FA Cup 3rd round review - The giant-killers strike again

TIREDNESS or not, some high-profile teams from the Premiership and Championship were found guilty of gifting, and not receiving in the FA Cup third round over the weekend.  Five top-flight sides are out, and for the North East, the weekend was the stuff of all nightmares!

MOBBED: Michael Bostwick is surrounded after scoring the second

Top of the upsets came at Broadhill Way on Saturday night, which proves why the FA Cup is still loved by millions of fans worldwide.  Stevenage Borough overcame Newcastle United 3-1, to complete the job that they were very unlucky not to finish in the bitter 1998 round four encounters.  Once Stacey Long’s strike took a wicked deflection off Mike Williamson, which deceived Magpies goalkeeper Tim Krul, Stevenage looked on their way to a famous result.  Michael Bostwick doubled the lead moments later, and despite Joey Barton’s late consolation, the League Two side wrapped it up, courtesy of Peter Winn.  For Alan Pardew, the honeymoon period at Newcastle is definitely over after this result.  Stevenage will play Reading in round four, after the Championship side beat West Brom 1-0 at the Madjevski Stadium.  Shane Long notched the winning goal, as West Brom slipped to their sixth successive defeat.

TARGET: Lee Hughes finds the net as Notts County shock Sunderland

Newcastle’s rival North East rivals Sunderland also slipped to an embarrassing loss, beaten 2-1 at home by Paul Ince’s Notts County side.  Simon Mignolet, the Black Cats goalkeeper failed to deal with Craig Westcarr’s cross, allowing the visitors to take the lead.  Lee Hughes struck from an almost impossible angle to make the shock more probable.  Despite Darren Bent’s late penalty, County fully deserved their success.  To complete the North East misery, struggling Middlesbrough were toppled at the Pirelli Stadium by Burton Albion.  Gary O’Neil’s free-kick had Boro infront, and despite dominating the game, two late strikes from Shaun Harrad saw Burton through into the fourth round for the first time in their history.  The other Premiership side to tumble out of the competition to a lower league side was Blackpool.  Ian Holloway made eight changes to his line-up from his midweek Premiership match with Birmingham, with survival clearly on his mind.  Consequently, the 2-0 defeat at Southampton was not as much of a surprise as the other giant killings.  Having dismissed Pardew earlier in the season, Saints are now second in League One, and now can look forward to a round four encounter with Manchester United.

OFF: Howard Webb gives Gerrard his marching orders at Old Trafford

Kenny Dalglish returned to the Liverpool dugout, twenty years on from his last stint at Anfield, but it turned into an unhappy start on Sunday; Liverpool losing 1-0 at Manchester United in the tie of the round.  In a poor match, the game was settled in the first minute, when Howard Webb gave the home side a controversial penalty.  Dimitar Berbatov went down, under minimal contact from Daniel Agger; a dive that would have made Gillian McKeith proud!  Ryan Giggs dispatched the penalty confidently and Liverpool’s day got worse, as captain Steven Gerrard was sent off by Webb on the half hour, for a wreckless lunge on Michael Carrick.  Liverpool improved on recent performances, but never looked like scoring and if Man United wanted to, they could have scored a second.  Manchester rivals, City will need to replay with Leicester City, after being held to a 2-2 draw with Leicester City.  Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side showed a great deal of passion and commitment, which is something that Manchester City’s superstars didn’t seem to have.  A rare error from Joe Hart, allowed Andy King to snatch a deserved equaliser.  Meanwhile, Arsenal had Cesc Fabregas to thank for a last-gasp penalty, to rescue a 1-1 draw at home to Leeds United.  After a series of poor results, pressure relieved on Carlo Ancelotti, as cup holders Chelsea battered manageress Ipswich Town 7-0 at Stamford Bridge.  Frank Lampard hit a hat-trick and there was a brace for Daniel Sturridge.

