Last gasp equaliser saves Cardiff.
Manager Darren Ferguson labelled his side's draw to Cardiff a "bitter pill to swallow", but the hard fought encounter against a side fighting for the Championship lead is certainly something to build on for the Lilywhites.
Cardiff were dealt an early blow when England international striker Jay Bothroyd limped off with an injury after just 8 minutes, seemingly pulling his hamstring as he chased a ball over the top of the Preston defence.
Preston then went ahead after twenty five minutes as a Michael Tonge free kick bundled underneath the Cardiff wall and deflected into the net, putting to rest Preston's streak of 340 minutes without a lead in a game. However, it was to be a lead they would spend the rest of the game trying to protect, as Cardiff, with a plethora of talent up front, seized control and began to push forward at every opportunity.
Premiership star Craig Bellamy struck the target shortly after for the home side, playing a neat one-two between himself and Keogh before shooting from the edge of the box, but his shot wasn't strong enough to find the Preston net.
Cardiff came out fighting in the second half, with early attempts by Whittingham and Bellamy both narrowly missing the target. Andy Lonergan was at hand on the 55th minute to parry wide a powerful Bellamy volley after Keogh lead him clean through on goal.
However, as the clock wound down, Cardiff's attack gained momentum. Craig Bellamy was allowed another volley from six yards out, which Preston only escaped by the outstreched leg of Wayne Brown on the goal line; the follow-up was powered wide by Whittingham.
As injury time struck, Gabor Gyepes seemed certain to have levelled the scoring as he powered in a header from the six yard box which seemed destined for the top corner, only to see a remarkable jumping clearance by Danny Pugh on the Preston goal line.
In total, Cardiff fired twenty five shots at the North End goal, but it would take until the twenty fifth attempt to finally bear fruit. In spite of PNE's valiant attempts to secure only their second win in eleven games, it wasn't to be their day. Andrew Keogh dealt the crushing blow in the fourth minute of stoppage time, as olimenjana nodded the ball across the box, leaving him to power a header home from close range.
After their relentless attacking performance in the second half, Cardiff will feel the draw was the least they deserved. But for North End - who have conceded in all but one of their league games this season - holding off a Cardiff side that lead the league in goals is certainly a big positive.
Thursday, 9 December 2010
Monday, 29 November 2010
Preston 0-0 Millwall
Preston's winless slump continues with a disappointing goalless draw at home to a struggling Milwall side on Saturday.
The Lilywhites had boosted their defence in mid-week with the addition of on-loan centre-back Leon Cort from Burnley, but it was going forward in attack that they struggled to make any real impact.
North End started well with early attempts from Parkin and Jones, both narrowly missing the target.
The Lilywhites did find the back of the net in the 18th minute when Hume, put through on goal by Jon Parkin, slid his shot past goalkeeper Forde, but his celebrations were short-lived as it was ruled out for offside.
As the game progressed, Millwall began to push forward and threatened twice before the half the was over. The first attempt, an excellent close-range header from Puncheon, was only kept out by a heroic diving save from Andy Lonergan. Ten minutes later, their second attempt was deflected wide by Cort after Puncheon had dispossessed Barton in midfield.
Both sides could have won the game in the second half. Millwall came agonisingly close in the 72nd minute when Morrison broke a darting run into the penalty area, graciously side-stepping Cort, only to see his shot deflected five yards wide of the far post.
As the clock wound down, Preston wasted two golden opportunities to snatch all three points. Ten minutes from time, a feeble shot from Parkin swung across the face of the goal and inches away from Hume who was lurking at the edge of the six yard box, unable to get the slightest of touches to turn it into the net.
The last chance of the match would be the closest Preston would come to stealing only their second win in ten matches, and once again, Hume was the protagonist. With continued pressure, the Lilywhites marched forward in attack. Barton shot twice from the edge of the area, only for his second attempt to be deflected across to Hume in front of the Millwall goal. Turning inwards, Hume shot a curling effort around defender Alan Dunne and narrowly brushed the outside of the far post.
Goalkeeper Andy Lonergan was awarded man of the match for his game-saving stops in the Preston goal. Afterwards he admitted it was a "tough game against a very good side".
The Lilywhites had boosted their defence in mid-week with the addition of on-loan centre-back Leon Cort from Burnley, but it was going forward in attack that they struggled to make any real impact.
