The Mercy Side: Youth and Young Manhood

Here's a short article from me today. I just want to get a few things off my chest.

So I bought a game last week. A game I hadn't played in a very long time. A game that is terribly dated, and even at the time it was poorly designed. That game is called 'Championship Manager 2007'.

Why did I buy 'Championship Manager 2007'? Well, the Championship Manager series, like most football manager games, are mainly released on the PC, where as I used to have it on the Playstation 2, but wanted it for my XBox 360 as I'm trying to move as many games as I can from my old console(s) to my current one. And this was the last year they released a Championship Manager game onto a console. 2008 onwards have solely been released on the PC. So I'm stuck with a game that's six years out of date.

Six years in football is a very long time. As you may know I support Liverpool. What players did Liverpool have in that season? Rafa Benitez was in charge, and we had the likes of Peter Crouch, Robbie Fowler, Sami Hyypia and John Arne Riise at the club. We even had Stephen Warnock and Darren Potter, remember those youth players that have found better success elsewhere? Ah yes. Football goes so quickly we all get sucked into it and forget how fast time can go. Six years ago was before we got to a second Champions League final, got new owners, got rid of new owners and got new NEW owners, got 2nd place in the Premier League, won a Carling Cup, went through three managers in two seasons, bought Fernando Torres, sold Fernando Torres and spent a whopping £35 million on Andy Carroll. Six years really is a very long time.

But... in real life, six years is nothing. Six years ago I was still writing, and yes, things in my life have changed but my mentality hasn't, my aspirations haven't and my priorities haven't. Six years ago I still loved the same bands, played similar games and cracked similar bad jokes as I do today.

Where am I getting at with this article? Well, six years ago this game came out and I'm still playing it today. As I said, it's terribly dated and the squads are terribly outdated. Only Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Pepe Reina are still in our squad from six years ago.

I had some great times playing this game.  I used to live in Portsmouth, and I remember when Havant and Waterlooville almost caused Liverpool a shock cup exit. Since that day I remember taking the Havant and Waterlooville of the Conference South and making them a Premier League force over a long period of time. It was great.

I used to be Liverpool and make them from the team they are in real life, the almost-rans, or not even that, the underachievers. The team that's known from outside of Liverpool as the team whose fans always boldly predict to win the league and fail miserably each season. I liked taking Liverpool and making them the ultimate force of world football. Not Premier League titles but Champions League titles. And every season. And all the major internationals would join my unstoppable team and become even greater. It's one of the most fun things to do on any football game, manager or playing, is to take a team and make them great.

Championship Manager also lets you see the progress of the Youth and Reserve teams. I used to try and make them good as well, even if it made zero impact on the first team as they were so good. At Liverpool we had Paul Anderson, Gabriel Paletta, Danny Guthrie, Lee Peltier, Stephen Darby, Jack Hobbs, Miki Roque and Besian Idrizaj.

Miki Roque and Besian Idrizaj.

If you didn't know already, Miki Roque died only a few days ago. He was 23 years old. My age. I was 17 when he was 17, six years ago. He died from cancer. That could have been me. That could have been any 23 year old. No one should die at 23 years of age. It's just not right in any way at all.

Besian Idrizaj died two years ago. He was 22 years old. He reportedly died of a heart attack in his sleep. He had collapsed on at least two different occasions in his career beforehand. My sister turns 22 today. It could have been her, or any 22 year old.

Football goes so quickly. Six years ago as I said, the Liverpool squad was dramatically different. But when I, at the age of 23, play a Championship Manager game that's six years old, it feels weird. It's unnerving playing Championship Manager 2007, with a Liverpool squad who has two players in its team that have died. Roque was 17 years old, Idrizaj was 18. These two players, these Liverpool youth players, were just boys in real life. In a game they were potential, they were seen as bright players for the future. In football that's what they were too.

But in real life, six years is nothing. Six years ago these boys were becoming men, it probably only felt like yesterday they were playing in Liverpool's youth squad. I remember them. And now they've passed away, terribly before their time should have been. It's just frightening what life can do.

I don't know what this article was to represent, as I said, I just wanted to get these feelings off my chest. I wanted to pay my respects to Miki Roque, his family, and wish them all the best in this terribly difficult time. The same goes to Besian Idrizaj, even though it was two years ago it was still premature by a long shot. I also wanted to convey a simple and possibly clichéd message that is, life is precious and we need to make the most of now. These boys did, they lived their dreams of being footballers, playing for some of the biggest teams in the world, including Liverpool.

I'm a writer, this is my long term dream. I hope I can continue to excel, to improve, and one day this can be what I am remembered for. Miki and Besian may have lived their dream, but it was snatched from them before they could really make their careers shine. Their lives were cut short. I really hope that I can fulfil my ambitions, I'm alive and well, and I'm lucky. Very lucky. We all are in different ways. I want to live my life with no regrets and make the most of my opportunities. I hope you all want to do the same with your lives. Stories like Miki and Besian are cruel, and shouldn't happen. So please make sure you live your life to the full. Whatever you want to do, work hard to achieve it. Thanks for reading.

For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!

Live Thoughts: Liverpool vs Stoke (FA Cup)

I covered this match live. Here are my unedited thoughts on the quarter final FA Cup match between Liverpool and Stoke.

Welcome to another one of my live thoughts posts. This is a big match for us. A win today and we're back at Wembley. We weren't at Wembley for sixteen years and all of a sudden, an opportunity arises for two (or three) visits in one year. I love it. It's not going to be easy again today, but with us wooping Everton 3-0 earlier this week we're full of confidence and we need to continue that confidence today, and into the Premier League too. Let's see what the Reds can do.

Here are the teams:

Liverpool: Reina, Kelly, Carragher, Skrtel, Jose Enrique, Maxi, Gerrard, Spearing, Downing, Suarez, Carroll; Subs: Doni, Henderson, Coates, Kuyt, Adam, Flanagan, Shelvey.

No Bellamy, Johnson or Agger. Maxi gets a start for a change, he's either hit or miss when he starts, he can be brilliant for us at times but other times he looks disinterested. Let's hope for a maximum performance from Maxi. Pun intended. A good line up, I'm confident.

Stoke: Sorensen, Wilkinson, Huth, Shawcross, Wilson, Shotton, Whitehead, Whelan, Etherington, Walters, Crouch; Subs: Nash, Jones, Pennant, Upson, Delap, Jerome, Palacios.

It's a good side again for Stoke, strong in defence, some creativity in the middle and Crouch up front. Walters has scored against us this season already. A tough side but one we'd be expecting to win.

3' - Tug and pull beginning so far, we're trying to spray the ball around with mixed results.

4' - Yellow card for Martin Kelly early on, a nasty tackle on Matthew Etherington. Etherington is staying down. It was quite nasty. Unintentional, but nasty.

7' - Etherington gingerly gets up and is back playing. It was deserving of a yellow card.

10' - Stoke playing a little tough at the moment, rightfully so. They have the physical presence needed to compete against Liverpool.

11' - We've won more games away this season than at home - it's been a problem. But the display against Everton gives me confidence we can turn that round.

12' - Crouch! Easy save for Reina. No defenders were marking the big man which was a little concerning, but his header was tame and straight at Reina.

