Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has admitted that the Merseyside club are in crisis, and feels the side are becoming a laughing stock due to poor form.
Kenny Dalglish’s men have only won two Premier League games out of 12 in 2012, with six defeats in their last seven matches a new record low for the team.
Aldridge feels that the situation is dire, and that a solution must be found.
“There is no getting away from the fact that Liverpool are now in a crisis,” Aldridge is quoted as saying in Mirror Football.
“The eyes of the world are on Liverpool and the critics are having a field day. We’re becoming a laughing stock.
“To lose six out of seven in the league is something the club won’t ever tolerate – we can’t tolerate that. To have picked up just eight points out of 36 since the turn of the year is shambolic – that’s relegation form.
“The fact that this is the worst run in the league since 1954 speaks volumes. Questions are being asked and they need to be answered.
“We’re all proud to be associated with the club and everything it has achieved over the years.
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“But at the moment being a Liverpool fan is just embarrassing and that’s something I haven’t had to say before. We all know that we’re not the finished article but we’re better than what we’ve seen recently,” he concluded.
Upon signing Javier Hernandez I’m sure Sir Alex Ferguson thought he had uncovered a diamond for the future, with the expectation that Little Pea would start to show his potential in the following years. I doubt though even the great man himself could have anticipated Hernandez exploding onto the scene with the verve he has shown. The former Chivas man has made his transition from Mexican Primera División to the Premier League so effortlessly. Well it seems Fergie isn’t satisfied with just one Mexican starlet and United are rumoured to be sniffing round Chicharito’s old club Chivas de Guadalajara again, this time eyeing his replacement at Chivas Erick Torres. Surely United can’t delve into the Mexican market again to find another hidden gem, can they?
Torres is only eighteen years old but he has already established himself in the Chivas side scoring six goals in nineteen games for the club. United are not the first big European club to have tabs on the highly rated youngster though, PSV Eindhoven have already scouted the player and are likely to be the main competition for his signature at present. If United do manage to snare the Mexico U-20 star this summer, surely hoping he will blossom in the same way Hernandez has is wishful thinking?
Torres has not long broken into the Chivas first team from their reserves so any move to Europe could be too soon for him at this early stage in his career. He is already being hyped up as the next Chicharito due to his similar size and predatory instinct in the box, but with little experience under his belt a move to England could be detrimental at this stage in his progression. Being dubbed the next Chicharito already is only setting him up for failure as far as I’m concerned, players are all different and need to create their own reputation. Often when players are called the next Zinedine Zidane or Diego Maradona they never realise their potential and fade into obscurity.
There is clearly potential in Torres that has alerted the Manchester United scouts and if they watch him and see what he is about, it may become clear that he is a player they should look to sign. However, being inexperienced and a lot younger than Chicharito suggests to me that if United do sign Torres over the summer, he is unlikely to feature for United and be the instant hit that Hernandez was. I think Torres would probably benefit from being loaned back to Chivas if any deal is struck up between the two clubs so he can develop in Mexico before taking on the Premier League.
Personally, I see Chicharito as a one off and no matter how good Torres turns out to be, he is a different player to Chicharito and deserves to forge his own legacy rather than being compared to his compatriot. It’s not every day that finds like Chicharito come along and we only have to look how Bebe has turned out so far to confirm we shouldn’t always believe the hype generated around young players. So while lightningmay well strike twice at Old Trafford in terms of signing another Chivas youngster, I’d rather wait to be proved wrong than to say Torres will go on to be an instant hit like Hernandez.
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They say Premier League footballers are getting much lazier these days, but against Wolves Chelsea’s Didier Drogba took it to a whole new level. Chelsea have been cruising through their Premier League matches this season and their Ivorian striker decided it was time for a rest and a sit down. Much football news surrounding Drogba has been about his tendency for simulation, but this is a whole new matter. Here are Wolves defenders Jelle van Damme and Stephen Ward helping Drogba to his feet at Stamford Bridge last weekend, but is this the secret to his success?
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This week you can win a copy the new Sir Alex Ferguson biography.
Sir Alex Ferguson is the most controversial and compelling figure in football today. For many he ranks as the greatest manager of all time. He is certainly the most successful. His twenty-five year reign at Manchester United has seen him win every major footballing honour. And then win them again. Award-winning journalist Patrick Barclay has been pitch-side and spoken to all those who know Ferguson best: fellow managers, former players, colleagues and commentators. In Football – Bloody Hell! the game’s biggest living legend is finally laid bare.