North End started well with early attempts from Parkin and Jones, both narrowly missing the target.
The Lilywhites did find the back of the net in the 18th minute when Hume, put through on goal by Jon Parkin, slid his shot past goalkeeper Forde, but his celebrations were short-lived as it was ruled out for offside.
As the game progressed, Millwall began to push forward and threatened twice before the half the was over. The first attempt, an excellent close-range header from Puncheon, was only kept out by a heroic diving save from Andy Lonergan. Ten minutes later, their second attempt was deflected wide by Cort after Puncheon had dispossessed Barton in midfield.
Both sides could have won the game in the second half. Millwall came agonisingly close in the 72nd minute when Morrison broke a darting run into the penalty area, graciously side-stepping Cort, only to see his shot deflected five yards wide of the far post.
As the clock wound down, Preston wasted two golden opportunities to snatch all three points. Ten minutes from time, a feeble shot from Parkin swung across the face of the goal and inches away from Hume who was lurking at the edge of the six yard box, unable to get the slightest of touches to turn it into the net.
The last chance of the match would be the closest Preston would come to stealing only their second win in ten matches, and once again, Hume was the protagonist. With continued pressure, the Lilywhites marched forward in attack. Barton shot twice from the edge of the area, only for his second attempt to be deflected across to Hume in front of the Millwall goal. Turning inwards, Hume shot a curling effort around defender Alan Dunne and narrowly brushed the outside of the far post.
Goalkeeper Andy Lonergan was awarded man of the match for his game-saving stops in the Preston goal. Afterwards he admitted it was a "tough game against a very good side".
Monday, 22 November 2010
QPR 3-1 Preston
Preston fall deeper into relegation trouble with defeat to superior QPR.
"Come in, be positive" was the advice manager Darren Ferguson gave new on-loan signing Michael Tonge in mid-week, but it will be hard to remain positive if defeats like this continue. Three new loan signings had raised expectations, but Preston posed little threat as they fell to their fourth defeat in five games to a much superior QPR.
With much talk before the game about a forceful QPR side that boasted the only unbeaten record in the football league, PNE knew they faced a tough task ahead of them. However, it took the home side only four minutes to break through the North End defence. Midfielder Karl Walker was allowed a darting run down the touchline, and struck a menacing cross into the box. Lonergan came out to make the save, but the ball fell through his hands and right at the feet of striker Ian Hulse who claimed his first goal of the season from two yards out.
Rangers almost took a two goal lead on the 25th minute when a slip-up from Brown at the back let in Jamie Mackie for a free shot a goal which was parried away by Lonergan. Leon Clarke – making his first start for the club – skied the follow up, striking it high over the bar.
Clarke did find the net ten minutes later, volleying a rocket shot from close range, but it was ruled out as he was adjudged to have handled the ball.
Preston came close with a couple of chances either side of half-time. The first, three minutes from the end of the half, was a long range shot from on-loan Tonge which failed to trouble Kenny in the QPR goal.
The second, on 53 minutes, a well worked counter-attack brought forward by Tonge, culminated in a dangerous through ball into the box from Jon Parkin to Adam Barton. But Barton, with ample time and space could only plough the ball into the legs of Paddy Kenny.
Preston would live to rue their missed opportunity as two minutes later QPR doubled their lead. Twenty one year old captain Adel Taarabt picked up the ball inside Preston territory, dribbled towards the area and shot a stunning strike into the roof of the net, leaving Lonergan helpless.
The Lilywhites looked more vulnerable as the game progressed. On the 64th minute Rob Hulse connected well with an in-swinging corner, and was only denied a goal by a clearance off the line from Jon Parkin.
Five minutes from time, QPR sealed their victory. Taarabt finished another astounding effort in almost identical fashion to his first. Picking up on a loose ball after Preston were dispossessed in midfield, he found himself with plenty of space, and a couple of touches was all it took before he powered a shot into the top left corner from thirty yards out.
A mix-up between Matt Connolly and his goalkeeper gifted Preston with a consolation goal two minutes from time to make it 3-1. But it was too little, too late; and with one win in their last nine, the Lilywhites slip further behind in the struggle for survival.
