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LIVERPOOL FC...A NEW START

2010-10-16T23:09:00.011+03:00

My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. Had Napoleon had that idea he would have conquered the bloody world. I wanted Liverpool to be untouchable. My idea was to build Liverpool up and up until eventually everyone would have to submit and give in

These words were spoken by the late great Bill Shankly many many moons ago, but they now once again ring true. Shankly started something at Liverpool that did indeed make every other team submit,but like all great empires eventually it was surpassed and in Liverpool's case crumbled to nothing and that is where Liverpool football club find themselves right now, we are in the relegation zone, with a very lightweight squad of unmotivated players and a manager who has made us the new Fulham, ie a team who will use the second half of the season to drag ourselves up the table and may even shoot for the stars and get ourselves a uefa spot next season.

How Liverpool Fc came to this point has been a nightmare for all Liverpool fans. Under David Moores we have seen Manchester United surpass us on and off the field in the 90`s, and then when Moores did eventually sell us he made the worst decision of his life in selling us to messrs Hicks and Gillet. How badly we were run under Moores and Parry was illustrated by the fact that even Hicks and Gillet off field merchandise sales trebled and they managed to get 80 million pounds for our shirt deal which was more than double the earlier deals negotiated by Parry. There is huge worldwide interest in Liverpool Football Club but it has never been fully maximised.

So now New England Sports Ventures have after a long protracted battle won the right to buy Liverpool Fc. I for one am very happy with our new owners but i have spoken to some Liverpool faithful who would have preferred non-Americans or Man City- Chelsea type sugar daddy owners, but i really believe John W Henry is the perfect fit for Liverpool. During Liverpool's nightmare years i have looked at other clubs financial situation with envy and one in particular, and this club is not Chelsea with Romans Rubles or Man City with there oil rich patron, but the club i look at with envy is Arsenal. Super stadium, soon to be paid off and will be able to invest in players for years to come on there own without having to rely on the whim of a rich sugar daddy whose sports interest may change to synchronised swiming in the morning.

That is real financial security is and it is what Liverpool need to aspire to and that is what i hope NESV will bring to Anfield. Their track record is amazing and i love that in the initial interviews there was no outlandish promises made and that they are looking at every option, because that needs to be done.Whether we build a new stadium or refurbish Anfield getting more people in to watch Liverpool play is a priority and is the cornerstone of a bright future for Liverpool Fc. I have to confess that in the past i have been a stadium snob whenever a ground share idea with Everton was mentioned i always thought that we would be helping them too much, but after fully realising how bad Liverpool finances are its all about surviving and thriving now and playing catch up and any bad medicine that John Henry says we must take to catch up to the rest of the pack then so be it, i accept because i have had enough of disappointment and really want to enjoy watching Liverppol Fc again because it has been not easy being a Liverpool fan for a long time now, but i do believe we now have the right owners in place to once again make Liverpool a true superpower in not just English football but one of the elite of Europe.

On the field i think nobody will disagree that our squad is threadbare, David Ngog sums up the Liverpool of today for me. He is the only out and out striker behind Fernando Torres. Most clubs have 4 strikers and none of the top clubs would include Ngog in that four but we are been forced to use him sometimes as our first striker when Torres is injured. Every Liverpool supporter knew we were desperately short of striking options in the summer so it raises the question, why did our manager Roy Hodgson spend our limited funds on a few central midfielders and defenders.
There is a great tradition at Liverpool for always sticking by our managers when things get tough, but i have to break from that tradition. Roy Hodgson was a good manager at Fulham but that's what he is, a manager that can get good results by playing all out defence against teams and soaks up attacks and playing on the counter attack but that will not get us into the top four, all that will do is make us the new Fulham. I hope NESV relise this and somehow find us a forward thinking positive good manager soon. This January transfer window is going to be NESV`s first opportunity to show us what they can give us and i really don't want Hogdson to be the one deciding who we buy with that money, one Poulsen is enough for any team.

So please John Henry give all hard suffering Liverpool fans a great xmas and go out and find the greatest semi retired football manager out there and convince Guus Hiddink to come and be the new Shankly and maybe he will one day be revered and shown the loyalty that Liverpool fans show all great Liverpool managers.

Finally light at the end of the tunnel and maybe just maybe we can stop the great Bill Shankly turning in his grave, we at least owe him that.

MICHAEL OWEN....JUDAS

2009-07-04T08:19:00.005+03:00

Michael Owens crossing of the great divide will sadden many Liverpool fans who once worshipped him.
As a Liverpool supporter i rarely want recent Manchester United signings to do well for the club, but with the signing of Michael Owen it has brought my ill feelings towards a player to an all new high level.

I wish unspeakable bad injuries and bad luck to befall the former Liverpool goal machine, i know its very bad form to wish injury on any player but its honestly how i feel and i honestly believe the little Judas deserves all that i wish upon him.
People will say that he had to take Alex Fergusons offer as his best chance of resurrecting his World cup dream in Fabio Capello`s England, but the truth is he will most likely be a bit part player for the red devils and so he would have been much better served by signing for one of the lower teams in the league that he was talking to when the Man Utd`s offer came in.At a team like Hull he would have played every injury free minute and would have had a chance to really prove if he still has what it takes to cut it at the top level instead of coming on in the 80th minutes to give Rooney and Co a bit of a rest.
When i see the picture of Owen grinning holding the Man Utd scarf above his head and wearing the Manchester red bull rugby league jersey it shows just how low the little fella has fallen from his heyday as an Anfield idol. And some may say that he never really was an Anfield idol as he never really was as close to the fans as his predecessor`s Robbie Fowler or Ian Rush and that is true to a point but he was revered by the Liverpool faithful in the early days, there was many great moments and some great goals, but that was all soured when he forced the then new manager Rafa Benitez to sell him for a knock down price to Real Madrid in 2004 and he has soured that relationship with the Liverpool fans to new depths upon agreeing to join our arch enemies, remember this is not some foreigner like Heinz or Tevez but he is a player who came up through the Liverpool youth set up so he knows exactly what it means to the Liverpool faithful to cross the divide.
But there is one ray of shining light in all this, its a fact that without bad luck Michael Owen would have no luck at all, he left Liverpool for sunny Madrid to play regularly in the Champions League, the very same year that Liverpool lifted the cup on that glorious night in Istanbul in a game that most players can only dream about playing in, plus we can all see where his latest bout of luck has left Newcastle Utd.

So lets all hope that his lucky streak continues with Manchester United, Relegation might be hoping for a little too much though.

BENITEZ ABOUT TO END TO LIVERPOOL TITLE DROUGHT?

2008-08-04T22:35:00.021+03:00

As it looks like Rafa Benitez will finally get his man and end the long drawn out transfer saga, Gareth Barry`s arrival will at last turn Liverpool into credible title contenders.

In order to capture Barry`s signiture Benitez has had to be at his most ruthless. Xabi Alonso will have to make way for Barry, he will have to be sold to recoup the money spent on his replacement. It looks like Alonso does not want to go but it would seem it is more to do with the fact that no high profile club have valued him as highly as the Anfield clubs price tag, than the desire the player has to stay and fight for his place. Perhaps these clubs are relishing what many Liverpool supporters have known for a while now, that Alonso is simply overrated. While many supporters still rate him, in my opinion he has not produced the goods for a season or two now, and when he does play Liverpool are not a better team and for those fans who still rate him do you really see him as an integral part of the Liverpool team that will finally bring the the league title back to Liverpool. Even though Benitez will not relish selling his Spanish compatriot, after all it was Benitez who convinced Alonso to join his Liverpool revolution right from the start and now for the good of the team Benitez will make the decision to end Alonso`s Anfield career whether the player himself wants it or not.

Steven Gerrard and Barry may be great mates off the field and there is little doubt that their friendship played a part in Barry holding out for a chance to join Liverpool instead of other possible suitors. But Barry`s arrival at Anfield may mean that Gerrard may have to return to the right side of midfield something that he may not be too happy about after getting a taste of his preferred role playing behind Torres in the centre. It would be one of the most talented midfields in the world if Rafa opted something along the lines of Ryan Babel on the left Barry and Mascherano in the centre and Gerrard on the right and i think that in a lot of the big games he may opt for something like this, but i do not think that Gerrard will be saying goodbye to central midfield for good.
Benitez`s signings this summer could be a viewed as a masterstroke in years to come. In signing Robbie Keane and Barry, Benitez has not just signed a striker and a central midfielder he has bought himself a huge amount of options in shuffling his playing pack around. Keane will normally play behind Torres but when the Spanish striker is rested, Keane can play up front with Gerrard behind him or Keane on the right when Gerrard is needed elsewhere. With Barry he will mainly play in central midfield but he can easily fill in on the left where Gerrard has had to do on a number of occasions and showed that out left is one position that the Liverpool skipper cannot really play and his talent was wasted there so hopefully Barry`s arrival puts an end to that madness.
People may say that Benitez has always had plenty of options in team selection and the amount of rotation he has done proves them right, but the difference now is that he can exchange top quality players for top quality, but also in the big games injuries permitting he can field the strongest starting eleven that Liverpool Football Club have had in many many years.

All the top teams will of course be strengthening this summer and of the top four Liverpool had the most ground to make up, but when Barry finally signs, Benitez will have got all his summer wishes granted and i believe he will have taken Liverpool a huge step forward and maybe just maybe he has done enough to finally end the title drought on Merseyside.

THE REFEREE`S SAVIOUR, SIR ALEX FERGUSON

2008-03-22T16:03:00.013+02:00

Sir Alex Ferguson is back to his very best ahead of the Man Utd clash on Sunday. He has been shocked recently how badly referee`s are been treated. This is due mainly to Ashley Coles total disrespect in the recent game against Spurs.

Ole red nose said "The haranguing of referees is ridiculous, we know that," he said."We are talking about introducing this into the grass-roots level, respect for the referee. It is absolutely correct."

Wow it sounds like he really cares about referee`s and the respect they should be shown, and as we all know he has always kept his own players on a very tight leash and made sure that at all time they showed nothing but 100% respect for the officials decision`s and that contesting that final decision was futile and only served to smear his beloved club`s reputation. Why cant everybody just follow his clubs lead, surly all match officials would have a much easier life.

Yep, you tell em Sir Alex that that sort of behavior is totally unacceptable, because the fact that other teams are now doing exactly what you have sent your cronies out to do for years it is now a suddenly a big no no , but as normal you like the majority of fans that follow your club will somehow find a way to justify your teams actions over the years and chastise the teams that follow in similar paths nowadays.
Nothing quiet like Man Utd double standards.

WHY RAFA THE ROTATOR MUST STAY

2008-03-16T12:48:00.007+02:00

Rafa Benitez has his fair share of critics,and no manager has ever given the Liverpool faithful so many `What the f*** is he doing´ moments, but despite this he is still the right man to lead Liverpool in that ever elusive hunt for the League Title.

Rafa Benitez has had a roller coaster of a season with the lows sadly outnumbering the highs, he has at times had Liverpool supporters pulling hair from their heads wondering why certain players have been rested and at some of his rather strange substitutional decisions. We cannot be 100% sure that if he had not rested some of our better players early on in the season would the points tally be different, but Torres would have put much more fear into the so called lesser teams than Voronin or even the ever hard working but totally enept ability to find the back of the net player, that is Dirk Kuyt.

Looking now at the table shows that if we had won two or three of our eleven drawn games that we would still be right amongst the challengers for the title. But also if Torres had played all the early games would he have been as settled as he is now when we had the very bad run in January.

These are all if`s and but`s, but i think most will agree that Benitez`s decisions have cost the club some very valuable points. Some may say that Liverpools recent great form has been in some way due to Benitez`s resting of players early in the season, but to them i would say that the points dropped earlier in the season are as valuable as the points we are winning now, and it seems a bad gamble risking our season so early on.

So taking all this into account it would be quiet reasonable for the Liverpool faithful to be calling for the Spaniards head by now, but it is not so, on the contrary as shown in the very public, very un Liverpool like battle between the American owners and Benitez, the fans made it very clear that they overwhelmingly came down on the side of Benitez. I think this is because that despite his mistakes most fans relise that he is a top class manager as he often proves with his exploits in Europe and that given time and resources he will bring the title back to Liverpool.

There are also other reasons why he should remain at the helm at Liverpool, the first is that he is finally learning from his mistakes. He now seems to be rotating less, maybe he has come to the conclusion that the Premiership is not the same as La Liga. At Valencia he rotated his players just as he did here and the formula worked winning La Liga twice in three years, so it is easy to see why he stuck to his rotation policy, but perhaps in Spain he could rest key players against weaker teams and still win, but in England every year the so called weaker teams are getting stronger with improved finances from TV money and foreign owners investments. It must be very difficult to let go of his beloved rotation system that seen his Valencia overcome the big guns of Real Madrid and Barcelona twice.

The third and final reason for backing Benitez is that we all seem to have short memories, before Benitez the truely great players were not interested in joining Liverpool. The very best players like Fernando Torres are wanted by all the big clubs and they will all make big money offers, so these players pick the clubs that they can win medals and develop as players.
And of this i am sure, if Rafa Benitez was not our manager when Torres became available, he would not be a Liverpool player today, and the other players of Torres caliber that Benitez will sign in the future, will simply decide to ply their trades in other footballing Mecca`s in Europe, good players want to play for good managers.

With Rafa Benitez as manager it has been a rollercoaster journey, but he is taking our team in the right direction and not winning the league this year will not be the end of the world, perhaps expectations were too high, we are improving but so are the other top teams so it makes playing catch up just a little harder and takes a little bit longer time.

So maybe we have to learn something from our biggest foes and give Rafa Benitez the time that Man Utd gave Alex Ferguson after his very shaky start. It has not worked out so bad for them, so maybe we can afford to be a little bit more patient with our Spanish enigma.

WHY RAFA MUST GAMBLE

2007-12-22T10:12:00.000+02:00

Rafa Benitez has to show his ruthless side, and for the good of the team sell Xabi Alonso and others, it is a gamble as he will leave the team light on cover, but it is a gamble he simply has to take.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the new American owners simply do not have the cash to inject into the club that will give Benitez the same spending power as his counterparts at Manchester United and Chelsea, and to improve his squad and it does need improving to truly compete at the very top, then it looks like he will be forced to sell to bring in the players that are needed.
Some money may be given for new players, but it was clear to see against the game against Man Utd that Liverpool have still got a fair way to overhauling the Champions.
Up front Liverpool have a world class striker in Fernando Torres, but sadly he is the only striker that looks like he could turn a game on his own and that other teams really fear. Crouch if given a decent run of games alongside the Spaniard looks the most likely to form a formidable partnership with Torres, as he also has that eye for goal but maybe more than he can offer is needed to turn Liverpool into genuine title contenders, Ryan Babel could be good up front but for the moment as he develops he seems more like cover for the wings and possibly up front.
Kuyt and Voronin are very similar players, both very hard working and although its great to see strikers tracking back and helping out their teammates, their first priority is to score goals and both these players sadly lack that killer instinct and that confidence that all the great strikers have that allows them to be selfish and go for goal at any opportunity. Players like Kuyt and Voronin can be useful in some games if Benitez feels that more cover is needed for midfield but in most games the strikers should have confidence that the midfield can do their job and should just concentrate on doing their job which is to score goals, its as simple as that. Liverpool do not need two players like this and selling Kuyt is the better option as more money would be recouped from his sale.
Another striker of Torres caliber is required because he cannot catapult Liverpool to the league title on his own and Liverpool are already to reliant on him and if he gets injured points will be lost so another top class striker is needed to really threaten opposition defences and to cover in the event of injury.

In central midfield Liverpool are blessed with three world class players in Gerrard, Mascherano and Alonso. They also have Sissoko and the young Brazilian Lucas who many predict will be in that world class bracket sooner rather than later.
Gerrard has cemented his central berth so the other four players are fighting it out to play alongside him and although cover is needed, Liverpool have invested far too much of their resource's in this position when the money could be used for strenghtening other positions which would benefit the teams progress much more. Money is needed to permanently sign Mascherano, Xabi Alonso should be sold to pay for this. Alonso is a great player with vision and incisive passing he is one of the very best, but Mascherano is better for the team, his non-stop snapping at the heels and break up of play takes pressure off the defence and allows Gerrard to attack more. Lucas and for now Sissoko will have to be enough cover.
It would be great to keep all these great players, but the simple truth is Liverpool cannot afford to.
Whatever money the owners put in, if any, and the funds raised by the sales of any other players should be spent on a long term, first class partner for Torres up front and the money from Alonso`s sale should be used to secure the long term future of Mascherano at the club. Other players such as Riise and even Crouch should be considered for sale if we need to raise the money for a second world class striker, it is that crucial to the further development of the team. Two top strikers will convert a lot more of the possession that Liverpool get into points and also make the opposing teams think more about defending the Liverpool threat taking pressure off the Liverpool defence.

Liverpool need to take a gamble, they may leave themselves light in cover in some positions but its a gamble that they need to take because at the moment the current squad is just short of what is required to make a serious title challenge and Benitez should concentrate on getting his first eleven right and then think about building cover for them.

Its a risk but its something that has to be done unless a huge amount of cash is released by the American owners, or Liverpool will once again at the end of the season be at best a top four team and that is simply not good enough for Liverpool football club.

IN RAFA WE STILL TRUST

2007-12-17T21:00:00.000+02:00

Liverpool fans were brought back to earth by Man Utd`s victory at Anfield, but many fans, myself included were expecting too much too early from a team still being rebuilt after nearly two decades of neglect.
Much has been said recently about Rafa Benitez`s future at Liverpool, but let me lay my cards on the table now, i believe if we let the canny Spaniard leave Anfield for any reason it will set us back another two decades in our hunt for that ever elusive Premiership title.
I have not agreed with a lot of his decisions, i believe he over-rotates our players ,and as good as Dirk Kuyt is and we always hear how hard working he is, most of his hard work is defensive although we have the most formidable central midfield in not just England but in Europe so why does one of our strikers spend so much time and energy following players all the way to our penalty box and then leaving Torres all alone up front when the break does come, please have a little more faith in our defence. Torres works hard and defends from the front but he knows that his main job is to score goals and anything else is just a bonus for the team but defending from the front seems to be Kuyt`s main occupation, Crouch has his problems but he realises that his first priority is goals and he really should be playing more.Rafa does need to be more adventurous because our defence is good and we will score more goals than we concede.
Some of Rafa`s signings have been questionable, but he has always showed his ruthless side and quickly got rid of his mistake signatures at the first opportunity.
But what Rafa does give us is a clear plan. He has swelled the youth ranks from the finest that could be found from all over Europe and beyond, building up the most enviable list of young talent that can be found in England, which also signals that, given his choice he is in this for the long haul.

Despite the recent loss to the fiercest enemy of all Man Utd, Liverpool under Benitez are heading in the right direction and are improving all the time under his stewardship and will only get better and better when the new players signed in the summer get more settled. Football changed the day Roman injected his Rubles into the game, now there are no quick fixes to winning the Premiership, Liverpool are basically outgunned by the financial muscle of Chelsea and Man Utd so we have to follow Arsenals`s blueprint for success in buying young players and letting them come through the ranks and then spending our money on top quality to get a blend of players that makes us true competitors once again.
For a team to win the Prem for a consistent period of time a winning mentality is built up in that squad and as players get older that mentality is passed on to the younger players so at the beginning of the season they actually believe that they will win the league and only by some mishap they wont. Man utd have that mentality, Liverpool were their fore bearers, but when Graham Souness sold the spine of the Liverpool team, he also sold that winning mentality and we have never been able to recover it.

Given time Rafa will accomplish that `WE WILL WIN´thinking into the Liverpool camp but he needs time, he is at an disadvantage because of the other clubs financial clout, but he has not held up his hands and said that its too much of an uphill battle, instead he has staked his reputation on transforming every level at the club, starting with the youth to provide a decent chance of producing our own gems and maybe just maybe by buying a few of the best and mixing them with our own prospects we may just get that winning mentality back again, and once again bring the league back home but it will not be easy and patience is needed, but without patience we may just lose the one man that can go against all the odds and money that the other clubs have and lose the chance to once again put Liverpool Football Club at the pinnacle of English football.

EVERTON 1 LIVERPOOL 2

2007-10-21T14:22:00.000+03:00

The Merseyside Derby has as normal with a little help from man in black created enough controversy, to keep the banter going between the red and blue of the city until their next meeting and ensures that the fierce rivalry between these two old clubs will continue.

As always with football and even more so in tight derby battles luck has a part to play and both teams had the good and bad type today. Liverpool probably deserved to get the result as they created more chances and were handed a bombshell of bad luck when the usually so reliable Sami Hyypia skewed the ball into his own net, but Everton will feel let down by some very dubious decisions by the referee, Mark Clattenburg.
When Hibbert was sent off for fouling Gerrard for the first penalty it was clear that the referee was about to show the yellow card, even though i believe it deserved to be a red it was not good to see that a quick word from Gerrard could change the ref`s mind so easily and award a red, it had too much resemblance of the old days when it was a weekly event to see Roy Keane and his snarling Manchester United teammates bullying referee`s into submitting to their demands.
The Kuyt tackle could easily have been a red card and the Carragher pull down on Lescott in the dying moments would normally have resulted in a penalty. Everton fans will complain about the injustice like Liverpool did after the Chelsea debacle earlier in the season and both claims are valid but as everyone know`s luck has a major part to play in all sport and especially in the world of football, that lags behind the rest of sport by not introducing video technology that would solve nearly all of the injustices that happen every week in all the top leagues in Europe, so maybe we should not be blaming the refs, but instead ask why the overpaid people that run football do not actually do their jobs and bring technology into top flight football.

Benitez took one of the gambles of his Liverpool career by taking off Gerrard with 20 minutes to go, it paid off when Lucas took the decisive shot that Phil Neville saved with an outstretched arm with reactions that any goalkeeper in the world would be happy with, but if Liverpool had not won yesterdays game serious questions would once again be asked of Benitez`s team selection and substitutions. Yesterday Benitez started with Sissoko and Masherano in the middle and Gerrard on the wing and it was only when Gerrard in the second half started to play a more central role did he look anywhere near his best, and he actually for the first time in a long time was starting to have a major influence on the game even though his final ball and finishing were still miles away from what Liverpool fans have come to expect from their talisman.

The gamble paid off and maybe just maybe it may have the desired effect on Gerrard and as he said himself in his autobiography, he hates being taken off during a game and see`s it as a personal attack on himself, and this being the Merseyside Derby the feeling will have been ten-fold. Maybe this may shake him out of his current bad form because nothing else seems to be working, and despite all Liverpools big money big name signings, Liverpool still need an in-form Steven Gerrard to truly compete for that ever elusive Premiership crown.
Fair play to Benitez after the game he could easily have said that he took Gerrard off to rest him for the midweek game, but his honest answer was directed as much at Gerrard as it was to the media, he said "In this game, sometimes you need to play with the brain and we were playing with heart. We needed to keep the ball and pass the ball." which he was in no doubt referring to Gerrard, and now we must just wait and see how the Liverpool captain reacts to this new pressure from his manager.

As for the Liverpool display as a whole it is still nowhere near the standards that are needed to bring the title back to Merseyside, but as in all Derbies, it is not a normal game and it is hard to judge a teams form on a derby performance because both sides are fired up, but the important thing for Liverpool is that they take this confidence from the win, build on it and pray that their captain is returning to form and that their manager has realised that there is such a thing as over-rotation and Liverpool should be playing their best team and let the weaker teams adjust to Liverpool`s style of play instead of vice-versa and then maybe just maybe we will start to see the best of this exciting bunch of players that Benitez has assembled.

BENITEZ GAMBLE DOES NOT PAY OFF

2007-09-16T16:40:00.000+03:00

If what Rafa Benitez says is true and the Premiership is the main focus this year for Liverpool Fc, then the team he sent out to face Portsmouth on Saturday was very poor judgement by the Liverpool boss.

This was the first real test of Benitez`s resolution of where his priority`s really lie, the league or the Champions league, and he seems to have been willing to risk the Premiership points in order to have a fresh team for the Champions league game against Porto.
I understand that in nowadays game, due to the amount of games the top teams will play in a season, rotation is a must to save players from burnout later in the season, but Benitez went totally over the top in last Saturdays game at Fratton Park. Too many first choice players were not started, Steven Gerrard, Dirk Kuyt, Fernando Torres and John Arne Riise are probably at the moment first choice starters in midfield and attack and having four of your six normal starters in midfield and attack being rested at the same time is just to big of a change in the team and weaken`s the team too much, and especially if you think about the opposition, Harry Redknapp`s team`s are always well organised and this Portsmouth team is one of his best, and i believe Benitez did not recognise what a threat Portsmouth actually are and thought that sending out a second string team would be enough to see them off. How very wrong he was, believe me Liverpool were incredibly lucky to leave Fratton park with a point. Pepe Reina saved a penalty and how Portsmouth missed two gaping goal chances must have given Harry Redknapp nightmares.

I hope Rafa has learned something from this, that with the new influx of huge tv money all established Premiership teams have strenghtened and now there are very few easy games in the Premiership , and as good as the Liverpool squad is now, Liverpool will lose a lot of points this season if we see more of this overkill on rotation.

