As Liverpool enter their second consecutive season without Champions League football, there remains a fresh sense of optimism on Merseyside that seems to have carried over from where they left off at the end of last season. The return of King Kenny at Anfield triggered such optimism, and the signings of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll not only softened the blow of losing Fernando Torres to Chelsea, but signalled an intent to try and get Liverpool back in to the Premier League’s top four. Liverpool finished the season in sixth place, and after a start to the campaign that saw Roy Hodgson out of a job, many Liverpool fans will have been content with this kind of finish.
This summer transfer window has seen a number of changes at Liverpool with Dalglish’s priority of strengthening his midfield evident from the outset. The likes of Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, and Stewart Downing had all completed their moves to Liverpool by mid-July, and despite a relatively poor pre-season, these players appear to have adjusted well in their new surroundings. Liverpool have taken 7 points from their opening three league games, but their performances away at Arsenal and at home to Bolton have already provided reason to believe that this current crop of players are a force to be reckoned with.
Both Henderson and Adam opened their goal scoring accounts against Bolton on the weekend, and Luis Suarez has continued to impress the Liverpool faithful after showing glimpses of his ability on the back end of last season. The only concerns that some fans may have will lie in the impact that Andy Carroll is yet to make at Anfield, though Dalglish has suggested that the club may have rushed his recovery from injury last season, and the £35m striker has been tipped by the Scotsman to prove his worth over this campaign.
Dalgish has the depth and strength of a squad certainly capable of a top four finish, and if anything, will be hoping to offload some of his fringe players before the transfer window slams shut at 11pm on Wednesday. Having brought in two forwards, three midfielders, a full-back, and a goalkeeper since taking over in January, the Liverpool boss is expected to end his spree with the signing of Uruguayan centre-back Sebastien Coates in the next 24 hours. While most Liverpool fans would be satisfied with a top-four finish come May, there are undoubtedly some who are already dreaming of being crowned champions of England for the first time since 1990 – and if these first three games of the season are an indication of what is to come at Anfield, one can hardly blame them.
Liverpool have already been tipped to finish in the top four alongside Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City. While the other three sides will be competing on both a domestic and European front, Liverpool did not even qualify for the Europa League this season, and so will be playing just once a week and having regular breaks between games which could prove to be crucial to their season. While both City and Untied have looked just as strong in their opening fixtures, when the Champions League campaign gets underway, and as fatigue and injuries begin to take their toll on first team players, Liverpool may be able to take advantage.
Chelsea, though they have also taken 7 points from their opening games, have looked far from convincing under new boss Andre-Villas Boas. Late goals against both West Brom and Norwich have kept his side’s unbeaten start to the campaign in tact, though it is clear there is still work to be done if they are to be serious title contenders. Liverpool, at the moment, will fancy their chances against any of the (predicted) top four, and after recent seasons in which they have struggled to come close to the likes of Manchester United or Chelsea, Dalglish’s players will be relishing the opportunity to compete at the very top of the table.
While fourth place remains to be the target for Dalglish, this could ultimately turn out to be a minimum expectation for the club as the season progresses. The championship may be out of reach this year, as new faces continue to adapt and defensive frailties may prove to be costly once more, however third place, or perhaps even second is not necessarily out of the question for this Liverpool side. Dalglish will be desperate to keep his players focused and unphased by any initial success, but for those optimistic fans in the Kop end, the dream of reclaiming the English championship is likely to live on for the foreseeable future – and until they see any different on the field, it’s probably fair enough.
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Where will Liverpool finish this season? Is 4th place really the limit for this side? Let me know your thoughts either below or @sixthofficial on Twitter!
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To celebrate the launch of the game, our next article looks at the six Tottenham returns from hell.