SHOCK: Chris Wood puts Brighton ahead

In the final tie of the weekend, non-league Crawley Town produced a shock 2-1 win at home to Championship side Derby County.  Sergio Torres side footed a stoppage time winner in injury time to secure a round four trip to Torquay United.  Many other Championship teams were eliminated by lower league clubs over the course of the weekend and they included last season’s beaten finalists Portsmouth.  Once Dave Kitson was dismissed on 14 minutes for using an elbow, Portsmouth’s cause looked all but a lost cause, eventually losing 3-1 at League One leaders, Brighton & Hove Albion.  Challenging for promotion, Norwich City also got dumped out, slipping up 1-0 at home to Leyton Orient.  Jimmy Smith, who failed to score on a loan spell at Norwich previously in his career, headed in the sole goal for the League One strugglers.  Having been part of the Portsmouth side that made it to Wembley last May, David James won’t be looking back on this season’s competition too fondly, as his Bristol City side got hammered 3-0 at home by Sheffield Wednesday.  

CROCKED: Jamie Mackie is in agony after his leg fracture at Blackburn

Championship leaders QPR’s 1-0 loss at Blackburn Rovers was marred by a serious double leg fracture for Rangers striker Jamie Mackie, with his boss Neil Warnock, launching a tirade at El-Hadji Diouf afterwards.  The controversial Senegalese allegedly abused Mackie whilst the crocked hitman was lying in agony on the Ewood Park turf.  Finally, York City and Dover Athletic’s epic journeys came to brave ends at the weekend.  Both non-league sides went down 2-0 at Bolton Wanderers and Huddersfield Town respectively.

Another weekend of gripping giant-killing and daring drama in the world’s greatest cup competition is over and done with and I will expect more for the rest of the tournament this season.  Well done to Stevenage Borough, Crawley Town, Notts County, Burton Albion, Reading and Southampton for their unlikely acts of upsets, as last weekend’s action just reminded us all of how never to underestimate the power of the FA Cup.

ITV Cleared Over World Cup Ad Gaffe

Television regulator OFCOM has sensationally cleared ITV for their incredible World Cup gaffe, which saw thousands of fans miss England’s first goal at the 2010 World Cup.

Those who had tuned into the ITV HD service, including myself were treated to a 10-second advert from the Korean car manufacturer Hyundai, which sponsored ITV’s coverage of the finals from South Africa.  By the time the situation had been restored to normal, England captain Steven Gerrard had already steered England into a 4^th minute lead against the United States in Rustenberg. 

As a consequence of this fault, plus the previous glaring error when millions missed Dan Gosling’s extra-time winner for Everton against Liverpool in a 2009 FA Cup 4^th Round Replay, ITV will now be fitting foolproof covers on key buttons in its control room, to stop anymore fiascos like these during live televised events. 

A full investigation was launched into the event afterwards, with OFCOM receiving 800 complaints over the incident.  Having listened to ITV’s explanation of what happened on June 12^th, the media regulator has accepted their reason as valid and cleared them of any blame and wrongdoing.  ITV insist that the incident was down to “human error” and due to the precautions they will be putting in, this kind of incident will never happen again.  I am not convinced whether that will be the case, as ITV have a proven track record for missing key events and angering many fans in the process.

ITV also said that 90% of those who watched the England v USA game were not affected by the glitch, as they were watching the game in standard definition.  Nevertheless, although it is something that everyone hopes will never be repeated again, it does leave another stain on ITV’s football coverage, which has suffered several moments of misfortune and inadequacy since they began their association with the FA in the autumn of 2008.

Roy Rolls Into Liverpool - Will The Partnership Work?

On Thursday, Roy Hodgson resisted any possible interest from the FA, by electing to leave Fulham and become the new manager of Liverpool.  He has signed a three-year contract and has already begun work at the team’s training base at Melwood, as he tries to revive the fortunes of the ailing Merseyside club, who quite frankly had a season to forget last year.

Liverpool finished a dismal 7^th in the Premiership, their worst finish since 1999, were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League before Christmas and embarrassed at home by Championship strugglers Reading in the FA Cup 3^rd round in mid-January.  Along with uncertainty about the new stadium, and the unrest around the boardroom, which has led to the club being put up for sale, by unpopular American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, it was a season full of troughs and traumas, rather than glory and joy.

Last month, the club decided to Part Company with Spaniard Rafa Benitez, after six years in charge.  Benitez has since gone to Serie A giants and Champions League holders, Inter Milan – taking the whole Liverpool backroom staff with him in the process.  Many managers were linked with the job at Anfield, including ex-Manchester City boss Mark Hughes, the recently sacked Real Madrid manager Mauricio Pellegrini, Galatasaray figurehead Frank Rijkaard, Guus Hiddink and Reds legend, Kenny Dalglish.  The club have opted for Hodgson, after impressing Dalglish and Christian Purslow, the club’s chief executive at a round of interview.

