Liverpool v Man Utd (25/10/09)

[Hand Shandy]

Lots of moaning but no match thread yet. Guess I'll do the honours for the first time ever...

 

From The Guardian:

The Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez will give his injured trio of Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Glen Johnson every chance to prove their fitness ahead of Sunday's Premier League match against Manchester United.

 

Gerrard is the biggest concern of those suffering from groin injuries, but he received treatment today, and that will continue right up until the match at Anfield.

 

Torres and Johnson are much closer to being confirmed in the starting line-up to face United, but winger Albert Riera (hamstring) and defenders Martin Kelly (ankle) and Sotirios Kyrgiakos (knee) are out.

 

Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani, who played for the reserves on Wednesday, will not be considered.

 

Liverpool provisional squad: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Skrtel, Aurélio, Insúa, Mascherano, Babel, Lucas, Kuyt, Benayoun, Gerrard, Torres, Voronin, Ngog, Spearing, Plessis, Dossena, Cavalieri.

 

 

 

 

If they're all fit:

 

Reina

Johnson

Carra

Agger

Aurelio

Benny

Mascherano

Lucas

Kuyt

Gerrard

Torres

 

If not, fuck knows!

[Mathewbet1]

Gerrard will be rubbing his groin all weekend

[RedBrian84]

We're doomed.

 

It's hard to say, because even if we had our full strength side, our confidence is so fucking low that all it'd take is one United goal and we'd be right up shit street. I've no doubt that whoever is picked will give their all to the cause, it's just that I don't think the remaining players are good enough.

 

Two teams- one with, one without our full eleven:

 

With Gerrard et al:

 

Reina

Aurelio

Skrtel

Carra

Johnson

 

Kuyt

Mascherano

Lucas

Benayoun

 

Gerrard

Torres

 

Without:

 

Reina

Insua

Skrtel

Carra

Kelly (is Degen injured, by the way??)

 

Kuyt

Mascherano

Lucas

Aurelio

 

Benayoun

Babel

 

Such a hard one to call. I'm just praying that whoever gets into the side gives their absolute all and does us and the club proud.

[llego]

Reina

Johnson Carra Agger Insua

Mascherano Lucas

Kuyt Benayoun Aurelio

Torres

[Guest simon]

Pacheco will be on the bench i reckon.

[ratcatcher]

Pacheco will be on the bench i reckon.

 

No way.

 

If anyone from the reserves should be on the bench, it should be Amoo. Eccleston would probably run him close though.

[RedBadger]

He's started

 

 

Liverpool v Manchester United: Anfield pressurises referees, says Sir Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson believes that the atmosphere inside Anfield has pressurised referees into dismissing his players in the past.

 

 

By Henry Winter

Published: 8:49PM BST 23 Oct 2009

Anfield atmosphere: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says the atmosphere at Anfield has pressurised referees into sending off his players in the past Photo: AP

 

"I know we've had a lot of players sent off at Anfield but I think that has been down to the atmosphere,'' said Ferguson. "Referees can find it difficult when Anfield is charged up – like it will be on Sunday.''

 

Andre Marriner officiates Sunday's high-stakes game.

 

 

Liverpool's Rafael Benitez wants maximum points from final six Premier League games

Rafael Benitez feeds on dislike of Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho

Manchester United v Liverpool: Game Zone

 

"The strange thing is, in the main players are aware of the intensity of the rivalry between the supporters and have conducted themselves very well in the games over the years,'' added Ferguson.

 

"It's never got to a level like it was when I first came down when there were players like Steve McMahon, Norman Whiteside and Bryan Robson. They were definitely very, very feisty games in those days.

 

"Now the speed of the game means there has to be a different interpretation of tackles.''

 

Ferguson will assess the fitness of Wayne Rooney and Darren Fletcher in training on Saturday.

 

His Liverpool counterpart, Rafael Benitez, hopes that Fernando Torres and Glen Johnson will start, but said that Steven Gerrard was "50-50''.

 

Liverpool v Manchester United: Anfield pressurises referees, says Sir Alex Ferguson - Telegraph

[llego]

Ferguson is such a fucking assclown.

[Jennings]

He's not used to a good atmosphere. He resents it.

[Anubis]

Blood and destruction shall be so in use

And dreadful objects so familiar

That Red Cafe plebs shall but smile when they behold

Their Mancunian heroes quarter'd with the hands of war;

All pity choked with custom of fell deeds:

And Paisley's spirit, ranging for revenge,

With Shankly by his side come hot from hell,

Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice

Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war;

That this foul deed shall smell above the earth

With Michael Owen, groaning for burial.

