Favourites from 'The Friendly Derby: Liverpool V Everton

As regular readers of this blog will know, I am a huge Liverpool fan. I do try to not show my bias, but sometimes it's quite difficult; particularly on the weekend where the Merseyside derby comes around. So, here are my favourite moments from the greatest derby match of all from over the years.

The first clip comes from 2001, which apart from 2005 has been the most successful year in recent history as we won a magnificent cup treble. I think the greatest success from that time was Gerard Houllier bringing Gary McAllister to the club. He might have been coming to the end of his career, and only stayed at Anfield for two years, but the lessons he was able to pass on to the younger players at the club was invaluable; as this clip shows, particularly around the 4.00 mark. 

As I was born in the late seventies, my footballing memories really start around the mid eighties. Liverpool were in their heyday then so these memories are great, and perhaps the one that really sticks in my memory is the 1986 FA Cup final. Liverpool went behind in this game to a goal from Gary Lineker, but then the fight back began.

Goals from Ian Rush, Craig Johnston and Rush again save the day. From the moment I saw Alan Hansen climb the original Wembley steps to lift the FA Cup that day I was hooked. Ultimately, I support Liverpool because my Grandad does; and although there are as many Blues in my family as Reds, there was always only ever one team for me.

Having lost the 1988 final to Wimbledon's 'Crazy Gang' after John Aldridge missed an early penalty, the determination to win back the trophy the following year must have been huge. Unfortunately, ninety six fans did not come home from the abandoned first semi-final to see us win the cup back. Those fans will never be forgotten, and you can see in the clip below what it meant to the players to try and bring the trophy home for the lost loved ones.

Stuart McCall tried his hardest for Everton, but there was really only to be one winner that day. John Aldridge banished memories from the year before by scoring first, and two goals from our perennial hero Ian Rush saved the day. In a a way, it was incredibly fitting that the final was against our closest rivals. These rivals were our closest allies in those most difficult of times, as there will have been Everton fans who lost relatives on April 15th 1989 at Hillsborough, and the city grieved as one. The ninety six have now got the truth they deserved, and justice is well on its way too. #YNWA

And so to the first of this year's fixtures. There is absolutely no disguising that Everton have had the better start to the season. After all, the table doesn't lie. Liverpool may be six points and eight places behind our neighbours, but we are starting to hit a bit of form. Three clean sheets and seven points from the last possible nine is good, but we have only scored twice in those games which will need addressing. With Nuri Sahin and Oussama Assaidi coming more in to the fold, as well as Raheem Sterling's fantastic start to the season, I think we are due a few goals. Everton have five points from their last three games, but they have scored six so the Reds back four will need to have their wits about them. With the game being at Goodison Park, if you offered me a draw now I'd probably take it. It is always an intimidating place to go, and with us having so many young and inexperienced that could be overawed the result is difficult to predict. I'll go for 1-1 and hope for the best. Come on you Reds!

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Brook beats 'El Tigre' Saldivia to set up mouth-watering world title clash

Future welterweight king?

  Atfter Kell Brook's last time out when he struggled to get over the line against Carson Jones, things could not have looked more different last night at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield. Since the July clash with Jones where Kell struggled to hang on to his unbeaten recored, the 'steel city star' has engaged the services of a strength, power and conditioning coach and also a nutritionist who have made a world of difference. Kell had trained for a long hard fight against Saldivia, as you might expect for a world title eliminator, but his superior power was evident from very early in the fight. A stinging uppercut in the first round sent the Argentine to the canvas, and Brook's intent was obvious from there on in. The barrage continued through the second round, and a straight left at the beginning of the third signalled the beginning of the end. After such a systematic defeat, in hindsight it seems difficult tio believe that Hector Saldivia was rated third in the IBF rankings, which perhaps enhances Brook's victory and stature moving on to a world title fight. It looks likely that Kell will face Devon Alexander who defeated Randall Bailey in New York later on the same night to win the IBF Belt. By all accounts it was a dire affair with more clinching than punching, that will no doubt inspire the Yorkshire pugilist to believe that he can wrestle the world title from the American early in 2013. 

Kell Brook and Amir Khan in the Sky Sports studio for 'Ringside' recently

 If Kell can become a world champion, there are some huge fights out there for him. He has made no secret of wanting ro tear Amir Khan to pieces. And there is also the golden carrot of a fight with the returning Ricky Hatton; if The Hitman does the business in November. How near can Special K get to the top of the world rankings? Only time will tell, but he has now put the foundations in place and we will all find out next year. Good luck Kell.

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Classy Price finishes Audley.....for good?

Future world-heavyweight champion?

