January Month Report

2W4D1L and we have yet to win a League game since Boxing Day. We are now in the Last 16 of FA Cup with a good draw, but have lost too many grounds in the league and may even have trouble to qualify for Champions League. Something need to be done very quickly if we really want to save the next season, and off the field, we also need to do something.

Players of the Month (1) Torres 6.79 (2) Carragher 6.75 (3) Gerrard 6.72. Torres scored 2 league goals but we still managed to draw two games. Carra was as consistent as usual, and Stevie G scored a FA Cup hat trick. But apart from the big 3, are there anybody fighting for the team?

February Prediction:
2/2 Sunderland (h) Gotta win this game.
2/10 Chelsea (a) At the current form a draw would be considered a good result.
2/16 Barsnley (h) The draw has been nice to us, don't waste it.
2/19 Inter Milan (h) We gotta win this game before we visit San Siro.
2/23 Middlesbrough (h) We lost 2 points at Riverside, but at Anfield it would be different.

Match Report 080130 at West Ham United: Powerless

0-1 and we are powerless and suffered once again. The team lacked any spark, and together with the assistance of the referee of not giving us a penalty, there is no chance we can win. At the end a mistake of leaving too less people at the back proved costly. Now we even have a big challenge to even finish fourth. The team is in need of quick improvement now, and I am not sure how it will come.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6 Not much to do and tried his best to save the penalty.
Finnan: 6 Very flat performance.
Carragher: 6 Unlucky to be in that situation to concede the penalty.
Hyypia: 6.5 One of the better performer in a disappointing night.
Aurelio: 5.5 Weakest link and was constantly attacked by Ljungberg.
Benayoun: 6 Had a bright start but fade out too quickly.
Gerrard: 6 Very flat performance in 1H but gradually improved in 2H.
Alonso; 6 Not much inspiration provided.
Kewell: 5.5 Probably on his way out.
Kuyt: 6 Same old comment, work hard, but nothing more.
Torres: 6 No support at all.

Substitutions:
Babel: 6 Not much offered.
Lucas: 6.5 Came up and slightly changed the game, but the finishing was not there.

Rafa: 6 Any idea how to change this around?

West Ham United: 6.5 Tried to get 1 point and was lucky to get 3.

Men of the Match: Hyypia/Lucas. Hyypia did OK at defense and Lucas at least gave us some hope.

Play better

We need to start picking up points if we want to finish top 4, and although it is really remote, we have a very very slim chance to win the title if result goes in favour of us. No matter watch, we need to play well and make sure no more silly goal will be conceded.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Aurelio
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Benayoun
Torres
Crouch

Result 2:0

Match Report 080126 vs Havant & Waterlooville: Result flattered us

5-2 but the result really flattered us. Credit to Havant, they really come to try to win the game and twice took the lead. But at the end the different in class and strength shown up, but they can leave with pride, while we should be ashamed of our performance. We definitely need to improve if we really want to win the FA Cup.

Another thing is that the Kop was very quiet. Especially in the first half only the Havant fans were singing. We should support the team whether we were winning or losing, and in particular if we were losing fans should support the team more. This is what a fan should do. On the other hand, it was very touching at the end when we gave them our full respect and YNWA. It was really a touching moment. For the Havant team and fans, this was an once in a lifetime opportunity, and they deserved it.

Players Rating:
Itandje: 5.5 Not an convincing performance. Rafa may drop him if we draw some big guns.
Finnan: 5.5 At fault for both goals conceded.
Syrtel: 5 A very very poor full debut that he would like to remember.
Hyypia: 6 The only performing defender.
Riise: 6 Still seeking his first goals for more than 100 shots.
Pennant: 6.5 Gradually picked up and have two nice assists.
Lucas: 6.5 A superb first goal for the Brazilian.
Mascherano: 6.5 Did OK.
Babel: 6.5
Benayoun: 8 Another superbly taken hat trick to saved us from humiliation.
Crouch: 6.5 Worked hard and closed the game with a professionally taken goal.

Substitutions:
Kuyt: 6 As usual, work hard but couldn't score.
Carragher: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.
Gerrard: 7 Nice assist.

Rafa: 6 Will be very disappointed about the performance especially for 1H.

