Fernando Torres Heads An Illustrious List of 50-Goal Liverpool Greats

Before the Christmas football period, Fernando Torres stood on the cusp of greatness. Scoring 49 goals in 69 games meant that he was on the verge of becoming the fastest Liverpool player ever to reach 50 goals in the least number of games. Though it did not come against Portsmouth or Wolves, it finally came against top four hopeful, Aston Villa. And so, El Nino's 50 goals came in 72 Premier League games for Liverpool. That's a ratio of a goal in 1.45 games, an amazing strike rate! In only his third season, he has become a Kop legend.

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Roberto Mancini Brings Style And Swagger Back To The English Premier League!

Roberto Mancini's appointment has had the desired effect on the stuttering Manchester City team. In the two matches that the Italian has been in charge, the team has tightened up with two clean sheets and Carlos Tevez looks to be in the form of his life.

City's performance has been so encouraging that Mancini has been bold enough to change his cautious top four statement to legitimate Premier League title contenders. All these on the back of two wins on the trot.

I for one, am glad Mancini has arrived on Premier League shores. His style and confidence are reminiscent of one who had left...Jose Mourinho! Look, the similarities can be uncanny.

They wear their scarfs the same way...

They like embracing their best players...

They celebrate goals in the same unrestrained manner...

and also the same media-savvy personality

So who says Mourinho can't be replaced? The self-styled "Special One" privileged place in English football ironically, may be taken over by the man he replaced as Inter boss.

Roberto Mancini has officially brought back style and swagger back to the English Premier League.

An Optimistic Look Ahead, West Ham Can Beat The Dreaded Drop And Here's Why

The hectic Christmas fixtures have come and gone. And although West Ham ended the year 2009 dejected with that 2-0 loss to a very good Spurs side, we have every reason to rejoice. Why do I say that?

Well for starters, in the last three matches, West Ham have collected five out of a possible nine points while the rest of their relegation rivals only muster three points maximum. This has helped West Ham to move out of the bottom three.

Secondly, there is no question that West Ham has been notoriously anonymous in the second half of every game but interestingly, the last three matches have shown a reverse of that trend. We are now defending more in numbers, the midfielders (Collison, Diamanti) are tracking back to help with the weakest part of our defence i.e. the fullbacks. This has helped immensely in keeping the team's shape. The searing pace of the in-form Aaron Lennon was just too much to handle for any team in the Premiership so that's nothing to be ashamed about.


Thirdly, the return of Carlton Cole will boost the attacking third of our game. West Ham's next six fixtures are mainly against clubs in the relegation zone and lower half of the Premiership table therefore there is every chance that we can pick up valuable points from these matches. Maximum points even is not out of the question. The Cole-Franco partnership looked to be a lethal combination in the short time that they played together. Franco also did the business against Spurs, picking up a second yellow, making him miss the Arsenal FA Cup tie but will return for Premiership action after that. Smart thinking from this intelligent player.

Fourthly, talks of ownership interest are making its round intensely and there is every chance that the ownership issue can be settled before the January transfer market allowing the club to make player investment and strengthen the squad a bit more.

Let's take a look at the next six fixtures as the relegation battle heats up.

West Ham: Wolves (h), Portsmouth (a), Blackburn (h), Burnley (a), Birmingham (h) and Hull (h)

And the next six matches for the Hammers' relegation battlers are:

Hull City: Bolton (a), Wigan (a), Chelsea (h), Spurs (a), Man Utd (a), Wolves (h)
Wolves: West Ham (a), Wigan (h), Liverpool (h), Hull (a), Birmingham (a), Spurs (h)
Pompey: Arsenal (h), Fulham (a), Birmingham (h), West Ham (h), Man City (a), Man Utd (a)
Bolton: Hull (h), Arsenal (a), Sunderland (a), Arsenal (h), Burnley (h), Liverpool (a)
Wigan: Man Utd (a), Hull (h), Villa (h), Wolves (a), Blackburn (a), Everton (h)

All five rivals have much tougher fixtures than West Ham, which should feature well for the Irons. Portsmouth in particular will be decimated by players competing in the African Nations Cup. All five clubs face at least one of the "Big Four" as well as Champions League aspirants.