They say you should never go back, and yet there have been countless figures over the years who have returned, unsuccessfully, to White Hart Lane. Tottenham Hotspur are by far the worst offenders in recent history for attempting to wind back hands of time, with the likes of Pascal Chimbonda, Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane, Peter Crouch and Younes Kaboul all rejoining the club under Harry Redknapp. However, whilst the jury is still out on Crouch and Kaboul, let’s take a trip down memory lane, and remember some of the worst comebacks in Tottenham’s illustrious history…
1. Glen Hoddle (1975-1987 and 2001-2003)
Glenn Hoddle, like Danny Blanchflower or Jimmy Greaves , is one of Tottenham Hotspur’s greatest players. However, unfortunately, a great player does not necessarily make a great manager. Despite 490 appearances, 110 goals, two FA Cups, one UEFA Cup and 12 years service for Tottenham as a player, Glenn Hoddle’s return as manager turned out to be a huge disappointment for both Hoddle and the supporters who so badly wanted their hero to succeed.
Hoddle was appointed Spurs manager in March 2001 following the sacking of the ‘man in the raincoat’ George Graham.
Whilst history will regard Hoddle’s tenure as a ‘disaster’, a revisionist approach provides a more balanced appraisal. Whilst Graham is regarded as having been more successful owing to his delivering the League Cup in 1999, just five months after taking charge, Hoddle was just one game away from producing a similar feat, but ultimately fell at the final hurdle as Tottenham lost 2-1 to Blackburn Rovers in the 2002 League Cup final. However, Both Graham and Hoddle spent approximately two years and five months in charge at Tottenham, with Hoddle spending about £36m and Graham £35m. The result was that neither manager could steer Tottenham away from mid-table obscurity.
In the end, Hoddle’s return proved so disappointing because of Tottenham fan’s huge expectations. It would have been only too perfect for Hoddle to return to the club where he was loved so dearly, and roll back the years at White Hart Lane, producing the exciting, winning football Hoddle himself had been a part of in the 1980s. Unfortunately however, Hoddle’s return was just another instance of that wise old saying… you should never go back.
2. Pascal Chimbonda Tottenham, (2006-2008 and 2009)
With the £9m signing of Alan Hutton, Pascal Chimbonda’s days at White Hart Lane were numbered. Good riddance the fans said. In the League Cup final against Chelsea in 2008, the player had sulked off after being substituted, only celebrate wildly at the final whistle, joyfully collecting his winner’s medal. Juande Ramos offloaded the French mercenary to Sunderland in August 2008, and that, Tottenham fans believed, was that. However, with Spurs staring relegation in the face in the 2008/09 season, Harry Houdini bought Chimbonda back to the Lane for one last hurrah in January 2009. Tottenham’s decision to give Sunderland back the £3m they’d paid just six months after letting the Frenchman go backfired however, as he started just one match for the club following his return. Chimbonda left for Blackburn Rovers the following August, with Tottenham taking a reported £500,000 hit. Complete waste of time and money.
3. Peter Shreeve(s) 1984-1986 and 1991-1992)
Is it Shreeve or Shreeves? Either way, much like David Pleat, Peter Shreeve is one of Tottenham’s ‘nearly men’. Shreeve joined Tottenham as a coach in 1974, before being promoted to manager of the reserve team in 1979, and then assistant manager in 1980. However, in 1984, Shreeve was given the uncomfortable job of succeeding the hugely successful and popular Keith Burkinshaw. In the 1984/85 season, Shreeve finished 3rd in the First Division, and Tottenham would have qualified for Europe were there not a ban on English clubs following Heysel. However, the following season, Tottenham finished 10th in the league, and Shreeve was sacked and replaced with David Pleat.
Shreeve was not quite finished at Tottenham yet however, and in 1991-92, Shreeve was appointed Tottenham head coach, with Terry Venables ‘moving upstairs’ to become Chief Executive. However, Shreeve was sacked after just one season in charge, as Tottenham finished 15th in the league, and so became Tottenham’s last manager of the old First Division. Tottenham were going through a transitional stage under Shreeve, with Paul Gascoigne out injured for the season, and only Gary Lineker, who scored 28 goals in 35 league games in 1991/92, Tottenham’s truly world class player. Shreeve was replaced by Ray Clemence and Doug Livermore, and Shreeve’s return in 1991 can only be perceived as a failure
Continued on Page TWO
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4. Robbie Keane Tottenham, (2002-2008 and 2009 – present)
Robbie Keane left Tottenham for the team he followed as a boy (not Celtic you fools!) in August 2008, as Liverpool departed with £20m to take the player to Anfield. The deal represented good business for Spurs considering Keane had cost the North Londoners just £7m in August 2002.