At Thursday’s news conference, he was beaming with pride at being handed such a fantastic and challenging opportunity.

“This is the biggest job in club football and I’m honoured to be taking on Britain’s most successful football club.”

His first priority will be to sit down and talk to star players Javier Mascherano, Fernando Torres and Captain Steven Gerrard.  Gerrard has already given his backing to the new appointment, which hints, that despite the frustration of the club having to participate in the UEFA Europa League this season, Gerrard will be loyal to the club that gave him his break.  The futures of Mascherano and Torres are more uncertain.  Torres is still at the World Cup with Spain, and has said he will ‘talk to Hodgson’ after the tournament.  Mascherano is on his way home to Buenos Aires, after Argentina’s dismal exit at the hands of Germany on Saturday.  It is widely known that he has been brushing up on his Italian whilst in South Africa, which suggests he may be linking up with Benitez at Inter.  Benitez is also known to want to bring in Glen Johnson and Dirk Kuyt, whilst Ryan Babel is in talks with Galatasaray and Yossi Benayoun has already departed, making a £6.5million switch to Premiership champions, Chelsea.

Fulham have appointed Ray Lewington as caretaker boss for the moment, though the consolation is that as part of the severance package, Hodgson will not be allowed to buy any Fulham players in the summer to Liverpool.  Despite this, Danny Murphy and Brede Hangeland are still being linked on a daily basis with the new Anfield regime.  Hodgson signed a new 12-month rolling contract last December at Craven Cottage – and guided Fulham to 7^th place in the Premiership in the 2008/09 season, their best ever top-flight finish.  Last year, the momentum continued, with a sensational journey to the UEFA Europa League final, beating Juventus, Shakhtar Donetsk and Hamburg SV on the way to the final, which they cruelly lost in extra-time to Atletico Madrid.

Roy Hodgson’s managerial CV is very impressive, having managed clubs around the world, from Sweden and Denmark, to Italy and Switzerland.  He guided Switzerland to the knockout stages of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and Inter Milan to a UEFA Cup final in 1997.  After an unsuccessful 18-month spell at Blackburn Rovers in 1997-98, he won titles with FC Copenhagen and Viking FK, plus had international spells with Finland and the United Arab Emirates.  His experience could mean everything to Liverpool, and might be the stability they badly need, following the gradual slide they have been on in the last twelve months.  I have a feeling this new partnership will work wonders for Liverpool FC.

Slovenia 0-1 England: Energetic England Progess Into Knockout Stages

Now that’s more like it.  Once more, when the chips are down, England pull out a performance full of blood, sweat and determination.  A tense, but thoroughly deserved 1-0 win over Slovenia at the Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth sees Fabio Capello’s men edge into the knockout stages, with a performance that will make the nation belief again.

It was a match that England had to deliver, after two stuttering and abject displays against the USA and Algeria.  Capello made three alterations to his line-up, with Matthew Upson replacing Jamie Carragher at the heart of the defence, due to Carragher’s suspension.  James Milner, fully fit after a virus took over from Aaron Lennon on the right-side of midfield and Jermain Defoe was drafted in for the inadequate Emile Heskey upfront.  All three made significant contributions to the winning performance.

Upson made a last-ditch challenge in the dying stages to deny Slovenia their best chance, but it was Milner and Defoe who were the main men, becoming English folklore heroes in the process.  The moment came on 23 minutes, when Milner, who combined well on the right-hand side with Glen Johnson all day, swung in a wicked ball into the penalty area.  Defoe, who had barely had a touch upto that point, stole half a yard on his marker, and powered a rasping drive past the despairing Slovenian goalkeeper, Samir Handonovic, despite him getting both hands onto the effort.  The relief in the celebration could be seen, as could the cheers in Port Elizabeth and back home in many houses, pubs, offices and schools across the UK.

