El Nino vs. El Pistolero

After a week of internationals, EPL is back again and I am pretty much sure it’s going to be an action packed weekend!

Of all the rivalries concerning Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea one would say that the Chelsea-Liverpool rivalry is the smallest of the six. The two aren’t geographical rivals nor do they have much shared history. As most of this rivalry has happened in the last five years, it is still very new and fresh. 

For the most part there was no Chelsea-Liverpool rivalry and that was because of how dominant Liverpool was and how dominant Chelsea wasn’t. They were at opposite ends of the totem pole. Chelsea had won four major trophies or titles before 1997 and 10 subsequently. Compare this to Liverpool who has a better trophy cabinet with a proud history. Also the supporters of Liverpool, the KOP have been, and will be the best supporters in the Premier League for a club, but not in the case of Chelsea. In the recent years, the fans of Chelsea in any home game, would just simply watch it rather than singing, talking football, or even supporting their players itself. This shows how bad the Chelsea Supporters are which can be evident in any match, be it that matter.

Now some of the key stats to today's game:

1] Chelsea has failed to score in five of their last seven Premier League games against Liverpool and three of the last four at Stamford Bridge.

2] One of the teams has kept a clean sheet in all but one their last 11 encounters in the league.

3] There have been just nine goals scored in the last eight league meetings between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

4] Kenny Dalglish is unbeaten in all 11 previous matches as Liverpool manager against Chelsea in all competitions - winning eight and drawing three which is very impressive!

Well these stats speak for themselves and it will be very interesting to know how today's match will turn out to be!

The most interesting part about the game is the duel between two of the best strikers, where one playing for us, and the other who created a legacy out of himself by playing for Liverpool FC.

Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez

               El Nino    and   El Pistolero

Ever since I started following Liverpool, great players have played and created history for the club, there was Fowler, Alonso, Ian Rush, Barnes, The King, Gerrard, Carragher and the there was Torres.

For some reason, my favorite used to be Fernando Torres, week in, week out, it was all about him. His dedication, the pace and the goals, kept me amazed. This guy was the best person to fill in the number 9. A typical striker, knowing what to do, and helping Liverpool with all his might and genius.

 

But then this January, it came to a surprise to us all that, he wanted to leave and go to Chelsea, and that too with a reason that he wanted to win trophies and play in the Champions League. Well it truly left us in doubt, about how we would go about after that, but then the King and his comrades bought in one of the best footballers this year, 'Luis Suarez'!!!

Believe me, I was left devastated when Torres left, but I quickly forgot him with the coming of Luis Suarez, my gosh, that guy is freaking unbelievable, the tricks, the passes, the shots simply amazing.

 

A person who I believe has fitted perfectly to Liverpool FC., and also won our hearts and the right person to take the famous number '7', even his goals per match ratio outclasses that of Torres, although he has played for Liverpool FC. from this year

Suarez has played 27 matches, 11 goals and 6 assists, which gives him a 2.45 goal scoring ratio, while Torres has played 143 matches for Liverpool, 81 goals and 20 assists which is a 1.76 goal scoring ratio.

The stats say it all, and it shows where Liverpool is heading with Luis Suarez! We just can't seem to get enough of him.

Hope Suarez and Carroll finds the net today and show Torres and Meireles what they are actually missing after leaving Liverpool FC.


That's all for now, until next week!!

Leaving you with these two videos,

and also this lovely song one of the the best by the KOP!!

YNWA!!!

Vicky Anthony Morris

Uneventful Week...

Well let’s cut to the chase, and get to the point. Last week was pure catastrophic, plain and simple, we played, but at the same time, swans played better. In fact they played a bit better than us and gave us many scares.

In other words, a game we never thought will have an ending like this, that to at ANFIELD, MIGHTY ANFIELD!!! Sloppy play, wasting possession, creating chances, but nothing going in, nothing short, but pure disaster, never looked like a team which spent around 100 million in the summer.

