City, Liverpool Exposed for What They Are

Yesterday's action proved especially telling for two sides, Manchester City and Liverpool. Both teams came into this season with high expectations; Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez stated repeatedly that winning the Premiership was his side's main goal and obviously he wanted the deep Champions League run that has become the Reds' trademark. Manchester City didn't have the same expectations as Liverpool but with a new, successful manager and significant turnover from the 2006-2007 squad, City fans had to have been thinking along the lines of a place in Europe.

To be fair, City have had the least disappointing season of the two teams so far and there is still just over a third of the schedule remaining. However, with the way City started the year (three consecutive wins--including a win over fierce rivals Man U--, seven wins in their first ten league games, and three straight victories in the Carling Cup), fans have to be a bit nonplussed with the way City is going right now. The Blues have won just three times in their last 14 games in all competitions; one of those wins was in the FA Cup and another was against Newcastle.

City are the soccer version of bipolar as they boast a 9-3-0 record at home but only a 2-5-5 mark away from Eastlands. Yesterday's 1-1 draw against Derby, who are looking like the worst team in Premiership history, was a clear representation of City's problems. The equation is simple: If you can't win away from home, you won't challenge for anything significant. City were actually down 1-0 and it took a goal from a youngster, Daniel Sturridge, to equalize. Where was Elano? Where was Stephen Ireland? If your big name players don't perform on a consistent basis, again, you won't challenge for anything.

After yesterday's games, City sit in 6th place in the Premiership but that's looking tenuous. Liverpool (and I'll get to them in a bit) are only a point behind but have a game in hand and a much, much better goal differential. Blackburn is in 8th place and they're only a strong run away from passing City as they're just three points behind, and Portsmouth will make that strong run after they get the players who are currently taking part in the African Cup of Nations back in mid-February. Suddenly, City's 6th place spot and UEFA Cup berth could vanish and they could be looking at anywhere between 8th-10th. With the way they started the year, that would have to be viewed as a disappointment.

The true definition of disappointment, though, is Liverpool. I don't want to get into much detail about the Reds as I've already done that in the past week or so (and taken heat for it; was I wrong? No.) and there's no need to restate the obvious. Yesterday's game against West Ham was a microcosm of the entire season for Liverpool. More often than not, the Reds will have the clear advantage in amount of possession (the most useless stat in soccer), a high shot total but with few of those on goal, and more corners than their opponent. Yet on the scoreline, which is the only thing that matters, Liverpool tends to come up short. I don't care how long have you the ball; you can pass it around all game long and it wouldn't mean anything to me. It's all about what you do when you have the ball and in Liverpool's case, it's a whole lot of nothing.

Having said everything I have about Liverpool, I stand behind the prediction I made a couple weeks ago that they'll still finish in 4th place. But is that good enough? I'm sorry, I don't think just scraping by the other teams in the hunt for the last Champions League spot can be viewed as a success. It would be a step backwards from Liverpool's performance last season at a time when all the clubs around them are getting better, not worse.

City and Liverpool are two different cases of disappointment. Liverpool had title hopes and will be fortunate to finish in fourth place, while City had legitimate European hopes with the way they started out and may not get there. If you're a Liverpool fan, I'm not sure how you could possibly look at this season in a positive light and although you still can if you root for City, you have to think about what could have been.

African Cup of Nations Recap--Day 11

Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o became the top scorer in African Cup of Nations finals history today when he converted his second PK of the tournament in the 28th minute, and Cameroon benefited from a Sudanese own goal just six minutes later and went on to win 3-0. Eto'o also scored again right before the end of the game to add to his now-record count of 16 tallies. Cameroon bossed the match from start to finish and although Sudan played much better in the second half, they exit the tournament with no points and no goals scored.

In today's other game, Egypt and Zambia played to a 1-1 draw and that point allowed the Pharaohs to win Group C. Zambia came into the match knowing they really needed a three-goal victory to advance, so an 88nd minute equalizer from Christopher Katongo was little consolation to the Southern African side. Middlesbrough midfielder Mohamed Shawky played the entire match for Egypt and despite knowing they only needed a draw to win the group, coach Hassan Shehata opted to play his usual 3-5-2 lineup.

Final Group C Standings (teams in bold advance):

1. Egypt (7 points, +5 goal differential)
2. Cameroon (6 pts, +5 GD)
3. Zambia (4 pts, -1 GD)
4. Sudan (0 pts, -9 GD)

Group play concludes tomorrow with Group D, and Tunisia and Angola are in the driver's seat to qualification as they both sit on four points while Senegal and South Africa have their work cut out for them with one point each. Interestingly enough, we'll see those groups of two play against each other tomorrow and while a draw would seal the deal for Tunisia and Angola, both coaches have said their sides will be playing to win. My guess? That game will end in a draw.

Quick Predictions for Today's Premiership Games

Alright, I gave you a brief preview of three of the four games yesterday. I want to change things up a bit today and just give you my predictions for this afternoon's action; nothing more, nothing less.

1. Chelsea-2, Reading-1
2. Tottenham-3, Everton-2
3. Manchester City-3, Derby-1
4. Manchester United-2, Portsmouth-0
5. West Ham-2, Liverpool-1

Agree? Disagree? Let me hear you.

African Cup of Nations Recap--Day 10

Disgruntled Chelsea striker Didier Drogba scored just nine minutes in and two second half goals were added insurance for Ivory Coast yesterday as Les Éléphants, my pre-tournament pick to win the whole thing, cruised to a 3-0 win over Mali. Mali came into this game knowing they really needed a result because Nigeria was playing the lightweight of the group, Benin, but they just looked overmatched at times. When Fredi Kanoute was substituted for Momo Sissoko in the 46th minute, you just knew the match was over. The victory capped a perfect group stage for Ivory Coast with three wins in as many matches and more importantly, allowed them to avoid Group A winner Ghana in the quarterfinals.

Nigeria knew exactly what they needed to do yesterday: beat Benin. The Super Eagles had to take care of business there and then hope Ivory Coast would beat Mali, and everything went according to plan if you're rooting for Nigeria. Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel scored once on a header and then set up Yakubu in the 86th minute to seal the deal for Nigeria, who overcame a lackluster first half performance to win the game 2-0. Amazingly enough, those two goals were the first two scored by Nigeria all tournament, even though they have pretty impressive attacking talent on the roster, including three legitimate 10-12 goals-a-season guys in Kanu, Obafemi Martins, and Yakubu.

Nigeria squeaked through by the skin of their teeth as they ended up on the same number of points (4) as Mali. The Super Eagles' superior goal differential (+1 > -2)meant they advanced ahead of Mali, who started the tournament in such fine fashion. For Nigeria, an early exit would have been viewed as a huge disappointment and one that surely would have cost German coach Berti Vogts his job.

The quarterfinal bracket, at least as far as Groups A and B are concerned, is now set. Ghana, the winner of Group A and the hosts of the tournament, will play Nigeria in Accra. Ivory Coast, the winner of Group B, will play Guinea in Sekondi. I'm not going to make any predictions yet, but I don't think this second game is going to be very close.

Final Group B Standings (Teams in bold advance):

1. Ivory Coast (9 points, +7 goal differential)
2. Nigeria (4 pts, +1 GD)
3. Mali (4 pts, -2 GD)
4. Benin (0 pots, -6 GD)

Group C finishes group play today and things are still definitely up for grabs. Cameroon plays Sudan and will very likely win that game. If they do, they'll advance, but whether it's as the group winner or group runner-up is to be determined. In the other game, Egypt, the defending champions and current group leader, will contend with a Zambian side that smells a chance to reach the quarterfinals. They can do so by beating Egypt by at least three goals (unlikely), winning while Cameroon does not, or getting a draw while Cameroon loses.

