Compelling Soccer

Fulham v. Liverpool

Fulham: 3-4-2, 13th in the Premiership, 11 Pts

Liverpool: 6-4-0, 5th in the Premiership, 18 Pts

Stakes: If this were American football, this one would be called the "Disappointment Bowl." Of course, Liverpool's recent failures need no introduction, though they will get standard qualification, i.e. no Torres or Gerrard for most of the recent stretch. Torres return against Man U sparked them to a season saving win. On the other side Fulham was a club with big dreams after qualifying for Europe this year but have gotten off to a rough start. They're out of the relegation zone right now, but 13th isn't exactly where the boys from Craven Cottage expected to be residing at this point of the season. A win should send them back into the top ten.

Thoughts on the Opposing Side: Clint Dempsey, you are an American who I can write about who will almost certainly play against the Reds, seeing as that my streak has been rather lousy with that. (Neither Jozy Altidore or Jonathan Spector played when I wrote I was looking forward to watching them) Dempsey finally scored in Fulham's draw against Man City last week as he looks to be fully recovered from his shoulder injury. Another American who we will NOT likely see is Eddie Johnson, though he did find his way to the bench against City. (Steps in the right direction I suppose)

Other names I'm familiar with are Danny Murphy, Damien Duff and Bobby Zamora. Zamora is the American fan whipping boy for why players in the Premiership are overrated. He also could, in theory, play for Trinidad and Tobago, though he still has yet to suit up for them. Zamora used to be good, he isn't these days. But he'd still probably be one of the best players in MLS, no matter how much American fans like to rag on him. Duff remember as being an odd man out when Chelsea went on their spending spree. He was rumored to be headed to Liverpool when he ended up on the outs in Chelsea but went to Newcastle instead. Danny Murphy was a Liverpool man and got sent packing when Rafa got there. Not a bad player, but not as good as the guys who were brought in.

Questions I have: No Gerrard, no surprise. But no Glen Johnson too? Yeah, I didn't see that coming. Thankfully Johnson is more easily replaceable. I might have guessed at a Fabio Aurelio/Emilano Insua back pairing, but Aurelio will probably stay in the midfield. Sotirios Kyrgiakos maybe? Who ever replaces Johnson will not be as proficient at the offensive end, so this constitutes a major loss. I wonder if this will force Liverpool to attack more on the left side with Insua, and possibly end up with an unbalanced attack pattern.

There will again be questions of Torres fitness, but hopefully he channels what he summoned in the second half against Man U.

The Liverpool backline faired much better against the Man U forward, but that's because they lack speed. Thankfully blazers aren't what Fulham are known for. Of course, if Eddie Johnson actually got in...

Will I Be Watching: I don't get Setanta so I'll have to find other means.

Expectations: Perhaps the Man U game has me too giddy, but for all the talk of Liverpool's poor form, it's not as if Fulham has been that grand either. Even on the road, I suspect the Reds pull this one out.

Anti Football; thy name is Houston.

Okay, that's a little harsh. Houston has some players who can create well; namely Stuart Holden. But after watching their game against Seattle last night, I came away disgusted on so many levels. The Dynamo played a downright dirty game and should have finished with nine men on the field. Instead a lenient official decided to give talk to the players rather than hand out fair punishment, which in essence, reward Houston for it's play. The result was a 0-0 draw with the return leg of their first round playoff match up taking place on November 8th.

Because you just might get it.

So yesterday rumors circulated that Hull City manager Phil Brown had been sacked. It turned out not to be the case, though Hull chairman Paul Duffen did resign. In the interim when it seemed like Brown was gone, there were a lot of US fans who were jumping for joy. Their rationale; Jozy Altidore was relegated to the bench by Brown. Therefore if Brown has been canned, Altidore would get a chance to play. It makes some degree of sense. When a new coach comes in, roles can change. So yeah, if Brown did lose his job, there's a chance Altidore would see more PT.

Arensal v. Liverpool

Last Cup Match:

One of my favorite things to do in any sports game is to play the role of GM. As a typical know it all, I like to think I hold the blueprint from which the worst team in sports could find it's way to prominence. Plus, it combines one of my other favorite video game genres, RPGs, into sports. Nothing is more satisfying than finding a diamond in the rough and turning him into the player you always believed he can be. And without the problems of having actual personality and the media to deal with, the fictional sports world can be your oyster.

The FIFA manager modes have always interested me because the soccer landscape is so different from the american sports. Every player is available provided you have the right funds, but there is always a way to handicap yourself readily available. Plus you can have fun with promotion, league cups (little League One side against those Premiership giants) and of course European cup action.

I mean it. I turned on my console and then the next thing I knew it was 7:30 PM, Sunday night.

The patch which makes Manager Mode slightly less glitchy was released for the Xbox360 on Friday so it was time for me to dive into the mode fit for obsessive compulsive weirdos. (Hey, the first step to recovery is admission) I had places to be Friday night, so a lost night was impossible until Saturday. Then there were delays Saturday morning. But around noon on Saturday the TV was mine and I didn't relinquish it. I ended up playing almost half a season and could have played more. The hours flew by on Saturday and Sunday with only Liverpool v. Man U keeping me from turning it into an all day affair. But we'll get to that later. First, the nitty gritty, how the in game action feels.

Well they needed this.

If there was a question about Rafa's job security it should be answered for at least one week with this inspiring effort. Fernando Torres made it clear he's the most irreplaceable man in the Premiership, if not in soccer in general, as his goal was the game winner. Yossi Benayoun proved how much of a difference maker he could be. And perhaps Liverpool showed the faults of loyalty in this one; Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand were both abused. The United vets looked old. Even Ryan Giggs was rendered a non factor.

A belated start to this live blog. We start five minutes in, but the score is still level. I've seen a good run by Yossi Benayoun and now beachballs hitting the field. Stay classy Man U fans.

Liverpool. v. Manchester United

Tables:

Liverpool: 15 pts, 8th in the Premiership

Man U: 22 pts, 2nd in the Premiership

Stakes: After four straight losses for Liverpool, things are arguably at crisis point. In reality, an undermanned squad probably should have trouble with the Red Devils. However any leeway was used up long ago. Despite votes of confidence, Rafa Benitez's job could be on the line. I wouldn't do it, but I'm running not running the show. Consider that right now, Liverpool is closer to relegation than they are to Chelsea up at the top of the table. That's just not going to cut it.

In the last few days we've talked about formations in light of the loss of Charlie Davies. It began with the 4-4-2, the standard formation the US puts out. Yesterday we looked into the possibilities of the 4-5-1, since the US might be down to one competent striker. But today we do a complete 180 and look at what might happen if the US went with a 4-3-3.

4-3-3? Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy.