Liverpool's Ownership Circus Continues pt II

--

Thursday Feb, 28th EDIT:

It looks as if the American's aren't going anywhere. Tom Hicks announced today that not only is he staying with the club, but he is going to do everything to make sure Gillett stays on board with him. This move would ensure that the American's would continue to own 100 percent of the club (both Gillett and Hicks respectively own 50 percent). Hicks may feel like he has won an important battle here, but ultimately its going to take time continued UEFA success for everything to settle down. Speaking of the Champions League, Liverpool travel to Milan next week for their second leg match-up. You can bet that the American's are glad to see that Liverpool in the drivers' seat.

--

It now seems likely that the DIC group are planning to make an offer on George Gillett's share of Liverpool FC. As reported yesterday on SOTB, Gillett was the more likely party to be willing to part ways with Liverpool. This would leave the DIC and Tom Hicks as co-owners of the club. However, it has been suggested that the DIC would also try to secure some of Hick's stake in the club, in an effort to become the majority shareholders of Liverpool.

Hicks, who is still pledging his non-wavering support to the Merseyside, wants to hold on to his stake in the club despite his current unpopularity. I don't expect to see him to cave to Dubai's wishes and sell off any of his share.

Liverpool's Ownership Circus Continues

The rumor mills are certainly churning in England. Conflicting reports have been surfacing in the media today in regards to the talks that George Gillett and Tom Hicks are holding with the Dubai International Capital (DIC) group.

It has been reported that the current Liverpool owners are ready to sell the club. The article suggests that the relationship between George Gillett and Tom Hicks is fractured and that the former may be ready to sell his share of the club.

However, reports from both the BBC and ESPN state that Tom Hicks is vehemently dedicated to Liverpool and has no plans on selling his stake in the club. Hicks is showing impressive conviction, especially in the light of the news that his son Tom Hicks Jr. was confronted and chased out of famed Liverpool watering hole the Sandon Pub last week.

It is still unclear what type of relationship Hicks and the DIC group would share if George Gillett sells his stake in the club, and Hicks remains in Liverpool for the relative long haul (more than 1 year).

Developing..

Weekend Tidbits

While I did not see many of the matches this weekend as I would have liked, there were some interesting results in the EPL and other places in the soccer world:

• Fulham lost again on a controversial goal by West Ham's Solano. Fulhamerica definitely had their chances to score throughout the match. Dempsey squandered a lovely chance to dink one over Green in the second half, at least two hand balls could have been called on West Ham in the box and Eddie Johnson even got a chance towards goal in his first appearance for the Cottagers. Relegation looms unless they can pull a performance similar to the Hammer's great escape from last year.

• Eduardo suffered a horrible broken leg in the 3rd minute of Arsenal's clash against Birmingham City. I saw several photos of it and it was ghastly. Martin Taylor deservedly received a straight red card and will likely sit out a few additional games. I just don't see how he was actually going for the ball on a challenge that hit Eduardo in the middle of his lower leg, studs up. I know he said he felt horrible about it, but he shouldn't have gone in like that in the first place. Hopefully Eduardo will be able to recover from a potentially career ending injury. This match ended in a 2-2 tie, opening the door for Man U and Chelsea to pick up some points on the Gunners.

• Tottenham stunned Chelsea in the Carling Cup final at Wembley on Sunday with a 2-1 win. Johnathan Woodgate put in the decisive goal in overtime to give the Spurs the cup. It seems as though the front office of Tottenham made the right choice in hiring Ramos and in his signing of Woodgate in the transfer window from Middleborough. In the words of the Dilbs and many Tottenham fans, "Come on you Spurs!!"

• Man Utd mopped up Kevin Keagan's Newcastle side 5-1. Things aren't looking good for the Magpies and Man Utd gains some ground on Arsenal. The race for the EPL title is heating up.

• In Germany, league leaders Bayern Munich stumbled as they drew with Hamburg SV 1-1. In the big picture though they didn't lose any ground thanks to second place Werder Bremen's loss on Saturday. Still, it was an opportunity squandered.
  

• Houston got smashed in the Pan Pacific Championship finals by Gamba Osaka, 6-1. LA beat Sydney FC 2-1 in the third place match. Who really cares about this anyways...
  