[The Chef]

Fuckin Tramp is at it again....Drop fuckin dead.Please

[Creator Supreme]

This will be an epic fail

 

L 0 Milltown Rats 5 (Berbatwat 20, 30, 67, Giggseh 48, Judas 89)

[Red Nick]

BENITEZ PLEASED WITH ATTITUDE

 

Rafa seeming a bit more positive which is obviously good news

[Cliff T. Beast]

This will be an epic fail

 

L 0 Milltown Rats 5 (Berbatwat 20, 30, 67, Giggseh 48, Judas 89)

 

Jesus christ get a grip!

It's a difficult time but this is a perfect opportunity to get back on track. Off the pitch we're fucked but we still have 11 men we need to get behind on the pitch. Believe! 2-0 yossi and kuyt

[Carlos Durninio]

So then:

 

Reina

 

Johnson Carra Agger Aurelio

 

Kuyt Masch Lucas Babel

 

Benayoun

 

Torres

[Liverpool09]

Are the liverpool fans going to boo Michael Owen because although he was a legend at Liverpool going to Man United just made him a traitor and he should get a worse reception than the one that Carlos Tevez got at Man United this season.

 

Get the Yanks out S.O.S

[Cliff T. Beast]

Are the liverpool fans going to boo Michael Owen because although he was a legend at Liverpool going to Man United just made him a traitor and he should get a worse reception than the one that Carlos Tevez got at Man United this season.

 

Get the Yanks out S.O.S

 

He was never a legend. A good player, but never a legend.

[odris]

I hope we win tomorrow but if we are going to get beat then i hope we get beat good. Stay with me here, if we were to lose say 4-0 then no doubt some little Manc will come on to this forum to brag. And we all know what goes down when that happens! Steven Sinatra anybody?

 

But i still hope we win.

[Guest ShoePiss]

BENITEZ PLEASED WITH ATTITUDE

 

Rafa seeming a bit more positive which is obviously good news

 

Do you think he's got over his complete mental breakdown then? Maybe it's a touch of bipolar...

[robslappa]

I hope we win tomorrow but if we are going to get beat then i hope we get beat good. Stay with me here, if we were to lose say 4-0 then no doubt some little Manc will come on to this forum to brag. And we all know what goes down when that happens! Steven Sinatra anybody?

 

But i still hope we win.

 

Yes I'm with you. You'd like us to get twatted so you can post pictures of some soft twat who doesn't use a proxy server.

 

But you still hope we win.

[Ged B]

We'll win tommorow.

[RoboRiise]

Lots of moaning but no match thread yet. Guess I'll do the honours for the first time ever...

 

From The Guardian:

The Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez will give his injured trio of Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Glen Johnson every chance to prove their fitness ahead of Sunday's Premier League match against Manchester United.

 

Gerrard is the biggest concern of those suffering from groin injuries, but he received treatment today, and that will continue right up until the match at Anfield.

 

Torres and Johnson are much closer to being confirmed in the starting line-up to face United, but winger Albert Riera (hamstring) and defenders Martin Kelly (ankle) and Sotirios Kyrgiakos (knee) are out.

 

Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani, who played for the reserves on Wednesday, will not be considered.

 

Liverpool provisional squad: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Skrtel, Aurélio, Insúa, Mascherano, Babel, Lucas, Kuyt, Benayoun, Gerrard, Torres, Voronin, Ngog, Spearing, Plessis, Dossena, Cavalieri.

 

 

 

 

If they're all fit:

 

Reina

Johnson

Carra

Agger

Aurelio

Benny

Mascherano

Lucas

Kuyt

Gerrard

Torres

 

If not, fuck knows!

 

 

If they're all fit I'd take that side myself. Assuming you're thinking 4-2-3-1, if Gerrard is out I think I'd move Benny into Gerrard's position, play Aurelio on the left and slot Insua in at LB. The alternative would be Babel on the left and keep Aurelio at LB but I can't bring myself to have any confidence in Babel for such a critical game.

 

As ever this season, it's the two CM berths that concern me - I think we all agree there's a lack of attacking intent in a side with Masch and Lucas in there but even at Anfield, I worry that Spearing could struggle to impose himself on the game. After having a difficult game at Sunderland, there's the chance that his confidence could take a massive knock if he was steamrollered in this one and there are few tougher examinations than a game against the Mancs.

 

I make no secret of the fact that I've seen very little of Spearing and I know many that have seen him play for the reserves say he should be getting games ahead of Lucas, but if the Sunderland game is an indication of his current form (regardless of his underlying ability) I can't say I thought he looked ready for a shit or bust game against that lot.

