It's been a while since the last time I posted here. It's already March and we are about 75% through with the current EPL season. Leading the title race is still Manchester United, with Arsenal very close behind. Behind them, there are three teams who are battling for the remaining two Champions League spots. Liverpool is someway behind in 6th place, although unlikely, it is still possible for Liverpool to jump into 4th place by the end of the season. For that to happen, two of the teams just above Liverpool have to be dropping points while Liverpool keeps winning.
I had some spare time and did some calculations. I wanted to see how Kenny Dalglish has done so far when compared to Roy Hodgson. Roy managed 20 EPL games for Liverpool and got 25 points in total. Kenny has managed 9 so far and got 17 points:
Roy: 20 matches/25 points-------1.25 pts per match
Kenny: 9 matches/17 points------1.89 pts per match
Here are some comparison numbers from the teams directly above Liverpool:
Man U: 29 matches/60 points------- 2.07 pts per match
Arsenal: 28 matches/57 points------ 2.04 pts per match
Man C: 29 matches/53 points------- 1.83 pts per match
Chelsea: 28 matches/51 points------ 1.82 pts per match
Tottenham: 28 matches/48 points--- 1.71 pts per match
Notice something interesting? Yes! Under Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool is doing better than Manchester City, Chelsea, and Tottenham! Obviously things aren't as simple as this (ie, Kenny's Liverpool might not be average 1.89 pts per match if Kenny started as the manager right at the beginning), but it gives us a good idea of how much things could have been. And this is with a Liverpool team with relatively average strength (No Torres, No Mascherano, No Xabi Alonso, no Carroll).
If Liverpool can get some good signings during the summer, I strongly believe Liverpool can have a shot at the title in the next season.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Liverpool Back to its Best??!!
Liverpool played against Wolves in an away game a few days ago. Liverpool came away with the 3 points by beating Wolves 3-0. It was definitely a great result and hopefully this will kickstart 2011 for the team.
It was Kenny Dalglish's 4th game since taking over the manager position. Under King Kenny, Liverpool was not able to get a win for the past 3 games. In other words, it was one of the poorest starts for a new Liverpool manager. However, even though Liverpool was not able to win any games before the clash with Wolves, we have seen steady improvement from the team. In the FA cup 3rd round game against Manchester United at Old Trafford, despite conceding an early goal from a controversial penalty kick, without captain Steven Gerrard for over an hour, and playing with only 10 men, Liverpool was able to come out with a 0-1 lost.
In the next game, a league game against Blackpool away from Anfield, Liverpool had a brilliant start thanks to a superb strike at the 2nd minute from Torres. Unfortunately, Liverpool made a few defensive mistakes and conceded two goals in the match to come away with a 1-2 loss. The effort was there but Liverpool just wasn't able to create any good chances. I must say Blackpool plays really good football and it's very entertaining to watch them play.
In the 3rd game against Everton at Anfield, again, Liverpool took the lead at first. The team played really well in the first half and with a little bit of luck, they should've been 3-0 up. However, the team conceded two cheap goals early in the 2nd half. I thought that was unlucky. After watching the replay, the 1st Everton goal should not have happened. One of the Everton players was offside, but a corner kick was given. The corner kick then resulted in the goal. Liverpool, despite losing, kept their pressure up and they were able to tie the game from a penalty kick by Kuyt. Unfortunately, Liverpool was not able to get the win.
