The Evil Emperor: Perspective from a Liverpool Fan

Scott in happier days....
photo by scragz	via PhotoRee

At least Correspondent Scott has never claimed to be unbiased. Here are this Liverpool fan's thoughts on Sir Alex' departure, and the appointment of David Moyes as his successor at Manchester United:

Darth Ferguson’s Evil MU Empire is coming to an end.  I have mixed emotions.  On the one hand, I can’t imagine another manager having the same success he has had over the past 26 years, so his departure should bode well for Liverpool and all the other Premier League teams.  On the other hand, after two 2-1 losses (fraught with burglary and buggery) to his Evil Empire this season, it is excruciating never to have another shot at putting the red-faced Scot in his place.  I feel like Lucy not only moved the football for the umpteenth time, but then up and walked home with it leaving me alone to stew in my zig-zaggy shirt.  Curse you, Darth Ferguson!

Even more curses upon the appointment of David Moyes to succeed the Dark Lord.  Despite the requisite Liverpudlian rivalry, I respect, admire and, yes, even like the Evertonian Scot who has consistently punched above his budget for a decade-plus in the Premier League.  Yet, sadly, it is inevitable that, like young Anakin, Moyes will be seduced by the Dark Side and I will have the happy literary license of consonant alliteration when I forevermore (until he is replaced) refer to him as Darth David.

This is farlieonfootie for May 10. 

It's Hard to Say Goodbye

 

 

We thought about showing a Manchester United flag on our website, and playing martial music as if we were a communist country that had just lost its Dear Leader, but we rejected that. Fergie always said the club is bigger than any one person, and we're about to see if it's true. Like Sir Matt before him, Sir Alex Ferguson is leaving the building, and no one is quite sure what will come next.

Instead of writing something mawkish and dreary, lamenting our loss, we at farlieonfootie would rather focus on celebrating what we had -- how good it has been during the 'Alex Ferguson era' at Manchester United. So we're re-publishing something we wrote two seasons ago, in full.

Because we still can't say it any better:

In anticipation of the game Sunday, I was reading a piece by Daniel Taylor in The Guardian yesterday in which he alluded to an interview conducted recently with Kenny Dalglish. While talking about the bitter rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool, the Anfield head man admitted to a sense of regret over United's ascendancy in recent years:

"I never considered they would catch us," [Dalglish] admitted.  "You take greater satisfaction from when your own team is successful, and [Manchester United have] been more successful than Liverpool over the past 20 years."

The quote got me to thinking.  Nothing in life is guaranteed, and those of us fortunate enough to be fans of Manchester United have had it pretty good of  late: 11 League titles, five FA Cup trophies, two European Champions League titles and a bunch of other awards and honors (35 in total) during Sir Alex Ferguson's time in charge alone.   That's quite a haul by any stretch of the imagination.  Laissez le bon temps rouler, as they'll be saying next week in Louisiana.

And it's tempting to think it'll go on forever.  I'm certain it must have felt that way to Liverpool supporters in the '70s and '80s, good times continually abounding, the League title coming back to Anfield 11 times in that 20 year span, and the next one seemingly always right around the corner.  But nothing lasts forever.

Which is why I'm sitting back and really enjoying this season.  Appreciating it not only for what it is, but for what it may still become.  Because one day it'll be gone.  This is not meant to be a work of doom and gloom, a piece to make all United fans sad -- "Remember, man, you are dust, and to dust you shall return."  We'll save that particular downer for Ash Wednesday next week.

No, this is rather more of a "Stop and smell the roses" piece, thanking the heavens above for Sir Alex and the current crop of Reds.  We have the best team in England -- fact.  We've won the European Cup twice in the past decade, and expect to challenge for it every year, including the present one -- fact.  We expect (not hope) to win every game we play, and are bitterly disappointed when it doesn't happen -- fact.  Not many fans of many teams in any sport the entire world over can state the truisms that we as the United faithful can.

We Agree, I think

photo by Ed Yourdon	via PhotoRee

Scene: IN THE MIDST OF AN IMPASSIONED DISCUSSION BETWEEN CORRESPONDENTS ED AND JAMES

Topic:  SPURS

Dateline: YESTERDAY

Ed:  I wanted to note for the record that Spurs stunk and couldn’t score against Southampton, even though your whipping boy [Scott] Parker wasn’t playing.  

James: Well, dear Sir: Notwithstanding the absence of "My Whipping Boy" (I don't know if I really like how that reads) - the fundamental problem created by the impact of  Parker's skill set on this year's squad (e.g., sans Luka Modric) was not rectified by AVB's lineup last Saturday (of course it really wasn't rectified when Daniel Levy failed to get off his ass once again in the last two transfer windows).  To wit, there is no one, since the Sandro injury, who has been instructed to consistently occupy the defensive sweeper role (although I think that  Dembele, Parker and Jake  Livermore are more than capable).  And there is no one on the entire squad with the SKILL SET to recycle possession and trigger up field movement.  No one, that is, except for young Tommy Carroll - who for whatever reason AVB has chosen not to blood in this year. 

