Thoughts From The Couch 20/3/17

Wow. What a game this morning in the EPL. It feels like the first time in a long time that a game has lived up to the hype in the biggest league in world football. I realise that’s a huge call from a game that ended 1-1, but anyone who watched it knows what I’m talking about. It had it all. The pantomime villain, stinging tackles, yellow cards, chance upon chance at the goalmouth, some terrible misses (Lallana I’m looking at you)& a couple of the best managers in the world going head to head. Quite simply it is the best 1-1 draw I’ve seen.

Footy season is just around the corner & just for laughs I’m going to make a few (unbiased) predictions. We’ll revisit these at the seasons end and see how close (more likely how far) I am to reality. Here goes:
TOP 8

1. GWS

2. SYDNEY

3. HAWTHORN

4. GEELONG

5. WEST COAST

6. ADELAIDE

7. FREMANTLE

8. BULLDOGS.    
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Doggies suffer from a massive premiership hangover and miss out completely. GWS should run away with the flag & could even break the games won record in a season this year. I’d just about put my house on it. I’m picking Callan Ward for the Brownlow & Jeremy Cameron for the Coleman. A GWS clean sweep. I wouldn’t be surprised if it continued for a couple of years, if you sit down and have a look at their list, they have a squad capable of making two top 8 sides. 
Anyways that’s it from me this week. As always feel free to hit me up on twitter (@StuartKavanagh) or leave me a comment telling me how great I am or how badly I got it wrong. If you’re looking for me & there’s sports on, check The Couch!! 

Thoughts From The Couch 9/3/17

Hey guys, back at it again. Once more leave a comment or hit me up on Twitter (@StuartKavanagh) with some feedback. As always constructive criticism is welcomed!
Brilliant Barca. Football fans will know what I’m talking about. The only game worth talking about this week for footy fans unless you’re a Gunners supporter, but that’s an entirely different kettle of fish. Some people claim they knew it beforehand, but for me ,when that Neymar free kick went in to make it 4-1 there was a sense that it was in this Barca sides destiny to win the tie. For what it’s worth, I think they’ll go on and win the whole thing now. These are the types of wins that catapult you to success (or in this case even more success)
Just going to touch on some Australian Rules footy now. Of the women’s variety as a matter of fact. The Crows v Lions game last Saturday night, whilst low scoring, was the most entertaining match of the inaugural season so far. A grand final preview in my opinion. And with the crowds still flocking to the games, ticket prices allegedly staying at $0 for next season, I think the AFL is on to a massive winner.
On to the WWE. It Wrestlemania season. Which means sign pointing, undeserving celebrity HOF inductions & the Undertaker. Although I really want to touch on why I think the Undertaker should NOT be there, I leave that for another time. 
It’d be remiss of me not to commend the WWE of the great job they’ve done so far with their HOF inductees. Kurt Angle, DDP, Rock & Roll Express & Rick Rude are all legends and are fully deserving of their spots this year. Even though I wouldn’t have selected Beth Phoenix I can see the reasoning as to why she was. There are no head scratchers in there so big ups to WWE for getting it right this year (so far)
Lastly on the 1 in a billion trillion chance any of CM Punk or WWE hierarchies are reading this. Swallow your pride, get past the egos & make a return happen. Everyone involved is missing out on mega money, and ultimately isn’t that what work it’s all about??
That’s it from me. Hit me up on twitter (@StuartKavanagh) , I’m always down for a chat & if you can’t find me there sport must be on, so check the couch….

