Adebayor sent off as Liverpool pay for cautious approach

Liverpool missed their chance to keep themselves four points ahead of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League with a 1-1 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates.

Despite maintaining their lead at the summit of the Premiership, Chelsea could leapfrog them if they beat Everton at Goodison tomorrow evening.

In a relatively tight contest between these two sides, a draw was probably a fair result if not expected- this being the fourth draw in Liverpool's last five league games.

Arsenal, having gone ahead in the 24th minute through a superbly taken goal by Robin Van Persie were pegged back thanks to a mixture of slack defending and great anticipation which saw the much-maligned Robbie Keane rifle an unstoppable half-volley past Manuel Almunia, the Arsenal goalkeeper.

The game only really came to light when Emanuel Adebayor, the Arsenal striker, was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence which Howard Webb, the match official, deemed a dangerous tackle on Liverpool's Alvaro Arbeloa. This further weakened an Arsenal side who were forced to substitute their captain, Cesc Fabregas, at the interval following a strong challenge from Xabi Alonso seconds before the half-time whistle was blown.


Liverpool failed to make the most of their numerical advantage and were far too cautious in going forward which is a weakness which could blight their title challenge. With this draw becoming the fourth of their last five league games Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, will be increasingly alarmed at his sides inability to finish off opponents. Much was made of the way in which Liverpool responded in salvaging a draw after falling two goals behind to Hull City at Anfield, yet the very fact that they found themselves trailing at home to the Premier League new-boys would surely have been of paramount concern to the Liverpool boss.

Every campaign throws up strange results and points will inevitably lost but the likes of West Ham United, Hull and Fulham are the type of games that Benitez would be hoping to take maximum points from when in reality they have only managed three points from these three games. The huge positive for Liverpool at this moment in time is that lady luck is shining on them and has been for the best part of the season as the 'big four' of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have all failed to take advantage of any situation presented to them.

Chelsea could go a point clear with a win at Everton tomorrow and United will be in buoyant mood as they arrive back as World Champions and safe in the knowledge that they have two games in hand in which to claw their way back to the top of the league. Liverpool will need to start making their own luck if they are to avoid the second-half of their season becoming a repeat of this afternoon's second-half performance.

The Managerial Disease

This week Paul Ince became the eighteenth manager to have lost his job this season following a set of poor results that has left Blackburn Rovers second from bottom in the Premier League.

Much has been made of the support, or lack of, that Ince and other young managers receive and the short time with which they are provided to make an impact.
At one time or another this season, in the Premier League especially, there has always been a spotlight on at least one manager at any one time. At the very start of the season it was Alan Curbishley at West Ham United and Kevin Keegan at Newcastle United, they both left as a result of diminished responsibility (not the legal term) with team affairs.

Only last week, as a result of mounting pressure, Roy Keane left his post as Sunderland manager following a string of below-par results. The baffling thing with this though is the fact that it was Keane who, ultimately, became the victim of his own success as it was the standard that he set to which these 'below-par' performances could be compared. Much was made of the amount of money he had spent since his arrival, in the region of £80 million, and the fiscal angle is one which always attracts a fair bit of scrutiny. It cannot be ignored that Sunderland were not playing as well as they had been but the swiftness of the media to focus the spotlight on any manager showing a glimmer of under-achievement puts undue pressure on club management to act upon this.

It is a sad indictment of the state of the beautiful game when new managers are given what appears to be a two-game bedding in period and managers with a proven track record are overlooked for hire because of one poor stint somewhere down the line.

Take Tony Adams, the Portsmouth manager, who after narrowly losing 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield in his first match in charge, found himself under pressure when he lost his second game at home to Wigan 2-1. Although no side is guaranteed their place in the Premier League, it would be a surprise if Portsmouth found themselves in the relegation 'dog-fight' come April given the foundations that Harry Redknapp, their former manager, had built at the club. With regular internationals in the squad and a reported £20 million bid from Real Madrid for their midfielder Lassana Diarra, Adams will have some money to start shaping his own squad.

