Galvanising win for Liverpool

Things haven’t been going well for Liverpool in recent times and wins have been hard to come by. Going into yesterday’s game against Stoke they hadn’t won in five games and it was a case of winning by any means possible, and through Glen Johnson’s heroic goal they did.

A 1-0 win over Stoke at home would generally not be considered anything special for a Liverpool team but this was different, this game was massive for Brendan Rodgers and his side. You could sense the importance of the game amongst the crowd and amongst the players as they spent the final seven minutes of additional time inside their own half desperately defending their one goal lead.

The roar at the end of the was reminiscent of great Champions League nights at Liverpool, it was as if something big was accomplished and it was, confidence is everything in football and winning games is what creates confidence within a team, after such a bad run of form this could be a turning point for last seasons 2^nd place team.

The performance itself was admirable, the character of this Liverpool side was brought into question and if there is one thing yesterday’s performance showed it’s that these players are willing to fight for the jersey.

In the second half they had chance after chance to score but it just wasn’t happening, that didn’t stop them however, with the crowd roaring them on they kept plugging away and finally got their reward, after Rickie Lambert’s header hit the bar Glen Johnson flung his head at the ball through the boots of two defenders to knock the ball home, the celebrations of the players showed how big a goal this was, Johnson’s own celebrations were subdued as he received staples in his head after his heroics.

It was a scrappy goal, the kind of goal you would expect from a team struggling for confidence, but a match winning goal nonetheless. It could prove to be the goal that turns Liverpool’s season around.

Liverpool travel to Leicester next and after this win will be hoping to add another three points to their tally and begin climbing the table. Rodgers will also now have to make the choice whether to bring Gerrard back into the side or to keep Lucas in the starting eleven after his good showing yesterday.

Mignolet the problem

After another glaring error midweek against Ludogorets, goalkeeper Simon Mignolet is coming under increased pressure for his performances and the jury is out on whether he is of the standard required to be a Liverpool player.

As if Mignolet’s confidence was not low enough, former Liverpool great and European cup winning goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar has had his say on the 26-year-old Belgian and it wasn’t positive, with Grobbelaar comparing Dracula coming out of his coffin to Mignolet coming off his line.

The criticism is not without reason as Mignolet has been at fault for a lot of goals in his career at Liverpool, barring his heroic last minute penalty save in his first game for Liverpool against this weeks opponents, Stoke, there hasn’t been many good moments.

Mignolet has kept a total of two clean sheets in twelve games in the Premier League this season, compare that to Southampton’s Fraser Forster who has seven, a certain amount of blame can be attributed to his defence but he must improve his own game if he wants to prolong his Liverpool career.

Mignolet’s presence from crosses and corners is abysmal, the lack of control and order he has amongst his defenders is worrying, under Pepe Reina there was a sense he commanded the box and his defenders were confident he could claim crosses and if a shot was taken he could hold onto it.

Its no shock Mignolet is coming under such scrutiny, he was criticised at times last season but as the team were winning not much was made of it but now that Liverpool are struggling fingers are beginning to be pointed and he is  the obvious target, his stats last season were equally as unimpressive as they are this.

Simon Mignolet racked up a total of eight clean sheets last season, half of what golden glove winners Petr Cech and Wojciech Scezesny recorded, even more disappointing considering Liverpool came 2nd in the league. The Belgian and his defence were undoubtedly the reason why Brendan Rodgers’ side didn’t win the Premier League title.

In Reina’s final season as Liverpool goalkeeper he managed fourteen clean sheets, a far more impressive figure than Mignolet, begging the question whether it was ever a good option to bring Mignolet in to replace the Spaniard who Steven Gerrard once touted as a future Liverpool captain.

This weekend sees the visit of Stoke City to Anfield and Brendan Rodgers will have a big dilemma; whether to start Mignolet or bring in Brad Jones for the game. Should Mignolet get the nod he will really need a clean sheet to rejuvenate his confidence.

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Jack Wilshere’s injury hampered career

Jack Wilshere was at one stage in his  career considered to be the top young English player there was, a future England captain and star, Arsene Wenger and Arsenal had similar hopes for the talented midfielder but they had little idea of how injury prone his career was going to be.

