Liverpool Mailbag: If You Could Attend One Game In History, Which Would You Choose?
When will our captain Steve Gerrard play again?
— Emanuel Bamfo, Lagos, Nigeria
Steve Gerrard still has the cast that he's been wearing since he had surgery to drain an infection from his ankle. The club hasn't released any news on the subject, but it appears it won't be removed before the end of this week. That would put him out of Liverpool's game against Manchester City and most likely the Carling Cup game against Chelsea.
If you could attend any football match in history, what would it be and why would you go?
— Ed, Atlanta, Ga.
Ed, that's a fantastic question. It's so good, I cannot even begin to pick one.
Two jump to the top of mind. The first is the 1970 World Cup final between Brazil and Italy. That Brazil team is often regarded as the greatest ever and it was in full flow that day.
It is also a massive regret of mine to not make it to the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa. The opening game at the first-ever World Cup in Africa would have been a spectacular moment on a personal level.
I'd love to hear answers from readers. Let me know on Twitter @NESNsoccer. Thanks for the question, Ed.
Are we surprised that a shameless tyrant is a shameless racist? Racism is still a rampant problem in much of Europe and football is not immune.
— Kristaps, Washington, D.C.
Tell us how you really feel about FIFA president Sepp Blatter. For me, Blatter's recent comments on the subject aren't those of someone who is a shameless racist. They look more like they came from someone who is out of touch with the reality of the rest of the world.
And it makes sense because Blatter runs an organization full of international elites. He's presided over FIFA since 1998 and worked at there since 1975. That means each day for the last 35 years, he's been surrounded by people (from all over the world) who, for the most part, are not themselves victims of racism.
That is not to say the FIFA administrators are racists. But they must have a hard time identifying racism and empathizing with its victims.
Marcus Newcastle have a tough run of games and they were comprehensively beaten by Manchester City. Has the bubble burst?
— Isaac Lungu, Gaborone, Botswana
Isaac, thanks for the question and continued support. The Magpies are the big surprise in this season's English Premier League. After 12 games, they are in third place. Tottenham, hardly title contenders themselves, drew Newcastle at home on Oct. 16. That was the Magpies' toughest challenge so far and they did not win.
The period spanning from last Saturday to Jan. 4 will tell you what you need to know about the high flyers. It plays Manchester United twice, Liverpool and Chelsea once and several teams that you would expect a third-place team to beat.
I expect Newcastle to fall against those big clubs, but if it can respond by beating the teams that are way below them in the standings I will call them contenders for a place in Europe. That's not bad for a team that was playing in the Championship two seasons ago.
Thanks for all the questions. That's all for now.
Photo via Flickr/Adrıen
