Packers take Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay

RODGERS VS ROETHLISBERGER 304.............Yards..............263 3............Touchdowns............2 0............Interceptions...........2

Aaron Rodgers edged the battle of the Quarterbacks and Green Bay completed a wonderful post-season to take out Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, Texas, with a 31-25 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.  They entered the playoffs as runners-up to the Chicago Bears with a 10-6 record in NFC North, and wildcard 6 in the NFC.  They won at Philadelphia to earn a Divisonal Playoff at Atlanta - and clipped the Falcon's wings.  They faced off against Chicago for the Conference and won 21-14.

Despite a huge injury list, and inspired by QB Aaron Rodgers, their tough defense and gritty self-belief, the Packers blew out to an 21-3, eighteen point lead in the second quarter before Pittsburgh reeled them in to 21-17. The critical play would come right at the start of the fourth quarter. With Pittsburgh in excellent field position, linebacker Clay Matthews forced a fumble from Rashard Mendenhall which was recovered by the Packers. The Steelers' head of steam was well and truly halted and when Rodgers completed an eight-yard pass for Greg Jennings's second touchdown of the game the Packers had an 11-point lead with only 12 minutes to play.

Meireles strike wrecks tame Torrres debut; Wigan stick a spoke in Liverpool's wheel

Two more games and four more points in Liverpool's improving fortunes under Kenny Dalglish.  A season highlight was the 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge where the Reds outplayed Chelsea, subdued Torres on his Chelsea debut, and took the three points with another Raul Meireles strike.  A game notable also for Jamie Carragher's comeback from injury and Steven Gerrard succumbing to a groin strain that kept him out of England's friendly with Denmark.

That result lifted the Reds to sixth, their highest league position all season.  They continue to sit sixth after a 1-1 draw at Anfield v Wigan Athletic.  Meireles was on the scoresheet again, Suarez struck the woodwork twice, but Liverpool were below par on the form of recent weeks and Wigan battled back for an equaliser.

Super sub Suarez sinks Stoke

Luis Suarez came on as a second half substitute and scored Liverpool's second on his debut vs Stoke City.  Three straight premiership wins for Liverpool who remain seventh.  The other scorer was Raul Meireles. It was a lively debut and a positive start for the new Uruguayan signing.  His co-signing, Andy Carroll is recovering from a thigh injury and is not expected to be ready for a few weeks.

Transfer Deadline Dealings

The closure of the January transfer deadline window brought a flurry of major moves and Liverpool have been prominently involved.  The strike force has changed dramatically with the departure of Fernando Torres to Chelsea for a transfer record of L50M and the earlier departure of Ryan Babel to Hoffenheim for L6M.

Incoming are Luis Suarez from Ajax for L23M and Andy Carroll from Newcastle for L35M.  Both are young, with Suarez have a more proven track record.  Importantly, both appear committed to the Liverpool cause - a trait which had suddenly appeared wanting in Torres.

News of a possible loan move for Stephen Warnock - to balance the loan out of Paul Konchesky to Nottingham Forest - would go some way to satisfy concerns about strengthening the defence.

NFL Update III

Well I got both my Conference Final predictions right - its the Green Bay Packers versus the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV at Arlington.

Green Bay defeated the Chicago Bears 21-14 while the Steelers beat the NY Jets 24-19.  This brings a clash of two NFL Giants, both with proud Super Bowl histories.


Sam Shields running the ball for Green Bay

Steelers celebrate their victory

Ugly, but seventh

Improving fortunes continue under the return of King Kenny.  First it was improved morale, both amongst fans and players, and more on-field effort.  Then it was improved results with a strong performance in the 3-0 defeat of Wolves at Molineux.  This has been followed by another victory over Fulham - this time at Anfield.  Not as impressive as the performance at Wolves, but maybe their luck is changing too.

Due to mid-table congestion, these two back-to-back wins have lifted Liverpool from 13th to 7th, which will further boost confidence and self-belief at the Club.  Baby steps...but in the right direction.

A Win at Wolves

One of Liverpool's last acts under Roy Hodgson was a spineless performance at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers which ended in a 0-1 defeat.  The same opponent became the victims in Liverpool's first win under the management of Kenny Dalglish - and their first away win since they beat Bolton at Burnden at the end of October. 

Kudos goes to Raul Meireles who laid on the first goal for Fernando Torres and smashed home the second with a dipping volley.  Torres made it a brace with a close range finish in injury time.  Liverpool improve from 13th to 10th but could slip back to 11th depending on results tomorrow.

Meireles (centre) scored a cracking volley to make it 2-0.

After the season to date, it would be sublimely optimistic to expect a string of wins in a season that has lurched from occasional good results to poor away form and two early cup exits.  Liverpool's next two fixtures are at home to Fulham and Stoke in the Premiership before an away trip to Chelsea.