Wilshere has been ruled out for three months with an ankle injury suffered in the defeat to Manchester United last Saturday evening, another ankle injury to add to the long list of injuries that have seen him only play 95 games in the past five years.

Ankle injuries alone have seen Wilshere injured for a total of 112 weeks, a staggering amount of time for a player who is still only twenty-two and has many years of his career ahead of him.

For such a young man the constant process of being injured is sure to have a negative effect on him, he has looked in recent times a player who was lacking confidence and as that confidence was beginning to come back this injury has hit and set him back once again.

The dilemma for Arsene Wenger and Roy Hodgson for England is that Wilshere thrives in an attacking role in the midfield but is also open to harder tackles in that advanced position of the pitch whereas he is a perfectly capable deep lying midfielder, a position where he is less open to tough tackles but not as effective as when he plays in his attacking role.

It may be a case in the future of having no choice but to play him in a less effective position in order to keep his career going because regardless of where he plays he is still an extremely talented player, one of few technically brilliant players produced in England.

It really is a shame for such a great young talent to have his career so badly affected by injury after injury. From being a man that some pundits thought could someday play for the likes of Barcelona with his agile passing style he is now looking like never really fulfilling the potential he had promised as a youngster.

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Chelsea announce themselves as CL contenders

 After an emphatic 5-0 win away to German side Schalke, Chelsea have put themselves right amongst the favourites for this years Champions League, and rightly so.

The win sees Mourinho’s side win Group G and guarantee their place in the last 16 as expected, impressively, no player scored twice in the win and top-scorer Diego Costa did not get in on the scoring act showing the quality and goal-scoring ability of the whole squad.

Of course there is no point in getting carried away, Schalke are no great shakes, they currently lie 7^th in the Bundesliga but to go to Germany under any circumstances and come away with a 5-0 win is no mean feat.

The win has now propelled Chelsea into serious contenders for the Champions League in the eyes of many. They are unbeaten both domestically and in Europe and with a manager of the calibre of Jose Mourinho it would be foolish to write them off.

From back to front they look like a solid outfit, the goals of Diego Costa and assists added by the capture of Cesc Fabregas have turned last season’s good team into an excellent side.

Mourinho has never won the Champions League as manager of Chelsea and he may see this year as one of the best opportunities he will have of ever doing this looking at the squad he has at his disposal.

Chelsea are most definitely the favourite of all the English sides to claim European glory this season but whether they are capable of toppling the main powers from across Europe is yet to be seen. Real Madrid are currently outright favourites to retain their title and with Cristiano Ronaldo bang in form it is hard to see any side stopping them.

After last years disappointment Pep Guardiola and his Bayern Munich side are looking to make amends and look to be Madrid’ biggest rivals although Manchester City showed yesterday that they are by no means unbeatable.

The only other team that Chelsea will see as a big threat will be the usual force that is Barcelona, Luis Enrique’s side are beginning to settle down under his leadership and nobody can write off a team with the Champions League’s all time top goal-scorer, Lionel Messi, in it.

This seasons Champions League is as exciting as ever with each of the aforementioned teams capable of beating each other on any given day and Jose Mourinho will be hoping that if Chelsea keep their remarkable form up that this could be their year.

Will Arsenal finally miss out on a Top4 place?

17 years in a row. Arsenal have managed, some times by the skin of their teeth, to qualify for the Champions League 17 years in a row, but is that record about to come to a halt this season?

Saturday evening saw Arsenal succumb to one of their most damaging defeats in the Premier League for quite a while, a 2-1 home defeat to a poor United squad could be a season defining loss in terms of what it does to the confidence of the side.

Arsenal now find themselves in 8^th place with 17 points from twelve games, a very poor total for a top4 challenging side but luckily for them 4^th place United are only 2 points ahead of them, emphasising the poor quality of teams chasing 4^th spot this season.

Of course two points is nothing to be worried about but the manner in which Arsenal have been playing recently is a major worry, the team is crying out for a leader, front-man Alexis Sanchez has led by example this season but is not the driving force or leader on the pitch that Arsenal so badly need.