It should be noted that since them winning the Premier League in the 1994/95 season, Blackburn Rovers have tasted little success. The fan base at Ewood Park isn't huge and if there was a real possibility of them being relegated to the Championship they have all the ingredients of becoming the next Charlton Athletic. Ince, although having the same squad that finished 7th in the league last season under Mark Hughes, never really replaced David Bentley who was an influential player for Rovers last term. He was also unfortunate in that Roque Santa Cruz, their main goal threat, was absent through injury for most of his reign as boss.

The main concern now is that Ince will contract the English disease that blights managers who show promise but who are, ultimately, remembered for what is, in simple terms, a blip but in managerial and media terms as a disaster.

One key example of this is Sam Allardyce who coincidentally has been linked with both vacancies at the Stadium of Light and Ewood Park. Allardyce is a manager with a proven track record from plying his trade at Limerick, in the League of Ireland, in which he topped the league in his first season in charge. After brief stints at Preston North End and Blackpool, he then won promotion at the first attempt by finishing top of Division Three at the end of the 1997-98 season with Notts County, breaking several club and national records in the process, subsequently winning the title by a 19-point margin and becoming the first post-war side to win promotion in mid-March.

He then went on to become manager of Bolton Wanderers and gained promotion to the Premier League in his second season after a 3-0 win over Preston in the play-off final. He, with the help of the chairman, Phil Gartside, made Bolton into a stable Premiership club - later leading them into the UEFA Cup. But if asked today if Allardyce is the man for the job, people would probably scoff. Why? Probably because he tried to make Newcastle United into a successful team but failed where plenty others have too.


On the continent managers are given chance after chance to prove themselves and they usually ply there trade at lower league clubs before moving on to the bigger clubs. The likes of Rafa Bentiez, Arsene Wenger and even Juande Ramos are examples of this approach and they come here with a well-earned reputation.

This is the route that Ince was prepared to take, but the questionable motives behind his appointment and the lack of managerial experience cost him and, sadly, he won't be remembered for his achievements at Macclesfield and MK Dons.

The FA's incompetence has opened the Floodgates

Some time ago I remember attending a lecture for one of my law classes. In this lecture the 'floodgate principle' was introduced and as interesting as it was to see how this principle was applied to law it did seem somewhat obvious: if there is a chance that a case shows signs of being repeated then a precedent must be set in order to prevent the floodgates being opened. Simple? You'd have thought so, but the Football Association appear to be completely oblivious to this principle or the very concept of floodgates.


Over a month ago at Oakwell, the home of Barnsley Football Club, an incident occurred that left a player fighting for his life after having his skull fractured as a result of an elbow. Iain Hume, the Barnsley midfielder, was reported to have asked the referee for more protection prior to the incident which clearly shows the concerns he had of his own safety on the pitch. Chris Morgan, the perpetrator of this ugly scene, clearly elbowed Hume in the side of the head as both players were both preparing to contest a header. You'd be hard pushed to see an aerial challenge without some flailing arms or a stray elbow yet this is because of the need to create the upward momentum to challenge rather than the need to damage an opponent. However what makes this more deplorable is the fact that there was no 'upward momentum' from Morgan, instead just two firmly placed feet which suggests two things that he had no intention of aerially challenging for the ball and that he knew what he was doing - the sideways glance at Hume prior to the elbow would certainly support this. Or so you'd think.

Morgan is no stranger to controversy or Oakwell for that matter, having joined Sheffield United from Barnsley in 2003. Morgan has been sent off 12 times in 11 seasons and was the player who, on December 30, 2006, punched Robin van Persie, of Arsenal, in the ribs on his blind side and, after video evidence was used, was banned for three matches. So why in this instance was retrospective refereeing used instead of the recent elbow to Iain Hume's head? The answer, as far as The FA are concerned, simple; the punch to Van Persie was not seen at all by the referee whereas Morgan actually received a booking for his elbow to Hume.

Much is said of players' reputations going before them and in some cases it is evident but Morgan seems to have escaped this, in what is potentially one of the most regrettable decisions the bigwigs at Soho will ever make. Had this match been played between two Premier League sides and the same scenario had been played out it would be hard to imagine such a derisory riposte from The FA. Take for instance Manchester United and England international Wayne Rooney who, by all accounts, has shown a marked improvement in his temperament, was accused of stamping on an Aalborg midfielder during his sides 2-2 Champions League draw. This incident was ignored by the referee yet there was an immediate review and the outcome of UEFA's review is awaited, yet note how that took a matter of days from the final whistle of the match for it to reach UEFA HQ.

