Sunday, November 4, 2007

A Disappointing Draw At Edwood Park

Blackburn 0 Liverpool 0



Match Highlights


As expected, Liverpool didn't give me any kind of surprises. Against the hard-willed Blackburn side, we created chances and chances, but failed to convert them into goals. The current form of the team is very poor. Some of the players are still under performing and I really wonder when are they going to wake up. I'm afraid by then they play to their best, teams like Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea have already long ran to the top of the table.

Dirk Kuyt was the main and lone striker for last night's game. He was extremely disappointing. First touch was frustrating, missed chances as if the game was 120 minutes. Sometimes, Rafa Benitez tactics is confusing. Kuyt can't be played a lone striker. He's always overpowered by Blackburn's big physical presence. To be frank, I was cursing and swearing at Dirk, hoping to see him taken off though in my mind, I knew Rafa won't.



Fortunately, there were players who played pretty well. In my opinion, Carragher, Mascherano, Stevie, Benayoun were the ones looking to create or score for us. I couldn't see it coming from the rest. Even substitute, Harry Kewell came in and showed the fans why he's still wearing a Red shirt. Kewell is a winger whom I really likes. Bring on the defender, dribble down the flank, crossing in good balls. Of course, there were several occasions Harry lost the ball. Still, I believe he provided some flair and width to the team.



I can't help but to worry for Liverpool's season. Although they remain unbeaten in the league, they struggled to win points. In the league, they needed to be consistent. Drawing games would be seen as 2 points lost. They have to close the gap. Otherwise, like any other seasons, they have to settle for a place below again. All we fans can do now just to pray hard and keep supporting the team no matter what happens. Yes, it's demoralising, but as Liverpool fans, we'll never walk alone..

Crucial Champions League coming up. It's do or break time.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Friday, November 2, 2007

Liverpool 2 Cardiff City 1



The match was not shown on tv over here in Singapore. It's great to see Robbie Fowler, the God back at Anfield.

Goals from Nabil El Zhar and Steven Gerrard brought Liverpool into the next round. It's nice to see some of the young lads playing and gaining first-team experience, giving them an opportunity to show to the fans how good they are.

Match Highlights..


Up next, Blackburn Rovers.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Monday, October 29, 2007

A Point Each For Reds And Gunners

Liverpool 1 Arsenal 1
Gerrard 7 - Fabregas 80



Match Highlights


The 2 unbeaten teams in the league so far met last night at Anfield and they maintained its record as they drew 1-1, goals from Captain Steven Gerrard and Arsenal's man of the moment, Cesc Fabregas. Both midfielders were instrumental for their respective teams in the middle of the park.

It was an open and exciting game to watch. Rafa's rotation policy saw Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt, Andriy Voroninn all playing. With a 4-2-3-1 formation, the home side showed that they were going to play attacking football. Surprisingly, Steven Gerrard was played in the middle instead of the many-predicted right hand side which I was pleased to see him there.



Liverpool took the front seat in the beginning, spreading the balls to the wings, crossing into the danger area. Xabi Alonso got clipped by fellow international team-mate Fabregas on the edge of the penalty area and a freekick was given.

Up step Captain Stevie and he made no mistake with his thunderous strike through the Arsenal wall and gave the Reds the early lead. Gerrard's strike gave Arsenal goalkeeper Ammunia no chance at all. Excellent goal!



Despite conceding the early goal, Arsenal was calm and started playing their neat passes. On several occasions, they threatened the Liverpool goal with their defence splitting passes. I was thinking, it seemed sooner or later Arsenal would find the equaliser.

Liverpool struggled to get the ball most of the game. They were breaking down Arsenal passes, however, they were not able to hold on to the ball for long. On the other hand, Arsenal played more confidently as the game commenced and the current leaders did get their rewards.

