RAFA AND THE KEWELL GAMBLE HE MUST TAKE!

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?

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.

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

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?

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

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?

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?

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

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

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?

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?

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?

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 !

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.