TLW

RYAN BABEL 2007-11 by Snez1 and Dave Usher Date of Birth - 19/12/86 Nationality - Dutch Position - Winger / Forward Games - 146 Goals - 22 Club Hons (Lpool) - Club Hons (Other) - 2005 & 2006 Dutch Super Cup, 2005-06 & 2006-07 Dutch Cup Intnl Hons - Dutch Caps Other Clubs - Ajax, Hoffenheim Dutch forward Ryan Babel joined Liverpool from Ajax on July 10th 2007 for a fee of £11.5m. Many claimed the fee was excessive for a youngster still thought of as a “rough diamond” in his homeland, but the hefty price tag did not deter Rafa Benitez from bringing the exciting talent to Anfield. After being nurtured through the prolific Ajax youth set up Babel made his first official outing aged just 17 on February 1, 2004. His first goal came against De Graafschap in November 2004. He featured a total of 97 times for the Amsterdam side, scoring 19 times along the way and picking up 2 Dutch Super Cups (scoring the winner against PSV in 2005) and a Dutch F.A. Cup. The promise he showcased at Ajax led to his international debut on March 26, 2005 when he became the 4th youngest ever scorer for the Dutch national team with a well-taken finish after replacing Arjen Robben against Romania. He has since figured on 17 occasions for the full national team, scoring 3 other goals against Italy, Mexico and Russia. He had been described as “having the potential to be the next Thierry Henry” by National team coach and striking legend Marco Van Basten and early into his Liverpool career flashes of his talent were in evidence, particularly in his wonderful debut goal at the Anfield Road end against Derby. Whilst there were much debate as to what the explosive youngster's best position would be, many believed that he would settle down into a second striker role, playing just off an out and out front man. It was in this position where he shone in the Under 21 Tournament in the summer of 2007. Babel was voted man of the match in the final and got his name on the score sheet in the 4-1 victory over Serbia. He also scored a penalty earlier in the competition against Portugal. He was widely acclaimed as one of the biggest successes in the competition. Despite this impressive form, his long awaited and expected move to Arsenal didn’t materialise as Arsene Wenger decided that, after many years of tracking the Dutch youngster, £11.5m was just too much money to splash out at the time. Rafa Benitez didn’t hang around and almost out of the blue Babel was being paraded at Anfield. Blessed with speed, skill, power, strength, a thunderous shot, and an awkward style to boot, Ryan Babel seemed to have all the required tools to be a top player on the world stage. It hasn't turned out that way however. His first season at Anfield was pretty much what was expected of a talented yet relatively inexperienced player. He was inconsistent early on and struggled to play 90 minutes, admitting himself that the Premier League was a greater physical challenge than he was used to. However, even during the early stages of the season when he struggled to find his best form he did produce moments of brilliance that showcased his exceptional potential. As the season progressed he managed to make the left wing position more or less his own and scored a decent number of goals (10), including a tie clinching winner against Arsenal at the Kop end in the Champions League quarter final. Unfortunately for Ryan he was unable to participate in Euro 2008 for the Dutch national side due to injury but he subsequently called up to the Olympic squad a couple of months later, much to the annoyance of Rafa Benitez. Babel's second season at Anfield was one where people were much more demanding of him and both supporters and manager expected him to become more of a regular starter in the side. Yet the opposite happened. He struggled to hold down a starting place, often contributing very little when he was chose to start games, and most of his best moments came as an impact substitute late on. And even those occurrences were becoming increasingly rare. Babel's frustration began to grow, and there were regular media outbursts whenever he went on international duty. He even asked to be loaned back to former club Ajax, a request that was flatly turned down by Benitez who told him to stop complaining and fight for his place. Relations between player and manager were deteriorating though, and the following season Babel often found himself unable to even force his way into the matchday squad. He was no longer even guaranteed a spot on the bench, let alone the starting XI, and given the standard of his performances it was difficult to make a case as to why Benitez should pick him. There were occasional flashes, such as scoring twice in a 6-1 win over Hull, creating a winner for Kuyt at West Ham and scoring a wonder goal in France against Lyon. All of those came after he'd been brought on as a late substitute, but more often than not when he started he was terrible. His frustration eventually boiled over when he criticised Benitez via his twitter account and hauled over the coals by the club. It seemed certain that Babel had burned his bridges, yet surprisingly the club reportedly turned down a sizable offer from Birmingham in the January transfer window and Babel was given a final chance to make an impression on Merseyside. The change of manager at the end of the season presented Ryan with an opportunity to re-establish himself, but his form remained erratic and Roy Hodgson selected him as sparingly as his predecessor. In January of 2011 new boss Kenny Dalglish accepted an offer from Hoffenheim and Babel's Liverpool career came to a close. His final significant act as a red came not on the pitch but off it, as he was fined by the FA for posting a photoshopped picture of Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt on his twitter account after the official had screwed the reds in an FA Cup tie at Old Trafford.

