Glen Johnson's Liverpool New Right Back

Finally, Liverpool has confirmed its signing on English defender Glen Johnson with a fee believed to be 18 million pounds from Portsmouth.The strong and pacey right back has agreed to join Rafa's men and I strongly believe he would be a great addition to the squad.

His former club, Chelsea was also in the chase for Johnson, however and fortunately for Liverpool, Glen decided to join the 5 times European Champions instead of his ex-club. It was also believed that Liverpool paid 11 million pounds while the other 7 million was still owed from Peter Crouch's deal 2 years back.

Let's take a look at our new right back!

Welcome to Liverpool Football Club!

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Thank You, Peter Crouch!

Peter Crouch! A signing by Rafa Benitez himself from Southampton. The lanky striker has proved that despite his height, he can be like other strikers as well, scoring goals week in week out. It took him a while before he starts his scoring account with Liverpool. I could still remember how he celebrated when he broke his duck against Wigan.

He continued scoring and produced some special moments on his own. Rafa does like him and Crouch just have his own way of playing which is pretty one of a kind to me. He seems to be able to score more goals with his foot than his head despite his height advantage.

Nobody will forget his wonder bicycle kick in the Champions League as well as the hat-trick against Arsenal. He scored with his right, left foot and his head on that special day at Anfield. I do like him as a player, but somehow and sometimes, when Peter plays, Liverpool gets too predictable. Pumping the high balls for him to flick on and when he fails to do that, the attack breaks down.

That's probably one of the factors why Rafa brought Torres last season which actually led to Crouch's exit today. He was not able to play as much first team football as he wanted. The Torres and Gerrard partnership up-front was working well for the team and it's really hard for Crouch to play when Rafa wishes to implement that system.

It was reported that Crouch was offered a new contract at the end of the season, however, Rafa couldn't promised him first team football week in week out. That's the main reason why Crouch left for Portsmouth where he believed he would be offered first team action. I guess it's part and parcel of football. 11 million pounds is a good deal for Liverpool too.

Still, I do believe Crouch is a good player who can score goals and his lanky legs are more than they look like. All the best, Crouch!

Thank you, Peter Crouch for everything you've contributed to Liverpool Football Club.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

07/08 Season Review - Strikers

The strikers are the ones putting the goals into the net most of the time. Liverpool have been criticised over the past seasons for not be able to score goals in games and is not clinical enough. Rafa was aware of this problems and bought several players in during the summer.

Let's see how the strikers fared for the season..

Andriy Voronin
The Ukrainian striker was bought in the summer, a free transfer from German club Bayern Leverkusen. He started the campaign pretty okay, scoring some goals as well. However, his form dipped during the season and eventually, not becoming first choice for the team. After Steven and Fernando formed the fantastic partnership upfront, it's hard for him to come into the team which such a lousy form. He got injured and was out for some time. Nevertheless, I don't think the team missed him. I don't really like his style of play and I won't be surprised seeing him leaving in the summer. Sadly so, I do feel that he's the worst no.10 ever in a Liverpool shirt. That's how much I rate this fellow.

Ratings: 2.5 / 5

Peter Crouch
The English striker has been second to number 1 striker Fernando Torres and has declared that he's unhappy in Anfield. He's not playing first team football reguarly and has questioned Rafa's policies as well. Still, he did make several matches in which he scored and his goal scoring rate is not that bad at all. He loved scoring against Arsenal and gave so many problems to the big and strong defenders of Arsene Wenger's men. His future in Liverpool is a major doubt. It is believed that his price tag of 15 million is known to the clubs which are interested in him. He might be leaving very soon I guess. His performance is decent ones and I do like him too. However, he may be too predictable at times and can be overpowered in games. We shall wait and see how it goes. Have a good holiday Crouch!

