Liverpool Ties Sunderland: Is It Too Soon to Write Off The Reds?

Liverpool suffered yet another draw this weekend. In six games they have three ties, two losses and only one win. Not the most impressive start.

But with yet another tie to Sunderland on Saturday, one has to wonder if Liverpool actually has what it takes to win this season. Only six games in and it may not be too early to write them off.

Normally with most teams, especially a team like Liverpool with a strong history of winning, you could just say that it's early in the season and they are just off to a slow start.

You could also argue that they have had a tough first six games already having played three of the top four clubs in the Premier League - Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City. However, they didn't exactly fare well in those three games having lost to both Manchester clubs and pulling off a draw against Arsenal. Not exactly an impressive record if Liverpool plans on overcoming these teams and competing for the title.

A record against those clubs also wouldn't be as big of a deal if Liverpool was winning their other games. Instead they are struggling to pull off a tie against Sunderland.

Which is why it already begs the question of whether Liverpool can legitimately compete for a title this season or even have a realistic chance of finishing in the top four?

A big reason to already question the team and the season is the turmoil within the club ownership. The ownership problems are by no means a new issue. The team is facing serious debt and the owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, are unable to obtain loans or credits from major banks.

Fans are upset at the owners and it appears to be reaching a boiling point evidenced by the fact that the fans staged a sit-in protest after the Sunderland game.

Granted, Liverpool isn't the only team facing financial problems and isn't the only team with an owner the fans don't like. But the difference with Liverpool is that these issues seem to be impacting the play on the field.

Fernando Torres appears to be increasingly agitated on the field. He was injured over the summer and coming back from an injury can be frustrating. He may just be upset at his own performance and that he isn't performing as well as he would like. But he also appears to be frustrated with his lack of support on the field. He is often left to roam up top alone and many times his only option is to try and take on two or three defenders on his own.

There are also issues with the midfield. Steven Gerrard is always solid and plays his heart out, but even he is aging. The acquisition of Joe Cole was a good step, but it's still not enough for Liverpool's midfield to compete with that of the other top clubs.

Perhaps the poor play on the field and the frustration has nothing to do with the ownership. Maybe it's just due to a lack of fitness or Roy Hodgson not finding the right 11 with the best chemistry yet.

But whatever the issue, it has to be resolved with the current squad as the club isn't in a financial situation to be able to acquire other players. Thus, if the players really don't believe the current squad can compete for a title, their frustration will only grow with each loss or tie as they know things won't get better.

Whatever the issue, based upon the first six games though, something is lacking. Hopefully the issue can be resolved with the current personnel because if it can't, you might as well write off this season as it doesn't appear the club will be getting new owners or players in the near future.

As it stands right now, Liverpool is in 15th place. They are already facing a difficult uphill battle.

They need a spark. Hopefully they find it soon. If not, six games into the season might not be too soon to write them off for the year.

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Summer Transfer Romance

It's summertime, which means it's transfer season for the European clubs and leagues. Transfer season is just like a summer romance. Lots of break-ups and hook-ups are happening. Even more rumors of break-ups and hook-ups. Some are true, most are false. Some hearts are broken only to then be healed by the rumor of a new romance. Many new romances are full of hope and optimism. You don't quite know how it will play out in the long term, but it's the start of a budding relationship so you are excited and believe that only great things lie ahead. In a few months it could all end miserably. But at least for the time being, it's July and things look good.

Liverpool fans are really running the gauntlet of emotions this summer. Lots of signings, lots of departures. Not to mention the ongoing saga with Fernando Torres. He's the hot girl that is with you, but sort of has a wandering eye. On one hand you want to just say good riddance to her and that she should just leave if she wants to. You think you would be better off with someone that wants to be with you and just you. Plus, it's summer, so you feel confident of your possibilities. But on the other hand, she's really hot and you don't really want to let that go. Frankly I don't know where most Liverpool fans stand with the Torres issue. No team wants unhappy players. But can you really compete without Torres? Many fans may not like that he's looking elsewhere as they think that he should feel honored to play for the wonderful and storied Liverpoool. Whatever their outward opinion, I think deep down they know they need him and that they'll have to live with the wandering eye.