13' - That's an odd statistic, no Welshman has won an FA Cup as manager. That's really weird. Never knew that. Incredible.

15' - Glenn Whelan gets a yellow card for a tackle on Jay Spearing. Not as bad as Kelly's tackle earlier, but it was clumsy.

18' - Stoke starting to pile the pressure on Liverpool at the moment. A little concerning what with the match only being 17 minutes old at the moment. We started a little brighter, then there was a lot of physical battles, and the last few minutes have belonged to Stoke. We need to get the ball and play.

20' - Haha, great by Marc Wilson, a nice dummy takes out two Liverpool plays to go flying to the deck. I may be a Liverpool fan but I love a good dummy. I'm sure that'll be on Soccer AM next week.

22' - GOAL! Suarez scores a beautiful goal! We needed that!  He combines excellently with Maxi Rodriguez, a one-two and then he just shoots a crisp shot to the bottom right corner. Exquisite.

24' - Stoke attack right from the off and Andy Wilkinson whips in a dangerous and fierce cross that Jon Walters and Peter Crouch just miss.

26' - GOAL! Peter Crouch scores. Stoke pile the pressure over and over again and actually get a corner that wasn't. That corner was headed in by Crouch. Pepe Reina gets a yellow card for protesting a Stoke player putting pressure on him.

28' - Replays of the corner that wasn't, the ball came off a Stoke players head. Andy Carroll takes down a Stoke player and wanted a corner but instead it was a free kick. Tempers are definitely a little raised today.

29' - Four yellow cards now, Andy Wilkinson goes in the book for a tackle on Luis Suarez.

32' - Jon Walters in space runs with the ball towards the final third and shoots just wide of the post.

35' - Suarez laughs at the linesman for getting a decision wrong terribly. It should have been a Liverpool corner but the linesman gave a goal kick.

38' - It's a very physical match this. It's funny as the Liverpool/Everton derby match last week was quite nice, and here we are against a side we have virtually no rivalry with, and it's so much more physical than the match earlier this week.

41' - We're starting to look a little better now, we haven't been at our best today, Stoke have matched us for most of the match.

43' - Free kick just outside the penalty area for Liverpool. Gerrard's shot is over the bar.

45' - Two minutes of added time.

45+2' - Half time.

Well we haven't played that well in honesty. Or more accurately, Stoke have played very well against us. They've irritated us, they've been very physical, and they haven't let us have time on the ball. The most time we had on the ball was in the build up to the goal, a very good goal from Suarez. Stoke's response was fantastic, and even though it shouldn't have been a corner, Crouch's headed goal was a deserving equaliser. If we want to win today we need to play better, we need to keep possession of that ball and go at them. It's the best way to play Stoke, not get physical with them, they're very good at that. Play football against them. Let's see if our second half performance is better.

48' - Gerrard's free kick is tame and Robert Huth clears.

50' - We need to play better if we want to win. It's as simple as that.

52' - SUAREZ! So close! A free kick from the left wing comes in and Suarez reacts just a tad too slow to put some direction on his header, and it goes wide.

55' - That shot aside, we're still looking lost in link play.

56' - GOAL! Finally! Downing scores! An odd goal really, all of a sudden we just open up an opportunity, or more accurately, Downing opens up an opportunity, he runs down the right wing, takes a player on, passes to Gerrard and a clumsy one-two somehow goes back to Downing who gets back into the box and scores. It was the type of goal that Gerrard would score in honesty, no one on his wavelength and he just makes the goal himself! Great work!

59' - The game has livened up since the goal, we're on the front foot at the moment. Stoke haven't reacted as well as they did when we scored first which is good for us.

60' - Stoke Substitution: Ryan Shotton comes off for Jermaine Pennant. Welcome back to Anfield, Jermaine.

60' - Liverpool Substitution: Maxi Rodriguez comes off and Dirk Kuyt takes his place. Well Maxi assisted Suarez's first goal, other than that he's had a mixed game. A bit like his season really.

63' - Kuyt's first decent contribution to the match is a shot straight at Sorensen.

66' - We're looking comfortable probably for the first time in the match. We're playing the possession game, the game we like to play, and Stoke can't really make any progress at the moment which is good. We have control finally.

67' - Suarez! Good save by Sorensen. It was a long range effort from Suarez but it was bending to the bottom left corner, it was a nice strike. A little too far out and lacking in power mind, but nice.

68' - Haha, a Stoke free kick went terribly wrong. Everything was set up, the wall and everything, and a Liverpool player, I didn't actually spot who, basically runs straight to the ball and puts off the two Stoke players creating the free kick and it's all ruined! Great stuff.

71' - Stoke Substitution: Cameron Jerome is coming on in place of Matthew Etherington.

72' - Suarez tries the impossible, he dispossesses a Stoke player on the right hand side of the box, but it's a cluttered penalty area, so he tries to curl it around everyone, and it's way wide. Great idea, not good in execution.

73' - Stoke Substitution: Rory Delap is coming on for Dean Whitehead. That's all three Stoke subs now.

74' - Liverpool have a really nice counter attack going on, Gerrard whips in a long cross to Carroll who heads the ball to Suarez. He has Downing on his right, Carroll on his left and he... slips over. Ah well.

76' - The Kop are bouncing to Suarez's name in support of his efforts. He has been very good today, but he has tried too hard in times to do everything, the typical industrial Uruguayan.

79' - Jay Spearing finds some space and takes a shot and it's over the bar. Should have done better from that distance.

81' - Martin Kelly goes forward and a space is opened for him in the penalty box but his effort is dealt with really well by Shawcross who tackles to ground. Kelly is down from the collision.

84' - Every time Crouch has the ball up front, which hasn't been too often, he's been surrounded by Red shirts. We've dealt with the strikers really well this second half.

85' - I do want to go on record here to say I love Peter Crouch so much, he's an awesome fella and he did a great job with us all those years ago. Top bloke.

86' - Suarez has gone down, so has Kelly for the second time in five minutes. Concerningly Suarez didn't have any form of collision, I hope he's okay.

87' - Replays show Suarez got clipped by accident by Huth, he might have twisted his ankle or something. No idea. Bizarre.

88' - Double Liverpool Substitution:  Martin Kelly and Luis Suarez come off and Sebastian Coates and Jordan Henderson take their places. Suarez has probably been my man of the match, not that individually we have had a player that's been a stand out player.

89' - Gerrard is right back at the moment. I don't know if Carragher is going to move there, but at the moment Stevie G is playing in a position he hasn't played in for a good 10 years.

90' - Five minutes of added time. Good lord.

90+2' - Yellow card given for Marc Wilson.

90+4' - You'll Never Walk Alone is being sung at a massive volume now. You'd think we're going to Wembley for the second time in three months or something.

90+5' - Full time!

We're going back to Wembley! Two semi finals this season for Liverpool! Brilliant achievement for Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool. So happy at the moment. We've had such a fantastic cup run twice this season. Now we need to somehow avoid Chelsea and Tottenham in the semi final draw, but it doesn't matter in the end, it's always going to be a tough game at Wembley no matter who we get. We have a strong chance to win two cups this season. A cup double would really be a statement for Liverpool. Let's make it happen!