Ratings: 3.5 / 5

Dirk Kuyt

The second season of Kuyt has been ups and downs for him. He was horrible in the beginning, facing so much criticism for his poor touch and lousy performance. I was so frustrated with him that I cursed and sweared at the television whenever he played. Somehow, I read from the news he had some personal problems during that time and he had a difficult time on the pitch. Credits to the Dutchman, he improved tremedously as the season progressed. Rafa played him on the right wing and he did very well despite playing out of position. He made the position his and did it his way. He was very hardworking in every game and his work rate is world class. Stamina is not a problem with this felllow. He scored many crucial goals along the way especially in the Champions League. Goals against Inter Milan, Arsenal and Chelsea are unforgettable.

He has worked hard and done very well for us. I do hope that he can play in the Euros for his country. Keep the form going and score more goals for us next season, Dirk!

Ratings: 4 / 5

We normally leave the best for the last..

Fernando Torres
Oh boy, what can I say about our new record signing in the summer? 26 million pounds well spent? I can say that we have not been having someone like this upfront for several seasons. Even Michael Owen couldn't match him, in my opinion though. 31 goals in his debut season is an unbelievable achievement. Once he scored his Anfield goal against Chelsea, there's no turning back since. He just couldn't stop scoring and he has broken many records just in his first season over here.

He scored some awesome goals and has proven to be one of the threats in the league. His partnership with Steven Gerrard has terrorised so many defences. El Nino is in top form the whole season and just simply loves scoring at Anfield. I love his song. The fans just kept singing and singing his song. Probably that added some motivation into his game. Oh well, I just hope he would continue to build on his brilliant season and he will be up there seasons after seasons.

WELL DONE FERNANDO!

Ratings: 5 / 5

The season review has come to an end and it's been a season full of ups and downs. Somehow, it's more of disappointment this year but we did make some good progress. Let's cross our fingers and pray hard that Rafa would be able to do the impossible and built on this seasons' positives!

You'll Never Walk Alone..

4th Place Is Ours

Brimingham 2 Liverpool 2
Forssell 33, Larsson 57 - Crouch 63, Benayoun 75

A Match of the Match performance by Jermaine Pennant brought Liverpool back from 2 goal down back on track with a 2-2 draw. A point is good enough as Rafa Benitez has an eye on the Champions League Semi Final Clash with Chelsea.

Peter Crouch was on the score sheet again after a beautiful run by Pennant on the right. Benayoun equalised and completed the comeback, left Brimingham struggling under the bottom three.

Everton's draw against Aston Villa the next day has confirmed that Liverpool has secured its fourth. David Moyes' men failed to hold onto their lead twice and Martin O'Neil's men are still fighting for the 5th place.

Congrats the lads for securing the 4th place with 2 more remaining games to go! Let's keep focus and here we go to the Bridge!

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Closing Down To 4th Spot

Fulham 0 Liverpool 2
Pennant17, Crouch 70

Goals from Jermaine Pennant and Peter Crouch gave Liverpool 8 points gap from neighbours Everton. Well done lads!


Chelsea, next on the list.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Crouch's Goal Worried Wenger's Men

Arsenal 1 Liverpool 1
Bendtner 54 - Crouch 41

The Part II of the Liverpool & Arsenal Clash was at the Emirates. The league game which meant more to the London side as they desperately needed the points to close the gap from Manchester United. On the other hand, Liverpool was sitting comfortably on fourth place, 5 points in front of neighbours Everton. Rafa's men can afford to lose as they need not necessary get the points especially with the European 2nd leg coming up.

Liverpool's starting line-up already showed clearly Rafa's intentions for the game. Unlike the first leg last Thursday, he fielded a much weakened including a debut for centre midfielder, Daimen Plessis. I was surprised at his inclusion and excited to see how this young fellow would play against the mighty Arsenal. He was superb throughout the match!

Liverpool started really brightly in the game. Peter Crouch and Benayoun were superb upfront. Created so much trouble for Kolo Toure and William Gallas. To my surprise, Arsenal didn't really play to their best. Instead, the men in white was more hungry and faster in the middle of the park.