After the game Darren Ferguson praised his team for the way they reacted after conceding an early goal, but admitted QPR deserved all three points. When asked about next week, he said his side needed “a win, a bit of luck, and keep believing”.
"Come in, be positive" was the advice manager Darren Ferguson gave new on-loan signing Michael Tonge in mid-week, but it will be hard to remain positive if defeats like this continue. Three new loan signings had raised expectations, but Preston posed little threat as they fell to their fourth defeat in five games to a much superior QPR.
With much talk before the game about a forceful QPR side that boasted the only unbeaten record in the football league, PNE knew they faced a tough task ahead of them. However, it took the home side only four minutes to break through the North End defence. Midfielder Karl Walker was allowed a darting run down the touchline, and struck a menacing cross into the box. Lonergan came out to make the save, but the ball fell through his hands and right at the feet of striker Ian Hulse who claimed his first goal of the season from two yards out.
Rangers almost took a two goal lead on the 25th minute when a slip-up from Brown at the back let in Jamie Mackie for a free shot a goal which was parried away by Lonergan. Leon Clarke – making his first start for the club – skied the follow up, striking it high over the bar.
Clarke did find the net ten minutes later, volleying a rocket shot from close range, but it was ruled out as he was adjudged to have handled the ball.
Preston came close with a couple of chances either side of half-time. The first, three minutes from the end of the half, was a long range shot from on-loan Tonge which failed to trouble Kenny in the QPR goal.
The second, on 53 minutes, a well worked counter-attack brought forward by Tonge, culminated in a dangerous through ball into the box from Jon Parkin to Adam Barton. But Barton, with ample time and space could only plough the ball into the legs of Paddy Kenny.
Preston would live to rue their missed opportunity as two minutes later QPR doubled their lead. Twenty one year old captain Adel Taarabt picked up the ball inside Preston territory, dribbled towards the area and shot a stunning strike into the roof of the net, leaving Lonergan helpless.
The Lilywhites looked more vulnerable as the game progressed. On the 64th minute Rob Hulse connected well with an in-swinging corner, and was only denied a goal by a clearance off the line from Jon Parkin.
Five minutes from time, QPR sealed their victory. Taarabt finished another astounding effort in almost identical fashion to his first. Picking up on a loose ball after Preston were dispossessed in midfield, he found himself with plenty of space, and a couple of touches was all it took before he powered a shot into the top left corner from thirty yards out.
A mix-up between Matt Connolly and his goalkeeper gifted Preston with a consolation goal two minutes from time to make it 3-1. But it was too little, too late; and with one win in their last nine, the Lilywhites slip further behind in the struggle for survival.
After the game Darren Ferguson praised his team for the way they reacted after conceding an early goal, but admitted QPR deserved all three points. When asked about next week, he said his side needed “a win, a bit of luck, and keep believing”.
Friday, 19 November 2010
Triple Signing Gives Hope Ahead of Trip to QPR
Preston travel to Loftus Road this weekend boosted by a string of mid-week signings.
Stoke midfielders Danny Pugh and Michael Tonge (both former Lilywhites) join the side on a months loan, along with the much talked about Richard De Laet who has signed from Manchester United, also on a 28-day emergency loan deal.
It would otherwise be a rather depleated side, with several key players will be missing the trip: both Callum Davidson and Paul Coutts are out with groin injuries, and Keith Treacy is suspended having picked up five yellow cards.
QPR currently lie a point off first place and are unbeaten in the league all season. However Preston have performed marginally better away from home this season and will look to turn a corner with new signings on board.
Stoke midfielders Danny Pugh and Michael Tonge (both former Lilywhites) join the side on a months loan, along with the much talked about Richard De Laet who has signed from Manchester United, also on a 28-day emergency loan deal.
It would otherwise be a rather depleated side, with several key players will be missing the trip: both Callum Davidson and Paul Coutts are out with groin injuries, and Keith Treacy is suspended having picked up five yellow cards.
QPR currently lie a point off first place and are unbeaten in the league all season. However Preston have performed marginally better away from home this season and will look to turn a corner with new signings on board.
Chelsea 0-3 Sunderland (14/11/10)
Chelsea fall to their first home defeat of the season against unlikely Sunderland.
