would be easy pickings, they were dead wrong. The Hammers came out with guns blazing and quickly took control of the match, outpassing and outrunning their more illustrious counterparts. Quite clearly the Europa League exertions had taken a toll on the Liverpool players as they were second to every ball.

The first half truly belonged to West Ham and they deserved their two goal lead at the end of a sterling first 45 minutes. Thomas Hitzlsperger got his first assist when he returned a pass for the inspirational Scott Parker to curl the ball beyond Pepe Reina. Not to be outdone, Demba Ba scored his third goal in two games when he guided a flying header into Reina's net. Liverpool five-man defence did not pick up the run of the Senegalese, allowing him to add the finishing touch to a nice Hammers move.

Der Hammer Poised For Hammer Showdown With Dalglish's Reds

There was an article in The Independent yesterday featuring Thomas Hitzlsperger. In that article, Hitz commented how much he enjoyed the English game and also how the fans are a lot more forgiving over here. He struck a note with me particularly when he said that the English gets excited with a good pass here and a great goal there.

It cannot be truer than that, and it is exactly this sense of quick gratification that lead to the English players always failing in major tournaments. The players believe in their hype much too easily and sad to say, us fans are guilty of over-hyping them as much as the media.

In an unrelated Daily Mail article, Jamie Redknapp said that a Hitzlsperger tackle left him a mark when the then-teenaged German was on trial at Liverpool. Even then, Jamie remarked that Hitz had everything to be a top midfielder.

Here's a reminder of what West Ham fans have missed since the start of this wretched season.

Daniel Sturridge Provides Trotters Delight

"He can finish left foot, right foot, he can score headed goals and he has got pace to burn. There's no doubt he is a natural goalscorer, but he is more than that, he is a natural footballer." said Owen Coyle.

Daniel Sturridge is proving every bit a loan success as Jack Wilshire had been last season for Bolton. His fourth goal in four games is turning Owen Coyle into a very successful bargain hunter. Pretty soon, Owen Coyle will have a reputation for a bargain as formidable as Big Sam or Harry Redknapp.

His instinctive talents have moved Bolton up to seventh place, nicely positioning the Trotters for a late assault on a Europa League place next season.