System Overload?

Liverpool have now won only 3 of 10 games, a statistic hard to take for the ever expectant Liverpool faithful. In the last 3 years, arguably the most turbulent in the clubs history (4 managers, a close shave with administration, 2 different owners, on-field incidents and inconsistent performances), Liverpool have gone from genuine title contenders to a team desperately clinging to European qualification contention. Despite this, there has been cause for optimism for fans such as myself. Under the iconic Kenny Dalglish the club saw a season in which spurned chances paved the way for bad results. Under Brendan Rodgers things seem unerringly similar.

Rodgers may well think Liverpool can outplay and out pass any team in the league, and they have indeed shown that more often than not. However, if the personnel is not there to turn the dominance into points then should the system that he swears by still be implemented? The worry is that there is no plan B in place to turn to when the possession and pressing football style is not working, a quick though immediately turns to the much more direct Andy Carroll. While Rodgers may not be at fault for the club beginning the season with less strikers than the previous year, despite the well publicised scoring issues, his faith in his beloved system has recently been questioned. While his confidence is admirable the results have shown chinks in the armour. Young and inexperienced wingers don't get beyond Suarez to fill the box, pressing high up the pitch means giving away easy chances despite conceding few, Gerrard plays more deeper in the absence of Lucas despite arguably being the clubs best finisher, only Glen Johnson plays the full-back role to match the philosophy and the finishing is dreadful. The only other striker in the squad, Fabio Borini, being injured does not help things and puts added pressure on young shoulders such as Suso, Pacheco, Sterling and Assaidi when they play.

This week Rodgers stated Liverpool are one or two signings away from being genuine contenders, a notion I completely agree with. Certain aspects of their game are superb, it is obvious where the issues lie. Rumours of the red-hot Klaas-Jan Huntelaar signing in January may not turn to done deals but were the club to have a born scorer in their squad then points may come on a much more regular basis. Let us remember that Suarez and Huntelaar scored 68 goals in 52 games when partnering one another at Ajax. Suarez, the Premier League's joint second top scorer with 7, is often a lone wolf fighting the cold on his own - something that certainly needs to be addressed in the next transfer window - and despite scoring goals his conversion rates are very low (around the 12% mark compared to Van Persie's 35%). While Suarez isn't the most consistent finisher his general play is sensational at times.

Players that have impressed me so far:

Luis Suarez - a wonderful footballer, highlighted by his goal at the weekend vs Newcastle

Steven Gerrard - legendary player who has it all and, along with Suarez, still our go to man. Has made more key passes and assists than any other player

Glen Johnson - in my opinion the best right back in the world. He thrives under the Rodgers philosophy and I firmly believe that if he played for Barcelona most people would agree how good he is

Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger - subject of £25m+ bids in the Summer, both have been monumental

Joe Allen - excellent footballer, brilliant at breaking up play and playing superb possession football (I am most impressed by him - often left to run the midfield on his own as Sahin and Gerrard play free roles)

Raheem Sterling - youngster has burst onto the season and looks set for a bright future. Dangerous and direct style

Fernando Suso - bags of talent but must add goals. Clearly a player with a big future

Andre Wisdom - young, strong, athletic, good on the ball (unfortunately not great going forward which doesn't suit the system but has age on his side to learn)

Players that have Disappointed me:

Pepe Reina - uncharacteristic mistakes are happening too often

Jose Enrique - one of the most unintelligent footballers I've ever seen. Positionally poor, bad decision making and not a great crosser or passer of the ball)

Joe Cole - weak, slow, off the pace. A shadow of his former self

Stuart Downing - I actually feel sorry for Downing as he can cross the ball well but no one is in the box to head it in. Last season he was on the wrong end of a lot of the 'hitting the post' misses. He must add goals to play the role well

Jamie Carragher - while he may still be a bastion of the club his legs are gone. Coates should play instead of him

So can Liverpool be a force? Most definitely, despite a low league position only 6 points separate them from 4th and it is evident that with a clinical striker things can easily change. Promised signings in January can of course influence any season and the groundwork is there to be seen. All the criticism of Rodgers system is, for me, ridiculous. The bottom line is if we had a clinical striker (RvP, Owen, Torres on-form, Nistelrooy) we would be much higher up the table, possibly even contending. The stats of chances created, possession, corners etc are there to be seen. To show how easily things could be different, should Liverpool had won 3 games they completely dominated - Man City, Stoke and Newcastle - instead of drawn they would be 4th! My prediction is that Liverpool will finish 5th and go to the Europa League Semi-Finals. 

Why Diving?