After watching the above games, it is apparent that the style of football that Liverpool is playing is totally different than before (under Roy Hodgson). Before, Liverpool played a lot of long balls. That didn't work well most of the time. With Kenny, it's back to the old pass and move style. This style is much more pleasing on the eyes and so far it's been quite effective. This style is more suitable for Torres as well as he has been scoring more goals lately. This style was used again in the match against Wolves and it worked perfectly. Liverpool started off slowly. But as the 1st half went by, Liverpool became more dominant. Unsurprisingly, the Reds got a goal from Torres. It was a simple tab-in by Torres. However, the build-up play leading to that goal was awesome. Lots of passing and suddenly a through pass to Meireles sliced open Wolves' defence. A simple pass to Torres, who was wide open, resulted in 1-0 for the Reds. In the 2nd half, Liverpool continued to dominate Wolves and within minutes, Liverpool expanded the gap through Meireles. who has been on fire this match. The goal came out of no where. He was about 30-35 yards away from the net and somehow the ball flew to him. He controlled it a bit and volleyed it. The ball lobbed over the goalkeeper and went into the top right corner of the net. I actually couldn't believe my eyes when the ball went in. It's great to see what Meireles is capable of and I hope his excellent form will continue. After that goal, Liverpool was happy to sit back, soak up the pressure, and play counter attack. Wolves had more possession during this period but they were not able to create decent chances. As the game came to an end, Torres found the net again to complete his brace. It was, once again, a simple tap-in. However, the build-up to this goal was spectacular. The goal came from 31 consecutive passes from Liverpool. Liverpool kept the ball in possession for 2 minutes and it looked like they were toying with Wolves. In this match, Dalglish's influence to the Reds was extremely evident. Liverpool actually played like a team - they attacked as one unit, and they defended as one unit. When they were attacking, instead of sitting in the midfield, Lucas, Poulsen, Johnson, Kelly, and Meireles all joined the attack. At times, I saw 8 Liverpool players in the final third of Wolves' side. I don't recall seeing this happening when Hodgson was in charge.
The victory against Wolves was a very positive result. Even though Wolves is in the relegation zone, they are still a capable team and they DID beat Liverpool at Anfield a month ago. Considering that this match was also an away game, I think Liverpool is definitely improving and I hope their good form will continue.
It was Kenny Dalglish's 4th game since taking over the manager position. Under King Kenny, Liverpool was not able to get a win for the past 3 games. In other words, it was one of the poorest starts for a new Liverpool manager. However, even though Liverpool was not able to win any games before the clash with Wolves, we have seen steady improvement from the team. In the FA cup 3rd round game against Manchester United at Old Trafford, despite conceding an early goal from a controversial penalty kick, without captain Steven Gerrard for over an hour, and playing with only 10 men, Liverpool was able to come out with a 0-1 lost.
In the next game, a league game against Blackpool away from Anfield, Liverpool had a brilliant start thanks to a superb strike at the 2nd minute from Torres. Unfortunately, Liverpool made a few defensive mistakes and conceded two goals in the match to come away with a 1-2 loss. The effort was there but Liverpool just wasn't able to create any good chances. I must say Blackpool plays really good football and it's very entertaining to watch them play.
In the 3rd game against Everton at Anfield, again, Liverpool took the lead at first. The team played really well in the first half and with a little bit of luck, they should've been 3-0 up. However, the team conceded two cheap goals early in the 2nd half. I thought that was unlucky. After watching the replay, the 1st Everton goal should not have happened. One of the Everton players was offside, but a corner kick was given. The corner kick then resulted in the goal. Liverpool, despite losing, kept their pressure up and they were able to tie the game from a penalty kick by Kuyt. Unfortunately, Liverpool was not able to get the win.
After watching the above games, it is apparent that the style of football that Liverpool is playing is totally different than before (under Roy Hodgson). Before, Liverpool played a lot of long balls. That didn't work well most of the time. With Kenny, it's back to the old pass and move style. This style is much more pleasing on the eyes and so far it's been quite effective. This style is more suitable for Torres as well as he has been scoring more goals lately. This style was used again in the match against Wolves and it worked perfectly. Liverpool started off slowly. But as the 1st half went by, Liverpool became more dominant. Unsurprisingly, the Reds got a goal from Torres. It was a simple tab-in by Torres. However, the build-up play leading to that goal was awesome. Lots of passing and suddenly a through pass to Meireles sliced open Wolves' defence. A simple pass to Torres, who was wide open, resulted in 1-0 for the Reds. In the 2nd half, Liverpool continued to dominate Wolves and within minutes, Liverpool expanded the gap through Meireles. who has been on fire this match. The goal came out of no where. He was about 30-35 yards away from the net and somehow the ball flew to him. He controlled it a bit and volleyed it. The ball lobbed over the goalkeeper and went into the top right corner of the net. I actually couldn't believe my eyes when the ball went in. It's great to see what Meireles is capable of and I hope his excellent form will continue. After that goal, Liverpool was happy to sit back, soak up the pressure, and play counter attack. Wolves had more possession during this period but they were not able to create decent chances. As the game came to an end, Torres found the net again to complete his brace. It was, once again, a simple tap-in. However, the build-up to this goal was spectacular. The goal came from 31 consecutive passes from Liverpool. Liverpool kept the ball in possession for 2 minutes and it looked like they were toying with Wolves. In this match, Dalglish's influence to the Reds was extremely evident. Liverpool actually played like a team - they attacked as one unit, and they defended as one unit. When they were attacking, instead of sitting in the midfield, Lucas, Poulsen, Johnson, Kelly, and Meireles all joined the attack. At times, I saw 8 Liverpool players in the final third of Wolves' side. I don't recall seeing this happening when Hodgson was in charge.
