Liverpool finally get justice off the pitch, if not on it.
After a campaign for justice that has spanned over two decades, the Hillsborough report published this week finally revealed the truth for all to see. The families of those affected by this horrendous tragedy have fought for justice for 23 years and now there can be no doubting the facts… the Liverpool fans were blameless, the South Yorkshire Police, FA and Sheffield Wednesday Football Club were not. End of discussion. Of course, until those who were to blame (both in terms of the incident and the subsequent reporting of it) are held accountable the families will continue to campaign and seek for these wrongs to be righted in every way they should. For now though, every single football fan up and down the country knows that anything other than unwavering support and sympathy towards those families is completely unacceptable. Alex Ferguson acted quickly to attempt to draw a line under chants that have been rife between Liverpool and Utd fans since the disaster. The Hillsborough tragedy chants and returning Munich ones are as sickening as football gets and have to stop. A small pocket of Utd fans carried on the chants this weekend (all be it of a different nature) and an apology and condemnation from the club is just not good enough. These fans should be identified and banned for life. ANY club guilty of terrace abuse of this nature should be made to play without fans for its next game. Moving back to matters on the pitch, Liverpool could not mark the occasion with their first win of the season against a typically resilient Sunderland. Despite having 66% possession and well over 20 attempts at goal, it was a case of same old Liverpool as they couldn’t find the back of the net. Suarez did eventually score to cancel out Fletchers opener near the end, but in truth Liverpool deserved to win the game. For Hillsborough, an event that redefined football in my lifetime, justice has finally come. For this once great football club on the pitch however, the glory days still look a long way off.
After a campaign for justice that has spanned over two decades, the Hillsborough report published this week finally revealed the truth for all to see. The families of those affected by this horrendous tragedy have fought for justice for 23 years and now there can be no doubting the facts… the Liverpool fans were blameless, the South Yorkshire Police, FA and Sheffield Wednesday Football Club were not. End of discussion. Of course, until those who were to blame (both in terms of the incident and the subsequent reporting of it) are held accountable the families will continue to campaign and seek for these wrongs to be righted in every way they should. For now though, every single football fan up and down the country knows that anything other than unwavering support and sympathy towards those families is completely unacceptable. Alex Ferguson acted quickly to attempt to draw a line under chants that have been rife between Liverpool and Utd fans since the disaster. The Hillsborough tragedy chants and returning Munich ones are as sickening as football gets and have to stop. A small pocket of Utd fans carried on the chants this weekend (all be it of a different nature) and an apology and condemnation from the club is just not good enough. These fans should be identified and banned for life. ANY club guilty of terrace abuse of this nature should be made to play without fans for its next game. Moving back to matters on the pitch, Liverpool could not mark the occasion with their first win of the season against a typically resilient Sunderland. Despite having 66% possession and well over 20 attempts at goal, it was a case of same old Liverpool as they couldn’t find the back of the net. Suarez did eventually score to cancel out Fletchers opener near the end, but in truth Liverpool deserved to win the game. For Hillsborough, an event that redefined football in my lifetime, justice has finally come. For this once great football club on the pitch however, the glory days still look a long way off.
Arsenal might not have replaced RVP, but they have replaced
Cesc Fabregas
Southampton have not had the easiest entrance into the Premier League and after being cruelly beaten at the death by both Manchester clubs, they came up against an Arsenal side in full stride on Saturday. The Gunners have started the season well and there are two main reasons for that. The first has been their defence, thanks largely to a fit Vermaelen and the recruitment of Steve Bould, but the second has been the signing of Santi Cazorla. The Spaniard is two footed and with a deftness of touch that should be the envy of any English footballer. He already looks at home as the central point of one of the league’s best teams and seems to see passes before he even receives the ball. He controlled the rhythm and tempo of the game on Saturday and although he only directly created one of the six goals, he was involved in the build ups to all six of them. Wenger’s team played with a Barcelona esque approach at times, with Gervinho as a false 9 and Podolski and Chamberlain popping up wide and cutting in. Granted they were playing Southampton, but in the absence of Van Persie and with Giroud yet to pack his shooting boots, this could be the way they set up this season. With Santi pulling the strings they look solid, fluent and strong. It’s incredibly early days, but it’s hard to see them finishing outside the top four on this evidence. Next week’s match up with Man City could be a cracker.