Diving has become ingrained in the game of football, more so abroad but more recently in the English game. While abroad it is a weekly occurrence, in England it is still reasonably rare, yet so focused upon. Watched a game between Real Madrid and Barcelona, while full of talent, is like watching a panto. Tony Pulis recently called for retrospective action against Luis Suarez, yet is less forthcoming on the subject of Robert Huth, his own player who viciously stamped on Suarez's chest. There is no doubt that Suarez's actions, and Gareth Bale's, were reprehensible but no more so than Huth's, or even Robin Van Persie who treated Newcastle midfielder Cabaye to a blow from his forearm. Ultimately Suarez's dive does get punished as on numerous occasions already this season blatant penalty decisions have been waved away by referees wary of being conned. Some journalists even have even said that Mark Wilson's trailing leg slightly catches Suarez and his preposterous fall is just a desperate attempt of getting noticed. Referee's seem to have shorter memories when it comes to violence and repeat offenders often escape unnoticed. Managers like Tony Pulis fail to be troubled by this but they should. While Pulis has done a reputable job at Stoke and I agree with his point that divers should get harsher punishments, to neglect a more serious issue, practically assault, is a clever way of deflecting media attention from his own players who he tells to play 'ugly' football. Teams like Stoke take the beauty out of the game. While effective, their sole purpose is to disrupt the spectacle. The referee in the Stoke vs Liverpool game can defend himself and say, "well I booked 6 players" compared to Liverpool's none, yet if he had control of the game it would have been worse for a Stoke team lucky to end the game with 11. While Huth's stamp was the only one of real aggressive substance, countless niggles, timewasting and professional fouls ruined the game. Now while I discuss Stoke, plenty of other teams take this approach. The great C Ronaldo suffered the same treatment on a regular basis and then instead of condemning teams who go out to break him in two, manager's criticize him for occasionally diving.

Let us not forget that diving in Spain, for example, is a weekly occurrence, yet we call Spanish football beautiful and technical. I personally think Suarez should leave the Premier League for a Spanish club as his game would suit it more and he would not be constantly vilified. While the English media claim foreign players are the catalyst behind diving let us not forget our own. Wayne Rooney, Gareth Bale, Gareth Barry and Steven Taylor to name a few. Despite being THE man when it comes to theatrics Drogba still didn't get vilified the way Suarez does. It begs the question, what is the media's issue with Suarez? And why diving get main headlines?

In my mind the laws on tackling and goal line technology are a bigger issue, along with consistency. Technology because too many cases are wrongly closed when it comes to the ball crossing the line. Clarity could be given to fans, referee's and players. Tackling as I am of the belief of if you win the ball is it no foul, let alone a sending off. Going back to basics football is a contact sport, while we don't want to see injuries they happen. It riles me when things like the Ramsey injury happen, which was an accident from the distraught Ryan Shawcross, and manager Arsene Wenger comes out blasting Shawcross and saying he should never play football again. There is a big difference between going in hard and going in to get the man. Vicious fouls where there is intent to purely hurt the man should be sanctioned much harder, and of course all fans want to see consistency. If someone gets sent off for a two footed challenge then all two footed challenges should face the same penalty, or none. The 'reckless' tackle rule only allows referee's to have bias interpretation, leading to inconsistency.

So back to my original point, while I hate diving as well the coverage it receives is ridiculously out of proportion, it has been happening for years and the great players are normally guilty of such acts. Harsher bans would indeed help cut it out and I am fully behind that. What I am looking for is consistency and fairness, something I don't believe football is getting at the moment.

Rafa Benitez, one of the finest managers in modern Premier League history

Despite a torrid end to a career in England that saw Liverpool rise to the top of European football, Rafa Benitez is a man that commands great respect in the football world. Known for his in-depth analysis and knowledge of the game he is a master tactician and a true gentleman in the world of football.

Before reading any further cast whatever opinion you have of him out of your mind and approach this for what it is, a realisation of what Benitez has brought the game and admirable way he conducts himself in doing so. Regardless if you are a Liverpool FC fan, a Valencia fan, or a fan from a rival club, and intelligent fan can see that Benitez deserves the credit he has been given.

As a Liverpool FC fan I clearly have a biased opinion and Rafa will go down in the club's history for the 5th European title he brought back to Anfield, and on a more personal level the tears he shed during a Hillsborough memorial ceremony. With the truth of Hillsborough finally revealed maybe rival fans can see that being Liverpool manager is more than just football, a statement perfectly exemplified by Benitez. He is a true great for the club and many were unhappy with the way that the love affair between Benitez and LFC came to an end, mainly due to the ownership at the time being what can only be described as arguably the worst in the club's glorious history. Despite leaving LFC, Rafa stayed in Merseyside with his family and his love for, not just LFC but, the English game is without question. He is a family man who has an enormous amount of pride in his work. I, for one, firmly believe that given the backing from the ownership Benitez would have continued his remarkable career with LFC. This article, however, is not just to discuss Liverpool, it is to take a look into Rafa's life and philosophy to try and make fans who may have prejudged him realise that he is one of the most genuine and intelligent men in the game.