The victory against Wolves was a very positive result. Even though Wolves is in the relegation zone, they are still a capable team and they DID beat Liverpool at Anfield a month ago. Considering that this match was also an away game, I think Liverpool is definitely improving and I hope their good form will continue.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
FA Cup - Liverpool VS Manchester United at Old Trafford. Welcome Back, King Kenny!
Roy Hodgson left Liverpool a few days ago and Kenny Dalglish has taken over as the Reds' boss now. I feel sorry for Roy as he really tried his best to get the team going. He was not given much time to prove what he can bring to Anfield. Unfortunately, that's modern soccer and we are dealing with one of the largest clubs in the world; we cannot afford that much time for him to settle in. We need results now!
And with that said, welcome back to Anfield King Kenny! I became Liverpool fan not too long ago, so my knowledge of Kenny Dalglish is quite limited. All I know is that, he is a Liverpool legend. He played Liverpool and Celtics before. He later became a player-manager for Liverpool. Through out his career, he won many titles and trophies for the Reds. It's definitely good to see someone like that to become the manager. However, one concern is that, he has not managed a club for so long and things have changed dramatically. I hope that he will do well and bring Liverpool back on track.
Liverpool played Manchester United at Old Trafford for the 3rd round of FA Cup. Unfortuately, the Reds came away with a 0-1 loss as Giggs put away a penalty at the first minute of the game. I thought the penalty was quite controversial. Berbatov was in the penalty box, while Daniel Agger was right with him. Agger had his hand on Berbatov and soon enough, Berbatov fell to the ground. The referee, Howard Webb, quickly pointed to the penalty spot even though Liverpool players were protesting. Giggs stepped up and launched a powerful shot. Even though Reina guessed the right direction, the ball still went in. This must have unsettled Liverpool and frustrated some players as Gerrard got a red card at the half hour mark. Gerrard and Carrick both went for the loose ball. However, Gerrard had both feet up and they contacted Carrick's feet. This undoubtedly made getting back into the game impossible and Liverpool was out of the FA Cup.
After watching the replay many times, I thought Berbatov went down way too easily. Sure enough, Agger had his hand on Berbatov back. However, in soccer, I believe that physical contact is unavoidable. In fact, in the Premier League, this kind of contact in the penalty box is normal. For instance, I'm sure you have seen how in a corner kick or free kick, defending players always pull or push the attacking players in the penalty box. How often do we see a penalty being awarded in those situations? For us Liverpool fans, how many times have we seen Kyriakos being dragged down by another defender in the penalty box as he tried to head in a cross from Gerrard? I don't recall Liverpool being awarded a penalty. The way that Berbatov went down was just too weak. As a world class striker, I would imagine that he has better body balance than that. How hard can you push the other person who is running away from you? If Berbatov was not diving, then I am quite disappointed at his ability. He has to work on his balance.
I thought Liverpool did quite well in the match. Despite conceding an early controversial goal and with one man down for one hour of play, they came away only losing one goal. And they were not playing a weak team. Of all teams, they were playing against Manchester United in Old Trafford. Considering that they lost to Wolves in Anfield not too long ago, this is a dramatic improvement. Obviously, we cannot draw our conclusion in one game, but I like how Liverpool played today. I hope this form will continue to improve.
And with that said, welcome back to Anfield King Kenny! I became Liverpool fan not too long ago, so my knowledge of Kenny Dalglish is quite limited. All I know is that, he is a Liverpool legend. He played Liverpool and Celtics before. He later became a player-manager for Liverpool. Through out his career, he won many titles and trophies for the Reds. It's definitely good to see someone like that to become the manager. However, one concern is that, he has not managed a club for so long and things have changed dramatically. I hope that he will do well and bring Liverpool back on track.