If you are a Barcelona fan, you have once again had a great summer. Barcelona is the guy that is dating the homecoming queen while also dating the head cheerleader and the dance team captain. He's also flirting with the other really hot girl that isn't involved in any outside activities, but is just hot. Basically, all the ladies want him. He's not cheating on any of them as he's not "exclusively" dating any one of them and they all know he has "friends" all over the place. And although he has all the attention he could want and any guy could need, it's rumored that the hot volleyball player (Cesc Fabregas) is now interested. He by no means needs the extra attention, but he still goes after it. Why? Because he knows she's interested and more importantly, because he can. Barcelona is completely stacked and loaded with talent. As great as Fabregas is, they don't really need him. But he, along with most every other worldclass player, seems to be interested in playing for Barcelona. Great coach. Great core of old and young talent. Great team chemistry. Summertime really couldn't be better in Barcelona.

It's hard if you are a Valencia fan. You sold your two best players: David Villa and David Silva. But you knew it was a long time coming as your team is broke. You are just glad they didn't have to sell the team altogether. The silver lining is that you qualified for the Champions League last year. So although your really hot girlfriend bolted on the first sunny day of summer, you are optimistic because you are heading to a new school this year where there is endless potential. But it's cautious optimism at best and basically just trying to cover up the lack of self-esteem. Poor Valenicia. They are holding on to their last string of hope. Hopefully things go well for them. At the same time though, without talent, they could bow out of the Champions League early and not finish at the top of La Liga and their financial woes could really get out of control. You hope for the best at a new school, but the anxiety of the unknown is enough to kill you and ruin your summer.

Real Madrid is having their typical summer. Just a cold, heartless player. Cruising the beach looking for the most attractive eye candy and going after it. Somehow (he's so smooth and has money) the ladies always want to take a ride and seem to wait in line for their turn. It's the most ridiculous summer romance. And it happens every year. He's the guy that goes off to some random summer camp every single week and woos a different girl. All the girls know that the relationship is likely going to be short lived and that they have tons of competition and that they will likely be an afterthought come fall, but they all are interested. Its uncanny. You see it happening year in and year out. You think that one summer he will calm down and maybe take a break and work with what he has and see if he can't take one of current flings and turn it into something meaningful. But nope, summer rolls around and just like the previous year, he heads to the beach or camp and starts the process all over again. Pushing out last year's talent for new, fresh, and often unproven faces.

Not quite sure what to make of Manchester City. He's pulling a Real Madrid and going after a new girl a week and trying to make the most of his summer. But there is a little more of a party edge or feel to it. Real is the guy that dates all of the girls seperately and tries to keep them isolated until they all meet up in the fall and everything blows up. Man City is the rich guy that is inviting all the girls over at the same time for the pool party and bbq. Everyone is having a great time. Which is all fine and good for the summer, but at some point this has to end poorly right? I mean, how many midfielders can one team sign? Are they going to start 5 midfielders and 4 forwards and just play with a sweeper and a goalie in the back? Maybe. Who knows? It's carefree Man City. Live for the moment. You have the money, so spend it. It's summer. You'll figure it out somehow in the fall. And somehow they probably will, and it will likely end up better than most other teams in Europe.

So here we are. There are still 3-4 weeks of summer left for most teams. Plenty of time to do some damage and break some hearts or take on a new romance. It's all very exciting and fun in July when it's warm and life is good. Hopefully the romance still exists come November when it starts to get cold and bleak. Nothing is worse than the temperatures dropping and realizing that your summer of love was just a bad romance. At least there is a bright side. If things are bad, you can always look towards the December transfer window and hope for a nice short holiday fling to come around and get you through the rest of winter.

