Red in Dublin

Another professional win and another 3 points v Reading. Monster Masch got off the mark with a stormer of a strike from outside the D after Matejovsky had opened the scoring for the visitors. It took a free kick from Gerrard and a far post header from El Nino to seal the deal.

I don't think that it was our best performance but we would have lost or drawn this game had it been played when we were in our bad patch in Jan. We stuck to the task in hand after going behind to an early goal. Torres had a 1 v 1 with the keeper and Babel had a couple of dangerous shots. Kuyt was fairly poor and neither of the full backs covered themselves in glory. We should have scored a third to calm the nerves but we didn't and then sat back which let Reading come back into it at the death. Thankfully we held out.

We have a full week off until Sky's big hype Sunday when we play Utd in Old Trafford. I am a bit worried about the game but we're in great from. They struggled a bit against Derby and weren't convincing against Portsmouth or Lyon before that. In El Nino we have the most exciting player in the league at the minute. I think that we're good enough to get a draw but they have a very good home record. The fact that Everton were beaten by Fulham yesterday takes the pressure off somewhat. The derby at the end of the month is still going to be massive though.

The champions league draw was made on Friday morning at 12, or was it? This article suggests that it could have been leaked beforehand. I was a bit suspicious but have a look at this forum. The poster has the draw correct at 10.28. The odds of guessing correctly are 191-1 apparently. Arsenal is a really tough draw. We're going to be playing them three times in the space of a week. We do have the experience of going all the way in the comp which they lack. The fact that they seem to be falling out of form is also promising. Let's hope that it continues until next month.

Dion Fanning in the Irish Indo had a good article on Rafa and rotation at the weekend. The more the facts are getting printed, the better.

This is bad news. I had half suspected that he wouldn't be back this season but it's still a blow to have it confirmed. We've really missed him but hopefully Skrtel can come in and fill the gap for the next few months. What's more important for the player in the long term is that Agger gets this problem sorted once and for all. The news that Kewell is heading off to an Australian training camp is less disturbing.

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.

Exhibit A - Dirk Kuyt. Dirk had a terrible day at the office on Saturday. He is going through a crisis of confidence at the moment. He had a few chances but couldn't hit the target and when he did, Friedal was more than equal to it. Rafa is a big fan and seems to want to let him play through it. I don't think that he is clinical enough to play up front on his own, as he did on Sat. I like Dirk too but I don't think that he works well with Crouch or Voronin, only Torres.

Exhibit B - Peter Crouch. Crouch came on as as second half sub and almost changed the game. I don't know what he did to annoy Rafa, but he seems well out of favour at the minute. I would like to see him get more game time while Torres isn't ready because he looks like the striker who's most likely to score. I don't know if Crouch has a long term future at the club but I definitely think that he's the man for the moment.

Exhibit C - Fernando Torres. It sounds like the news might be better than had been previously hoped. He was back in training today after his muscle injury and faces a late fitness text for tomorrow. I can't imagine that he'll be risked after the last time but he might get a place on the bench for a last gasp throw of the dice if we need him. We're looking fairly blunt without him.

Harry Kewell was a welcome sight when he came on as a second half sub. If, and it's a big if, he can stay fit for a while, then he could do a huge job for us on the left and nail down that position. Despite his injuries, he's still the best winger that we have in my opinion. He did well in the 20 or so mins that he got on Saturday by stretching the play and taking his man on. I would imagine that he'll be an impact sub for the next few games while his builds up his fitness.

Babel started on the wing against Blackburn. Babel clearly has talent with his pace, power, control and shooting. But he hasn't really been able to put it all together so far. I feel that it might be after Christmas or next season before he beds in properly and makes a telling contribution. Here's what Wenger has to say on new signings.

"When I sign a player I don't judge him at all in the first six months. Never. I give him six months to adapt and don't put any pressure on him because I know what it takes. You have to settle and get the right level. You start to look at him really in January and February."

The draw for the Carling Cup quarter finals was made on Sat and we'll be heading to Stamford Bridge at the end of December. They have a superb home record so I'd be surprised if we get anything out of that one. It is only the Carling Cup though.

Oliver Kay has an article in the Times where he says that we're near an agreement for John Cofie From Burnley. United and Chelsea are after him too but it sounds like we're in the driving seat as he attended the Cardiff match last week. He's 15, plays up front and could cost anything between £250000 and £1m. Lauri Dalla Valle, a 16 year old Finn who I've mentioned before here, is also being tipped to arrive in Jan.

It's do or die against Besiktas tomorrow. It's time to stand up and spout cliches. Win and we have a chance, anything less and we're out. We should be more than capable but then again, I said the same about Porto, Marseille and the Turkish trip.

Here's hoping.

It's that rotation policy again. Rafa takes Gerrard off and brings Lucas on, who wins the match winning penalty. When will he ever learn?

