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Gerrard warns Liverpool to keep up the performances

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has issued a warning to his squad not to rest on their laurels after their impressive start to the season, a start that sees them level on points with Chelsea at the top of the table, and enjoying their best league start for 12 years.

Their win on the weekend against Everton showed they could win in style, as so far they’ve been playing poorly yet scratching out results.

On Wednesday night Liverpool play their second Champions League group game against PSV Eindhoven. Gerrard said about that game:

It’s important to be humble and not get carried away by the performance.

But we set a standard (at Everton) we need to match week in week out.

Torres scored the two goals to beat Everton, ending a six game drought for the Spaniard. Gerrard is delighted to see Torres back among the goals.

You can’t keep strikers with his talent down for long because they aren’t going to go long without a goal.

It was only a matter of time. He was a bit frustrated first-half, but then [Robbie] Keane’s put one on a plate for him and the second one was typical Torres.

As a local lad these are the most difficult games to prepare for. The nerves start the week before and you can’t wait for the game to come about, so the fear of losing these games takes up a lot of energy beforehand.

Stevie G is still seeking his 100th Liverpool goal, and is confident he won’t be waiting long.

We were winning games but stumbling early on in the season, but I think the derby performance has set the standard now.

We’ve got a big game on Wednesday and then another important game against Manchester City, (and) if we can continue that level then we will certainly be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

Rob Stiles is a true Red

Just what is it about Manchester United and penalties? Do they have different rules to the rest of us? Why have there only been two penalties awarded to away teams in the last decade?

These questions and more can be answered by one simple fact, they cheat. This needed no more proof than the decision by Rob Stiles on the weekend when he awarded Manchester United a penalty because Cristiano Ronaldo fell over the vicinity of the penalty area.

Charlie Nicholas on Sky Sports called it the most outrageous decision he’d ever seen, Ronaldo himself didn’t even appeal for it, and even Sir Alex Ferguson said it wasn’t a penalty.

Yet, Rob Stiles saw a penalty. The United players tried to hide their embarrassment through laughter and Bolton Gary Megson described the incident as a nonsense.

It was an absolute nonsense. I don’t think anyone in the ground thought it was an actual penalty.

We thought that Ronaldo was going to get booked for diving, which would have been strong, but to give a penalty was a complete surprise - it was an absolute nonsense decision.

He’s played the ball, it’s not even close, and Cristiano’s fallen over his leg.

Stiles incidentally is the same referee who awarded Chelsea a penalty at Anfield last season, for which he was suspended for a few games.

The man’s a disgrace and shouldn’t referee another game.

Juande Ramos thinks his job is safe

Foreign football managers never cease to amaze me with their lack of understanding of the English game. Tottenham’s Juande Ramos has come out and said he believes his job is safe, when his side lay bottom of the table on 2 points, without a league win and having managed their worst start to a league season for 53 years.

What season has he been watching? Does he not even remember how he got the job in the first place, as Martin Jol was replaced after guiding Spurs to their highest every league finish just months earlier?

His job is more jeopardy than rare bottle of lager at Paul Gascoigne’s house. I’d be surprised to see him still there at the end of the week.

However he still insists his job his safe. After the defeat to Pompey he was asked he though he still had the dressing room:

Absolutely, we speak regularly and everyone is aware of our delicate position.

But whether I survive is for the chairman and the board to decide.

I’m not hurt (by the fans’ abuse). What hurts is not winning matches.

Ramos came in for extra abuse when he substituted their new striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and brought on Darren Bent, when they were 2-0 down and chasing the game.

We have been playing with two strikers in most games but we used just one against Newcastle (in the 2-1 Curling Cup win) and it worked better.

Bent had played every minute of the six previous games and needed a break.

Yep. Give it a week and he’ll be out.

Tottenham stay bottom as Defoe and Crouch hit it off

The misery was piled on Spurs today as lost 2-0 at Portsmouth, keeping them rooted to the Premiership on 2 points for the season; a season that promised so much for Tottenham and had them dreaming of a top four finish.

Those are just dreams now, as the harsh reality of a relegation dog fight beckons for the misfiring team.

The goals were scored by former Spurs striker Jermain Defoe (who refused to celebrate his penalty strike) and Peter Crouch. Tottenham were ineffective going forward and failed to trouble what has been a leaky Portsmouth defence in the last few games. However David James was practically a spectator for the match.

After Defoe gave Portsmouth the lead from the spot, Crouch doubled the lead with his head. It could have been worse for Spurs as Defoe had a strike ruled out for offside before he opened the scoring.

The result means Spurs have now experienced their worst start to a season for fifty three years.

Arsenal stunned at home by new boys Hull

They went into the weekend leading the way, but as Liverpool and Chelsea found their winning form, Arsenal floundered at home to new boys Hull City, going down 2-0 in their own back yard.

It all started typically for Arsenal as they took the lead early in the second half through Cesc Fabregas, but they everything started to unravel for the gunners and Hull scored two in quick succession. First former Manchester City player Geovanni struck a superb goal from 30 yards to shock the home fans, then Daniel Cousin’s header put the away side into the lead for a shock win.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was embarrassed by the result:

It is a shocking defeat for us and overall our commitment was just not good enough.

Human beings are not machines. Perhaps subconsciously we thought we would make it. They (Hull) deserve credit.

We cannot be happy as we were ahead but after I think we were careless and we were punished for it.

