Footballing Titans: Manchester United - Chelsea

Arsenal and Liverpool are very much the also-rans of English football in 2008. It's too easy to say it's all about money, but Manchester United and Chelsea have spent a lot of it, and wisely, to get to the top of club football.

This could be well-rounded by sharper minds than mine, and the comments to this post makes a fine forum to do so, but right off hand, United's purchases of Ferdinand and Rooney resonate with me. These are two cases where Alex Ferguson said that he wanted the players, and that United should pay whatever it takes (each in the 25 to 30 million pounds range) and it's paid off. Christiano Ronaldo was actually more of an Arsenal-type signing; a young, relatively unestablished player that the manager discovered, but still a big transfer in the 12 million pound range.

For Chelsea, Drogba and Essien are two good examples of purchasing power (around 25 million pounds each). Two top players from the French league, Mourinho said he liked the players, Chelsea didn't let cost get in the way, and the players have come good in England. There've been a bunch of players who came and went, like Veron and Mutu, but even these players were part of title-winning sides.

By comparison, Arsenal and Liverpool are meek. I think Reyes is just about Arsenal's biggest buy, maybe in the 10 to 15 million pounds range. In addition to being bullied in the transfer market, Arsene's not always good at holding onto players that could help the side.

Rafa's rotation policy extends to the team's transfer policy. Lots of mediocre players have been through the team, although the side is getting closer to being competitive, free of the likes of Pellegrino and Nunez.

But for now, it's the titans, Man United and Chelsea; level on points at the top of the league with 2 games to go, and set for a European Cup Final.

Follow the money & Cheap penalties

First, I'm reminded that football is the beautiful game. The Champions League Semi-Finals have been top-grade entertainment.

Why were 4 of the last 8, 3 of the last 4, and the last 2 teams in the competition from England? Cash. Lots of cash. English soccer is the common man's crack cocaine. Try it a couple of times, and your hooked. A global audience of junkies has pumped money into the English Premier League, and now players like Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres, and Michael Essien play there.

Put players of this quality into your top teams, combined with homegrown players like Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes, and you've got a winning formula.

Liverpool lost out to Chelsea on a cheap penalty, but that's how they advanced from the quarter-finals against Arsenal. When a player is in nothing like a scoring opportunity, and is fouled, he and his side are incredibly fortunate. For me, it's an oddity in the rules.

Too good to go down? Derby 2, Arsenal 6

Just about every season, it seems, there's a relegation-threatened team that is widely considered "too good to go down." Not Derby County. Arsenal were suffering from some poor finishing and had concentration lapses at the back - the formula that generally leads to two dropped points, but Derby County were so easy to open up - the chances kept coming. Arsenal could've scored 10 with the number of chances they were creating.

Van Persie got a great goal, but had chances for more; same for Walcott.

Denilson played for the first hour. The Cesc-Denilson central-midfield partnership is one I'd like to see more. Walcott and Clichy brought a lot of speed to the left side. Eboue continues to struggle - his crosses look useful, but he lacks composure on the ball in potential goal-scoring opportunities.

Even if it was against the team on track for the lowest points total in the history of the Premier League, it was good fun to get 6 goals.

Prerequisite for being labeled a Big Game Bottler: Be a top player

The first leg of the Barcelona - Manchester United semi-final ended 0-0. Christiano Ronaldo missed a penalty, hitting it off the right upright, and the chorus labeling him a big game bottler is rising to a crescendo.

Ronaldo's miss has prompted Setanta to look deeper into the issue of bottlers.

Some have labeled Ronaldo and his overall performance a "Cod" and a "Disgrace," although some of these comments may have come from Irishmen who'd lost the run of themselves. Still, excessive diving does test the viewers' patience, and Ronaldo sometimes tends to resort to diving in big games. For those who haven't seen his longing pleas to the referee, his comment after the 2006 World Cup semi-final may be revealing: "The referee didn't help us."

Bear in mind it takes some doing to earn a reputation as a big game bottler. The performances leading up to the big games have to be good ones, and Ronaldo has scored 28 league goals playing on the wing, so he's in the spotlight. Don't expect to hear Arsenal's wide midfielder Emmanuel Eboue (no goals in all competitions, 28 starts, 5 substitute appearances) being accused of being a big game bottler any time soon.

Riise scores an own goalLiverpool 1, Chelsea 1

In the 95th minute of the Champions League Semi-Final first leg, Liverpool's John Arne Riise scored a howler of a headed own goal to give Chelsea a much-appreciated away goal. If the second leg ends 0-0, Riise's contribution will have been decisive.