After that, England should have had more goals, and were unlucky to not win by more than the final 1-0 margin.  Defoe missed a glaring chance moments after the interval, with Handonovic increasing his price tag at Serie A side Udinese, by producing a string of top-class saves to keep Captain Steven Gerrard frustrated.  His best save, was when a hard-working and committed Wayne Rooney escaped the offside trap, but scuffed his shot when in a glorious position.  Handonovic did enough to get a fingertip onto the shot, and diverted it onto the post.  Slovenian chances were few and far between and when they came, either John Terry would throw some body part at it, or David James would comfortably hold onto the controversial Jambalaya ball, which would have made Robert Green squirm on the dugout, after his glaring error in Rustenberg eleven days ago.

Despite the major positives, there are the usual negatives.  Rooney limped off with twenty minutes to go, with an ankle problem and the doctors will be hoping it is only a knock, and nothing more severe.  Also, Landon Donovan’s 91^st minute winner in Pretoria for the USA not only broke Slovenia hearts and sent them tumbling out of the competition, but booted England out of top spot in Group C.  It means a trip to Bloemfontein awaits on Sunday afternoon, with the old enemy Germany the possible opposition, should they get the three points they require against Ghana in Soccer City tonight.

For now though, England won’t worry about that.  Pride, confidence and belief is restored; the criticism and lack of team harmony can be forgotten now.  The job has been done, although via the hard route and the knockout stages begin at the weekend, with England still in business and very much alive and kicking in the World Cup.

Phew!

ITV's Abysmal World Cup Coverage

It may be a week since the Greatest Show on Earth began, but ITV have made an abysmal start to their coverage of the tournament.  It has left the channel well and truly red-faced.

Below is the ITV World Cup theme tune, which is the only plus point of their entire coverage.

The first cock-up was during England’s first World Cup match, against the United States in Rustenberg last Saturday.  When Steven Gerrard brokethrough the American defence to put the Three Lions infront, inside of four minutes, ITV HD viewers were treated to this:

This isn’t the first time, as many viewers were gobsmacked to see Dan Gosling’s winner for Everton in an FA Cup 4^th Round Replay against Liverpool missed for a Tic-Tac commercial back in February 2009. 

Adrian Chiles, the new face of ITV football, taking over from the dependable, if obtrustive Steve Rider has brought over his humour from BBC’s Match of the Day 2 to the channel.  However, this style does not suit live coverage, and his bumbling apology to HD viewers for missing the crucial England goal last week only made matters worse.

Less than 72 hours later, ITV pundit Robbie Earle was flying back to England in disgrace.  Ex-Wimbledon striker Earle, who scored for Jamaica against Croatia in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, has been part of the ITV team since 2001.  However, he was sacked by the channel, after 40 of his tickets were found to be in the possession of some Dutch girls, portraying a marketing campaign for the Dutch beer, Bavaria.  FIFA rules clearly state that only family and friends can have tickets from these established experts of the game, and allegedly, this isn’t the first times that Earle has committed the offence.  The incident took place during Holland’s Group E opener in Soccer City on Monday against Denmark.  Earle’s insistence that he didn’t do anything wrong only makes matters worse. 

ITV’s humour to try and embarrass North Korea as much as possible is another low.  Though the Koreans weren’t helping themselves with some of their antics, ITV made them a laughing stock and were forced to grovel almost, following the Asians brave display against Brazil at Ellis Park on Tuesday.

It has been a disastrous start for the broadcaster, but sadly, these failings fail to surprise me too much.

England 0-0 Algeria - Shocking Performance Leaves England On The Brink

England’s over-paid footballers produced a shocking performance in Cape Town tonight that pretty much leaves their 2010 World Cup dreams in tatters.  Their limp display in the 0-0 draw with African outsiders Algeria leaves Fabio Capello’s side needing a win against Slovenia in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday to even escape Group C.

Following Saturday’s average 1-1 performance with the USA, Capello decided to drop Robert Green, following his horrific clanger in Rustenberg and bring in the experienced David James.  Gareth Barry returned from injury, in place of James Milner, which pushed Captain Steven Gerrard onto the left-side of midfield.  This tactic, on Capello 64^th birthday was a massive mistake.  Gerrard produced an error-strewn display, and once the captain produces this, then it will hurt the confidence of the other players.

