As both of the readers of this blog will testify, I am quite a miserable bastard and what better time of the year for the miserable bastard to be inundated with opportunities to complain about something than Christmas.
If it isn’t young, but possibly not naive girls from Manchester being roasted over an open fire or more probably in front of an open fire but under a group of Manchester united players then it’s the guaranteed plethora of absolute shit on television on all the channels, without exception.
This is also the time of year when Cliff Richard sings his cheery festive ditty about mistletoe and wine with children singing Christian rhyme. But it does make me wonder where the fuck Cliff Richard lives because you can be sure it isn't South Wales.
I was visited today by three ghosts… no, wait that’s a film isn’t it? I mean two young men from the Mormon faith who apparently have nothing better to do than to walk around, sticking out like proverbial sore thumbs and converting, or attempting to persuade people to join their faith. I was waiting from a friend to arrive when they knocked the door and as I’m not afraid to speak about religion I decided to speak to them for the five minutes I had to spare
(indeed when I’ve had a few beers I court the taboo topics of religion and politics. Maybe that’s why I sometimes get into trouble!). Twenty minutes later my friend had not arrived, the Mormons and I by had by that time covered the basics, where they were from (Finland and Colorado) and what I thought about Christmas. They seemed pleased to hear that I was not in favour of the ridiculous commercialisation that goes on and that it should be a time for families. I did however seem to have a prefix to most of my sentences which enlightened them as to my position on religion, it was "I’m not a religious person but…"
Anyway after 32 minutes of talking, me denying a request for them to come into my house to sit through a DVD about the Mormon church and them giving me a copy of their book ‘The book of Mormon’ my friend arrived and I was rescued (I did enjoy talking to them for a little while but it does get very boring when you reach a point where they just spout religion at you).
Whilst there is no fear of me being converted to Mormonism (although the practice of plural marriage is something to be considered) we did discuss some interesting points about Christmas including me teaching them something! The vision of the jolly old man in the red and white suit was in fact a creation of the Coca cola Company (the red and white suit that is).
Christmas has changed since I was a kid, or at least that is how it appears. It is now a time when we, as a nation stuff our already fat faces with sub standard supermarket shit that we wouldn’t normally buy or even eat. The stock response when asked about the seasonal eating habits is always the same, "its Christmas isn’t it!" and it truly is, every f’ing where.
I have just returned from a supermarket where I foolishly thought I could pop in and buy a bottle of wine (I know, tosser) and a bottle of beer (have I redeemed myself?) to watch a football match and I sear to God (not specifically the Mormon god, any god) it was the last time I will ever enter a supermarket and not just at Christmas either, ever, I hate them.
They always seem to be full when I want to go, especially at Christmas , of greedy bastards who fill both of their trolleys to tipping point with seasonal ‘treats’ to gorge themselves on whilst sitting (always sitting) in front of the TV watching the latest offerings from the special Christmas schedule.
These trolleys are laden with fizzy drinks, crisps, sweets, cakes and all sorts of heart attack inducing foods as well as the obligatory several cases of lager. The remainder of the trolley is filled with seasonal treats that these people have never eaten and probably wont eat this year or any other year, things like Stilton ( oh no, it’s got mold in it) and sherry (It’s Christmas isn’t it!).
These slugs waddle around, propped up by their wheeled food troughs, indiscriminately clawing things from the shelves like one of Dale Winton’s supermarket sweepers only in slow motion.
Whatever happened to quality over quantity? Why has it never occurred to me that at a time of year when the shops are closed for an absolute maximum of 2 days I should stockpile enough food to feed an African village for a month? Is there something wrong with me?
If these Christmas behemoths want to pile on blubber for the winter then so be it, it’s not my job to save them from themselves (although it is everyone’s taxes that pay for them to have their stomachs stapled!). It’s when they turn a 5 minute jaunt into a supermarket to grab a few things into an hour long battle to pay for my single bottle of wine or beer that really winds me up. They move with sloth like speed in their own little worlds, hell bent on cramming up the aisles and making escape impossible. When I finally do get out and one of the greeters says something festively sickening like have a nice day or merry Christmas I feel the need to run through my response in my head first in order to avoid the same fate that befell the escapees from the POW camp in ‘The Great Escape’ as they get onto the bus, as if they might hurl me back into the aisles with the rest of the fat Christmas turkeys when they realise I'm not one of their Christmas automata.
Christmas is just an excuse for spendthrift, over indulgent, hypocrites to spend beyond their means, get into debt and complain in January that they have no money and are overweight.
My new years resolution may well be to never darken the door of the UK at this most grotesque and commercial time of year again, a promise I don’t think I will have a problem keeping.
Bah humbug.
Thursday, 27 December 2007
Sunday, 23 December 2007
Back in the USSR? I wish.
Not long ago in a county far far away I could sometimes be heard saying that I thought the UK was the best country in the world and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I was newly arrived in a foreign and exotic land and was due to live there for the following twelve months. I had, some 6 or 7 weeks previous made a decision to go and live in Korea as an English teacher with my girlfriend.
For the first time since university I felt I had a future and had an overwhelming feeling of optimism in this future. This new found feeling of contentment grew steadily as my time in Korea progressed. As the departure date moved ever closer I began to feel a little bit uneasy at the prospect of getting back to the UK and beginning a fresh new life. The hope that some time away would of re-invigorated me seemed to be fading and I soon realised that the optimism building inside me wasn't optimism at all but contentment at living in wonderful Korea. I would arrive back in the UK in time for my birthday in mid November and then spend the Christmas period lulling around, enjoying life in the UK under a new government and living of what I had earned but not spent on my travels.
I have been back home now for around 7 weeks and I can assure you I will never again repeat the naive and ill conceived statements that would lead anyone to believe I was actually proud to be British and longed to return to my homeland because I didn’t and don’t.
I am from South Wales and we Welsh usually have a particular gripe when it come to being lumped in with the English and have been known to take offence at such ignorant jibes but when I refer to my disdain for the UK I mean all of it, especially South Wales.
I met lots of new people in Korea during my stay and some of them have become friends who I will remain in contact with and visit when time and distance permit. One particular friend was from Newcastle, New South Wales, a lively girl who could easily drink most of my male friends under the table and out of the door and I’m sure she would fit right in with The Geordies of the original Newcastle, who have been known to like a drink or two (She is actually living in Scotland at the moment so may well have found a group of drinkers to equal her thirst for the amber nectar, or any other nectar come to think of it). I have always found it a bit amusing to think that Australians (and Americans) have so many places named after places in the UK, especially New South Wales but after being home in the original South Wales for seven weeks I can categorically state that it is surely the Australians who are laughing. The reason they have a "New" South Wales? Because the old one is shite!
A long standing complaint that has recently been returned to the forefront of my mind and been exaggerated by my time in Korea is the state of public transport, particularly the rail services in the UK and the astronomical costs associated with getting from A to B. I want to reduce my carbon footprint, I like to recycle and I truly believe we should ‘feed the world’ but that is made increasingly difficult by the utter incompetence and miserly tariffs imposed on us by the rail operators. I can understand why people want to drive their cars, it’s usually quicker and cheaper than getting a train or bus, especially if you decide on a spur of the moment trip to see your granny in the Lake District. I don’t drive (yet) and the rail and bus companies have me over the proverbial barrel. My girlfriend lives in Liverpool you see and my options are severely restricted when it comes to going to see her, plan well in advance ( four, five or six months was the answer when I asked how far in advance the cheaper tickets for my journey are released!) or pay ridiculous rates on the day. Over a barrel.
The other thing I didn’t miss one iota about this country is the people, the heaving masses, the general public, what a group of people. The great British are no longer, and in my opinion have never really been that great. But when you combine the two, irritating and potentially phenomena you get the main reason for me wanting to leave. The public are the second worst thing about public transport (after the cost) , most are perfectly nice (like me) but there is always someone ready to cause a scene or make the expensive journey you begrudgingly paid for, even worse.
Train people are different from bus people, they think that because they don’t, most of the time buy a specific seat for their journey they are entitled to take as many seats as they think they need to accommodate all their bags and they think that they have the right to not sit next to anyone else, which is why they pile their bags onto the chair next to themselves, usually the inside chair so as to block off the pair of seats. This is bad enough when there are luggage racks but is made even worse when there are people stood up, people who won’t tell these selfish bastards to move their ‘effing bags (I'm certain if you did say that you would be slapped with an ASBO before you could say "How much for a single to Runcorn?"). If these people want to buy two tickets then by all means take out a second mortgage and buy your obviously important bag a seat all of its own, otherwise move them.
My most recent train journey was from Coventry and had, at no extra charge changes at Birmingham and Shrewsbury. On the platform at Shrewsbury we clambered onto the train and there were quite a lot of empty seats and so, fancying a bit of luxury for my money I decided to sit on a seat in a bank of four, two pairs facing each other with no table, so I could stretch my legs out if nobody sat opposite me.
Shock of shocks, nobody did sit opposite me but someone did sit next to me. A rather portly gentleman from Cardiff thought it would fun to pen me between his ample frame and the window, my misery, apparently not completed by my empty wallet and the delightful stays at Birmingham New Street and Shrewsbury stations. He squeezed and squashed his larger than life carcass into the seat next to me and proceeded to spill over his seat and into, or should I say onto mine, or rather me. This flowing of blubber rendered me immobile all the way from Shrewsbury until I had to ask him if he would be kind as to shoehorn himself out of his chair and peel me from his side so I could finally disembark.
