Sunday 4 June 2017

Women's Football

Latterly, Women's football has been highly sought upon as one of sports successful landmarks, however it still faces many struggles in challenge of their popularity and lack of ''masculinity' in the game. 

The history of women's football has seen major competitions at both national and international levels, as mentioned earlier, women's football has faced many struggles over the course of the century. However, in the early 1920's one match in England achieved more than 50,000 spectators, none the less, the FA then introduced a ban in 1921 that disallowed women's football games from the grounds used by member clubs, this ban remained until 1971!

The revival of women's football came when the English women's FA was found in 1969, more women's teams became popular within the sport, Italy became the first country with professional women's football players, followed by Japan and the USA. 

However, merely discussing the lack of popularity and coverage of the sport, women still struggle for pay and opportunities similar to male football players.. league and international women's football has enjoyed far less media and tv coverage, but this is not to say that the participation and enjoyment of women's football continues to grow, with the country's biggest clubs hosting women's super leagues. 

Despite the encouraging representation of women's football across the globe, there have been many challenging controversies. In 2004 FIFA's president Sepp Blatter suggested that women footballers should wear tighter shorts and low cut shirts to create a more female aesthetic and attract more male fans, his comment was correctly criticised and the opinion of both women and men came together.  As football fans  we celebrate football as a sport, we do not see these people as sex symbols. 

Later, in 2011, Iran had to forfeit an Olympic qualification in Jordan after taking to the field in religious headscarfs and body wear. FIFA automatically awarded a 3-0 default win to Jordan with an explanation that the Iranian kits were an "infringement of the Laws of the Game" due to safety concerns. After a lot of unnecessary delegation, FIFA approved the future use of hijabs. 

Girls of all ages now widely participate in tournaments and leagues within the country, most recently Chelsea Ladies became the latest WSL 1 team to win the league, cup finals such as the women's FA cup are hosted at some of the biggest grounds in the country and attract thousands of modern day supporters of football.

Despite this all it is to remembered that we should all celebrate football as a sport no matter what gender, race or culture, at the end of the day the same rules apply, the aspect of the game is still the same yet the era of sexism and a stereotype surrounding women's football lingers. This is a minority, yet we cannot let the minority define sport, we should all be kicking a football for the same fans, with the same passion, for the same reason... because we love football!! 

Sunday 23 April 2017

Shambolic Dreams

Liverpool's shambolic performance against Crystal Palace has gifted Sam Allardyce his first win at Anfield. Liverpool's hopes of cementing top four have now been slightly dashed as they drop points against their bogey team.


The game started brilliantly and equal as both teams pressed high and were at each others goal mouths, much so very end to end. Liverpool had deep control of the possession and were dominating their style of passing which Klopp looked enthused by. Coutinho and Firmino were linking up effortlessly and Clyne was showing off his style and pace on the right flank. The game edged towards Liverpool's favour as they controlled the Palace half, however their style and movement was proving unworthy as Palace were looking to park the bus, very early on.

The deadlock finally broke in the 24th minute when a very Brazilian- esque free kick from Coutinho thumped into the back of the net. Liverpool thoroughly deserved their lead and were in form to complete the game as winners as the Liverpool players looked on to having more fun in the sun on Merseyside.

 


Liverpool looked to tear into half time as leaders, however former Liverpool player Christian Benteke broke the Kop end's amusement as he fired home for the Eagles in the 42nd minute. Shortly after equaling against the Reds, Benteke shared a "controversial" moment with loanee Mamadou Sakho, Sakho is no stranger to a bit of criticism, however celebrating in a very friendly manner against his primary club proved a little disloyal to his mates in Red.

More worryingly for Liverpool, rivals Manchester United had beaten Burnley comfortably, a team Liverpool struggled against earlier this season. United's win closes the gap between the two clubs with only 3 points in it.

Liverpool's next game now lies a week on Monday, which could see them potentially out of the top four as Palace host Tottenham, the eve after Chelsea play Southampton, could the Premier League trophy have blue ribbons on by the end of this week?

Liverpool's defending standards have been an issue for a relatively long time, teams this season have poked deeper holes into the defensive woes and it showed today after some lax defending from the Reds gave Benteke another strike against his former club six yards out. Disappointment and joy echoed around Anfield as the clock still turned on the 74th minute, 1-2 to Palace.




It is not the first time that Crystal Palace have enjoyed taking points from clubs in the top four region. Palace earned a respectful win against Chelsea on April Fools Day. A win today meant that Sam Allardyce's team are out of the danger zone by seven points, their next fixture against Burnley could put the team back on the bounce.

Palace have also now triumphed on their last three visits to Anfield, a stat worthy performance over the visits makes the Eagles the first team to do this since Chelsea in October 2005.

