Internationals - Puns - Winning Recipe's and 5 to Break Through

 

Good afternoon Kopenders.

I hope you all had a good night's sleep and didn't wake up an hour late for work, as was the case for me this morning. Anyhow, enough of my life story. It would seem that the press were bored of writing rumours about our club, so today I want to take a look at the following:

| Stating the obvious.

| Tonight's friendly's and those involved.

| The ultimate cook-off.

| The 5 players I want to see play a role in the coming campaign.

So let's get down to business shall we, or like Marvin Gaye said, Lets get it on! - Please note, I cannot be held liable if that song has now implanted itself in your head.

 

First on our agenda today is stating the obvious and those who like to state it, obviously. Pepe Reina was doing his daily round, polishing his golden glove trophies and, you know... his head, when he was suddenly hit with an epiphany and his cranium lit up like a light bulb:

| It is very difficult to find a ­player like Xabi. He is like a fabulous orchestral conductor on the pitch. Of the central midfielders in the world it is very difficult to find one as complete as ­Alonso. He can do everything. He can play short passes, long passes, he heads it well and he is tactically very astute. |

Thank you Reina, because we didn't know that finding a replacement for Xabi would mean dressing up like Tom Cruise and infiltrating laboratories. It's practically mission impossible. I just hope that Mr. Aquilani will be able to fill his boots. Riise seems to think he will, and most importantly, so does Rafa. I'm starting to come round to the idea that this could be a great bit of business, from what I have seen and heard, Alberto is much more attack minded than Alonso and carries pretty much the same abilities too. I'm begging you Alberto, by the power of greyskull, please prove to be a great signing... Please!

Now to briefly take a look at tonight's friendly's and those involved. As we all know by now, England are taking on the mighty Dutch. A game in which Glen Johnson, Ryan Babel and Dirk Kuyt are set to feature. Now I'm not a huge fan of international football *shock horror*, but I will be watching this game with interest in hope that nobody gets injured. Elsewhere, Yossi is set to play for Israel, Masch's will be playing for Argentina and Fernando, Riera and Jose are all in the Spanish squad. - Is it worth mentioning that Philipp Degen could make an appearance against Italy, while Dossena isn't in the squad at all? ...Didn't think so.

Okay. Lets tackle this next subject two-footed. It would seem that Jamie Carra is set to hold a cooking competition at his city sport's centre restaurant between himself, Stevie G and Fernando, with Marco Pierre White set to judge. The Anfield Insider said:

| The lads have all been having a bit of banter. Stevie, Carra and Nando are good mates and they agreed to do it as a bit of a laugh. They've all been practicing hard at home. Stevie keeps joking he's going to whip up a pan of Scouse while Nando and Carra want to do something a little fancy. Nando fancies himself as the favourite, he is always cooking at home for his missus and reckons his Spanish dishes will win over Marco and the other diners. |

I love to see the team bonding like this. It's great that even with the cultural difference, they still are very close friends off the pitch. I wonder what it is they are actually going to cook up? Hmmm, One can only guess... Right *cracks knuckles*, let's start with Carra. Baring in mind that the source says he wants to try something fancy, I would have to say he would cook something like Carramel Glazed Salmon - Oh yes! the pun was fully intended. El Nino will most likely cook something Spanish/Portuguese, so I'm thinking a form of meat in a Peri Peri drizzle - He could call it FerNandos. That just leaves Stevie G. I imagine Stevie to cook something rammed full of chilli peppers, something that really 'packs a punch'. Jokes aside, this is a great idea, and although my invitation may have been lost in the post I wish the boys luck... Ready - Steady - KOP!

Last on the agenda today is the 5 players I really hope break into the first team, be it this season or the next. Stevie G and Carra both managed to not only break into the first team, but shattered it into a million pieces by becoming cult figures at the club. More recently Emiliano Insua become a first team regular after speculation linked him with a move to Newcastle. Insua was a player I had been keeping tabs on, and one that the majority of fans hoped would break through. So here we go, these are my 5 players:

Jay Spearing - Watching this tenacious midfielder play is like watching a young Gerrard in action. He is calm and composed and works incredibly hard for the team. He would be my number one candidate to become a first team regular. He has already made a very impressive appearance against Real Madrid, an appearance with saw the Kop faithfully sing his name. This guy is simply, without a doubt, Liverpool's next Kop model.

Daniel Pacheco - Liverpool snatched this Spanish striker from Barcelona in 2007. He is an absolutely outstanding prospect and although not the tallest player, has a great deal of skill. If I had to compare Pacheco to any player, it would be a young Fabregas. I think Pacheco lacks the pace to be an out and out striker, but in the instances where he has been played in an attacking midfield role, he has dictated the way the game was played. Personally I think that is a better position for him, especially when you think about who it is he competes for a striking place against...

Krisztian Nemeth - The Hungarian Prodigy... It's a shame that injury has hindered his progress as I'm sure he would have made a first team bow by now. Nemeth has great movement both on, and off the ball and his finishing is on par to that of Torres. This kid is just clinical in front of goal, and many would argue that he is more ready for the first team than David Ngog is.

Martin Kelly - Martin made a first team debut against PSV and was later loaned out to Huddersfield where he scored his first professional goal. Like Nemeth,  Martins injuries have slowed down his progress, but is very talented and capable of playing in any position along the back four. Perhaps it's time to give him a shot against Tottenham, especially seeing as we have no other defenders.

And last but not least...

Stephen Darby - Darby looks incredibly strong in the air and very reliable down the flanks. In all honesty this should be the player who is challenging Glen Johnson for his first team place and not Phillip Degen.

So there we have it Kopenders, another day's edition done. Be sure to join in this week's ‘Kop End Debate' and I will see you tomorrow.

Till then. Walk on, with hope in your heart.