The future's bright for football and fight nights!

I have to admit that after hearing the starting XI for England's game in Moldova in I wasn't feeling particularly inspired by some of the weekend's sport; Along with international football, I'd become quite disillusioned with boxing for some time as well. Firstly, thanks to Roy Hodgson, and later on I'll make mention of Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Sport.

After deciding not to watch the match live, mainly because watching England has become somewhat tedious in recent times, I did decide to watch the highlights. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. Was the football mistake free? Certainly not, but the freedom and fluidity of the play was definitely inspiring from a fans point of view. In hindsight I think the injuries to Andy Carroll, Ashley Cole and Gareth Barry may have been a blessing in disguise. These omissions forced Hodgson to play Leighton Baines, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Tom Cleverley who played with a youthful exuberance that we haven't seen in a three lions shirt for quite a while. It also meant Jermain Defoe was tasked with the striker's role, and although he might have had a goal or two more on the night, his talent and club form over a number of years mean this chance is overdue in my opinion. I think Defoe is the most gifted natural English striker the Premier League has seen since Alan Shearer retired and I think his movement gave focus to England's play. It was also good to get a positive answer to the eternal midfield Gerrard/Lampard question. They may not be the long term answer to England's midfield, but at least we now know that two genuine midfielders can play together in harmony using good judgement to know when to go forward and when to sit deep. Gerrard tended to sit deeper while Lampard was making runs beyond Defoe and Cleverley as he did to head in Glen Johnson's cross for his second goal. Albeit England are still work in progress, their campaign could not have got off to a better start, so hopefully the good work will continue against Ukraine on Tuesday at Wembley. John Terry is the only doubt, but either his club-mate Gary Cahill or Phil Jagielka should make an able deputy. (If Jagielka plays, hopefully we don't hear any ridiculous pronunciations of his name!) 

As well as the football on Friday, the first big boxing show of the season was incredibly refreshing as well. Having heard an interview earlier in the year with Matchroom Sport's Eddie Hearn, he said that he was intending to bring genuine 50/50 fights to the public. He did this firstly with Kell Brook v Carson Jones in July where the Sheffield pugilist came through one hell of a gut-checker, and continued last night at Alexandra Palace with the excellent 'London's calling' show. This saw Erick Ochieng, Lee Purdey and Tony Bellew all win in enthralling fights, and creates a buzz and excitement for the coming boxing season. Perhaps Carl Frampton v Steve Molitor in a couple of weeks in Belfast is the prime example of Hearn's policy, and with the continuing Prizefighter series, Brook v Saldivia and Froch v Mack on the horizon it certainly whets the appetite. Perhaps the only blot on the weekend was that Darren Barker had to pull out of his fight, but hopefully the Londoner can get over his recent arm injury and get back in the ring soon. I have seen some talk that he should retire, but I think he is one of the classiest middleweights out there and the sooner he is back in the ring the better. Over the next two years Matchroom will provide Sky with twenty shows a season to bring to air, so hopefully fight fans will see 'deeper bills with more title fights and more competitive fights in packed out arenas' as promised. Thankfully for boxing, the future's bright....the future's Matchroom. I for one am glad that I don't have to see the over inflated ego's of boxers from other stables (no names mentioned!) win easy fights any more.  

FA Cup final preview

The FA Cup

Albeit at a somewhat strange time of year and kicking off at a strange time of day, the FA Cup final is upon us; and even if a little nervous I am quite excited. It has not been a vintage season for Liverpool by any stretch of the imagination, but we are yet to be beaten in a cup game this season so I may as well look on the positive side! I am also happy that ESPN are giving the showpiece game of the English season the coverage it deserves by beginning at around eight o’clock in the morning.

As any football fan will know, there is history between Liverpool and Chelsea. And as the history is relatively recent there are some wounds that have not quite healed yet; and most of the wounds are Chelsea’s.  Even though Liverpool have beaten Chelsea twice this season I think they are definitely favourites in my mind, and they certainly will be with the bookmakers. That said, Liverpool have been Chelsea’s bogey team in recent years and despite having a generally bad season that trend has continued. Could this be where the trend changes….