Kuyt has been showing up at the right place at the right time fairly regularly for Liverpool on this Champions League run, and he bundled in their goal last night.

First legs are just a warmup, though. This one looks set for a gripping finale.

Champions League Semi-Finals Liverpool host Chelsea tomorrow to get it started

One of the things that has helped millions of people across the globe keep the faith in the beautiful game has been Liverpool dumping Chelsea out of the Champions League Semi-Finals in 2005 and 2007. Liverpool have the chance the complete the hat trick starting tomorrow, with Gerrard, Torres, and Babel all in top form.

One of the players to watch for Chelsea could be Nicolas Anelka. The journeyman striker has the talent to make an impact at this level, but his chances in these types of big games has been limited.

Supporters of the French National team will want to compare Anelka's performance tomorrow to Henry's performance for Barcelona against Manchester United on Wednesday, assuming both of them play. They could both be left out, but Anelka has shown glimpses that he could be ready for prime time.

Reading, in a relegation dogfight, drop 3 more points at the EmiratesArsenal 2, Reading 0

No one wants to see Reading relegated. They play attacking football. They're in 17th right now, but Birmingham City are only a point back, and have a game in hand.

Arsenal create a lot of chances, but only got goals today from Adebayor and Gilberto. The Adebyor goal was off the top shelf: a cross in from the right and a sweet/brilliant/lucky touch at the edge of the 18-yard box to put him in a 1-on-1 with the keeper, and a second touch that was a confident finish. The Gilberto goal was a punt that took a wicked deflection.

Theo Walcott is a dynamo. Watching the player making forward runs is worth the price of digital cable.

Cesc is a brilliant player, and was brilliant once again against Reading, but he might not ever reach the very, very top of the world game with his limited pace. His skill on the ball, his passing vision, his ability to win balls, his endurance to always look fresh: these are his reliable skills. Goal-scoring menace only comes to him in phases. When it comes to chasing down balls, he can look fairly average in a foot race.

Van Persie looked like he's getting better. He'd been playing at about 70%, and increased that to about 80% today. At 100%, mind you, he's ripping the net off the frame.

Manchester United earned a point away to Blackburn. America's all-time greatest footballer, Brad Friedel, made three great saves down the stretch, before United's Tevez got a late equalizer. I wonder if Wenger ever thought about trying to sign Friedel? He's a player who's getting on, but he's a top keeper, from what I've seen.

No horse at the races. I've gone right off my football.

Arsenal can look forward to Champions League Football again next season, as Everton lost to Chelsea today. Congratulations, lads, for another top 4 finish, but the rest of the season holds no more interest than four friendlies. Friendlies are diverting enough, mind you, but if you miss one live, you don't necessarily bother with the tape delay.

Champions League semi-finals just don't capture the interest the way they would with Arsenal involved. I'd like to see Liverpool win it, but truth told, I have something of the jobless, uninsured Pennsylvanian's bitterness about me, since Arsenal's unfortunate expulsion.

Ah, but the Euros. The Euros are something to look forward to, and with the contested Democratic Party primary campaign in the interim, I'll just about make it.

A Look at the Final Month of the 2007-2008 Season

Here is a quick glance at the remaining Premier League fixtures for the top four this season:

	Man. Utd.	Chelsea	Arsenal	Liverpool
17-19 Apr	Blackburn (a)	Everton (a)	Reading (h)	Fulham (a)
26-28 Apr	Chelsea (a)	Man. Utd. (h)	Derby (a)	Birmingham (a)
3-5 May	West Ham (h)	Newcastle (a)	Everton (h)	Man. City (h)
11 May	Wigan (a)	Bolton (h)	Sunderland (a)	Tottenham (a)

League leaders MU have Blackburn, Chelsea, West Ham, and Wigan for their remaning games. Both West Ham and Blackburn have nothing to play for; neither can significantly improve their league positions nor gain spots for European cup competition so they don't have enough incentive to be really up for it against the big boys. Only Wigan have the need to avoid relegation so they may fight hard. My guess is MU have the superior firepower and tremendous strength in depth and the necessary drive to get 3 wins and a draw to take the league title.

Chelsea have Everton, MU, Newcastle, and Bolton in their end-of-season fixtures. Everton are still fighting hard for 4th place. They also need to maintain their distance from the high-mid-table pack who are nipping at their heels for the UEFA cup spot so this will be a tough game for Chelsea. Newcastle are fairly safe from the drop so it could be an easier one but Bolton will still have to fight hard to avoid relegation. I am guessing 2 wins and 2 draws for Chelsea.