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Arsenal: A True Pretender

On Sunday, Arsenal suffered another defeat at the hands of Chelsea. It's hard to fault them for this loss as the game was at Chelsea and Chelsea has yet to lose at home this year. However, the loss was somewhat convincing. Arsenal really only had two good opportunities. One was off a beautiful cross from Cesc Fabregas and the other was from a free kick taken by Fabregas (remember I said he was the player to watch during the game? The guy is legit. He's going to make himself a ton of money after he dominates this summer in the World Cup). Two weeks ago Arsenal was in third place and still within striking distance of Chelsea and Manchester United, now they are seven points behind Man U and nine points behind Chelsea. There is still a lot of soccer yet to play, but the bottom line is that those two convincing losses solidified Arsenal as a true pretender this year, and not a contender.

Now that their place is established, I think it will be interesting to see how Arsenal responds fo the rest of the season. They are a great team, but have almost been over performing. I wonder if these two back-to-back convincing losses will be a reality check and if Arsenal will start to slide a bit, or if they will be able to bounce back for their next game.

Speaking of which, their next game is actually on Wednesday since the players' wives all banded together and forced the league to suspend play on Valentine's day weekend. That may or may not be true as no player is willing to admit that he is upset about it and would rather play soccer versus take his wife out for the evening. Regardless, their next game is at home against Liverpool. Talk about a gauntlet. Not sure who made their schedule but they clearly had it out for Arsenal. In three consecutive weeks, Arsenal will have played the first, second and fourth placed teams (they are in third). Just ridiculous. I think they are better than Liverpool, but coming off two brutal losses, it may be hard for them to rebound in such a short period of time and against a team that has some momentum.

Win or lose this week against Liverpool they will still be in third place; which is why I think they could have motivation issues and lose some future games that they should win. It's tough to come out and play each week when you know that they best you can do for the season is finish in third place. Such is the harsh reality of a team that at one point looked like a contender, but in reality, is just a true pretender.

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Weekend Games Preview

Sorry to all four of our readers for the lack of posting this week. Sadly this isn't a full time job yet. We'll revamp things next week and provide more posts. For now, here's a preview of some of the interesting games going on this weekend:

Liverpool v. Everton

Why do we care about this game?

1. It's the Liverpool derby. Whenever two teams from the same city play each other, you can expect something great. This game is at Anfield, Liverpool FC's stadium, but don't be surprised if Everton comes out on top.

2. Liverpool is currently in 5th place and Everton in 9th. Liverpool has had an up and down season and struggled to get in the top 4 of the League. They need to win this game, and pretty much every other game as there are 3 other teams that are within 2 points of each other and trying to get that 4th spot. Although in 9th, Everton has been playing some of their best football of the season.

Footballer to follow?

While I would like to give that to our American hero Landon Donovan, the player to watch is Everton's Marouane Fellaini. You can't miss him on the field. He's 6'4" not including his hair. He's Everton's sideshow Bob. He's been an absolute beast the past couple of games. He's a serious threat on offense, especially on corner kicks where his height is clearly a huge advantage. Plus, he's been a dominant force in the midfield, controlling the defense. If Everton wins, it will likely be because of this man.


Tottenham Hotspur v. Aston Villa


Why to care?

1. Because the nicknames for these teams are the Cocks and the Villans respectively. What's not to love about that? Both are awesome. If someone said you could either be one of the Cocks or one of the Villans, you would struggle with the decision.

2. These two teams are part of the aforementioned 4 teams that are all vying for that 4th position in the standings (top 4 teams at the end of the year qualify for the Champions League - which is a big deal). Currently the Cocks are in 4th place, but the Villans are only 2 points behind them. Thus, if the Villans can overtake the Cocks if they win this weekend. But beware the mighty Cocks.

Footballer to Follow? Jermain Defoe. The Cock has 15 goals this season. He's only 5'7", but he's a beast at forward. If Tottenham wins, it will likely be because of his heroics up top.


Chelsea v. Arsenal

Why to care?

