Here We Go: Liverpool 3 - West Ham United 2

photo by Official U.S. Navy Imagery	via PhotoRee

Scott is thankful for narrow victories:

Things could be worse for a team with only one experienced striker. After being 18^th in the table not that long ago, some may complain about being 10^th now, but I say we are headed in the right direction and, with only 4 points between us and 4^th place, I would say the January transfer window has become increasingly important. Finally in the top half of the table, albeit only on point differential, Brendan Rodgers is starting to put his mark on this Liverpool team and they are responding. The headlines may be splashed with Manchester shades of red and blue right now but, come April/May, Liverpool will command Champions League respect, if not a place at the championship table.

That said, there was the not-so-little matter of West Ham to deal with last Saturday. Sans Suarez, how would the Reds do against the Caroll-less Hammers? Well, a bright start yielded a spectacular goal from Glen Johnson who proved again that Liverpool has some of the most dangerous fullbacks in the league. Glorious is how my notes describe the upper left corner strike that gave Jussi Jaaskelienen no chance at all.

West Ham upped the pressure after that and, after a couple of yellow cards, one deserved (Steven Gerrard) and one not (Jonjo Shelvey), an unintentional handball by Joe Allen at the edge of the box gave West Ham their equalizer. It was clearly unintentional but it was clearly a handball. People get this wrong all the time – it doesn’t have to be intentional to be a handball. If the hand or arm is away from the body and the ball strikes it, giving the defender an advantage from said strike, it is a handball, intentional or not. The guys at our Monday pickup game could use a lesson in this.

The Mayans Were Right: Round 16 in the BPL

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o Four goals in five days for El Niño, and neither of the weekend's two resembling a goal struck by a man lacking confidence. Maybe the Mayans were right....

o We don't know which sight was more hilarious: Lukas Podolski warming up on the sideline with a substitute's bib pulled over his calf-length puffer coat or yet another Foreign Flopper™ rolling in agony after being airbrushed by West Brom defender Steven Reid: Congratulations go to Santi Cazorla for winning our Play Actor of the Week Award....

o Allowing two goals after the 89th minute is never a good thing, but it's especially bad when your team is developing a reputation for throwing away points late in matches. AVB's boys did it again on Sunday at Everton, and his team looks much too inconsistent to seriously challenge for the last Champions League spot. 

o Not to mention the fact that the Bearded Wonder™ seems bent on making Hugo Lloris his number one goalkeeper, a decision that proved fateful when the Frenchman appeared at fault on at least one -- and possibly both -- of the late Everton goals.

Bern-ed: Liverpool 2 - Young Boys Bern 2

photo by lizbadley	via PhotoRee

 

 

Correspondent Scott likes Young Boys -- Bern, that is:

 

Not being that familiar with Swiss football, I found myself Googling Liverpool’s opponents for their Thanksgiving Day Europa League game. And while I can’t remember everything I read about BSC Young Boys, I do have a lingering uneasiness about that worrisome entry in my internet browser history.

But my uneasiness pales in comparison to that which must be festering in Brendan Rodgers, whose team twice blew leads at Anfield to manage only a tie against their Alpine visitors. After Anji’s defeat of Udinese earlier in the day, Liverpool could have qualified for the next round of the Europa League with a game to spare by simply holding serve at home. Instead, despite throwing a kitchen sink of second half substitutes on the pitch, the Reds will have to continue to split their focus between Premier League and Europa League for one more match day, at least.

Liverpool’s first goal was a long time coming as, aside from a few sections of time, they controlled the game from the start. So it was no surprise to see that Jonjo Shelvey, continuing to enjoy his Europa Leage groove, was in the right place at the right time to nod home in the 33^rd minute for his fourth goal of this campaign. What was surprising, stunningly so, was to see Raul Bobadilla’s sublime control and left-footed volley in the 52^nd minute that leveled the score and muted the Kop. The Argentine displayed incredible skill in bringing the long pass down on his thigh, after twisting around to meet the ball while sprinting from Jordan Henderson, and then firing past the lunging Pepe Reina from an acute angle into the upper netting.

The Worst of the Worst

A New Award for the Holiday Season: The Ballon du Merde
photo by johannal	via PhotoRee

It seems as if virtually everyone else has used the Christmas break to come up with their Season-to-Date Recaps, or EPL Best XI list, but we don't work like that here at farlieonfootie.  Instead, we're proposing to do something just a little bit different.  Herewith the First Annual farlieonfootie Nominations for the Ballon du Merde, a new award we're trying to convince FIFA to grant to this year's worst players in the EPL:


Goalkeeper: Robert Green, West Ham United.  His problems began back in the World Cup, allowing an inexplicable goal against the USA and promptly losing his starting spot, and have continued into the EPL season.  By allowing 31 goals so far, Green's conceded more often than any other 'keeper in the EPL this year (he's actually tied for this dubious honor with Scott Carson of West Brom).  Although Green's not always terrible, he's routinely bad enough to take home the prize this year. 


Defender: Jonathan Spector, West Ham United.  Dismiss the two goals he scored against Manchester United in the League Cup, and focus more on Spector's consistently poor defending, which sets an awful standard even for an American.  He's been so bad in defense that the Hammers are now trying to hide him in midfield  They'd be better off hiding him on the bench.


Defender: Richard Dunne, Aston Villa.  Where did this guy's skills go?  Like Rhett Butler, they're seemingly Gone With the Wind.  Last year this guy was a joy to behold and a rock in the center of defense.  This season he's arguing with management and his status is sinking like a rock.  What a difference a year makes.

