Liverpool on recovery path

Liverpool vs Bolton Wanderers (30 Jan 2010)

Liverpool faced Bolton Wanderers at Anfield in their weekend fixture. Liverpool's season has been jittery with too many ups and downs, the latest being FA cup exit in which they lost to second division club Reading. Rafa Benitez had put up a side which has the skill and the ability but completely lacking in confidence. David Nogog replaced Fernando Torres upfront as the striker, partnering with Dirk Kuyt.

Liverpool began the first half, shooting at the KOP end. Bolton Wanderers' strategy was to pin down to Gerrard and Muamba was doing a pretty good job at it,shadowing Steve Gee wherever he went. Bolton got two excellent chances in the first half,one coming from Cohen who couldn't put the ball past Reina. Thanks to ever-dependable Carragher who didn't give Cohen enough room to take the shot properly. The next brilliant chance came from Chung Yung Lee who did a neat work of getting past the Liverpool centre backs and also around the Liverpool Goalie but last minute brilliant work by Krygiakos saved Liverpool from the agony of trailing Bolton at Anfield.

Liverpool was fierce in their approach whenever they came cloe to scoring but lacked the killer touch. Some brilliant moves by Gerrard were blocked off by Zat Knight, Kuyt was just a yard away from converting Insua's cross into a goal. Liverpool found themselves ahead just minutes before the first half ended- Courtesy The Dutchman: Kuyt. Even though the goal was scrappy it was enough to bolster Liverpool's confidence. Bolton's defender Steinsson could have cleared the ball off the goal line but the ball some how found its way back into the net.

A one goal lead always causes anxiety for the team who scored it. Liverpool could have sealed the game early in the second half when Ngog missed a lollypop chance from six yards, the ball bouncing off the goal post. Bolton didn't threaten Liverpool much in the second half. This forced the Bolton manager to bring in Ricardo Gardner, Weiss and Elmandor to step up the Bolton attack.

Insua's shot was deflected off Kevin Davies before rolling past Jaskeleinen for a second Liverpool goal. Rafa could now breathe easily given that Liverpool will not commit silly mistakes to refrain them from claiming all three points.

Even though Liverpool came out victorious they lacked the ability to finish Bolton off. Liverpool could easily have scored four to five goals, given the amount of chances they had in the match. Liverpool now sits fifth in the table with 41 points just one point behind Tottenham Hotspurs. Aston Villa is on 40 with a game in hand and Man City are with 38 points with three games in hand.

If Liverpool fail to qualify for Europe next year the club's financial situation may be in jeopardy and this could mean many of the top players might leave Anfield. Now that Liverpool has won three of their home games in a row their confidence is high and hope that they take their good form in the remaining games.

Mumbai Half Marathon- My 6th half marathon

The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon was conducted on 17 Jan 2010 and this was the 7th edition of the premier event. Let me tell you why running in Mumbai is special. First of all you need to register way back in July of the previous year because the competition is tough and number of participants overwhelming. Secondly the Mumbai Marathon is given Gold status by AIMS.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/23092968

This was my first Mumbai Half marathon and #6 overall. I had booked my tickets in advance with Jet Airways and was all set for Mumbai 2010. I took the 7:15 flight on 16 Jan 2010 from Chennai and reached Mumbai at around 9:00 hrs. There were two surprises instore for me. First I met my colleague from Strategic Sourcing on the same flight. He was going to Mumbai for an official trip. Secondly I met a girl ( Archana ) from computer science dept from my college,my batch. I was 100% sure it was her but I didn't have the guts to talk to her because even though I was staring at her for quite some time, waiting for some reaction she didn't seem to recognize me.

I had a quick breakfast with my colleague at the airport premises and left for my uncle's house in Matunga. Now Matunga comes under greater Bombay and autos are banned inside Greater Bombay. My colleague dropped me till Kurla Gardens, from there I took an auto till Scion and hired a cab from there to Matunga Central. My aunt and uncle gave me a warm welcome and made me quite comfortable, making me feel at home. They after making sure that I was comfortable went off to office and I spent the rest of the time till lunch with their younger 8 year old daughter Aayushi.

