Pastures new

Wow. I've been away a year and blogger still haven't decided to improve their back end!

Just a short note to say that those who are still subscribed to this blog, i'll be writing over on footballnewsblog.co.uk from now on. It's really starting to move places with some quality editorial (where I'll be hanging out obviously :-D) as well as up to date and comprehensive football news.

As I have officially stopped writing on this blog now for real, I'd like to say thanks to all those who've commented, read and offered support to me during my awesome time writing here. And to those of you who keep emailing me for link exchanges, in the words of Edmund Blackadder, 'Please, please, please, please... stop.'

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Liquid Football Blog Tournament Weekend 6 - Match Report + Highlights!

Who Ate All The Pies 1-3 Eyefootball Eyecatchers

Scorers:
Gerrard 23' (EE)
Martins 28' (EE)
Van Persie 55' (EE)
Ribery 87' (WAATP)

Man of the Match:
Gerrard (EE)

Eyefootball Eyecatchers ripped apart Who Ate All The Pies with one of the performances of the tournament so far. WAATP had to be thankful for the woodwork and excellent 'keeping on several occasions, as EE racked up 17 shots on goal. They took the lead when Martins clipped shot hit the post, only for captain Gerrard to bury the loose ball home emphatically off the bar. EE went 2 up shortly after, Martins brilliantly breaking the offside trap before rounding Reina. 10 minutes into the second half, it was all but over when Van Persie's header made it 3-0. Ribery grabbed a late consolation for WAATP, but after this result, EE look set for the playoffs, while WAATP will need a minor miracle if they are to make it following their 3rd straight defeat.


Footballocks's Eleven 2-1 101 Great Goals

Scorers:
Ibrahimovic 21' 63' (FBE)
Gerrard 72' (101)

Man of the Match:
Gerrard (101)

In an evenly fought contest of 2 clubs with serious play-off aspirations, Footballocks's Eleven battled hard and emerged victorious against 101 Great Goals, who were unlucky to come away pointless. Both teams started off brightly, but it was FBXI who grabbed the lead after Ibrahimovic shrugged off Terry's challenge before coolly slotting home. That lead was extended by the Swedish giant come the second half following an incisive breakaway by fellow forward Fernando Torres. 101GG continued to press, and got their reward with 20 minutes left when Gerrard latched onto Toure's superb through ball, before hitting it past Buffon. They continued to push for an equaliser, and Gerrard almost grabbed his second from long range in the final minutes, but Buffon was on hand to push his shot around the post.


Arseblog 2-0 Fantasy Football Guru

Scorers:
Totti 84' (ARS)
Villa 90'+ (ARS)

Man of the Match:
Buffon (ARS)

Some truly world class goalkeeping from Arseblog's Gianluigi Buffon was one of the key factors in their 2-0 triumph over Fantasy Football Guru; their 4th straight win. After a drab goalless first half, FFG came out all guns blazing, and proceeded to batter and slice open the Arseblog defence time after time. However, the Italian goalie made several top notch saves to keep his side in it, much to the frustration of Kaka' and Trezeguet. Arseblog dealt the sucker punch and a lesson in taking chances when Totti superbly volleyed home Ronaldo's flick-on with 5 minutes to go. And they got their 2nd in stoppage time, after Ronaldo pirouetted into the box, slammed a shot off Canizares, and Villa was on hand to tap home the loose ball.


Liquid Football 2-2 Touchline Sniffers

Scorers:
Henry 21' (LFC)
Kaka' 52' (TS)
Gerrard (OG) 58' (TS)
Ronaldo 90'+ (LFC)

Man of the Match:
Ronaldo (LFC)

An equaliser deep into injury time from Cristiano Ronaldo salvaged a draw for Liquid FC, in a game which they really should have won. Things were looking good for the tournament hosts when Henry rose highest to head home Ronaldo's corner, and then continued to look comfortable in possession. But come the second half, Touchline Sniffers discovered a 15 minute purple patch that changed the course of the game. They equalised when Kaka' pounced on Buffon's poor clearance to score from 25 yards into an open net, and then dramatically turned the game upside down when Torres' header came off Buffon, and Gerrard's attempted clearance could only find his own net. Liquid FC pressed for an leveler, and duly got it at the death when Ronaldo turned his marker in the box before shooting low past Buffon.


Caught Offside 0-1 SquadGod Academical

Scorers:
Ibrahimovic 40' (SGA)

Man of the Match:
Ibrahimovic (SGA)

A solitary Ibrahimovic strike was enough to give SquadGod Academical victory over Caught Offside. In a game which was controlled by good defending and thus few chances, the odd goal was always going to settle the match, one which the Swede supplied 5 minutes before half time. Some good work on the right led to Berbatov being free in the area, and his well-timed pass found the on rushing goalscorer to slot home. SGA could have doubled their lead shortly after, Berbatov inexplicably hitting the post when it would have been easier to score. CO had a chance to equalise at the death, but Drogba's header from 6 yards out went flying over the bar.

