This is why I have no time...

So I was talking to some friends the other day, and I realised why I never have free time and why my life revolves around football. I have way too many teams that I follow. The list in full is pretty startling, and there's reasons behind almost every one that is vaguely related to one of the two teams I DO support.

So, here's the list of teams I watch/follow/take an interest in:
1. Liverpool - goes without saying. I support them, so obviously, I watch them. Or at least, I watch them when I'm home from work. Which basically means midweek games.
2. Valencia - They're my La Liga team. And I am mostly able to catch their games because they play in the evenings.
3. Sevilla - Palop plays there. Palop used to be a Valencia goalie. It's that simple.
4. Real Zaragoza - Ayala's there. And he is one of the defenders that was at Valencia during their most successful period.
5. Sporting Gijon - Well, aside from the fact it's Dahveed's first team, and Mel supports them, they're pretty gutsy. I like gutsy teams.
6. Barca - This is solely on the basis of their football. They are out of this world amazing.
7. Real Madrid - Albi is there. I miss him like crazy. It hurts watching him in that kit, but I have to do it.
8. Athletic Bilbao - The fact they only bought and played local boys until recently was massively inspiring. And you know, they're kinda good...
9. Racing Santander - Sort of because Ziggy played there for a while and he's our gentle giant. And now, I guess because of Luis Garcia.
10. Villareal - Santi. That is literally the only reason.
11. Xerez - They're new boys and I know fuck all about them, but Renan plays there now, so I guess I have to take an interest.
12. Malaga - No particular reason. I just like them.
13. Getafe - Gavilan plays there. It's Albi's old team. Yeah, we're back to the Valencia related interest.
14. Atletico Madrid - It used to be because of Luis Garcia and because it's Nando's old team. Now I just watch to see them fail because they screwed Valencia out of a CL place.
15. Arsenal - I'm sure that if I wasn't a Liverpool fan, I'd be an Arsenal fan. They're the only other team in the Prem I enjoy watching.
16. Marseille - Mori went there, and I love Mori. And while I might not watch their games, I at least like to know if they did well or not.
17. Bordeaux - That is literally just fangirlishness. Lashes plays there, why WOULDN'T I take an interest?
18. Benfica - Aimar. That is all. I miss that guy and he's so freaking good, he's just a joy to watch.
19. Roma - I'll admit I'm fairly new to Serie A. I didn't really follow it all that much until about 2 seasons ago. But Roma drew me in. Must be the fact they kind of remind me of Liverpool and Valencia...
20. AC Milan - I can't have watched them play 2 CL finals against Liverpool and not like this team.
21. Genoa - Moretti is there. I don't even watch their games. I just look up the scores. Plus, their goalie is my FFT goalie again.

Of course, that's just club teams. There's also the national teams. There's technically three of those that I support, but a fair few others I follow. And of course, we can't forget the Spain bbs...

I'm sure there's plenty more, but I think I should stop there before I go completely crazy and realise just how much I am lacking a life.

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Weekend round up

I have been made of total fail where match reports have been concerned lately. Sorry about that. I have several pretty good reasons though. Firstly, I have been crazy busy with work and uni and I've just not had time to sit down and write a match report. Secondly, I miss almost every single Liverpool game played, and I refuse to write a report on something I haven't seen. And thirdly - Valencia hadn't been winning at all until the past two weeks, and quite frankly, I don't want a permanent reminder of that on the blog. It's sucky and I hate it. Anyway, they are back, and back with a vengeance this week, so I'll do a report. There's plenty to talk about!

I did miss the first half due to work, so again, I cannot comment on exactly what happened until I get a stream. I have however seen the first goal - great pass from Silva, great goal from Mata. That's really all I need to say. The second was a penalty just minutes later, which was promptly put away by Dahveed. Yes he's back, and yes he is still scoring. Words cannot express the level of love I have for that man right now. I don't think it's any coincidence that he comes back from a combination of suspension and injury and suddenly the team scores the same number of goals in one game that they'd managed in 4 games before that. Anyway, the first penalty was apparently debatable and I'll have to find a way of watching that before I comment, but it has to be said, players go down a lot easier in La Liga than they do in the Prem, and referees are a lot quicker to give fouls. This is the only thing I do not like about La Liga.

Anyway, I came back in time for the second half, ready to watch Valencia seal a 2-0 win. Sadly, the prat of a referee had other ideas and gave a PK to Getafe withing 5 minutes of the restart. This confused me more than anything, because there was no foul at all. If anything, it was a foul by the Getafe player on Albelda, but no, the referee had pointed to the spot and that was that. 2-1. It didn't take long for Valencia to get their 2 goal lead back though, Raul Albiol making a rare run forward and cooly slotting the ball into the back of the net. The captain CAN score in the right goal. Do it more please.

And then just two minutes later, Dahveed was in with a great chance to make it 4-1, but he was felled by the Getafe goalie. The referee gave the third PK of the night and sent the goalkeeper off. Things were looking up for Valencia, and with a cool head, Dahveed slotted home his second penalty of the night. Vicente came on for Silva with a little more than 10 minutes left to play, and then my telly proceeded to almost kill me by showing a close up slo-mo of his thighs while I was having dinner. I visibly drooled. A little warning would be nice next time people.

Liverpool won 1-0 after a very tense game, the winner being scored by Yossi Benayoun in the 93rd minute. This was enough to put them clear at the top for at least a day, albeit with two games more than Man U. The post was once again not their friend, and watching the highlights of the game, I think I lost count of how many times they hit the post in the first half alone. Anyway, Yossi came to the rescue, and even if it wasn't one of their best performances as a whole, they still got all 3 points, and at this stage of the season, that's the most important thing.

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Weekend = fail

I don't even want to go into what the fuck happened in the football this weekend. Liverpool were fail. Valencia were fail. The whole bloody weekend was fail. Except Barca losing, that was not quite so fail...

