Red in Dublin

While the media might have us believe that the greatest upset of all time was close yesterday, I don't know if the result was ever really in doubt. I heard some of the match on the radio and saw highlights today. While they gave us problems in the first half, I think that we were always going to crush them in the end, and rightly so considering our relative positions. But fair play to them for putting it up to us for 45 mins. Some of the fringe players who had a chance to impress didn't do themselves many favours which is a bit disappointing. Lucas had a good match form what I saw and scored a cracking goal. If Momo does move, I hope and expect to see him play a bit more. He looks to have a good future ahead of him. Yossi got his second hat trick of the season. He seems to be filling the Garcia role of drifting inside and scoring. I don't know if he'll ever be a nailed on starter but he's a very useful player to have in the squad. Always good to see Crouch score, even if it was offside. Pennant put in some nice crosses from the right but Crouch and later Kuyt didn't really make the most of them. Skrtel made his first start and had a nervous first half but made some nice passes and improved in the second. You can read a full match report form Dave Usher of TLW here.


After the distraction of the cup it's back to the "bread and butter" of the league. The cheeky chappies, the 'appy 'ammers are our opponents on Wednesday night. It's clear that we're in shit form at the moment and it's not the easiest ground to travel to. Given that, I wouldn't be surprised to see us draw yet again. Our away form has been better than our home form so maybe we can break our drawing streak but I wouldn't bet against the points being shared.

Tom Hicks was on the excellent BBC Sportsweek programme on radio 5 live. He was saying that the club and his shares aren't for sale. Gillett is notable from his absence this week when the announcement about the refinancing deal and the 71000 seater stadium. The Daily Telegraph reckon that the DIC deal is still on the cards. Duncan Castles in the Obeserver has similar observations about the lads from Dubai. Christ Bascombe in the NOTW says that Parry and Moores could be in danger of being removed from the board by the Americans. Foster Gillett has cleared his desk and left Liverpool to return to the states which may be significant. Some of the reports during the week said that Mascherano would now be signed to show the faith that Hicks has in Rafa. Pablo Aimar was also linked in some papers. AImar is a genius and one of my favourite players but he's 28 now and has been injured a bit in the last few years. He's currently out for the next two months so I'd say that this link is just press speculation.

I'm going to Anfield next weekend for the Sunderland match and I don't have any tickets as yet. I know it's a long shot but if anybody reading this has two spares, I'm more than happy to take them off your hands. Any help greatly appreciated.

Well it finished 2-2 but you won't see a more one-sided match. We battered them for 70 mins and then they scored 2 goals, the second of which was a flukey deflected OG. But it's been a recurring theme this year that we dominate teams, but don't turn our chances and domination into goals. We need more top class players to do so. Kuyt had a great first half but was dire in the second. Yossi did well for his goal and had a decent match. We were so in control at the start of the second half that it seemed a question of how many would we win by. But then the defence seemed to go to sleep and Harewood hooked one in after the ball was headed back across goal. It really shouldn't have been allowed to happen and I'd imagine that Rafa went apeshit when he saw it. The second goal was a freak occurrence when a shot rebounded off Aurelio and went in past Pepe. The team were in shock for a minute but then stepped it up again. Skrtel came on for the injured Arbeloa and did well enough. Crouchie came on and put himself about. He did well to finish from a cough angle, through a crowd of players. Well done big man. He obviously had his nachos.

Javier Mascherano was immense last night. Stevie had something of a quiet night but El Jefe made up for it and was the driving force in midfield. At times it looked like Villa couldn't get past him, no matter what they did. He is absolute quality and was always available. We really need to buy this guy in the summer. But given the current board situation, I wouldn't hold out too much hope.

The mighty Havant and Waterlooville visit Anfield on Saturday. My pulse is definitely not racing. Hope we see some of the kids getting a run out. This would be one to watch with the sound down to avoid the endless cliches of magic of the cups, David v Goliath, Giantkillers etc.