It was amazing. I'm still a bit horse. Memories of the Gary Mac derby in 2001 came flooding back. To win the Derby is sweet. To win the Derby in injury time after being 1-0 down is even sweeter. To hear David Moans and the rest of the bitter blues giving to is the icing on the cake. No doubt the conspiracy theorists will be out in force now. But while the Lescott penalty shout at the end looked legit, we had an offisde goal chalked off that should have been given. Veronin also had a penalty claim early on. We were by far the better team and created loads of chances. They only had one effort on target all match. I think that if Torres was playing we would have won handy enough. Voronin had a couple of chances where he would have done better. Riise had a superb chance where he blazed over the bar. Momo had a fantastic chance with a few minutes to go. Overall I was much happier with the performance than in recent games.

At half time I predicted a draw so I was thrilled when we won. Notable performers were Kuyt, Yossi for a time and Lucas when he came on. Dirk has been getting a lot of stick from some fans, as they see him as a new Heskey in so far as he tries hard but doesn't score enough. I don't agree. I've been a big fan of his since he arrived. Put your hands up for Dirk Kuyt. He was our top scorer last season and 5 in all comps so far this year. He had a really clever and unselfish game yesterday. He showed bottle to take his two penos and could have had a hat trick of assists if his team mates had finished better. Gerrard was much improved too. Some knobs in the press, like Andy Grey, will try to make a big deal out of the fact that he was subbed. I think it was more a case of him having played two England matches and we have two important matches coming up this week. Lucas changed thing when he came on and would have won the match for us if it hadn't of been for Nevilles "save". It's a pity for the lad but we got the result which is the main thing. Seeing Neville and Hibbert walk was a bonus.


It's a pity that our rivals, Arseanal, Utd and Chelsea all won. After the Besiktas match on Wednesday, we face Arsenal at Anfield. They are playing well at the moment, better than us, but we've a great home record and hammered them 4-1 at Anfield in March. I was at Anfield that day and it was very one sided. Crouch was amazing and the best player on the pitch by a mile. Even though he's not playing much and seems to be out of form, I wouldn't be that surprised to see him play for this one. Van Persie is out which good news for us.

Alan Stubs cleverly got a dig in before the match. Good motivational tactic from him.

Tony Barett of the Echo had a good article on rotation reprinted on the official site. So it seems to me that when Fergie rotates his squad it doesn't count. It remind me of the Brass Eye episdoe about good aids v bad aids. It seems that Man Utd practice good rotation while we practice bad rotation. Rotation is a stick used by the press to beat Rafa when we're losing along with zonal marking when we concede goals and Cup/Lucky manager because we haven't won the league. It seems that it's not very hard to be a journo or pundit these days. Just use the same old tired cliches and misconceptions and you'll be hailed as a genius.

There has been a good bit of talk linking us to Fernando Amorebieta of Athletic Bilbao. He's a versitile young spanish defender, the kind of player that Rafa finds hard to resist so expect him to be on his way here in January.

The echo had some good news in relation to a fall in football related arrests at Anfield despite a rise nationwide. It goes against the percieved wisdom in some sections of the media.

Will Buckly in the Observer had a good article on the inane punditry on Sky. Offside doesn't count if it's Rooney apparently. How does Jamie Redknapp have a job?

That was terrible. I haven't been able to bring myself to write a post on it until now. As Rafa himself said, that's as bad a performance as we've put in at home since he arrived. We were unlucky to see El Nino hit the post at the end but it would have been unfair on Marseille who were by far the better team. We were shocking.

Only Pepe, Finnan and Aurelio can come out of that with any credit. Only for them we could have lost by a few more. Momo was awful. I really like Momo but he's been shit this season. But he's not the only one. Our entire midfield was useless on Wed night. I think that the lack of Agger and Alonso has hit us hard. We haven't passed the ball well since they got injured. I'm hoping that they will be back in training once the international break is over. We'll need them badly for the Everton and Arsenal matches.

El Nino revealed that he's a bit manic to the official site. Fair enough. As long as he keeps scoring, let him continue with his rituals.

Rumour has it that Crouch may be on the way in January. I don't claim to have any inside track here, I'm just reporting what I've read on the forums. Word is that he is pissed off with his lack of games so he'll be sold with Klaas Jan Huntelaar as his replacement. I've been a big fan of this kid since I saw him fillet Ireland in Lansdowne road last year. While I"d be sorry to see RoboCrouch go, I'd be happy to see us replace him with pure Klaas. Think of all of the crappy puns I could come up with if he signed.

Spurs match tomorrow should be interesting. They're in worse form than us, which is handy. Robinson in goal could be our ace card. Rafa should tell all of the midfielders and strikers to shoot on sight. This guy is one of the worse keepers in the league and can't save long distance shots. Their defence is quite porous so I would expect Torres to be able to take them apart. A moral boosting win is needed after the debacle of Wednesday night. A win here would set us up nicely going into the international break. I'm hoping that we'll come back from it refreshed and rejuvenated. The last break really fucked us up as we were flying before it but haven't played well since. I'm hoping that this one will have the opposite effect and put us back into form. I was hoping that Spurs didn't lose last Monday as Jol might have been sacked. They drew 4-4 and he kept his job. If we win tomorrow, he might lose it. If we lose, I might lose it.

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.

