Football randomness

Carling Cup:

Liverpool did it again! They went into Stamford Bridge, scored two goals and came away with a deserved win. This time they knocked Chelsea out of the Carling Cup! In doing so they also added loads more pressure on to Andre Villa-Boas shoulders. Goals by Maxi Rodriguez and future Liverpool captain Martin Kelly were enough to see Liverpool on to the semi-finals.

BTW ... Maxi is excellent in King Kenny's system. His movement is very good, he is technically very good and overall he is just a quality footballer. He doesn’t blow you away with power or pace but he is smart enough to always be in the right place at the right time. Maxi Rodriguez is like the old Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Chris Carter. All Chris Carter did was "Score Touchdowns"... Well at Stamford Bridge all Maxi does is Score Goals! 

The one big pain in the ass about this game is that Liverpool/Brazilian midfielder Lucas was carried off on a stretcher after suffering a knee injury. Rumors are already flying that he might be out 6 months. The little man in the middle has been exactly what King Kenny needed out of a holding midfielder. He will be missed. Look for the local lad, the “Wee Man” Jay Spearing to step in and fill in for Lucas

Manchester United were beaten ... AT HOME ... To CHRYSTAL PALACE... Who are currently residing in the bottom half of the Championship table! YIKES. To be fair to United, they played 0 stars and 0 starters. Berbatov, Valencia and Smalling did feature but those three were not enough. United were outworked and outplayed by Palace.

Manchester City beat Arsenal 1 - 0 on a late Sergio Aguero winner. This game displayed Manchester City depth versus Arsenal's youth. City's "B team" includes Samir Nasri (booed loudly throughout the game), Edin Dzeko and Adam Johnson. Arsenal phenom Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain consistently gave City problems down the right wing. Keep your eye out for him. 

Championship side Cardiff defeated Blackburn 2 - 0. Blackburn are seriously awful this year. So much so, that the supporters club is routinely demonstrating for the removal of manager Steve Kean. He will be gone soon

The draw for the semi-finals took place immediately following the United v Palace contest. The results were as follows

Semi Final 1:

Manchester City will play the first leg at home in the Eastlands, before visiting Anfield for the second leg.

Semi Final 2:

Crystal Palace will welcome Cardiff to Selhurst Park before traveling to the Welsh capital.

This draw ensures that this will be the first time that a Championship club comes up against Premier League opposition since 2001 when Liverpool defeated Birmingham in the Final.

Premier League:

This past weekend in the Premier league showcased so excellent games that for whatever reason ended in draws.

Liverpool hosted League leaders Manchester City at Anfield. This game ended in a 1 - 1 draw. However, Liverpool felt they deserved the win. City keeper Joe Hart was amazing! Hart made several key saves including a diving one-handed save from a close range Andy Carroll header. After the first 20 minutes Liverpool outplayed City but had to settle for another draw at home. Rats

Manchester United hosted feisty Newcastle. This game also ended in a 1 - 1 draw. But the score line does not do this fixture justice. United’s only goal has given to them in crazy fashion. Javier Hernandez had a ball kicked off his chest by a defender and the ball fell lazily into the net. Classic United.

But as soon as the 70,000 United supporters felt luck coming to the rescue they had their hearts ripped out by far linesman John Flynn. For some crazy reason Flynn called a penalty on Rio Ferdinand who clearly got all ball when he tackled Newcastle's Hatem Ben Arfa inside the box. It was NOT a penalty. But the officials gave it and Demba Ba coolly slid it into the net.

From then on it was an all out assault on Newcastle’s net. Newcastle even went down to ten men in the 79th minute. As many times as I have seen this scenario play out in Old Trafford I would have put my next 5 paychecks on United to score and win. But they didn't!

Tim Krull was sensational in the net for Newcastle. He was brilliant. If he is not the Dutch keeper in this summer’s Euro Cup I will demand that Paul Dischert denounce his favorite color.... ORANGE.

Arsenal hosted Fulham in another 1 - 1 draw. Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen was the only man on the scoresheet as he put one in both nets. This game highlighted something that is becoming increasingly clear watching Arsenal play this season. They are relying too heavily on superstar Robin van Persie. So far the Dutchman has been up to the challenge but I wonder if we are about to see Van Persie head to the training room soon.