1. Chelsea is in first and Arsenal is in 3rd in the standings. Arsenal was blitzed at home last weekend by Manchester United (that Rooney goal is still so fun to watch. Love him or hate him, that dead sprint down the field is fantastic). This game is at Chelsea. If Arsenal cares to overtake Chelsea, they have to win this game. Chelsea won't lose many more games this season, if any at all.

2. Because the teams are a complete contrast in club strategies. Chelsea is owned by a Russian billionaire who buys all the best players in order to win a championship. Arsenal still believes in their youth system and player development and relies on having along term coach that can piece together the many young players and make the sum greater than its parts. It's brilliant to watch him do it every season.

Footballer to follow?

This is tough because there are so many incredible players on the field. Whenever Arsenal is playing, I can't help but watch Cesc Fabregas the entire time. That is probably because of my Spain bias, but the man is incredible. He's a phenomenal playmaker. I don't think Arsenal can actually win this game, but if they do, he will need a strong performance.





So there is your preview. There are of course other games going on in La Liga. None quite as compelling as the three mentioned above. But don't think there isn't plenty going on in the promised land. Barcelona has yet to lose. They are almost playing too good if that is possible. They are so comfortable and the chemistry is so good that it's almost as though they are due for a let down game. Speaking of chemistry, Real Madrid is slowly piecing the puzzle together (is it a coincidence that this seems to happen when C. Ronaldo is out? When does his contract expire again?). The two teams are setting the table for a potentially amazing "El Clasico" in a couple of months.

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On the Same Page As Though We Were Related

Fernando Torres came out today and admitted he is infatuated with me just as much as I with him. He didn't quite phrase it like that, but he did say that Liverpool should sign Valencia striker David Villa. Which is exactly what I said a couple weeks ago. So maybe he isn't infatuated with me per se, but we are definitely on the same page. If that page is a mutual understanding of the Liverpool needs, why couldn't it encompass a mutual admiration for each other?

On a related note, one of the comments (that wasn't about another commenter being an idiot) to the ESPN article mentioned how this could all just be part of the Torres exit strategy. And it's a interesting theory. I am skeptical if Torres will even come back this season. He's out until early March at the earliest. With the World Cup this summer, he's not going to risk further injury. He's going to limit himself for the rest of the season. Also, I don't really think Villa and David Sliva are for sale. Not for a price that Liverpool or any team can really afford anyways. Valencia is sitting comfortably in third place and actually only a couple points behind Real Madrid for second. If they hold on, they will qualify for the Champions League next year and boost their revenue.

Basically, this could just be Torres covering his bases. If Liverpool doesn't finish in the top 4, he may want out but doesn't want to seem like the bad guy, yet he wants to play for a contender. He makes these statements now, then he pulls the "I wanted to stay at Liverpool, but they didn't want to spend the money to compete and make necessary changes, so I'm forced to leave for a contender" card later and justifies his way out. Not saying that is what is going on here, but it's possible. Remember that Fernando Torres and I are related. He's my tio. We get each other.

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The Beginning of the End?

In last week’s FA Cup game against Reading, Fernando Torres injured or re-aggravated his groin. Whatever he did to it, he is sidelined for 6 weeks. It’s a tough loss for Liverpool and I see their season going one of two ways:

1. The team plays better without Torres, rallys together because they know their backs are against the wall and they can't depend on their star players, they string together some lucky victories and get some breaks and actually move up in the standings over the next 6 weeks. Torres comes back, regains his form, brings sexy back and Liverpool somehow lands in the top 4 when all is said and done at the end of the season.

OR, and in my opinion more likely:

2. This is the knock-out blow. Liverpool slides in the standings without Torres and Steven Gerrard (also injured). Once Torres realizes the season is lost, he turns his focus to the World Cup. With Liverpool out of contention and Spain a legit contender, if not favorite, to win this summer, he never really comes back because he doesn’t want to aggravate his injury prior to the World Cup this summer. 6 weeks turns into 8 or 9...or 12. In the meantime, things go from bad to worse for Liverpool. They don’t finish in the top 4, Benitez gets fired, Torres and Gerrard flee over the summer for contenders and the city catches on fire. It might not be that bad. The city probably won't catch on fire.