All Liverpool fans agree that the Premiership has to be the priority this season and i believe if Gerrard and Torres had started this game then we would still be on the top of the table right now as when they came on we suddenly became the best team on the pitch, but instead we have been overtaken by Arsenal, and are on the same points as Manchester United and Chelsea.
I know most of you will say not to worry as its so early in the season, but this truly is an opportunity lost to consolidate our place at the top of the table but instead we find ourselves in the familiar position of looking up at some other team at the peak of the table.
Some may say that i am being over critical of Rafa Benitez, but i firmly believe that three premiership points are more important than beating Porto in the Champions league, and i just wished that Rafa Benitez felt the same, because if he had we would surely be still at the pinnacle of the League today.

I have been pretty critical of Benitez in this article because i think he has lost Liverpool two points with his team selection, but i still believe he is the best chance of Liverpool once again reclaiming that very elusive league title, as long as he realises if he has to gamble in future, please play the best possible team for the Premiership game, and take that gamble to Europe.

RUTHLESS REDS SHOW THEY MEAN BUSINESS

2007-09-02T15:20:00.000+03:00

Rafa Benitez may be trying to pour cold water on Liverpools title ambitions but try telling that to any Kopites that witnessed Saturday`s 6-0 mauling of Derby, which was just one of the great performances that have got Liverpool of to that ever elusive flying start.

Make no mistake Saturdays destruction of Derby is a sign of things to come, despite the Ram`s being a very poor team, Liverpool teams of the past would have won but probably struggled to do so but this new look, hungry squad of players that Benitez has assembled is capable of not just putting Derby to the sword but any team that plays below par, and this result added with how Liverpool have played in all their opening games must send a shudder of fear through all Premiership teams, and those unlucky enough to meet the Merseysiders in Europe. Simply put, a message of intent has been sent out by Rafa Benitez and his men.

And even more impressive, Saturdays result was achieved without the two stalwarts of Liverpool Fc, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, how they must have looked down on the Anfield pitch and wished they were involved, but more importantly they got a birds eye view of the all new Liverpool, a team that can demolish teams in the fashion that they did, and now for the first time in a long time, the two scousers that are the heartbeat of the team know that their new teammates are up to their standards and are very capable of thrusting Liverpool to the pinnacle of English football once again.

Of the new faces that Benitez has imported Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel, Andriy Voronin and Yossi Benayoun, are the players for me that will have a big impact this season, he has signed many more but i think those are for the future. Babel is a superstar just waiting to happen, his goal against Derby had all the hallmarks of a master and in every game he has shown glimpses of what he can become.......a true worldwide superstar. Voronin looks like he was born to play in the Premiership, and seems to score at every opportunity no matter how small his cameo appearance may be.
Benayoun is that bit of creativity that we have been missing for years and over time it will be hard for Benitez to leave him out of the team, but fitting him in will not be easy either.

But Torres is the main man, in his previous games he has shown that he is good, but with every game he plays it becomes more obvious why the Athletico Madrid faithful idolised him, and his clinical finishing against Derby shows that he will in all likely hood be idolized in the same way at Anfield...the boy is just pure class.
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The players that were with Liverpool last year, two players have improved vastly, Jermaine Pennant and Momo Sissoko. Over the last year i have been one of Sissoko`s biggest critics his inability to complete a pass has had me pulling my hair out but in the last few games he seems to have totally solved the problem and when he plays like that is one of the best central midfielders in Europe, if only he can keep that standard of passing and tackling up he will become a main contender to start alongside Gerrard.
Pennant is finally starting to show the potential he had as a youngster, Benitez`s faith that he showed and the added pressure on his place in the team from the new signing`s really is bringing out the best of Pennant and he must be by now pushing for a starting place for England if like Momo he can keep this new level of talent up.

Rafa Benitez is right in saying that it is so early in the season that it is premature to dream about winning the Premiership, but if Liverpool keep playing the way they are right now then they are going to be very hard to beat, and we must remember that with so many new players, when they finally gel they are going to be an even better team than we have seen over the opening weeks.

Benitez has every managers dream of a headache in team selection, every week he has to disappoint some players but it does not seem to matter who he puts out, competition is so fierce that all players know they have to give it their all just to have a chance of starting the next game.......great problem to have.

Liverpool fans have endured more false dawns over the years than any other team, but believe me this is no false dawn, this new look, ruthless, hungry Liverpool is the real deal and will take some serious stopping in their quest to bring the league back home where it belongs after a long long barren spell.

LUCKY CHELSEA SALVAGE A POINT AGAINST LIVERPOOL.

2007-08-19T20:53:00.000+03:00

Make no mistake, Chelsea have one more point today because of a shocking bad refereeing decision and nothing more. Liverpool proved what a new force they are by controlling Abromoviches millions and were so so unlucky not to walk away with all three points.

Fernando Torres got of the mark in great style, scoring a great goal on his Anfield debut, against the team that looks most likely the team that must be overcome this season if Liverpool Fc are to win the Premiership. He picked up an injury just before half time that seemed to affect his second half performance but what we seen in the first half shows why Benitez shelled out the big bucks for him. His goal came from a Steven Gerrard pass, but it was the way that he rounded the defender and clinically beat Peter Cech, one of the best keepers in the world, was magical and can only give the player confidence for the future, because if he can make the Chelsea defence look so ordinary then he should have no problem with the rest of the Prem.

The game itself was a little bad tempered but i think fans from both sides would agree that it did not warrant eight yellow cards and a penalty that clearly never was, but this is football and as unjust as Rob Styles decision was against Liverpool you have to take the good with the bad, but it really was very bad judgement and cost the team that played far better on the day victory, and more important the full three points.

From both managers points of view, Rafa Benitez will be the happier man because he knows that only a poor referee decision cost him the full three points and he still has players to come into the team, as he is slowly integrating his new signings into the team. Ryan Babel looks like a mouth watering proposition, in his few cameo appearances he really has looked the real deal and when Benitez feels that he is accustomed enough to his new club and begins to actually start games it will really increase Liverpools attack, and there are others, Yossi Benayoun has not really featured yet but his creativity will be a huge improvement on the current attack. Rafa has others like Kewell, Leto, Lucas and Andriy Voronin to unleash on the Premiership. I expect the preferred starting line-up in the big games to be similar to today with maybe Mascherano included, but when the new players establish themselves look out for Babel and Benayoun, i really think these two players are the ones to take us to the next level.

It was disappointing that we did not beat Chelsea, but what we can take away from it is the confidence that we are the better team, we can only control how we play not the way a bad ref thinks, and also we must think how Chelsea and their self pro-claimed special one feels after this game, that their manager or the players are not so special anymore because at Anfield they were shown to be the second best team on the day.

If Benitez can instill in his players the belief that they really are the best team in the Premiership and that they fear no team and can produce displays like they did against Chelsea, then no amount of silly refereeing will stop them from winning the Premiership crown.

ARE SPURS THE NEXT LEEDS?

2007-08-15T21:13:00.000+03:00

All summer i have read how Spurs are the up an coming team, how they will force Arsenal down to fifth place, and up until two weeks ago i swallowed the whole thing, but then i did my fantasy football team, and i was shocked with what i saw.

As i was picking my team i was running out of money so i started to look down the different squads to try and find a bargain or two, but when i clicked on Spurs i got more than i bargained for, it amazed me that this team that had been so hyped up was so top heavy, make no mistake Spurs have the best front line selection in the country, Berbatov, Keane, Bent and Defoe is a strike force nearly all top teams would envy, but as i tried to find a good value midfielder and defender, they just were not there,and as i studied it more not only could i not find value , but i could not see any true Premiership class players, Tottenham simply have nothing behind the front line. They bought all these expensive strikers but never really thought about how to give them the ball and create chances. The whole thing has to be the work of an idiot........step forward Martin Jol and the board that blindly backed you, you just may have sent Tottenhan Hotspur on the road down the leagues of no return.

Spurs are so similar to Leeds a couple of years ago its a little bit scary, Leeds invested everything that they did not have on a manager that had no real pedigree but gave his youngsters in the team a chance and they did ok, so Leeds then threw money at David O Leary like it was going out of fashion, but we all know how that story finished up.
Spurs are much the same they have spent nearly 100 million over the last couple of seasons seasons with only Berbatov being good value for money. Now i know its early in the season and i would not usually comment like this, but Spurs under Martin Jol are so shocking underachievers that it has to be said they are the most likely to become the next Leeds.

Its early in the season but the Spurs team is so top heavy with strikers that they have to buy midfielders and defenders again before the deadline, and if Jol does what he has consistently done and buys the wrong players, then relegation is a real threat because his team has been so poor so far and has already been beaten by two of its relegation competitors.

I would be sad to see Spurs go the same way as Leeds as they have always played good entertaining football, but they really need big changes to survive, and the biggest change they need, is finding someone that can buy players that give the team a balance, as good a defence and midfield to go with an attack that a team like Spurs can afford, not the all out attack house of cards that Jol has built, so maybe if Spurs act now and get a manager who understands that a team is built from defence, midfield and attack they may just salvage something from this season.

ASTON VILLA 1 LIVERPOOL 2

2007-08-11T21:57:00.000+03:00

Liverpool FC won this encounter but it was more about luck than skill, and if the team selection by Rafa Benitez is a sign of things to come then it is going to be another disappointing season for Liverpool.

What amazed and then shocked me by the team selection when i first seen it that even though we had spent nearly 50 million in the summer on players, mainly attacking players the only new player on show was Torres, the player from the new bunch that cost the most, but has also shown in pre-season that not only does he need time to gel with his new teammates, but also adjust to the pace and physical aspect of the Premiership, where was Yossi Benayoun, he looked like our biggest improvement during our pre-season and looked like a player that might finally solve some of our creativity problems and he knows the Premiership, but instead of his creativity Benitez opted for basically the same team that failed so badly and finished so many points away from the top two last season.

I have never really questioned Rafa Benitez`s managerial skills as he came with a great reputation and lead us to win the Champions league and FA cup. But one has to wonder about his latest team selection, he has gone on all summer about how important a good start to the season is, and then he ignores most of the signings we made this Summer in our first game, and believe me Liverpool were lucky to win against Aston Villa, only for Gerrard once again saving us it was two points lost, this is not how teams with title aspirations work, relying on one man to save them in every game.

I really hope that this team he deployed today was some sort of tactical ploy because if he thinks that to solve our problems he can play last years team and add in a striker with a good reputation then we have bigger problems.
His defense selection was good but i would have put Riise as a the left back and used a more natural left winger and as i said before Benayoun should have started on the right. Up front he made the right decision, but if Liverpool are to truely take a step forward this year we are going to have to employ a more attacking style of football and Benitez seems to have realised this, but at the first hurdle against Villa he seems to have backed away and a gone for the same old system of defence first which has caused so many disappointing seasons for the Anfield faithful.

If Liverpool Football Club really have aspirations of winning the league then they need to start to play a lot braver football, and not let the other teams dictate their team selection or way of playing, because as sure as shit when Man Utd and Chelsea arrive at Villa park their team selection will have nothing to do with Villa, they just pick the team and let Villa try and deal with it.

A SELFISH GREEDY TORRES IS WHAT LIVERPOOL NEED!

2007-08-08T21:16:00.000+03:00

Fernando Torres has arrived at Anfield with the burden of a huge price tag around his neck but even bigger expectations from the Liverpool faithful. Despite what Anfield says there is immense pressure on Torres to score the goals that can catapult Liverpool into genuine title contenders.

Torres has scored on average 15 goals a season for the last five seasons at Atlético Madrid, while Liverpool will expect more it has to be remembered that he was the best player at Madrid and spent a lot of time playing deeper trying to create chances. But at Liverpool he will have a different role, his job will be goals, goals and more goals. His most likely strike partner, Dirk Kuyt found himself in a similar position last year playing deeper and trying to create chances, he too i hope will be asked to concentrate more on scoring and give the midfield more of a responsibility to link and create chances.

Liverpool's midfield is where the biggest changes will come, no longer will we see Gerrard wasting his talents on the right wing, the central position his most natural and where he can influence a game most and that is where he will play this year, who his partner in the centre will be is anyones guess, Alonso and Mascherano are the leading contenders and although Mascherano was the better of the two at the end of last season an on form Alonso would be very hard to ignore.
On the right of midfield Yossi Benayoun and Jermaine Pennant will fight it out, and as much as Pennant has and still is improving, Benayoun seems a class act and although he is more used to playing behind the front two, he seems to have adjusted very well to the wing and showed how creative he is when setting up Torre`s goal with a sublime pass in the game against Feyenoord. On the left wing its a way more complicated, the options are Babel, Kewell, Leto, Riise and maybe even Vorornin or El Zhar. I think because of Kewells experience he may start the season there, but because of Babel`physical presence and some glimpses he has shown in pre-season of what he is capable off he may adjust to life in the Premiership sooner than a lot of people think. But this left position we may see Rafa doing a lot of changes to try and find his best option.

In defence it should be the same as last year with Finnan and Arbeloa fighting it out for the right back position, or if media reports are correct and Liverpool are after the Brazilian, Cicinho then perhaps Arbeloa may put pressure on Riise for the left back position which would hopefully end the Gabriel Heinze saga, 6.8 million just seems too much for a 29 year old who does not seem to be the same player that he was before his injury.

Liverpool should be playing a more attacking brand of football this year and this will inevitably mean that we will be taking more chances at the back and may concede more goals, but it is what has to be done to make us genuine title contenders, now im not saying that we are heading for the crazy Kevin Keegan Newcastle days, when their motto seemed to be `don't worry if they score three, there is a good chance we will score four´, but we have to give the defence more responsibility and have more faith in them. And that added pressure on the defence is nothing compared to what is expected from new boy Torres, but if Torres can live up to the dreams and expectations of his newly acquired Kop following , he will be revered as much or even more at Anfield than he was at his previous home Atlético, its a lot to ask of 'El Niño' but if he can get those goals we have been sorely missing then the holy grail that is the Premiership could finally be finding its way home to Anfield.

THE NEW MAN UTD

2007-08-08T21:03:00.000+03:00

I think its love at first sight, guess who gets to wear the skirt. Yes your right its the ladyboy.

HEINZE MEANZ TROUBLE

2007-08-02T15:25:00.001+03:00

Rafa Benitez and supporters of Liverpool have enjoyed the unrest that has been caused to Manchester United since Benitez launched his audacious bid to bring Gabriel Heinze to Anfield, but Heinze is most definitely not what is needed at Anfield.

Benitez has always claimed that he wants to sign players who really want to play for the club, and Heinze most certainly fills that criteria because of his eagerness to make the short nightmare of a trip down the East Lancs Road, because of the hatred that would be shown to the player from the Manchester United faithful, but do we really want a man that has shown how low on his list of attributes loyalty is.

Heinze won the fan`s Player of the Year award in his first year at Old Trafford, so he has had the backing of the fans, and he is not a young immature player and has been at Old Trafford long enough to know the rivalry between these clubs and the trouble a move like this would cause. They backed him when he missed nearly a full season through injury, and was even made captain of the team for the final two games of the 2006/07 season, so this show`s that United have not treated him badly and have shown faith in him.

With his yearnings to pull on the famous red Jersey of Liverpool he has to know the hurt it causes the Old Trafford faithful and as a Liverpool supporter i would normally have no problem with that, but it has to be in the back of your mind when is he going to shaft the Liverpool faithful such is his low standards of loyalty to any cause.

Benitez has worked hard at building a squad which has respect and loyalty for the club and that he can trust and i would be shocked if he really did go through with this deal and brought in someone that could show such disloyalty, even if it was to our fiercest enemies. And it has to be remembered we are not Chelski, we are not so flush with money that we can waste it to annoy or stop other teams from getting those players.

I think all Liverpool supporters have had a little fun over this saga including myself, but the question is, is Heinze the best value for money we can get, 6.8 million for a 29 year old seems quiet a lot and if you add in the fact that he seems to be not the same player he was before his injury it seems too much money. There are other options out there, Leighton Baines seems a much better option despite being a life long Everton supporter, but that has never got in the way before.

At the beginning i think Rafa put the bid in as a distraction for Man Utd, but now its achieved what was intended, its time to move on and spend the money where it will bring back the most returns, and i really don't think Heinze is where that is. Juventus have shown they are willing to sign the player and if the player has brains he should grab that opportunity with both hands but somehow i think Heinze really is out to annoy Sir Alex at all costs after been told by the club who he could or could not sign for after having some sort of an agreement.

It all seems like another case of a pampered spoilt footballer not getting his own way, and do we really want that kind of attitude at Anfield.

LIVERPOOL OUTWIT MAN UTD

2007-07-24T22:11:00.003+03:00

Rafa Benitez`s decision to try and sign Gabriel Heinze is a masterstroke from the canny Spaniard, it is a total win-win situation for Liverpool Fc and has left Alex Ferguson with one more off-field distraction to deal with.

Benitez normally does not get involved with the off-field mind games that is all too common in today's world of football between opposing managers, but in Liverpool and Chelsea`s Champions league encounter last season, Benitez showed that he is more than capable of competing in this arena of battle with the very best and this was the first sign that he was willing to enter these war of words. But this attempt to sign Heinz from Liverpool's arch enemies Man Utd has all the hallmarks of a true chess grandmaster. In one simple move he has backed Sir Alex into a corner with his audacious and some may say cheeky bid which would make Heinz the first man since Phil Chisnall who made the same move in 1964.

I have no doubt that Benitez would really like to sign Heinz but i also believe that when he first made his move for the Argentinian that he thought that it would have very little chance of success and was just trying to stir up a little trouble in the Utd camp, but because of Man Utd`s amateurish handling of the situation they have actually made the move which would be a nightmare for the club and their fans become a real possibility.
Sir Alex telling the media that under no circumstances would Heinz play for Liverpool was a mistake. Heinz was on holiday after playing in the Copa America and they had told the player months earlier that if a club came in with a bid of £6.8m he would be free to move there. I'm sure if Sir Alex had not panicked when the Liverpool bid came in and actually explained the problems that this transfer would cause that Heinz would wait for something else, but Heinz like all Premiership player's lead a pampered life and are not used to being told no, so it must have really riled Heinz that he was being told who or who not he could sign for after the earlier agreement between club and player.

Man Utd have backed themselves into a corner in this situation and may find themselves in court twice this summer with the drawn out Tevez affair and these are all distractions that a team just does not need.

One indication of how much Benitez is enjoying this little battle was with his latest little tongue in cheek statement that "I don't know what the problem is." Somehow i think he knows how it would hurt all Manchester fans around the globe if Gabriel Heinze moved to Liverpool and even worse if he became a success at Anfield.

THE TOP FOUR, IN AND OUTS

2007-07-15T15:37:00.001+03:00

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man Utd have all delved into the transfer market this summer but some clubs have had a lot more success than others, this is a look at the teams on the move and those been left behind.

Of the four teams its obvious that Man Utd and Liverpool are the teams with the deepest pockets this year but will that improvement on the financial investment side translate into better fortunes on the pitch. A run down of the top fours transfers in and out may give an indication of who will improve next year but as always money does not always return league points....just ask any Newcastle fan.
First of is Arsenal, who finished a disappointing fourth last year by there standards and thier closed season activity so far has given very little optimism that they can improve on that.

Arsenal
In: Bakari Sagna Eduardo da Silva and Lukasz Fabianski

Out: Matthew Connolly, Arturo Lupoli, Thierry Henry,
Jeremie Aliadiere and Mart Poom.
Now this team is probably the biggest talking point of the close season, their lack of funds in the transfer season makes it clear that the cost of the new stadium will take a long time to absorb, but in having Wenger as the manager makes this possible as he is the master at picking up young bargains and turning them into either Arsenal legends or making a decent profit on them but his choices this year seem a little bit out of character, Da Silva is no spring chicken so if he does turn into a superstar it would be one of his better coups but its unlikely.
Unless something major happens at Arsenal between now and the start of the season Arsenal will be a much lesser team and could be actually overtaken by their free spending neighbours Spurs.

Chelsea
In: Florent Malouda Steve Sidwell Tal Ben Haim and Claudio Pizarro
Out; Khalid Boulahrouz, Geremi and Yves Ma Kalambay
The Blues are by far the biggest free spending club in the history of football but surprisingly quite this year...could Roman be finally be becoming bored of his play thing, Florent Malouda is the major signing but is only a replacement for Robben and the only other notable addition is Claudio Pizarro who arrived on a free transfer. Chelsea seem more like a team in sleep mode, surly if Roman was still interested this is the one year that he would have invested heavily to bring the title back to Stamford but instead it seems he is happy to let it all coast along till he becomes interested again or perhaps the manager he really wants is not available yet.

Man United
In; Anderson,Owen Hargreaves and Luis Nani
Out; Phil Marsh, Floribert Ngalula,and Daniel Rose
The biggest spenders and the money seems like a lot of it has been spent wisely, Anderson and Nani are investments in the future there to replace Scholes and Giggs,this is not an improvement its maintenance to replace their aging stars, Hargreaves and Carrick will compete to replace Keane but they will have a hard job, these two players are good but not good enough to give Utd that all important controlling midfield and when they play the top teams like Liverpool this year expect the other teams to be able to convert their dominance into points, but if Man Utd can complete the transfer of Teves then Man Utd can make up for this loss in midfield and would be an improved team by being able to take their chances, they may not have the best defense but if Teves joins their ranks then they will score more goals than most teams in Europe and must be favourites to at least clinch the Premiership title once again and if they get lucky and that dodgy defence holds up could improve on their European record, but they really need to sign Tevez to improve on last years team.

Liverpool
In;Ryan Babel,Yossi Benayoun, Ryan Crowther, Andrei Voronin, Fernando Torres, Krisztian Nemeth and Andras Simon.
Out; Jerzy Dudek , Craig Bellamy, Luis García and Boudewijn Zenden.
I have left this to last because this is the team with the biggest changes and the biggest challenges in most likely hood the most improved team of the top four, they have always had the best defence but this year its been an all out assault on attacking options, of course its easy to improve when you are so far behind compared to Man Utd and Chelsea but Liverpool have definitely spent the money where it was needed most and that is in in attack. Liverpool have always had a great defence but putting the ball away has been the problem for the last two managers which is why Rafa Benitez has gone all out this year by buying all attacking players. Liverpool have strenghtened all attacking options but for Liverpool to become a true threat to Man utd then a couple of positions still have to to be filled, first of all we still need a right winger or else Gerrard may waste his talents there again for another season, and with all our great new attacking options it mean our defence is going to be more busy than ever now that we are not playing defensive football and that means we must plug up our one Achilles heel, the left back position, Riise is a great player going forward but in defence he leaves a lot to be desired.
So this is how i see the season unfolding, Arsenal will be lucky to be in the top four, Chelsea will always compete for the title with Roman`s millions, Man Utd will be very hard to overcome if they do sign Tevez which is very likely and Liverpool are a very unknown prospect just because so much rebuilding has gone on, but if Rafa can
get his team to gel quickly in the season and still be in contention by Christmas then i think it is more than likely that Liverpool will add to their massive league title haul.

LIVERPOOL, BACK WITH THE BIG BOYS

2007-07-13T22:53:00.000+03:00

For years Liverpool Fc have had to spend their money miserly, often on players that were second rate that may have a chance of improving, but those days are gone. Now its all about getting the very best to end our league title drought.

Fernando Torres signaled Liverpools intention by shattering the clubs old record transfer fee and this has been just followed up by paying 11.5 million for Ryan Babel the 20 year old prospect from Holland, it shows the confidence that the new owners have in Rafa Benitez and that they believe that he is truly the man to end the clubs recent barren spell of league titles.

With the recent arrivals of Yossi Benayoun and Andrei Voronin Liverpool fans may be left scratching their heads at Benitez`s selection, because the players he has signed are so versatile. Torres is an out and out striker but Voronin can play up front or on the wing, Benayoun can play anywhere behind the front two while Babel can play up front or on either wing, so this season its going to be even more of a guessing game of who starts and where, this versatility is a great advantage that Benitez will use to great effect, its so so long since Liverpool had the option of putting out a purely attacking team, one that can kill off the lesser teams and gain us the three points, the same points that we get if its Man Utd or Reading, now Rafa has the ammunition he needs to deal with teams putting 11 men behind the ball, something that has caused us nightmares in previous seasons simply because we did not have enough attacking flair to break down these defences......but that is the past

Many people may say that Man utd are miles ahead with their early purchase of Nani and Anderson, but people must remember these are young players to replace the aging Scoles and Giggs so its not improvement its maintenance, and Hargreaves is another attempt to replicate Keane but as most people know the closest you can get to Keane in today's world football, plays for their arch rivals and is a better player than Keane could ever hope to be.
So the next season should be very interesting Rafa has shocked us in the past with his team selections but with the choices he now has your more likely to win Lotto than pick his starting 11 in their positions.

It has been a long long time coming but at last we have the players and manager to mount a serious title challenge so roll on the new season.

KUYT AND CROUCH WATCH OUT, VORONIN IS THE REAL DEAL!

2007-07-08T17:36:00.001+03:00

As the media fanfare made its way from Anfield after seeing Torres arrive, it was almost like Andriy Voronin sneaked in the back door such was the difference in the media coverage of both events, but Voronin is here to do more than merely make up the numbers and he could be the surprise package in this years Premiership.
This is a must see clip of our new striker in action.