Liverpool played Manchester United at Old Trafford for the 3rd round of FA Cup. Unfortuately, the Reds came away with a 0-1 loss as Giggs put away a penalty at the first minute of the game. I thought the penalty was quite controversial. Berbatov was in the penalty box, while Daniel Agger was right with him. Agger had his hand on Berbatov and soon enough, Berbatov fell to the ground. The referee, Howard Webb, quickly pointed to the penalty spot even though Liverpool players were protesting. Giggs stepped up and launched a powerful shot. Even though Reina guessed the right direction, the ball still went in. This must have unsettled Liverpool and frustrated some players as Gerrard got a red card at the half hour mark. Gerrard and Carrick both went for the loose ball. However, Gerrard had both feet up and they contacted Carrick's feet. This undoubtedly made getting back into the game impossible and Liverpool was out of the FA Cup.
After watching the replay many times, I thought Berbatov went down way too easily. Sure enough, Agger had his hand on Berbatov back. However, in soccer, I believe that physical contact is unavoidable. In fact, in the Premier League, this kind of contact in the penalty box is normal. For instance, I'm sure you have seen how in a corner kick or free kick, defending players always pull or push the attacking players in the penalty box. How often do we see a penalty being awarded in those situations? For us Liverpool fans, how many times have we seen Kyriakos being dragged down by another defender in the penalty box as he tried to head in a cross from Gerrard? I don't recall Liverpool being awarded a penalty. The way that Berbatov went down was just too weak. As a world class striker, I would imagine that he has better body balance than that. How hard can you push the other person who is running away from you? If Berbatov was not diving, then I am quite disappointed at his ability. He has to work on his balance.
I thought Liverpool did quite well in the match. Despite conceding an early controversial goal and with one man down for one hour of play, they came away only losing one goal. And they were not playing a weak team. Of all teams, they were playing against Manchester United in Old Trafford. Considering that they lost to Wolves in Anfield not too long ago, this is a dramatic improvement. Obviously, we cannot draw our conclusion in one game, but I like how Liverpool played today. I hope this form will continue to improve.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Liverpool VS Blackburn Rovers
Yet another disappointing result for the Reds......I lost count already...I think this is their 9th defeat? If I remember correctly, Rafa's worse record when he was the Reds manager was 11 losses, and that's for the whole season. We are half way through the season and we almost match Rafa's worse record.......
I thought the attacking players didn't do too bad today. They were certainly not at their best, but still better than when they were facing Wolves. I thought they were unlucky in a few occasions. However, the defense was horrible today. In particular, both Glen Johnson and Kyrgiakos were responsible for the goals.
1st goal, Johnson didn't do a good job marking Olsson. From the replay, Diouf was already given too much space and time to control the long ball, turn, and pass a through ball to Olsson. Johnson was the closest to Olsson, and he should have known that Diouf would pass to Olsson. He should have closed Olsson down and pressure him. Instead, John stepped back and Olsson was given so much time to shoot. Poor defending.
2nd goal, Krygiakos did not do enough to block Benjani. Kudos to Benjani for scoring such nice goal. But how on earth did Krygiakos let that happen? Benjani was able to use his chest to control the ball while facing opposite to the net, then he was given space to turn and to launch a powerful shot. Krygiakos beaten quite badly here.
The 3rd goal is pleasing to the eyes if you are a Blackburn fan. However, if you are a Liverpool fan, you would ask a lot of questions regarding the Reds' defense. Again, it came from Glen Johnson's side. Hoilett was running down the flank and just where was Johnson? Skrtel had to rush from the center of the pitch to stop Hoilett, but it was too late. Hoilett left both Johnson and Skrtel in the dust and he was able to pass the ball to Benjani who scored the 3rd goal. This should not have happened. As England's 1st choice right back, this is really disappointing. It's unacceptable.
