The Adam’s paradox with Meireles dilemma

Posted: August 20, 2011 by stoic trader in Barclays Premier League, Football
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 Mayank Gupta

Football Analyst – The Couch Expert

August 20 2011

With regards to the posts earlier on Charlie Adam in Liverpool midfield, things seem to be coming true that seem to trigger an unpleasant feeling for the future of Liverpool football club this season. Once, we bought Charlie Adam it was evident for him to figure in the plans of Kenny Dalglish.

However, from my observations of him in the last season when he played for Blackpool and my almost non-existent notes of the 2011-2012 season, his best comes out when he can dictate the pace of his team. He makes up for his lack of pace with the long balls fired from the base of the midfield like cannons from the Afghan rebels of the late 90’s. Either they take an assist to crash the net or end up in the background of the net.

For teams with slow forwards or looking only to score from set pieces or against the run of play, it is a great asset to have but when you have Suarez with his dangly feet, Downing with his skills at the left and right, Kuyt working his socks off at the right flank then I do not see the necessity for Adam to hoop the ball to Carroll without these relay players. We have our very own Carragher to hoop the balls. Even Agger likes to take the ball forward.

Now, employing him at Lucas position cannot help the cause of Liverpool as he is slow to tackle and is very familiar to the color yellow. On the contrary, one could feel the impact of Meireles once he came for the last 20 minutes at Emirates.

Consideration of the defenders tiredness at 70 minutes of a game though would make an average performance of a player look stellar, however, the runs Meireles are his natural ability and the tiredness of the defenders only allowed him more space to complement the swashbuckling goal scored Luis Suarez.

With a midfielder like Meireles or Gerrard to complement Lucas, the midfield’s pace dominates the game. The surging runs bring them closer to the forwards in turn allowing the midfielders to score off the drop offs and trickling ball from him. The midfielders in turn are on the shoulders of a giant forward to feed off his drop offs. That is where Carroll would become a huge asset to the team even if he can bamboozle his canon left foot into the back of the net.

These two varied aspects could have been very obvious today for every viewer if Meireles had come on for Adam in place of Carroll.

This is a strange understanding of the King’s game which I will question everytime I watch Adam play alongside Lucas as I have no doubt about it’s limitedness. So far we have played a good Sunderland side and a depleted side and have not been really tested against quick midfielders like the Lampard of old or Yaya Toure.

The limited strength of this duo (Adam and Lucas) would be tested and failed when we come up against players like those. Fortunately, Steven Gerrard would be fit by then and so would be Meireles. It would be amazing to watch either him or Gerrard play off the bench thus enhancing KD’s message of today loud and clear – ‘We have a great squad’. However, as I am not Kenny, only time will tell if Adam was a back up for Lucas or to partner Gerrard in the midfield.

Conclusively, a nice game today but only came to life after the coming of Suarez and Meireles. The movements thereafter looked more like Liverpool and less like Stoke.

Day 2, The Oval: India needs to build its bowling future around Ishant

Posted: August 20, 2011 by The CouchExpert in Cricket, India in England 2011
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 Goutham Chakravarthi

 20 August 2011


This has been the most painful series to sit through as an Indian fan in years. Indian fans have had their share of bad times over the years, but none so prolonged and hopeless in the last ten years. It was heart-breaking when India were ousted of the 2007 world cup. There were tongues lashing after the earlier-than-expected ousters from the 2009 and 2010 T20 world cups as well, but never so in Test cricket.

Ishant's progress will determine India's immediate future

The Indian fan has come to expect excellence from its cricket teams. It has been a decade and more of a series of highs and a very few lows since India toppled Australians back in 2001 in Tests. Not that Indian teams never had troubles with player form and fitness issues through these years. Even the mighty Tendulkar was booed at his home ground in 2006 when injury and form seemed destined to end his career. Rahul Dravid has had a lean patch ever since captaincy weighed too much on him and his struggles to cope with a highly intrusive coach and micro-managing chairman of selectors, only to be seemingly recovering recently. Virender Sehwag has spent a couple of years in the wilderness and India’s great new ball hope, Irfan Pathan is now more a batsman than a bowler.

Amid all the troubles,India found answers. If Rahul Dravid was the lynch-pin as the lead batsman of India’s years under Ganguly and Wright, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman found some their best years under the M.S. Dhoni – Gary Kirsten combination. Anil Kumble found greatness under the former regime and became the flag bearer of Indian bowling and when the time came, Zaheer took on the mantle and the transition was seamless.