I expect many do not know his story - beginning as a young lad who excelled in football, basketball, tennis as well as being a superb chess and 'stratego' player. He began his path in football at Real Madrid, joining their ranks at 13 years of age whilst continuing his education. Progressing through the Madrid youth teams he excelled academically and in football seeing him gain a degree in Physical Education and also being called up to the Spanish University National team. Unfortunately for Rafa a terrible knee injury set his football career back and he was promptly loaned out of Madrid. After spending a few years on loan from Real Madrid, years blighted by recurring knee problems, Rafa retired early at the age of 26. He quickly became the Technical Director for Madrid and then went on to become u19 manager, winning 2 league titles and a cup in 3 years. Following his first success at youth management level, then Madrid manager Vicente Del Bosque offered Benitez the assistant manager role. After excelling in previous roles it was clear to see that Benitez had what it takes to be a great manager and a job offer followed. Going solo Benitez went to Extremadura, getting them promoted to La Liga. He then went to Tenerife, again getting them promoted to La Liga. Despite a few setbacks, these credentials meant that Benitez got offered his first major managing role for Spanish giants Valencia.

Rafa jumped at the chance to manage such a major team and success was around the corner. Under Benitez, Valencia began playing a style of football that saw them rise above the rest to win their first league title in 31 years. For those of you who don't remember this was at a time when the Spanish league was considered the best in the world, containing the 'Galacticos' of Madrid, the great Barcelona, 'superdepor' Deportivo (a major force back then), the rich Sevilla and Atletico Madrid. Rafa continued to win trophies for Valencia before being offered a new challenge at the historically rich Liverpool. Benitez was awarded the Golden Club Crest for the work he did for Valencia by the club President in 2011. Following his time in Spain, he became the first ever Spanish manager for LFC. Going on to take Liverpool to the top of Europe's elite and to their highest ever Premier League finish was just part of the story that saw Benitez gain love at Anfield.

Married with children, Benitez has dedicated his life to football and his family. His emotions have caused people to love him, yet have also at times cost him dearly. Perhaps his most notable outburst of emotion was to his chairman at the time when he had just won the Club World Championship with Inter Milan. Immediately after winning the final Benitez was visible unhappy and publicly voiced his disapproval of lack of funds and the way the club was being run to, essentially, his boss. Needless to say, Benitez left Inter by mutual consent shortly afterward. Other outbursts include his rant about Sir Alex Ferguson and the power that he had over referees and other aspects of the game.

With Brendan Rodgers now at the helm at LFC, I personally was desperate to see Rafa given another shot at managing the club. With owners who could offer him stability rather than the turbulence he received before I feel that he could have thrived. Despite some poor signings such as Robbie Keane and Aquilani he also brought world class players to the club: Reina, Alonso, Torres, Mascherano, Johnson to name a few. One of the best performances I have seen LFC play is when the mighty Real Madrid, captained by the World's Best Player Fabio Cannavaro at the time, got hammered 4-0 with Torres and co giving them the run-around. Benitez' philosophy and style of football was admirable and his tactical genius got the better of many world-class managers - Ferguson, Mourinho and Wenger.

Even now Liverpool are reaping the benefits of Benitez' work. Not many people give him credit for the youth setup at Liverpool - as many simply do not know. The likes of Kelly, Spearing, Sterling, Suso, Morgan, Coady, Wisdom, Shelvey, Pacheco and so on have gone on to make first team appearances and some are now firm fixtures in the senior squad. Before Benitez, Liverpool's reserve and youth setup was nowhere near the standard it now is.

After coming in 3rd place in the Nextgen series Champions League (youth CL) it is evident that LFC youth teams have a lot of talent and a lot of this is due to the work that Benitez put in to change the structure of the club top-to-bottom.

As an intelligent fan I can put aside my hatred and say that manager's such as Wenger, Mourinho and Ferguson are world class and I have a lot of respect for them. They have experienced the highs and lows of football, much like Benitez. Rafa deserves enormous credit and gratitude for all that he has done for football, be it for Valencia, Liverpool, Inter Milan or the charity work he does through the Montse-Benitez Foundation.