Jack Wilshere has been touted as that man since bursting onto the scene but his injury prone nature has seen him miss far too many games in the past few seasons to fulfil his aspirations of becoming the leader and star of this Arsenal side.

Saturdays defeat showed, not only that Arsenal struggle majorly defensively, but also that confidence amongst the squad is low, when they went a goal down they looked no threat to Manchester United, their heads seemed to drop, they flooded men into the box but never overly worried the United defenders, a serious worry considering Van Gaal’s defence consisted of Blackett, McNair and Smalling.

It has almost been a given in the last few years that Arsenal, no matter how they perform will sneak their way into that final Champions League place, but this year more than ever there are big worries in North London.

Manchester United are, at this moment in time, not a very good side, so for them to come to the Emirates and win with relative comfort says a lot about Arsene Wenger’s team. With morale undoubtedly very low after that defeat you have to question where is the leader in that team that can rally the troops?

Other than Alexis Sanchez, not one Arsenal player has performed consistently at a high standard. After all he has done for the club, Arsene Wenger is almost immune from being sacked but he must begin to turn things around quickly before they fall too far off the pace.

Challenging for the title is already far from their reach and unless Wenger can get his side winning again soon, the top4 places could quickly begin to look out of reach as well.

Ireland set tone for World Cup

The Autumn Internationals may mean nothing on paper but in reality they can mean everything to a team, and Ireland have shown that over the course of these three games.

Todays win over Australia saw Ireland round off the Autumn series with three wins out of three and most importantly two victories over Southern hemisphere sides, proving that Ireland can compete with the best in the business.

Coming into the first game against South Africa, little was expected of the Irish squad, South Africa had been strong in the Rugby Championship and Ireland were missing some key players including Gordon Darcy, Cian Healy and Sean O’Brien but nevertheless they came out on top after a bone crunching game where Ireland’s forwards showed they are capable of facing up to any pack in world rugby.

The likes of Devin Toner really stepped up in that game and a score-line of 29-15 was much deserved for a brilliant Ireland side on the day even trying out a new and potentially fruitful centre partnership between Rob Henshaw and Jared Payne. Was the result not satisfactory enough for the Irish, South African bounced back the following week to beat the self proclaimed top Northern Hemisphere side England 31-28.

Following on from the South Africa game, Ireland welcomed Georgia to the Aviva Stadium in a game where the fringe players were given a chance and they did not disappoint.  Ireland came out with an expected win by 49 points to 7. Regardless of the opponents there were some particularly impressive performances for Joe Schmidt, Leinster man Ian Madigan was superb from his goal kicking to in field kicks it was hard to find flaws in his game. Lock, Dave Foley was another notable performer being credited with the Man of the Match award and putting him in the frame for a more central role in Joe Schmidt’s plans.

The Autumn Series up to the Australia game was filled with positives and todays win against Australia will do nothing but increase the optimism amongst the Irish camp and supporters as we edge ever closer to the World Cup. In what was one of the most thrilling games of International rugby in recent times Ireland came away with a 26-23 win.

The game was thrilling from start to finish, after opening up a 17 point lead in the first seventeen minutes Ireland found themselves level fifteen minutes later after a remarkable and somewhat controversial comeback from the Wallabies. Having shown there defensive qualities against the Boks, it was the backs turn to show their quality and they didn’t disappoint, a Simon Zebo try thanks to a brilliant diagonal kick from Jonny Sexton and a fantastic individual try from Tommy Bowe, intercepting the ball in his own twenty two and racing all the way to the line, showed Ireland’s qualities from open play.

One worry for Joe Schmidt and his coaches will be the amount of missed tackles for two of Australia’s tries. After such a high scoring first half Ireland looked to shut up shop in the second half and so they did with a heroic Paul O’Connell performance inspiring them over the line.

Jonny Sexton continues to become more assured in his goal-kicking and his reading of the game, his kick over the top for Zebo’s try was particularly impressive. Unfortunately for Jared Payne injury dealt his chances of cementing a place in Irelands centre a blow but his potential partner Rob Henshaw looked the perfect man to take up the massive hole left in the centre following Brian O’Driscoll's retirement.

