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&nbsp;Late Liverpool Halt Chelsea’s Faltering Challenge
It’s a cold Sunday afternoon&nbsp;and I’ve parked my backside on the sofa to watch&nbsp;Liverpool&nbsp;vs Chelsea, a clash of the title contenders. Man United’s ominous form coupled with their rivals inability to keep pace means we all know that the team that loses&nbsp;Sunday’s game&nbsp;is well and truly out of the title race…in January.
The game itself is perhaps no thriller, Chelsea apparently toothless in attack registering a meagre 2 attempts on target to Liverpool’s 9. The first half was far from an enthralling affair but from the first whistle a hungrier, more dyanimic Liverpool&nbsp;were the only side who could have saved the game from being labelled a bore-draw.
The&nbsp;London side’s supporters were clearly never&nbsp;going to leave&nbsp;Anfield happy. An indifferent performance by goalkeeper Petr Cech,&nbsp;who was twice nearly caught in possession and&nbsp;Didier Drogba again left on the bench as Chelsea lined up 4-3-3 with Anelka, Malouda and Kalour&nbsp;preferred,&nbsp;no&nbsp;doubt to the Ivorian’s frustration to lead the attack.&nbsp; The Blues created nothing all afternoon, Pepe Reina a spectator in the Reds goalmouth for much of the game.
Just after the hour mark Chelsea’s midfield finally featured in one of the games major talking points but not in the way that&nbsp;manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari would have wanted.&nbsp;Frank Lampard lunging for 50/50&nbsp;with Xabi Alonso catching his opponent in the follow through was bizarrely adjudged by trigger-happy official Mike Riley to be worthy of a red card, Lampard and Chelsea justifiably furious.
Enter the 88th minute and it’s still Liverpool on top as it had been from the first whistle and Liverpool finally deliver a telling blow in the shape of a Fernando Torres’ late double. First a&nbsp;fantastic glancing header at the near post from Riera’s cross, minutes before Ashley Cole’s poor&nbsp;judgement not to clear first time let the ball fall&nbsp;to Yossi Benayoun to nip in behind and although Cole did well to get a foot in the way the ball fell into the path of the&nbsp;£20 million Spaniard to&nbsp;slot in his second.
Moments later&nbsp;and cue the final whistle,&nbsp;Anfield in raptures and&nbsp;Rafa Benitez delighted with the pressure momentarily eased on their own faltering title challenge. Scolari and Chelsea fans have to wonder why they have only taken one point in any of the games against the so-called ‘big four’ in five games so far this season.
Scolari&nbsp;though in his first season in charge (with glistening C.V in his defence)&nbsp;can be the only man&nbsp;to rationalise why Anelka and Drogba have never been paired together for any significant amount of time as&nbsp; a traditional front two and the lack of&nbsp;starting opportunities for the effervescent Joe Cole.&nbsp;The board at&nbsp;Stamford&nbsp;Bridge have&nbsp;certainly tightened the purse&nbsp;strings after&nbsp;previous years of free-flowing spending and this is&nbsp;no major surprise, no&nbsp;club could ever sustain this (I’m sure Man City&nbsp;fans may not agree for now!)&nbsp;but the budget transfer budget needs to be at least £30-£40 million in the current climate to stay with the pace. The Portuguese duo of Deco signed (free) and Bosingwa (16 Million) the only Major arrivals at the bridge this summer.
My personal opinion of why Chelsea don’t score enough&nbsp;goals, is&nbsp;the absence of Essien&nbsp;in the engine room coupled with a three -prong attack that often resembles a negative looking 4-5-1 leaving Anelka isolated. Kalou and Malouda simply do not look like players who&nbsp;belong in a title winning team.
Should Scolari still be at The Bridge this summer in what is current an uncomfortable climate to be a manager at a top club, then a major rebuilding job is needed to make the Blues&nbsp;currently&nbsp;feeble title&nbsp;ambitions realistic.