The boardroom saga rumbles on. Dion Fanning had a fantastic article on it in the Sunday Indo. Talk over the weekend suggested DIC are about to launch a bid for somewhere in the region for £350-500m. But then Hicks said that he doesn't want to sell his shares. This may mean that Gillett will decide the future of the club. Al Ansari, the CEO of DIC is a lifelong Liverpool fan and often attends games at Anfield which is a good sign, I suppose.

It looks like we've failed with a £400000 bid to sign an 18 year old Croatian player called Vida. He's decided to stay in Croatia and play for his club rather than sit on the bench with us. Fair enough. Sure he might change his mind in a year or two.

Of interest to Irish reds is the news that Steve Finnan is to retire from International duty. I suppose that it's good news for Liverpool as he won't be going away during international breaks and will get more rest. It is definitely bad news for Ireland though.

There were rumours that Leto and El Zhar might be on their way to Racing Santander for the rest of the season. It now appears that they will both be staying here. It's hard to know if either has a future with us in the first team. Probably not.

Let's get DICed.

Just what the doctor ordered. 4-1 at home to Portsmouth and we were coasting for most of the game. Yossi opened the scoring in the first half with a stunning volley hit with the outside of his right boot after a great cross from Harry on the left. Yossi is very good and drifting inside and linking up the play. He is also capable of delivering goals as he showed here, but it would be good to see a bit more of this from him. Maybe I'm being over critical as he's already scored 6 this season. Good to see Kewell getting involved by setting it up.

The second goal was a bit of a comedy of errors. Torres advanced into the box and was faced with Distin and Campbell. Campbell swiped at the ball which rebounded off Distin's leg to beat James at the far post. Portsmouth did get one back but even then, we had the match under control to a large degree.



Enter El Niño. The kid is unstoppable. He scored two today and could have had more. As we've seen, he causes panic in defenses. It paid off here as he took full advantage. He's now scored 8 in the league and 14 in all comps from 18 starts. I thought that it would take him some time to adapt but I was wrong. He's taken to the league like a duck to water despite what the doubters were sceptical beforehand. His first was a crisp strike from the edge of the area after Babel had run at the pompey defense. His second was even better. Carra hit a lovely ball which found Gerrard on the left edge of the area. His header back into the middle dropped to El Niño who hit a great volley which left James with no chance. The kid goes from strength to strength.

Babel came on and did his usual trick of causing havoc to a tired and stretched defense. He didn't manage to score this time but his L4 education is coming along nicely. Rafa is doing the right thing with him and I fancy him to be making regular starts by the end of this season or the start of the next one. There is still some debate over his best position, whether it's on the wing or up front.

The champions league last 16 draw was made on Friday and we drew Internazionale of Milan. This is a tough draw but it was never going to be easy given that we finished second in our group. Inter are a great side, full of talent. Mancini is a clever manager who's managed to get his own way with minimal interference from Moratti. Zlatan is one of the best forwards in the game and will cause us problems. This match and Arsenal's with AC Milan are the ties of the round and very hard to call. I can't wait for February.

There are rumours doing the rounds online that we're going to sell a few players and put in a bid for Villa at Valencia. I think that this is pure speculation. It does sound like he's not happy there while Koeman rocks the boat but I can't see Rafa paying the required £20m plus for him, especially as he'd be cup tied in the champions league. I think that we'll only do small business in Jan. We may sell a few and sign a defender but I can't see us splashing the cash for big deals.

The Irish Independent had an interview with James McCarthy today. He's been heavily linked with us in the past but has yet to make a decision about his club future but he's declared for Ireland which is a bonus.

Enjoy your Christmas dinner and let's hope that we're in a festive mood after the Derby game on Wednesday.

Ruthless. Liverpool were like MC Ren of NWA last night. 8, that's the magic number. 8-0. Despite all that, Crouch isn't happy. He feels that we should have had more. Greedy bugger.



It's hard to pick out individuals after a performance like that. Almost everyone had a great match. We scored 8 and played some beautiful football. I don't want to be negative but Riise was notable in his inability to join in with the one touch football. But he had his part to play too and set up a fwe goals with his vicious shots which the keeper couldn't save. He did have his usual quota of wayward efforts over the bar though.