As for the match, the first half was tough. Very tough. But all the effort Stoke put into that first half was lost in the second half, and we played well enough to score a second goal. Once again we never gave a masterclass display, but we gave a decent one, and we scored another two goals at Anfield. Downing scored which is good for his confidence, as well as Suarez for his. There have been many positives to take out of this game, the biggest one being, we're going back to Wembley! Thanks for joining me again and have a good evening.

For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!

Live Thoughts: Liverpool vs Everton (Premier League)

I covered this match live. Here are my unedited thoughts on the match between Liverpool and Everton.

Hey and thanks for joining me for my first Live Thoughts post in just over two weeks. It's been that long for a few reasons. Firstly, I've been ill recently quite a lot. I'm ill now. I've got conjunctivitis. It's fun. Hey ho. Secondly I'm cutting down on how many matches I'm covering, and I'll have a proper schedule next season about what matches I'll cover. As for this season, I'll do what I can, but it's not going to be easy as I have a lot on my plate personally at the moment. And lastly, I wanted to cover Liverpool/Arsenal but I was really busy that day so I couldn't, not that I missed much as we lost, just like we lost against Sunderland. We've only won one league match in 2012. Hell, if the league started on January 1st, we would be in the relegation zone (5 points from 8 games). It's a poor run of form this year bar the cup games. I loved the Carling Cup win. I'm loving our FA Cup run. But our league form needs to improve. If we lose today Everton eclipse us in the league. That's how bad our form has gotten. We need to win, for our season as well as Merseyside bragging rights. 

Here are the teams:

Liverpool: Reina, Kelly, Enrique, Skrtel, Carragher, Spearing, Gerrard, Henderson, Downing, Suarez, Carroll. Subs: Doni, Shelvey, Maxi, Flanagan, Kuyt, Adam, Coates.

Johnson is still injured, but it's nice to see Gerrard starting again. It's a shame he got injured on England duty but at least it's not too serious. He missed one match and came on as a sub against Sunderland. Suarez, Carroll and Gerrard start again. I'm really happy about that, they look really good up front together and click nicely. I just hope they can score the goals expected. It's been our major problem this season. This is a team that can win today - no - that should win today.

Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Distin, Jagielka, Baines, Coleman, Fellaini, Pienaar, Rodwell, Stracqualursi, Anichebe. Subs: Mucha, Heitinga, Jelavic, Drenthe, Cahill, Neville, Osman.

This is a weakened Everton side, especially for attack. Stracqualursi and Anichebe have scored 6 goals between them. I don't know what else to say, the team is strong in defence and midfield, but shouldn't pose too much a threat up front. They're there for the taking in a certain way, but definitely shouldn't be underestimated.

3' - Slow start at the moment, with Liverpool looking slightly more threatening. 

6' - GERRARD! Great save by Howard! Henderson with the follow up and it was a lovely tackle by Rodwell to stop him! So close!

8' - Pienaar! Over the bar. Leighton Baines has a lovely darting run down the left wing and cuts in parallel to the goal line, he squares it to Pienaar and thankfuly it's over. 

11' - SUAREZ! Another great save by Howard! Reina being the amazing sweeper keeper he is smacks the ball across the pitch and Andy Carroll flicks it on beautifully to the path of Suarez who was free in the box, Suarez tries to lift it over Howard but the United States keeper more than met to it. That was excellent by Carroll and Suarez then! 

13' - Three shots so far, all of them on target too. 100% shots on target rate yo! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it! Okay, I'm kidding, but it's nice that we're actually hitting the target, a problem we've had all season. 

15' - It's the 10 year anniversary match for David Moyes next week. I just want to go on record here by saying David Moyes is a phenomenal manager, and has done an amazing job at Everton. Kudos to Everton for keeping with the same guy for 10 years, it's a rarity in todays sack friendly management system. Happy anniversary Mr Moyes. 

18' - Well we're playing the better football so far that's for sure. We haven't quite got hold of the match yet though. 

21' - They just showed a replay of Carroll shoving Baines, almost hitting him with his elbow. The ref never saw that. He could have been off for that, that was nasty. 

24' - Possession - 57%/43% in favour of Liverpool. Unsurprising really. The only threat really coming from Everton are Baines' good runs down the left flank, and Pienaar's trickery in and around the box, most that's been nullified.

27' - Everton are starting to put pressure on Liverpool now. They're not dominant or anything, but they're seeing more of the ball all of a sudden. 

29' - A poor pass back from Tony Hibbert that Suarez chases goes to Howard, who's clearances somehow gets back to Suarez who's on his own up front! Tony Hibbert tackles and it's clean as a whistle,  before eventually the flag goes up as it was Carroll who passed to Suarez who was offside.

32' - Pienaar crosses into the Liverpool box and Anichebe brings the ball down, but is unable to turn to shoot.

33' - GOAL! GERRARD! What a goal! A lovely bit of attacking play involving Suarez ends with Martin Kelly in the box who piledrives the ball straight at Tim Howard, it goes to Gerrard who curls it round Howard and the defence! Absolutely brilliant, an elegant finish in his 400th Premier League appearance! 

37' - KELLY! Just wide! Another great run by our young Scouse right back, and he almost scores again! This time it was wide of Howard's right post. 

40' - We're really on top of Everton at the moment, after that little lapse where we gave them a sniff of possession we've gone for blood almost. 87 Premier League goals in 400 games for Steven Gerrard. 

43' - There's only been 3 fouls so far in this match, considering it's the league fixture that's produced more red cards than any other in the history of English football, that's not bad going. We haven't seen a very aggressive game so far. That being said, I can see the second half being a different story.

45' - One minute of added time.

45+1 - Half time.

It wasn't the best quality fourty-five minutes of football you'll see but we got the goal we definitely deserved. For a change. How many times have we got to half time deserving in front and we're not? Hopefully we can not only keep this lead, but we can build on it. We're definitely the better side at the moment, we played the better football and had the better chances. Gerrard's goal was sublime however, if you get a chance to see it please do, it's an elegant curling effort into the back of the net. Martin Kelly has had two great chances, as has Suarez, Henderson and Carroll. Things are looking good at the moment! Let's hope there's more good news for Liverpool in the second half!

48' - Rigid opening of the second half at the moment. 

50' - GOAL! Gerrard again! Henderson cuts the ball nicely to Suarez who makes a nuisance of himself in the box, darting his run into the box to the path of Gerrard who just smacks it into the net at short range! I don't know if Suarez quite laid that off, but Gerrard just banged that in! Excellent finish!

52' - CARROLL! So close! Suarez once again running between the lines, lays it nicely to Carroll who shoots just wide of Howard's left post. So so close.

53' - No Liverpool player has scored a hat trick against Everton at Anfield in nearly 80 years. That's some statistic. Hopefully Gerrard can make history tonight.

54' - KELLY! Just couldn't stretch far enough to make the clinical touch to score! Downing whips in a good cross and for some reason once again, Martin Kelly is up front and almost scores for the third time! 

55' - Steven Pienaar goes into the book for a tackle on Henderson.