Keane netted a respectable 5 goals in 16 starts for Liverpool, but ultimately failed to cement a place in the first team. In fact, it became increasingly obvious that Rafael Benitez had never really wanted ‘Keano’, at the club, and Harry Redknapp was delighted to bring the Irishman back to the Lane for a fee believed to be in the region of £15m. Keane returned to Tottenham as club captain, and his experience and enthusiasm was an important factor in Tottenham maintaining their Premier League status.
However, Keane returned to Tottenham a different player to the one many had remembered. Barely a year after rejoining, the Irishman fell out of favour at White Hart Lane, returning to his other boyhood favourite Celtic on a six month loan in January 2010. Maybe Tottenham’s play had moved on? Maybe Berbatov had made Keane look good? Either way, despite scoring 11 goals in 34 games following his return to North London, Keane was ultimately a failure upon his return. Never go back Robbie….
5. Osvaldo Ardiles (1978-1988 and 1993-1994)
‘Ossie’ Ardiles is the most decorated foreign player Tottenham have ever had at White Hart Lane, winning the FA Cup twice and the UEFA Cup once during his ten year stay with the club, as well as making some 311 appearances and scoring 25 goals. In short, Ardiles is one of Tottenham’s finest ever players, and so when Ardiles returned to White Hart Lane as manager in 1993, the club was brimming with nostalgia and excitement.
As a manager, Ardiles had achieved promotions with both Swindon Town and West Bromwich Albion. However, perhaps his disastrous spell at Newcastle United, where he was sacked after just 12 months into the job with the Toon languishing at the foot of the table, was an indicator of what was to come at Spurs.
In Ardiles’ first season in charge, Tottenham finished 15th in the league and just three points above the relegation zone, as injuries to Teddy Sheringham, Darren Anderton (Quelle surprise) and Gary Mabburt took their toll. In 1994/95, despite Alan Sugar bringing in the likes of Jurgen Klinsmann, Ilie Dumitrescu and Gheorghe Popescu at great expense, Tottenham were hovering precariously above the relegation zone once again. Ardiles was criticized for playing a ‘famous five’ in attack (Darren Anderton right, Nick Barmby behind the front two, Ilie Dumistrescu on the left and Teddy Sheringham and Jurgen Klinsmann up front), and was seen as tactically naive. In October 1994, after an embarrassing defeat by Notts County in the League Cup, Ardiles was sacked, with Gerry Francis appointed to steady the ship.
Ardiles remains a legend at White Hart Lane after his efforts as a player, but unfortunately, his turn as a manager was another disappointment.
6. David Pleat (1986-1987 and 1998-2004)
David Pleat’s one and only stint as a manager at Tottenham came in the 1986/87 season. That season, Tottenham finished 3rd in the First Division, runners-up in the FA Cup, and semi-finalists in the League Cup. Clive Allen, Tottenham’s lone front man, scored 49 goals in one season, and Tottenham scored more than four on nine occasions. Pleat delivered some of the most exciting football Tottenham supporters had seen at White Hart Lane since the 1960s.
Unfortunately, Pleat was hounded out of Tottenham by the media after allegations surrounding his private life were splashed across tabloid front pages in 1987. However, Pleat’s association with Tottenham was not over yet, and in 1998, he returned to Tottenham as ‘Director of Football’. Before a certain Damien Comolli forever cast a cloud over the title, Pleat held the position at White Hart Lane from 1998-2004.
The extent to which Pleat was responsible for player recruitment, scouting and the youth team is debatable, but during his stint as Director of Football, Tottenham’s highest League position was ninth, and the club went through managers like a hot knife through low fat butter.