Follow me on this...

Over the last 7 seasons Robin Van Persie has averaged 16 games a season. Each team in the EPL plays 38 league games. RVP has played more than 20 games only once in a season since he joined Arsenal. Van Persie is already at 12 games. He is carrying Arsenal right now with 13 league goals and 3 more in the UCL.

If Wegner doesn’t get Van Persie some help in the January transfer window, we will see the lanky dutchy make his annual trip to the trainers table and the Gunners will fall as fast they have risen these past few weeks. 

RVP rarely stays healthy for a whole season. He is going down soon. Remember this post. … Sorry Ryan

Champions League:

The best English side in this competition... Arsenal! Robin Van Persie bagged a brace last week in their game against Borussia Dortmund. Arsenal is through to the next round and Dortmund unfortunately are done and dusted in this competition.

Chelsea lost to Bayern Leverkusen 2 - 1 and currently sit in second place in their group. Chelsea must win their last group game at home to Valencia if they want to make it to the knockout rounds. Keep an eye out for Valencia striker Roberto Soldado in that fixture. His name is being mentioned all over the blogoshpere as a January transfer target for several English clubs. A strong showing against Chelsea could see him cash in on a big money move to the Premier League

Manchester United drew at home to Benfica 2 - 2 last Tuesday. They need a win on the road against Swiss side FC Basel on December 7th in order to ensure progression to the knockout stages. When these two sides met each other back in September, Basel stunned Old Trafford with a gutsy 3 - 3 draw.

After watching United in Europe for a few years now and watching Champions league draws for just as many years, I will go ahead and make a silly little prediction:

United will defeat Basel on a Basel OG about 7 minutes into stoppage time. They will then be rewarded with a knockout draw of Trabzonspor, Ajax, Marseille or Apoel Nicosia. Uefa will spare them a fixture against Barca, Madrid, Inter or Munich. Wait and see...

Bundesliga:

Things weren’t all bad for Borussia Dortmund last week. They defeated Schalke 04 to claim a share of the Bundesliga lead with... Borussia Monchengladbach!! I was fortunate enough to watch M'gladbach crush Cologne last week 3 - 0. That was a fun game

Dortmund and G'ladbach both leapfrogged FC Bayern as the Bavarian kings fell on the road to Mainz 3 - 2. Of course all of this chatter leads to the top game in all of Europe this weekend: Borussia Monchengladbach play host to Borussia Dortmund at the "Stadion im Borussia-Park". This is going to be fantastic stuff. GolTV is showing this one live.

Have a great weekend and just for fun... check out the Liverpool v Chelsea highlights:

YNWA

StamfordBridge is falling down...

... falling down, falling down

Stamford Bridge is falling down

My Fair lady

Oh yes! How easy is it to blog when the Mighty Reds of Liverpool march into Stamford Bridge and take all three points! King Kenny pushed all the right buttons for Liverpool. He left big money signings Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing all on the bench for the start. King Kenny inserted Craig Bellamy and Maxi Rodriguez into the lineup.

Bellamy and Maxi proved their worth by combining on the first goal. The play started with excellent work by Charlie Adam to pick John Obi Mikel’s pocket. He fed Bellamy who played a one two with Suarez. Then Bellamy unselfishly passed back to Maxi Rodriguez who coolly chipped Petr Cech.

Chelsea started too slow and they didn’t look a true threat until the second half. New England International, Daniel Sturridge came on for the Blues after the break. He brought a smile to Andre Villas-Boas face when he netted the leveler. Pepe Reina then made a brilliant save from a point blank John Terry header to keep the game a 1 a piece.

The game was won in the 87th minute on a brilliant run by the England Right Back Glen Johnson. Charlie Adam again started the play with a 30 meter cross that Glen Johnson expertly took in stride. Johnson then nutmegged England Left Back Ashley Cole, outran Florent Molouda and cut inside the box to shoot past Petr Cech and John Terry. What a finish. A great team effort by the Reds. King Kenny made all the right moves and the Reds fully deserved the three points. Well done lads.

