On Liverpool vs Arsenal: Thoughts on a classic Premier League match.

Red cards, own goals, drama, injuries, physical confrontations, this match had it all. It's a little absurd that a match could get this good this early in the season, but I suppose that's just what happens when the Gunners roll into Anfield.

What I thought I'd do since this match ended level at 1-1 was unfold the positives and the negatives for both sides. So without further ado, let's begin:

Liverpool.

Positives: David Ngog looks to be a decent option up top while Torres gets his form back. While Ngog is prone to making ridiculous mental errors, and occassionally seems to completely zone out on the pitch, it's obvious that he's a very gifted player. His finish to add Liverpools only goal on the scorline was absolutely montrous. The angle was so tight, and the ball was driven in with such power that Almunia was no match. Ngog also showed his abilities in the air, which I always liked about him. He times headers suprisingly well, and has a knack for flicking on headers into the nylon.

Jovanovic is well liked, and playing hard. Milan Jovanovic made his Premier League debut for the Reds today, and quickly gained a following in the sixth minute. You see, Milan was driving down the center of the pitch and youngster Jack Wilshere was bugging him, so Milan put one of his brawny Eastern European arms out and threw the Englishmen to the ground. The crowd roared in approval. Jova seemed to take a cue from Anfield hero Gerrard, hurrying to every ball and giving his best effort throughout the match. His exit in the 78th minute to make way for Maxi Rodriguez was met with a standing ovation. There may be a new Serbian in the Premier League, other than United's Nemanja Vidic.

Gerrard: still the best player on the pitch. The Red faithful were a little disenfranchised with their golden boy last season, but "Stevie G" (pictured above) will always lace up and give it his all, you can bet the house on that. Gerrard, the captain of the Reds, simply has to be one of your favorite players. Completely selfless, chases down every ball with a never-say-die attitude, a rare combo of grace and power that only comes around once every couple of generations. Gerrard proved today that he will always wear the Reds kit with pride and that he isn't going away until they drag him off the pitch.

Glen Johnson proves his worth. Glen Johnson, coming off a dismal performance for England at the World Cup, proved just how valuable he is to his club side today with great service and great skill on the ball. His sallying forth from the right back position has proved to be invaluable to Liverpool's game, and is what earned them their goal. Any doubts about his value to the club were put to the sword today.

Kuyt is still a workhorse. Dirk Kuyt is another reason to respect Liverpool. The man's work rate is absolutely incredible, and his service is always spot on. The Dutch sage showed that he is no pushover, and won't be replaced by Maxi Rodriguez anytime soon out on the wing for the Reds.

Carragher and Skrtel. Both of these men, long time Red Jamie Carragher and Slovakian maniac Martin Skrtel, defended like mad men today. They were a nightmare for Chamakh on his debut, and rendered Van Persie's substitution into the game absolutely worthless. Liverpool will get a big boost from having a solid center two in these two men.

Mascherano got a good exit. So all of the signs point to a move to Real Madrid for defensive midfielder Mascherano. He went out in style today with a great, physical performance that is his trademark. His substitution late on was also met with a standing o, which he appreciated.

Negatives: Torres still seems out of form. It was all Fernando Torres could do to make it down the pitch with the ball, it seemed. His explosive pace, his lightning quick feet, still just don't seem to be there. It was good to see the Spaniard out on the pitch, and a clever cross toward the death of the match proved that he is still one of the most creative players around, I just still have doubts about his fitness.

Cole's red card. Joe Cole made his Premier League debut today for the Reds. He seemed to be absolutely worthless, despite one incredibly impressive back heel flick. His job was to link the midfield play and the attackers, but he was absolutely dismal in that respect. He really just crowded Gerrard and went down the pitch too early most of the time. And then, the kicker. In the 44th minute, Cole made a dangerous challenge on Laurent Koscielny, taking out one of his legs with both of his own, got a red card, and was sent off. Not exactly the best way to make your debut, especially when people have been talking about how you could be better than Messi all week.

Reina's own goal. I feel genuinely bad for this one. Jose Reina played an absolutely flawless game, he dealt with every corner, stopped a venomous strike from Rosicky, and just looked to be in top form. Until the last minutes of play. A cross came in, and Reina came out to deal with it. Chamakh got it away, and the ball bounced, quite unfortunately, into Reina's own goal off his hands. A tragic end to a hard fought game.

Arsenal.

Postives: Jack Wilshere looked good. English youngster Wilshere made his debut for the Gunners today, and seemed to do a great job. He took every opportunity he could and was really impressive in defense.