African Cup of Nations Recap--Day 9

Chelsea stalwart Michael Essien scored once and set up Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Muntari for Ghana's second goal and that was all The Black Stars needed to see off Morocco yesterday and win Group A, likely avoiding Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals by doing so. The 2-0 scoreline was even a bit misleading as Ghana really dominated this game, but Morocco were very unfortunate to have an own goal by Ghana and West Ham defender John Paintsil disallowed as the whistle had already been blown for a foul even though replays showed there was none.

As the host nation, Ghana had been expected to make a deep run in this tournament and have lived up to that so far, winning all three of their group matches. On the other hand, Morocco will be disappointed with how things turned out. The Lions of the Atlas were predicted by most people to go through as the group runner-up, but a surprise loss to Guinea did them in.

Speaking of Guinea, they picked up a point against minnows Namibia with a 1-1 draw and coupled with Morocco's loss, that result was enough to see them through to the last eight. The National Elephants were playing without their best player and captain, Pascal Feindouno, who was serving the first game of a two-match ban for a stupid red card he received in his country's win over Morocco. Souleymane Youla scored in the 62nd minute but Namibia spoiled a victory and earned their first point of the tournament in the process with an 81st minute goal from Brian Brendell.

Guinea will likely play the Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals and without Feindouno, I don't think they have any chance to win that game. Regardless, advancing to that stage of the tournament would be significant as it would be the third straight African Cup of Nations in which they did so. Before that, the last time they progressed to the quarterfinals and behind was 1976, so it shows the upward trend of soccer in Guinea.

Final Group A Standings: (Teams in bold advance)

1. Ghana (9 points, +4 goal differential)
2. Guinea (4 pts, 0 GD)
3. Morocco (3 pts, +1 GD)
4. Namibia (1 pt, -5 GD)

Group B wraps up today with things looking fairly stable. Ivory Coast will battle Mali and although the former have already qualified for the quarterfinals, they still need a draw or victory to win the group while Mali only need a point to advance but would need to win the game to win the group. Look for Nigeria to put a hammering on Benin today as the Super Eagles need a win and an Ivory Coast victory to avoid the embarrassment of exiting the tournament early.

A Trio of Six-Pointers

Things have been pretty busy in the soccer world recently at least as far as this site goes, what with the African Cup of Nations in full swing and the FA Cup 4th Round ties and 5th Round draw over the past few days.

Let’s not forget the bread and butter though. Premier League action heats up again with a round of midweek games, starting with four tomorrow and then five on Wednesday. Three of tomorrow’s matches are extremely, extremely important and so I wanted to give you a brief preview of what to watch for. These games are the definition of the term “six-pointers”, as each of the six teams involved are in the relegation fight and could either go three points closer to safety or three more points behind the teams they’re chasing in the battle to remain in the Premier League.

Middlesbrough (13th; 22 pts) vs. Wigan (17th; 20 pts):

This will be game #1 of the post-Jonathan Woodgate era at Middlesbrough. Say what you like about Woodgate and how injury-prone he is, but he’s a quality center-back and his presence will sorely be missed at the Riverside, especially as Boro have already conceded 37 goals this season. They’ve won just once in their last six league matches and only twice at home all season. Both Tuncay Sanli and Gary O’Neil should return to the lineup, however, and that will be a boost to Gareth Southgate’s club.

Marlon King should be set to make his debut for Wigan after recently joining the Lancashire side from Watford. King is a serviceable striker who will help Wigan up front; they’ve scored only 23 goals in as many matches this season. They’ve won just once away from the JJB this year but have earned points in five out of their last seven league games, including their sole road win at Derby. As a sidenote, this will be Wigan’s 100th match in the Premier League.

Bolton (15th; 21 pts) vs. Fulham (19th; 15 pts):

Out of the six clubs I’ve highlighted today, I think these two need a victory the most.

Bolton lack any type of scoring punch now that Nicolas Anelka has continued his nomadic ways and moved to Chelsea, and the likely signing of Aston Villa central defender Gary Cahill doesn’t address that need whatsoever. The Trotters have won just twice in their last seven league games and those wins came against Derby and Birmingham. El-Hadji Diouf and Abdoulaye Meite are both away due to African Cup of Nations duty and that doesn’t help matters at all.

One thing that does work in Bolton’s favor, however, is Fulham’s awful road form. Bolton have been solid at home this season (5-3-4) and Fulham have picked up only four points in eleven away league matches so far (0-4-7). The Cottagers actually hadn’t won away from home in the 2007 calendar year either, so Bolton should have the advantage tomorrow in that regard. Fulham will need Clint Dempsey to have a good game tomorrow if they have any hope of gaining a much-needed three points.

Sunderland (18th; 20 pts) vs. Birmingham City (16th; 20 pts):

Sunderland will head into tomorrow’s match with a much-weakened side as Michael Chopra, Danny Higginbotham, Grant Leadbitter, Ross Wallace, Kieran Richardson, Carlos Edwards, and Dickson Etuhu will all be out and each of those players has had an appreciable role with the club this season. The Black Cats have shown improvement recently with two wins in their last five league matches, including the dominant 2-0 win against Portsmouth at the Stadium of Light on January 13. Kenwyne Jones is capable of scoring every time he walks onto the field and Birmingham will likely have trouble containing him in the air.

The Blues have the most away wins (2) out of any team in the bottom seven in the Premiership and will likely hand James McFadden his first start since his recent move from Everton. Mauro Zarate has joined the club on loan as well and trust me, this kid is a star in the making. He scored the winning goal for the Argentine U-20 team in the final of last summer’s FIFA U-20 World Cup against the Czech Republic, and was the co-top scorer in the Argentine Apertura in 2006-2007 with 12 goals. Birmingham are healthy and will have every opportunity to steal a victory on the road, although they’ll have to earn it as Sunderland are 5-3-3 on home turf this season.

Barack Obama is a West Ham Fan

Have you all seen the article on the Telegraph's website "revealing" that Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama is a West Ham supporter?

I'm not sure what to make of this. Reports state that ever since Obama went on a trip to England five years ago, the Illinois senator has been a fan of the Claret and Blue and that he watches Premiership matches whenever he can with his busy schedule.

Of course, Bill and Hillary Clinton are supposedly huge Manchester United fans as well. They're also fans of the New York Giants as Bill recently said while speaking to an elementary school. Curious that New York has more electoral votes than Massachusetts, the home state of the New England Patriots, the Giants' opponent in the Super Bowl. Curious also that the Clintons seem to enjoy jumping on the bandwagons of successful teams.

Anyway, back to Obama. What do you guys think, is he a true Hammers fan?

FA Cup 5th Round Draw Revealed

The draw for the 5th Round of the FA Cup was conducted at 8:30 Eastern Time this morning and I have to say, there are some very interesting ties that will be worth watching.

Here's the complete draw (Premiership teams are in bold, home teams are listed first):

Bristol Rovers v Southampton
Cardiff City v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Sheffield United v Middlesbrough
Liverpool v Barnsley
Manchester United v Arsenal
Preston North End v Portsmouth
Coventry City v West Bromwich Albion
Chelsea v Huddersfield Town

If you're a fan of lower-league soccer, this is a mixed bag. Huddersfield Town and Bristol Rovers (both in League One) are the lowest-ranked teams left at this stage, and while the former has no chance to advance, Bristol Rovers could very well pull off an upset. You're guaranteed to see either Cardiff or Wolves move on and either Coventry or West Brom as well. Other than that, the pickings are slim.

I don't think I'm going out any real limb in predicting that Sheffield United will beat Middlesbrough at Brammall Lane. I know they're only in 14th place right now in the Championship, but this is a team that has already beaten Bolton and Manchester City in the FA Cup this year and Middlesbrough are struggling in the Premier League and could be without Jonathan Woodgate as well. If all else fails, maybe someone at Sheffield United can steal some more money from the visiting team's locker room.

Liverpool have been lucky enough to draw lower-league sides in both of their previous FA Cup ties and the trend continues in this round as the Reds will host Barnsley, who currently occupy 16th place in the Championship.

David Nugent will make his return to Preston as his current club, Portsmouth, heads to the North West and Deepdale. Preston are really struggling this year without Nugent (22nd in the Championship) but both they and their fans will really be up for this game, particularly if Nugent is playing.