Now i know a lot of people will say that You Tube videos should not be taken very seriously as it it is not too hard to manage to make a players career to fit into three minutes and make him look good, but there really are some impressive goals there and what makes them impressive is some of these bullet shot goals of his are taken by his right and left foot, and also just by his physical presence he looks like he really is suited to the Premiership.
A lot of his play is very similar to the role Dirk Kuyt played at Anfield last year, he can score goals but is better known for his hard work and setting up his strike partner and is a strong player, so he seems like the perfect cover for Kuyt, if Kuyt ever does become tired, but i think Vorinon will not be happy waiting for Kuyt to become tired to play, this guy is here to win his place alongside Liverpools record signing Fernando Torres and if his style of play is any indication, a little old thing like Kuyt standing in his way will only be a short lived obstacle.
Now i don't believe that Kuyt will be displaced so easy, but if this Ukrainian can succeed where his fellow country men have so spectacularly failed in the past great strikers such as Rebrov and Shevchencko that after arriving in the Premiership with great reputations soon relies that reputations are worth nothing in the toughest league in the world, but i just have this feeling that Andriy Voronin is different and he has found the league that suits his style of play, so Crouch and Kuyt watch out he really is here to play first team football so take nothing for granted.

HENRY WHO ?

2007-06-24T15:28:00.001+03:00

Allowing Thierry Henry`s departure to Barcelona could prove to be one of Arsene Wengers best managerial decisions, as Henry seems to have gone stale at Arsenal and this move could benefit all parties involved.

Henry will be a success in Spain but Arsenal are doing a great bit of buisness by getting 16 million pounds for a player that will be 30 in less than two months time, a large part of his game is reliant on speed and that i think has already started to wane, but he probably has one or two more seasons at the top, but at Barca he will have to fight for his place from day one.
Wenger is a true master in the transfer market and as hard as it is to replace Henry, who would bet against Wenger using the 16 million to bring in a new young striker that may have us saying in a few years, Henry who?

Media reports suggest that Arsenal may actually be after 2 strikers one young and one experienced. Many names have cropped up as Henry`s replacement but Anelkas is by far the most interesting, could it be possible that Wenger has the confidence that he could turn around the career of the incredible sulk. Remember the potential that Anelka once had when he was under Wenger`s stewardship before, he had the talent to become as good or even better than Henry but bad advice and a shocking attitude have meant that his talent has been wasted and although we have seen glimpses of what could have been, he is in reality a mediocre striker now, but Wenger may feel that Anelka may have matured and if Wenger was to take him on again Anelka will know that this his his last chance to become the player he should already be. At the moment this is all media speculation, but Wenger has the potential to surprise all and i think there is little doubt that Anelka would jump at the chance to let Wenger rekindle his career.

There is also talk of Wenger leaving Arsenal but i cant see that happening, some say that Henry leaving may be a sign that Wenger may join him in Spain, but the simple fact is Wenger has always cashed in on his major stars when the time was right, think back to Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit, Patrick Viera and now you can add Thierry Henry to that list of players that Wenger thinks have offered all that can be offered to the club. I believe Wenger is looking to the future by selling Henry, with the cash he can improve his squad, he already has a squad of young talent that if supplemented with a bit of experience in midfield and attack we could see a very different Arsenal next year that does not only want to play pretty football but also wants to win games even if its that means that results become more important than playing the game beautifully.
This is going to be one of the most interesting transfer seasons at Arsenal for years, it is a out with the old and in with the new, but the big question is can Wenger pull off another transfer miracle and will the new be as good as the old that has served the Arsenal faithful so well.

IS HE WORTH 27 MILLION?

2007-06-23T23:13:00.000+03:00

Fernando Torres seems the most likely to join our ranks , he is not my first choice but he is young and Rafa can improve him and improve his goal per game ratio which is the all important key for the new Liverpol striker, we already have Kuyt and Crouch to set up the chances all we need now is someone to put it in back of the net and that's where we need to spend big, but i am really not sure that Torres is the answer to our goalscoring problems, but here he is anyway...............you decide is he the answer to our problems.

LIVERPOOL CRISIS?

2007-06-10T14:24:00.001+03:00

A lot of promises have been made by the new owners of Liverpool football club, but so far we have seen little in the way of results, is it now time to start to worry?

Rafa Benitez has already voiced his concerns over the inaction of the clubs new owners Tom Hicks and George Gillet, and to be honest a week ago i already wanted to write this story but i thought for sure we would see some new big name arrivals at Anfield this week, but it now seems even with new owners very little seems to have changed in the way Liverpool Football Club conducts its transfer dealings, we still seem to drag our heels at every given opportunity.

It is no secret that our two major priorities this close season are a striker and two wingers of a higher caliber than we have had in the past. Eto`o and Tevez are names that keep cropping up for the striker role, but because of our time wasting other teams have now joined the hunt for these players with Inter Milan now willing to pay 40 million for Eto`o effectively pricing us out of the race for his signature and now Man Utd seems to be interested in Tevez, but Tevez could still be bought his friendship with Mascherano is a major plus and we also have Bellamy as bait, but this can also show us how much the new owners are willing to invest in Liverpool. There is one more option to solve our striker problem and it is a lot cheaper, If media reports can be believed Newcastle are interested in Bellamy and are very unsure whether Michael Owen wants to stay at St James, so the scenario for Owen to return to Anfield seems to be opening up, it would be close to a straight swap deal with maybe a little money going Newcastles way. But it is not a good deal for Liverpool, Owen is undoubtedly a better player than Bellamy but he is no good to us if he is on the treatment table half the time, we need a striker that will score for us week in week out and because of Owens injury plagued past, we just cant rely on him, but it will be interesting to see if the Americans go for the cheap option.

Trying to sign the wingers has really shown where our go slow approach is just not good enough in the world of todays football, Daniel Alves is now one of the most sought out right sided players in Europe today but he could and should have been at Anfield a long time ago but the most glaring mistake so far in this close seasons dealings has been the handling of the Florent Malouda transfer, this is a player that could have easily been signed within a few days of the start of close season with his media statements which were nearly as good as saying come and get me, but no we waited and waited until Chelsea sorted themselves out and now it has opened up into a two horse race, so now because of our snail`s pace we will have to compete with the Chelsea`s billions.

This transfer season was supposed to be all about catapulting Liverpool into serious title contenders, Man Utd won the League last year so they are the benchmark, now not only do we have to improve to beat the standards they set last season but we now have to contend with the signings that they made in the first few days of the close season, Nani, Anderson and Hargreavs will improve their team and if we are to overcome them we have to sign top class players soon.

Now i know some will say that it is early days and a lot of time is left to sign players, and we have resigned our major players on extended contracts but as time goes on other clubs will become interested in the players that Benitez really wants to sign and we must remember Rafa Benitez is one of the most sought after managers in world football today, so if the new owners don't deliver the big names that he needs to do his job maybe we will lose a lot more than big name signings.

THE DISGRACE THAT IS UEFA

2007-06-04T17:45:00.000+03:00

Uefa`s shameful handling of the Champions League final in Athens this year and then its cowardly attempt to blame the Liverpool supporters for the fiasco shows that major changes are needed to make Uefa accountable for its actions.

Athens was a complete shambles, but Uefa`s shame was in the fact that they had been warned well before the final of exactly what would happen, but because they know best they totally ignored all advice and instead pretended that it would be all right on the night.
As with all clubs there is a tiny percentage of fans that are looking for trouble and the bigger the club the bigger the fan base is, those numbers go up, but there would have been no trouble in Athens if Uefa had listened to the advice and warnings that they were given. The problems started when Uefa gave only a paltry 17,000 tickets to each club in a stadium that holds 63,000. Uefa gave 20,000 of the tickets to the 'Uefa family' and a further 9,000 via a ballot. So Uefa actually gave nearly half the tickets to non fans of either club, this is madness and it highlights how this organisation has no regard for the clubs or their fans that it is supposed to represent.
They were also pre-warned that there was forgeries on the open market but decided that the best course of action to take was no action at all and this is what caused the biggest problems. Fans with forged tickets entered the ground, many who thought their tickets were legitimate and left many standing outside with real tickets only to be told that the stadium was full.
The whole affair was a complete mess and as i said before it could have been totally avoided if Uefa had not thought that they know best.

But the claims made by Uefa spokesman William Gaillard that `Liverpool supporters are the worst behaved in Europe´ beggars belief, this is the very same man that just before the final said that Liverpool supporters 'have a tradition of good behaviour'.
So which version from the same man only a couple of weeks apart do we believe. The first version or the second one that was made after the Athens debacle, the debacle that Mr Gaillard and his partner in stupidity Mr Platini caused because they believe that they always know best and never let the facts interfere with there beliefs.

English football has had its problems in the past and was without doubt the worst villain in Europe in the 80`s, but if we look at the 3 top leagues in Europe now The Premiership comes out head and shoulders against the rest. It is a league where Racism has for the most part been removed unlike in Spain and Italy where the ignorant masses are rampant and can still give shout their monkey chants and other racist remarks at certain players and face little or no consequences whatsoever. In Rome, Man Utd were warned beforehand of the deadly hooligan Roma fans, but like Spurs in Spain no one warned them of the hooligan type police, that battered all before them. In Italy you could see why police would be wary of fans because in the horrible old days of English hooliganism fans wanted to beat up opposing fans but in Italy they have taken it to a whole new level by throwing explosives at police trying to kill them and have been successful. But despite this, idiots at Uefa have decided that to cover-up their own mistakes Liverpool Football Club must carry the banner of the worst fans in Europe.

This all reminds me of Will Carlings famous description of the Rugby Football Union Committee as "57 old farts". Now i don't know how many old farts there are in Uefa but this latest Uefa show of `We answer to no one´ really should open up the debate would football be better served if the G14 had more influence and i really hope the G14 is expanded to nearly all clubs not just the rich, to show that there really is an alternative to this out of date, dying dinosaur of an organisation led by people who seem to value there own importance above the people that makes the very existence of their very precious organisation possible, the players and the fans of the clubs that they seem to have little or no respect for.

EMPIRE OF YOUTH

2007-05-31T21:06:00.000+03:00

The major story at Liverpool Football Club this summer are which big name stars will or will not arrive, but as this is going on, Rafa Benitez has been slowly and surely adding the best youth talent from every corner of the globe, to the Anfield ranks.

We all talk about Eto`o, Teves and co but we often forget that Rafa has been building this youth empire for the past two seasons, this week he added three more players to the fold by signing the two Hungarians, Krisztian Nemeth, Andras Simon and Swedish teenager Alexander Kacaniklic. This is really a sign of how badly The Liverpool Academy has performed just by the fact that we seem to have to replace most of the youth players with players that Rafa thinks might actually make it to the first team and he cannot be blamed, no player that started at the Academy has become a regular or will be in Liverpool's first team next season. Steven Gerrard spent the last few months of his tutorial there, but he can hardly be labeled a product of the Academy. The target when The Academy was set up was to have one player introduced to the first team each season, so far we have had zero, all we have done is produced players for the Championship and lower divisions.
Whether its down to the present day football youth climate or the miss management of the Academy we may never know, but i think it is in large part to Steve Heighways intolerance to having any interference from the past two managers of Liverpool, men who are more talented than himself in nurturing young talent.
Benitez`s global network of scouts have been as active in searching out the stars of tomorrow as they have been finding the stars that the first team needs today, this is a sign of Rafa`s plans for his and Liverpool's future, It mean we can discard any talk of him leaving Liverpool in the near future because he is here to build a footballing empire in the mould of the past Liverpool teams. He has broken down the old system of the first team manager not interfering in youth team development and we can hardly blame him as the top players in the youth team are players that he has bought.

Already his endeavours into the youth system should pay off, next year i expect to see Paul Anderson been given a go as he has earned rave reviews since his arrival, other players that have a very good chance of breaking through are Besian Idrizaj Jack Hobbs, Godwin Antwi and Astrit Ajdarevic. These are all players that he had to pay to get them to the Academy and these and the others that Rafa bought are in reality the only ones with a real chance to make it into the Liverpool first team.

When the spine of a team is built at the youth level the results can be astounding, Man Utd and the Beckham, Giggs, Scholes, and the ugly brother Nevilles early era is the perfect example, I believe that if that team had come about as the same time as the Chelsea millions, the Man Utd team that had grown together as players would still win the league just because they had already spent so many years playing and knowing each others game so well.
This is what Rafa is trying to achieve, but as always with youth players it is very unpredictable, players that seem great when they are fifteen might fizzle out and by the time there eighteen and may be no better than the Nevilles, so therefore not good enough for Liverpool.

The future`s bright the future`s red, and with Rafa handling the youth team we can expect the spine of the Liverpool teams of tomorrow, to be very much influenced by Rafa`s youth policy of today.

WHAT LIVERPOOL NEED TO DO TO BRING THE TITLE HOME

2007-05-27T16:09:00.000+03:00

Our shortcomings have become obvious over the past season, but now Rafa Benitez has at last the warchest to make Liverpool Football Club a serious contender for the league title, and this is what he needs to do in the transfer season to make it happen.

In goal Reina will once again reign supreme with Daniele Padelli as his cover and we may see Scott Carson off loaded.
In defence Carragher is the only guaranteed player to start a game if fit, Agger his partner for this year may seem his obvious partner but as seen in the way he was totally outdone by Drogba and the fact that Mourhinho singled him out as the weak link in the first leg of the Champions League means there could be some substance that Liverpool want to sign Gabriel Milito. The left back position seems to be between John Arne Riise and Fabio Aurelio, although both are great going forward there will always be question marks about their ability to defend, but both should be safe next season. On the right back it is a lot more complicated, it is no secret we want Daniel Alves but what position would he play, Finnan does a great job at right back, but as Alves can also play right back or midfield,so where would Rafa want him to play, i would be a bit wary us trying to play someone on the wing that is naturally defensive like the case of Riise on the other wing.

In midfield is where things are most complicated and a lot revolves on one current Anfield player, Alonso may or may not be on is on his way out, but i think we have already bought his replacement, Lucas the 20 year old Brazilian. Next year i expect to see Gerrard occupy his favoured central midfield role and have Mascherano playing alongside him and Lucas and Sissoko being backup.
In the wide positions is where Liverpool need major improvements and i think as good as Pennant has improved over the final months of the season another top class right winger is needed but on the left we could actually be looking for two, Zendon is on his way i hope, and Kewell also, so that just leaves us with Gonzalez who has been unimpressive since his much highlighted move, but this is his first season so maybe Rafa will give him another chance to prove his worth, as for the wingers we could sign for these positions the media list is endless, but one name that keeps cropping up is Simao Sabrosa ,Joaquín Sánchez has also been mentioned along with just about every decent winger playing in the Iberian Peninsula today so for wing positions it really is any ones guess who Rafa will opt for.

But the big name signing this summer is going to be the Striker, we all know we need a top class one but we cant seem to agree on who that should be. The two names that seem to be top of the list are Tevez and Eto`o.
Tevez has already proved that he can handle the premiership while Eto`o has shown what a loose cannon he can be, but I have posted stories before that have hinted that my preference would be Eto`o above the merits of Villa, Tevez and co.
Some people may say he would not suit the rotation policy that Rafa employs, but remember this, Rafa only rotates the players that are not playing good enough as Carra, Gerrard and Kuyt proved from last season. Tevez would be good and probably not that hard to get because of his friendship with Mascherano and using Bellamy as bait but still i think Eto`o is the man that can bring us to the next level, and Rafa proved with Bellamy he is not afraid to take on a troubled player if it can help the team, and even though most of Europe wants to sign Eto`o i believe that the wheels are already in motion to use Alonso as a serious bargaining chip to make sure that Eto`o will be playing for Liverpool next year.

IN THE AFTERMATH OF ATHENS

2007-05-25T20:04:00.001+03:00

The gods looked down on Milan, and leveled the score from two years ago for these two historical giants of European football. But this result is not all bad for Liverpool Football club as there was a also a valuable and harsh lesson learned.

Liverpool fans and players a like have learned that grit and determination given by players like Gerrard Carragher and Kuyt cannot on its own guarantee success and that's why major changes have to be made.
Fans from AC Milan and Liverpool Fc will always argue on who deserved to win, and it is made harder by the fact that both teams play so different styles of football but i think its pretty fair to say that both teams were pretty even , but that will only ever be an opinion. The simple fact is Ac Milan won their seventh European cup and it is refreshing to hear Benitez and his players say that Milan deserved to win on the night, none of the Mourhinho and Chelsea type whinging and complaining.
Some may even say that Benitez had one eye on next years league title when he selected his team and continued to play Xabi Alonso even though he would have been the natural player to be replaced by Crouch as Mascherano was doing such Good job of keeping Kaka quiet up until his departure. Alonso would have bean very wary of signing a new contract if he thought he would be playing second fiddle to Mascherano next year.

What this Athens adventure has shown is how threadbare the Liverpool squad actually is, Zendon (sorry i always come back to Zendon) should never represent any club at the highest level such is the European cup but Rafa felt that Kewell was not fit enough and Gonzalez is either not good enough or not ready, but there was more serious problems with the selection. Steven Gerrard`s best position is central midfield, its not a debate anymore its a fact, but in the biggest game of our season we had to play him out of position because Kuyt is the only striker we have worthy of the title, world class, Crouch maybe someday but he seems more super sub material right now. If we had the influx of money that we are about to receive earlier and had another world class striker and a top left winger then i honestly believe the result in Athens would have been very different because Milan were there for the taking with Rafa`s tactics and a team that he could be confident of.

But this is football and we cant always get what we want, but one thing i do want is for Gerrard and Co to carry the disappointment and the pain of losing this final all through the summer , and use the memory and lesson learned and with the reinforced team Rafa will build will hopefully get them off to the flying start that has eluded us for so many years now. Liverpool have been shown where they need to improve and Rafa has already berated his new owners to give him the cash quick, and you cant blame him.

Two players that he has missed out on were Eto`o before Barca signed him and Alves who will cost triple now because the board did not move and back him fast enough. I have followed this club all my life from the Paisley glory years all through the title barren years, and i have seen managers come and go that promised the holy grail but Rafa is by far the man most likely to deliver the premiership holy grail back to the Kop faithful,there have been a lot of false dawns in between, but now we have one of the top managers in the world and for the first time since the game has moved into mega buck land we can actually compete at the very highest level for the signature's of the very best in the game.
This summer expect a host of top names to arrive at Anfield and next season those same names coupled with Gerrard and co`s desire to put aside the pain of the Athens should see us mount a serious challenge on the cup we really want, The Premiership.

WHY ROBBIE FOWLER WILL ALWAYS BE GOD AT LIVERPOOL

2007-05-17T21:10:00.003+03:00

Robbie Fowler, one of the greatest strikers to have ever graced the game has for the second time drawn a close to his Anfield career and this time its for keeps, but it all could have been so different.

The Toxteth Terror was lucky to have the amazing skills he had, but was so unlucky that when he made his breakthrough into the team that he loved so much, Liverpool Fc`s empire and stranglehold on English football had just come to and end. Due to bad decisions by the board and management of Liverpool Fc, Fowler never got to win the League with his beloved club, something that had become routine in Liverpool teams gone by.

But when Fowler burst onto the football scene in 1993 he was an instant success scoring on his first team debut against Fulham in the league cup and in the return leg showed what was to come by scoring all five goals in a decisive win.
Fowler has other amazing records to his name, the fastest hat trick in premiership history will take some doing to overtake, four minutes and thirty-three seconds against Arsenal, a top team and at the time renowned for their stingy defence.
Fowler earned his nickname `God´from his early days playing in front of the kop, he scored a massive amount of goals over 30 in each of his first three seasons, but it was not the quantity of goals that he scored, it was the quality of these goals that will always endear him to the Anfield faithful.

Fowler was simply born in the wrong continent, if he was born in the slums of Sao Paulo and his name was Kakadinho the whole world would be worshiping his early goals as the best ever scored, but instead he has always been labeled as the spiceboy from Toxteth that made good. If people think its crazy to compare him to the greats of South American football you must take a look of clips of Fowler early exploits, they will amaze you, even when he was only 18 he was not just scoring but putting the ball away with aplomb and a confidence that a lot of the players that we today regard as the best can only dream of.
With Fowler the term `the most natural finisher´has been used so much that it has lost some of its meaning, but you only have to look at his massive goals haul and more importantly, the quality in these goals to see why so many people say this about him.

Fowler was never the same after his knee ligament injury in 1998, gone was the predatory instinct that was so much of his game, gone were the legs that had previously carried him into the deadly runs that left opposing defences bewildered and even more importantly he seemed to have lost some of that cock sure scouse confidence in his own ability that had reassured his following on the Kop that he could truly walk on water.

But his first exit from Anfield was a disgrace, he will always be remembered as one of the true Anfield greats, but the way Houlier maneuvered him out will always be a black mark against the French manager. Fowler deserved more than that, he never got a chance to say goodbye to the Anfield faithful, and i remember an interview that Fowler gave at the time and for me it sums up the relationship between Fowler and Liverpool. The reporter badgered him by trying to get Robbie to say something bad about his departure from the club, but Robbie replied in the most serious voice i have ever heard him speak `you will never hear me badmouth anything about Liverpool Football Club´, and he was true to his word, even though an injustice had been done against him, he has never slagged of the club which most players today in the same situation would have done.

This is a guy who sat in the Ataturk stadium and watched his team like all the rest of the scouser fans, the team he knows he should be playing for, play the greatest game of football the world has ever known, that takes guts but it also shows how much he loves the Club and will always be a fan.

But he is still here now, and remember his return to Anfield was a fairytale and this fairytale ending was not fulfilled against Charlton in the last game of the League campaign so perhaps there is another chapter. What i will be watching as much as Benitez`s starting 11 in Athens is if God is selected to sit on the bench, and if he is, who would bet against him fulfilling his destiny to win glory for himself and the club whose history have become so intertwined.

RAFA AND THE KEWELL GAMBLE HE MUST TAKE!

2007-05-14T21:08:00.000+03:00

Harry Kewell has been out injured all season and has only played a few minutes for the first team in the last two games, but such are Liverpool`s problems on the left wing that the Australian could and should start against AC Milan in Athens.

Kewells return from injury has handed Rafa Benitez one of the toughest decisions of his managerial career. Kewell is physically fit but has had so little playing time he would not normally warrant a start in a game of the magnitude that is the Champions Leagu Final, but he has become a contender for a starting berth for two reasons, one being that he has been impressive since his comeback. Against Charlton he turned the game when he came on setting up Alonso`s goal, coming close to scoring himself when he hit the post and finally rounded off his day by scoring a penalty.
But the more compelling reason why he should start in Istanbul is because the other options are Bolo Zenden or Mark Gonzalez. Riise could play there but he really is the only natural left back we have and he seems to be more of a threat when he runs from deep and has another attacking player on the wing to play off, so i think like the Chelsea game Rafa will keep Riise in his natural position.

Zendon and Gonzalez should not start, Zendon is just simply not up to this standard of Football, the first leg against Chelsea showed how bad he actually is, he had more attacking opportunities than anyone on the pitch but wasted one after another and seemed content to just win corners. Gonzalez ability is still very unknown, considering all the hype that surrounded his arrival at Anfield he has been a disappointment this year, but he deserves one more season as he is still young and he has shown glimpses of the player we had hoped he would be.

So as impossible as is seemed even just two weeks ago Kewell has given himself a chance to turn a total nightmare of a season into a fairytale ending. He is a player who has had an injury plagued time at Liverpool and has not had it easy, but because of these injuries Liverpool Football Club and its fans have never seen the best of Kewell and it is easy to forget how good he actually is. A lot of people expect Kewell to leave Anfield this summer, but i hope like Gonzalez Rafa gives him one more season to see what an injury free Harry Kewell can offer Liverpool.

Rafa played Zendon in the two Chelsea legs so we must assume he is once again the favourite to start in Athens, but it was clear to see in the Charlton game where Zendon started and was replaced by Kewell, that even a match unfit Harry Kewell is a much better player than a fully fit Zendon.

Benitez has already hinted that Kewell has a chance of starting by saying that he may be able to last sixty minutes or so, but as always with Rafa`s team selection we would be surprised not to be surprised.

COULD ALONSO BE LEAVING ANFIELD?

2007-05-05T19:45:00.000+03:00

Rafa Benitez dropped Xabi Alonso for the Champions League semi final against Chelsea, and this may become the trend next season, but how long will the Spaniard be willing to bide his time on the bench before saying `Adios´.

Before i go any further i think its important to say that i do not want Alonso to leave Anfield, he is one of the best midfielders in the world and if Liverpool are to truly compete for the league they need two players in each position, and if Gerrard gets injured there is no one that could fill his boots, but Alonso is as close as you will get.
Liverpool are at the dawn of a new era, cash is going to be made available to Benitez on a scale not seen before at the merseyside club, he will be strenghtening all areas of the squad but the positions with the most priority are the wings and up front. The wings will be where the biggest transformation comes, i can actually see two players being bought, one for each wing, and these will not be players that have potential, but players that have passed that stage of their career and are already able to compete at the highest level, Jermaine Pennant and Mark Gonzalez will have to fight for their place in the starting line up with the new arrivals and that is good healthy competition for the club.
Who these players are is anyones guess, the media give different names on any given day, but one thing is for sure Rafa will bring players in to fix this Liverpool Fc problem that has gone on for years, but when we have two good natural wingers where does that leave Steven Gerrard. It means that his days on the wing are over and he is going to be playing in his natural position, central midfield, what Liverpool fans have been crying out now for years.