Football – Bloody Hell!: the biography of Alex Ferguson is published by Yellow Jersey Press.
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Whether it’s the long term revival of Borussia Dortmund or the shorter term resurgence of Borussia Mönchengladbach, the Bundesliga is becoming accustomed to comebacks. Looking on a smaller scale, Freiburg and Augsburg can be proud of their resurgence in 2012. Neither club has the history or the tradition of Dortmund or Gladbach but nevertheless, their recent runs of form have been impressive.
Let’s not be too cliché – all was not lost after the first half of the season. However, both occupied the two automatic relegation spots and hadn’t illustrated much to think this would change radically in the second half.
This is slightly harsh on Augsburg who flickered into life before Christmas after a solitary win in their first fifteen Bundesliga games. Mainz was the scene of that victory. After visiting Bavaria on Saturday, they became the only side so far this season to be beaten home and away by Augsburg.
The 2-1 victory over Mainz meant Jos Luhukay’s side had only lost one of their last eight games. Having gone behind to a Sami Allagui strike, Augsburg struck back through Ja-Cheol Koo with the winner then coming from Sebastian Langkamp. He has also been superb for the Bavarians at the back recently contributing to a defence which has conceded three goals in their last four.
Strong defence isn’t something Freiburg have been synonymous with this season – they have the Bundesliga’s worst in fact. However, since the turn of the year, there have been marked improvements under new coach Christian Streich. This looked improbable too when their main attacking outlet, Papiss Demba Cissé, left for Newcastle having been an integral part of the team since his arrival in 2009.
In 2012 though, Freiburg have nearly doubled the amount of points they gained in the first half of the season. This was helped by picking up another three at Hamburg on the weekend. Goals from Johannes Flum, Daniel Caliguri and Cedric Makiadi ensured the third win of the Streich era.
Now as much as Freiburg and Augsburg deserve credit for their recent upturn in form, it needs to be put into perspective – the teams around them have been abysmal. Below, Hertha Berlin and Kaiserslautern are having scoring difficulties. That’s being very kind. Between them in 2012, Hertha and ‘Lautern have managed a pitiful six goals in eighteen games. Together they shipped ten at the weekend against Bayern Munich and Schalke respectively.
More confidence can be taken by the two teams above the resurgent pair also. Cologne and Hamburg are panicking. Hannover thumped the Billy Goats 4-1 on Sunday afternoon whilst Freiburg saw HSV’s problems up close on Saturday in their 3-1 victory.
It doesn’t matter then whether Freiburg or Augsburg glance up or down – the signs are good in both directions. They can take encouragement from being the most in-form sides in the bottom six of the Bundesliga. Better organisation has unsurprisingly led to both sides playing with greater confidence. Having been favourites to go down just over three months ago, they’re certainly best set to escape from the relegation battle.
For more on the Bundesliga, follow @arhindtutt
Matchday 26 Results:
Hoffenheim 1-2 Stuttgart
Augsburg 2-1 Mainz
Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Gladbach
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Werder Bremen
Hamburg 1-3 Freiburg
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Lovech took another step towards clinching the Bulgarian A-League after a 4-1 win over Montana on Wednesday.Lyuboslav Penev’s team maintained their five point lead at the top and were untroubled by their 11th-placed opponents.
A brace from Brazilian attacker Doka Madureira had Lovech 2-0 up after half an hour and when defender Alexandre Barthe made it three early in the second half, the points were sealed.
Forward Georgi Ivanov pulled a goal back for Montana, but full-back Petar Zanev responded five minutes later to make it 4-1.
Lovech would have wrapped up the title if not for Levski Sofia’s 3-0 derby win over Slavia Sofia.
A brace from midfielder Hristo Yovov, either side of a Vladimir Gadzhev strike, kept Levski’s hopes of winning the title alive with two games to go.
In the relegation battle, none of the bottom three were able to record a win.
Rakovski, who sit in the relegation play-off spot, managed a 2-2 draw at home to Minyor Pernik.
Aleksandar Branekov and Atanas Ivanov had given them a 2-0 lead after an hour, before conceding twice to settle for a point.
Fares Brahimi struck first on 67 minutes and Tomislav Pavlov hit a 92nd-minute equaliser for Pernik.
Akademik Sofia lost their sixth-straight game after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Lokomotiv Plovdiv.
