Yesterday was a day of solid football watching for me. Started with the Old Firm, **** me that was shite. I knew the SPL was poor, even compared to what it was 10 years ago, but Celtic beat Rangers without even getting out of second gear. I actually feel sorry for Celtic. If that's the best opposition they face week in week out how the hell are they supposed to raise their game for CL games? Marking a 57 year old Kenny Miller one week, and he is one of the better SPL strikers, and then trying to shackle Messi, Suarez, Neymar or Aguero the next, no chance.
Then it was on the second FAC semi. I only saw the first half but **** me that was shite. If you had obscured the colour of the shirts I would have struggled to tell it wasn't still SPL. The first half hour was less entertaining than a porno starring your own granny.
I think it got a bit better in the second half and ET, I half watched it on the Ipad but still, for two sides who have aspirations of the CL that was some dreadful football.
Arsenal win, if they fluke past Chelsea in the final, and having seen bits of both semi's the two sides in the first where head and shoulders better than those in the second so it would be a fluke, then Wenger will sign his new contract and Arsenal will get two more years of slow lingering decline. The win was a great result for Arsene, but it could well be a terrible result for Arsenal FC. Though I suspect the Spurs fans won't mind if Wenger continues to kill the club.
I then made the mistake of watching Liverpool Palace. ****ing hell. If the first two games were bad this was just depressing. Liverpool with all the possession, and tonnes of lovely slow sideways and backwards passing, add in a bucket full of shots from distance and the obligatory comedy defending and you have the perfect recipe for Pool against a bottom 6 side and a Palace win. Not sure I'd go as far as saying Palace 'deserved' the 3pts. They really didn't offer a lot. BUT they did take their chances and Pool didn't create much in the way of clear cut openings so I can't begrudge them winning. Jurgen Klopp does have some massive issues to sort out. Against the weaker sides Pool need to speed up the passing not slow it down. They also need to realise that if you don't mark the other teams CF then there's a ****ing good chance he will score. It's really not rocket science. For the record there are no worse sights in football than seeing Fat Sam smile :twisted: :evil:
Ohh and as for Liverpool's decision not to buy/loan anyone in January. Genius. Pure genius. Look at Liverpool's bench yesterday, Karius, Gomez, Grujic, Moreno, Brewster, Woodburn and Alexander-Arnold. That wasn't Liverpool 'giving the kids a chance' that was the best bench they could name! Ignoring Karius, he's a keeper (and ****ing shite), it's an indictment of the clubs recruitment policy that the "best" sub you have is the worst left back ever to play in the PL and the rest are a bunch of virgins. I've never even heard f Brewster. Sure, they may have bright futures ahead of them but this is a PL game at the business end of the season and Liverpool effectively have 11 players to pick a team from and then some kids.
Sure they have an injury crisis, apparently they have 3 more players out than Utd, but even so, no side with serious CL aspirations should be fielding a bench like that. How can you change a game when you have nothing but a few red raw teenagers to buck on?
Rant over.
Now for El Classico. ****ing hell, what a game. The rest of the day had me swearing at the TV because of the level of dross being dished up, these two sides showed exactly how a game should be played. Pure quality. Liverpool weren't in the same league as either of these two (not literally obv) hell, Liverpool weren't even playing the same ****ing sport!!
Glad to see Barca win, I despite Real as a club and they do seem to like employing some of the biggest wankers in football, Mourinho, Pepe, Ronaldo and Ramos. The latter of whom put in a shocking two footed "tackle" on Messi and was rightly red carded, yet still felt the need to say the Barca players had got him sent off by talking to the ref? Look up the tackle, it is the definition of a red card.
Ohh and apparently that was his TWENTY SECOND red card in his career!? TWENTY TWO red cards? If each one came with a 3 game ban that's 2 whole seasons he has been suspended for!?