I knew we would score based on the way they played and Peter Crouch was the man! A high ball from Pepe Reina, was not cleared by the Arsenal's defenders. Benayoun was able to capitalise on the loose ball to Crouch, whose shot was nicely into the bottom corner of the goal. :)

To everyone's surprise, Liverpool were 1-0 in front at the Emirates.

Arsenal came storming in in the second half. Liverpool were defending really hard, playing on the counter-attack. Arsenal's equaliser came with Nicklas Bendtner's towering header from Fabregas' superb cross.

We had several chances in the end but just not clinical enough. Arsenal was attacking with almost 9 men in front, leaving space behind for the away side to counter at several occasions. Nevertheless, a point was a very good result for Liverpool.

Match Highlights..


Let's look forward to Tuesday game. The most important finale of the 3 games at Anfield. We need to rise to the occasion and get the job done. It's not over yet.

With hope in your heart..

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Liverpool Crashes Out of Carling Cup

Chelsea 2 Liverpool 0
Lampard 59, Shevchenko 90

As expected, Liverpool was not able to match the Blues at the Bridge last night. Suffered a 2-0 loss, goals from Frank Lampard and Andrei Shevchenko. There's not much to comment on as I could see Rafa took this opportunity to rest the main players and gave the younger ones a run. On the other hand, Chelsea fielded a strong first 11.



We didn't play that badly. Chelsea was struggling to break the team down. They needed a deflection of Jamie Carragher's legs to beat Liverpool goalkeeper, Charles Itandje who had an excellent game last night.



Sadly so, Peter Crouch was sent off last night with a reckless two leg challenge on Mikel. I guess he has lost his cool. He was not playing very well last night and frustration led him to tackle in the wrong way.

The positives were the fact that Xabi Alonso is back into the team and the young ones were able to hold on to Chelsea's superstars. Lucas, Hobbs, Babel and Sissoko were working really hard in the team. Lucas had the best chance to score if not for Cech's great save.

Nevertheless, as many would have agree, the Carling Cup is not being prioritised nowadays. We shall look forward to the next game, Portsmouth.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Gutted Again

Liverpool 0 Manchester United 1
Tevez 43

Disappointment,
Pain,
Gutted.

There's nothing much to say as well. We lost, simple as that. If you don't score, you won't win.

Rafa, look at the owners' faces.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Unbeaten Run Ends At Madejski Stadium

Reading 3 Liverpool 1
Hunt 17, Doyle 60, Harper 67 - Gerrard 28

A strange match indeed. I just do not know how we lost last night's game against Reading. I'm pissed, frustrated and totally clueless on Liverpool's performance. As far I'm concerned, if you ever want to CHALLENGE for the title, you have to keep winning, I'm not talking about winning it yet.

In my opinion, there are several factors which cost us the 3 points.

Rafa is main culprit.
For the first time, I seriously felt that Rafa got it all wrong. Nobody knows what's on his mind and though he always emphasized on the fact on concentrating one game at a time, I believe he didn't. He has Marseille and Manchester United game in mind. Right from the start, for every Premier League game, you have to field your best team. It's 3 POINTS my dear boss. It's not any league cup game whereby you can field your weaker players to let them gain some first team experience.



Selection of players was a big mistake. Players like Jack Hobbs, John Arne Riise and the worst player of all, Momo Sissoko shouldn't be in the game. Did Rafa underestimated Reading? I guess so. He thinks that with his weaker players, he can win? I guess he's wrong. What formation did he play? 4-3-3? I don't think Liverpool suits that formation. Reading capitalised on that weakness in the 3 man midfield. Voronin and Crouch are strikers, they aren't wingers. How do you play 4-3-3 in this way? With Momo Sissoko doing nonsense in the middle, Jack Hobbs inexperience and John Arne Riise poor form, it's no wonder Liverpool lost.

So Rafa, please, field your best team for every game and stick to the winning formation. We were playing 4-4-2 so well with the wingers threatening opposition. We have great wingers like Harry Kewell, Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Babel. Why aren't you using them? Keep the players fit? Come on, to keep them fit and ending up sacrificing the 3 points, I do not take that.