Pleat finally left the club in 2004, ending the season as caretaker boss following Hoddle’s dismissal in September 2003. Whilst one man can never be solely responsible for a club’s failure, Pleat outlasted the likes of Graham and Hoddle, and yet escaped the ridicule and blame that befell the two managers. Ultimately, Pleat failed to take Tottenham forward during his second spell ‘upstairs’, and his return can only be judged as a failure.
So, there you have it, six of the worst Tottenham returns in recent history, well in my opinion.
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Arsenal vice-captain Thomas Vermaelen has given Arsene Wenger a boost, as he has declared his fitness ahead of the crunch clash with Chelsea on Saturday.
The Belgium international has had an injury prone last 12 months at the Emirates, but made a recovery by playing 84 minutes in the 2-1 win over Bolton in the Carling Cup on Tuesday night.
Despite being taken off in the dying stages with a suspected calf strain, the centre half has revealed that he will be available for selection come the weekend.
“I feel great,” he told The Gunners’ official website.
I trained with the team and I felt good straight away so I felt confident.
“Personally I don’t believe in that [needing games to regain sharpness]. If I come back from injury after a long time I don’t believe in coming back and getting rhythm.
“I think it is just in your head and a mental thing – if you are a football player you have to be there straight away. That’s why I wanted to play and I think it’s good.
“It was a good game for us, we fought hard and it was a deserved win for us I think,” he concluded.
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Arsenal have recovered some of their form and have looked much better over the last month, but will face a stern test against their London rivals at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry has stated that his side are confident going into the derby clash with Manchester United on Sunday, and that the win in Europe in midweek has buoyed the players.
Sergio Aguero scored in injury time to assure a 2-1 victory over Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday night, and Roberto Mancini’s team now face an acid test against bitter rivals and Premier League champions United at the weekend.
Despite having to play the game at Old Trafford, the England international has the belief that the Etihad Stadium outfit can get three points.
“A last-minute goal can lift everyone – it is a massive confidence booster,” he told The Telegraph.
“We will just go into Sunday’s game, knowing it is a massive one, with a little bit more confidence. But it is not a place you can go and relax – we have got to go and play our best game of the season to get something out of it.
“We respect Manchester United and hopefully it will be a good game,” he continued.
Despite an excellent record domestically so far this term, City had not overly impressed in Europe, with a draw against Napoli and a loss away to Bayern Munich putting more pressure on them to get a result against Villarreal.
“We knew we really had to get the three points. We fought right to the end and you can’t really beat a last-minute winner, so it was a good feeling in the dressing room,” Barry said.
“It was similar to when we played Napoli at home. They are good in possession and counter attack quickly.
“We are still learning in the Champions League and it is such a tough group.
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“This has lifted everyone. We knew three points were vital to go on and qualify from the group but this is just the start. It is a massive lift but we have just got to build on it,” he concluded.
England goalkeeper Joe Hart has stated that his side are ready to take on Spain on Saturday, and that despite the visitors’ quality there is a not a sizeable gap between the teams.
The Three Lions host the world champions at Wembley this weekend, and will be put through their paces without the likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and John Terry.
However Hart believes that his team are ready for the game, and has praised the players available for the home outfit.
“We’ve got some fantastic players and so have they so it makes for a really interesting game,” he stated in a press conference in the build up to the match.
“I’ve been around this England squad for a while now, and seen some adverse situations. International football’s not always about playing the top three in the world – it’s about going to some of the tougher places around Europe and playing real tough games.
“This is a test, playing against the best, and we’ll see what we’ve got,” he stated.
Hart may well face his Manchester City team-mate David Silva, and knows the quality of the attacking midfielder.
“David’s a big part of our team, on the field and off. We get on really well with him. He’s a fantastic player.
“It hurts me sometimes to see the Spain team with him not in it. I know he’s by far good enough but they’ve got a lot of quality.
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“He’s excited to come and play England at Wembley and we’re just as excited,” the stopper concluded.