Alexander Helb provided a beautiful through ball which broke the Liverpool defence, to the path of on-form Fabregas who kept his composure, toe-poking past Pepe Reina. It's a wonderful move by the Gunners and I couldn't deny the fact that Arsenal deserved the equaliser.



Lady Luck was on Liverpool side as Arsenal struck Reina's left hand post twice from Eboue and goal-scorer Fabregas. Arsenal controlled majority of the game while Liverpool did have several chances to score the second. Liverpool looked tired at the end after already made 3 substitutions earlier in the game. Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso, both went off due to recurrence of their injuries. Hopefully, their injuries wouldn't be too long.



It has been sometimes I've hear the loud and energised Anfield crowd. The Liverpool is improving in terms of their play. Still, they have to move up their gear towards the season. Being still unbeaten in the league, there are still many games to play for. As long as the players keep going and maintaining their good form, I believe we still stands a chance.

With hope in your heart..

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Reds Bottom of Champions League Group

Beskitas 2 Liverpool 1
Hyypia og 13, Bobo 82 - Gerrard 84



Match Highlights


A mountain to climb before this match, now, a much higher and difficult one to climb. Liverpool had put themselves into a make or break situation. With only one point in the group, they are now in the bottom of the table.

Teams like Marseille, FC Porto, and Turkish club, Bekistas are the other 3 teams in the group. Based on Liverpool's European standards, these teams wouldn't have much chances. Sadly so, they took full advantage of Liverpool's poor form and had showed the world that they could even beat us at Anfield.

For us Liverpool fans, it seemed like an unusual sight. For the past seasons, we have been doing very well in the Champions League. I do not know why, the team didn't perform to expectations and hence, lagged behind.

Against the Beskitas, our defence was very poor. Sami Hyypia and Steve Finnan. The usual reliable ones were under-performing. Slow and positioning was always questioned during the game. I was utterly disappointed with the defence which we were always proud of.

Our attacks were threatening in the beginning. However, the problem of not able to score haunted us again. Aren't our strikers good enough? I don't think so. I believe the quality of Kuyt, Voroninn, Crouch and even Babel is definitely threatening. Just that our link plays in the team aren't working. Is the training the main factor? Or they are lacking of confidence? I hope it's not too late when they recover their form and touch.


Steven Gerrard, managed to get onto the scoresheet at the end with a top-corner header. It was too late for Reds though. Captain Stevie seems to be recovering his form back and I do hope that his good form would influence the team for better performances.

Liverpool just loves playing the hard way. The way they won the Champions League, the way they won the FA Cup, it tells it all. As Liverpool fans, we are all seems to be used to the team's disappointing results and get taunts from fans of Man Utd and Arsenal. On a personal level, I'm just hoping for the best, as I know, higher expectations would lead to higher disappointments.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Monday, October 22, 2007

Kuyt Penalties Gave Reds Derby Win

Everton 1 Liverpool 2
Hyypia (og) 38 - Kuyt Pens 54, 90




The 206th Merseyside Derby was won by the red half last night. A match full of non-stop action and controversy ended on a high note for Liverpool who managed to grab the stop-page time winner. Dirk Kuyt was the one who scored both penalties for the Reds while the Evertonians may feel a little unjust.



The first half probably belonged to the blue half. Everton was playing on a high tempo, pressuring Liverpool from the start. Liverpool had some half chances but still, the home side was dominating with Lescott the main man running down the left flank of the field. They got their goal they wanted by an bizarre own goal by veteran Sami Hyypia. His clearance seemed to have mis-kicked, off the post into his own net. It's a bad time to concede, considering Liverpool's current poor form.

Having said that, Liverpool came on top in the second. Captain Stevie, who was criticised for his poor form lately, launched onto a through ball from Voroninn, sprinting through the middle with only Tony Hibbert along with him. Gerrard was too strong and quick that Hibbert had no choice but to pull him down. To me, it's a clear penalty. Hibbert was then sent off for conducting a professional foul.

