Faldo Flops

Congratulations to the USA Ryder Cup Team. A thoroughly deserved victory. Faldo is an idiot. Great golfer, but an idiot. Questionable fourball pairs and a dubious singles order. As predicted, Garcia's miserable form in major tournaments continued and he flopped yet again, not to mention Harrington, Casey and Jimenez. When will the media start to realise that he just isn't that great?

Sandy Lyle as the next captain.

The Ryder Cup

Hernandez squeezed into his golfing slacks today and took to the fairway after a break of almost 10 years. Suffice to say I was quickly re-acquainted with the frustrations that can arise on the golf course and my swing was (let's be kind) 'rusty'. I hadn't forgotten everything however, and there were a number of sweet drives and long putts which would have drew applause from the gallery if there was one. I eventually carded a frankly embarrassing 104 (37+), a score not helped by the course conditions which resembled a quagmire in places (Clydebank Municipal). Hopefully I will pick up some inspiration from watching the Ryder Cup, which starts this Friday in Kentucky. The Europeans will go into the competition as favourites, having had a stranglehold on the Cup since 1995 (aside from the 1999 shenanigans). Ireland's Padraig Harrington is arguably the form player from either side this season, although Stewart Cink and Phil Mickleson have impressed in recent months. Team spirit will play a huge factor in winning the trophy, and in the respect I have a feeling Team USA will have the edge over Nick Faldo's European team this year. Europe's recent victories have by and large centred around the reliability of Colin Montgomerie, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley, none of whom made the team this time around. Sergio Garcia is notoriously unpredictable, while Casey, Rose and Westwood are know for blowing hot and cold. From a Northern Irish perspective, it is disappointing that we will not see Darren Clarke or his cigar this year. We will though be able to cheer on the solid Graeme McDowell, and hopefully young Rory McIlroy will continue his ascent up the world rankings and make future teams.

Without wishing to sit on the fence, this could go either way. I have a hunch the Americans will perform better than some might expect, however I am backing Team Europe to record a narrow victory. Lets hope that if they DO win, they won't dress up in those ridiculous white polo necks and pink jackets!

Liverpool Must Improve - Quickly

Liverpool stumbled into the Champions League Group Stages last night, after an uncomfortable and frustrating 120 minutes of action. In my previous post I suggested Liverpool would have hit their stride by this stage, but this clearly has not yet happened. The team are still labouring through games, seemingly relying on the brilliance of Torres or Gerrard to rescue them. As has been highlighted on more than one occassion, there is a severe lack of width in the side. Which makes it fairly easy for the opposition to set their team up against us. All they have to do is pack the midfield with ballwinners in the knowledge that Liverpool have no threat out wide. Alas, when Benitez finally brought on Babel to play on the left wing, it eventually resulted in a superb goal. I am reminded of a statistic Gordon Strachan once pointed out, which is that about 70% of goals in football are scored as the result of a cross. It amazes me how any top flight manager cannot see the importance of providing width.

In other news, Liverpool appear on the verge of signing the Spaniard, Albert Riera, from Espanyol for £9m. Meanwhile Chelsea look close to tying up a £30m deal for classy Brazilian Robinho from Real Madrid. And this perfectly illustrates why Liverpool will not win the league either this season or any other season in the near future. The Londoners are able to spend big money on established world class internationals with a proven track record of winning championships. Riera had a disastrous spell at Manchester City a few seasons ago and is not considered for the Spanish national squad at present. As I have said before and will say again, money talks in the Premier League (something which Alex Ferguson is very well aware of). As Arsene Wenger has discovered in recent seasons, it is now no longer sufficient to scour the continent for promising young players and develop them into league winners. You simply have to spend big to win the English League title and that is not likely to change any time soon. So while the Merseysiders persist in spending money on decent but hardly world beating players, that 19th League title will continue to elude them.

Sub Standard Liverpool Fail To Impress

Liverpool's promising pre-season form was brought to a grinding halt in Liege last night, as they failed to break down the spirited Belgian Champions. Rafa Benitez will no doubt have been hoping to effectively close out the tie in this first leg ahead of a tough open to the League campaign, but his team were out thought and out muscled virtually from the first whistle. The new first choice pairing of Torres and Keane were left frustrated as the midfield failed to provide any kind of support at all. Such was Liege's dominance of the midfield area, the Liverpool back line were more often than not forced to launch long, hopeful balls into the final third. This is not the Liverpool way and certainly not the type of service Fernando Torres is comfortable with. Olympic gold hopeful Javier Mascherano was sorely missed, while substitute Gerrard was clearly not match fit. Nevertheless there should still have been enough quality in the team to at least take control of the middle areas and provide some organisation. The rookie midfielder and Patrick Vieira-esque Damien Plessis is undoubtedly an exciting prospect for the future who clearly features in Benitez's plans. However he looked a little out of his depth last night and may need to be eased into the team more gradually. It was only thanks to Pepe Reina that we were not severly embarrassed last night.

Overall I think this was a case of Liverpool being caught cold by determined and confident opposition. It should be remembered that this is the first competitive game of the pre season, and with a number of key players either missing or not fully fit, it is harsh to be overly critical. By the time of the return leg at Anfield the Merseysiders should be much sharper and I expect them to win quite comfortably. However, Liege look a well organised side so there is no room for error.

