Liverpool 4-1 Arsenal

A striking hat-trick and a marvellous performance from Peter Crouch left a lethargic Arsenal without answers as Liverpool, eager to reverse the season’s poor record against the Londoners, strolled to a convincing victory.

Liverpool started in style, when the clever cooperation between Arbeloa and Pennant became to much for Diaby and Clichy: Arbeloa crossed into the middle and Crouch was there to meet it, putting his team ahead a mere three minutes into the game. The hosts continued to dominate, forcing their visitors into a reactive mode. Of Arsenal’s slick passing there was little sign and they looked stagnant and lacking in ideas. Fabregas’ attempts to direct the game failed as his team mates seemed reluctant to make any runs. Predictably, Arsenal’s first meaningful attempt was from a corner, which saw Adebayor head the ball over.

Crouch had a few interesting attempts before scoring again, including a bicicleta kick on goal, which was saved by Lehmann and a lovely effort which saw him collect a ball from Pennant and charge towards goal. Had he turned and given it to Gerrard, employed on the day as a second striker, it may even have become a goal. Liverpool’s second came when Crouch expertly headed in a great cross from Aurelio. The England striker made an emphatic display of his scope, creating chances as well as taking them.

A free kick for Liverpool in the second half was elegantly headed in by Agger; similar attempts by Arsenal were saved by Reyna until, at another corner, Gallas managed to push in a ball which Reyna had cleared. The introduction of Rosicky and Ljungberg had fired up the Arsenal midfield, who looked for a while to have regained some fluency. The two substitutes worked hard to breathe life into their team, but to no avail. This was Liverpool’s, and Peter Crouch’s day. With nine minutes to go, Crouch beautifully controlled the ball in a turning move before firing it in with his left foot – a hat-trick reflecting his varied performance: right, left, head. And they say English forwards can't score goals...

Liverpool
Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Agger, Aurelio, Pennant, Alonso, Mascherano (Riise 82), Gonzalez (Zenden 69), Gerrard (Kuyt 56), Crouch.
Subs Not Used: Dudek, Fowler.
Booked: Alonso.
Goals: Crouch 4, 35, Agger 60, Crouch 81.

Arsenal
Lehmann, Eboue (Hoyte 82), Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Hleb, Fabregas, Diaby (Rosicky 65), Denilson, Julio Baptista (Ljungberg 65), Adebayor.
Subs Not Used: Almunia, Senderos.
Booked: Diaby, Lehmann, Fabregas.
Goals: Gallas 73.

Attendance: 43,958.
Referee: S Bennett

Back to the Lane

So, how did international week end up?

England made full use of Paul Robinson and Aaron Lennon, who started both games. Jermain Defoe came on as a substitute in both games and, it has to be said, all but scored the winner agaist Andorra. 0-0 against Israel (with a Defoe goal ruled offside) and a 3-0 win against Andorra was the final outcome for England.
Tom Huddlestone came on as a substitute for England U-21, in their 3-3 friendly draw with Italy at the new Wembley.

Dimitar Berbatov’s Bulgaria only managed a 0-0 draw with Albania, despite a fair amount of efforts on target. Teemu Tainio did not start in Finland’s 1-0 defeat to Azerbaijan due to still struggling with injury. Robbie Keane played in the Republic of Ireland’s 1-0 win over Wales, but was suspended for the subsequent 1-0 win over Slovakia.

In Africa, Hossam Ghaly scored the last goal in Egypt’s 3-0 win over Mauritania and Didier Zokora’s Ivory coast cruised to victory over Madagascar.

Lee Young-Pyo’s Korea were beaten 2-0 by Uruguay, but came back and beat Uzbekistan with the same score line a few days later. Paul Stalteri scored one of the goals in Canada’s 3-0 friendly with Bermuda.

And so, we are finally back to normal, the lads are back in training together – bring on Reading!

(Image from www.tottenhamhotspur.com)

The Return of Zlatan

In the Swedish media the build up to this game, and indeed the discussion surrounding the entire Sweden campaign, had centred around Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Do we love him or hate him? Do we desperately need his services or is the team better off without him? And so on. The notion that Sweden might lose against Northern Ireland, either way, never seemed to enter into the discussion.

I’m not a huge Zlatan fan, even if I understand people who are. And in this game he reminded me again why I’m not crazy about him and why it seems that whatever he does in his club, and whatever the club does around him, is harder to replicate in the Sweden team. He had an, at best, indifferent game. The Swedish tactics, which never really gained momentum, did not seem to incorporate him very well. Whose fault that was is up for the jury to pass judgment on, but even his arguably hard work up front seemed to be ‘not really what we want from him’, as one of the Swedish commentators put it. Significantly he played no part in Sweden’s only goal, a solid team effort by Svensson and Alexandersson, with a lovely finish by Elmander.

