It is now time to switch to a new Money AM football blog as the world cup is now over and we all look to the future.....World cup 2010 is over, Bravo Espana, and Forlan, once again and bring on the new season !.....I never expected the last thread to be such a success...thanks all.... so this new one might go on for years without the need to edit the title...we shall see...

2517 - here we go again, 4 matches in the Premier and all we get is another Gillette Soccer Special.

BT sports had Liverpool v Everton last night and Spurs v Man Ciity tonight.

Or if you type wiziwig into google , every single Premier League match is available on your PC. I watched Man U v Cardiff last night and have only missed one Cardiff game all season.

.

No wonder they are getting stuffed, offering 6/1 on Aquero 1st goalscorer and Man City to win against Spurs tonight. No brainer :O)

oops wrong thread.

From My Seat: Liverpool (A)
By Ken Buckley :: 29/01/2014
Comments (10) jump to end
The morning after the night before leaves Blues in a state of disbelief as they try to make sense of the mauling we took from our neighbours whilst putting up with jibes that would try the patience of a saint.

We arrived with such hopes and, on hearing the team, were pleased that a few key players were back; on paper a good line up but on grass the outcome was anything but good.

The first 15 minutes was all the helter skelter and hell-for-leather of a typical derby. Barkley had one just fizz over and Howard saved from Suarez.

On 20 minutes the game took a dramatic turn when Liverpool gained a corner which Suarez took after getting dog's abuse from those near enough to converse with him. The ball came in, a pile up of bodies and the ball in the net passed a startled Barkley on the line.

The aftermath was a disaster for us as Lukaku lay prone and after treatment both on and off the pitch was stretchered away and Naismith took his place. From that moment on we looked a match in effort but our form went AWOL, giving the ball away or losing it through slowness of thought as Liverpool players nipped in and away like robbers' dogs.

We did have attacks and chances like on the half hour a good run and dribble from Mirallas saw Jags shoot and the keeper parry to Barry who hit wide. A minute later Mirallas cut in again and hit one that beat the keeper but shaved the wrong side of the post. Reading that back it doesn’t look too bad yet within seconds of the Mirallas shot once again we just give the ball away, Barry of all people dawdling on the ball while the lively Sterling spirited it away and two passes later Sturridge was wheeling away after netting.

Galling for those assembled I mean 2-0 down to that lot! But hey it got worse within two minutes as our back line had not learned a thing about the pace of the Reds front three and were caught almost on the half way line as Toure hit a long one over the top and the chase that took place was embarrassing for Blues watching as Sturridge left Jags and Alcaraz in his wake and, as you saw Howard racing out into no-man’s land, the outcome was obvious. A delightful chip over the stranded keeper and, hell, we are 3-0 down. Still 10 minutes to the break plus a further 3 for injuries left us wondering what else might happen, but although in disarray we saw it out.

H/T and we were shell-shocked, 3-0 down, Lukaku injured and a defence like a colander. Not the best use of 48 minutes. Is this the Everton we have been watching since August or was it, as some Reds thought, Tranmere in disguise?

Second half and Osman replaced the out-of-sorts Pienaar and for about five minutes it was all Everton with Osman prominent as a playmaker. But then we did it again, gave a goal away. Jags from just inside our half passed to Suarez instead of Alcaraz and he was through on goal. Now whatever your opinion of Suarez is, you have to concede he is quite a goal taker and he didn’t disappoint here as he held off a labouring Jags, left behind Alcaraz and slotted expertly past Howard leaving me with that feeling of ‘I am going to be sick’.

We were giving goals away as readily as the Toffee lady gives toffee’s. The Kop rubbing it in now suggesting in full voice that Roberto was Moyes in disguise.

Liverpool now were virtually inviting us on in the hope we may get a consolation just so they could break at pace and with Suarez, Sterling and Sturridge they did to good effect. This was highlighted as we approached the hour mark when another ball give-away saw Sterling race into the box, Howard race out and a collision take place. Penalty! Sturridge tookit to claim a hat trick. He shot over the bar. My eyes went to the heavens as I thanked the good Lord for answering my prayer for mercy.

The half continued in this manner, we put some decent moves together without a hint of end product and they wait to break and out-sprint us. This was well illustrated when for us McCarthy burst into the box and hit one across goal which Naismith missed by inches and then... another mistake and Sturridge powered away again and, but for him being greedy and allowing Stones to get back and usher him wide, it could have got much worse.

The not-yet-fit McGeady replaced the shattered Barkley which seemed to sum up our injury woes and the quality depth of squad. Still, let’s try to get to full time at four down as it could easily have been six by now. Three minutes of time added went up and I conceded it would be difficult to draw level in that time, but I didn’t leave and stuck it out to the bitter disappointing end.

M.o.t.M – Mirallas, He seemed the only one fully fit and on form.