But what the hell is wrong with Chelsea? They have lost their last two home games to Arsenal and Liverpool. They have lost 3 out of the last 5 league games. Fernando Torres only saw ten minutes on the pitch on Sunday. John Terry makes mistake after mistake in the back. And David Luiz looks immature and often lost out there. Luiz looked for any reason to shove and bicker with a Liverpool player Sunday. He lost his nerve and it showed. Roman Abramovich is known for the quick hook when it comes to getting rid of managers so AVB better be watching his ass right now.

Chelsea plays 6 games in the next 20 days! Their upcoming games include Champions league fixtures against Leverkusen and Valencia. They also play a Carling cup match at home against Liverpool. And in the league they play Newcastle and league leaders Manchester City. If Andre Villas-Boas doesn’t figure out his squad quickly and get them playing some decent footy he will be out on his well dressed ass faster than you can say "Didier is a diver". Or faster than Roman Abramovich can say "Oligarch". Or fatser than John Terry can say...well, you get the point

My apologies to Toon Army...         

As soon as I go singing the praises of the Newcastle they turn around and get beaten by Manchester City. Damn. I was hoping Newcastle would take a few points from City. Actually Newcastle were not that far off of City.

Joe Hart made some excellent saves early, especially the one against Demba Ba. Hatem Ben Arfa then hit the post. It looked like Newcastle were trying to outmuscle Manchester City but The Citizens are proving they can pay any style of football. Two penalties and a Micah Richards goal proved too much for as Newcastle lost their first match of the season

Ooooh there was a good game this weekend in the Bundesliga!!!

I watched current title holders Borussia Dortmund take on current league leaders Bayern Munich. I have been looking forward to this match all season! These two teams are loaded with talent and play such attractive football. This game was played in Munich. When I saw FC Hollywood's starting lineup I thought Dortmund were going to be played off the pitch. Check out Munich’s starting 11 in Saturday's fixture:

1  - Manuel Neuer

28 - Holger Badstuber

17 - Jerome Boateng

21 - Philipp Lahm

13 - Rafinha

30 - Luis Gustavo Dias

39 - Toni Kroos

33 - Mario Gomez

25 - Thomas Müller

7  - Franck Ribéry

10 - Arjen Robben

7 German, 1 French and 1 Dutch international. I mean this with all seriousness… When I look at their starting 11 I truly believe that they have what it takes to beat Manchester United and Barcelona in the Champions League this year.

But as we all know games are not won on the team sheet....

This was a feisty affair from start to finish. I actually thought the Bayern players were spared a few cards by the ref. Some of their challenges were nasty and they played with all the venom of a cobra. However, all their tough tackles did not turn into goals. League leader Mario Gomez was routinely stifled by the Dortmund defense.

I give much of the credit to Brazilian center back Felipe Santana. This guy played like a champ for 90  minutes. He was a step faster than Müller and Gomez all day. He anticipated all the attacks and tackled as tough as any of the Bavarians on the day. With Neven Subotic out of the lineup Dortmund needed a big effort form Santana and they got it.

The game winner was provided by the young German international who I have mentioned a few times already in my blog posts. Mario Götze. Götze was excellent on the day. While Munich controlled much of the possession, Dortmund counter attacked well with link up play from Götze and Robert Lewandowski.

Dortmund has now won three Bundesliga games in a row against FC Bayern - for the first time ever.

Borussia Mönchengladbach continued their hot streak by hammering Werder Bremen. Gladbach are tied with Dortmund with 26 points. Marco Reus inspired Gladbach with a hat trick. The attacking midfielder now has 7 goals in his last three games. Keep an eye out on Reus. He has drawn the interest of Arsenal, Manchester City and of course Bayern Munich.

Both Dortmund and Gladbach are now Bayern's closest challengers in the table with just two points separating the Bavarians from the two Westphalian sides with four games to go before the winter break.

Champions League football this week! Tune into FSC Tuesday and Wednesday for all the action.  Thanks for following BigTimeFootball

YNWA,

Scouser in St. Louis

So what have we missed....