But anyway, I don't want to write a match report quite frankly. I'm getting sick of writing the same stuff over and over when it comes to Valencia. Vicente's not starting. When he comes on, the team plays about 359482 times better. The next game, he's on the bench again. Seriously, what does he need to do to get a starting spot??

Because I don't want to write anything and pics tend to make me feel better, have some:

Oh Albiol :(

The guy is having such a bad run of late, I don't even know what to say. I thought Marchena was supposed to be the one that couldn't defend...

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Weekend round up

So, this weekend was a pretty collective fail. Liverpool drew 1-1. Valencia drew 1-1. I was sad. I know I promised a proper match report today, but I really don't want to relive that. Instead, you can go here to read a fan's views on the Valencia game, and here to read the official Liverpool view on that game.

If I did do a proper report, it would consist of 'WTF?!' and 'You motherfucker' and probably even 'WHHHHYYYYYY????' so I'll spare you the whining.

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Weekend round up

Sorry this is late again. I only just got to watch the Liverpool game and I didn't want to write one of these without being fully informed. Before that, I'd only seen the goals. Liverpool were rather baffling to start with, it was mostly the babies starting. Ok, so not mostly the babies, there was actually a lot of first teamers. But there were 6 defenders to start with. SIX of them!! I don't think Pompey's strikers are that good, and if they are...why the heck did we sell Crouch to begin with?


Anyway, the first half was sort of boring. The six defenders were doing a good job of keeping Portsmouth from scoring, but the lack of firepower was painfully obvious as they went in at half time 0-0. There had been several missed chances already, but it was good to see Agger and Skrtel playing together. That's a partnership for the future. Babel missed an absolute sitter with 58 minutes gone, completely missing the ball. The redeeming factor for him was that he was deemed to be offside, so the goal wouldn't have counted anyway had the ball gone in. Just minutes later, Liverpool went behind, David Nugent scoring after 62 minutes and taunting the Liverpool fans by holding up fingers to indicate the scoreline in the defeat to Everton. Smug bastard was laughing on the other side of his face later.

Pompey's lead didn't last too long, a back pass from Crouch which James handled leading to an indirect free kick, which Aurelio calmly slotted in. 1-1 with 22 minutes of play remaining. Dirk Kuyt scored a goal that should have put Liverpool a goal up, but it was wrongly disallowed for offside. The golden boy of the moment came on with 15 minutes left and those 15 minutes were Liverpool's strongest. Despite the fact they went 2-1 down just minutes after his introduction, a Hreidarsson header restoring their one goal advantage. With 12 minutes left on the clock, Liverpool were facing only their second defeat of the season. However, this team does not know when to give up. Kuyt scored from an impossible angle on 84 minutes after some great work from Torres. The momentum was on Liverpool's side, and nobody was really too surprised when Torres scored the winning goal in the 92nd minute, a wonderful header creeping past David James' outstretched hand and into the back of the net. 3-2, all three points to Liverpool and top of the table for at least a day.

As for Valencia...bullshit. That's all I can say about that. 1-0 to Osasuna. Unai continues to baffle me by leaving Vicente on the bench despite the fact that when he came on in the final 20 minutes, they were Valencia's strongest minutes. The defence was fab for 89 minutes. The one minute they lost concentration, they got punished. Just pull it out of the bag next week boys. It's Valentines day. You owe me some romance after all the shit I put up with from you.

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Weekend round up

FUCK YEAH! This weekend was totally epic in so many ways. I mean, first off, Rafa won the tennis. This made me pretty darn happy. It was down to the football to carry that good mood on. While the rest of the world may have laughed, I was adamant both my teams could win their games.

Liverpool were at home to Chelsea. Winning would take them back up to second, and two points behind Man U, albeit with a game more. The game was a typical Liverpool-Chelsea encounter for the first 60 mins or so. Liverpool had the better chances, Cech was the busier keeper, but the score remained 0-0. Then a tackle from Lampard on Alonso earned him a red card and left Chelsea down to 10 men. Many may say that it was not a challenge worthy of a red because he clearly got the ball, but quite frankly, I don't give a shit how much of the ball he got. The fact of the matter is his foot was way too high off the ground for it to be deemed safe play and had Alonso's foot been planted on the ground, that was a sure leg breaking tackle. Correct me if I'm wrong, but breaking someone's leg, whether accidentally or not, is serious foul play and that is a red card offence. Still, I won't get into that, because Gerrard should arguably have gotten the same punishment later in the game for a similarly ugly tackle.

Anyway, after all that time of just no goals, there was only ever going to be one man to change the score. Back from injury and hungry for goals, Fernando Torres did not disappoint the adoring Kop, scoring the first goal of the game in the 89th minute. Just a few minutes later, he was scoring the second, sealing the result and keeping the Kop singing. Aside from the controversy surrounding the red card, there was nothing Chelsea fans could say about the game, it was one which was dominated by Liverpool from start to finish and the red team deservedly walked away with all three points in the bag.

Also, before I move on, can I just say how utterly VILE Bosingwa is? What he did was just inexcusable, I don't give a flying crap if Yossi was stalling by the corner flag, lifting your foot onto his back and kicking him to the ground is just NOT ON. I want to know what the fuck the assistant referee was thinking when he chose to ignore that really rather red cardable offence.

Valencia climbed closer to third place with a hard fought win over Almeria. Joaquin opened the scoring on 6 minutes, but it was a tense game. Almeria equalised on 22 minutes through Negredo. Their joy wasn't to last long though, a foul on Mata in the penalty box giving Dahveed Veeyah the chance to put Valencia 2-1 up, and he did exactly that. The first half finished 2-1 to the home team.