Undoubtedly, the tie of the round is Manchester United-Arsenal, although it will be interesting to see what sort of team Arsene Wenger trots out at Old Trafford. Will he go with the kids as he does in most cup games, or will he go with a more traditional side since this is a big, big matchup? We'll see.

African Cup of Nations Recap--Day 8

Manchester United are looking smarter and smarter for their interest in Manucho as the Angolan striker scored twice in seventeen minutes in the second half to propel his country to a come-from-behind 3-1 win yesterday over Senegal.

Manucho now has three goals in two games in this edition of the African Cup of Nations, Angola has four points and is sitting in the driver's seat to qualification for the quarterfinals, and Senegal is without their head coach as he resigned after the loss. The Lions of Teranga are in big trouble and it looks unlikely that they'll advance even though they have a roster full of quality players who make their living overseas, including six players in the Premiership who appeared in yesterday's game. One of those players, Newcastle's Abdoulaye Meite, put Senegal ahead after just 20 minutes, but after a first half in which they were dominated, Angola came out in the second half and simply took it to their opponents.

The other game yesterday also ended with a 3-1 score as a more experienced Tunisia side beat the 2010 World Cup hosts, South Africa. Francileudo Santos scored twice in the first half and The Eagles of Carthage took a 3-0 lead into the break. South Africa only avoided a clean sheet with an 87th minute goal and didn't even deserve that with their sloppy play all game long. Tunisia's lineup included two Birmingham City players, Radhi Jaidi and Mehdi Nafti, and South Africa started both Steven Pienaar and Aaron Mokoena once again. Their hopes of advancing to the next round are likely over, and Tunisia can seal the deal with a draw or win against Angola in the last group match.

Group D Standings (after two games):

1. Tunisia (4 points, +2 goal differential)
2. Angola (4 pts, +2 GD)
3. Senegal (1 pt, -2 GD)
4. South Africa (1 pt, -2 GD)

Group A is back in action today as they'll wrap up their part in this stage of the tournament. The Ghana-Morocco match is huge as Morocco will likely need to beat Ghana to advance to the quarterfinals because they're currently tied on points (3) with Guinea, who have the huge advantage of playing lightweights Namibia. If both Morocco and Guinea draw, Morocco would advance due to a better goal differential.

Adding Insult to Injury

ESPNsoccernet is reporting that a significant amount of money--believed to be in the region of $3,000-$4,000 US--was stolen right out of wallets from the Manchester City dressing room at some point during the afternoon today. City occupied the visitors' changing room as they were in Sheffield to take on Sheffield United in the 4th Round of the FA Cup, a game in which they surprisingly lost 2-1.

"A number of staff and players have had a quantity of cash stolen," City spokesman Paul Tyrrell told Sky Sports News.

"I am not aware that the dressing room was locked and the police are looking in it."

Wow. If this is the case, Sheffield United has to be at fault. There's no excuse for not locking the doors to the locker room and prohibiting access to everything inside.

Then again, what were City's players and staff doing with that much money?? They were the visiting team and probably were heading back to Manchester directly after the match; I'm not sure why they were carrying any considerable amount of money in the first place.

City aren't exactly setting the world alight right now with their recent form. This is a team that has won a grand total of three matches in their last thirteen played in all competitions. They're fading in the race for fourth place in the Premiership and with today's loss are now out of both domestic cup competitions. The last thing their players and staff are thinking about at the moment is the money in their wallets, especially when it's inside a place that should be safe and off-limits to anyone but team personnel, and somehow even that is now missing.

After a trip to Derby next week, City have the displeasure of playing Manchester United, Arsenal, and Everton in their three league games in February.

Could it get any worse?

FA Cup 5th Round Draw

The draw for the fifth round of the 2007-2008 edition of the world's oldest domestic cup competition will take place tomorrow, and the eight ties are scheduled to be played on February 16 and 17.

None of the fourth round ties need replays as they all were decided this weekend. Coca-Cola League One sides Huddersfield Town and Bristol Rovers are amongst the last 16 teams in the competition, as are several Championship squads and each of the Premiership's "Big Four".

Full coverage of the draw can be found here tomorrow; check back during the morning for more updates.

African Cup of Nations Recap--Day 7

Samuel Eto'o converted a PK in the 66th minute to draw even with Ivory Coast legend Laurent Pokou for most goals scored (14) in the African Cup of Nations finals and Joseph Job bagged a brace to propel Cameroon over Zambia 5-1 yesterday. This was a game Cameroon absolutely needed to win after their opening loss to Egypt and the Indomitable Lions took care of business. Only a 90th minute goal from Christopeher Katongo prevented Zambia from being shut out. Newcastle midfielder Geremi scored the opening goal for Cameroon and after coming on as a substitute in that game against Egypt, Arsenal starlet Alexandre Song played the full 90 minutes yesterday.

Egypt all but guaranteed their place in the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win over Sudan, a game in which the defending champions had to work a little harder than the flattering scoreline might indicate. Second half substitute Mohamed Aboutriaka scored twice in five minutes late in the game to put the match away for the Pharaohs, but Sudan started out like a house on fire and Egypt did well to survive the rush and come out with the victory. Once again, Middlesbrough midfielder Mohamed Shawky played the entire game for Egypt.

Cameroon will play Sudan to wrap up the group stage and Egypt will take on Zambia, and it doesn't take a genius to predict that the favorites will most likely win those games. If that holds true, Egypt will win Group C and Cameroon would be the runner-up.

Group C Standings (after two games):

1. Egypt (6 points, +5 goal differential)
2. Cameroon (3 pts, +2 GD)
3. Zambia (3 pts, -1 GD)
4. Sudan (0 pts, -6 GD)

Today's games could be very interesting as Group D is in action. All four teams in the group are even right now with a point each and to me, this is the most evenly matched group in the tournament, by far. Senegal and Angola will meet although interestingly enough, it was Angola who was one of Africa's representatives in the last World Cup, not Senegal; and Tunisia will play the hosts of the 2010 World Cup, South Africa.

False Alarm

Yossi Benayoun's natural hat trick propelled Liverpool from a 2-1 deficit to a 5-2 victory today in the 4th Round of the FA Cup.

Havant and Waterlooville jumped out to a 1-0 lead at Anfield after just eight minutes, and the Blue Square South side went back ahead 2-1 on a Martin Skrtel own goal just after the half-hour mark.

Benayoun then scored three in a row for Liverpool and Peter Crouch added an insurance tally in the 90th minute to put the game in the bag and send the Reds into the last 16 of the world's oldest and most prestigious cup competition.

Personally, I was hoping Havant and Waterlooville could pull off the stunner and win today. I wrote about how I believe changes need to be made at Liverpool just after their 2-2 draw against Aston Villa earlier in the week and to me, this is exactly the type of game that will hinder progress being made on Merseyside. Fans will look at the scoreline and say "Wow, five goals, our boys made it look easy out there" and proceed like nothing's wrong.

The reality of the situation is this. Liverpool were tied with a team full of part-timers at halftime. Yes, they ended up winning, but that's what they were supposed to do anyway and in impressive fashion. I know that the team Rafa put on the field wasn't exactly a full-strength lineup, but surely they're better than being outplayed by a team in Blue Square South for the first half?

Upset of the Century?

My goodness. Say what you like about it being the FA Cup and it not mattering much to teams in the Premier League, but we could be seeing history today if Havant and Waterlooville can nick a goal in the second half of their FA Cup 4th Round tie at Liverpool. The last time a non-league team beat a top-flight opponent was back in the 1988-1989 season when Sutton United shocked Coventry City.

As I type this, the score is 2-2 in the 48th minute and the part-timers from Blue Square South actually have led this game on two occasions. Liverpool isn't exactly playing a full-strength side but they do have Torres, Carragher, and Gerrard available off the bench and a couple of regular first-team players in Mascherano, Finnan, and Benayoun starting.

