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.

I wasn't in a very festive mood on Sunday after the match. Again it was a case of us playing quite well and having most of the possession. But Utd got the first goal and their defense did really well in the second half. They did have to clear off the line and Tores and Babel put the ball narrowly wide but overall, they coped with us quite well. While it was an exciting game, it wasn't amazing football and both teams made a lot of unforced errors.

The press seem to think that our title challenge is now over. I wouldn't concede defeat this early but it's not looking good. Taking two points from our three matches at home against the other contenders isn't good enough. I don't see us getting too many points in the reverse fixtures, with the possible exception of Chelsea at the bridge. While it's possible that we could go on a fantastic run for the rest of the season, I would be surprised if both Arsenal and Utd will drop sufficient points while we don't drop any more. I can see us closing the gap but not overtaking both teams. Having Agger and Alonso soon back will be a great boost as we've missed them all season.

Our thoughts now turn to Chelsea away in the cup tomorrow. Given that both teams suffered a defeat on Sunday, they'll want to win this but it is the Carling cup which is bottom of the priorities. I expect that it will be a case of half and half between first teamers and reserves. I can't say that I'm too excited either way. I'll be happy enough if we win but it's no disaster to lose this one.

It now looks like we will be getting a new stadium, but not the one that was unveiled during the summer. I think that this is quite an embarrassing climbdown. If we still get a 70000 stadium at a cheaper price then it won't be too bad but I reckon it's going to be an identikit bowl rather than the unique design that we were shown only a few months back. On the upside, Rafa had a meeting with the board on Sunday evening and it went well by all accounts. I know expect him to get a few quid for a defender in Jan.

Kop idols.

Well we don't like going it the easy way, do we? 1 point after 3 matches to leave us looking at expulsion from the champions league, or a fate worse than expulsion - the UEFA cup. But we invoked The Spirit of Istanbul™, and we pulled 3 wins out of the bag with our backs to the wall. Second in the group with 10 points after Porto. It'll be a tough draw against one of the winners on Friday but it's a hell of a lot better than facing the refuse in the UEFA cup. El Nino wants Madrid. He'd be fired up for that one alright.

4-0. Only 4-0? Sack Rafa. That should have been 20-0, at least. According to the pundits, Marseille were a good team, much improved under the new manager, until we beat them. Just like our other champions league opponents. Funny, that. I know that I shouldn't rise to the bait of idiots spouting crap for a living but I can't resist sometimes. All of the rotation comments get very tiresome very quickly especially when the evidence shows that Fergie and Jose rotate as much as Rafa. The zonal marking debate is also a red herring. We have the second best defence in the league, had the second best last season and we concede less goals from set pieces than other teams do. But don't let the facts get in the way of a media lynching. Tim Sherwood, the twat on Setanta, said that Liverpool's season would be over if we lost to Marseille. Apparently we're out of the title race because we've lost one match this season to Reading. Are Arsenal out of it as they lost to Boro? Are Utd out of it as they've lost twice to City and Bolton? I don't know how fools like Sherwood get paid to talk crap on tv. Surely knowledge and intelligence are not job requirements. Rant over.

But back to the match itself. It was a great result but not the best match that we've played this season. Rafa paid a pretty attaching line up with Monster Masch the only defensive player outside of the back four. The team worked really hard and pressurised Marseille who had most of the possession. They couldn't do anything with it and we made our chances count. Gerrard got an early peno to take the pressure off after a few mins. Then Torres displayed his genius with a goal of amazing beauty. It was phenomenal. I don't think that I'm exagerating when I say that he's looking like the best striker in the premiership. I wouldn't swap him for any of the other ones. Some people said that he was over rated when he signed him but £20m is looking like the steal of the century now. The ease at which he went around the Marseille defenders was magical. The kid is a genius.

Dirk Kuyt scored with a nice finish in the second half. Harry did well to pick him out with a great ball and he escaped the offside trap with some good timing. He showed a good strikers finish to wait until the keeper commited himself. Babel came on and did his usual thing of tormenting a tired defense. Again it paid off and he helped himself to the final goal. Nice one my son.

Cara reckons a victory over Utd will be worth more than 3 points. Technicly he's wrong. We will only get three points. But I get what he's saying, we haven't beaten them in the league in a few years and it'll be a huge result if we can do them. The last few games at Anfield have seen us dominate but lose to flukey goals by pricks like Ferdinand and O'Shea. That's a bit unfair as O'Shea isn't a prick but he does play for Utd so he's guilty by association. I will be sick if one of them scores an undeserved winner on Sunday. I predict a score draw. No doubt Tim Sherwood and Andy Grey will be saying sack Rafa if we lose. Tools.



The Times had a great article this week where they got Kenny and the kid together. Brilliant idea. Two reds, one a legend, the other well on his way, in one room. Congrats to Messrs Ballague and Marcotti.

Who's going to be pissed off on Sunday evening? I think that bother teams will as a draw isn't great for either team. I hope that I'm wrong, we win and Fergie's face goes purple.