It was never a great side that dominated world cricket, but it became India’s finest. It was built as much on talent as it was on its goal to being a side that would compete on equal terms everywhere in the world. Victories in Headingly, Adelaide, Trent Bridge, Perth and Durban showed the depth of character and the desire they had to succeed. They came as a relief to a generation of Indians who were used to watching their teams turn-up in alien conditions and be handed a hammering.

The last month is a ghastly return to those dark days for the Indian fan. It is a return to the days when you would dread to switch-on the TV when you woke-up in the morning to check India’s progress in Australia and New Zealand. It was a given that we would never win overseas. It, now, looks a bit like that in England.

Sreesanth produced a good spell straight after tea. He beat the bats of Pietersen and Bell, who were both past their hundreds, in an aggressive 7-over spell. Unfortunately, it was mediocrity from Sreesanth on either side of the spell. R.P. Singh has been subject to great laughs and jokes and it is not his fault that he got picked. However, it is appalling that he is not in any physical shape to last a session of hard bowling. Amit Mishra has issues on hard flat surfaces and it is something he needs addressing if he doesn’t want to be forgotten as a Test bowler. Anil Kumble was a great support for his mates even when there was nothing on offer. He was tight and rarely leaked runs to release the pressure that was built by the quicks at the other end.

Ishant was the lone warrior. He has had his moments in the series. He was extraordinarily brilliant when he almost bowled Indian back into contention out of nowhere at Lord’s. He has lacked a bit of guidance when things have not gone well. He should have had a lot more wickets than he has to show for his efforts this series. His rhythm and lines were good and with better support, could have hurt England. This experience, one hopes, will help him to develop in to a bowler knowing how to handle himself in all conditions and all match situations. This series cannot have been great to be an Indian bowler, but he has shown great fight in all the Tests.

As India will look back and try to pick the pieces at the end of this series, the captain, coach and selectors will want to see how best to put a team together that can compete in Australia and try and build an attach with long term interests. It might mean investing on a set of bowlers with long term potential and Ishant will be at the center of it. He has often shown that he has the ability to deliver at this level. His skills and fitness need better monitoring and guidance so that he doesn’t fall by the wayside like most Indian fast bowlers do.

India needs to look ahead for the sake of its long term interests. Poor vision and preparation perhaps needs first looking into.

Cincinnati Masters: Monfils Sparkles Against Djokovic … But Not For Long

Posted: August 20, 2011 by rjsays in Tennis
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Rajat jain

Head of Tennis, The CouchExpert

20 August 2011

 

“Not a shot from the back of the court that he doesn’t have.” Patrick McEnroe said this about Novak Djokovic just-like-that today, but I suddenly realized how much truth it carried. The lack of any weakness from the back of court, in addition to his incredible defense and supreme movement, makes it virtually impossible for any player, including Federer and Nadal, to trade ground strokes with Novak.

Djokovic came from a set down to beat Monfils in a thrilling contest

Of course, it took a while for the world No. 1 to get into that mode where he becomes impossible to play. Partly because he was down mentally—he just seemed uninterested to compete for the first half of the match—and partly because Monfils knew only a vintage Pete Sampras can compete against Djokovic. Monfils tried to take out the baseline out of the equation as early in any rally as possible. He followed almost all his first serves to the net, tried chipping and charging even when he was a standing duck to Djokovic’s passes, and hit flat, clean, winners from the baseline.

Vintage Monfils. The Monfils we know can come out some times. The Monfils we wish will come out every time.

His quality of the volleys would have even made Sampras, if not Edberg, proud and combined with Djokovic’s lack of mental focus, it seemed it would be the first time since Montreal Masters, 2009, when Federer, Nadal and Djokovic would lose on the same day.

However, this was another one of those matches in which Djokovic reaped the advantages of being …. Novak Djokovic. The world No. 1. Out of nowhere, and I don’t know why, Monfils started trading groundies with the Djoker—the very thing he had avoided till then. He waited for Djokovic’s errors—which didn’t come—and traded two brutal rallies, both exceeding thirty shots. After the second one, he lost his breath, just like it happened to Tsonga and Fish in Montreal, and looked completely out of the match after that. It also gave the necessary impetus to Djokovic to get back his mental focus.

After winning the second of those brutal rallies, he faced the crowd, open chested, with both arms flexed forward and roared loudly. The lion had woken up again, and just came out of his den. And the wolf was panting heavily, waiting to be preyed by the king of the jungle. Djokovic played it easy after that, slowly killing and enjoying the prey, rather than finishing it off in a hurry.

This match further proved his credentials as the top player and why I feel he is going to stay here for some time. Throughout this tournament, I felt Djokovic lacked the physical and mental energy to play at his inhuman level. And it is understandable given how hard he has played, and won, so far. However, it just took him two points to get back his focus. Once the match ended, he let out another roar towards his camp, and sprinted towards the net to complete the formalities. And this is what champions do. This is what they are known for. Djokovic is back in this tournament, and means business. For him, that means going all the way and winning the tournament.