Beside the poor defending, there are other reasons for the poor performance. For some reason, Hodgson decided to make several changes to the starting line-up that got the victory against Bolton a few days ago. He replaced Aurelio, Agger, Kuyt, and Meireles with Konchesky, Krygiakos, Cole, Gerrard. There's nothing wrong with using Gerrard and Cole as they were the main contributors to last weekend's victory. However, I don't see the logic for using Konchesky and Krygiakos. Agger and Aurelio are better in defending and both offer another dimension in Liverpool's attacking play. Perhaps Hodgson didn't want to risk as both Agger and Aurelio just recovered from injuries. Or may be Hodgson was confident that Konchesky and Krygiakos were sufficient? Whatever the reason was, Hodgson's plan didn't work out.
Perhaps this loss is a good news. It means that we are getting closer to getting a new manager. We will see.
I thought the attacking players didn't do too bad today. They were certainly not at their best, but still better than when they were facing Wolves. I thought they were unlucky in a few occasions. However, the defense was horrible today. In particular, both Glen Johnson and Kyrgiakos were responsible for the goals.
1st goal, Johnson didn't do a good job marking Olsson. From the replay, Diouf was already given too much space and time to control the long ball, turn, and pass a through ball to Olsson. Johnson was the closest to Olsson, and he should have known that Diouf would pass to Olsson. He should have closed Olsson down and pressure him. Instead, John stepped back and Olsson was given so much time to shoot. Poor defending.
2nd goal, Krygiakos did not do enough to block Benjani. Kudos to Benjani for scoring such nice goal. But how on earth did Krygiakos let that happen? Benjani was able to use his chest to control the ball while facing opposite to the net, then he was given space to turn and to launch a powerful shot. Krygiakos beaten quite badly here.
The 3rd goal is pleasing to the eyes if you are a Blackburn fan. However, if you are a Liverpool fan, you would ask a lot of questions regarding the Reds' defense. Again, it came from Glen Johnson's side. Hoilett was running down the flank and just where was Johnson? Skrtel had to rush from the center of the pitch to stop Hoilett, but it was too late. Hoilett left both Johnson and Skrtel in the dust and he was able to pass the ball to Benjani who scored the 3rd goal. This should not have happened. As England's 1st choice right back, this is really disappointing. It's unacceptable.
Beside the poor defending, there are other reasons for the poor performance. For some reason, Hodgson decided to make several changes to the starting line-up that got the victory against Bolton a few days ago. He replaced Aurelio, Agger, Kuyt, and Meireles with Konchesky, Krygiakos, Cole, Gerrard. There's nothing wrong with using Gerrard and Cole as they were the main contributors to last weekend's victory. However, I don't see the logic for using Konchesky and Krygiakos. Agger and Aurelio are better in defending and both offer another dimension in Liverpool's attacking play. Perhaps Hodgson didn't want to risk as both Agger and Aurelio just recovered from injuries. Or may be Hodgson was confident that Konchesky and Krygiakos were sufficient? Whatever the reason was, Hodgson's plan didn't work out.
Perhaps this loss is a good news. It means that we are getting closer to getting a new manager. We will see.
GT5 Seasonal Events 2 - NO SRF - Part 3 - Settings for Ford Focus ST and Mazda RX7 Spirit R
As promised, here are the settings I used for the two seasonal races.
For the Circuito de Madrid one with Ford Focus ST:
LSD: 25/40/20
Ride Height: -20/-5
Spring Rate: 5.5/6.5
Damper (Extension): 3/5
Damper (Compression): 3/5
Anti-Roll: 3/5
Camber: -0.5/-2
Toe: -0.5/-0.3
Brake Bias: 6/8
Aero: 0/5
For the Tsukuba one with RX-7 Spirit R:
LSD: stock LSD
Ride Height: -20/-20
Spring Rate: 16/6.3
Damper (Extension): 10/5
Damper (Compression): 10/5
Anti-Roll: 4/4
Camber: -2/-2
Toe: 0/0.2
Brake Bias: 8/9
Aero: 0/28
For the Circuito de Madrid one with Ford Focus ST:
LSD: 25/40/20
Ride Height: -20/-5
Spring Rate: 5.5/6.5
Damper (Extension): 3/5
Damper (Compression): 3/5
Anti-Roll: 3/5
Camber: -0.5/-2
Toe: -0.5/-0.3
Brake Bias: 6/8
Aero: 0/5
For the Tsukuba one with RX-7 Spirit R:
LSD: stock LSD
Ride Height: -20/-20
Spring Rate: 16/6.3
Damper (Extension): 10/5
Damper (Compression): 10/5
Anti-Roll: 4/4
Camber: -2/-2
Toe: 0/0.2
Brake Bias: 8/9
Aero: 0/28
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
GT5 Seasonal Events 2 - NO SRF - Part 2 - Ford Focus ST at Circuito de Madrid
This one is another tough one. I think this is the hardest one out of the 5 events. However, I spent less time beating this than the RX-7 one. This event is the hardest because one of your opponents uses a Ford Focus RS while you are stuck with a Ford Focus ST. Basically, the RS has 300hp stock while your ST is limited to 221hp. Even though the Focus RS starts in 2nd place, it will pass the car in first place (Honda Civic Type R) at the end of the first lap or at the beginning of the second lap. You will have no problem getting 2nd place, but catching up to the Focus RS is a pita.
