The Premier League Odds and Sods for 17 December 2007
Hoofing and Running
Repeatedly into wall
Liverpool football
Liverpool lost to Manchester United 0-1 at Anfield. Unfortunately for the Kop, Mr. Hyde showed up in a Liverpool shirt again. The best fans in the world duly obliged by leaving the ground early, perhaps so the one poor fellow who tried to beat the traffic would never walk alone.
It was a brilliant defensive effort by United. Liverpool was big George Foreman in Zaire badgering the United defense, while the Red Devils were Ali patiently waiting to provide a lethal counterattack. They only needed one goal as Liverpool tired themselves out and displayed little verve or enthusiasm at the end of the match.
The loss leaves Liverpool 10 pts behind Arsenal, with four teams to leap-frog. Barring an unforeseen run of form, they are out of the title race. Benitez must make a choice. He must go all out for the title or buckle down and concentrate on the Champions League. As with his goatee, the in-between route is not working.
In the other big Sunday match, Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 at the Emirates. Both sides were a bit depleted for this match. Chelsea were missing arguably their two most essential players in Drogba and Essien. They then lost a third when Captain John (perhaps not for much longer) went down with a metatarsal injury. Arsenal got Hleb, Flamini, and Fabregas back into, though none were truly fit and it manifested itself in their timing.
30m GBP waste of space Andriy Shevchenko started by himself up front for the Blues. He proved that he is still a world-class striker, when the ball is perfectly positioned for him and he doesn’t have to move. His display was a damning indictment of his position within the squad. His snail-paced runs were ignored by teammates. A young holding midfielder like John Obi Mikel feels he is entitled to shove him out of the way to take a direct free kick. It’s hard to see how that situation can remain tenable beyond this season. He may be training like a girl in America after June.
Almunia, who bears a striking resemblence to Waluigi, was the man of the match for the Gunners. He made numerous spectacular saves to preserve the clean sheet. He can now wear the big boy pants and retort to Crazy Jens that he has won a big match for the club.
Brave John Terry went down with an apparent metatarsal injury, to Chelsea fans’ horror and neutrals’ delight. The fact that he would pick up a metatarsal injury is not surprising, he is an England footballer after all. What is surprising is that it was not caused by a stripper’s stiletto. With Chelsea players dropping like flies and the responsibility resting on Fat Frank’s shoulders, it looks like this may be a winter of discontent for Chelsea.
One-nil to the Arsenal…
Man City beat Bolton 4-2 at home. The win moves City back into the Champions League places with a 3 pt edge on Liverpool. City looked rubbish in the first half. Sven’s choice of playing a more open formation backfired as Bolton took advantage to break through the midfield. Kevin Nolan scored a goal with as much flourish as his prose. The second half, however, was a bit better for City as they took control of the match.
Sven has been rumored to be in the market for a surly striker, Adriano or Anelka, and with good reason. Bianchi has shown a bit of brightness of late, but he is not a lead striker. He also looks ridiculous wearing a sweater under his shirt. Darius Vassell positions himself well but looks woeful when actually required to play football. He squandered numerous chances. Vassell’s most telling moment was when he scored a goal by accident, than stared at the ball in the net in disbelief for a split-second before celebrating.
In what was probably the least correctly predicted result of the weekend, Wigan edged Blackburn 5-3 at home. Wigan had only scored 12 goals in their previous 16 matches, so this result brought their goals per game average up to merely marginal incompetence. The result was not due to skillful play as atrocious defending at both ends. Blackburn were often scrambling around like the Keystone cops. Two of Santa Cruz’s hat trick were the direct result of missed markings by Titus Bramble.