I love Torres and would love to see Liverpool regain their form and finish at the top of the table. And even though that is possible, I just don't see it happening. Is this the beginning of the end? I hope not...but think so.

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Poor Glen Johnson

It wasn't exactly the best day at the office this weekend for Liverpool defender Glen Johnson. Granted, scoring an own goal happens to the best of defenders from time to time. And, even though he was the player marking Andrei Arshavin for Arsenal's second goal, I don't know that any defender could have done much better in that situation. That goal is a beauty (2:15 in the video). Still though, it makes for a long day when you are somehow responsible for, or involved in both of the goals scored against your team. Not that the rest of his team was doing much throughout the game. After their first goal, I'm not sure Liverpool had any other legit scoring opportunities. The ones where afterwords all of the fans behind the goal raise their hands because they think it's a goal and then collectively collapse after the miss while the player slowly lifts his head up and stares blankly into the stadium lights and while running his hands through his hair as he thinks, "I can't believe I just botched that shot. That was my meal ticket...for the next 5 years." Sorry about your day Glen. If it's any consolation, I don't think that any of your teammates can say they played much better.


Watch Liverpool vs Arsenal (1-2) All Goals & Highlights Premier League (13.12.2009) in Sports  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

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A Deeper Look at What It Takes to Beat the [Red] Devil

Let me start off with a couple disclaimers: (1) I'm a shameless Liverpool fan, but will try not to be completely biased in this post after a terrific victory for the Reds this weekend; (2) I spent WAY too much time compiling the statistics used in this post, so pardon the data dump. Now for the main course:

I wanted to take a closer look at the Liverpool-ManU game this weekend, partly because--like Kent--I've been a little bemused by the Reds up-and-down play this season and wanted to get behind it; and partly because I've always felt that you could get a lot of quality analysis out of a deeper statistical look into the game of football than the cursory shots, goals, assists, cards tallied by most media around. So I watched the game touch-by-touch and kept track of every bit of play by Liverpool to see how the team played the game. I tallied the usual goals, assists, etc., but also touches (good and bad), attempted and successful passes, pressured passes, dribbles, completed dribbles, turnovers, blocks, interceptions, whether a player was outpaced, and a host of other minutiae. Some of my stats are necessarily a little objective (like whether a touch was poor or superb, for example). And I admit there could be some small errors here and there in the tallies, but it's more or less accurate. Here's some of my conclusions:

The biggest revelation from the statistics is how Liverpool's holding midfielders dominated the game. Lucas Leiva led the team in touches with 44, and completed an astonishing 38 of 42 passes. His first unsuccessful pass came at 11:24 in the first half, after 10 successful ones, and incredibly he didn't miss another pass until the 81:09 mark, and that was a tight through-ball that almost placed Kuyt in a clear scoring opportunity. For a player who's caught a lot of (perhaps unfair) criticism, he showed up today.

Mascherano did as well (as he usually does), with 39 touches and having completed 31 of 34 passes, to go along with 4 tackles, 15 interceptions and a block. Mascherano didn't miss a pass until the 13:55 mark, after he had made 14 successful ones. My only criticism of Mascherano's game is that he tends to gun for goal from outside when the better play would probably be for one of his forwards. He missed at least one solid chance for Torres this week.

Carragher--another Red who's taken some heat this season for what some thought to be a decline in form--also had a very good game. He led the team by far in defensive stoppages with 5 tackles, 21 interceptions, and 3 blocks (one of which likely saved a goal). He was truly beaten only once--when Owen snuck in behind him and forced a professional foul that, I admit, looked like the only way to stop a direct goal-scoring opportunity. (There's a good argument it should have drawn a red). Overall, Carragher didn't show the lack of pace that has drawn criticism earlier this season. But one weakness did surface: Carragher loves the long ball, and it usually doesn't work for him. He had 12 turnovers in the game to lead the team in that dubious statistic, and 11 came from long-ball attempts that went nowhere fast. Take those away, and Liverpool retains possession better and Carragher only passes awry once.