We had excellent lunch, rotis and undiyo, dal and a sweetdish whose name I do not remember. I really liked the undiyo as it was very very tasty and makes for an excellent side-dish with rotis. After lunch my uncle took me to Cuffe Parade, where I collected my BIB no. 11182 and the goodie bag. My uncle wanted to make sure that I had the best time in Bombay and went of the way in ensuring that. He took me to Leopold's cafe. Does this cafe sound familiar? This was one of the places where the terrorists open fired on 26 Nov 2008, killing many innocent lives. I saw the bullet marks on the granite wall as well as on the glass windows. After having a drink at Leopold's cafe we went for '3 idiots' the most successful film in the history of Bollywood cinema so far. We returned home by 22:30 hrs, had dinner and went off to sleep.

It was the D day. I woke up at 5:00 and geared myself for the run. I had set a target of 2:11 hrs to crack the 21.09Km distance. My uncle made sure that Raju stayed overnight just for my sake and drop me in the morning till the starting point. I warmed up,doing my usual stretching exercises and waited patiently for the flag off. The route was amazing; part of it was on the newly built Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link. The sad part was there was no water points on the sea link and many of the runners were struggling because of that.

I did a nonstop run till 8km after which I coupled walking and running till the finish. I was motivated by the enthusiasm and excitement of the Mumbai crowd. The toughest part of the route was the Peddar Road stretch where the road is narrow and quite steep. But the cheering crowd kept the runners going. People went the extra step of providing refreshments for runners and this is something unique you can find only in Mumbai. Cheers to Mumbai on this aspect.

I completed my run in 2:24:39, this was my official timing. I was quite pleased with my performance and thanked God for giving me both the mental as well as the physical strength to complete the run.

After the run I took a train from Marine Lines uptil Matunga Road and from there a taxi till Matunga Central. As I didn't carry my cellphone with me my aunt and uncle were worried when I took a long time to return home. It was my mistake; I should have called them from some other mobile. But anyways I was treated by my aunt's garam parathas with an extra dash of butter. I enjoyed my meal and went off to sleep. After that I went on see my friends at SP Jain. I met Anoop, my high school classmate and spent about one and half hours with him before departing for Chennai. On the whole I had a great run.

'The Reds' go Wolf hunting @ Anfield

Liverpool vs Wolverhampton ( 26 Dec 2009)

Liverpool finished off their last match in 2009 in style when they beat the visitors (Wolves) by two goals to nil at Anfield. Liverpool's squad for the match on boxing day* was an interesting one. Aquillani, the 20 million pound buy started because Mascherano had received a straight red card last week against Portsmouth and will be missing the next three fixtures.

*- In the English Premier League the day after Christmas is called Boxing Day.

Dirk Kuyt was rested because Liverpool has its important fixture on Wednesday against Aston Villa which they cannot afford to lose.

The Wolves kept Liverpool at bay during the first half although Liverpool had more than 50% of the ball possession. Gerrard had a couple of shots on target but some superb goalkeeping by Marcus Hahnemann denied Captain Courageous any chances. Johnson also had his share of shots on target but of no avail. Liverpool though having a strong squad failed to exploit 'The Wolves'. This is because Liverpool were lacking in confidence, their seven defeats so far in the Premier League plus an early exit from Champions League was taking a toll on the player's mental strength as well as their boss Rafa Benitez.

Wolves threatened to score a couple of time but Reina's instincts and goal keeping skills denied them.

Both teams went into the first half with a score line of 0-0.

Liverpool had to find some inspiration from somewhere and who better to look up to other than their Captain Steve Gee. Some deft work by the left fullback Insua provided the perfect cross into the box for Gerrard,who pounced on it and got to it before the Wolf midfielder Milijas and heading the ball past the Wolf goalie. Anfield went beserk and so did the Liverpool players.

Wolves tried hard to salvage something from the game; Jarvis, Milijas and Ward giving their best shot and trying to take the game to Liverpool but Liverpool's defence was stunning and denied Wolves any chances.

Lucas was pulled down by Ward just before the penalty box. This earned him a second yellow card and Ward was sent off. The funny thing that happened here was that the referee by mistake yellow carded another defender instead of Ward, arousing the anger of the Scousers and the players alike. He then corrected his mistake and Ward was sent off the pitch.

Liverpool needed another goal to seal the game and this was provided by the Israeli playmaker Benayoun. Benayoun's shot on target was well crafted and was deflected by the Wolf defender before finding its way to the back of the net. Liverpool led at Anfield by two goals to nil.