Chelsea have missed the opportunity to enhance their lead at the top of the table. With draws from both Manchesters United and City, the door was open for the Blues to take further distance themselves from their northern rivals, and stake a five point lead in the Premiership race.
However goals Onuoha, Gyan and Welbeck saw Sunderland seal an unlikely victory against the reigning champions.
Chelsea almost took an early lead as Anelka was put through on goal, but goalkeeper Craig Gordon, quick out of his box, and able to clear the opportunity. The Blues came close again with shots from Zhirkov and Malouda, and a long range free kick from Didier Drogba, but all failed to beat Godon in the Sunderland goal.
With Chelsea failing to capitalise on their chances, Sunderland took control towards the end of the half, and were only denied of an opener by terrific stops from Petr Cech.
Although constant pressure from Sunderland proved too much for Chelsea on the 45 minute mark as on-loan Onuoha skillfully took the ball past several hapless defenders to slot home a slick finish from ten yards.
Chelsea responded with strikes from Drogba and Anelka, but both flew high over the bar.
A Sunderland victory was guaranteed four minutes from time, when Ashley Cole's feeble back pass into the Chelsea penalty area was picked up by Danny Welbeck who tapped his shot past hapless Cech.
Chelsea now sit only two points clear of Arsenal, who beat Everton 2-1 at Goodison Park.
Aston Villa 2-2 Manchester United (13/11/10)
Manchester United have kept their unbeaten streak alive following a dramatic finish at Villa Park which saw goals from substitute Macheda and Vidic in the dying minutes. As has so often been the mantra with Alex Ferguson's Manchester United sides, it is never quite over until the final whistle blows. A first half which saw very little action aside from a couple of Villa chances was far overshadowed by a second forty five minutes which saw Villa dominate, eventually take the lead, then seemingly secure all three points, only to collapse in the final ten minutes to a Macheda stunner and a Vidic equaliser.
United now gain a point on Champions Chelsea following an unlikely blues home defeat to Sunderland.
Friday, 12 November 2010
Preston 0-2 Hull
Goals from Garcia and Barmby sink Preston deeper into relegation trouble.
Darren Ferguson's sixth home loss in nine keeps his side three points deep in the relegation zone and in danger of slipping into last place if Crystal Palace can manage a draw on Saturday.
Preston were first to strike after five minutes with a long range shot from Paul Parry, which was pushed away by on-loan keeper Mannone. The rebound was followed up and converted by Jon Parkin, but it was from an offside position, and was ruled out.
On the 15 minute mark, Hull forward Richard Garcia shot wide from close range after a slick through ball from Robert Coren had put him through on goal.
Although when another opportunity presented itself five minutes later, Garcia was not going to make the same mistake. Coren swung an exquisitely placed cross past defender Craig Morgan, and gifted Garcia with a chance at the far post, which he converted with a diving header to give Hull an early lead.
North End came close soon after with attempts from Barton and Brown, but both narrowly missed the target, edging high past the near post.
The second half began with a bout of pressure from Preston, starting with a fierce strike from Iain Hume from which rattled the inside of the post and somehow stayed out.
Preston pressure continued, culminating in a pair of long range shots from Jon Parkin, however both attempts proved too timid to trouble Mannone in the Hull City goal.
Preston failed to capitalise on their chances, and with twenty minutes remaining, a second goal from Hull finally put the game to rest. After turning St Ledger with ease, Richard Garcia cut a low ball across the face of the goal, allowing substitute Nick Barmby a 'tap-in' finish from five yards out.
Hull could have made it 3-0 in the final minutes when Jay Simpson took advantage of a slip up from defender Craig Morgan on the edge of the box. However, one on one with keeper Lonergan, his shot hit the post.
After the game, Preston manager Darren Ferguson told Sky Sports news that his didn't pass the ball well enough in the first half, and that he was disappointed with conceding the opener, which he described as a “sloppy goal”.
Friday, 3 September 2010
England storm Bulgaria, Spain and Holland continue in usual fashion, and France fall to, erm, Belarus...!?
England 4-0 Bulgaria
For the first time in a long time, the English national side actually looked like a force to be reckoned with. From the first kick of the ball, it seemed a race for who could score first, andon losing the ball, it was as if there'd be a penalty for letting Bulgaria hold on to it for longer than a few seconds. Maybe it was down to the fact that Bulgaria are not the strongest of national sides - and are highly unlikely to qualify - but Englands agressive and impatient touch really seemed to work.