The second half was just as tense and closely fought, and Valencia extended their lead on 62 minutes, again, Veeyah with the goal. Their 2 goal cushion was short lived though, Almeria reducing the defecit just 3 minutes later with Negredo also getting his second.

The Valencia defence could still do with a lot of work, and they sorely miss the presence of Alexis and Albiol. Marchena is far too temperamental and it was his error that lead to Almeria's second. However, Cesar was looking quite impressive for a goalkeeper who has not played too many games in recent times. That's not to say Valencia don't miss Renan, because they do, but Cesar should give the faltering back four a bit more confidence. Dahveed missed a chance to get his hat trick goal, but Valencia got the 3-2 win.

And basically, the weekend was great. Both my football teams won for the first time in ages, Rafa won the tennis and I am happy.

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Midweek round up

Liverpool. Oh Liverpool. Why do you insist on doing this to me? Do you hate me so much, that you make me suffer despite the fact that I have NEVER given up on you? I mean, fucking Wigan. Come on boys. Sort it out, this just ain't good enough. Without a win in 2009, that is beyond pathetic. And as for Rafa and his bizzare decisions of late. Ugh. Rafa, I believe in you. I know you can perform miracles. Just please don't let it get to the stage where you NEED to be performing them. Not every fan is as patient and understanding as the Kickette girls, and quite frankl;y, they want to see results. Subbing your best players in a game we should have won comfortably but were never really close to is not the way to go about it. Especially when there was no apparent reason for you to do so. I mean, I get that there's the Chelsea game at the weekend, but what's the point in having all your players fit at the end if they have nothing left to fight for. Liverpool have lost far too many points this season from drawing against teams they really should have beaten. The inconsistency of this team kills me sometimes. I know they can do it, so why don't they? They went ahead through a brilliant goal by Yossi Benayoun from a virtually impossible angle. It was all going swimmingly until Lucas felt the need to give away a penalty. I don't understand why, with people like Xabi Alonso on the bench, Lucas was even on the pitch to begin with. That moment of stupidity he had could potentially cost his team the title shot this year, and I hope he realises that. I hope Rafa realises it too because I am at my wits end when it comes to Liverpool. They need to pull their fingers out and realise they're not just playing for themselves, they're playing for the millions of fans that believe in them too and what they're showing right now just is not good enough.

Valencia took a 3-2 advantage into this Copa tie. The winner would get a spot in the semi final against Athletic Bilbao. However, they had to get there without there top scorer this season, Dahveed was ruled out with the muscle problem that saw him limp out of the reverse fixture last week and miss the weekend fixture against Mallorca.

They started ok, and found themselves a goal up within 7 minutes, Joaquin's corner being met by Marchena. That put them with one foot firmly in the semi finals. Cesar had a relatively good first half, and having an experienced goalkeeper behind them seemed to calm the back 4 (though still not to the extent that Marchena could avoid a booking. He was lucky not to get sent off after handling in the penalty area shortly before half time. Note to him - scoring a goal does not mean I will overlook your stupidity). Still, Sevilla levelled things up on 35 minutes. They started the game without Diego Capel, but similarly to last week, the manager felt he was needed and called him on. Sevilla look a totally different side with him on the wing.

They suffered the cruelest of fates though. Just minutes before the final whistle, the conceded a second goal. The goal that knocked the holders out of the cup and meant Sevilla progress to the semi finals. I would wish them luck, but right now, the only words going round in my head are 'fuck you'.

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Weekend round up

Ok, I realise this is a bit late. It very nearly didn't even get typed up, that is how shitty the footballing weekend was. Not ONE result went the way I wanted it to go. This isn't even going to be a proper match report, because I don't want to go into what happened in the games.

The Valencia game...yeah, total disaster. They lost (in the DYING MINUTES!!!) because Fernandes felt the need to give a penalty away and get himself sent off. Ugh. Like Valencia didn't have enough players missing. The horror started way before that though. Renan hurt himself taking a goal kick and had to be subbed off in the 40th minute. Now there's reports that he's going to be out for 4-6 weeks. Excuse me while I go cliff myself. Not that I don't have faith in Guaita. It's just...baby keeper with THAT defence? Yeah, doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. Then Dahveed asked to be subbed off in the second half because he felt a little off. He's said he'll be ok for the Copa game tomorrow though. Thank God. The one thing that baffled me more than anything though - Vicente played an absolute BLINDER against Racing. He was all over the pitch. He scored twice (the second of which effectively put Valencia through to the next round) and yet Emery left him on the bench. As if that wasn't confusing enough...he then didn't play him until the 80th minute or something equally ridiculous. I mean come on, he's one of the best left wingers in the business, you're really going to leave him on the bench when you need goals? I'm going to leave the ranting about the defence for another day. It'll probably be a long post.

And then. Then, there was Liverpool. A win would have taken them to the top of the table. They nearly got it. Yossi gave away an absolutely stupid corner in the 85th minute or thereabouts. Tim Cahill scored the equaliser from said corner. The Liverpool defence - they did a Valencia and just went missing. Well, not missing. They were there, but not one of them was marking Cahill. I mean, of all the players to leave unmarked in the box, you pick Cahill. The most dangerous player in the Everton team when it comes to set pieces, and you just leave him to score the goal that would guarantee Man U remained top. I despair sometimes, I really do. Stevie's goal was great, and was probably one of the only highlights of the game. Nando missed an absolute sitter in the first half. Robbie Keane - the less said about him, the better. You know things are bad when you see your team pay £20mil for a striker and then don't even realise he was playing until he was subbed off. Just please, sort it out boys. You're too close now to throw it all away.

