The show must go on...

I wasn't able to comment on the last gameweek, but I think that enough has been said about the issue. It is a pity to see this kind of refereeing in the top football championship. Anyway, I have just finished working on my dissertation and I will now have time to keep an almost daily update.

Tomorrow's game HAS to be won. LFC has a relatively easy schedule until the Euro qualifiers break, so it'd be good to make the most of it.

My prediction on the lineup:

Reina
Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Arbeloa
Pennant, Alonso, Mascherano, Riise
Crouch, Torres

Given that Torres will not be needed for the Toulouse game, I'd bank on him starting. I wouldn't bank on Riise though, since I have a feeling about Babel starting. I am sure that Stevie G will not start since this is not a game that we need our injured captain to play.

Prediction on score: 2-0
Liverpool have not yet conceded a non-penalty goal so far, which is encouraging. Apart from that, this may sound weird but after two penalties in two games and all the hassle with last week's penalty, I really think the ref will think about it twice before awarding a penalty for Sunderland....

Mid-Summer Christmas Morning

Right.

Brace yourselves Ladies and Gentlemen. It a Big Sunday today. Been looking forward to today all week. Man City - MAn Utd and Liverpool - Chelsea. Since I woke up - half an hour ago- I have the feeling of a kid waking up on Christmas day. Can't wait to rush under the Christmas tree and see what's waiting for me.

Appetizer: Man City - Man Utd


This will be exciting. It will be even more exciting for me since I have tickets for the game. I haven't studied none of the teams too careful in the past two weeks, but I'd expect United to play with Tevez as the only striker, getting help from Giggs and Scholes. The fact that Rooney and Ronaldo are not playing gives City a big chance to get some points from this game. I went to 4 City games last season: Sheffield, Newcastle, Chelsea and Liverpool. Apart from the Chelsea game in which Lampard scored a penalty, all the others ended 0-0. So I'm going to have a bet on a goal-less draw. I would expect, however at least one goal from City. On the other hand, United are desperate for the first win and what would be better than one at their rivals' home?

Main Dish: Liverpool - Chelsea


I'd expect a Liverpol line-up like this:

Reina
Finnan, Agger, Carragher, Arbeloa
Pennant, Alonso, Gerrard, Riise
Kuyt, Torres

There is a slight chance to see Babel or Benayoun at the wings and Mascherano instead of Alonso. Liverpool will definitely score. I'd even expect Fernando's first goal in the Premier League today. Final score? 1-0 or 2-1, but I wouldn't bank on it...

There is also a rumour going around about Gerrard not starting. I really doubt that, although it is possible to see him being subbed at about 70th minute if everything goes well....

On the Chelsea side, Terry is back, but I don't know whether he'll either start or give his 100%. Jose does not have many options at the centre-backs so expect Terry to start...

Desert: Rest

After all this action all day what could be better than watching the weekend's highlights and trying to sober up from all the beers you had...

You'll probably hear from me at the end of the week when -if everything goes well- I'll be done with my dissertation and have time to analyze my dull life...
Cheers

Liverpool starting the season...

In case you have not already realized, I am a Liverpool fan.

Get this straight: I am a Liverpool fan, from Athens, currently studying in Manchester....

Even better: I am a Liverpool fan from Athens who was IN MANCHESTER when Liverpool was in the Champions League final in Athens....

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(let me weep will you???)
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Okay, I'm back.
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Anyway, ever since I remember myself was a fan of Liverpool.
Liverpool and Olympiakos but the latter is an issue I'm still dealing with... :p

This summer Liverpool filled me with hope that I did not have during the last year.

First of all, we have a brilliant gaffer. Our manager is master in discovering talents, motivating the team as well as a brilliant tactician.

Our skipper is pure inspiration. Steven Gerrard is the best that English football has to offer today: leadership, power, genius...

After Liverpool being bought by Gillette and Hicks, we've been offered a big pile of cash to spend on transfers. Given what I said about Benitez, I do believe we've spent it wisely. We could use one more defender -espessialy on the left wing since my much beloved Riise sometimes forgets about his defensive duties- but I still trust the gaffer's choices...

We have one of the most promising strikers in Europe today (Fernando Torres) accompanied by players like Kuyt and Crouch that have proven that can get it done.
We managed to get one of Europe's most promising wingers - Ryan Babel- and a pacey midfielder like Benayoun.
Voronin has also proven to be a surprise free purchase.

Our first game is on Saturday against Aston Villa. If this was a mid-season game and Liverpool were contesting for the premier league, I wouldn't be as scared as I am now. Liverpool are known not to be able to make the most out of the first league games. If you also consider that 5 days later we face Toulouse for the Champions League qualifiers -an important cash injection- you will understand the reason behind my worries.