After replacing Australia at third place in the world rankings, Ireland have certainly lived up to the hype and are now looking more than ready to defend their Six Nations title. Joe Schmidt has instilled a ruthless mentality amongst the players and getting two wins over Southern Hemisphere sides could not have come at a better time with the World Cup only around the corner. Should Ireland keep this form up in the New Year they will have to be considered major contenders for the World Cup.

3 things to watch this Premier League weekend

Can Arsenal overcome United?

The game of the week-end sees Manchester United visit the Emirates in the Saturday evening kick-off. The game comes with only one point separating the sides in the table as they both struggle to find consistent form in the league.

Wenger’s side will be expecting to win this game if they are to have any aspirations of challenging for the title that Chelsea seem to have a firm grasp on at this moment in time. Van Gaal and United will similarly see this as a game which they need to gain something but will more than likely see it as a game they cant lose rather than one they must win.

United’s injury problems at the back continue with Rojo, Jones and Evans all ruled out, Shaw and Rafael are both doubtful. A serious knee injury for Daley Blind on International duty could not have come at a worse time for Van Gaal’s side.

Arsenal will be expected to take the game to United and Sanchez and Welbeck will thrive on playing against what is likely to be a second string United back four. In what promises to be an exciting game, one would expect Arsenal to come out on top but based on their recent form Wenger’s side may crumble and open the door for Di Maria and Rooney to dictate the game and possibly sneak all three points.

Will Liverpool’s descent continue?

After receiving the blow that Daniel Sturridge, the man they hoped could turn things around, will be out until the New Year it will be interesting to see how Liverpool respond when they visit Selhurst Park, the game that ultimately ended their challenge last year in an epic 3-3 draw.

After losing two games in a row Rodgers will see this as the perfect game to turn things around but Neil Warnock and his Crystal Palace side will have other ideas and will see a Liverpool side struggling to find form  the perfect opportunity to kick start their season.

Balotelli, if fit, will more than likely lead the line and with Sturridge missing for the foreseeable future he is going to have to start performing. Another loss for Liverpool could be on the cards and it could put Rodgers under serious pressure and fans may begin to turn on the man who almost brought Liverpool their first Premier League title.

Can Southampton keep it going?

Every week-end the same question is asked: Can Southampton keep this extraordinary run of form going? and thus far they have answered that question with a yes week after week. On Monday they travel to Villa Park to face maybe the most unpredictable side in the Premier League, Aston Villa.

Should Southampton conquer this next challenge they will have to be considered a serious threat togain a top 4 place but challenging for the title is surely too much to ask of the over-achieving side. Tadic and Pelle will be hoping to continue their individual form while Long will be looking to build on his two goals last time out.

Ronald Koeman has to this date taken the Premier League in his stride and if they continue to play as they have the sky is the limit for this Saints side.

Moyes’ new venture

David Moyes is back and this time he is in Spain. It’s been big news in the past week since he was appointed but how much do people really know about the task he has inherited. He said himself that taking the Real Sociedad job is the biggest challenge of his career, that’s a big statement considering he was the man who took over the reigns when Alex Ferguson left United.

For the many people that thought seen as Real Sociedad were in the Champions League last year (they even came up against Moyes’ United) that they would be a strong side in La Liga, you were misinformed.

Sociedad currently sit in 15^th place with a total of 9 points from 11 games, not European chasing stats by any means, a big drop from last season in which they couldn’t regain their Champions League spot but finished 7th and qualified for this seasons Europa League.

In terms of the team he is inheriting its not all bad, despite their poor league position, in their last league game they managed to defeat Atletico Madrid by two goals to one while manager-less.

Key players include Carlos Vela, who most will remember from his time at Arsenal and his exerts for Mexico, centre back Inigo Martinez, midfielders, Xabi Prieto and Estaban Granero, formally of QPR and Real Madrid. Gonzalo Castro, Sergio Canales and Imanol Agirretxe also add quality to the struggling side.

As you can see from this list Sociedad are not lacking in quality and David Moyes’ main challenge will be to get the players playing as a team and he will hope the performances and victories will begin to roll in.

There is no doubt the departure of main man Antoine Griezmann to Atletico Madrid during the summer had a big effect on the side as the talismanic young Frenchman had chipped in with a total of 16 league goals last season on par with teammate Carlos Vela who has not hit the heights of last season without Griezmann.