The TV replays showed that Gerrard seemed to have change referee Mark Clattenburg's mind. He was holding a yellow card on his hand, but gave Hibbert the red instead after hearing words from Steven. Dirk Kuyt was there to slot home the equaliser.



With our neighbours down with ten men, it's a great time for us to put more pressure and try winning the game. Steven Gerrard was beginning to play better as the game commences, however, Rafa Benitez substituted him with young Brazilian, Lucas Levia. This change was surprising, or I should say shocking for many Liverpool fans out there, even our captain himself. I do not know the main reason, but Rafa's mystery move gambled well.

Young Lucas came on in and performed pretty well. Much better than Momo Sissoko who was as usual poor, losing possession in the middle, missing a clear chance after a nice through ball from Kuyt. Many would have felt that Lucas should have replaced Momo, not Gerrard.



Lucas had a major part to play in winning the game for Liverpool. His shot just inside the penalty area was dramatically saved by Phil Neville, being a stand-by "goalkeeper". The former Manchester United player who scored an own goal against us back then, had no choice but to stick out his arm to save Lucas shot out of the goal.

It's an another penalty for the Reds, another sending off for the Blues. Kuyt was there with his cool finish towards the left slight touch of Tim Howards' arm. It was an big relief for the Liverpool fans, players and of course, Rafa Benitez. His decision of taking Steven Gerrard off would be heavily criticised if we fail to beat Everton.

Match Highlights..




A hard fought derby which handed up in our hands. With many tough games ahead, especially against Bekitas and Arsenal, we really have to improve on our play and keep the form going. Taking chances is crucial especially on tight games like these.

Walk on Reds, I've faith in you.


You'll Never Walk Alone..

Monday, October 8, 2007

Torres Grabbed A Point

Liverpool 2 Tottenham 2
Voroninn 12, Torres 90 - Robbie Keane 45, 47



Fernando Torres, saved Liverpool's blushes of losing at home consecutively with a 92th minute header right at the Kop End. The match ended in a 2-2 draw which we would have won easily in the first half. Tottenham played pretty well, managed to score 2 goals despite being a goal down.





Robbie Keane, the scorer of both goals, was superb on the day. Picking up on Berbatov's flick on for both occasions and broke Liverpool's record of not conceding in open play. Of course, Liverpool defenders has to be blamed as well. Not able to handle Berbatov and allowing Keane to get into his way. These are 2 big mistakes which Rafa was furious about.

I was angry as well. How can you make the same mistakes twice in a match? Keane scored just before the half ended and right at the start of the second half, you conceded another similar goal. What happen to the defence? A defence which used to be solid and hard to beat, yet conceded 2 soft goals, putting the team into a difficult situation.



Definitely, I'm glad that I saw improvements from the horror night against Marseille. We dominated the first half, was quick in tempo and managed to get in front early in the game through Andriy Voroninn. Steven Gerrard's freekick is parried out by fellow international colleague Paul Robinson and the Ukraine's striker was alert enough to tap the ball in.

We had several great chances which we didn't take. In football, you would be punished for not putting your chances into count. Liverpool paid for it and Spurs was leading 2-1 up at Anfield. It's an unusual situation for Anfield as the fortress which Rafa has built these years seems to be lacking of confidence and losing its fears.

There were frustrating moments in the game which I was swearing at these players. However, without any doubts, the Liverpool players didn't give up and shown character in the game. They kept on pressuring and pressing, and they managed to get their rewards at the end. Steve Finnan, who was the player playing better than the rest, cross a beauty which the met Torres' head and secured a point.



I'm glad that we managed to escape defeat. However, I'm clearly unhappy on how they are playing. Clueless on what happen to the lads out there. The way they play last night does have improvement but not to the standards they used to play. It's international break, and I truly hope this break would benefits the team but not the same way the previous break did to us.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Hey Roberto!

An advertisment for Pringles. You can see our own Steven Gerrard, with the likes of Roberto Carlos, Totti, Cisse and Robbie Keane.