Before the game, my money had been on England snatching the lead within the first 30 minutes, but it soon became evident that it probably wouldn't take that long. England pushed forward with every opportunity and the ball couldn't have been in their own half for more than a few seconds at any point prior to the first goal. On 8 minutes, a good cross from rooney lead to an awkward shot from Ashley Cole and a subsequent finish from 6 yards out on the rebound from Jermaine Defoe. England continued the pressure but allowed themselves to relax somewhat after taking the lead. England continued with second and third goals from Defoe and Johnson respectively, and an excellent Wayne Rooney gifted Jermaine Defoe his hat-trick with five minutes remaining.
Overall, it was truly respectable England performance. Only a few mis-hits from Milner in the first half and a couple of over-ambitious shots from Theo Walcott marred a flawless performance.
Wayne Rooney, seemingly back to his usual self, ran tirelessly for the full 90 minutes. He was no more than a goal short of a stone-wall recovery, and in his current form, it should come soon enough. Gerrard was back in the centre of midfield, however even he was outshadowed at times by Rooneys efforts in tracking back. Jermaine Defoe put up a solid performance, and so too did Glenn Johnson; I've never been able to understand the amount of criticism he receives. I believed he put up one of the better performances in our World Cup Campaign, and he so seldom has a bad game.
As for the negatives, I thought Milner was a little off with his passes, and had a truly awful first touch on a through ball played to him on 30 minutes which would have put him clean through on goal had he controlled it better. I wasn't too keen either on Walcott, although some of this may have been down to my high expectancy on him pre-game. Having watched him recently for Arsenal I thought he was going to be a key in the way Defoe eventually was. Although after today it's clear how much trouble he's having adjusting to the role staying out on the wing which Capello so strictly demands of him. So much so that I'm starting to wonder whether it'll ever be possible to keep him in this position permanently. I'd predicted a 3-0/4-0 pre-game, however I'd predicted him scoring. Not at any point did he look like doing so. And while I'm aware that Capello wants him to stay out wide and not to move central and have a try himself, it just seems like he's not OK with doing this. In the first 20 minutes he had two shots from outside the area which went horribly wide. As far as I'm concerned, if he's staying in his position, he shouldn't be taking shots like this, OR if he's going to try shooting, he should be allowed a little more free reign. Personally I'd go with the former. The latter seems to be working with Arsenal right now, but England were solid on all cylinders tonight, and I'm reminded of the "don't fix it if it ain't broke" theory for this one.
Blanc faces in Paris... (France 0-1 Belarus)
Being able to only view the game through a badly leaked line on the internet, I couldn't watch most of this. Although with France at the moment, I'm again reminded of the "don't fix it if it isn't broke" which I mentioned earlier - however in a very different way. France and England had very similar World Cups: I don't mean the results neccesarily, and I don't mean the way the volcanoes erupted... But that they were both one thing: Disasterous.
Nevertheless, I don't believe it's so much about how a crisis goes down, as much as how it is dealt with in the aftermath. England dealt with theirs by saying things like, "Gerrard, you were crap. Lamps, your goal went in, but you were bad, mate. Wayne, why the **** did you turn up?! Who forgot to put Theo on the squadlist?" And then Rob Green was removed from the England paylist never to play again. And that was that, turn the page. All in all, we laughed it off, made a couple of changes and steam rolled our first friendly 4-0.
Did France do this? No. Of bloody course they didn't. Because in France, if something goes wrong, someone always has to be to blame. And the beautiful catch 22 about this is that French people can never blame themselves, and can never accept that something was their fault! It is quite beautiful. So when France went and messed up their World Cup just like we did, a great circus act ensued. Firstly, they decided to blame the manager because they didn't like him and they should have gotten rid of him. Then they blamed the French FA because they realised they'd already decided to sack him but were too cheap to pay him off before the World Cup. And then, having found their sources to whom they could demonstrate their anger, they then demonstrated it by sacking off training for a whole day! Like naughty schoolchildren... Now yes these actions were rather pathetic, and we'd seriously struggle to imagine a galliant Wayne Rooney handing over a letter that Stevie G and Terry had written in their best English for Fabio Capello to try and decifer. But the way the French FA reacted was almost as ridiculous - and just as typically French. If you want to come back and ban the whole team, well, fine. But don't for one minute think that your French under 21 squad are going to take you to the European championships. And then you allow the majority of the players you've just banned to come back and expect them to put on a great performance?