But the big question is who plays alongside Gerrard in this new look Liverpool football team, most people would automatically say Alonso, but the Gerrard, Alonso combination has its problems, its a little bit similar to the England problem of Gerrard and Lampard, where people say they are too similar and cannot play together.
Alonso and Gerrard give the same problem to a lesser degree mainly because Alonso is a lot better player than Lampard and has learned to tackle and became tougher since he moved to Liverpool.
There was no problem in the Alonso Gerrard combination until Momo Sissoko arrived and then we seen how a real terrier such as Sissoko with his tackles, breaking down play and non stop running helped our midfield performance, but with Sissoko his distribution of the ball has got progressively worse so lately there has not been much point playing him because as soon as he wins the ball he passes it straight back to the opposition.
But the man who Rafa picked to play alongside Gerrard in the Chelsea game, has a mix of Alonso`s and Sissoko`s talents. Mascherano has it all, he can tackle, track back and even if his passes are not as visionary as Alonso`s he has the talent to spot the runs of the forwards and execute the pass, its simple play but very effective and the plus of having a player that can do this but also tackle and break up play means that he must be picked so that it gives Gerrard the freedom to surge forward and be a menace to the other team, all the time knowing that Mascherano has his back covered but can also launch his own attack given the opportunity.

It is no secret that Barcelona would love to sign Alonso, and it is also no secret that Benitez is a great admirer of Samuel Eto`o, he tried to sign him before Barcelona snapped him up. Because of Eto`o`s relationship with Barca all the top clubs in Europe will be interested in signing the Cameroonian this summer, but Liverpool if they decided to let Alonso move to the Nou Campcould work out a deal and jump to the head of the line.

So as unthinkable as it may seem, if what i think will happen and Mascherano is chosen as the best partner for Gerrard, we have to ask ourselves what is better for Liverpool Football Club, a disgruntled Xabi Alonso sitting on the bench or in my opinion the best striker in the world Samuel Eto`o spreading fear among all Premiership defences.

LIVERPOOL FC V AC MILAN, ITS ALL ABOUT REVENGE NOW.

2007-05-03T14:27:00.000+03:00

AC Milan booked their flight to destiny by destroying Manchester United in the rain lashed San Siro, and destroyed is not too strong a word to describe this footballing lesson and it sent a clear warning to Liverpool Fc that a mammoth task lies ahead.

A lot had been said about Milan's ageing squad of players but the blend of the experienced players and the sublime skills of Kaka produced one of the finest performances by a team in this competition for years. Milan were deadly in attack and broke up the Man utd play so well that Alex Ferguson's men never really entered this contest and at the end were probably lucky that Milan's irresistible football only produced 3 goals.
But Milan`s game was made to look even better because of their oppositions pure lack lustre performance. Sir Alex must be scratching his head wondering where did it all go so wrong, United`s fatigue probably played a part, but it was all Milan from the very first minute, while Man Utd looked like a team totally out of their depth and were lucky that it took Milan 11 minutes to get the first.
Man United are a much better team than their performance in Milan suggests and some might say that Ferguson whose measly haul of just one European cup for a team that has dominated the Premiership for so long got his tactics wrong, but i don't think the answer lies there, during the game he tried all that he could he moved his players around changed formations but whatever he did the flow of the game remained the same, so it really has to be blamed on the players and especially the big name players who just did not show up, Rooney was a spectator for much of the game while the much talked about battle between Ronaldo and Kaka on who is the best, never materialised, the Brazilian showing that he is a true contender for the title of `best footballer on the planet´ but it was a little unfair on Ronaldo as he is younger and in truth this is his first real headline grabbing year. Milan surely had one eye on the final and who their opponents would be and used this as motivation in overcoming Utd.

In the eyes of all Liverpool fans that night in Istanbul in 2005 is viewed as the greatest comeback of all time, but Milan must view it as the greatest capitulation in their clubs proud history and i cannot imagine as a player or a fan how it feels to be 3 nil up in the final of the greatest club competition of them all and then see it all fall apart so spectacularly. It must have been one of the most shocking and utterly disappointing moments in sport for players and fans alike, and the ultimate way to exact revenge would be to beat the team that caused their nightmare in a rematch at the same stage of the competition.
In Carlo Ancelotti they have one of the top managers in the game today who has been there done that and bought the t-shirt so expect a very well prepared and fired up Milan for the encounter in Athens, this will be the game of their lives for many of the Milan players, such was the hurt two years ago in Istanbul.

But Liverpool Football Club are not to be taken lightly either, this competition has become their speciality and overcoming the odds has become another. Rafa Benitez has some key advantages over Milan, Liverpool have a greater variety to their attack, Riise and Pennant down the wings, Alonso or Gerrard through the centre or the thing that Milan hate and fear the most as shown against Bayern, the ball over the top to Crouch, bypassing their formidable midfield. But central midfield is where this battle is going to be won or lost, one explanation for Man Utd`s demise against Milan is that their midfield has no bite, they still have not been able to find a player in the Roy Keane mould and it let Ivan Gattuso and Co break down and dominate midfield. But against Liverpool its a totally different proposition, the Anfield outfit have the passion and drive of Gerrard, the killer incisive passes of Alonso, Sissoko`s tenacity and non stop snapping at the heels of any opposing player or the man i hope will be chosen to partner Gerrard in the middle Mascherano, who combines the talents of both Alonso and Sissoko and is a perfect foil for Gerrard. Rafa has some very tough decisions to make but he has a squad capable of putting out a team that can beat Milan. And remember this Milan team despite their great performance against Man Utd is not as good as the team that we beat two years ago, but this is a much improved Liverpool team not only in personal but also now have the confidence and belief that they can beat any team in the world.

MOURINHO CANT PUT UP OR SHUT UP

2007-05-02T17:56:00.000+03:00

Sometimes in sport, people get the rewards from their efforts, and Jose `the gob´ Mourinho got his at Anfield. His non-stop tirade of pre-game comments and abuse were well and truly answered by Rafa Benitez`s men in red.

Most of the talk before the game was coming from the self appointed `special one´ Mourinho, his comments included little digs, like Liverpool had only played 3 or 4 big games this season while Chelsea had played 27 or that Liverpool would would chase Drogba around all night trying to get him booked, but i think by far his best comment and the one that must make us question is he nowadays really playing with a full deck of cards, was the Liverpool Fc are only a small club jibe. Now anyone on this planet who has an interest in Football has heard of Liverpool Football Club and if Liverpool have 5 European cups in their trophy room what does that make his team that have a grand total of Zero. But the craziness of that comment was best summed up by Steven Gerrard after the game when he said that when the players read that statement that `Mourinho did the team talk for us´. Good on you Jose, if only you could motivate your own team as well.

Its pretty hard to be surprised by any nonsense the special one mutters anymore because his claims against not just Liverpool but other clubs like Man utd have become so stupid and vicious, his personal attack on Chritian Ronaldo that he is uneducated because he comes from a poor background shows how low he has got, but his after game statement that Chelsea were the better team and were the only ones trying to score beggars belief even by his crazy standard. What game was he actually watching because it could not have been the one sided affair at Anfield. Liverpool had 3 or 4 times the amount of chances as Chelsea and a perfectly good goal ruled offside.

But i think the end is nigh for crazy Jose for a couple of reasons, his Russian paymaster must be so sick of Jose alienating all neutral fans and making Chelsea the most hated team in the game at the moment. Remember this is a team that before Romans rubles arrived had no history and very few enemies outside of their London derbies, and in this short space of time Jose has turned them into probably the most hated team on the planet with his so stupid comments. The second and most compelling reason was summed up by Rick Parry when he said about Chelsea `I guess when you've invested £500m it's a fantastic season to win the League Cup´. What Parry said is very true with Chelsea`s massive investment Roman Abromovich must really be thinking is Jose the right man to spend his money and when should he stop the rot, also remember Gus Hiddink is still waiting in the wings.

I dont expect the special one to be at Chelsea next year and it will be no loss for English football, he is not special, any good Sunday league amateur manager given the same resources could achieve the same if not more and his comments which at the start were comical have turned vicious as in the Ronaldo case, but when he said Liverpool were a small club he tried to belittle far greater men than himself, men like Shankly and Paisley and when he did so he paid the price, how better to fire up Stevie Gerrard and Co by saying that the iconic figures from the club were just little men from a little club.

IS ROY KEANE ON HIS WAY BACK TO HAUNT LIVERPOOL FC?

2007-04-30T18:42:00.000+03:00

Being Irish and also a Liverpool fan, Roy Keane as a player always caused a dilemma for me when he played, despised him playing for his club but tried to forgive that when he played for his country.
But now it is impossible not to have the utmost respect for what the Boxer from Cork has achieved in his first season as a manager.
When Keane took over,Sunderland had just got relegated from the top league with the lowest points tally in the history of the Premiership, they followed this up with losing their first four games of the season and were bottom of the Championship table. This gives some idea of the type of squad Keane inherited.
When Keane took over i thought he might someday be a success because he had learned so much from being Alex Ferguson`s voice on the pitch for so many seasons, and he is not a stupid guy, his bust-up with the Mick McCarthy and the Irish squad at the World all came from the fact that Keane thought the Irish squad were ill-prepared and did not have enough discipline in training, and the results of that Irish campaign proved him right.
But what i think what has shocked most people is the way he turned a less than useless, no confidence squad of players into a team that has probably made one of the biggest u-turns in football history.
Some people might say that he had an advantage that he used his connections to sign players like Dwight Yorke or get Man Utd players on loan, and that was an advantage, but it is cancelled out by the fact that he took over the team four games into the campaign.
Keane has done a magnificent job, but like managers before him who have got their teams promoted to the Premiership his biggest test is ahead of him, getting promoted is one thing staying there is another thing. But who is going to bet against Keane keeping his Sunderland in the Premiership.
We have seen Keane pass one part of his managerial test, being able to motivate his players and get his tactics right in games, but he has a much bigger challenge now. He can motivate the players all he wants but now that he is in the Premiership he is going to have to improve his squad, and now he cant rely on old team mates or favours from Man Utd. He needs to deal in the transfer market and like all the teams without big money he needs to find gems in the transfer market and convincing them that Sunderland is the team to join, this is going to be a tough test but looking at the way he has adjusted to the managerial life i think he can also pull this off.

Always with Keane there will be the question will he return to Old Trafford as Alex Ferguson`s replacement, i do think he will someday manage Man Utd but i also think he knows its better to let someone else to be the follow-up act to Sir Alex. Keane is no fool and knows that Sir Alex is a hard act to follow and if the new manager does not win the title in the first year, he will be regarded as a failure, then enter Keane and he will be given time to sort out the mess by the Old Trafford faithful.

As a Liverpool supporter it is not easy to write a story about the accomplishments of one of our oldest and deadliest foes, but Keanes transformation from an animal of a player who would use any means to win a game into the manager who has turned into the calm figure of a man who was out walking his dog away from the glare of the media world when his team completed the miracle of getting promoted against all odds from when he took over deserves plaudits from all corners of the football world and cannot be ignored.

ONE NIL TO JOSE

2007-04-28T12:55:00.000+03:00

Liverpool have an uphill battle at Anfield on Tuesday night, because of an under-par performance by the players and their manager at lasts weeks encounter at Stamford Bridge.

The scoreline from the first leg is 1-0 to Chelsea but in the battle of the two managers, Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourhinho, the blues are also one up because of some not so easy to explain decisions by Benitez. Both managers really did their homework on the opposing teams and both did actually find the Achilles heal of the other team.
Mourhinho decided that Drogba one on one against Agger was a recipe for success and he was proved right, while Shevchenko led Carragher as far away from the action as he possibly could, effectively taking both men out of the game, Drogba tormented and got the better of Agger all night. Benitez also found Chelsea`s soft spot, their problematic right back position, filled this time by Paulo Ferreira. As soon as the game started Liverpool Fc attacked Ferreira`s position at every opportunity, because of Benitez`s team selection and his unwillingness to change his approach this Chelsea weakness was never fully exploited.

Before kick off, many Liverpool Fc fans, myself included were left feeling even more anxious about the big game when the Liverpool starting eleven was announced, two names were causing all this extra anxiety, Bolo Zenden and Craig Bellamy. Peter Crouch had been in great form leading up to this game while Bellamy had not really hit his best form since returning from injury, and as i think as everyone knew this would be a tight congested game, surly the extra option of a ball over the top for Crouch to set up play instead of continually trying to find that incisive, defence splitting pass would have had Chelsea more on the back foot.

But the name that screamed out the most from the starting eleven was Zendon`s, he has never been effective for Liverpool on the left, he was ok in the middle of the park, but at Stamford Bridge i hope he has proved to Benitez that he has no future at the club. He had by far the most attacking possession of the ball, more than any other player on the night and all he did was continually kick the ball at Ferreira while attempting crosses, it seemed like he thought the ball would eventually magically pass through Ferreira`s body. I think Benitez`s original plan was to play Finnan right back, Arbeloa left back and then push Riise forward in midfield to threaten the Chelsea right back position which would have put a lot more pressure on the home team, but Finnans absence threw these plans out the window resulting in Benitez having to find another solution for left midfield, and i believe this is where he made one of his biggest mistakes since he took the reins as Liverpool boss.

Benitez had three options to fill this so important left midfield spot, he chose Zendon and we all have seen the results of that decision, the next and probably what most people would have expected was Mark Gonzalez, he may seem a bit lightweight in the premiership but with his speed and skill he would have have caused Chelsea problems and would have done a much better job than Zendon. Rafa`s third choice for this position is the one i really wished he had gone for.
I think our most in form player over the last couple of games has been Jermaine Pennant, he really has improved since he got a bit of confidence and even though he is a right winger Rafa has in the last few games been tinkering with the idea of him playing on the left. Against Wigan Rafa changed Pennant to the left wing for a spell in the game and he was as effective on the left as the right even swinging in a great cross for Liverpool`s opener.
Whoever should have started Pennant Gonzalez or Zendon will always be up for debate but one thing that is not debatable was that Rafa`s inaction was a mistake, it was obvious to all that Zendon was not making any headway and was wasting most of Liverpool`s attacking chances and Rafa had these other options sitting on the bench but did not take the chance on Gonzalez`s inexperience or Pennant playing out of his natural position, but surly these were chances worth taking after he seen Zendon waste chance after chance.

This tie has swung in Chelsea`s favour but not by much, if Chelsea score at Anfield Liverpool will need three to win, but Liverpool also have a lot going for them in this second leg. A lot has been said about the Anfield roar and the twelfth man. Some is true some is not, Chelsea`s players are too experienced to become intimidated by the cauldron that is Anfield, but what the Kop can give is the most vital part of Liverpools game that was missing in Stamford Bridge, the fire in the belly, never say never attitude that has done so well against the worlds most expensivley assembled sides in the last few years.

Remember one thing, this is Liverpool Football Club and overcoming the odds has become a recent tradition in this clubs European adventures and overcoming a 1-0 deficit at Anfield is a lot easier than the challenges we faced on our way to lifting that cup in Istanbul. So expect to see the players ultra-motivated by a manager who has a very big point to prove.

WOULD SIR BOB PAISLEY STILL BE THE GREATEST TODAY?

2007-04-17T13:17:00.000+03:00

How would the greatest manager in the history of the game fare in the media saturated world of today's football, where footballers resemble Hollywood stars more than the Stanley Matthew`s of the past.

People have different views on who is the greatest manager in British football of all time, fans of Manchester Utd will either say Matt Busby or Alex Ferguson, fans of Liverpool will be divided between Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley and others will put forward the merits of great managers like Jock Stein, Alf Ramsey, Bill Nicholson, Brian Clough and many others.
If the title went to the manager who won the most silverware then the title would go to Paisley, but i think that would be unfair to the rest of the challengers, they all faced different challenges when they took charge of their respective clubs, so its not all about medals and cups its about what they did for their respective clubs. That is why we can never say who is the best from the past, we can only state what our opinion is, and here is mine and why.

For me Paisley will always be the greatest, but it is impossible to write about him without mentioning the great Bill Shankly because their managerial careers are so intertwined. Shankly took over at Liverpool when they were a mediocre team in the old second division, who every year nearly got promoted but always fell at the last hurdle. Shankly took them into the first division and went on to make them the best team in England and started the Liverpool empire, and for his achievements the Liverpool fan base will always be divided on who was the greatest, Shankly or Paisley, but as one journalist once said `Shankly lit the fire, and Paisley fueled it´.
But for me this also shows why Paisley comes out number one, Shankly was the great motivator of that team while the soft spoken Paisley was the better tactician and would have a quiet word here and there with the players, while Shankly`s achievements at building the Liverpool empire might seem the greatest feat, we have to remember that Paisley played a major part in all of this.

When Shankly made his shock announcement to the world that he was retiring and made his recommendation to the board that his replacement should be his number two, Paisley reluctantly accepted, and on the first day of pre-season training walked into the dressing room and announced to the players 'Shanks has gone and they're giving me the job even though I didn't really want it. But we must try to carry on what he's started'.

And from here the Paisley era started, an era that would produce the greatest football club team the world has ever known, a team that in nine years won six League titles,3 European Cups,1 UEFA Cup, 1 European Super Cup,5 Charity Shields and 3 League Cups. This was all done by a man who would never raise his voice and would potter around Anfield in his flat cap, woolly cardigan and carpet slippers.

But the question is how would Paisley fare in the football world of today, with the Mourhinho and the Ferguson`s that the modern game has produced. No doubt Shankly would relish the modern day war of words between managers, but it would be short lived because of Shankly`s quick wit and killer statements no one would dare take him on. But Paisley would never reply, such was his mannerism and instead let his team speak for him on the pitch.

But people that think that Paisley could or would not embrace the technology that is part of the modern game would be very much mistaken. When Paisley finished his playing career he took a huge interest in psychology and physiotherapy and actually sat in on a number of operations to learn more about the human body and its injuries,

Paisley's had an amazing ability to spot and diagnose injuries early on, and it was said that he could diagnose a player by just watching him walk. He said himself `I'd always had an interest in physiotherapy and psychology. The physio side probably stemmed from the knocks I got as a player. I found that valuable later on. It stood me in good stead. If I was pinned down I'd say that was my greatest asset. I could speak to players and give them examples of injuries and how they heal´.
Whatever he was doing worked because while at Liverpool they had very few long term injuries compared to other teams of the day.

He was decades ahead of his time in realising the importance of having a squad of players being ready for battle both mentally and physically. He was a man of few words but when he spoke people listened.
When he reluctantly took over the helm at Anfield many people thought because of his soft spoken manner and his very few words that he was too soft to run and continue the building of the empire built by his predecessor Shankly, how very wrong they were. He showed his ruthlessness by selling Kevin Keegan the star of the Liverpool team of the day which in comparable terms would be like selling Steven Gerrard today. But he bought one Kenny Dalglish, and the rest is history.
Imagine Bob Paisley in today's modern game, one picture keeps coming to me, Jose Mourhinho standing in his technical area on the sideline in his expensive Armani suit and beside him, the grandad like figure of the great Sir Bob Paisley in his flat cap, woolly cardigan and carpet slippers.

So if people want to know if famous sports people from the past would succeed in today's world, they should look no further than Bob Paisley, not only would he survive in today's game, he would thrive in the world of today's football, his biggest attributes when he managed was that he could spot talent from a mile away, that he was not afraid to change his tactics for different teams as he proved with his European conquests, he embraced new ideas on fitness and psychology, so as to the question could he survive, if he were around today he once again conquer the football world.
And finally, we dont need the government to recognise what the great man achieved by giving any gongs or medals, to all Liverpool fans across the globe he will always be the great Sir Bob Paisley.

COULD MICHAEL OWEN BE ON HIS WAY BACK TO LIVERPOOL FC?

2007-04-15T13:10:00.000+03:00

The little striker is just returning after a lengthy injury layoff and immediately his future at Newcastle Utd has become the focus of the media spotlight, if he does leave is it possible that the prodigal son could make a dramatic return to Anfield.

At the moment it is all speculation by the media linking him to a move to Manchester Utd, but a fully fit Michael Owen would be a target for all the top clubs, but here lies the problem, has he left his injury plagued history behind him.
Will any club be willing to invest the money and take the chance, that they can rely on him to be able to play the majority of games in a season. It is a huge risk, even if he plays and stays injury free from now till the end of the season, because of his history, would many people be surprised if he broke down again at the start of next season.
If he is bought by one of the top four, that club will be taking a huge gamble, but if he has overcome his injuries nightmare and can stay fit then the club that signs him will have one of the most prolific and proven strikers in the history of the Premiership.
Its not hard to believe the media stories that Alex Ferguson is interested in the former Liverpool player, and a inform injury free Michael Owen playing at one of the top teams would once again become one of the top strikers in the Premiership, and Man Utd have other strikers in reserve should Owen become injured, so i think the media reports could have some foundation, so maybe Ferguson see`s this as a gamble worth pursuing.
Chelsea are always after players and sometimes its just about not letting the competition sign them, and Owen on form for one of the top four would be a threat to the Stamford Bridge outfit, but this threat could easily be nipped at the bud by signing him, and once again a fully fit Owen paired with Drogba would be an attacking force most teams would fear.

Arsenal are the team most in need of a proven goal getter, so i suspect they will be more interested in his medical reports than anyone. They need someone apart from Henry to spearhead their attack, everything else at the club is good but they just cannot put the ball in the back of the net. They could go for someone foreign or a young player but it normally takes a foreign player at least one season to adjust to the Premiership, i think its time for Arsenal to buy someone proven because as good as a team as they are, its time now to start winning silverware once again...the pressure is on Arsene for results.

The last of the four is Liverpool Football Club and by far the most complicated transfer destination for Owen.

Liverpool also need a prolific striker, as much as i rate Dirk Kuyt and as hard working as he is, he seems to better suited to setting up play and providing chances for other players than an all out goal getter, a 20 plus a season premiership scorer is what we need, Owen would fit that bill perfectly but there is a little bit of baggage to this grand reunion.
When Owen left Liverpool Fc, his exodus left a bitter taste in the mouth of many Liverpool fans. His reluctance to sign a new contract meant Liverpool were held to ransom when they were forced to sell him for only 8 million to Real Madrid with only months left on his contract. It was not all his fault Liverpool Fc should have sealed the deal earlier in the year or sold him in time for Benitez to replace him but still we were left starting the season one striker short because he seen the bright lights of Real Madrid and left his old club in the lurch .
Later that season it seemed like justice when we won the Champions League without him while he spent most of the season on the bench at the Bernabeu , but in his season at Madrid he eventually forced his way into the team and actually had the highest goals per minutes played ratio in La Liga that season, also that season he came through the season nearly injury free from playing less games so maybe Benitez`s rotation system may help with his injury problems.

All this would be a tough on Newcastle Utd who paid 16 million for a man who has only played eleven games so far for them but Owen will want to play Champions League football and there very little indication that he will get it at St James`s in the near future.

Owen has never endeared himself to the Anfield crowd in the way that Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard or Jamie Carragher have done, but he has produced some great displays and created some great memories for Liverpool fans, the FA Cup victory over Arsenal in 2001 will always be the Michael Owen final.
So Liverpool signing Owen is not very straight forward, it will divide Liverpool fans but also Liverpool now have other options, Samuel Eto`o and David Villa are names that keep cropping up. They are the best that Europe have to offer right now, but it normally takes a season or two for these players to adjust to the Premiership or in some cases like Morientes they may never adjust to it. With Owen this is not a problem he was educated in Premiership and knows what it takes to succeed.

Owens history of injuries would be a huge gamble for any club, but a fit Owen would also be huge plus for any of the top clubs.
If he proves his fitness for the rest of the season, even as risky as it is i think one of the top four may launch a bid. Owen`s first choice would be a move back to Anfield, but sadly for him i think one of the other three teams are going to be more interested in him. Liverpool now have the resources they need to at last make a proper challenge for the league title and after so many false dawns its just too risky bringing the little striker back home.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN....THE SEQUEL

2007-04-12T18:50:00.000+03:00

It was Chelsea`s destiny to overcome Valencia and set up a chance to exact revenge on their conqueror's from two years ago, but Liverpool Football Club will not fear the Stamford Bridge outfit, and may even relish the opportunity.

As i sat and watched the Valencia-Chelsea game, i knew as soon as Chelsea scored the equalizer it was not a matter of `if´ Chelsea went on to win, it was just when and how they would overcome Valencia. When the draw for the Quarter-finals was made and Liverpool Fc and Chelsea Fc had been given a chance to reenact their semi-final from two years ago, nothing was going to get in the way, even Chelsea having to play many peoples favourites for the cup, Valencia.

Chelsea deserve credit for their fightback, after the game at Stamford bridge and that away goal it was going to be an uphill struggle travelling to Estadio Mestalla, and after going a goal down to former Liverpool player Morientes`s strike a lot of teams would have been dead and buried but Chelsea found the reserves to fight back and get that all important second away goal.

Liverpool's entry into the reenactment was simpler, they had to beat PSV, an inferior team depleted by injuries, it was all over after the first leg, Liverpool simply destroyed PSV in Eindhoven, and in the return leg simply went through the motions resting players, trying to not pick up injuries or cards, it was all a formality.

Both managers, Liverpool`s and Chelsea`s claim that the other team has the advantage, Jose Mourhinho claiming that Liverpool are only playing in one competition so that all their efforts will be concentrated on the Champions League, and meanwhile Rafa Benitez saying that with Chelsea`s outlay of money over the past few years on players for their squad they have the resources to play for a multitude of competitions at this late stage in the season. Both claims are valid, everyone that can read knows how much money Chelsea have spent over the last couple of years, and even if we sometimes think they have overpaid, they still have a huge squad of world class players, so the playing too many competitive games excuse does not wash. Liverpool fc will rest players but not many because the Anfield team still need results to guarantee a chance of champions league football next year, so both claims by the opposing managers really cancel each other out.