Havant and Waterlooville are making a tidy profit from this game which could cover operating costs for literally a season or two, if not longer, and if they can force a replay, that would be hugely lucrative as well.

I'll keep you posted with updates on this game.

African Cup of Nations Recap--Day 6

Ivory Coast became the first nation to punch their ticket to the quarterfinals of the 2008 African Cup of Nations today after a 4-1 romp over Benin, a game in which Benin needed a 90th minute goal to avoid a shutout and the Toure brothers combined on a nice goal for the winners.

Ivory Coast now need only a draw in their last group match against Mali to win Group B and the game against the runner-up in Group A that comes with it. My pre-tournament favorites are looking good so far and I'm going to stick with them until the very end. They're getting contributions from everywhere right now, not just up top and in the midfield, and I'm not convinced that anyone in this tournament can beat them with the possible exception of Ghana. Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is the captain ahead of some other worthy candidates like Arsenal's Kolo Toure and he scored the opening goal to start the ball rolling today for Ivory Coast.

Mali needed something out of today's game against Nigeria and they got the job done with a 0-0 draw. It was by no means pretty to watch, but if you're a Mali fan, you have to like the position your team is in now with just one group game to go. Yes, it's against Ivory Coast, but with both teams needing only a point to keep their respective places and advance, I can see Mali coming out with a share of the spoils because it suits both teams just fine. Mali was very, very unlucky to not win today's game as an 83rd minute left-footed drive by Seydou Keita came off the crossbar.

Nigeria now need to beat Benin in their last game and hope Ivory Coast beat Mali. The Super Eagles boast a pretty potent front line with Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins and Everton's Yakubu, but somehow have been held scoreless thus far in the tournament. I have no doubts they'll take care of Benin, but as I said before, a draw seems the most likely result in the Ivory Coast-Mali match.

Group B Standings (after two games):

1. Ivory Coast (6 points, +4 goal differential)
2. Mali (4 pts, +1 GD)
3. Nigeria (1 pt, -1 GD)
4. Benin (0 pts, -4 GD)

In tomorrow's action, wins by Zambia against Cameroon and by Egypt against Sudan can seal those countries' places in the last eight. Egypt should get the job done against Sudan with relative ease, but Zambia will really have their hands full with favored Cameroon.

African Cup of Nations Recap--Day 5

Ghana put themselves in a very strong position to win Group A and qualify for the quarterfinals of the 2008 African Cup of Nations with their 1-0 win over Namibia yesterday. The Black Stars aren't exactly winning with style right now, but they're getting the job done and former MLS star Junior Agogo's 41st minute tally from close range was all they needed to pick up the three points. Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Muntari's spectacular bicycle kick early in the game sailed straight into the hands of Namibia goalkeeper Attiel Mbaha. Ghana now need just a draw against Morocco in their last group stage game to seal a berth in the knockout stages, but could still move on with a loss depending on the result of the Guinea-Namibia match and Ghana's goal differential.

Yesterday's other game was a better one for the viewers as Guinea pulled off a 3-2 upset over Morocco. AS Saint-Etienne attacking midfielder and Guinea star Pascal Feindouno bagged a brace but was sent off as well in the 67th minute. Feindouno put Guinea ahead on a free kick after just 11 minutes, and then three goals in eight minutes (the first by Guinea, the second by a sensational strike from Morocco's Hicham Aboucherouane, the third a PK from Feindouno) busted the game wide open. Morocco pulled a goal back in the 90th minute, but by then it was too late to really impact the game.

Morocco really had their fate in their own hands and could've basically sealed the qualification deal if they would've won yesterday, which by all rights they were supposed to do. Instead, they'll face the daunting task of needing a result against Ghana in the last group game and it will likely have to be a victory because Guinea play the lightweights of the the group, Namibia. Morocco and Guinea are tied on points with 3 but Morocco's superior goal differential (+3; Guinea's is 0) could prove significant if both teams win their last game.

Group A Standings (after two games):

1. Ghana (6 points, +2 goal differential)
2. Morocco (3 pts, +3 GD)
3. Guinea (3 pts, 0 GD)
4. Namibia (0 pts, -5 GD)

Group B is in action today and wins by Ivory Coast and Mali would seal both nations' places in the last eight of the tournament. Ivory Coast play Benin and with no disrespect to Les Écureuils (The Squirrels), this game should simply be a matter of how much Ivory Coast will win by. Mali, on the other hand, have their hands full with Nigeria and to be honest, the only team that seems likely to win this game is Nigeria. A draw for Mali wouldn't be the worst result in the world but Nigeria could really use the three points after their opening loss to Ivory Coast.

African Cup of Nations Recap--Day 4

I'll tell you what, this year's edition of the African Cup of Nations is getting better and better. The quality of some of the goals scored has been absolutely fantastic and yesterday we saw more of the same.

The 2010 World Cup hosts, South Africa, earned a point out of nothing against Angola as substitute Elrio van Heerdeen blistered a long-range effort in the 87th minute to equalize the game at 1-1, where it would end. Manchester United's new signing, Manucho, scored for Angola about a half hour into the match. Steven Pienaar and Aaron Mokoena started for South Africa, who fielded a younger lineup in an effort to give some players big-match experience before the next World Cup.

Tunisia and Senegal played to a 2-2 draw and once again, a spectacular late goal was vital. Mejdi Traoui's drive into the top left corner in the 82nd minute gave Tunisia a share of the spoils and cancelled out what would have been a game-winning goal from Newcastle and Senegal striker Diomansy Kamara just 14 minutes earlier. Senegal's starting lineup featured Kamara, Abdoulaye Faye, El-Hadji Diouf, and Habib Beye, and Papa Bouba Diop and Henri Camara came on as substitutes. Birmingham defender Radhi Jaidi started for Tunisia as well, so we saw Premiership players aplenty in this game.

Group A is back in action today as Ghana take on minnows Namibia and Guinea play Morocco in a critical, critical game for 2nd place in the group.

Arrivederci, Rolando Bianchi

You all know my feelings towards Rolando Bianchi. After he came out in an interview with Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport back in late December and criticized all things English soccer, I wrote here about how selfish Bianchi is and how he should be on the next plane out of Manchester when the January transfer window opened. I took a lot of criticism for it but to be honest, my mind couldn't have been any more made up that Rolando Bianchi had worn out his welcome in Manchester and that interview sealed his fate at the Eastlands.

I'm glad to see the higher-ups there echo my sentiments as well, and they've shipped Bianchi to Lazio on loan with a permanent move back to Italy in the summer very likely. He had nothing positive to say about his club or soccer as a whole in England, and the fact of the matter is he wasn't producing on the field either; check the stats, you'll see what I mean.

Bianchi wanted to go back to Italy to boost his chances of playing for the national team, and he made no bones about it. I had no problem with that; every player has his individual ambitions and that's perfectly fine. As I said back in December however, it was the way he voiced his opinions that crossed the line. He made his club look bad by suggesting the team was full of alcoholics, and he had the audacity to criticize the refereeing in England when in fact, if I recall correctly, there was a major referee match-fixing scandal in his home country just a few years ago.

The bottom line is this: Bianchi didn't want to be in Manchester and City didn't want him there after that interview either, so they made a move to get rid of him and end any distractions he was bringing to the club. Both parties involved will benefit from this, particularly Manchester City, but I'm afraid Bianchi hasn't learned his lesson. City had no choice but to move him out; they could've punished him through fines or a demotion to the reserve team, but that would've just turned into an unnecessarily ugly situation. Bianchi, on the other hand, will go to Lazio and score his share of goals and maybe earn a spot on the Italian national team. Does that make him a better person and a better teammate? No chance.

African Cup of Nations Recap--Day 3

Yesterday's action in the African Cup of Nations involved Group C, and Egypt's 4-2 victory over Cameroon put the defending champions in a great position while Cameroon will now have to battle out of a hole to advance to the quarterfinals, which had to have been their minimum expectation before the tournament began.