Add to this Rooney's United team-mate, Patrice Evra, who was handed a four-match ban following the aptly named 'Battle at the Bridge' when, in contrast to the Morgan and Hume atrocity, a slap on the wrist would have been suffice.

If only Iain Hume were playing in a league higher where, it appears, justice and policy decisions carry far more importance. One hopes that they won't regret their inability to do what any logical thinking person would do and see a repeat incident fall on equally deaf ears but The FA have not only done Hume and Barnsley a huge mis-justice but they've opened the floodgates to further potentially career-threatening injuries as a result of their blindness and incompetence. Chris Morgan and Sheffield United are the only winners in this sorry state of affairs.

Barton another victim of the hate mob

It's become almost sacrosanct for the media to have a scapegoat, a figure that they can use to symbolise everything there is that's wrong with football and to offer absolutely no support to when they reach rock bottom.

Joey Barton, the Newcastle midfielder, is this scapegoat and, having reached rock bottom, is still persecuted for his previous misdemeanours.

For those unfamiliar with Barton and his list of cautions, for want of a better phrase, he has, shall we say, a list as long as Mr Tickle's arm of ticking's off.

Now the majority of his actions cannot and should not be condoned as, even Barton would admit, there have been some horrendous incidents but the news coverage he has received does make it seem as though he is the first and last footballer to have his conduct brought into question.


From stubbing out a cigar in a team-mates eye at a Christmas party in 2004 to the infamous training ground bust-up in May 2007 which resulted in Ousmane Dabo, his Manchester City team-mate, requiring hospital treatment following an assault by Barton (for which he was fined £100,000 by his club and sentenced to a four-month suspended prison sentence plus community service by Greater Manchester Police) it would be an understatement to say that his lack of discipline has attracted few admirers both in the general public and among his fellow professionals.

When Barton was at Manchester City he was making headlines for his combative performances in the centre of midfield that earned him a well overdue first cap for England in February 2007, but his inclusion in the squad wasn't that well received. It coincided with Barton's comments regarding some senior England players who he felt were cashing in on England's poor performance at the 2006 World Cup by releasing autobiographies following the end of the tournament. This was a criticism directed at Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool captain, and Frank Lampard, the Chelsea midfielder, and while Gerrard praised Barton's honesty, Lampard publicly disapproved of his opinion.

Barton, despite contrasting opinion, is not the first and will certainly not be the last professional footballer to bring the game into disrepute. It is a pity, as it is with any footballer who has undeniable talent, when their behaviour receives more media attention than their actual performances. But where do you draw the line of unprofessional behaviour? Is being labelled the archetypal "bad-boy" of football the be-all and end-all of tarnishing the game's reputation?


Let's not forget, for instance, that Alan Shearer, the former England international and Newcastle United striker, once kicked Leicester City midfielder Neil Lennon in the face during a league match which was unsurprisingly overlooked at the time. And who can forget John Hartson kicking team-mate Eyal Berkovic in the face during a training session at West Ham United's training ground.

There are also the players who have had to battle addictions during their career without, of course, any help from the media. Among these players, of which Barton is included having confessed to a drink problem, are Paul Merson, Tony Adams, Duncan Ferguson and Paul Gascgoine, to name but a few. These were all players with undoubted talent, particularly Gascgoine, who could have been helped had they been adored as much by the media as they were their own fans.

The detrimental effect that the negative media attention aimed at Barton could have on both the individual and society is a hypothetical cause for concern. Although Barton needs to help himself out to a certain extent, the media should consider their persecution of him for the sake of society. Sometimes it is forgotten or overlooked that behind all the celebrity and incomprehensible amounts of money that the modern day footballer earns is, simply, a human being that is as prone to mistakes as anyone else. What Barton needs is an arm around him and some proper guidance, not the headlines of hatred that seem to await him everytime he sets foot on a football pitch. And right now he needs Newcastle just as much as they need him.

Good Kop, Bad Kop

Imagine it if you will. You're a supporter of a club who have a history of success, you have a captain who is considered one of the best midfielders in the world and your team is finally showing signs of a credible title challenge after 19 years of being in the shadows of, among others, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea.