Chelsea i think have accumulated one advantage over their foes that has not been spoken about yet. When Liverpool won the Champions League two years ago they came through insurmountable odds, the game against Olympiacos is one obvious example where against the odds they needed goals but got them, that psychological win drummed into the players that its not over till its over and nothing is impossible, the same mentality they held onto against Chelsea and Ac Milan that year, and we all seen the results of that. And now Chelsea`s fightback against Valencia will have instilled that same confidence that led Liverpool to glory in Istanbul.
But one big black mark on Chelsea`s hope is the man that got them this far,Michael Essien missing for the first leg is a huge loss, he has been the driving force behind the team this year and will be really missed.

For all Chelsea´s millions they can still only put eleven men on the pitch at one time, and this is where the problem of Liverpool`s lack of funds is deleted by the intelligence of their manager.
Under Rafa Benitez Liverpool have built a squad of players, where maybe twelve or thirteen are truly top competitors, the rest being fill gap players or up and comings. The league table never lies, and it is true Man Utd and Chelsea have the best squads in The Premiership. Liverpool have not had the squad that is capable of sustaining a challenge for what is still the`Holy Grail´for all Liverpool fans, The Premiership.
But what Benitez has done is built a team that when he puts his best eleven on the pitch can compete with anyone in the world, perfect for cup competitions but with his, so far limited funds unable to compete in the weekly grind of the league.

Both teams are pretty equal, but Liverpool will overcome Chelsea because in Benitez they have the most tactically astute manager in football today, you only have to listen to the constant one way war of words from Mourhinho to know that the special one is worried about not being so special any more, Jose is worried because he knows that Rafa has out thought him in the past and this is now a much better Liverpool team then the one that left John Terry weeping on the Anfield turf the last time these two met at this stage and the Chelsea team of then was more superior..

And there is one more huge incentive for Liverpool to overcome the Chelsea challenge, a dream for all Liverpool fans, this is where Man Utd come into the story, nothing in this world would give Liverpool fans across the globe better pleasure than beating their oldest foes in the greatest club showcase of all.

THE MYSTERY THAT IS MASCHERANO, AND BLOWING BUBBLES

2007-04-10T22:22:00.000+03:00

Not playing and then selling Mascherano could go down as one of the biggest mistakes in Premiership history and makes it easy to see why West Ham find themselves in a relation battle with decisions like that.

Mascherano was totally frozen out at West Ham first by Alan Pardew and then by Alan Curbishley, how have these two seemingly intelligent managers deemed him not good enough to play for West Ham and maybe this is one reason for their clubs demise. I could have understood him been frozen out if he was sloppy in training or just was not putting the effort in but after getting clearance to play for Liverpool football club, Benitez played him on his first opportunity four days later to make his debut against Sheffield United, so Benitez must have thought he was fit enough to play.
A lot more happened at West Ham than we know, Pardew had two players brought into the squad that he knew absolutely nothing about, the fact that the two players spoke no English did not help.
Mascherano was already a bystander when Curbishley arrived so the trend continued from there, but it is no excuse for a team in a relegation battle to exclude a player with Mascherano`s talents.

Since Mascherano has arrived at Liverpool we have seen what a truly world class player he actually is, and more mockingly for West Ham the type of player he is. Mascherano is one hundred percent fitted to the Premiership, his dogged tackling and never say never attitude is perfect for the English game and a team in a relegation battle like West Ham sure could use a player like him, so why is he not still championing West Hams cause.

One little insight this week was given by Rafa Benitez, when asked about why Mascherano had done so well at Liverpool Rafa replied that at Liverpool it is easier for Mascherano because of all the Spanish speaking staff, if this is true,how unprofessional of West Ham for letting one the best players to pass through their club for years and not have given him a fair chance because they could not go out of their way to solve the problem.

Since Mascherano has moved to Liverpool i have started to think something i never thought i would.....selling Sissoko.
Sissoko has been a great servant for the club but unfortunately his passing seems to getting worse and worse, there is not many better ball winners in the prem but with Momo, soon as he wins the ball he passes it straight back to the opposition, Mascherano is very different when he wins the ball, he has the Gerrard or Alonso ability to play that incisive pass to start an attack and he is aware of where his team mates are at all times. I thought that Sissoko been dropped for the last few games might have been a wake up call to him, but his passing was as bad as ever against Reading and with both Mascherano and Sissoko playing in the same game it was the perfect opportunity to compare both players, and it was not good for Sissoko. Mascherano`s tackling was better timed and his distribution of the ball was miles ahead.
Sissoko is still young and under Benitez`s guidance will improve but Barcelona want Sissoko, we want Eto´o, if the situation arose that Sissoko`s departure to the Nou Camp would put us in pole position to capture the signature of Eto`o then for the good of the team, Liverpool Fc would be willing to part ways with Sissoko.

All this comes about because Rafa seen in Mascerano what two West Ham managers did not see in the Argentinian and what a huge loss it is for West Ham and if they do go down this year people will point at this as an indication of how badly the club has been run.

COULD ROMANS RUBLES ACTUALLY BE GOOD FOR THE GAME?

2007-04-09T17:12:00.000+03:00

Roman Abramovich`s riches have forever changed the game in England, could it be possible that this is actually a good thing not just for Chelsea but also the other big three, Liverpool Fc, Arsenal and Man Utd.

My view has always been that with the introduction of the Russians money has ruined the Premiership, the crazy sums of money payed for players they need, and worst of all the crazy money that has been paid for players they don't need, talented players like Shaun Wright Phillips who has completed just 2 full 90 minute games in the Premiership so far this season, Wayne bridge is another talent wasting away at Chelsea, which is also hurting the national team.
It would be easy to blame the players, by saying that they know what they are getting into when they sign for Chelsea and are just after the money, but we do not know what has been said to these players by Mourhinho or their agents when the transfers are happening, perhaps they are been told that they are going to be playing regularly but then arrive only to find themselves warming the bench.

These are some of the negatives (only some, but there are more) but there has been one big positive after the introduction of the Chelski millions, all the other teams have had to rise to the new challenge. Chelsea raised the bar and the other big three have had to follow suite, and the results are there to be seen. Liverpool won the Champions League two years ago Arsenal were in the final last year and this year we have three teams from the Premiership in the quarter finals, a huge improvement on the pre-roman years.

Man Utd are a shining example of this, last summer they bought Michael Carrick for 18.6 million, it was a crazy price to pay for a run of the mill midfielder but Man Utd needed him to compete against Chelsea so they gave in to Spurs ransom price and now they are reaping the rewards.
In years past they would have laughed of that asking price and waited for someone else at a later date because they might have been able to do without Carrick for another season but such is the pressure that the Chelski millions put on the other clubs that there is no waiting for tomorrow, teams have to invest more every season to compete with Romans Rubles.

For years English football fans have missed out on watching the cream of the worlds best players playing in the Premiership, the likes of Kaka, Ronaldinho or Messi, all these players deemed the Premiership not the place to be but all that is changing now in a large part to Romans Rubles. Samuel Eto`o is one of the most wanted players on the planet and he has already hinted that Liverpool Football Club is his next preferred destination, and others will follow to the Premiership.

Man utd, Liverpool Fc and probably Arsenal next have combated the Chelski millions by getting foreign (American) investors, but they are not the only ones to gain by this new trend, Spurs payed for a lot of good players with the Carrick money, and its the same for the smaller teams, transfer fees will be higher and still the bigger clubs will buy players that have proven themselves in the Premiership as a first option.

With the increased tv money next year and the money spilling over from the bigger clubs to the smaller clubs expect the Premiership to go from strength to strength and as much as i hate Roman`s Ruble`s, it has had this one beneficial side effect, and it should return us to the days when the English teams dominated Europe and finally we should see the worlds finest plying their trade in England.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN RAFA HAS MONEY TO SPEND?

2007-04-05T21:30:00.000+03:00

Liverpool Football Club recorded an emphatic win over PSV and showed they are the team to beat in Europe this year, but the premiership is still the holy grail for all Liverpool fans.

Liverpool Fc are reaching their peak at just the right time and have been made the bookies favourites to lift the cup for the sixth time. Benitez`s tactical superiority is showing as the comp goes on, the tactics used in the elimination of Barcelona was breathtaking and the demolition of PSV the current champions and leaders of the dutch league was comprehensive, some people may say that Liverpool deserve little credit for the PSV win because the dutch played so bad, but PSV started out with eleven men behind the ball, a tactic that Liverpool would have had problems with in previous years, but Liverpool attacked got their goal and then PSV had to come forward and then Liverpool exploited the space and simply destroyed the Dutch champions, it was a tactical battle won by Benitez over Liverpool`s and Man utd conqueror last year and Arsene Wenger this year, the long time tormentor of English football Ronald Koeman.

But even if Liverpool do lift the champions league cup this year, it will be a huge addition to the Liverpool trophy cabinet but it is still not the trophy that all Liverpool fans across the globe yearn for.

The premiership is the only cup that has eluded Liverpool, and there has been piles of pressure applied to every manager that has attempted to bring it to Anfield, Souness, Evans and Houlier have all come close but just not got there.

Benitez is a different kettle of fish, he has proved that on his limited funds he can bring together a squad capable of winning the champions league and other cup comps, and there we see the problem, you really only need a starting eleven to win a cup game but to win a league you need a squad of great players. After the introduction of Romans Rubles the game has changed forever in England, no longer is it good enough to have a starting 11 of great players, Chelski have upped the standard by having twenty plus players of international standard and been able to introduce star players with fresh legs when needs be through out the league season when players get tired(but thankfully they have not had a manager capable of repeating the feat in Europe) and because chelski have done this the other teams must follow suite to stay in the race, Man Utd have been able to do this but Liverpool and Arsenal have so far been left behind.
Benitez is on the verge of been given the transfer funds to compete with the big boys, with this money he should be able to buy a squad capable of winning the Premiership.

Today Samuel Eto said he love`s Liverpool and this is a very big step forward for the club, to get the best players no matter what money you offer, the club has to match the players ambitions and now Liverpool is seen as a team on the up throughout Europe, and with Rafa`s summer transfer funds we should at last be able to bring in the quality players to fill a full squad of players capable of winning the holy grail.

LIVERPOOL 4 ARSENAL 1, ARSENE LOSING THE PLOT?

2007-03-31T22:17:00.000+03:00

Arsene Wenger has proven to be one of the most shrewdest managers to have graced the English game, but his current Arsenal side are in a total shambles as shown by their recent Anfield exploits.

A lot was made of Liverpool`s two cup exits handed out by Arsenal earlier in the year, but Liverpool ripped Arsenal apart at Anfield and showed that when it comes to the games that matter Arsenal dont come close to the Merseyside men, and remember this was Arsenals most important game left in the season, a chance to cement third place in the league.

As Liverpool's new owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett looked on, they must be thanking their lucky stars for inheriting one the very best managers in world football today. Rafa Benitez with the midweek game with PSV in mind rested some key players so it was a below strenght Liverpool that took to the field against Arsenal. But even without his full firepower on display the tactical battle between the two managers was fully reflected in the score. Arsenal were totally outgunned by Liverpool`s midfield and simply could not deal with Crouch, not only his three goals but his overall play, it was probably the beanpole strikers finest game for the club so far.

It was a great performance by Liverpool but the scoreline does not tell it all, this was close to the easiest three points Liverpool have picked up at Anfield all season.
Wenger has some serious work to do to turn his young guns into a team capable of winning anything.

Wenger has to be admired for building the teams he has over the years on a shoestring budget compared to that of Man Utd or Chelsea`s, his capture of Anelka for 500,000 pounds and resale two or three years later for 22 million is surely the greatest bit of business by a premiership manager so far.
Wenger has built a team of youngsters for the future which is the best way to compete against Chelski`s rubles, but his problem is the team is too inexperienced and that is starting to show in the results now.
Alan Hansen once famously said of Man Utd, you cant win anything with youngsters and he was proven very wrong, but that was a team that included the experience of Roy Keane and Peter Schmeichel, that is where Wenger`s team is missing out, with Henry sidelined there is no real experienced leader to help the younger players out. Wengers second problem is he wants to play beautiful attractive attacking football, as all teams do, but most teams try and find the balance between attractive football and winning games. Wenger seems to be more focused on the team playing nice rather than picking up the three points

During the Liverpool takeover Wenger stated that if he was offered 100 million to buy new players he would refuse it, grand words for sure and im sure every neutral would love to see a team built from little money overcome the megabucks that is Chelski and Man Utd, but it just does not work like that anymore, Romans Rubles have changed the game forever and Wenger should be demanding more cash for players to challenge the top clubs and if you think about how much cash his dealings have brought into the club coffers over the years, it should not be a problem.
Wenger is a very idealistic manager and once again he has to be admired for trying to play entertaining football and for trying to beat the money clubs by his shrewd dealings, but there comes a point when it must be asked is his idealistic approach doing more harm than good to Arsenal football club.

STOP THE ROT, DROP OVERRATED LAMPARD NOW !

2007-03-25T14:59:00.000+03:00

Its official, England under Steve McLaren are a shambles. England produced another below par performance again against Israel, and one that a lot of people were expecting. McLaren has to be big enough like he was with the Beckham situation and drop Frank Lampard.

Only three players can walk away from Tel Aviv with any sort of credit for there displays Aaron Lennon, Owen Hargreaves and Steven Gerrard were involved in all that was good about Englands performance.

From day one i thought the English FA made a huge mistake in appointing McLaren to the post and sadly he is proving me right. This is a man who learned a lot from Sven-Goran Erikkson and that alone taints his managerial credentials. Remember all the talk a few years back of the `GOLDEN GENERATION´ of footballers that were to lead England to glory, well this is that team of players and right now they should be reaching the pinnacle of their careers but crazy mismanagement all the way from the head of the FA down to McLaren are ensuring that this generation of English footballers will pass like countless before them and never win anything at international level.
McLaren will not be fired because its not the English FA`s way of doing things half way through a Euro qualifying campaign and to be honest no great manager would touch the poison chaliced job right now.

McLaren has made two monumental mistakes since taking over the hot seat and they both involve Steven Gerrard, number one was not making him captain, John Terry is a good captain for club and country, but Gerrard is better... much better. No player in the world can rouse and drive his troops on and lead by example like Gerrard, no one can take the game by the scruff of the neck and turn things around when things are not going to plan, and if you do not believe me, hop over to Milan and ask the AC superstars to explain the reasons for that second half in Istanbul, and he does this week in week out at his club Liverpool Fc.

The other mistake is wasting Gerrards talents by playing him on the right, he can play there as he does for Liverpool, but the Liverpool situation is different they have Alonso in the centre who is more than capable of replicating Gerrards defence splitting passes, and Gerrard also has more of a free role where he can come inside to do the damage, but even still at his club most fans would prefer to see him always in the middle.
McLaren`s reluctance to play Gerrard in the centre stems from the fact that he wants to play his 11 most talented footballers in every game, which all managers should do but this is leading England to try and force square pegs into round holes, i was all for trying to fit Lampard and Gerrard into the same team but it has been obvious for a long time now that this is not working..the results prove that.

So something has to be changed someone has to get the chop, and it can only be one man, Lampard has to go, he is a good player for Chelsea but has never set the international scene alight, he is the most overrated player playing in world football today and he is a major obstacle in Englands quest for glory.

All these media stories about Europes top clubs chasing his signature are just that....stories. The likes of Barcelona know he wont move from Chelsea and they dont want him,and a player with Lampard`s ability would add nothing to their team, he simply is not up to that standard of football, he looks good at Chelsea simply because he is surrounded by great players.
With Lampard out of the way England can play Gerrard and Hargreaves in the middle, Gerrard driving forward and Hargreaves protecting behind him is a recipe for success
Lennon can then play in his natural position on the right of midfield. England are blessed with great defensive players so it only leaves the left of midfield and up front. Downing should be given a fair go on the left and Crouch and Owen `when fit´ are the perfect foil for Rooney. So there is hope for England if the right decisions are made at the management level.

In Gerrard England posses probably the best player in the world for driving his team on and turning a lacklustre performance as we seen in Tel Aviv into a resounding three points win, if Gerrard is released and allowed to do what he can do then England can once again become a team to be feared but i think McLaren lacks the wisdom and bravery to make Gerrard the emphasis of the English team, instead expect to see him try and force square pegs into round holes for the remainder of his tenure as England boss.

CHELSEA, MAN UTD HEARTACHE AS LIVERPOOL WALK ON.

2007-03-10T17:31:00.000+02:00

The Champions league draw has thrown up the possibility of revenge on a grand scale, Liverpool`s path to glory may be crossed by three teams who have more reasons to beat Liverpool than just winning the cup.

Rafa Benitez will not take the PSV Eindhoven and Koeman threat lightly, even though Liverpool beat them in the group phase, Koeman was the man who masterminded Liverpool`s and Man Utd`s downfall in the competition last season and has just dispatched Arsenal.
But Benitez and Liverpool are aware of the Koeman led PSV danger and should over two legs get over this first hurdle and make their way to the semi`s.

Then this is where the Liverpool path to glory gets a little interesting. Chelsea have been handed the toughest draw of the English teams in the quarter finals, if they overcome Valencia then in all probability we will have a rerun of the semi-final from two years ago. How sweet revenge this would be for Jose Mourhinho and his men if they were able to turn around the result of two seasons ago. Liverpool knocking them out of the competition then, is probably the most painful event for Chelsea`s players and fans since Mourhinho took over, so we can expect a fired up Chelsea team and all Chelsea fans demanding revenge.
But Benitez will not fear Chelsea, this is a much better Liverpool team than the team that knocked Chelsea out two years ago and the Chelsea team back then was better than their current squad of players, and the 2-0 win at Anfield last January in the Prem will have given great confidence to Rafa`s men. And in Benitez Liverpool possess one of the greatest tacticians in the game today and over two legs his team as proved against Barcelona can beat anyone. So Liverpool should overcome the Chelsea challenge and march on to the final.

In the other side of the draw we have Man Utd paired against AS Roma, not an easy draw as Roma have played some very good football on their way here. If Man Utd get through this test then they face either AC Milan or Bayern Munich, i expect Milan to come through this test as Bayern of today are a shadow of a side compared to the the once great giants of European football.
So then we should have an AC Milan, Man Utd semi-final. On current form Man Utd will beat Milan, Milan like Bayern before them just are not the force they once were. Roma are the better of the two Italian teams that Man Utd face on their way to the final but Italian Football has taken a nosedive recently so we should expect Man Utd to come through these two tests unscathed.

So this leaves us with a Liverool Fc v Manchester United final, a mouth watering prospect for sure, but which of these teams will lift the trophy in Athens. Man Utd were played off the field in last months Anfield clash but weathered the storm and scored in the dying minutes to walk away with the 3 points, but Liverpool have nothing else to play for now, the champions league is their season and if they dominate Man Utd like they did at Anfield, luck wont be on the Manchurians side again, so i cant see anything but a Liverpool win.

The biggest threat to this Liverpool path to glory probably comes from Benitez`s old team Valencia, they are very good defensively and with David Villa, deadly in attack, Chelsea could do Liverpool a huge favour by knocking them out of the comp at this stage.
It would be to Liverpool`s advantage if PSV were the last foreign team they meet this season because Liverpool are more than capable of turning over Chelsea and Man Utd, and we may even get to see what all Pool fans all over the globe will remember forever, a weeping Gary Neville as he sits on the turf in Athens as Gerrard lifts the greatest club prize of all, again.

LIVERPOOL v MAN UTD ONLY A SIDESHOW

2007-03-04T19:38:00.000+02:00

It was a cruel result for Liverpool Football Club on Saturday. Liverpool would have been better sending out a second string team but Rafa Benitez had no choice and did the right thing by sending out his strongest team as all Liverpool supporters would have demanded.
But in reality Saturdays game was no more than a sideshow to Tuesdays main event. The Premiership is over for Liverpool Fc, we cant win it and we will probably finish in the top four, so now our only real chance of getting something out of this season is the Champions League.

The Barcelona tie is far from over, and i see Barcelona`s loss at the weekend to Seville more reasons to be wary of Barca. Liverpool will be coming up against `the wounded dog syndrome´. Whatever Liverpool`s problems are Barca`s are ten time`s worse.

Being knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool does not figure in the expectations at the Catalan giants , and losing top spot in La Liga over the weekend puts further pressure on them, so eventually someone is going to get the backlash from the fallen giants of world football, i just hope its not us. But as always the twelfth man that is the Kop should help us along.
Tuesday has the potential to engrave itself in the Liverpool history books as one of the great European football nights at Anfield.

There could also be the added bonus if we get through this tie of a possible meet up with Man Utd later on in the comp.....and i think most Liverpool fans would gladly accept last Saturdays loss if it meant knocking them out of the Champions League.

WHAT A WEEK FOR LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB

2007-02-25T16:22:00.001+02:00

Its been a great week for Liverpool, we have encountered another one of those Roley Poly Brazilians, a Dutch manager losing the plot, an English manager losing the plot a lunatic Sheffield defender and nearly met a big fat ego from Cameroon.

Two great wins against, first of all the current champions of Europe in their own backyard, and then on Saturday overcoming the usual European hangover to totally mow down the Blades. Liverpool have had more trouble than their main contenders in England adjusting to the premiership after midweek euro clashes, and Sheffield Utd are not the type of team you want after a tactical battle in Europe.

Rafa Benitez made seven changes for Saturdays game at Anfield bringing in a lot of game hungry squad players eagar to impress and win a starting place on a more regular basis, and maybe this is a good option against these battler teams whose main objective is not to be relegated and survive another season so they can strenghten their club on the wealth of the Premiership.
Neil Warnock was incensed by the referees decision to give Liverpool a penalty following a foul by Rob Kozluk on Gerrard for holding in the penalty box, what made this such a stupid foul is that 20 seconds before the referee had warned Kozluk about the same thing and when play resumed stupid Kozluk stood one metre in front of the ref and ignored the refs advice and committed the exact same foul again, Gerrard made the most of it but who would not capitalize on such stupidity. How Warnock can complain about his player been penalised for such stupidity is beyond me.
The most interesting decision made by Benitez this week is his handling of Javier Mascherano, the Argentine was on the bench at the Nou Camp and made his full debut against Shefield Utd, even though he has only just moved to Anfield and had only played one game for his former club West Ham since his move at the start of the season. Benitez is showing amazing faith in a player who has had virtually no playing time in the last six months. The reason for this is because Benitez knows he has a truly world class player on his hands and for whatever reason has had his confidence knocked for six by West Hams reluctance to give him a chance. Benitez has tried to regain some of Mascherano`s confidence by instantly including him in the squad for the Barca game and at the Sheffield game gave him his first start. In the game itself Mascherano in the first half was a spectator whose only contribution to the game was to quickly take a free kick only to belt it against an opposing player with no Liverpool teammate in sight, it was a clear sign of a player with zero confidence trying to impress, but he did improve in the second half and showed some nice touches and probably will return to the player he showed us that he can be at the last world cup, but Rafa has a lot of work to do.

And then there was that little matter of the game at the Nou Camp, Liverpool Fc once again overcame the odds to create another historical European night for the Anfield club but that is exactly what it is, one night, this tie is only half over.
And Barcelona are more capable than any other team in the world of overturning the decifet from the first game.
Barcelona have had a much harder time from the media, with the latest reports saying that Ronaldhino has followed his compatriot Ronaldo into a need to spend a week or two at fatcamp. Funny how the media has suddenly noticed that he is fat just as Barca are having a bad time. What is it with Brazilians and paella.
But Barcelona will be a totally different animal when they face Liverpool at Anfield.
Rijkaard has handled the Samuel Eto'o saga poorly, this whole thing should have been sorted out before the Liverpool game and away from the media glare.
Samuel Eto'o has been included in the Barca squad for this weekends La Liga game so it looks like Frank Rijkaard has forgiven his big ego striker, and a Barca team with
Eto'o trying to prove a point is a Barca team to be wary of. If you also look at the way the Barcelona players have rallied around their Roley poly Brazilian play maker then it shows exactly what Liverpool will be up against at Anfield.

Despite Liverpool having to battle the fat Brazilian and the ego that is Eto'o, the scoreline cushion from the first leg should be enough to see us through, after all this is Fortress Anfield as Man Utd are about to find out next Saturday

LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB V BARCELONA

2007-02-18T21:53:00.000+02:00

Barcelona against Liverpool is always a mouth watering prospect, and with Barca`s present internal feud its even more-so. I don't buy into most media outlets predictions that the present in-fighting amongst Barcelona`s top stars somehow gives Liverpool football club a major advantage. It could just have the opposite effect.

Wednesday night at the Nou Camp Pitts 2 of the best players on the planet against each other Ronaldinho v Gerrard, but that has become a sideshow with the current Barca problems.
Samuel Eto'o is a diva, and his little tantrum this week has illustrated why the club is always bigger than one players ego. This whole episode of stupidity came from Frank Rijkaard telling Eto´o that he would play the last 25 mins in a game against Racing Santander. If Rijkaard actually guaranteed Eto'o 25 mins of football in that game then he is in the wrong, as with war, football`s best laid plans are thrown out the window when the first ball is kicked, and after that its up to the manager to react to the circumstances of the game.
If Barcelona needed a defender with 25 mins to go, surly the team gaining 3 points out weighs Eto'os personal ego to play. He was asked to come on in the last few minutes, but refused.
This has started a tit for tat between Eto'o, Rijkaard and Ronaldinho in the spanish media initiated by Eto'o but sadly for Barca their manager and star player have joined in and not done the most sensible thing by trying to sort the off-field problems within the club away from the glare of the media.

