Kristian Jack lays down his thoughts on the world of soccer. Catch KJ on The Hardcore Footy Show every Monday at 12pm EST, and if you're in Hardcore Country North you can see him on The Score Television Network alongside James Sharman. Catch 'The Footy Show' this Sunday at 10:30am EST as they set you up for Man City vs. Bolton, LIVE on The Score!
Kristian Jack back with you to give you 13 of the many thoughts that popped in my head over the weekend.
1. We know Hull are third and we know they've done incredibly well so far but unless you've watched a bulk of their games you may not know that this team is the hardest working team in the league. Seeing overachievers work incredibly hard and beat talented underachievers is something I enjoy in all aspects of life.
2. When I was a teenager I loved Dwight Yorke. He was a true Villain and a Holte End legend. As my teenage years left me for good, however, so did Yorke as he signed for 'them!'. Years on I've mellowed somewhat and I cannot help but feel happy for him as he plays in the top league in the world remodeled as a central midfielder.
3. Talking of 'them!' I think they need to be careful. You can afford to have one lazy player with terrible body language but you cannot afford to have two. Dimitar Berbatov and Cristiano Ronaldo need to spend as little time together as possible.
4. I talked about him last week and I am back again to applaud the talents of Mr Fellaini. The 'Scouse Screech' was great again on Saturday. Sure, he ball watched as Darren Fletcher scored but he carried that team on his back in the second half and deserved the goal, which showed his forwards just how to out jump defenders.
5. Talking of repeating my thoughts I really am sick and tired of seeing officials ruin games. The linesman, er, assistant referee at Blackburn looked like he was at least 60 years old. He has one important job to do and that is to raise the flag should he see a player in an offside situation. Tuncay Sanli's strike was immense and I would have loved it to count even if he was a mile offside but he was actually onside and that just isn't right.
6. So Liverpool fans are you believing yet? I know my mate Sharman certainly isn't but he does have a wise head on his shoulders and also has an ability to think a little more logically than the average fan. I'm not saying this is necessarily right but it makes me wonder what you guys think.
7. My take on Liverpool is that they have overcome two massive hurdles this season already and this is a huge psychological boost to them and their fans. Right now Reds fan is in the nightclub for the 19th straight night eyeing up that incredibly hot girl. For the last few nights she's teased him, chatted with him for a bit and even, early on in the night, shown signs in the past that this could the night. Tonight, though, it seems different. Could the 19th night be the night? She's now showing more interest in you than ever before. You are clearly the target but you know the night is still young. So what are you going to do Red? Will you get the prize? Or, like Sharman, did you just walk away and know that it ain't going to happen!
8. Talking of hot lets not forget just how brilliant Chelsea was last week at Middlesbrough. However, there are a couple of areas that I think Liverpool exposed them in. Crunch them hard in midfield and suddenly the 4-2-3-1 formation looks vulnerable. Also, they badly need another forward not named Didier. A fit Drogba or not they need more depth in that position.
9. In case you weren't aware quite yet Hull City are not going down. That means another team that 99% of prognosticators didn't pick to get relegated will actually be playing Championship football next season. Unlike my mate Thomas Dobby I am quite confident that will not be Wigan but Steve Bruce needs to take his team back to the Bruce School of Defending very quickly.
10. Six weeks ago I took the under on 6 weeks that Gary Megson would be fired. I think I might have just missed it by two weeks. Standby folks. Standby.
11. The notion that Spurs players simply quit on Juande Ramos just isn't true. They would have beat Bolton with Ramos anyway because even Spurs were never that bad not to get three points against such a negative team on the road. However, Daniel Levy clearly knew that three points on Sunday would have been like putting a band-aid on a broken leg. The problem would not have gone away.
12. Fulham have scored some massive goals during Roy Hodgson's short tenure. Clint Dempsey's 87th minute strike against Portsmouth was another one. Fulham had gone four games without a goal in open play and hadn't scored a single point on their travels before Sunday. This is another team that is too good to go down but unless you get goals and points on the road it doesn't matter.
13. Gianfranco Zola's honeymoon is over. Tactically he got it bang-on against Arsenal on Sunday but still suffered his third straight loss. With games away at Man Utd and Middlesbrough this week I wouldn't be surprised to be talking about a 5 game losing skid this time next week.
Posted
Oct 30 2008, 07:44 AM
by
Brendan Dunlop