Capello must take some of the flack from tomorrow’s damming newspaper headlines, especially for taking off the only player who looked like a serious threat, Aaron Lennon for Shaun Wright-Phillips, who failed to get into the game.  His persistence to stick with the ailing Emile Heskey is beyond belief.  Heskey scored only three Premiership goals throughout last season and by the end of it, was in the reserves at Aston Villa.  He is not England material, and Darren Bent must be wondering back at home, what he had to do to get in the squad.  Whenever Heskey gets the ball, he dithers, sloppily gives away possession or falls over like a flat pancake.  Technically, it means we only play with ten players.

It wasn’t even England’s lack of goals that frightens the fans; it was the lack of courage in the final third and even the lack of attempts in goal.  England looked nervous and frightened all over the park, especially in the final third, where are finishing looked more like a Sunday League side.  The players need to take courage and responsibility for their failings, and if they don’t, an early flight back to Luton next Thursday beckons.

Slovenia’s 2-2 stalemate with the USA earlier today leaves the group wide open, but Fabio Capello will be scratching his head and wondering where the qualifying form has gone.  England end up on the brink of a humiliating embarrassment, and an indigenous exit from the FIFA World Cup, if things don’t change ASAP. 

This was a miserable 64^th birthday to forget for Fabio Capello.

England 1-1 USA - Green Gaffe Hands Americans Unlikely Point

It’s never easy supporting England at major tournaments, isn’t it?  Once again, 20million of us found this out, following a frustrating opener to the 2010 World Cup campaign in the altitude of Rustenberg.

A horrendous error by West Ham’s Robert Green, somehow fumbling a Clint Dempsey shot that looked easier to save with his eyes closed earned Bob Bradley’s USA a hard-fought and deserved point on Saturday night.  Once again, the Three Lions opening performance will have not set the alarm bells ringing in the camps of fellow favourites Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Holland and Germany.

And it had all started really well for Fabio Capello’s men.  Just four minutes had been played, when Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Emile Heskey all linked up beautifully in the build-up to England’s first goal of the 2010 finals, scored by the new skipper, Steven Gerrard.  If you were watching ITV HD, 1.5million missed the goal, but the other 18.5million would have been roaring around the country to the delightful start.  Sadly, this brilliant advantage was squandered six minutes before half-time, by a blunder of the first magnitude.  

Green, only selected ahead of David James and Joe Hart a mere two hours before kick-off had been given very little to do, and the evidence of the error he made suggested he must have been half asleep.  Fulham winger Dempsey did well to evade the pressing Gerrard three times.  His shot was ambitious and looked absolutely no threat.  However, Green produced the clangers of all clangers by allowing the ball to slip through his grasp and trickling into the net.  It was a horrendous moment which only guarantees Green’s participation in the traditional Christmas Blunder DVD’s, rather than a place in England’s next team.

By then, Capello was already looking animated on the touchline.  James Milner, still suffering from a virus that had plagued him all week, looked out-of-sorts and once booked, was replaced by Shaun Wright-Phillips.  This was a surprising move, with many believing Joe Cole might have been a better bet.  At the interval, Ledley King’s groin couldn’t keep up with the pace, and with indications that he might be out for three weeks, his selection looks like to be a gamble too many, especially after the injury that Rio Ferdinand picked up in training ten days ago.  Jamie Carragher replaced him at half-time, and when he was easily skinned by the threatening Jozy Altidore, questions were asked about the pace of the England defensive unit.  In this exchange, Green did at least bounce back, by producing a good save at his near post, which rebounded onto the post and away from danger.

Only in the last twenty minutes did England threaten to score again, with Emile Heskey missing a one-on-one, smashing a shot down Tim Howard’s throat, which had he placed it either side, would have beaten the Everton goalkeeper.  Wayne Rooney was well marked out of the entire game, but he produced a few moments of quality, which included a long-range effort which had Howard scrambling.  Wright-Phillips also had a chance which he squandered and eleven minutes was nowhere near enough time for Peter Crouch to make any impact.

By far, this wasn’t the start that Operation Capello had in mind.  However, England drew their opener in 1966 against Uruguay, and still won the Jules Rimet trophy.  We lost the 1986 opener to Portugal and drew the first game of the 2002 tournament in Korea against a far better looking Sweden side.  The Three Lions are notorious slow starters, so surely we can only get better.  Whether we have World Cup winning potential will only be realised more when our second game takes place, on Friday night in Cape Town against African outsiders Algeria. 