Moyes begins his management against Deportivo this weekend and will be hoping to get off to a good start. Although Real Sociedad are currently 15^th they are 15 points behind 4^th placed Atletico Madrid after eleven games so there is still plenty of time to turn things around.

Many would see this job as similar to Moyes’ job at Everton. Sociedad are no table toppers but will expect European football on a regular basis and unlike at United, Moyes will be dealing with a lesser calibre of player which may suit him more. All eyes will be on Moyes for the first few months and he will be hoping this time around he lasts longer than a season at a new job.

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German World Cup hangover

Since being crowned World Champions in Brazil, Germany have seen a massive dip in form seeing them lying only second in Euro 2016 qualifying group D, behind a confident Polish side.

The retirements of key figures Philip Lahm, Klose and Mertesacker are a loss but with the strength the Germans posses they would have expected to top their current group with relative ease but so far that is not going to plan.

In a matter of months the Germans have gone from ripping Brazil apart in the World Cup semi-final to losing 2-0 to Poland and only drawing at home to the Republic of Ireland.

Considering Germany defeated the Republic of Ireland 6-1 in Ireland’s Aviva stadium in the World Cup qualifying campaign and can now only draw with them at home must be a worry for the Germans.

In their last fixture Germany only managed to score 4 goals, one was an own-goal, at home to group whipping boys Gibraltar, while Ireland and Poland both scored 7 when faced with the newly established team.

After the Gibraltar game the Germans even received some jeers from their supporters acknowledging the poor performances from their side as of late.

'I think there were a lot of award ceremonies and celebrations….Now we need to get all of this out of our heads at the end of this World Cup year, draw a line and prepare properly for our next tournament.' Joachim Low said after the Gibraltar game.

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Quotes courtesy of;

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2835670/Joachim-Low-tells-Germans-minds-World-Cup-dip-form.html#ixzz3JG2G1cTp

Scotland defeat only minor setback for ROI

With high hopes travelling to Celtic Park last night, Martin O’Neill and his Republic of Ireland side left empty handed thanks to an excellent Shaun Maloney strike in the 74^th minute. In a game of few chances Scotland deserved their win and the Republic of Ireland will be slightly disappointed looking back on the game.

The result however, as disappointing as it was for the players and fans alike, was no disaster in terms of qualifying for the Euro’s in France in just under two years time.

Before the campaign began O’Neill and his side would probably have been happy with a draw when visiting Scotland and would undoubtedly have predicted losing when paying a visit to World champions Germany. In reality by getting a draw at Germany the Scottish defeat does not affect the campaign too much.

Ireland currently sit in fourth place with 7 points out of 12, 3 behind leaders Poland and level with both Germany and Scotland. Prior to the campaign O’Neill and his backroom staff would have been more than happy to take this tally and would be confident of still qualifying especially given the fixtures that remain.

Other than a tough away trip to Poland in the final game of the group, the Republic’s fixtures are favourable and give them a very realistic chance of making it to France. Scotland, Germany, Poland and Georgia all must visit the Aviva, while a trip to Gibraltar should be a straight forward task for the Irish.

Should Ireland live up to their expectations they will be hopeful of beating both Scotland and Poland at home and if they can snatch a draw in Poland and another draw versus the Germans they should be well on there way to qualifying.

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Selection Dilemma: Long or Keane

With many dilemmas before the big kick off, there will be no bigger headache for Martin O’Neill than whether to give the starting striker role to Shane Long or Robbie Keane.

Ireland will need goals in the side tonight and when looking for goals you need look no further than record goal-scorer Robbie Keane who possesses the impressive tally of 65 goals in 135 appearances.

Despite recently overcoming a hamstring injury, Keane says he is fit and ready to go. After his Gibraltar hat-trick the LA Galaxy man will be hoping to keep up the impressive form and Martin O’Neill will find it hard to leave him out.

The other up-front option is Shane Long, who may have got off to a poor start at Southampton but scored two goals at the weekend to give Southampton all 3 points and is sure to be full of confidence, he may not have an as impressive record as Robbie Keane but is still a threat to opposition defences.