Crouch was notable in opening and closing the scoring. He got a bit lucky with the first but reacted well and finished well beyond the keeper. The final goal was a great header after a cross from the wing. I think that he made a telling contribution and put down a marker. It'll be hard for Rafa to drop him for Fulham unless Torres is fit.

Yossi grabbed a hat trick but it was his all round play which was impressive. His first goal was lovely but his second and third were tap ins. He drifted all over the front third and supported the strikers well. Arbleoa provided width and protection on the right, allowing Yossi to go where he needed.

Voronin had a superb game. He linked midfield and attack in a clever manner. His link up play for Gerrards goal was a joy to behold. He did a great job of bringing the likes of Yossi, Babel, Kewell and Gerrard into the game. He didn't grab a goal for himself but he wasn't far off.

The boy Babel done well. His first goal was the pick of the bunch for me. If Rooney or Ronaldo scored that one we would be hearing about it for a long time. He got lucky with the second but was unlucky to see a headed effort hit the bar. Granted it's easier to come on against a team who are already beaten and look good, but this was a cameo of the riches he has. I think that if we persist with him he'll go onto be a star for us.

So we still have to win our two final games in the champions league. I think that we're capable of it but it won't be easy. Porto visit Anfield in the next game. It's a pity that they beat Marseille last night but we know what we need to do. If we win the two games we should be able to go through.

Back to domestic matters this sat when Fulham come to Anfield. They aren't in great form and this is a good opportunity for us to get back on track in the league. Torres might even be fit but I would imagine it'll be a case of him sitting on the bench unless needed again. We don't want him heading off with Spain and getting injured again.

Bring on the cottagers.

That was close, and it shouldn't have been. Wigan aren't very good but we made hard work of it. But maybe it's time to look at the table and saw we picked up another 3 points on the road (10 from 12) and we still have a game in hand. We're not playing great, but like Utd, we're getting the wins. If we can keep this up for the next few weeks until Xabi and Dagger return I'll be happy enough.

We did create a lot of chances but didn't put any away. Nando had a good chance in the first half after he was put through on Kirkland. Our former keep did well in coming out early and saved well. The rebound came off Torres and went narrowly wide. Gerrard had a few shots and Kirkland made a few more saves.

It was looking like the game was headed for a third successive premier league draw when Yossi stuck his oar in. His turn and dribble reminded me of Bergkamp against Newcastle a few years ago. Yossi's goal wasn't quite of that quality but was hugely impressive nonetheless. He has a fantastic ability to drift effortlessly past defenders and the ball control skills to embarrass even the toughest of opponents. He's a joy to watch and is pushing hard for a starting place after his goals here and against Reading in midweek.

Wigan pushed us hard until the final whistle and had a few chances. They will complain that they didn't get the rub of the green or any favourable decisions from the Ref. Maybe we're cashing in our Karma from the Chelsea match. Our defence wasn't what it usually is. Riise didn't have a great match. With Sami in for Agger, we are sitting deeper to compensate for his lack of pace. Added to that is the problem that our distribution out of defence is worse and Sami doesn't carry the ball out the way Dagger does. We miss the kid and the sooner he comes back the better.

Champions league returns this week and Marseilles visit Anfield on Wed night. Given the law of the Ex, expect to see Cisse have a stormer and score a few. In reality, I don't think that they're up to much and are doing shit in Ligue 1. They recently changed their manager so it might be good time to play them.

Gerardo Bruna - remember that name. He's a 16 year old Argentine player that we've signed from Real Madrid. They were expecting great things from him and were angry at losing him. He's already been dubbed "the new Messi" (is the old one old?). Not placing any pressure on him then.

When Bill Shankley said that football was more important than life and death, I suspect that his tongue was firmly in his cheek. Occasions like last night can bring that home. The murder of 11 year old Rhys Jones shook Merseyside to the core. But at Goodison on Saturday and at Anfield last night, the two halves of the city came together in grief and to pay respect to the Jones family. As anyone who's lost a family member can tell you, people showing support won't ease the pain, but it can help to get you through. Tony Barrett has a great piece on the merseyside rivalry in the Liverpool Echo today. I hope that this once friendly rivalry can shed the bitterness and vitriol that have crept into it in recent years. Maybe events like the playing of Everton's theme from Z Cars at Anfield can help to warm relations.