This was a very interesting game in that three players, two for Egypt and one for Cameroon, scored two goals each. A brace from Samuel Eto'o wasn't enough for the
Indomitable Lions to overcome Egypt yesterday, who featured Middlesbrough midfielder Mohamed Shawky.

The second game of the day saw Zambia beat Sudan 3-0. That result all but eliminates Sudan but if Zambia can pull off an upset in either of their next two group matches, they'll likely advance to the next round and that would be a major coup for the south African side. A goal in the 2nd minute by James Chamanga really ended any suspense this game could have potentially had.

Once again, there are two games on tap for today with the key match being Tunisia-Senegal.

African Cup of Nations Recap--Day 2

The first important game of the 2008 African Cup of Nations took place yesterday and once again, a player who earns his paycheck in the Premiership took center stage. Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou capped a beautiful solo run by coolly slotting the ball past Nigerian goalkeeper Austin Ejide and into the net to give Ivory Coast a critical 1-0 victory. Les Éléphants now have a stranglehold on the group and barring an unforeseen collapse, will advance to the quarterfinals as the winner of Group A. Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins started for Nigeria, as did fellow Premiership players Yakubu, Kanu, John Utaka, Joseph Yobo, and John Obi Mikel, while Kolo Toure, Abdoulaye Meite, Didier Zokora, and Didier Drogba started for Ivory Coast. Martins had a decent shout for a penalty in the 33rd minute, but the referee instead booked him for diving.

Morocco coasted by Namibia 5-1 in front of a near-empty stadium behind a hat trick from Soufiane Alloudi. The reported attendance only numbered around 200, which is an embarrassment for a competitive international game.

Mali recorded a huge, huge 1-0 victory over Benin to cap off yesterday's slate of games. Group B is extremely tough with Ivory Coast and Nigeria at the top, and it was key for Mali to beat Benin to keep their hopes of advancing alive. They'll play Nigeria next and the winner of that game (or Mali if they can get a draw) will be in prime position to move on.

Group C is in action today as Egypt and Cameroon will square off and Sudan and Zambia, the two minnows out of the four, will play. Full details tomorrow, check back during the afternoon.

Changes Must be Made at Liverpool

If you had just walked into the room and didn’t know the score of today’s game between Aston Villa and Liverpool and saw the way Peter Crouch wheeled off to the corner after scoring an 88th minute goal, you’d probably think that he just won the Premier League for the Reds. In reality, the 6′7″ striker simply levelled the game for Liverpool at 2-2.

This, in a nutshell, is what’s wrong with Liverpool right now. The players and fans are satisfied with draws when they should win and losses when they should pick up a point. I’m not seeing any killer instinct from this team; they play the exact same way in the 17th minute that they do in the 81st minute, and quite frankly, that’s an uninspired style of soccer.

Rafael Benitez is–and here’s that word again–one of the most uninspiring, boring managers on the face of the earth. Every time the camera pans to him on the sideline, he’s bringing his arms closer together and screaming the word “compact” at his players. Hmm, compact. Compact like Steven Gerrard going out to play right back or left wing like he did today? No, I think not. That’s how you know something has to change. I think Rafa has lost the team in many respects. Liverpool’s fans will tell you that it was Rafa who won the Champions League for them in Istanbul a couple seasons ago, but they’re wrong. It was Steven Gerrard who led Liverpool to their fifth European Cup (…”18 leagues, that’s what we call history”…you’re right, it is HISTORY, it certainly isn’t the present) by putting the team on his back and carrying them to that historical comeback.

Say what you want about Liverpool’s American owners, say that they’re a huge distraction and that they don’t have the club’s best interests at heart, whatever. Here’s the reality of the situation. The owners have NOTHING to do with what happens on the field. Last time I checked, and I can go back and watch the game again, but Mr. Hicks and Mr. Gillett weren’t playing for Liverpool when they drew with Wigan at home, drew with Birmingham at home, drew with Spurs at home, and lost at Reading. Notice a theme here? A championship-caliber team like Liverpool and their fans claim themselves to be don’t draw in those type of games and they certainly don’t lose. I could care less what you have to say about the owners as it relates to Liverpool FC on the field because these are professional players, they get paid very handsomely to play a GAME, to play 90 minutes. When they’re between the touchlines, they don’t have the club’s owners in their minds; the only thing they’re thinking about is the game itself.

The owners aren’t going to leave even though that’s what most of the fans want (they want DIC apparently, good for them). Fans in England and across Europe don’t seem to understand the concept that owners don’t actually have to support their club. That’s not to say that the owners don’t want what’s best for the club, but the club isn’t like a childhood team that they rooted for; the club is a business enterprise in which they can make money, nothing more. Things aren’t like they used to be in your parents’ generation when clubs truly cared about their fans and the owners and chairmen were diehard supporters.

There’s something in the Red section of Merseyside when a draw at home against Aston Villa is considered to be a good result. Don’t get me wrong, Aston Villa are an impressive young side but a team as good as Liverpool say they are would win that game. Manchester United throttled Villa 4-1 earlier in the season. Liverpool simply aren’t good enough this year, that’s just a fact. It’s no anomaly that after 22 games, more than halfway through the season, that teams are where they are in the standings. Liverpool are the 5th best team in the Premier League but when you look at the actual talent on the roster, they should be no worse than 4th and possibly even 3rd.

This is why I believe Rafa has to go and I can’t put it any simpler than that. Liverpool have enough talent and capability to be so much better than they have been this year, and I put that squarely on Rafa’s shoulders. When a manager can’t blend a roster and shape it in a style that allows for the most possible success, he isn’t doing his job. I don’t believe for a second that the players enjoy playing for him because he’s one of the least friendly, distant managers I’ve ever seen. There’s a reason you hear Aston Villa’s players come out publicly and sing the praises of Martin O’Neill and that’s because they like playing for him; O’Neill takes the time to forge a relationship with his players beyond the soccer field and they respect that, whereas I’ve never once seen a Liverpool player back Benitez in that same fashion. There’s a reason you hear players at Manchester United talk about what a joy it is to play for Sir Alex Ferguson and players at Portsmouth do the same about Harry Redknapp, but you don’t hear Jamie Carragher or Steven Gerrard talk about Rafa in such a positive light.

If you’re a Liverpool fan, take a step back from the Rafalogy cult you’ve subscribed to and look at the situation your club is in. In a season that held high hopes and one in which Benitez stated that the Premiership title was his main goal, you’re in 5th place, 14 points behind Manchester United. You’ve crashed out of the Carling Cup and have been fortunate to draw the teams you’ve drawn in the FA Cup. You’ve got a tie against the second most impressive team in Europe this season in Inter Milan in the Champions League coming up and I’m not you’ll come out of that and advance. You’ve got a captain and center midfielder in Steven Gerrard who clearly, clearly isn’t buying into the system Rafa wants to employ.

Someone has to go, changes have to be made. It’s not going to be the owners and it’s not going to be Steven Gerrard, which means Rafa’s head is on the chopping block and the switch could be pressed at any moment.

Something has to be done, what’s it going to be?

African Cup of Nations Recap--Day 1

As I said before in my previous post about the 2008 African Cup of Nations, I'm very disappointed that I'm not going to be able to watch the games on TV. I’m going to try and do my best to keep with this tournament as best I can, but that’s not nearly the same as actually watching games live. The African Cup of Nations is the second biggest continental championship in the world in my opinion, and it's an absolute outrage that it's not available here in the States for free on TV.

That said, the tournament started in rousing fashion yesterday. Ghana, the host nation, defeated Guinea 2-1 on a last-minute rocket from Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Muntari, who I picked to be the top newcomer to the Premier League before the season started. The Black Stars feature a roster that includes four players who play their domestic soccer in the Premiership and to be honest, were fortunate to beat Guinea yesterday.

What I'm planning on doing is coming out with a recap of the games every day and highlight the contributions of the Premiership players on each team. Guinea doesn't have anyone on their roster who plays in England, much less the Premiership, and Ghana's lineup yesterday also featured Chelsea stalwart Michael Essien and Birmingham goalie Richard Kingson.