Zola and Clarke should be extremely aware that this is the best chance to get points on the board and massively improve West Ham's position in the league. To add more positivity into the mix, Jack "the new Gazza" Wilshere expressed his preference to come to West Ham on loan. If this is followed up by Gianluca Nani intently, then the Hammers midfield will have added the much needed class and creativity.

Confidence will be high after a successful Christmas period. A two-week rest and time to regroup allowing the West Ham players to recover from injuries (Parker, Noble and Ilunga) and their physical exertions together with a relatively easy fixture list surely represent a productive time ahead.

Come on You Irons!

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.

Three Reasons To Be Optimistic About Liverpool's 2009/2010 Premiership Season

After the win against Wigan, Rafa Benitez declared that Liverpool's season will start then. However all that took place after Wigan was an embarassing defeat to Portsmouth. Embarassing because Liverpool hardly showed any attacking threat and were completely shackled by Pompey.

The poor showing by Liverpool has drawn much criticisms about the manager's handling of the club and questionable tactics. Also glaringly obvious were the lack of the fighting spirit demonstrated last season and the worryingly low confidence of the Liverpool players.

I fully believe that Liverpool will turn the corner and that corner starts at Wolves this Saturday. The rumblings within the club indicate signs of better things to come.



Thus, instead of highlighting deficiencies and reservations about Liverpool's season to date, I would prefer to focus on three reasons on why Reds fans can be optimistic in 2010.

1. Torres and Gerrard partnership resumes

It was reported that Rafa has held talks with the Liverpool captain about his performances and the meeting had the desired result. A more determined and influential Steven Gerrard is crucial for the improvement in Liverpool's fortunes. Another boost came in the form that Torres will not need operation on a hernia and this means that the T&G partnership is all set to resume. The Torres and Gerrard partnership guarantee goals and Liverpool are much better when these two play together.

2. Loss of Javier Mascherano means a return to an attacking lineup

Javier Mascherano's wild lunge into Tal Ben-Haim's knee resulted in the Argentinian damaging knee ligaments. With Masch out indefinitely, this paves the way for Alberto Aquilani to assert his push for a first team place. This immediately makes the Liverpool midfield more attacking in nature. Rafa will be hardpressed to maintain his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation without Mascherano and should opt instead for Aquilani. The Italian playmaker, with his passing ability, can provide the creativity and vision sorely lacking in the current Liverpool team.

3. Liverpool traditionally are stronger in the second half of a Premiership season

In the past four season from 2005-2008 Liverpool in the second half of the season have been remarkably strong, garnering 44 (2009), 39 (2008), 34 (2007) and 42 (2006) as compared to 42 (2009), 37 (2008), 34 (2007) and 40 (2006) in the first 19 matches. Though our points tally is slightly lower than in previous seasons (would be 30 from 19 matches if Liverpool beat Wolves), it is fair to say that Liverpool always gets going at the turn of the new year.

Rest assured, even if Liverpool do not achieve the revised target of fourth place, Rafa Benitez will resign. That's another reason to stay optimistic, perhaps Mourinho will be interested in returning to the Premiership as Liverpool manager.

Lastly, David Ngog's excellent form and goal scoring exploits has helped to put a shining light in an otherwise bleak season. Four goals this season and with a 29% shots to goals ratio percentage, he has shone in his limited role as understudy to Fernando Torres.

Okay, so there are five reasons to be optimistic instead of three. But the main thing is that it's still only halfway and there are 19 more matches to go. Fourth place is only eight points away! And there is still the Europa League trophy to be won!

Franco Injury Leaves Beating Portsmouth a Herculean Task

News have filtered through that Guillermo Franco was hurt in a freak training ground injury. This leaves West Ham and Gianfranco Zola short of striking options. So far goals have been hard to come by since the loss of Carlton Cole and now with Franco also out for two games, the situation is now extremely dire for the Hammers.

