Liquid Football - A Slicker Football Blog

Liquid Football - A Slicker Football Blog

A-Goal Celebreation Explained... Finally

BBC lifts the lid on the A Goal celebration (about bloody time too). Apparently it's to do with raising awareness of an initiative, called 'A-Star', to create job opportunities for kids and youngsters through sport and activities.

And nothing to do with standing for awful (in Bramble's case).

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Roy Hodgson: A Good Appointment?

Roy Hodgson was today announced as the new Fulham manager, signing a long term deal with the London club after they had sacked Lawrie Sanchez.

The 60 year old Englishman's first game / baptism of fire will be against Chelsea at the start of the new year, so how will he fare in at a club who many feel will be in the bottom 3 come the end of the season?

We take a look at Hodgson's previous management jobs throughout a varied and long career, and how well he fared at each.

1976–80 Halmstads BK
His first management job was in Sweden, where he took Halmstads to 2 Swedish Championships and 2 Allsvenskan league titles.

1982 Bristol City
A less successful stint back in England ended after winning just 3 of 20 games in charge.

1983–85 Örebro SK
Hodgson enjoyed a 50% win rate, but no trophies or league wins on his return to Sweden.

1985–90 Malmö FF
It was at Malmo that Hodgson had his most successful stint as manager, as he won 5 consecutive Allsvenksan league titles, 2 Svenska Cups and led them to being Swedish Champions twice. He also, along with Bob Houghton, revolutionised Swedish football by introducing the 4-4-2 formation, pressing tactics and advanced training regimes.

1990–92 Neuchâtel Xamax
His next move was to Switzerland, where he had an indifferent spell with nothing achieved of any great note...

1992–95 Switzerland
...but enough to land him the job of Swiss national coach. He guided the country to the World Cup in 94 (reaching the 2nd round before losing to Spain) and Euro 96, but joined Inter before the tournament began.

1995–97 Internazionale
Hodgson took Inter Milan to the final of the UEFA Cup, but lost on penalties to German outfit FC Schalke.

1997–98 Blackburn Rovers
He guided them to the UEFA cup in his first season, but was sacked early at the start of his second due to a poor run of results.

1999 Internazionale
Hodgson's second stint at Inter lasted all of 2 months.

1999–2000 Grasshoppers
He then returned to Switzerland with Grasshoppers, and was soon a serious candidate to take over the vacant England manager's job before being beaten by a certain Sven Goran Eriksson.

2000–01 F.C. Copenhagen
A move to Denmark landed Hodgson a Superliga title in his 1st season in charge.

2001 Udinese
With the Italian club he managed a 40% win ratio.

2002–04 United Arab Emirates
Hodgson's 2nd second in charge of a national team was less successful, as he was only able to guide the Middle Eastern team to 5th in the Gulf Cup.

2004–06 Viking FK
A return to club management saw Hodgson take over Norwegian side Viking for 1 1/2 seasons.

2006–07 Finland
One of his more successful jobs in management came as head of the Finnish national team. Hodgson took Finland close to qualification for Euro 2008, despite being in a group with Portugal, Poland and Serbia.

To say that Roy Hodgson has been around the block and has some experience would be a massive understatement. You can't be in management for 30 years without knowing what your doing.

He has never enjoyed steady success, and perhaps worrying for Fulham fans due to his recent successful role with Finland, one good job is usually succeeded by an average one.

However, Hodgson is known for building teams that are hard to break down with a solid foundation and players playing at their maximum potential.

If anything is certain, Fulham could have done a lot, lot worse, and it will be certainly interesting to see how Hodgson performs in his 16th different managerial post.

How do you reckon Hodgson will fare, given his style and past record? Leave your comments below.

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Martin Jol Sacked

After being removed from the Spurs monopoly board, Big Martin has finally met his maker following their 2-1 defeat at home to Getafe.

With Spurs lying 18th in the table after a string of poor results, it was only a matter of time before the Tottenham board gave Tony Soprano his marching orders.

Spurs have only recorded one win in their last 10 games in the premier league... at home to bottom club Derby.

The main reasons for Spurs downfall has been a weak defence, something that Jol chose not to spend much of his £40 million budget on pre-season.

Juande Ramos is set to fill the departing Dutchman's shoes at the end of the season, with talks of Gus Poyet becoming his assistant.

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Spurs Board: Jol Has No Place

On the Tottenham monopoly board! Manager Jol does not feature on the special edition game, in which names and places were submitted ages ago.

What's more hilarious is that Paul Robinson has been valued very accurately, £60 to be precise. As if he didn't need another blow to confidence. Well done Spurs Monopoly board!

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Scotland Move Within 2 Places Of England - Time For A Friendly?