Hey Roberto!!

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Lousy Reds Outplayed

Liverpool 0 Marseille 1
Mathieu Valbuena 77



What else can I write about? I guess everything went wrong, all wrong. Rafa's team selection, players' performance from 1st minute to 94th minute. Extremely disappointed with the team's current form and standard. Totally unacceptable for a team name LIVERPOOL.





Credit to Marseille, they played superbly. Came with a brilliant game plan and executed perfectly. Pressed Liverpool all the way and scored a wonder goal which I believe no goalkeeper in the world could save. Looks like Bolo Zenden and Cisse are definitely smiling.

In a match which we were expected to win easily, we ended up in defeat, not having a single point. A draw would been a bad result for Liverpool, a loss is worse. Steven Gerrard & Co have not performed to their best, that's for sure. In this match, it clearly showed how dis-motivated the players are, how badly they play football on their very own pitch, Anfield.

It's very frustrating for millions of fans watching. Those at Anfield, the rest of the world, and over here in Singapore, we have to sacrifice our sleep to watch such a poor game. The gaffer and players themselves knew how badly they played. I really wonder what went wrong ever since they were back from international break.



Of course, there is no excuses for that. International break or not, a good team would be able to handle it. Just look at Manchester United and Arsenal. They are both doing well in the league and Champions League. Are their players better quality than us? I don't really think so. They are producing results week in week out, and their players were having internationals as well.

Liverpool have to learn, Rafa have to learn. We are simply not good enough. Based on such performance, we aren't going nowhere. We will struggle in the league and cups competitions, and before you realise, we may be going into another full of promise but disappointment season again.

All the players last night were outplayed. They had no idea on how to break down opponent's defences and this has been the problem for Liverpool so far. Passing were terrible, losing possession and nobody came up with extra efforts to change the game. It was just an horrendous match they've played.



1 point from 2 games, we have so much work to do. They might be knocked out in the first round, looking on how they are playing now. Forget about the Premiership title and any cups if the team continues their poor form. It's time to wake up lads.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Stevie's Childhood

I was surfing youtube and came upon this video of our very own captain, Steven Gerrard.



He was captain then, he is still captain now.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Yossi Winner at JJB

Wigan 0 Liverpool 1
Benayoun 75



Yossi Benayoun, the summer signing from West Ham, was the winner against Wigan last night at the JJB stadium. Substituted in for Fabio Aurelio in the second half and scored a beauty upon coming on.



As expected, Liverpool was playing poorly throughout the game. Poor passing, pumping long balls and end up losing possession. Exactly how they played the previous Premiership games, they were not able to break down Wigan's defences. Steven Gerrard was not himself, the rest of the team seemed dis-spirited.



Fernando Torres who started in this game, had several chances but failed to convert them. Despite that, I still believe he played not too badly. Whenever he's around, I could feel that there's chance of scoring. Of course, he didn't score any goals, some would argue about it. Still, I do think that he's the one who can make the difference. Given more time, he would come good. Come on Fernando!

Despite the poor performance, we were able to get the 3 points which is most important. Wigan played pretty well and did deserve some credit for their hard work. Sadly, that's football. As for Liverpool, we have to improve. With the current standard and performance, I'm afraid we may be lag behind before knowing it.



Rafa have to know the importance of winning the 3 points in every game. It's a long race and in order to keep up with the rest, we have to play and win consistently. Rafa must realise the fact that the Premiership is the top priority. If he really have to tinker the squad, he has to produce results. Otherwise, he would be under so much pressure.

3 points in the bag, I do hope this can boost something in the team, pushing their way up on the table. Up next, Marseille.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Friday, September 28, 2007

Key Players of Big 4

After playing of at least 6 games into the season, it's been full of stories and controversies. Under-performance, managers under pressure are just part and parcel of the game. With Arsenal on top of the table at the moment, I would like to talk about the Big 4's key players.