In terms of what they offer the team, O’Neill sets up the team to be hard working and despite his great goal-scoring record, at the age of thirty-four Keane does not offer as much in terms of work rate from the front. Shane Long on the other hand is full of energy and his speed could be a massive nuisance for the Scottish defence.

It seems likely Keane will be the one who is giving the starting role although you can expect Shane Long will feature especially if Ireland are in need of a goal late on.

Arsenal continue to flounder

Arsenal fans expect their team to be challenging for Premier League titles every season but unfortunately for them challenging for the title is all Arsene Wenger’s side have been able to achieve since their last Premier League win in 03/04.

As with last season, a big signing at the start of the season sparked hope that this could be the year for the Gunners, even more belief was gained following last seasons FA cup win with expectations it would instil a winning mentality in the young Arsenal side.

Last year major hope was gained from the signing of Mesut Ozil, who despite starting his Arsenal career well, has turned into one of Arsenal’s biggest ever flops. This season however, Alexis Sanchez has proven a very shrewd signing for only £30 million.

Despite Sanchez’s terrific form, Arsenal find themselves with 17 points in eleven games, 12 points off the leaders Chelsea and in 6^th place, a very disappointing start for a team with aspirations of winning the title.

They are fast becoming a one-man team, with eight goals and two assists in the league Sanchez has been electric, was it not for his goals Arsenal would find themselves in nineteenth place. The task is to get more players on his wavelength.

The fallings in this team are no mystery and Arsene Wenger’s lack of ability to bring in the right players to turn his Arsenal side from title challengers to title winners is worrying, the signing of Danny Welbeck looks good but Arsenal still need another top class striker that can be the difference in tight games, a Diego Costa type player for example.

The situation at the back is also in need of addressing, with Thomas Vermaelen leaving in the summer you felt a top replacement was needed, instead Wenger went and spent big on young England man Callum Chambers who is a talent but maybe not the finished article just yet.

Laurent Koscienly has been arguably one of the best centre-half’s in the Premier League in the past few seasons but without a quality partner he can only do so much, the second-half collapse at home to Anderlecht was a perfect example of the defensive side of the team letting them down.

As has been the case for far too long now, Arsenal need a dominant midfield player, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey do not have the physical presence required to be a Vieira type player that Arsenal need while Arteta and Flamini are not up to the standard. If Sami Khedira was to arrive at the Emirates it could have a majorly beneficial impact on the side’s title credentials.

Arsenal’s players have often been accused, and maybe rightly so, of not having the winning mentality required to be champions, but after so long without a Premier League title it begs the question has Arsene Wenger lost this mentality. In Arsenal’s glory days Wenger went toe to toe with Alex Ferguson and often won but these days when faced with the prospect of facing Mourinho he can never seem to get a result.

Arsenal’s season is by no means over, one would still expect them to gain a top-4 place but they are miles off the quality of league leaders and probable champions Chelsea. Unless Wenger can address the weaknesses in the team they could be looking at year upon year of just getting a top-4 spot with no potential for major honours.

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Faith in Rodgers waning

Was it not for the infamous Gerrard slip, Brendan Rodgers would more than likely be the man who brought the first Premier League title to Anfield and reached legendary status amongst the fans, six months later faith in the young manager appears to be waning.

Todays defeat to Chelsea sees Liverpool sit in eight with 14 points from eleven games, 15 points off league leaders Chelsea, a considerable drop back from last season and raising the subject if Liverpool were a one man team last season and can’t compete without Suarez.

Liverpool’s season both domestically and in Europe has been dismal, not only have results been poor but the manner of the defeats has been very worrying and even when winning Liverpool have, in most parts, been lucky bar the away victory at White Hart Lane.

Chelsea outclassed Rodgers’ team in every aspect of the game, Liverpool never looked threatening on the attack while their defending, as we have come to expect, was appalling especially from set pieces.

The Chelsea defeat is all the more disappointing given the fact Rodgers rested big player’s midweek against Real Madrid looking ahead to the Chelsea game. The decision to rest players against Real was also greeted with mixed views from fans who believe Rodgers should have fielded his best team for such a big game.