A lot of media outlets have made heavy of these Barca problems and said there is not a better time to play the catalan giants, but i disagree.

Some one has to get the backlash eventually from the Barca problems and it is most likely to come in one of the bigger games and they don't come much bigger than Wednesday nights game, imagine Ronaldinho and co`s motivation before the Liverpool clash, the chance to show the world that they are a united squad of players, i expect a more fired up Barcelona than we would have seen before their recent problems surfaced. So maybe the advantage is in Barcalona`s favour.

Mind games and who has what advantage aside it should be a very interesting game, Rafa Benitez has a great record against the Catalans and the spine of the team that knocked Barcelona out 2 years ago will be starting the game on Wednesday so Liverpool will not fear or become over awed by Ronaldinho and co.

Rafa Benitez is experienced enough to see all this, so i expect a Liverpool fc team to walk out on the Nou Camp on Wednesday night ready and fully prepared to do battle.

Liverpool fc have had the the opposite sort of week than their opponents, a much needed break in the sun in Portugal after their 2 bad results in the last 2 weeks and it was badly needed to try to find out why the magnificent run of results before the Everton game was halted and figure out how to return to winning ways.

Despite Barceona`s off-field problems, Liverpool face the best football team in Europe, Rijkaard has chopped and changed his side this year but still they lead the spanish league and are still the favourites to win the champions league and this is what Rafa must drum into his players over the next few days. Liverpool perform better as the underdogs so Rafa must convince his players that they have an uphill struggle.

As this tie is over 2 legs the away goals rule is so important, if Liverpool are to continue in this competition a goal from the scousers on Wednesday is so important. Even though Anfield has become a fort we really don't want Barca coming there on a nil nil draw from the first game meaning their goals are worth more than ours.

And it will be interesting to see Gerrard and Ronaldinho, in my opinion the 2 greatest footballers in the world today but for very different reasons, Ronaldinho for his individual breathtaking skill, and Gerrard for his no-nonsense tackling, passing shooting and cajoling his team onwards. It will be interesting to see which man has the biggest influence over the 2 legs.

In Rafa we trust, and in this we must trust him more than normal, because he has turned over the Catalans more than most.

Why Liverpool's Academy system has been a failure

2007-02-08T20:15:00.000+02:00

What is better, bags of money or a youth team brought up through the ranks together playing as a complete unit. Could the Chelsea team of last year have beaten the Giggs, Beckham, Scholes, and Neville Neville`s 2 sons Gary and Phil when they were at their best?

With all the fanfare over the Liverpool takeover Rafa Benitiz`s January transfers and especially his emphasis on youth has been overlooked by nearly all, but they could prove to be as important as the takeover itself.

I remember reading Alan Hansens biography years ago, in one story he told how he and Kenny Dalglish watched an evening game of football and arrived back at King Kenny`s house at about 1 o clock in the morning, but instead of going to bed Dalglish searched frantically through his hundreds of channels until he found a live game of football to watch, it was only a non-event south American game, but to Dalglish it was like a drug fix. Hansen then decided that he could not devote so much of his life to football management so instead decided to go for the easier path, the football pundit.

This brings us back to Rafa Benitez, i believe that all managers lead somewhat similar lives to Dalglish to a certain degree. In the explosion that is today's global media it is possible for Rafa and his fellow managers to monitor football at nearly all levels globally. So they see young players and if they see some talents that impress them they can monitor the progress of that player from an early age up until there is a possibility of giving a trial or making a move for the player before he hits the headlines and becomes less of a bargain.

I believe that all good managers monitor young players in some way like this before sending in their scouts to have a second opinion.

Managers knowledge of these young players is like a personal wealth, they can spend a little when they move to a new club, but also save a little by not introducing the younger players till they know that they will be staying at that club for a long period.

Rafa has strengthened the main squad from day one but has also been even more active in the Liverpool youth set-up showing that when he signed on for the Anfield job he was in it for the long haul.
Paul Anderson, Gabriel Paletta, Miki Roque, Nabil El Zhar, Besian Idrizaj, Godwin Antwi and Jack Hobbs have all bee previously added to the youth set-up.

But this January transfer window Rafa has gone all out to show how important he see`s the role of youngsters trying to make the breakthrough into the first team and create competition.
This last transfer window he bought 6 players, Alvaro Arbeloa, Daniele Padelli, Jordy Brouwer, Emiliano Insua, Francisco Manuel Duran and Ronald Huth most of whom are teenagers.
He also got Astrit Ajdarevic a 16 year old swede who has impressed so much that the Academy has broken from the norm by singling out the young striker out for special praise.

But the fact that Rafa has had to bring in so many young guns illustrates how badly the Liverpool Academy is failing, any football institution that did not see Wayne Rooney`s potential and rejected him in a trial should be questioned, and like Rafa and Houlier before him, both have found themselves at loggerheads with Steve Heighway the academy director , so its probably a good thing that Heighway will be stepping aside in May so that Rafa can bring in his own men and give his own young imports and the new generation of trainees a better chance of making the breakthrough to the big time.

Rafa has had experience in the Real Madrid youth teams, so i would hope that the new Liverpool board would give him more of a say in the running of the academy after the departure of Heighway. After all the young players are aspiring to play in Rafa`s team so why not let Rafa have a hand in teaching them his ways at an early age.

Benitez has shown his intentions already to build a youth team for the future and i think even with the expected windfall from our American owners i still expect and hope that we will be building our youth team, but now maybe we will be able to compete with Arsenal for the bigger money young guns.
I have faith in Benitez`s decisions so i think we will see some of his youth imports playing alongside Gerrard and the new stars the new money will bring in.

LIVERPOOL FC, BACK IN THE BIG GAME

2007-02-06T21:06:00.000+02:00

After a very prolonged 3 years in which Rick Parry has been trying to pitch the history and the future of Liverpool Fc, around the globe to possible investors has come to an end today. But is it the right move?

American tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks have finally sealed the deal that will give Rafa a war chest to truly be able to compete for the title instead of been expected to pull of a miracle to outdo the manyoo and chelskis milions.

I was very annoyed when the DIC deal fell through and i was very hard on the board and the one bidder that was left, George Gillett. What was really annoying me about his bid was that there was talks of a groundshare option with Everton and my first reaction was if the new chairman cares so little about what the fans think already at this stage, then what does the future hold and this cant be very good news for Liverpool Football Club.
I said at the time i would apologise if new facts come too light, so here i am apologizing and eating my hat.

The new duo in charge George Gillett and Tom Hicks had there first press conferences today and you really cant make much out from these pre-organized soundbites, its not so much what they say its more a case of what they may not talk about and leave us in doubt about there intentions.

But for me today they said all the right words, killing speculation on our worst fears, first of all mentioning that they may be lynched for even considering a groundshare option, for saying that the money that was used to buy the club was not borrowed against the value of the club and that he sat down with the most important man at Liverpool, Rafa Benitez and said that he expects future transfer plans from Rafa, so it seems he already knows Rafa is the man to lead us to glory.

The simple fact is these 2 Americans business is running sporting clubs, they know the future of football is in getting people to pay to watch, be it live games, sky or the foreseen money spinner of the future, the Internet. And they have been in the world of sports long enough to relies that the club has to be successful on the pitch before it can successful be off the pitch.
So after a lot of apprehension when the DIC deal broke down and the Gillet deal seemed the only deal on the table, the way the yanks have communicated so fast to quell the fears of Liverpool fans has been impressive.
So David Moores I apologise, you really seem to have found a good deal to secure the future of Liverpool Football Club.

LIVERPOOL BOARD, HANG YOUR HEADS IN SHAME

2007-01-31T21:01:00.000+02:00

As a lifetime long Liverpool fan i find it hard to comprehend the level of incompetency that exists in the clubs boardroom today. Their lack of big business experience is sadly resulting in todays biggest sporting story...even though its the last day of the transfer window.

I apologise for everything i say below if new information comes to light, as if the DIC bid had some very bad unknown details or the new Gillet deal has some unbelievably good benefits, if not this is how i see what has happened to our dream of a Liverpool Football Club able to challenge as a true world giant.

Liverpool Fc finds itself in the position it is in now because of the clubs board, past and present members.
From the start of the premiership our players have not let us down as much as our board, they have been the weak link.
Man utd came good at the around the same time as the start of the Prem league, but even then because of Liverpool's recent domination of the league, Liverpool was more well known throughout the globe and was therefore much more marketable.
But our board sat on their hands as they watched their fiercest rivals become the global leaders in football economics. Man utd expanded their stadium every season, eventually meaning they were earning 1 million a more than us on every home game, that's 19 million a year on prem games alone, a new Van Nistelroy every year for free.

Man Utd`s blueprint should have been copied by a board with with wisdom and courage ,but sadly our board had neither.

So today David Moores and Rick Parry have manoeuvred Liverpool away from being bought by DIC, a consortium that was willing to write off debts, buy new players and most importantly build a new independent stadium that would guarantee the future of the club even if it changed hands afterwards.
But instead of that our board has managed too mess that up and instead, in the Gillet deal we get a ground share option with Everton at the most because a new ground is not in the deal, only a debate about a new ground.

In my first blog post when the DIC deal came to light i begged the Liverpool board not to f##k it up and even in my last article on Sportingo i was already thanking David Moores because i thought he would do the right thing and ignore the Gillet bid and carry on with DIC.
How long can we hope to keep hold of key people with big ambitions at the club, such as Steven Gerrard and Rafa Benitez, if they start to see the board, do not match their own ambitions.

As i have said before if new facts about the two deals come to light i apologise, but if the media are correct then Moores and Parry have shown total business incompetence by using Gillet to hardball DIC for more cash, and should resign.

And they have killed the hopes and dreams of all Liverpool fans from across the globe with their total misunderstanding of the business world, so the only way forward for this club is with new leadership.
So tonight, if this really is the outcome of the takeover saga and Liverpool are left with only Gillet as a buyer then the board should hang their heads in shame.

GILLET BAD NEWS FOR LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB

2007-01-27T20:50:00.000+02:00

David Moores can do one last great favour for the club he loves before he hands over the reins, and it could prove the most important of all the decisions the Moores family has made over the decades they have ruled the Merseyside club.

George Gillett has muddied the waters at this late hour for a Liverpool takeover by tabling a bid even though it seems destined to fail....i hope.
The biggest reasons i hope it fails, it seems to be in some ways to resemble the manyoo Glazer marriage, a rich American trying to buy a major english football club but seeming to be underfunded to do it the right way.
He does not seem to have the money or is unwilling to invest in a new independent stadium for Liverpool Fc

We need to get out of debt and build a new stadium, no one is arguing with that fact, but the Gillet proposal has one shocking hole in it, the fact that he wants to even consider a ground share option with our neighbours Everton shows that he does not care or does not know what the supporters of this famous club think about ground sharing with their bitter enemies.

No Liverpool supporters i know would ever be willing to ground share with the blue half of mersey for a number of reasons, one being why would we help them by giving them an easy fix to there money problems by financing a stadium and becoming one more threat in the league because believe me Everton would fill that stadium and bankroll a rejuvenation of their club. Even though it would be very good for Everton their fans are probably not too keen either on an idea of a shared stadia.

The DIC bid is a bid that includes cancelling the debt of the club but the most important part of the deal is the new independent Liverpool Football Clubs stadium which will in itself guarantee the future of the club. In this bid there is no hint of a lack of funds or penny pinching unlike the rich americans offer.

In my view the Gillet bid is bad news for Liverpool but it could be good in one way, if it makes DIC realize that Liverpool Football Club is a prized asset and it may hurry up the deal a maybe even release some cash for this current transfer window.

But hats off to David Moores if he turns away (the more money for him deal) that Gillet is offering and goes for the (better for the club but less money for him) deal that DIC is offering, i know its seems a small amount of the money when we are talking so many millions, but there is not many chairman who would take a couple of million pounds less to ensure that the company that they left behind was in safe hands.
I am congratulating David Moores already, before any deal has gone through, because i know he will not worry about his personal wealth and even if it means losing a couple of million he wil do whats best for the club.

LIVERPOOL 2 CHELSEA 0

2007-01-20T17:17:00.000+02:00

Today has shown how far Liverpool Football Club has come under Rafa Benitez tenure, as it easily discarded a fired up Chelsea team despartly fighting to save their managers career at their club.

Dirk Kuyt was in a class of his own today as he got the break through goal and was a constant thorn in Chelsea`side and even found time to do some decent defending in the same game.

Benitez experimented last weekend with a 3 pronged attack, Kuyt, Bellamy and Crouch against Watford. This set the stage for todays game, although we did not start with 3 strikers today what we learned last weekend is that Liverpool Fc given the chance are a very good team playing attacking football.
We started the game with a great tempo and a full on, get the ball forward mentality, the very thing Liverpool detractors have been saying about us for years... maybe they were right because we look really formidable attacking and having confidence that our defence can do there job.

Dirk Kuyt today showed what a world class player he really is, he has the strenght of a centre back and that helped him today as he regained his balance under pressure to brilliantly put the first goal away and leave old helmet head Cech no chance

In a lot of my previous writings i have been very critical of Pennant, and rightly so but today he at last showed a glimpse into the reason Wenger payed a record price for a 16 year old, he has a lot to do to convince me that he is a long term answer to our right wing problems but i was very impressed today before his wonder goal with his willingness to cut inside and run at players. Sadly after his goal he seemed to be happy with his contribution and was more happy to pass the ball than run at the chelski defence, but once and if he gets the confidence to believe in his own talent he could be very hard to leave out of the starting 11.

What a great day for Liverpool Football Club and it really shows how the team has gone forward under Benitez, because today we were playing against the most expensively assembled football team in history, and we made them look like Scunthorpe...sorry no disrespect meant to you Scunthorpe fans, after all i am comparing you to the current premiership champions.

LIVERPOOL V CHELSEA , ARE WE GOING TO FACE A CHELSEA BACKLASH

2007-01-17T20:56:00.000+02:00

Two of the most sought after managers in European football come head to head on Saturday. Both are under varying degrees of pressure from their board or owner and
this single game could change the face of the premiership in years to come.

The game on Saturday is make or break for Chelsea`s flamboyant manager, a loss to Liverpool Fc may not be the final nail on his coffin but it is one more nail in the lid.

This is a question mark over Chelsea rather than Liverpool, Benitez had his judgement questioned by some quarters following Liverpool`s poor exit in both domestic cups at the hands of Arsenal but a win on Saturday may open up a gateway to second place in the prem.
But i think the board realise what the vast majority of Liverpool fans already know, that Rafa is the right man to lead us forward and even if it is not this season, we are getting better all the time that Rafa is in charge.

On the chelsea side of things things are not so clear, we have massive amounts of rumours, probably most untrue but there is definitely a lot of unrest between Roman and Jose.
The British media has been softening up on Jose in the last couple of days by trying to imply that Roman has been the man picking some of the players that chelsea have bought in the last few seasons.
To me this excuse does not let Jose off the hook, think about it, if Jose bought all these players for overpriced prices that are not good enough to play for the club, that is his bad judgement.... But if he let Roman buy these players then you have to question what does Jose want from football. Any manager worth his salt would walk from a club when the owner went out on his own, buying players for the club, which may be the case. Imagine the Liverpool board telling Bill Shankly that they were handling transfers from now on.....love to be a fly on the wall for that one.

Jose has a great reputation in European football and could walk into a number of top jobs if he did not like what Roman has been doing for the last seasons..so why does he stay.
I think one or two reasons,(1) The money...... (2)its probably one of the easiest managers jobs in world football, you buy all the best players in the world let them play, win titles.. only problem is when things go wrong, you have got so lazy you dont know how to manage anymore.

Also rumours have come out of the bridge that the Chelsea players want to back Jose and make some sort of protest against his sacking, the sad thing for Liverpool is that in reality the only way these players can make a point for their beleaguered manager is on the pitch, so i expect a full on Chelsea assault on Saturday with every Chelsea player giving 110% for their fallen leader. We could not be playing Chelsea at a worse time.
But putting Chelsea`s eagerness to save their manager aside , they are dealing with the most in-form prem team of the moment so this really could be a momentous battle.....But as most pre-envisioned huge games go, there is so much pressure on the players that the games are not so entertaining to the neutral but to every Liverpool and Chelsea fan this could be their game of the season,the pressure is such.

So back to one of my opening comments, that Saturdays game could change the face of the prem for years to come, if Chelsea lose or draw against Liverpool i think they will not win the league so that may mean the end of Jose`s reign in England and as much as i dont like the guy he does make it more interesting and would be missed just for the his entertainment value.
Going to be an incredible battle on Saturday and even though i expect a fully fired up Chelsea team, Anfield is a daunting place now for all visiting teams and i expect Liverpool to be 3 points nearer to Chelsea on Sunday.

LIVERPOOL TAKEOVER VERY CLOSE

2007-01-14T16:21:00.000+02:00

Liverpool Football Club today announced that the takeover bid by Dubai Investment Capital was very near to being finalised. The timing of this could be very important for the clubs ability to mount a serious league title challenge for next season.
The squad as it stands today is not a million miles away from being able to give Man utd and Chelsea a run for their money.
Why the timing is so important is because we very badly need some players in some key positions and in reality if we are going to be a threat to the other contenders for the league next season it would be a massive advantage to be able to bring these players in now in the January transfer window.
Liverpool have been a transition club from the day Gerard Houlier took over, right up to the present day Benitez era, we have been playing catch up in all these years to Man utd and Chelsea.
Every year we have had to improve our squad with a lot of players coming in each summer and it has cost us dearly. Each season we have had to get a lot of players to settle in all at once. And it shows in our season stats we are a team that starts the first half of the season badly and finish the second half strongly. Ok this is not our only reason for poor starts, inferior players that our budget forced us to buy had a hand in it.
Next season could be very different, the premiership is the hardest league in the world and probably the hardest to get used to, so if we can our new signings get accustomed to life in the prem this season by the start of next season we should have a very strong team that is capable to get of to a running start.
Defence is very good as Carragher and co have got real stingy in giving goals away, but we still have the problem that has haunted us for the last couple of seasons, putting the ball in the oppositions net.
Even though we have the majority of possession in most games including against the bigger teams we lack the creativity and the natural goal finishing instincts of a young Robbie Fowler at his prime.
Up front Dirk Kuyt is the closest we have to a 20 prem goals a season man, but i think he is having to play a little out of position further back trying to create chances for other players. The Bolton came was a perfect example, he set up the 2 first goals from a position between midfield and the forward line. Kuyt can do this but as he showed in that same game when the game loosened up and we could afford him to go further forward he scored the third and he is deadly once he gets a sniff of a goal. But we also need a striker who is more selfish and is only concerned with putting the ball in the back of the net.
But the main positions we need to fill are the wings, we really need world class quality there, at the moment we have Pennant who can send in an amazing amount of crosses in a game, but sadly most of them bad and he seems very unwilling to cut into the centre and run at defences Gonzalez on the other side seems very lightweight for the prem, but he is going through our normal problem, settling in time. Maybe he will settle in but as the months go on it seems more unlikely.
But the main problem with these 2 players is they really dont offer the attacking creativity that we are lacking. A fit Harry Kewell would be a very interesting prospect but Liverpool cannot afford to gamble on his fitness, so we must buy 2 world class wingers and if we can get them now, next season could be a whole new ballgame for Liverpool Football club.

RAFA WAS RIGHT!

2007-01-13T20:44:00.000+02:00

Lets face it the league cup is the ultimate mickey mouse cup, played on a Saturday celebrated by the tabloids on the Sunday and Monday and all but forgotten on the Tuesday
Rafa Benitez has taken a lot of stick over the last week over his team selection, in last Mondays league cup defeat to Arsenal. I was disappointed too when i seen the starting 11, i was disgusted that Steven Gerrard was playing.
The league cup for most, apart from the top teams is still something worth winning, but Arsene Wenger got it right when he started to play his reserves in the league cup and the next season the other top teams followed suite. It is a great competition for the top teams with big squads to blood their younger squad members into first team football. It can also be useful to put players in the shop window that you would not usually risk playing....this has backfired spectacularly for Liverpool in Dudeks case... that was a shocking goalkeeping display
But Rafa got this one nearly right, Gerrard should have been rested but apart from that he was right to rest his main players. We had just played Aresenal on the Saturday and the game, 2 days later takes a lot out of players and because it was the mickey mouse cup why tire out our squad in a cup that even if we we went the whole way does not really mean so much....3 prem points are more valuable.
I have been a little disappointed over the last week not by the media, i expect it from them, but from so called Liverpool supporters that have started to question Rafa`s wisdom. It is right that a football manager is held to account by the supporters of his club but its a bit sad when our own supporters start to criticize Rafa when we have known from the start that he believes in resting his players by either rotating or not wasting energy on a mickey mouse cup and it has brought us success.
Things were different in the good old days when Liverpool were winning the milk cup, but nowadays with the champions league been so demanding and so many games and so much money to play for clubs cannot waste their time and energy and best players on small domestic cups.
Gerrard looked a bit jaded in todays game against Watford, could that be anything to do with last weekends exploits, i just hope he recovers for next weekends chelskis game, because chelski are well rested and so are we thanks to Rafa`s forward thinking.
Rafa was right!

MOURINHO, BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

2007-01-07T18:45:00.000+02:00

An awful lot of speculation in the media in recent days claims that Jose `the special one´ Mourinho may be given the boot from chelski.
At first glance i thought how great this would be, because i do not think there has been a more annoying little twat involved with english football. But if you actually sit back and think about this for a minute Jose has done all the other clubs a huge favour.
He has had endless resources at his fingertips and he has spectacularly wasted an incredible amount of money. Just think back through the last 3 premiership games where he complained about the injuries that were causing his team to drop points, they drew to Reading Fulham and Aston Villa, now chelski had a minimum of 60 million worth of players sitting on the bench for all these games, more money than were spent on the teams and in Readings case there total squad.
So the question has to be asked if you lose one defender to injury and have that amount of money sitting on the bench can you really complain about injuries or should you be questioning the players you have bought for your squad. Last summer they sold Gallas ( huge mistake by his russian master) to get Ashley(i love money) Cole and also sold Robert Huth. Why was Eidur Gudjohnsen sold and why was Damien Duff sold because chelski are surely a lesser team since their departure.
Now any manager worth his salt with the money the special one has had should have been reinforcing his weakest area (defence) even before his russian master sold Gallas, but instead he spent his summer romancing Ballack because Jose seen the german as the final piece in his quest for total world domination....thats worked out pretty good.
So the rest of the premiership are much better off with Jose at the helm.
Consider what would happen if a Wenger or Benitez had been in charge of chelski and had that amount of money to spend...chelski would be miles ahead in the prem and in Europe.
But also remember this, Roman already has Jose`s replacement on his payroll, Guss Hiddink is currently manager of the Russian national team but been bankrolled by Roman Abromovich, so not only is roman`s rubles lining up ready replacements for chelskis players, but the new manager is already waiting in the wings just a plane ride away.
So Jose do us all a big favour and stay just where you are.....

BENITEZ V WENGER

2007-01-05T21:20:00.000+02:00

This FA cup game could be very good for all the right reasons, two of the top four big names in English football meeting in the oldest cup competion in the world. But what makes this football occasion a little bit special is the fact that these two teams and supporters have very little animosity towards each other. First of all i think we have finally got over the Michael Thomas goal we even signed the man.
Arsenal are a hard team to hate (manure im with u till u lose supporters, and i am also prone to the odd prawn sandwich) and to the newest kids on the block Chelsea fc (dont really know what football is but my company got a tax deduction on a season ticket for me, but its a bit unruly nothing really like a good game of rugger played with some chums).
But Arsenal have a lot of similarities to Liverpool, both managers are underfunded compared to the 2 top twat teams, ok we still cant fund a Theo Walcott type transfer 5 million rising to 12.5 million on a kid, but both managers are trying to compete with the crazy money of chelski by scouring the globe for the best young talent to have a real chance of building for the future.
Whereas Alex has based his buys on whatever the tabloids say, and the special one took whatever his Russian master bought him, Wenger has been by far the best in the English game for spotting and nurturing talent, but Rafa`s young gun buys should be starting to break into the first team next year and then we can really compare the 2 managers on their talent spotting.
I hope its a good game because the fans deserve it, for too long we have been preoccupied with chelskis money and manure arrogance and ignorance, would be nice to finally after a long time.....enjoy the game of football between 2 great teams with 2 non arrogant non ignorant managers....for once lets just sit back and enjoy the sight of 2 great teams playing football

STEVEN GERRARD MBE

2006-12-31T12:33:00.000+02:00

So Steven Gerrard has been given an MBE, this honour has been overdue and is richly deserved for one of the greatest of all sporting achievements.
This honour has been bestowed on our captain because he was involved in and was the main catalyst for one of the greatest comebacks in not just football but in all sporting history. He has been given this as recognition for not just what he did but what the whole team did that night.
On a clear Istanbul night he stood tall and lead his battle weary team out onto that the pitch for the second half, his team had just gone through a footballing lesson from AC Milan in the first half and found themselves 3-0 down at the break.
Most men would just give up at that stage but not Stevie Gerrard, he lead his team like all great leaders do, by example. He tackled he drove forward he rallied his men around him. And he got his just rewards by staging one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history and every sporting fan ( except ac milan and a few bitter jealous manyoo fans) that night witnessed a once in a lifetime sporting event that had everybody on the edge of their seats. Everybody loves the underdog and the great comeback and i wonder how many millions of people Liverpool fans and neutrals cheered and danced in front of their tv sets that wonderful night when Jerzy Dudek saved the penalty that rounded off the perfect fairytale sporting contest.
Now im sure there is going to be some be moaners out there (you know who you are ye little red devils) but surly Steven Gerrard exemplified the British Bulldog mentality that night,the never say never mentality. Some people may say other players at other clubs deserve recognition for what they have achieved but i think most already have, Sir Alex Ferguson for his and his clubs achievements and Sir Clive Woodward for winning the world cup, and im pretty sure people did not expect each player in the rugby squad to be knighted.
We at Liverpool could say why was Stevie only given an MBE and not Knighted but perhaps we are a little more gracious than some people(ye know who ye are).
So in short an MBE is great but we are just happy that so many people were able to witness a historical sporting contest. Thank you Stevie Gerrard, for one night the whole country united to wish Liverpool on and stage the comeback(except for a few, ye know who ye are).
Richly Deserved...