The win now moves Hull up to sixth, just three points off the top of the Premiership. They have already secured more points in the Premier League than Derby managed throughout all of last season.

Liverpool go top as they beat Everton 2-0

Everton’s poor run has continued as they lost the Merseyside Derby to bitter rivals Liverpool 2-0 this afternoon at Goodison Park. Liverpool striker Fernando Torres struck his second and third goals of the season in the second half to take Liverpool 2 points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premiership.

Fernando Torres put Liverpool ahead on 59 minutes when he converted a Robbie Keane pass, and then scored the second just two minutes later when reacted first to a goalmouth scramble.

Things went from bad to worse for the home side when Everton were reduced to ten men after 80 minutes when Tim Cahill was sent off for a foul on Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso.

This win for the red half of Merseyside represents Liverpool’s best ever start to a Premier League season. It was all too easy for the league leaders too, as keeper Pepe Reina was a virtual spectator the whole game, and didn’t have a single save to make.

While Liverpool now sit proudly on top of the pile (for 2 hours at least) Everton now face a difficult second leg in the UEFA cup away to Standard Liege, as the first leg at Goodison finished 2-2.

Newcastle joke continues

The long running joke that is Newcastle United seems to get worse and worse for the fans. After King Kev walked away from the team for the second time (though admittedly this time he had good reason) they seemed unable to tempt anyone to St Jame’s to manage the side. Even El Tel didn’t want the job when offered, and Venables will usually go anywhere where there’s cash.

The team’s in disarray, they lost miserably in the League Cup, at home, to the only side in the Premiership below them in the league and they can’t tempt a manager to lead them. That is until now, as Joe Kinnear, former Wimbledon boss, as decided to have a crack.

The problem is for Newcastle, Kinnear hasn’t managed a team of any sort for over five years!

He also said that he expects his tenure at the club to be short, as the most hated man in Newcastle, Mike Ashley, is looking to sell the club as rumours of a Kevin Keegan return mount.

I understand investors are about to buy the club, (current owner) Mike Ashley told me openly. I will be here for six to eight games.

Sheffield United still fighting on the Tevez front

You might remember some years ago, when Tevez and Mascherano joined West Ham (and everyone wondered how, why and how???) the little Argentinean was so effective for the Hammers that he saved them from relegation, scoring the winner on the last day of the season away at Old Trafford against champions United.

This was all well and good, except that it meant Sheffield United were relegated, and Tevez shouldn’t have been playing at all. Naturally Sheffield United were aggrieved, and took their fight to remain in the Premiership to the courts. They lost, but still fought on. Now they’re actually starting to get somewhere as an independent tribunal has decided that West Ham were in the wrong when they continued to play Tevez at the end of the 2006-2007 season.

Now United are seeking over £30 million in compensation from West Ham, for their relegation that season. No amount has been confirmed yet for the compensation, but that will be decided later.

The ruled from the FA states:

the parties shall be deemed to have waived irrevocably any right to appeal, review or any recourse to a court of law.

West Ham were found guilty, but instead of being docked points they were fined, which didn’t help Sheffield United (or any of the other teams in truth) who were battling against relegation at the time.

City eye Tevez

Moneybags Manchester City are now looking across Manchester for their latest target, but it’s not Ronaldo. This time City are eying up Manchester United’s Argentinean striker Carlos Tevez. The decision might not be United’s to make either, as Tevez isn’t actually a United player, he’s still on loan at the club from West Ham, though the real ownership of the player is in much doubt after his agent seemed to own him, and of course Sheffield United famously complained that he shouldn’t have been allowed to play for the Hammers when they stayed up through Tevez, and Sheffield United were relegated.

Now the future of Tevez looks even more clouded as City, fresh from their 6-0 mauling of Pompey at the weekend, are setting their sights on the best players in the world, of which Tevez is certainly one.

Tevez agent (and possibly his owner, we’re not really sure) Joorabchian, the man who also brought Tevez to England, says that Tevez is staying at United:

Carlos is not joining Manchester City.

All this talk linking him with them is a complete load of nonsense.

He is a Manchester United player through and through and is looking forward to signing a long-term contract with them in the near future.

Though Joorabchian is a man of money, which is something that Manchester City have in abundance. They wouldn’t even need to take out any secured loans. Money, as everyone knows, has a habit of talking.

Disallowed Gerrard goal angers Benitez

Liverpool had the chance to go three points clear at the top of the table on Saturday when they played newly promoted Stoke City, who are languishing in the bottom three. It all started well for Liverpool when captain Gerrard thought he’d scored after 2 minutes, for what would have been his 100th goal for the club. However the goal was disallowed, and nobody seems to know why.

The TV reply picked out no foul or offside, and the reason for the goal being disallowed hasn’t been revealed. Benitez said after the match.

Nobody knows why the effort was ruled out.

The referee told Jamie Carragher that it had been his decision, not the linesman’s. It was a massive mistake.

Gerrard’s free kick went straight in without touching any player, and Kuyt attempted to get on the end of it. The linesman flagged, but nobody knows why.

Liverpool battled on from there and created a host of chances, but couldn’t find their way through the Stoke defence. Stoke manager Tony Pulis admits he doesn’t know why the goal was disallowed either:

I was delighted with our performance, my players fought for everything.

And we had a little luck. We got a decision at Anfield that went our way! But I don’t know why that early effort was ruled out.

It certainly was not for offside, I have been told by people who have seen the replay that Kuyt was not offside.

Well, I’m not going to argue with us getting some luck here.

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