Since my last post quite a bit has happen in the world of BigTimeFootball

Man City has gone 5 points clear of city rivals United...

This is shaping up to be another excellent season in the Premier League. Man City look like they can win every competition they play in, including the Premier League. Mario Balotelli isn’t looking so crazy after all. Super Mario has scored 5 goals in the Premiership and 8 goals in all competitions. Yaya Toure has been excellent is the middle with 3 goals and 4 assists. Dzeko has scored 10 League goals while Sergio Aguero has banged in 9. The heartbeat of the Man City side continues to be David Silva. He is amazing! Silva has 4 goals and 6 assists in 11 league games. He is the most creative midfielder in England right now. He has outshined Nani, Frank Lampard and Gareth Bale and Luka Modric.

Some excellent games since my last post.

City kicked United's ass 6 - 1. Once United went down to 10 men to flood gates opened and City went for the jugular. Not only did City bang in 6 at Old Trafford but each one of their goals came on the end of free flowing, pass and move, elegant football. Truly fun to watch.

Arsenal beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge 5 - 3. This was a classic. Arsenal and Arsene Wegner were supposed to be dead and the Gunners walked into the bridge and smacked down the Blues. Van Persie banged in a hat trick and he currently playing out of his Dutch mind

A Team looking pretty good right now ... Newcastle United. Newcastle are currently sitting in 3 place with 25 points from 11 contests. In the past two season Newcastle have lost Andy Carrol, Kevin Nolan and Joey "I deserve a call up to England" Barton. Head coach Alan Pardew has supplemented his former big name players with footballers more suited to the style of ball he wants to play.

Demba Ba was picked up from West Ham and he leads the club with 8 goals. When I watched the guy play at tiny Hoffenheim of the Bundesliga, he looked a great player then and he looks even better st St. James Park. Frenchman Yohan Cabaye has replaced Kevin Nolan in the midfield. Cabaye is an excellent passer and doesnt shy away from a tough tackle either. Watch out for Newcastle this year

A team not looking so good right now ... Liverpool. I must admit I find it harder to blog consistently when my Reds are playing poorly. Now Liverpool is not playing terrible but they are not playing up to their potential either. Liverpool are drawing at home to the likes of Swansea and Norwich. What!?!? They should be pounding the newly promoted teams. This is a problem that goes back to last season. In the 6 games last season against the new boys Liverpool lost 4 of the 6. Results like this will not egt Liverpool back in the top four let alone winning the league.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Reds. Their next three games are away to Chelsea, home to Manchester City (a fixture they did win last year) and a Carling Cup tie away again to Chelsea. COME ON YOU REDS!!!!!

Upcoming fixtures.... mark these games on your calendar and find a way to watch them

Saturday November 19th:
- Man City host Newcastle ... did I jinx Toon Army?
Sunday November 20th:
- Liverpool travel to Chelsea to take on Fernando Torres. I am hoping Steven Gerrard will be back by then. The Liverpool midfield needs their playmaker back.
Saturday November 26th:
- Newcastle stay in Manchester only this time they will be taking on the red side of the city.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have reclaimed the top two spots in La Liga.

Leo Messi and Christiano Ronaldo are fighting for the Pichici trophy as La Liga's top scorer. Messi currently has 14 league goals to Ronaldo's 13. Madrid is currently sitting at 28 points from 11 fixtures while barca have played the same amount and only claimed 25 points. Barca's trouble has been draws. They have 4 draws. The injury bug has bitten Barca but we still expect them to do better.

Madrid's upcoming fixtures look tricky so if they want to stay on top they will have to play their best football:

Nov 19 - Valencia v Real Madrid, Mestalla

Nov 22 - Real Madrid v Dinamo Zagreb, Santiago Bernabéu, Champions League
Nov 26 - Real Madrid v Atlético Madrid, Santiago Bernabéu
Dec 4 - Sporting Gijon v Real Madrid, El Molinón
Dec 7 - Ajax Amsterdam v Real Madrid, Amsterdam ArenA, Champions League

Barcelona also have some upcoming fixtures that should give pep Guardiola's men more tough times:

Nov 19 - Barcelona v Real Zaragoza, Camp Nou

Nov 23 - AC Milan v Barcelona, Giuseppe Meazza, Champions League
Nov 26 - Getafe v Barcelona, Coliseum Alfonso Pérez
Nov 30 - Barcelona v Rayo Vallecano, Camp Nou
Dec 4 - Barcelona v Levante, Camp Nou
Dec 6 - Barcelona v BATE Borisov, Camp Nou, Champions League

Comparing the fixtures list it looks like Madrid has the tougher road leading to our first El Classico of the season.