SEBASTIAN LETO 2007-09 by Kurt Henriksen & Dave Usher Date of Birth - 30/08/86 Nationality - Argentinian Position - Left Midfield Games - 4 Goals - 0 Club Hons (Lpool) - None Intnl Hons - Argentina u21 Caps Other Clubs - Club Atletico Lanus, Olympiakos, Panathanaikos Sebastian Eduardo Leto was an unknown quantity for most Liverpool fans when Rafael Benitez surprisingly decided to swoop for him in the january transfer window of 2007. Leto made his first appearance for his club side Club Atlético Lanús in November 2005 19 years old. Lanus had a group of 1986 born players that were sensational at youth level, and Leto (along with Fritzler, Valeri and Lagos) slowly broke into the first team. In 2006 he made his breakthrough, with a series of quality performances against the top teams River Plate, Boca Juniors and San Lorenzo. His performances in those matches proved he had strength and character and soon the big clubs were pursuing his signature. River Plate entered negotiations with his club Lanús, but when the two sides failed to agree a fee, Liverpool quickly stepped in and signed him for a fee of £1.85m in January 2007. Sebastian Leto played out the season in Argentina before joining the reds in July 2007. He soon made his Liverpool debut on the 28th of August 2007 when Liverpool beat French side Toulose 4-0 to qualify for the Champions League. Further appearances followed against Reading and Cardiff in the League Cup, and Marseille in the Champions League. However, passport problems meant he was unavailable for much of his first season. Liverpool were denied a work permit for him in the summer of 2008 and he agreed to a two year loan at Greek side, Olympiakos. He fell out of favour at Olympiakos, and halfway through his loan period, there was interest from another Athens club in Panathinaikos. This led to the player making a permanent move for a fee believed to be around three million pounds.

YOSSI BENAYOUN PROFILE by Phil Matthews & Dave Usher Date of Birth - 05/05/80 Nationality - Israeli Position - Midfield Games - 134 Goals - 29 Club Hons (Lpool) - None Club Hons (other) - Israeli Championship 2001/02, 2002/03 Intnl Hons - Israel Caps Other Clubs - Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Maccabi Haifa, Racing Santander, West Ham, Chelsea Yosef Shai Benayoun, known as Yossi was signed in summer 2007 from West Ham for £6m. His signing was seen as a move to fill the small yet large shoes of Luis Garcia as a creative attacking midfielder. Yossi followed in the footsteps of fellow Israeli luminaries Ronny Rosenthal and the late Avi Cohen in pulling on the red shirt. Since he was a small boy, Yossi was touted for the top. He became captain of his national team and a household name in his native Israel, but has been so since he was a small child. At the age of 9, he signed for Hapoel Be'er Sheva and performed so impressively that he was invited to Ajax's legendary youth academy. Yossi struggled to settle in Amsterdam though, despite being the Ajax youth team's top goalscorer and moved back to Hapoel after just one season. This did not go down well in Israel as Ajax had offered Yossi a four year contract and his decision to move back to the Israeli league was seen as spurning a golden chance to make a name for himself. Yossi made his senior debut for Hapoel aged 17. It was not a good season for Hapoel and despite Yossi's record of 15 goals in 25 games and scoring the winner in the final match of the season against Maccabi Haifa, they were relegated on goal difference. Haifa were clearly impressed though and signed Benayoun in a strangely structured deal which involved Haifa and Hapoel sharing the profits from any sale. Yossi carried on his rich vein of goalscoring, hitting 55 goals in his 130 games for the club, helping them to two Israeli titles and the quarter finals of the now defunct Cup Winners Cup. In 2003, Yossi made the step up to La Liga where he played for Racing Santander for two seasons scoring 21 goals in 101 games. It was there where he came to the attention of many top European clubs, including Liverpool, then managed by Gerard Houllier. In 2005, Yossi moved to West Ham for £2.5m, where he impressed in the Premier League despite the league's physical nature and his diminutive stature. Most notably, Benayoun performed exceptionally well in the 2006 FA Cup Final against Liverpool. In May 2007 Yossi was offered a five year deal with West Ham, which he agreed with in principle, but delayed on signing. Liverpool took their chance and swooped to sign Benayoun on a four year contract. Notably, Yossi accepted a contract which was worth considerably less than the proposed contract that West Ham had offered him. Yossi made his competitive Liverpool debut away against Toulose in the Champions League Qualifiers and scored his first goal in the Carling Cup match away to Reading in September 2007. He was in and out of the side in his season at the club, and suffered the same fate for much of his second season too, as the wide players are traditionally the ones who suffer most from Rafa Benitez's 'rotation policy'. However, Benayouns form in the second half of the 2008/09 season was so good that he became as close to a fixture in the side as it's possible to be for a wide player who's name isn't Dirk Kuyt. He turned in some outstanding displays and scored some crucial goals, not least a stoppage time winner at Craven Cottage that kept alive the club's title hopes and a headed winner in the Bernebeu to sink Real Madrid. The reds would go on to finish second that season, amassing an impressive 86 points in the process, and Benayoun was a key contributor in that. Yossi claimed three hat-tricks for Liverpool, all at Anfield and all in different competitions. His first came in the FA Cup against Havant & Waterlooville, and was followed soon after by another against Besiktas in the Champions League, and he also notched three times in the Premiership against Burnley. The following year was a struggle for the reds, and Yossi found himself in and out of the side until eventually he was left out of the squad that went to Hull on the final day in favour of Nabil El Zhar and informed by Rafa Benitez that he should find a new team in the summer. Benitez himself would leave not long after, but Yossi had agreed to join Chelsea and despite the change of manager at Anfield he opted for pastures new and departed for Stamford Bridge.