The unfortunate fact then is, that Zlatan’s eagerly anticipated return to his national team also became that team’s first defeat in a sparkling qualification campaign. Why were Sweden bad? They struggled with a pitch which made the ball bounce and must surely have been affected by the electric atmosphere at Windsor Park. Oh yes, and Northern Ireland were actually quite good. The defence was solid and they played a direct kind of attacking football, able to create chances as well as take the ones handed to them by defensive errors.

If Zlatan Ibrahimovic struggles to replicate club form for his country, David Healy appears to struggle with the opposite problem. He may not have had many clear chances on goal, but the ones he got he put away. Mellberg and Hansson going after the same cross, colliding in the air and tumbling down was a comical error and one which fed the ball straight to Healy. His finishing, however, was superb. The second goal, as well as an attempt just before the end, also revealed his predatory instinct and finishing touch. He is now the top scorer of the entire qualification campaign and has netted as many goals (9) as, for instance, the entire England team.

I have published a match report on Sportingo, you can read it here

England, Israel and the definition of shambles

Having read many, a person with some sense of healthy proportion would say too many, reports and takes on the latest effort by the England national side I am starting to wonder if I watched a different game. What is it about the England side that inspires a brand of journalism which seems to one-sidedly look for faults in the team, almost gleefully writing their every effort off as below the expected standard? 40 years without a world cup trophy? A mediocrity which clashes with the great expectations of a nation which fervently loves its national sport? A mediocrity which proves again and again that an England side is never as good as the sum of its highly-paid parts? All of the above in a demanding mixture which means that football journalism about the England national team is a different genre of writing from football journalism in general? Probably. To do anything but call the performance of yesterday a complete shambles would be a professional error. So England, according to all reports, were unequivocally rubbish again.

Qualifying is starting to look a bit tricky for England, but the sense of impending doom still seems somewhat over the top. As does laying the entire blame on the team’s performance, even if it is another disappointment in a long history of disappointments. What I mean is quite simply that if this had been a league game between, say, Manchester United and Watford the reports would have been different. Man U, the arguably stronger side, with the bigger pressure to win and the larger amount of high-profile international stars with proven abilities, would certainly have been faulted for the inability to find the net. A 0-0 draw after dominating possession, chances and pretty much everything else at Watford would have been called quite pathetic. But somebody would also have picked up on the incredibly defensive play of the opposition and faulted them for not even trying to win the game!

I listened to Israeli football journalist Shaul Adar being interviewed by Danny Kelly of The Times about his national side and their play earlier in the week. Maybe this influenced me, but his predictions were absolutely spot on. He was critical of his team, but spoke from experience when he informed the listener that aside from one defeat (against Croatia and characterised by uncharacteristic play by the team) Israel has not lost at home for 7 years. What he labelled as the ‘most boring invincibility in the world’ takes the form of draws and a something approaching national pride in the fact that ‘Israel can draw against any team’. All this according to him down to a lack of true ambition.

I of course know very little about the Israeli team, but the style of Israel’s performance yesterday proved Adar right in at least this one instance. Apart from early capitalisation on England’s initial disorganisation, as well as a few attempts when England lost the ball, Israel spent the game gradually withdrawing into their own half. At the end it really looked like they were playing 7-2-1 in an effort to hold on to the 0-0.

England were a bit feeble at first, but gradually, especially in the second half, got into the game. Adar had jokingly said that Israel’s left-back was invisible, and even if no names were mentioned, this seemed to be true when Aaron Lennon outran the Israeli defence and was repeatedly able to cross in towards the middle. His elegant crosses, however, came to a halt in the congested penalty area. Should England, with their whooping and telling 68.2 % possession, have been able to unlock and beat a 7-2-1? Probably, but there are two sides to a story and two sides to a football match. If one team appears determined to make it a goal-less draw you might very well get just that.

This is not really a defence of Steve McClaren; there might certainly be things which, done differently could have won the game. Leaving Aaron Lennon on? Starting with Micah Richards or at least adjust to the situation by putting him on a lot sooner? Putting Defoe on sooner – possibly by removing one of the midfielders instead of Johnson and playing an aggressive 4-3-3 with more spirit? I don’t know, and thankfully I’m not the England manager so I don’t have to worry, but I still think that England were less of a shambles than the Israeli’s attitude to the game.

Israel
Aouate, Ben Haim, Gershon, Ziv, Benado, Spungin, Badir, Benayoun, Ben Shushan (Alberman 87), Tamuz (Barda 75), Balili (Sahar 69).
Subs Not Used: Davidovitch, Golan, Toama, Antebi.
Booked: Benado, Ben Haim.

England
Robinson, Neville (Richards 72), Ferdinand, Terry, Carragher, Gerrard, Lampard, Hargreaves, Lennon (Downing 83), Rooney, Johnson (Defoe 80).
Subs Not Used: Foster, Barry, Carrick, Dyer.
Booked: Carragher, Rooney.