This makes the must-win match against Portsmouth an extremely hard proposition. So what should Zola and Clarke do to prepare and put a team out to face a determined and fired-up Portsmouth? Carlton Cole, Zavon Hines and Kieron Dyer are all on the injury list and thus there are no recognised strikers apart from youth teamers, Frank Nouble, Terry Dixon and Freddie Sears.

Looking through the player roster, one option is to play Alessandro Diamanti up front with Luis Jimenez as the second striker. With Junior Stanislas playing in the left midfield position vacated by Diamanti, there is every possibility that West Ham can get something out of this crunch match.

Alternatively, if Luis Jimenez is deemed too "soft" to face up to Tal Ben-Haim and Marc Wilson, then perhaps Zola can consider Jack Collison up front. The Welsh lad has notched two goals and three assists in 14 games this season. On evidence of his performance against Chelsea, he is regaining his form and confidence. With Diamanti feeding the balls through, this could be a winning combination. Julien Faubert, despite his inability to deliver crosses, can do the hard work on the right side of midfield.

Because the Hammers need to win this match, I would abandon the safety first tactic (we ARE playing at home!). Zola should drop the defensive-minded Kovac and play a more attacking midfield of Parker, Noble, Stanislas and Faubert.

Here are my two suggested possible lineups.

The Flat Back Four's Alternative #1 lineup (4-4-1-1):
--------------------------------- Green

Faubert --------------- Tomkins ------ Upson ------------ Ilunga

---------------- Parker--------------------------- Kovac

Collison -------------- ----------- ---- ------------------- Noble

------------------------ Jimenez

-------------------------- ------ Diamanti



The Flat Back Four's Alternative #2 lineup (4-1-3-1-1):
--------------------------------- Green

Spector --------------- Tomkins ------ Upson ------------ Ilunga

------------------------------- Parker

Faubert -------------- Noble ---- ------------------- Stanislas

------------------------ Diamanti

-------------------------------- Collison


Heck, if Arsenal can win playing without an out-and-out striker, then so can West Ham! Though Zola and Clarke have to contend with a crippling injury list, if the Hammers play with passion, determination and an attacking mentality, we can get three points from this game.

Come on you Irons!

The Boy's Done Good!: West Ham's Guillermo Franco

Guillermo Luis Farcuason Franco was a little known entity when he signed on free agent status to West Ham United. At the time of signing, the Argentine-born Mexican international striker had just completed international World Cup duty for a jittery Mexico side unsure of qualification.

Admittedly, I first saw Franco in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup where he played a major part in Mexico's triumphant campaign. The striker scored twice (including a penalty) against Costa Rica in the semifinal and once more in the 5-0 battering of USA in the Gold Cup final. Mexico coach, Javier Aguirre heaped praise on Franco for his "target man" hold-up play and "team contribution" after he came on as a substitute in the 5-0 drubbing of the USA during July's Gold Cup Final.

He looked a very effective player with great technical skills and an eye for goal. The only negative part was his age (33), his suspect fitness and he can be injury-prone.


So far however, his sterling performances for West Ham have shown no such worries. Particularly pleasing was his performance against Chelsea last weekend. Playing as a lone striker, he showed strength, guile and lots of effort. Because West Ham's central midfield were preoccupied with keeping Lampard and Ballack, he kept coming in deep to pick up the loose balls and then releasing Diamanti on the left and Collison/Faubert on the right. It was Franco's through ball to Collison which won West Ham the penalty.

He has more than made up for the loss of Carlton Cole, putting in great performances week after week as the focal point of the West Ham attack. But it was his partnership with the injured Cole that really caught the eye. The Franco-Cole partnership coincided with possibly the best West Ham form this season, winning two matches, drawing two and losing two. West Ham also scored 15 goals during that period. Begs the question, what if Carlton Cole had not suffered that knee injury, doesn't it?

Overall, he has connected on 190 out of 280 passes i.e a passing efficiency of 68%. Franco has shown that he has vision by creating 12 chances so far for his Hammers team mates. His assist tally is currently at one but there will be more, I am sure. His goals to shots ratio is 14% which is comparable to the in-form Bobby Zamora.