Let's start with Arsenal.
Cesc Fabregas.


The man of the moment. On fire with goals almost each week and assists to Arsenal 's goals this season. To me, he's the most important player for the Gunners. He would be the one who can bring Arsenal into greater heights, playing the simple and beautiful football which they always claimed.

He's some type of player who can link everyone in the middle. Young, full of energy and I believe he's going to be one of the best in the years to come. Under the guidance and coaching of Arsene Wenger, he definitely will be soaring. Whether Arsenal can continue their good start, this young boy here would be crucial to them.

Next up, Chelsea.
Michael Essien.


This big fellow is one of the best defensive midfielders I've seen. Chelsea spent millions on him and he has proven them right in getting him here to London. No nonsense in the middle and works very hard for the team.

Yes, many would have argued that he don't score that many goals as Lampard. However, he has helped Chelsea in many defensive areas. When defenders are injured, he's always the makeshift centre back or right back, and he did it without any complaints. This is what we call team player and I believe Essien is one of those. His hard tackling proves to be important as he breaks down opposition play.

In my opinion, he would be the key to Chelsea's season.

The third player, Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United.


Despite the poor start, Manchester United has been climbing up the table producing results even in some games which they were not playing to their standard. This is what I call, a championship team.

Cristiano Ronaldo was suspended when Manchester United was having the bad run. Now he's back in the team, they have started to play better. Of course, Wayne Rooney is back as well. However, in my opinion, Ronaldo is the one who can break defences with his one moment of brillance. His pace, wing-play and the ability to score goals are very menacing to any team in the world.

With the recent 2-0 win against rivals, Chelsea, I'm afraid to see that Ronaldo and Co are in high morale. They will be showing to the world why they were defending champions. Ronaldo would be the one making the difference for them.

Lastly, Liverpool.
Fernando Torres.


To me, Fernando would be the one who can bring Liverpool into getting better results. Not Jamie Carragher, Xabi Alonso, or even captain Steven Gerrard. Liverpool's problem these seasons is the lack of ability to score goals and a natural striker who can put the ball into the net. Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen is history. Rafa knows about this fact and that's why he bought Torres on a record signing.

Unfortunately, Rafa's tinkering can be so frustrating when the team doesn't produces results. Torres is left on the bench on games which I believe he should be given the chance. Whenever Torres play, you could feel that he's going to score goals and the sense of danger to opposition defenders.

You have to play your best players if you want to challenge for the league. It's a long league and you have to produce results consistently. In order to do that, you have to win games. Torres would be the main man for scoring the goals.

Will Torres be the rising star and legend for Liverpool? I truly believe so.


These are the 4 players whom I think would be making the headlines for their respective teams. We'll see how the season goes from here, it would be interesting.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Official Squad 2007/2008



The team photo of the year. Pretty nice, and I do hope this squad can bring us to honours every year.

*Thanks to Drogballs for the photo.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Reds Into Round 4 With Torres Hat-Trick

Reading 2 Liverpool 4
Convey 28, Halls 64, Benayoun 23, Torres 50, 72, 86



A good win, and it's definitely very nice to see Fernando Torres scoring his first hat-trick for Liverpool and also the first goal Yossi Benayounm scored for us. *I didn't watch the match though. :)

Match Goals


Soft goals conceded. Rafa really have to look into that. Another question which puzzles me is why he puts Torres on a League Cup match but not a Premiership match. I do not understand. Nevertheless, it's good to move on the next round and hope this win can push us on for better results.

*Thanks Fiz for the video.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Sunday, September 23, 2007

2 Points Loss Again

Liverpool 0 Brimingham 0



Title contender? I truly doubt so based on how the way we are playing now. We suffered another 2 points loss against Birmingham at home, while the Gunners thrashed Derby 5-0 at the Emirates.


For the benefit for those who didn't watch our poor performance, this is the highlights.