Overall one to forget but you just don’t, do you? Fans and players are affected by maulings from neighbours in the derby even if we think we are not and how long it takes to get back at it will be crucial.

Tonight I thought we blew 4th place and when you consider our injuries and how long it might take those who are almost ready to come back to fire on all cylinders and then look at the depths of squad of Liverpool, Spurs and Man U then, sad to say, 7th looks likely. But, hey, this is footy after all and who knows what can happen?

Come Saturday against Villa a win would be a good start to our recovery but we must be mindful that they have some speed merchants up front too and they will be well aware of our performance last night.

The manager tried to get his best players available through a game last night but when you saw them it was plain they were not top hole so he will have some thinking to do before Saturday as its obvious fully-fit players are a must in the EPL. Many of us wondered whether we will see any activity on the transfer front now. It may not be about money but recent events shows without doubt that to challenge for anything you need enough money to sustain at least 22 quality players.

After the game we did wonder about going to our usual watering hole as it’s a shared Blue/Red house but hell we are Everton so of course we did, took the stick and vowed it would be different next season and we would whup Villa on Saturdat. See you there to see what really happens. The line- up will be worth seeing.

UP THE BLUES

Reader Comments
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Dick Brady
608 Posted 29/01/2014 at 16:56:32 Can we all just pretend this game never happened? It hurts so much. I think this is the worst derby result I can remember. I certainly don't remember feeling this bad about a result for a long long time.
Adam Baig
613 Posted 29/01/2014 at 16:57:57 Good point about Villa, Ken. If Jags and Distin aren't 100% fit we need to have a tactical re-think for Saturday
Paul Holden
616 Posted 29/01/2014 at 17:02:15 sorry to say this but game over as far as Euro slot is concerned. Never seen Peanuts have such a bad game, and he wasn't alone. Barry let Gerrard get away from him for the first and took out Lukaku at the same time. Right hand side of defence a shambles. Stones a young lad so forgiven but he needs to learn quick. Who's going to play up front for next few weeks? We've got nobody with class. If I was Roberto, I'd be trying to sign Bony from Swansea!
Ben Dyke
623 Posted 29/01/2014 at 17:03:47 Looking at this more soberly (and after avoiding friends and family today) it doesnt really tell us what we didnt already know. It hurts that its them that reminded us but hey thats life - "wounds from a friend can be trusted but an enemy multiplies kisses" and all that.
We knew Liverpool have a great, pacy, forward line, with a world class player (Suarez), a kid on form and who is not exactly a mug either (Sturridge) and a very good central midfield of Gerrard and Coutinho.

We also know we have a small squad, with key injuries, a core of lads working back from injury and a back four that can be troubled by pace when not at its best.

To me, it hurts badly to lose to them even when its 1-0, but its life. A more important thing will be whether we react, not how bad was the actual suffering of a beating by your neighbours but whether we can put it to bed quickly. It will be mostly forgotten until we go there next year if we manage to put together a good run and push for 4th/5th for the rest of the season.

Right I'm drained of optimism now and I'm off to have a lie down as it took a lot of effort!

John Boon
633 Posted 29/01/2014 at 17:16:10 I agree with Ben. We were awful, so it is not too difficult to find all sorts of people to blame. However most fans overact. It is just because it was THEM. Best response is to play well against villa, We needed an early goal. With a bit of luck it could have happened. EVERY prem team has had a really bad result at some time this season. We have always been a roller coaster team and I have watched my beloved and frustrating Blues since 1946.
John Boon

Christopher Timmins
647 Posted 29/01/2014 at 17:27:34 Ken, my heart went out to you last night. I arrived home late from work and it was still 0 - 0. Had a cup a tea and went back to see what was going on and Paul Merson was telling all and sundry that we were being cleaned out.
Not easy being a blue and it is a remarkable achievement to be where we are in the league given the budget, or should I say lack of a budget. The budget is down to the board and they have failed us again and again over the past 5 years,

Hopefully, some of the wounded will be strip fitter on Saturday, we have just ran out of players at this point in time. When was the last time we completed 90 minutes without sustaining an injury:

West Brom - Coleman
Stevenage - Oviedo
Liverpool - Lukaku
Norwich - Peanuts
QPR - Barkley

We need a boost ahead of the weekend and we need a reaction in line with the FA Cup defeat to Wigan last year!

Andy Amey
648 Posted 29/01/2014 at 17:41:34 I hate football now ......and beer......official
Ray Roche
660 Posted 29/01/2014 at 18:07:40 Ken, I usually enjoy your reports, however, I just can't bring myself to read this one....Maybe you could just have written "From My Seat, we were shite"
Danny Broderick
747 Posted 29/01/2014 at 20:02:59 I may be alone here, but I actually felt worse after the derby at Goodison. In this

Ole got just over 6 hours to get a centre half in otherwise we're going to struggle. Rumours of someone from Lazio coming but not confirmed.