Now, I don’t discriminate against people, I am in fact a supporter of equal rights for all sectors of society but I don’t really see overweight people as a separate sector of society and I feel it would be wrong to treat people who essentially eat too much and don’t exercise enough as the same as disabled people and immigrants. I'm not saying overweight people have an easy life but it is something that could be avoided. People don’t become grossly overweight by accident or by force of nature; it is entirely in the hands of the individual. I'm not fattist (I think you’ll find YOUR fattist – A Jimmy Carr original, not a Jim Davidson!) but when it encroaches on my life, or my seat then I’m not overjoyed about it. Would I be expected to not be so ‘mean’ if it was encroachment of another type, a loud ipod perhaps or some particularly bad smelling food?
Anyway, my plan is to return to Korea as soon as 2008 begins, but due to some new laws in there I will have to go through a month of bureaucratic bullshit until I can leave, but leave I will and I might not ever return.
Season of good will to all men? Bah humbug.
For the first time since university I felt I had a future and had an overwhelming feeling of optimism in this future. This new found feeling of contentment grew steadily as my time in Korea progressed. As the departure date moved ever closer I began to feel a little bit uneasy at the prospect of getting back to the UK and beginning a fresh new life. The hope that some time away would of re-invigorated me seemed to be fading and I soon realised that the optimism building inside me wasn't optimism at all but contentment at living in wonderful Korea. I would arrive back in the UK in time for my birthday in mid November and then spend the Christmas period lulling around, enjoying life in the UK under a new government and living of what I had earned but not spent on my travels.
I have been back home now for around 7 weeks and I can assure you I will never again repeat the naive and ill conceived statements that would lead anyone to believe I was actually proud to be British and longed to return to my homeland because I didn’t and don’t.
I am from South Wales and we Welsh usually have a particular gripe when it come to being lumped in with the English and have been known to take offence at such ignorant jibes but when I refer to my disdain for the UK I mean all of it, especially South Wales.
I met lots of new people in Korea during my stay and some of them have become friends who I will remain in contact with and visit when time and distance permit. One particular friend was from Newcastle, New South Wales, a lively girl who could easily drink most of my male friends under the table and out of the door and I’m sure she would fit right in with The Geordies of the original Newcastle, who have been known to like a drink or two (She is actually living in Scotland at the moment so may well have found a group of drinkers to equal her thirst for the amber nectar, or any other nectar come to think of it). I have always found it a bit amusing to think that Australians (and Americans) have so many places named after places in the UK, especially New South Wales but after being home in the original South Wales for seven weeks I can categorically state that it is surely the Australians who are laughing. The reason they have a "New" South Wales? Because the old one is shite!
A long standing complaint that has recently been returned to the forefront of my mind and been exaggerated by my time in Korea is the state of public transport, particularly the rail services in the UK and the astronomical costs associated with getting from A to B. I want to reduce my carbon footprint, I like to recycle and I truly believe we should ‘feed the world’ but that is made increasingly difficult by the utter incompetence and miserly tariffs imposed on us by the rail operators. I can understand why people want to drive their cars, it’s usually quicker and cheaper than getting a train or bus, especially if you decide on a spur of the moment trip to see your granny in the Lake District. I don’t drive (yet) and the rail and bus companies have me over the proverbial barrel. My girlfriend lives in Liverpool you see and my options are severely restricted when it comes to going to see her, plan well in advance ( four, five or six months was the answer when I asked how far in advance the cheaper tickets for my journey are released!) or pay ridiculous rates on the day. Over a barrel.
The other thing I didn’t miss one iota about this country is the people, the heaving masses, the general public, what a group of people. The great British are no longer, and in my opinion have never really been that great. But when you combine the two, irritating and potentially phenomena you get the main reason for me wanting to leave. The public are the second worst thing about public transport (after the cost) , most are perfectly nice (like me) but there is always someone ready to cause a scene or make the expensive journey you begrudgingly paid for, even worse.
Train people are different from bus people, they think that because they don’t, most of the time buy a specific seat for their journey they are entitled to take as many seats as they think they need to accommodate all their bags and they think that they have the right to not sit next to anyone else, which is why they pile their bags onto the chair next to themselves, usually the inside chair so as to block off the pair of seats. This is bad enough when there are luggage racks but is made even worse when there are people stood up, people who won’t tell these selfish bastards to move their ‘effing bags (I'm certain if you did say that you would be slapped with an ASBO before you could say "How much for a single to Runcorn?"). If these people want to buy two tickets then by all means take out a second mortgage and buy your obviously important bag a seat all of its own, otherwise move them.
My most recent train journey was from Coventry and had, at no extra charge changes at Birmingham and Shrewsbury. On the platform at Shrewsbury we clambered onto the train and there were quite a lot of empty seats and so, fancying a bit of luxury for my money I decided to sit on a seat in a bank of four, two pairs facing each other with no table, so I could stretch my legs out if nobody sat opposite me.
Shock of shocks, nobody did sit opposite me but someone did sit next to me. A rather portly gentleman from Cardiff thought it would fun to pen me between his ample frame and the window, my misery, apparently not completed by my empty wallet and the delightful stays at Birmingham New Street and Shrewsbury stations. He squeezed and squashed his larger than life carcass into the seat next to me and proceeded to spill over his seat and into, or should I say onto mine, or rather me. This flowing of blubber rendered me immobile all the way from Shrewsbury until I had to ask him if he would be kind as to shoehorn himself out of his chair and peel me from his side so I could finally disembark.
Now, I don’t discriminate against people, I am in fact a supporter of equal rights for all sectors of society but I don’t really see overweight people as a separate sector of society and I feel it would be wrong to treat people who essentially eat too much and don’t exercise enough as the same as disabled people and immigrants. I'm not saying overweight people have an easy life but it is something that could be avoided. People don’t become grossly overweight by accident or by force of nature; it is entirely in the hands of the individual. I'm not fattist (I think you’ll find YOUR fattist – A Jimmy Carr original, not a Jim Davidson!) but when it encroaches on my life, or my seat then I’m not overjoyed about it. Would I be expected to not be so ‘mean’ if it was encroachment of another type, a loud ipod perhaps or some particularly bad smelling food?
Anyway, my plan is to return to Korea as soon as 2008 begins, but due to some new laws in there I will have to go through a month of bureaucratic bullshit until I can leave, but leave I will and I might not ever return.
Season of good will to all men? Bah humbug.
Last night’s TV 22nd December 2007
Britain sings Christmas was surely ITV’s weakest contribution to the festive schedule (although I am sure there will be many more disappointments to come) and what a real load of shite it turned out to be. This festive, vomit inducing program was hosted by Kate Thornton (who seems to have no noticeable talent apart from getting booked to host any old shit) and was a glorified karaoke night with audience members and people up and down the UK encouraged to sing along. With this display of carol killing Ms Thornton has added to her ever growing CV of; forgive the pun and Americanism, turkeys.
The incredibly simple and cheap format shone through to the program and revealed more about the nose diving careers of some of the nations once loved celebrities (not by me I hasten to add) than it did about the nation. The people who shameless put themselves on display were nothing more than a collection of publicity starved and possibly penniless "stars" who have turned out to sing the nation's favourite Christmas songs.
Such luminaries of the entertainment industry who graced my screen for the duration of the first song only included, former Eastender Charlie Brooks (she was fat Barry’s wife, Jeannie Butcher), Kim "I haven’t got a garden to tend to" Wilde, Jo "I used to be funny as a militant man hater but since moving into regular TV have decided to sell out and take whatever work I can get" Brand and a whole host of other Z list celebrities who couldn’t find an envelope opening to go to.
What a rubbish and one dimensional format that is you might say, but you’d be wrong. There was an audience participation part too. Mugs, I mean members of the public from four cities around the UK (Birmingham, Cardiff, Belfast and Gateshead) gathered together in the cold, presumably in front of a big screen showing something they could watch at home in front of the fire to sing along and occasionally clap and cheer like sea lions at an aquarium when told to by Ms Thornton.
There were some people there who could sing, they were professional singers from the west end and the opera world but, like all of the people who voted I didn’t know who they were and I didn’t care enough to find out their names.
Where exactly did they get the nation's favourite songs from? The nation of course, or more accurately the people who have nothing better to do than phone and register that they think Bing Crosby’s White Christmas is the best Xmas song of all time.
This merry band of serial song slayers were guided by an incredibly irritating pair of Grants, David and Cary who both insisted on standing in front of these so called singers, waving their arms around like Simon Rattle on acid.
The highlight (or lowlight, I’m not sure) was undoubtedly the pairing of Diarmund Gavin and Jo Brand singing Fairytale of New York; her because presumably she looks rough and fits in with the Macoll/Mcgowan pairing and him because…oh yeah he’s Irish.
Kate Thornton kept adding to the misery in between every song by reminding us that we could order a CD of all of the night’s songs to listen to whenever we want ( £2 of every £2.99 sale went to the prince’s trust). That would be the musical equivalent of getting food poisoning from a restaurant and then winning a year’s supply of free takeaways to re-poison yourself at your leisure.