In the latest FIFA rankings, Scotland have jumped to 13th while England have slumped to 11th. (Further proof that, even though I'm a Scotsman, the rankings are the biggest load of pish ever. I mean c'mon, we're above Mexico and Russia)

About time for a Scotland v England friendly at Hampden Park then? If so who would take the victory and bragging rights?

The Players
England on paper have the stronger set of players. Terry, Ferdinand, Cole(s), Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney and Owen would walk into most teams in the world, although Scotland have the likes of Craig Gordon, Alan Hutton, Scott Brown and James McFadden always looking impressive whenever they don the dark blue shirt. Their downfall could be the creative spark in midfield, while Robinson in goal could be England's. However, if you were to create a dream team of Scotland mixed with England, the southerners would dominate the line-up.
England 1-0 Scotland

The Team
How well the players work together is the key to any successful side. England perform admirably and solidly as a defensive unit, but up front, they have problems with balance, and their midfield has never quite clicked under Steve McLaren. Scotland have developed a very tight unit throughout the side, with a good balance of defence and attack. Sometimes the midfield play is not the most imaginative, but their overall teamwork edges this one.
England 1-1 Scotland

History
After 110 fixtures, England have won 45, Scotland 41 with 24 draws. Very close to call, but in the interests of fairness, England get this one.
England 2-1 Scotland

Recent Form
Scotland, as rankings and recent results suggest, are on the up. Wins against France, Ukraine and Lithuania have shot Scotland to 2nd in their group, just one win away from qualifying against all the odds. England, on the contrary, have had a disappointing campaign, with their Euro 2008 fate lying in the hands of Russia and Croatia. One winner here then.
England 2-2 Scotland

Venue
Hampden park is a fortress for Scotland, with 6 wins from 6 in their group. Backed by 50,000 hardcore Scottish fans, not even a world cup finalist could defeat the Tartan Army on their own patch. England however have hosted some ghostly atmospheres at the new Wembley, with the crowd only going when the home team is on top playing exciting football. In a 2-legged fixture, Scotland will definitely have the greater home advantage.
England 2-3 Scotland

So by science, I have proved that Scotland would beat England overall, a completely unbiased opinion I'm sure you'll agree :-). In truth, it would be too close to call, with either team capable of playing a blinder or stinker on their day.

What do you think liquid fans? Would England walk all over the Tartan Army, or would the Scots' resilience crush the Three Lions? Answers below please.

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Steve Staunton Sacked

Republic of Ireland manager Steve Staunton has been sacked following his side's failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

It's been coming following a lack of official backing, but today the news was finally announced that the FAI will be relieving Staunton of his managerial duties.

A dissappointing 1-1 draw at home to Cyprus ended ROI's hopes of progressing to next summer's showpiece tournament, but it was earlier poor results which will have sealed the Irishman's fate.

His career as Ireland boss began well, with a 3-0 friendly victory over Sweden. However, the signs of progress were lacking as they lost to Chile 1-0, and then were thrashed by Holland 4-0.

Their qualifying campaign got off to a miserable start, losing away to Germany, before being dismantled 5-2 by Cyprus. They improved rapidly afterwards with some good results, but their challenge soon faded after losing to the Czech Republic in Prague.

The draw with Cyprus proved to be the last straw for Staunton, who have slumped from 15th to 32nd in the FIFA Rankings.

David O'Leary is favourite to take over, while Liam Brady has also expressed an interest, but who do you think should take the reigns of a sinking Irish ship? Answers on the back of a postcard (or in the comments box if you prefer).

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Sammy Lee Leaves... Finally - Who's Next For Their P45?

So Wee Sam has been handed his marching orders, after being unable to fill Big Sam's shoes (both literally and metaphorically). Bolton never seemed to be able to get going under the wee man, and despite a recent undefeated run, the Trotters looked lacklustre and a shadow of their former selves.

So who'll be next to follow Mr Lee out of the Premier League's ever revolving door? Here's our assessment:

5. Rafa Benitez
Club: Liverpool
Expected Departure Date: May 2008
Why?: Liverpool are desperately seeking their first ever Premier League title. Despite recent excellent European form, the Reds board will be expecting full domestic glory this time round following high-spending over the summer. With Arsenal, Man Utd and Man City above them already in the league, Rafa's rotating may cost him and his side dear.
Replacement?: A high-profile European coach, the likes of Hiddink, Van Basten and Capello will be floated around.

4. Steve Bruce
Club: Birmingham City
Expected Departure Date: May 2008
Why?: After Hong Kong Tycoon Carson Yeung took hold of a 29.9% stake in the Blues, Bruce's job has been under scrutiny. Apparently Yeung is a bit of a meddler, saying that the club will be signing more Hong Kong players soon to raise the profile of the tiny country. Bruce has said that he will walk if anyone intervenes, refusing to be an owner's puppet... don't expect him to be lasting then.
Replacement?: Ideally, a front for the orchestrating owner, so anyone who's managed for Hearts then.