Zola had this to say about Guillermo Franco settling so quickly into life in the Premier League:

"Franco has been very good for me. He's proving to be a very good player for us. He's been a very good gain for West Ham United.

"He is an excellent guy, he works very hard and, above all, he's a very intelligent player. He does the right things for the team and I'm really impressed with him."

His never say die attitude and intelligent play have endeared the naturalised Mexican to the Upton Park faithful, earning him adoration and adulation alike. With Franco leading the attack, West Ham, buoyed by the excellent result against Chelsea, will surely want to make all that effort count when Portsmouth comes a-visiting on Boxing Day.

The series of The Boy's Done Good! also consist of:
Bolton's Tamir Cohen
Chelsea's Michael Ballack

Tour Guide John Terry, Christmas Parties, Anderson's A Bag Of Tripe And Akon At Drogba's Event!

Stuff that I found amusing while reading this week's Premiership football news. Bob Holmes in the Malaysia Sun gives some great takes on the Premier League. And I have added other links that will add weight to what Bob talks about.

IT COULD ONLY HAPPEN TO CITY
(1) We thought we’d seen the last of this one, but no. Only City could spend £243m on players to slide down the table. Two years ago they were fourth at Christmas; today they are eighth.

(2) What makes City think an unemployed Italian, who needs Brian Kidd and David Platt to hold his hand, and correct his English, can do better than Mark Hughes?

RIO FERDINAND CHRISTMAS PARTY ORGANISER AWARD
Robbie Keane.
The Spurs skipper informed ‘Arry Redknapp, who thought he had banned his players from having a Christmas party, they were going on a golf trip to Dublin. Instead of that, they were several strokes ahead of ‘Arry and duly had their own booze-fuelled knees-up. It was, by all accounts, pretty wild. Just as ‘Arry was when he found out about it.
Find out more about Christmas footballer parties gone wrong here and here and here (dated 2007).

POLITICALLY INCORRECT
Arsene Wenger.
For saying: “Whoever organises the Premier League fixtures must have come from a Special School.”

ALBERTO AQUILANI ANONYMITY AWARD
Michael Owen against Fulham.

FOOTBALL DICTIONARY
Director of Football.
Title given to either fading managers the chairman cannot bring himself to sack or lurking predators positioning themselves to take the incumbent’s job. Nice work if you can get it. Examples: Kenny Dalglish at Blackburn who just played golf all day; Avram Grant who slinks under the surface like a crocodile waiting to pounce on his prey. Victims include Jose Mourinho, Paul Hart; Sven-Goran Eriksson who is being paid £2m a year by Notts County and doesn’t even take training when the manager quits.

ANOTHER BURGLARY ON MERSEYSIDE
Birmingham’s equaliser against Everton. Pure Larssony!

DODGY DEFENDER AWARD
Man City.
With that outlay, they really should have Dunne better.

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE WEEK
(1) Man City
“More draws than IKEA.” Various.

(2) Anderson.
“In fact, he has a face on him like a bag of tripe when I don’t play him.” Alex Ferguson.

FAREWELL TO THE MYSTERY MEN
It was nice not knowing you! So the former Notts County owners were not in it for the long haul after all. One minute promising Premiership football within five years, the next selling the club for £1. And still we don’t know who these “fit and proper” people are. Various names have been mentioned including the Dear Leader, Thaksin Shinawatra, Bernie Madoff, Alberto Aquilani and Tiger Woods.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK
(1)“I had a lovely letter from Tiger Woods thanking me for taking the pressure off him.” Mick McCarthy.

(2) “When you go to a World Cup, it’s like going to war. When you go to war, you don’t take your
wife.” South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira questions the old English WAG culture.

(3) “I am sitting here like a man waiting in the emergency room for his wife to give birth.” Hull manager Phil Brown describes waiting for news on Jimmy Bullard’s scan.

QUOTE OF THE YEAR
Sven.
“I don’t know where the money comes from? I am not interested. The important thing is that the money comes.” Should be turned into Latin and used as the motto of the Premier League.

NICKNAME OF THE WEEK
Pilot Light – Gary Megson.
Explains Chris Waddle, “because he never went out.”