The nations 10 favourites contained a few notable exemptions for me and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear the Paul McCartney had refused permission for them to perform Wonderful Christmas and that the phone in was rigged (as seems to be the fashion nowadays) and only songs that were within the range of the performers were included (had that actually been the case then the program would have been very short indeed!).
I think Gary Glitter’s 'Another Rock ‘n’ Roll Christmas' should have be included, but then he is evil isnt he and by proxy so is everything he has ever recorded. Other notable absentees were Blue Christmas by Elvis, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow by Dean Martin and Jonah Lewie’s Stop the cavalry which is probably a touch too political for prime time TV.
I was however incredibly pleased and surprised to not see Cliff Richard make a cameo appearance singing one of his dull and preachy Christmas songs.
Thankfully I was a click away from listening to these songs the way God intended (or at least the original artists) by choosing the appropriate song from my computer. This was car crash TV if ever I saw it, you cannot help but watch these poor wretches humiliating themselves on national TV.
I have lost 5 minutes of my life that I will never get back and the worst part is that I don’t even get paid to watch this drivel. Hark, the herald angels sing? I think not.
Next on ITV was Star traders: the Christmas challenge where something shit was traded for something else shit until they had something that was deemed worthy of auctioning in front of a studio audience. I watched just enough to realise I didn’t want to watch the rest. That point came when I realised the host was the silver fox Phillip Scofield with sidekicks Kieran Bracken and Mylenne Class. I turned the TV back on in time to see the end, where someone in the crowd, inspired by Queen of the Jungle Christopher Biggins to part with £35,000 for some jewellry and a pair of football boots worn by Wazza Rooney. By far the best part though was when the man from the charity Shelter came to say a few words with the lucky bidder and put both feet well and truly in his mouth. He explained how the money would be used , said how pleased he was and how the money would help them touch hundreds of children. Not what charities should use money for is it?
Orson Welles once said that he hated Television. That he hated it as much as peanuts. But that he couldn’t stop eating peanuts. Well I hate peanuts too but I cant stop eating them either which perhaps explains why I feel compelled to expose myself to something on TV I know will infuriate me at least once a week.
Next is an audience with Celine Dion and I really am turning the TV off until Match of the day comes on because the only way I can exorcise the demons of these diabolical programs is to write something about them and I fear that if I keep watching terrestrial, Christmas TV, I will spend the festive period in front of a computer instead of in the pub like most people.
Thursday, 15 November 2007
Episode 2 - The return
I know of 3 people who have read at least one thing each on my blog and that is enough to keep me going. The real reason however for my continuing and probably worsening view of the world is that I have a big mouth and a lot to say but most of my friends and definitely my girlfriend have had enough of my rambling, ranting and complaining about all sorts of things and the blog gives me an outlet for my passions and frustrations that would otherwise boil up inside me until such times as I would vent my frustration on someone or, more likely something and end up with an ASBO. And because I have read some of the absolute shit written by Russell Brand, in of all places, but not limited to, the sport supplement of the guardian “I was a druggie, I was addicted to sex wha wha wha” and if he can get a plum job like that, I can publish something on the net.
After returning to the UK I have seen loads of changes and at the same time realised that nothing changes at all, my hometown for example now has a Starbucks and a Subway sandwich shop, classy eh? At the same time, as the train pulled into the small train station the rain was pouring and that night a young man was assaulted outside the local Wetherspoons who later died.
Gordon Ramsey and Nigella Lawson both have new TV series ( you have to concentrate to see it though as they look exactly the same as every other series they have produced - formulaic is not the word) but before I left I used to enjoy watching both of them but now I am repulsed by both of them, he is a megalomaniacal nutter who swears like a child who has just learnt a new word and has been told to stop by his parents and she is as seductive as a naked fatty in a g-string, her sultry swishing about her house like she is doing a photo shoot for a weekend newspapers supplementary magazine drives me f’ing nuts. These things haven’t changed I hear both of you cry, but I have (not grown up as such, just changed) and now I find both of them incredibly annoying. Almost as annoying as Gordon’s, the Gin company hiring Mr Ramsey to promote their product, talk about lazy advertising.
The UK soaps are another thing that haven’t changed, they are still shit.
Stay tuned for more ranting and raving.
After returning to the UK I have seen loads of changes and at the same time realised that nothing changes at all, my hometown for example now has a Starbucks and a Subway sandwich shop, classy eh? At the same time, as the train pulled into the small train station the rain was pouring and that night a young man was assaulted outside the local Wetherspoons who later died.
Gordon Ramsey and Nigella Lawson both have new TV series ( you have to concentrate to see it though as they look exactly the same as every other series they have produced - formulaic is not the word) but before I left I used to enjoy watching both of them but now I am repulsed by both of them, he is a megalomaniacal nutter who swears like a child who has just learnt a new word and has been told to stop by his parents and she is as seductive as a naked fatty in a g-string, her sultry swishing about her house like she is doing a photo shoot for a weekend newspapers supplementary magazine drives me f’ing nuts. These things haven’t changed I hear both of you cry, but I have (not grown up as such, just changed) and now I find both of them incredibly annoying. Almost as annoying as Gordon’s, the Gin company hiring Mr Ramsey to promote their product, talk about lazy advertising.
The UK soaps are another thing that haven’t changed, they are still shit.
Stay tuned for more ranting and raving.
Monday, 27 August 2007
Premiership game week 4
Saturday 25th August
In the 12.45 kick off Liverpool faced a very tricky fixture away at Sunderland, the kind of team that in previous seasons may have put a dent in any Liverpool title challenge. Rafa Benitez has already made his thoughts clear when it comes to Liverpool’s fixtures after European and international games and so after a week of international games, predictably, Liverpool have an early Saturday kick off while Manchester United have a later Sunday kick off. Actually United need the rest as they are in desperate need of a result, just because Liverpool can turn out a result with little rest doesn’t mean they can does it?
Liverpool went to newly promoted Sunderland off the back of some good results on the field but some bad results off it. Liverpool were denied the services of Gabriel Heinze from the Salford reds as the premier league predictably ruled in their favour. Even though Heinze had a letter signed, sating he was free to move if the price was right, the letter failed to specify which clubs could buy him. The 3 man panel of United fans, I mean independent football type people judged that even though the letter did not rule out any team from buying Heinze, United probably should have stated that Liverpool were out of bounds. The panel, in its infinite wisdom decided that that fact should be understood, written or not and Heinze was denied what he longed for, a move from Manchester to Liverpool, he has now signed for Real Madrid.
On the field Liverpool fared better this week (unlike last week when Rob Styles gifted Chelsea a point) when they travelled away to Roy Keane’s Sunderland. Sunderland flew up from the Championship last season but will be among the favourites to go back down, Keane seems to have the right qualities as a manger and I think he will keep them up and he could even become a regular in the league. Sunderland also had the opportunity to start with a front 2 who would be know to all football fans, Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole, the very same 2 who had partnered each other at Manchester united alongside Keane. Keane signed Cole the day before the game but confirmed he would play no part; it will be interesting to see if they can rekindle some of the form they had for Manchester united years ago.
The game started well for Liverpool who were dressed in black, with Voronin going close very early on after he ran onto a bad back pass but Gordon saved well. Not long after that Darryl Murphy’s shoulder came out on top in a battle with Sami Hyypia’s nose and the big Finn eventually had to be replaced by Daniel Agger.
Sunderland had a good opportunity when Pennant gave the ball away about 40 yards out, it was fed through the defence and Chopra found himself with the goal in his sights, his tight angle shot beat Reina but it didn’t have enough power to get past the substitute Agger. Liverpool looked likeier to open the scoring, Pennant causing some problems down the right wing and Voronin and Torres always lurking. The break through eventually came when a lofted Alonso pass into the box was headed back by Pennant, it fell to Voronin, who noticed Momo Sissoko steaming up from midfield, he laid it off for him and Sissoko smashed it into the bottom right corner of the net from 20+ yards. Unbelievably it was Sissoko’s first ever goal in a Liverpool shirt, a great way to get off the mark.
Just before the end of the half Liverpool had a golden opportunity to make it 2-0 when a bad clearance fell to Voronin, he fed it to Pennant who crossed first time to find the head of Torres. A good save from Gordon down to his left, he then turned and scrambled to the ball before it crossed the line, after today's performance Keane will be looking for all those boo boys in the media who criticised him for spending what could end up being 9m for a goalkeeper.
Early in the second half Gordon would come to Sunderland’s rescue again with a fine save, the ball was given away by Sunderland on the halfway line, it was picked up by Torres who had 2 men to beat, they closed in on him from both sides, he knocked the ball through the middle of them and sprinted through the gap, he got a solid shot off that hit a well placed Gordon square in the chest. The story was all too familiar, Liverpool looked like they had a problem in closing a game out, in so many seasons past we have taken the lead only to waste opportunities to kill it off and regretted it later. Bad news was to come for Liverpool when Jamie Carragher was injured in a collision whilst trying to defend a free kick, the knock looked innocent enough but it was confirmed later that he had broken a rib, not a good ay for Liverpool center backs!
