picture post
Pictures
Premier League
Newcastle 0 -1 Arsenal
Newcastle was unlucky, NG. The match was bright, although Colochini (?) -not pictured- can worryingly be found out of position
Krul (Newcastle goalie) was a beast, he got beaten by his own player, Walcott went off licking his wounds
Newcastle was down to ten men early in the match, and played well with 10 men, just undone by themselves in the end. The Arsenal fans in my house were annoyed when I suggested that Arsenal was off the boil. Man, I really should keep my mouth shut because---
******* - if you don't want to read the LFC section (because of incoherent rage) scroll until you see the bolded asterisks
Liverpool 0-3 West Ham
This sums up LFC right now
I remember when I saw this match up, I remarked that West Ham seemed unsettled (they split with one player, their chairman was bashing another player - a presumed target on air), and after their rousting by Leicester- Leicester!- I remember saying, that West Ham were either going to be very easy, or very hard, but LFC would find trouble, because they were fortunate against Bournemouth and Arsenal has been off the boil since they won the community shield. The managers have met each other before - when LFC played Betsikes (I know I spelt it wrong - I'll correct it when I come back) and LFC lost. Bilic wasn't Croatian coach for nothing. He parked the bus, but didn't pull up the handbrake
Rodgers spoke of making Anfield a fortress- and West Ham seemed like an ideal team to put matters to test, no? West Ham hadn't won a match there since 1963, they didn't have their main goalie, got rousted by Leicester, and they have their own desperation as they HAVE to stay in the PL because the new TAX PAYER FUNDED STADIUM- will still find them with increased costs of an additional £18 million or somewhat
West Ham scored the first goal in three minutes. Figures
This was not the match Can (Chan, Jhan?) wanted to impress Löw. I have a feeling that Rodgers is a good academy coach, but then after a while, talents can regress under him. *Pours 40z for Moreno* Anyway.
Lovern was picked over Sakho, even though Sakho is the better player, and uhhhh he let this goal in
Coutinho got a red. Fair enough. It's the lad's first red, it happens. He was trying to pick up the game by the scruff of the neck
Fortress Anfield? Deserted. I know people are saying how Anfield doesn't sound as loud lately, but then I ask them, what's there to cheer for? The squad is talented, but Rodgers is a midtable manager at best. When he changes players and tactics, the players look confused. Not saying that he needs to be Harry Redknap - 'Kick the facking ball and run around a bit' - but Rodgers seems to be underminded by his own ideas. He's not a coach that players run through the walls for, ala Simeone. Once LFC drops a goal behind, the players seem devoid of ideas, and do a mental kanye shrug.
Rodgers is way out of his depth to aspire to top four level. He should be like a Pulis, where, if you're a Hawthorne, Villa or Sunderland fan and you want a cheap and cheerful knock off of Jose Mourinho and a midtable place is good for you, Rodgers is your man. He'll tap academy talent and buy cheap (if he has to) but when it comes to big sums of money, he's reckless. For club like LFC, who want to go back to top four, or a deep run in Europe (be it Europa cup or Champions League, but I think Europa should be the focus and expectation) he is not it. Rodgers also can't be trusted with money or relatively top talent. He spent £20 million on Lovern (on the grass), and even though Sakho is the better player, Rodgers will preserve with Lovern because he's his by, not a committee buy. I know I moan about the same things, but Rodgers keeps doing the same things. I've been saying Rodgers out since mid season last year, when we capitulated in CL and Europa cups. For the sake of the coefficent, he needs to go
*********LFC section over*******
Tottenham Hotspur 0 -0 Everton
Posting this photo because it's bad ass. Training gear, with 1st team on the hip. Oh, yeah
Here comes the Son! His English is good, as in, B1 level good. He understands questions put to him, and can reply with relative confidence. That will help him acclimatise to Spurs and England relatively easily. Got presented to the Spurs faithful
The thing with the Lilywhites vs Toffees, is that the coaches, Mauricio Pochettino and Roberto Martinez like each other. As in, you know the English habit where the coaches meet for a drink after the match and talk about the game? Arsene Wenger tends not to, and you know him and Mourinho won't sit down and do that! With Pochettino and Martinez, you get the feeling that one of them might actually bring wine, and they have a good natured poke at each other. Their style of football--- I'd say that Martinez is more creative than Pochettino, in terms of tactics, but Pochettino demands his players to be a bit more ruthless. It's just that with Pochettino, he tends to work with young'uns, so you have to sharpen that trait in them.
The match was interesting, in that it was pretty open, and you saw the two coaches and their different philosophies at work. For instance, Pochettino demands possession, whereas Martinez as of late (aka this season) has moved from possession based to attacking on the counter. It's that old chestnut of the team with the ball is the one more prone to mistakes, so you wait and nick the ball and go for it after they make the mistake. Makes sense?