58' - Martin Kelly once again makes a nuisance of himself as Carroll flicks a ball to him with his head, Kelly tussles with Distin for a bit before losing the ball for a goal kick. Kelly attacking-wise, has had a great game. He's hardly made any defensive mistakes to boot either. 

60' - Rodwell! Cleared by Jose Enrique. That was a short range effort that Enrique dealt with, easily Everton's best chance so far. 

61' - Triple Everton Substitution: Royston Drenthe, Leon Osman and Nikica Jelavic come on for Sheamus Coleman, Denis Stracqualursi and Victor Anichebe. Big changes for Everton, who are obviously trying to salvage something from the match. 

64' - Free kick for Liverpool in a decent area is dealt with by the wall. 

67' - Oh, and that's 88 goals in 400 Premier League matches for Gerrard now. 

69' - Carroll lays the ball to Suarez who tries the impossible by shooting round the keeper with the outside of his foot, it went wide. Nice try though. 

72' - Liverpool Substitution: Dirk Kuyt comes on for Jordan Hendeson. Henderson had a decent game today, he's looked a little poor of form in recent matches but today some of his passes were key, I'm sure he had a say in both goals somewhere. 

75' - Carroll goes down after a tussle with Hibbert and the Liverpool fans think penalty, but Phil Dowd laughs it off. It definitely wasn't a penalty. Not that we need it, we'll probably miss it anyway! 

78' - Downing crosses a long ball forward and it's heading towards Suarez, and Leighton Baines brings him down on the edge of the penalty area. Phil Dowd actually shows the red for a split second, but gave a yellow card. I think that's a good decision personally, just because the game has not been malicious at all and it'd ruin what's been a nice Merseyside Derby if he flashed the red. Was it a red? It's debatable. But I'm happy Phil Dowd didn't give it. 

80' - Gerrard and Pienaar jump for the ball and Gerrard elbows the South African in the face, it wasn't intentional but Pienaar is down. I don't think Dowd is giving a card. It wasn't intentional as I said. 

83' - Royston Drenthe is next in the book for a bad tackle on Downing. 

86' - I'm sure they said that more than a third of all of Everton's goals have been scored in the last 10 minutes. That's some statistic if true.

88' - "You'll Never Walk Alone" is now being sung around the stadium. I can't remember the last time I've heard it at the end of a match at Anfield actually! It's been a few months I'm sure, we've had too many draws at home this season.

90' - Four minutes of added time now, and they start with Tony Hibbert going into the book for kicking the ball at Jose Enrique.

90+2' - Jose Enrique goes in the book as well. That's a bit unfair. 

90+2' - GOAL! STEVEN GERRARD GETS A HAT TRICK! Excellent play between Suarez and Gerrard, it starts with Gerrard who bombs down the pitch and lays the ball beautifully for Suarez, who gets into a tangle a little bit, but manages to lay the ball back to Gerrard who shoots an easy goal!

90+4' - Full time!

Steven Gerrard is the first player in 76 years to score a hat trick against Everton at Anfield. Congrats to that man, the legend. I'd say this is the proper return of Gerrard, he's been influential in many games since his long term injury, but this is the first time Gerrard has been so clinical in front of goal. He was unstoppable today. If you thought Gerrard was finished, think again, he was awesome today. Kudos have to go to Carroll and Suarez as well, who were brilliant in attack again and helped Gerrard get his hat trick. Another person who deserves a mention is Martin Kelly who was brilliant as a right back and a striker for parts of the match too.

I'll finish with this. I wouldn't say this was a spectacular display for Liverpool. It wasn't. But it's the display we needed, it was the display that we've seen so many times this season, dominating possession and open play. The big difference? We scored the goals we set up. We haven't had enough chances scored this season. It's a fact. But Gerrard's hat trick hopefully suggests that we can build upon this. We make so many chances and they go to waste too often. A 3-0 win against Everton hopefully means we can now keep those performances up, but score the goals that the displays deserve. That's it from me today, have a good night.

For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!

The Mercy Side: Building a Dynasty

Hey there and thanks for joining me for my first football article in three and a half months. Things are a little different for this article though, I’m not going to talk about Liverpool. No I’m not talking about England either. I’m going to talk about Chelsea.

Unless you’ve lived under a rock (or, are not a football fan and if that’s the case why are you even reading this?) you might have heard that Chelsea manager Andre Villas Boas was sacked yesterday. Some have said it was justified. I mean, since Roman Abramovich has come in with his billions of pounds, no manager has had a worse percentage win rate or a worse points-per-game rate. He managed the team for 40 games, and only won half of them. Not since Glen Hoddle, sixteen years ago, has in fact done worse than Villas Boas. But they never built Rome in a day, and if Roman Abramovich wants to build a dynasty, he needs to have a long-term plan.

Villas Boas was perfect for Chelsea. It’s probably quite a controversial thing to say, but it’s my humble opinion that this was so. Why? Chelsea needed a young, fresh mind. Villas Boas was seen as a ‘new Mourinho’, a Portugese mastermind with a keen eye for tactics. He did wonders at Porto, and is an exceptionally young manager at the age of 34; Henrique Hilario is two years older, Paulo Ferreira, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, only one year younger. Some could say too young, but I’m of the opinion that it doesn’t matter how young or old a manager is, all that matters is that they’re a strong character and can back up their skills with style.

Andre Villas Boas.

And Villas Boas did just that. For a man of 34, he had balls. He did, truly. When criticised on Match of the Day, or by other pundits, he’d actually call them out and tell them where to go. He was a frank man; always spoke his mind and was vocal in a way a leader should be. I really liked Villas Boas, and I’m a Liverpool fan, as I’m sure many of you are aware. He was deep in the thick of it and while he did struggle to swim against the tide, he gave it his best shot.

As I said, he’s 34 years old, and was put in that job for one reason – long-term success. If you put a manager at a football club for long term success you have to realise that you’re going to struggle short term because of it. It’s impossible to build a house without creating your base. Andre Villas Boas was entering a Chelsea team that was in the middle of transition, a team that still IS in the middle of transition. The old guard are getting older; Petr Cech and Jose Bosingwa are 29, John Terry, and Ashley Cole are 31 and Frank Lampard is 34. And this is the most chosen starting 11 for Chelsea this season. This is the starting 11 that Villas Boas was looking to, to ‘freshen’ this aging side.

I’m not saying Villas Boas is faultless in this torrid Chelsea season. He decided to bench Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba a lot, and back instead an inconsistent Ramires and an absolutely atrocious Fernando Torres. This has been difficult for Villas Boas, I mean, it says something that 33 year old Frank Lampard has scored more goals for Chelsea than any other player this season. He is still required; it’s as simple as that. But when you have a Drogba that’s a shadow of his former self, looking backwards instead of forwards, also at the age of 33 but your £50 million striker just can’t score, what else can you do?

The 'old guard' aren't getting any younger.

The Fernando Torres situation is difficult for Chelsea and was for Villas Boas. Obviously from a biased Liverpool perspective it’s great, we got £50 million big ones and got Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, who are looking better and better as the season is going on. But if I’m being unbiased here, Torres-gate is awful for Chelsea. To spend such a big amount of money on a player, and he just can’t score is terrible. What can you do in a situation like that? Sell him? It’s not as easy as that. With him not scoring he’s not going to be sold for a decent price. Also, we all know that Torres, when motivated, when on form, can be the deadliest striker in the world. I mean that by the way, and that’s not me being a biased fan.