Attendance: 35,000.
Referee: Tom Ovrebo (Norway)

Aaron Lennon in his first England start, a great individual performance (Image from www.tottenhamhotspur.com)

International calls for Spurs

Back to international week again and the emptying of clubs. Rumour has it that José Mourinho only has a couple of goalkeepers left at home this week – the joys of being Chelsea manager apparently includes simply having a week off when the players are out on duty for their countries… Martin Jol has a few more at home, but most of our first team is also out travelling.

Paul Robinson, Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon are in the England squad, trying to qualify for Euro 2008 while Tom Huddlestone, Ben Alnwick and Wayne Routledge are part of the England under -21 squad which take on Italy in the friendly at Wembley. As the first competition to be held in the new stadium there is history in the making. History is of course also made at Croke Park, where the foreign game soccer will be played for the first time as The Republic of Ireland, captained by Robbie Keane, take on Wales.

Dimitar Berbatov captains Bulgaria against Albania and Teemu Tainio joins Finland against Azerbaijan. Didier Zokora as well as Hossam Ghaly and Mido are playing African Nations Cup qualifiers with the Ivory Coast and Egypt respectively. Paul Stalteri and Lee Young-Pyo are playing friendlies with Canada and South Korea.

After having been told daily about Steve McClaren’s fears regarding his England choices’ health, especially concerning Aaron Lennon, it is now our turn to worry and hope that all will go well. Aaron better not come home from England duty with his knee in pieces! Waiting for the lads when they come home is our home match against Reading, the first game in a new congested fixture period: 7 games in 28 days of April including Chelsea, Arsenal and Sevilla twice…

Striking Beauty

Ending an unbeaten run against Chelsea, in a game of equals, must be considered an honourable defeat. If there was a defence able to close down our in-form strike force it was this one. But despite one defeat, the fact remains that Spurs have finally found a finishing touch – 27 goals in 9 games – and that is a comforting thought after losing out on the FA-cup.

Kevin McCarra, chief football correspondent for The Guardian, recently commented that perhaps ‘Tottenham are the new Arsenal’. Hardly the best way to ingratiate oneself with Spurs fans, regardless of which aspect of the Gunners inspires the comparison, but he did redeem himself somewhat this week by saying that ‘Spurs are the most attractive team in the premiership at the moment, since Arsenal are in the doldrums’. Quite so. And that this is very much due to Dimitar Berbatov is no longer a secret, but the stuff of daily headlines. Female football fans predictably swoon in masses but then again, so do the male ones: I feel better about my covetousness knowing that James Richardson suffers from the same condition…

Mr McCarra’s original point was that Spurs are like Arsenal in that, while attacking with energy and style, ‘they seem to resent the idea that they’re being forced to defend’. The striking lack of clean sheets and the goal difference in the Premiership still in the negative certainly supports the idea that the upsurge in form has more to do with accomplished attacking than a bolstered defence, despite Michael Dawson’s increasingly excellent performances. Needless to say, this is not the doing of one man; Berbatov’s settling into the English game has coincided with the midfield play getting stronger and a more consistent ability to win the ball, retain it and push it forward obviously means that the front men have more to work with. But Berbatov’s ability to read the game, be in the right place, set up his strike partners or finish it off himself has been the pivot in the newfound attractiveness of Spurs. Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane, both very talented strikers in their own right, look even better players for being alongside him.

Berbatov’s performance in the 4-1 against Bolton, which sparked the recent media frenzy around him, epitomised his resourcefulness. Playing alone up front for half of the game in a 10-man team, he seemed to be everywhere, controlling the ball as with a magnet and never stopped creating chances from all angles. He was rightly applauded as man of the match by an amazed press and has risen from relative obscurity to being hailed as the best forward in the Premiership along Didier Drogba. Gone are the days where people sceptically commented that he was a bit too ‘lightweight’ for the English game – but then again, utterly gone are also the days when defenders managed to push him off the ball. The Times published graphics of the first FA-cup game between Chelsea and Tottenham which showed where Berbatov (and Drogba) had touched the ball. They revealed the versatility of his game, his movement and ability both in linking up play from different positions and in finishing in the penalty area. He transpires as the ultimate all-round centre forward – and a 26 year-old still improving one at that.

"Not only has Dimitar scored goals for us, he has been a leader," Jermaine Jenas told the Telegraph, "He has helped in terms of the work ethic we think we should put in - he tracks back, works hard, takes responsibility, and now he is getting his rewards."