Subsitutions were vital. Theo Walcott and Rosicky provided the only real chance the Gunners had at coming back. Rosicky had perhaps the best chance in the game, a lethal strike that was tipped over by Reina in the 86th minute. Walcott looked daft occasionally, but for the most part got good service and looked more sound on the ball than last season.

Diaby and Nasri. These two men, who may not have started were it not for an Arsenal injury crisis, looked well in form and were important parts of the match for Arsenal. Diaby was untouchable on the ball and did well to hold play back while other players got in postion around the goal. Nasri did basically everything, shooting, passing, defending, set pieces, and performed pretty well, I thought.

Negatives: Laurent Koscielny. The most recent transfer in for the Gunners, Laurent's contribution to this game was two yellow cards (equals red) and going to sleep to allow Ngog's goal. Furthermore, his suspension puts more pressure on Arsenal's wounded defense. Wenger's looking pretty thin back there.

Ashravin out of form. I love Andrei Ashravin, but he looked pitifully out of shape and out of sorts in this game. His passes never seemed to be weighted correctly and he wasn't getting any pace at all out of his legs. Hopefully the Russian will be able to snap out of it for the Gunners' next match.

Chamakh was less than impressive. Marouane Chamakh, perhaps Arsene Wenger's most promising addition to the Arsenal side, was pretty absent in his debut today. He lost the ball in the box on a number of occassions and didn't seem to be in sync with the other players. Perhaps more time is needed for Chamakh to get used to Premier League game speed, so I suppose we'll have to see.

Van Persie did nothing. He was only on for a half an hour, but Robin Van Persie did effectively nothing for the Gunners with his brief time on the pitch, touching the ball maybe twice.

These are my thoughts on today's match. Have some of your own?

ALSO: Manchester United premieres tomorrow in their match against Newcastle United on ESPN 2 at 2:55 PM.

On Liverpool: What their takeover by Kenny Huang means for the Reds and for world football.

Today, it was announced that a Chinese billionaire named Kenny Huang (pictured above standing next to a beverage rich people love: water) wants to buy Liverpool. He's buying it for 240 million pounds, and he's buying the club outright, so all of that money will go into the team itself and none of it will go to lining the pockets of the owners. Here's what this monumental takeover means if it happens:

1. Torres is staying. Also coming out today was the news that Fernando Torres is staying at Anfield. Coincidence? Impossible. Can you blame him though? He's got the financial security here, the fanbase, and the promise of a possible dynasty on his hands. How could he leave?

As a sidenote, I just realized today that Torres has scored 40 goals in 41 games for the Reds. Which is incredible, and really puts into perspective how invaluable he actually is. Hopefully he will have a speedy recovery from his retweeking of his injury recently in the World Cup Final.
And Torres isn't the only player whose security is definite with this move, guys like Gerrard, Lucas, and possibly even Mascherano will also be more encouraged to stay.

2. Anfield: out with the old, in with the new. Anfield is getting on. The stadium hasn't been renovated for almost a century and it's getting a little rickety. These days, it's really unheard of for a Premier League club to not play in a modern stadium.

Liverpool has been pointing to the tradition of the stadium for years to legitimize it's existence, but now it's looking like they're going to have to update things. It's too small, too old, and too clunky. This new money is a major step in the right direction toward a new home for the Reds.

3. Roy Hodgson: the best squad man in the world with the most money in the world. New Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson is renowned for his squad management capabilities. He's already worked wonders with what limited funds Liverpool had, adding attacking potency with Joe Cole, and some much needed support and defense players in Danny Wilson and Milan Jovanovic, as well as resigning an impressive Fabio Aurielo. He only needed 2 million to do that. Imagine him with 240 million at his disposal.

Here are some players he may go for:

Mesut Ozil. Werder Bremen's young starlet in central midfield Ozil admitted yesterday that he has been tempted by some offers from English clubs. Why the hell not if you're Hodgson looking at aging prospects Lucas and Mascherano, both of him have been speculated to be moving this summer anyway?

Carlos Salcido. Liverpool said they wanted this Mexican star at right back, why not go get him? Sure Aurielo's back, but who's to say he won't drop the ball again this year?

John Paintsil. More defenders, but Liverpool's central defense was a revolving door last year. Maybe you want a big tough African in there. Paintsil has been outspoken about his love for Roy Hodgson, maybe these two can reunite.

Clint Dempsey. This is just something I want to happen. It's kind of bullshit. It'd be awesome though.

4. Manchester City will get their asses kicked. I would just love to see the look on City's faces as they lose almost a billion dollars going after players with terrible attitudes and ludicrous wages to just get completely outboxed by one of the classiest clubs in England. That would just make my day.