PEARL OF COMMENTARY WISDOM
David Platt co-commentating for Sky during the Liverpool-Fiorentina Champions League game: “Of course Fiorentina will want to win this group, as it gives you a huge advantage. For a start, you get your away legs at home.”

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Frank Lampard thanked referee Mike Dean for giving him two practice kicks to score the penalty against West Ham. Wisely, he resisted the temptation to grab the match ball and claim a hattrick.

TRAVEL SICKNESS
Burnley.
At home they’re 5-3-1, away 0-1-8.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER
Tour guide – John Terry (see here).

NOT THE MIDAS TOUCH
Rio Ferdinand.
Last year the sometime restaurateur, Xmas party organiser, movie director, drugs test forgetter and occasional MU defender signed up to promote a luxury development in the Turks and Caicos Islands as a sound longterm bet for British investors. “It “ticks all the boxes,” he claimed. This year Turks and Caicos Islands government was dissolved amid claims of “gross corruption”; the islands placed under direct UK rule resulting in “unprecedented economic crisis”; islanders stage “anti-UK” rallies, telling local press: “Brits must get out now.”

SARCASTIC COMMENT OF THE WEEK
(1) Rafa Benitez.
“The referee was perfect.” Rafa didn’t add that it was a fact so we can only draw our own conclusions about a ref who sent off Javier Mascherano and didn’t give Fernando Torres the protection Rafa thought he deserved.

(2) Ryan Giggs.
“Cristiano is one of the best players in the world but I have to be honest and say I haven’t noticed much of a difference since he left.” Well, we THINK he was being sarcastic.

WELL WISHER OF THE WEEK
Kenny Dalglish.
“Hope it all goes well - people will be surprised to know you have a heart!” Sam Allardyce reveals the text sent to him by old mate Kenny Dalglish before the Blackburn boss underwent minor heart surgery.

PENNY FOR THE THOUGHTS OF...
Alex Ferguson.
As he struggles to cobble together a patchwork defence, a certain Gerard Pique will soon have to buy a bigger mansion – just to house his trophy cabinet. Sold off by Fergie as surplus to requirements for a paltry £4m,Pique is one of the pillars of the Barcelona defence that has now won six titles this year. Oh, and he’s Spain’s centre-back too – and they are European champions and favourites for the World Cup.

IS IT A PLANE? IS IT AN F1 CAR?
No, it’s Iker Muniain, the “Bilbao Rooney”.
He’s Athletic Bilbao’s youngest- ever player and youngest-ever scorer. Just turned 17, he is terrorising defenceslike no teenager has done since Rooney burst on to the scene in 2002. “He is a footballer with eight gears and in-built satellite navigation system,” said coach Joaquin Caparros.
More of Iker Munian here.

FIT AND PROPER?
Daniel Azougy, Portsmouth’s financial chief.
As Sol Campbell sues Pompey for non-payment of bonuses, it has emerged that their money man is a convicted fraudster. Club sources last night admitted they had no idea Israeli lawyer Azougy had a string of convictions for fraud and embezzlement. The Premier League didn’t either.

POT CALLING KETTLE BLACK
(1) Arsene Wenger who whinged about McCarthy’s team selection. But he had done exactly the same a week earlier in the Champions League. Tony Pulis said Wenger “moaned like a drain”. Make it a storm drain.

(2) England players who say they don’t dive. Step forward – or, rather fall over, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard.

WAG OF THE WEEK
Sylvie van der Vaart.
WAG of Holland and Real Madrid midfielder Rafael, she was voted top WAG of the last World Cup. No wonder recent rumours of interest in hubby by Premiership clubs have caused such a stir. After all, if she went to England, the Poshes and Coleens wouldn’t get a look in.

Look for Sylvie's picture here and here and here.

Chelsea's Didier Drogba took some time out from football to organize a fund-raising event intended to build a children's hospital in Abidjan (don't ask me where!) and Footy Factor captured all the events on video.

And finally, the piece de resistance (though a bit dated) is a video where the England football players came out in support of Comic Relief. Really funny spoof!