Meh

Well, I didn't expect that. After a loss against Spurs in the league - a game dominated by the guys in Red for 70 minutes - we get a 4-2 hyding at White Hart Lane. Shades of our Carling Cup/FA Cup embarrassment two seasons ago courtesy of l'Arse (Julio Baptista - four goals, including a missed PK - are you fucking kidding me?), only this time it was to the Gunners' annoying little brother.

I know, I know - it's the Careless Cup, the Mickeyest of Mouses Trophy, a tournament about half as meaningful as the Club World Cup. The Intertoto is more glamorous. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping for some late-game heroics or screaming for a 75th minute penalty that our good friend Mike Riley blatantly missed. A few points:

- El-Zhar is the best thing to come out of Morocco since, um, the tangerine. Ok, he's French, but of Moroccan descent. Brie w/ tangerine? Nice.

He's a beast in the making - a tricky dribbler with a really good shot and seemingly very two-footed. Should, knock on wood, Stevie MBE get injured, I think he's the most like-for-like in that CAM role we play in the 4-2-3-1. High praise, I realize, but I really rate this kid.

- Torres: 55 minutes, not injured. I'll take that over a win in this tournament any day.

- Dossena: merely communication issues with Cav or is he just plain horrible? Too early to tell but one thing's for sure - Aurelio has a firm grip on that LB position. Let's just hope we get some stability at that position and pray that Pepe doesn't get hurt. Cavalieri was rusty and just plain terrible for one 15 minute stretch.

- Hyypia is inconsistent, to be expected at his age, but he looked slow and overconfident and contributed to a very poor performance from our backline. I love the guy but he can't get any meaningful action if he's going to have the occasional game like he had yesterday.

- N'Gog looks like a very good striker in the making. He holds the ball up well and has a very nice touch. We didn't see many shots from him yesterday, but he scored a couple screamers in the pre-season so he's got that in his repertoire. If he didn't play while Torres was injured, I can't imagine we see him in the first-team much the rest of the year, but he's one to keep an eye on.

So while I'd like to chalk this up as our C Team v. Spurs' A team, I'm frustrated by the fact that this was a team comprised mostly of fringe players, not reserves players. And Spurs played a watered-down lineup as well. I'm not going to get too down for this loss, because at some point the Careless adds to fixture congestion, but I'm disappointed by our second team, who should have done better. Our midfield got bossed around, we only got meaningful possession in the second half, and we give up a goal immediately following our first (nice to see some goals from corners, finally).

And not to take anything away from Spurs, who've now won five of six, with only one draw, but this is Spurs' Champions League, their only realistic chance at winning any silverware, so let's let them have their fun.

League action this weekend against Bolton and that remains our real focus this season. Kuyt, Keane, Stevie G, Riera, and Carra all got some much-deserved rest yesterday, so we should be fresh. Bolton are a tough team to break down, and very physical, but the full three is a must.

And so on and so forth.

More Ownership Fodder; Spurs in the Careless

Always a good day when I can see the hills on my way to work. Maybe that bodes well for today's match...

So I'm hearing rumors that the impending credit crunch - what, you didn't hear? we're entering the neo-Depression - our beloved owners will be forced to sell Liverpool Football Club, making substantially less profit than they had hoped.

A couple of points:
The bank has sufficient reason to be anxious about the loan - businessmen like Gillett and Hicks have lost substantial money in the past few months, they're clearly unable to maintain a functioning business relationship (despite reports to the contrary), the operating revenue is not on par with the other big clubs, due to a significantly smaller stadium less effective marketing of the LFC brand, and it seems that Gillett was always going to be trying to keep his head above water in this deal, so lacking the financial clout that he was forced into the co-ownership with Hicks.

The thing is, I'm not sure if the bank would call the loan in at this point. Aren't banks in this thing to make money? They're generating interest off the loan, and the value of the club (um, Fernando Torres, Gerrard, Babel, etc?), the stadium, brand name, and the operating revenue far exceed the value of the loan.