Sometimes you play well and lose. Sometimes you play badly and win. Sometimes you play well and the ref robs you, like what happened against Chelsea. Sometimes you play shit and get away with a draw. That's what happened in the Dragao on Tuesday when we drew 1-1. It was a fairly poor game and we didn't play well at all. It was one of those nights where nobody had a particularly good game. They started off like a rocket and scored with the eight minutes. We were suffering from shell shock but we did manage to get our act together somewhat as the half went on. Sami flicked on a Finnan cross and Dirk Kuyt was there to score from close range. It was an important goal at an imporant time.

In the second half Pennant got riled up, not for the first time. He was sent off for an idiotic tackle on Fucile. Porto players went down easy enough but there is no accounting for Pennants stupidity. It was a needless tackle and put extra pressure on the team. I doubt that Rafa was too impressed with that. We improved defensively after that and won a hard fought point.


But while a point away was a good result, the bad news that Xabi and Dagger are injured arrived today. While we have enough cover in central midfield, we could be a bit short at the back. Sami is short of pace but he'll do his best over the next four to six weeks. Sami isn't as accomplished a passer and tends to hoof the ball out of defence more. This has a knock on effect on our play which we'll have to try and minimise. We might even see Arbeloa play a few games there. Jack Hobbs might come into contention for the easier games. IT's going to be tough but we should be able to get through. We face Everton away on Oct 20th and then Arsenal at home a week later. I hope that we have them back at that stage but that would mean some quick healing is required.

Bring on Brum. Handy home win required.

How's your glass? I think that mine is still half full. But I can't help but feel that this was two points dropped. We knew that Portsmouth is a tough place to go and get three points. They held Utd to a 1-1 draw earlier on this season. It could have been worse. If it weren't for Pepe saving a Kanu penalty, then we could have been looking at our first defeat of the season. We did create a few chances. Crouch forced James into a good save early in the first half. Voronin hit the top of the bar and Torres should have done better after being put through on the keeper with a few minutes to go. Much talk, predictably from Andy Grey, was about Gerrard being on the bench. I think that it was an understandable decision given that his fitness was in question and he just played 2 games in four days for England. Plus we had top quality replacements to come in in the form of Xabi and Momo. Brum at home next weekend should be a much easier challenge.



El Nino revealed that he spurned our rivals to lfc.tv. Nice one my son. Given Utd's proflgacy in front of goal this season maybe they should have bought him instead of Tevez.

We're signing the central defender Ayala. But rather than the Argentine rock who played for Rafa at Valencia, this lad is 17 and plays for Sevilla. This could be promising as Sevilla have a great youth policy. If he goes on to be half the player that his namesake is, then we could have a serious prospect on our hands.

Champsions league returns on Tuesday night. There is something fantasticly exciting about hearing the theme music belting out over maessages from the sponsors and partners. It nearly makes me go out and buy some Contental tyres, even though I don't have a car. I went through a phase of only drinking Amestel as it was my tipple of choice in the 2005 campaign. Champions league make the darkening of the evenings and the approach of cold winter evenings somewhat less off putting. The road is long and unpredictable. It could end up anywhere - Istanbul, Athens or maybe Moscow. It might end after the group stage as it did for Utd two years ago when they finsihed bottom of a group with Lille, Benfica and Villareal. The first stop on our contental tour is Porto on Tuesday night. They have some good players in Quaresma and Lucho González. I think that Rafa will go for a win but a draw away from home wouldn't be a bad result.

Roll on 7.45 on Tuesday.

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.

Yesterdays game was not a classic. As is often the case with the champions league third round, it's a case of get the job done. Given the oppressive heat in the afternoon sun, we weren't over exerting ourselves. Voronin scored just before half time with this 25 yard belter.

Great to see that the Raven is building on his pre season form. It was an efficent rather than an inspired team performance and I'm sure that we'll put them to the sword at Anfield in two weeks time. The only worrying sign was the fact that Gerrard came off injured after an hour. The latest news is that he has a hairline fracture in his toe but he'll be fit for Sunday which is a huge boost.

The Chelsea match this weekend is huge now. Sky will be trying to build it up as a title showdown, which it isn't, but it's important that we learn the lessons of previous seasons and keep pace with the leaders at the start of the season. Too often in recent years, we've started slowly and have had to play catchup. With Utd having dropped 4 points from their first two matches, it's a good oppertunity to put down a marker against one of the other titile contenders. Chelsea seem to have a few injuries at the moment but I wouldn't be surprised if they manage to recover. Expect to see both Terry, Carvalho and Essien line out on Sunday at 4.00.

Have a look at this for a great interview with Torres. You will need access to spanish or a decent translation website. Interestingly they say that the fee was €26.5m or £18m to be paid over three years which is a lot less than was reported in the UK press. It's the kid's Anfield debut on Sunday. Let's hope that he makes it a special one.

We've signed another new keeper. This time he's a seventeen year old Hungarian called Peter Gulacsi. He has been signed on a years loan apparently. With a name like that maybe he should have joined Golden balls at the L.A. Galaxy. Sorry, couldn't resist.