Zdravko Lazarov opened the scoring for Plovdiv from the penalty spot, before Asparuh Vasilev equalised for Akademik.
But Sergio Organista scored an own goal to hand Lokomotiv three points and leave his team in second-last.
Bottom-placed Sliven’s struggles continued as they suffered a 2-0 loss against Lokomotiv Sofia, following goals from Marco Dafchev and Vladislav Romanov.
In other games, Georgi Iliev and Rumen Nikolov struck in the first quarter of an hour as Cherno More beat Kaliakra 2-0.
Beroe struck twice in the first half through Simeon Mechev and Vladislav Zlatinov in their 2-0 win at Chernomorets Burgas.
CSKA Sofia ensured their Europa League place after playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Pirin Blagoevgrad.
Rumen Trifonov and Apostol Popov struck for CSKA, but Dimitar Iliev and Ivan Tsvetkov were also on the scoresheet as the teams shared the spoils.
Going into Sunday’s clash with the champions, Liverpool fans were feeling far from optimistic, and rightly so. The jubilation surrounding the club since the final whistle of an important victory is completely understandable. However, despite a suspicious amount of positivity coming out of Anfield in the last few weeks, there is still a long way to go before the gloom that has plagued England’s most decorated club over the last eighteen months is lifted.
There is a renewed air of optmisim surrounding Anfield since Liverpool fans are now waking up from the nightmare that was Hicks and Gilletts reign of terror, which has also coincided with Liverpool stringing together three consecutive Premier League wins and emerging from the unknown waters of the relegation zone. This must have undoubtedly breathed new life into fans and players alike, though the mess the club was left almost became irrepairable, and there isn’t going to be a quick fix. Liverpool’s rise up the table was in someway inevitable, given the talent at Hodgson’s disposal, and as Fernando Torres is beginning to look more and more like the player we all know he is, it would be a quite spectacular failure for the reds to stay floating around the bottom half of the table.
However, a little perspective is needed. The three wins Liverpool have accumulated in the last three weeks have come against weak Blackburn and Bolton sides, and a very much below par Chelsea lacking that bit of luck champions usually take with them to difficult away games like this. Along with their lack of luck, their starting line up was also lacking Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba. Despite this, Liverpools first half performance was undeniably the best half of football the reds have seen since Hodgson’s arrival on Merseyside. And a Liverpool team with an on form Torres are capable of beating anybody, and that was proved Sunday with two expertly taken goals. Liverpool’s number nine has now scored six goals in five games against Chelsea, a remarkable record given the gulf in class between the two sides, and the strikers injury problems.
Regardless of the home sides first half display, it was the second half performance that should concern Liverpool fans. It was a reminder of Hodgson’s insistence on giving the opposition an undeserved amount of respect, and was remarkably similar to the manner in which Stoke or Wolves would cling on to a goalless draw at Old Trafford; not the Liverpool way. Although the majority of the nations football fans may see Liverpool fans as being spoilt, it won’t be acceptable for Liverpool to sit back in such timid and fearful fashion, especially given the wealth of attacking talent the squad boasts. With Maxi, Miereles, Gerrard, Torres and Lucas all having their best games in a red shirt for quite some time, it is worrying that much of their best work was done in their own half, instead of going for the jugular at the roaring Kop end, as Liverpool fans are maybe too used to.
Without taking anything away from a great victory, every point that Hodgson’s side earns, will give the wrong man that little bit more time.
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On Sunday evening Football FanCast caught up with Fulham and Nigeria central midfielder Dickson Etuhu at the Sony Playstation Fifa 2012 Interactive World Cup UK qualifiers. The eventual winner of the UK qualifiers, Ty Walton, will now go on to the Grand Final to compete against the winners from countries around the globe to compete for $20,000. Walton said of his victory: “I was delighted to be back again challenging for the Qualifier event here in London, so knowing I’ve secured a place at the Grand Final is a dream come true. My experience at the 2011 Grand Final in Los Angeles was unbelievable so hopefully I can go back and win the tournament outright this year.”
Etuhu, who has been with Fulham since 2008, recently saw his good friend and star striker Bobby Zamora leave for QPR in January: “Bobby was probably the most popular man at the club so it was difficult for us to see him go, a lot of us still keep in contact with him, funnily enough I spoke to him today he’s a very good friend of mine. We miss him, not just his quality as a player but his banter too; he was a big part of the club.”