Southampton have not had the easiest entrance into the Premier League and after being cruelly beaten at the death by both Manchester clubs, they came up against an Arsenal side in full stride on Saturday. The Gunners have started the season well and there are two main reasons for that. The first has been their defence, thanks largely to a fit Vermaelen and the recruitment of Steve Bould, but the second has been the signing of Santi Cazorla. The Spaniard is two footed and with a deftness of touch that should be the envy of any English footballer. He already looks at home as the central point of one of the league’s best teams and seems to see passes before he even receives the ball. He controlled the rhythm and tempo of the game on Saturday and although he only directly created one of the six goals, he was involved in the build ups to all six of them. Wenger’s team played with a Barcelona esque approach at times, with Gervinho as a false 9 and Podolski and Chamberlain popping up wide and cutting in. Granted they were playing Southampton, but in the absence of Van Persie and with Giroud yet to pack his shooting boots, this could be the way they set up this season. With Santi pulling the strings they look solid, fluent and strong. It’s incredibly early days, but it’s hard to see them finishing outside the top four on this evidence. Next week’s match up with Man City could be a cracker.
Wayne Bridge is good at something after all
Anyone who didn’t want to talk about the pre-match handshake before QPR v Chelsea on Saturday must have cursed a miserable game which gave the pundits… pretty much nothing else to talk about. What struck me about Anton’s pre-mediated act of defiance (other than the ultimately total meaninglessness of it) was quite how bad his attempt to NOT shake Terry’s hand was. After shaking the officials hands in a calm and normal manner, he then dropped his hand sharply only to find himself with nowhere to go. Face to face to with John Tery, Anton tried to slip past and just bundles into a mascot. Pushing him out of the way he then over compensates for his botched gesture by offering the rest of the Chelsea team huge, over the top handshakes like he’s known them all his life. At least Ashley “Choc-Ice” Cole was on the end so he could just scamper past him onto the pitch. A similar comedy of errors occurred at Old Trafford last season as Suarez somewhat more questionably refused to shake Evra’s hand but was hauled back by the defender. It made them both, and the now much questioned pre match gesture, just look silly. As it is, we have to go back to Wayne Bridge in 2010 to show us how to not shake John Terry’s hand properly. Bridge is poetry in motion as he just dips his hand a fraction, scooting under JT’s and into the paw of the mascot next to him. It’s brilliant. It’s sheer class. It’s better than anything the man has ever done on the pitch…
Anyone who didn’t want to talk about the pre-match handshake before QPR v Chelsea on Saturday must have cursed a miserable game which gave the pundits… pretty much nothing else to talk about. What struck me about Anton’s pre-mediated act of defiance (other than the ultimately total meaninglessness of it) was quite how bad his attempt to NOT shake Terry’s hand was. After shaking the officials hands in a calm and normal manner, he then dropped his hand sharply only to find himself with nowhere to go. Face to face to with John Tery, Anton tried to slip past and just bundles into a mascot. Pushing him out of the way he then over compensates for his botched gesture by offering the rest of the Chelsea team huge, over the top handshakes like he’s known them all his life. At least Ashley “Choc-Ice” Cole was on the end so he could just scamper past him onto the pitch. A similar comedy of errors occurred at Old Trafford last season as Suarez somewhat more questionably refused to shake Evra’s hand but was hauled back by the defender. It made them both, and the now much questioned pre match gesture, just look silly. As it is, we have to go back to Wayne Bridge in 2010 to show us how to not shake John Terry’s hand properly. Bridge is poetry in motion as he just dips his hand a fraction, scooting under JT’s and into the paw of the mascot next to him. It’s brilliant. It’s sheer class. It’s better than anything the man has ever done on the pitch…
Blackburn are still as entertaining as ever
After their relegation from the Premier League there was a feeling that it could be a long time before we saw the Kentucky Fried Army again. However, having brought in some pretty decent transfer signings, as well as hanging on to a lot of their squad, Blackburn are still unbeaten and sit at the top of the fledgling Championship table. More than that though, they are showing no signs of going away quietly but rather continue to be as strange and wonderful as before. For starters Steve Keane is still there. Despite fans continuing to protest at every fixture, the manager who must be eating a lot of chicken to keep his job is doing just that. Rumours continue to abound though that not only will he be sacked if Blackburn slip off the pace, but that he’ll be sacked if they lose a single game. Given his team’s flimsy defence, not to mention commitment to attack, going a whole season unbeaten seems very unlikely to say the least. Blackburn look up for the challenge though. New signing Jordan Rhodes raised eyebrows with his £8m fee but repaid some of it straight away on Saturday with two fine goals. Scott Dann, Paul Robinson, David Dunn and Morten Gamst Pedersen all remain at the club, and the signing of Danny Murphy is looking like a masterstroke. Up top Rhodes has been joined by the talented Kasim Richards and, somewhat bizarrely, Nuno Gomez. Blackburn and Venkey’s are not going away. They said they came to win trophies… and if they have to start that run by winning the Championship one first, it looks like it could be entertaining for all to watch. Whether Steve Keane is there next week, let alone next year, remains as much of a mystery as ever.