Some would feel that after waiting so long to get back into Europe’s elite competition, why would Rodgers rest all his main players? Surely after the lengthy absence from games at the likes of the Bernabeu the Liverpool fans deserve better than seeing a reserve team face the reigning Champions League winners.

Since joining Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers has also had a very mixed transfer record, other than Daniel Sturridge and maybe Couthino, none of his signings have proven successful. This summer Balotelli, Lambert, Lallana, Markovic and Lovren were some of the players who arrived and none have repaid there hefty fees thus far, Lovren and Balotelli have been particularly disappointing.

Rodgers appears to have gone down the Spurs route by replacing the best player in the team with numerous unproven players that they hope will step up to the mark, as everyone saw with Spurs last season that method does not work and Rodgers and Liverpool are learning that the hard way.

The use of subs and team selections this season have been a major talking point amongst pundits and fans alike with Liverpool, Rodgers has stuck with one striker up-front despite the fact it is not working and continues to pick a misfiring Balotelli over both Borini and Lambert. Today and in games before fans have been critical of Rodgers for not using Adam Lallana, surely if you spend £20 million on a player he should be given a chance in the big games especially when you need goals.

It is clear that Suarez and Sturridge’s partnership was the main reason for Liverpool’s title charge and with Suarez departed and Sturridge struggling with injuries maybe Rodgers is being shown up for the tactically naïve manager he is.

We may only be eleven games into the season but everyone will be quick to forget about last seasons achievements and even quicker to turn on Rodgers should this form continue. He may only have signed a new contract in the summer but Rodgers could find himself out of a job unless he can turn things around, and quickly.

Real Madrid v Liverpool: Preview

Liverpool visit the Santiago Bernabeu tonight for their group B clash with reigning champions Real Madrid. The two teams come into the game with completely different runs of form, Real Madrid come into the game on the back of a 4-0 win at Granada and with a 3-1 victory in El Classico and a 3-0 win at Anfield both fresh in the memory, they will no doubt start this match full of confidence.

Liverpool on the other hand have not been as impressive, despite a 2-1 win a week ago against Swansea, Liverpool fell to their fourth defeat of the Premier League season against Newcastle in another dismal performance from Brendan Rodgers’ side.

As if the task was not already hard enough for Liverpool, Cristiano Ronaldo is in the form of his life and Gareth Bale, no stranger to Liverpool of course, is back fit and available for selection.

Luckily for Liverpool tonight’s game will have no real baring on their qualification chances as a win in their final two games will see them progress regardless of tonight’s result.

Having beaten Liverpool 3-0 in Anfield, Madrid will be hoping to have similar joy at home and based on the team sheets they will fully expect to come away with a victory and secure their place in the knockout stages.

With Liverpool’s defence struggling, it is unlikely coming up against Ronaldo, Isco, Benzema and Rodriguez will be any different and you can expect the Liverpool back line to be under serious pressure for the full ninety and with the ever unreliable Kolo Toure starting it could be a tough night for Liverpool.

Lallana and Markovic will need big performances if Liverpool are to have any chance of getting even a draw in this one. Rodgers’ decision to leave Gerrard, Balotelli, Sterling and Henderson on the bench is understandable with Chelsea coming to visit at the weekend but should they get hammered tonight questions will be asked whether it was the right decision.

Looking at the Liverpool starting XI, Real Madrid will smell blood and Cristiano Ronaldo will see this as a great opportunity to add to his already impressive tally. I can see Liverpool putting up some sort of fight but inevitably this Real Madrid side will prove too strong for an under-strength Liverpool side.

Prediction: Real Madrid 4-1 Liverpool

Starting Line-ups;

Real Madrid: Casillas; Arbeloa, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Kroos; Rodriquez, Isco, Ronaldo; Benzema

Liverpool: Mignolet; Manquillo, Toure, Skrtel, Moreno; Lucas, Can, Allen, Lallana; Markovic, Borini  

Inconsistent Villa

Four games into the season Paul Lambert and his side saw themselves on 10 points on the back of a superb 2-1 victory at Anfield, six games later Aston Villa lie two places above the relegation zone still on 10 points having lost six games on the bounce scoring only one goal in those six games.