Referee's blindness



Andre Marriner. What a stupid decision he made for the penalty which led to Reading's first goal! I do not care whether it's the linesman or Andre himself gave the ridiculous penalty, it's totally not a penalty. Tackle outside the box, penalty given. Sometimes, it gets so unbelievable to see such decisions given when it's so obvious.

Inconsistency in his decisions. I don't know who this man is, but all I know is his SMALL mistakes in refereeing cost us big time. You may argue, it's part of the game. Yes I agree. However, when crucial decisions in which a goal is concerned, it can totally change the game. Human error? If there's humans kept making mistakes, aren't we thinking of a solution? Technology. Everyone is using it. I do not know why FOOTBALL is not using it? Rugby is using it. It's such a rough sport yet it's fair. I truly believe video technology need to be introduced in the game before more and more teams are suffering from injustice and incredible decisions given against them.

Lady's Luck was not wearing Red
Simple as that. Liverpool lacked of luck last night. Hit the post twice and it just told me that it wasn't Liverpool day. Ref decisions was poor, caused the team to be frustrated and I could see from the players' faces that they had no idea what's going on. Wrong formation, a different style and somehow, the players seemed confused.

50-50 balls were always lost. We had at least 3 penalty calls, but all were not given, while Reading had a penalty when challenge was made outside of the box. Somehow, Liverpool was meant to lose this game. Sadly so, Lady's Luck was not smiling at Anfield.



The only goal scored was by Captain Steven Gerrard. Good teamwork with the team's best players. Torres chested the ball down from Reina's kick and was lay onto Steven Gerrard's path to slot it home. It looked so simple. Somehow, at that point of time, I thought Liverpool was able to bring the game into theirs and go on winning it. I do not know why, they played worse after that.

Rafa's job is not safe just yet. In football, things can change overnight. Though I always believe in him, he must realise the fact that how important are the 3 points. Somehow, I felt he just gave up last night and sacrificed the unbeaten run. I hate to see Liverpool conceding a goal, let alone 3. Reina would be disappointed not to keep a clean sheet.



I'm afraid Rafa's plan may backfire. Marseille game is a must win. What if they don't? Meeting League Champions Manchester United the following league game, will Liverpool beat them? We have to treat every game like a final. Win it.

The American bosses are watching and they are the ones who decide on Rafa's fate. Unfortunately, as Liverpool fans, we can't expect too much due to the fact that normally the disappointment would be bigger.

All I can do now is to wait and see..

You'll Never Walk Alone..

2 Wins Down, 1 More To Go

Liverpool 4 Porto 1
Torres 19, 78, Gerrard 83, Crouch 87 - Lopez 48

This man above is the one who still gave Liverpool hope when they were not far from elimination from the UEFA Champions League last night. His 2 goals were vital and since he has joined the club, he was scoring goals. That's what Liverpool is lacking of over these years. A striker who can just score, score and score. He's none other than Fernando Torres.

Liverpool faced Porto in the second must-win game at Anfield in which the home side needs to win all 3 remaining games to qualify. They have now won 2, left a tricky away trip to France, facing Marseillie, with former players Bolo Zenden and Dyrbil Cisse.



Liverpool started the match well and managed to score a goal early in the game. Fernando Torres rose high and headed into the goal. He made it look so simple, feigning off his marker and a powerful header into the goal.



However, somehow Porto managed to get back into the game. Despite Liverpool dominating the possession, Porto managed to equalise with a stunning header, totally against the run of play.

Since then, Liverpool struggled to dictate the play which they did earlier in the game. Instead, Porto had controlled the game and almost got a second not because of poor finishing.

Porto's defence was stubborn and Liverpool just couldn't break it. At that moment, a draw would be good enough for Porto to qualify for the knockout while Liverpool would be saying goodbye to Champions League football for the rest of the season.

I was getting worried as time passed quickly. Liverpool didn't have any clear cut chances and we seriously needed a goal. I couldn't see it coming from anyone else but Fernando. And yes, he didn't disappoint me, or I should say us.