Villas Boas was trying to freshen things up. He bought 20 year old Oriol Romeu, 18-year-old Romelu Lukaku and the excellent 23-year-old Juan Mata, while selling 29 year old Alex and 32-year-old Nicolas Anelka. The age of the squad was definitely getting younger. And the old guard all got a chance; they’ve all played games this season, with mixed results. It’s not as if Drogba and Petr Cech have had stellar seasons. It was a tough job for him. It’s a tough ask for anybody, you can’t inherit say that Villas Boas was the reason everything went wrong, just like you can’t say that Jose Mourinho was the main reason Chelsea did so well. Mourinho came to Chelsea in 2004 and won the title that season. Well done Mourinho. But seven of the eleven were players he inherited by Claudio Ranieri. Here’s the squad:

Cech

Ferreria

Carvalho

Terry

Gallas

Makalele

Tiago

Lampard

Cole

Duff

Gudjohnsen

There’s the 7 players inherited from the team left by Ranieri. And then Mourinho continued to lay more foundations onto this team, and they were the best team in England for a good few years. But then Manchester United, and Alex Ferguson kept renewing his squad, and took the mantle again. It’s no coincidence. If you want to look at building football dynasties all you have to do is look at Manchester United now, and Liverpool in the eighties. Year and years of one step backwards, two steps forward. But Abramovich will never let his managers take that second step forward, apart from Mourinho, who was a very special manager, and also inherited the nucleus of an excellent squad.

Kenny Dalglish and Bob Paisley are two of Liverpool’s most successful managers, but history says if it wasn’t for Bill Shankly, they wouldn’t have inherited world beating squads. Alex Ferguson has continuously shed his squad’s skin, to make them a world force for the past 25 years. His longevity as manager, as well as the patience shown by the ‘powers that be’ in the United hierarchy, gives him the patience and time to rebuild his squad again and again. United sucked at certain times in the past 25 years. In fact, they sucked in the late eighties. But Ferguson being one of the best managers in world football even 25 years ago, along with the patience and time given there, and the collapse of Liverpool, meant that Ferguson has rarely looked back since winning his first title back in 1993. United weren’t very good from 2003 to 2007. But as I said, Ferguson shed the skin of the squad, got in some fresh youth and good buys, combined that with the good of what he still had, and then became a great force again.

So, I don’t really blame Villas Boas. You have some very strong personalities in that squad, a strong set of older players who can’t take it they’re slowly starting to get past their best, and would rather they stay in that squad, with their big salaries and even bigger egos, than accept that it may be time to move on, and let the youngsters have a go. They’re too afraid of their positions in their squad, and the money they earn, that they’d rather sacrifice their manager than their positions in the team. Look at Jamie Carragher. Is he happy to be on the bench? No, but he’s not complaining about it. Frank Lampard has been scoring goals, so it is a slightly different situation, but at the same time the principle is there.

Bill Shankley built a dynasty. He'd have no chance under Abramovich.

But the person at fault the most is Roman Abramovich. How is a manager supposed to operate a team if the owner doesn’t place the trust in him, and instead of the rebellious players? The players control the dressing room, and it’s not right. And when they get taken down a notch, they complain to the owner, who takes their side. How long must the older players be selfish before the managers don’t want to take the chance and manage Chelsea? It’s pathetic.

Abramovich has quite a lot of models to take inspiration from. In the past you have Liverpool. The 1960s Shankly built the base. In the 1970s and 1980s Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish built the dynasty. In the present, you have Manchester United, and in the 1990s and 2000s Alex Ferguson has made his base, built his dynasty and maintained it.

And for the future? Well, who can predict it, but at the moment you can look at Manchester City. Yes City have more money than Chelsea do, but it’s comparing a billionaire to a billionaire in the end of the day. But under City, Roberto Mancini has built a base. If they win the league or not this season, they’re currently building their dynasty. Mancini started by taking the reins from Mark Hughes, finishing 5^th in 2010 and getting to the semi finals of the Carling Cup, then 3^rd last season and winning the FA Cup. This season at the moment they’re top of the league. As I said even if they don’t win the league chances are they’ll be mighty close to the champions, where as they finished 9 points adrift last season. Of course all of this could be pointless if the Sheiks at City sack Mancini if he ‘fails’ and doesn’t win the league, but I just feel the Sheiks seem to have more patience, much more. Mancini could have been sacked once or twice so far, so it seems like he’s given more time there than any Chelsea manager gets from Abramovich.

Like it or not, but Alex Ferguson didn't just build a dynasty, he's maintained it.

In the end, history is there to show that long term planning usually means better prospects. Newcastle sacked loads of managers and have been relegated and promoted for that. Liverpool are evidence that long term planning is usually the way, so are Manchester United. Arsenal and Everton have long term managers and have had mixed results, but mixed to exceptionally positive results at that; Arsenal were once The Invincibles, not to mention that at one point Everton got 4^th place and a Champions League spot under David Moyes. Roman Abramovich really needs to be patient. Andre Villas Boas could have been something ‘special’ at Chelsea, but he never was going to be short term, not with that dressing room. The next manager really needs to get rid of some of those troublemakers and hope to god that the signings they make are instant successes, like Mourinho’s were in 2005. Otherwise it looks like Chelsea will continue to struggle to stay at the top of the English league pyramid. Which is fine for me; as it means Liverpool have more chance of building success. But from an unbiased perspective, it’s bad for Chelsea.

Do you agree? Disagree? Should Villas Boas have been sacked? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below. Thanks for reading.

For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!

Live Thoughts: Cardiff vs Liverpool (Carling Cup)

I covered this match live. Here are my unedited thoughts when Liverpool took on Cardiff in the Carling Cup final!

Hey there and welcome! Liverpool are in their first final in five years, it's been too long. I remember that final too well, when we lost 2-1 to AC Milan in the Champions League final. It was horrible. I really don't want to feel that feeling again, especially not today. We just simply have to win. If we lose, it'll be the first time in 21 years since a team outside of the top division won the League Cup. We just have to win. I'm thoroughly looking forward to this, but I just wish I was with my family in North Wales, who are all Liverpool supporters, rather than on my own in my house with my three year old daughter who doesn't understand football quite yet. But still, let's hope we can win and I'll be just as happy!

Here are the teams:

Cardiff: Heaton; McNaughton, Hudson, Turner, Taylor; Cowie, Gunnarsson, Whittingham, Gestede, Mason; Miller. Subs: Marshal, Kiss, Gerrard, Earnshaw, Conway, Naylor, Blake.

We were expecting Miller to play on his own up front but no matter, he's the main threat and he can score if given the chance. Peter Whittingham has been a great Championship player for years and can also be a threat. But this is a still a team we need to beat, no excuses.

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Enrique, Gerrard, Adam, Henderson, Downing, Suarez, Carroll. Subs: Maxi, Kuyt, Spearing, Carragher, Doni, Kelly, Bellamy.