If this sounds familiar then it's more than likely you're a supporter of Liverpool FC, unless there is another side out there on a parallel universe who have experienced the same peaks and troughs as one of the most successful clubs in Europe.

But it appears that being top of the league in December isn't good enough for Liverpool's fans after a chorus of boos proceeded the final whistle following a frustrating 0-0 draw at home to West Ham United this evening. Perhaps it is because, since the turn of the 90's, Liverpool haven't had a look in as far as domestic success goes and there is an eagerness to kick on. And yes, if they are to make a serious title challenge, they should be beating the likes of West Ham at Anfield having already shown the quality that saw them beat both Manchester United and Chelsea. But the Premiership isn't won in December, as Sir Alex Ferguson will tell you - and he should know.

It is a trait that Rafa Benitez, the Liverpool manager, will no doubt be keen to see the back of as so often in past seasons Liverpool have let themselves down against lesser opposition. Having already drawn at home to Premier League new-boys Stoke City, also at Anfield, in what was another frustrating goal-less draw the Liverpool fans should be channeling their passion in a more positive way by making Anfield a fortress rather than the temple of tension it becomes when the Kop sense a frustrating afternoon or evening. Often the crowd can influence a game and by giving off this negativity in groaning and jeering a mis-placed pass or a wayward shot it can start to rub off on the players who then become frustrated themselves, and it certainly showed in the game this evening, especially in the last 20 minutes where Liverpool completely dominated.

It's understandable that fans want value for money especially at a time when the country is experiencing a downturn in the financial market and football isn't immune from this. But surely this is, for Liverpool fans, a cause for celebration given that they have what appears to be, at this present time, a squad that has the potential to be in contention for the league title come May.

If at first you don't succeed, just try another excuse

It was a game which marked Wayne Rooney's 100th club career goal, an outstanding midfield display by Michael Carrick and the phantom whistle, or was it a push?

As Mark Hughes, the Manchester City manager, rightly pointed out: "if he says the ball was going to hit him in the face, why didn't he head it?" Cristiano Ronaldo has the knack of grabbing the headlines and he didn't fail in doing so in this, the most eagerly anticipated Manchester derby in years.
For all the hype surrounding this match, largely due to the shift of financial muscle between the sides, the lesson in football that was taught by Manchester United was worth more than any of the Abu Dhabi United Group's money could buy.

The match itself proved to be a harsh reality for City who would have realised how far they will have to go to be anywhere near the title contenders that they promise to be under their new investors. Despite the fact that this game was won by a solitary goal, with Rooney on hand to pounce on a Joe Hart parry from a Carrick shot, the gulf in class was all too noticeable.

This game though won't be remembered for Rooney reaching a goal-scoring landmark or for the audacious half-way attempt that would have made goal of the season a foregone conclusion before the year is out, but it will be for the bizarre fashion in which Ronaldo received his second bookable offence.

After receiving his first booking for a foul on Shaun Wright-Philips, the City midfielder, some would argue that Ronaldo was lucky that the referee, Howard Webb, decided to overlook the sarcastic clap that was aimed at him. A matter of minutes later Ronaldo left Webb no option but to produce the yellow card again and dismiss the United midfielder, yet it was his reaction to the sending off that kept the pundits busy in the post-match analysis.

A corner from the right hand side was floated in and Ronaldo, who had gained a great aerial advantage on his marker, in a moment of madness put his hands out and palmed the ball away. Immediately realising what he had done Ronaldo then implied that he had been pushed, in an attempt to persuade the referee not to produce a second yellow, unfortunately the embarrassment didn't end there. Once being given his marching orders and realising that his first excuse perhaps hadn't worked as well as he would have liked, Ronaldo then began insisting that it was in fact a whistle that made him handle the ball.

There was, it would suggest from Sir Alex Ferguson's post-match comments, that there was a third and final excuse, Ferguson said: "He has tried to shield the ball from hitting his face, but I'm not going to get into it because we could be here all day."

It was unfortunate that in a match that saw United give their bitter rivals a lesson in football and gain valuable ground in the title race that their hard-work was somewhat overshadowed by the cringe worthy fashion in which their No.7 refused to accept responsibility for his actions.