Something which has in no way surprised me but disappointed me all the same in the aftermath of El Clasico has been the level of abuse Cristiano Ronaldo has suffered. Yes, he did not have the best game of his life, and the match being billed as Ronaldo v Messi by Sky Sports probably did not help matters, with all the Leo Messi fanatics so high on their perch that they can now hold a face to face conversation with God – who after Marcelo’s deflection is certainly a Barca fan – and people now using Ronaldo as the scapegoat for the poor result.
Well sorry to burst that bubble but if you win together as a team, you lose together as a team, and blame – as Casillas has rightly said – cannot be levelled at one player and one player alone.
Ironically enough, Real were billed as the favourites because of the break away from being overly reliant on Ronaldo, and no longer as much of a one man team as Barcelona with regards to Messi. If this is the case, then surely Ronaldo should not be culpable for the entire result?
Another massive mistake is to assume Barcelona are a one man team. Yes, Messi is a fantastic player, but he was by no means the best Barca player on the pitch on Saturday night. Yet again this will draw criticism, but in my eyes Xavi and especially Iniesta were sublime. Long have I said that it is Iniesta not Messi who is the key to making Barcelona tick, and whilst each of the members of the golden trifecta of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta are out of this world, on the performance against Real Madrid, you would not be able to say hand on heart Messi was better than either of the other two.
In short, the reason for the defeat from a Los Blancos perspective was yes a little bit of bad luck, but mainly the inability to be clinical in finishing the chances that were created.
Fair enough two of the chances that fell to Ronaldo should have been buried in the back of the net and 99 times out of 100 they would have been. Yet it is not only Ronaldo who can score a goal – Benzema, Higuain, Kaka and Di Maria are all capable, and a host more of players of finishing or even creating a chance, and short of King Karim’s quickest ever Clasico goal, they did not.
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It is still Ronaldo that draws the criticism and blame however, with people questioning if he goes missing in big games – especially against Barcelona – well Messi has still only scored one goal away from the Camp Nou this season, yet no one mentions that, or the fact he was lucky to be on the field in the first place. People forget that Villa has been in such poor form, or that Ozil has been off the boil recently and how about the passing and crossing from Di Maria in the penalty area? It was shocking and wasteful to say the least –but it is always Ronaldo who cops the flack.
Perhaps this is due to his perceived persona both on and off the field, but to say that he goes missing in every game against Barcelona is wide of the mark. It is a credit to his other performances that show how even when he has a mediocre game, people question if the player is ok. Ronaldo has been playing with a niggling ankle injury for a couple of weeks now, yet this is never mentioned.
Ok, Ronaldo had a poor game on Saturday night, perhaps his worse against a Barcelona team, yet I fully believe he is capable of playing well against them, as are Real Madrid. It speaks volumes that Ronaldo has ‘anti supporters’ – people sad enough to actively wish harm and poor performances on the player, and will not appreciate how good he actually is. Messi on the other hand, inspires an army of fanatical supporters and it seems no one dislikes such ‘a nice guy.’
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Before and after every Clasico, it seems to turn into a Ronaldo v Messi debate, and the one area that I will hand on heart say I feel Messi has the edge on is this. Ronaldo lets it get to him far more, and I genuinely feel this affects his performance in a negative way. For him to truly prove he is better than Messi, he has to dispel the rivalry and competition from his mind, and just focus on doing what he does best – playing football. He will have no better stage than the 22 of April at the Camp Nou to do this.
It’s an argument often levelled at the bigger clubs, and that the managers of the lower clubs like to mention, that referees tend to pander towards the big teams. Whether we’re talking about time added on, penalty decisions or the amount of yellow cards there always seems to be something for someone to complain about. When Michael Owen scored in the sixth minute of injury time against Manchester city in the infamous Manchester derby at Old Trafford two years ago there were grumblings from across the board as people suggested ‘Fergie time’ had come in to play once again. The suggestion that Ferguson and his peers receive preferential treatment might be something that people like to complain about, but is there really any evidence for it? The only way to really tell is in the stats, so here is the break down of refereeing decisions from the 2010/11 season.