Rafa made a couple of substitutions,bringing in Pacheko and Kuyt to replace Benayoun and Aquillani. Pacheko is a tiny, young and promising striker for Liverpool and Rafa wanted to give him some practice before infusing him in the main squad.

With the win over Wolves,Liverpool now sit with 30 points and are 7th in the table,12 points behind league leaders Chelsea. Rafa needs to make some strategic plans to revamp Liverpool and infuse confidence to his brilliant squad so that they come out on top at the end of the season.

Portsmouth stun Liverpool ( 19 Dec 2009)

Portsmouth took on Liverpool in their Premier League fixture this weekend. Liverpool's boss Rafa Benitez had put up a defensive side to take on Pompy. Liverpool's dismal performance this season gave a psychological edge to Portsmouth to go all guns firing against Liverpool and also with Avram Grant taking charge of Pompy,they looked bright with full confidence.

Liverpool had the lions share of the ball possession in the first half and also dominated the game for the first half hour. Torres came close to scoring when he swirled the ball over the goal post. The condition of the pitch was not in its best form, being frosty and many of the players had trouble controlling themselves leave alone controlling the ball. Dirk Kuyt especially had a tough time,slipping time and again and failing to keep the ball in control. Kuyt had to change his boots to cope better with the conditions.

Portsmouth started taking the game to Liverpool after the first 30 minutes. Their first real chance came when Yebda crossed the ball into the box for Piquionne but Agger spotted the danger and flicked the ball with his head for a corner. Just before half time Belhadj scored for Pompy, taking a shot from a close range and from a very tight angle. Reina,the Liverpool goalie was a mere spectator as he watched the ball swoosh past him to the back of the net. With one goal down Liverpool another defeat was looming large at their faces and they had to score to get back into the game.

Mascherano was sent off for a rash tackle on Ben Haim.Half time gone Pompy lead at Fratton park and Liverpool's woes doubled.

Liverpool's chances of a comeback were thwarted by a clever strategy adopted by Portsmouth. Pompy made sure that the ball stays away from key players like Gerrard, Torres and Kuyt. Pompy were in fact successful in doing that and kept Liverpool at bay. A momentary lapse in concentration cost Pompy almost a goal. Gerrard broke through the middle and struck the ball hard, the ball taking two deflections along its way almost reached the back of the net but some quick reactions from the young Pompy goalie denied Gerrad and Liverpool the goal. Torres too had his share of chances,dribbling past Pompy defenders to shoot the ball into the net but too many touches of the ball in fact spoiled his chances of taking a kick at the ball.

Pompy made life for Liverpool even more miserable when Piquionne scored the second goal and sealed Liverpool's chances of taking anything from the game. Liverpool's defence looked pretty ordinary and lacked the usual quality.

Liverpool have lost seven of their Premier League game so far and the threat of a top four spot is looming large. With Champions League out of their reach Liverpool's only chances of qualifying for next year's Champions League if they do not finish in the top four is if they win the Europa Cup. The pressure is certainly on the Merseysiders to perform.

As far as Portsmouth is concerned, the win over Liverpool has infused the team with confidence but more importantly it has given them solid three points. This means the other bottom teams have to play catch-catch before it gets decided who will get relegated this season.

Arshavin haunts Liverpool yet again

Liverpool-Arsenal (13 Dec 2009)

Liverpool hosted Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday for the Barclays Premier League fixture,this being one of the fixtures in which the top flight teams clash for glory and dominance. Liverpool's boss Rafa Benitez put out his strongest squad,Fernando Torres making comeback after a gap of six weeks. The midfield line up consisted of Steve Gee,Kuyt,Benayoun,Mascherano and Lucas. Arsenal's squad looked meek with Persie and Bendtnar missing and Asravin trotting as the lone striker upfront.

Liverpool started the match with 24 points in the bag and Arsenal with 28 points. A win would get Liverpool or Arsenal closer to the league leader Chelsea. Both teams had the advantage because both Chelsea and Manchester United dropped points this weekend.

Liverpool started the first half with much agression,attacking right from the first minute. Five minutes under the first half a superb partnership between Torres and Gerrard almost put Liverpool in front but the rustiness of not playing for a long time held Torres from finishing a lollylop chance,giving the ball straight into the hands of the Arsenal goalkeeper. Although Arsenal's midfield was impressive the lack of a talented striker upfront denied them any chances of taking a good shot at the goal. Walcott looked helpless against the solid Liverpool defense and Fabregas and Nasri weren't getting the balls into the right spot for Arshavin to take a clean shot.