Let’s not give up and keep the belief….   

Benitez Bids Farewell To Liverpool

Again, this came as no real surprise, but in a statement at approximately 4pm this afternoon, Liverpool FC released a statement today, confirming that manager Rafa Benitez was leaving the club by mutual consent.

The statement from www.lfc.tv

Liverpool FC today confirmed that Rafael Benitez is to leave the club by mutual consent.

Mr Benitez relinquishes his position as team manager after six years and the Board of Directors would like to place on record their grateful thanks for his services and wish him all the best in his future career.

The Board has now asked Managing Director Christian Purslow, with the assistance of Club Ambassador Kenny Dalglish, to begin a formal search to identify and assess potential candidates for the managerial position.

No timescale has been placed on the process and Liverpool FC will make no further statement until a new manager is appointed.

LFC Chairman Martin Broughton said: "Rafa will forever be part of Liverpool folklore after bringing home the Champions League following the epic final in Istanbul but after a disappointing season both parties felt a fresh start would be best for all concerned.''

Rafael Benitez said: "It is very sad for me to announce that I will no longer be manager of Liverpool FC. I would like to thank all of the staff and players for their efforts. 

"I'll always keep in my heart the good times I've had here, the strong and loyal support of the fans in the tough times and the love from Liverpool. I have no words to thank you enough for all these years and I am very proud to say that I was your manager. 

"Thank you so much once more and always remember: You'll never walk alone."

Rafa Benitez arrived at Anfield in June 2004, with a huge reputation.  He had won the UEFA Cup and La Liga, with Valencia twice in three seasons.  Very quickly, he became a folk hero at Liverpool, for one historic night in Istanbul.

On Wednesday May 25^th 2005, Benitez masterminded the greatest fightback in UEFA Champions League history, as his Liverpool side came back from 3-0 down at half-time to the mighty AC Milan, to tie the game up at 3-3, then a heroic Jerzy Dudek save from Andrei Shevchenko secured Liverpool their fifth European Cup, in the most unbelievable manner.  The following year, a similar type of fightback, inspired by captain fantastic, Steven Gerrard saw Liverpool win the FA Cup final in Cardiff, against West Ham United on a penalty shootout.

Community Shield and European Super Cup victories would also come the way of the Anfield trophy cabinet, and there was also a brave 2005 Carling Cup final defeat to Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea after extra-time.  However, the real Holy Grail that the passionate LFC fans were waiting for, was the Premiership trophy.  Sadly, despite his best efforts, this goal was to elude Benitez, with the closest Liverpool would come was a 2^nd place finish in the 2008/09 season, and a meagre four points shy of bitter rivals, Manchester United.

There were many special European nights at Anfield and abroad under the Benitez era too.  A record 8-0 Champions League win over Besiktas in November 2007 stands out, as do historic results over the likes of Juventus, Chelsea (twice), Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Arsenal in Europe’s premier club competition.  Another Champions League final appearance beckoned in 2007, but this time Liverpool came up short in Athens, losing 2-1 to AC Milan in the final.  Benitez was also responsible for the club-record signing of the prolific Fernando Torres.

However, the last twelve months have been a disaster for Liverpool Football Club.  Record debts have been published, the controversial owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett have put the club up for sale, after becoming more unpopular.  Key player Xabi Alonso departed for Real Madrid in the summer, and form on the pitch dropped as well.  Elimination from the Champions’ League group stages before Christmas was a bitter pill to swallow, as was a humiliating FA Cup 3^rd round replay exit in January against lowly Reading at Anfield.  Capped by a 7^th place Premiership finish, Liverpool’s worst league season since 1999 and Rafa has paid the ultimate price, with his job.

Assistant manager Sammy Lee will take charge for now, with a successor unlikely to be appointed until after the World Cup finals.  Martin O’Neill, Guus Hiddink, Roy Hodgson and Jurgen Klinsmann have all been mentioned, but the successor must be aware that the transfer budget for strengthening the squad will be minimal, and selling either Steven Gerrard or Fernando Torres could  be essential to improve the strength-in-depth. 