Supersub Harry Kewell did very well on the flank, brought down the ball. His pass to Torres was not the best, but managed to get past the legs of the defender and the Spanish striker was too quick for any Porto men to catch him. His goal burst opened Anfield. All the anxiety and worries were all released at that point you saw Torres' strike went across the line.



Once we got the goal, Porto seemed shattered. Liverpool was growing in confidence and the goals kept coming. A freekick from Stevie was handled by Porto defender Stepanov after pressurised by Sami Hyypia. A penalty was given and up step Captain Stevie again who didn't make any mistakes from the spot.

Liverpool seems to be hungrier as the game coming to an end. Peter Crouch added the 4th for Liverpool in the dying minutes. A corner by Stevie again was well timely headed by Crouch into the goal while Porto goalkeeper was helpless coming off his line. It's nice to see him scoring for the Reds again. Even though he seemed to be on his way out of Anfield, I still do like him. :)



2 wins down now, 1 more to go. Rafa knows what's expected of him and I'll be behind him till the end. Keep it going lads!

You'll Never Walk Alone..

English Stars' WAGs

Since it's international break, and the weekend has been pretty smooth for the Steve McClaren's England team with a 1-0 friendly win against Austria and Israel doing them a favor, beating the Russians 2-1, let's take a look at some of the England Stars' WAGs.

First of all, who do not know who this lady is?
David Beckham's lady, Victoria Beckham


England's Captain.
John Terry's lady, Toni Poole


England's Leftback
Ashley Cole's lady, Cheryl Tweedy


England's Forward
Wayne Rooney's lady, Coleen McLoughlin


England's Midfielder
Frank Lampard's lady, Elen Rives (She doesn't look really pleased.)


England's Midfielder
Joe Cole's lady, Carly Zucker


England's Future Striker
Theo Walcott's lady, Melanie Slade



England's and our very own Liverpool Striker
Peter Crouch's lady, Abigail Clancy


Last but not least,
England's Midfielder and Liverpool Captain,
Steven Gerrard, Alex Curran


Enough of drooling? Will the WAGs boost their performance against Croatia in the upcoming crucial qualifier? Or they are the ones who explains the problem of England today? We'll see. :)

Cheers!

Substitute Torres Gave Reds 3 Points

Liverpool 2 Fulham 0
Torres 81, Gerrard pen 85

Match Goals


Home game against London side Fulham. Liverpool was expected to win this game easily, probably with 2 main factors. Liverpool was the home side and their last home game was a thrashing game where they scored 8. On the other hand, Liverpool's home form in the league has been poor. Too many draws instead of wins.

Last night's game was an example why they struggled at home so far this season in the opening 80 minutes. Away teams especially the smaller clubs would definitely park a huge bus in front of their goal, playing on a counter-attack tactic. You don't expect to see them coming to Anfield all out firing.



As usual, Fulham were playing deep in their own half and Liverpool was struggling to break down their defence. Voronin was the again the man of the moment. Running every channel of the field, working hard to break the Fulham's stubborn backline. Unfortunately, his efforts couldn't get Liverpool a goal.

He was then substituted by Fernando Torres, who was injured for quite some time these weeks. I'm glad this fellow came back. He was bought in the summer for 26 million to score goals, and last night, he didn't disappoint. A high ball pumped up by Pepe Reina was chested down beautifully by Torres and off he turned towards the goal. Brought on the defender and shot through his legs into the goal. Awesome! Finally, the gate was opened.



Liverpool was getting more space after Torres' goal as expected. Another supersub, Ryan Babel came on and sped towards the Fulham's defenders. Provided a great through ball to Peter Crouch who was clipped upon about to strike the ball. Replays shown that Peter was fouled just outside the area, however, it's too fast for the referee to see. Hence, he gave a penalty.

Up step Captain Stevie, who didn't make any mistakes from the spot. 2-0 to Liverpool. The game was over by then. Torres was the one who broke the duck, and got the 3 points for the Reds.