Penalties
The average number of penalties awarded to and conceded by each club last season was 5.15. Out of the top six clubs Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool were all awarded more than this, with Manchester City being awarded nine, more than any other club in the league. Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal are all also in the top five whilst Manchester United and Tottenham were both awarded five each. The bottom five clubs were Blackburn, Birmingham, Stoke, Wolves and Fulham who were all awarded three or less penalties. At first glance this looks like a pretty damning report. However, you have to take other factors in to account. Firstly, the bigger teams spend a lot more time in the opposition’s penalty area and with that increased time there is obviously more chance of being awarded a penalty. Secondly the style of play from the top teams means that they have players who are more skilful and therefore harder to tackle. The result is that they are more likely to draw fouls and therefore penalties. The defenders from the top teams are also going to be better and so you would presume that they would give away less fouls. Nobody is saying that on this basis the theory of preferential treatment is false, what is clear however that when you take these extra factors in to consideration then suddenly the figures don’t look so implausible. One final thing to consider is that Arsenal and Liverpool conceded more penalties than any other team.
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Yellow Cards
The evidence concerning yellow cards is split when it comes to the top teams. Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool all conceded an above average number of yellow cards whilst the opposite is true of Chelsea, Man Utd and Spurs. When you see that possibly the smallest team in the league last year, Blackpool, were shown fewer yellow cards than any other team, and that Manchester City were awarded twenty-seven more yellows than Holloway’s relegated team then the idea of preferential treatment appears even more unlikely. If anything you could say that referees had prejudice against certain players who were repeatedly booked. For example, despite Blackpool receiving so few yellow cards Charlie Adam still ended the season with the third highest number of bookings out of any player in the league.
Fouls
Last Season all of the top six clubs were in the lower half of the foul table for the season. As in they had all committed less fouls than the majority of the league with Spurs and Manchester United having committed the fewest. You could interpret this a they are allowed to get away with more, or you could interpret it as they spend much more of the game with posession and therefore have less opportunities to commit fouls.
Extra time
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As far as extra time is concerned there is no real way of quantifying whether or not there is positive discrimination for the larger clubs. The fact is that despite incidents like Owen’s goal at Old Trafford there really aren’t that many occasions where events unfold in this way. That we remember each occasion should prove testament to the rarity of such incidents and, to be honest, it happens as much to smaller teams as it does to the larger teams. The only difference is that when Jordan Rhodes scores in the seventh minute of extra time to complete a comeback for Huddersfield, as he did recently against the bigger Sheffield Wednesday, it is a brilliant end to the game but if it happens for a big club in the Premier League it is corruption.
Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory but if we are being honest with ourselves does anybody really believe it? If there is a factor that could contribute towards swaying the opinion of a referee then it is the outrage of a home crowd. All teams play at home as much as anyone else and all home fans scream and shout for every contentious decision therefore the teams are all on an equal footing. Fans can complain as much as they like but ultimately the stats do not support the argument.
Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky will not leave the club this January, and it has been revealed that he may well sign a new contract next month.
The Czech Republic international has fallen out of favour in north London, and with his current deal set to expire in the summer, has been linked with an exit before the end of the month.
Despite this, Rosicky’s agent has stated that the playmaker will not leave The Gunners before the summer, and that a meeting with Arsene Wenger regarding a new deal happened recently.
“It was a good discussion, like it always is with Mr Wenger,” representative Pavel Paska told Czech news agency CTK, as covered in Sky Sports.
“We have outlined our ideas and Arsenal their ideas. We have exchanged some pieces of information and agreed on making the final decision on 15th February.
“Everything is wide open. Naturally, I have talked with Tomas and know his wishes, but until the next talks with Arsenal we will not reveal our cards.
“I would not like to speculate but people at Arsenal have hinted that they would be interested in Tomas carrying on there.
“But we will have to wait and see till the middle of February how things unfold,” he concluded.
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Liverpool know they need to keep chalking up wins if they are to remain on the heels of the Premier League top four when they host fellow European contenders Stoke on Saturday.