It is a sad way for things to finish, for what was a nearly perfect marriage throughout – but Rafa Benitez has left many fantastic memories which Liverpool fans will never ever forget, and all I can say is “thanks Rafa, and best wishes for the future.”

England 3-1 Mexico - More Work To Do....

For Fabio Capello, Monday night’s 3-1 win against Mexico at Wembley must have felt like more questions had been posed than answers.  Remarkably, despite Wembley’s awful pitch, all English players came through the game unscathed without any further injury scares, as the Three Lions bid farewell to their boisterous fans on a winning note.  However, it was far from plain-sailing.

With the opening match of the World Cup just over a fortnight away against the USA in Rustenberg, Capello used the chance to experiment with a new formation, as all of Chelsea’s winning FA Cup stars sat this friendly out due to mutual agreement with the Stamford Bridge club.  James Milner and Michael Carrick played as two holding players, with Steven Gerrard out wide.  This didn’t work, as the talented Mexicans took command of a positive first 45 minutes.  Time and again, they threatened the English goal, with PSV Eindhoven left-back Carlos Salcido producing the closest effort, brushing the post with a bending curling shot.  However, Mexico’s ineptitude at defending set-pieces cost them, as they were 2-0 down by this point.

Fifteen minutes in and Gerrard’s corner was flicked on at the back post by Peter Crouch, and played into the path of fellow Tottenham colleague, Ledley King, who was given the freedom of the penalty area to score only his second international goal.  For King, this was his first start for England since June 2007, and everyone will be pleased to see him come through the game and the aftermath with no problem.  Despite a few shaky moments at the back, alongside the out-of-form captain, Rio Ferdinand, King’s place in the final 23 looks secure now.  Crouch continued his remarkable scoring record, by handling in England’s second goal from one yard out, after Wayne Rooney’s header was tipped onto the crossbar by the Mexican goalkeeper.  With the last kick of the first half, ex-West Ham striker Guillermo Franco almost embarrassingly got the North Americans their deserved registration on the scoreboard, tapping home after Leighton Baines had failed to deal convincingly with a Rafael Marquez goal bound header.

The second half was far more pedestrian, with only one moment of real significance.  Liverpool right-back Glen Johnson’s first international goal, straight after the interval was a beauty.  On his weaker left foot, Johnson combined well with Theo Walcott to produce a stunning effort into the top corner.  He won’t score many better.

So, the positives were no injuries, the result, Johnson’s excellent performance, Crouch continuing his scoring run for England, which might have put him in pole position to be Rooney’s strike partner at the finals, instead of the bumbling Emile Heskey and the brief impacts by Aaron Lennon and debutant Adam Johnson, which showed with pace and freshness, they could be major impact players off the bench.

Negatives was the performance of Baines, who got skinned almost everytime and looked lost on the pitch.  As Stephen Warnock has not player under Capello, Baines probably will go to South Africa, but we must hope that Ashley Cole stays fit all summer.  Another one to struggle was Carrick, who has had a poor season for Manchester United and now is carrying that form into international level.  Unless Gareth Barry is eventually declared unfit, Carrick might not make the final cut, especially with the promising Tom Huddlestone and more consistent Scott Parker on his tail for his place in the squad.

Sunday’s warm-up, at high altitude in Graz against Japan might tell us some more about England’s chances for the forthcoming finals, but after this performance, Fabio Capello will have plenty of food for thought, despite the pleasing final scoreline.

Five Years On From One Unbelievable Night In Istanbul

It is five years on today, from one of the greatest nights ever in the prestigious history of Liverpool Football club.  No Liverpool fan present in the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul, nor the millions listening on radios and watching on giant TV’s across the city, in bars and clubs and in home throughout the country will ever forget the night Rafa Benitez’s Mighty Reds became European Champions in the most unbelievable manner.  It is time to reminisce the over-riding joy of such an epic night full of emotions.

It is Wednesday 25^th May 2005, and it is a beautiful summer’s day across the country, whilst in Turkey, Liverpool’s date in Istanbul in the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final, against the mighty Serie A giants, AC Milan.

The 2004/05 domestic season for Liverpool had been a struggle.  Crippling injuries and a dire away record left Liverpool finishing the season a disappointing 5^th beaten in the final table by our domestic neighbours from Stanley Park, Everton.  This meant a season of UEFA Cup football was set to follow at Anfield, toppled with the fact that we finished nearly 40 points behind the new champions, Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea.  Our best form had been saved for the Champions League.  