Well if they couldn't perform with Anelka as their lone striker and their best defender in Patrice Evra in the World Cup, I can't see them doing too well now without them. And if it wasn't for the fact that it's his own national side and his dream job, Laurent Blanc should have told them all to stuff it.
What's more irritating though is that I turn on French radio and hear their utter shock that their national side can lose to Belarus. The way things are right now, I think they'll struggle to qualify automatically - something which should
Oh, and as for the feud, Anelka says he wouldn't have ever considered playing for them again anyway... Of course, the french argument 'ne cesse pas'.
For the first time in a long time, the English national side actually looked like a force to be reckoned with. From the first kick of the ball, it seemed a race for who could score first, andon losing the ball, it was as if there'd be a penalty for letting Bulgaria hold on to it for longer than a few seconds. Maybe it was down to the fact that Bulgaria are not the strongest of national sides - and are highly unlikely to qualify - but Englands agressive and impatient touch really seemed to work.
Before the game, my money had been on England snatching the lead within the first 30 minutes, but it soon became evident that it probably wouldn't take that long. England pushed forward with every opportunity and the ball couldn't have been in their own half for more than a few seconds at any point prior to the first goal. On 8 minutes, a good cross from rooney lead to an awkward shot from Ashley Cole and a subsequent finish from 6 yards out on the rebound from Jermaine Defoe. England continued the pressure but allowed themselves to relax somewhat after taking the lead. England continued with second and third goals from Defoe and Johnson respectively, and an excellent Wayne Rooney gifted Jermaine Defoe his hat-trick with five minutes remaining.
Overall, it was truly respectable England performance. Only a few mis-hits from Milner in the first half and a couple of over-ambitious shots from Theo Walcott marred a flawless performance.
Wayne Rooney, seemingly back to his usual self, ran tirelessly for the full 90 minutes. He was no more than a goal short of a stone-wall recovery, and in his current form, it should come soon enough. Gerrard was back in the centre of midfield, however even he was outshadowed at times by Rooneys efforts in tracking back. Jermaine Defoe put up a solid performance, and so too did Glenn Johnson; I've never been able to understand the amount of criticism he receives. I believed he put up one of the better performances in our World Cup Campaign, and he so seldom has a bad game.
As for the negatives, I thought Milner was a little off with his passes, and had a truly awful first touch on a through ball played to him on 30 minutes which would have put him clean through on goal had he controlled it better. I wasn't too keen either on Walcott, although some of this may have been down to my high expectancy on him pre-game. Having watched him recently for Arsenal I thought he was going to be a key in the way Defoe eventually was. Although after today it's clear how much trouble he's having adjusting to the role staying out on the wing which Capello so strictly demands of him. So much so that I'm starting to wonder whether it'll ever be possible to keep him in this position permanently. I'd predicted a 3-0/4-0 pre-game, however I'd predicted him scoring. Not at any point did he look like doing so. And while I'm aware that Capello wants him to stay out wide and not to move central and have a try himself, it just seems like he's not OK with doing this. In the first 20 minutes he had two shots from outside the area which went horribly wide. As far as I'm concerned, if he's staying in his position, he shouldn't be taking shots like this, OR if he's going to try shooting, he should be allowed a little more free reign. Personally I'd go with the former. The latter seems to be working with Arsenal right now, but England were solid on all cylinders tonight, and I'm reminded of the "don't fix it if it ain't broke" theory for this one.
Blanc faces in Paris... (France 0-1 Belarus)
Being able to only view the game through a badly leaked line on the internet, I couldn't watch most of this. Although with France at the moment, I'm again reminded of the "don't fix it if it isn't broke" which I mentioned earlier - however in a very different way. France and England had very similar World Cups: I don't mean the results neccesarily, and I don't mean the way the volcanoes erupted... But that they were both one thing: Disasterous.