WHO WOULD YOU KEEP ?

2006-12-25T00:13:00.000+02:00

Dubai International Capital are on the verge of buying Liverpool Football Club and by all accounts we will have a lot more money to buy players but i dont think it will be on the same scale as the chelski madness, but this is Christmas so lets imagine that DIC was another blank checkbook. Who out of our first team players would you keep even if you could buy the very best for all positions from around the globe.
I thought about this and its very hard to say we would sell any players because at Liverpool we back our players so we must remember this is just a Christmas dream and so we try to leave emotion and loyalty for our players out of it....very hard when we got god on our team...so here goes.

Pepe Reina: After his dodgy start to the season a lot of people might say sell, but he is a good keeper and with confidence back i think we should keep... but he needs to be consistent or Buffon or the likes may take his place.

Steve Finnan: Keep, he may be getting on but there is not many better right backs out there.. massively underrated

Jamie Carragher: Keep, dont need to explain anything about this one

Daniel Agger: Keep, this guy is already a great centre back great going forward and will improve

Sami Hyypia: Ok this is the first time i am going to break my own rule and let emotion rule the head, Sami is still good now but he is getting slower but he deserves to get a prem champions title with the club he has served so well.

Gabriel Paletta: Not enough known yet great tackle but makes some crazy decisions worth keeping in squad and see how he develops

John Arne Riise: Keep no doubt one of the very best left backs in the world

Harry Kewell: Love to see him play for us some day but would have to go if we got a world class fit left sided midfielder

Steven Gerrard:.................best footballer on the planet today

Luis Garcia: Scored some important goals for us but disappoints most of the time and sometimes has the tendency to turn you mental...gotta go

Mark Gonzalez: Came with great reputation and expectations, have seen nothing yet to justify that, but there is something about him...loan him out to an english club to toughen him up the we might just see what Rafa is on about

Fabio Aurelio: Bye bye we can buy better cover for Riise

Jermaine Pennant: Starting to show a little promise but on our unlimited budget we can buy a player that is world class so also bye bye

Boudewijn Zenden: Better in the middle but not good enough

Xabi Alonso & Momo Sissoko: I lumped these 2 players in together because after just buying 2 world class wingers and having Gerrard as an automatic starter these 2 players will have to rotate depending on our opposition..Alonso the master of the pass and Momo the ball winner who never gives up who could prove to be Rafa`s best buy ever, he is that good and he has that much potential.

Peter Crouch: Very difficult one because i am a fan of his, great late sub role because nobody playing the game today can change the direction of a game like him but he would have to be in the super sub role.

Craig Bellamy: Another very tough decision even with his great form of late there is better out there so either squad or bye bye

Dirk Kuyt: Going nowhere class act lately finishing a bit off but gives everything in every game set up play even defends a real gem and would make any team

Robbie Fowler: I left this one till last because its the biggest heart leading the head situations he has to stay and he should actually be given a little bit more of a chance but no matter what he should be in the squad that finally lifts the league title....god deserves it just for the passion he has for this club.

Ok so i found it very hard to fire our players but in a short summary i believe the players we have that would make it into any team in the world are Gerrard, Riise, Kuyt and Carragher because only we know how good he is...and in a year or 2 you can add Agger and Sissoko to that list.
Who would you keep?

LIVERPOOL FC, THE PAST AND THE FUTURE

2006-12-23T15:35:00.001+02:00

The past year has been a year of up and downs for Liverpool Football Club, we started the the year 2006 as reigning champions of europe, but a bad start to the 2005/06 season put an end to our title aspirations but a fantastic run of results at the end of the season see us climb the table and qualify once again for the champions league.
But that great run of results did more than just ensure a good financial future by getting us into europes top comp, it put real belief that with a few summer signings even on Liverpools tight budget Rafa could work his magic in the transfer market and give us a squad that could finally find Liverpool Fc`s holy grail... to be once again after a long long wait be crowned League Champions.
Its very unlikely that it will happen this year once again our bad start to the season has caused us problems. I think there is 2 reasons for our bad start firstly we were given the worst possible schedule of games by having to play manure chelski arsenal everton and bolton all away from home, just the first 3 teams there make it very hard to get a winning run together.
Secondly if you look at the players we bought in the summer, Pennant sums up our problems, Pennant was brought in to cover the right side where we have had our biggest problems for years and we really needed to spend big there to bring in a player who would actually improve our team, he is not now or will never be a world class player , Rafa may work his magic on him and improve him over time but there is our problem.
Rafa is a master tactician and very good in the transfer market but he really can only do so much with the funds handed to him. Hopefully these will be problems of the past as long as nothing goes wrong in the clubs takeover.
So if i had to summarise the year that was, it was a roller coaster for hopes and dreams expectations were high, so it was disappointing to watch Liverpool struggle at the start of the season but if i can give a prediction i would say the future is looking very bright for the red side of Mersey... as long as we dont fuck this deal up and as long as some of our stupid fans who when we were having a BAD RUN were actually questioning if Rafa was the right man for the job.
Earlier in the post i said it was very unlikely that we could win the title this year and that is true, but if you had asked me 3 weeks ago i would have said it was impossible. So who knows this is football and anything can happen at Christmas...IN RAFA WE TRUST

CHARLTON 0 LIVERPOOL FC 3

2006-12-16T17:01:00.000+02:00

Good solid result, the first 20 minutes of this game were probably the best football Liverpool have played so far this season. The early goal seemed to give us great confidence and we were ripping Charlton to shreds and it was amazing that Kuyt did not add to his goal tally.
But back to that first goal....thank god we got rid of Djimi Traore, his high foot tackle on Pennant in the pen area was complete madness and he really should have been sent off it was so dangerous. For the first time today Pennant seems to have grown some balls and took some resposibility and was not afraid to go past a man and was very unlucky not to score so maybe there is some hope for him after all. Gonzalez on the other wing also seems to be settling in but he really should have done better near the end with a free header.
Bellamy deserves a mention because his all round play today was fantastic capped of by a brilliant finish to seal the game, and what can you say about Gerrards goal, only he could keep such a cool head with defenders all around him to place the ball in the far corner of the goal and just leave their goalkeeper watching on as a spectator only able to watch the great man do his magic.......a good days work!

LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB SOLD ?

2006-12-05T14:20:00.000+02:00

Dubai International Capital, the state-owned private equity firm which hopes to purchase Liverpool, has confirmed that it can provide the financial backing to allow the Premiership club to compete more effectively with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea should it complete its £450m takeover at Anfield.

Please please Mr Parry dont fuck this up, this is Liverpool Fc´s chance to get back to where we belong as one of the top global football teams. This deal has everything that we want and need, clear our debts, new stadium and cash for Rafa in the transfer market. The stadium will on its own ensure a great financial future for the club.
There has been some grumblings about Liverpool Football Club going into foreign hands and some may not like the fact that the new owners happen to be Arabs, but i have no fear of this and i think we will never find better investors than the Maktoum family.
You only have to look at their track record in horse racing with their Godolphin racing international, these guys dont like to lose and have bought and bred the best horses as well as hiring the best jockeys and have an outstanding reputation in that sport.
I dont see them as been another Roman Abramovich they will not throw the money around as stupidly as he has done, but i have no doubt that Rafa will be able to compete with the big boys now in the transfer market and we have seen what he can do with a few measly rubles what can the man do with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum`s billions.
So please please Mr Moores and Mr Parry please dont fuck this up, this is our chance to put this club back where it belongs.....winning league titles.

ANYONE WANNA BUY LIVERPOOL ?

2006-12-03T16:55:00.000+02:00

This supposed deal to buy Liverpool Football Club is once again grabbing the headlines, dont get me wrong i know the only way for Liverpool to seriously challenge in the premiership is with new money but it just seems a little desperate with Rick Parry flying off to Dubai like a cheap salesman peddling his wares.
I cannot understand why it is so hard to get investors for a club like Liverpool Fc, it is one of the few football clubs in the world that is a true global brand and with a worldwide following of fans, so why so hard to get investors.
When the Kraft family were interested what actually put them off buying in, maybe Parry is not the right man for selling the true potential of Liverpool fc or are his hands been tied by the chairman David Moores.
One thing is for sure they are making a very difficult job of selling Liverpool Fc and losing time while chelski and manure go further and further ahead on and off the pitch.....wake up lads, the future of this club is in your hands!

WIGAN 0-4 LIVERPOOL

2006-12-03T16:45:00.000+02:00

Bellamy is back with a bang, it was only Wigan but an away win is what was needed and hopefully will kick start our season.
A lot of work is still needed to be done to win a champions league spot for next season and in reality that is our highest hope right now. But as long as we back Rafa anything is possible.

RAFA OUT?

2006-11-25T21:50:00.000+02:00

I have had enough of this `Rafa out´ comments from some supposed Liverpool Football Club`s supporters. This is not the Liverpool way, we have a tradition of backing our under fire managers and Rafa has improved this team.
Rafa`s biggest mistake was winning the champions league for us, instantly the league was expected next, but we have to look at the squad he took over they were mostly below par players.
Ok we are going through a bad run away from home but thats exactly what it is ....a bad run.
Give the man that gave us probably the most memorable night in this clubs history a decent chance to show what he can do and im talking about a long time, longer than a bad start to a season.
IN RAFA WE TRUST!

LIVERPOOL 1 MAN CITY 0

2006-11-25T21:13:00.000+02:00

A hard days work Man city were good today and we were below par, but i thought the three man defence of Agger Hyypia and Caragher was very good and the way forward for this club in the future. Agger stood out not only great in defence but a real menace going forward but Sami`s brilliant long ball to garcia deserved a goal and shows the finn is far from finished.
Apart from that it was an ordinary performance but today we can blame injuries to the squad. Stevie took his goal well but it was Kuyt`s never say die attitude and tackle that gave our captain his chance.
A well needed result but when we start doing it away from home i will start celebrating

LIVERPOOL 2 READING 0

2006-11-05T16:13:00.000+02:00

Easy day at the office as we seem to be getting our form back, it was great to keep a clean sheet. Dirk Kuyt looks settled already and he really looks like the top goal scorer we have been missing in recent seasons and whats even better is Rafa seems to think he does not need to be rotated and rested so much, with him on the pitch i always have the feeling that he is going to score.
Rafa`s selection dilemma was highlighted again yesterday when he left Momo out, Gerrard was allowed to play in the centre and he ran the game from start to finnish. But we dont want to leave Momo or Alonso out but Gerrard is much more influential in the middle. I really wish we would try 3-5-2 it is a risk defence wise, but with a midfield like that we would be camped in the oppositions half all day.
One other thing about yesterday, i thought Zendon was very good and it was by far his best game for us so far, and its good because watching Gonzalez yesterday it is going to take a long time for him to get used of the prem if he ever does.
A good days work we just have to keep up that level of football and commitment now every week home and away.

IN RAFA WE TRUST

2006-10-28T15:13:00.000+03:00

ANGRY Rafael Benitez last night hit back at his Anfield boardroom sniper when he said that criticism of the club should be kept private.
The Liverpool boss was shocked by the attack on him by an unnamed director in yesterday's Mirror, who questioned his leadership and transfer dealings after defeat at Manchester United effectively ended their title challenge.

One of the greatest things about Liverpool Football Club has always been how the clubs board members have backed our managers through thick and thin, but this boardroom member has ended all that and he should have had the balls to say this openly and not hide behind anonymity.
Rafael Benitez inherited probably the worst squad of players to ever pull the famous red jersey on and has won the champions league and fa cup in his first 2 years and i think there is no doubt the squad is much improved and he has also brought in players to the youth set-up from all over europe to help secure the clubs future success.
Now i have been critical of some of Rafa`s decisions in the past but he is pushing the club in the right direction........he is the right man for the job!!!
This board member has to be identified and kicked of the board straight away because he does not have the good of the club in mind.

BORDEAUX 0-1 LIVERPOOL FC

2006-10-19T21:48:00.000+03:00

Great result but we are not firing on all cylinders yet, we were lucky to beat a bad team, and that is not good enough for Liverpool Football Club.
On sunday we face our biggest enemies in a must win game, not only to revive our season but to fuck theirs up, with Momo Kuyt and Gerrard back there is hope.
The biggest plus in the Bordeaux game was the clean sheet and if Carragher and co can do the same on sunday we will win because Kuyt is that good.
It will be the turning point of the season.........yes this game is that important.
On a sad note i have to speak about the player i thought in the summer was going to be our best signing for years..Mark Gonzalez, dont get me wrong i still think there is hope for him its still very early and maybe my expectations were too high, but he was very bad last night he was constantly outdone for pace and did not seem to have anything else to offer apart from knocking the ball down the wing and then losing it, nothing would give me greater pleasure than been proved wrong but at the moment all i can think is something that goes against one of my earlier posts...........please get well soon Harry Kewel, we need you now!

LIVERPOOL 1 BLACKBURN 1

2006-10-14T22:19:00.000+03:00

Another bad day at the office, and this time we cannot blame Rafa`s tactics or selection even though i thought taking Pennant off was crazy, he looked the most likely to open up their defence.
But our problems seem much deeper than Rafa`s tactics or team selection, we seem to have lost the `every loose ball is a battle to win´ team spirit that we had last season. Sloppy defending once again let us down, and i think its time we looked on Sami as a last choice and looked more at Agger and Paletta.
But the most worrying thing about todays game was our reaction after they scored, we did not react at all, it was the same slow tempo instead of hunting for the equalizer. And to be totally honest we were lucky to get even 1 point from the game after they somehow missed an empty goal near the end.
People may say dont panic its so early in the season, but we need to turn our form around right now just to get a champions league spot, and those pre-season dreams of winning the title....just not back going backwards and finishing worse than last year would be an achievement right now because of our current form!

LIVERPOOL 3 GALATASARAY 2

2006-09-28T21:34:00.000+03:00

What a game what a night, it was the perfect example of shock and awe, this game was done and dusted when Crouch scored the brilliant third goal, even though they had their moments when it was 3-2 we never really looked like losing the game.
The best thing about this game is it gives Rafa the the problem of who does he pick up front for the next game, Crouch looked world class and Kuyt is a must pick but Bellamy despite not scoring has been playing good football and there is also the matter of God chomping at the bit to get a game, its a managers dream.
Pennant last night was fantastic and he really should be getting more playing time and im sure he will when we figure out how to fit him in.
I am a fan of the 3-5-2 but i dont think it suits our squad, i would hate to leave Finnan or Risse-Aurelio out of the team. This is where Rafa has his toughest decision, trying to fit all our great players into a starting 11, as i said before a managers dream............

LIVERPOOL 3 TOTTENHAM 0

2006-09-23T17:13:00.000+03:00

Great result but it could have been so very different if Jenas did not do the near impossible when he missed with the open goal at his mercy.
But Liverpool Football Club deserved all 3 points today and it seems our top players are coming good at last Alonso is continuing to come back to his best while Gerrards set up play for the first goal was world class, once again Kuyt looked like he would score every time he was within a 10 yard radius of the ball and i loved the way he took his goal really giving it a lash into the back net and even as the final whistle went he was screaming at the ref to award a penalty, the boy just does not give up.
Riise and Gonzalez on the left looked good and i dont think its just an accident that speedy has finally started a prem game as soon as Riise has recovered, maybe Rafa sees speedy and Aurelio as too inexperienced or lightweight to play together just now.
But 2 goals from our left sided players is good, speedy seems to have the habit of being in the right place at the right time while Riise is just Riise and he is one of only a handful of players in the world who can score goals like that, massive power and the ability to keep the ball 1 yard of the ground all the way to the back of the net.
A good days work but now its just a case of doing it week in week out.

LIVERPOOL 2 NEWCASTLE 0

2006-09-22T22:13:00.000+03:00

Welcome back Xabi.
Alonso had been very disappointing so far this season nowhere near his usual excellence but on Wednesday night he was back to his best, it was not his wonder goal that impressed me so much, it was his pass to Finnan to set up the first goal and his overall passing and play that showed he seems to be back to his best.
Another man that impresses me more and more every time i see him play is Kuyt, he scored the first but it is his all round play that catches the eye, he is a bundle of energy wanting the ball at every opportunity and if it is not passed to him he is not afraid to get stuck in to win the ball back and once he gets it he has what all the greatest strikers have, the courage to take a shot from anywhere. Yesterday he tried a bicycle shot from outside the box, if that was anyone else i would be cursing them, but with Kuyt there is always that feeling that he will score.
A good result but it was against a very bad Newcastle side, Tottenham will be much tougher, they are a much better squad than their performances indicate and they will play a lot better this season. I just hope their good run dos`nt start tomorrow.

CHELSKI 1 LIVERPOOL 0

2006-09-18T21:20:00.000+03:00

Unlucky day at the office but once again Rafa must shoulder some of the blame, his obsession with having to play the off-form Alonso meant having to play Gerrard in the only out-field position that he cannot play, left midfield.
Why did Rafa talk up the long awaited arrival of Gonzalez so much if we are never going to play him, Gerrard in the centre of the action against 10 man chelski could have been the difference between losing and winning and as much as Rafa has improved Liverpool fc and his summer signings have been the most impressive of the top 4 clubs, his policy of rotation at all costs has surely cost us premiership points already.
4 points from a possible 16 is a shocking start to the season but maybe its the perfect wake up call to Rafa.... please play our best 11 and for gods the season is only 4 games old and we have been resting players since game 2 so lets have a little faith in our players to be able to play 2 games in a row without a rest.
Rafa Benitez has brought us triumphs since he arrived that not even the most hardened Liverpool Football Club fans could have foreseen, so we must allow him to do his job even as now it might baffle and annoy the fuck out of us but we have to also question some of these strange team selections of his but as always......In Rafa We Trust

INTO THE LIONS DEN!

2006-09-15T22:54:00.000+03:00

Liverpool Fc go into sundays game against chelski as the underdogs, and our results so far this season underline that fact, but i wonder what happens when we put out our strongest starting 11 for the first time as im sure Rafa will do...i hope.
The team i would like to see start is as follows

Reina

Finnan... Carragher... Agger... Aurelio

Pennant.. Gerrard.. Sissoko.. Gonzalez

Bellamy... Kuyt

But im sure Rafa will also play Alonso in midfield and just 1 striker up front, probably Kuyt and maybe Warnock instead of Aurelio.
I have a good feeling about this game as i think Rafa has been thinking about this single game for the last 2 weeks as he has rested players and totally turned Liverpool Football Club`s focus on winning this one single game.
Yes it is that important, if we can get a good result and performance against chelski in their own back yard it will knock that champions feeling of invincibility out of them, and after that who knows what can happen for the rest of the season.
I loved `John the weeper Terry`s´ comments today....TITLE RACE DOWN TO US AND UNITED BY MONDAY.
My god the man is an ass and i hope Rafa hangs a copy of that Terry comment in the dressing room before the game, he might just have done us a great favour by motivating our troops.
Prediction........Liverpool to win 2-1, Kuyt and Gerrard to score...dont care who gets their consolation goal.

WAS RAFA AT FAULT?

2006-09-09T17:31:00.000+03:00

Liverpool played some shocking stuff today, the defence was all over the place for the goals and midfield looked lost while Everton picked up the majority of the loose balls.
Up front Crouch and Fowler looked ok but just never got the supply.
My biggest disappointment today was Rafa Benitez starting 11. Ok Everton are a mediocre team but this is the merseyside derby that means this is their game of the season and will give their all to win, Bellamy and Kuyt are the strikers that are going to put the ball in the back of the net more times this season than our other strikers so we have to start with at least 1 of them.
In midfield Alonso should be rested because he is not playing well so far this season for some reason and we cannot afford to keep playing him to sort himself out if we keep dropping points and it will allow us to use Pennant on the right with Gerrard and Momo in the middle. Garcia should only be used in Europe and coming off the bench, i believe Kuyt, Fowler up front a Gonzalez,Momo,Gerrard and Pennant midfield today would have made the difference, the defence today was a shambles and i think its time for Rafa to make the decision on Sami, maybe the legs are just that bit too slow now that his intelligence and experience cant compensate.
We have to play our best 11 in as many prem games that we can, the premiership has to be our priority and today was 3 points thrown away.
We have 4 points from 3 games.....Rafa no more messing about, pick our best starting 11 and show what we can do!

NEW STADIUM FOR LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB

2006-09-09T11:10:00.000+03:00

This has dragged on for so long that i wont believe it till we actually play our first game in the stadium, this has been the one big failure of the Liverpool board.
We should have been already playing in our new stadium for the last couple of seasons, the amount of ticket revenue we have lost out on is shocking, while the mancs up the road have been adding capacity for years and leaving us way behind in money terms.
I just hope that building starts as soon as possible and that the board completely understand that if Liverpool Fc are to remain one of the top clubs in world football that we need this stadium as soon as possible no more excuses or delays.

STRIKER DILEMMA?

2006-09-09T10:33:00.000+03:00

Liverpool Fc have a problem that we have been waiting years to have, who do we play up front today in the merseyside derby.
Kuyt and Crouch both scored midweek in the internationals but Bellamy is very hard to leave out while Fowler has been training to reach his peak fitness for the past 2 weeks and must be chomping at the bit to get a game.
While i think Kuyt and Crouch should get the nod for todays game, Rafa may surprise us all again with his selection.....this is the new look Liverpool Football club and what a great problem to have!

LIVERPOOL FC, WHAT HAVE WE DONE?

2006-09-03T16:39:00.000+03:00

Rafa has sold Kromkamp, which was expected at some stage because he did not improve the team, but to sell him without bringing in cover at the same time could cost us dearly.
Lucas Neill would have been a great bit of business as Finnan is 31 now and more likely to pick up injuries.
But it is a worry that we have no direct cover for right back now. I know Rafa says Carragher or Paletta can cover if something should happen to Finnan but i would not like to see Carragher moved from centre while Paletta is still clearly learning his trade as seen by his mistakes in the pre-season.
Other last day transfers were crazy, mainly the West Ham saga, 2 great players but the Hammers are clearly been used as a feeder club now, by who nobody knows yet but i dont expect to see Tevez or Mascherano to be there next season, but they will probably get the cream of south American talent to put in the shop window in the future for one season...good luck to them as long as roman chelski is not involved.
The best bit of business from the top 4 was undoubtedly done by Arsenal Julio Baptista is going to be a asset, Gallas is a class defender and wenger seems to have worked his magic again by recruiting 18-year-old starlet Denilson from Sao Paulo.

Liverpool Football Club have still strenghtened more over the summer than our rivals but Arsenal got a little closer with their last day signings, but as always...IN RAFA WE TRUST.

Roy Keane `The Manager´

2006-08-30T23:12:00.000+03:00

Roy has taken the step forward and decided to become a manager, after apologizing to everyone he has ever met except Mick McCarthy he is ready to pull Sunderland out of their terrible start to the season.Cant wait to see the action, want a ring side seat for this one. He will make Fergies famous hairdryer bouts of anger seem like a gentle summer breeze.
I know he says he is calmer now and as he says ready to put an arm around a player in support if he needs it, but i wonder will that gentle hug turn into a headlock as the seasons pressure grows.
With Keane there is no in between he will be a great success or a complete flop, wonder what odds they are giving for the police charging him with assaulting one or all of his players, now suddenly The Championship has come to life

LIVERPOOL FC 2 WEST HAM 1

2006-08-26T17:02:00.000+03:00

Great game and great comeback, going 1 down with a freak of a goal and not the best goalkeeping by Reina was not the best start, and once again the main culprit was Aurelio, he was totally lost in defence. But enough about the negatives 3 points is 3 points and the fightback was Liverpool Football club was quality.
Agger`s goal was great but being scored by a centre back it was amazing, ok it swerved and turned direction a lot, heading towards 3 of the 4 anfield stands on its way home. But the second goal had team class written all over it, and Crouch showing how good he is with the ball at his feet was a pleasure to watch.
But the thing i will always remember about today was from 52 minutes onwards, thats when Kuyt came on, and being on the pitch 10 seconds took an audacious shot from away out to make his future intentions known, he did not score today but in my 23 years of passionatly following this club i find it hard to remember being more impressed by a player on his debut. He has everything, a eye for goal, not afraid to go back to defence or tackle, but the most impressive thing about him is his hunger, remember this was his debut and he was screaming at his teamates to give him the ball and only a great save from Carrol denied him his dream debut after Kuyt had already played in Bellamy to score only for it to be ruled offside in a 50/50 decision.
Mark my words now, Liverpool Fc have signed a truly world class striker who is suited so well to the ruggedness of the premiership. He has the potential to become one of the truly great Liverpool Football Club legends and go a long way in helping to bring the glory days back to Anfield........................Yes i believe he is that good!