On Joe Cole: What his move to Liverpool means for the Reds, for himself, and for English football

Before I start breaking down what I think of Joe Cole's move from Chelsea to Liverpool, I think it will help if I give a bit of a background on Cole.

Joe Cole is now 28 years old. He has spent his career in the English Premier League playing mainly for Chelsea, unfortunately, that career was rife with injuries. Cole came into the EPL as one of the most hyped players since Lampard. And by all accounts, he is capable of delivering. Cole's potential is pretty massive, he's got all kinds of skill and the pace to go with it, along with a traditional fighting spirit you would expect of an English national.

At the World Cup, Cole seemed to be one of the brighter points of a dismal English side when he got his chance to play. The problem for Cole has always been staying fit, a scourge of many other potential greats, most recently Fernando Torres.

Now, I'm going to break down what I think of this move.

I have no idea why Liverpool did this. They just spent so many resources keeping attacking midfielder Steven Gerrard at Liverpool and acquiring natural wide midfielder Maxi Rodriguez from Atletico Madrid. And they've still got Dirk Kuyt in the starting line-up. Really the only reason I can think of that they would do this is to replace Yossi Benayoun, whom is on is way to Chelsea, so I guess it was what we in America would refer to as a "trade."

But there are other reasons why I don't like this for the Reds. Chief among these reasons is the fact that they've added a player who is infamous for being injury prone to a club side already absolutely devastated by injuries with Torres' fitness again in question after he hurt himself again in the World Cup Final.

It is being said that Joe Cole made this transition because he was promised playing time by new Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson. But with the condition that Liverpool is in right now, who's to say how long Hodgson may last as the manager? And even if he was, would you have any difficulty working him in with new signing Rodriguez in the mix? Or even Liverpool stalwart Lucas in the middle? I think not.

This is a major major gamble for me from manager Hodgson, but I do like it for one big reason: Cole is English. Liverpool for me was a club in the EPL that you could particularly pick on for not fielding English national players, so for that, I think this is a good move.

I wish Cole the best of luck, because he without doubt deserves it, but I don't have the highest hopes for this one.

On the World Cup 2010: Final thoughts and reactions

So the World Cup has drawn to a close. I don't know about you, but it's pretty depressing for me. Anyway, I want to get right down to the broad strokes of this final and what it means for the upcoming season of club play.

1. Spain's victory. In quite possibly the worst game of the tournament, Spain and Holland continually missed the chance to win the biggest sporting event of either of their country's history. I don't know about you, but I felt like I was watching some chippy Scottish Premier League game where all of the players are drunk off their asses going into the game.

This game produced by far the most yellow cards in the history of the Final, the first ever recorded live action Falcon Kick by Nigel De Jong, two of the worst moments in Arjen Robben's life, an extremely climactic goal from Andres Iniesta off a broken play, and some extremely spine-chilling tears from Spanish captain Iker Casillas.

Let's talk for a minute about Torres. I think that this is the most tragic story of the tournament. Torres went into this World Cup having endured two major knee surgeries, one of the most talked about transfer deals in soccer history, and having had to sit out for the large majority of one of the worst seasons in Liverpool's history. When he arrived on the stage, everyone shit on him non-stop, and he was pulled out of the starting line-up. This was a piss poor decision because Bosque had to change the entire formation so that Villa was a lone striker. Villa is not a lone striker. He scored all five of his goals when Torres was in the game because that meant he could start out on the left, when he's a lone striker, he gets lost amongst the central defenders and his pretty below average aerial game. The decision to pull Torres is the cause of Spain's complete lack of potency in the final. If you noticed, Spain was constantly trying to work the ball through the middle of the defense, which is exactly what Holland wanted and they defended valiantly everytime.

Then when he did finally put him in in the final, Torres tweaked his hamstring again. And that just sucks.

Let's move on now.

2. Thomas Mueller wins the Golden Boot. 20 year old Thomas Mueller won the Golden Boot this year because of a tie break with Forlan, Villa, and Sneijder. He had three assists whereas they all only had one. Mueller with this Boot has become the youngest player since Pele in 1954 to score 5 or more in a World Cup Final, is the youngest player ever to win the Boot, and he's only a few months older than me.

Now, let's talk about Mueller's future. Mueller will return to Bayern Munich next season coming off one of the most impressive displays of the entire tournament. There's a problem though, because the man who currently starts out on the right for Bayern is none other than Arjen Robben, who is probably the second best right winger in the world right now after Lionel Messi. I think Mueller needs to leave Bayern, maybe even stay in the Bundesliga. I would just really hate to see talent like that riding the bench.