Pan Pacific Kick Ball Championship

Ok, so I didn't watch any of the Houston vs. Sydney game yesterday but I did catch some of the L.A. Galaxy vs. Gamba Osaka matchup (finished 1-0, Osaka) in the innagural Pan Pacific Championship held in Hawaii. Needless to say, watching LA play was painful. They looked like a bunch of scrubs. I had to turn it off by half time. Osaka scored a goal in the first 5 minutes by their Brazilian striker Bare. He scored 20 goals last season for the Japanese side, all during the run of play. That is a rather impressive stat (i.e. no PKs). He cooly slotted home the decisive goal past a shaky LA defense. I know it is still preseason, but LA is going to have to fix several things if they want to improve upon their record from last year. Defense is definitely one area where they are going to need to pick it up a bit. Losing a valuable contributor due to Ty Harden's unexpected retirement did not help their situation either. It will be interesting to see if some of the rookies like Valentin can combine with whoever else they scrape together to help solidify a porous Galaxy back line. I wonder what Beckham is thinking about his decision to come to the USA at this point....

Also, I can see why Allen Hopkins is not a booth commentator and is restricted to the sidelines. Hopefully Harkes/Delacamara will be an improvement upon the MLS booth team from last year.

RESULTS:

L.A. Galaxy 0 - 1 Gamba Osaka

Houston Dynamo 3 - 0 Sydney FC

Saturday February 23

FINALS:

Gamba Osaka vs Houston Dynamo

THIRD PLACE MATCH:

LA Galaxy vs Sydney FC

Champions League Results: 2/19/08

Liverpool 2 - 0 Internazionale
Anfield, England

I have no idea what Liverpool ate for breakfast, but they should make a point of eating it again before every match for the rest of the year. A team which lost to Barnsley last weekend managed to pull out a 2-0 win over an Inter Milan team that hasn't lost since SEPTEMBER. What gives? All I can say is that Liverpool is going to need to keep on getting results like this for Rafa to keep his job come May.

A couple notes: Gerard once again scores a blast from long distance. Kuyt makes it two games in a row with a goal. Crouch plays well and makes everyone wonder why he can't get more starts (Oh yea, Rafa's stupid rotation). Liverpool could have used Torres last weekend. Materazzi is a goon and can get a red card in every game for all I care. He sucks.

AS Roma 2 - 1 Real Madrid
Stadio Olimpico, Italy

Roma pulls out a win at home on goals from Mancini and Pizarro. Madrid did manage to earn a valuable away goal which may help their chances when they play next at the Bernabéu. Raul scored his 60th Champions League goal, an amazing milestone in European football. I would have liked to see Madrid win this one but it was not to be. Real seems to be on a bit of a skid as of late as the La Liga leaders also dropped a game last weekend to Real Betis.

Olympiacos 0 - 0 Chelsea
Athens, Greece

Olympiacos held Chelsea to a 0-0 tie in Athens while Avram Grant decided to rest several of his usual starters.

Fenerbache 1 - 0 FC Porto
Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen

Fenerbache beat Port 1-0 at home in Gelsenkirchen. I saw the highlights and Porto missed a couple of sitters that could have gotten them a better result in the away leg of their match up. More games tomorrow....

UEFA Champion's League Preview pt I, Tuesday's Match Ups

For those of you who have felt that the last few months have been agonizingly empty of quality European matches the wait is now over. UEFA Champions League is back and the knockout phase is set to begin this Tuesday. In case you haven't had enough speculation, anticipation or media coverage of these matches, here is a quick run down of what you can expect on Match Day 7.

Tuesday, February 20th's match ups:

Liverpool FC vs Internazionale
The drama of the past few days makes this Tuesday's match of the day. Deflated Liverpool is hoping to conjure the same Champions League magic that it has found in years past, but is there already too much resting on the shoulders of captain Stevie Gerrard? The fan's dissatisfaction with the club's performance, Rafa's never ending roulette-dance with the media, the ownership circus, and Liverpool's poor fitness are all aspects that are surly distorting the focus that Liverpool is trying to achieve before this match. Is it a good thing or a bad thing that they seemingly don't have the time to worry about Inter's almost clinical like disposal of opponent, after opponent after opponent.

