Too Early For Conclusions?

We're only five games into the new English Premier League season and a lot of people are already drawing conclusions to what they've seen. As predicted, Manchester City have had a pretty good start with flawless victories so far. Pep has them playing a brand of football we've haven't seen a City team play before and it is quite pleasing to watch, they certainly are the team to beat. Surprisingly we find Everton at second position, most of their fans are quite happy but one has to realise they've haven't had the most difficult fixture list to contend with seeing that only Spurs were their real tough game from the lot. Speaking of Spurs, they're not doing too badly but the surprise package so far has to be Liverpool.

As a supporter of the team, seeing that fixture list before the season started, I would have been happy with 8 points after the first five games but after three trips to London and remaining unbeaten from them with an emphatic victory against the current league champions at home, one has to start wondering if this team can maintain their form throughout the season. We know Liverpool are prone to blow hot and cold, as shown against Burnley which saw them lose 2-0 away from home but the games thereafter showed some promise. 

The team that was making all the noise preseason seemed to have quietened down after three straight defeats, which one might that be? Manchester United of course, now this post isn't meant to poke fun at the rivals but merely state observations of what could be going wrong in the team. Now as much as we mock them for spending so much money on Paul Pogba, secretly we all wished our teams could splash some cash on a world class player like that and cause mass hysteria in the football transfer window. It's what makes the game more exciting, unfortunately it does add pressure to the player, with such a high price tag he will be doing his utmost to prove his price but that can cost them dearly as we saw with Andy Carroll when he made the switch to Liverpool, granted the price was no where near Pogba's, it was a record for a British player and he always tried to do more than what he was capable of during games which subsequently saw him reduced to sitting on the bench. I think Jose needs to sit him down and tell him to just relax and play his normal game, and not expect him to go out there and score hattricks every game. 

Now for the elephant in the room, well troll in the room, aka Shrek. As much as most of us love to hate Wayne Rooney, he is a quality player. After Scholes, Giggs and Ferdinand left the fray, it was up to Rooney to be the English stalwart of the team and credit to him he has done a fantastic job but the thing we all need to realise is that players get old and while they do remain fit, aspects of their game gets affected. They're not as a sharp as they once were, not as quick and their radar goes a bit off every now and then. When Gerrard left Liverpool it was a bittersweet moment because we knew we were losing an asset to the team but he knew he wasn't good enough to make the first eleven any more and he didn't see himself as a player who came off the bench to help the team. I feel the same is happening to Wayne at United. He wants to start every game but can he? Jose wanted Rooney for his Chelsea team 4 years ago and now that he finally has him, he wants to play him in the role he envisaged for him but Jose needs to realise Wayne isn't that same player anymore. The defeat against Watford saw Rooney making some dreadful passes, the last thing he will want is the Old Trafford faithful turning against him for playing badly. I think it's time Wayne realised he isn't that same player and either leave the club or settle for a place on the bench before he damages his good reputation with the supporters. 

Maybe I'm wrong though? Maybe Jose has a plan and he's just waiting for the whole team to click into gear. As I said, we're only five games in so to draw conclusions now would be premature and stupid but from what I've seen so far, this what it seems like but we still have 33 games to go and it's going to be an interesting few months leading up to the December period and we're surely in for a treat. 

Picks of the week

I know its midweek but it's my birthday so screw all of you, I get to make the rules! It's been an exciting week so far, even though theres still a few days to go. This week saw two outstanding Coupe's being launched, first the ever so sexy Mercedes Benz C Class Coupe and the BMW M2 Coupe. Both of which are amazing in their own right and I cannot wait to see them on the roads. 

RT @eNCAmotoring: We're in Franschoek to play with this M2 Coupe around the track. #BMWM2inSA @BMW_SA pic.twitter.com/dOIZ7JmK5e

— eNCA (@eNCA) April 19, 2016

Also launched this week was an interview with our January Bucket Babe, Candice Boucher for World Swimsuit. In the interview she talks about coming full circle in her modeling career as well as about her shoot with the crew last year.

                      

And lastly, it just makes perfect sense to end the evening off with some sport, Liverpool take on city rivals in the Merseyside Derby tonight. It's called the "friendly derby" but there's nothing friendly about it on the pitch, both side want nothing less than maximum points from the game because along with it, comes bragging rights of the city. 

The not so beautiful game

When the idea was first mentioned to me, I thought it was the most absurd thing I've ever heard! TV officials for football? you must be crazy! it will ruin the flow of the game! It will make matches more longer than they're already are, not to mention waste time and take away momentum from the attacking team. Yes having a TV ref for football games doesn't make the least bit of sense but of recent the English Premier League in particular has seen a host of refereeing blunders that are causing massive consequences for teams.

 

I can dig back to many past games but I'll stick to the ones that are fresh in our minds, that is this weekends events. First up Everton vs Liverpool, the Merseyside Derby never fails to disappoint as each side fights for bragging rights of the city. It is a usually no holds barred match with loads of ferocious tackles flying in left right and center. With such high tentions and fast pace of the game there always is loads of cards being shown with the odd red card being brandished as proven over the years. This weekend was no different but getting back to the matter at hand, with so much happening it is only natural for the officials to miss certain things that we at home have the benefit of television replays to help with, for example Suarez treading on a defenders calf only to be shown a yellow when many of the opposition thought it deserved a red.