3. Billy Davies
Club: Derby County
Expected Departure Date: December 2007
Why?: Has anyone else noticed that he licks his lips excessively while giving interviews? Well, anyway, he will probably get the sack before Christmas so somebody can start winning games for Derby. 5 points and 22 goals conceded so far speaks for itself, and the Rams' directors will be looking for a new head to guide them to safety.
Replacement?: Someone who has been in similar dogfights before and come out on top, but Redknapp and Robson are currently occupied... em...

2. Avram Grant
Club: Chelsea
Expected Departure Date: December 2007
Why?: Lacks the flair, style, tactical nous and will to turn Chelsea into a winning machine again. If Abramovich got rid of Mourinho for winning but not playing attractive football, then you can probably expect the ordinary one to follow suit.
Replacement?: There has already been much speculation regarding who should take over from Grant, but I still reckon that Van Basten is well worth a shout.

1. Martin Jol
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Expected Departure Date: Ages ago
Why?: It's something of a miracle that Jol has stayed in his job for this long. A defence that's leaking goals like there's no tomorrow, coupled with an overpriced and under performing attack force, Big Martin should have met his demise ages ago. He has to be thankful for Juande Ramos turning down an approach from the Spurs, but this man seems forever to be one bad result away from the sack.
Replacement?: Well not Ramos, that's for sure. The London club pulled off a major coup when they landed Jacques Santini a few years back, so don't be surprised if they get someone of a similar calibre. Mourinho, anyone? :-)

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Drogba Wants To Leave Chelsea

This coming from the BBC Website.

Hate to say I told you so!

So who do you reckon will be likely to snap him up if he does leave? AC Milan are desperate for an out-an-out finisher who can score goals at will... what do you reckon liquid fans?

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Savage Gets Pilot Sacked!

After Captain Mason let Robbie Savage into the flight deck to overcome his fear of flying (not quite as bad as his fear of being a clean footballer), the Mytravel pilot was promptly fired for breaking anti-terrorism laws.

Sorry government, but the only thing the Welshman is capable of terrorising is the atmosphere of a darts game:

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Would you sign a petition to see your team NOT compete at a tournament?

OK, maybe the pointless Inter-toto cup, but surely not the European Championships? Well that's exactly what's happened.

With 50 teams busting a gut and then some to make it through to the finals, co-hosts Austria have some fans who don't share quite the same vision. This is the message that greats anyone who visits their website Rueckgrat:

"Your entering this site is no coincidence.
It means you care about attractive football.
It means you appreciate a blind pass that actually reaches its destination.
It means you thoroughly enjoy amazing dribbling skills.
It means you jump for joy when a free kick is expertly bent into the far corner of the goal.
In short: it means you love this great sport for the sheer beauty of it.

However, it also means you fall into a dismal state of depression when watching a match featuring the Austrian national football team.
For all those displays of true skill, on a field taken by our team, occur about as frequently as meteorite impacts.
This cannot be blamed on anyone.

Even though we have spent twenty years buying ageing stars, even though wealthy patrons supply one of our clubs with several times their usual budgets only to be rewarded with a fraction of their success of lore, even though twenty-six-year-olds who barely stumble through their second match playing for foreign second-league clubs are discovered as incredibly promising new talents and immediately ordered into the national team – nothing so far has helped.

It cannot be denied: the performance of the Austrian team is an insult to your sense of aesthetics as well as to what you expect from this sport. Their participating in the EURO 2008 is to you a contradiction in itself. We understand.

By signing this Petition you urge the Austrian Football Association (Österreichischer Fußballbund; OEFB) to voluntarily resign from participating in the EURO 2008.
Austria was once a country with a keen sense for aesthetics. „...a people gifted for beauty“, as a verse of our national anthem states – an anthem our players barely manage to stammer along to, as they palefacedly contemplate yet another grueling encounter with the ball and the opponent.

We want to show the world that we still embrace beauty. And at the same time, we want to do something that is as alien to our people as the names of our strikers are to foreign football experts: To show some dignity!

Please help us reach this goal! Thank you."

Crikey. Sign the petition that stops a country with players that 'palefacedly contemplate yet another grueling encounter with the ball and the opponent.' Classic.

Kudos to Who Ate All The Pies for the spot.

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Gerrard Breaks Kid's Leg

From the BBC Website, Gerrard has run over a small boy, breaking his leg.

Incredibly, Stevie G is claiming that the boy ran out into the side of the car. Just how slow was the Reds captain driving for that to have happened? Kudos, for your safe driving, commiserations for it actually causing an accident.

And what is it with English football captains breaking things recently?

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FK Zeta fined £9,000 for racist abuse - what's changed?