Arsenal face Reading, Derby, Everton, and Sunderland. Both Reading and Sunderland must battle to avoid the drop zone while Derby are already done for the season. Everton are always tough to play. If Arsenal are not careful, they may end up with 4 draws which will take them down to the 4th spot which is not much different from third but it is another psychological blow because of the long capitulation since February. They must win at least one game in the remaining four to have any chance of retaining 3rd place.

Liverpool play Fulham, Birmingham, Man City, and Tottenham to close out this season. Fulham and Birmingham will give them a fight but Man City and the Spurs can afford to coast. So I predict at the minimum, Liverpool will get 2 wins and 2 draws from these games which should secure 4th spot and next year's Champions League place.

For Arsenal, taking second place in the league has its allure: not having to play the third qualifying round of next year's CL campaign (especailly if the tie has to be played in some exotic Eastern European location). If that is an objective, Arsene still has a job to do to raise the morale of the team and get them to try to overtake Chelsea, seeing that the Chelsea-MU game may be an excellent opportunity to gain on the West Londoners.

Arsenal 3 points away from securing a spot in next season's Champions League qualification round

Arsenal dropped 3 more points away to Manchester United, but Everton could only gain a point from their weekend fixture, leaving Arsenal needing only 3 points from their remaining 4 matches to secure a spot in next season's Champions League qualification round.

Arsenal's buildup play against United was good, they were carving open lots of chances, but the finishing was woeful. Adebayor is great in the buildup, but his strikes today were mostly tame shots to the keeper. Van der Sar eventually gifted Arsenal an opener, carefully avoiding a cross that Adebayor and/or a United defender bundled in, but Gallas immediately returned the gift, using his arm to deal with a harmless ball in the box. Ronaldo converted the penalty.

It's easy to theorize that the pressure of being Arsenal captain has unnerved Gallas. He's made a real mess of it in the league run in - shocking stuff.

The highlights for Arsenal were Cesc and Clichy. The one-touch football from Cesc is brilliant to watch, and Clichy is so heavily involved, winning the ball and pushing forward - was Clichy the best player on the pitch today? Hleb played well again, and Van Persie put in the cross for Arsenal's goal, but he's nowhere near his top form after coming back from an extended injury layoff.

The Hargreaves winning freekick was brilliant.

Representative of some of the recent discussion on this site about United's strength in depth, Alex Ferguson was able to bring on a double substitution of Tevez and Anderson. Ridiculous. The quartet of Rooney, Ronaldo, Anderson and Tevez is imposing; those lads are a handful.

But Arsenal, for a team in the midst of an ongoing implosion, do play some good stuff, and their Champions League qualification will be fully deserved.

Manchester United versus Arsenal quasi-preview

During the Arsene Wenger era, United versus Arsenal has been a date on the fixture schedule without parallel, but tomorrow's match, coming in the midst of Arsenal's ongoing implosion, lacks a bit of the luster of previous encounters. It's not even an encounter between the top two sides as Arsenal have slipped to third.

Still, supporters zipping through the digital cable programming schedule and receiving confirmation that the match is on at 11 a.m. Eastern tomorrow (Sunday), can't help but feel a little bit of nervous anticipation.

Red Scare confidently reports that United are to be "firing on all cylinders with Ronaldo and Rooney rested," although Vidic looks to be out.

Arsenal. Well, what you say about every neutral's favorite side: they play good stuff, but can't buy a result. The Arsenal flood of goals has been so long in coming - some supporters have accepted it might not come at all this season.

Form Guide:

United: Blowing away teams 4 nil.
Arsenal: Drawing 1-1.

Prediction: Arsenal to go into Old Trafford and give United and epic beating, likely of the 4-1 variety.

"I Like the No4..."

Everyone's favorite formerly German-based Canadian-born Englishman, Owen Hargreaves, was singled out for praise by the legendary Eric Cantona last night as United beat Roma 1-0 to advance to the semi-finals. Hargreaves was everywhere, steaming into scoring positions early on and bending some beautiful crosses in from the right side. The man is industrious, intelligent, quick, and versatile; I would love to see him bombing down the wing as an adventurous right back.

Park and Tevez were also tireless, and it warms the heart of this United supporter to see that kind of determined spirit coursing through the side. This dogged mentality and work rate seems to be contagious, sparking both beautiful team movement going forward and relentless pressure defensively. This in turn fosters the creativity and confidence that has been evident in recent United performances.