AS Roma vs Real Madrid CF
Real Madrid is hot and Roma is not. Alright, that might be a little trite, but its a pretty good preview for this match. Captain Raul is fit and ready to feature along side Van Nistelrooy. Madrid's defense is looking just as imposing, Heinze will be returning to the lineup, joining the defensive likes of Cannavaro, Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas. Roma's task may be too much to handle; Los Madrileños should be able to secure a victory on the Italian's soil.

Olympiacos CFP v Chelsea FC
Olympiacos may be dwarfed when they are put next to the footballing conglomerates of Chelsea, Madrid, Inter and so on, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be taken seriously. Far from it. I'll be the first to admit that I know very little about the Greek side; however, Grant's Chelsea will probably be looking to play a cautious game. Chelsea knows that they will host Olympiacos for the second leg come March; don't expect Chelsea to be risking much in this one. Olympiacos on the other hand will be wanting to sour John Terry's return to the Blues, does anyone smell an upset?

FC Schalke 04 v FC Porto
FC Porto won Europe's most prestigious award in 2004 when they lifted the trophy in FC Schalke's home town of Gelsenkirchen. Neither of these teams get much coverage in the West, but on paper this battle seems to boil down to a contest between Portugal's best side and a very "on again, off again" German one. Watch for Porto's Ricardo Quaresma to be the difference in this game. He is always a threat on the wing and is very creative with the ball at his feet.

UEFA Champions League Preview pt II, Wednesday's Match Ups

Wednesday, February 21st's match ups:

Arsenal FC vs AC Milan
In my opinion this is definitely the match of the day. Its the age old battle between youth and experience. The team that proved to be the best in Europe in 2007 seems ever more like yesterday's news, nothing but a memory. Ancelotti's Milan look like serious underdogs in this one, but World Player of the Kaká isn't buying it; you can bet Arsenal isn't either. Look for the Italian side to do anything possible to slow, disrupt or deconstruct the Gunner's midfield fluidity. Milan will be looking stay competitive through the second leg where they will not only have the home advantage, but hopefully a healthier roster.

Celtic FC vs FC Barcelona
The first leg will take place at Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland. Barcelona fans have reason to feel that last years early exit will be avenged as Ronaldinho, Messi, Eto'o and Henry have all been reported as match fit. Celtic will be looking to rely on a good first leg performance; Celtic Park is one of the most difficult stadiums to play in.

Lyon vs Manchester United
The hype surrounding the transfer speculation of Karim Benzema from Lyon to United is dwarfing the coverage of the actual match up. I don't follow the French Ligue 1 avidly, but I do know that Lyon's attack looked dangerous in the group stages of this tournament. I wouldn't write this one off as a "easy" draw for United just yet. However, the Red Devils' play continues to ooze confidence. Expect them to try and kill Lyon's chances early in order to make for a more "relaxed" second leg at Old Trafford.

Fenerbahçe SK vs Sevilla
About the only thing I know about Turkish football is that Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are bitter rivals, and that Roberto Carlos plays for the former. Sevilla on the other hand, is one of my favorite La Liga sides to follow. They have an impressively fast style of play that leads to lightning quick buildups and attacks. It will be interesting to see which Brazilian "attacking" style defender will have a greater effect on the game: the pacey Dani Alves or the veteran Roberto Carlos.

AC Milan's Ronaldo Ruptures Tendon in Knee

Although he had hardly been featured in any of Milan's games due to several serious injury problems, Ronaldo has made Milan's hopes for a spot in next years Champions League that much more difficult. He suffered what initial reports are calling a "ruptured knee tendon" just minutes after coming on as a substitute in today's 1-1 draw with Livorno. The severity of his injury echoes in Carlo Ancelotti's statement; "I don't want to say it's the end of his [Ronaldo's] career because only time can decide - all we can do is stand by him." The BBC is reporting that Ronaldo maybe sidelined for up to 9 months.



Kaká is also reported as injured. He did not play in Brazil's friendly against Ireland, and was substituted out of last weeks match against Fiorentina due to a knee injury. Although Kaká's injury is not considered serious, Milan has to feel that with both Ronaldo and Pato sidelined it seems that they are being haunted by injuries. About the only good news coming out of Milan is that midfield-workhorse Gattuso has been declared match fit, and will feature in next weeks Champions League contest when Milan takes on Arsenal.

