Fotbalistii Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo sau Zlatan Ibrahimovici sunt printre cei zece aspiranti la premiul Balonul de Aur, acordat in fiecare an celui mai bun jucator din Europa de catre revista franceza France Football, informeaza AFP.

Castigatorul premiului Balonul de Aur va fi anuntat in cadrul unei ceremonii care va avea loc marti, 1 decembrie. Presa il considera principal favorit pe argentinianul Lionel Messi. Trofeul de anul trecut a fost castigat de portughezul Cristiano Ronaldo.

 Lista celor 10 finalisti: Didier Drogba (Coasta de Fildes, Chelsea), Samuel Eto’o (Camerun, FC

Barcelona/Inter Milano), Steven Gerrard (Anglia, Liverpool), Zlatan Ibrahimovici (Suedia, Inter Milano/FC Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Spania, FC Barcelona), Kaka (Brazilia, AC Milan/Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Argentina, FC Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugalia, Manchester United/Real Madrid), Wayne Rooney (Anglia, Manchester United), Xavi (Spania, FC Barcelona). Jucatorii care nu au intrat in finala sunt (locurile 11-30): 11. Fernando Torres (Spania, Liverpool); 12. Cesc Fabregas (Spania, Arsenal); 13. Edin Dzeko (Bosnia, Wolfsburg); 14. Ryan Giggs (Tara Galilor, Manchester United); 15. Thierry Henry (Franta, FC Barcelona); 16. Luis Fabiano (Brazilia, FC Sevilla), Nemanja Vidic (Serbia, Manchester United), Iker Casillas (Spania, Real Madrid); 19. Diego Forlan (Uruguay, Atletico Madrid); 20. Yoann Gourcuff (Franta, Bordeaux); 21. Andrei Arsavin (Rusia, Arsenal), Julio Cesar (Brazilia, Inter Milano), Frank Lampard (Anglia, Chelsea); 24. Maicon (Brazilia, Inter Milano); 25. Diego (Brazilia, Werder Bremen/Juventus Torino); 26. David Villa (Spania, Valencia), John Terry (Anglia, Chelsea); 28. Franck Ribery (Franta, Bayern Munchen), Yaya Toure (Coasta de Fildes, FC Barcelona); 30. Karim Benzema (Franta, Lyon/Real Madrid).

MARIN MIHAI-BLOGUL ROMANILOR  DE PRETUTINDENI(http://mihaimarin.wordpress.com)

Futbol Ingles

Manchester City 1-1 Hull City

 

Portsmouth 1-4 Manchester United

Everton 0-2 Liverpool

Arsenal 0-3 Chelsea

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Ver Tabla de Goleo

Derbies are weird, and both teams have been awful recently, so I had absolutely no idea how this was going to go, beforehand.  There was still no Torres or Aquilani in the starting line-up for Liverpool, but, to be fair, Everton had a whole bunch of their own injury problems.

The opening ten minutes were typically manic, and not a lot of football was played.  Fittingly, for such a scrappy game, Liverpool took the lead, on 11 minutes, from a wildly deflected Mascherano shot.  It didn’t look like it was on target, so it will probably go down as an own goal from Joseph Yobo.

On 17 minutes, Bilyaletdinov missed an open goal and should really have put the Toffees level.  The chance came from a throw-in in to the box, Liverpool’s defence still looks suspect from set pieces.  Everton were looking quite dangerous and were definitely getting the better of the chances.

On 32 minutes, Jo was caught marginally offside after slotting home from a clever turn.  It would have been what Everton deserved as they continued to press the Reds back.  On 42 minutes, Jo put the ball in the back of the net again, but this time he was ridiculously offside.

The half ended 0-1 to Liverpool, despite them being pretty woeful.  Surely they couldn’t be as bad in the second half.

Well, they weren’t quite as bad, but the pattern of the game continued.  The second half was relatively event free until, on 70 minutes, Reina made a excellent double save from Cahill and Fellaini; I really thought that Everton had scored.

On 79 minutes, Kuyt made it 0-2, following up after Howard parried an Albert Riera shot.  It certainly gave an extremely flattering look to the scoreline.  Thankfully, the game became quite comfortable from that point onwards,  and Liverpool were able to see out the end of the game.

The blue half of the city must have come away baffled as to how they lost, but the Reds did just about enough.  Regardless of the local rivalry, it was a crunch game for Liverpool and it was all about the 3 points.  They didn’t play well, but sometimes you have to get a few scrappy wins to get your form going.  Hopefully this is a fresh start for Liverpool.

Liverpool.

“Liverpool” žaidžiantys ispanai Pepe Reina ir Fernando Torres’as palaiko ekipos trenerį Rafa Benitezą, kuris sulaukė milžiniškos kritikos bangos dėl prastos komandos žaidimo.

“Benitezas yra įrodęs, kad būtent jis yra tas žmogus, kuris gali vesti komandą į priekį. Dabar visi ekipos nariai turi susivienyti ir bandyti pasiekti kuo geresnių rezultatų “Premier” lygoje”, – sakė F.Torres’as.

“Rafa turi didžiulį palaikymą tarp žaidėjų, yra geras treneris ir žino, kaip išspausti iš kiekvieno futbolininko maksimumą”, – puolėjui antrino P.Reina.

This week’s Champions League games will go a long way in deciding the final spots in the knockout stage.  Liverpool need a miracle, namely they need to beat Debrecen and they need some Lyon (who’s already in) to beat Fiorentina.  If Fiorentina wins or draws either of their final two games, Liverpool is out.  The Reds will be without Fernando Torres, who’s still battling a groin injury.  Fellow striker Ryan Babel also picked up an injury in the draw with Manchester City this weekend. Defending champion Barcelona finds themselves in a similar boat.  They need to beat Inter Milan at home to keep their chances at advancing alive.  Barca will likely be without Lionel Messi due to injury.  Several players are also ill with the H1N1 virus.

Tuesday’s games
Rubin vs. Dynamo
Arsenal vs. Standard – 9 p.m. ET/Fox Soccer (Delayed)
AZ vs. Olympiacos
Barcelona vs. Inter – 7 p.m. ET/Fox Soccer (Delayed)
Debrecen vs. Liverpool – 2:40 p.m. ET/Setanta (Live); 5 p.m. ET/Fox Soccer (Delayed)
Fiorentina vs. Lyon – 2:30 p.m. ET/Fox Soccer (Live)
Rangers vs. Stuttgart
Unirea Urziceni vs. Sevilla

Can Torres Lift Liverpool To Victory?

We are ever nearing the end of the round robin phase of this year’s Champions League, and with the 5th matchday on the horizon, the story has yet to be fully written.

In Group E top dogs Lyon will face off against similarly high flying Fiorentina in a battle for top of the heap, while struggling Liverpool will take on Debrecen from Hungary, a team that has secured zero points to date in round robin play. Predictions: Lyon to dump Fiorentina. Liverpool to win… even they cant screw this one up.

