Some great news and some dreadful news

The Great News

Seems "The Special One" and Roman can no longer co-exist. To me, this is about the greatest thing to happen so far this season. With this parting, the team that built Rome in a day will now watch their empire crumble. Seriously, Mourinho leaving the Chelskis drops their worth considerably. Watch all the fickle, plastic fans panic and doff their blue shirts in favor of red ones with "AIG" written on the front.

And now, a song:

"YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL!
YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL!
YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL ANYMORE!
YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL AAANNNYMORE!"


The Dreadful News

F me... This is somewhat of a nightmare. The number of times my fragile nerves can survive seeing any more of Sami Hyypia (faithful servant, yes, but he's not much to write home about, these days) isn't more than a handful. Who to partner alongside Carragher in those times of need when Hyypia is spent or just isn't up to it (see: yesterday at Porto)? Jack Hobbs? Arbeloa has, in fact, played center back in the past. He was tossed around as an option earlier this season, remember, when Carra went down. But since Carra is Superman, Arbs didn't have to worry about playing in the center. I'm thinking he could do a job of it, though.

As for losing Xabi? Well, with Gerrard still a slight bit gimpy and Momo Sissoko healing from a minor knock, Alonso's news comes at a bad time. However, there is plenty of cover in central midfield with Mascherano, a healthy Gerrard and Sissoko, and perhaps Benayoun will be able to fill when not used on the wing. If needed, of course. Youngers Leto and Lucas are raring to crack the lineup, too.

Thankfully, the away CL match against Porto is out of the way. Even while playing horribly, yesterday, we have to be very pleased with this result. I had figured that we'd only come away from this game (and perhaps @ Besiktas, too) with just a point. Good result for such a shit performance.

- We missed Xabi tremendously.
- Pennant is a petulant child.
- I'm still outraged that Hyypia got the start over Agger (but now, I at least know why).
- Kuyt MotM by a mile.

I don't think anyone is upset with the RESULT. The disappointment from most people stems from how we played. The result is an excellent one, no doubt, but it looks even better given how sloppy we looked with respect to our shaky opening half in defense, our difficulty in stringing passes, and Pennant's mental breakdown. But a point from our most difficult fixture in the group stage? Gotta like that. Bring on poor, poor Birmingham this weekend.

That was never a penalty. Never.

Liverpool 1 - 1 Chelsea

Rob Styles is a clown. A ridiculous clown. Never was that ever a penalty. Never. Shocking. This is a prime example of why, in a utopian world, we'd never know the names of referrees. Because if we didn't know their names, it likely means they haven't stolen the show with their horrible officiating. What a mess.

The match itself...

Two things struck me. The first is that I never felt we were truly threatened by Chelsea. For all the talent and explosiveness their side possess, I never felt like we were in trouble in this match -- never felt like we were truly pressured, always felt secure in the midfield (EVEN WITHOUT A D-MID LIKE MASCH OR MOMO). To me, this hits a nerve of confidence that I think, to a certain extent, was missing from last season. We have a swagger about us and it's important that we don't lose it... no matter how many refs screw us over.

Secondly, I want to touch on Fernando Torres. Talk about a tale of two halves... In the first half, a sublime manuever, leaving Ben Haim for dead, opening his account on his home debut, getting in the mix, Torres looked great.

Then came the second half...

Bloody hell, I've not seen such shocking first touches and errant passes in quite some time. Crouch should've been subbed on about ten minutes earlier than he was.

All that said, I feel gutted that we were robbed of two points. In these "big four" contests, it pretty much goes without saying that it's imperative that we take care of business at home. So while we were clearly the better side, today, its a massive pisser not to have all three points to show for it. Granted, we had 28 minutes plus 4 minutes stoppage time to break the deadlock, but being put in that position was ridiculous in the first place.

I'm just bitter as all hell that we didn't win today, but worse, that it was largely through no fault of our own.

sigh...

At least Man City beat Manure.

Also, Fat Frank Lampard's probably gained about 6 pounds since I posted this.

You're not special, you're not special...

YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL ANYMORE!

YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL ANYMORE...

That's the chant around Anfield (and the rest of the world) and Jose Mourinho gets done in by the Reds. Again.

I love Liverpool FC. I really do. Better than knocking off Chelski in 2005? I'd say so.

Supreme confidence in penalty shootouts. It's what we do. Reina, Zenden, Mascherano, and Kuyt deserve special recognition for their efforts today. Meanwhile, Drogba was nowhere for Chelski. Not having Sheva paired with him upfront definitely made life miserable for the Ivorian diver.

Can't wait for May 23rd. We're going to win it six times.

Xmas weekend craptacular

It's not really my thing, but these guys ruined Christmas weekend for the whole world (by "the whole world," I of course mean "me").

Dwyane Wade - Flash even had five blocks today, while Kobe stunk up the joint. (Sidenote: I just glanced at a post from a couple days ago where I said Arenas and Nash should be 1st-teamers if the season ended today. Clearly, I was high on pills and having a brainlapse. That should be: Kobe and Nash. I love Gilbert, though. He leads the 2nd team.)

Chelsea FC - Arjen Robben's (he of the girlish run) incredible last second winner at the JJB Stadium on Saturday robbed Wigan of a deserved draw. Plastic fans everywhere rejoiced.

Denver Broncos - Actually, the Cincinnati Bengals are more at fault, here, blowing that game-tying extra point. Now Denver is in pole position to wrap up the top wild card spot in the AFC. I don't like that.

Kick 'em out of the league: The New York football Giants. I haven't seen a more pathetic, gutless display since I the last time I watched the Raiders play. But seriously, everyone on the Giants offense should be fined $100,000 for jobbing it on Sunday against the Saints. This team doesn't even want to make the playoffs.

Furthermore, I propose that whichever team nabs the 6-seed in the NFC automatically forfeit their postseason. None of them deserve it. So sad you'll have to laugh: the Giants, Green Bay, Atlanta, Carolina, and St. Louis could all lose next weekend. Wow...