Big Cup Fallout

Hello folks.

Firstly, an apology. 3 months without a blog is a long time, and I’m sorry for not having been more active on the blog front. I would like to think that I have the excuse of mitigating circumstances, however; the last few months have been an extremely busy time, with a final report write-up, many bits of coursework, exams (in the last couple of weeks) and some universally fruitless job/PhD searches keeping me from the blogosphere.

Anyway, on to the main thrust of the blog, which is that Big Cup (aka the Champions League, for any non-Fiver readers) final. You will be pleased to know that I won’t be delving into the issue of fan behaviour (the coverage of which has started to irritate me), but rather on the abysmal football itself (the game, in truth, was one that neither deserved to win; 0-0 would have been far more appropriate to the standard of play than 2-1.) What bothers me about the game as a Liverpool fan was not so much the fact that we lost (after all, for all Milan’s deficiencies on the night, Liverpool were alarmingly toothless up front and failed to take advantage of any of the gifts presented to them by the Milan defence; one could also argue that Inzaghi’s second goal was probably the sole moment of quality from an otherwise dreadful match) but that the game highlighted the same deficiencies we’ve had all season (and, one could argue, deficiencies we’ve had for a good few years), i.e. the lack of any top class strikers and the lack of 2 decent wingers. Kuyt (both on Wednesday night and throughout the whole season) worked hard but to little noticeable effect, while Crouch seems to have taken on the role of glorified impact substitute (he’s rarely as effective when he starts, though.) Meanwhile, Pennant was able to beat players with pace, but his crossing and passing were often errant, while Bolo (or Bozo/Bonehead, as he ought to be called) Zenden was nothing short of an embarrassment (Harry Kewell wasn’t much better, either.) Any team with an attack that was even remotely penetrative would have butchered Milan on Wednesday, and despite the crowing of the Italian press about their “extraordinary” triumph (only in Italy could that type of victory be considered glorious), Milan must surely have known they were lucky to be facing an attack like ours.

So, where to go from here? It looks like Rafa will be granted a substantial transfer treasure chest in the summer, which will be essential for the squad re-vamp which will be necessary if we’re to challenge for the League and Champions League next season. However, as Paul Doyle rightly points out on the Guardian’s sports pages, he will need to spend the big bucks better than he’s spent the “small” ones so far (of his buys last summer, only Fabio Aurelio can be considered to have been a success, and that was only really during the last couple of months before his injury.) Still, like the arguments that are put forward regarding global warming, the cost of doing nothing is greater.

Later,
A Mona Lisa-esque Prof (i.e. in a bizarre mood, emanating from a mixture of post-exam relief and post-final disgruntlement.)