Last night, Carrick was not only pulling strings with his sublime passing but also tracking back to execute delicate and precise sliding tackles to dispossess Roma players. Young Anderson regularly embodies this wonderful duality - combative in defense and always looking for the killer pass to release a teammate going forward - and Wayne Rooney is yet another example of United industry.

But special credit must be given to the old man at the helm, the one known as Fergalicious. Somehow he manages this deep squad with an uncanny wisdom - he never gets accused of frivolous rotation and rarely do you hear reports of disgruntled players unhappy with lack of first team opportunities. The purple-faced Scot has done an incredible job of using the embarrassment of riches at his disposal to challenge on all fronts this season. Team selection has been fraught with surprises and uncertainty but the team always ends up looking strong and cohesive.

The most crucial encounters of the season lie ahead, but United is well-equipped to rise to the occasion...

Liverpool Through to Semis

Rafa did nothing like parking a bus in front of the goal, featuring the useful Peter Crouch, the goal-threat Torres, and Gerrard and Kuyt on the wings.  This line-up was about as attacking as Liverpool gets, and the results were telling.  Liverpool equalized through a Hyypia header after an unlikely Diaby (not banned for life) opened scoring.  Liverpool then took the lead through a trademark turn and shot by Torres, with Senderos dropping back, allowing space.  Arsenal looked to have done enough with a Young Walcott run, picking out Adebayor in space in the center of the box for a tap-in.  This Walcott run really hurt, having beaten four defenders en route.  However, Arsenal seemed to have not stopped celebrating quickly enough and Toure had to bungle over Babel in the box in a non-controversial penalty.  Gerrard converted, and Babel added one of his own to cap things off. 

4-2 to the Reds, 5-3 on aggregate, and Chelsea await in the semis (again).  

Liverpool Player Ratings:

Reina: First goal came off his knee.  Great other than that, coming far off his line to cut out danger.  8.

Carragher: Some good crosses, wasn't exposed.  7.

Hyypia: Better with age?  Scored a goal, looked calm.  8.

Skrtel: Uncharacteristically disorganized. 6.

Aurelio: Only up against Eboue.  7.

Kuyt: Industrious, picked out Babel for the emphasis goal.  7.

Alonso: Off the pace, slack passes in the first half. 6.

Mascherano: See Alonso, but with more defense.  6.

Gerrard: Always looked dangerous.  Had two half-chances that missed the goal, but he's got every right to shoot from there.  Converted the penalty, led the team.  8.

Crouch: Useful flicks put Gallas and Senderos into confusion.  No shot from 20 yards like on Saturday.  7.

Torres:  Always looked like scoring.  Did do.  8.

Sub: Babel: His pace made all the difference.  Supersub regains his crown from early on in the season.  9.

Riise and Arbeloa: Only on briefly.

The Guardian saw it differently.

Arsenal fans, feel free to back Liverpool in their quest to defeat Chelsea for a third time running.  Deep down, that's what we all want.

Defeat can serve as well as victory to shake the soul and get the glory outLiverpool 4, Arsenal 2

Arsenal scored the goal that would send them through to the semi-finals of the Champions League from a quite brilliant run by Theo Walcott in the 84th minute.

But Liverpool substitute Ryan Babel immediately earned a penalty, that Gerrard converted, and then scored a 4th Liverpool goal.

Babel, in first season at Liverpool after transferring from Ajax Amsterdam, had expressed interest in playing for Arsenal in the summer, but after Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger expressed no interest, Rafa Benitez came in for him.

Based on tonight's game, it looks like that could have been a misstep by Wenger.

Arsenal Supporters confident of Champions League progression

In the first two acts of the Arsenal-Liverpool 3-act play, held in Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, Arsenal had the run of the games, but were frustrated by an inability to convert good build up into goals, and by Liverpool goals against the run of play.

The script is set for the final act to be a classic tale of perseverance overcoming adversity, with Arsenal finally breaking down the obstructionists. We've seen little, in these last two games, to suggest that Liverpool have enough football in them to play against Arsenal. The Liverpool strategy will probably be to bunker down. Rafa's directive could well be some variation on, "Park a bus in front of the goal."

