Posts in the Sports category

I have plenty of respect for Kenny Dalglish and what he has done and means to the fans of Liverpool FC. Not just that, but what he means to the club.

I am too old to remember him as a player and even as a manager the first time round, but I know he was successful. A quick glance at the history books will tell you that.

For me, it's not the wrong decision, but possibly not the right time. For those in favour of him going, it had to be now rather than later so that anyone new has as much time as possible to get in before the start of the 2012-13 season. Maybe though, he should have stepped aside when there was someone more suitable available.

Replacements

Right now, there are only 3 names that come to mind of managers that are available and I believe could do the job.

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Last week, I decided to get myself a new Nike+ SportBand. I have absolutely no idea as to where my first one went, but I haven't really needed one since I lost it as I haven't played football regularly since. It was great for tracking how much I ran during a game, much better than strapping an iPod to yourself considering how physical some encounters can get.

Before I settled on the SportBand, I was very intrigued by the FuelBand. Currently speculation suggest it might cost £150, in comparison to the £30 I spent on a SportBand, that's a lot of cash!

I was actually willing to wait for the FuelBand and even stump up the cash for it, thinking it would give me an incentive to climb more stairs and get a little more active during the day. The big draw back really came down to cycling. If it measures you're activity during the day, but can't measure how much effort you've put into cycling, what's the point?

That was the single biggest problem I had with the device. Fine, on a cycling machine, there's practicly no movement, but out on the road, people cycle for hours at a time but if it counted for nothing, how accurate would it actually be.

So I opted to go the for the SportBand. Now,

I'm not unhappy with that decision. There's so much more I can do with the £120 I saved, but I really thought about the issue and found it odd that Nike featured a segway as a way to get 'fuel' in their first promo video for the FuelBand and both a BMX-er and a skateboarder in subsequent introduction video.

Accelerometer

Rather than relying on a sensor in your shoe, limiting you to activities, it now relies on an accelerator, which most people have commented will only measure movement covered by your arm. That would make cycling pretty damn hard to track when your arms are near enough stationary for long periods of time. Nike have actually thought about that and included a 3D accelerometer. This, like the iPhone and iPod touch (and iPad?) lets you measure what I assume are g-forces, not just on a X or Y plane, but on the X, Y AND Z planes. BMW have already taken advantage of this with their iOS app and finally another manufacturer is putting the technology to good use!

To be fair, Nike have actually commented on the FuelBand's suitability for cycling and while they're conservative, I'd guess it does a better job at measuring the force you generate while cycling than they'd lead you to believe.

So much anger has been directed at Liverpool Football Club as a result of their unrelenting defence of a player who has apparently been found guilty of racially abusing a fellow professional. Rightly so really, the club could have handled things in the Liverpool way but it's the way in which the punishment was determined and dished out that has caused so much hurt.

For Suarez to have been 'probably' guilty just isn't good enough for me. That's the equivelent of saying that Evra 'probably' didn't lie about it. Calling Evra a credible witness, and it seems that he and Suarez were the only witnesses to an event that happened between the two of them, is also ridiculous. And to just let it slide that Evra also used derogatory words towards Suarez (which he says he never heard) and threatening to assault him is also baffling.

I really wish things had been handled better by my beloved LFC and their statement announcing that they would not be challenging the decision was welcome if only to draw a line under the matter. As Oliver Kay suggested yesterday on Twitter, a more dignified, Liverpool, approach would have helped the situation so much more.

One thing I don't undestand is how the 8 match ban was justified for Suarez, but the FA were happy to appeal against a 3 game ban for Rooney which was the result of him physically assaulting a fellow professional, while playing for England. It's a disgrace and stinks of double standards, but then what's new?

All I'm looking forward to now is seeing Suarez back in action and the > 8 game ban for the obviously guilty, John Terry.

Paul Dalglish posted this onto his twitter the other day. I absolutely love the song and have been singing it since hearing it! Top marks for whoever came up with it. Have a look and tell us what you think.

Way back in October 2009, I launched Nike+PHP, a PHP class that makes retrieving your data from Nike easy.

A little over 6 months ago, Nike removed their support for their original API and moved on to a new version. This broke Nike+PHP completely, although Nike restored the service, but it has been a little up and down.

Finally, after a long struggle, I got to grips with the new API and was able to replicate the functionality of version 1.2.5.

Version 2 is now available to the public and to coincide with this re-launch, I've updated the website too. Less clutter, more, and clearer, documentation and easier access to what you actually want!

Unfortunately, this update meant that an extra dependancy is needed to run it, in the form of cURL. As a compromise, I've introduced the ability to return JSON instead of just a PHP array. You have to specify that you want this, but once you've done that, all output will be in your preferred format.

Would be great to see what people do with this new functionality, so please share whatever you use it for on the Google Code wiki example page.

As many Liverpool fans have noted over the last few days, Fernando Torres was 'one of us'.