It's a must win game or I should say, every game is a must-win if you wish to be a title contender, if you wish to be up there challenging for the title which we haven't win for more than a decade. Rafa is frustrated with the Blues' way of playing. However, you must understand. These teams won't not come to Anfield all firing. They would park a bus in front of their goalpost, playing for a draw.

It's how we going to break down the big bus and open the gates. Based on last night's performance, I can conclude, we are simply not good enough. Rafa's tinkering has been under lots of pressure and it seems to me that, he's changing the team for the sake of changing. Keeping the players fresh? The team aren't producing any freshness in their play.

Their overall play was slow, predictable and I could see that their communication isn't that good at all. Is the tinkering causing them to have some miscommunication or they were confused playing with different players week in week out?

Rafa's position may not be 100% safe based on how the team performed lately. The board is always on his toes and will be looking out at the results all the time. The board has given you the money, given you the players, given you everything you need to be a championship winning side. You have no more excuses not to perform to the expectations. Just based on the television, I could see that Anfield was dull and utterly disappointed with the team.

Yes, you may argue that it's still early days. However, I guess if we continue our current poor form, we might have to settle for a 3rd or 4th place again. Arsenal is running away with wins after wins, Manchester United is producing results even when they are not playing well and Chelsea is still a world class team.

It's time to buck up, Reds. Otherwise, it's going to be another season of huge promise but disappointment at the end.

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Goodbye The Special One



Jose Mourinho, the self proclaimed, The Special One. Yes, I agree. He's special in his way. An interesting and outspoken manager. A person who's not afraid of letting his feelings known.

A disciplined coach, with so many world class players in his team, he's able to control them and play the football he wanted them to do so. Produced the right results during his reign at Chelsea. He has 2 Premiership titles, 2 Carling Cups and a FA Cup in his bag. For just a short span of three years, it's a massive achievement.



Despite this, he was unfortunately manipulated by his boss, Roman Abramovich. Pressure was on him after years of inability of winning the Champions League. (Liverpool beaten them twice. :)) In my perspective, Jose has his rights to be unhappy. Being the manager of any team, he should be the one calling the shots. Who to buy, who to sell etc.

Andrei Shevchenko and Michael Ballack. Till today, I wonder these 2 players are bought by Mourinho or Roman? I guess Jose had no much choices as he's no boss. I do pity him as he's being disturbed of the rights of being the manager. That's probably why he left or sacked.



People may hate his arrogance, his mind games and him being a sore-loser at times. But, there's no doubt, he's one of the best managers in the world. His unique personality makes all of us read of what he says and see what his actions are week in week out.

Liverpool's relationship with him is never good. Matches of controversy and so much mind games between Jose and Rafa. Still, it's feel good to beat Mourinho's side and I believe his most hated song is our famous anthem, You'll Never Walk Alone..

Goodbye The Special One..

I shall end this entry with this famous win against Chelsea with our awesome anthem.


You'll Never Walk Alone..

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Liverpool Lucky To Have A Point

Porto 1 Liverpool 1
Luis González, pen 8, Dirk Kuyt, 17




The first Champions League against the strong Portugese side, Porto. Though being the away side, many predicted a Liverpool win because of its past records of playing in this league. However, this is one match which I thought Liverpool didn't deserve to win although my heart wanted the 3 points.



We truly struggled the whole of 90 minutes. First ten minutes was horrendously poor. Porto as expected, was firing from all direction, and Liverpool didn't do what they do best, absorb and defend the pressure. They even struggled to play the normal game. They didn't pass the ball well, overall play was sloppy. Not even a single player performed to his standard.



Ricardo Quaresma was the key member of the Porto team. One of the most wanted wingers in Europe, he troubled Liverpool on both wings. Our defenders failed to contain him down. How can you allow a winger whom we wanted to buy in the summer so much space? He would definitely punish you. Without doubt, Porto went ahead with a stupid penalty conceded by Pepe Reina. I realised that we have been conceding penalties in our recent matches and that's a bad sign.