Still, it begs the question of whether the Sheikh will come in, our Arab in shining armor, and take over the club. I'm still not sure what that would mean for the club - I certainly wouldn't want him to turn us into a cartoon like Abu Dhabi has done at Citeh (Champions League - Are You Having a Laugh?!? F.C.), and to be honest, Gillicks' last 8 or so months has been very good. They're not blabbing off to the media, they're backing Rafa, with a reported long-term contract extension on the way, and they have, at least in terms of public perception, kissed and made up. We made some nice purchases this summer, even if it meant selling a few players (who in all honesty needed to go anyway - we've got too youngsters to blood), and we're atop the table.

If the banks do come calling, Gillicks will have no problem finding a buyer. We're not Newcastle. We won't be Leeds. The club is just fine - the only risk is bore by Gillicks: they may have to sell the club at a cut-rate price because the Sheikh will have them by the short & curlies. But fuck 'em, they were in this solely as a financial investment and that was the risk they took.

On to Spurs today, however. Let's fuck 'em up with our B team and remind them that they're bottom of the table for a reason. Lucas and Hyypia to score in a 2-0 win, though I'm guessing it will be difficult to keep the sheet clean, especially if Degen gets a run-out.

Come on you Reds.

Spurs-Reds: Carling Cup 11/12/08

Goddamn I love L.A in the Fall. Makes me never want to leave.

Midweek action tomorrow and that means only one thing: what excuse shall I use for taking a long lunch?

Time to unleash some fury. We saw glimpses of it in the 3-0 thrashing of West Brom last weekend but it didn't quite wash out the bitterness from our first defeat of the season, that frustrating 2-1 loss at White Hart Lane in the 90th minute, a game we certainly deserved a point out of, if not the full three.

We look tired. Yes, top of the table, but Albert Riera hasn't gotten a rest since his flight in from Barcelona. Dirk Kuyt runs in his sleep but even he needs a break at some point. Carra's played every meaningful minute this year and needs a rest (Exhibit A: his performance against Spurs).

We've got more young talent than the Shutterbugs client list - why not blood guys like Damien Plessis, Emiliano Insua, and Nabil El-Zhar against Spurs? They're hungry and immensely talented, and while they might be fringe players at the moment, several have played crucial minutes for the first-team and could challenge for some decent minutes over the course of the rest of the season.

El-Zhar is the player that excites me the most. He scored that 25-yard screamer last year in this very competition and has made instant impact as a late-game sub, creating Riera's 80-minute equalizer against Wigan and sparking our eventual comeback.

Insua is another player we need to see more of. Aurelio is as fragile as an Arsene Wenger signing and though Dossena's been okay, he clearly needs time to adapt to the English game. We need to get Insua on the field to see what he's got in case he's forced into action later in the year. The Argentine U-20 is clearly talented (he looked great in the Olympics), and has featured in some ten first-team games for us, but he's still unproven.

And what better team to bring out the pups?

Spurs are in good form - hey, some day soon they might get off the bottom of the table. They're buyin' what 'Arry's sellin' and gave Dinamo Zagreb a thorough beating mid-week last week in the NIT. Good for them - we will need them to help pick off points from our title rivals and what would the NIT, er, UEFA Cup, be without Tottenham? I shudder at the thought.

I anticipate, as holders of the Careless Cup, they will want to retain it, and Redknapp will play mostly a first-XI so as to not throw off their form and sharpness. Certainly Bent will be on the field from the get-go, given his goal-scoring record of late.

It would be fun to field mostly reserves and demoralize them with a two-goal lead. I think Rafa will agree, to an extent, and with far more important fixtures looming, Gerrard, Carragher, Reina, Kuyt, Riera, Keane, Mascherano, and Xabi should all get full rest. Put El Nino out there with Yossi, Babel, Agger, and the kids and tell the young players that this is their shot - keep winning in the Careless and you'll continue to get minutes. We've got the depth to do it and I really would love nothing more than an insult-to-injury win over those pesky North Londoners:

-------------------Cavalieri--------------------
Degen--------Agger---Sami--------Insua
-----------------------Plessis-------------------
El-Zhar-------------Lucas-----------Babel
---------------Yossi---------------------------
------------------------------Torres-------------