Ah the Memories

I wrote last week about the 3 levels of  competition in the BPL, and the fact that despite having the talent could Manchester City develop the resolve and determination to challenge over a long season.

Well they failed their first test.

Sunderland is a difficult place to play, but in a game where Manchester City had enough chances to post a cricket score they failed to strike the killer blow, and suffered the consequence via a late winner to the home team.

Winning a title is about talent and depth of squad, but most importantly about resolve. Can a collection of players who are at a club for, lets be honest, the money, find the resolve? I have my doubts.

I finish this week on a high after watching the great match between Blackpool and Fulham, at an old fashion home ground.

For 90 minutes I forgot what year we were in and was almost taken back in time to the 70’s and 80’s - the days of the Big Match football show and old fashioned end to end English football.

Can I borrow the Tradis from Doctor Who - I want to go back to those times. If I can remember rightly this was the time when Liverpool was a powerhouse of English Football.

Ah the memories.

Warren Diego

I now accept that Liverpool have no chance

The second week of the BPL is over and some things have become obvious to me. Firstly I need to accept that my team Liverpool have no chance to challenge for the title, and perhaps even for the top 4. This realization is only made worse by the fact that Carlos told me so.

The rebuilding of Liverpool will be much like the building of Rome it won’t happen in a day. The title may be a two horse race between the blue of London and the blue of Manchester. Yes we know that the Red Devils will be there because they just never give in, but with Manchester City I witnessed a team against Liverpool that certainly has the cattle to win, but do they have a manager that can manage the egos and a team of players determined and calm enough to win games at Blackpool in the middle of winter, and take the pressure at the end pressure matches and at the end of the season? Only time will tell.

The major thing I learnt from Round 2 of the BPL is the fact that we now have a 3 tier competition.

The number of teams that simply are not good enough is increasing every year, and this year could indeed be as many as 8, forget the 3 that will get relegated. We have about the same number of teams that won’t get relegated but will never be able to challenge for the title, and of course we have a small number of teams that can win the whole thing, and that is not 5 or 6 it could be as small as 2 or 3.

So what do we do about this?

I understand that we all love the romance of promotion and relegation but perhaps the numbers of the teams in the BPL is just too many. Too many poor teams and too many poor players, if the competition was 12 to 15 teams imagine the quality of the teams and the players. The only problem with this concept is that in a 12 team competition Liverpool over the next few years may well be playing to avoid relegation.

Warren Diego 

Warren's EPL Round One View

The start of the Premier league season is always full of anticipation. The hopes and dreams of supporters can be reached or shattered on the very first day - just ask the fans of Blackpool and Wigan.

As far as the top end is concerned Chelsea do what they always do against the also rans, and despite their ordinary preseason form they showed with their 6-0 humbling of West Brom they will again be the ones to beat.

The clash of the wannabe’s - Man City and Tottenham, was a clash the home team should have won. Irrespective of the 0-0 result Man City with all their riches, should be stronger as the season goes on.

In the clash of two of the traditional 'Big 4' teams, Liverpool lead to the 90^th minute, and despite 10 men showed that under Roy will be a harder team to beat.

If they have a season where injuries are kind to them they will be competitive, and despite what Carlos may say this will be great for the competition.

As for Arsenal they again showed that for all their pretty football they are still a team of little boys who will dazzle at times but will not be up for the fight over the 38 games of the Premier League season.

As a Liverpool fan I walk away from round one with renewed hope but with two visits to Manchester in the first month, like Wigan fans my dreams may last only a couple more weeks.

Now what will Man U do as they play Newcastle a team that I reckon is great to have back in the big time? Time will tell.

Warren Diego

Call me a Dreamer but Liverpool is the Greatest Team in English Football

It must be great for Carlos (see: Carlos' Blog - Open Letter To Warren Diego dated 13 July 2010) to sit in his ivory tower and take cheap shots at the best club in English football history. As usual he has taken his typical cold hard callous approach to everything football.

In the world of Carlos there is no room for history, passion, romance and dreams. It is all about the realities of the modern age - if you don't have the money you wont get the success.

The way forward for Liverpool will have many ups and downs. Probably more failure than success in the short term but in this cynical world, that Carlos is so comfortable in, I believe that a club looking to go back to old fashion methods that brought it so much success, can only bring one thing - even greater success in the future.

Call me a dreamer and claim that I live in my own fantasy world but until Carlos shows me that he has some passion for something other than bagging the greatest club in England, I refuse to continue to respond to his dribble in the form of his so called Open Letters Warren Diego.

Warren Diego