The win is what it matters. I'm not looking at the table just yet. Liverpool is still far away from the titans. They definitely need to improve. Be more clinical, attacks have to be penetrating. Defences to be strong, and accuracy passing. There are many rooms for Liverpool to work on and I believe Rafa Benitez knows it better than everyone.

International break, after then, we are heading down to St' James Park.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Yes, It's 8 !

Liverpool 8 Besiktas 0
Crouch 19, 88 Benayoun 32, 52, 56 Gerrard 69 Babel 78, 81

Match Goals


The first match of the 3 do or break games for Liverpool in the Champions League went on a superb start last night. An important game for the Reds as they had to win all 3 games remaining to qualify into the knockout stages. Match against Besiktas at home was expected to be an easy game however, the Turkish beaten us at their home fortnightly ago. Many would have expect the Turkish players would give us a fight at Anfield.

Nevertheless, the power of Anfield proves too much for Besiktas to take. With Peter Crouch and Andriy Voronin leading the Reds' attack, we didn't take too long to score the first goal. On the 19th minute mark, Crouch had shown the fans why Rafa should have put him more in the first team. He scored the opening goal with a nice finish off a rebound of the goalkeeper.



Voronin was superb on the night. Running every inch of the field, finding space behind the defence and created so many goals. Yossi Benayoun added the second and Liverpool was leading 2-0 at half time.



At half time, I wouldn't have bet the team went on thrashing Besiktas. The goals just kept coming, it's those nights as though every shot towards goal was a goal. Yossi Benayoun got a hat-trick on the night. It's somehow unusual for a right winger to score 3 goals in a match. Although Yossi' goals were not glamour, still, he appeared at the right time and right place to slot home the goals.



The midfield worked really hard. Javier Mascherano was excellent the whole game, he didn't put a foot wrong. Captain Stevie was his usual self, bursting into defence on several occasions and he did get his reward with a goal of the night. With the team leading on by a big margin, Rafa substituted Gerrard on the 72th minute. It's good to let Stevie have some rest.



Ryan Babel, who came on in the game also got a couple. It's kind of funny to see him scoring 2 goals with his back heel and his back. He got the chance to play upfront with Crouch and he replied with goals. The first goal was a cheeky back heel which managed to go past Besiktas goalkeeper. His perseverance gave him his second. A poor clearance from the Turkish side defender deflected off Ryan's back and the ball amazingly went over the goalkeeper and into the goal.

It was 7-0 at 81st minute. I was hoping for the team to get the 8th so as to break the record which was Arsenal's 7-0 2 weeks ago. Peter Crouch got his second with a nice header at the end and it was 8 goals on the night. It was not the prettiest night of football, but it is a night of records and fans to remember. Able to score 8 goals in the Champions League is not something easy.



I do not believe that the Turkish side Beisktas made us look good. I could see from the Liverpool players that they knew how important the game was and the Champions League is. They have to keep believing it and make sure that this 8-0 score is to tell the rest of Europe that we aren't giving up just yet. The last 2 games won't be easy, we have to be our very best to win those games.

Come On Reds!

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Liverpool Held At Fratton Park

Portsmouth 0 Liverpool 0

Was Rafa right to rest Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres on the bench? Was Rafa right to put Crouch upfront? Many would have disagreed with the man above for his selection options last Saturday.

Liverpool was being held 0-0 at Fratton Park against the strong-spirited Portsmouth. We would see it as a 2 point loss instead of a point gained. Liverpool didn't play well, in my opinion. Didn't create much chances and we didn't threaten David James much as well. Seeing the first 11 in the beginning, this just tells me that Rafa had chosen a group of players whom he thought was fresh and good enough to beat the Pompeys.



Peter Crouch was given the first start of the season. Sadly, he played badly. I do not know whether it's Rafa tactics to pump high balls to Crouch to flick on, or the players who wanted to play the typical England style of football. Crouch's control of the ball was terrible. Loses possession so easily and when balls are up, he can't even win the first ball and headers. Against the likes of Distin and Campbell, he is totally neutralised. He had a poor game, that's for sure. I do hope to see him improve further, otherwise, I'm afraid, he might even leave in the January transfer window.