Just before half time Liverpool got a freekick about 30 yards from the goal. Fabio Aurelio's freekick was not punched clear by Alumunia and it fell nicely for Kuyt who nudged the ball into the goal post. Lucas sensibly stepped out of the way,allowing the ball to drift into the net. Had he touched the ball Liverpool might have been denied the goal because Lucas was in an off-side position. Liverpool went into the first half with a 1-0 lead.

The second half was a much better one for Arsenal. Liverpool's right fullback Glen Johnson gifted Arsenal with an own goal and one powerful strike by the tiny Russian (Andrey Arshavin) turned the tables in Arsenal's favour. Liverpool fought hard for a comeback,making crucial substitutions like Aquillani and Ngog to increase their attacking force but of no avail. Arsenal had weathered the Liverpool storm at Anfield and emerged victorious. Arsenal now move into the third spot with 31 points,six points behind Chelsea. Arsenal also have the advantage of a game in hand.

Liverpool's run of bad luck in the months of November and December continued for the third season. Statistics show that Liverpool drops most of their points during these two crucial months. Rafa needs to rework his strategy and needs to make sure that Torres and Gerrard are fit for the rest of the games so that Liverpool can clinch the top four spot. Not doing so will eliminate them from next seasons UEFA champions league.

Liverpool still under pressure

Liverpool- Manchester City ( 21 Nov 2009)

Liverpool,who started as serious contenders for the Barclays Premier League this season,find themselves lingering at no. 7 in the Premier League table. Manchester City on the other hand spent big bucks this summer in getting top players into their squad but have not reaped the benefits of it 100%. Both teams went into the Saturday's fixture with all guns blazing,the Liverpool boss under tremendous pressure to change things around for Liverpool.

The first half started off well and 'The Reds' looked confident. Steven Gerrard was back in the squad although budding Torres was missing. Liverpool almost scored within the first 4 minutes when Steve Gee's freekick was headed towards goal by Skrtel. But a brilliant save by Shay Given denied Skrtel his first Liverpool goal and also preventing Liverpool from taking a lead early on. Liverpool had the lion's share of the possession and continued to dominate. Liverpool's misfortune continued as Agger was injured during a clash of heads with the City defender and had to be carried away on a stretcher. Babel injured his ankle during a clash with City player Di Jong. Babel was in pain and could not carry on further and was replaced by Yossi Benayoun.

Man City also had a couple of chances to score but failed to produce any quality from the shots. The first real chance they got was when the ball dropped to Barry but he neither powered the shot nor tried to head the ball into the goal, rather heading it towards the Liverpool keeper,who punched the ball away. The second chance came when Man City were on cruise mode and Stephen Ireland let the ball run to Shaun Wright Phillips,who hammered the shot but well away from its target. Both teams failed to break the deadlock and were stranded at 0-0.

Liverpool scored a goal within the first ten minutes of the second half. David Ngog was fouled just outside the penalty box and Steve Gee's free kick was nipped in by Skrtel. Liverpool were 1-0 up and hoped to grab all three points. Man City's boss knew that his tactics were not working at Anfield and substituted Barry for Tevez. Man City, now armed with three strikers were pushing forward to gain an equalizer. Liverpool were forced on their back heels and being 1-0 up they didn't wan to risk going forward. But this strategy of Liverpool proved fatal. Man City was building the pressure and it was just a matter of time before they scored. Two goals,one from Adebayor and the other from Ireland put Man City back on track. A tremendous comeback for a team who were a goal down. 

Liverpool's lack in defending from set pieces has time and again proved costly. 'The Reds' never keep a player protecting the posts when the opposite team takes a corner and this has given the opposition a chance to exploit 'The Red's' weakness.

Liverpool showed great character in getting the second equalizer and it was Benayoun who was at the right place at the right time to slot the ball in. It took Liverpool just 74 seconds to repond with an equalizer. Liverpool showed great chararcter as they always have but the match ended in a draw. Liverpool had a last chance in the final minute to snatch victory when Lucas had a free header from a Gerrard corner kick but didn't capitalize on it. The final score Liverpool 2 Man City 2. Neither team gained any advantage and are still in their respective 7th and 6th places.