However the signings of Pavel Pogrebynyak in January and Bryan Ruiz in the summer will go some way to make up for the loss Zamora and Etuhu feels as though Bryan is beginning to find his best form. “Bryan’s doing well, obviously it was a bit of a slow start for him but the Premiership is a difficult league, it’s a lot faster than the Dutch league but he’s settled in now and he’s another good lad. He’s very quiet but he loves his football, he’s doing well for the team. The manager has been trying to find a position for him but now we know he probably plays best on the right or just behind the striker and we’re going to get a lot of good out of him because he’s a top quality player.”
In Martin Jol Fulham fans are now witnessing their fifth manager since 2007; whilst they have enjoyed mixed success the 29 year old Etuhu expressed a belief that Jol was the right man to take Fulham to the next level. “Martin Jol is big on his attacking football, the man loves proper football, he loves flair, he loves us keeping the ball and he loves to entertain the crowd. I think you cans see that in the type of players that he’s bringing into the club; we’re getting better to watch, especially away from home, we’re not as boring as we used to be and that’s something that he’s brought to the team.”
Nigeria, like many of the big African teams, have, in the eyes of many, underperformed in recent years, particularly in their failure to qualify for the 2012 African Cup of Nations, and whilst Etuhu admits there have been problems he is hopeful that new manager Stephen Keshi is the right man to restore Nigeria to its former glory: “For me there are a lot of reasons [for Nigeria’s poor performances recently]. Yes we’ve got some of the best African players in Europe playing for our country but you could say that some of the managers that we’ve had in the past haven’t been the right men for the job or you could blame it on other things, but that’s finished now. We’ve got a new manager now in Stephen Keshi who I think is the right man for the job. You know I refused to play for the old manager for a year and I really missed playing for my country so much so I’m happy now that I’m back playing again, I’m actually going away next week to play the first qualifier [for the next African Cup of Nations] and I think now we’re going forward now.”
With Libya having to withdraw from hosting the next African Cup of Nations due to civil unrest Nigeria, as the reserve host, thought they were in line to hold the competition. However the Confederation of African Football decided that the tournament would be held in South Africa instead. Whilst understandably disappointed, Etuhu insisted that there were far more pressing issues at hand for Nigerian football. “Obviously South Africa has got the stadiums from the World Cup and they’ve got the facilities for a big tournament like that. We would have loved for it to be in Nigeria but we’ll just move on from that. We just have to concentrate on doing well in the next tournament and qualifying for it. All that other stuff is irrelevant to us right now; we just want to concentrate on getting into the next [African] Nations cup considering we missed the last one. That’s more important to us than hosting the tournament.”
This year’s African Cup of Nations was won by Zambia as they beat the Ivory Coast on penalties to secure an historic victory. Yet whilst many were surprised by the outcome of the tournament it was less of a shock for the Fulham midfielder. “It’s funny when people speak about Zambia like that [as underdogs] because I’ve played against Zambia this year and we knocked them out of the last African Cup of Nations and they’re a good team. People keep thinking that they’re the underdogs but I said from the beginning of the tournament that I fancied them. You know it didn’t really surprise me that they won, not one bit. They’re not underdogs; they are a very good team. They’ve got a great manager, he’s been with them for a while which is something that I think every African team should look at because we change managers too quickly. I think you need to have a good foundation like they have. That’s one of the reasons they play really good football and have a good understanding within the team. They actually play like a club side, which is very difficult to see in international football, and I think they deserved to win it.”
Dickson Etuhu and Jay Bothroyd attended the UK final of the FIFA Interactive World Cup on EA SPORTS’ FIFA 12, which was won by Ty Walton. Players can still compete online through their PLAYSTATION 3. For more information, visit www.fifa.com/fiwc
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We now know that QPR and Norwich will be joined by either Reading or Swansea in the Premier League next season. The three teams that go up will all know that the Premier League is a huge challenge and survival is often considered a major success – but how have teams fared in their first season in the top flight.
Well in the Premier League this season the newly promoted sides were Blackpool, West Brom and Newcastle. West Brom and Newcastle have both had their problems and both clubs have had a change of manager, but they have moved well away from the relegation zone and can start planning for another season in the Premier League. Blackpool have had a mixed season but have pleased many people with their attacking brand of football but they are currently in the relegation zone and will certainly need to win their final game to have any chance of survival.