The pundits on Match of the Day were surprised Bellamy didn't start but I'm not. We're not being overcautious, but this is a balanced side. It's 4-4-2 and there's some nice balance here. I like it. Having Bellamy and/or Kuyt would disrupt the balance in that team and I think it's important today to get on that pitch, maintain possession and go forward when we're in full control. This team allows that. Bellamy can come on later if we need an injection of pace in the squad. 

1' - JOHNSON! He hit the bar! So close! Gerrard on the rebound and it's over. What a shot by Glen Johnson! Both teams had a good attack then and we almost scored! 

3' - They just mentioned Johnson being an FA Cup winner when Portsmouth beat Cardiff here a few years ago. I live in Portsmouth and I can tell you, that was a special win for the south coast team. I'm not a Pompey fan but I was really happy for them. I want a taste of that tonight for my team! 

6' - We're piling the pressure on early, two corners didn't really get that close to their goal, but we're on top at the moment. We need to keep on this pressure early on, hopefully it'll lead to an early goal. 

9' - The pressure is off a little at the moment, but there's a long way to go. What matters is that we win, not how! 

12' - Another corner for Liverpool, Carroll is penalised for a push on a Cardiff player. 

15' - Carroll has an effort at goal and it's over the bar. 

17' - A nice bit of movement from Henderson, Johnson and Suarez and Suarez chips the ball to Carroll who has a troubling yet tame effort on target,


18' - GOAL! Joe Mason. We're behind. Martin Skrtel heads the ball back to a Cardiff player, the ball is played to Miller who passes to Mason, who clips the ball past Reina. Awful defending all-round.

21' - That was a poor bit of defending. Credit where it's due Cardiff passed the ball nice and slick for the goal, but our defence was asleep. I can't believe we're behind. 

21' - Agger doing one of his vintage runs down the the centre of the pitch and his shot is blocked by a defender.

22' - Possession is 65%/35% to Liverpool. Yet we're behind. We need to get back in this match, thankfully there's a lot of time to go. 

25' - We're all around their box at the moment, lovely work from Downing who backheels the ball to Jose Enrique into the box. We pile in their box but Cardiff deal with the pressure. 

28' - Downing loses his defender again and crosses low into the box again, it misses everyone, only Carroll was in the box that was in a Red shirt. It was a good ball from Downing, who's definitely winning the battle on the left flank at the moment.

31' - Handball claims in the Cardiff box but it was too quick in my eyes for it to be a penalty.

31' - ADAM! So close! A low drive from Adam and it's just wide. Good effort.

33' - We're still piling forward but with not much intensity. Cardiff are defending well. Hopefully we can equalise before the second half, it's important that we do in honesty. 

36' - They just showed John W. Henry and his wife Linda in the stands. Man Linda is so hot. Lucky man. 

38' - GERRARD! Over the bar! Downing plays well again on the left flank, twisting and turning his defender out and he whips the ball into the box, Suarez, Carroll and Henderson all miss it and it comes to Gerrard outside the box and he shoots high above the bar. Great chance. 

41' - Suarez has been a nuisance a few times in the box today, but he's not controlling well enough to make opportunities to score. Hopefully he can continue though, he's a pain to deal with for defenders. He takes a shot in the end but it's tame and saved by Heaton. 

43' - Free kick, Gerrard takes it and it's inch perfect for AGGER who heads it straight at Heaton. Gutted, that was a great opportunity to equalise then. 

44' - Gerrard gets the ball in the box but can't control it and shoots high. Three defenders were in Gerrard's way. 

45' - One minute of added time. 

45+1' - Half time.

Well what happened? They got a goal, we couldn't score. Not much else to say in that respect. We've had a few chances but nothing clear cut, we haven't been clinical enough in front of goal. It's been the story of the season but if there's one match, one game of football where we need to right that wrong it's TODAY. We need to score. It's as simple as that. We haven't been bad but we haven't been good enough. Cardiff are defending very well. This needs to chance. I really hope we can avoid embarrassment today. Come on Reds! Please! 

48 ' - Miller! Just wide. Cardiff make a nuisance of themselves in and around our box and Milelr takes a chance from outside the box and it's just wide. Not the start we wanted, Cardiff are in our faces at the moment. 

49 ' - Suarez makes a nuisance on himself and intercepts the ball in the box! He shoots across the face of goal and it squirms under Heaton, then Cardiff clear! Unlucky! 

51' - Henderson is the first for a yellow card for a clumsy challenge. He's had a poor game today.

54' - The game is opening up a little, but we're still not really taking the game by the scruff of the neck yet. 

57' - Liverpool Substitution: Craig Bellamy comes on for Jordan Henderson. Says it all really. Henderson has been poor. Bellamy cheered by both sets of supporters due to his strong connection there. 

59' - GOAL! Martin Skrtel! Our eight corner of the match and Suarez gets on the end of it, it hits the post and then Skrtel shoots low into the box! Great finish!

61' - Finally, an equaliser. Hopefully we can now work for a second goal. No mistakes can be afforded now. 

63' - Skrtel's fourth goal of the season. He's had a brilliant season, both defensively and attacking for a defender. He's been a rock for us. Excellent player. Thanks Rafa! 

64' - Mason has a decent effort at goal, but it's met well by Reina. 

66' - The winds are definitely changing at the moment, we're really going for blood at the moment. It's about time, but we need to make sure we're not left open at the back. 

69' - A few more corners for us but with no end product. We're still the better side though. 

71' - Gerrard knocks a forearm into the back of Gunnarsson's head. The ref didn't see it, poor from our captain. I don't think it was intentional but it was dangerous. 

73' - 89,041 is the official crowd total today. Great work from both sets of supporters!


73' - SKRTEL! Great save from Heaton. It was a snap shot at short distance for Skrtel, that Heaton saves low  to. Good effort again!

74' - 21 shots on goal for us, and only 4 on target. Story of our season in a way, lots of effort but no product. But now is not the time to be negative, we need to score again! 

77' - Mark Hudson has gone down with cramp and we kick the ball out. Boos from some of the Reds faithful. Poor reaction from our own, we should respect things like this, if the boot was on the other foot we wouldn't like it if Cardiff continued. 

77' - DOWNING! Great save from Heaton! Downing takes a low driven shot through the Cardiff defence and Heaton just sees it in time to make the save. Great effort from Downing, who's been my man of the match so far for me. Great effort from Downing today. 

79' - Free kick in a dangerous area for Cardiff, Peter Whittingham shoots and it hits our defence and out. 

82' - TURNER! Just wide! Don Cowie whips the ball and it curls round the Reds and Turner heads the ball just wide. That could have been an upset if that went in, thankfully it didn't.

86' - Liverpool Substitution: Daniel Agger leaves the pitch with an injury, and Jamie Carragher takes his place. 

87' - MILLER! Just above the bar! Cardiff free kick and once again our defence is asleep and Cardiff take advantage, Miller shoots hard and high and thankfully it was just over the bar. Come on Reds! Seriously! 

89' - Free kick for Cardiff and Jamie Carragher doesn't give them the ball! I think his message was because we weren't ready to defend the kick.

90' - Four minutes of added time.

90' - Suarez is on his own up front and is onside! Three Cardiff defenders catch up with him and he takes a shot that's well over the bar.