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I need to stop (epic post alert)

I don't even know how many of the most recent posts I've done have had something to do with Valencia in some way or another. I guess it's just because I haven't been seeing so many Liverpool games lately. I miss the CL, it needs to hurry up and come back so I can watch them play and remember what I'm missing out on. The last time I saw a Liverpool game live on the telly/internetz was Boxing Day, which is way too long ago. I know that I spend a lot of time ranting about Valencia on this blog, and this is because I see them play almost every week. Although it may not really seem like it sometimes, Liverpool are and will remain my first team. It's just that lately, I've been thinking about what would happen were they to play Valencia at any point in the future, and I think I can safely say I would not know what to do. I don't want either team to lose, but I want them both to win. Impossible, huh?

Anyway, seeing as I haven't really paid much attention to them lately, I figured I'd do a post on all my recent (and not so recent) memories of Liverpool just to let them know that I still love them and I'm still very much a fan. I guess the best place to start on this post is the beginning. I first started watching Liverpool when I was 11 years old. It feels strange that I have been following this team for nearly half my life. It all began with Michael Owen, as you will most probably remember from this post. In fact, it was so long ago, the Liverpool site doesn't even give results back that far. It starts from 1999. I became a fan in 1998. Back then, I didn't understand much about football. I think it's pretty safe to say, I understood nothing. It was just this sport I watched from time to time, but the more I watched, the more I fell in love. I don't even remember too much of my first few years as a Liverpool fan, I was still learning about the game and the players. All I seemed to care about back then was the looks, the talent didn't even cross my mind. I'll be the first to admit that when Steven Gerrard first made it into the Liverpool line up, I wasn't particularly a fan. It wasn't until the 2000-2001 season I finally started seeing past the looks and to the talent. That was the season Liverpool won the UEFA Cup, Worthington Cup (now the Carling Cup) and the FA Cup and it's probably one of the first memories I have firmly embedded. Michael Owen was still my favourite player at that time. Steven Gerrard became my new favourite the season Rafa came to Liverpool and Owen left for bigger things. The Real Madrid subs bench mainly. I never did understand that decision :(

I went to my first live game at Anfield at the start of the 2002-2003 season. Well, I say start of the season, it was actually the pre season friendlies against Lazio on 30th June 2002. I still remember the game (sadly), Lazio won 1-0. I was sat right near the match control room, and saw the goal really rather clearly. I think I swore, but that may just have been the Kop letting the Lazio players know what they thought of that scoreline. This was the season Liverpool beat Manchester United to lift the Worthington Cup. I remember watching that final, I went crazy screaming when Owen scored the second. Sadly, that year, Liverpool finished 5th, just outside the Champions League places, meaning they had to be content with a place in the UEFA Cup for the following season.

The 2004-2005 season is the next one I have big memories from. Rafa B arrived at the club from Valencia (and I think that's another reason I like Valencia so much, they gave us Rafa) and performed miracles to get Liverpool to the CL final. Who could forget that? It had everything. Drama, goals, lucky breaks. At half time, 3-0 down, I really thought that was game over. A small part of me still believed they could do something, ANYTHING to lift the cup, but I didn't think it would actually happen the way it did. I was ready to put my pyjamas on and go to bed when Gerrard got the first. I decided to sit and watch a bit more, and when Smicer got the second just minutes later, I just KNEW that cup was coming home to Liverpool for good. In a crazy 6 minutes in the second half, they got the score back to 3-3. Since then, I don't think I have been as nervous about any game. The FA Cup final the following year came close, as did the Spain-Italy shootout in the Euros in 2008, but Liverpool-Milan tops them all for me. I got so drunk that night, I think I turned up to my exams the next morning with more alcohol in my bloodstream than I had blood. Probably why I failed them really...
They finished 5th in the Prem that year, and only the CL win gave them entry to the competition the following year, on the condition they played from the very start and qualified. Everton weren't best pleased of course, but who gives a shit? They got knocked out of the first qualifying games of both the CL and the UEFA Cup. There's only two teams in Liverpool boys. Liverpool and the Liverpool reserves. The great man Bill Shankly said so himself.

Rafa's second season at Liverpool brought more silverware, this time in the form of the FA Cup. The final that is now known as the Gerrard final because our captain was immense. Say what you like about the man, but his heart and soul goes into every game he plays and you can see how much each win means to him. I would say something cliche along the lines on 'cut him open and he'll bleed Liverpool red' but er...duh! We all do. If you don't, go to the doctor. Seriously, there's something wrong if your blood is not red. The game was again, full of drama. It had many similarities to the CL final the previous season, and the scoreline was the same come the final whistle. Two seasons in English football, two trophies. Not bad going for a newbie.

The 2006-2007 season saw Liverpool once again reach the CL final, where they would once again meet AC Milan. Sadly, this game didn't quite end the same way as their previous meeting. In all fairness, Milan deserved to win the 2005 final and Liverpool deserved to win this one, so justice was served. Over that summer, the boss was busy in the transfer window and the start of 2007-2008 saw a new arrival at the club. Fernando Torres. His first season in the Prem was an absolute blinder. He was easily the best player for me personally that season. He became the highest foreign scorer in his debut season, an honour which had previously belonged to Ruud van Nistelrooy. Had it not been for Cristiano Ronaldo and his many free kicks and penalties, Torres would have been player of the season. He was outstanding in every way that mattered. And then, to top off a great season with Liverpool, he went on international duty with Spain and scored the winner in the Euro final, giving Spain their first major trophy in 44 years.

And so we get to the present season. The closest run race for the title I can remember in years. It's not just a two horse race this year. And the best thing of all...Liverpool are one of those horses. Sitting pretty at the top, they've had some memories to be proud of so far this season. Beating Man U and Chelsea for starters. This is the most points Liverpool have gotten against the other teams in the big 4 since Rafa B arrived, and there's still 3 more games to go! Fingers crossed it all goes well, and this IS the year we win #19. I know I can't wait to see how this will all pan out. Despite all the frustrations against the likes of Stoke and Fulham this year, it's the best I've seen Liverpool play in a long time. They're more confident, it's the strongest team I remember watching in my 10 years as a fan and they're hungry to win things. Ok, so that last point is not much different from other years, but this season, they're showing that hunger on the pitch and (mostly) getting the results when it matters. And when they don't, the other contenders (mostly) slip up too.