Havant: 7.5 Well done Havant!

Man of the Match: Benayoun. Second hat tricks for us for such a short period.

Ensure no surprise

Havant is 6 leagues below us and everyone said this is David vs Goliath. For us we need to act professionally and don't underestimate them. Now that the off-the-field saga seems to be finally end, we need to focus in the game and make sure there is no surprise.

My Team Prediction:
Itandje
Finnan
Carragher
Skrtel
Riise
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Babel
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 5:0

Fergie has his point

Although he is a hated figure for us and he won't waste his chance to claim we are a "small club", he really has his point.

“At big clubs, it’s absolutely paramount that the board show their class. Arsène Wenger has had great support at Arsenal and I’ve had great support, too, ever since I came here. So there’s a certain type of unity there.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article3241461.ece

Match Report 080121 vs Aston Villa: Same old story

2-2 and this is the same old story that we failed to score the crucial goal to kill off the game, and then hurt by this. Villa is actually not that bad, but we should win every home game. Now we are 2 points behind Everton with one game in hand, and there is not much room for error now. And of course, as Stevie G said, we need to sort out the off the field activities as soon as possible as the players are being affected by them.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6 Poor display and sometimes very nervous.
Arbeloa: 6 Needlessly conceded the free kick that lead to the first goal conceded.
Carragher: 7 Did well as usual and even captured an assist when moved to right back.
Hyypia: 6 A fair performance.
Aurelio: 6 Scored his first goal for the club - but sadly it's an own goal.
Benayoun: 7 Offered nothing apart from scoring the goal.
Gerrard: 6 Not much offered.
Mascherano: 7 As good as he usually does.
Kuyt: 6.5 Created the first goal, but failed to do anything well.
Torres: 6 Not many chances.

Substitutions:
Skrtel: 6 A fair debut.
Babel: 6 Had a quick shot when came up but then not much contribution.
Crouch: 7.5 Came up and saved us from further misery.

Rafa: 6 Failed to motivate the team.

Aston Villa: 7 Did very well and deserved to earn the point.

Man of the Match: Crouch. Rafa should start him more often.

Don't give up

Although the title is now farther and farther away we should try our best to reduce the gap. Villa will be in high mood now and we need to play to our best to win the game. And forget the off the field problems.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Benayoun
Gerrard
Mascherano
Kewell
Torres
Crouch

Result 2:0

Match Report 080115 vs Luton Town: Player responds

5-0 and it is a very good result to celebrate Carra's 500th game and to create a proper headline for the newspaper. Although we find it hard to break through during first half, Luton relaxed a bit in the injury time and we quickly take advantage of it. The second half is a one way traffic and starting from the first kick that Xabi try to score from the midfield, it's only a matter of how many goals we will score. Now we need to move on and start scoring more goals for fun.

Players Rating:
Itandje: 7 Not tested at all.
Arbeloa: 7 A much improved performance.
Carragher: 7.5 500 consistent performance.
Hyypia: 8 Did very well going upfront during set pieces and was rewarded with a great goal.
Riise: 7 Still tried too hard to score.
Pennant: 7 A nice performance.
Gerrard: 9 Hat trick hero.
Alonso: 7 Solid as usual.
Babel: 8 Best game for us so far. Opened the floodgate and was unlucky not to score more.
Torres: 7 Saved the goals for the next game.
Crouch: 7.5 Did very well but the finishing is not there.

Substitutions:
Kuyt: 6.5 Tried very hard but failed to score.
Aurelio/Lucas: 6.5 Not enough time to impress, but did reasonably well.

Rafa: 7.5 Would enjoy the result especially he knows he have the backing of the players and fans.

Luton Town: 5 Credits to them for frustrated us for almost 1.5 games.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. First FA Cup hat trick for us since Collymore in 1996.

Win this for Rafa and Carra

Now that Hicks confirmed he had a talk with Klinsmann, I think it is now for the players and the fans to show support to our manager. This is also Carra's 500th game and let's win it for Rafa and Carra, for they deserve our support.