There's a pretty good slate of games on tap today, particularly the Nigeria-Ivory Coast affair that's ongoing as I type this. I picked Ivory Coast to win the whole thing, so hopefully they start out group play on a good note.

New ''I'm on Setanta Sports". Fantastic.

A Weekend to Forget? Not So Fast, My Friend

If you're a neutral observer like me, this weekend's slate of games really doesn't have any compelling storylines or reasons to get excited, at least from the outside. None of the big teams are playing each other and there are no rivalry games. The closest thing to a true derby is the Fulham-Arsenal affair at Craven Cottage tomorrow but I don't think anyone expects that game to be pleasing to the eye.

Look a little bit deeper though. You'll find what could be a pretty good game between Reading and Manchester United as Reading went to Old Trafford early in the season and escaped with a point. Now the Royals get a chance to knock off the defending champions at the Madejski Stadium tomorrow in front of what should be a capacity crowd in Reading. United have lost three times away from home this season already. Can Reading make it a fourth? I'm not so sure, but I think that's still a game to keep an eye on.

Kevin Keegan will make his Premiership return with Newcastle as his side welcomes Bolton to St. James Park tomorrow afternoon. With Nicolas Anelka gone to Chelsea and with the incredible amount of emotion one would expect to see from Newcastle, you wouldn't think Bolton has much of a chance but emotion can only carry Newcastle so far. Bolton will have to commit men forward if they want to win, which is more than possible. Newcastle are a bad team; Bolton have no punch without Anelka. You say boring, I say one of the most exciting draws you'll see all season simply because no one is expecting much out of this game. Hey, if Newcastle lose, maybe we'll see Kevin Keegan cry again, you never know. That possibility alone makes this game worth watching.

West Ham and Manchester City will square off for the second time in four days on Sunday as the two sides will get together again at Eastlands after City beat the Hammers 1-0 there in a FA Cup 3rd Round replay on Wednesday. Nothing says emotion and passion like renewed acquaintances and I'd expect to see most of the same players on Sunday that we saw in midweek because both teams sent out full-strength sides. I think there's a good chance we'll see our share of yellow cards and possibly a sending off or two in this game. Remember, both teams are within striking distance of a place in Europe next season, so that just makes Sunday's match even more meaningful.

I'll be honest with you, the rest of this weekend's games don't look to be that great, on paper at least. That's the beauty of the Premiership though. Did anyone foresee that 4-4 goalfest between Aston Villa and Chelsea a couple weeks ago? I know I didn't; Chelsea rarely score more than a goal or two in a game, much less concede more than once. The Premiership is the most entertaining league in the world. I'm not expecting anything from the other games this weekend but even though I can say that with certainty now, just watch a candidate for game of the year come out from the woodwork.

I wouldn't be surprised, and you shouldn't be either.

Newcastle Hires Kevin Keegan

The hiring of Kevin Keegan today to become Newcastle's manager (again) demonstrates why the Tyneside club have become one of the laughingstocks of the Premier League: Instead of looking to the future, they've fallen back into the deadly trap that is the past. What's worse is that Mike Ashley, Newcastle's owner, had to have made this decision based solely on what his club's fans wanted rather than making the best business decision and what was right for the team by going with a foreign manager.

I have nothing against Kevin Keegan whatsoever. He's a Liverpool legend and was a great player for Newcastle and Southampton and wasn't too shabby during his time in Germany with Hamburg either.

What has he accomplished as a manager though?? Listen, I could care less about the two First Division titles he has and the one Second Divison championship; those don't prove anything to me at all. Newcastle were the runners-up in the Premier League in 1995-1996 and lost the Charity Shield to begin the '96-'97 season; again, not impressive to me. Second place in the Premiership is nice and not too shabby of an accomplishment, I admit that, but that was the best he could do in thirteen years of management.

He didn't do anything when he coached England except crash them out of the group stage in Euro 2000, when they lost two games in which they led at some point. Keegan finished with a .500 record with England (7-4-7) and in terms of winning percentage is the least successful permanent manager in England national team history.

Let me put this out there. If Keegan didn't win multiple domestic and European trophies when he was at Liverpool as a player, I don't think he would even have gotten into the management door. People don't seem to understand that being a great player and playing on a great team doesn't necessarily translate to being a good manager; the two aren't connected like that.

Apparently Newcastle owner Mike Ashley (all 567 pounds of him) doesn't see it that way, and that's fine. His problem is that as a fan himself, he's biased towards guys like Keegan and Shearer; he even sits with the fans at home matches. He has absolutely no knowledge and experience in the game of soccer other than making his fortune in the sporting goods business, and he clearly doesn't understand the game. If he did, he would realize that appointing a figure from the past isn't the answer the answer for Newcastle's problems in the present and certainly isn't the right way to steer the team to better things in the future.

There were better, more qualified candidates that Ashley could have, and should have, pursued. Yes, I give him credit for going after Harry Redknapp and trying to lure him with the big bucks, but come on; Redknapp was never going to leave the South Coast for the coal heap that is Newcastle. The favorite over the past few days had been former Monaco and Juventus manager Didier Deschamps, who did an outstanding job in leading Monaco to a Champions League final in 2004 and won Serie B with a depleted Juventus side after the Italian match-fixing scandal.

Mark Hughes would clearly have been a better choice than Keegan with the way he's led Blackburn to a possible UEFA Cup spot this year and he has that team on the right track, and Gerard Houllier would have been the best choice of all. Houllier is outstanding at developing young players and Newcastle really needs an injection of young talent into their side. The Frenchman had just come off two La Ligue titles in a row at Lyon and won two Carling Cups, a UEFA Cup, and an FA Cup at Liverpool. It was reported that Houllier turned Mike Ashley down to stay at his post with the French national team, but I have a feeling that's because Ashley didn't offer Houllier a good enough amount of money.

If you're a member of the Toon Army, you think you won. You persuaded your owner to hire a blast from the past because you think he's the right man to take you out of the hole you've dug yourself in over the past few years.

I've got news for you. You lost. You lost bigtime.

Al Bangura Will Remain in the UK

Finally, after a protracted, drawn out saga that stretched over the past couple of months, I'm glad to see that justice has been served and Watford midfielder Al Bangura will be allowed to remain in the UK permanently. Bangura won his appeal of an original ruling by the Home Office that was going to deport him back to his native Sierra Leone and now will be able to raise his young family without fear for his own life.

I wrote twice about this in mid-December and I don't want to go over his whole life story again because by now, many of you have heard what has been going on, but suffice it to say that Bangura had an extremely difficult childhood and has gone through more in his life than many people twice his age. I'm just thrilled to see that the United Kingdom got it right this time by making this decision based on common sense and rationale rather than following the letter of the law. If they would've done that, Bangura would not have been granted a work permit and his days in England would've been over.

England's World Cup 2010 Qualifying Schedule

The England national team's fixture list for World Cup 2010 qualifying has just been released, and I think it sets up pretty nicely for new manager Fabio Capello. The meeting to hash out the exact details of the schedule took a reported eight hours in Zagreb, Croatia.

It’ll be important for the Three Lions to start and end qualifying on a high note and they have a good chance to do just as they’ll visit minnows Andorra to get the ball rolling and host relative lightweight Belarus to end the campaign.

September 6, 2008: @ Andorra
September 10, 2008: @ Croatia
October 11, 2008: Kazakhstan
October 15, 2008: @ Belarus
April 1, 2009: Ukraine
June 6, 2009: @ Kazakhstan
June 10, 2009: Andorra
September 9, 2009: Croatia
October 10, 2009: @ Ukraine
October 14, 2009: Belarus

Big Ten Conference Update

Each team in the Big Ten Conference is now either three or four games into an 18-game league slate and things are really starting to become clear.