After their relegation from the Premier League there was a feeling that it could be a long time before we saw the Kentucky Fried Army again. However, having brought in some pretty decent transfer signings, as well as hanging on to a lot of their squad, Blackburn are still unbeaten and sit at the top of the fledgling Championship table. More than that though, they are showing no signs of going away quietly but rather continue to be as strange and wonderful as before. For starters Steve Keane is still there. Despite fans continuing to protest at every fixture, the manager who must be eating a lot of chicken to keep his job is doing just that. Rumours continue to abound though that not only will he be sacked if Blackburn slip off the pace, but that he’ll be sacked if they lose a single game. Given his team’s flimsy defence, not to mention commitment to attack, going a whole season unbeaten seems very unlikely to say the least. Blackburn look up for the challenge though. New signing Jordan Rhodes raised eyebrows with his £8m fee but repaid some of it straight away on Saturday with two fine goals. Scott Dann, Paul Robinson, David Dunn and Morten Gamst Pedersen all remain at the club, and the signing of Danny Murphy is looking like a masterstroke. Up top Rhodes has been joined by the talented Kasim Richards and, somewhat bizarrely, Nuno Gomez. Blackburn and Venkey’s are not going away. They said they came to win trophies… and if they have to start that run by winning the Championship one first, it looks like it could be entertaining for all to watch. Whether Steve Keane is there next week, let alone next year, remains as much of a mystery as ever.
What is happening at Real?
Away from the Premier League still further, the champions of Spain have thus far won a single match of their opening four league fixtures, losing two and currently finding themselves in 11th place. Normally the old “early days” statement would be bandied around to high heaven, but in Spain things are different. The league is a straight out two-horse race and giving Barcelona an 8 point head start already looks pretty daunting for Jose and his team of superstars. Real were ragged at the weekend and never looked like scoring. Luca Modric has come to add more guile to the midfield but he’s yet to start a game and couldn’t unlock the Sevilla defence when he did come on. With their star player making it clear he’s not a happy boy, Real & Ronaldo need to get things back on track and fast to stop this season unravelling before it’s even begun. Next game? Man City tomorrow night. Who said the Champions’ League Group Stages were dull…
Away from the Premier League still further, the champions of Spain have thus far won a single match of their opening four league fixtures, losing two and currently finding themselves in 11th place. Normally the old “early days” statement would be bandied around to high heaven, but in Spain things are different. The league is a straight out two-horse race and giving Barcelona an 8 point head start already looks pretty daunting for Jose and his team of superstars. Real were ragged at the weekend and never looked like scoring. Luca Modric has come to add more guile to the midfield but he’s yet to start a game and couldn’t unlock the Sevilla defence when he did come on. With their star player making it clear he’s not a happy boy, Real & Ronaldo need to get things back on track and fast to stop this season unravelling before it’s even begun. Next game? Man City tomorrow night. Who said the Champions’ League Group Stages were dull…
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