Five things we learned from the midweek football

Ger McCarthy
 
Dalglish to end 16-year Wembley wait
WINNING the Carling Cup may not have been high on Kenny Dalglish's priority list when he reassumed command at Anfield but lifting a trophy at Wembley would do Liverpool no harm at all following a season blighted by negative headlines and the Luis Suarez controversy.

Dalglish's side takes a deserved one-goal lead into the second leg and look favourites to make the final following a disciplined performance at the Etihad Stadium. It is hard to believe but qualifying for the 2012 Carling Cup final would represent Liverpool's first Wembley final appearance since losing to Manchester United in the 1996 FA Cup decider (renovations to the famous Stadium meant Liverpool's previous final appearances occurred in Cardiff).

Liverpool may have had six defenders on the pitch at full time on Wednesday evening but their victory was fully merited having held City's much vaunted attack scoreless. Dalglish's settled back four of Enrique, Agger, Skrtel and Johnson have delivered one of the best defensive records in the Premier League this season and once the Scottish manager sorts out his misfiring attack then a top four Champions League berth is certainly attainable.

Wednesday night's performance was in stark contrast to the 3-0 loss at City the previous weekend but Dalglish learned from that defeat and Liverpool are now favourites to lift the first silverware of the campaign.


Mancini and Man City need to maintain their composure
ROBERTO Mancini cut an angry figure in his post-match press conference following Manchester City's Carling Cup defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday night. An argument between Mancini and Steven Gerrard took place in the tunnel after an exchange of views about Glen Johnson's two-footed lunge on Joleon Lescott. Johnson's attempted tackle went unpunished and drew the ire of the City manager just days after his club captain Vincent Kompany was red carded and received a four-match ban for a similar challenge in the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.

Irrespective of your point of view on the merits of either tackle, the fact is Manchester City has endured back-to-back cup defeats and their manager is beginning to show signs of strain. The pressure on City is mounting as we enter the second half of the campaign and Mancini's weak assertion that his first team squad lacks depth drew little sympathy in the build-up to the Liverpool defeat. When you consider the millions spent on signing Ageuro, Silva, Kompany and Balotelli then Manchester City and their manager can have little cause for complaint about the quality or depth of their squad.

The sense of injustice surrounding the Kompany dismissal lingers on with Mancini but the combustible Italian would do well to move on from that episode and concentrate on keeping Man United and Tottenham at bay in the Premier League. Expect more outbursts and imaginary card waving before the season is completed.


Do Tottenham dare believe?
Tottenham's 2-0 defeat of Everton in Wednesday night's rearranged Premier League fixture - following the North London riots in early 2011 - saw Harry Redknapp's side rise to the dizzying heights of joint-second in the table alongside reigning champions Manchester United. Spurs win was all the more impressive as regular centre-backs William Gallas and Ledley King plus midfielders Scott Parker and Sandro were missing through injury.

The return of central defender Michael Dawson proved a welcome boost as Tottenham registered their 14th victory of a remarkable campaign. Spurs championship credentials will be tested to the full away to Man City on January 22 before facing Liverpool, Newcastle, Arsenal and Man United on consecutive weekends in February.

The telling statistic (courtesy of Opta Sports) of having accrued more points after 20 games than the eventual champions have had at this stage in 10 of the 19 previous Premier League seasons makes Tottenham contenders, albeit as rank outsiders, for the 2012 title.
 

Crystal Palace are 90 minutes from Wembley
Tuesday night's semi-final first leg between Crystal Palace and Cardiff was the first Carling Cup last four encounter without a Premier League club involved since 2000. Palace edged a tense tie thanks to a solitary Anthony Gardner strike and the London club will travel to Wales next week with the cushion of a one-goal lead. The Eagles currently lie mid-table in the Championship and have stabilised both on and off the pitch since the appointment of former player Dougie Freedman as their manager.   

The 37-year-old celebrated a year in charge at Selhurst Park this week and drew worldwide media attention having overseen the defeat of Manchester United in the previous round. "You defend, you keep clean sheets and you try and score at the other end. Analysing the game overall, I thought we did that better than the opposition" was Freedman's reasoned analysis following the Cardiff victory.

The Eagles have reserved their best form for the Carling Cup this season and should Palace make it to Wembley expect Freedman's stock to rise as a potential top-flight manager of the future.
 

Mark Hughes faces a difficult task at QPR
MARK Hughes' midweek arrival as the new manager of QPR comes in the middle of a dire run of form for the London club with just 2 points accrued from a possible 24. Despite not meeting club owner Tony Fernandes face to face during the appointment process, Hughes' hiring is an effort to attract 'big name' signings and keep Rangers in the Premier League.

Wigan, Wolves and Blackburn Rovers are on the horizon offering the Welsh manager a chance to pick up some badly needed points but there are more pressing issues to address before the end of the January transfer window.

QPR have managed a paltry 19 goals in the Premier League this term of which Heidar Helguson has contributed 7. The signing of a new striker is Hughes' first priority whilst also acquiring the services of a creative midfielder following an unfortunate injury to playmaker Alejandro Faurlin this past weekend. Mark Hughes faces a difficult task in keeping his newly promoted club in the Premier League but has every chance of avoiding the drop with a huge transfer kitty and plenty of managerial experience.
 
 
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Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/jx3NpSrqTIc/post.aspx

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