Pre-City post

Happy new year! 2012 looks to be daunting on the personal front, and this is mirrored by what's in store for LFC.

Looks like the Suarez saga is in it's end game stage, each passing day brings forth more cries of injustice/unsolicited advice- January 13th looms large as the day when LFC has to make a decision on whether to appeal or not.

In my own personal opinion, I think the FA has chosen to take one man's word versus another. In this case, it opted for the 'safer' judgement while LFC is left to rue the cost of standing up for one of our own. The fact that LFC released a terse comment seems to point to an appeal - if not for principal's sake then at least to be consistent in the support. I believe the siege mentality approach is working for the club - and boy, Suarez better appreciates what LFC has been doing for him!

December seems to be a month for the underdogs with the Manchester clubs, Chelsea and even Arsenal all falling to shock looses. I had first thought that the United loss would be a 'safety' net for Liverpool, had Citeh beaten Sunderland (which features a huge number of ex-United players). Now, they would be out for blood - hopefully the haste to win will leave Citeh open to Liverpool's counter. At this juncture, the sight of Stevie slotting home a beauty of a goal versus the Barcodes have bought breathing space for the club. Perhaps there will be no January transfer? De Jong from Twente looks the most likely, while Bent and lately Walcott are mere pipe dreams as are dreams of  Hazard and Cavani.

Mid season review for the new boys have shown mixed results. Enrique is a superb buy, while Adam has had his up and downs. Henderson and Downing have not impressed - perhaps it's one season two early. Unsung heroes Agger and Skrtel have made Reina look good , while Carra's acceptance of his bench role is exemplary.

Point wise, if i did my homework correctly, we're only 4 points better than where we were in corresponding fixtures. Look at here for the spreadsheet. Draws while perhaps less soul crushing than defeats, have done our points in all the same. At 34 points, LFC is 38 points away from the coveted 4th spot (if the last 3 seasons are to be taken into account). 38 out of a possible 57 points seems doable  - 12 wins, 2 draws and 7 losses :P . 9 wins, 11 draws and 4 losses gives the same results.  After the Citeh game (I'm hopping for a win, while mind says a draw or loss) there are very winnable games versus Stoke , Bolton and Wolves. Stoke is the higher ranked team , while Bolton (who I hope will be Cahill-less) and Wolves are struggling. 9 points is a must to fire LFC into contention for 4th. 

Taken from cleansheetsallround.co.uk

Hiatus

It's been more than a month since my last post - real life takes precedence over blogging.

Premiere League Fantasy Football wise has been stable, having scored 35+ points for the last 3 weeks. Week 15 looks dissapointing, unless Citeh beats Chelsea convincingly. That  game is shaping up to be a grudge match, what with Mancini's remarks to AVB.

Points wise, Liverpool is doing almost similarly as well as last season. We're only plus 3 points versus comparable fixtures. No doubt the drops of points at home has stunted the Dalglish revival somewhat. Of course credit goes to the team for surviving the Chelsea-Citeh-Chelsea games without a loss, while the Fulham loss was disappointing. Should Citeh win versus Chelsea and Arsenal, and provided Liverpool likewise wins at Aston Villa and Wigan, Liverpool could be at 4th level on points with Arsenal.

I wish the Suarez hearings will be concluded soon, as it will have a bearing for future games and perhaps transfer activity in January.

Post Norwich and Rallying cry

Picture credites: hurriyetdailynews.com

It's not often that you see Liverpool out-passed at Anfield , and yet Norwich did exactly that. Glorious chance missed by Caroll - oh well, Liverpool's hoodoo versus the so called lesser lights of the league continues to be painfully exposed.

Up next, is Chelsea followed by Citeh. At this stage of the season, I'll fancy getting points off Chelsea. Last season corresponding fixtures saw Liverpool winning so this could be a pivotal moment.

Off field, the Evra-gate or Suarez-gate issue continues to haunt all and sundry, King Kenny and the club has backed Suarez to the hilt and the wee little man could do well to respond by putting some goals past Chelsea. Rallying cry? I hope so. Let's do one for Suarez boys. I hope Downing's good form with England translate to good club form as well.

On a non Liverpool note, Malaysia silenced Indonesia's 100 thousand strong crowd to emerge as group winners in the SEA games. Onwards and upwards.

Happy reunion!

And it was a very happy reunion for Liverpool and our one time coach Roy Hodgson. When the team news broke, it was startling for the fact that the two born and bred scousers in Carragher and Gerrard were both ruled out, one from a knock, and Captain Marvel from yet another infection. Stevie, eat your veggies! Your immune system is weak!

Any lingering fears of the duo being missed were quickly placed to rest as Suarez fumbled a goal scoring pass in the early minutes. All the new boys played, from Enrique ever present at left back, to Henderson, Adam and Downing in midfield , to be topped up by our favorite Geordie in front.

The first goal was decided by the linesman, who judged that Suarez was manhandled in the box. A litany of complaints (during and after the game) rained down from the Hawthorns - even as Suarez immediately got up to chase after the wayward ball. So much for diving. Adam took the penalty easily and it was 1-0 to the Pool.

Liverpool controlled the game as pass and move proved to be better than the rigid two banks of fours. At the tail end of the 2nd half, a glorious pass from Lucas found Suarez, who passed it into the path of Caroll, who managed to poke it pass Foster.

This new partnership showed further signs of encouragement as Suarez provided telling passes to Caroll, whom tried to hold up the ball and hit ferocious shots at Foster's goal. The final attack by Liverpool was denied by Mr. Goal Post, for the 10th time this season. Either our boys can't shoot, or are unlucky...

If anything was to be missed from Gerrard's presence it was on field leadership. He normally decides who takes freekicks and once he was away, there was more than one occasion of "bickering" over who takes kicks. Get well soon Stevie!