Before he signed from Athletico Madrid, it was made clear how much he thought of Liverpool Football Club. Not only had he turned down Manchester United season after season, his friends all had "You'll never walk alone' tattooed in rememberence of those that were murdered in the Madrid train crash years previously.

Understandably, he felt uneasy about having another club's mantra tattoed on him, but his dreams soon came true and he became a Liverpool player in the summer of 2007. During his time at Liverpool, he became an European Champion helped the club to their best (unbeaten) league finish in 20 odd years AND won the World Cup.

6 months later he pledged his alleigence to the club yet again, but by the time February rolled around, his departure became inevitable.

The hardest thing to swallow as a Liverpool fan is the behaviour of a star player and the bidding club.

Luckily, Luis Suarez' arrival was already on the cards. Loosing Torres wasn't. With the revenue genereated from selling a player who should be at their peak, we've been able to go out and sign two younger players that have signed long term contracts and should both fit into what is once again becoming a well oiled machine.

After the disaster that was Hodgson's reign, it's going to take time to get back to playing any kind of football, but Mr Dalglish is doing his bit and the players are responding.

We have Stoke next and then the unfortunate situation that is Torres' home debut for Chelsea that is against Liverpool.

As a Liverpool fan, you want him to fail as a rival and because he's left after the club has given so much and supported him through all of his injury problems.

Andy Carroll is an odd signing. £35million is a lot for a player that's only ever played 6 months of top flight football, but he looks like he could have some real promise.

Luis Suarez looks a relative bargain when compaired to both of the other transfers and will hopefully be the most successfull of them all.

All we can do is look forward to finishing respectibly and then starting again next season. With Gerrard and Carragher pushing on in years, they won't be around for ever, but we should have enough to push for the top 4 again. Especially with the backing that NESV/FSG have shown us.

I hope.

The news that has dominated this transfer window, or should I say the last 3 days, has been that Fernando Torres wishes to leave Liverpool FC. That’s right, the Liverpool number 9 wants a move away from the Reds, with rivals Chelsea looking a likely destination. Being a Liverpool fan myself I find myself confused and heart broken. The main questions to be asked to Torres is why now and not wait till the end of the season?

Torres joined Liverpool in the summer of 2007. He was the one good thing that came out of the horrendous Hicks & Gillett regime. I remember when he signed, thinking the club I love have finally signed a class striker after Michael Owen. He was young, skilful and had a hunger for goals. He was even given the number 9 shirt, which was vacated by God. It was an exciting time for Red fans. However what excited me most about Torres was the fact that he loved the club. He was a player who wanted to play for the Redmen and I don’t need to remind you what his armband at Madrid said.

He became an instant hit with the Kop, getting his first goal in his 2^nd game (ironically against Chelsea). His debut season ended with him hitting 33 goals, 24 of those coming in the league. The fans were bouncing, as El Nino was becoming a Kop favourite. In my eyes, Torres became a legend when he netted against Man Utd in a 1-4 scoreline holding 5 fingers up towards the Utd fans… get in lad!

Liverpool was in his heart and he was one of a few foreign players who understood the Liverpool Way.  So why now does he want to depart from a club he supposedly loves?

This season hasn’t gone according to plan for Liverpool. Having hired a Mr Hodgson, results were not going his way and the fans had got tired of the horrible performances and awful post-match interviews. During this period it was obvious players weren’t happy and you could see this in their performances particularly Torres’. In came The King to put some life into a fallen giant and instil some of the Liverpool ethos into the team. Straight away you could see the players were happier and you could see that they were playing football again. The King even helped Torres start scoring again. Fans finally could smile and look forward to the rest of the season.

The transfer window opened and Liverpool were on the verge of signing Luis Suarez, another class player, signalling the intent that the new owners mean business. I was relieved by this, as we finally had another forward to partner Torres, who has been playing up front himself since arriving. Fans had something to be excited about again, and I certainly thought Torres would be too.

On Friday, news reached that the Suarez deal had been confirmed. But another headline overshadowing the deal was the bid from Chelsea. Thinking it was a rumour; I brushed it off with laughter. But the “rumour” gathered momentum, and I started having doubts. Then the news that shocked me and nearly every Liverpool fan – “Torres hand in transfer request”. What the f*ck!? One of my favourite players wants to leave Liverpool FC!? A team he supposedly loved!? The whole thing reminded me of the Steven Gerrard scenario, and we all knew how that ended. But this was different. This felt like it was actually going to go through.

The timing of the request has been a disgrace. Why Torres has decided to leave now is beyond me. If he had any respect to the club or fans he would wait till the summer. Leaving now makes no sense and gives us no time to find a replacement. I understand Chelsea are playing Champions League football and are closer to qualification than Liverpool, but are those the real reasons? Liverpool haven’t been playing the football they should be for a while, however they have turned a corner since getting rid of the plague that was Hicks/Gillett and installed a manager who is capable of rebuilding the club. However leaving like this will mean him losing his massive fan base of Liverpool supporters, and don’t be surprised to see them boo him in a weeks time. I for one am pissed off!