Footie Tricks and Treats for Halloween

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Treat, Part 1.  Lots of reaction on the internet to Nani's goal against Spurs yesterday.  Have your say in the poll on the right, but here's my well thought out and fully reasoned point of view:


Despite all the controversy, let's dispatch this point right off: Whether right or wrong, the goal had absolutely no effect on the game. Spurs, especially after Van der Vaart limped off at the 75 minute mark, never looked the least bit like threatening the United goal in the latter half of the game, let alone the final few minutes. All the incident changed was the main talking point after the game, not the end result. United won, Spurs lost, and the three points were well deserved.


Second, these controversial calls even out over time.  Don't think this old adage is true?  I'll trade yesterday's meaningless goal for a recall of Didier Drogba's offside goal at Old Trafford last April (that effectively decided the EPL title) any day of the week. Also, Spurs fans are hard pressed to complain. How soon have they forgotten their own controversial win against Stoke City in August, in which a Stoke shot went over the goal line but was never judged a goal by the referee, allowing Spurs to hang on for a 2-1 win rather than having to settle for a 2-2 tie.

Furthermore, the whole thing smacks of United hating and sour grapes to me. The foul on Nani was clear. I've read lots of stuff about how he dove (and I am not saying he is not guiltier of that offense than most, just that he wasn't guilty of it here), but even the announcers watching the game went out of their way to point out that Nani actually made a special effort to stay on his feet in the box during the play. I've seen penalties given for much lesser contact on many occasions -- remember the Vidic penalty where he got flagged last November for shirt pulling against Pompey? --  and Younes Kaboul clearly had both hands grabbing and pulling Nani's shirt in an effort to slow him down.

The fact that Clattenburg didn't call a penalty straight away was the referee's biggest blunder of the night, not the controversy that followed, and he paid the price for his willful ignorance of Kaboul's tugging in the box because of the craziness that ensued.

How Gomes escapes blame for this inicdent is also beyond me.  It wasn't Clattenburg or the assistant referee who signaled free kick, so I don't know where Gomes got the idea that he should treat it as such. He made a major mistake by putting the ball on the ground and then wildly gesticulating at his teammates, who all behaved as if they had at least some idea that the whistle had not been blown. Otherwise, why did they stay so close to him that he had to chase them away with his crazy arm waving and gesturing?

Finally, I have no time for those who say this was "unsporting-like behavior" on Nani's part. Get over your sanctimonious selves, and realize that the players are obligated by their teams and the fans to play until the whistle is sounded. Even the smallest children who play the game are taught this lesson.  Before taking the ball, Nani looks repeatedly at Clattenburg, who shrugs his shoulders in repsonse, as if to say "What are you waiting for?"

What should Nani have done?  Patted Gomes on the back and said "Hey mate, you've made a horrible mistake by assuming that's a free kick. Here, let me get out of your way so you can get on with it?"  Please; get real. 


Treat, Part 2: Man, did Newcastle lay a beating on Sunderland, or what?  You can tell how much this northeast derby means to the players -- let alone the fans -- by watching the Newcastle players' reaction after skipper Kevin Nolan opened the scoring. The first goal was stupendous -- Nolan sitting down on purpose to get in position for the low rebound, before kicking it backward over his shoulder and into the net -- but the reaction that accompanied it was priceless, reminiscent of the scrum that accompanies a game-ending NFL fumble. Only this time it was inside Sunderland's goal mouth on derby day in front of 50,000-plus adoring fans at St James Park.  Made for a wild scene, that's for sure, and the rest of the day wasn't half bad, either, for those Toon-ies lucky enough to be watching the game in person.


Shola Ameobi's penalty was also a treat. Well struck, low and in the corner, leaving virtually chance for Sunderland's goalie to stop it. If Ameobi  misses, Sunderland may grasp a lifeline into the game. Make it, and the contest is effectively done at the 45 minute mark. Up steps Ameobi, and its game over -- Well done.

And although some may have picked Newcastle to win at home, did anyone see a 5-1 blowout coming on derby day?  The combination of Kevin Nolan and Shola Ameobi was simply unstoppable, and should take some of the unjustified pressure off manager Chris Hughton as the Geordies move up into 7th place in the league. The newcomers from the Championship (including Blackpool and WBA) haven't done half badly to date, have they?

Trick, Part 1:  Hate to say it, but Chelsea are playing the kind of football that wins championships. Outplayed by Blackburn Rovers for much of the match yesterday, the Blues simply found a way to win in the end.  Several months from now no one will remember that the Blues played poorly and could easily have lost the game, but the three points they earned will be safely in the bank at season's end.  Blackburn away is never an easy test for any team, and Chelsea may have cut it close, but they still got a passing grade.

Trick, Part 2: Well, Liverpool's late winner this afternoon capped a comeback weekend for three teams that I would have liked to see lose: Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool all won with goals after the 80 minute mark.  Made for an exciting, but ultimately disappointing, two days of football.


On the bright side, though, I was stunned when I heard the statistic that David N'gog is Liverpool's leading goal scorer this season; that alone says everything you need to know about how the Scousers' season has gone to date. In case you somehow missed that statistic, the sight of Joe Cole limping off the pitch after another eminently forgettable appearance was confirmation, as well, that this guy's no Lionel Messi, and Liverpool, despite their win today, is no title contender.


And that's farlieonfootie for November 1.