Pepe Reina was the hero for the game as he saved the penalty from Kanu. A controversial penalty given against Liverpool and luckily, Reina made justice for Liverpool.

Liverpool's wing play was extremely poor. Only Jermaine Pennant was the dangerous one. The normal passing of Liverpool was not around on that day. Was it because of the international break? I believe that's not an excuse. If you are good, you would be good enough to overcome everything. Manchester United and Arsenal both have difficult away games. Still, they gotten 3 points.

Liverpool would really need to improve. Yes, we have squad depth. However, if we do not produce the right results, that's no point having a big squad. Rafa can continues his tinkering, if he produces the right results. Otherwise, I believe he would have lots of pressure on him.

Up next, Porto. Here comes the Champions League!

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Pre-Season Friendly. Liverpool 3 Crewe 0

Liverpool played last night, the second game of the pre-season setup with a 3-0 win over Crewe.
Many of the first team players had their first run-out including Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.

The first goal. 1-0 Peltier

Peltier [0-1] vs Crewe
Uploaded by redhalfofmerseyside

2-0 Crouch

Crouch [0-2] vs Crewe
Uploaded by redhalfofmerseyside

3-0 Putterill

Putterill [0-3] vs Crewe
Uploaded by redhalfofmerseyside

A win is always good. Still, pre-season friendlies are just warm-up games for the players and it's not right to judge on these performances. Hope to see the new signings playing soon.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Peter Crouch Holiday?

Saw this picture while surfing the net. It's Peter Crouch, probably having his holiday. But did you realise that he has a more than a pair of legs?



Smiles..

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Champions League Videos

Surfing youtube and saw these videos.. and guess who's number 1?

Champions League Top 10 Goals 06/07


Top 5 Champions League Tricks


What else can I say?

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Crouch & Carragher Interview

Got these videos on the net and put it up for you guys to check it out..

Crouch & Carragher Interview


Crouch's Ad


You'll Never Walk Alone..

Liverpool 1 PSV 0

Team of the day..
Reina, Riise, Hyypia (captain), Agger, Arbeloa, Zenden, Sissoko, Alonso, Pennant, Crouch, Bellamy.
Subs - Dudek, Gerrard MBE, Paletta, Mascherano, Gonzalez, Fowler, Carragher

Match Highlights..

Liverpool V PSV Match report
Uploaded by redhalfofmerseyside

Louis' Comments..

With a 3-0 lead, Liverpool was as I expected, didn't went out firing, instead, kept possession of the ball and making sure that PSV don't have chance of comebacks. Rafa put up a less-strong team with Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Steve Finnan rested.

When I switch on the TV, I saw Sami Hyypia being the captain. It's been sometime we seen the big Finn wearing the armband for us.

The match wasn't a spectacular as Liverpool was just trying to keep the ball and protect their 3 goals lead. However, PSV had a chance early with Farfan header being tipped over by Reina. If that would have gone in, things might have different.



No teams were willing to put up the gear and Liverpool had some chances though. We managed to score a goal through Peter Crouch after we had some space due to the sent off to PSV. Riise put a low cross from the left and was deflected the goal. Gomes made a great save, however, Fowler was there to cross the ball back to Crouch to put in this 18th goal of the season.



Xabi Alonso was playing well in the middle and I believe he's such an important player for us. Whenever he's around, he stabilizes the midfield and give rooms for the rest to roam and attack. Last night, he was just doing his job in front of the back four and I really thought he did it really well. His control and tackling was spot on and Liverpool really need him around to achieve more. Well done Xabi!



Another player who did improve last night is Momo Sissoko. Yes, we just know how bad his passing and control is. However, he played last night's match pretty well. His control was much better and passing was not as bad as before. His runs and tackling made a presence in the middle. You may argue that it's just a match performance, but I guess any improvement is always good and I really hope that Momo can play better from now.