With the supremely athletic Sandro as a sweeper, Moussa Dembele was able to occupy the recycler role kinda sort of non-conventionally.  Specifically, Sandro covered so much ground that Dembele, after he got it from Sandro, could simply run the ball up field and then dump it into a void created by the sheer speed of the Sandro process, as opposed to running headlong into three opposing players and being dispossessed as Parker does most of the time.   What I can't for the life of me understand is why AVB doesn't just tell Parker to stay the f-- back there, do his whole pestering, tackling, disruptive thing and then get the ball to Dembele.

Game Day Beer Review: Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project Fluffy White Rabbits Tripel Ale

photo by rossjl	via PhotoRee

(8.5% ABV)   An excellent beer from a very talented husband and wife team that are "gypsy brewers" in the Boston area -- meaning they don't own their own brewery, but they aren't contract brewing, either.  Instead, the Pretty Things team controls all aspects of the brewing process in someone else's brewery while their beer is under production.  The duo are very hands on during the beer making process, and it clearly shows.  We were fortunate enough to taste their most recent effort last week:

Fluffy White Rabbits poured a brilliant deep gold color, with a tiny whisp of a head noticeable. Fluffy White Rabbits also left behind some lacing and a trail of clear alcohol on the side of the glass, a testament to the legs in the beer.

The beer smelled primarily of hops and peppery spices, with a subtle note of Belgian yeast also apparent.

Fluffy White Rabbits combined an orange citrus flavor married with the drying restraint of hops and Belgian yeast. The beer offered a relatively viscous mouthfeel with nice carbonation. Recommended. A-

Flat: Chelsea 1 - Manchester United 0

photo by OliBac	via PhotoRee

Juan Mata led visiting Chelsea to a narrow 1-0 victory over a flat and disjointed Manchester United in a game that showcased more fireworks in the final five minutes than it did in the previous 85.  Continuing their rather inexplicable hoodoo over the home side, Chelsea managed to not only beat the Reds, but pull off something no other team has done in quite some time -- shutting out United at home -- and tightened their grip on third place in the crucial Champions League race.  

The Blues looked threatening right from the get go, with Juan Mata picking out Demba Ba in front of Anders Lindegaard, but the quickness of the Spaniard's cross took the Chelsea forward by surprise and the opportunity went begging.  The visitors spread the field and plied early pressure upon their hosts, with a number of Chelsea players unsuccessfully testing the Danish goalkeeper in the opening twenty minutes.

For their part, the home side waited until the ninth minute to get their attack started, but for the most part it was all bark and no bite in the game's early going.  For a second week running it was the champions looking ragged on both sides of the ball in the first half, and laboring to get their game in gear.

With the first half gone, the somewhat tame affair had  been largely dominated by the visitors, although a flurry of opportunities for the home side, including Robin Van Persie's attempt to steer in Ryan Gigg's 30 yard pass just before the whistle, was perhaps a sign that they could build on for the second forty five.

Game Day Beer Review: Cold Storage Craft Brewery Florida Avenue American Pale Wheat Ale

 

(4.70% ABV)  Poured on draft at the Sheraton Westshore in Tampa, Florida.  The beer was served in a glass that still retained a film of dishwater soap on certain spots -- thus the bubbles sticking to the side of the glass in the photo above.

The beer itself was only mildly more impressive than the appearance of the glass.  Florida Avenue Ale wasclear gold color and smelled ever so faintly like grain. Overall, the beer offered only a very innocuous smell.

The taste followed the nose with the exception of a slight citrus/lemon note at the end.  It contained lively carbonation, but the beer had a very thin mouthfeel.

Overall, we'd have to say this beer was truly nothing special -- a beer like this won't convert many to the craft beer revolution: C

Things That Sound Good But Aren't

photo by jaygooby	via PhotoRee

Like Ed's thoughts today, for starters:

I'm excited that Borussia Dortmund is in the Champions League finals. I've always enjoyed their attacking style of play, their talented midfielders, and of course Robert Lewandoski. I'm also a fan because I know they're not a big budget team like Manchester United -- just to throw out a name -- a team who last year bought one of their players and if rumors are correct tried to buy two. Bummer to be Shinji Kagawa at this point I guess.