USA 2 - 2 MEXICO: Thoughts on the match

The latest installment in the USA versus Mexico rivalry did not dissapoint. Although USA did not pull out the win, they were able to draw with a Mexican side that seemed to have more quality throughout the match. Here are a couple of my thoughts on the match:

• First of all the atmosphere at Reliant Stadium seemed great. A huge crowd of 70,000+ really added to a game that already had a lot of buzz about it due to the history of the two teams.

• Harkes and JP Delacamara (spelling?) did pretty good in the booth together. I like Harkes a lot more than Wynalda. I am glad he got the boot. I just wish that some commentators would realize that they don't have to be talking the entire game. Just let them play and make comments when necessary. Don't fill dead air with stupid banter. Also, stop referring to Michael Bradley as "the coach's son." That is not fair to him at all and really detracts from some people's view of him as a player (although he really didn't play that well).

• Can we not mark on set pieces?? Moor had a nightmare of a game in regards to his marking. He let his man get free on two occassions and two goals resulted. I don't see how you can let your man get free on the back post like that (especially with no one on the post) at such a high level of play.

• With a new group of players coming into the national team fold, Bradley is going to have to find the proper positions for several players, namely Landon Donovan. He was not effective playing out wide and he is too good of a player to waste by putting him in the wrong position.
  

• Our midfield got run over throughout the game. I am surprised that we actually tied 2-2. I thought Mexico had the better portion of play.

• For both teams I think it was exciting to see some of the young talent emerging onto the national team level. Adu, Edu, Altidore (who had a brilliant goal), Bradley, Dos Santos, Vela; they all got some minutes and gave us a glimpse of the future of US and Mexican soccer.
  

USA v Mexico Preview

While living in Spain during World Cup 2006 I found it interesting that Spain (as well as many other countries) used the term "selectioner" for their national team managers; the team being the "selection." That term seems relative in light of all the attention that is being paid to Bob Bradley's "selection" of players for this weeks friendly between the US National Team and Mexico. The American side boasts an impressive eight wins and a draw in our last nine home matches against "El Tri".


In many ways, the team that Bradley is bringing to Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas is a chance for US Soccer fans to get a glimpse of the future. You can bet that youngsters Jozy Altidore and Freddie Adu are eager at the chance to get their first respective caps against a Mexican side that hasn't created a victory on US Soil in the past nine tries. I'm not the only one who is excited at the attacking potential of Bradley's roster (full roster here); the media and most US Soccer fans are coveting the chance to see the likes of Landon Donovan, Deuce Dempsey, and defensive midfielder turned goal machine Michael Bradley starting Wednesday's friendly.

Mexico is bringing their share of "young-buzz" players as well. Hugo Sanchez has called upon Barcelona striker Giovanni Dos Santos and Osasuna's Carlos Vela in an effort to reverse his sides away luck.

The USA Mexico game has always fascinated to me. For the first time in this nation's short footballing history we have been able to watch the development of a rivalry. In many ways, the very existence of this rivalry shows the progression of soccer in the United States. The game seems to transcends the social, the political and the economic baggage generally associated with the relations between our two great nations. For 90 minutes all that matters are the 22 players on the field and the football they are playing. Game time is 9 pm Wednesday.

Fulham Pull Out a Rare Victory

Relegation zoners Fulham pulled out a win against Aston Villa at Craven Cottage today. A Fulham side which has now won only 3 games this season was able to fight back from an own goal to go ahead and win 2-1. Their squad was full of new faces from acquisitions made during the January transfer window as well as some players making their way back from injury.

For the American contingent, Clint Dempsey got the start and Brian McBride made a second half appearance. This was his first time on the pitch since August although he did not really get a chance to do much. Dempsey played well, hustling and showing his technical abilities. There was no sign of Bocanegra, Keller or EJ.

All in all, it was a good game for Fulhamerica. The team looked much stronger than they had the past couple times I have seen them play. Fulham was actually able to possess the ball instead of playing long balls all evening. They did surprisingly well against an Aston Villa side who has been playing good soccer all season. In fact, Fulham scored all 3 goals in the game (one was an own goal), including a spectacular free kick by Jimmy Bullard who recently returned from a long injury. Now let's see if they can make a run to get out of the Premiership basement...

Video: Zlatan dribbles human cones

After seeing a very skillful finish by Inter's Ibrahimovic several weeks ago, I thought I would check out some highlights of the Swedish hitman. Needless to say this goal he scored for Ajax is absurd. He is amazingly good on the ball for such a big striker. Enjoy.