All in, it was a good day out. Am looking forward to another good day versus Swansea - 3 points are a must.

Currently Liverpool are 10 points ahead of where we were last season. The next two games loom menacingly with Chelsea away, Citeh at home, and Chelsea away. In present form, I think Chelsea's for the taking, especially if they maintain that insanely high line of defence. Citeh at home is a scary proposition , I reckon a Rafa-like approach to strangle their midfield is needed.

On the Fantasy Football premier league front, I did well on Week 10 scoring a very respectable 36.3 points. Aguero , Enrique and Terry all delivered for me. Currently my team is filled with players from the top 6. Value wise it's a +3.5 million team, as looses were cut on expensive flops like Cech and Cahill. I retained players whose values have increased steadily and am hopping that the 'good' Mario shows up more than the deranged Mario.

Friday's musing on WBA

Linked from http://images.teamtalk.com/11/02/402x210/Roy-Hodgson-West-Brom-boss2_2563271.jpg

So, it's off to West Bromwich Albion we go. A visit to the Midlands club last season ended in broken dreams as WBA won 2-1. What's at stake here? For Roy, deep down he wants to one over Liverpool ; in part due to the fans' rejection of his tenure as Liverpool manager. Many articles has been written about Hodgson's impossible situation: He was seen as a stand-in for unpopular owners, he played sensible but deadly boring football which proved unusable, and he had to face the presence of King Kenny who was supportive, but loomed large as a living breathing embodiment of Liverpool Football Club.

What's at stake for Liverpool? 3 precious points in the fight for 4th place. Totenham and Arsenal has been stringing together wins, while Liverpool has limped from one draw to another. Letting Man United and Norwich escape with draws meant 4 points dropped which is equivalent to loosing a game and drawing one more. Looking at the previous season's comparison, Liverpool could go +11 points compared to corresponding fixtures. If this does come to past, and if the upward trend continues, hopes for a demanded 4th place would be met easily.

Form guide: Liverpool's last 5 games has seen  1 loss (the debacle at the Lane) followed by 2 wins of Wolves and Everton, and two costly draws versus the Mancs and Norwich.  WBA has scored similar number of points, with an upswing in results -  1 loss, 2 draws, and 2 wins.  So, it would like seem like WBA is on the rise, if you forego the Carling Cup victory over Stoke which will be a massive boost - coming from behind to win at a Stadium was was unwinnable for sometime (just like the Emirates!)

At home , WBA has been indifferent , winning one, drawing one and loosing two games. This looks encouraging, only until we take Liverpool's away form, 2 wins ,2 looses and a draw. Of course, in Liverpools defence, not many team will beat Spur and Stoke away.

I actually think Liverpool plays better away  for now. The crushing weight of expectation by the Anfield crowd seems to rest heavily on players like Henderson and Carroll. Playing away allows for quick counter attacks which suits Liverpool's play, as tricky flicks have not worked out quite yet.

Travelling news, both teams traveled away to contrasting fortunes. Everton beat WBA at extra time, while Liverpool saw off Stoke. I'm hopping the tired legs of WBA will play a part (I don't know if the full team was fielded), as Liverpool played fringe players. Edit:  Reader Wayne Russel pointed out it was a week ago when WBA lost to Everton, so they had a week to prepare. His twitter handle is @JohntyThompson.

A big part of the equation will be solved once Suarez's knock is accessed - but two key players will be back for Liverpool, Enrique and Gerrard.

Injury news, I'm glad Simon Long wouldn't be fielded. He's a big threat alongside Odemwingie. Liverpool's dangermen would be Gerrard and Suarez, while Carroll is due a goal soon. 

The longer I write this, the more assured I am of a Liverpool win! Delusional or hopeful? Take your pick!

Stoking the Red flame!

So a choice was made to catch up on my sleep debt, and forgo watching Stoke take on Liverpool during last night's Carling Cup tie.  There's a much better video at this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azAsNzrU8ZQ ,while the video on top showed Suarez's celebrations after his well taken double.

Coming to the Britannia needing to win outright is a mighty proposition, given that Liverpool have not beaten Stoke in their home ground after many attempts.  There was an element of a revenge mission too, after having lost to Stoke 0-1 in the corresponding EPL game despite dominating proceedings.

The early signs were ominous to say the least. Kenny Dalglish was quoted that Liverpool had at least 2 clear chances to score , before Stoke scored first. Now, what seemed like a difficult task must have seem all the more harder.

That would be true, if you discounted Kenny's favorite wee man. Suarez scored a beauty of a goal which curved past the Stoke keeper, after having nutmegged Shotton. The 2nd goal was more route route, starting from a Reina kick which was volleyed by Henderson for a header which ended the game 2-1.

Personnel wise, there was rotation which saw the likes of Maxi, Spearing, Coates and the returning Lucas take their place alongside Andy Caroll. I'm glad to see Enrique and Gerrard get a day off while Maxi and Spearing get playing time.

Full Lineup: Reina, Agger, Coates, Carragher (Skrtel 46), Kelly, Maxi (Bellamy 82), Henderson, Spearing, Lucas, Suarez (Kuyt 88), Carroll Substitutes: Doni, Aurelio, Skrtel, Flanagan, Adam, Kuyt, Bellamy




Next up is Hodgson's WBA and Swansea - important 6 points to be taken before Chelsea comes visiting!

On moving away from dynamic templates, and monetization

Looks like I will have to give up on Blogger's new dynamic templates for one sole reason...all my gadgets are rendered useless !

While this means a return to old school user interface - or old school user experience, it does bring monetization  back onboard. 

I'll try to keep the ads to a minimum while keeping content updated!