I realise this post is about 55000 words long, feel free to wake up now. I just felt the need to get all this off my chest because see for yourself how much attention Liverpool have been getting lately. Ever since I started working weekends, it's basically been...none. I promise I will try to change that.

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Weekend round up

This is becoming a bit of a habit now, but if Liverpool insist on playing at a time I can't motherfucking watch them, then I'll just have to keep linking you up to the official match report. Sometimes, I wish I could just not bother with work, I miss my weekends.

Still, my Spanish boys are rather a lot nicer, and they play in the evenings, so I can usually catch the games. Valencia started the weekend in second and a win would see them finish there, regardless of other results. The started very brightly indeed, scoring in the first minute. In fact, I'd barely had time to change out of my work clothes and into my Valencia shirt. They were back to their counter attacking best, and the chaos of the midweek Copa del Rey game seemed to be totally forgotten. Dahveed then scored to make it 2-0, though his goal celebration had me a bit confused. Could there be another Veeyah baby on the way? The less said about that, the better I think. Mata had a goal disallowed for offside (how many times have I written THIS since the start of the season??) and Silva had several missed chances, but overall, they were the better team. Renan had a great first half, I'm choosing to ignore the few WTF moments he had. And then, just before half time...Villareal scored. 2-1 at half time.

The second half...well, Mata was fouled but no penalty was given. Ok, in all fairness, it would have been a slightly harsh PK, he did get the ball before the man. But still, bb Mata is not a climbing frame for your enjoyment, thank you. In terms of fouls and bad blood, this wasn't much like a proper derby. Sure, there were fouls, like in any regular football game, but nothing too extreme. Then Del Horno came on for Moretti just past the hour mark. Dahveed missed another good chance to score, but the lengthy close up I got of him when he got up made it all worth it. Albiol got subbed off on 72 minutes (and I really hope it's not a serious injury, he got ice on it straight away, whatever it was) which was kinda depressing, because Valencia cannot afford to lose any more defenders right now. And then, not too long after that, Silva put in a fab cross, only for Dahveed to put the ball over from about 3 yards out. Don't ask me how he managed that, it seemed a lot harder to put the ball out than to score. The nightmare happened on 76 minutes. Villareal equalised. It wasn't a nightmare for long though, Villareal had only been level for about 2 minutes when Edu scored to make it 3-2 to the home team.

Vicente and Alexis were in the crowd watching. I am still rather mad at Vic for being an idiot and getting sent off against Racing, Valencia really could have done with him out there today. But he looked hot, so I won't complain. A goalmouth scramble in 89 should have lead to a Valencia goal, but somehow, the ball stayed out. It was a very interesting game though, one of the reasons I love La Liga is that the dramz carry on right up to the final whistle. It finished 3-3 and that leaves Valencia third following Sevilla's win earlier. I just hope the teams below them lose/draw so they stay there.

And just because I feel this was a big moment for him (and we all know how I feel about that armband...) Santi was captain :D

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Weekend round up - sort of.

Now, as you all know, La Liga is taking a winter break, which means no games to report on for a couple of weekends. There is still no such break in the Prem though, and I am thankful for the xmas period when games are sometimes played midweek, or at a time I can watch them. Seeing as I really have no excuse for not watching the game today (I'm home, I have nothing else to do, I miss Liverpool) I thought I may as well do a proper match report on the game instead of just linking you up to the match report on the official site. First off, I hope everyone had a lovely xmas and Santa brought them lots of nice presents. Think of this as my present to you - an actual match report complete with mean comments about the Bolton bullies etc etc.

So, with Man U and Chelsea having won already earlier on, Liverpool were under pressure to perform at home and get all three points. Nothing less would be good enough to keep them top. It shouldn't be a hard task for them, they're unbeaten at home all year in the Prem. They started very brightly, defending well and making forward runs, trying to break the deadlock. With the news that Alvaro Arbeloa was injured, Sami came into the team to replace him. The strikeforce was still missing Fernando Torres, and he was at the stadium (so was Skittles!) but neither one was deemed ready for this fixture.

Dagger was looking hot as ever, and Riera put in some great crosses, none of which came to anything in the end. Just past the ten minute mark, he missed a glorious chance to put Liverpool a goal up, his shot going horribly wide. He made amends 15 minutes later, getting on the end of a Gerrard corner to put the ball beyond the outstretched arms of Jussi Jaaskelainen. There were other missed chances, and Liverpool should have been at least 2 or 3 up at half time, but they will have been happy with 1-0 as longas it brought 3 points at the end.

Ever so slightly off topic - that Steinsson bloke has nice tattoos, no? Actually, so does Matt Taylor. Not as nice as Dagger's clearly, but they're pretty good all the same. Anyway, back to the important stuff. Robbie Keane is really starting to find his goalscoring boots. 2 goals in two games, I'm impressed. I'm still not entirely convinced by him, but keep it up Robbie! Ok, better make that 3 goals in 2 games, he scored his second of the game a mere five minutes later. That was game over for Bolton, it was just a question now of what the final score would be.

The first substitution of the day was El Zhar on for Riera, who scored a very important goal to get the ball rolling for Liverpool, but with the game already won, it was perhaps time to take off some of the big guns and keep them fresh for the next fixture on Sunday. Stevie soon made way for Lucas, handing over the armband to Jamie Carragher. The final change of the game for Rafa (who was also in the crowd) was Ngog on for Dirk Kuyt.

I'm not going to lie. I am happy about the score, 3-0 after a series of draws is great. The annoying thing is that they should have had more. They could easily have scored 5 or 6, and Keane really deserved to get his first hat trick for the team. Still, 3 goals, 3 points, top of the table. Not much more I could ask for really.