The Big Ten is extremely down this year. In past seasons, this league routinely sent six or seven teams to the NCAA Tournament but with new head coaches and young rosters all across the conference, it looks like the Big Ten will get four teams (at most) into the Big Dance.

As almost everyone who knows college basketball predicted, the conference is extremely top-heavy with Indiana, Michigan State, and Wisconsin. After that, we've got a bunch of above average and mediocre teams who are all going through their respective struggles right now and a couple of teams who are just downright bad.

Let's take a look at the current standings:

1. Indiana (14-1; 3-0)
2. Wisconsin (13-2; 3-0)
3. Ohio State (12-4; 3-1)
4. Michigan State (14-2; 2-1)
5. Minnesota (12-3; 2-1)
6. Purdue (11-5; 2-1)
7. Penn State (10-5; 2-1)
8. Iowa (8-9; 1-3)
9. Michigan (5-11; 1-3)
10. Illinois (8-9; 0-4)
11. Northwestern (5-8; 0-4)

For me, the most surprising team so far this year has been Illinois and not in a good way. One of their key players, Jamar Smith, has been out for the entire season and won't return until next year, but still, this is a team with two experienced big men and a pretty solid point guard in Chester Frazier, and that's usually the recipe for success in the Big Ten. Perhaps the most disappointing thing is the way they've played at Assembly Hall, usually one of the toughest places to play in the conference, if not the nation. The Fighting Illini have already lost at home to Miami (OH) (a pretty good team in the MAC), Tennessee State (enough said), Ohio State, and Penn State. Two conference losses at home is almost an abomination for Illinois and right now, they're just not playing good enough basketball to win anywhere.

The jury is STILL out on Minnesota as far as I'm concerned. Yes, their overall record looks nice but they didn't beat anyone of note in the non-conference and in their two games against decent opponents, they lost both times. In the conference, it's been much of the same. They won at Penn State but that's a game they should win; it wasn't an upset, they beat Northwestern at home but everyone beats Northwestern, and they lost at Michigan State, the one tough team they've played so far inside the Big Ten.

I'll keep these posts about basketball to about once every week and a half or so, but if you're interested check out the "Useful Basketball Sites" on the left side of the homepage. Those are all great sites for college basketball fans.

Race for Fourth Place--Who Will Win?

After this weekend’s games, Liverpool, Everton, Aston Villa, and Manchester City (in that order) are all tied with 39 points and Blackburn is within reach at 36. Portsmouth are hanging on right now with 34 points but face a difficult month or so ahead as they’ve lost some key players to international duty in the African Cup of Nations.

Starting with whom I believe is most likely to snatch fourth place and the last Champions League place that comes with it and progressing to the least likely, here's a breakdown of the contenders:

Liverpool: I picked the Reds to finish third at the beginning of the season and while that may be out of reach now, I'm still going to stick with my guns and go with them to get back into the Champions League. Whether that's good enough for Rafa Benitez to keep his job is unclear at the moment, but in my opinion everyone involved would be better off if he left.

The squad he consistently rotates has more collective talent than any of the other contenders and boasts the two best players in that group of teams in Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard. To me, it's that overall talent that will prevail despite Rafa's Premiership incompetence. As long as he puts those two players and Jamie Carragher in the lineup at the same time to form that spine right up the middle of the field, Liverpool have a good chance to win every single league game they play in. They have the huge advantage of hosting Manchester City (awful away from home), Everton, and Aston Villa and it's nearly impossible to win for visitors to win at Anfield.

Aston Villa: Aston Villa, aka the future England national team, have been very impressive at times this season. However, they may still be a season or two away from breaking into the ranks of the top four. I'm not sure if they're consistent enough to end up ahead of schedule this year. Are they the team that got walloped at home by Manchester United 4-1 or the side that has taken four points out of six from Chelsea? Games at Portsmouth, Manchester United, Arsenal, and West Ham will tell us. Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonlahor are stars in the making.

Portsmouth: The month of January and the beginning of February will be a make it-or-break it slate of games for Pompey. They've lost some important players (John Utaka, Kanu, Sulley Muntari) to the African Cup of Nations and need to tread water until those guys return. Luckily for the South Coasters, the schedule after early February shapes up nicely with home games against Fulham, Sunderland, Birmingham, Wigan, and Newcastle. Five games, must take 12 points (at least) to have a chance at finishing fourth.

Manchester City: If this club could win away from the Eastlands, they'd have a legitimate chance to wind up in fourth place. As it is, they've claimed full points on the road just twice in eleven games and that's not good enough to break the stranglehold on the top four. They lost at fellow contender Everton today and that's the type of game they simply can't afford to lose. The overall talent is there, the coaching is certainly there; the consistency is not.

Everton: The Tim Cahill Show is back on a roll after their 1-0 win over City (at Goodison Park) today. The Australian midfielder is the King of Clutch and for Everton to mount a serious challenge, he'll need to carry the load with Yakubu gone for at least the next month. The Yak's presence up top will be sorely missed and I'm not sure who they have (other than Cahill) to replace him. It certainly isn't Andy Johnson, at least not on a regular basis.

Blackburn: Out of all the teams battling for fourth place, let's be honest, Mark Hughes is getting the most from the least amount of talent. This is a group of experienced, veteran players who are the definition of "steady". Blackburn aren't flashy but they get it done. Difficult games against Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal are still to come, but the schedule is relatively light in March. Blackburn have five winnable games and need to take care of business to be in with a shout.

José Mourinho is Fantastic!

I want to thank a loyal reader for e-mailing me today and giving me the heads-up about a new José Mourinho segment on Setanta. There's no better idea for my 200th post here at English Soccer Talk then to post the embedded YouTube video of The Special One; after all, he is fantastic.

For more of the future AC Milan manager, scroll down to January 2 and "José Mourinho Setanta Commercials".

200th Post

Alright everyone, listen up.

My next post will be the 200th on English Soccer Talk since its inception in May. This site has undergone a few changes over the months and I'm continually tweaking it to try and make it better and more informative but most of all, more enjoyable for visitors.

What I'd like everyone to do is leave a comment after this post and explain what you'd like to see in the future on this site. I'm interested to hear how you all think I could really push English Soccer Talk further into that community of more reputable blogs. Give me your feedback; do you think I should change the color scheme? Should I write about different topics?

Also if you don't mind, give me your suggestions on what I should post about for the big 200. I'm open to anything and whichever option I like best will be the winner. My contact details are on the lower left side of the page if you want to send an e-mail, or feel free to leave another comment.

Here's to another 200 posts!

Harry Redknapp Rejects Newcastle

Come on. Did anyone actually think Harry Redknapp was going to leave Portsmouth for Newcastle? Let's see, a relatively quiet life on the South Coast near the water or life in the North East, where you're more likely to find coal than a good time?

Never mind those things though, just look at the actual talent on the field. Portsmouth is an up-and-coming team with legitimate European aspirations this season and for seasons to come. 'Arry has put a dangerous team together down there and with Alexandre Gaydamak's considerable wealth, Redknapp doesn't exactly have to worry about not having any money to buy more players if he needs to.

Newcastle is a team in turmoil right now. Their squad is full of players in their late 20's and doesn't have much young talent aside from Steven Taylor, James Milner, and Obafemi Martins. They haven't won anything of note in over 50 years and the immense pressure placed upon both the team and its manager by the fans to change that is hard to operate under.

I don't blame Redknapp one bit for not going up to Newcastle; it would be a step down for him and he has Portsmouth on the right track.

Lazy Friday Night

Nothing much to report tonight, although I'm sure you've all heard about Nicholas Anelka's reported $30 million US move to Chelsea today. When he makes his first appearance with the West London side, Anelka will have played for his eighth different professional team since 1995. The "Incredible Sulk" has cost teams a combined $170 million US in transfer fees over the course of his career.

You heard it here first: Tottenham will end Chelsea's record home league unbeaten streak at 73 matches tomorrow...

