14 October 2006

It's not still Friday the 13th, right?



Something's not right here. I've been critical of John Terry in the past (and will most likely continue to be so), but credit where it's due, this was pretty awesome of him. Footie Girl and I were talking about it, though, and we wondered -- how did everyone know that Terry was going in goal? Did they practice what to do if both keepers are knocked out and all the subs are used? Either they plan for pretty remote contingencies over at Stamford Bridge, or John Terry is just the jack-of-all-trades down there. You know, driving the bus, taking the kits home to be cleaned, walking Mourinho's dog and getting his morning lattes. Playing keeper's all in a day's work, then, really. I wish Reading had been able to press their advantage better after Mikel got sent off, but That was still the most entertaining game I've seen from Chelsea in a long time, so I'll take it. And Cech and Cudicini are both okay, so it's all good. (One of the news reports I read called him "Czech keeper Cech," and I've been giggling and saying that to myself all night. Yes, I am five. But it's fun!)

Less fun? Liverpool 1 - Blackburn 1. I'm not sure what the big problem is, but there are a couple of little things that I'm noticing. First, now that they have wingers, Rafa seems afraid to use them. I know Pennant played today, but what about putting Gonzalez on as more than an impact sub? Garcia's had that role for the past two seasons, but it's time to admit it -- Garcia only works in the Champions League (or against Chelsea). Give some of the new boys a chance, especially the ones specifically brought in to provide pace and width. It's great that they have them, but the team won't unless they start getting some playing time. Second, Steven Gerrard needs to score. The thing is, though, I don't think a goal will come until he quits trying to force it. He was completely anonymous today, except for the few times he showed up to do his Lampard impression and take bad shots from a long way out. That's not what needs to happen. Right now, it seems like he's so desperate to score that he's taking shots when he should be passing. It's not pretty, much like the ski-jump he's got on his head. (Yes, I'll continue to harp on that till it goes away.) Boy needs to relax.

As for England? I'm just pretending it never happened. 3-5-2 what?

5 comments:

Linda said...

As far as I understand it, all teams have contingency plans for when they've used all the subs and the keeper gets sent off or injured. Terry seems like a logical choice for Chelsea - he'd probably be good at it.

The weirdest one I've seen is definitely Javier Saviola for Argentina, since he's A) a striker, and B) 1.66 meters tall.

Amanda said...

Huh -- learn something new every day. I guess just for cases like this, which is the first one I've heard of since I've been following soccer.

Now you've got me curious. I wonder who's emergency keeper for Liverpool?

Jen said...

I vote for Peter Crouch. Because, come on, how funny would that be?

Amanda said...

Hee. I was thinking maybe Hyypia? He's tall and not a striker, and I don't know what else you'd need, really. Though Crouch would be almost as amusing as Steven in goal.

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