To be fair to Lambert’s side the last six games have included trips to Stamford Bridge and Goodison Park, while champions Manchester City and Arsenal have both paid visits to Villa Park and come away with wins.

Looking past these games Villa would have expected to go to struggling QPR and gain at very least a draw, instead they succumbed to a very poor 2-0 defeat, yesterdays performance against Spurs was of stark contrast however, Benteke and Weimann looked lively and was it not for a moment of petulance from main man Benteke, Villa would probably have been celebrating a victory instead they are looking at six straight defeats.

The most frustrating thing for Paul Lambert and his assistant Roy Keane must be the teams ability to play so well for long periods of a game and lose or playing so well at places like Anfield and then going to less intimidating grounds such as Loftus Road and completely flopping.

As with previous seasons the excuse will once again be the inexperience and naivety of the squad but surely at this stage that is no longer valid, is it? Andi Weimann, Matthew Lowton, Nathan Baker and Ashley Westwood have been touted as the up and coming batch within Villa for a while and surely it is coming of age time for these few. All of these have become regulars in the first team but their inconsistency is a major problem.

Paul Lambert certainly has a job on his hands trying to get these players to perform on a regular basis but should he get them to perform as they did in the first four games of the season every game they will comfortably steer clear of the relegation zone and will be competing for a top-half finish.

photo credit: ell brown via photopin cc

Top 4 standard slipping

Year after year the Premier League is full of moments of brilliance, great competition and questions of who will come where?, probably the most fascinating battle is the race for the top 4 places and Champions League qualification. Usually when discussing the top 4 race we look at the quality on show and wonder which one of these sides will end up missing out on Champions League qualification, this year however it seems that any side that can find any form will ease into a coveted top 4 place.

With almost all the top teams underperforming thus far, Chelsea the form side of the Premier League already look destined for the title in Mourinho’s second year back in England, they look the most complete team and with clinical frontman Diego Costa hitting the ground running in England they seem to have found a winning formula. Already 6 points clear of main rivals Manchester City and the only side unbeaten in the Premier League they look to be the only top side getting it right this season.

It is expected that Chelsea and Man City will secure Champions League spots relatively comfortably while Arsenal will be hoping to continue their recent good run fuelled by some great Alexis Sanchez performances and you would expect them to secure third place and maybe cling on to the league leaders for as long as they can. The real battle, as with most seasons, is going to be for that fourth and final place.

Manchester United and Liverpool were the bookies favourites to battle for that place but as of yet neither have found any form and are leaving the door wide open for any team to gain some ground in the race. Spurs and Everton who also expect to be challenging for that Champions League spot have been terrible this season, for any good team it looks like the perfect opportunity to break into the top 4 this season but as of yet none of the usual suspects are rising to the test.

In comparison to last season, bar Chelsea who are 6 points better off, the four teams who gained top 4 places have either started poorly again or gone backwards, Man City have once again started poorly but find themselves one point better off this season than last on 20 points, not what they would have liked but no major disaster, Liverpool have been the most disappointing, Rodgers’ side have regressed from 20 points this stage last season to a measly 14 points in the post Suarez era, showing no sign of improvement. Arsenal have also dropped back this season, having been top last season with 25 points, this season has not been as impressive as they are 8 points worse off on 17 although recent performances suggest an upturn in form.

Both Everton and Spurs have also seen massive differences this season compared to last as all Champions League hopefuls search for the kind of form that can begin to launch them up the table. This years surprise package has been Southampton, despite a squad upheaval losing important players such as Lallana, Lovren and Lambert they have bought well and new men Tadic and Pelle see them flying high in 2^nd place on 22 points only 4 behind leaders Chelsea.

This Southampton form is no fluke they have been nothing short of marvellous thus far with manager Ronald Koeman making management in the Premier League look easy. Newcastle back in the 11/12 season and Everton last season have been surprise candidates for top 4 places that ultimately failed in their attempts but in a year with so many underperforming top teams it could be a chance for someone like Southampton to break into the lucrative Champions League places.

The season is only ten games old but as of yet none of the Champions League hopefuls have hit the ground running and should Southampton continue this great start they will have every chance of getting a Champions League spot.