My Team Prediction:
Itandje
Finnan
Carragher
Hobbs
Riise
Babel
Gerrard
Alonso
Kewell
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 2:0

Match Report 080112 at Middlesbrough: Unable to break the duck

1-1 and it is another 2 point loss. Away at Boro is also a tough challenge for us, as we have not even score a goal there since 2002. At least we scored one, but we also conceded another poor goal. If you also consider Arsenal was beaten there, then this is not a bad result. But on a day when Arsenal lost points, we failed to capitalize and reduce the gap. The team is surely affected by the off the field quarrels, and the Board need to act quickly.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6 A bit rash as he has no faith in the defense.
Finnan: 6 Good in clearing the ball but not much else.
Carragher: 6.5 Cleared the ball well, but cannot offer any thing more.
Hyypia: 6.5 A decent performance and almost win us 3 points with his header.
Arbeloa: 5 Horrible.
Benayoun: 5.5 Not much contribution.
Gerrard: 6 A poor performance.
Mascherano: 6.5 A hard man as usual.
Riise: 5.5 Poor as midfielder but better as left back.
Voronin: 5 Offered nothing to the team.
Torres: 7.5 Once again saved the team for further humiliation.

Substitutions:
Babel: 7 Came on and did very well to change the game. Could have scored.
Alonso: 6 An average performance.
Kuyt: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6 Helpless to boast the team morale.

Middlesbrough: 6 Did well in 1H but the draw is probably the best they should get.

Man of the Match: Torres. Once again let down by teammates.

Don't give up yet

It may be unlikely for us to win the title now but we should not give up now. Keeping winning, and see how high we can go. Away at Boro will be tough, and we need to be at our best to beat them.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Pennant
Gerrard
Mascherano
Kewell
Kuyt
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 080106 at Luton Town: We only have ourselves to blame

1-1 and we only have ourselves to blame for not winning the game. Luton just wants to win (or draw?) this game more than us. True, the pitch is bad, but still we should win this game comfortably even though they play physically hard. Now we have one more game next week and we should win it and go into 4th round.

Players Rating:
Itandje: 6.5 Made a few important challenges but could do nothing on that spectacular own goal.
Finnan: 6 Didn't offer much.
Carragher: 7 Played well with his heart.
Hyypia: 6 Was constantly exposed due to his speed.
Riise: 5 Horrible. But could have score and win the game for us.
Benayoun: 6 Not much space to work.
Alonso: 6 Couldn't break through the tight defense.
Lucas: 6 A reasonably well performance.
Babel: 6.5 Should have score in the first minute.
Kuyt: 6 Another headless chicken performance.
Crouch: 6.5 Well taken goal, but should have score more.

Substitution:
Mascherano/Voronin/El Zhar: 6 Not much impact when called on.

Rafa: 6 The team just doesn't have the right mentality to win the game.

Luton: 6.5 Poor quality but excellent determination.

Man of the Match: Carragher. Teammates let him down again.

Realistic goal

After losing 10 points in recent games FA Cup becomes our realistic goal in this season. We all remember what happened 2 years ago at Luton, and history seems to be rewriting itself again. But no need for another 5-3 scoreline.

My Team Prediction:
Itandje
Finnan
Carragher
Hobbs
Riise
Pennant
Alonso
Leto
Kewell
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 2:0

Match Report 080102 vs Wigan Athletic: Dream is almost over

1-1 and we can't start 2008 with a win, but we only have ourselves to blame. The team lacks the killer instinct and cannot kill off the game, so at the end we were punished. Rafa intended to use Stevie G as a second striker but it did not work well. The good thing is to see Pennant back, so we will have more options going into new year. Also title hope is fading quickly but we still need to keep fighting. You never know.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Not much to do and can't do much on that goal conceded.
Finnan: 7 A very lively performance with a nice assist.
Carragher: 6.5 Did OK.
Arbeloa: 6 Another below par performance as center back.
Aurelio: 6.5 Getting better and better and will soon score.
Pennant: 6.5 Back from the long injury with a nice performance.
Alonso: 6.5 Did OK.
Mascherano: 6.5 Was a bit unlucky to concede the free kick that lead to the goal, and was unlucky again the Stevie G's clearance hit him and gifted Bramble the goal.
Kewell: 6.5 Doing better and better and almost scored.
Gerrard: 7 Tried very hard to win the game but was denied by Kirkland.
Torres: 7.5 Another coolly taken goal but at the end it was not enough.

