February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Joe Behan
Manchester United opened up the gap again in the premier, but it’s so immaterial now as Arsenal and Leeds are in the same boat in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Liverpool is also playing their part in Europe with a UEFA semi against Barcelona. Just as important, the Pool are in line for a treble that will change the hold Manchester United have on the domestic scene, but that’s if the Pool succeed.
It seems that Anfield is not getting noticed and Gerard Houllier will not complain about that. Liverpool meet Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Cup semi and one has to fancy Liverpool to win. But there is no getting away from premier standings at the end of the year, and Liverpool’s two matches in hand need serious attention to stay in touch overall.
There is a little something magical happening at Leeds. Scoring nine seconds after the starting whistle and doing it again 30 seconds into the second half says something about the spell David O’Leary has over his boys. Mark Viduka found himself wide open to slot home after Ian Harte put him through from the kick-off. You’d think opponents Charlton would have tied the Kangaroo down, but Viduka the Aussie came hopping out in the second half and bounced down the length of the field to set up Alan Smith for a Leeds second. Robbie Keane didn’t get a run and now Leeds are beginning to look like they have a rotating system in place for the Champions League, and a flighty finish in the premiership.
It’s great to see Ipswich and Sunderland right up there still competing for European competition after two great away wins for the underdogs, who not so long ago were suspects for relegation. Reuser the Dutchman scored important goals for Ipswich. He curled a low free past West Ham’s keeper Shaka Hislop and now Ipswich can believe they are serious contenders for Europe instead of one game at a time. Sunderland’s win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was special as Peter Reid’s troops came from behind twice for a 4-2 victory.
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With 20 minutes to go the Bridge was overloaded when the home crowd booed Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri. The Blues could be on the verge of collapse after this result. Don Hutchison hit a brace and his part in the game’s decisive moments were the cause of Chelsea and the Bridge buckling under pressure. Of course, the home boos will stop the Bridge rebuilding. What is it with these people who boo their own, never mind the opposition. These so-called supporters should stay at home. Then again it does seem that the release of former boss Vialli is coming back to haunt Chelsea. Nonetheless, Sunderland will be quite pleased to see Kevin Philips on the score sheet as the Stripes remain competitive and never say die — a real Reid attitude.
Liverpool and Arsenal could only manage ties against Derby and Villa. Michael Owen scored for the Pool as he continues to get back to his old self. Owen burst into the box for his goal reminding every one in the ground he has by no means lost a yard but rather he is a smarter player. Weapons were sealed at Highbury Road as the Gunners failed to hit the target. In fact, their field play brought back a chant of "Boring, Boring." Villa are not that far behind of boredom line.
Chasing top flight
It would be ludicrous to write off Leicester City for a top six place in the League, but they are slipping since Neil Lennon’s move to Glasgow Celtic. Leicester was forced to defend all the way and was finally beaten 2- nil by Man. Utd. While City lacks the flair to capitalize on their reputable teamwork, Southampton is now the side to watch for top flight. Glenn Hoddle has brought his team up the table little by little and in the last seven games they have not let one goal in. The 1-nil win over Everton was somewhat overshadowed with talk of Hoddle going to Spurs, where he was a brilliant player. George Graham is gone from White Heart Lane and he now has more clubs than Tiger Woods. Chelsea is in touch with this chasing top six group but the Blues have not been consistent enough.
Charlton have become the stubborn team in the premier and the two surprise goals by Leeds will only make them go into games more hungrier than ever, not that they haven’t been already doing that. They had a very bright season and will want to continue to shine for the sake of pride.
Cup can redeem Spurs
Spurs will have to beat Arsenal in the FA Cup semifinal to make sense of a club in desperate need for a revival. Don’t be surprised if a coach comes into White Heart Lane and gets success, like all coaches have done after Graham. So Tottenham have to win the final of the cup to really keep the support faithful. Spurs have it all to do. Villa and Newcastle United have been the most disappointing teams this year. Villa were all over the place at the start of the season with players right left and center announcing they were unhappy. Please. Anyway they were muck. Newcastle got a right kick in the backside and Bobby Robson can forget about trying to buy players that he thinks are overlooked. Newcastle needs big names and Alan Shearer needs review. Middlesbrough beat New. United 2-1.
West Ham has dropped drastically down the table. It’s time for the Hammers to give DiCanio the knock. While he is great to watch he’s not great to listen too. There is a concern now that the brilliant Joe Cole is not getting the attention and grooming he needs. Yet again we see the youngest promise in English football not getting the right treatment. Even though the West has a great youth program, Cole’s skill and ability will suffer at such an important stage of his career. West Ham was beaten by the very young Ipswich 1-nil. The Hammers will have to buy big time.
Derby has battled out of the relegation zone and this away one all tie with Liverpool will make it a lot more difficult for teams below to catch up.
Relegation zone
Everton have gone downhill like the snowball does. One bad performance after another has brought into perspective just how difficult it can be in the premier compared to the Scottish league. Mr. Smith went from riches to rags when he left Rangers to take over Everton. He stuck with the hopes of a fairytale ending for Gazza as he continues to depend on him. It’s not happening, although Gazza looks in great shape. Welcome to the Premiership, Mr. Smith, the bottom of it, that is.
Middlesbrough has opened a 4-point gap on Manchester City in the relegation pit. Luck is with Boro at the moment after Newcastle missed a penalty in the final stages of the game. Instead of sharing the points the Reds and El Tel win three valuable points with a little help from the woodwork.
It’s unlikely Bradford will pull the points out of the bag the way they did last year. There is a quiz show called the Weakest Link on its way over here and when it’s time to go you are told, "Goodbye." If Manchester City were going to make it out of trouble, they would have beaten Bradford instead of a miserable 2-all tie. That result says it all. It’s beginning to look like both teams deserve to go down. Joe Royle has too much too say. He did not buy wisely and he is paying for it now. You are the weakest link. Goodbye.
Coventry fell apart when they sold Robbie Keane. Money talks but it don’t sing and dance like Robbie. Oh how the Blues would have loved to have him back.
Roundup
Hat-trick hero Henrik Larsson pushed Celtic to within two Hampden victories of the Treble over the weekend as he single-handedly destroyed Kilmarnock 3-0 in the CIS Insurance Cup Final. The Swede handed Parkhead boss Martin O’Neill his first trophy.