The closest of all of the groups, Group F’s teams are separated by no more than two points from top to bottom. This week will see European champion Barcelona face off against Italian champion Inter Milan, in a match that may once again pit the teams traded strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto’o against each other. Dynamo Kiev will play a Rubin Kazan team that has surprised everybody except for the small but mighty Russian squad themselves. Predictions: Inter and Barca to tie. Rubin Kazan to win.

Sevilla has already qualified for the next round of play, though all three other teams have a mathematical chance of joining their Spanish counterpart as the second spot in Group G is up for the taking. Unirea Urziceni will have it toughest as they will go against a top Sevilla team, though due to qualification may have the best draw as they will unlikely face the full fury of the Spanish side. Stuttgart an Rangers will face off in what is sure to be a fierce battle and an excellent match, as both teams will need wins to give them a chance to make it to the Round of 16. Predictions Sevilla and Stuttgart to win.

In Group H it’s not quite all said and done, Arsenal requires one point to ensure qualification into the next round. That being said, they will be facing a Standard Liege team who got out to a quick start in their last meeting (though ultimately in a loosing cause) and who will be looking to capitalize early again in their desperate search for points. Olympiacos, on 6 points will face an AZ Alkmaar team that is looking nothing like the side that took the Dutch Eredivisie by storm last season. Alkmaar is in poor shape with only 2 points but still harbours a slight chance of moving forward in the competition. Prediction: Arsenal and AZ Alkmaar to win.

Can The Gunners Pull Through Without Van Persie?

Keep your eyes peeled for my results post and predictions on the second half of the matchday to come. And as always stay connected to cheddarbomb.wordpress.com for keen and witty insight into the world of sport.

La Eurocopa es un campeonato de selecciones masculinas nacionales de fútbol. Es organizado por la UEFA cada cuatro años. En su edición inaugural, el torneo se denominó Copa de Naciones de Europa o Copa de Europa pero en 1968 recibió su denominación actual.

La competición fue fruto de un francés, Henri Delaunay, secretario de la Federación Francesa de Fútbol. Fue quien comenzó a barajar la idea en 1927 pero hasta 1954 no fue cuando empezó a ser una realidad. Algunas selecciones se mostraron reacias a la competición y se consiguió instaurar en el Congreso de la UEFA en 1957, dos años después de la muerte de Delaunay. En su memoria el trofeo que se entrega al ganador lleva su nombre.

Hasta la Euro de 1976 solo participaban cuatro países. Entre 1980 hasta 1996 el número aumentó a ocho. Actualmente son 16 pero en la Euro de 2014 se aumentará a 24 los países que la disputarán.

EUROCOPA FRANCIA 1960.

La competición se dividía en una ronda clasificatoria y una fase final que se disputa en el país anfitrión. Competían un total de 17 selecciones. En esta faltaron países como Italia, Alemania Federal o Inglaterra. A la fase final llegan la Unión Soviética, Checoslovaquia, Francia y Yugoslavia.

En la final ganó la selección soviética (2-1) y destacó el papel del portero soviético Lev Yashin que fue como un muro frente al equipo yugoslavo.

España participó en la ronda clasificatoria pero el General Franco impidió que la selección soviética entrara en España y quedó eliminada de la competición.

EUROCOPA ESPAÑA 1964

Se mantuvo el mismo formato que en la anterior edición. Esta edición la disputaron 29 selecciones.

En la final España se impuso a la Unión Soviética (2-1). La final se disputó en el Santiago Bernabéu. A los seis minutos Jesús Pereda marcó el primer gol del partido, en seguida la selección soviética marcó el empate y a seis minutos del final del partido Marcelino con el memorable cabezazo le dio su primera Eurocopa a la selección española.

EUROCOPA ITALIA 1968

El formato se renovó y se constituyó el formato que ha llegado a la actualidad. En esta edición debutó la República Federal de Alemania con un gran Gerd Müller.

La final la disputaron Italia contra Yugoslavia. Después del tiempo reglamentario el resultado era de empate a uno y la final se resolvió dos días después con un nuevo partido que ganó Italia 2-0.

España cayó en cuartos de final frente a Inglaterra por 2-1.

EUROCOPA BÉLGICA 1972

La fase preliminar se dividió en ocho grupos con cuatro equipos en cada uno. La gran favorita para ganar el título era la República Federal Alemana.

La final se disputó entre la Unión Soviética y la Alemania Federal (3-0) con un gran protagonismo Beckenbauer y Müller.

España en esta ocasión no consiguió pasar la fase de grupos.

EUROCOPA YUGOSLAVIA 1976

Esta Eurocopa ha sido y será eternamente recordada por un penalti que lanzó Antonin Panenka y bautizó con su nombre una nueva modalidad de tirar una pena máxima. Los checos eran los favoritos en esta ocasión aunque el torneo contó con nombres como el de Johan Cruyff o John Toshack.

En la final se encontraron Checoslovaquia y la Alemania Federal. El partido tuvo que resolverse en la tanda de penaltis con el mítico penalti de Panenka que dio a Checoslovaquia la Eurocopa.

España cayó en cuartos de final frente a la Alemania Federal.

EUROCOPA ITALIA 1980

En esta ocasión la UEFA dobló el número de participantes, ocho países entraban en la fase final del torneo. Fue la primera ocasión en la que el equipo anfitrión se clasificaba directamente. Destacó la presencia de Kevin Keegan o Bernard Schuster.

La final fue disputada por Alemania Federal y Bélgica. Partido en el que se impuso la Alemania Federal por 2-1.

España no pasó de la fase de grupos.

EUROCOPA FRANCIA 1984

Destacó la presencia del mejor centro de campo con Michel Platini que era la estrella de la Juventus. España quedó primera de grupo y en las semifinales derrotó a Dinamarca en la tanda de penaltis y llegó a la final contra Francia.

En la final entre Francia y España, los galos se adelantaron de la mano de Platini y en el minuto 90 Bruno Bellone certificó la victoria para los galos.

EUROCOPA ALEMANIA FEDERAL 1988

Entre los grandes favoritos para ganar el trofeo estaban Francia, Italia y Alemania. Con la eliminación de Francia, Italia y Alemania se repartían el favoritismo.

En esta ocasión debutó en la fase final la selección de Irlanda. Jugadores como Paolo Maldini, Frank Rijkaard y Ruud Gullit destacaron en la competición.

En la final se enfrentaron la Unión Soviética y Países Bajos, pese a todo pronóstico. La competición la ganaron los Países Bajos con goles de Gullit y Van Basten.

España no superó la fase de grupos.

EUROCOPA SUECIA 1992

En esta edición la selección de Yugoslavia estaba clasificada para disputar el torneo pero debido a la guerra de los Balcanes fue excluida y su puesto lo ocupó Dinamarca. Destacó la presencia de la selección de la Comunidad de Estados Independientes (CEI) que surgió después de la disolución de la Unión Soviética.

