Liverpool fluke it (again)

Liverpool somehow found a way passed a "courageous" Liege team last night, with Dirk Kuyt providing a very late winner.

This result is really one of the litany of Liverpool last gasp wins/escapes. It seems every season Liverpool conspire to make the results as close as possible. This makes for high drama, and helps explain the clubs appeal beyond the permed confines of Merseyside.

There is a top 10 but because of the constraints of time ie I do this blog while pretending to work- I'm going to concentrate on just three.

Liverpool's Top 3 European Seatedgers:

3) Madrid 0 Liverpool 1.

Alan Kennedy scores in the 82 minute.

2) Deportivo Alaves 4 Liverpool 5

I am so glad I went to the pub to watch this one. I have a prize for anyone who can remember, without googling, who scored the winner.

1) AC Milan 3 Liverpool 3

Liverpool were 3 0 down to a good Milan side at half time, I almost left the pub but stayed to giggle at scouser carnage and shattered dreams. In the canon of greatest comebacks of all time.

Did anyone else see the olympic send off?

Johnson: How much is this going to cost?


Boris Johnson revelling in the great folding and unfurling of the ceremonial Olympic tablecloth. Ken Livingstone must have been shitting blood as he hissed to himself "it should have been me there!".

Oddly enough Britain chose to transport the Olympic message onwards towards London in the form of The Last (and only) Red Convertible Routemaster bus. A strange red contraption with legendary handling, and a roof that peels back to reveal none other than David Beckham and Jimmy Page on demand, as well as weird plastic models of famous British landmarks. The only thing missing was a miniature Stonehenge and dancing midgets. It predictably arrived late into the Birds Nest stadium, much to the consternation of the awaiting all-singing all-dancing Big Issue vendors with umbrellas,(assembled especially for the occasion by none other than Sebastian Coe) who, in the style of contemporary dance, rushed to enter all at once only to discover the doors had jammed. "Can you move down please". They then prostrated themselves on the walls of the vehicle, and enacted some Bosch like rite as Bejing moshed to the strains of Whole Lotta Love. Surreal does not even begin to cover it. Shite is not sufficient either. 'Best of British' probably has it cornered.

Anyway, as he waved folded, and unfurled, the ceremonial Olympic tablecloth you could see Boris' horrible doll like shark eyes calculating. "How much is this going to cost?", and he forced a false smile, before being lost once again in the magic of the moment. Roll on 2012.

I didn't see England play last night

But I see the scoreline is 2-2. Call me neutral but is that not too bad a result against the Czech Republic? they are a good team. Sure it is the sort of game England should hope to win, but equally, it is the sort of game you will draw or lose sometimes too. These Czechs are no mugs.

Or did England play really, really, badly? And were lucky to get off with a draw?

what is up with Sue Ryder Barker's microphone?

That handsfree sponge microphone she wears on her face? It looks like some kind of growth. Why is no else wearing a growth like microphone?
What has Gabby Yorath done with her hair? It looks great.

Leaving aside important matters like these for a moment- haven't Argentina done well. Felicitaciones chicos. They have reached the Olympic final and I totally expect my pre-competition favourites to duly dispatch of Nigeria.

This generation of Argentine footballers are seriously talented. They are akin to england's so called golden generation. Here's hoping that unlike england this group of players pull their fingers out their arse and actually win a major trophy. Or maybe you aren't all hoping that, maybe instead you are all hoping that they crash and burn and fail to deliver. Whatever. As you were.

Dale Argentina!

PS- I used to live in Argentina- I'm allowed to like them.

David Moyes is widely credited to have

'sown silk purses from sow's ears' at Goodison Park. And while this might be a bit harsh on some talented players- Cahil, Yakubu, and Arteta being some- the overall analysis is accurate. Moyes has proved a canny manager, one of the best, and Everton have kicked above their weight. But for how much longer?

Despite relative success when compared to other premiership teams the closed season has seen a grand total of NO SIGNINGS on the transfer market. Everton are without new faces. Meanwhile Everton warhorses, like Carlsely and Johnson, have moved onto to pastures new. So a threadbare squad, that struggled to deliver when key personnel were missing last year, is now even thinner. Oh dear.

Just what else Moyes can achieve, when the squads around him are strengthening, is open to debate. Take this weekend's result against Blackburn- Everton eventually succumbed to 3-2. It was a good game by all reports. But this is just the sort of game Everton would have won last season, and failing that they would certainly have salvaged a point. Under Moyes' tenure Everton have made a habit of winning tight games, and if a few of these start running against them we could see the Toffees providing backbone to the other half of the table this season.

So new faces at Goodison would inject life and vigour into the squad, create a bit more competition for first team places. And as a unit Everton lack nothing but creativity in the middle of the park. New signings could brings this too. Without fresh faces I fear we could see this ship on the Mersey begin to sink.

What is more, having achieved what he has, if I were David Moyes, and there was not even one new signing by the close of the transfer window- I'd quit. How can any ambitious manager move a club forward without any transfer kitty?

League Prediction

One area of controversy here, the rest is guess work.

Chelsea
Man U
Arsenal
Villa ?!
Liverpool
Spurs
Man City
Portsmouth
Everton
West Ham
Boro
Newcastle
Fulham
Blackburn
Sunderland
West Brom
Bolton
Stoke
Hull

At last! some football to speak of

fuck transfer sagas. fuck michael phelps. fuck the south african cricket team. football is back, not that it ever went away.

STEVE MCLAREN 'OUTWITS' WENGER (but loses 2-0)

Steve Mclaren's team got off to a losing start in Europe last night. Despite this they created some good chances, befitting of one of the leading teams in one of Europe's leading football nations. It all went to Mclaren's head, so accustomed had he become to watching lacklustre England displays. When asked in a post match press conference if his teams good performance was evidence that he had outwitted Wenger, he replied that he had. Yes, outwitted him him so thoroughly that he ended up losing 2-0. His rival managers in the dutch league will be hoping he 'outwits' them all season then.

LIVERPOOLS REF SLUSH FUND SEES THEM THROUGH

Liverpool somehow got through an away game with Standard Liege with only a 0-0 scoreline. Having seen a perfectly legitimate goal disallowed the Belgian team then missed a penalty, and had another good chance cleared. Word is that Liverpool were 'lucky'. We may well ask- when was the last time Liverpool were on the receiving end of an 'unlucky' refereeing decision?