Who could forget Steven Gerrard’s stunning strike against Olympiakos in the group stages, which kept us in the competition by the skin of our teeth, the slaying of Italian champions Juventus, then the controversial ‘goal’ that shattered Chelsea’s treble dream and loosened Mourinho’s grip on the European Cup during a nail-biting early May night at Anfield.  For the first time in twenty years, Liverpool were heading to a European Cup final, could we pull out one more historic performance and complete the most unlikely of triumphs.

The first half was forgettable, not because we were so bad, more the case of Milan playing football out of this world, that no-one could live with.  Milan skipper Paolo Maldini volleyed his side infront inside of 50 seconds, and then Chelsea loanee Hernan Crespo scored a quick fire double to leave Reds fan devastated.  With a dejected Harry Kewell limping off before half-time and Steve Finnan forced off at the interval, everything seemed to be going against Liverpool.  In six crazy minutes, Liverpool roared back into the final, with quite probably, the greatest ever sporting comeback ever seen.

Ten minutes into the second half, Steven Gerrard headed in a deep John Arne Riise cross and pulled the scoreline back to 3-1.  Suddenly, doubts crept into the back of AC Milan minds; manager Carlo Ancelotti was chewing his gum far harder than he had just two minutes earlier.  Moments later, substitute Dietmar Hamann found Vladimir Smicer and in his final Reds appearance, the Czech hit an optimistic shot which the unconvincing Dida spilt through his grasp and into the net.  Now, the comeback was well and truly on, miracles are well and truly possible!  Then, Gerrard links up with the frustrating Milan Baros and is tripped by Gennaro Gattuso.  No doubts from the Spanish referee Gonzalez, who points to the spot, Gattuso lucky to stay on the pitch.  Step up Xabi Alonso, with a chance to equalise for Liverpool.  The penalty was pretty tame and Dida saved it, but Alonso snapped up the rebound and lofted the ball into the top of the net.  Mission impossible had been accomplished.  Five minutes earlier, Liverpool had been 3-0 down – now they were on level terms.

For the rest of the game, Milan looked shell-shocked, but started to gain a sense of control again.  With the match edging closer towards penalty, Brazilian Serginho whips a dangerous ball into the penalty area, which is met by Ukraine goal machine Andrei Shevchenko.  Surely, he must score!  However, he didn’t as somehow, Jerzy Dudek denied him twice.  Even now, Dudek probably doesn’t know how he kept Shevchenko now, and quite probably, neither does Sheva himself.

Into the drama and tension of a penalty shootout, and its Milan who go first.  Serginho’s first penalty belonged in the ‘House of Horrors!’ It was a shocking kick, and Andrea Pirlo’s lame effort was stopped heroically by Dudek.  Dietmar Hamann banged his kick home, as did super sub Djibril Cisse.  Liverpool, 2-0 up, now the dream was looking like a real reality.  Jon Dahl Tomasson made no mistake, and nor did Kaka for the Italians, despite Dudek’s best attempts to put the kickers off by copying the ‘wobbly legs’ format that Bruce Grobbelaar had successfully achieved in the 1984 final.  In between this, Dida did enough to push Riise’s effort around the post.  Still, Liverpool were in control and Smicer made it match point, dispatching his penalty with efficient calm.  What it meant now was that Shevchenko, who had scored the winning penalty in the diabolical 2003 final at Old Trafford, had to score.  The weight of the world was firmly on his shoulders, and his kick wasn’t the best.  Dudek pulled off a terrific stop and the European Cup was returning to England, and to Anfield.  LIVERPOOL ARE CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE AGAIN!!

The most extraordinary final, had a most incredible final twist.  Liverpool had their hands on the European Cup again, and this time, it was for keeps.  Their fifth success meant that this version of ‘Old Big Ears’ was going to have a permanent storage in the Anfield trophy cabinet.  Liverpool had won the European Cup back in the most unbelievable manner.  It is a night that no-one will ever forget, one of those ‘Where was I’ moments in history.

Five years on, and the fire of this success still burns strongly and deeply with everyone connected with Liverpool Football Club, ‘One Unbelievable Night in Istanbul.’