Although we got a draw, it was a disappointing show by most of the players, Henderson not knowing what to do, Charlie Adam looking as though the next moment he would go off, Andy Carroll getting better, but not in front of goal, Suarez, the working train machine, never stopping to rest, but going forward each and every time he gets, but at the end no result at all.

And there is Downing, he is a class player, and he is providing inputs in the game, but it’s all been the same, there are no signs of extra brilliance, just the same thing day in and day out, well that’s not why he is in the team right?

Liverpool FC got to make major decisions here at this point of time, although we are not losing games, WE GOT TO WIN AT OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THIS!!!!! These games might simply cost us Champion’s League football next year.

So, the players, club and we the fans, got to brush away this performance, but at the same time, have this result drilled down to our hearts, so that we play the remaining fixtures with more vigor and enthusiasm and also achieve the desired results that we as fans anticipate.

No time for pointing fingers, blaming people, blaming players for each and everything. Remember they are our players, LIVERPOOL’S PLAYERS! Just be patient, pass and play as we do, and improve our finishing, bringing in success. :D

 

 Another thing which surprised me was that, our fans, blaming our very own manager for all these unfortunate events! I mean come on what fans are we, when we criticize, its criticizing everyone, the players, club, and we fans and the manager together, not simply pinpointing to a particular person. It was he, who led us to glory before that fateful year, and he has come back to lead us back to the glory days, which looks very close now. He has made Liverpool a team, which is feared in the Premier League to face and one of the best sides in this season.

We all need to believe, once we do that everything will fall into place, things don’t happen overnight, it takes it’s time, and frankly we are doing pretty game, except for a couple of games where we could have taken more points.

So this is it, Believe in Liverpool Football Club!!! Cause we are the best fans in the world!!

Posted by::
-Vicky Anthony Morris-

And here is another song about Liverpool FC, classy song!

The lyrics goes like this:

We Love you Liverpool we do. We Love you Liverpool we do.
We Love you Liverpool we do. Oh Liverpool we love you.

Shankly is our hero, he showed us how to play
The mighty reds of Europe are out to win today
He made a team of champions, with every man a king
And every game we love to win and this is what we sing.

We Love you Liverpool we do. We Love you Liverpool we do.
We Love you Liverpool we do. Oh Liverpool we love you.

Clemence is our goalie, the best there is around
And Keegan is the greatest that Shankly ever found
Heighway is our favourite, a wizard of the game
Anh heres the mighty Toshack to do it once again.

We Love you Liverpool we do. We Love you Liverpool we do.
We Love you Liverpool we do. Oh Liverpool we love you.

We've won the league, we've won the cup,
We're masters of the game.
And just to prove how good we are
We'll do it all again.

We've got another team to beat and so we've got to try
'Cos we're the best in all the land
And that's the reason why ..

We Love you Liverpool we do. We Love you Liverpool we do.
We Love you Liverpool we do. Oh Liverpool we love you.

Liverpool - "Dan the Man !"

It’s that time of the year when every fan or as a matter of fact anyone remotely associated with a football club picks up his calculator and starts predicting how the premier league standings would shape up come May the 13th ! And why not? It’s what I call the "Scoping - End" of the season, as important as the business end if not more!

As United conceded six goals against Manchester City last weekend, it was perhaps not surprising that Sir Alex Ferguson's priority on Saturday for Manchester United was defence.United sacrificed some of their attacking instincts to gain a defender's favorite result of 1-0 against Everton at Goodison Park - and took their first steps to reducing the alarming number of chances they have granted this season.

If only the same could be said of Chelsea, who let five in against Arsenal in an eight-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge.

It was the latest in a bizarre run of results that has seen the Premier League's top teams toss away their usual cautiousness against each other and serve up a feast of goals. It was more of a "schoolboy team" performance by the premier league big boys.