Liverpool desperately need to rework their strategy this season. With the Premier League hopes fading away Liverpool needs to ensure that they finish in the top four so that the Champions League spot is not lost next season. Man City and Tottenham Hotspurs are hot on Liverpool's heals for grabbing that 4th spot and Champions League spot.  

Delhi Half Marathon (1 Nov 2009)

The joy of completing a long distance run is unique in its own way and the satisfaction that a runner gets after finishing the run is quite exotic. I am an established amateur half marathon runner and successfully completed my fifth half marathon recently by running the Delhi Half Marathon 2009.

I trained myself on 30 Oct 2009 by doing a 9 mile jog before leaving for Delhi the next day. In the process I stretched a few ligaments on my left knee and was experiencing some pain. I consulted my family doctor and he recommended a couple of pain killers and advised me not to run but seeing my determination and the eagerness to take part he told me to wear a knee cap while running. I had those pain killers the same night and felt a little better. I was determined to run the Delhi Half and there was no looking back at this point.

I packed my stuff the previous night and departed for Delhi the next day (31 Oct 2009) by the morning 7:40 SpiceJet flight. I had company on the same flight, a fellow Chennai runner ( Purushotam) was also taking part in the Delhi Half Marathon. He reserved a seat next to his,messaging me the details of the seat number and asking me to get the same seat. The flight took off on time and I relaxed myself completely during the journey. We landed at the IGI Delhi airport by 10:30 and drove off straight away along with Purushotam's friend (a veteran runner)to the DLF mall, where they were distributing BIB numbers and goodie bags.

All of us collected our stuff and on our way back we met Shankar and Narayan,two more runners from Chennai who had come to take part in the event. I greeted them,wished them luck for the run and left for my cousin sister's place at CR Park. I must tell you that CR Park is one of the posh areas in South Delhi and is predominantly a Bong (Bengali) place. CR Park hosts the biggest and the best 'Durga Puja' every year in Delhi.

I made sure that I took complete care of my leg on Saturday,having those pain killers as advised by my doc and massaging my knee gently. My brother in law,Sarath and my cousin sister both had also registered for the run by my cousin sister backed out in the last minute because of some personal commitments. They have a neighbour whom they called Bhutia and he was also to take part in the run. I had my early dinner and went off to bed early.

The D day finally arrived and we (myself , Sarath and Bhutia) got dropped at the start point by Bhutia's dad. This was even better because we didn't have to scout for an auto in the wee morning hours.We purposefully got off the car one Km ahead of the start line and did some warm up exercises. There was a huge crowd at GATE no. 4,the gate via which we had to get to the start point. By the time I started my run the digital clock was showing a time of 7:34:10. I began my race slow and steady,making sure that I do not stress my left knee too much.

By the time I completed 4 miles the Ethiopians and the Kenyans were on their way back,having completed 14 Km. I was simply stunned by their pace and kept wondering as to how do they maintain the same pace throughout the complete run. These guys are SIMPLY AMAZING! The climate was cold and pleasant,ideal conditions  for running and I did a 5.45 miles at one go before slowing down to a walk. I could do this because I was running with a lot a people and  the motivation to beat my own timing inspired me even more. It was good to see a lot of people take part in the run and the all the more there were more women running the half marathon.

My knee ached at times but my will to complete the race kept me going. My inner mind was constantly reminding me that I can do it and there should be no giving up now. I set myself little time-distance targets and tried to keep up with it but I could not abide by it 100%. I completed my entire run in 2:40:44 hrs and was quite thrilled by my accomplishment. My main goal was to finish the race well within the stipulated time limit and at the same time not straining my knee too much. I thank God for giving me the strength to complete the race.

The race was well organized and there were water stations at every 2 km so there was no paucity of fluids. It seems Sharukh Khan had come for the Great Delhi Run (which is a 7Km run) but I did not get a chance to see him. Shit man! missed the best opportunity to see him. My brother in law completed the race in 2:19:41 hrs. After the race we received our finisher's medal and walked out of the place to get back home. The funny part was we didn't get an auto for almost an hour, we were tired and the sight of seeing autos streaming past us with passengers in it added to our frustration. At last a noble man gave us a lift till Khan market and we got an auto from there. My cousin sister greeted us when we got back home and served us hot 'Peserette Dosas' for breakfast.