Sunderland came close with a snap shot from Stokes but Reina saw it go wide of his right post. A good piece of skill by Torres saw him go past a defender to the byline, his pulled back cross ended up at the feet of Voronin and his powered shot was again stopped by Gordon, not that he knew too much about it. The killer blow, which has been lacking in previous seasons, was eventually delivered to an outclassed Sunderland side in a nice team goal. Babel and Pennant played one two with Pennant back heeling his pass back to Babel. He in turn passed across to Torres; Voronin was outside him running ahead and was fed the ball by the young Spaniard. With a defender in front of him the Ukrainian striker turned him to put the ball on his right foot and placed it in the far bottom corner of the net from about 16 yards, my man of the match, Craig Gordon got a touch but it wasn’t enough, 2-0. The game was finally closed out with 3 minutes of normal time to go; a little earlier in the future will do many red nerves the world of good.
In the 3pm games Arsenal won their home game against a rampant Man City 1-0, Chelsea beat Portsmouth 1-0 at Stamford Bridge with a trademark goal by Frank Lampard, it went in off someone else, this time the keeper.
Sammy Lee got some relief when Bolton won 3-0 at home against Reading, Relegation candidates Derby and Birmingham fought over 3 potentially priceless points with Birmingham coming out on top 2-1. West Ham and Wigan took a point each at Upton Park and Villa beat Fulham 2-1 at home.
In the Sunday games the North East derby between Boro and Newcastle saw 4 goals, each side scoring 2 and Manchester United had to rely on some bad refereeing to secure their first win of the season against Spurs. The Londoners were denied a clear penalty for handball and United had to rely on a great strike of the ball from Nani, not exactly the kind of win or goal that would inspire confidence for coming games including Keane’s return to Old Trafford, Everton at Goodison and Chelsea at home.
In the 12.45 kick off Liverpool faced a very tricky fixture away at Sunderland, the kind of team that in previous seasons may have put a dent in any Liverpool title challenge. Rafa Benitez has already made his thoughts clear when it comes to Liverpool’s fixtures after European and international games and so after a week of international games, predictably, Liverpool have an early Saturday kick off while Manchester United have a later Sunday kick off. Actually United need the rest as they are in desperate need of a result, just because Liverpool can turn out a result with little rest doesn’t mean they can does it?
Liverpool went to newly promoted Sunderland off the back of some good results on the field but some bad results off it. Liverpool were denied the services of Gabriel Heinze from the Salford reds as the premier league predictably ruled in their favour. Even though Heinze had a letter signed, sating he was free to move if the price was right, the letter failed to specify which clubs could buy him. The 3 man panel of United fans, I mean independent football type people judged that even though the letter did not rule out any team from buying Heinze, United probably should have stated that Liverpool were out of bounds. The panel, in its infinite wisdom decided that that fact should be understood, written or not and Heinze was denied what he longed for, a move from Manchester to Liverpool, he has now signed for Real Madrid.
On the field Liverpool fared better this week (unlike last week when Rob Styles gifted Chelsea a point) when they travelled away to Roy Keane’s Sunderland. Sunderland flew up from the Championship last season but will be among the favourites to go back down, Keane seems to have the right qualities as a manger and I think he will keep them up and he could even become a regular in the league. Sunderland also had the opportunity to start with a front 2 who would be know to all football fans, Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole, the very same 2 who had partnered each other at Manchester united alongside Keane. Keane signed Cole the day before the game but confirmed he would play no part; it will be interesting to see if they can rekindle some of the form they had for Manchester united years ago.
The game started well for Liverpool who were dressed in black, with Voronin going close very early on after he ran onto a bad back pass but Gordon saved well. Not long after that Darryl Murphy’s shoulder came out on top in a battle with Sami Hyypia’s nose and the big Finn eventually had to be replaced by Daniel Agger.
Sunderland had a good opportunity when Pennant gave the ball away about 40 yards out, it was fed through the defence and Chopra found himself with the goal in his sights, his tight angle shot beat Reina but it didn’t have enough power to get past the substitute Agger. Liverpool looked likeier to open the scoring, Pennant causing some problems down the right wing and Voronin and Torres always lurking. The break through eventually came when a lofted Alonso pass into the box was headed back by Pennant, it fell to Voronin, who noticed Momo Sissoko steaming up from midfield, he laid it off for him and Sissoko smashed it into the bottom right corner of the net from 20+ yards. Unbelievably it was Sissoko’s first ever goal in a Liverpool shirt, a great way to get off the mark.
Just before the end of the half Liverpool had a golden opportunity to make it 2-0 when a bad clearance fell to Voronin, he fed it to Pennant who crossed first time to find the head of Torres. A good save from Gordon down to his left, he then turned and scrambled to the ball before it crossed the line, after today's performance Keane will be looking for all those boo boys in the media who criticised him for spending what could end up being 9m for a goalkeeper.
Early in the second half Gordon would come to Sunderland’s rescue again with a fine save, the ball was given away by Sunderland on the halfway line, it was picked up by Torres who had 2 men to beat, they closed in on him from both sides, he knocked the ball through the middle of them and sprinted through the gap, he got a solid shot off that hit a well placed Gordon square in the chest. The story was all too familiar, Liverpool looked like they had a problem in closing a game out, in so many seasons past we have taken the lead only to waste opportunities to kill it off and regretted it later. Bad news was to come for Liverpool when Jamie Carragher was injured in a collision whilst trying to defend a free kick, the knock looked innocent enough but it was confirmed later that he had broken a rib, not a good ay for Liverpool center backs!
Sunderland came close with a snap shot from Stokes but Reina saw it go wide of his right post. A good piece of skill by Torres saw him go past a defender to the byline, his pulled back cross ended up at the feet of Voronin and his powered shot was again stopped by Gordon, not that he knew too much about it. The killer blow, which has been lacking in previous seasons, was eventually delivered to an outclassed Sunderland side in a nice team goal. Babel and Pennant played one two with Pennant back heeling his pass back to Babel. He in turn passed across to Torres; Voronin was outside him running ahead and was fed the ball by the young Spaniard. With a defender in front of him the Ukrainian striker turned him to put the ball on his right foot and placed it in the far bottom corner of the net from about 16 yards, my man of the match, Craig Gordon got a touch but it wasn’t enough, 2-0. The game was finally closed out with 3 minutes of normal time to go; a little earlier in the future will do many red nerves the world of good.
In the 3pm games Arsenal won their home game against a rampant Man City 1-0, Chelsea beat Portsmouth 1-0 at Stamford Bridge with a trademark goal by Frank Lampard, it went in off someone else, this time the keeper.
Sammy Lee got some relief when Bolton won 3-0 at home against Reading, Relegation candidates Derby and Birmingham fought over 3 potentially priceless points with Birmingham coming out on top 2-1. West Ham and Wigan took a point each at Upton Park and Villa beat Fulham 2-1 at home.
In the Sunday games the North East derby between Boro and Newcastle saw 4 goals, each side scoring 2 and Manchester United had to rely on some bad refereeing to secure their first win of the season against Spurs. The Londoners were denied a clear penalty for handball and United had to rely on a great strike of the ball from Nani, not exactly the kind of win or goal that would inspire confidence for coming games including Keane’s return to Old Trafford, Everton at Goodison and Chelsea at home.
Monday, 20 August 2007
Premiership Game Week 3
Saturday 18th August
West ham got their first win of the season with a Mark Noble penalty settling their game and Spurs also got their first win of the season with a very comfortable 4-0 win over Derby County. Boro’ beat Fulham 2-1, but the Londoners were denied a goal after the ball was deemed to have not crossed the line, which it apparently did. Newcastle and Villa played out a 0-0 draw in a game that I’m sure was as dull as it sounds. Pompey continue their impressive start to the season with a 3-1 win over Bolton, Sammy Lee may be in the running to get the sack first as Bolton have now lost all 3 of their opening games and sit rock bottom of the table with -5 goal difference. Reading ended Everton’s impressive start to the season with a 1-0 win at home courtesy of Stephen Hunt and Wigan won their second home game in a row with a 3-0 win over Sunderland although they needed 2 penalties to get there, they top the table at the end of Saturday’s games.
Sunday, 19 August 2007
In the early Kick off Manchester United travelled to Eastland’s stadium to face rivals Manchester City, (city rivals in name only of course because United’s Old Trafford stadium isn’t actually in Manchester, as it’s name suggests it’s in the borough of Trafford – so there really is only one team in Manchester!) without Rooney and Ronaldo but they have players they can bring in to replace them so to call them under strength would not be fair to Manchester City should they get a good result.
The Manchester City fans were in good voice, as you would expect seeing as they sit 2nd in the table, (admittedly with only 2 games played) but the noise was subdued a little when after around 7 minutes Ericsson was forced into an early substitution when Valeri Bojinov had to be stretchered off on his debut. He was replaced by Emile Mpenza. The game wasn’t as free flowing as the neutral would like and United did seem to be lacking something up front and although the possession stats would suggest United dominated the game, it was pretty even. That was until the 32nd minute when Deiberson Geovanni fired a shot toward goal that eluded Van der Sar after a deflection off Vidic. The ‘Citeh’ fans were ecstatic and those sitting next to the away fans immediately turned and began goading their nearest but not so dearest.
Tevez missed an absolute sitter the 91st minute, the United bench were up, broad smiles of relief on their faces only to have them wiped away a second later when they realised that their prize capture of the summer fluffed it, Fergie’s face was absolutely priceless.
In a desperate attempt to get something from this game United bring on Chris Eagles, a really desperate and possibly irrational move. Then to make matters worse, he brings on Campbell, I swear I heard “who the hell is Campbell” echoing around the away end of Eastland’s. United lost the game and now have 2 points from 3 games, Could this be a season too far for Fergie?