The leadership abilities add an important piece to the puzzle. During the ‘slump’ in form, indeed since Ledley King got injured, a lack of leadership on the field appeared to be the main malaise of Spurs. A ‘softness’ which partly had to do with winning the ball, but mainly was a mental one. Cue inconsistent performances. The comprehensive 4-0 beating of Fulham in the cup was a turning point for the team, a game in which direction and responsibility abounded – to the point where the players shouted at each other. Good results breeds a good mood and confidence, and there is not need for shouting at the moment. Instead there is a strong sense of common purpose, visible in team play which was always showed skill but was inconsistent in execution. It is all coming together, the new players settled in, all players settled with each other and natural leadership allowed to flourish. Spurs have rediscovered the art of striking beautifully.

Following in the wake of the sudden mass of attention on Berbatov as the talisman and engineer of Spurs striking capacity are fears among us fans of epic proportions. Do we get to keep him or will he be cruelly snatched away? Is this love affair doomed by the powers that be to end in tragedy, in a ‘fearful passage of their death-mark’d love’, or is it, could it be, a comedy ending in marriage, ‘ever true in loving’? Whichever will be the case, Spurs fans can at the very least live in the moment, take pleasure in the football played by the team and gaze in wonder and amazement at the striking beauty of Dimitar Berbatov.

Celebrations at the Fulham game in February (image from www.tottenhamhotspur.com)

FA-cup replay: Tottenham 1 - 2 Chelsea

For Tottenham Hotspur this FA-cup will be the one that got away, an opportunity missed when a game that the team had dominated turned into a draw and a replay. For Chelsea these two games became, apart from a continuation of a propitious cup run, further proof of John Terry's importance. The game at Stamford Bridge was characterised by defensive mistakes on both sides, this game, conversely, was won by the team with the strongest defence. Not because either team played defensively, but because neither did. Less erratically entertaining than last week’s, perhaps, but a stunning display of tactical matching and flowing action from end to end.

It was pointed out last week that John Terry could use a recording of last week's game as a bargaining tool in his ongoing salary negotiations; now he can add a recording of this one and the deal is in the bag. Without me -- with me. "£130 000 per week? Certainly sir, and can we also offer you a castle and a small country?" With the England captain back in the middle, Carvalho looked good again, Mikel was great in a holding role in front of them and Diarra and Cole at right and left respectively were much more effective. Where the Spurs strike force Lennon, Berbatov and Keane had last week found holes to play through there was now a wall. On the opposite side things had also improved; Michael Dawson put in a sterling performance, one of his best for Spurs. His colleagues also did well and were helped by effective ball-winning by the midfielders.

The game started brightly for Spurs who dominated possession and had a fluency and width which made Chelsea look congested in the middle. The elaborate attacks forced Cech to make some saves but most attempts, however, inevitably did not make it past Terry and it was increasingly apparent that the moves which had paid off in the previous game where getting Spurs nowhere. Lovely crosses into the middle by Lennon, Jenas and Chimbonda could not find the heavily marked strikers. Berbatov, placed at the very front, saw conspicuously little of the ball as the game progressed – even if he performed his magical moves whenever he did. Cech remained the busier keeper as Chelsea’s shots failed to hit target and the first half ended 0-0.

Chelsea started stronger in the second half, but the first chances fell to Spurs and Cech had more saves to make. Lennon was having trouble with Diarra on the left, but managed to cut through at times – similarly Shevchenko had struggled all through the game to make it past Malbranque on his right. The first time Malbranque lost his mark there was instant punishment as the Ukraine striker curved the ball into the top corner with what for a second actually looked like a misfired pass to Drogba, who was waiting in front of goal. Either way – in it went, Chelsea were ahead and soon doubled their lead. A long ball from Ashley Cole was chested down onto the ground by Drogba and Wright-Phillips took a great shot past Dawson and Robinson. Spurs continued to create fluent attacks and when Berbatov got hold of the ball and cut fully through the centre of defence Carvalho took him down with a challenge and awarded the home team with a penalty. It was expertly converted into a goal by Robbie Keane. Despite frantic efforts by Spurs to the very end it was to stay at 1-2; the Chelsea players, celebrating profusely, now have a date with Blackburn and the Tottenham players were left with the meagre consolation of at least having played very well. But the sense of an honourable defeat affords little comfort when so much hard work yields no result.

Tottenham
Robinson, Chimbonda, Young-Pyo Lee, Dawson, Rocha (Stalteri 84), Lennon, Zokora, Jenas, Malbranque (Defoe 64), Berbatov, Keane.
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Ghaly, Huddlestone.
Booked: Chimbonda.
Goals: Keane 79 pen.

Chelsea
Cech, Diarra (Ferreira 90), Ashley Cole, Carvalho, Terry, Wright-Phillips (Kalou 86), Lampard, Ballack, Mikel, Shevchenko (Robben 81), Drogba.
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Boulahrouz.
Booked: Diarra, Drogba, Cech.
Goals: Shevchenko 55, Wright-Phillips 61.

Attendance: 35,519
Referee: M Atkinson