In the 2009/10 season the newly promoted clubs were Wolves, Birmingham and Burnley. It was a season unlike this season and a points tally as low as 31 points would have been enough for Premier League survival. Wolves finished in 15th place with a tally of only 38 points – which in other seasons would have not been enough for survival. Birmingham was a real standout performer in the Premier League and finished in a very impressive 9th place. However, Burnley had a very poor season and was relegated in 18th place with a tally of only 30 points.
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West Brom, Stoke and Hull were the newly promoted teams in the 2008/9 season and the three teams that were relegated that season went down with relatively low points tallies. West Brom finished rock bottom of the table and were relegated. Stoke had a very solid season and finished in an impressive 12th place and Hull finished in 17th and survived in the Premier League by just one point; their season’s tally of 35 points proved to be just enough.
Birmingham, Derby and Sunderland were the promoted sides in the 2007/8 season and all three teams struggled. Sunderland eventually managed to scramble clear of relegation and finished with 39 points in 15th place. However, Birmingham and Derby were both relegated; Birmingham finishing in 19th place with 35 points and Derby finished rock bottom with a dismal tally of only 11 points. The 17th place side survived with just 36 points that season.
Reading, Sheffield United and Watford were the promoted teams in the 2006/7 season and it was Reading that performed the best with a very impressive finish of 8th in the table. However, Sheffield United and Watford didn’t enjoy the best of seasons and were relegated. The team that survived that season in 17th had 38 points.
The news over the last five years is fairly positive for the newly promoted sides for next season. With the possible exception of this season teams in the previous four years haven’t needed to reach 40 points in order to survive. Despite the fact that the promoted teams are labelled as relegation favourites they don’t all get relegated and as the facts above show one team can perform very well.
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If next season follows the same trend one or possibly two of the promoted sides can expect to survive. However, it remains to be seen how long those teams that do survive can remain in the Premier League. They may take some inspiration from Stoke, who have had another solid season in the top flight that this season included an FA Cup final and qualification for Europe. But perhaps the most important statistic is the fact they will be competing in the Premier League for their fourth consecutive season next year.
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Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp believes money is ruining the motivation of youngsters at top clubs.
Redknapp has spoken out on the state of the game following a turbulent week at Manchester United involving Wayne Rooney.
The England striker signed a new five-year contract on Friday after performing a dramatic U-turn.
The 24-year-old had initially requested to leave Old Trafford in a statement which sent shockwaves through world football.
The role Rooney's advisors played in the saga has been criticised and now Redknapp has had his say on the subject of agents.
"The biggest problem for me is the kids," he told The Mail on Sunday.
"They've all got agents, they've all got long contracts. When I began in the game, then after I became a manager, it was usual for a youngster to be given a one-year contract, at most two.
"At the end of the season, you went to see the manager and you either got a new deal or were released. Nowadays, kids at clubs like Tottenham and elsewhere get four or five-year contracts for crazy money.
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"They get their feet under the table, go and buy a big car and get a nice few grand a week. Where's the incentive for them to practice, work hard or dedicate themselves?
"They're on Easy Street. But they're stuck on long contracts for fear if they do become any good you could lose them. There are the odd ones who have the proper desire, but there is so much wastage."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Sir Alex Ferguson has stated that he does not want to retire for another two to three years, but admitted that his eventual successor at Manchester United needs to be someone with a wealth of experience.
The Scottish coach recently completed 25 years in charge at Old Trafford, but has revealed that he is not planning to walk away from the game just yet.
“I think you always want to go out on a winning note,” Ferguson told Sky Sports.
“Hopefully we can do that. I don’t know how long I can last now, but if my health stays up I don’t think another two or three years would harm me,” he admitted.
Ferguson also stated that whenever he does leave the Premier League champions his replacement must be someone who has a track record of success.
“I think United need to have someone experienced. If I was coming into United today I would struggle because of the beast it is.
“When I came in we were in a valley because Liverpool were the dominant team and United were well adrift from that so we had to rebuild the club and it wasn’t easy, it took time.
“But the experience I had was the success from Aberdeen and that gave me a chance in terms of respect from the dressing room and gave me self-confidence I could do the job.
“If I was taken from the job in Aberdeen today it would be a much more difficult task even though I was successful,” he continued.
Finally, despite all the success that Ferguson has seen during his tenure with The Red Devils, he admits that he has made a mistake or two.
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“I could have bought Joe Hart for £100,000 [in 2005] so we all make mistakes,” he concluded.