Derby Day

2-2 and honours are shared in the Merseyside derby.  Meireles put Liverpool in front with his first goal for the Club but Everton pegged them back after halftime then took a 2-1 lead.  Dirk Kuyt had the last word from the penalty spot when Tim Howard brought down Maxi Rodriguez.

Liverpool remain 13th in the table, one place behind Everton.

Kuyt levels from the spot for Liverpool.

NFL Update II

Well that 50% record is still intact after the Chicago Bears held off Seattle by 35-24 before the New York Jets scored the result of the round with a 28-21 win over the New England Patriots.

Mark Sanchez threw for three touchdowns as the Jets knocked the Patriots out of the playoffs
That's both my tips for the SuperBowl out before the Divisional Finals, so time for some revised predictions:

In the AFC...Pittsburgh to do it ugly over the NY Jets

In the NFC...Green Bay in a tight contest over Chicago

NFL Update

As predicted the Baltimore v Pittsburgh clash was a close run thing, and - also as predicted - the Steelers took it out.  Not in overtime but by 31-24 after trailing 21-7 at halftime.

At Atlanta, Green Bay downed the 13-3 Falcons by 45-21 with the foundations laid in a 28 point second quarter.  So I'm 1-1 with my divisional playoff predictions.  Fingers crossed for the Patriots and the Bears.

Aaron Rodgers in action against the Falcons

A black day at Blackpool

That heading may be a little harsh but Liverpool travelled to Blackpool looking for points, not another away defeat.  A bright start ensued as Torres ran on to a useful ball from Stephen Kelly and thrashed the ball home.  Instead of inspiring Liverpool to take charge, the goal ignited Blackpool spirits and the Tangerines fought back from the early goal to equalise and then take a 2-1 lead, which they held to the final whistle.  They were good value for the result and a premiership double over the Reds. 

So where does Dalglish start after this second reversal?  Clearly player confidence is an immediate concern.

"The effort, commitment and desire is there," [said Dalglish]  "But sometimes it doesn't matter how good the player is, you need belief. We'll work hard on giving them that."

"It's all very well being a decent side but every side which has been successful and has ever done anything needs that bit of luck," [he added.]
"At the moment that has turned against us but the longer we stick in and the less sorry we feel for ourselves the better chance we will have of correcting it.

"We'll work away and try to get the confidence we need to produce more positive results but I won't be harsh on my players because they put in the effort and commitment."

"A lot of these players played a large amount of Sunday's FA Cup tie against Manchester United a team-mate short [after Steven Gerrard was sent off]."

In the short term he has to work with what he's got, and I think he's right to believe that the current crop are capable of better.  I doubt that they're capable of a top-four placing, on current performances, and frankly it would be a major and sudden turn-around for Liverpool to play themselves back into ECL contention.


In the longer run, he has issues right across the teamsheet.  The defence is porous, the midfield lacks width and flair, Torres is short of a decent partner and needs to stop dropping his bottom lip.  There are already signs that a change of Manager is lifting Torres and long may that continue.


The defence is a major concern - Reina apart.  Johnson looks top four quality going forward but is not up to that standard going backwards.  Kgyriakos and Skrtel are not top four quality.  Kelly has the makings.  Carragher is injured but nearing the end of his career and vulnerable against pace.  Agger and Aurelio are worth perservering with, as is Kelly.  Kelly, Carragher, Agger, Aurelio is probably the pick of the best back four for the next twelve months.  The sale of Glenn Johnson can fund better quality in defence. Left back is the first priority, closely followed by a centre back (or two) and a reserve right back.


Midfield badly needs pace on the flanks, and a consensus on the best central pairing.  Meireles has been amongst the most impressive of the summer signings and Gerrard remains their leading midfield performer.  Joe Cole should get the left flank, where he offers creativity if not true pace, so long as a genuine pace merchant can be found for the right.  Otherwise its Kuyt down the right, bring Joe Cole inside, find some pace on the left (Babel for now) and push Gerrard up alongside Torres.


So I reckon Dalglish's Best XI, bar a January signing or two, looks like this...

Reina

Kelly   Carragher   Agger   Aurelio

Kuyt      Meireles      Cole      Babel

Gerrard    Torres

Its playoff time...

We are down to the Divisional playoffs in the NFL.  The KC Chiefs have run their course and their departure has been accompanied by the Philadelphia Eagles, the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts.

In the AFC, Pittsburgh host Baltimore in an AFC North rematch and perhaps the closest call of the round.  I'm picking the Steelers in OT.  New England are at home to the NY Jets in an all AFC East clash.  Like Pittsburgh:Baltimore, these sides were a win and a loss head-to-head in regular season, and I'm picking the Patriots in this one.