3. Diego Forlan wins the Golden Ball. Forlan is my favorite player ever. He's got the field vision, the passing skills to go with it, the shot of a Barrett 50 caliber sniper rifle, the technique, and the grace. He also never dives, never gets carded, and never bitches to the refs. He just does his job, straight up.

A story about Forlan for those who don't know: He dedicates every goal he scores to his sister who was paralyzed in a car accident when they were kids. He became a professional footballer so that she'd never have to pay a medical bill in her life.

He's the last great, classy player.

4. Disapppointments. I'm just going to go through these quickly. Wayne Rooney touched the ball like six times total. Torres (sadness). Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal I could score and other than that rolled around on the pitch like a bitch. Lionel Messi broke the record for the most shots in a single tournament (30) without a goal. France just screwed everything up. England looked like a bunch of tired old men. Italy.

5. Final thoughts. I hope you all enjoyed this World Cup, I know I did. I'll start covering the transfer craziness and the club season soon. Until next time. Thanks for reading.

On David Villa: Why he'll win the coveted Golden Boot at the World Cup

Honestly, David Villa is the current front runner to win this thing, so this looks like kind of a band wagon post. But I'm going to tell you why the obvious is what's going to happen this year at the World Cup.

To win the Golden Boot, a couple of basic things have to be in place. First, the team has to go far in the tournament so that goals can be accrued. Second, there has to be a great team element. Third, the player has to have a lot of individual talent and serve a specific niche on the team as a "goal scorer." Here's a breakdown of why all of these things are going to fall into place for Villa this year.

1. Spain is in a crap group. It's no secret that past Golden Boot winners profitted by scoring two to three goals in one match against particularly defensively weak opponents. Spain is in a group with Chile, Honduras, and Switzerland. None are push overs obviously, but all of these teams are characteristically weak defensively. Spain will surely be able to crush at least Switzerland and Honduras, and the man behind it will be Villa.

2. Xavi is passing to him. Xavi is considered by most to be one of the best passers of all time. In the 2006 World Cup, he got four assists in A GAME. He's the orchestrator of the entire offense, and the venom of that offense it Villa. Which brings me to my next point.

3. Villa is a great striker. As a player in his own right, Villa has established himself as one of the best strikers in La Liga and the world. He's famous for his scorching shot, but he's got great pace and ball skills. Really the only thing not going for Villa is his size, but being in a group against undersized South Americans helps that issue. He'll also probably get a crack at a few free kicks, maybe getting a goal or two there too.

4. Spain is a team. In the truest since of the word, Spain's players work together, and quite well. This is because at least seven of the players in the starting lineup have been playing all season for Barcelona, winning the La Liga there. This is a bunch of guys who know how to win together, and they'll be utilizing Villa to the best of his abilities.

5. Torres chokes. It's sad but true, Fernando Torres is infamous for being unable to deliver in big game situations. Coupled with a disappointing season at Liverpool, the weight of goal scoring will fall on Villa in Torres' absence. And Villa is notorious for being a fearless, clutch player.

6. Spain is favorited to win the World Cup. In my mind, anyway. EPI has Brazil ranked over them, but you can't tell me Spain isn't the favorite. This is a team that will at the very least make the final, meaning Villa will have plenty of opportunities in plenty of games to score.

On Manchester City: How Peter Crouch's forehead ruined the hopes and dreams of a franchise

Late in the second half of the Manchester City vs. Tottenham game, Peter Crouch bumbled into a cross and headed it into the net of City, 1-0. City was unable to respond, and secured their fifth place spot in the Premier League. Tottenham's three points from the victory secured fourth place for them and a berth into the Champions League next season. But there are two big implications for City losing this game other than not making the Champions League. Let's take a look:

1. Keeping foreign players here. Coming into this season, City were criticized as a team of stars with no real team element. Their front three clearly shows this. Carlos Tevez (pictured above), Robinho, and Emmanuel Adebayour. These guys all came to City with promises of a couple of things: a Premiership within two years, a Champions League berth this season, and a lot of playing time. It seems that those first two are going to be a little out of reach. That has made these guys pretty antsy. Particularly Robinho. The Brazilian on loan came out yesterday pleading to return to Brazil to play for a club like Sao Paulo, so he's probably gone. Manchester United and even Real Madrid have also shown a vested interest in Tevez, and he knows if he goes there he'll get what he wants. But Tevez is a great guy, he scored 23 goals in League play this year and by all accounts is extremely happy at City. But will he be able to resist the temptation? Only time will tell. But as the World Cup gets closer and closer, it seems that a lot of clubs are waiting to see how the Argentinian will perform. Adebayour is talent that will be particularly hard to hold on to. His ball skills are already turning heads, despite an underwhelming goal tally. The loss of these players, particularly Tevez, is a major threat to City's chances next season.