Substitutions:
Benayoun/Crouch/Kuyt: 6 Not much impact on the game.

Rafa: 6 Would be disappointed by the lack of killer instinct and need to address the problem of over-relying on Gerrard and Torres.

Wigan Athletic: 7 Deserved to get the point. Steve Bruce is really our bogey opponent as Rafa has still yet to beat him in the league.

Man of the Match: Torres. But other players need to help him as well.

Start the new year with a win

We will welcome Wigan in the first game of 2008. With no fresh injury Rafa can stick with our best team, and rotate some players in the FA Cup. We beat them in the away fixture thanks to a late Benayoun goal, and we should beat them again this time at home.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Arbeloa
Aurelio
Benayoun
Gerrard
Alonso
Kewell
Torres
Crouch

Result 2:0

Season 2007/08 midterm report

We played 30 games in the first half, 3 less than last season, with 17 wins, 8 draws and 2 defeats. In the league we have 10 wins, 7 draws and 2 defeats with 37 points and are 13 points behind Arsenal with 2 games in hand. This is slightly better than the same period last time (P22 W12 D4 L6 with 36 points) but were poorer than the season before that (P19 W12 D5 L2 with 41 points). We failed to win all our 3 home games against the other top 4 teams, and will need to do much better in order to have a chance to catch up. Otherwise we can only settle on 4th place, which is not yet secure as Manchester City and Everton are still trying to break in. In the Champions League we will play Inter Milan, which is a tough game but we will be ready.

Departmental Comments:
Goalkeeper
Reina is as best as usual with 14 clean sheets but Itandje is showing he can be a challenger should he get any chance. Carson will probably leave, but we should be OK.

Defender
Carragher is also doing extremely well, and with Agger suffering injury, Hyypia did very well as well until his recent injury. Hobbs is picking up well, but we definitely need to buy another cover in this area. For other defenders, Finnan and Arbeloa are also doing well, and Aurelio is also gradually settled in. The only disappointment is Riise, who at times have tried too hard to impress.

Midfielder
With Gerrard, Alonso and Mascherano we have the luxury to rotate in this area. Lucas is also doing well but Sissoko has been the biggest disappointment among all and may be sold very soon. On the wings Pennant was doing fine before his injury, Benayoun already showing some good performance although he is not very consistent. On the left side Rafa has been giving Kewell lots of opportunities to show why we should extend his contract and he is doing well, and Babel, despite not a natural winger, did quite well and bagged in 6 goals already, 5 of them as substitute.

Attacker
Torres! 15 goals already and is absolutely world class. However the other 3 are not doing very well. Kuyt still works hard but it is clear that he is not as class as Torres. Crouch has been mourning but he does not take his chance when given. Voronin has shown some flashes but was then fade out, may be due to Rafa continuing to play him out of position. Still rooms for improvement here, or Rafa can try move Babel up front to partner with Torres.

Player Rating (Games played, Minutes played, Goal scored/conceded, Assists/cleansheets, MoM, Rating)
Goalkeepers
Itandje: 3G 270M 5GC 0CS 0MoM 6.50
Martin: 7 unused substitutes
Reina: 27G 2430M 17GC 14CS 1MoM 7.07

Defenders
Agger: 6G 516M 0GS 0A 0MoM 7.08
Arbeloa: 25G 2155M 0GS 1A 0MoM 6.88
Aurelio: 13G 760M 0GS 1A 0MoM 6.64
Carragher: 28G 2458M 0GS 0A 2.5MoM 7.04
Finnan: 20G 1632M 0GS 1A 0.5MoM 6.70
Hobbs: 5G 310M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.56
Hyypia: 23G 1870M 2GS 2A 0MoM 6.85
Riise: 23G 1694M 0GS 3A 0MoM 6.61

Midfielders
Alonso: 8G 655M 2GS 0A 1MoM 7.24
Babel: 26G 1193M 6GS 2A 0MoM 6.48
Benayoun: 23G 1446M 6GS 6A 3MoM 6.96
El Zhar: 2G 101M 1GS 0A 0MoM 6.85
Gerrard: 26G 2105M 12GS 10A 10.5MoM 7.46
Kewell: 11G 527M 0GS 4A 0MoM 6.95
Leto: 4G 280 0GS 1A 0MoM 6.38
Lucas: 13G 536M 0GS 1A 0MoM 7.03
Mascherano: 20G 1677M 0GS 1A 3MoM 7.45
Pennant: 11G 717M 0GS 1A 0MoM 6.60
Sissoko: 14G 915M 1GS 0A 0.5MoM 6.34