Who are the game changers for Chelsea?

Fernando Torres will be the name on the lips of most fans discussing the match over a pre-match pint for many reasons; he used to play for Liverpool; his £50million price tag; his distinct lack of goals… until recently! He has looked a lot better on the ball of late, and his hat-trick against QPR will have done his confidence no harm whatsoever.

Didier Drogba may be getting on in footballing terms, but he can still be the attacking battering ram up front that we have seen over the years. With seven goals in seven appearances at Wembley he has the pedigree. If he wants to play he can so let’s see which Didier turns up.

Juan Mata is one player in the Chelsea midfield who is more than capable of finding a killer pass when needed. In their recent games against Barcelona his role was sacrificed for the benefit of the team, but I expect him to be pulling the strings today. Liverpool midfield beware!

And for Liverpool?

Steven Gerrard has done it before, and despite the fact that I don’t think he’ll be back to 100% strength and fitness until he has a pre-season behind him, we have seen the odd sign since he came back that he can still do it. Since returning from long-term injury he’s played a slightly deeper role, but I for one am hoping we can see Super Stevie G a bit more on the front foot today.

Luis Suarez may not have scored thirty goals this season, but some of the goals he has scored have been absolutely sublime. He does things with a football that continue to tie defenders in knots, and I think he would have been a lot more prominent this season if he hadn’t spent a fifth of it sat on the bench suspended.

Pepe Reina is unlikely to get on the score sheet (unless it gets to 10-10 on penalties….oh crikey!) but some of his saves can turn the flow of a game on a sixpence, and he is the best goalkeeping distributor of the ball I have ever seen. He has unerring accuracy when kicking the ball from his hand and can spot a sixty or seventy yard pass in the blink of an eye.

Form

Liverpool had a very good start to the season and have got steadily worse, whereas Chelsea have been exactly the opposite. Since installing Roberto Di Matteo as ‘Interim first team head coach’ (I think this is his title??) Chelsea have gone from strength

to strength. And beating Barcelona to get to the Champions league final will be a massive confidence boost. Conversely, the latter half of this season will be a time to forget for Liverpool. The only real highlights have been beating Everton and winning the Carling Cup. Already having won two games at Wembley this year could be a plus point.  Head to head is a different story though. Liverpool have won the last four games in all competitions, and Dalglish is unbeaten in his last thirteen games against Chelsea. I hope the tide doesn’t turn today! Also, Dalglish is bidding to win his 28^th major honour as a player and manager and Chelsea have only won 21 in their entire history.

As a final point, I hope the referee and his assistants have a good game and there aren’t any contentious issues. There have been a few in LFC v CFC games in the past, and I think Phil Dowd has been involved in a couple when Liverpool beat Manchester City earlier in the competition. Fingers crossed!

SPORT SHORTS

• Ronnie O'Sullivan is looking like an unstoppable cue-wielding juggernaut at the snooker World Championships, and although he has still to beat Matthew Stevens in the semi-final, six frames in a row yesterday should have sealed the deal. This should have been the final really, and Lord knows Matthew deserves it. He's done well to get back to playing at this level after some time in the wilderness following a tough time in his personal life. Good Luck to all players left in. 
• West Ham and Blackpool have the upper hand in the Football League Championship play offs, but neither game is beyond doubt. I feel sorry for Cardiff fans as they seem to be the perennial play-off losers. Maybe next year? 
• This week has seen the first 'in-season' testing session for some time which is good news as it gives teams a chance to make their cars go faster. F1 should be the pinnacle of horse-power, design and aerodynamics and the FIA and their regulations have spent a few years slowing the cars down! 

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FA Cup semi-final preview

Who will lift the FA Cup this year?