Dec 11 - Real Madrid v Barcelona, Santiago Bernabéu

 

Bayern Munich is reminding Germans who the top dogs in the Bundesliga are.

After matchday 12, here is the top 8 of the Bundesliga:

Club - points:
Bayern - 28
Dortmund - 23
Bremen - 23
M'gladbach - 23
Schalke 04 - 22
Hannover 96 - 19
Stuttgart - 18
Leverkusen - 18

Dortmund and Leverkusen appear to be struggling just a bit with playing a full Bundesliga schedule and playing Champions League games. Last years 4th place finisher Hannover 96 are also involved in Europa League play and they have seen their form dip a bit.

Bundesliga Top scorers:

Mario Gomez - FC Bayern -13
Claudio Pizarro - Bremen - 11
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - Schalke 04 - 10
Lukas Podolski - Koln -9
Papiss Demba Cisse - Mainz - 8
Robert Lewandowski - Dortmund - 8

This weekend after the European break offers us up some mouth water fixtures. Keep on the lookout for the following games:

11/19 - Wolfsburg v Hannover 96

11/19 - Schalke 04 v Nurnberg
11/19 - M'gladbach v Bremen
11/19 - Bayern v Dortmund
11/20 - Hamburg SV v Hoffenheim
 

Whats new in Calcio ...

Antonio D'Natale has found the net 8 times in 10 games to move Udinese to the top of the table. Meanwhile Inter only have 8 points from nine fixtures. That would be hilarious if I wasn’t such a big fan of ... oh wait. That is definitely hilarious

Saturday October 29th brought us the first "Derby of Italy" where Juventus defeated Inter 2 - 1.

I could tell you the top goal scorers and list the top of the Table but I don’t have a word count to work towards and those details would really just be filler at this point. I wish the Italian league was better I really do, but most of the talent has left the country and the top clubs are all over the place right. There is just not that much to get excited about in Italy.

Coming soon Euro 2012 qualifiers wrap up tomorrow. I will break down all of the national sides tat made the tournament.

Welcome back readers and thanks for staying with me!

YNWA

BTF Cup Final ... finally :-)

The Debte: Where to play the BTF Cup Final?!?

Uefa had to choose between Old Trafford, home of Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United and the Santiago Bernebeau, home of The Special One's Real Madrid. The highlight of the debate came when UEFA President Michel Platini suggested the game be played at the Stade de France. Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho simultaneously threw their glasses of Sassicaia in his face.

Thats when it hit them. They would have a drinking contest to decide which venue would hold the final. Whoever was still standing could claim his home soil for the final. Then the two managerial giants then did something unexpected. They let Platini decide which drink they would use in their contest. In an act of vengeance Platini chose Patron Silver. Neither manager wanted to back down so the contest was set

8 hours and 4 bottles later the final was set for Old Trafford. Ol’ red nose had prevailed. A stacked Premier League squad would now have the advantage of home supporters. Would either manager be able to keep their eyes open long enough to manage this game?

Through a hangover headache that would make Zach Galifianakis blush, Sir Alex made two changes to his lineup. Phil Jones red card in the semi final meant that Ryan Shawcross would step in. Ferguson also decided to insert Ashley Cole into the left back spot. Cole is a little better suited to deal with Jesus Navas and the incredible Lionel Messi.

The noise at Old Trafford was deafening. Both sets of supporters were in full voice. The home supporters were slightly noisier as their side started brightly. The Premier league players stroked the ball around in impressive fashion, and great play between Bale and Modric gave the latter a fine shooting chance in the third minute but the Levante keeper Munua made the save.