I went to the pub to watch the Liverpool V Chelsea game and to my delight there was a Manc there, moaning about losing but not actually having anything to complain about other than the fact they they were beaten by a better team. We exchanged a bit of witty repartee (the wit coming from me I might add) but he seemed to turn a little bit bitter when he realised that he really should be quiet and that as far as this season is concerned he has no defence for United’s disastrous start, but he didn’t, instead he turned to that oldest and most ridiculous trope of all tropes, the last refuge of the desperate Manc and said "How many Premier league titles have you won?”, to make himself look like an even bigger tit, he gestured with his hands “0” . Sad indeed.
The game of the day was undoubtedly Liverpool V Chelsea at Anfield, a match which has become something of a grudge match in recent seasons, what with us beating them in the Champions league a few times. Liverpool started with what looks like Rafa’s favourite premiership starting 11; Reina, Agger, Carragher, Arbeloa, Finnan, Gerrard, Alonso, Pennant (Babel 68), Riise (Crouch 83), Kuyt and Torres.
Chelsea started with Cech, Essien, Ben-Haim, Terry, Ashley Cole, Kalou (Pizarro 46), Wright-Phillips (Joe Cole 77), Obi, Lampard, Malouda (Alex 85), Drogba.
Liverpool started like the team who wanted to win the game with Kuyt running around like a madman, seemingly not stopping to breathe and Gerrard marshalling the Reds from the middle of the park.
The game was always destined to be a fiery meeting given the games in recent seasons but this particular match was overshadowed by catastrophic and baffling refereeing decisions by the B*****d in the black, Rob Styles.
Gerrard started like a man with a point to prove and he certainly proved to the Liverpool fans watching around the world that he is committed to the cause and is seemingly willing to give it his all to bring the championship home come May, he was easily the best player on the pitch and warranted the captain's armband more than ever. Liverpool started the better of the two teams and the Torres and Kuyt partnership would seem to be a good one, Torres came good after only 16 minutes when he ran onto a through ball from Gerrard, slowed and then sped up to skip past Ben-Haim, he then opened his body up to expose the far right corner of the goal and simply slotted it in the corner, a fantastic goal on his Anfield debut.
The Chelsea players tried their best to intimidate the referee and it seemed to work with Chelsea winning the vast majority of the 50-50 free kick decisions but the pressure of the big game was too much for him and he started brandishing yellow cards like he was giving away sweets, 9 by the end of the game.
Styles really cracked under the big game pressure and unfortunately for Liverpool when he cracked and lost his mind it was Chelsea who benefited from his lost head. The first and most costly mistake he made was the awarding of a penalty to Chelsea in the 62nd minute, the Rafa dubbed ‘Invisible Penalty’ was the most curious decision of the day and nobody inside the stadium could possibly justify its awarding. The ball was played across the edge of the box by SWP, Finnan and Malouda went for the ball but ran into each other as the ball ran behind them at least a yard away but Styles blew and pointed to the spot, which justifiably enraged Carragher. There wasn’t a Chelsea protest in sight. Lampard put the penalty away and then celebrated like a petulant schoolboy with a point to prove. The reality is that the penalty was a fantastical creation by Rob Styles that only he can explain and Chelsea didn’t deserve to draw level. In the immortal word of Jimmy Cricket “there’s more”.
11 minutes later Styles brandished the yellow card at John Terry for protesting at a Ben-Haim foul on Torres, he walked away and Michael Essien, who had been booked after 12 minutes remained talking to the ref. Less than a minute or so later Styles produced the yellow card again with Terry nowhere in sight. Ben-Haim was now present with the Ghanaian and the ref waved the card in their direction, they had both been previously booked and so all Styles had to do was to clarify for the 45,000 crowd which one of them was given their marching orders. But he didn’t. The game continued and those 2 bizarre decisions in 11 minutes cost Liverpool 2 points which could prove crucial come the end of the season. Styles claimed to have been showing the card to Terry, but this is inconsistent with what actually happened.
Liverpool had opportunities to finish the game and render obsolete the workings of Styles, Riise had an opportunity from close range but Cech saved well and Babel fired a shot into the side netting. Maybe we should have taken one of them and killed the game off but that shouldn’t let anyone skirt over the worst display of referring since Graham Poll's 3 yellow card antics at the World cup. Maybe Styles should suffer the same fate as him.
Predictably Mourinho thought the ref did a good job and claimed that a few Liverpool players could have made his afternoon a little bit easier, well he would wouldn’t he. As it turns out Rob Styles didn’t do a good job, Referees' chief Keith Hackett said so, so Jose was wrong. Styles admitted he made a mistake and Hackett offered his apologies to Liverpool and said Styles should do the same. Styles has been dropped for the weekend's upcoming games but that doesn’t change the point that we wuz robbed.
West ham got their first win of the season with a Mark Noble penalty settling their game and Spurs also got their first win of the season with a very comfortable 4-0 win over Derby County. Boro’ beat Fulham 2-1, but the Londoners were denied a goal after the ball was deemed to have not crossed the line, which it apparently did. Newcastle and Villa played out a 0-0 draw in a game that I’m sure was as dull as it sounds. Pompey continue their impressive start to the season with a 3-1 win over Bolton, Sammy Lee may be in the running to get the sack first as Bolton have now lost all 3 of their opening games and sit rock bottom of the table with -5 goal difference. Reading ended Everton’s impressive start to the season with a 1-0 win at home courtesy of Stephen Hunt and Wigan won their second home game in a row with a 3-0 win over Sunderland although they needed 2 penalties to get there, they top the table at the end of Saturday’s games.
Sunday, 19 August 2007
In the early Kick off Manchester United travelled to Eastland’s stadium to face rivals Manchester City, (city rivals in name only of course because United’s Old Trafford stadium isn’t actually in Manchester, as it’s name suggests it’s in the borough of Trafford – so there really is only one team in Manchester!) without Rooney and Ronaldo but they have players they can bring in to replace them so to call them under strength would not be fair to Manchester City should they get a good result.
The Manchester City fans were in good voice, as you would expect seeing as they sit 2nd in the table, (admittedly with only 2 games played) but the noise was subdued a little when after around 7 minutes Ericsson was forced into an early substitution when Valeri Bojinov had to be stretchered off on his debut. He was replaced by Emile Mpenza. The game wasn’t as free flowing as the neutral would like and United did seem to be lacking something up front and although the possession stats would suggest United dominated the game, it was pretty even. That was until the 32nd minute when Deiberson Geovanni fired a shot toward goal that eluded Van der Sar after a deflection off Vidic. The ‘Citeh’ fans were ecstatic and those sitting next to the away fans immediately turned and began goading their nearest but not so dearest.
Tevez missed an absolute sitter the 91st minute, the United bench were up, broad smiles of relief on their faces only to have them wiped away a second later when they realised that their prize capture of the summer fluffed it, Fergie’s face was absolutely priceless.
In a desperate attempt to get something from this game United bring on Chris Eagles, a really desperate and possibly irrational move. Then to make matters worse, he brings on Campbell, I swear I heard “who the hell is Campbell” echoing around the away end of Eastland’s. United lost the game and now have 2 points from 3 games, Could this be a season too far for Fergie?
I went to the pub to watch the Liverpool V Chelsea game and to my delight there was a Manc there, moaning about losing but not actually having anything to complain about other than the fact they they were beaten by a better team. We exchanged a bit of witty repartee (the wit coming from me I might add) but he seemed to turn a little bit bitter when he realised that he really should be quiet and that as far as this season is concerned he has no defence for United’s disastrous start, but he didn’t, instead he turned to that oldest and most ridiculous trope of all tropes, the last refuge of the desperate Manc and said "How many Premier league titles have you won?”, to make himself look like an even bigger tit, he gestured with his hands “0” . Sad indeed.
The game of the day was undoubtedly Liverpool V Chelsea at Anfield, a match which has become something of a grudge match in recent seasons, what with us beating them in the Champions league a few times. Liverpool started with what looks like Rafa’s favourite premiership starting 11; Reina, Agger, Carragher, Arbeloa, Finnan, Gerrard, Alonso, Pennant (Babel 68), Riise (Crouch 83), Kuyt and Torres.
Chelsea started with Cech, Essien, Ben-Haim, Terry, Ashley Cole, Kalou (Pizarro 46), Wright-Phillips (Joe Cole 77), Obi, Lampard, Malouda (Alex 85), Drogba.
Liverpool started like the team who wanted to win the game with Kuyt running around like a madman, seemingly not stopping to breathe and Gerrard marshalling the Reds from the middle of the park.
The game was always destined to be a fiery meeting given the games in recent seasons but this particular match was overshadowed by catastrophic and baffling refereeing decisions by the B*****d in the black, Rob Styles.
Gerrard started like a man with a point to prove and he certainly proved to the Liverpool fans watching around the world that he is committed to the cause and is seemingly willing to give it his all to bring the championship home come May, he was easily the best player on the pitch and warranted the captain's armband more than ever. Liverpool started the better of the two teams and the Torres and Kuyt partnership would seem to be a good one, Torres came good after only 16 minutes when he ran onto a through ball from Gerrard, slowed and then sped up to skip past Ben-Haim, he then opened his body up to expose the far right corner of the goal and simply slotted it in the corner, a fantastic goal on his Anfield debut.