Then theres the case of Evertons second goal, the ball clearly went out off an Everton player and the touchline official awarded Liverpool the throw but the match official over ruled and awarded the throw in to Everton which subsequently led to the goal. Was the ref 100% sure that it was an Everton throw in? why didn't he consult with his official on the side line who felt it was the other way around? Then the big question mark was the disallowed goal. Suarez clearly onside, blasts home in front of the goal what was sure to be Liverpools winning goal. When questioned after the match by captain Steven Gerrard whether Luis was offside, the touch line official replied "I think so".... now I've harped on this before and many also believe that the EPL is the biggest league in the world and has the largest global audience, is there really room for a "I think so decision?". That decision cost Liverpool 2 valuable points and it was away from home.

Moving onto the next game, a table topping clash between Chelsea and Manchester United. 2-0 up and comfortably in the lead, Chelsea then score 2 goals to put themselves back on level terms. They then had their right back Ivanovic sent off for fouling Ashley Young, minimal contact at that but contact none the less and he was sent off as he offended Young's right at goal. Little later on, Evans catches Torres on his way to goal, albeit it he wasn't past the last defender but was caught,  he did go to ground but the ref seemed to have though that he dived. Torres was then brandished his second yellow and sent off, thus causing Chelsea to play the remainder of the match with 9 men. Inevitably, United did mange to score a winner from Hernandez, but again video replays show he was clearly coming from an offside position to slot home the winner. None of the officials spot this, end result was United get all 3 points and Chelsea are left with 2 men facing bans.

Suarez offisde/ Hernandez onside

Now, if the game did have the technology to review or refer these decisions the outcomes in both matches could have been very different. Yes just like how we have in cricket and rugby, video referrals do tend to take a while but 9 out of 10 times the correct decision is made. Football being a fast pace game, one would think there is no place for such a thing in it. Yes, I still agree that we should just take some of these bad decisions on the chin as its part and parcel of the game as they do tend to swing in favour of every team, one more than the rest *cough* Man Utd *cough* but of recent bad decisions are becoming a bit too common. The only solution other than introducing technology is for the ref's to get a proper beat down to up their game, just like footballers they are professionals at what they do and they have to be the best to be in this league. If I cant do my job properly, I will be replaced and they need to realize that they're aren't there to make "I think so" decisions, it has to be a conclusive one. I can go on about the topic but I think I'll give a rest for now. Lets hope this weekend sees a much better performance by the officials.

What now?

Clueless Roy

After the dramatic events we've been through last week, some deluded Liverpool supporters seemed to have thought that by ridding the club of Hicks & Gillett we'll miraculously recover & get back to winning ways. Okay fine, I'll admit that I did think that by this heavy weight being lifted from us that the players would show some extra spark on the field, but I didnt expect them to go out their and tear Everton to shreds & win 15-0. A draw or a spirited 1-0 win at most was acceptable to hope for.

Seems like the players were deluded as those fans! Im sorry, Im all for the Liverpool way & not slate our players but some of them just didnt put in the effort. Its call a team for a reason, we cant get 1 or 2 individuals carrying us all the time. Everton out played us, plain and simple. It was their home ground, they had a point to prove. We should have taken the game to them and prove to John who sat on the stand watching his very first game as owner, that he invested in something big. Roy tried his utmost in the after match interview saying "this was the best performance his seen since taking over". Many comments were flying about on twitter about him sniffing glue, taking drugs or had something extra in his water bottle as none of us seen what his seen. To pin point each player and pick a fault will just be pointless, they know they werent good and its reflected on our league position. 19th is no laughing matter and with tricky fixtures coming up it wont be easy to get out of that position.

Many already calling for Roy's head, he said judge him after 10 games... 2 more to go, yes there is 30 games left, 90 points available, but saying we're going to win everyone one of them is a bit much right? I said in one of my previous blog posts that Roy at times looks clueless, Sundays game was the same. We were not playing well Roy, make a change, dont wait for something to happen you have to make it happen. Finally after 70 minutes we saw a first change, then a second. Both of which made a dramatic difference in our attack & saw some of our best chances created. Raul had a few cracks from outside the box, Torres had two good chances in the box, all of which could have changed the results for the game. Its the small things that make the big difference. Babel was not performing well in the previous 2 games but coming on as a sub, his pace caused Everton problems. Again we have to let Roy asses each player and their qualities, with all the off field bullshit its been hard to see each players true performance.

Frank Rijkaard

Rumors already did the rounds on Sunday after the Everton game of Rijkaard being lined up as a possible manager to take the reigns should the board relieve Roy from his services. Again, like one of my previous posts, best option was to let Kenny take over in the interim, surely he couldnt have done as bad as we have right now? They claim Roy is out of his depth, I dont really think so myself. You throw a person in the deep end with weights on their legs, you cant expect them to float, they have to undo the weights first. But might I add if Roy does go, Frank is possibly the best person for Liverpool, the rebuilding he did at Barca speaks for itself, many heap praise on Pep but its Frank that turned that club around, so maybe getting him wont be such a bad thing?


Many pundits are backing Roy & so will I, he is our manager, I will back the players too as they are our players. We've been through tough situations, we've managed to dig our selves out of holes, this one might be bigger than what we've ever gotten ourself into than before but nothing is impossible. Players know its them that are at fault, yes blame the manager but its only so much he can do, past week we've seen Pepe, Ryan, Jamie, Steven, Dirk & this week Joe all putting their hands up and saying they're not good enough. I hope to god they not just saying that for the press, because they are currently rubbish. We can turn this around & its got to start soon.

All it takes is one win, one performance to spark hope & belief in the team & the supporters. Let it start in Napoli on Thursday.