On Saturday night In Liverpool at the Echo Arena, around 8500 people saw David Price destructively end the career of former Olympic champion Audley Harrison. Regular readers will know that I predicted this last week, (I said it wouldn't go more than four rounds) but to be honest you don't need to be a genius to see that coming. I think Audley Harrison's PR team would be able to convince turkeys to vote for Christmas. For all the rubbish they have spouted over the years, I think their achievements in the last twelve years or so deserve more recognition than those of their employer. 

Price will now move on to a fight with former European heavyweight champion Matt Skelton on December 8th. I would see this as a stepping-stone fight to keep Price active rather than any sort of real test. It may last a bit longer than the Harrison bout on Saturday, but the result will be much the same. The real test will come early next year with the anticipated fight with Tyson Fury. The Manchester based fighter had plenty to say on television last night, including calling Price a plumber as well as saying he would fight Tony Bellew in between rounds. Price's promoter Frank Maloney offered Fury £500,000 to fight Price in the immediate aftermath of the fight last night, and Fury responded in with a rant in somewhat bad taste saying that if they didn't have the money they were in trouble. Fighting Tyson Fury may well be a step up from the likes of Harrison and Skelton, I think Price has the ability to go right to the top and could well be a world champion in 2014. 

Comments from Fury's promoter Mick Hennessy make me think that they might avoid fighting Price for a second time. Hennessy said 'Tyson is ranked No 4 with the WBC at the moment, he's had a lot more fights (than Price) so he’s in firing range for a world title,' 'I think Tyson could be a world champion by next summer. The Price fight, when it happens, Tyson will take him out. It would be better if it was for a world title but we've got to see Price get hit on the whiskers and see how he reacts. Tyson put David Price on his backside when he was a 17-year-old novice with a handful of fights. David Price was much older and a Commonwealth Games gold medallist whereas Tyson was, by his own admission, a fat, out of condition fighter. Tyson is a bigger man, he's a better athlete, he's got more ability and when the time comes he'll do a serious job on David Price.' 

Fury definitely has the chin to go in to the latter rounds with Price, but I am quite confident that Price's skill and power would see him come through the fight by a late round KO. It would seem that if Hennessy is prepared to make the fight happen, he wants Fury to be a world champion first. This might end up being Price's route to becoming a world champion. If you ask me, below the Klitschko brothers there is not too much class in this division so Fury should be able to capture a version of the title. Despite his mouthy bravado I still think he will duck Price when it comes to it but only time will tell. Next week sees Kell Brook take on Hector Saldivia in an eliminator for a world welterweight title fight, so it could well be more boxing next week!

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A shoe-in for Team of the Year at the BBC sports personality awards?

 
Having been out of the sports blogging loop due to the birth of my first son, there's a fair bit to catch up on! There are not many things that would have kept me away from the Ryder Cup, but I'm deliriously happy to say that the arrival of my little boy did. Well done Team Europe! I'd say that the performance of Team Europe in the singles on Sunday is well up there with the best come backs of all time. I am not quite sure whether it tops Liverpool's second half performance in the Champions League final in 2005, but it is certainly equal in my mind. I think the team as a hole performed fantastically well in the face of the extreme adversity brought by the partisan home, but I have to give particular plaudits to Ian Poulter. He showed tremendous mettle through the entire weekend, and gave the other lads the platform to release the shackles and play without fear. I hope he can use this performance as an inspiration to shine in the majors when it's just him and his caddie against the rest. He has proved now that he has the full game to follow Rory McIlroy on the major trail!

One other thing that's happened in the recent sporting past, is Lewis Hamilton's move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 F1 season after signing a three year deal with the Silver Arrows. Many have been critical of the move and suggested that it is just for the financial benefits. I agree with David Coulthard who said that the move is necesary for Lewis to mature as a driver. As everyone knows Lewis has been with McLaren since the age of thirteen, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he hasn't quite shed some of the child-like characteristics usually seen in adolescence. I am quite sure that once he makes the move, Lewis can mature in to the driver everbody knows he can be, and at the same time he can be the catalyst to take Mercedes on to the next level. I don't think Merecedes have ever lacked ambition, and although the progress maybe hasn't been as rapid as they may have liked, it will come. After all, next year will only be year four in the project and companies like Mercedes employ people like Nick Fry and Ross Brawn to settle for second best. It will also help that he's been friends with future team-mate Nico Rosberg since their karting days as team-mates. 

This week in boxing we see the heavyweight clash between David Price and Audley Harrison. I can't see the fight gong to far past four rounds or so. He hasn't exactly been bathed in glory in his twelve years as a pro, and he's been down once or twice! I think Price's big bombs will be far too much for Harrison to deal with. Hopefully that will then bring the curtain down on the farce that has been Harrison's career as a pro. Even my brother, who I consider to certainly be more of a boxing nut than me, admitted that he gets sucked in by the hype every time. All suggestions for forfeits will be considered. That's how confident I am that Price will win, and it will be funny to see what people can come up with. Reply via email, facebook or twitter on the links below. 

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