 Well the middle of April is upon us, and that means it is semi-final time in the oldest, most prestigious, and some would say the best club knockout competition in the world; The FA Cup. And this years semis are both poised to be absolute crackers as they are both derbies. I still am not sure about playing the semi-finals at Wembley, but I understand that the FA have to make back their £800 million deficit, but contrary to that I do think it devalues the final in a way. Maybe Elland Road and Villa Park are not really suitable anymore, but why not play the games at Old Trafford and The Emirates?

SF1: Liverpool v Everton 14 Apr 12.30pm

The first semi-final is very much a game that has history with the FA Cup. A reminder of years gone by; Lineker v Hansen; Rush v Ratcliffe; Kendall v Dalglish. The Old Wembley!
This game has always been billed as 'the friendly derby', and I believe that it still is. My family is very much living proof of this. I am one of four boys, two of which are reds, and the other two are blues. The first result I look for after Liverpool's is always Everton's, even if it is so I can give my brothers and my Mum some banter! I would have to admit though, that I have been a bit quiet on the banter front ever since Everton beat Sunderland. Despite David Moyes' attempts to play down his teams chances, Everton would be favourites in most peoples eyes. They have been in a very rich vain of form since the turn of the year, and Liverpool's form couldn't be more different. Having only picked up nine points in the calender year, our only real shining lights have been getting to this semi-final, and beating Everton 3-0 in the league a few weeks ago. Maybe this will be the inspiration that the mighty reds need. Key areas for Everton all seem to be positive on the face of things. Tim Cahill is coming back to form, and Nikica Jelavic looks to be settling in nicely. Tim Howard is, and has been for some years, an outstanding goalkeeper; and with Phil Jagielka coming back to full fitness at the right time The Blues should be just about at full strength. I wish the same could be said about Liverpool. Having lost Pepe Reina to a suspension last week, things are looking bleak to say the least. In Reina, Lucas and Agger, three of our most influential players of the season will all be missing. Hopefully Captain Fantastic Steven Gerrard can inspire Liverpool to the final.

SF2: Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea

 

All the talk up until now has been about the timing of this game, which is strange to say the least, but both teams will have to grin and bear it. It is a shame for Chelsea though, because they should be given the best opportunity to beat Barcelona which will be near impossible at the best of times. Yet another faux pas by the FA. 
In a way, this game is quite similar to the first semi-final as we have one team who had a great start to the season but have faltered a bit recently, and another that started poorly but are coming on strong at the right time. Spurs would be many peoples team of 2011, but since all the talk of Harry Redknapp being the stand-out candidate for England manager they have seemed very much unsettled. They do still look to be playing well, but have seemed less clinical than usual. They do have so many match winners in Bale, Modric, Adebayor, Defoe....(the list goes on!) and they also have a quality defence backed by Premier League stalwart Brad Friedel. On the other hand, Chelsea could not have been in more disarray before Christmas, but since removing Andre Villas-Boas and replacing him with a man deemed not good enough for West Brom last year, they strangely seem to have found some timely cohesion. Having reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the Champions League, you would think that Roberto Di Matteo would target Spurs as an easier team to beat than Barcelona; as good as Spurs are it is a bit of a no brainer. With this in mind I expect Chelsea to go all out to win this game, and as it is Spurs only opportunity to win a trophy this term they shouldn't leave anything behind either. 

SPORT SHORTS

• The final day of The Masters at Augusta today, and the Brits will have some work to do if one of them is to bring home the title. My money would be on Phil Mickleson as not only did he have a storming round yesterday, but he's done it before. I am sure Augusta will bite back at some point though.
• Despite making the point in my description of this blog that I can't stand Horse Racing, I do watch the Grand National. I pick a horse based on a combination of its name and its jockey, and this year I'm going for shakalakaboomboom. I hope all get round safely, and I hope there are people left in Liverpool to go to Aintree. Are there people in Liverpool who don't like football? I doubt it. 
• I make this point in my shorts as it is something that makes me very sad and very angry; even twenty three years on. On April 15 1989 96 people died at Hillsborough at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. Without doubt it brings a tear to my eye and rage to my heart, every time. All I want to say is Justice for the 96. Gone, but never ever forgotten. 

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