What professionals have to say about him:

Gerrard - "Rafa is obsessed with football 24 hours a day, seven days a week", "he is a great man and a great friend"

Hamann - "in my mind he is pure managerial genius"

Bellamy - "I have learnt more from Rafa Benitez than any other coach I have worked with"

Records that speak more than what I can say:

2005-06

Liverpool became the first British club to 'keep' the European Champions League trophy after winning it for the 5th time in Istanbul 2005.

Liverpool then became the 3rd team and 1st British side to win the Super Cup 3 times

Gerrard became the first Liverpool player in history to score in 5 successive European matches

Liverpool set a new club record of 11 consecutive clean sheets (Oct-Dec 2005)

Liverpool win 10 league games in a row for the 1st time in 15 years

2006-07

Benitez became the first manager to lift a trophy in each of his first 2 seasons after the FA Cup win in 2006

Liverpool went unbeaten in 30 successive home games

Pepe Reina kept more clean sheets in his first 50 league games (28) than any other keeper in Liverpool's history

Liverpool reached their second champions league final in 3 seasons

2007-08

Liverpool beat Besiktas 8-0 to record the highest ever Champions League win

Benitez won 81 of his first 150 league games in charge, only Kenny Dalglish (87) won more as an LFC manager

Torres scored 24 league goals - the most by any LFC player in their debut season

Pepe Reina won Golden Glove award for the 3rd successive season

Liverpool scored 119 goals - more than any team in England

2008-09

Liverpool inflicted Real Madrid's biggest ever Champions League defeat at Anfield

Benitez' 100th league win as manager in his 181st game. The 3rd quickest ever by a LFC manager and 50 games quicker than Alex Ferguson

Liverpool got the highest number of points by any team which failed to win the league (38 game seasons)

2009-10

Liverpool unbeaten in 31 home league games

Torres broke club record by scoring his 50th league goals in his first 72 games

Reina set a new record of 79 clean sheets in his first 150 games

For Valencia:

La Liga (2) - 01-02 and 03-04

Uefa Cup - 03-04

Valencia's highest ever win ratio: 53.50%

Most trophies by any coach in Valencia's history

For Inter:

Club World Championship (1)

Italian Super Cup (1)

Controversy, bad starts, Hillsborough and all things football

First and foremost I think it is fitting to pay tribute to the 96 who lost their lives at Hillsborough. Following the emergence of the disgusting truth that has reached the public over the last week fans of football have united in their support for the families that lost their loved ones. Serious questions must be answered by the Police and in the near future I am sure justice will and must be had.

Yet again goal-line technology was called into action after Everton had goals disallowed in their game against Newcastle last night. Time and time again this has happened and yet the powers that be still seem reluctant to execute a plan that sees technology clear these matters up.

At the top of the table things look as expected, however dropped points for the big teams show that the quality of the league is higher than ever and looks set to be full of surprises - Arsenal misfire in their opening games, shortly followed by smashing Southampton. Southampton play superbly against Man City and United and then truly terrible against Arsenal. Chelsea look unstoppable and then play poorly in a goalless draw against QPR and so on.

Tottenham haven't had the best of starts but fans will be somewhat calmed by their result against a weak Reading team, however, Tottenham have escaped extra pressure due to another of the big teams starting poorly, Liverpool. Despite high hopes for the season Liverpool have 2 points from 4 games, a start that will have fans question whether new manager BR has what it takes to lead them back into European contention. Whilst some may blame a tough start in the fixture list it is clear that it will take more than 4 games to adapt to the philosophy that Rodger's Swansea team played superbly last season. Unlucky dropped points against the Champions Man City followed an awful performance against Arsenal, again asking the question "can Liverpool be a consistent force?" There is still a long way to go in the season and much of Liverpool's play has given fans optimism despite their results. Creating chances is not a problem, being clinical is. As football pundits say, it would be worse if they were not creating the chances at all! Man United visit Anfield next, a clash that has been and will continue to be the biggest clash in English football, despite Liverpool's lack of domestic success in the Premier League. The rivalry between these two massive clubs spans numerous years, bitter struggles, fiesty affairs and a certain racist incident that left both sets of fans furious about the other party involved.

Man United look very good I have to admit, resting RVP and without Rooney they showed their depth as they still scored 4 goals against Wigan. The major difference between the likes of Liverpool/Tottenham and Man United/City is knowing how to win Premier League games. While that sounds ridiculously obvious think about how many games Liverpool and Tottenham players have actually won? United players have been doing this for years (Scholes, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Giggs, Rooney, RvP, Nani, Carrick - all experienced Prem players. Tottenham - Dembele, Walker, Vertonghen, Sandro - all relatively new to the Prem. Liverpool - Shelvey, Allen, Suarez, Enrique, Kelly, Sterling - all pretty new. Whilst I am not in any way saying any of these players are not very good, as I believe some I have mentioned are excellent, I am merely making the point of the vast experience and years of winning the likes of United have under their belt. When they play badly they find a way, something Liverpool, for example, have not been able to do in the last 2/3 seasons.