My wish is that the lads will take it easy, will not stress and start the title race confidently.
My fear is that the lads will strive to prove their determination to win the league this year, will stress and not deliver...

Just because I am superstitious, I will give a prediction on Saturdays game (most of my predictions are right normally) :
Liverpool's side (ALTHOUGH I HAVE NOT WATCHED ANY OF LIVERPOOL'S PRE-SEASON GAMES):

REINA,
FINNAN, CARRAGHER, AGGER, RIISE
PENNANT, ALONSO, GERRARD, KEWELL
KUYT, TORRES

Rafa will not fear attack but I also think we will not face a counter-attack problem: Carragher will be watching our back.

I think the score will be 2-1 for Liverpool. I have a feeling that Gerrard will score...

That's all for liverpool... see you on Sunday...!

Football Evolving

Football has changed throughout the years. It started as a hobby and became a profession. It evolved to become a means of expression for a group of people. It grew larger to become an expression of a whole country. Today, football is as commercialized as no other sport globally. Typical example of that is the recent transfer of David Beckham to L.A. Galaxy. In spite of the relatively low popularity of the sport in the States, Europe is on a constant update of the Englishman's status. Is he injured? Did he score? How was his training?

Europe is the land of promise for football today. The Champions League, the Premiership, La Liga - they're all markets with a lot of profit margin, something that has led a lot of businesses to hugely invest in European markets. This has both helped football evolve and not. It has helped it evolve by allowing clubs invest in their youth academies, build beautiful stadiums and improve hugely the experience of watching a football match. However, due to the amount of money at stake, there are a lot of cases where games become boring. Teams tend to follow more the Italian model of football: Score a goal and then just defend. Many people have condemned this, but my opinion is that there's nothing you can do, so just enjoy what you get.


But what happens when this attitude moves to areas and competitions that have always been about performance rather than result?

I recently watched the Copa America. A competition where the latin style of play is adopted by all participating teams resulting in beautiful spectacle. To be honest I was surprised by the teams' open style of playing and every game I was was exciting. All but the final.

Being a game between Brazil and Argentina, two nations whose rivalry has lived throughout the years, I expected to see something at least equivalent to (if not even better than) the games I had watched so far. I was wrong.

Brazil was missing their two great stars (Ronaldinho and Kaka') so some young players were brought in the pitch. Simply thinking, youngsters playing in a Copa America final would normally help the spectacle since they all would want to prove themselves in the typical Brazilian type of playing. Again I was wrong.

Brazil came in the pitch in a fully-defensive formation. They were marking as good as Italians and just relied on counter attacks to score. The game ended 3-0 for Brazil and all 3 goals came from counter attacks. Needless to say, only Argentina was trying to play creatively, but they were being blocked by the double layer of Brazilian defense. If that was a European Cup final, I would not complain. That's a style that Europeans tend to play. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. However, it was Brazil who was playing. A country notorious about its creative style and exciting dribbling.

Now, two days later, I watched an under-19 game between Greece and Spain. The group standings were such that if they drew, both teams progressed to the next round regardless of what happened in the other game of the group. In spite of their young age, the game's second half must have been less exciting than an accountant's daily schedule. Needless to say, the game ended 0-0.

If football has come to a point where the result is everything and everything else is sacrificed in favor of the final result, even in competitions of lower standards, then we are walking down a strange road. I do not know whether this will be very good for both the winning teams or the sport itself. Unless something is done, the next evolution of football will not be very popular...

We follow...Football

So, we had nothing to do on a Saturday and decided to go to an FC United's football match. If you are not aware of the club, it's full name is Football Club United of Manchester and it was created by Manchester United's fans that opposed the club's buy-out by an American entrepreneur - Glazer. Their first season started last year at North-West Division 2 and where promoted to North-West Division 1 this year.

The opponent was called Bacup Borough FC. From the first second we entered the stadium, we encountered something totally different from what we were used to back home. Women and children, teenagers and old people, were having a good time. Before the game had started, all the fans were chanting and laughing. During the game, I did not listen to anyone swearing or claiming that the referee is against them or something.

When the second half started, the opponent goalie went to the goalposts nearer to the main fans' core. He was actually joking with the fans. At the end of the game, he was named as man of the match, and since he was a bit overweight, all the fans chanted "Fatty Man of the match... Fatty Fatty Man of the match" and then cheered him....

It was the first time for me to be to an English football match and I must say that despite the fact that the specific game I watched was the less important I will have ever watched in my whole life, I must say that I enjoyed it more than a lot more important games.


On the other hand, budget-wise the whole day consumed the savings I was struggling to make the whole week, but I am not yet off-budget, and that's a big thing!