En la final se encontraron las selecciones de Dinamarca y Alemania. Dinamarca no notó la ausencia de Michael Laudrup ya que se impuso 2-0.

España no llegó a clasificarse para la fase final del campeonato.

EUROCOPA INGLATERRA 1996

En esta ocasión el número de equipos se aumentó a 16 que estaban divididos en cuatro grupos de cuatro equipos de los cuales los dos primeros pasaban a cuartos de final, fase que introdujeron en esa ocasión. Aparte de esas innovaciones también se decidió que las fases eliminatorias se decidieran con el “gol de oro”.

En la final se vieron las caras Alemania y la República Checa. Alemania una vez ya unificada consiguió su primer título europeo por 2-1.

España cayó en cuartos de final en la tanda de penaltis frente a Inglaterra.

EUROCOPA BÉLGICA Y PAÍSES BAJOS 2000

En  este campeonato destacó el centro del campo francés que consiguió hacerse con el título, futbolistas como Zinedine Zidane, Didier Deschamps y Patrick Vieira.

En la final Francia se enfrentó a Italia. Los galos se impusieron 2-1 con un gol de Trézéguet en el tiempo de descuento.

España cayó en cuartos frente a Francia con el famoso penalti fallado por Raúl.

EUROCOPA PORTUGAL 2004

Fue la Eurocopa de la sorpresa. Las denominadas “selecciones pequeñas” se impusieron a las grandes potencias futbolísticas.

La final fue un partido muy igualado entre Portugal y Grecia por 1-0. El gol fue obra de Charisteas tras un saque de esquina.

España no consiguió superar la fase de grupos.

EUROCOPA AUSTRIA Y SUIZA 2008

Llegó la hora de que España diera un golpe sobre la mesa del futbol internacional reivindicando la presencia de los “locos bajitos” que controlaban el balón y jugaban al toque.

El punto de inflexión de la selección española fue en cuartos frente a la selección italiana a la que se impusieron en una emocionante tanda de penaltis con un notable Casillas y un sobresaliente Cesc Fábregas que marcó el penalti que nos clasificó a las semifinales. Durante todo el torneo la presencia de David Villa fue destacable y terminó como máximo goleador de la competición.

En la final, España se impusó a la selección de Alemania con un gol de Fernando Torres y un gran control del equipo español.

La próxima Eurcopoca se celebrará en 2012 en Polonia y Ucrania. ¿Quién ganará esta vez? Contaremos su historia.

What you missed while scientists were finding a new type of predator coral that can eat jellyfish…

• David Beckham’s LA Galaxy lost the MLS Cup on penalties to Real Salt Lake last night, but Beckham is still planning on coming back after his AC Milan move, possibly with an eye towards one day owning an MLS franchise. Beckham Beckham Beckham Beckham.
• Jermain Defoe scored five goals in Tottenham’s 9-1 demolition of Wigan.
• Barcelona drew 1-1 with Athletic Bilbao Saturday, dropping them behind Real Madrid on the table; even worse, Lionel Messi went down with a thigh tear that will likely leave him out of the Super Classico on Saturday.
• Gaël Kakuta, the controversial Chelsea youth prospect, made his debut against Wolves.
• Liverpool will have to beat Debrecini VSC without Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel; the way things are going lately, look for a 2-2 draw in Hungary tomorrow.
• Carlos Vela’s potential has convinced Arsene Wenger to stop trying to sign Marouane Chamakh.
• Thierry Henry considered quitting after his controversial double dribble against Ireland.
• Philipp Lahm says that Bayern Munich is “sick” and “lame”. No word on whether they’re also “bogus” and “heinous”.
• Switzerland’s FC Gossau and FC Thun have each banned players over their roles in a match fixing scandal.
• Palermo have sacked Walter Zenga for extending the club’s winless run to four games, knocking all the pieces over.
• Rubin Kazan’s scoreless draw with Zenit St. Petersburg saw them clinch their second consecutive Russian Premier League title.
• Gary Neville has hit out against “mollycoddled” players who collect paychecks but never seem to actually play rely on their agents to do everything for them.

I’m sure that there used to be a time when I looked forward to watching Liverpool’s matches – but that seems like a distant memory now.  Anyway, the good news was that Steven Gerrard was back in the starting line up.  The bad news is that Fernando Torres was still missing.  Some might argue that, since Manchester City are the team most likely to push Liverpool for a top-four finish, this was a crunch game.  Given the Reds recent run of form, I’d say that every game is a crunch game.  I wish I was only being hyperbolic about it.

In the opening few minutes, Liverpool looked quite bright, but the game was disrupted by a head injury to Daniel Agger, who had to go off.  A few minutes later Ryan Babel went off with an injury, despite the efforts of Gerrard to get him to run it off, and the Reds had suffered two enforced changes in the first 20 minutes.  The first half never recovered from the two disruptions, despite Liverpool dominating the possession.

The opening minutes of the second half continued to be a dour affair until Martin Skrtel turned in a free kick, on 49 minutes, to score his first ever Liverpool goal.  Sadly, this only seemed to spark City in to life and they inevitably equalised, on 68 minutes, through an Adebayor header.  It was a dismal goal to concede from the Reds point of view; the former Arsenal striker was completely unmarked at a corner – it was worse than schoolboy defending.

Things went from bad to worse when City took the lead with a goal from a possibly offside Stephen Ireland, on 75 minutes.  To be fair, it was an excellent move and good goal.  Just as I was about to hold my head in my hands, Liverpool went straight down the other end and equalised – a sloppy goal scored by Benayoun.  Despite some late pressure from the home side, it ended 2-2.

Another desperately disappointing day for Liverpool.  I feel like I’ll never see them win ever again.  I was going to write a bit more, but the will has left me.

El delantero del Liverpool Fernando Torres cree que “todo jugador de fútbol tiene un lugar en el mundo en el que es feliz y juega bien”, y que para él ese sitio es el estadio de Anfield, donde cada partido en la que se viste la camiseta del Liverpool le hace “sentir bien”.

Así lo afirma el español en una entrevista que publica el suplemento de fin de semana del periódico británico ‘The Daily Telegraph’, después de los rumores de que el club podría estar interesado en venderlo, algo que llevo al técnico Rafa Benítez a amenazar esta misma semana con su dimisión.

Torres repasa su estancia en la Liga inglesa y recuerda que aunque su perfil aniñado suscitó inicialmente ciertas dudas entre los seguidores del Liverpool, pronto se los metió en el bolsillo. “Siempre he parecido más joven”, afirma sobre su aspecto.

“La gente pensaba: no puede jugar al fútbol. Lo utilicé a mi favor. En la primera temporada aquí es cierto que el 80 por ciento de los jugadores de la Premier no me conocían, así que podía aprovecharme de mi apariencia. Fue más fácil para mi, porque no sabían qué podía hacer. Pensaban que quizá podían acosarme verbalmente y asustarme”, explica.

