I wish I was 12 years old again. Back when Blackburn were giants by virtue of Jack Walker’s (RIP) greens and had the most feared strike force in Shearer and Sutton (SAS they called it). I liked them. I think I still can name most of the team. Let’s see… Tim Flowers, (the unpassable) Colin Hendry, Ian Pearce, Jeff Kenna (never rated him), Tim Sherwood (El Capitan!), the wingers Jason Wilcox and Stuart Ripley, and of course Shearer and Sutton.
Liverpool were great too. By great I mean stylishly dressed on cup final day. On the field, they were unpredictable. I remember sitting through some games where Liverpool would have all the possession and yet not get anywhere near the goal. Their defence was also suspect to say the least with the likes of the Babbie doll and Scales. Jason Mac was usually too busy attacking to bother tracking back. After all, wingback does have ‘wing’ in it. Continue Reading…
Arse: Em-manure Adebayor.
You have been Skrtelled!
YNWA
In Rafa’s latest interview with journalist/pundit/friend Guillem Balague, the infamous rotation policy and tactics are discussed.
On Valencia And Liverpool
Rafa says that when he arrived at Valencia, the team was already “dangerous, solid, and well put together”. In the case of Liverpool, he inherited a team “low in confidence”. (read: used to losing)
When asked if he models his Liverpool side like his successful Valencia side, Rafa’s typically evasive response was that he likes “a team that knows when it’s time to maintain possession and play the short ball and by the same token a team that knows when it’s time to take a more direct approach”.
Derek says:
It’s true. Valencia already had the likes of Baraja, Rufete, Canizares, Ayala, Albelda and Vicente when he got there. Liverpool? Stevie G, Carra and… Neil Mellor? Valencia already had an awesome spine and even though they lacked a world class striker (Mista is not world class), getting goals was never a problem.
I don’t think he models the current Pool after the old Valencia. Valencia were very much dependent on their wingers like Vicente and Rufete, and to some extent Aimar, performing, which they did consistently. Simply put, Liverpool has no winger, even if Stevie G plays wide right, of the same calibre as the unstoppable Vicente.
Continue Reading…
One of the ‘Big Four’ in the English Premier League, Liverpool is chok full of talented footballers (more than a few duds as well). Their full squad consists of countless internationals but, at any one time, only 11 players can be on the pitch. I like most Liverpool fans, have my opinion of who deserves to be in the first team.
Assuming a 442 formation, no injuries and no rotations, these are my choices:
GK: Pepe Reina
A non event here. Scotty Carson’s in Villa and the rest (like Charles whatshisface) aren’t worth mentioning. Fantastic distributor of the ball. Continue Reading…