With the given requirements, it basically means that you are not allow to do any weight reduction and you can't add much, if any hp. So again, like the RX-7 one, tuning is very important. I bought all the parts (full suspension, full tranny, chassis reinforcement, adjustable LSD, etc). Again, I will post my settings and video up later. For now, please read below for some tips on golding this event without using Skid Recovery Force on.
As soon as you take the first few corners in the Focus ST, you will notice MASSIVE understeer. So first tip: do NOT overspeed when entering a corner. If you go into a corner way too fast, the car will simply go straight to the wall. However, you can use this as your advantage - you can go slightly overspeed as long as you can time it so that you hit one of the opponents. If you do it correctly, it will bump you into the right driving line and help you corner a bit faster. Yes that's cheating in a certain way but it works and there's no penalty. Obviously if you hit too hard, you will either lose control or you and your opponent both fly to the wall.
The first hairpin is also very important. After the starting line, just before the first hairpin, there's a slight S turn. You should be able to negotiate this S turn at over 135km/h. And as you do so, prepare to brake for the hairpin. Make sure you are slow enough so that the car would turn more quickly. Gradually apply full throttle and this should help pull the car out of the corner. I think this is an important segment of the track and if you can accelerate out of this hairpin quickly, it should help your exit speed and your thus overall lap time a lot.
For all of the other parts, you just have to make sure you follow the right line and remember to maximize exit speed. I was able to pass the Focus RS just before the final corner in the last lap. You should aim for 1:44 for your first lap, and 1:43 on average for the other 4 laps. I was able to hit 1:42 in one or two laps.
Good luck and happy racing!
With the given requirements, it basically means that you are not allow to do any weight reduction and you can't add much, if any hp. So again, like the RX-7 one, tuning is very important. I bought all the parts (full suspension, full tranny, chassis reinforcement, adjustable LSD, etc). Again, I will post my settings and video up later. For now, please read below for some tips on golding this event without using Skid Recovery Force on.
As soon as you take the first few corners in the Focus ST, you will notice MASSIVE understeer. So first tip: do NOT overspeed when entering a corner. If you go into a corner way too fast, the car will simply go straight to the wall. However, you can use this as your advantage - you can go slightly overspeed as long as you can time it so that you hit one of the opponents. If you do it correctly, it will bump you into the right driving line and help you corner a bit faster. Yes that's cheating in a certain way but it works and there's no penalty. Obviously if you hit too hard, you will either lose control or you and your opponent both fly to the wall.
The first hairpin is also very important. After the starting line, just before the first hairpin, there's a slight S turn. You should be able to negotiate this S turn at over 135km/h. And as you do so, prepare to brake for the hairpin. Make sure you are slow enough so that the car would turn more quickly. Gradually apply full throttle and this should help pull the car out of the corner. I think this is an important segment of the track and if you can accelerate out of this hairpin quickly, it should help your exit speed and your thus overall lap time a lot.
For all of the other parts, you just have to make sure you follow the right line and remember to maximize exit speed. I was able to pass the Focus RS just before the final corner in the last lap. You should aim for 1:44 for your first lap, and 1:43 on average for the other 4 laps. I was able to hit 1:42 in one or two laps.
Good luck and happy racing!
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