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Hell. Yes.

Against what seemed like all the odds, this is what the Premiership table is going to look like on Christmas day.

That is all.

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My champions

Now, I don't want to jinx anything, so I'm not going to say Liverpool WILL win the Prem this season. Sure, they're doing well, but anything goes in football. Instead, I thought I'd compile a list of reasons they deserve to win it/should win it. I'm sure there's more reasons, but I thought I'd stick to the credible ones.

1. Man U are catching up and catching up fast in the race for the number of titles won. Like hell Liverpool are going to give up their place at the top to their most bitter rivals.
2. They have made a great start to the season so far and have beaten 2 of the 3 main title contenders already. They have 6 points out of 6 against the other big 4 teams.
3. The players deserve something for all the hard work they've put in over the years.
   
4. Rafa B is a genius. He's won so many things with the club already. The title is the one thing everybody desperately wants to add to their collection.
5. It's more than likely Sami's last year at the club. It'll be fantastic to reward all the years he's been with us with the title on what is potentially his last season.
6. The fans have had a long wait and they're getting impatient. This is a club that should be winning title after title, and this is close to the best squad they've had in recent times. They should challenge now.
7. All the homegrown players (well, Stevie and Carra) are desperate to see their club finally win the elusive #19.
   
8. They're playing with a lot more hunger this year. They've won games that they would not have won last season and they have the belief that this is their year.
9. It's an even number year. 2008. All good things happen on even numbers. NB - this is not scientifically proven fact, it's just a personal superstition. (BTW, Stevie = #8 shirt. Year ends with an 8. It's fate. Ok so the season technically ends in 2009, but it started in 2008)
   
10. I said so. Of course, things always happen when I say so. If you don't believe me, ask Dani Alves. Everytime I mention him being kicked, he gets kicked.
    

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Weekend round up

You'll have to excuse the crappiness this week, I am too tired to actually write proper reports.
Find the match report on the Liverpool game here . I know it's lazy, but I wasn't here to watch the game because of stupid work, and it fails that I can't do proper match reports all the time now. They are still top of the table though. Hell yeah!

The Valencia game, I really don't want to comment on the first half. Or the second for that matter. Two words. Motherfucking. Tit. Also, how much do Barcugh dive? And that referee, total Barca fangirl. For real. And then the second half, as if to rub salt into the wound, Dani Alves scored. I mean really? You're going to do this to me Valencia. Dani Alves? And then Henry got his hat trick. So yeah, good day for Liverpool, bad day for Valencia. And bad day for my La Liga FFT. I wonder how badly I failed...

I'll do better next week, I promise. I'm just so tired today, and the one game I did watch went totally wrong for me, so basically, I have no desire to write about it. Sorry.

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Weekend round up

Now, before I get into the whole round up of the weekend games that matter to me, I have to just say, I am a total jinx to any team I support once again. Gone are the days of the Euros when I could wear my Spain shirt and they STILL won. Now, every time I pull on a team shirt, they suddenly seem to forget what winning is. For the evidence, I present to you the Valencia game against Real Betis last night

The first half, I can't really give a detailed report on because I was at work and therefore didn't watch it. However, I was reliably informed by Sky Sports that Valencia were the better team, had more possession, more chances and overall deserved their 2 goal lead. The first was scored on 10 minutes by Dahveed (and yes, I did see the goals). It was his first goal from open play in over a month, and it was a great goal. As much as I love him though, I have to admit that Mata's goal totally blew me away. He basically ran through the entire Betis defence and scored. So, when I got home to the news that Valencia were 2-0 up, I was obviously ecstatic. I ran into my room, threw on my Valencia shirt and settled down to watch the second half.

Within 10 minutes of the restart, Betis had got a goal back. Not too much longer after that, Marchena got a red card and Betis had a penalty, giving them a chance to level the scores at 2-2. Emana duly hit the back of the net. Before I report on the rest of the game, I would like to take a moment to give a special mention to the dickhead of a referee who gave that penalty and left my boys down to 10. Firstly, it was not a goal scoring opportunity. There were 3 defenders and a goalie between the ball and the goal. Secondly, and more importantly - Marchena got the effing ball. Now, in my world (and the general rules of football. Look it up you prat of a referee) that is neither a foul, nor a penalty, never mind red card offence. *takes a moment to breathe*
This is kind of how it went down. 'Oi, you. You got the ball, but have a red card anyway.' 'What? But...but...but...*cries*' And then I come along and shoot him. We'll see how quickly the referee's screw my boys over next time!

Anyway, on with the game. By this point, I was convinced that me wearing the shirt was jinxing them. It used to happen all the time, then Spain broke the curse by winning the Euros and things were fine for a little, but it's business as usual again. Anyway, I went and took the shirt off, left it in my room and went back to watching the game. Lo and behold, not five minutes later, Valencia were a goal up again, Baraja scoring what proved to be the winner. Dahveed also had a brilliant shot (See it here.It's right at the end. The crossbar was still rattling about a minute later, that's how hard he kicked it. Frustrated much?) which sadly didn't go in, and it would have been a great goal, but the final score was 3-2 to Valencia, allowing them to overtake Real Madrid in the La Liga table and move into 3rd spot.

Liverpool had a chance to go clear at the top of the table following Chelsea's defeat to Arsenal yesterday. All they needed to do was not lose to West Ham. Sounds easy, right? Well, this is Liverpool we're talking about. The very definition of complicated. Like Rafa's team choices. In a game we HAD to win to give us some breathing space at the top, he chose to play Sami instead of Dagger. Against Craig Bellamy. Yeah, erm...