In the midst of a racism storm cloud that has dragged the club through the mud in recent weeks Kenny Dalglish’s enjoyed a profitable Christmas and end to 2011. The Reds won three and drew two of their six games in December to close the gap on Chelsea to just four points and put themselves in the running for a Champions League challenge in the New Year. Luis Suarez’s suspension could hamper those ambitions with the Uruguayan set to miss out until March at the latest. His absence from the side was felt in the defeat to Manchester City as Andy Carroll struggled once again to live up to his monumental price tag. Distractions off the field have plagued Liverpool this season and with Stewart Downing also making the headlines for the wrong reasons their aspirations of returning to Europe’s premier club tournament could be in jeopardy. Dalglish will need to call upon every ounce of his managerial experience to help the club ride through this crisis and maintain their push for the top four.
Stoke are also gunning for European football next season and they too enjoyed a similarly fruitful Christmas to their opponents on Saturday. Tony Pulis’ side have been in exceptional form since overcoming their mini-blip in November winning five of their last eight and losing only once against Manchester City. The form of Peter Crouch has been a key factor in their climb up the table as they put any lingering fears of being dragged into a relegation battle to the back of their mind. The former Tottenham star has become the first name on Pulis’ team sheet offering something different to the Potters’ trademark aerial play. He’ll be up against another former club this weekend and will play a pivotal role in Stokes attempts to break down a Liverpool defence that has conceded just eight goals at home this term.
Liverpool 6th : 34 points
Last six: L W D D W W
Team news: Luis Suarez is still suspended and misses out along with the injured Lucas who is sidelined for the season.
Key Player: Steven Gerrard
Injuries have haunted the Liverpool skipper this season but his match-winning cameo against Newcastle before the New Year indicated he still has what it takes to influence games. Should he start against Stoke expect him to dictate play from midfield and cause problems in attack.
Stoke City 8th : 29 points
Last six: W D D L W W
Team news: Tony Pulis takes his side to Anfield missing just one player with right back Andy Wilkinson out with a knee injury.
Key Player: Peter Crouch
A positive end to 2011 saw Crouch finally start to justify the £10 milllion spent on his services in the summer. Goals have finally started to flow whilst his aerial presence has seen him slot into Stokes playing style with ease. He’ll be determined to put one over on his former club on Saturday.
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PREDICTION
Liverpool have yet to lose at Anfield this season but some lacklustre displays in front of the Kop should see Stoke go into this game confident of taking something back to the Potteries.
The League Cup is in its 51st year, and the competition has certainly had an eventful history since it was first played in the 1960/61 season. The cup was devised with a midweek format specifically in mind because evening kick-offs allowed the growing number of Football League clubs with floodlights at their grounds to make use of the new investment. Floodlit football, now taken for granted, was still something of a novelty at the time, having grown in popularity during the 1950s thanks to the creation of the European Cup and the unique atmosphere associated with matches played after dark.
In 1967 the League Cup final changed from a two-legged format to being settled in a single game at Wembley. That arrangement has remained the case ever since – aside from the spell between 2001 and 2007 when the final was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff while Wembley was rebuilt – and on Sunday afternoon it will be the turn of Liverpool and Cardiff City to compete to win this year’s competition. Despite having been labelled an unwanted distraction in the recent past by some of the country’s bigger clubs, England’s second cup competition has nonetheless been won by Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Spurs within the past ten years.
Will Liverpool become unstuck against Cardiff, like Arsenal did against Birmingham last season? Here are some of the other great League Cup upsets of our time.
1969: Swindon Town 3 – 1 Arsenal (AET)
The Robins became the second Third Division side to win the cup in three years when they beat Bertie Mee’s First Division Arsenal on a terrible pitch at Wembley. As this footage from the game shows, however much criticism the current Wembley turf has come in for it still has some way to go to match the pudding that became of the surface on this occasion. Swindon took the lead against the run of play after 35 minutes through Roger Smart, following an almighty mix-up between Arsenal’s goalkeeper Bob Wilson and Ian Ure. It took until the 86th minute for Bobby Gould to equalise for the top flight side but the Gunners’ blushes were spared only temporarily. Two goals from Don Rogers in either half of extra-time won the game for Swindon and saw them match the achievement of third tier QPR in 1967 by triumphing over opponents two leagues above them.