Everyone bangs on about Ryan Mason, but I think I know why Pochettino likes him. He gets forward, gets into a tackle, and is a PITA to play against. My only thing is, Mason will tire after 60 mins and then get sloppy. He should either be swapped in for Delle by then, or summat
Credit to John Stones and how he's handled Chelsea's vocal interest, his club's refusal to let him go, and the general drama around his transfer. He's playing with a cool head and steady feet. I wish some Evertonians would forget that he was from Barnsley, because the War of the Roses ended in 1485
Harry Kane missed his shot at goal. Over thinks it. But I gotta say, I admire his work ethic. He'll drop deep to protect the midfield (Dier is still learning on the job, lol) and will set up an assist for wingers. He'll get his goals, he has to, or else he won't be in Euro 2016. A shout out to Tim Howard, because he was immense yesterday. Secretary of Defence, indeed,
Looking at this picture, I remember Brendan Rodgers on the sidelines yesterday. When Bilic was roaring at his players, directing them to do things, Rodgers was just silent. With Martinez and Pochettino, even when their teams are falling about, they still direct pace from the sidelines
The true test of Martinez's man management is going to come into play with Stones, I think. Stones is said to be unsettled, re: Chelsea. But he signed a five year contract, and has to realise with Everton, he'll get minutes, and if his form holds, Chelsea will come back next year
The new offside rule is killing Kane. LOL
Posting this picture because I like it. LOL. I do think Stones and Kane can do a good one for England, tbh. Really solid talent. But I'll stop the post here. Lukaku got into it with Dier *sigh*, Spurs got yellow cards dealt out to them as if they were in a poker game. But the takeaways from both teams have been good. Roberto Martinez credits their Europa cup run for Everton's match management (in that they played overtime in midweek and showed up today), and Spurs had twenty shots at goal (six direct) and seem to FINALLY be playing the way Pochettino wants them to, but they need a DM (I think Dier might be Poch's choice, he's getting better, but still really young and raw), more pace up front and some goals
Manchester City 2- 0 Watford
Manchester City seems to be doing it and doing it well
Quique Florez and Manuel Pelligrini greet each other at the beginning of the match. What can I say? Florez seems to get on with every manager so far. His English is also better than I thought. Accented yes, but not too heavy, and he doesn't slur his v's
Watford had a good first half, really pressed City, made them ask questions. Then fell apart in the second half. I just... what?
Sterling scored his first goal for Man City, and broke the stalemate that was threatening to develop in the second half
Seriously, I was impressed with Watford in the first half (I'm following Watford because Flores intrigues me, I wonder if he can build with Watford what he did with Atletico Madrid before Simone waltzed in)
Bournemouth 1 -1 Leicester
The deeper I get into football, the more fascinated I am with the job of a coach. There's a new book called Managing in the Volcano that I'm anxious to read. But I do like Ranieri, in that he seems to be an old school gentleman. You get the feeling that he actually does the hospitality bit the home coach is supposed to do with the visiting coach (sit down for drinks). Howe comes across as a young school master to me, than a coach. But his team are finally getting valuable points. You need 40 not to be relegated
I want Bournemouth to do well, because I want Eddie Howe to do well, because I would like to see more British coaches coaching in the English top flight. Due to the teams preferring managers from abroad, a lot of English coaches are now in Championship (Division 2), League One and League Two football. But they're getting better in terms of tactics and so on
Leicester came back from a penalty (damn it, don't you hate when your team gives away those
Bournemouth had a good first half. Now to continue it through the games, Howe
Chelsea 1- 2 Crystal Palace
I had a feeling Crystal Palace was going to upset the apple cart. Pardew sounded so happy, and was lavish with his praise to Mourinho. I was like... "Chelsea's in trouble."
I like this picture.
Mou's second home defeat at Chelsea. Ever. He says that when he loses, he takes his wife to dinner. The fans in the capital leave him alone, he says. No one gets in his face about the loss, and the opposing fans do rib him, but with good humour. I think this is probably one of the reasons why he might try to make it work out for him this time around. London is good to him and his family in that his work in the public life doesn't splash over in his family's private life, you get what I'm saying? His wife has asked him if they can stop here. So I think Mourinho might have to climb down on certain things
Mourinho blamed three players (didn't name them), said he needed more subs (would it be bad taste to ask him about his academy loanees?) and took responsibility for his loss. Cue Real Madrid fans on my timeline retweeting it and saying how it's the first time Mourinho took responsibility for his actions. I really get the feeling (just through gossip online and what I read, mind) that Mourinho really wants to stay in London this time.
Stoke City 0 - 1 West Brom
This game was hilarious. Players slapping each other, like something out of a Three Stoges Short
Shaqiri got his run out
Slaps everywhere!
If Charlie Adam were a dog, he'd be put down by now. Stomping on an opponent in the view of the ref. Idiot. They really need to throw the book at him. How he's gotten away with it for so long, idek
La Liga
Real Madrid 5-0 Real Betis
Benetiz needed his side to show fire power. Bale needed to put on a show, and Real Madrid performed as expected. James started for the first time this season.
Malaga put up a good fight, but Barcelona's goal was scored by a former Arsenal player who's been raised from the dead. Erm...Vermaelen?!
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich 3- 0 Bayer Leverkusen
Someone fill me in on this Claudio Pizzaro and why is he waving and holding a bouquet?
I was following some Bayern fans on my TL yesterday, and they were arguing about Guardiola's lack of a CM/DM? What's that about?
Mueller and um... Douglas Costa. Guardiola loves him some Costa, to the consternation of some Bayern fans in Germany, but Costa is strong, talented and has a good attitude
Robben on the case. What's nice is that people don't wank themselves blind to Alonso anymore, tbh. He seems to have faded considerably, but then Alonso's form does flicker
OP: done! Sorry, I gotta dash! Will try and put the pictures of the missed matches for today in another post. Cheers, jeers, corrections and commentary pushback, you know the drill. No news today, the weekends tend to be quiet. Cheers!