DIRK KUYT, LIVERPOOL FC LEGEND OR FLOP?

2006-08-25T21:50:00.000+03:00

According to The Guardian Newspaper the world has a lot to thank Holland for, they say they invented or found the following: Self-milking cows, the microscope, New York, photosynthesis, spermatozoa,
But surprisenly they mention nothing about our new Dutch hitman Dirk Kuyt, that is a mistake because he could be their best export since they started to convince people that wooden clogs were comfortable on the feet.........does anyone actually wear them or are they all hung as souvenirs.
Believe me this guy is going to be a star, we all know about his great goal scoring record, if seen on a diagram against the other top strikers it really shows how good he actually is and playing with a top team like Liverpool Fc it should increase his chances.
People might say that his goals were scored in a weaker league and that the premiership is a very different proposition and the toughest league in the world. All true but Kuyt is no softie and i think he would happily knock John Terry`s teeth through his urinary track and out the other side.
The futures bright the futures orange!

NOT OFF TO THAT FLYING START.......

2006-08-19T17:08:00.000+03:00

What the hell was that today, i was shocked when i seen Rafa`s starting 11 Aurelio on left midfield Bolo in central midfield forcing Gerrard out on the right, but i thought he was going with the same plan as last sunday and maybe introduce fresh legs in the second half but the injuries to Riise and Carragher put paid to that plan.
But taking off Fowler to put Pennant on in the last few minutes was madness, we needed a goal so why take a striker off for a midfielder if he thought they were over-running our midfield then Zendon should have been replaced with another midfielder........we looked less dangerous when Fowler came off so it was a mistake by Rafa
This was Sheffield utd we were playing, why did we buy these players in the summer that give us width and pace if we are just going to go back to the old negative formula of a left back playing in midfield and stevie wasting his attacking talents on the right wing........as always.... in Rafa we trust..........but he better start showing more balls and have confidence in our attacking style of football.

Few small things about todays game, i said yesterday that i thought Aurelio was going to be a great player, i was shocked today when they scored, he was marking the player who scored and he totally lost him and then had an expression that said`defending is not my job´ its a worry. Also Kronkamp showed he is not up to the level, Finnan is twice the player he is.
Liverpool Tv gave their man of the match to Gerrard, i think they are wrong for me it was the old timer Sami Hyppia, he was massive in defence and played some great long passes and even had a few chances on goal hitting the post once........as i said before even with all these new young defenders Sami can never be written off, he always rises to the challenge.
Robbie slotted the pen home in great style and he looks as sharp as ever today it was only the supply that was missing.
It was a bad result but its better to get these now this early in the season so we learn from our mistakes and improve and move on to the next level, today some players were caught out today, they are simply not GOOD enough to play for Liverpool Football Club´s first 11, and i hope Rafa has more faith in a wide midfield with lots of attack and pace.
But this is a marathon not a sprint so its not time to worry........ yet!

LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB.....CHAMPIONS?

2006-08-19T00:22:00.000+03:00

The day has arrived Liverpool Fc kick of the new season against Sheffield utd today, and in my opinion there has not been a better squad of players starting a season for us in nearly 20 years.
That is how highly i rate Rafa`s buys over the summer.
Last year we were a good team but Rafa signings has made us into potentially a great team, he has reinforced our defence with Paletta and Aurelio, by the way i think Aurelio is going to be a great player he loves to get forward.
Gonzalez on the left and Pennant on the right has at last given us width and pace, 2 ings we has been missing for years. Rafa was very busy today as we also may have signed Moroccan youngster Nabil El Zhar, one for the future but have heard great reports about him
Up front Bellamy also gives us pace but he is also a proven prem goal scorer and judging by last sunday also deadly at providing opportunities for other strikers.
But i think the most impressive signing was made yesterday Dirk Kuyt, his goals per game ratio is amazing 71 goals in 105 games.
He was idolised at Feyenoord and turned down bigger wages at the toon to join us, clearly he sees a team on the up.
There is no doubt we are a much better team than last year but chelski will be very hard to displace, even though we beat them last sunday they know how to win week in week out in the league. We improved in that department last year but we have to beat the big teams, chelski is a six pointer game to us and we have to approach it as a cup final, but we can be sure Rafa has pointed this out to our players.
Finally a prediction for the up-coming season..i cant see us finishing lower than second and as for top spot, it really is 50/50 i believe we are equal to chelski in every department, even way ahead in midfield but the team that gets off to a good winning run early in the season is going to have a big advantage, but that first Liverpool chelsea game is going to have a big say in the final outcome, i think it will be that tight at the end of the season, but i think we have the squad now to just edge it..............IN RAFA WE TRUST!

DIRK KUYT FINALLY JOINS LIVERPOOL FC

2006-08-18T17:05:00.000+03:00

The transfer saga that has dragged on for 2 years finally finished today when Rafa got his man.

Liverpool have completed the signing of Dirk Kuyt from Feyenoord.
The Reds agreed a fee with Feyenoord for the striker on Thursday after weeks of talks with the Dutch club.
The 26-year-old has inked a four-year deal at Anfield after agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.
Liverpool beat a host of clubs including Newcastle to sign the Dutch international.
Anfield chief Rafa Benitez was delighted to make Kuyt his sixth signing of the summer and has tipped him to score goals in England.

He really does have an impressive goalscoring record 71 goals in 105 games for Feyenood, i know the dutch league is not the same quality as the prem but that is some goal tally. We have gone many years since we had a striker capable of scoring over 20 in a league season and Kuyt could be our man.......Rafa seems to see him as the final piece of the jigsaw.

Liverpool Fc.... Have the BBC got something against Rafa?

2006-08-15T15:35:00.000+03:00

This is from the BBC, and it seems this reporter Saj Chowdhury knows very little about the clubs in the premiership or Liverpool Football Club in particular, these are his views on likely managers to get the boot this season and those who are safe. Full list can be found Here
But one comparison screams out madness, its marked out of 10 lower the number safer you are, i have picked these 3 to have a look at.

ARSENE WENGER - Arsenal

The chances of Wenger getting the boot are as likely as Jose Mourinho turning up to Chelsea's training ground in a dress and a Tina Turner wig. It is not going to happen.
Verdict: Do the Gunners hand out knighthoods?
Sack Rating: 1/10
SIR ALEX FERGUSON - Manchester United

Every year United fans debate whether Ferguson should stay or leave, but they never call for the 64-year-old to be turfed out - one look at his record will tell you why.
Verdict: They say there is no man bigger than the club, but Sir Alex comes close.
Sack Rating: 3/10
RAFAEL BENITEZ - Liverpool

Benitez has already achieved sainthood having guided Liverpool to their millionth (slight exaggeration) European Cup triumph.
He is now looking for his side to achieve the almost impossible, by beating Chelsea to the title. The signing of Craig Bellamy may prove to be his best move yet.
Verdict: Safe. But many will expect Benitez's men to challenge strongly for domestic and European honours.
- Sack Rating: 4/10
So this guy actually believes that our Rafa is more likely to get the boot rather than the idiot that just payed over 18 million for Carrick, in my view Benitez and Wenger are the 2 most astute managers in the prem, but i would go as far as to say his job is even safer than Wenger, you have to remember where we were a few years ago under Houlier and the way he has cleaned that mess up and is now put a team capable of challenging for the title.

LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB 2-1 CHELSEA

2006-08-13T23:28:00.000+03:00

Liverpool have won the FA Community Shield for the 15th time in their history after Peter Crouch's goal gave them a 2-1 victory over Chelsea.
Andrei Shevchenko grabbed his first goal for The Blues to cancel out John Arne Riise's early opener for Liverpool, but it was Crouch who had the last word to give Rafa Benitez's men the first trophy of the new season.

What a game and what a masterstroke by Rafa in the mind games battle between these 2 clubs, before the game Rafa said he was not concerned about getting into a war of words with his counterpart Mourhino and old maureen responded to that with the claim that Rafa ´had a problem with him´.
This is a beautiful example how actions speak louder than words, by leaving out our main stars from the starting line-up Gerrard Alonso Hyypia and Bellamy, Rafa showed chelski no respect and that they are beatable even with a second string team. What must these chelski millionaires be thinking tonight as roman tucks them into bed.
But onto the game itself, we had so many good performances out there today Zolo was so much better in the middle today, Crouch was a pest up front and got the goal he deserved, Pennant was a menace, Finnan showed why Rafa has still not bought another right back, Speedy is getting better with every game, Aurelio really impressed when he came on and shows he really really likes to get forward and looks very dangerous when he does, Agger looks good enough to play there now but will get better, Riise showed how good we know he is and if maureen still wants him surely that pushes his price over the 20 mill mark, Bellamy Alonso Carragher and Gerrard
all done well, Bellamy`s cross was inch perfect and great to see him link up so well with Crouch, hopefully a good sign for the future.
But one man impressed me more today than the victory or in the fashion we achieved it, Momo Sissoko, in the first half when he was out there without his superstar teamates Gerrard and Alonso, and for the first time we seen the real Sissoko, against the best chelski midfield that romans millions could buy he ran and commanded that midfield. Lumpy lampard and Co simply had no answer for him as he played them off the pitch, Sissoko has to be regarded as one of Rafa`s best transfer deals..............the boy is simply magic.

LIVERPOOL FC 2-1 MACCABI HAIFA

2006-08-10T10:23:00.000+03:00

Not the most impressive start to our season, but on the plus it was good to see our new signings scoring and Pennant playing well down the right. But the final scoreline papers over a lot of the cracks in Liverpools display.
Credit to Haifa they are a good team and we could not have met them at a worse time. Their country is at war and that surely added a bit of fire in their bellys last night, but Liverpool made such a poor start to the game and only Haifa`s goal shook us out of our coma but after Bellamy scored we seem to go back to sleep once again.
The introduction of Crouch and that direct attack finally put Haifa on the back foot and Gonzalez looked good when he was on, and i have to say he did very well to dig that ball out from under his feet to score. But we have a lot of work to do in the second leg, but this time i think we will be fitter and know more about them.
One small point, what the hell have Liverpool got against taking a shot at goal when we have a free kick in range we wasted so many with these little set ups last night, but when they finally let Pennant take a shot only a brilliant save from the keeper denied him.

Rafa`s starting 11 selection highlights what is going to be a dilemma for him in the upcoming season. Sissoko Alonso and Gerrard, how can he fit all 3 of these central midfielders into his formation, and he will want too because Sissoko is the ball winner while the other 2 are more attack minded but too good to be left out, he will play Pennant on the right and probably Gonzalez on the left. That leaves him with 2 options either playing 3 at the back or 1 up front.
I think he will opt for one up front with Gerrard playing off the striker for now but which striker?
Bellamy is more of a goal poacher than Crouch but with Pennant sending in so many crosses Crouch`s height will be a big advantage, and we looked far more threatening when he came on last night. In a perfect world 3 at the back would suit our squad much better but even though Rafa has brought in 2 class central defenders in Paletta and Agger who have huge potential, i fear at the moment thats what it is potential. Paletta looks class and tackles like a cruise missile but he has made schoolboy mistakes but he will learn from them under Rafa`s guidance.
Dont get me wrong its always good when your problem is having so many good players that you have to try and fit them into your team, my only concern is that with playing only one striker we may be going a bit negative with our formation.

TEAM RATINGS
25 Jose Reina Had not a great deal to do handled crosses well, could not do much about goal
3 Steve Finnan Went about his work well, linked up well with Pennant
23 Jamie Carragher Both central defenders looked bit shaky but Jamie looked more solid as game wet on, some great blocks at end
4 Sami Hyypia His great positional intelligence was not enough to make up for his lack of pace last night, but write this defender off at your own peril he seems to thrive on pressure when his place in the team is being challenged
6 John Riise surprisingly left for dust last night on a few occasions, nowadays more comfortable as a midfielder
8 Steven Gerrard Defiantly still not match fit, but at last we seen a position he cannot play, looked very lost trying to play on the left wing
22 Mohamed Sissoko Seems Momo is ready for new season great claw like tackles his parried shot gave the first goal and some lovely mazy little runs.......class act
14 Xabi Alonso Very quiet first half but then Alonso did what Alonso does, one defence splitting pass to set speedy up for the winner
32 Boudewijn Zenden I think he will be used as cover for our central midfielders did not look good on the left wing last night
16 Jermaine Pennant Probably the best player in a red shirt last night was a constant threat down the right good free kick, only minus is he really has to improve the quality of his crosses
17 Craig Bellamy Looked out of position for a lot of the crosses and needs to play more games with his teammates to be able to read there game more, but loved the way he nudged Gerrard out of the way to finish the goal ............shows real hunger
10 Luis GarcÃa Done ok when he came on and had a 50-50 shout for a pen turned down
11 Mark Gonzalez Only on for couple of minutes but done well to dig ball out from under feet to score, and the boy is fast, think he is going to be a big plus for us this season, and scoring already will help him settle
5 Peter Crouch For me it was his introduction that changed the game for us, it put Haifa on the back foot with our more direct style attack, a nightmare for any defender, i just hope Rafa can find a system that allows him to play alongside Bellamy Fowler or whoever we buy

ROONEY THE NUTTER , WILL HE EVER LEARN?

2006-08-05T17:18:00.000+03:00

WAYNE ROONEY could miss Manchester United's opening three games of the season after being sent off in disgrace again last night. Rooney, whose World Cup ended with his red card in England's quarter-final defeat to Portugal, caught Porto defender Pepe Ferreira with his arm as he jumped for a 41st-minute header. The 20-year-old, who at first refused to leave the field, pleaded his innocence. "I thought the referee was going to give a free-kick for a foul on me, because of the defender backing in," he said. "I can't believe he sent me off for that."

And sir alex defended his little lunatic by saying: He believes Wayne Rooney is being singled out for special treatment following his pre-season red card against FC Porto.

Sir alex of course he is being singled out because he is the single biggest idiot playing professional football in the world today (Lumpy Lampard included), most players with a reputation like Rooneys would try and be a little bit careful after his disastrous world cup adventures but this boy simply does not have the brain cells to relies that.
The most stupid things about Rooneys indiscretions are that most of them are done while not trying to win the ball but in off the ball action, the sarcastic hand clapping to the ref last year that also earned him a red card sums it all up, its not that he does not understand the rules its just that he does not have the intelligence or the will to control that temper.
I think Wayne Rooney for all the talent he has, will be more remembered for his hot head and red cards rather than his football abilities when his career is all done and dusted.

MAINZ 5 LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB 0

2006-08-05T01:06:00.000+03:00

Liverpool completed their pre-season preparations by crashing to a 5-0 defeat against FSV Mainz in Germany.
With next week's Champions League qualifier in mind, boss Rafa Benitez started with a strong-looking side but a five-goal second-half blast from the hosts ensured a spectacular defeat.

Normally i would not care about the result of this game after all its just a friendly and our players are more concerned at the moment about building up there fitness, but for gods sake this is a shocking result we had a lot of players back against a second rate german team. I would expect better from the Liverpool fc reserve team, how low is the teams confidence right now, less than 1 week away from our champion league qualifying game agaist Haifa.
However after our performances and results in our first 2 preseason games maybe this thrashing is a blessing in disguise. Surely this has to set the alarm bells ringing in the players minds ahead of next weeks game and it may even get the players to start grinding out results early in the season, a period that has cost us dearly in seasons gone by.........but only if the players relies that friendly game or not this is not good enough for Liverpool Football Club.

Liverpool not a threat - Mourinho

2006-08-02T10:57:00.000+03:00

The nutter maureen is at it again, he will never of course admit how much he really is worried by Liverpool football club, but his latest rant makes even less sense than normal.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says Arsenal and Manchester United will provide greater competition for his defending Premiership champions than Liverpool.
"I still believe United and Arsenal will be the biggest threat. They will be the better teams. "I say that because of the quality of their football, the way they play, the improvements in their squads."
Mourinho is impressed by the summer purchases of both Arsenal and United.

So maureen is impressed with uniteds summer transfers, the mans obviously a genius.

Liverpool are different. They are very competitive, it's very difficult to beat them," he said. "If they score a goal before you score it's very difficult to change it because they defend really well with 11 players very, very compact.

So what maureen is saying here is manure and Arsenal will be more of a threat, because they are less competitive and easier to beat than Liverpool, as i said before the man is a bloody genius.

Man Utd agree £18.6m Carrick fee

2006-07-31T17:48:00.000+03:00

Tottenham reveal Man Utd will pay up to £18.6m for Michael Carrick, who will have a medical on Monday.
Great news sir alex is being made to pay through that big red nose of his 18.6 million for a player who would have no chance of starting for Liverpool Football club, dont get me wrong i think he is a good footballer that will improve when he has better players around him but for that to happen he has picked the wrong club.
I would go as far as to say that if manure do not start a rapid buying campaign in the next 2 weeks his former club led by the so far impressive Martin Jol will clinch the final fourth champions league spot.

What is happening at old trafford have the Glazers run out of money or has alex made so many bad transfers lately that he is afraid to make another mistake. Crazy times while Arsenal and Liverpool have bought wisely over the summer old alex seems to be sitting on his hands waiting for Ronaldinho and co to come knocking at his door, not going to happpen my little red nosed friend.
My biggest worry is not manure, its what a good manager like Jol is going to do with that money they are going to be a much better team next season

LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB....LAST CHANCE SALOON

2006-07-31T17:18:00.000+03:00

With the capture of Jermaine Pennant and Craig Bellamy this summer Rafa is really showing how much he is willing to risk to bring the league title back home. He has brought in players that no one else wanted to touch due to there bad reputations, but by doing this he has bought quality proven prem players on the cheap........but will it work.
A lot of people might think we have too many bad apples at the club all at once, but i truly believe that these 2 players know it is there last chance to make it on the big stage and i know Rafa has no scruples when it comes to getting rid of a player that is not doing his all for the club. Its a risk but on our budget thats what might just see us pip the chelski and arsenal.

Duff fee set Toon back just £5million

2006-07-24T14:11:00.000+03:00

Damien Duff's transfer from Chelsea to Newcastle was completed for just £5million, a statement to the Stock Exchange has confirmed

Have to admit a great bit of buisness by Newcastle, but for sure at that price Liverpool Football Club would have been after him, because he can play on the right and would have freed up enough transfer cash for Rafa to chase Kuyt. It has to be the case that maureen did not want to sell to us, as i said before he is a lot more concerned by the Liverpool challenge than he is openly saying and i think he really has made a huge mistake in offloading Duff as he is a world class player who has something to offer any football team in the world...........silly silly maureen

Duff to join Newcastle on Monday

2006-07-22T23:23:00.000+03:00

It is understood that the Anfield club matched Newcastle's £10m offer but Chelsea were reluctant to lose such a talented player to one of this season's potential title rivals. In addition, Duff was ultimately swayed by his close friend and international colleague Shay Given, United's long-serving goalkeeper, when determining where his future might lie.

I find this whole Duff thing very interesting we need a right sided winger he can play there but its not his natural position, but he is such a good player he would solve our problem on the right and really add that extra attacking spark to the team. So i have no doubht that Rafa really wanted him, but the funny thing about this transfer saga was it was all media and no whispers coming from anfield that we were looking to sign him.
It makes me think that the boot room knew that Chelsea would sell him to anyone but us, surly Duff would prefer to play champions league football next season and have a decent chance of a challenge on the league, it can only mean one thing.....................The Special One is far more worried by our progress than he has been letting on.

RAFA THE VULTURE

2006-07-16T16:27:00.000+03:00

England's top clubs are preparing to join the race to sign players affected by the Italian match-fixing scandal.
And Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez said: "There are a lot of good players in these teams and they interest us."

Benitez is thought to be particularly keen on Juve striker David Trezeguet and winger Mauro Camoranesi.

"The players will be a better price now than they would have been three months ago," said the Liverpool boss.

"All the Juventus players are good, including Trezeguet. "He didn't play much in the World Cup but that is because France have so many good forwards."

We have to get in there and scavenge as many of these top players as we can, because if we dont sir alex up the road and mr wenger surly will. Ok we will still have to pay top wages but this levels the playing field slightly with chelski,the other English teams having the chance to sign some world class players in one close-season closes the gap slightly. And remember Rafas reputation around Europe is glowing, so we may see some players willing to spend a season or two trying to become better players under his tuition.

It really is going to make it a very interesting summer of transfers

Bellamy finds net on Liverpool bow

2006-07-16T09:32:00.000+03:00

The FA Cup winners travelled to Wales to face Wrexham, and Bellamy enjoyed the return to his home country by scoring the second in a 2-0 win.
Liverpool had Salif Diao and Florent Sinama-Pongolle on show but a host of youngsters were given a run-out with Anfield's World Cup players still on holiday
In my previous posts i have been less than sympathetic to our new crazy little Welsh man, but i hope he proves me wrong and so far the signs are good. Its always good to open your scoring account early with your new club and Bellamy has done that, but also he seems to realize that this is his last chance to make it at a big club, for him its now or never.
I had totally forgotten about Salif Dioa remember him Houliers new Patrick Viera, now it seems we cant give him away thanks for that mr Houlier.
Florent Sinamo-Pongolle could be a very interesting player to watch this year, if we fail to get a new right winger this summer could he do the job for us and if we do get one can he provide competition there.

2006-07-15T19:19:00.000+03:00

RAFA BENITEZ is confident he will wrap up a deal to bring Brazilian star Daniel Alves to Liverpool.

Sources in Seville have been saying this week that the proposed transfer of the right-sided player is off because Liverpool will not stump up the £12million asking price.

But Anfield chief Benitez says the Spanish club's stance is merely a negotiating tactic and is adamant that his friendship with the Seville president will see the deal go through.

The Liverpool manager has told friends that "however long it takes I will get him."

But Benitez is losing his fight to land Feyenoord striker Dirk Kuyt because he is struggling to raise the £10million required to bring him to Merseyside.

Instead Benitez has indicated that he will wait for the fall-out from Italy's match-fixing scandal to see if he can snap up a bargain.

Benitez is interested in Juve's David Trezeguet, Mauro Camoranesi and Gianluca Zambrotta, as well as AC Milan striker Alberto Gilardino.

So what are we doing wrong, money seems to very very tight dont know why, we won champions league last year and have not gone mad spending since.

But at the end of last season our 2 top priorities were at least one right sided midfielder and a world class striker, ok we have Bellamy but we need 1 more striker..........in Rafa i believe but we have strenghtened every position except these.

Cant wait to see Gonzalez play if he is half the player Rafa says he is, its going to be a great and entertaining season.

GONZALEZ EXCITES RAFA

2006-07-14T22:59:00.000+03:00

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is titillated by the prospect of fielding new signing Mark Gonzalez in The Premiership.

The Reds finally landed their man this summer when the Home Office granted the Merseysiders permission to bring in the Chilean winger, having been refused a work permit 12 months ago.

The plan is unfolding slowly Gonzalez seems to be first choice on left of midfield, Zendon a back up for central mifielder, Paletta in defence with Aurelio as left back and crazy Bellamy up front, sounds great but it leaves out Gerrards favourite link up player and probably one of the best left sided players in the world Risse, and we still dont have our right winger or world class striker.

We have been very badly let down by the transfer deadline in Rafas other dealings lets hope so lets hope we get all our summer transfers sorted soon.

Zenden set for key Reds role

2006-07-11T23:08:00.000+03:00

Rafa Benitez has hinted that Boudewijn Zenden will have a key role to play at Liverpool this season.
Who believes that with the amount of left sided players we have.
I like the south american players we have added this last week but surly Gonzalez Kewell and now Riise are our preferred left midfielders,
Me thinks this is just lip service from Sir Rafa

FAILURE AGAIN

2006-07-02T21:23:00.001+03:00

I am not english so my views are not clouded by patriotism so i know that the ability of the players sent to Germany did not reach there full potential with there quarter-final knockout. When will the english fa learn that when things are going wrong they have to have the balls to change things, this is from Terry Butcher and his words are spot on

Sven-Goran Eriksson has left his job as England coach after five-and-a-half years in charge - and we are no further forward than when he was appointed.

He has reached three quarter-finals in two World Cups and a European Championship, and that is nowhere near the standard we should be achieving with the so-called "Golden Generation" of players coming through.Why should we be proud of the fact that we have one star on our shirt representing the fact that we reached one World Cup final 40 years ago?

Other countries have two or three stars to signify their World Cup achievements and both Germany and France have the power to add another in Germany.

It is embarrassing. We have only ever been in one final and two semi-finals.

How can we justify calling ourselves a world football power when we are not?

We have become all Billy Big Time and become too big for our boots, and yet we have got nothing to shout about because we have done nothing. This is what annoys me.

We have no right to be as confident or arrogant about our football as we are. It has been not been anywhere near good enough.

And sadly, Eriksson has not taken us on to the next level.

This is very true and something i hope every English fan relises, England has to start all over again pick out there strong points and build the future around that, at the moment its Gerrard and Rooney, but as the Fa has already decided that Mclaren is the new man, expect more of the same after all this man has learned all he knows about international football from Sven so as i see it there is still no light at the end of the tunnel