La admiración que levanta este español en Inglaterra, donde muchos le consideran el mejor goleador del mundo, se lo ha ganado a pulso, en 66 apariciones y 47 goles con el Liverpool, lo que le ha convertido en el jugador de los ‘reds’ que más camisetas vende y en el espejo en el que se miran muchos niños en este país.

Su paso del Atlético al Liverpool suscitó casi una revolución entre los seguidores colchoneros, pero “fue la decisión correcta”, asegura el jugador: “después de siete temporadas allí nunca jugué en Europa y necesitaba una solución”.

El cambio fue más fácil de lo esperado para un Torres que no hablaba inglés, gracias a la presencia de Benítez y a que hay en la plantilla varios jugadores cuya lengua materna es el español. Antes de vivir en Liverpool, recuerda Torres, “veía a Rafa Nadal o Fernando Alonso y pensaba que eran brillantes, pero eso era por que no entendía nada. Ahora veo que hablan como yo: no muy bien”.

Benítez le insiste en que el inglés debe ser la lengua que utilice en el vestuario de Anfield, pero ‘El Niño’ reconoce que usa su lengua materna ocasionalmente como código. “Si Albert Riera y yo queremos hablar de una jugada, lo hacemos en español, así la defensa contraria no nos entiende y hasta ahora no hemos encontrado ningún defensa inglés que hable español”, dice.

De España echa de menos el jamón, aunque se lo traen con frecuencia de casa, y asegura que tanto él como su mujer Olalla Domínguez, quien recientemente dio a luz a Nora -su primera hija- se han adaptado bien a la vida en el norte de Inglaterra.

Lo que más le gusta de Inglaterra es que puede disfrutar más de su privacidad que en España, pese a que es igualmente conocido. “Intento mantener mi vida privada al margen. Intento vivir una vida lo más normal posible, porque soy normal. Nací en un lugar de clase trabajadora en España, mi padre ha trabajado todos los días de su vida y a mí no me gusta ser engreído o ir a fiestas y a eventos, o que se me vea por ahí”, destaca. “No me gusta que la gente hable sobre mi. Prefiero que nadie hable de mi. Prefiero estar en casa jugando a la PlayStation y estando tranquilo”, agrega.

“No me gusta la gente que cuando son famosos cambian su estilo de vida, así que intento ser la misma persona de siempre. No me gusta comprar coches o ropa lujosa. Para mi, lo mejor es seguir con la gente que conocías cuando no eras famoso”, concluye.

Su adaptación ha llegado a tal punto que cuando vuelve a Madrid tiene problemas para conducir por la derecha. Preguntado si eso significa que se va a quedar en Inglaterra para siempre, contesta: “quién sabe, pero para los próximos cuatro años sí, definitivamente”.

After another international break, the Premier League is back in action this weekend. The injured stars of Liverpool will also be back on the pitch this weekend (thank goodness). The injured Reds were: Steven Gerrard, David Ngog, Daniel Agger, Glen Johnson, Fabio Aurelio, Albert Riera, Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun. Torres is the only one still out, so yay for that international break. Man City is one point up on Liverpool in the table, so it’s a must-win game for Liverpool if they want to work their way back into the top four. The Reds have only won one game since Sept. 26 so they need to start winning now to get things back on track.

Saturday, November 21
Liverpool vs. Manchester City – 7:30 a.m. ET/ESPN2 (Live)
Birmingham vs. Fulham – 8:30 p.m. ET/Setanta (Delayed)
Burnley vs. Aston Villa – 5 p.m. ET/Setanta (Delayed)
Chelsea vs. Wolves – 9:30 a.m. ET/Setanta (Live)
Hull vs. West Ham – 7 p.m. ET/Fox Soccer (Delayed)
Sunderland vs. Arsenal – 10 a.m. ET/Fox Soccer (Live)
Manchester United vs. Everton – 12:30 p.m. ET/Fox Soccer (Live)

Sunday, November 22
Bolton vs. Blackburn – 8:25 a.m. ET/Setanta (Live)
Tottenham vs. Wigan – 5 p.m. ET/Fox Soccer (Delayed)
Stoke vs. Portsmouth – 11 a.m. ET/Fox Soccer (Live)

Meg: Busy casting a spell on Thierry Henry

Poor old Ireland eh? Thierry Henry’s left hand on Wednesday night put an end to the Green Army’s dream of following their national team to the World Cup, and condemned them to yet another summer of drinking bottles of cider in picturesque countryside taverns that border acres of beautiful apple orchards. Or so Magners would have us believe…

Oh well, at least they can turn their attentions back to the Premier League this weekend, where their most cherished top flight English team will continue their fine unbeaten ru… oh… right… that’s Liverpool isn’t it? Never mind then.

I’m not really doing a very good job at cheering the Irish up, so I’ll get on with my predictions. Same form as usual. Beat me and you win a tenner*.

Birmingham vs Fulham

I was happy to see that I predicted yet another correct outcome involving Liverpool in the last round of Premier League fixtures. I haven’t got anything against Liverpool, but I saw Birmingham going to Anfield, defending for their lives (as they have done all season), and getting something. However, my prediction was probably more based on Liverpool not having a clue this season, and the fact that they still have Lucas in their midfield.

What I didn’t see coming though was The Blues scoring two goals, and Alicia Keys lookalike Cameron Jerome pinging one in from 30 yards. However, I can live with that because Jose Reina didn’t see it coming either, and I guess it was more important for him to be ready for Jerome’s strike than me.

Apart from their dancing badger, there’s not much you can say about Fulham. Whilst I was waiting for my breakfast last Sunday I was given a complimentary paper to read (presumably whilst the pub’s manager attempted to get the Gap year student to stop going for fag breaks and actually cook the full English I had ordered – he failed), and I stumbled across a quote from Roy Hodgson saying that he hoped Fulham fans realise that there is a ceiling on what the club can achieve.

Whilst he is 100% correct about that, it sort of highlights the problem with reviewing them. Yes, they’ll have a game every week. Yes, I’ll have to think of something to say. However with no ambition, there’s no real excitement. Just a freak season once in a while where they’ll either have a relegation dog fight, or they’ll break into the top seven and get a place in a competition that noone cares about, (even if it earns them a few extra quid, offers their fans a few European city breaks).

This season they’ll finish comfortably in mid-table again, which means that their recent success needs to be balanced up with a defeat this weekend. So that’s what I’ve gone for.

Verdict: 2-1

Burnley vs Aston Villa

Burnley are a Championship side punching above their weight in the Premier League. Them’s the fact ladies and gents. If they didn’t have the support of all those blokey-looking women in the home crowd scaring the opposition’s wide players, they’d be relegated already and wiping the tears away with their bingo-wings.