Yossi Benayoun was the other unsung hero of the game. His assist to Torres on the first goal was world-class quality in a pressure situation. He trailed only Lucas in total touches, led the team in dribbles, played several superb balls through, and even dropped way back for several key defensive stoppages during the final quarter of the game. While he had several turnovers (7--second only to Carragher), most stemmed from his quality efforts to create openings in attack, not poor play.

There's a lot more that might be said about what the data shows, but I'll cut it short there for now, with the final observation that there's no statistic to describe the quality of Torres' goal. For all SAF's complaints about the referee work on Sunday, Ferdinand's desperate and unavailing effort to stop El Nino was the closest thing to a penalty in the game, and didn't even draw a whistle.

But for all the quality that surfaced in Sunday's game, in the end, the only statistic that really matters is the point tally on the league table. By that all-important count, ManU is still on top and Liverpool still have a ways to go...

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Fernando Torres - "Get off of Me"

So I don't mean to constantly post about Liverpool, but it's hard when the enigma that is Liverpool continues. Just when they appear to be dead in the water, they come back and take a 2-0 win over Manchester United, without Steven Gerrard. Not sure what to make of the team exactly, but Fernando Torres' first goal was a beauty. The pass from Benayoun that split the two defenders to set up the goal was picture perfect. Midfielders earn their paychecks with passes like that. Torres received the pass, took a touch and nailed a rocket into the top of the net. An amazing goal. Not sure if it qualifies as a "golazo" but it was a great goal and did arguably save Liverpool's season.

The best part about the goal in my opinion was Torres' strength on the ball. Rio Ferdinand was running side by side with Torres and Torres just completely out-muscled Ferdinand and got his shot off. A classic "get off of me" moment. You could tell Ferdinand was trying desperately to get him off the ball, but to no avail. For a game that is plagued with having a reputation of players being weak and flopping all the time, its always nice to see a forward shake a defender instead of falling and hoping for the penalty. Not that Torres has never flopped, I'm sure he has, but as demonstrated in the Euro 2008 final and against Ferdinand, he is capable of dropping defenders. Every other forward not named Drogba is capable of shaking defenders instead of flopping. Not sure if I should say "flopping." Every time someone falls, it's not a flop. But I'm sure some forwards could stay stronger on the ball and I wish they would do it more because it embarrasses the defender and creates a great "get off of me" goal. Just look at Ferdinand's response after the goal. All he can do is just walk away with his head down. He knows he got abused.

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Nobody's Perfect: Barcelona 1 - 2 FK Rubin Kazan

Barcelona lost at home in the Champions League yesterday to FK Rubin Kazan. Who? Exactly. FK Rubin Kazan. Sounds like the name of a magician, not a professional soccer team. Apparently though, that is them on the left and they are a Russian powerhouse that should be feared. I don't know about feared. They were first promoted to the Soviet Top League in 2003 and won it last year and thus qualified for the Champions League. Not bad for their first appearance.

I don't want to take anything away from their win. They did go into the Camp Nou and beat Barcelona on their own turf. Few teams within the past couple of years can boast that accomplishment. However, Barcelona did control the ball for 76% of the game. Barcelona also had 24 total shots, compared to Rubin Kazan's 3 total shots. None of that nerdy stat stuff really matters though. After 90 minutes, all that matters is the scoreboard and not how many total shots a team had. Rubin Kazan only needed 3 shots to score 2 goals-that first goal is a beauty. What a rocket. So who cares how many shot Barcelona had if they can only get 1 goal out of it. Rubin won, they deserve their due. They have proven that Barcelona isn't invincible. With that said, every team has their off games. They will meet again and I'm sure Barcelona will exact their revenge.