Nevertheless, I don't believe it's so much about how a crisis goes down, as much as how it is dealt with in the aftermath. England dealt with theirs by saying things like, "Gerrard, you were crap. Lamps, your goal went in, but you were bad, mate. Wayne, why the **** did you turn up?! Who forgot to put Theo on the squadlist?" And then Rob Green was removed from the England paylist never to play again. And that was that, turn the page. All in all, we laughed it off, made a couple of changes and steam rolled our first friendly 4-0.
Did France do this? No. Of bloody course they didn't. Because in France, if something goes wrong, someone always has to be to blame. And the beautiful catch 22 about this is that French people can never blame themselves, and can never accept that something was their fault! It is quite beautiful. So when France went and messed up their World Cup just like we did, a great circus act ensued. Firstly, they decided to blame the manager because they didn't like him and they should have gotten rid of him. Then they blamed the French FA because they realised they'd already decided to sack him but were too cheap to pay him off before the World Cup. And then, having found their sources to whom they could demonstrate their anger, they then demonstrated it by sacking off training for a whole day! Like naughty schoolchildren... Now yes these actions were rather pathetic, and we'd seriously struggle to imagine a galliant Wayne Rooney handing over a letter that Stevie G and Terry had written in their best English for Fabio Capello to try and decifer. But the way the French FA reacted was almost as ridiculous - and just as typically French. If you want to come back and ban the whole team, well, fine. But don't for one minute think that your French under 21 squad are going to take you to the European championships. And then you allow the majority of the players you've just banned to come back and expect them to put on a great performance?
Well if they couldn't perform with Anelka as their lone striker and their best defender in Patrice Evra in the World Cup, I can't see them doing too well now without them. And if it wasn't for the fact that it's his own national side and his dream job, Laurent Blanc should have told them all to stuff it.
What's more irritating though is that I turn on French radio and hear their utter shock that their national side can lose to Belarus. The way things are right now, I think they'll struggle to qualify automatically - something which should
Oh, and as for the feud, Anelka says he wouldn't have ever considered playing for them again anyway... Of course, the french argument 'ne cesse pas'.
Monday, 16 August 2010
Manchester United 1-0 Newcastle; Berbatov back on form, and Scholes as strong as ever.
With five minutes remaining, this game was capped by a golden moment of Manchester United brilliance. As Paul Scholes picked up the ball on the edge of the box, Ryan Giggs came surging into the view down the left side of the field. Maybe he has eyes in the back of his head, or maybe it was just that he'd done it a million times before, but Scholes' pass to Giggs seemed instantaneous - played almost before he even entered his line of vision, as if he was expecting it. Giggs' finish was standard and the pair looked as young as they did when they were making the same plays fifteen years ago. Scholes received man of the match, and was doubtless our most solid player.
As for the rest of the team, I'd be amiss if I didn't mention how much Dimitar Berbatov impressed me. Who'd have thought after last season with Rooney being the star of the Premiership, amid rumours of an £80m move to Real Madrid, that the 2010 season would start with Berbatov starring the United lineup and Rooney looking like a player afraid to shoot?! These, for me, are the two main talking points for United at the moment. On the one hand, there is a temporary demise of the great Wayne Rooney, looking almost unable to score - yet luckily, at the same time, Berbatov seems to be undergoing a surprise resurgence. As for Rooney, I'm not a believer in the whole "he's still not fit" cry that I've been hearing. He had an injury, he came back too early, and it came back; but any injury he once had shows no sign prevailing. All that remains is a total lack of confidence and self belief which he's struggling to get over and I'm starting to worry what it's going to take to get him back again.
Overall though, it was a solid performance from United. As for Newcastle, I can see them struggling this year and I'm not so confident that they can stay up. Berbatov missed a couple of chances late on that would have made 5-0 and after the first goal Newcastle never posed a threat. The fact that eight players remain from their relegated 11-man line up two years ago isn't a positive fact either. And moreover, one of the more recognisable names in their squad - former star Alan Smith - is still yet to score a goal since moving from United in 2007. I know you could argue that he's played a central midfield role since moving from United, but take any good United forward, turn them into a midfielder and make them play in the championship for a year after two years in the Premiership: chances are they'll have gotten at least a few goals...
The premiership is undoubtedly better with Newcastle in it, but if they're to stay up, they've got a tough task ahead.
