Chelsea - Liverpool

Liverpool finally managed to overcome the curse of Stamford Bridge that has plagued many teams that have visited there, in fact in all 86 occasions. Liverpool with a deflected Alonso shot were able to finally get one over Chelsea and go three points clear at the top of the Premier League. Now it is Chelsea that had the longest unbeaten home record with 86, having taken the record passed Liverpool’s 67, which was stopped eventually in the 68th game by… Chelsea.

As far as the match was concerned Liverpool probably got what they deserved, since Chelsea may have had more of the ball, but it is hard to think of any time that Pepe Reina had to make a save, other than a couple of routine saves every now and then, which you would expect any keeper at this level to save. The levels of confidence were also on display with both teams playing very quick one touch football but rarelyy resulting to a sight on goal. Deco was aruable Chelsea’s best player, with his vision and creativity being the one thing that his team could depend upon. His clear mind would keep the ball going roud the pitch looking for an opening, but Liverpool would’nt offer one and wen there was one, the ball would fall to Kalou, and he would scuff chance after chance. Liverpool played the same style of football that they hav been this year when Torres is missing, with just the lone striker and Gerrard feeding off anything that Keane could fight for, in a very similar way to their win against the champions.

The only question that remains is whether Liverpool will go through month of November unscathed, because it is the month that they tend to fall of the pace, and when they leave their critics thinking that their challenge is over, and their fans working out the games required to catch up and win the league.

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Cristiano Ronaldo Calendar 2009

Cristiano Ronaldo has done the unthinkable and has released a very saucy calendar, seemingly following suit from David Beckham’s own recent calendar. Strangely, both calendars are released on exactly the same date - 30th October. Surely the latest United no.7 legend isn’t going to complete head-on with David Beckham?

The Portuguese star’s calendar features many pictures of Cristiano Ronaldo naked, well practically naked anyway. This is sure to delight the many millions of Ronaldo fans around the world, both male and female.

Pre-Order The Cristiano Ronaldo Calendar At Amazon For £4.99

Pre-Order The David Beckham Calendar At Amazon For £4.99

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FATIH TERIM:"I won’t leave the national team, but I could coach two teams".

Turkey’s national soccer team coach Fatih Terim talks during a press conference in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008. Turkey will face Belgium in a World Cup 2010 group 5 qualifying soccer match in Istanbul on Wednesday.
(AP Photo/)

Fatih Terim said, He is still with Turkish National Team but he could coach another team too!…

After the news, that his name was mentioned with Newcastle team, at the press conference in Istanbul Fatih Terim said , “He is staying behind his word ,and said he is still the coach of Turkish National Team”

He also said,”He would be open to coach a club team while coaching the National team.”

Turkish National team is ready to offer a new deal for him after the Belgium match.

According to Turkish media,Terim will be offered a 4 year deal worth 2 million euro a year . Newcastle already put a bit to his agent 2 years at 3 million a year, according to British media.

Next Newcastle Manager Betting hot item!,,,,,

According to online betting website,Tottenham Hotspur assistant coach Gus Poyet to be the Next Newcastle Manager after The Sun newspaper claimed that the Uruguayan is on the brink of accepting the coaching job.

Poyet, a 4/5 shot for the job with SkyBet,The second favourite for the job is still Turkey coach Fatih Terim, who is still 12/1 .Another candidate who has been well backed in the last 24 hours is Brazilian legend Zico. The former Fenerbahce coach yesterday indicated he would be interested in the Newcaslte job and as a result he was backed from 40/1 to 15/2 with SkyBet.

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Should South Africa Coach Get Boot?

Now that South Africa has been eliminated from the 2010 African Cup of Nations, will South Africa coach Joel Santana get the boot?

A South African newspaper editorial from the Cape Times doesn’t seem to think so.

The South African Football Association must stay calm and resist the urge to fire coach Joel Santana after Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for the African Nations Cup in Angola in 2010.

Bafana lost 1-0 to Nigeria on Saturday, ending their hopes of sneaking in through the backdoor after a miserable campaign in Group Four. Yet Bafana were irresistible at times on a dusty and patchy EPRU Stadium pitch and played some of the best football seen by the national team for a long time. Yet they just could not find the back of the net.