Klopp's side managed to rock up a huge dominance, but their one shot on target in the 90 minutes played let down not only their current team but previous players who had once shown a master class in shooting and scoring for the Reds. Liverpool's 72% possession and free kick wonder was just enough to keep them in third place but with teams like Manchester United and Manchester City surrounding Liverpool in the league table, Liverpool must have a quick turn around and show sheer improvement on the pitch as well as on the bench if they want to continue their top flight.

Thursday 20 April 2017

Liverpool Have No Hart


Jurgen Klopp and his red men have been in superior form as of late and are currently training hard for their upcoming fixture against Crystal Palace. Liverpool are still third in the Premier League and a win could take their tally up to 69 points. Liverpool are currently 9 points behind leaders Chelsea.

The recent form of goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has proved in Liverpool's favour as his fate rests in the hands of the German boss, as the season looks to be quickly closing its doors. Liverpool's last clean sheet came last week as they beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 at the Hawthorns. Klopp saluted the display of his goalkeeper as the Champions League spot looks almost inevitable. Commanding performances as of late by the Belgian have drawn high plaudits from his manager





Liverpool have been recently keeping shush on transfer matters and have expressed no reasoning on strengthening their squad in the gloves department with current Simon Mignolet as first choice and Loris Karius patiently waiting his turn.

However, one of the hottest transfer rumours has been that of Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, making an appearance in between the sticks of the Anfield goal posts. The England international is currently on loan with Serie A side Torino, it has been circulated that the 30 year old is keen to stay within the Premier League.

Klopp did have recent issues with both his goalkeepers this season, Karius whom was bought for £4.7M was given a 10 game spell in this window whilst Simon Mignolet was struggling to meet high expectations from his peers, however Karius failed to concieve in this period.






When asked about competion and strengthing his goalkeeping department with the recent rumours of Hart circulating, Klopp had to say:

"We don't usually talk about these sort of things, he is a fantastic goalkeeper, the goalkeeper of the English national team, the highest quality, but we have the highest quality."

Klopp continued by also adding that the situation with their current goalkeepers is really good, Danny Ward will also be returning to Merseyside after his spell with Huddersfield comes to a close.

With Liverpool's added improvement in recent weeks, it is certain that they are headed to be succesful in their own way by claiming a Champions League spot. Next season with the added games there could be more pressure on the Reds to meet expectations and an extra pair of gloves might just put Liverpool in the right direction.

Friday 14 April 2017

Three things Liverpool can do to secure a Champions League Spot

Liverpool's consistency has recently come under fire and the ability to find goals hasn't always paid off in this campaign. Liverpool are now currently sitting third in the Premier League, consistent wins until the end of the season will successfully see Liverpool guarantee a Champions League spot since they bowed out in 2014 under Brendan Rodgers.

Liverpool's season has been quite a roller coaster so far, putting in poor performances against the likes of Burnley and being absolute dominants against Arsenal and rivals Everton.  Liverpool haven't shied away from showing how they can play under Jurgen Klopp, the electric style of movement and quick tactics has proven joyous on numerous occasions. Key players such as Jordan Henderson have yet to make an impact on the team this season due to injury and with more injury woes in Sadio Mane the Reds have had to turn to new and experienced faces to make sure they can still put in a top performance.

With Steven Gerrard back at the club it is no wonder that the academy talent is booming, The likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben Woodburn have put in superior appearances for the Reds and impressing Klopp by earning them places in the starting line up respectively.

The Reds have earned 63 points from 32 games played this season so far. This time last year Liverpool played one of the most glorified Europa League games by beating Dortmund 4-3 after a tense battle. Klopp and his team will be hoping that they can prove similar in the Premier League this season by winning games and getting back into the Champions League where they belong.

Liverpool fans across the globe will be hoping that they can once again see their team come up against the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid to get to the main event and prize. Here are three reasons for what Liverpool can do to make sure that they reach their target.

1. Create Chances. Too often this season we have seen Liverpool try to 'walk' the ball into the back of the net, there are few players that will shoot from outside the 6 yard area, the likes of Coutinho and Firmino, even Can have the ability to do this.

2. Trust the Goalkeeper. Simon Mignolet has deserved a title in being a hardworking and honest goalkeeper for Liverpool, however his team mates do not seem to trust him at times resulting in Mignolet conceding corners and producing bad saves. There is no communication on the pitch between the defenders and the goalkeeper which creates an opportunity for the opposition to expose Liverpool's weaknesses and score.

3. Encourage the fans. Every game is treated like a cup final, you go out and win every game, you play like you'll never touch a football again. The Kopites always have incredible support for Liverpool, the chants they sing and the passion behind the meaning of You'll Never Walk Alone is mesmerizing. The more the fans get behind the players, the more it encourages the players to play with a bit more passion, drive and authority, Liverpool's red kit is supposed to oppress danger.

There are obviously more reasons as to why Liverpool should get their Champions League spot, but by stamping a little more authority on their opposition, taking their chances and keeping themselves organized, there is no reason as to why the dream can't become a reality.