Following Premiership Players in the African Cup of Nations

I have to tell you all how unbelievably disappointed I am that this year's 26th edition of the African Cup of Nations, set to kick off in Ghana on January 20, isn't being televised on any major station here in the US (at least as far as I know, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). This tournament has a history of exciting games and has developed a reputation of producing players that are amongst the best in the world now but really got their kickstart by playing at Africa's championship.

The quality of players coming out of Africa is growing by leaps and bounds. Most of the major clubs across Europe have at least a couple of Africans on their roster, even some, like Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor, that won't be playing in this tournament because their respective nations didn't qualify for the 16-team event. The host nation, Ghana, has players on its squad who ply their trade at the domestic level at Chelsea, Portsmouth, West Ham, Roma, Bayer Leverkusen, Fenerbahçe, Udinese, and Celta Vigo. My personal favorite to win the whole thng, Ivory Coast, boasts players from Stuttgart, Arsenal, Chelsea, Barcelona, Lyon, Sevilla, Werder Bremen, and others.

Many of the Premiership's managers and others from other major European leagues, notably Arsene Wenger, are upset with the timing of this tournament. Players who are called up by their country will miss roughly a month of action with their clubs and managers don't like to have to adjust. What they seem to not realize, however, is that Africa's geographical position in the Southern Hemisphere puts this tournament in the summer for them, which is the same time that the World Cup and the European Championship are played.

The whole "country or club" debate is always called into question at times like this, but how you can realistically expect a player to reject a place on his country's team? A chance to put on the colors of your nation is something that truly appeals to players. To represent your country and wear the colors with pride is something that's so honest and special; it's not about the money like it is with club soccer, it's about the spirit of the game and love for the place you came from. I would pick country over club any day of the week if I was lucky enough to ever get the chance to be in that position.

Numerous Premiership players will compete in this tournament to one degree or another and I wanted to make it easier for fans out there to know who's going and what nations they'll want to support if they have players from their favorite club. The players mentioned below have either been named to their nation's provisional squad or the actual tournament squad itself. Again, feel free to correct me if I went wrong somewhere.

Nations with Premiership players (club team):

Ghana:
Richard Kingson (Birmingham)
John Paintsil (West Ham)
Sulley Muntari (Portsmouth)
Michael Essien (Chelsea)

Guinea:
None

Morocco:
None

Namibia:
None

Benin:
None

Ivory Coast:
Emmanuel Eboué (Arsenal)
Abdoulaye Méïté (Bolton)
Kolo Touré (Arsenal)
Emerse Faé (Reading)
Didier Zokora (Tottenham)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Salomon Kalou (Chelsea)

Mali:
Mohamed Sissoko (Liverpool)

Nigeria:
Joseph Yobo (Everton)
Dickson Etuhu (Sunderland)
John Obi Mikel (Chelsea)
John Utaka (Portsmouth)
Yakubu (Everton)
Obafemi Martins (Newcastle)
Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth)

Cameroon:
André Bikey (Reading)
Geremi (Newcastle)
Alexandre Song (Arsenal)

Egypt:
Mohamed Shawky (Middlesbrough)

Sudan:
None

Zambia:
None

Angola:
Manucho Goncalves (Manchester United)

Senegal:
Habib Bèye (Newcastle)
Ibrahima Sonko (Reading)
Papa Bouba Diop (Portsmouth)
Diomansy Kamara (Fulham)
El Hadji Diouf (Bolton)
Henri Camara (West Ham)

South Africa:
Steven Pienaar (Everton)
Aaron Mokoena (Blackburn)

Tunisia:
Radhi Jaïdi (Birmingham)
Medhi Nafti (Birmingham)

Editor's Note: At the time of publishing Mohamed Sissoko still technically played for Liverpool, although all signs point to him joining Juventus within the coming days.

Goodbye, Sam Allardyce

In a move that should come as no surprise to anyone, Newcastle United and Sam Allardyce have parted ways today by "mutual agreement". The writing was on the wall for Big Sam after his team took just one point from a possible six against bottom-feeders Derby and Wigan over the holiday season and were also held to a scoreless draw in their FA Cup 3rd Round tie last weekend at Championship side Stoke City.

I've been calling for this move for weeks now, as you all well know. All Big Sam did at Bolton was prove he can manage a side to mid-table mediocrity. He didn't have any expectations to answer to when he was with the Trotters and he had a roster that was full of experienced players. Honestly, teams like the ones he had should finish somewhere around 7th or 8th anyway so I don't really believe Allardyce worked magic there like many people believe he did.

As soon as he made the jump up to Newcastle (if you can even consider Newcastle a step up), he showed his true colors. Newcastle are a club with passionate supporters and with all due respect to Bolton, have higher expectations than the Wanderers and Allardyce couldn't answer the bell when he needed to.

Look, you can argue that he deserved more time and a chance to really rebuild his squad, and I can see your point. The Premiership managerial merry-go-round has been on super-speed this year and some of its victims have been less deserving than others. In Allardyce's and Newcastle's case, there's no real difference between 13th in the table and 9th; it's mid-table and it's nothing to brag about. Newcastle would have, and likely still will, finished somewhere in that range this year so why not give him another two transfer windows to improve the squad?

Well, I'll tell you why, Because the players Allardyce signed last summer have turned out to be disasters. Joey Barton could go to jail for an extended period of time, Mark Viduka still hasn't left the pie shop, José Enrique is an average Premiership left back at best, Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye has played in only 11 league games, and Caçapa's transition to the Premiership from Lyon hasn't gone nearly as smoothly as hoped for. Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, a man of the fans, would have been wrong in letting Allardyce spend more of the former's money given the fact that he hadn't shown he can buy wisely.

Rumors are circulating that Steve McLaren could take over but I'm not sure how much I buy into that. His former club, Middlesbrough, are Newcastle's bitter rivals in the North East. McLaren was just fired from the England job in the summer after that whole debacle and I would think he'd want some time away from the game.

Alan Shearer is clearly the people's choice but appointing him would be a step in the wrong direction. He has no managerial experience whatsoever and as Sammy Lee's short tenure at Bolton this year proved, you can't just walk into the Premiership and be successful. Newcastle fans will have a say in who the club's next manager would be because as I said, Mike Ashley is a man of the people and a fan himself, but they need to look past their favoritism and reach out for a more experienced candidate.

Martin Jol is available but I believe he'll want the vacant Dutch national team job after Marco van Basten's contract with Holland ends after Euro 2008 this summer. There's no way Mourinho will take this position; he looks poised to take over at AC Milan or maybe even Barcelona next summer. Marcelo Lippi won't have any interest in Newcastle either; if he even takes another managerial job it'll be with a national team and he is way, way above a club like Newcastle.

Football Manager 2008

Frustrated by Rafa's rotation policy at Liverpool and think the Reds should be better? Angry that Valencia is falling apart as we speak under Ronald Koeman? Think you could lead Manchester United to another treble? Then Football Manager 2008 is the game for you.

I know this game has been out for a while here in the US but I haven't seen any "reviews" for it on soccer blogs or websites around the internet, so I wanted to put something out there for those of you who may be interested.

This isn't your typical soccer video game like EA Sports' FIFA series or Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer. In FM 2008 you don't actually play the game on the field; rather, you take complete control of nearly any club or national team in the world as their manager. You can buy, loan, and sell players, schedule friendlies, set up your team and player tactics in nauseating detail; in short, anything a manager is responsible for in real life you become responsible for as well.

If you want to look at all the nifty features and whatnot, I encourage you to go to the game's official website at http://fm08.footballmanager.net/en/article/100/index.html. I'm not going to go into specifics here other than what I've already covered but suffice it to say that this game is worth the money. You can also download a free demo if you want to get a feel for what FM 2008 is like and then decide whether or not to buy the full game.

I definitely recommend this game to anyone interested in soccer. As I said, it's not the typical video game but that's what drew me to this series in the first place. This "review" doesn't do it justice in the least and so if you're intrigued, check out the website for yourself. In fairness, the game did have a few bugs and kinks to be worked out but several patches have been released that should have addressed and corrected those errors.