Anyway, the game started brightly and it wasn't long until the 'help me, I want to kill this referee' syndrome came into action. This time, Liverpool were denied a clear penalty. I swear, referees and penalties will be the death of me some day. Sami Hyypia missed a golden chance to put Liverpool 1-0 up, his header going just inches over the crossbar. Stevie also missed a good chance 5 minutes later, his free kick deflected over for a corner. Liverpool were certainly the more dominating of the two teams, West Ham barely making it out of their third. The signs were looking good for Liverpool to take the lead at the top of the table, all that was missing was the goal. Craig Bellamy went very close for West Ham, hitting the post in the 37th minute. The first half finished goalless, and as things stood, Liverpool would be a point above Chelsea in the table by the end of the evening.

Aside from the few opportunities in the first half, it was a relatively boring 45 minutes, and we were all hoping for a more convincing performance and a few goals from the home side. Prayers were almost answered on 55 minutes after a great cross from Stevie gave Benayoun a good shooting chance, only for the goalkeeper to spoil the party. Liverpool were ahead in every vital statistic except number of goals. With the score still 0-0, Rafa took off Keane and Riera and put Ngog and Babel on in a desperate attempt to get a goal. It was a defender that came closest again just past 80 minutes, Sami Hyypia heading the ball inches wide and Kuyt unable to get there in time to turn it in. Craig Bellamy made a very dangerous tackle on Arbeloa, and was lucky to get away without a booking. Ryan Babel also missed a good chance to put Liverpool a goal up and with time running out, it was looking less and less likely they'd score. The final score was 0-0. It wasn't the most convincing of performances, and it was yet another game in which Liverpool should have won easily, but were unable to do so.

It was enough to take them to the top of the table, but they're going to have to do much better than that if they want to be challenging for the title this season.

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Weekend round up

Liverpool phail. That is basically all I can say. I didn't see the game, I have no wish to see the game. 0-0 against Fulham is simply not good enough. Sort it out boys. Pretty please? I know that your Captain Fantastic wasn't there, and he's the one you turn to when the shit hits the fan, but please find another superhero for when he can't pull your sorry asses out of the ground. It's getting rather annoying being called a one man team, and they can't help but prove it's true occassionally.


Valencia played a Sevilla side level on points with them before this weekend's games. The task was simple. Beat them and stay 3rd at the very least. The Thigh was ruled out of the game, but that just meant that Mata played on the left wing. He was keen to prove a point to Del Bosque, who called him up to the Spain squad but did not make use of him. Damn fool. Alexis was also back in defence - right after I sold him from my FFT might I add! It was a pretty open first half, with both teams going close to opening the scoring on several occassions. Renan made a brilliant save to deny Luis Fabiano, and thanks to the great goalkeeping on display, the first half finished 0-0.

The second half needed to bring goals if either team was to overtake Villareal and Real Madrid to go second behind Barca. It was a scrappy second half, with some poor tackles, runs and decisions. Valencia were by far the more attacking of the two teams, Palop called into action very rarely, but still more often than Renan. It was a game of many bookings though, with Sevilla playing dirty and committing foul after foul. Unfortunately for me, Valencia weren't able to get the goal that would put them second, but that's alright. It's a long season. And at least they didn't lose. Besides, 0-0 suggests a boring game, but it was far from boring.

And to sum up - 0-0 was the score of the day. Could they not have given me one goal to keep me happy? Ugh.

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Weekend round up

This is going to be a pile of crap this weekend, I apologise in advance. I didn't see the Liverpool game, so I can't report on that. The score for those who didn't know was 2-0 to Liverpool, and the Stevie/Nando love-in is back. Dagger lost a tooth...some sites say he knocked it out himself, but I'm going to blame Kevin Davies cos he's a bit of a shit sometimes.

Valencia lost 3-2. That is all. Well ok, not quite all. Dahveed scored his 100th La Liga goal (against the team he started his career at *pauses to wipe a tear away*) and Mata also scored to cap off a great week for him after he got his first call up to the SNT. But they still lost. And Emery only played Vicente for 45 mins. Boooo.

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Weekend round up

This is going to be a short report, due to the fact that I actually missed the Liverpool game at the weekend because I was working. I got home just in time to see Setanta sports inform me that they had won 3-0. Yay for my FFT, and yay for the boys who were top of the table again, even if it was only for 24 hours until Chelsea won. Keane finally scored two goals (yes, you did read that right, I said two) though he's still not convincing me he's worth £20mil. Maybe I'm expecting too much of him, what with Nando being the golden boy. The thing that pleased me most was that Liverpool actually won a game convincingly. None of this last minute winner bullshit they've been inflicting on my lately. They outclassed their opposition and actually got the result to match.

Valencia couldn't go top of La Liga no matter what their result, but they could overtake Real Madrid on goal difference and go third with a 2-0 win. Thankfully, they were in a winning mood, and they had a large chunk of the possession despite being the away team. By the end of the first half they were a goal and a man up thanks to a headbutt from Soldado on Marchena. The referee was having a shocker, he was a bit too card happy for my liking, handing out cards left, right and center, but the sending off was the right decision. So were the 500001 offsides he gave against Dahveed. Even though I was pissed off at the time.

The second half was a bit more open, with Getafe having chances as well as Valencia. A poor tackle of Veeyah should have led to a second red for Getafe, but the referee let it go with just a yellow. That guy wants to thank his lucky stars Dahveed got up and carried on. Valencia again had a goal disallowed for offside totally unfairly, I don't know what the referees have got against them but it needs to stop. Like now. Joaquin wasn't to be denied though, he scored after 68 minutes to give Valencia the 2 goal lead they needed to go 3rd in the table. Vicente made it 3-0 on 80 minutes, putting the game totally beyond Getafe's reach.

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Blog Challenge #3: Why we support the teams we do

So you may by now know I support 2 teams. I don't even know why I support them, I just do. Well ok, there's probably more to it than that. Flash back to when I was 11 years old and I first discovered football. It was the World Cup 1998, England vs Argentina. Anybody remember this?

