This had the feeling of end of season fare from us, It was another case of giving the B team a run out. Therefore I'm not going to waste too much time posting about it. The few notable points were the comeback, Pennant and Insua. To be 2 goals down with 30 mins to go and to fight back for a draw is always impressive. Granted it was only against Birmingham, but it was a B team who showed the fight. Pennant was man of the match and caused the defence lots of problems. Crouch was thankful and said that Pennant is a strikers dream. He may have given Rafa a selection headache but I doubt it. Maybe he'll come on as a sub. It was good to see young Insua get a run out. It's a year since we last saw him but he looks like he's come on in that time and was getting good write-ups for the reserves this year. Let's hope that he gets a few more games before the season's end. I would like to see him challenge for a first team spot next year.

If Birmingham were the undercard, then Chelsea are the main event. I hope that we can turn it around at Stamford bridge but it's going to be really, really tough. We need to score, something which we've struggled to do there recently. Chelsea are likely to be without Lampard after the tragic death of his mother but will be strengthened by the return of the amazing Essien. It's going to take some huge performances from our big players like Javier, Gerrard, Torres and Carragher. Torres to score a breakaway goal and then we'll hold on for the last 20 minutes. Nail biting times ahead.

I've heard this guy mentioned a good few times on the boards this season. He's a swiss international right back and is playing for Dortmund at the moment. Local radio in Liverpool were saying on Thurdsay that a deal is agreed and he will sign in the summer. Degen himself seems less convinced. Maxi Rodriguez of El Nino's old club was also linked with a move to Anfield this week. I think that he could do a good job for us on the right. The Atletico president, Enrique Cerezo, says Rodríguez's going nowhere. Ballague says that Rafa is interested in Silva at Valencia hence his interest in Bentley has cooled. Could be an interesting signing. As with all of the rumours that'll be knocking about over the next few months, it's a case of wait and see.

Some of the Sundays ran a story saying that DIC have offered Jose the managers job. DIC moved quickly to deny the story. This ties in with what they've said in meetings with the spirit of shankly union. It sounds like they will back Rafa if and when they get into the club. Let's hope it's soon.

Sometimes second gear is all you need. It was all we needed against Fulham on Saturday. If ever there was a championship team in waiting, Fulham is it. We were able to rest a god few of the first team and we still got a 2-0 win away from home. But the credit here has to go down to one man: Kasey Keller. I thought he was poor for both goals. Pennant hit a nice strike from distance for the first but Keller could have saved it if he made an effort. Crouch managed to slip the second one between his legs which was nice. There were some notable performers in Lucas, Pennant and the ever fantastic Mascherano, but there wasn't really a whole lot to write home about. You did get the impression that Rafa and some of the players had their minds on other things, notably a date with Chelsea this tuesday.

If Fulham were the appetiser, then their west London rivals are the main course. Given that the first leg is at Anfield, we need to make it count. Chelsea have a superb record at the bridge so we wouldn't want to be heading there looking for a result. the fact that Essien is suspended for tomorrow is a boost as he's a fantastic player. It looks like Gerrard, Lampard and Drogba will all start. I expect Rafa to tell us to try and hit them early as we managed to do against Juve a few years back. We were in a similar situation against Inter and too a 2-0 lead into the second leg. It's going to be tough but the vibes coming out of Chelsea don't sound good which might improve our chances. I think that we'll sneak it by a goal but will have some tense moments. Expect it to be tactical, turgid and tense rather than thrilling like the Arsenal tie.

This is a terribly sad and moving story. Let's hope that Liam is able to see the banners unfurled on the Kop tomorrow.

The Liverpool Echo has a first hand account from a fan who survived Hillsbourgh. It's well worth a read for an insight from somebody who watched the tragedy unfold. The Guardian reprinted David Lacey's Hillsbourgh report from 1989.

This report from the daily mail could offer some insight into why it's all been kicking off in the boardroom. Oliver Kay analyses the Hicks spin in the Times. There is some interesting info about DIC in this article as there is here in the Independent. This story isn't going away anytime soon.

What odds on Tuesday night being another 1-1 to complete the hat trick of score draw score lines? This one started slowly. We played well enough in the first half and created some good chances. Crouch made a few for himself and others before putting away just before half time. We had to soak up some pressure in the second half but Bendtner was able to rise above the defence and head home from a free just before the hour mark. Pennant had stupidly given away a needless free and was subbed soon after. I think that he's been fairly poor this year and I wouldn't be surprised or sad to see him leave in the summer. Finnan came back in defence and did well as did Arbeloa on the other side.

Rafa's got to be the happier manager after that. He made 8 changes beforehand, with only Pepe, Carra and Skrtel surviving the cull and we still managed to get a draw away from home. Wenger made less changes so won't have as fresh a team on Tuesday night. Some of the players, like Fabregas looked tired both midweek and in this match. This should help us on Tue, especially were it to go to extra time. Wenger didn't look happy at all on the sidelines.At one point, it looked like he was so frustrated that his head might explode. I hope it's the same situation at Anfield.

Rafa and I agree that it was an impressive debut from the boy Plessis. The Guardian match report gave him the mana of the match award. Maybe Plessis is why Rafa was willing to let Momo leave at Christmas.

Souness was full of praise for Crouch after the match. Eamonn Dunphy interviewed Souness on his RTE Radio 1 programme last week. I have more time for him after hearing it.

In our defensive foursome, he's absolutely awesome. Sami signed a new deal this week which is good news. I think that his displays this season have merited his one year extension. At times he was our best defender despite his advancing years. I hope that he joins the coaching staff when he hangs up his boots. He has a lot of knowledge that he could pass onto the kids. Red legend.

David Fairclough was on Today FM radio here in Ireland confirming what I'd heard before about the Mascherano deal. He said that the £17m transfer fee quoted is a red herring as deal includes wages over the duration of the contract. This tallies with info I've read on forums. Good news.

This report says that Arsenal and us are battling it out again but the target this time is Ricardo Quaresma of Porto. He may be available to £5m if they are convicted of match fixing. Could be what we need for the right sided attacking role.

Various papers are saying that we have a deal agreed to buy Rafinha from Shalke for £6m. I think that this has a good chance of going through. He looked good form what little I saw of the barca champions league match last week.