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Diary? Who needs a diary?

Me. Apparently. After all due to my lack of foresight I will be unable to watch what will surely be one of the most defining and grandioso weekends in the English football calendar.

Instead of sitting down at Bert's Bar with a pint in one hand and semi-willing girlfriend in the other, eagerly anticipating Super-Uber-Duper-Gluber-Juper Sunday (or whatever Sky calls it these days), I will be rolling eggs down hills, and listening to my grandmother regale of many an Easter gone by. I find it hard to imagine greater hells.

That last sentence was perhaps a tad strong. I find it incredible easy to imagine greater hells. One such occassion being when I forgot that the Champions League Final was on the same night that I was meant to be judging some sodding school talent contest. This was made all the more worse that it was THAT final between Milan and Liverpool.

So, in order that I (and you dear reader) might avoid precious family meet-ups and meaningless social events with some sort of "illness" or "prior engagement", I've compiled a list of 8 dates that you absolutely cannot miss. If you take your football seriously, write these down in your diary. Now.

Sunday 23rd March - Chelsea v Arsenal / Man Utd v Liverpool
Grand Slam Sunday. Chelsea could turn the table on its head by leapfrogging Arsenal and potentially Man Utd in the space of a few hours.

Saturday 5th April - Arsenal v Liverpool
The 2nd of 3 back-to-back meetings between the two sides. So much at stake for both sides in the league as well as the previous game will make this a cracking encounter.

Tuesday 8th April - Liverpool v Arsenal
The key second leg should set up a tie with Chelsea for a place in the Champions League Final.

Sunday 13th April - Man Utd v Arsenal
Arsenal's final real test in the league. This could either seal their death, or seal the EPL title. The same scenario applies for the Red Devils...

Saturday 26th April - Chelsea v Man Utd
...except that this will be their final test. You can almost guarantee that the outcome of this game will have a seismic bearing on the outcome of the league.

Tuesday 29th / Wednesday 30th April - Man Utd v Barcelona
A speculative fixture, but if both teams progress against their quarter-final opponents as expected, mouths will water at the prospect of Europe's 2 most attractive football teams go head to head for a place in the CL final.

17th May - Portsmouth / West Brom v Barnsley / Cardiff
A chance to see one of the Big Four NOT lift the coveted FA Cup... and an opportunity for a Championship side to grab glory in a competition that has been full of upsets.

21st May - Chelsea v Barcelona
If the bookies are to be trusted, these two rivals will face each other again in Europe's premier soccer competition, but this time for the trophy itself. It could also be Liverpool v Man Utd, Chelsea v Roma, or perhaps Shalke v Fenerbahce. Any way, it'll be a cracking contest.

I think the main message here is keep every weekend free and most midweeks off. The run-in is going to be one of the greatest of all time.

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20 days off...

Hey (Liquid) Football Fans!

For those of you that subscribe or visit this blog regularly, you'll have noticed that I've written squat in the past week, mainly due to the fact that I'm writing essays, doing mid-term tests and revising left, right and centre (along with the occassional 7 hour session of Football Manager 2008, but who in the right mind could blame me?)

So just to let you know that until my final exams are over, posting will be paused. But, fear not, for on the 17th of March, Liquid Footy will be back up and running in no time. More than can be said for Eduardo anyway...

I leave you with what is, in my opinion, the quote of the weekend from spouter of wisdom, Steve Bruce:

"Some would say it is not even a yellow card." - Bruce's reaction to Martin Taylor's tackle which snapped Eduardo's fibula like a twig and dislocated his ankle.

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The Future of Liquid Football

Late last year I set up this blog for 2 reasons:

1. For fun.
2. To have (eventually) an authoritative, respected blog with a large, responsive community, to build on as a possible platform into the journalism profession.

As I have only been able to blog part-time, reason 1 has taken serious priority over reason 2. The key challenge for me right now is to level things out a bit.

In the next few months, I have a action plan ready and waiting to try and achieve my second goal sooner. Below are some of the targets I'll be looking to hit:

1. More posts, with a regular frequency and regular topics, and perhaps other writers.
2. A better networking strategy.
3. Better time management.
4. Movement from the blogger platform to wordpress, to allow more freedom with my blog's design and interactivity.

One thing that I've started doing is writing for a couple of other footy websites. The first is Eyefootball, a relatively new website bringing up to the minute news from around the footballing world in an easily digestable and navigatable format. Secondly, I put up my first post today on Left Back, a blog similar to Liquid Football in the sense that it's more opinion than news orientated, but with a greater readership. Both are definitely worth a look.

For regular readers of Liquid Football who might be afraid that I'll stop this blog and jump ship (however few of you that may be), then let me assure you that there's no need to panic. I remain as dedicated to turning my baby into a fully-fledged and respectable blog as I did on day 1.

If you have any comments, suggestions or questions about the future of Liquid Football (I'm all ears), then please drop me a line in the comments section below, or email me at andrewglover87[AT]hotmail[DOT]com.

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