As for the rest of the team, I'd be amiss if I didn't mention how much Dimitar Berbatov impressed me. Who'd have thought after last season with Rooney being the star of the Premiership, amid rumours of an £80m move to Real Madrid, that the 2010 season would start with Berbatov starring the United lineup and Rooney looking like a player afraid to shoot?! These, for me, are the two main talking points for United at the moment. On the one hand, there is a temporary demise of the great Wayne Rooney, looking almost unable to score - yet luckily, at the same time, Berbatov seems to be undergoing a surprise resurgence. As for Rooney, I'm not a believer in the whole "he's still not fit" cry that I've been hearing. He had an injury, he came back too early, and it came back; but any injury he once had shows no sign prevailing. All that remains is a total lack of confidence and self belief which he's struggling to get over and I'm starting to worry what it's going to take to get him back again.
Overall though, it was a solid performance from United. As for Newcastle, I can see them struggling this year and I'm not so confident that they can stay up. Berbatov missed a couple of chances late on that would have made 5-0 and after the first goal Newcastle never posed a threat. The fact that eight players remain from their relegated 11-man line up two years ago isn't a positive fact either. And moreover, one of the more recognisable names in their squad - former star Alan Smith - is still yet to score a goal since moving from United in 2007. I know you could argue that he's played a central midfield role since moving from United, but take any good United forward, turn them into a midfielder and make them play in the championship for a year after two years in the Premiership: chances are they'll have gotten at least a few goals...
The premiership is undoubtedly better with Newcastle in it, but if they're to stay up, they've got a tough task ahead.
Joe Cole is devastated - and he's a nice guy. Reason enough to rescind a red card?
All in all, Arsenal dominated most of the second half, and would have been unlucky not to have gotten something out of the game. Liverpool's major achievement, I feel, was their stellar defending. Maybe it was some tactical genius by Roy Hodgson, but Liverpool completely had Arsenal's number throughout the second half and rarely gave them a chance to shoot or even get in the box. This much Liverpool can take from game.
As for the Joe Cole tackle, I don't care whether people are saying there was contact or not or citing the fact that Kolscielny came back out fighting fit for the second half after making a meal of the challenge before half time, the decision is simple: was it reckless? Yes. Did he intend to? Did he mean to hurt Kolsciely? It doesn't matter. Hodgson knows this, he's an intelligent fellow, and coming out with ridiculous comments like "He's not the kind to hurt opponents" and "he's never been sent off" makes him sound stupid. None of this matters. And if we're to go along those lines then I'll bring up what I thought when I heard such an opinion voiced: if that was Robbie Savage, there would be no discussion. End of.
So with one minute left, Reina drops the ball into his net and it ends 1-1 but little needs to be said about that. Fine, Liverpool dropped points with minutes remaining, but that's football - and as Andy Gray cleverly pointed out in slow motion, the sun was in his eyes! Thanks Andy.
The bottom line is that I can't see either one of these teams mounting a title run right now. Liverpool looked pretty solid at the back though and look safe for a top six finish if nothing more. And in all honesty, they were a lot better than I'd expected. And as for Arsenal, well the sooner they get their goalkeeping situation sorted out, the better...
As for the Joe Cole tackle, I don't care whether people are saying there was contact or not or citing the fact that Kolscielny came back out fighting fit for the second half after making a meal of the challenge before half time, the decision is simple: was it reckless? Yes. Did he intend to? Did he mean to hurt Kolsciely? It doesn't matter. Hodgson knows this, he's an intelligent fellow, and coming out with ridiculous comments like "He's not the kind to hurt opponents" and "he's never been sent off" makes him sound stupid. None of this matters. And if we're to go along those lines then I'll bring up what I thought when I heard such an opinion voiced: if that was Robbie Savage, there would be no discussion. End of.
So with one minute left, Reina drops the ball into his net and it ends 1-1 but little needs to be said about that. Fine, Liverpool dropped points with minutes remaining, but that's football - and as Andy Gray cleverly pointed out in slow motion, the sun was in his eyes! Thanks Andy.
The bottom line is that I can't see either one of these teams mounting a title run right now. Liverpool looked pretty solid at the back though and look safe for a top six finish if nothing more. And in all honesty, they were a lot better than I'd expected. And as for Arsenal, well the sooner they get their goalkeeping situation sorted out, the better...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)