Well, that goal was basically the reason I really started paying attention to football. Michael Owen became my first ever football love, and while it makes me feel bad that I started supporting Liverpool because of one footballer, that does generally tend to be how I get into football teams, as you will find out. After that goal, I started watching Liverpool games just for the chance to see this boy wonder play and show off his mad skillz. As time went by, my love for the team grew and grew and it wasn't long before I found myself cheering them on in every game, even the ones that may have seemed insignificant at the time. It helped that my dad was a Liverpool fan too, so he'd tell me all these stories about the Liverpool team of the 80's. It didn't seem like the current squad was having any such success, and that only made me like them even more. I've never been a fan of teams who win all the time, give me the underdog any day. It gets boring seeing the same teams win over and over again, that's not a competition to me.

Anyway, I think it was during a Champions League game in 2002 that I first noticed Valencia. By that point, I'd been watching football, but I'd never really seen anything beyond national teams and the Premier League. I was in absolute awe, this was a team I'd never heard of and yet they were beating a Liverpool team that was firmly embedded in the top four in their domestic league. And beating them comfortably at that. I'd love to say that it was down to their obvious skill that I started watching Valencia play, but it really wasn't. Well, it was, but not the skill of the whole team. I've already explained how Vicente was the reason I got into Spanish football, so I won't go into that again.

From that game on, I tried to watch as many games as possible in La Liga, which was difficult because they didn't always show them. I didn't give up though, and that's how I've got to the stage I'm at today. Even though I say I support both teams, Liverpool were my first team, and I will always cheer for them. It would feel wrong willing them to lose or draw, no matter who they were playing. I just have to hope they never play Valencia again in a game that matters.

Of course, Rafa B was the manager of Valencia at the time, and then he moved to Liverpool. It made me happy in a way, because I knew he was a great manager and that he could help Liverpool win loads of stuff. At the same time, part of me was sad that Valencia was losing a great manager, and I wasn't all that sure how well the new one would settle in. This manager change only went to further cement my support of both teams and basically, the Valencia link with Liverpool just made me love them even more.

Besides Liverpool and Valencia, I do have a soft spot for many teams in both leagues. Well, ok, more in La Liga than the Prem. I watch Arsenal games and usually get upset if they don't win...unless they're playing Liverpool, or are too close for comfort that is. And in La Liga. Erm, this season its *takes a deep breath* Villareal, Sevilla, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Sporting Gijon and occasionally Barca. i.e. when my dad is home and he wants to watch them. Yeah that's a lot of teams, but I don't necessarily want them to win or do well. I just like watching them. I'm a total football whore it seems.

And that is the story of the teams I support and how I started supporting them.

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Weekend round up

The weekend began with both Liverpool and Valencia at the top of their respective tables. Both again had to win to remain there.

The Liverpool game was the late kick off in the Premier League, and it was top meets bottom. With Chelsea having won yet again, there was only one thing for them to do. They had to beat a Tottenham side who were slowly gaining confidence. This fixture has proved somewhat difficult for Liverpool over the years, but a third minute goal today suggested this may be about to change. From that point, Liverpool's nerves seemed to settle, and they had another good chance just minutes later. Tottenham were determined not to be down and out of the game this early on though, and they gradully gained confidence, keeping possession well and even having several shots on goal themselves.

Before the game, it was announced that Robbie Keane had never gone a game without scoring against his old team. As the game wore on, it was starting to look like today would be that day. So far, I am not at all impressed with him, 2 goals (neither of which is in the Prem) is simply not good enough for a £20mil striker. We need more from you please Mr Keane. If you're not prepared to give it, or are just too crap to, please go rot with Spurs, yes?

Steven Gerrard hit the post just after the 50th minute, and luckily for Tottenham, there was nobody there to put in the rebound. This happened again just minutes later, followed almost instantly by a miss from Dirk Kuyt, whose 3rd minute goal was keeping Liverpool in the lead. It was clear which team was the hungrier in the second half, and for at least 15 minutes, the play was almost entirely in front of the Tottenham goal. All their possession still hadn't led to a second goal however, and the game was finely poised leading into the final hour. Keane was replaced by Babel after 65 minutes, having been largely...well, useless, for want of a better word, for the entire time he was on.

The goal was on the cards for Tottenham. Unfortunately, it was Jamie Carragher putting the ball into the back of his own net that gifted Spurs an undeserved equaliser. Minutes before the final whistle, Spurs scored what was to be the winning goal. Pieces of shit. There's some rule that'll penalise them for poaching another teams' manager right?

When the shit hits the fan, I can usually count on Valencia to cheer me up. Even if they don't play well/win, I'll have caught a glimpse of Dahveed, and that makes everything better. Vicente started the game, clearly eager to prove a point to Unai Emery, and from the offset, he was picking out passes and making those runs I remember him for back in 2003. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to do Valencia much good. They went behind midway through the first half, but it didn't last for too long. A clumsy tackle of Joaquin gave the home side a penalty, which Veeyah promptly put away. As he does. The first half finished 1-1, but the mere fact that Racing Santander are one of their more difficult fixtures seemed to affect them.

The second half was just as bad for Valencia fans, they went down just five minutes after the restart and it was looking like one of those days for them. They never gave up hope though and neither did I. On 70 minutes, Joaquin smashed the ball home after a Mata corner. 2-2 with 20 minutes to go. I don't even want to talk about the rest of the game. Lets just say, the shit hit the fan big time and Valencia didn't cheer me up.

It seems pretty harsh to have both teams robbed of their unbeaten record and be demoted from the top of the table in the same weekend, but I have faith in them. They can overcome this minor blip and get back to the top soon enough,and even if they don't, they can still count on the fact that I will still be cheering like mad every time they step out onto the pitch.

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