It is interesting with Barcelona though. Maybe I am just giving them too much praise and credit. They tied Valencia last Sunday in their La Liga game, and then they come out three days later and lay an egg against a cheap Russian magician. Yet I don't think too many people are questioning the team or worried about the team. Perhaps that is because despite the draw and loss, they are still playing Barcelona futbol. They control the game and wear teams down. They are still confident in their game plan and players. They just haven't been able to capitalize on their chances. Still though, they lead you to believe that everything is still under control, which I believe it is. Unlike this next team.

Liverpool.

All is not well in Anfield. When is it time to panic? Has that time already passed? Four total losses already in the EPL. Four straight losses if you combine their last two EPL and Champions League games. That will likely become five straight losses on Sunday when they host Manchester United. It's not as though their losses are "bad". Tottenham is clearly one of the stronger teams in the EPL this year. Sunderland is also a tough opponent. An away loss to Chelsea is almost expected. But you have to win some of those games if you expect to finish at the top of the table.

Perhaps I jinxed them a couple weeks ago when I said Fernando Torres was bringing sexy back and that Liverpool was on the rise. Torres left sexy in the closet with R. Kelly and Liverpool is sinking fast. I know it's still relatively early in the season, but teams just can't afford to get too far behind and expect to make a comeback. In the first three Champions League games, Liverpool has two losses. They have a huge hurdle to overcome in order to just make it into the knock-out stages. Same thing in the EPL. They already have 4 losses. Most of the top of the table clubs finish with 2-3 losses, 6 maximum. Anything more than 6 and you can almost guarantee you will be on the outside looking in.

It's not over yet for Liverpool but something has to change. Transfers? New coach? New lineup? New defense. Whatever it is, they need to figure it out soon. Before they know it, they will be fighting just for a spot in the Europe League. A spot they don't even maintain at the moment.

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Soccer's Greatest Sound

When the ball hits the back of the net, the sound is like no other. With soccer, you can see a play developing but the outcome is uncertain until it's in. Something about the uncertainty of the play and deveopment of a goal that makes the sound of the fans so much more ecstatic.

There are really two different sounds for a goal. When I started following the Champion's League a few years ago I realized that the crowd in Europe sounds different from the crowd in England upon seeing their team score a goal.

On the continent they scream "Gol!"




In England, it's a massive "Yeah!"



That's my favorite sound.

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The Sounds of Soccer

What is the sound of soccer?

It's a great sound and there are reasons for it.

But first, let's talk about professional sports. When was the last time you attended a sporting event where the fans did not have to be prodded to MAKE SOME NOISE or GET LOUD? When was the last time you remember the fans starting a cheer all on their own without the help of cheerleaders or the public announcer? We went to an Angels game last week and no one in that stadium could be bothered to do much to support the team. When there was a runner in scoring position with one out, a banner rolled across the screen prompting us to 'MAKE SOME NOISE.' We bleated like sheep until the banner stopped, at which point, everyone in the stadium stopped as well. There was a silly race between odd looking toys between innings. A kid tried to run to third base from left field in less than a minute. At the end of the night there was a great fireworks show with a music mashup consisting of classical American folk songs and Latin Pop Beats (seriously). I thought we were going for the baseball game but it kind of got lost in the mix of the entertainment.

With football, soccer as we call it, this doesn't happen as much for a few reasons. First and foremost, there are no timeouts and no commercial breaks so there isn't time for such silliness (until halftime anyway). Granted they cram a lot of nonsense into the pregame, but once the action starts, the sound is organic. It comes from the fans.

Second, there is a real passion that isn't as prevalent with professional sports in the US. We go to be entertained as often as we go to support our team. With soccer, there is a feeling that it matters more so there is more passion, more energy, and better sounds.

So what does football sound like? It's sounds like ecstasy and tragedy.

Stunned silence at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal fans singing "If you hate Tottenham stand up."

I love this sound. Liverpool fans singing "You'll Never Walk Alone."

At Real Madrid, they know the game and appreciate a great performance. This is a cool sound of soccer. The Bernabeu applauding their rival.

This sound is repeated all over the world. I don't know Greek but I can appreciate the strong voice of these fans. Olympiakos fans singing.

