The Flat Back Four

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

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.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Raul Meireles Blameless For Leaving Liverpool

Well, it's hard to refuse when a team like Chelsea comes knocking at your door. Even harder when possibly the best Portuguese coach in the business wants you. Extremely irresistible when Chelsea can offer you first team playing minutes and Champions League football. Thus, Raul Meireles weighed up his options and decided to join the Andre Villa-Boas Chelsea evolution.

While watching the Chelsea-Norwich match, I had argued that Chelsea needed a playmaking midfielder. Little did I know that Chelsea was tracking Liverpool's 2011 PFA Fans Footballer of The Year. To be fair, Meireles is the second best option after Modric. His energy and intelligent footballing skills will be perfect for the Blues once he is fully fit from injury. Fernando Torres must really be licking his chops now knowing that he will soon have the service he craved to become a Blues legend.

Transfer Day Deadline: Top Five Most Intriguing Transfers

The transfer day deadline was a flurry of activities and I loved it! Sitting down sifting through TFB4's twitter page, there was a feeling of major surprise signings and it did take place albeit in small measures. I compiled The Flat Back Four's top five most intriguing transfer signings.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Awesome Red Devils Arsenal Humiliation Leaves All Speechless

Alex Ferguson has done it again. He has reinvented a new Manchester United team every bit as dangerous and driven as the ones in previous years. United must be the Barcelona of the Premier League in the way they keep churning out fantastic youngsters season after season.

Danny Wellbeck, Tom Cleverley, Fabio and Rafael Da Silva are the latest products of the youth system conveyor belt, and augmented by smart money signings of David De Gea, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones, Ferguson have sure-handedly laid the foundation for another decade of dominance.

The way the "kids" and the "seniors" played together in a "team" to totally humiliate Arsene's Arsenal left me speechless. It may not be the Arsenal we knew, but it was Arsenal all the same. In retrospect, the 8-2 scoreline seemed like the right scoreline.

Mancini's City Slickers Confirming Title Credentials

Manchester City, despite their riches, struggled last season for goals and lacked enough creativity. Mancini employed a cautious defensive approach utilising the leadership of Vincent Kompany last season. The splurge on Edin Dzeko in January was aimed at giving Man City a huge goal threat. This season, the continued faith in the big Bosnian is paying off.

Edin Dzeko's performances this season are streets ahead of what it was in the second half of last season. Manchester City and Mancini are pleased for the player to be on fire in the early stage of the season.

Tottenham and Harry Redknapp may look back on this game and rue the chances missed by Bale and Crouch but in truth, City were simply brilliant and converted their chances ruthlessly. A major part of the win was attributed to the performance of ex-Gunner, Samir Nasri. Even without much training, the Frenchman linked up excellently with the world class stars in the City midfield. His industrious running has added an extra unpredictability to the Blues attack.

Come Back To Liverpool, Torres!

Come Back To Liverpool, Fernando!

As I watched Chelsea toiled to a late victory over Norwich City, I just felt sorry for El Nino. Finally looking sharp in pre-season, this was THE season that Torres resumes his Premiership goalscoring feats in Chelsea blue.

Three games on and yet no goals from the World Cup winning Spaniard. And I feel a sense of frustration building up inside me, as I saw the inability of Lampard, Mikel, Malouda and Anelka to exploit Torres' undoubted talents. The old Chelsea boys are not creating chances for the ex-Reds legend or could it be that they do not fancy him at The Bridge? Time and again, the Blues midfield do not look to pass to Torres and the Spaniard look like a lonely soul on the pitch.

Torres, with his pace, likes the ball played in front of him and somehow, Chelsea do not have the midfielders who could or want to provide these passes. Which is why Nando was instrumental in convincing Juan Mata to sign for Chelsea. The star of the Euro-21 tournament, Mata has the intelligence and passing ability to get Torres firing again.

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.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

A Quiet Off-Season Thus Far

I haven't been posting a lot in recent times. But in retrospect, there hasn't been much to be excited about. Prior to the off-season, immense focus was put on the next destination of Cesc Fabregas, Scott Parker, Carlton Cole and the likes. Just like the Premiership season that the Red Devils clinched, the transfer activity has been a damp squib.

With only David de Gea as the highest profile transfer signing, Premiership giants are hardly tripping over each other to sign and strengthen their playing squad. Only Liverpool have been making a flurry of signings, although it is more a case of adding depth and quality rather than signalling a serious intent to threaten the newly established Premiership powerhouse of United, City and Chelsea. Even so, Wayne Rooney now recognizes that Liverpool, through their purchases, are genuine title contenders. Good news by my reckoning!

Fernando Torres seems to be struggling to find his feet in pre-season friendlies. Chelsea fans must be hoping that El Nino does not become another Shevchenko. Torres in Chelsea blue has been the complete reverse of Torres in Liverpool red. Chelsea and Torres struggled to a fortunate 1-0 friendly win over the Malaysia U-23 team. It won't be surprising if the prolific and powerful Radamel Falcao, heavily favoured by Andre Villas-Boas, is signed to bolster a weak attack.

Three weeks before the start of the new season, anything and everything can happen. Cesc Fabregas could yet seal a move to Barcelona. Wesley Sneijder and Samir Nasri could head to Manchester United. And Scotty Parker may end up at Arsenal and put an end to Arsene Wenger's youth policy!