Why #kloppout Is A Cop Out

I wasn’t going to touch on the subject of Liverpool FC this week, but something caught my eye that I thought I should absolutely give my 2 cents about.
Whilst sifting thru the wreckage of the latest disaster against Leicester, I stumbled across a growing community of Liverpool fans who are trying to get #kloppout trending. Hell I even came across a guy who was trying to arrange a Klopp Out march to take place before the Arsenal game. Thankfully many of the replies to this one guys particular idiotic tweet were swift and sharp in their condemnation. The #kloppout crowd clearly have no grasp on what building a successful football team needs and takes. Now I’m no professional coach but it’s obvious to me it clearly takes a world class professional who has been to the top and knows how to get there & the other major factor required is a word that’s often forgotten these days in football : stability.
Now if you have a glance over the successful sides that’ve had their way with English football in the past, you’ll find that stability is a crucial component in all their successes. The obvious one is United with Fergie. A quick look at his early career & it’s not great reading. I’m sure if social media had been around then, a minority of their fans would’ve tried to get #alexout trending. And if they’d achieved that goal, where would they be now? They certainly wouldn’t have the most prolific scorer of a generation & the worlds most expensive midfielder lining up for them for starters. There’d be no world record sponsorship deal that’s given them money to burn either. The other example that springs to mind is Arsenal. Now I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong. You show me one Liverpool fan that wouldn’t take the success Arsenal has had over the last 20 years & I’ll show you a liar. European decencies aside, they’ve been on top of the pile in every competition England has to offer at one stage or another. Despite the #wengerout shouts getting louder & more prominent amongst the gunners faithful it’s a dynasty to be envied and he has left a legacy with the club the likes of which we haven’t seen since Kenny Dalglish abdicated his throne in the early 90s & the board should be applauded for not bowing to popular opinion during their leaner years.
Besides the oil rich in England & the giants of Spain, the only clubs that hire and fire to achieve results are the least successful ones.
The point I’m trying to make is stability -when you have the right person in the dugout- brings results. The board knows this, thankfully. That’s why they gave him a 6 year deal. Liverpool were a mess and now they’re a work in progress. Of course there’ll be hiccups along the way. That’s what’ll make it that much sweeter when the journey ends and we reach our destination.
So all you #kloppout-ers out there with your stats & cold hard facts as to why he needs to be replaced, ask yourselves “how long am I willing to wait for success”? Because if you really want Jurgen Klopp out of the club, I guarantee you this, you’ll be waiting a lot longer than if you let him stick around and do his job.

Thoughts From The Couch

Thoughts From The Couch

Welcome to my first ever column. I’m calling it ‘Thoughts From The Couch’ because that’s where I watch the majority of my sports, and various sports is what I want to cover. Hope you enjoy the read. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Here goes…….

Whilst the pathetic performance of my beloved Liverpool FC is in the forefront of my mind this week, my blood is boiling too much to even consider covering that. They let me down so often that I’m sure there’ll be ample opportunity to write about them in the future. 

Instead I’m going to focus on WWE. I am a big fan & have been all my life. I’m aware of the stigma in some people’s minds of it not being a “real” sport but it’s my column and I’ll write about what I consider a sport to be. 

Raw on 27/2/17 was an absolute borefest. Peaking with Owens/Goldberg at the top of the show and barely managing to tread water after that. Even the New Day , who are usually brilliant entertainers, had a poor segment and a lacklustre match. It’s been said before but I’ll say it again; the writing on WWE Raw is atrocious. Occasionally they get some bat on ball, but generally it’s mediocre.

 Smackdown on the other hand absolutely tore it up with their opening promo. The Miz has become one of the best on the mic & his interaction with John Cena had me hooked start to finish. I have genuinely never been more interested in what will essentially be a mixed tag team match at Wrestlemania 33. Add to that their superior women’s division & the emergence of people like Luke Harper, the evolution of Randy Orton, the charismatic Bray Wyatt as champion & the star power & sheer brilliance of people like AJ Styles. If it’s supposed to be a competition between the two brands then it’s like top side coming up against a cellar dweller (unless that top side happens to be LFC). In short ,at this point in time, Smackdown is the far superior show.
Anyways that’s all for now. Keeping it short and sweet due to work commitments. Hope you enjoyed the read and any constructive criticism is more than welcomed. Until next time. If you’re looking for me, check the couch.