Attackers:
Crouch: 19G 1043M 4GS 1A 0MoM 6.77
Kuyt: 22G 1480M 7GS 2A 2MoM 6.99
Torres: 23G 1669M 15GS 2A 4MoM 7.54
Voronin: 19G 1199M 4GS 3A 0.5MoM 6.76

Players of 1st half season (1620 mins or above):
(1) Torres 7.54
(2) Gerrard 7.46
(3) Mascherano 7.45
(4) Reina 7.07
(5) Carragher 7.04

Team: 6.95. With Torres we are more likely to score now, but he still need to improve especially in away league games, where he only scored one in the first half of the season. We have lots of possessions and shotting chances, but we still need to improve in the league as we only score with 10% of our shots. It will be difficuly to close the gap now, but we need to try.

2H Result Prediction
League:
1st-5th place teams (Arsenal A, Manchester United A, Chelsea A, Everton H) 2W2D
6th-10th place teams (Aston Villa H, Manchester City H, Blackburn Rovers H, West Ham United H/A) 4W1D
11th-15th place teams (Newcastle United H, Tottenham Hotspur H, Reading H, Middlesbrough H/A, Birmingham City A) 5W1D
16th-20th place teams (Bolton Wanderers A, Sunderland H, Wigan Athletic H, Fulham A) 4W

Total for 2H 15W4D 49 points
Total for the season 86 points

If we really can get 86 points we should be 1st or 2nd.

In FA Cup, we should go pass Luton Town, Whether we can win it or not will depend a lot on luck. In Champions League, Inter will be a tough draw, but they will fear us as well. We need to play very well in order to reach Moscow.

In Rafa we trust.

December Month Report

4 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses and see us further away from the top. The good thing is that we are now in the final 16 of Champions League and will play Inter Milan, but in the league we are now 13 points behind although with 2 games in hand. We definitely need to play much better in the second half.

Players of the Month (1) Mascherano 7.60 (2) Torres 7.56 (3) Gerrard 7.37. Mascherano shown us why Rafa loves to keep him by several superb display. Torres scored 5 goals in the month to bring his total to 15. And Stevie G, despite a few off days in the month, also scored 5 and also with 4 assists.

January Prediction:
1/2 Wigan Athletic (h) We need to win this game to keep up with the top.
1/6 Luton Town (a) Luton's priority will be survival, but we still need to make sure we go through. Rehearsal of the 2006 winning season?
1/12 Middlesbrough (a) A tough away game but we should win it.
1/21 Aston Villa (h) Villa is doing well recently, but we can win this especially as Carson will be ineligible.
1/26 FA Cup 4th round No matter who we will draw, we can win it.
1/29 West Ham United (a) Another tough away game, but if we can get through, we will be closing gap.

Match Report 071230 at Manchester City: Hard to break through

0-0 and the Manchester City defense is really tough to break through. We created lots of chances but just couldn't apply the final touch. We are now gradually drifting away from the top, but still this is only half way and if we can improve, we may have a chance.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Not much to do.
Finnan: 6.5 A consistent display.
Carragher: 7.5 Made a few important clearances.
Arbeloa: 6 Scary as a cover centre back.
Aurelio: 7 One of his best game in a red shirt and almost scored.
Benayoun: 6 Not very effective.
Gerrard: 6.5 Another off day.
Mascherano: 7 Another supreme display.
Kewell: 6.5 Fade out too soon.
Torres: 6.5 Not many chances.
Kuyt: 6 Should have do better with the header.

Substitutions:
Babel: 6.5 Provided another options to the team when coming up.

Rafa: 6.5 Still need to solve the problem of not taking chance. Look at Arsenal! And another cover centre back is the transfer priority.

Manchester City: 7 Did extremely well as a defensive unit. Hamann is still class.

Man of the Match: Carragher. Superb defensive display.