Cod Leaves a Pleasant Taste

Ever wanted to know everything there is to know about cod? As the blurb on the back cover acknowledges, to go out and buy a book on the subject of cod is to invite glances of suspicion. Indeed, I felt a tad self conscious whilst reading the book on public transport and always removed it from my bag rather surreptitiously. But all that stealth has been worth it. Mark Kurlansky's epic proved to be a little gem. He explores the role of cod in almost single handedly helping to develop communities circling the North Atlantic, most notably Newfoundland, Maine, Iceland and Greenland.

The gradual improvements in fishing techniques and their contribution to the establishment of well known brands such as Birdseye are captured in impressive detail, from the discovery of 'long-lining' in the 17th century to the invention of frozen food technology. One the most noticeable aspects of the book is the level of research he has clearly undertaken, which is astonishing. The book is filled with factual, tragic and amusing anecdotes which the author has seemingly dug out in countless libraries ranging from Boston to Copenhagen. Kurlansky even intersperses the main narrative with historical cod recipes at the beginning of each chapter, and a more comprehensive 'cookbook' at the end. The book was even the winner of the Glenfiddich 'Best Food Book' 1998.

Much more than a biography of cod, Kurlansky also adds a political dimension, tracing its role in the age of exploration in the 17th Century, the onset of the slave trade, the American Revolution and, more recently, the bitterly fought 'Cod Wars'. Of course North Atlantic cod is now a threatened species due to over fishing, mainly by the Spanish, British and Canadians. The closing chapters therefore provide a rather sombre counterbalance to the sanguine first half of the book, not just in terms of the startling rate of the decline in fish stocks but also of the difficulties of fishing communities in adapting to new ways of life. Poignantly, Kurlansky quotes William Durant from 'The Lessons of History' :

"The first biological lesson of history is that life is competition. Competition is not only the life of trade, it is the trade of life - peaceful when food abounds, violent when the mouths outrun the food. Animals eat one another without qualm; civilised men consume one another by due process of law"

This was an enjoyable and surprising account of the economic, cultural and political significance of an otherwise unremarkable species, and is recommended to readers looking for something different. Whilst I have no intentions of reducing my cod consumption, I will certainly enjoy my next fish supper just that little bit more.

Benitez Needs to Spend, Spend, Spend

Yesterdays £20m signing of Robbie Keane is a bold statement of intent by Rafa Benitez, but the Merseysiders are still well short of the quality required to win the Premier League. Keane is an experienced and reliable goalscorer in this division, and is in the prime of his career. I am confident he will forge a good understanding with Torres, as they are clearly both intelligent footballers. Although the price tag seems excessive, Liverpool fans have often criticised Benitez for spending his money on mediocre or younger players rather than players of undoubted and established quality.

The acquisition of Gareth Barry would strengthen Liverpool yet further, given his experience of English football. I remain to be convinced about Liverpool's other summer signings. Dossena, despite being in this mid 20s, has hardly pulled up any trees in Serie A, while Degen is, by his own admission, a better attacker than defender. Ngog is an untested 19 year old whose record at PSG was, to put it kindly, average. Cavalieri is a reserve keeper who will play in the Carling Cup. It is in the wide areas that the team are still severley lacking. In this respect I would have no complaints if Benitez were to bring the little Spaniard David Silva of Valencia to Anfield. Silva was, for me, one of the star performers throughout Euro 2008, and would provide a wider option for Gerrard, Alonso and Mascherano.

In many ways, whoever Liverpool bring in this season is irrelevant in terms of wining the title next season. That honour will once again go to Manchester United or Chelsea. However, the signing of Keane provides us fans with a traditional glimmer of hope and optimism - at least until November.

Anfield Transfer Policy Continues to Baffle

And so it continues. Another week and another inexplicable transfer involving Liverpool FC. Having spent the past 2 months in a public wrangle with Aston Villa over the extra £3m required to secure the signature of Gareth Barry, Liverpool this week completed the signing of another reserve goalkeeper from some club in Brazil for (yep you guessed it).......£3 million pounds! I wonder whether this guy - Diego Cavalieri I believe his name is - is the final piece in the jigsaw? With Cavalieri on board, Liverpool will surely romp home to Premier League glory next May with 5 games to spare. Or perhaps he will disappear in the ether next summer, just like Charles Itandje and countless other reserve goalkeepers the club have signed in the past 5 years. Perhaps if Liverpool used their money wisely - on players in key positions where we are currently weak, namely left midfield and up front, then we wouldn't be out of the title race by December every year and 20 points behind Man Utd by February, which as any football fan knows is exactly what will happen next season.

And another thing. So far we have sold Riise for £5m and Crouch for £11m, and bought Dossena for around £7m and Cavalieri for £3m. I believe this is a £6m profit, so how exactly are the club struggling to find the funds for Barry and Keane? Where is the Hicks and Gillett money? I was under the impression that they were brought in partly to srengthen our hand in the transfer market. If anything, Liverpool appear to have LESS clout these days. If the transfer budget is so tight now, I dread to think what it will be like when we start paying off the new stadium.

And as if to rub salt into the wound, Liverpool today appear on the verge of selling the highly promising Scott Carson to Stoke City for £3.5m, having rejected an offer of £7 million from Aston Villa no more than 9 months ago. And who is Liverpool's chief negotiator when it comes to transfers? Yes, the hapless Rick 'The Clown' Parry. Tom Hicks was absolutely correct in identifying Parry as a weak link in the Anfield hierarchy and he should leave asap.