The Premier League this year has seen many new exciting (aka attacking) talents grace the English game. There is a reason why I say attacking talent and not just talent because using only the word talent generalizes the scenario which is clearly not the case here! Attacking Talents in the form Luis Suarez - 23 mil, David Silva -25 mil, Sergio Aguero - 38 mil , Juan Mata - 30 mil etc have taken the Premier League by a storm. On the other hand if I talk about defensive talents this season? Can I think of someone? Let’s see David Luiz, Per Mertesacker maybe?

Even though these players are highly talented individuals but still haven't adapted very well to the premier league! I mean it’s no secret that David Luiz is still a bit shaky in defense, though he's carved a space (okay more than just a space) among the Chelsea faithful but he hasn’t impressed in the department where he's supposed to impress? Yes! Defense! I know there will be many Chelsea fans ready to slit my throat over the verdict but think for a minute, I think you are a better judge! The same thing is true for the big German, He was brought to stabilize the arsenal back 4 and was another big name signing, a proven defender with international pedigree, he was certain to "Outperform" but that’s not been the case.

The point is , The Premier League is a very difficult league for the attackers per say but it becomes an even more tougher league for the defenders , specially for defenders coming into the big 4 sides ! That is keeping in mind a season which has seen a rise in the number of goals scored and a goals-per-game ratio of 2.97 - the highest since the 1967/68 season. Clearly it is a difficult time being a defender in the English League!

It has been said "Strikers may win you games, but defenders win you the Championships"

The quote brings me to the central theme of my article on "Why a fully fit Daniel Agger is so crucial for Liverpool and the Premier League!"

Daniel Agger aka Dagger is reliability and class personified! He was on a record for not conceding a goal in over 631 minutes of football last season before injury struck. What Daniel Agger brings to the table is what money can't buy! He brings the much needed stability that every side craves for! Players like Agger are hard to find and even a fat cheque won't guarantee you stability and reliability like he does! The Great Dane matches Carragher's scouse fire with his ice like calmness on the football field. His Injury record is the one holding his greatness but if he manages to overcome his injury setbacks not only will he be lethal, he'll be Dane-gerous :)

Premier League Stats -2011/2012 Season

Player Goals Conceded Games Played Goals Conceded per Game

Daniel Agger 4 7 0.57

John Terry 15 10 1.50

Rio Ferdinand 9 6 1.50

Vincent Kompany 8 10 0.80

Laurent Koscielny 17 10 1.70

Clearly the stats show how well has agger performed in the beginning of this season, but this is only half the picture. What Agger also brings to the table is his aggressive and strategic approach to the game. It’s a benefit to have his type of a player for home games with lesser oppositions, where the visitors defend deeply to deny space. By stepping up into the midfield, he pushes the whole team forward, and can thread a good pass to the likes of Gerrard and Suarez whilst he’s there for good measure. As many people will argue that this is only the beginning of the season and it’s not fair to judge a player but Agger’s upturn of form recently is one that will not surprise many, given the undoubted quality of the left sided defender. Troublesome and niggling injuries have stopped Daniel from showcasing his best form in the past and treating Liverpool fans to his finest qualities, which are his hard as nails approach to games and also his excellent technique, not always two attributes typically packaged together with a defender.

A player like Daniel Agger is what the Premier League requires! Why? To balance this growing influx of attacking talent! The reason why I say - Daniel Agger and not any other name is because I cannot think of a better defender than Agger in the Premier League at the moment, it’s just that he is so complete in every footballing sense and there is no doubt that a fit, fighting and suitably tattooed Daniel Agger is crucial to the future of this Liverpool team. Kenny Dalglish certainly seems to rate the Great Dane, who really should never have had his ability questioned under the previous regime. It’s onwards and upwards for Agger and Liverpool now, as the Nordic centre-half looks to use his Viking talents to spearhead Liverpool to a new dawn.

Liverpool's No 5- "Dan the Man !"