We created only one chance in the first half, fortunately, we managed to score through Dirk Kuyt. A freekick from Steve Finnan, a flick on by Big Sami and Dirk Kuyt was there to head it home. A similar goal like last season's Champions League final at Athens. Liverpool was lucky. A goal coming from nowhere.



Jermaine Pennant, whom I thought the one who can help in Liverpool attack in the game, had a very poor game. I do not know what happened to him and what's on his mind. He was unable to bring the ball down the wings, nor he provided any width to the team. His tackles were reckless and was testing the referee's patience. Eventually, he was sent off on 58 minutes.



A foolish and redundant tackle when the ball is heading for a goal kick. I could see and sense his frustration. However, at this level, we must keep cool and play the right football. Not venting your anger onto it. Pennant just did that and he had to learn from it. This is Champions League, not any amateur league.



The overall team play was extremely bad. We didn't create any clear chances and had to play most of the second half with 10 men. Rafa himself knew what went wrong and just by looking at his face, he's boiling looking at his team's performance. Porto was not able to score the second goal. We were lucky to get a point.

I'm beginning to fear as I watch Liverpool play these few matches. Based on their performance against Portsmouth and last night Porto, it seems that Liverpool is struggling. This is not something pleasant to be seen. Rightfully, on Liverpool's standard, we should have gotten all the points we needed from these matches. We really have to buck up in all areas and produce some results. Otherwise, I'm afraid this would turn out to be a disappointing season again.

Come On Reds! With hope in your heart..

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Monday, September 17, 2007

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..

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

We Did WIn It !



It's international break this weekend, so I shall share this funny picture I saw while surfing the net. We did win the Champions League! It's in the history books!

Smiles..

You'll Never Walk Alone..

Monday, September 3, 2007

Liverpool Scores 6 Past Derby County

Liverpool 6 Derby County 0
Alonso, 27,69, Babel, 45, Torres, 56,78, Voronin, 76


A game which the Liverpool team was ruthless in their goals. Didn't hold back and went for every single ball in the pitch. A good game to watch and you could see that Rafa meant business now. Derby was not the strongest team, still, we made them looks like boys.


Jermaine Pennant, Javier Mascherano were all superb in the game. Xabi Alonso and Torres scoring 2 each, Voronin and Babel scoring the other 2. We could have more, but didn't finish the chances off.

Despite the high-scoring win, I believe we must not be too complacent. There's always room for improvement in every game and I could see some areas which we are weak in. 3 points is the most important and we are looking forward to the trip to Portsmouth.

Match Goals


You'll Never Walk Alone..

Champions League Draw 07/08



Group A
LIVERPOOL (Eng)
Porto (Por)
Marseille (Fra)
Besiktas (Tur)

Group B
Chelsea (Eng)
Valencia (Esp)
Schalke (Ger)
Rosenborg (Nor)

Group C
Real Madrid (Esp)
Werder Bremen (Ger)
Lazio (Ita)
Olympiakos (Gre)

Group D
AC Milan (Ita)
Benfica (Por)
Celtic (Sco)
Shaktar Donetsk (Ukr)

Group E
Barcelona (Esp)
Lyon(Fra)
Stuttgart (Ger)
Rangers (Sco)

Group F
ManUnited (Eng)
Roma (Ita)
Sporting Lisbon (Por)
Dynamo Kiev (Ukr)

Group G
Inter Milan (Ita)
PSV Eindhoven (Hol)
CSKA Moscow (Rus)
Fernebache (Tur)

Group H
Arsenal (Eng)
Sevilla (Esp) / AEK Athens (Gre)
Steaua Bucharest (Rom)
Slavia Prague (CZE)


In the Champions League, there's no team that is easy. The most important for us is to win all the games and proceed on to the knockout stage. It would be an exciting year again for us. I believe in Rafa and his team.

Come on Liverpool !

You'll Never Walk Alone..