After the opening games I believe that it will be between: Norwich, QPR, Aston Villa, Southampton and Wigan to go down and the top six will be United, City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham.

Is the 100m Sprint overrated??

The men's 100m Sprint is the pinnacle of the games. People pay hundreds of pounds to watch the likes of Bolt, Blake and Gay battle it out to become the worlds fastest man. A title that carries such weight in the world of athletics. A mere 10 seconds and the race is over, 9.63 seconds if your Usain Bolt. The crowd go wild, Bolt pulls his normal pose and enjoys the camera's. Is it deserved?

Today the Brownlee brothers showed what the Olympics really is all about. Athletes sweating blood and tears for their country and personal achievement. While Usain Bolt has just taken Gold he was more bothered about working the crowd than feeling the strain of a race. While there is undeniable talent in Bolt's speed, I believe to deserve a medal you should have to hurt for it. Bolt barely looked tired after his event. When the Brownlee boys crossed the line they could barely stand, let alone run again!

Sprint arrogance is preceeded by sportsmanship, determination and a will to succeed in the triathlon. There is no bad bantering between the athletes and a lot more respect in other events. While the 100m sprint may be the more glamourous, I am a believer that the gulf in 'celebrity status' is undeserved. While I do enjoy the sprint I have been far more enthralled by the likes of the cycling road race, triathlon, velodrome drama, Mo Farah taking gold and Jess Ennis. 

Bolt's arrogance and self confidence is at times admirable but there are far greater athletes who handle themselves in a truly great way.... Michael Phelps when he lost to Chad Le Clos, now there is a true champion! 

Alistair Brownlee's post race actions say it all really:

The crazy performances involving Badminton match fixing

Seasoned professional, highly skilled in their sport, must have been watching their colleagues with despair in the last of the Badminton group games. Women's doubles in the sport normally offers up an experience that is both fast-paced and intense. However South Korea, China and Indonesia set about putting up a display that could only be described as astounding, and not the good kind! In a bid to manipulate the draw for the knockout stages four sets of doubles teams made it obvious to the watching nation they they did not want to win, oblivious of the fact that in doing so in a way that was so patently clear they ultimately cost themselves a place in the knockouts all together. With performances of sheer stupidity, going as far as deliberately serving into the net and hitting standard shots out, they have cost their places in the further round of London 2012 Women's Doubles Badminton. How Indonesia and South Korea can try and appeal is beyond me and beyond the expectant crowd who had gathered to watch some of the finest women's badminton players in the world. The longest rally in the first game between China's Yu Yang/Wang Xiaoli and South Korea's Jung Kyung-eun/Kim Ha-na actually managed the impressive feat of only 4 shots. The aim of the game was to avoid winning in a bid to miss playing the Chinese number 1 seeds. While they thought it was a tactical move the Badminton World Federation had the last laugh and gave them the boot from the competition!

Destination Board Games and Rachel Lowe MBE

The award winning Destination Board Games are now on Facebook, "Like" the page at http://www.facebook.com/Destinationboardgame. Destination is the popular board game that has 23 editions, including current special editions Destination London 2012 and Destination London 2012 Sports, official licensed products of the 2012 Olympics.

Best-seller Destination Hogwarts is due for re-release later this year!!

Rachel Lowe MBE, an entrepreneur from Portsmouth, came up with the Destination board game idea while working as a taxi driver in order to fund her way through University. In 2004 she appeared on Dragon's Den with her idea but unfortunately left empty handed. Later that year the game went on to become Hamley's best-seller and continued to outsell rival Monopoly.

Rachel's story is one that is both inspiring and intriguing. She successfully shows how a business idea can be made and how to succeed despite knock backs (Dragons Den). Rachel lost her company RTL in 2009 when Warner Bro's delayed the release of Harry Potter, The Half Blood Prince, and she had to push back the release of the game due to this. However, Rachel recouped the Destination game after pitching to 'Twitter Dragon' Simon Dolan who invested in her and their new company She Who Dares UK Ltd, who now have Destination back in the market and their new product sees Rachel delve into the fashion industry with She Who Dares, a brand designed to empower and celebrate women, coming soon.

www.destinationboardgames.co.uk
https://twitter.com/__Destination
https://twitter.com/SWDfashion
http://rachellowe.co.uk/