This is what UEFA president Michel Platini wrote to all 53 presidents of each European Football Association in March this year:

"Violence, abuse and gratuitous insults have become the order of the day in football. This has to stop. The football family as a whole has to set an example. How can we expect the fans to behave properly if we paint such a poor picture of ourselves?

I therefore want the national associations to adopt the same severe approach, at all levels of the football pyramid. This means a policy of zero tolerance against violence and racism, and against inciting such behaviour. The disciplinary bodies have to make full use of their powers. The issue cannot be sidestepped any more; Europe is watching us."

After FK Zeta fans chanted racist abuse at Rangers players while also throwing bottles and lighters onto the pitch, UEFA have fined the club £9,000.

Can the new face of European football be really so ignorant and naive? Thinking that throwing some petty fine at a club will make the problem disappear?

Our fears about Platini have been realised. He appears to talk a lot of ideas without actually having the stones to follow through with them. If this is UEFA's idea of 'Zero Tolerance', I seriously worry for the future of European football.

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Van Basten to Chelsea?

No is the official answer on this one. The Dutch legend was seen sitting VERY closely to Roman Abramovich during their game against Manchester Utd.

As with these things, most of the time it is just pure coincidence that a manager or player will be seen sitting beside a high-powered official at a club, but will spark wild rumours about big money deals, high-profile signings, and even love-interests in the case of a certain Sven.

It is most likely that this is pure speculation, but one can't help wonder what Van Basten was doing there. Unless he didn't get the memo about Robben moving to Real Madrid, the only Dutch player on show was Van der Sar, and surely he didn't need to do a scouting trip on a man with 121 caps (if he did, it was a waste of time considering Chelsea didn't get a single shot on target).

There are 4 main reasons a manager goes to a game:

1. Scouting (we've already ruled that out)
2. Invitation by friend (I don't think that van Basten and Abramovich were bestest mates at school)
3. Pre-signing (what the tabloids think)
4. To enjoy the game (what probably happened)

Reason 4 is the official reason and what most probably is the real reason. Can't a man watch a football game without being linked to either club in the news?

What's interesting is that Holland are by no means high and dry in terms of qualifying for the European Championships. With 4 games left to play (including a tricky away tie to group leaders Romania) starting mid-way through October, it's hardly high time to be watching essentially meaningless English matches.

Only something important should be able to track Marco away from his scouting duties, when coupled with the fact that his Dutch contract runs out next summer, makes for very interesting speculation indeed.

So what do you think? Do you agree with me in saying that it was pure coincidence? Do you think that Van Basten has already penned the contract? Or do you have some secret photos of him and Roman playing cricket together at school?

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Ronaldinho to Chelsea! (Yeah, yeah we've heard it all before)

According to the Sun, the big R has agreed a £58 million move to Chelsea after falling out with Frank Rijkaard.

The Sun, we love it. Mainly because it gives us hacks something to write about during a day when the BBC prints only 7 football stories in one day.

Ronaldinho to crumbling 6th-place Chelsea? Pull the other one.

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£4 million to quietly sink into the night? I'd take it.

And so would Martin Jol if various tabloid newspapers are to go by. The big Dutchman has apparently agreed a severance package with Spurs, who will get rid of him once they find somebody new to take over.

Seems a very odd deal. We all know Tony Soprano has been a dead man walking for some time, but this almost literally makes him a dead man walking. Can you imagine that?

"Results aren't good enough. You're fired. But... we haven't quite found anyone good enough to replace you. Fancy staying on?"

Most folk would reply with a big V before storming out the boardroom. But it appears that Jol is prepared to put his club before pride by staying on.

Is it any good that he's staying on for Spurs? All the energy will have been sapped out of the man, and that will surely transcend onto his players. It's not a stab in the back for Martin, but it will still hurt as much as a stab in the front.

It's saddenning to see 2 high quality Premiership managers let go due to ridiculously unrealistic boardroom expectations. And we thought we had someone new capable of filling the shoes of Jose's Quotes.

So who's going to take over? My money's still on Juande Ramos, but will his eye be wandering following Chelsea's poor start under Avram Grant? We shall see. Who would you like (or not like) to see fill the Spurs hot seat?

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Avram Grant Takes Over at Chelsea - Will He Last?

No is the short answer to that. No doubt Chelsea will be looking torwards Guus Hiddink failing to qualify for the Euros first, before making their swoop for the Russian. If you believe Pat Nevin that is.

Who is this guy anyway?

Well there's no question about whether he can manage or not. After being in club management with Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa for a total of 9 years, he was appointed as head coach of the Israeli national team. In the qualification for the 2006 World Cup, he finished 3rd behind France and Switzerland, narrowly missing out despite being undefeated in the group.

He then took up his new position as director of football at Portsmouth, before his friend Ambramovich lured him to Chelsea in the same job role. Mourinho was against this appointment and concerned about his meddling in 1st team affairs.

So has his appointment been the final stab in the back for Jose?

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