Anyway, they DO have that support, and their home form is why they are still afloat (although if Turf Moor was flooded, the players be able to stay afloat just by grabbing one of the massive buoyancy aids sitting in the stands).

This game therefore should be made all the more interesting by that fact. However, in spite of Villa’s pretty indifferent form of late, I think they’ll win this one easily. The wingers are the reason, and they have two of them in Ashley Young and James Milner who are bang on form right now. If they can avoid the Medusan-like effect of looking directly at the female Burnley fans whilst hugging their touchlines, then I fully expect them to tear The Clarets apart.

Verdict: 1-3

Chelsea vs Wolves

If there was ever a home-win to put your house on, this is it**.

The only way Wolves can win is if they, as previously mooted on Eddies Football Blog, put out a team of real wolves that end up killing and feasting on the entire Chelsea team. However, even if they did that they’d be more than likely to still only get a draw, as I don’t think packs of wolves care much for scoring goals.

Verdict: 3-0

Hull vs West Ham

Last week I must have sent good karma out to Phil Brown with my emotional appeal to keep him in his job at Hull. Not only did they win their game against Stoke, but the man who popped up with the winner may well have inadvertently boosted the Geordie crooner’s transfer budget for the January window.

That’s right; sales of replica shirts with Jan Vennegoor Of Hesselink printed on the back have soared following his injury time strike and, at £1 per letter, that’ll be a nice tidy sum come the end of 2009. Enough to buy Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker from Borussia Monchengladbach perhaps.

It’s a novel approach, but then so is having your half-time team-talk in the middle of the pitch. He’s a pioneer, that Brownie.

By contrast, West Ham ‘ave gone and found themselves a spot of bovva. Tree-trunk legged striker Dean Ashton is expected to retire from football imminently, which is a real shame for the club, the player, and English football in general. The person who will benefit from Ashton’s retirement is World Cup hopeful Carlton Cole, but he must be getting tired of having to do it all on his own.

As a result, The Hammers will have to get Cole to form a partnership with their suggestible Italian Allessandro Diamanti, and will therefore be hoping that the Hull fans don’t all learn the Italian for ‘miss!’ by tomorrow afternoon. Expect an entertaining dogfight though, but obviously without any real dogs (unless a plucky Hammer manages to smuggle his Staffy into the ground, and it ends up getting into a scuffle with Stephen Hunt).

Verdict: 2-2

Liverpool vs Man City

What did I say when I started this whole Premier League predictions thing? Well, I gave you all certain rules to abide by, didn’t I? Certain criteria for aiding you in your conquest, if you will. However, I also said that if you are Mark Lawrenson you must, at all costs, write an indescribably biased prediction in favour of Liverpool.

The Reds go into this weekend with the following form in the last 9 games (in all competitions) – LLLLWLLDD. Despite Gerrard’s return, they are without key striker Fernando Torres, and play a Man City side who have only lost one game in all competitions all season (against Man Utd), and sitting nicely above them in the league. This is why i find the following from ‘Lawro’ the most hilarious piece of biased piffle I have seen in a long time…

“The good news for Liverpool is that it looks like Steven Gerrard has got himself fit, although I’m not sure that Fernando Torres will make this one. Manchester City had four players starting for England last week so it’s not as if they’ve had a rest and that could be a factor.

I think Manchester City now have players capable of taking the game to Liverpool and that might suit the home side as a lot of teams go to Anfield and shut up shop. But this could be an open game and Liverpool will like that. “

So, not only has he turned the potent threat of Man City’s attacking options into an advantage for Liverpool (when, in reality, they will have haunted Jamie Carragher’s dreams this week), but he is also claiming that City’s top-class athletes will need more rest after a game they played 7 bloody days earlier!

This, my friends, is exactly what I was on about. It’s safe to say that I don’t agree with him in the slightest.

Verdict: 1-2

Man Utd vs Everton

This is traditionally a big game, and a game in which Everton I’m sure would want to give a good account of themselves. However, with 11 of their first team players either with knocks or long term injuries, it has turned into a fixture in which David Moyes’ men will just defend in numbers and hope for a point.

With captain Phil Neville absent, a player all too used to winning games at Old Trafford, Everton’s midfield will be outclassed and I can see a United getting three points. Not an easy three points. Or a pretty three points. But three points nonetheless. As Ian Holloway once put it, in gentlemen’s terms, it’ll be like going out and pulling a bird who isn’t the prettiest but, sod it, you’ll still take her home.

Verdict: 2-0

Sunderland vs Arsenal

A really interesting match-up.

Sunderland got mugged last time out against Spurs. Plain and simple. They should have won that game, but for the first time this season they showed their wastefulness in front of goal. They also missed the battering-ram presence of Kenwyne Jones.

If you were to fault Arsenal this season, you could justifiably point a finger at their inability to deal with aerial balls into the box, so they will be relieved to hear that the somersaulting powerhouse is still serving a suspension. However, it is still a weakness that Bruce will target.

That said, Cesc ‘Harry Potter’ Fabregas is in the form of his life, and he will have been rubbing his hands in anticipation after viewing the amount of space that Tom Huddlestone was allowed at White Hart Lane by Sunderland’s midfield. Expect Mackems captain Lorik Cana to return with typical hatchet-man style to remedy that, and make things difficult for the Spaniard (unless, of course, he’s still drunk, and staggering around in his pants somewhere in Algeria).

With Van Persie out for Arsenal, this one is very nicely balanced. I’ll go for a high-scoring draw.

Verdict: 2-2

* N.B. You won’t actually win a tenner. I lied in order to get you involved. I’m sorry. Here’s a tenner to compensat… Balls. I’m at it again. I better stop now before I offer you the keys to my house.

** N.B. If Chelsea don’t win, and you did end up taking my off the cuff remark as actual advice, then you’re an idiot. However, if you need to crash on my sofa for a couple of days whilst you find somewhere new to live, then fine. Just don’t try to sue me. Or drink the beer in my fridge.

Check back tomorrow for my predictions for Sunday’s games (including the weekly 0-0, if you were wondering where it was!)

You’re sitting in the pub with an old Friend, let’s call him ‘Dave.’

He’s getting steadily drunker, this ‘Dave’ character, but you’re the designated driver and you sit there with the smug air of self-importance that comes from being sober near drunk people.

You (inevitably) start talking about the beautiful game and you can’t believe what this ‘Dave’ is saying. Torres makes a bigger contribution to the team than Rooney?

“Oh come on, Wayne covers so much more ground, contributes to more attacks, creates more… how can you say that?!” you explode in anger.

‘Dave’ replies:

“Those arguments are baseless and I would request that you elaborate on your opinions, preferably with a series of visual data.”

You may be caught off guard by Dave’s sudden coherence but you won’t be taken aback by his demands.

Not with Guardian Chalkboards.