However, the La Liga players were not playing scared and were determined to take the game to the Premier league players. Christiano Ronaldo had a great chance when Fernando Llorente laid the ball off for him to fire a piledriver goalwards, but it was straight at Tim Howard. 

The Premier league players should have heeded the warning. They fell behind in the 15th minute when Christiano Ronaldo drove down the wing and crossed to the middle for Llorente. The big boy from Bilbao rose above John Terry and headed thunderously into Howards net.

La Liga began to take control. The lone defensive midfielder in the game, Ever Banega broke up two Premier attacks that lead to two chances for Messi. His first shot came after side stepping Modric and Terry but his finish curled just over Howards net. However, Messi made no mistake on his second attempt in the 23rd minute. Messi was the finisher after a clever play between Navas and Sergio Ramos. Howard thought Messi was going to go far corner but he was deceptive and went near post. 2 - 0

The Old Trafford crowd truly played the role of The Twelfth Man. Their voices surged the Premier League side back into the game. Sergio Aguero and Luis Suarez plugged away and a defence-splitting pass from Rooney released Aguero but he could not get his shot right. A few minutes later the hosts were appealing for a penalty when Gerard Pique collided with Suarez. It would have been harsh and the referee waved Rooney, Suarez and Terry away.

The English were on the board three minutes later when Suarez brilliantly controlled a long pass from Ashley Cole. Suarez then side stepped his compatriot Diego Godin and slid the ball across the goal to Aguero who simply tapped in. 2 - 1 Premier league. This goal gave the Premier league more confidence and they began winning challenges all over the field. Their hard work paid off only minutes later. Aguero was brought down by Banega just outside of the box. This brought out the first yellow card of the game and gave the Premier players a great free kick opportunity. Wayne Rooney did not disappoint his faithful supporters. He looped over the wall into the upper 90. 2 - 2

The Manchester weather made things more difficult to find a rhythm. In fact the final minutes of the half were played more like a rugby match than a football contest. Ronaldo was shown a yellow card for a retaliatory lung on Ashley Cole. Cole was then showed yellow for a challenge on Sergio Ramos.

As the two sides headed for the tunnel Ramos and Cole had to be seperated. Llorente and John Terry also needed the referee to step in between their heated exchange.

The second half saw each manager make an earily similar change. Ferguson took off Shawcross for Samir Nasri as he felt the Premier League team needed more playmakers in the middle. England would now be playing a 3 - 5 - 2. Mourinho also pulled a center back. Godin was replaced by playmaking wizard Xavi. But Mourinho didn't stop there. He also pulled off Fernando Llorente for Madrid star Mesuit Ozil. This allowed Leo Messi to move the middle as a central striker. The Spanish side would now be lining up a 3 - 4 - 3 attack.

Both managers made moves to make their clubs more offensive. However the players were moving cautiously. Neither side wanted to make the first mistake. With Xavi and Ozil in the game the La Liga players began controlling possession.

The Premier League then jumped ahead when Nasri picked Xavi's pocket and sent a long diagonal cross from the left side to a streaking Aguero, who outraced Premier defender Terry and headed inside the right post from 12 yards out. 3 - 2 to the premier League side.

Wayne Rooney then had a flashback to his game against Manchester City as he found the net for Premier League with a bicycle kick in the 55th minute but his effort was disallowed for offside. Sir Alex tore into the fourth official for the call.

Mourinho's tactics then began to take affect and La Liga dominated the run of play for the rest of the game La Liga leveled the contest with some confusion in the area as the premier league twice blocked La Liga shots but the ball landed at Messi who struck a side-volley to make it 3 - 3

La Liga finally grabbed the winner in the 86th minute as Ronaldo's ball from the right side was smashed on by Messi to the far right post for the hat-trick.

The La Liga players had done the impossible. Leo Messi took home the man of the Match honors. When the final whistle blew Mourinho had a Porto flashback as re raced down the touch line in front of Sir Alex.

Mourunho's celebration.

Coming Soon .. We will get back into real football. We have a lot to catch up on. Thank you for indulging me in this fantasy contest. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.