The English Premier League concluded nicely last night with the usual teams winning (top 4) and the usual teams losing (bottom 5).
Suprisingly, all the teams who needed to win to stave off relegation actually lost, and personally, I think the most pathetic of them all was Newcastle.
They lost to an own goal and basically needed only a draw to survive, after Hull was defeated by Man Utd at home.
All that talk and uproar over Sir Alex Ferguson fielding a weakened team and not being fair to the "chasing pack" and giving Hull the advantage, turned out to be nothing but a pile of crap.
Kudos to Sir Alex's team who pulled off the win, despite only having Darren Fletcher as the only first-team player in the squad. It made so much sense when people were saying that the 11 youngsters on the field last night for Man Utd were probably the only guys who would bust their lungs out there because all the first 11 team players would already have half their minds on the Champions League Finals happening this coming Wednesday.
I've taken so much crap from my colleague this season about how Man Utd would win the league, and actually did....and about how they are dominating the league that they should change the league to call it the Man Utd Premier League...
As I'm writing this post, I'm actually looking at this drawing he made on my office whiteboard which says...TITLE RACE IS OVER....GO UNITED!!!
That was left on the board back in March...
They deserved the title..and in the true spirit of sportsmanship, I dare say that none of the teams in the league right now can beat them in depth and consistency.
Let's turn over now and talk about Liverpool...
Nice win to end the season...they defeated Tottenham 3-1 at Anfield and effectively kicked Tottenham out of Europe for next season...poor Robbie Keane...somehow I think he finally realised last night that he's just not good enuff...
It was nice to see the full squad on parade last night and to have Torres score as well...but I think this is the last time we'll see some of the folks out there in a Liverpool Jersey...here's what I think the team needs to do in the off-season to stand a chance next year...
1) Defence
Please..no more Italians....Andrea Dossena, Emiliano Insua...cheap but please cheap AND OFF SUBSTANTIAL QUALITY...the only contribution from Dossena worth mentioning this season was his last minute goal against Man Utd at Old Trafford but the team was already up 3-1 then and it was nothing but a very lucky punt over the keeper.
I think it's passe when we still think that "Italian Footballers make the best defenders"....they may be but the league which they play in makes a whole lot of difference...the English Premier League is no training ground for uninitiated Italian Defenders who are used to the cushy playing style of the Italian Serie A.
The core of the defence is good, if Benitez manages to convince Daniel Agger to stay but the team definitely has to strengthen in the fullback positions. Fabio Aurelio to me is a little light weight....I would fancy someone like Philip Lahm if we don't have enough $ for someone in the mould of Daniel Alves.
Benitez...read "Bacary Sagna"...
2) Midfield
Abundance of talent here for Liverpool with the exception of wingers....somehow, we've never had any luck signing good talents in this area...Jermaine Penant was a gamble which went South very quickly, Ryan Babel was good till he came to Liverpool, Alberto Riera and Yossi Benayoun were probably the only ones who did good this season...
I'm not mentioning Dirt Kuyt here because he's a striker being played out of position on the right of midfield...
There's mention that Xabi Alonso will be leaving (again) this summer although Benitez has come out to say that Alonso is very much part of his plan for the future.
In my opinion, Lucas has to go....we never win when he plays and he's way too lightweight for this team...
If we have to sell Alonso to fund purchases this summer, then I'd say let Alonso go...he can fetch quite a tidy sum and we can use the $ to get another good creative player in the middle and strenghten the wings.
There's again talk about bringing Gareth Barry to Anfield, I think he'll be a great replacement for Alonso.
What I think Benitez should really do here is to raid Middlesbrough now that the team has been relegated...
It would be great to pull Stewart Downing over to play on the right...that would be amazing...and he would cross over before you can say the phrase "Champion's League Football"...
3) Attack
We definitely need someone who can play second fiddle to Torres, can shoulder the load of scoring at least 15-20 goals consistently.
I'd like to give Dirk Kuyt the credit for a job well done this season and I don't think there's doubt that if he's willing to stay on in the team, he'll have a future here. The problem is if he feels he deserves to be the main striker and would fancy his chanced somewhere else away from Anfield.
I would say a big no to Carlos Tevez...he's totally overpriced at 20+ MM and although I believe he'll not be another Robbie Keane, he's just too much baggage for that price tag....
There's again talk of David Villa coming...that would just be sensational to have him link up with Torres....if that really happens...Man Utd..be afraid..be real afraid...
But realistically, I don't think that will happen...I don't think Liverpool can afford him unless the two American goons sell off the club to the oil rich Arabs (oh please please do)...
I seriously think a cheap and viable option will be Emile Heskey...big target man to play off Torres...good for knock downs and headers during set plays....defenders hate these strikers because they are so big and strong and they have no way of defending the knock downs unless they are equally capable of winning the aerial balls...
The other option will be to raid Middlesbrough again....Tuncay Sanli would be a great option...I think the Turk is very underrated at Boro and would be a great addition to Liverpool.
And how about the Nigerian Obafemi Martins? He's only 24 years old, pacy and powerful and will definitely need a club like Liverpool to rescue his flagging career now that Newcastle has been relegated.
I like Martins and I think he never got the service he needed to excel in Newcastle...I think he's in the mould of Samuel Eto + Emile Heskey and if he's affordable, I would take him for next season.
OK, that ends my post mortem for the season...as usual, I'm left dissapointed that we again fell short and we've won nothing this season...
But it was a good fight till the end for the League Title and you have to admit that Man Utd got some really big breaks towards the end but that's what champions have...skill, consistency and a little bit of luck every now and then...
I still harbour the hope that I will see Liverpool lift the League Trophy in my lifetime...it may come as soon as next season or maybe as long as Thane's 18th birthday....but as of today, I'm still a Liverpool fan...although I get increasing delusioned as the years go by....
Till the next season...
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