You would take out your blackberry (assuming you have one-otherwise a laptop in a place with wi-fi will suffice. Or maybe just go to your place and load up the computer.) and log on to Guardian Chalkboards and direct him to the relevant statistics.

This is what you would show him. It’s a visual record of every pass Wayne Rooney made during the Chelsea v Man Utd match recently. Guardian Chalkboards allows you to select any Premier League match in the past two seasons and analyse passes, shots, tackles, fouls, interceptions and a host of other stats, by player or by team.

“There,” you’d smile, “Look how he runs down the channels down the left AND right wing, plus through the centre… he even came back into his own half!”

Then you’d contrast it with Torres’ passing in a match against Hull earlier in the season and smugly claim your victory: “You see! He barely moves in comparison!”

‘Dave’ is left reeling, “no way back for him now,”  you think.

But ‘Dave’ is made of tougher stuff and snatches the blackberry (or whatever you decided on earlier) from your very hand! A few moments later he triumphantly gives it back to you.

“Look how many goals he scored mate. That’s the most imporant thing, surely… plus he only played 66 minutes that match.”

Like you, I suspect, I’m beginning to hate ‘Dave.’

All this with Guardian Chalkboards. Have a play, it’s fun.

P.S:

Going to BBC Cornwall tomorrow, update to follow

Fingertips Sport correspondent Ian Shine believes Rafa Benitez should not be the first victim of this season’s Premier League managerial sack race

As Liverpool slip further down the Premier League table and closer to a Champions League exit, rumours that Rafa Benitez will be sacked are inevitably becoming more widespread.

But Liverpool fans on the whole are still behind him – mainly because of his magnificent Champions League win in 2005, runners-up place in 2007 and thrilling FA Cup win in 2006. And even if they look beyond silverware, which they certainly should, Benitez is easily their best manager since Kenny Dalglish left in 1991.

Between Dalglish’s three league triumphs and two FA Cups were the relative ignominies of a League Cup under Roy Evans, an FA Cup under Graeme Souness and a Charity Shield, two League Cups, an FA Cup, European Super Cup and UEFA Cup under Gerard Houllier.

It shows how far Livepool have come under Benitez that the highpoint of Houllier’s reign, his UEFA Cup win, would now be considered scant consolation for Liverpool crashing out of the Champions League.

To use a cliche, Liverpool will be cutting off their nose to spite their face if they are stupid enough to sack Benitez.

Their stuttering start to the season is in no small part down to Xabi Alonso’s move to Real Madrid. Losing one of the best players in the world is going to affect any side. Just look at how Manchester United without Cristiano Ronaldo – yet no one sees Sir Alex Ferguson getting his P45 any time soon.

To compare Benitez to Sir Alex once again, it took Ferguson almost seven years to get his first league title, during which time United twice finished 11th. After a poor start to the 1989-90 season many called for Ferguson’s head, but he went on to win the FA Cup that season, and, to employ another cliche, the rest is history.

Even if Liverpool come fifth in the league and slip out of the Champions League, how many of their fans would be unhappy with a Europa League triumph and/or FA Cup medal come May?

Arsenal have stuck by Arsene Wenger throughout his barren spell and that may well pay dividends this season. Patience is a virtue (sorry, another cliche) and Liverpool need only look to Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, or closer to home in Middlesbrough to prove that changing managers doesn’t always bring about a change of fortunes.

Who could replace Benitez and do anywhere near as good a job with a far from brilliant Liverpool squad?

Some names being mentioned are Steve McClaren, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Frank Rijkaard, Gareth Southgate and Jose Mourinho, all of whom have either done badly in the Premier League, have never worked in England or have no reason to want to move to Liverpool.

If Benitez goes Torres might follow, along with Reina and even Gerrard. Torres threatened to go if Benitez was fired in 2007, saying: “Benitez is not just another manager. He created a team and put his faith in players that owe him a lot.” There’s no reason to believe his opinion has changed, and if he, Reina or Gerrard were to leave then Liverpool really would be in trouble.

For all the latest sports news and views check out Fingertips.net

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has said he would leave the club if he were ever forced to sell Fernando Torres. Rich coming from someone currently taking the club to such lofty heights.

Maybe Benitez should start focussing on turnig the club into one that conaistenty wins things, rather than bleeting on about something that, for the time-being at least, is very unlikely to happen. Given the money he has spent during his tenure that doesn’t seem unreasonable.

The irony with this latest outburst is that the main reason Torres is likely to leave the club is because the silverware has dried up. The world’s best player needs to be winning things, simple as that.

I’ve never been a big fan of Benitez as a manager. He comes out with a lot of complete tosh, signs some of the most dubious players (though, in fairness, some outstanding ones too, Torres being the pick of the bunch) and makes tactical decisions that are more befitting a Sunday league coach than one of the world’s most famous bosses.

If I was a Liverpool fan I would quickly be losing patience. New owners who have not turned out to be all they were cracked up to be and a manager who appears to be approaching his sell by date, if not his use by.

Maybe it’s the arrogance of the man that gets my back up. Maybe it’s just the tache. But something hits my irritable spot with the Spaniard, and the sooner he’s on the next flight back to Spain the better.

What you missed while discovering that jellyfish are not only poisonous and swarming; they are also immortal…

• Scotland national team manager George Burley, who survived not qualifying for the World Cup, has been sacked after losing to Wales in a friendly over the weekend.
• Rafa Benitez claims that he’d resign if Fernando Torres were ever sold; Liverpool faithful glad that they at least know how to get rid of him now. Meanwhile, Benitez has supposedly been mulling over signing Lassana Diarra with the imaginary money he doesn’t have.
• Solomon Kalou was dropped from the Côte d’Ivoire squad over the weekend after an altercation with West Brom defender Abdoulaye Meite.
• Russia is hoping “to entertain” tomorrow against Slovenia; personally, it’d be really entertaining if they happened to choke and lose to Slovenia.
• Jose Antonio Reyes: “Cesc Fabregas will stay at Arsenal.”
• Gerard Pique: “Cesc Fabregas will return to Barcelona.”
• Two Estudiantes fans were shot by a rival faction of other Estudiantes fans. Damn.
• Fiorentina left back Juan Manuel Vargas will not be heading to Real Madrid.
• The head of the Japanese FA has requested that FIFA reconsider banning vuvuzelas from the World Cup.
• Eduardo’s ready to dive right into the roster spot vacated by Robin van Persie in Arsenal’s lineup.
• David Beckham says that internal friction with Landon Donovan has made the Galaxy a better team.

A parte de una serie muy famosa de los años 80, Dragones y Mazmorras puede ser para mí una manera un tanto maquiavélica y cruel de anunciar que este año, el concurso anual de publicidad universitaria, Drac Novell, se ha celebrado en la Pompeu.

Dragones por los premios… Mazmorras porque últimamente, con la de horas que paso allí dentro sin ver la luz del sol, casi que no encuentro manera mejor de definir esas aulas.