2. Getting new players. City is among Chelsea as one of the first clubs to make an offer to Fernando Torres. They are offering the same amount (perhaps even more) and another laundry list of players for Liverpool to choose from. But Torres probably won't go there. The Spanish phenom wants to go to the Champions League, and Crouch's forehead ruled that out for City. They also made a big offer to Aston Villa attacking midfielder Milner yesterday, but he hasn't made a statement about that yet. One can't help but wonder if Milner would want to leave a club where he is the established star to go to a team with no chemistry and have to prove himself all over again, without even having a crack at the Champions League. Oh how the dominoes fall.

But things aren't all bad for City. They've got some experience under their belt, and this means that they'll only work harder next season. They also made the Europa League with fifth place, which isn't bad at all. At least they have something to take how to their fans, and they'll certainly be one of the strongest clubs in the tournament next year.

So perhaps my title was a little harsh, there maybe hope yet for City.

On Fernando Torres: Why Liverpool will be better off without him

It's been a rough year at Anfield. The Red faithful have seen their golden boy Steven Gerrard's form dipping dramatically, an extremely disappointing seventh place finish putting them out of the Champions League for next season, and, finally, the debilitation of their star Fernando Torres. Torres scored 18 goals in League play this year. Which isn't bad at all. But it wasn't enough to keep the Reds, who had trouble defending most matches, in their usual top 3 spot. And it's a total with a big asterisk, *injuries. Torres was on and off the pitch this season, whether it was for mere exhaustion or ligament problems. Injuries are never fun, and it's probable that had Torres been able to stay healthy, Liverpool may have had more of a shot in the Premier League and probably would have won the Europa Cup too.

Don't get me wrong, Torres is a marvelous player. You are looking at basically the best player on the ball since Maradona. He's got the perfect balance of finesse, work ethic, ball control, passing ability, and raw talent that is currently making every major club drool.

So what's with the title? What would ever make Liverpool want to lose this guy? The answer lies in exactly who is looking at him. Right now, Manchester City and Chelsea are both offering record breaking (mind boggling) transfer fees for Torres. Chelsea looks to be the more likely to acquire Torres at this point, as the Spanish striker wants a shot at the Champions League, and City just missed the qualifier this year. More on that later.

So let's look at two big reasons why Liverpool benefits from losing Torres to Chelsea.

1. A laundry list of great players. Chelsea has offered the following players to smooth things over for Liverpool's transition without Torres: Jose Bosingwa, Nicolas Anelka, Ricardo Carvalho, Deco, Salomon Kalou and Paulo Ferreira.

Liverpool has their pick of any three of those. They don't really need Bosingwa because they have Glen Johnson, but obviously the skilled French striker Anelka would help fill Torres' shoes. The Portuguese Deco is an established legend and would be a welcomed sight at center field, where he would likely replace Italian teenager Aquillani. Kalou would be a great attacking midfielder to sub in for Gerrard, because god knows that kid gets tired sprinting his ass off to every ball that comes his way. He would also come in across from newly acquisitioned Maxi Rodriguez and fan favorite Dirk Kuyt, creating possibly a perfect storm of crosses raining in on the 18 yard box. But probably the best bet for Liverpool would be either of the center defenders offered, Carvalho and Ferreira. The full-back position at Liverpool this year has been a merry-go-round of players, none of which seemed to be able to keep the pressure off of goalkeeper Pepe Reina, which ended up not being so bad for him, as he was able to prove his worth to the Spanish national team.

2. Transfer fee. What do you do with 80 million pounds? A better question: what don't you do with 80 million pounds? This is an earth-shattering amount, and easily eclipses last year's record 42 million Man U was paid for Ronaldo to move to Real. The possibilities are endless. Maybe make a move for a high profile guy like Robin Van Persie, or, if Bayern loses the Champions League final on Saturday, a guy like Arjen Robben. Maybe go for a better defender, like Squillici, who's riding the bench at Real Madrid. Maybe try to sneak David Silva away from Real Madrid (though they'd have to move fast for that). Maybe you go for a really great midfielder, like Sneijder if Inter loses the Champions League final. The point is, you can do pretty much anything with kind of money.

If Torres goes to the Bridge next year, all hope will definitely not be lost for the Reds.