This week’s score predictions – English Premier League 2011-12

Posted: August 20, 2011 by Balaji Ramamurthy in Barclays Premier League, Football
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          Balaji Ramamurthy

          Editor – Football, The CouchExpert

          August 20, 2011

 

Firstly here are last week’s actual results:

Saturday

1.  Blackburn vs Wolverhampton: 1-2

2. Fulham vs Aston Villa: 0-0

3. Liverpool vs Sunderland: 1-1

4. QPR vs Bolton Wanderers: 0-4

5. Wigan vs Norwich City: 1-1

6. Newcastle vs Arsenal: 0-0

Sunday

1. Stoke City vs Chelsea: 0-0

2. West Brom vs Man United: 1-2

Tuesday

1. Man City vs Swansea: 4-0

Our league:

thecognitivenomad – 9 points (2 exact scores + 3 other correct results)

Me – 6 points (1 exact score +  3 other correct results)

Harshit Khanna – 5 points (1 exact score + 2 other correct results)

Now on to this week’s fixtures.

Saturday

1. Sunderland vs Newcastle: 1-1

2. Arsenal vs Liverpool: 0-0

3. Norwich City vs Stoke City: 1-1

4. Aston Villa vs Blackburn: 2-1

5. Wolves vs Fulham: 2-1

6. Everton vs QPR: 2-0

7. Swansea vs Wigan: 1-2

8. Chelsea vs West Brom: 3-0

Sunday

Bolton vs Manchester City: 1-3

Tuesday

Man Utd vs Tottenham: 2-1

Keep your predictions coming in the comments as usual.


India pick Steyn, Morkel and Bollinger for the third day’s play at The Oval

Posted: August 20, 2011 by The CouchExpert in Fiction
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 Goutham Chakravarthi

 20 August 2011


In what has been a series that has been played in the right ‘spirit of the game’, England, it was assumed showed great support to the India cause by sending a night watchman in at the fag end of a day where they pummeled close to 400 runs. But, Anderson riled up the Indian high lords by announcing that he had done enough bowling for the series and wanted to bat out the remaining three days and ordered the chickens hiding behind him in the batting order to support him as the senior batting partner in his endeavour to bat out the remaining 18 hours of this Test.

Srikkanth announced that India has summoned Steyn, Morkel and Bollinger into the Indian team based on their IPL performance

Not to be outdone, the Indian chairman of selectors, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, in a radical move announced the replacement of India’s pace-battery in England for the third day’s play with high performing domestic stalwarts. His statement said, “Given the abject performance of the Indian pacers, we have decided to pick a new set of fast bowlers. ECB and the English team are fine by the decision and they laughed off the suggestion saying that replacements cannot be any better than the ones that are here. After a not-so-long deliberation, we have decided to replace Ishant, Sreeshant and R.P. Singh with Rajastan Royals’ Morne Morkel, Deccan Chargers’ Dale Steyn and Chennai Super Kings’ Doug Bollinger. They should arrive in time for start of play on the third day.”

The English press called it “talent poaching” and “highly unethical”. Simon Briggs, covering the press conference for The Telegraph called it “blasphemous” and not even England’s recent poach of the Irish quickie, Boyd Rankin, to play for the English Lions, they claimed, came close to the coup Srikkanth and team have managed to pull off.

To the English uproar, Srikkanth has said, “England have recently poached Rankin of Ireland and made him play for England Lions. If England can pick an Irishman based on his domestic performance for the Lions, so can we!”

England's Irish batsman Morgan could represent India in this Test

Rankin’s former Irish team mate, Eoin Morgan, who happened to be at the press conference to explain why he chickened out and opted for a night watchman was now engulfed in a totally different dilemma post Srikkanth’s statement on Rankin. He wondered, “So, Rankin might get selected into the England Lions side based on his performances for Ireland and Ireland pick him to play against England in the one-dayer based on his England Lions performance. I wonder what’ll happen if I get a hundred batting first for England in that game! Does it mean Ireland will pick me to bat for them when it is their turn to bat?”

When asked for an opinion from Srikkanth on the implications of his decision, he only said, “We might pick even Morgan to bat for us based on his performances for the Kolkata Knight Riders come the fourth day!”

He signed off by saying, “We have ensured that these players will be playing newly selected bowlers for England that they have given me the privilege to pick as a return for the spirit of the game shown by our boys. After careful examination, I have picked these bowlers to play for England based on their county performances: Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha and Murali Kartik. Kartik has been advised to bowl right-arm chinaman.”

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