 

Given that Plessis is surely just there to make up the numbers, if Lucas and Masch aren't doing it the only other option I can see would be to move Agger forward in place of the worst performing CM, with Skrtel alongside Carra. I wouldn't start with that though and it's far from ideal as it means playing someone out of position again, but at least Agger has a decent range of passing on him, isn't scared of getting forward and has a decent shot.

 

I'll be watching this with a mate in a pub packed full of pissed-up Mancs in Middleton so whatever happens, I just hope we crucify the cunts. It would likely mean a minor kicking, or at least a hasty departure after the final whistle but at least I'd get to revel in their anguish.

[Hermes]

Whoever plays and whatever the result, we need a performance. Another game where we look totally disorganised, unable to control the ball or pass it and totally heartless will be too much to take. Especially against them.

[George Costanza]

I really hope he doesn't play Insua and Aurelio down the left. It just smacks of negativity. Although his attitude is fucking shite, its the kinda game that Babel might play as if he has a point to prove.

 

Aurelio has to play at left back too. We'll need as much experience as possible at the back. Hope Carra gives Rooney a kick on his calf in the first 5 minutes. Lets just see how fit he is.

[George Costanza]

A suprising decent piece from Michael Calvin in the Mirror

 

 

Liverpool legend Bill Shankly must be turning in his grave over betrayal by George Gillett and Tom Hicks - MirrorFootball.co.uk

 

"There used to be a football club at Anfield.

 

It was a shrine to working-class heroes and a game of intoxicating simplicity.

 

Now there’s a shell, an empty tomb desecrated by grave robbers from an alien culture.

 

The Liverpool of Shankly, Paisley and Dalglish is an illusion, a hologram created for the 21st Century nostalgia industry.

 

Anfield is, like the Cavern Club and Penny Lane, a relic of Beatlemania.

 

Roll up, roll up, for the Magical Mystery Tour.

 

Appearances will deceive this lunchtime. Flags will be unfurled. Familiar anthems will shake the old ground to its foundations.

 

The world will sit back and watch, enthralled, as toe-curling romanticism collides with teeth-baring rivalry.

 

Nothing will change, even if Manchester United win by a cricket score and Gary Neville pees on the goalposts in a voodoo ritual enacted for the benefit of the Kop.

 

Sacking Rafa Benitez would be pointless. Liverpool cannot become a club again until it is rid of George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

 

You’ll know the story, understand the reasons behind today’s protest march by supporters infuriated by their insignificance.

 

They’re a pair of ugly Americans, linked by mutual loathing and a lust for a fast buck.

 

They’ve betrayed a legend, hawked a sporting and social heritage around the bazaars like a sullen slave.

 

They don’t understand football as a communal crusade. They couldn’t care less about its glorious irrationality. It is a corporate asset to be traded like so many pork bellies.

 

It’s easy to mock the afflicted, to pour scorn on Scouse sentimentality. But your club might be next. If Liverpool can be hijacked and forced to pay the masters’ mortgage, it can happen to anyone – even United.

 

The Manc nation, which stretches from Chertsey to Kowloon, might care to dwell on the priorities of Joel Glazer.

 

He will be at Wembley this afternoon watching his asset-stripped NFL franchise, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

 

Anfield is nowhere near his agenda. His type views such landmarks as the 50th anniversary of Bill Shankly’s installation as Liverpool manager, on December 1 1959, as mere marketing opportunities.

 

Shankly will be portrayed as a man of the people, a cross between Che Guevara and Clarence Darrow.

 

It will not do him justice.

 

One of my most treasured mementoes is an autographed double album of him talking of his life and times, recorded just before his death in 1981.

 

Best to let him speak for himself, from beyond the grave. This was what he said when asked how he would wish to be remembered:

 

“That I’ve been basically honest in a game in which it is sometimes difficult to be honest. I’d like to think that I have put more into the game than I have taken out.

 

“I was interested in only one thing, success for the club.

 

“That meant success for the people. I wanted results for the club, for the love of the game, to make the people happy.”

 

Inspirational stuff.

 

Like listening to the last survivors of the Somme, it reminds us of what we have lost, tossed aside in the name of progress.

 

Ironically, the exaggerated emotions of allegiance to a football club have shielded greedy men like Gillett and Hicks from retribution.

 

The Royal Bank of Scotland couldn’t afford the fall-out from pushing Liverpool into administration by refusing to re-finance their loans.

 

Shankly didn’t have to deal with braying bigots on the phone-ins, or charlatans in the boardroom.

 

He had an uncluttered set of priorities: “At a football club, there’s a Holy Trinity – the players, the manager and the supporters. Directors don’t come into it.”

 

Read that, Liverpool fans, and weep."