The knee-jerk reaction now would be to fire the coach. The Brazilian coach has so far only managed to win one qualifying match. The 4-1 victory over Equatorial Guinea was also the only time Bafana managed to score in their campaign.

But Santana was always on a hiding to nothing after inheriting the team from his countryman Carlos Parreira only a month before the start of the qualifiers.

In his first international in charge, Bafana were outplayed by the Super Eagles in Abuja. They were played off the park that day and lost 2-0. After beating Equatorial Guinea, Bafana then travelled to Sierra Leone, where they lost 1-0 to the Leone Stars, drawing with them a week later in Atteridgeville. In both games they failed to score after creating numerous chances.

Bafana needed to win Saturday’s game to stand a chance of qualifying. Ace goal-scorer Benni McCarthy was back after missing the first four qualifiers. Nigeria were depleted and looked ripe for the picking.

A couple of old faces were back and everybody in the Bafana team was quietly confident that they can pull-off their first competitive victory over the Super Eagles.

And they nearly delivered.

Bafana played out of their socks. It was probably one their best performances in recent times. But yet again poor finishing cost them the game. After nearly 20 shots at goal, you would expect that at least one of them would find the back of the net. But it was not to be.

Now people are calling for the coach’s head after his team failed to qualify for their first Nations Cup since 1996. But what purpose would that serve?

Judged purely on results, Santana does not have a strong case. But appointing a new coach two years ahead of the World Cup and less than a year from the Confederation Cup would be counter-productive.

And what about the responsibility of the players? Santana can only do so much. Unfortunately he can’t hold a player like Siyabonga Nkosi’s hand while he is in the box.

On Saturday, Bafana played some breathtaking football at times. Tactically speaking, you could see that Santana had drilled the team the week before and that he has a vision for the team. For instance, he has been criticised for playing two defensive midfielders. Yet it did seem to work on Saturday. Kagisho Dikgacoi and Macbeth Sibaya created so much space for their attacking players it was almost embarrassing.

Unfortunately poor finishing and decision-making undid all the hard work. It was a shame, and the team must have been gutted after Nigeria scored with about probably their first shot on target.

The point is that firing Santana will be a step backward. He does have a vision and it seems the players are starting to buy into it. Saturday’s statistics on possession and shots on goal makes a compelling case for how well Bafana played.

If they can learn how to finish and score goals, perhaps they will be able to compete with the likes of Nigeria. But at international level players should able to score goals. It is not up to the coach to teach them that.

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Benin, Cameroon On to Second Phase

Benin overcame the formidable challenge of Angola on Sunday to join Nigeria and Cameroon in the last phase of African qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

A 3-2 win in Cotonou for the small West African country came 24 hours after Cameroon had secured their progress by beating the Cape Verde Islands 2-1 in Praia.

Nigeria, who had already made sure of their berth at the end of June, kept up their 100 percent record with a 1-0 win over World Cup hosts South Africa, who are now virtually certain to miss out on the next African Cup of Nations in Angola.

The World Cup qualifiers are also serving as a tournament to determine the 16 finalists for the 2010 Cup of Nations, which is being held six months before the World Cup.

Striker Razak Omotoyossi scored twice for Benin to increase his tally of goals in the qualifiers to five.

Defeat for Angola leaves the 2006 World Cup finalists facing the prospect of early elimination.

Cameroon came from a goal down on Saturday to beat their island opponents with substitutes Achille Webo and Alain Nkong scoring for the Indomitable Lions.

Burkina Faso, Egypt, Libya, and Ivory Coast all need a single point from their last second-round group qualifiers next month to also advance.

Burkina Faso drew 0-0 at home to Tunisia in Ouagadougou on Saturday to keep up their three-point advantage in Group Nine while the Ivorians drew 1-1 in Mozambique on Sunday to stay three points clear in Group Seven.

Playmaker Mohamed Aboutrika scored a 31st-minute winner for Egypt as the African champions beat DR Congo 1-0 in Kinshasa on Sunday in Group 12.

Libya’s 1-0 win over Ghana put them into top place in Group Five.

Gabon moved level with Ghana in second place after a 3-0 away win over Lesotho in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Willy Endzanga scored a second-half winner for Congo as they beat Mali 1-0 in Brazzaville to ensure both sides share the leadership in Group 10.
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