Will the Liverpool players want to follow that strategy? There are some great footballers in the side, and holding on for a 0-0 could hurt their pride. Rafa, ever mindful of his players' psychology, has likely been preparing them with something along the lines of:

"Now the night of the match, you may feel a slight sting, that's pride fuckin' wit ya. Fuck pride! Pride only hurts, it never helps. Fight through that shit. 'Cause a couple weeks from now, when you're kickin' it in the semis, you're gonna say, 'Rafa Benitez was right.'"

We'll see what happens.

Another Arsenal 1, Liverpool 1

The game, as it wore down, really was exciting, edge-of-your-seat-stuff. Arsenal looked like they would get a winning goal, but didn't.

The match commentators were using a really obnoxious recurring theme about Arsenal surrendering the title if they didn't win the game. British commentary is normally a qualitative step forward from American commentary, but today's commentators had one to forget. Assuming United don't implode, the title is long since lost. If United do completely implode, then the title is not necessarily lost. Having commentators sharing their perceived talent for probability-based prognostication and/or psychic prediction, as a means of imparting a sense of excitement to the game, is not just unnecessary, it's embarrassing.

Arsenal are not playing like a title-winning side; they need to score many more goals.

3-1 Performance, 1-1 Result

Arsenal just about did enough to take a two-goal lead into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool. In the American version of the expression, "just about did enough" means "didn't quite do enough," and the score ended 1-1.

But, if; and they're huge, useless, hypothetical ifs; but if the penalty where Kuyt took down Hleb had been called, and Arsenal had converted, and if Bendtner hadn't cleared a would-be Arsenal goal off the line, then my 3-1 prediction might have come good.

Arsenal - Liverpool Trilogy begins today

Arsenal fans are readying for the arrival of Liverpool today at the Emirates for the first installment of the so-called Arse-Pool Trilogy. Some Arsenal fans have revealed they plan to watch today's match on the "back of a few fingers of scotch," which is wise, considering Liverpool's European Form. Cynics, also known as Gooners, may go on with false bravado about Arsenal's record in the league being superior of late, but nobody in their right mind would bet against Nuestro Nino and Steven Gerrard in their current form. Still, it promises to be a nail-biter for fans of both sides.

Sixes and Sevens' Liverpool Lineup
Reina
Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Riise
Kuyt, Mascherano (fully rested), Alonso, Babel
Gerrard Nuestro Nino

433's Projected Arsenal Lineup
Almunia
Toure Gallas Senderos Clichy
Eboue Fabregas Flamini Hleb
Van Persie Adebayor


Sixes and Sevens' player-v-player analysis
Liverpool is better positioned in goal. Defense is a wash, with experienced players on either side: Riise is probably a few shades off Clichy, but Skrtel more than makes up for that deficit against Senderos. Eboue brings little other than bad acting on Arsenal's right, and Kuyt's industry creates chances for Torres to take. Fabregas and Alonso share duties for Spain, Flamini and Masherano are both excellent holding players - a draw there. Hleb is a known quantity, but Babel brings pace and a love of running at defenders that Liverpool fans love. His crosses will be telling. Gerrard and Torres are in incredible form, while Van Persie hasn't found his shooting boots. Adebayor can change a game, but his service will be cut out. Being at home will help Arsenal get a goal in what will be a frustrating game for them. Sixes and Sevens scoreline: Arsenal 1 - 2 Liverpool.

433 Handicaps Part 1 of the Trilogy
This three-game run inevitably reminds supporters of last season's domestic cup double-feature that saw Arsenal bounce Liverpool from the League and FA Cups. Those victories, including Arsenal's 6-3 victory at Anfield, seemed like a fair reflection of the relative strength of the sides, yet Liverpool amazingly managed to make it to the Champions League final. After two finals in three years, Liverpool have earned a reputation as Champions League specialists, with Rafa's rotation policy touted as a key factor in their success. Going into today's game, Arsenal supporters could be forgiven for wondering which Arsenal side will show up. An Eboue making runs and putting in crosses is an entirely different player to an Eboue who hides for long periods, only to resurface with some disgraceful antics. A Van Persie in form is a goal-scoring machine, but a broken down Van Persie is decidedly less sharp. A good Arsenal performance would be wonderful, and although it's difficult to know what to expect, I wouldn't be surprised to see the trio of Flamini, Fabregas, and Hleb overrun the Liverpool midfield and a few Arsenal goals, including one or two late on: Arsenal 3, Liverpool 1.


Manchester's 4-6-0 against Roma, featuring Rooney as a holding striker, affirms their position as favorites for the final. Watch to see who'll show their desire to make the round-of-four live on the Deuce from 2:30 and on tape delay on Deportes from 4:45.