The Chelsea players tried their best to intimidate the referee and it seemed to work with Chelsea winning the vast majority of the 50-50 free kick decisions but the pressure of the big game was too much for him and he started brandishing yellow cards like he was giving away sweets, 9 by the end of the game.
Styles really cracked under the big game pressure and unfortunately for Liverpool when he cracked and lost his mind it was Chelsea who benefited from his lost head. The first and most costly mistake he made was the awarding of a penalty to Chelsea in the 62nd minute, the Rafa dubbed ‘Invisible Penalty’ was the most curious decision of the day and nobody inside the stadium could possibly justify its awarding. The ball was played across the edge of the box by SWP, Finnan and Malouda went for the ball but ran into each other as the ball ran behind them at least a yard away but Styles blew and pointed to the spot, which justifiably enraged Carragher. There wasn’t a Chelsea protest in sight. Lampard put the penalty away and then celebrated like a petulant schoolboy with a point to prove. The reality is that the penalty was a fantastical creation by Rob Styles that only he can explain and Chelsea didn’t deserve to draw level. In the immortal word of Jimmy Cricket “there’s more”.
11 minutes later Styles brandished the yellow card at John Terry for protesting at a Ben-Haim foul on Torres, he walked away and Michael Essien, who had been booked after 12 minutes remained talking to the ref. Less than a minute or so later Styles produced the yellow card again with Terry nowhere in sight. Ben-Haim was now present with the Ghanaian and the ref waved the card in their direction, they had both been previously booked and so all Styles had to do was to clarify for the 45,000 crowd which one of them was given their marching orders. But he didn’t. The game continued and those 2 bizarre decisions in 11 minutes cost Liverpool 2 points which could prove crucial come the end of the season. Styles claimed to have been showing the card to Terry, but this is inconsistent with what actually happened.
Liverpool had opportunities to finish the game and render obsolete the workings of Styles, Riise had an opportunity from close range but Cech saved well and Babel fired a shot into the side netting. Maybe we should have taken one of them and killed the game off but that shouldn’t let anyone skirt over the worst display of referring since Graham Poll's 3 yellow card antics at the World cup. Maybe Styles should suffer the same fate as him.
Predictably Mourinho thought the ref did a good job and claimed that a few Liverpool players could have made his afternoon a little bit easier, well he would wouldn’t he. As it turns out Rob Styles didn’t do a good job, Referees' chief Keith Hackett said so, so Jose was wrong. Styles admitted he made a mistake and Hackett offered his apologies to Liverpool and said Styles should do the same. Styles has been dropped for the weekend's upcoming games but that doesn’t change the point that we wuz robbed.
Friday, 17 August 2007
Premier League - Week 2
Wednesday night was round two of the premiership (excluding Everton’s game on Tuesday) and at the start of play Everton topped the premiership with their win the day before. Liverpool and Arsenal miss this round of games while they attempt to gain entry into the Champion’s league proper and a few other teams didn’t play either.
On Tuesday, Everton shocked a few people by beating Spurs 3-1 at White Hart Lane and condemning them to their 2nd defeat in as many games, a terrible start for a team who looked like they were going to really be contenders for some silverware this season. Lescott scored after only 3 minutes to give the blues the lead but Gardener struck back in the 26th minute to level the scores and put some shakey spurs nerves at ease. That was until Leon Osman’s goal 11 minutes later restored Everton’s lead, the game was effectively won when Alan Stubbs scored in the 45th minute to seal a second successive defeat for Spurs. Everton go to Reading on Saturday and will believe they can keep this run going while Spurs host derby and will surely go all out to record their first win in a so far dismal opening month to the season.
The shock of the Wednesday night games was Manchester United’s second successive draw; they drew 1-1 with Portsmouth at Fratton Park. Carlos Tevez set up United’s goal with Scholes putting the ball away but Zimbabwean Benjani Mwaruwari levelled the score after 53 minutes. The game ended on a sour note as both sides had a man sent off. Muntari was sent off after 83 minutes for a second yellow card and 2 minutes later Ronaldo was shown a straight red for his involvement in a scuffle with Richard Hughes. United must now go into the Manchester derby without Ronaldo or Rooney.
Other results on Wednesday saw Man city beat Derby 1-0, they now sit second in the table, Birmingham and Sunderland drew 2-2 in an early season battle of the relegation favourites, Fulham beat Bolton 2-1 to hand Bolton their second defeat of the season, Chelsea managed to beat Reading 2-1 after the Royals took the lead and Wigan beat Boro’ 1-0 at home.
Round 3 on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Everton shocked a few people by beating Spurs 3-1 at White Hart Lane and condemning them to their 2nd defeat in as many games, a terrible start for a team who looked like they were going to really be contenders for some silverware this season. Lescott scored after only 3 minutes to give the blues the lead but Gardener struck back in the 26th minute to level the scores and put some shakey spurs nerves at ease. That was until Leon Osman’s goal 11 minutes later restored Everton’s lead, the game was effectively won when Alan Stubbs scored in the 45th minute to seal a second successive defeat for Spurs. Everton go to Reading on Saturday and will believe they can keep this run going while Spurs host derby and will surely go all out to record their first win in a so far dismal opening month to the season.
The shock of the Wednesday night games was Manchester United’s second successive draw; they drew 1-1 with Portsmouth at Fratton Park. Carlos Tevez set up United’s goal with Scholes putting the ball away but Zimbabwean Benjani Mwaruwari levelled the score after 53 minutes. The game ended on a sour note as both sides had a man sent off. Muntari was sent off after 83 minutes for a second yellow card and 2 minutes later Ronaldo was shown a straight red for his involvement in a scuffle with Richard Hughes. United must now go into the Manchester derby without Ronaldo or Rooney.
Other results on Wednesday saw Man city beat Derby 1-0, they now sit second in the table, Birmingham and Sunderland drew 2-2 in an early season battle of the relegation favourites, Fulham beat Bolton 2-1 to hand Bolton their second defeat of the season, Chelsea managed to beat Reading 2-1 after the Royals took the lead and Wigan beat Boro’ 1-0 at home.
Round 3 on Saturday.
Monday, 13 August 2007
Week 1 of the Premiership
The premiership season started Saturday with a bit of a surprise in Sunderland beating much fancied Tottenham in the early kick off. Roy Keane’s team were always going to give it their all on opening day but I doubt if Keane himself seriously thought they were going to win against a spurs team that has been charged with trying to break into the top 4 this season.
The highlight of the day must be seeing the goal of the month scored on opening day by Steven Gerrard. Liverpool travelled away to Villa for the opening game in what in past seasons would have been a very tricky opener. Liverpool haven’t lost at Villa park since the 97/98 season, when they went down 2-1 but it was precisely these kinds of games over the last few seasons that has seen Liverpool fall behind Manchester United and Chelsea in the race for elusive championship number 19. Fernando Torres started up front with Dirk Kuyt, Gerrard started in his favourite position, right in the middle of the park, Arbeloa started as left back with Riise playing in front of him, Carragher, Agger, Alonso, Finnan and Pennant made up the starting line 11.
Liverpool were the dominant team on the pitch and looked the most likely to take the lead. After several chances, a few of which fell to Torres, Liverpool went ahead when a pass, dummied by Kuyt, fell to Torres, his shot was parried by Taylor but Kuyt rescued the ball before it went out and his cross was knocked into the Villa net by Laursen. Liverpool kept their lead and looked good for the win until 6 minutes from time when Carragher handled the ball in the area, Mike Riley pointed to the spot and Gareth Barry converted the kick. Liverpool would be justified in feeling a bit hard done by losing their lead so close to the finish but 2 minutes later a Gerrard run was impeded by Stiliyan Petrov and a free kick was awarded when it became clear there was going to be advantage. Riise and Alonso both stepped up but it was the captain who decided to take it and try to rescue Liverpool on the opening day of the season. A sublime and inch perfect free kick left the keeper floundering at full stretch and even though he got fingertips to it, he was never going to get enough on it to keep it out of the net. This was not the first important goal that Gerrard had scored for Liverpool and it most certainly wont be the last but the importance, psychologically at least for Liverpool to win their opening game of the season away from home cannot be underestimated. Last year Liverpool had to wait until December for their first away win of the season and it is the first time in 5 years Liverpool have won their opening game. There are great things to come from Liverpool this season and this is the first step in a very long season but this is now something for us to build on and with Chelsea at Anfield next in the premiership, we have a great opportunity to get a leg up on one of our title rivals very early on in the season. With Arsenal and Chelsea also winning their opening games it was doubly important to not fall behind on the first day. While Chelsea apparently cruised to victory, they conceded 2 goals in the opening 36 minutes of the game at home against a team that you would expect to be fighting for their lives come the end of the season and Arsenal had to be saved with a late winner over Fulham after Lehman made a almost fatal error after less then a minute. Manchester United fared less well as they had a torrid time at the hands of a tactically astute Reading side that restricted United to a single effort that looked like it had a chance of sneaking in, Giggs’ effort in the first half which hit the post. Liverpool's 3 main rivals for the Premiership crown were all at home and all looked less than convincing.