I'm also pleased for Bayern Munich, not so much because I'm a fan, but more because they fought so hard for it and are (regardless of outcome) the best team in Europe this year. The way they pressed high but backed off once beaten, the way they played a physical man-to-man defense on Xavi and Iniesta, they way they countered fast with width -- none of this was that new, but I expect everyone to do it against against the diminutive Spaniards now that we know it works. Plus Bayern were probably unjustly robbed last year when they lost to an inferior Chelsea squad who played above their ability throughout the tournament. I also remember Bayern beating up Manchester City in the group stage. At the time I thought City was weaker than I thought; now I think it was Bayern that was tougher than I thought.

But yet, but yet, despite all of this I'm not that excited about the final. These two teams know each other very well and play each other often. Advantage Bayern, therefore, even though Dortmund has gotten the better of them in the past. Plus, it would seem this battle has already been decided in the Bundesliga (I could say that over and over even though I don't like watching it much) over a 38 game season. Playing it again, even if for a different trophy, just doesn't seem right.

* * *

Wow, was that really Barcelona that Bayern played the other night? I've never seen that team look so positively meek. Some time ago I wrote an article questioning whether it was personnel or tactics that made Barca so good. Well, Barca without Messi and several others looked so very ordinary, it would seem an argument in favor of personnel. That said, their coach missed much of the season, and the team also looked sloppy tactically or at least positionally. Either way, I'm still shocked that Bayern put them out of the tournament 7 to 0. They lost their will and their pride. And now Bayern has their old coach? Egads!

Luis Who?

Luis Suarez is More Than Just a State of Mind for Correspondent Scott
photo by .Martin.	via PhotoRee

Even when winning 6-0, Scott can't stop talking -- or writing -- about Luis.  It's a man crush kind of sort of thing....

Rarely has a furor been forgotten so quickly as when Liverpool poured in six goals against flailing Newcastle in only the first of Luis Suarez's 10-match ban for his zombie-sans-rotting-flesh act.  Playing right from the start as if they were as hungry as the punished Uruguayan, it was only three minutes in when Daniel Agger's glancing header got the party started.

After that, with Philippe Coutinho conducting the ensemble, Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge each netted twice and Fabio Borini added another for good measure. Borini can be forgiven his energetic celebration of a goal that put the visitors up 5-0, given that he was a mere 34 seconds back from lengthy injury, having come on as a substitute in the second half. Although, I won't be having my children examine the Italian's technique as it was a healthy slice of toe that propelled his score past a very competent but completely overwhelmed Toon 'keeper. 

Meanwhile, despite two scores and inspired play throughout his time on the pitch, Sturridge seemed to contract a tricky case of cocklaphobia. So paralyzed was he with his irrational fear that, with two goals already to his name, he couldn't even bring himself to shoot (nor find the dismayed Coutinho to his right) when put through on goal in the late stages. 

Game Day Beer Review: D.L. Geary Brewing English Pale Ale

Poured from the bottle at Legal Sea Foods in Boston, Massachusetts.  The setting was the end of a beautiful New England spring day - sunny and mild, with temperatures in the upper 60s.  Legal Seafoods is located less than a half a mile from where the Boston bombings occurred two weeks ago -- a site that we visited yesterday to pay our respects to both those departed and those injured by the terrorist actions.

Geary's poured a copper orange/brown with a full white head.  The beer smelled of malt, fruit and bread.

It's a medium carbonated, medium mouthfeel beer.  Fairly traditional malt flavors dominate.  There's nothing out of bounds here -- these guys are plowing familiar ground, but they do it really well.  B+

Overlooked: Four Who Missed Out on the PFA Team of the Season

photo by Tom (hmm a rosa tint)	via PhotoRee

By now we all know who made the Professional Footballers Association 2013 Team of the Season, but what about those who didn't?  farlieonfootie sends our crack reporting team in search of those who fell just short:

o Michu: How can the league's fifth leading scorer be kept off the team, particularly by the likes of Eden Hazard...?  Sure, the Frenchman showed some fancy footowork, but 17 goals can't -- and shouldn't --be ignored.  If the awards had been announced midway through the season, Michu would likely have won PFA Player of the season hands down.  Yes, he cooled off somewhat in the season's second half, but let's not forget what he did and what he meant to his team.  A certain oversight.

o Asmir Begovic or Simone Mignolet: It's tough to distinguish between the two, as they made spectacular save after spectacular save virtually all season long.  Injuries took their toll on Stoke's defense, and Sunderland is Sunderland -- but look at what their 'keepers did....  Think about how bad Stoke would be without the big Bosnian in between the sticks.  Hint: they failed to score in 15 of their games this season; that's relegation material if ever we heard it.  And as for Sunderland, 11 clean sheets with that motley crew is pretty damn impressive.  We love David De Gea, but come on -- someone give these two some love, as well.