Brian Clough and his men went into this game not only as the competition’s holders but the reigning European Cup winners too. Just two months later Forest would retain their European crown against Kevin Keegan’s Hamburg, but they were denied another League Cup trophy on this occasion by Andy Gray’s Wolves. The man who earlier this month made an embarrassing exit from his television job at Sky had a somewhat more enjoyable afternoon here as it was his goal after 67 minutes that decided the game. Gray took advantage of more confusion between a defender and his goalkeeper – this time involving David Needham and Peter Shilton – to finish into an unguarded net and give Wolves their surprise win. It was the team in old gold’s first trophy since winning the League Cup six years earlier – it remains their last major honour too – and by beating Forest they denied their opponents, who had actually become the first side to retain the cup in 1979, a run of three consecutive successes in the competition.
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1988: Luton Town 3 – 2 Arsenal
Although they now play in the Blue Square Premier, back in 1988 Luton were in the middle of a ten-year spell in the First Division. However, the club had yet to win a trophy of note over the course of a history that already stretched back over a century, while George Graham’s Arsenal, who would go on to win the league in 1989 and 1991, were bidding to retain the League Cup and claim their sixteenth major honour in the process. On a glorious day at Wembley, on a billiard table of a pitch, Brian Stein put Luton in front after 13 minutes but things seemed to swing the Gunners’ way when Martin Hayes and Alan Smith both scored in a three-minute spell late in the second half. The Hatters’ 22-year-old goalkeeper, Andy Dibble, then saved a penalty from Nigel Winterburn that could have wrapped up the game. Instead, a goal from Danny Wilson – the future manager of Arsenal’s 1969’s conquerors, Swindon – that followed an unfortunate error by Gus Caesar and a strike by Stein with a minute remaining saw Luton fight back incredibly to win.
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1994: Aston Villa 3 – 1 Manchester United
Villa had finished as runners-up to United in the inaugural Premier League season the year before but would finish a disappointing tenth this campaign. Alex Ferguson’s team, by contrast, were on their way to another title and would later achieve the first league and cup double in the club’s history when they beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final in May. Here, however, they were deprived what would have been a domestic treble by Ron Atkinson’s side. Dalian Atkinson put the Villans ahead after 25 minutes when he finished off a sumptuous Dean Saunders pass. Saunders doubled the lead with 15 minutes left when he poked Kevin Richardson’s free-kick past Les Sealey, who was deputising for the suspended Peter Schmeichel in United’s goal. United took the game to their opponents for much of the match but had to wait until the 82nd minute to be rewarded with a goal, when Mark Hughes halved the deficit. The same player almost equalised moments later but, with the game almost over, Andrei Kanchelskis handled in the box after a Tony Daley shot had threatened to uproot the frame of the goal. The Ukrainian was shown a red card and could only watch from behind the goal as Saunders despatched the penalty kick.
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2008: Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 1 Chelsea (AET)
Juande Ramos’ time at Spurs is remembered as a bit of a disaster but, while Harry Redknapp has taken the club into the Champions League, his Spanish predecessor did win a trophy during his year in charge. Didier Drogba scored first for Chelsea, however, with a free-kick after 39 minutes from almost the same spot from which he had missed the target a little earlier. The Ivorian did not have the best season in 2007/08 – neither did Chelsea, thanks to this game and the width of a Moscow goalpost amongst other things – but his goal looked like it would be enough to see the Blues retain the trophy that they had won twice under former manager José Mourinho. Things went awry after 70 minutes, though, when Wayne Bridge’s handball allowed Dimitar Berbatov to coolly stroke a penalty past Petr Čech. Extra-time ensued and the winning goal came just three minutes into the first period, as Jonathan Woodgate somewhat fortuitously scored with a header.