Newcastle top the table after a win over their manager's former club 3-1, new boys Derby drew 2-2 with fancied Portsmouth, Liverpool's Merseyside rivals Everton beat Wigan 2-1, Blackburn beat Middlesbrough 2-1 and Man City beat West Ham 2-0 in London.
So week one is out of the way and I am relieved Liverpool have come through unscathed, we will surely go into next weekend's Anfield opener against Chelsea as favourites. United’s result will have little bearing on the overall season but if Reading can hold them to a 0-0 draw then it's obvious they are beatable, but I knew that anyway. Better news than the result was the injury to Wayne Rooney, he had to be substituted during the half time break with a hairline fracture of the foot, an injury that will keep him out for most of September I hear, thank you Michael Duberry.
The highlight of the day must be seeing the goal of the month scored on opening day by Steven Gerrard. Liverpool travelled away to Villa for the opening game in what in past seasons would have been a very tricky opener. Liverpool haven’t lost at Villa park since the 97/98 season, when they went down 2-1 but it was precisely these kinds of games over the last few seasons that has seen Liverpool fall behind Manchester United and Chelsea in the race for elusive championship number 19. Fernando Torres started up front with Dirk Kuyt, Gerrard started in his favourite position, right in the middle of the park, Arbeloa started as left back with Riise playing in front of him, Carragher, Agger, Alonso, Finnan and Pennant made up the starting line 11.
Liverpool were the dominant team on the pitch and looked the most likely to take the lead. After several chances, a few of which fell to Torres, Liverpool went ahead when a pass, dummied by Kuyt, fell to Torres, his shot was parried by Taylor but Kuyt rescued the ball before it went out and his cross was knocked into the Villa net by Laursen. Liverpool kept their lead and looked good for the win until 6 minutes from time when Carragher handled the ball in the area, Mike Riley pointed to the spot and Gareth Barry converted the kick. Liverpool would be justified in feeling a bit hard done by losing their lead so close to the finish but 2 minutes later a Gerrard run was impeded by Stiliyan Petrov and a free kick was awarded when it became clear there was going to be advantage. Riise and Alonso both stepped up but it was the captain who decided to take it and try to rescue Liverpool on the opening day of the season. A sublime and inch perfect free kick left the keeper floundering at full stretch and even though he got fingertips to it, he was never going to get enough on it to keep it out of the net. This was not the first important goal that Gerrard had scored for Liverpool and it most certainly wont be the last but the importance, psychologically at least for Liverpool to win their opening game of the season away from home cannot be underestimated. Last year Liverpool had to wait until December for their first away win of the season and it is the first time in 5 years Liverpool have won their opening game. There are great things to come from Liverpool this season and this is the first step in a very long season but this is now something for us to build on and with Chelsea at Anfield next in the premiership, we have a great opportunity to get a leg up on one of our title rivals very early on in the season. With Arsenal and Chelsea also winning their opening games it was doubly important to not fall behind on the first day. While Chelsea apparently cruised to victory, they conceded 2 goals in the opening 36 minutes of the game at home against a team that you would expect to be fighting for their lives come the end of the season and Arsenal had to be saved with a late winner over Fulham after Lehman made a almost fatal error after less then a minute. Manchester United fared less well as they had a torrid time at the hands of a tactically astute Reading side that restricted United to a single effort that looked like it had a chance of sneaking in, Giggs’ effort in the first half which hit the post. Liverpool's 3 main rivals for the Premiership crown were all at home and all looked less than convincing.
Newcastle top the table after a win over their manager's former club 3-1, new boys Derby drew 2-2 with fancied Portsmouth, Liverpool's Merseyside rivals Everton beat Wigan 2-1, Blackburn beat Middlesbrough 2-1 and Man City beat West Ham 2-0 in London.
So week one is out of the way and I am relieved Liverpool have come through unscathed, we will surely go into next weekend's Anfield opener against Chelsea as favourites. United’s result will have little bearing on the overall season but if Reading can hold them to a 0-0 draw then it's obvious they are beatable, but I knew that anyway. Better news than the result was the injury to Wayne Rooney, he had to be substituted during the half time break with a hairline fracture of the foot, an injury that will keep him out for most of September I hear, thank you Michael Duberry.
Thursday, 21 June 2007
Thursday 21st June
After being stuck in a classroom all day with the windows closed in order to get the room nice and chilly via the aircon, I often have no idea what the weather is like outside. I often hear the odd noise, a advertising lorry blaring James blunt or something equally shit or the smash of 2 cars colliding ( in fairness this has happened only once) but I cant see anything and so the weather usually eludes me.
Until today that is.
Rain has been on the cards here for a while, the rainy season has been threatening and the newspapers have been predicting its start of a number of weeks now. Well it started today and I could hear the noise outside that signalled around a month of almost non stop rain with tropical temperatures (I am British remember). I didn’t actually look out of the window as rain is rain, but when I finished work at 8pm I decided to go to the supermarket and so made my way down to the exit and ran across the road to the relative shelter of a shop awning. I realised that If I wanted to get a taxi I would have to stand at the edge of the road and worse still, on the way back would have to wait on the road outside the supermarket, laden with bags, or a box nowadays (I try to do my bit for the environment) and wait until a taxi ventured my way. It can take some time to get a taxi at homever and I was sure today would be a record breaker. Sensibly I decided not to go and instead ran home. A futile effort as within seconds the biblical rain had soaked me to the skin. I looked like Dr Foster not long after his ill fated trip to Gloucester. The rain seemed to be coming down in sheets instead of drops and there were torrents flowing at the side of every road, how the drains will cope I don’t know. Funnily enough the word for rain in Korean is Pi (pronounced Pee) and so it was fair to say it was literally Pi’ing down!
I wonder what kind of things I will see flowing around in the coming month as Korea seems to have a drop where you like policy when it comes to the various categories of waste and recyclables.
Now I know what incy wincey spider felt like after he had been dumped from the water spout by the rain.
And to cap it all off I was actually singing, in the rain. What was I singing? Agger do of course. Albeit a slightly altered version that pays homage to the left back dynamo that is Daniel Agger of Liverpool FC. What are the words? Ok then, they are:
Agger do, do, do
Chase the cockneys up a tree
Agger do, do, do
Just like Carra, Sami too
To the left, to the right
He brings defenders to their knees
To the Kopites delight
To the man signed from Brondby.
Until today that is.
Rain has been on the cards here for a while, the rainy season has been threatening and the newspapers have been predicting its start of a number of weeks now. Well it started today and I could hear the noise outside that signalled around a month of almost non stop rain with tropical temperatures (I am British remember). I didn’t actually look out of the window as rain is rain, but when I finished work at 8pm I decided to go to the supermarket and so made my way down to the exit and ran across the road to the relative shelter of a shop awning. I realised that If I wanted to get a taxi I would have to stand at the edge of the road and worse still, on the way back would have to wait on the road outside the supermarket, laden with bags, or a box nowadays (I try to do my bit for the environment) and wait until a taxi ventured my way. It can take some time to get a taxi at homever and I was sure today would be a record breaker. Sensibly I decided not to go and instead ran home. A futile effort as within seconds the biblical rain had soaked me to the skin. I looked like Dr Foster not long after his ill fated trip to Gloucester. The rain seemed to be coming down in sheets instead of drops and there were torrents flowing at the side of every road, how the drains will cope I don’t know. Funnily enough the word for rain in Korean is Pi (pronounced Pee) and so it was fair to say it was literally Pi’ing down!
I wonder what kind of things I will see flowing around in the coming month as Korea seems to have a drop where you like policy when it comes to the various categories of waste and recyclables.
Now I know what incy wincey spider felt like after he had been dumped from the water spout by the rain.
And to cap it all off I was actually singing, in the rain. What was I singing? Agger do of course. Albeit a slightly altered version that pays homage to the left back dynamo that is Daniel Agger of Liverpool FC. What are the words? Ok then, they are:
Agger do, do, do
Chase the cockneys up a tree
Agger do, do, do
Just like Carra, Sami too
To the left, to the right
He brings defenders to their knees
To the Kopites delight
To the man signed from Brondby.
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Korea V Netherlands
As I travelled from Jeonju to Seoul on my way to watch Korea V the Netherlands at the Seoul world cup stadium little over a week ago, I reflected on a few things. Why are the buses and trains in Korea so much better than in the UK? They are cheaper, quicker and more comfortable. Why does it feel like the people who own businesses don’t consider the financial bottom line to be the most important thing in the world? The fact that side dishes are free and you can eat until you drop in most places with refills a plenty doesn’t seem to bother anyone and why is Korean football so different from European football or should I say the Korean attitude to football?
I go and watch the home games of Jeonbuk Hyundai motors, my local team. I love football and so watching a game of football, any game is better than not watching one; even if the standard is not great. The standard of the game on the pitch isn’t great in Korea when you compare it to Europe or England in particular but there is something else, a little je nais se quoi as they might say in France, which makes it better in a different way. I go with a few friends, we have a few beers, watch the game, chat intermittently and we love it, usually on a Sunday afternoon or evening as the summer approaches. It is the highlight of the week sometimes.
Football matches in Korea can act as a window on Korean society, you see all sorts of people there from all walks of life, the old, young, married, single, men and women and usually with hundreds of kids running around the stands. The patriotic attitude of Koreans is embodied in football matches too, especially at the Korea national games but football in Korea is a real family affair. You see families waddling into the stadium carrying bags of various bits of equipment they might need for the game including an array of food and drinks as well as umbrellas/parasols and all sorts of other things you never thought you’d see in a football stadium. The families sit together and get the Soju flowing and the packets of dried squid open, they then cheer, drink and eat until half time when they go for a walk to stock up on more food and drinks in anticipation of the second half.