Craig Bellamy was stretchered early in the first half and it didn't look good as he tackled the ball while defending for us. I hope that he's okay and ready to play for us. He can provide Liverpool another type of approach and it's good to have more options up front. I pray hard it's not too serious.



Most importantly, we had done our job and enter the Champions League Semi-final. With a 4-0 aggregate, I believe that our job was already done at The Philips Stadium.
No doubts, we were the better team over the 2 legs and at this moment, we might go all the way.

Chelsea is the next stop and history may repeat itself. You'll just never know..

You'll Never Walk Alone..

PSV 0 LIVERPOOL 3

Team of the day..
Reina, Riise, Agger, Carragher, Finnan, Aurelio, Gerrard MBE (captain), Alonso, Mascherano, Crouch, Bellamy.
Subs - Hyypia, Zenden, Gonzalez, Pennant, Arbeloa, Bellamy, Dudek



Match Highlights..

PSV 0-3 Liverpool [Highlights]
Uploaded by redhalfofmerseyside

Louis' Comments..

The first leg of Champions League quarter-final went really well for us. We were back at the Philips Stadium again this season against the Dutch team PSV. I was not surprised by this line-up. Somehow, I knew that Peter Crouch would be playing. Craig Bellamy maybe not feeling 100% fit and Dirk Kuyt was to partner Crouch upfront. Finnan and Riise back in the team line up.

We settled well in the game and we didn't have much to handle from PSV attacks. Carragher and Agger were playing comfortably at the back and Reina didn't have to make any saves. We almost scored through Carragher after a corner from Gerrard. Gomes, the PSV goalkeeper made a great save.



On the 27th minute, Stevie put us ahead. A good cross by Steve Finnan and Gerrard was in the middle heading in his 15th European Goal. Steven Gerrard has broken Ian Rush's record of 14 goals. We were in control of the game and no doubt, we were playing well.

PSV tried to put some pressure onto us in the second half. However, I guess Liverpool's defence stood strong and disciplined.



Just 4 minutes after second half, we had another. After a poor clearance by the PSV defence, John Arne Riise was able to capitalise on their mistake and shot another of his trademarks goals with his lethal left foot. Awesome goal! I was shouting "Shoot!" when he took on the ball. It just feels great to see the ball flew into the net.

The mifield worked hard with Mascherano and Alonso in the middle. Mascherano was protecting the back four and I believe that Rafa have found a gem for the team. We were passing around and making sure that PSV do not score.

We added a third on the 63th minute. Peter Crouch, who scored a hat-trick against Arsenal, headed in Liverpool's third and last goal of the night. Alonso found Finnan on the right and the Republic of Ireland right back didn't disappoint with a brilliant cross for Crouch.



PSV was totally outplayed and they had no clue on what's happening on the field. The shirt in yellow was dominating the game and the players put a efficient performance out there. Ronald Koeman was just sitting on his bench, looking helpless while the opposite number, Rafa Benitez was standing by the touchline, shouting and giving out instructions to his players. He's never seems satisfied and it deemed so hard to see Rafa smiling. (Even his team is 3-0 up away from home.)



This match was also the NIGHT OF RECORDS.

-Steven Gerrard became the fifth player in Liverpool's history to play in 50 Champions League matches.

-Gerrard's goals broke Liverpool's record of most goals scored in the competition.

-Gerrard made it 15 goals, overtaking Ian Rush's tally of 14 in the European Cup.

- It was Liverpool's biggest away victory in the Champions League.

-It was Liverpool's 50th Champions League match.

-Jamie Carragher made his 58th appearance Champions League appearance for Liverpool, a club record.

3 away goals in the bag and we can't say that we are in the semi-finals yet. We still have a job to do at Anfield and we can't allow complacency creep into us. We still have to work hard together and play some good football.

The fans were awesome as always. I could hear their singing at the Philips Stadium and it pleases me to see fans singing You'll Never Walk Alone aloud. Come on Reds!



You'll Never Walk Alone..