In the NFC, Atlanta host Green Bay and the Falcons are my pick here.  Chicago are at home to Seattle and the Bears are my tip.

Long range forecast - New England Patriots v Atlanta Falcons for the Super Bowl and the Patriots to win.

The Return of the King

In Tolkien, the return of the King was the climax of a story of a courageous battle.  At Old Trafford, it was more likely the beginning of a new Chapter.  Sauron's Orcs (Manchester United led by old-one-eye Alex Ferguson) eased past Liverpool with a second minute penalty awarded by the evil Wizard Saruman (played by Howard Webb) for an innocuous challenge by Daniel Agger (too tall for a hobbit, elf perhaps?).  Liverpool put up a spirited fight but when Steven Gerrard saw a red card for a reckless two-footed challenge on 30 mins it was going to take all the magic of Gandalf to get a result.

So the return of King Kenny ended 1-0 to Manchester United and Liverpool are out of the FA Cup.  The supporters are united behind their new manager in almost exactly the way they united against his predecessor.  Their next outing is against Blackpool at Blomfield Road and this time supporters will be less understanding of a defeat.

Chiefs get a bloody nose

They came, they saw, they conquered - the Baltimore Ravens, that is.  30-7 winners over KC at Arrowhead.  A disappointing end to a good season that marked a real turnaround in Kansas City fortunes, going from bottom to top in AFC West.

The result is probably a fair reflection on the work still ahead of the Chiefs before they can foot it with the real powerhouses in NFL.  The challenge is to keep working and improve.

Liverpool humbled at Blackburn; Hodgson goes

A week, they say, is a long time in politics.  It's a pretty long time in football too.  Since recording a morale-boosting 2-1 win over Owen Coyle's Bolton, Liverpool have travelled to Blackburn and were well beaten - 3-1.  It was 3-0 before Steven Gerrard struck a late consolation goal and might have been 3-2 but for a penalty blazed over the bar by Gerrard.  It would have given a false impression of another sub-standard away performance in a season of very poor away form and inconsistent home form.



Benjani (21) scored two goals as Blackburn thumped Liverpool.

Liverpool are 12th and that seems a pretty fair reflection on a lacklustre season where Roy Hodgson has failed to arrest the decline evident in the previous campaign under Rafa Benitez.

Disturbingly, the fans have never taken to hodgson, and away support at Blackburn was notably thin.  The inevitable happened.  By mutual agreement, Liverpool and Roy Hodgson have parted company.


Out with the old; in with the old

Kenny Dalglish will hold the reins until the end of the season and begins his return with an FA Cup tie at Manchester United.  It would be a huge result for Liverpool to get even a draw at Old Trafford, but they have nothing to lose against their great rivals.

How Dalglish will approach the transfer window in his caretaker capacity will be watched with interest.  Clearly there are players at Anfield who do not have the quality to take the club places.  See Johnson, Skrtel and others.  Others with quality, notably Torres, seem to lack the commitment and may be sold to fund new players.  The window closes in three weeks so watch this space.

Kansas lose unbeaten home record; Ravens in the wildcard playoff

Kansas City saved their worst performance of the season for last with a disappointing 31-10 reversal against Oakland at Arrowhead.  Loking to head into the wildcard playoffs on a high note KC were outplayed in all departments, while Oakland became the first side to sweep AFC West 6-0 and still miss the playoffs.

Having secured their playoff place and the AFC West title against Tennessee, KC are still assured of a playoff game but missed out on third seeding to Indianapolis.  KC will face the Baltimore Ravens who were runners up in AFC North to the Pittsburgh Steelers despite sharing a 12-4 record.

Eu-bloody-reka!!!

A win! A win! A win! And I saw it on Sky!  Liverpool 2-1 home winners over Bolton Wanderers. They had the better of the contest and - credit to Bolton who never stopped tring to attack - they came back from 0-1 to secure the precious three points.

Morale was rock bottom when Kevin Davies headed Bolton in front just before halftime - a half in which Liverpool had made the more chances - Lucas Leiva squandering the best of them.  They came out after halftime and almost conceded a second before Steven Gerrard (a 21st minute sub) curved the perfect pass into the path of Fernando Torres who crisply volleyed home.  1-1!  Liverpool continued to make the more opportunities with the Gerrard-Torres combination their greatest threat.  A right flank cross from Gerrard nearly eked out a penalty for handball; twice Gerrard fired wide from 20 metres.  Roy Hodgson's last roll of the dice was the introduction of Joe Cole with eight minutes remaining.  With 90 minutes up, Gerrard crossed from the right, Maxi challenged at the far post and the Bolton defender forced the ball back across the face of goal to Joe Cole to tap-in from inches out.  2-1! 9th place and the first win of 2011 under the belt.  May there be many more!

Joe Cole notches the winner against Bolton