91' - Corner for Liverpool and it's passed to Johnson who sets Gerrard up for a belter outside the box and it's over the bar. Good idea, but its execution wasn't what it should have been. 

94' - Ten seconds remain and Gerrard delivers a long ball to Downing who puts his hands in his face because he failed to control the cross. Full time. 

Thirty minutes of added time to go now. The main thing is we got the equaliser. We still have one substitution left, Cardiff have all three. You have to give it to Cardiff, they've worked their asses off today to get to extra time. But we need to finish this match off. I really don't want it to go to penalties, despite being confident in a shootout situation. I want us to win on goals scored not penalties. Let's hope we can finish them off in these 30 minutes. Come on Liverpool!

90' - Cardiff Substitution: Filip Kiss comes on for Joe Mason.

90' - Bellamy takes a corner and SUAREZ heads it and Andrew Taylor clears it off the line! So close again! 

91' - Gerrard shoots from outside the box again and once again it's well over the bar. He's not been very clinical today our captain. I dare say he's not had the greatest of games in honesty, but we need him on that pitch that's for sure, in games like this.

94' - Free kick, Gerrard takes it and Suarez frees from his marker and volleys just wide. He was offside anyway, but great movement from the Uruguayan. 

97' - That's an odd statistic, Kuyt has the longest Liverpool career without winning a medal since Emlyn Hughes, in six years without a metal. It's true though, since he joined we haven't won any trophies. 

98' - Kiss gets a yellow card after his little tussle with Craig Bellamy.

99' - Cardiff Substitution: Mark Hudson comes off and Anthony Gerrard comes on, whose cousin is our captain Steven.

102' - Downing takes another corner and Carroll heads it backwards towards goal, a good effort. That's his last touch of the match.

102' - Liverpool Substitution: Andy Carroll comes off and Dirk Kuyt comes on. Carroll's had a mixed game, not as good as recent weeks. 

103' - BELLAMY! Just over the bar! A great one-two with Kuyt and he makes some space and curls a right footer just over the bar. Best effort from the Welshman so far. 

105' - One minute of added time. 

105' - JOHNSON! Just wide again. Lovely work from Adam who set up Johnson, his shot was nice and clean but just wide. 

105+1' - Half time.

Nothing much different to report, it's been pretty much all Liverpool with no end product. It feels destined for penalties, the way it feels at the moment. Hopefully that won't be the case, and we can score in the next fifteen minutes. 

Cardiff Substitution: Kevin McNaughton comes off in place for Darcy Blake. Cardiff and Liverpool have now made all their substitutions.

106' - Kuyt loses his defender and is free! He puts the ball square across the penalty box and it's just slightly behind Suarez, who tries to adjust but can't. Great effort from Kuyt, unfortuante of Suarez not to be positioned correctly!

107' - GOAL! KUYT! COME ON KUYT GET IN THERE! Kuyt shoots and a defender clears poorly back to him, and he shoots hard and low to the bottom corner!

110' - We need to be patient and careful now. We can't let this lead slip. 

113' - Haha, sorry, you've got to love OptaJoke on Twitter, check this tweet:


"55 - Dirk Kuyt's first attempt on goal was going 55 metres wide. Rebound."


Follow OptaJoke @OptaJoke, they're really funny.

115' - Cardiff are on top at the moment, trying their best to equalise. We're defending well enough at the moment, but they've just won a corner. 

117' - GOAL! Ben Turner. Three corners in succession for Cardiff, they almost score from the second corner and Kuyt clears it off the line, but that third corner was the same, we couldn't clear and they bumble it into the box. Penalties loom.

120' - One minute of added time. 

120+1' - Full time. Penalties.

Amazing match, Cardiff have been amazing. Penalties now. I can't believe this match. I'll cover the penalties on this site as well. I'm in bits at the moment. Horrible feeling, although as I said I'm comfortable with penalties, Reina is usually very good at penalties.

• Gerrard to take first. SAVED! Tom Heaton! Amazing save! Gerrard top corner and it was amazingly met by Heaton! Instant pressure for Liverpool! 
• Kenny Miller to take now. He hit the post and out! YES! 0-0 still! Stalemate still! 
• Charlie Adam now... WELL OVER THE BAR! WHAT THE HELL!? 
• Cowie now to take for Cardiff and it's in the goal! 1-0 to Cardiff on penalties. Not good. 
• Kuyt now for Liverpool, come on Kuyt! Kuyt scores! Thankfully! Now we need Reina to save.
• Rudy Gestede to take now for Cardiff... and it hits the post! 1-1 now after three attempts each! We're back in it! 
• Stewart Downing now and he scores! We take the lead in penalties! 
• Peter Whittingham now for Cardiff... he scores. 2-2 now with one penalty each remaining. 
• Glen Johnson now to take. Come on Johnson! He scores! Cardiff NEED to score now! 
• Anthony Gerrard now... and he misses! LIVERPOOL WIN THE CARLING CUP!

We did it! What a match! Emotions were everywhere and I'm so proud that we've won. Great credit to Cardiff who worked as hard as they could to cause the upset. We put in a lot of effort today and it felt like it wasn't going to happen, especially when we missed our first two penalties. But we did it, and hopefully this can now be the catalyst for more trophies. Hopefully we can win the FA Cup later on this season. It's about time we won a trophy. Now we want more! Carling Cup winners. Amazing. Thanks for joining me today and if you're a Liverpool fan, enjoy your celebrations!

For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!

Inactivity

Hey there, just to say sorry for not posting recently, I've been really ill and it's not going away. I'll write hopefully before the weekend. I had plans to cover the Liverpool/Brighton match tomorrow but that's not happening now. Maybe Sunday.


Take care and sorry once again.

Live Thoughts: Manchester United vs Liverpool (Premier League)

I covered this match live. Here are my unedited thoughts on the match between Liverpool and Manchester United!

Hey there, thanks for joining me for another Live Thoughts post. Big match tonight. We had a big match last week and drew against Spurs. This is a similar match in terms of importance. Big difference of course, it being in away from home to the English Premier League champions. And of course the rivalry between Liverpool and United. And even more, the racial abuse situation between Suarez and Evra. I'm not going into that situation anymore, simply because it's in the past now. We need to move on. Apparently Suarez and Evra will shake hands today and hopefully that will draw a line between the two players and we can all move on.

As for today, can we win? Sure we can. We'll need to work very hard on it though and with the United fans going to give Suarez dogs abuse today and it'd be a pretty sweet win if we can pull it off. It's not going to be easy though.

Here are the teams: 

Manchester United: De Gea, Rafael, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Rooney, Welbeck. Subs: Amos, Berbatov, Park, Hernandez, Fabio, Cleverley, Pogba.

So Evra starts today. This is a stronger United side than we beat a few weeks ago. We'll get a tough match today. Rooney is back, he's a threat we need to nullify.

Liverpool: Reina, Enrique, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Spearing, Gerrard, Henderson, Downing, Kuyt, Suarez. Subs: Doni, Carragher, Bellamy, Carroll, Adam, Shelvey, Kelly.