Chelsea In Trouble

Chelsea In Trouble - World Soccer Talk

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After watching English football on television for more than 30 years, I’ve watched countless boring tactical games like yesterday’s two nil win by Bolton against Manchester City. But I’ve also seen many incredible games and wonderful individual efforts that still make me jump out of my seat.
This season, the club that is impressing me the most of late is not Chelsea. It’s Liverpool. Despite their cruel defeat against Tottenham, Liverpool have two ingredients this season that rival managers only wish they had.
First is their creativity in front of goal. The magic triangle of Dirk Kuyt, Robbie Keane and Steven Gerrard has been so effective in creating chances to score up front. The way these three players link up and instinctively know where their colleagues are running into positions is incredible to watch.
Watching other teams play football can be so predictable especially in the way that they attack the goal. But the mark of a great team is when they do the unthinkable and seemingly impossible. That has been Liverpool up front for the last few weeks. Creating goals out of nowhere and fooling defenders because they have no idea what’s going to happen next.
The second impressive attribute of Liverpool’s this season has been their team spirit. If you go back and <a href="http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/1724565/" target="_blank">watch highlights of their recent games</a>, keep a close eye on how the teammates are genuinely patting each other on the back and acknowledging the contributions of each player. It may sound inconsequential, but team spirit does make a difference. It’s unfortunately rare to see. You’re much likely to see Ashley Cole mouthing off at his teammates because someone didn’t pass to him while he was open.
Liverpool still have improvements to make this season if they want to win some silverware, but they’ve finally put together a team that has two main attributes that are so hard to achieve. The challenge for Liverpool will be continuing to play the art of football up front and remaining creative especially when Fernando Torres returns and breaks up the magic triangle of Kuyt, Gerrard and Keane.

Liverpool&#039;s Magic Triangle: Kuyt, Keane And Gerrard

Liverpool&#039;s Magic Triangle: Kuyt, Keane And Gerrard - World Soccer Talk

Liverpool's Magic Triangle: Kuyt, Keane And Gerrard

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In a typical football season, football journalists and bloggers find one victim after another to write about. When one tragedy or soap opera ends another begins.
In the past weekend, the ‘Sack Juande Ramos and Damien Comolli’ saga ended with both men being booted out and replaced by Harry Redknapp. The Mike Ashley soap opera at Newcastle has practically been extinguished thanks to Newcastle’s return to form under Joe Kinnear, and Liverpool – longtime disappointers – look like they may rid themselves of the Curse of the Bambino this season after beating Chelsea. Plus talk of a takeover has simmered down too.
And England, who always seem to be persistent underachievers, are doing better than ever. Even boo-boy Ashley Cole is old news by this point.
If Newcastle, England, Ashley Cole, Spurs and Liverpool are no longer victims, who will the British tabloid reporters turn their attention to and vilify next? Click the comments link below and share your predictions.

Who Will The British Tabloid Football Reporters Vilify Next?

Who Will The British Tabloid Football Reporters Vilify Next? - World Soccer Talk

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Firstly I want to make it clear that I am not an English fan, I am from Ireland, but what I heard whenever I was watching the England game on Saturday on TV was one of the worse things that I have ever heard at a football match.
So Ashley Cole makes a mistake and presents the ball straight into the path of an opposition player, but does that give the England fans the right to lay into him and boo him for it?
I may be wrong, but I seriously thought that the point of being a football supporter is to support your team no matter the result, no matter the outcome and no matter the mistakes that are made. &nbsp;England won 5-1 for pity sake and still this happens to a player.
I for one hope that these fans are looking at themselves today and are feeling a tad embarrassed.

England: To Err Is Human, To Boo Is Madness!!

England: To Err Is Human, To Boo Is Madness!! - World Soccer Talk

<div><figure class="external-image"><img src="/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/ashley-cole.jpg" alt="ashley-cole.jpg" align="right" hspace="15" vspace="15"></figure></div>Admit it. There are some players in the Premier League who get under your skin. The type of players you love to hate. But who are they and why do you hate them so much?
Names of players who often get fans irate include:
<ul>
<li>Ashley Cole (Chelsea)</li>
<li>John Terry (Chelsea)</li>
<li>Frank Lampard (Chelsea)</li>
<li>El Hadji Diouf (Sunderland)</li>
<li>Lee Bowyer (West Ham United)</li>
<li>Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal)</li>
<li>William Gallas (Arsenal)</li>
<li>Kevin Davies (Bolton), and</li>
<li>Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United).</li>
</ul>
Players are hated for numerous reasons. Diouf won no fans with his spitting, diving and constant bickering. Players such as Adebayor and Lampard didn’t impress anyone with the rumors of them possibly leaving their clubs. Defenders Terry and Ferdinand have won few fans because of their off the pitch incidents, and so on.
Who are the players you hate? And why? Share your stories by clicking the comments link below.

Who Are The Premier League Players You Love To Hate The Most?

Who Are The Premier League Players You Love To Hate The Most? - World Soccer Talk

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England: To Err Is Human, To Boo Is Madness!!

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Who Are The Premier League Players You Love To Hate The Most?