Those are just a few of the sounds of soccer. Obviously, there is something missing and I'm going to give my favorite sound its own post.

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He's bringing sexy back

We are now six weeks into the English Premier League season and Fernando Torres is hitting his stride and looking as dominant as any other striker in the league. He already has 8 goals in the premier league which is more than half of the goals he had all last season (14). Granted, last season was somewhat a disappointment for Torres. After being traded to Liverpool from Atletico Madrid, he had a stellar debut season for Liverpool in 07/08 by netting 24 goals. He was the sexy young spaniard, El Nino, and he made a quick impact on the EPL. He then capped that off with a European Cup win with Spain in the summer. Granted, David Villa was the striker who really shined for Spain in that cup, but its hard to forget about Torres' goal in the final. He just abuses the defender and muscles his way into position to get the perfect touch before the goalie gets there.

Which is why he is scary good again this season. He is just abusing defenders. He's not like some forwards that know exactly where to be at the right time and they just 'pick up the scraps' and tap in all of the deflections. Think Raul or Ruuuuud van Nistelroy. Brilliant strikers that just have a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Rarely will they 'create their own shot' or hit a rocket from 25 yards out. I'm not even sure if Raul can kick the ball 25 yards. But somehow, he is in the right place at the right time and he scores goals, hence the reason he's still on the pitch after all these years.

Torres is more like a basketball player where he literally heads in the 18 yard box and 'posts-up' and waits for Gerrard, or Kuyt, or Benayoun to feed him the ball. And he has so many turn around and one-on-one moves that it doesn't matter how he gets the ball, he can and does abuse defenders all game long. Take the game two weeks ago against West Ham. Torres' first goal when he gets the ball and is facing the defender and just goes at him one-on-one, beats him in the space of about 8 yards and uses a nice toe punch over the goalies head. (Here are the highlights from the game. The goal comes at the 2:30 mark). The goal is remarkable not just because you rarely see the toe punch anymore, a lost soccer skill and art form, but also because his speed and ease of getting around defenders and getting to the goal.

Torres has the same speed and ease when his back is to the goal and he turns and shoots. Its not like he's playing pick up in the park with some slow 40 year olds. He's up against premier defenders (well, as premier as you can get with Hull) and he is making them look slow. Once any player turns, if they can get the defender to freeze, they have maybe half a second to get their shot off before the defender is back in position or at least can get a leg to block the shot. And Torres is able to get that shot off with such little time. Here is his first goal against Hull City. His move is good, but its more that he makes his move and gets the shot off before the defenders can get back in front of the ball.

Liverpool was looking shaky at the beginning of the season. They had an opening day loss to Tottenham. That loss looked bad until people started realizing that it might be the year of the cock and that the Spurs are somewhat legit. Will they finish in the top 4? Probably not, but they are by no means a push over. Liverpool really just looked lost for the first couple of games and like they didn't have an offensive game plan and no magic or inspiration to their play. Things are really coming together in the last couple of weeks. They still have pretty serious defensive issues which will be discussed in another post, but their offense is firing on all cylinders. Gerrard is a rock and the foundation and Kuyt and Benayoun are legit playmakers that can come at you from all angles. They are coming together and starting to create magic because they have someone to create it with. A nice pass or through ball only looks as good as the guy receiving it. When that guy can put the ball in the back of the net, then the pass is that much better and amazing. Liverpool seemed lost and without a plan, but now their game plan is simple: feed The Kid the rock. Simple, yet pretty effective.

The real test will come on Sunday when Liverpool travels to Samford Bridge to take on Chelsea. Chelsea is coming off a bad loss to Wigan and won't want to lose two games in a row, especially at home. Look, I said Torres' is bringing sexy back, but he's pretty much already proven in the first six games that the sexiness is already back. But if he and Liverpool can go into Samford Bridge and knock off Chelsea, then not only is the sexiness back, it might also be your best bet for how to lift the Trophy at the end of the season.

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