Steven Murray
paolomachiniThe Empire 'Strikes' Back!!!!
August 30th 2010 15:24
Well, its not the best of empires but it did certainly end the week on a high but lets start with the Mascherano 'strike' or non-strike depending on who you believe.
We know Javier didn't play at City because his head was in the wrong place (I could suggest a few places I believe it to be but for family reading I will not add this); after the game the rumours were rife that Javier not only refused to play but even train. We were aware that Mrs Mascherano was not settled in North West England and wanted a warmer climate with coffee shops (I added this coffee shop rumour myself). If this was the case then fair enough Javier but unfortunately your pal and Argentine whiz-kids helped fuel the motivation behind Macherano's move - Messi suggested that Liverpool had to treate Mascherano humanely and not keep him against his will. I would suggest that a man who his paid £100,000 a week and his under-contract is certainly not a slave and his treatement is far from harsh; our friend Lionel also suggested that after speaking with Javier it was clear that Mascherano would never kick a ball again for Liverpool. So ultimately Liverpool had to un-do Javier's shackles and release the millstone and let him move to Barcelona (despite last week he wanted to go to Inter). Javier got his move (with the exception of dotting the i's and crossing the t's) but as a parting comment said his move to the Barcelona project met his ambition - I forgot Liverpool's ambition was to finish mid-table and generally fund Barcelona's project on the cheap.
Anyway, Javier will do well in Spain and as is said after many a loss 'The King is dead, long live the King' - this is true at Anfield as Javier's replacement and former Chelsea and Barcelona target Raul Meireles was unveiled yesterday pre-WBA kick off. Meireles showed an immediate flair for observation as he stated he was not Mascherano but Meireles. Despite this being obvious to many the setiment echoes the issue of last Summer when Alonso's departure seen his (injured) replacement Aquilani being labelled the new injured Xabi - Despite Aquilani not being an Anchorman nor having a similar game to Xabi this label made him a failure before even kicking a ball at Anfield because he wasn't Alonso. Ultimately, Alberto has gone to Juve on loan but as many say we should of given him a chance to play more games and played him in the correct position but Liverpool and rash decisions goes hand in hand as seen when we let Fulham start a deal taking two of our brightest propects to Craven Cottage surely in a make-weight for the signing of Paul Konchesky. Konchesky's Anfield move looks so certain he even attend yesterdays game; Paul must of been confused as yet again Liverpool didn't bother with a left back.
Anyway to the game - Liverpool v WBA; its always the game you look for on the release of the fixture list so you pencil it in to your schedule. Ok I aslo made that up as neither Liverpool fans not WBA look for this fixture and many more won't after yesterdays game. 1st half can be summed up quite quickly - rubbish (see previous post for Liverpool sloppy play); the only thing of note was Martin Skrtel's array of GBA on WBA forwards which the ref decided none of which were fouls or penalities - lucky lucky boy! Atleast one deserved a crime number minds freekick.
Second half - Liverpool looked marginally better or WBA were marginally worse than the first half, it was difficult to measure. Well, another game looked to be coming to a close as a boring draw with no positives when Liverpool decided to counter on the break; Reina's quick distibution to Kuyt lead to a dinked ball to Fernando 18 yards out; Torres just looked up and slotted the ball home without a second thought - if only Ngog had his finish.
WBA looked shell-shocked as it did look they would go back to the Midlands with a deserved point - to consolidate their bad luck; they went down to 10 men as James Morrison (not the singer) went through Fernando's foot which resulted in straight red. Yet again not vintage Liverpool but they managed their first league victory of the campaign but will need to pick it up greatly if they are to challenge for the top 4.
We know Javier didn't play at City because his head was in the wrong place (I could suggest a few places I believe it to be but for family reading I will not add this); after the game the rumours were rife that Javier not only refused to play but even train. We were aware that Mrs Mascherano was not settled in North West England and wanted a warmer climate with coffee shops (I added this coffee shop rumour myself). If this was the case then fair enough Javier but unfortunately your pal and Argentine whiz-kids helped fuel the motivation behind Macherano's move - Messi suggested that Liverpool had to treate Mascherano humanely and not keep him against his will. I would suggest that a man who his paid £100,000 a week and his under-contract is certainly not a slave and his treatement is far from harsh; our friend Lionel also suggested that after speaking with Javier it was clear that Mascherano would never kick a ball again for Liverpool. So ultimately Liverpool had to un-do Javier's shackles and release the millstone and let him move to Barcelona (despite last week he wanted to go to Inter). Javier got his move (with the exception of dotting the i's and crossing the t's) but as a parting comment said his move to the Barcelona project met his ambition - I forgot Liverpool's ambition was to finish mid-table and generally fund Barcelona's project on the cheap.
Anyway, Javier will do well in Spain and as is said after many a loss 'The King is dead, long live the King' - this is true at Anfield as Javier's replacement and former Chelsea and Barcelona target Raul Meireles was unveiled yesterday pre-WBA kick off. Meireles showed an immediate flair for observation as he stated he was not Mascherano but Meireles. Despite this being obvious to many the setiment echoes the issue of last Summer when Alonso's departure seen his (injured) replacement Aquilani being labelled the new injured Xabi - Despite Aquilani not being an Anchorman nor having a similar game to Xabi this label made him a failure before even kicking a ball at Anfield because he wasn't Alonso. Ultimately, Alberto has gone to Juve on loan but as many say we should of given him a chance to play more games and played him in the correct position but Liverpool and rash decisions goes hand in hand as seen when we let Fulham start a deal taking two of our brightest propects to Craven Cottage surely in a make-weight for the signing of Paul Konchesky. Konchesky's Anfield move looks so certain he even attend yesterdays game; Paul must of been confused as yet again Liverpool didn't bother with a left back.
Anyway to the game - Liverpool v WBA; its always the game you look for on the release of the fixture list so you pencil it in to your schedule. Ok I aslo made that up as neither Liverpool fans not WBA look for this fixture and many more won't after yesterdays game. 1st half can be summed up quite quickly - rubbish (see previous post for Liverpool sloppy play); the only thing of note was Martin Skrtel's array of GBA on WBA forwards which the ref decided none of which were fouls or penalities - lucky lucky boy! Atleast one deserved a crime number minds freekick.
Second half - Liverpool looked marginally better or WBA were marginally worse than the first half, it was difficult to measure. Well, another game looked to be coming to a close as a boring draw with no positives when Liverpool decided to counter on the break; Reina's quick distibution to Kuyt lead to a dinked ball to Fernando 18 yards out; Torres just looked up and slotted the ball home without a second thought - if only Ngog had his finish.
WBA looked shell-shocked as it did look they would go back to the Midlands with a deserved point - to consolidate their bad luck; they went down to 10 men as James Morrison (not the singer) went through Fernando's foot which resulted in straight red. Yet again not vintage Liverpool but they managed their first league victory of the campaign but will need to pick it up greatly if they are to challenge for the top 4.
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