Now, if Liverpool does decide to cash in on Torres then £50 million should be the minimum asking price. There is a lot of talk of Anelka being included in a £40 million deal, however you have to ask, is Anelka worth £10 million. I would prefer the cash and fight it out the rest of the season with what we have. I’m sure The King can keep us climbing up the table till then. Could he maybe give Dani Pacheco a chance?

So, Liverpool may have to start the 2^nd half of the season without El Nino. He will definitely be missed, but then again so was Owen and look how that turned out. Good luck Fernando, hope it works out for you. I guess your armband was a load of bollocks!

I guess we can start singing this - His armband proved he was a Red Suarez, Suarez. You'll never walk alone it said Suarez Suarez. He bought the band from a lad in Spain, tall blonde hair forgotten his name Luis Suarez Liverpool's number 7!

As well as supporting Liverpool Football Club, I have a real soft spot for AS Roma, a Serie A club that I've found great to watch for over the last decade. I even had the good fortune to be able to go and see them play on their home turf against Juventus in a league game. A great experience, if not a great result (3-1).

That was coming up to two years ago and in that time, the club has excelled in the league despite finding themselves in possibly a worse situation than Liverpool were at the start of the 2010-11 season. The club has been up for sale just as long, if not longer, than Liverpool were and a buyer has yet to come forward.

The last few months have been odd as a Liverpool fan. Under the ownership of NESV, we've seen some great leadership. The owners have been thoughtful, forward thinking, pleasant and, most importantly, honest in everything they've said.

Last night, I came across a tweet that hinted at a bid for my second club, and it just so happened to be from a partner of NESV, Thomas R. Di Benedetto. For me, this is good news, because I have a lot of faith in the NESV set up.

I hope that the club is pulled out of their current predicament soon because they are suffereing as a result of their debt and are somehow punching well above their weight. Currently 3rd in the league, the club is going from strength to strength and are playing attractive football.

Let's hope they're rescued and if it's by a partner of NESV, I hope my confidence isn't misplaced.

Update (5th April 2011): The Guardian have given their take on the situation regarding next year's Europa League should both Liverpool and Roma qualify. Does not look good for either if both were to qualify unless DiBenedetto's role at NESV is clarified.

Supporting Liverpool has been a hard task this season. I'm a subscriber to the You'll Never Walk Lone mantra that club was so successfully built on, but it's becoming harder and harder to live by.

With the arrival of NESV, the club will surely be moving in the right direction. Under Roy Hodgson, that's harder to see happening.

This season, I've often likened Roy to an old owl. Wise, he may once have been, old, he certainly is, but he's not what Liverpool Football Club need right now.

While watching the game against Stoke, I thought be looked more like the Penguin. Liverpool feels like Gotham City right now and we're in need of a Batman type figure.

NESV may well be that figure, but as in all comic books, the end will be some time away. Unlike a comic book, we can't even contemplate the guarantee of a happy ending.

Gotham

Liverpool FC are like Gotham; a once great history, the burning flames feel like their all but extinguished and it feels like only a miracle will save us.

In the immediate future, we all want a quick fix, in the long term, we want the foundations laid so that our club can flourish once again.

For Liverpool to finish outside of the top 10 could be unthinkable for fans, but what will that mean for our top players. As much as Fernando Torres is a red, will a player of his quality be happy to miss out on European football?!

If Liverpool don't finish at least 7th, then for me, Roy Hodgson hasn't done his job. Surely he should be there steadying the ship if not trying to get us back up into the top 4, not staring at the possibility of a relegation battle.

The performance against Stoke was embarrassing and I hope to never see another game like that... The problem is, I watched the game against Birmingham and it was more of the same.

I will continue to look forward and hope that things sort themselves out. We had an amazing week after-all. A great win over Chelsea and coming back from a goal down in Europe gave every red a glimmer of hope.

In 2007, Liverpool Football Club became the property of Kop Holdings, a company headed by George Gillette and Tom Hicks, two ‘wealthy’ Americans that had a history of sports investments.

Although they were quite obviously here for the short time and for profit, they had money and were ready to help Liverpool move on up and to the next level. Literally straight after loosing the Champions League final in 2007, Rafa Benitez made a statement that signalled his intent and what he expected from the new owners. The club was clearly in need of investment, we had the basis of a good team, but it we'd been punching away without any real promise for too long. Our previous owners had invested when and as well as they could. The new owners, we hoped, would be able to take us that one step further.

Alas.

In reality, the club made one huge purchase, Fernando Torres, for £24million. That’s what, about two-thirds of what the three recent big spenders have spent over the past 5 years on a single player. One player will not win you a league title. No matter how good he is, and how close we got in 2009, a 1st place finish was never going to be a realistic target.

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