Aun así, teleamigos, lo de que el Festival se haya celebrado en nuestra universidad es todo un lujo. En serio, y sin ironías. Somos afortunados, porque hemos vivido, por segunda vez, este acontecimiento y, si lo pensais, otras muchas generaciones que nos vendrán detrás, mucho más interactivos, si cabe, y más pompeianos que nunca, quizá no lo vivan. Puede que por eso, este año quise implicarme un poco más.

Visto desde la humilde posición del voluntario por horas, quiero destacar dos cosas:

El trabajo enooooorme que han hecho los que de aquí a un par de años nos quitarán el trabajo [dicho queda], organizandolo todo, con mayor o menor suerte, trabajando durante horas, comiendo y cenando en la universidad, aunque no creo que eso fuera una novedad para ninguno de nosotros, para ver el resultado en apenas dos días…Quiero pensar que no han hecho todo este esfuerzo únicamente por ser un trabajo de clase, aunque supongo que también cuenta, y desde aquí, les felicito.

Y lo inspiradoras que pueden llegar a ser dos horas escasas sentados viendo, única y exclusivamente anuncios.

La decisión más acertada del festival: reproducir entera la bobina de premiados de el Festival de El Sol, al que muchos aspiramos y casi niguno llegaremos. Impresionantes muchos de los spots, cuñas y virales que se vieron…

Sin despreciar a los que se presentaban a concurso, que nos hicieron pasar un muy buen rato, también, con muy pocos medios y muchas dosis de creatividad… De hecho, el spot ganador del Drac de Oro, lo habían hecho alumnos de la Pompeu y, precisamente, anunciaban el Drac Novell. Brillante! Ojalá pudiera enseñároslo, teleamigos!

Entre bambalinas nervios, risas, tensión por si las cosas se torcían, buen rollo y mucha, mucha publicidad en estado puro.

Ah! Y si durante la semana pasada visteis a una legión entera de franceses paseando por el Campus, espero que os quedarais bien con sus caras… algunos de ellos prometen y mucho en este mundo de la Publicidad.

Este año, además, y volviendo a la interactividad, el concurso se unía a la moda de Facebook, con un grupo al que todo el mundo podía adherirse y desde el que se informaba de horarios, programa, conferencias [una lástima el mising casi total en algunas de ellas, pero es que algunos temas y ponentes no acompañan...], premios, etc.

Buen método, si me lo permitís, para intentar tener más bombo… porque mucha implicación por parte de los alumnos no había.. y yo, me pregunto… si los ganadores se anunciaran únicamente en la gala de entrega, y no días antes, quitandole toda emoción…¿no conseguirían que asistieran todos los participantes, sin desanimar a aquellos que saben que no han ganado nada y que, precisamente por ello, ni se acercan al festival…?

Os dejo uno de los mejores teasers+resolución que vi aquellos días:

Y la resolución…

¿Sabeis qué, teleamigos?

Creo que, viendo todo esto… voy teniendo más claro cuál es mi sitio… ¿Y tú?

Inilah top scorers sementara liga Inggris (english Premier League) 2009/2010

01.Fernando
Torres
(Liverpool) 10
gol

02. Didier Drogba
(Chelsea) 9 gol

03. Darrent Bent
(Sunderland) 8
gol

04. Louis Saha
(Everton) 7 gol

05. Robin Van
Persie
(Arsenal) 7 gol

06. Wayne Rooney
(Man. Utd) 7 gol

07. Robbie Keane
(Tottenham H.)
6 gol

08. Jermain Defoe
(Tottenham H.)
6 gol

09. Carlton Cole
(West Ham Utd)
6 gol

10. Cesc Fabregas
(Arsenal) 6 gol

11. Gabriel
Agbonlahor
(Aston Villa) 6
gol

12. Craig Bellamy
(Man. City) 5
gol

13. Kenwny Jones
(Sunderland) 5
gol

14.Hugo Rodallega
(Wigan Athletic)
5 gol

15. Graham
Alexander
(Burnley) 4 gol

16. David Dunn
(Blackburn R.)
4 gol

17. Steven Gerrard
(Liverpool) 4
gol

18. Frank Lampard
(Chelsea) 4 gol

19. Dimitar
Berbatov
(Man. utd) 4 gol

20. Emmanuel
Adebayor
(Man. City) 4 gol

Yuk intip medysept 91 di
www.alexa.com

With the January transfer window approaching I’ve put together a list of the players presently in the PL that I would most like to see at United. Don’t look upon it as a shopping list. The emphasis is probably on dreams rather than realism. But maybe three or four could conceivably be realistic targets. The list takes into consideration the new United policy of not signing players aged 26 or above for large transfer fees. I have no idea how strict this policy will turn out to be, but from a financial point of view it makes a lot of sense.

1. Fernando Torres, Liverpool. (25) Best striker in the world. Has an amazing ability to make the difficult art of scoring look very easy.
2. Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal.  (22) As close to Barcelona-passing as it gets in the PL. Would be nice to have him around when Scholes retires.
3. Luca Modric, Spurs. (24) Superb ball-control and incisive passing. Able to play on either wing or through the middle.
4. Theo Walcott, Arsenal. (20) Has enough pace to beat any defender in the world.
5. Jack Rodwell, Everton. (18) The most promising teenager in the PL. Equally comfortable in central defence or as a holding midfielder. An England star for many years to come.
6. James Milner, Aston Villa. (23) Hard-working midfield winger who is also the best crosser of a ball in the PL.
7. Thomas Vermaelen, Arsenal. (23) Central defender who can play a bit. Has taken to the PL like a duck to water.
8. Abou Diaby, Arsenal. (23) Classy box-to-box midfielder but strangely not a regular starter for Arsenal.
9. Micah Richards, Manchester City. (21) Has lost his way somewhat for City and England. Needs Fergie to re-ignite his tremendous potential. The next Patrick Vieira.
10. Stephen Ireland, Manchester City (23) A pity if City’s recruitment drive will put him in the shadows.

The Reds need a miracle to:

• finish in the top four of the Premier League.  Despite Chelsea’s chippy 1-0 win over Manchester United, both teams look poised to stay in the top four (likely top two).  Arsenal has also surprised people this season; the Gunners are playing really good football.  At this rate, it’s going to be some sort of miracle if the Reds even finish in the top seven – yay Europa League!
• keep Torres and Gerrard healthy the rest of the season.  Torres leads the league in goals, but the Gernando partnership hasn’t had much chance to flourish as both players have struggled with injury, much like last season.  This year however, the team is even more reliant on them to carry the load.  The two stars aren’t the only ones having injury issues though; Glen Johnson missed a couple games as well.  Albert Riera hasn’t been 100% either.
• advance to the knockout stage in Champions League play.  Liverpool won its opening group game against Debrecen, but have only taken one point out of the next three.  They are no longer in control of their own fate, which is a very scary and undesirable place to be.  Group leader Lyon has already booked a spot in the next round, while Fiorentina only needs to win once to advance.
• beat Birmingham City.  I can’t believe I just had to write that.