When we arrived in Seoul we headed to Itaewon to procure some lodgings for the evening; 30,000 won in a clean but basic motel did the job, located around the corner from the wolfhound it is the perfect place to fall from the pub into bed. I would rather spend my money on nicer things in Seoul than a bed so the cheap price suited my taste but in hindsight maybe a room with at least a window would have been better in the stifling heat!
The tube to the stadium was predictably full but his time there was an odd mix of everyday Koreans going about their business and the football fans heading to the game. But there was something different about these fans, they weren’t all drunk and singing songs and being abusive as football fans in Europe have been known to be on occasion. No, they were families, men, women and children of all ages dressed in their team colours, all going to support their country.
We emerged 30 odd minutes later from the station to be greeted by a wall of steps leading up to the stadium. Each step had people sitting, talking, eating and drinking with everyone sporting some kind of red or orange piece of material on their bodies or orange hats made from balloons in the shape of the crown, signifying the Dutch royal connection.
There was actually a distinct lack or orange or white shirts but certainly no lack of non-Korean faces, there were huge groups of foreigners all sporting red shirts, here to support the land that currently hosted them. The atmosphere was fantastic, a sea of street vendors selling their wares, mekju, kimbap and tokk being amongst the biggest sellers as well as the obligatory Korea paraphernalia from t-shirts to head scarves. We stood around and savored the atmosphere, drank some beer, posed for photographs and waited to go into the stadium.
Inside the stadium the atmosphere was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, the Koreans seem to have a fun at all cost policy and receive their hosts with emphatic friendship and admiration, from the individual foreigner to entire national football teams from other countries (although I’m not sure how warmly received Japan are). Football is different in Korea, I’m not going to say better but it certainly makes a change from football in the UK. People like us who are obviously not Korean were welcomed with such enthusiasm it almost made me want to cry, especially when I think about what might happen to someone if they admitted to a group of European fans something similar. This hospitality culminated with a group of several lads in front of us turning to us when a Dutch substitution was made. My friend and I wore our Liverpool FC shirts to the game, I don’t have a Korea shirt and my Liverpool shirt is red so I thought it was appropriate. There were many other Liverpool shirts around the stadium too.
Dirk Kuyt came onto the pitch and immediately the few Koreans boys in front turned to us to almost congratulate us when they realised he came on because he plays for Liverpool, they actually applauded him along with us and they seemed happy for us. That made my night.
Koreans have the right idea when to comes to football, play for the love of the game, support your team with passion but never cross that line, the line of taking the game to seriously. Koreans have no problem with that. At most stadiums in the UK there is a dedicated family section where people who want to take their kids can go and not fear for their children’s safety if the result of the game doesn’t go the right way. I looked for a family section at this match but failed to see one. I quickly realised that they don’t need one, indeed the stadium was the family stand, kids were every where and everyone was having fun with the smattering of Dutch fans mixed in.
The level of patriotism inside the stadium made me a little bit homesick and for a brief moment I wished I was home, in front of a crowd of my own people being this patriotic and supporting my country with such desire.
There was an incident that shattered the atmosphere momentarily. From what I could gather a young man had asked another, older man if he would mind sitting down instead of standing as he and his friends couldn't see, the older man took exception and a small scuffle broke out. This system of unquestionable respect towards ones elders has its strengths and its weaknesses and is open to abuse from people who demand respect yet give nothing in return and I’m sure this is not what Confucius had in mind! The incident was resolved and in case anybody spent too much time looking at the arguing group a man started singing and encouraged all around to join in, which we did.
Korea lost the game 2-0 but you would have never have guessed from all the smiling faces exiting the stadium past the small queue that had formed to have their photograph taken with myself and my friend in our Liverpool shirts.
European football teams and countries could learn a lot from Korea and they would only have to spend a short amount of time in the country in order to experience the hospitality. I will be sad to leave Korea when the time comes but then I will probably do what a lot of foreigners do and return here as soon as I can. The kim chi and hospitality are both addictive and I'm not sure i could lead a life without either.
I go and watch the home games of Jeonbuk Hyundai motors, my local team. I love football and so watching a game of football, any game is better than not watching one; even if the standard is not great. The standard of the game on the pitch isn’t great in Korea when you compare it to Europe or England in particular but there is something else, a little je nais se quoi as they might say in France, which makes it better in a different way. I go with a few friends, we have a few beers, watch the game, chat intermittently and we love it, usually on a Sunday afternoon or evening as the summer approaches. It is the highlight of the week sometimes.
Football matches in Korea can act as a window on Korean society, you see all sorts of people there from all walks of life, the old, young, married, single, men and women and usually with hundreds of kids running around the stands. The patriotic attitude of Koreans is embodied in football matches too, especially at the Korea national games but football in Korea is a real family affair. You see families waddling into the stadium carrying bags of various bits of equipment they might need for the game including an array of food and drinks as well as umbrellas/parasols and all sorts of other things you never thought you’d see in a football stadium. The families sit together and get the Soju flowing and the packets of dried squid open, they then cheer, drink and eat until half time when they go for a walk to stock up on more food and drinks in anticipation of the second half.
When we arrived in Seoul we headed to Itaewon to procure some lodgings for the evening; 30,000 won in a clean but basic motel did the job, located around the corner from the wolfhound it is the perfect place to fall from the pub into bed. I would rather spend my money on nicer things in Seoul than a bed so the cheap price suited my taste but in hindsight maybe a room with at least a window would have been better in the stifling heat!
The tube to the stadium was predictably full but his time there was an odd mix of everyday Koreans going about their business and the football fans heading to the game. But there was something different about these fans, they weren’t all drunk and singing songs and being abusive as football fans in Europe have been known to be on occasion. No, they were families, men, women and children of all ages dressed in their team colours, all going to support their country.
We emerged 30 odd minutes later from the station to be greeted by a wall of steps leading up to the stadium. Each step had people sitting, talking, eating and drinking with everyone sporting some kind of red or orange piece of material on their bodies or orange hats made from balloons in the shape of the crown, signifying the Dutch royal connection.
There was actually a distinct lack or orange or white shirts but certainly no lack of non-Korean faces, there were huge groups of foreigners all sporting red shirts, here to support the land that currently hosted them. The atmosphere was fantastic, a sea of street vendors selling their wares, mekju, kimbap and tokk being amongst the biggest sellers as well as the obligatory Korea paraphernalia from t-shirts to head scarves. We stood around and savored the atmosphere, drank some beer, posed for photographs and waited to go into the stadium.
Inside the stadium the atmosphere was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, the Koreans seem to have a fun at all cost policy and receive their hosts with emphatic friendship and admiration, from the individual foreigner to entire national football teams from other countries (although I’m not sure how warmly received Japan are). Football is different in Korea, I’m not going to say better but it certainly makes a change from football in the UK. People like us who are obviously not Korean were welcomed with such enthusiasm it almost made me want to cry, especially when I think about what might happen to someone if they admitted to a group of European fans something similar. This hospitality culminated with a group of several lads in front of us turning to us when a Dutch substitution was made. My friend and I wore our Liverpool FC shirts to the game, I don’t have a Korea shirt and my Liverpool shirt is red so I thought it was appropriate. There were many other Liverpool shirts around the stadium too.
Dirk Kuyt came onto the pitch and immediately the few Koreans boys in front turned to us to almost congratulate us when they realised he came on because he plays for Liverpool, they actually applauded him along with us and they seemed happy for us. That made my night.
Koreans have the right idea when to comes to football, play for the love of the game, support your team with passion but never cross that line, the line of taking the game to seriously. Koreans have no problem with that. At most stadiums in the UK there is a dedicated family section where people who want to take their kids can go and not fear for their children’s safety if the result of the game doesn’t go the right way. I looked for a family section at this match but failed to see one. I quickly realised that they don’t need one, indeed the stadium was the family stand, kids were every where and everyone was having fun with the smattering of Dutch fans mixed in.
The level of patriotism inside the stadium made me a little bit homesick and for a brief moment I wished I was home, in front of a crowd of my own people being this patriotic and supporting my country with such desire.
There was an incident that shattered the atmosphere momentarily. From what I could gather a young man had asked another, older man if he would mind sitting down instead of standing as he and his friends couldn't see, the older man took exception and a small scuffle broke out. This system of unquestionable respect towards ones elders has its strengths and its weaknesses and is open to abuse from people who demand respect yet give nothing in return and I’m sure this is not what Confucius had in mind! The incident was resolved and in case anybody spent too much time looking at the arguing group a man started singing and encouraged all around to join in, which we did.
Korea lost the game 2-0 but you would have never have guessed from all the smiling faces exiting the stadium past the small queue that had formed to have their photograph taken with myself and my friend in our Liverpool shirts.
European football teams and countries could learn a lot from Korea and they would only have to spend a short amount of time in the country in order to experience the hospitality. I will be sad to leave Korea when the time comes but then I will probably do what a lot of foreigners do and return here as soon as I can. The kim chi and hospitality are both addictive and I'm not sure i could lead a life without either.
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