Delia's lot are heading your way this w/e. Sportingbet offering 6/5 v 11/5 for the win.
Could go either way imo, but have a feeling Houghton would be satisfied with a draw, which is frustrating the Norwich fans.

Yeah that's how Malky used to play too Harry and was bloody awful to watch. If we do get relegated at least we will see some football under Ole.

Good luck for tomorrow but I hope you lose .... heavily :-)

LOL!
There was talk of Malky coming back to Norwich if CH didn't get some better tactics and results. Fans point out that why get someone else in who has the same strategy? Looks like CH has managed to dig out a few semi decent results lately so has had a stay of execution.
Don't think I will have a bet.......... neither team is great at the moment......though yours is more cr*p than ours at present! ;o)

We're crapper than everyone that's why we're bottom :-)

Six points separate the bottom 10 teams. Anything could happen.
And Fulham's goal difference is worse than yours.

We are now just 4 points off 11th place.

LOL! Unbelievable we were winning 1-0 'til half time. Half time team talk must have been more inspiring from Ole than CH.
Poor old Fulham....looking dire.

I watched it. We were bloody awful for 30 minutes and then Ole brought on Zaha for Whittingham in the 38th minute and Zaha was on fire.

No one besides Ole knows why he keeps playing Whittingham as he's been off form for months.

Bellamy criticised the Cardiff fans in interviews after the match for cheering the substitution ... not like Bellamy to moan after the match , usually saves that for when he should be playing football. Would be glad to see him dropped too.

Norwich missed a couple of sitters , hit the bar , had two disallowed and Marshall made two or three incredible saves so you were a bit unlucky Harry.

From My Seat: Aston Villa (H)
By Ken Buckley :: 01/02/2014
Comments (1) jump to end
Back to our room of nonsense in what seemed no time at all after our mauling at Anfield. You almost crept in clandestine fashion in case a mick-taking Red was lurking to make capital of our efforts against them. So far so good, and a brown/bitter was ordered as we took our places and went over the embarrassment as the ale house filled with match day regulars.

The chat from all sides provided a multitude of reasons for our derby defeat and the prevalent reason was that Martinez got it wrong, followed closely by having insufficient quality squad to sustain a season-long stab at a top-four finish.

The accounts were discussed but only fleetingly as no one really could make much sense of them, but it seems we are still trading and the game was going ahead. To that end it was agreed that a win today was vital and that, with players allegedly coming back next week fit and raring to go, then we need to keep winning whilst those above us need a couple of slip ups and then who knows. At the final whistle, at least, two results would go our way.

Our new on-loan striker was introduced pre-kick off and it was a shame he was not available as the team announced seemed lacking in that department. Having been blown and saturated on the walk up it was good that on the ref’s whistle we had something to take our minds off the weather.

Villa lined up with three at the back, five in mid-field and two up top. As they had only lost three away from home this season, they made no bones about how they would go about keeping it at three. The Blues' formation was harder to pinpoint as, from the team announced, Mirallas looked to be up-front but on commencement of play it was anything but.

The best I can come up with was that we were trying the Barca "false No 9" where intricate inter-passing in the final third would find a man free in the box. If only we had a Messi, eh? However three or four minutes in, Baines took a free kick that went across the box and was picked up by McGeady who cut in and hit a curler that had ‘Goal’ written all over it. It curled and hit the inside of the post and came out to be cleared. A goal then would have forced Villa to change tack and we would have had a cushion but it was not to be.

The game settled then and became most frustrating for those in attendance as the Blues passed well out from the back but the five in midfield for villa thwarted a lot of our attacking intent as we could not get passes forward off quick enough and Mirallas must have broken the Goodison record for being offside in one half of football.

It took us around 20 minutes to get our first corner which was wasted but the clearance did set up a joined up passing movement that took us just into their area but with holes being filled we ended the movement back in our own half much to the mutterings of the faithful.

The half went on with the Blues on top but without a cutting edge. Barkley seemed to be getting frustrated with the attention he was getting from the Villa midfield and started to shoot from anywhere which was always counterproductive. Baines was bombing forward, Mirallas was running across their back line but we could not produce an opening. The Villa fans were in good voice with little opposition from the Goodison choir and suggested our support resembled excreta and they wanted to sing a song for us. It tells a story about the game being witnessed when that takes place.

We seemed in little danger on the half hour until Barkley was weak in a challenge and had the ball taken from him by Benteke who fed their man raiding down the right unattended as Baines was AWOL anticipating a pass from Barkley that would never come.

The Villa man strode on goal and slotted home. Silence from the faithful but plenty of noise from the away end. This was their only shot on goal of the half and I think the whole game.