What you missed while dead jellyfish littered the shores of Northern Ireland (with pictures!)…

• Chelsea 1 – 0 Manchester United. Darren Fletcher blames Arsene Wenger for the “poor refereeeing” Manchester United’s been victimized by this season.
• Olympique Lyonnais 5 – 5 Olympique de Marseille; Marseille led 4-2 with ten minutes remaining.
• Landon Donovan’s penalty kick was all that separated the Galaxy from Chivas USA; David Beckham will miss England’s friendly with Brazil as a result of the Galaxy advancing to the semifinals of the MLS Playoffs.
• Speaking of the England squad: you can either title this story “Bent Included in Capello’s Squad” or “Owen Left Out of Capello’s Squad”. Whichever way works for you.
• Fernando Torres has been left out of the Spanish national team’s squad due to the fact that he’s playing with a hernia; Cristiano Ronaldo, however, was named to Portugal’s roster.
• Hull City legend Steve McClaren’s FC Twente just won their eighth straight game in the Eredivisie. I wonder where he might coach next…?
• Samuel Eto’o would like to end his career at Mallorca.
• Thiago Silva scored twice in AC Milan’s 2-1 win over Lazio; unfortunately, it wasn’t in the way he probably was intending.

What you missed while taking giant jellyfish, grinding them up, and turning them into candy for astronauts…

• Chelsea’s transfer ban was lifted pending appeal, meaning that they’re going to buy <insert every name you can think of> in the January transfer window.
• Sir Alex Ferguson claims that Tomasz Kuszczak’s comments on his relationship with Edwin van der Sar were just his “Polish humor”.
• Fulham were reduced to nine men and beaten in Rome; Jamie Carragher and Philip Degen feel their pain. Meanwhile, in Merseyside: Everton 0 – 2 Benfica…meaning Everton was outscored 7-0 over two legs.
• In spite of the fact that he’s facing surgery if he doesn’t get a three week rest, Fernando Torres still wants to play in Spain’s friendly with Argentina next Saturday. This possibly proves that Fernando Torres is an idiot.
• Portsmouth captain Aaron Mokoena ignores the lessons of Newcastle’s 2008-09 season and says that Portsmouth is “too good to go down”.
• Columbus centerback Chad Marshall was named MLS Defender of the Year right before Columbus crapped out of the playoffs to Real Salt Lake by losing 4-2 on aggregate.
• Cristiano Ronaldo will miss at least two more weeks with an ankle injury, which is really bad news for Portugal.
• Frank Lampard says he’s his own worst critic. Translation: Frank Lampard doesn’t read many blogs.

En ganske vanvittig lørdag eftermiddag gav Fulham en fremragende sejr over et tamt Liverpool-mandskab, der godt kan få problemer med at holde en top 4 placering i år.

I øjeblikket flyver Fulham rundt i den syvende himmel og har ikke tabt siden det snævre og ufortjente nederlag til Arsenal den 26. september, hvilket jo må siges at være absolut godkendt.

I forhold til resultatet havde Liverpool langt størstedelen af spillet, mens Fulham var klart mest målfarlig, hvilket må være højst bekymrende for (den på lånt tid) spanske Rafa.

Kampen første 24 minutter stod på Liverpool uden at de dog formåede at teste aussie Mark Schwarzer i Fulham-målet, andet end Yossi Benayouns skud på overlæggeren, og i det 24. minut kom de pludseligt bagud på Fulhams første chance i kampen.

Damien Duff brød igennem i Liverpools højre side og sendte et præcist fladt indlæg ind i fødderne på Bobby Zamora, der uden at tøve udplacerede en målløs Jose Reina i kassen.

Liverpools tilhængere stod også en smule målløse tilbage, da de under hele kampen havde sunget følgende linje til tonerne af Dean Martins “Thats Amore”: “When the ball hits your head and you’re sat in Row Z, that’s Zamora.”

Mens kæften var blevet lukket på Liverpool-fansene kom Fulham lidt bedre med i kampen, dog stadig med en stor overvægt til gæsterne.

Og med bare få minutter igen af første halvleg fik Fernando Torres en halv chance, som han udnyttede til fulde ved at smække bolden i kassen fra kanten af feltet efter en mindre fadæse i Fulham-forsvaret.

Fulham kunne dermed gå til pause 1-1, hvilket de formodentlig hverken var tilfredse eller utilfredse med.

Fulham kom ud fra pauseteen med to nye ansigter, da formstærke Zoltan Gera afløste en arbejdssom Diomansy Kamara, mens Duff trak sig til fordel for norske Erik Nevland.

Indenfor det første kvarter virkede det til, at Fulham, med de to indskiftninger, havde skabt et overtag, hvilket udløste hæderlige chancer til både Zamora og Gera.

I det 74. minut udmøntede overtaget i en kasse, da Paul Konchesky udnyttede et Dirk Kuyt boldtab i Liverpools højre side, hvorefter den kvikke venstreback smækkede bolden indover i feltet til lidt klumpspil, før Nevland, med en smart hæl-afslutning, passerede Reina.

Fire minutter senere led Liverpool-korthuset endnu et knæk i fundamentet, da Philipp Degen noget uforståeligt blev udvist for en tackling mod Clint Dempsey, der højst var til gult.

Og tre minutter senere var der kun ni Liverpool-spillere på banen, da en elendig Jamie Carragher fik direkte rødt efter at have revet Zamora ned som sidste skanse.

Derefter var det The Fulham Show, hvor hjemmebaneholdet kørte fuldstændigt rundt med de “stakkels” gæster, og Fulham-fansene fik da også en scoring at gå hjem på, da Clint Dempsey afsluttede et perfekt Fulham angreb ved at trille bolden i kassen i det 87. minut.

En ganske fortjent sejr, når det kom til stykket, da Liverpool ikke formåede at komme til andet end langskud, mens Reina i den anden ende havde nok at se til i kampen mod Fulhams (for en gangs skyld)kyniske angreb.

Kamp Fakta

Fulham Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky,Dempsey, Baird, Greening (Etuhu 86), Duff (Nevland 46), Zamora,Kamara (Gera 46).
Bænk: Zuberbühler, Kelly, Riise, Smalling.

Kort: Baird (55,f).

Mål: Zamora 24, Nevland 73, Dempsey 87.

Liverpool Reina, Degen, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Insua,Kuyt (Ayala 85), Mascherano, Lucas, Benayoun (Eccleston 78),Voronin, Torres (Babel 63).
Bænk: Gulacsi, Spearing, Plessis, Dossena.

Udvisninger: Degen (79), Carragher (82).

Mål: Torres 42.

Tilskuertal: 25,700

Dommer: Lee Mason