Carroll on the bench is a little disappointing, he had a good game against United a few weeks ago and I wanted him, Suarez and Gerrard to start for the first time. But he and Bellamy can cause problems later on hopefully. Suarez and Gerrard start so that's fantastic. A strong side is out today, one that can win if we're tactically well set up and we make the most of the possession we'll get.

1' - No handshake today from Evra and Suarez. It looked like Suarez avoided a handshake rather than Evra avoid it. Oh well. 

2' - Apparently Ferdinand withdrew his hand as well. It's a shame we can't all let bygones be bygones and move on. 

4' - I've got to be honest, United fan's booing of Suarez is quite tame, especially in comparison to the abuse the Liverpool fans gave Evra a few weeks ago. 

6' - Jose Enrique brings Valencia down JUST outside of the penalty box on the right wing. A free kick for United in a dangerous area. Glen Johnson heads it back for a corner. Ryan Giggs takes a corner and Rooney heads a tame shot and Reina collects easily.

9' - A nice bit of movement from Gerrard and Suarez set up Glen Johnson down the right wing, he cuts into the box and takes a shot with his left foot and De Gea meets to it. It was a decent shot though, and United shouldn't have given Johnson that much space then, he can be really dangerous. 

10' - Jeez, the United fans are being out-sung by the travelling Anfield faithful. Steven Gerrard chants at the moment. United fans, where are you? 

11' - That's twice now that Johnson has had space on the right wing. We seem to be playing better than United at the moment. Only just of course. 

14' - We're dealing with United quite well at the moment. Still early days. The only danger I can see at the moment is that Enrique has struggled with Valencia a little. 

16' - United have more possession than us, as expected. It's 56%/44% at the moment.

18' - Rafael! Good shot and saved by Reina. He curled that with his left shot outside of the box and it troubled Reina a little. Welbeck was waiting for a spill but there was none thankfully. 

21' - United looking a little more dangerous at the moment, certainly more than they did 10 minutes ago. 

24' - Despite United looking better now than they did earlier on, Johnson is still getting forward down the right wing, I really hope he can score today. 

26' - Rooney has a rare shot at goal. I say rare, because he's barely been relevant so far in this match. I hope I don't eat my words later. 

29' - Credit where its due, United have dealt with Suarez comfortably so far. It's a shame. 

30' - SCHOLES! Reaction save by Reina! A lovely bit of attacking play from United and it ends with a left wing cross that Scholes heads straight at the keeper.


31' - Welbeck is free! He tries to pass to Rooney but Agger is there thankfully. United are definitely starting to creep confidence into their play now. Not good!

34' - Evra! Just over the bar. Valencia chips a lovely cross and Evra meets it well. Just over. We need to do something about this and fast. 

37' - Welbeck looking dangerous skips past a few players, stays on his feet and tries to lay the ball to Rooney but it's just a little too much. Kudos to the young Englishman. 

40' - A bit of pressure from Liverpool now. Suarez and Kuyt combine nicely but Kuyt's legs are just a little too stretched to return a one-two with Suarez. We earn a corner.


41' - Two Liverpool corners and both were dangerous. The first ends with a fizzing Gerrard cross being dealt with by Rafael, the second corner ends with a Skrtel shot that's wide.

43' - Downing goes in the book. Took a chance with that, he takes down Rafael and it was always a losing battle while Rafael was pacing forward. 


44' - Suarez goes down and the referee gives nothing. After the replay it looked like an honest tackle by Ferdinand. Right decision from the ref Phil Dowd I'd say. 

45' - One minute of added time.

45+1' - Half time.


Well it was a cagey match for a good 30 minutes, I thought in that time we were the slightly better side. After that United really piled on the pressure and looked dangerous. Towards the end of the half we looked a little better but it's still goalless. Hopefully we can make a better impact in the second half.

46' - Late coming back to the match and I find us down a goal...

47' - GOAL! Rooney scores. He volleys a cross from a corner that Liverpool frankly, don't deal with. Not good.

49' - GOAL! We're two down. Jeez. Spearing gives the ball away and Valencia takes advantage, he puts the ball square to Rooney who's free in the box and he slides it past Reina. A brace for the old Bluenose in two minutes. 

51' - Sorry I'm late coming back to this match, a personal issue has occured. Quite angry at the moment both for the match and my personal situation. Liverpool need a quick response now. 45 minutes of solid defending has just gone to waste. 

54' - Carroll is now warming up. I think we need Bellamy at the moment not Carroll. 

56' - Rooney is hungry for a hat trick. I really hope we don't give him the pleasure of one. 

59' - Rooney was close to a hat trick then, Valencia crosses square again and Rooney is free in the box, he takes a touch too much and we intercept. Very close. He's been pretty rubbish in the first half and I knew I'd eat my words later. Frustrating. 


61' - Double Liverpool Substitution: Jay Spearing and Stewart Downing and come on for Andy Carroll and Craig Bellamy. Good move if you ask me. Spearing must be distraught after being responsible for the second goal.

63' - The game is end to end at the moment, we're committed to attacking and United are counter attacking us. It feels like either we'll make a good comeback today or worse, we'll get a drubbing. Both sides are committed now.

66' - Gerrard and Rooney tussle and Gerrard ends up fowling Rooney. A decent battle from the Scouse duo.

69' - I can't see us getting anything from this game. Attacking-wise, we've not looked threatening enough. 

72' - United are playing the possession game at the moment, just pinging the ball back and forth in the middle of the pitch, while the fans are cheering every successful pass. 

75' - Liverpool Substitution: Dirk Kuyt comes off for Charlie Adam. I think this is to try and get us some possession and passing ability in the middle of the park. We have had the ball more in this half, 47%/53% so far in this half alone. That's all three subs used now for Liverpool. 

78' - Times ticking away. It feels like we've pretty much a hopeless cause now. United defending very well at the moment. 

79' - Michael Carrick is booked for a tackle on Suarez. Free kick.

80' - GOAL! SUAREZ! He quickly picks the ball up and heads for the centre of the pitch. A Charlie Adam free kick is inch perfect for the head of Suarez, Ferdinand and De Gea could do nothing. Come on Liverpool! 

82' - The complexion of the game is different now that we got a goal. We needed that. Hopefully we can get a second. 8 minutes of normal time left.

85' - Five minutes left... little showing we're going to get a second, come on...! 

88' - Same as above, nothing really showing from Liverpool that we're going to get a second. United defending well enough, delaying the play where they can. 

90' - We have three minutes to equalise. Come on Liverpool! 

90' -  JOHNSON! Great save by De Gea! Brilliant save, Johnson's shot was fierce from outside the box!

90+1' - Suarez heads and it's just over the bar! So close! He was offside anyway. 

90+4' - After about a minute of time wasting from Rooney by the corner flag it's full time.

Well, that was poor. Not our display, that wasn't poor, it wasn't great but it wasn't poor. United weren't that good either. A lapse in concentration from Liverpool let two goals in by Rooney, who in the first half was nowhere to be seen. Man of the match for me isn't Rooney, but was Valencia. In both matches against United recently he dominated the right wing. He let Jose Enrique chase shadows today and got an assist for his hard work. We weren't good enough. Simple as that. Ah well. Hopefully we can get a win next week against Brighton and move onwards and upwards from there. That's it from me today, enjoy the rest of your afternoon.

For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!