We kept to our game plan but as move after move broke down it was plain it wasn’t working and on the half time whistle most were convinced a change was needed.

H/T and 0-1. The chat strangely was people’s views on the derby, obviously a sore that will need time to heal. The brief bit about today’s game was that Naismith should be sent on up front to at least give some focus yet when we got back to our seats it was Pienaar for Barkley. Perhaps he got a kick.

We started this half much better and Pienaar was making a difference right away as he linked with Baines and Osman giving us a good outlet wide left. Villa were content to defend and break when they could in a determined fashion to hold what they had. They were doing very well too as we turned the screw with runs and crosses that flew across the box but alas no takers or good joined up inter passing that was afforded only a scuffed or shanked shot.

We gained corners by the dozen that the big Villa man Vlaar proved to be king of the box. We concentrated now on attacking mostly down the left presumably because McGeady and Stones were not on top form shall we say. McCarthy was everywhere trying to knit us together and extinguish the odd Villa break. We were getting forward well now and you could say we were now knocking on the door but it was steadfastly refusing to be opened.

From another corner a headed attempt shaved the wrong side of the post and it turned out to be a Villa man who got the header so yet another corner and, yes, this was cleared.

The 70-minute mark arrived and the sight of Naismith standing in the technical area had me saying, ‘And about time too’, as I thought for a while that we needed the nous of a genuine frontman and he replaced Stones with the versatile McCarthy going to right wing back.

I was proved right within minutes when a long pass was taken in by the Scot and laid off to Mirallas in his favoured role behind the front man and he set off across the box pulling Villa players out. He did a quick turn and fed Pienaar who immediately fed it forward where Naismith went passed his man with ease and his rolled finish passed the keeper should be played back to our other strikers on Monday morning. Celebrations were swift as the players sensed a win.

The Villa now had a decision to make, stick or twist and their manager took only minutes to attempt a win as he took off central defender Vlaar and sent on a quick winger. The game ebbed and flowed a bit more now as the Blues looked to come to terms with this change.
Mirallas was looking lively and causing problems with his pace and guile, Naismith making runs to open space and Baines, Pienaar and Osman trying hard to create that vital opening but Villa were no mugs at defending.

85 minutes and no one in attendance wanted a draw; we needed a win but that clock seemed to race when Mirallas was stopped mid-flight, illegally, some 25 yards out. Free kick and Baines raced to take control of the ball, as did Mirallas. The ref paced the yardage, a right footer and a left footer stood at the ready. The keeper needed to decide who might take. Both are dead ball experts.

Baines moves but Mirallas runs and delivers yet another superbly hit free kick into the top right hand corner leaving the keeper helpless and players and fans delirious, fists clenched, arms in the air delirium, the sort that says I am glad I came.

This at last woke the choir who gave the Villa travelling band a riposte to their taunts with danger decibels roaring out ‘We only sing when we’re winning’.

The manager puts Hibbert on for the now invisible McGeady and McCarthy back into centre mid and we saw out 5 minutes plus 4 added. Grand Old Team rang out as we applauded the players off.

M.o.t.M – Mirallas/McCarthy

The walk back to the ale house was mercifully dry as the wind rattled up from the Mersey and floated conversations that said Utd lost and Spurs drew. Now, if we can just get those above us to lose a few as we win with all our key players back, fit and on form who knows. Crazy game this footy. It should keep us keenly interested for a while yet.

We discussed the Spurs game and what a corker it might be with both teams desperately wanting to win. Who will be back and fit, what tactics will be used, will there be searches at the turnstiles and will we come back in far better mood than from our last away game?.

Never easy at the Lane but we sure as hell got something to go for and we must not choke as four days later it’s the Palace at home. Games thick and fast, injuries – I hope not. We are back in it. It will be great to see how we go about staying in it.

UP THE BLUES

Reader Comments
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Peter Anthony
243 Posted 01/02/2014 at 23:36:18 Brilliant report Ken. Thanks for bringing it to life for those that were unable to attend or follow remotely due to work. I think this win will be key, it sets us up for the next two fixtures. Win those and the CL berth is coming to us I feel. Lots of ifs and buts of course, but MARTINEZ MAGIC MOMEMTUM is just what the team needs... COYB.
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A perfect example of why Jose is the manager that Rafa will never be

Gypo's have sacked Laudrup ..... bet he's gutted :-)

Lol it gets better , they have appointed Gary Monk as player manager.

He has not even completed his coaching badges.

Chico Flores was waiting in the car park with a brick in his hand for Gary Monk last month after a bust up in training and the police were called. No love lost between Monk and Flores/rest of the Spanish contingent.

Roll on Saturday.

So who nowadays, has turned into someone who is very good at public speaking, raising aspirations and enthusiasm and can obviously get people behind him?



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