At the moment

Ancellotti is still in the moment. The Guardian reported his comments on the draw with Aston Villa at home
"We've lost confidence but not our winning mentality because our bad moment has been too long,” said Ancellotti.

• It looks like nobody is going to tell him his moments really are much too long.
• See earlier blog

Tevez was credited with a goal that had two contacts with opposing players before the goalie missed it and it went into the net. (That was his match before last, in Saturday’s he had 6 good chances but failed to register a goal. Not his usual form!)

• Suppose player X's shot hit the bar, came down on the goalie’s head, hit the post, came into play and hit a defender and then went over the goal-line. Would that be X’s goal? .

Roy Hodgson, manager of Liverpool since the start of this season (2010-11) is in trouble with the fans because of the club’s poor record, hovering just above the relegation area recently. Liverpool defeated Bolton 2-1 and took the pressure off him a little this weekend. 

• Advice to Roy would be - don’t wear those shorts on the training ground along with your padded mid-length jacket. The jacket hides your pot but makes your legs look spindly.

Related articles

• Liverpool set to delay search for Roy Hodgson successor as prospect looms of Kenny Dalglish return (scissorskick.wordpress.com)
• Joe Cole goal at the death sees Liverpool to win over Bolton & might save Woy (101greatgoals.com)

Reviewing the situation: Who will win the English Premiership, 2009-2010?

The weekend ahead sees Chelsea and Man U play Liverpool away and Sunderland away respectively.

Chelsea are one point ahead since last weekend's matches. The last match of the season for all  Premiership teams is on May 9th KO 3pm UK time. On that day Chelsea are at home to Wigan, and Man U are at home to Stoke City (beaten 7-0 by Chelsea last weekend).

So -  only two matches remain of the most important English football competition lasting 38 games; started last August.

First
How about a report on this situation as seen from South Africa - where many Premiership players will be headed in June for the World Cup final stages?

Other comment:

A lot of balls

Bent of Sunderland scored on Saturday against Liverpool. His shot was on the way to the left of Reina, the Liverpool goalkeeper. Then it hit a red beachball that had been thrown on to the pitch just moments before. The path of Bent's shot bent even further to the left of Reina and went into the net. Reina was rooted to the spot, his eyes following the track of the red beachball which went to his right and also into the net. He almost dived at it. Replays show how distracted he was. The referee awarded a goal and all the hardened professionals, commentators, and experts around the place accepted this decision at the time.

I couldn't believe it. It did not seem fair, surely it need not be accepted as a goal. And it if was a goal, then should it have been two goals at once?

Suddenly, I could see the future. At every match from now onwards there would be a lot of balls thrown on to the pitch by supporters hoping to intercede with the trajectory of shots at goal. Or the trajectory of balls going for corners, goal-kicks, or anywhere at all. What was the referee thinking of?

You see lots of arguments involving players, their managers and the match officials about incidents on the field. This goal incident seemed barely contentious at all. Nobody it seemed knew enough to gainsay the referee at the time or even in comment just after the match. Only later did I read what seemed to make sense.

The referee was in error and should not have allowed the goal. Instead there should have been a bounced ball on the spot where the collision of the red beachball with the real football took place. An 'outside object' had interfered with the course of play.