To the match itself, we have to be fairly happy with a 4-0 win. Crouch got scoring underway with a tap in after some fine work on the wing from Benayoun and Kuyt who delivered an amazing cross to the far post from the right. Crouch had a few other decent chances to bump up the score but it remained 1-0 until the second half. Sami showed him how it's done when he got a free header in the area. Kuyt was rewarded with two goals towards the end. He had a great match and it was no less than he deserved. He had hit the bar earlier in the match so I was happy to see him get his season's account under way.



Kuyt and Benayoun were the two major stars of the game for me. Yossi started on the right but drifted infield and outfield at will. He has the ability to glide past defenders as if they weren't there. It's a joy to watch and the Anfield faithful were suitably impressed.

Seb Leto got a run out on the left wing for the first time in a competitive match. He looked a game lad to me and did ok considering his age and lack of English experience. I would imagine that he'll be a Carling Cup and FA Cup player this year.

Derby County visit Anfield on Sat for what should be a routine win. They, along with Wigan, were my two tips for relegation. I think that Stevie and Carra should be alright to sit this one out. Rafa will feel that he can rotate his team from Sunderland a bit and still have enough to beat them handily enough.

By Saturday, the transfer window will be closed. There is some speculation that we'll go for a defender given Carra's injury and missing out on Heinze. Chiellini is still being linked and would be perfect but it's all gone quiet at the moment. I wouldn't be too surprised if we don't make any moves and go with what we have. Some websites have been linking us with a bid for Julio Baptista with is pure bollocks in my view.

I'm off to Tuscany on holidays for ten days on Friday so there may not be any updates until the Portsmouth game. Arrivederci.

Appologies for the terrible pun. I'm tired after a few too many beers last night and I need a coffee to wake me up for tonight.

So we put Crewe away 3-0 with goals from Lee Peltier, Peter Crouch and Ray Puterill. Like as Wrexham last week, Rafa played a different team in each half. Andre "The raven/crow" Veronin was probably the best performer of the first half players. In the second half Xabi Alonso showed that his radar is in perfect working order as his passes were delivered with pinpoint accuracy. It's good to see the youngsters geting a run out alongside the senior players and making a contribution.

Guillem Ballague has a great interview with El Nino in the times. The more I read about this kid, the more I like him.

Here's a bit of advice. Don't ever call Jamie Carragher a bottler. Adrian Durham on Talksport radio found this out the hard way. It's a terrible station full of bulshitters so I'm not going to waste anymore time talking about them.

Hansen and Collins have signed professional contracts with Liverpool. Hansen is a goalie while Collins is 17, Irish and a striker which sounds promising. Call him up now Stan.

LFC TV was launched this week. The good news is that it'll be free if you already get Setanta sports. I don't, but I'm hoping that the content will be available on the official website through the e-season ticket.

Benayoun and Babel have now come aboard the good ship LFC. I think that Benayoun will replace Garcia in the squad but Babel is one to ge excited about. The Babel fee is an initial £8m which could rise to £11m depending on appearences and trophies. I would imagine that he'll play on the left wing or as the left striker if we play a 4-3-3. Van Basten says that he can become the new Henry if he continues to improve. Let's hope he's right.

David Amoo, a 17 year old striker has signed from Millwall. Apparently he is exceptionaly fast and used to run the 100m for London schools.

Gabriel Mitio, a one time target has gone to Barca so we can take him off the list. Hicks said that we will sign one more player. The consensus appears to be that it'll be Heinze but the only way I can see that happening is if he buys himself out of his contract. Werder Bremen are the next team to be crushed under the might of the unstoppable red machine in a match on Tuesday night. I wouldn't be surprised if we see more of a structure to the team this time, with less than 22 players getting a run out.

I'm off for a power nap.