As I'm sure you know, last night John Terry was reinstated as permanent England captain. Capello had this to say on the matter , "After one year of punishment, Terry will again be the permanent captain. I think one year's punishment is enough." Some people will say that one year punishment isn't enough and quite simply, why bring Terry back as captain as it may upset Rio and other England players in the dressing room. On the other hand many people will be very pleased to see Terry back as captain. There are many things you can say about Terry, good and bad, but one thing is for sure, he is a leader. A lot of people, noticeably Chelsea fans, were shocked with Capello's decision to remove Terry's captaincy, especially in the lead up to the biggest tournament in sport. Some say this decision ruined morale in the dressing room and was a contributory factor towards England's embarrassing World Cup exit.
From what Capello has said on the matter it seems to me that he never wanted to take the captaincy from Terry but maybe got forced to because of the involvement of the Media and some of the England players. During Terry's absence from captaincy Rio took over. It must be said that Rio was injured for much of this time and this left Gerrard as captain for many of the occasions. Clearly this would have helped Capello's decision to remove Rio from captain. However maybe it wasn't just his injuries. Many people were very upset to see Rio as captain as he is failed to turn up to a drugs test claiming he had "forgotten"...Sure we believe you Rio. Either way his performances over the last year have been questionable, and even when he does come back from injury, with the bright performances from young talent Smalling, it would not surprise me if he struggled to get back into the United side.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand, at the end of the day who knows how this decision will effect the England team. We all hope that this is a step in the right direction and will help the nation forget about the poor performances during the World Cup, which i'm sure like me, still has nightmares about.
Sunday 20 March 2011
Monday 7 March 2011
A Gem Found In Luis ?
Liverpool fans across the world will still be on a high after seeing their team dismantle their fiercest rivals Manchester United in a 3-1 victory secured by Kuyt's seven yard hat trick. The victory was Liverpool's third successive victory over Man Utd at home, something they have not been able to achieve in over thirty-five years. It will be no surprise to see Dirk Kuyt taking all the headlines, however there is another man who left the Anfield faithful licking their lips at the performance they saw.
Luis Suarez came to Liverpool on the final day of what was a very exciting deadline day for 22.8m. This fee is starting to look like a real bargain (if there ever was one at such a price). In just three starts Luis looks like he's been playing in what is widely known as the greatest league in the world for a long time, with a goal and three assists to his name already. His determination, skill, work rate and deadly finishing leave him as an even more promising player than the star that Liverpool let go of in January.
Many people across the world were heavily critical of Liverpool's business in January. The decision to let go of arguably the world's best striker and bring in Suarez, a player who at the time was unproven in the big leagues and Carroll, a young lad with many off the field problems who could have been out for the remainder of the season seemed ludicrous. However, Liverpool fans are starting to reap the rewards of the deals done in January. For a long time Liverpool relied on one striker Fernando Torres and over the last two years it has to be said that Fernando looked like the shadow of the player Liverpool fans know he is. With the transfer to Chelsea you would have thought Torres would be firing on all cylinders again, however it is Suarez that is making the headlines while Torres on the other hand also makes the headlines. The only difference is, Suarez will be happy to see what is being written about him while Torres will not want to read "past his peak" ever again. I do not want to be too critical of the player because what he did for Liverpool is beyond magnificent, and quite clearly he is still a fantastic striker. It cannot be argued though, that he is past his glory days of 30 goals in one season, and 3rd world player of the year.
Suarez on the other hand, has the world at his feet, and after yesterdays performance, when something's at his feet, it seems near impossible to take it away from him. Suarez gave Man United something to fear, and i don't just mean his teeth. Yesterday we saw glimpses of the new Liverpool hero as he danced his way with ease past Rafael, Carrick and Brown, before putting it across to Kuyt for the easiest goal he'll score...until later that same game. His second contribution, a fine cross leaving Nani's misjudged header to fall into the path for Kuyt to simply poke home. Assist number two came not long after the break when a swerving free kick left Van Der Sar fumble the ball out of his arms for Kuyt to grab the easiest hat trick seen in the Premier league ( not that he'll mind ). It is not just his contributions for the goals that will stay in the Liverpool fans' memory for a long time. His skill was second to none as he constantly gave Man Uniteds defence a run for their money like nothing they've experienced before. Everytime he had the ball, Smalling and Brown tried their hardest to close him down, many times resulting in them eating his dust as he skipped away. A goal would have been a perfect end to a perfect performance however it was not to be. Suarez i'm sure will not mind as he has already won the love of the Anfield faithful and with nine games to go i'm sure he'll add plenty more goals to his name.
As for Liverpool fans, they will of course know their team is unlikely to grab that Champions League place, and will have to be content with Europa League again next year. However, with a new manager in 'King Kenny' and new investors who seem determined to bring them back to the top, it looks like a very bright future for Liverpool.
Luis Suarez came to Liverpool on the final day of what was a very exciting deadline day for 22.8m. This fee is starting to look like a real bargain (if there ever was one at such a price). In just three starts Luis looks like he's been playing in what is widely known as the greatest league in the world for a long time, with a goal and three assists to his name already. His determination, skill, work rate and deadly finishing leave him as an even more promising player than the star that Liverpool let go of in January.
Many people across the world were heavily critical of Liverpool's business in January. The decision to let go of arguably the world's best striker and bring in Suarez, a player who at the time was unproven in the big leagues and Carroll, a young lad with many off the field problems who could have been out for the remainder of the season seemed ludicrous. However, Liverpool fans are starting to reap the rewards of the deals done in January. For a long time Liverpool relied on one striker Fernando Torres and over the last two years it has to be said that Fernando looked like the shadow of the player Liverpool fans know he is. With the transfer to Chelsea you would have thought Torres would be firing on all cylinders again, however it is Suarez that is making the headlines while Torres on the other hand also makes the headlines. The only difference is, Suarez will be happy to see what is being written about him while Torres will not want to read "past his peak" ever again. I do not want to be too critical of the player because what he did for Liverpool is beyond magnificent, and quite clearly he is still a fantastic striker. It cannot be argued though, that he is past his glory days of 30 goals in one season, and 3rd world player of the year.
Suarez on the other hand, has the world at his feet, and after yesterdays performance, when something's at his feet, it seems near impossible to take it away from him. Suarez gave Man United something to fear, and i don't just mean his teeth. Yesterday we saw glimpses of the new Liverpool hero as he danced his way with ease past Rafael, Carrick and Brown, before putting it across to Kuyt for the easiest goal he'll score...until later that same game. His second contribution, a fine cross leaving Nani's misjudged header to fall into the path for Kuyt to simply poke home. Assist number two came not long after the break when a swerving free kick left Van Der Sar fumble the ball out of his arms for Kuyt to grab the easiest hat trick seen in the Premier league ( not that he'll mind ). It is not just his contributions for the goals that will stay in the Liverpool fans' memory for a long time. His skill was second to none as he constantly gave Man Uniteds defence a run for their money like nothing they've experienced before. Everytime he had the ball, Smalling and Brown tried their hardest to close him down, many times resulting in them eating his dust as he skipped away. A goal would have been a perfect end to a perfect performance however it was not to be. Suarez i'm sure will not mind as he has already won the love of the Anfield faithful and with nine games to go i'm sure he'll add plenty more goals to his name.
As for Liverpool fans, they will of course know their team is unlikely to grab that Champions League place, and will have to be content with Europa League again next year. However, with a new manager in 'King Kenny' and new investors who seem determined to bring them back to the top, it looks like a very bright future for Liverpool.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)