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=51222

LIVERPOOL 0 Birmingham 0 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) - Half Time - 0 -0 Venue - Anfield Date - Sat 22 September 2007 Star Man - Javier Mascherano Maybe we should have told the players this was a cup tie, as it’s the only way we seem to be able to beat Steve Bruce’s side. Just what is it about Birmingham at home? On paper it’s a game we should be winning easily, yet we always end up having problems with them. We’ve been unlucky in the past, Alonso’s last minute O.G. in a game we dominated was one example, but this wasn’t bad luck, it was just a rotten performance and Birmingham were good value for the draw as they were never in any trouble. What happened to the side that trounced Derby County a few weeks ago? Ever since then, we’ve been woeful. Much of the blame for that is being heaped at the manager’s door for his resting of players. For me, there’s no doubt that Rafa needs to look at the decision to leave Torres out of this one and also the draw at Pompey last week. I can half understand why he was left out at Fratton Park, but I just don’t get his reasons for not picking him against Birmingham. He said something about knowing that Birmingham would defend deep and there’d be no space in behind, so there was no point selecting him. So if every team we play sets up to defend deep, is there no point in picking Torres then? They were worried about Torres’ pace, so we decide not to pick him because they will set up to try and stop him? I don’t get it. We played right into their hands by going with Kuyt and Voronin. They’re too similar, offer no aerial threat and no threat in behind. I bet if Steve Bruce could have picked any two of our strikers to face, that’s the combo he’d have gone for. To be fair to Birmingham, I thought their two centre backs played really, really well and dealt with everything that came into the box. I just think we gave them a helping hand by leaving out Torres. So for that, I blame Benitez. However, it’s too easy to just put all our deficiencies down to rotation. It’s not Rafa’s fault that Gerrard is nursing a hangover from the international double header. It was the captain who chose to play two games in five days for England despite not having trained for three weeks. If he’d skipped those games then he’d have played at Fratton Park, and no doubt he’d have been in much better form than we’ve seen from him in the last two games, when he’s barely got out of second gear. And is it Rafa’s fault that a team full of international players couldn’t manage to create a solitary chance of note against Birmingham? Of course Torres should have started, but what if he’d have been injured? You’d still expect the side that took the field to have more than enough to beat the brummies convincingly. The players deserve a lot of the blame for the three poor performances they’ve produced in the last seven days, but they seem to be escaping any blame as everyone jumps on the rotation bashing band wagon. We knocked the ball about ok in front of Birmingham, but never looked like getting in behind. So what if there was no space for Torres to run into? He’s a player capable of beating a man in a tight space with his speed off the mark. Neither Kuyt nor Voronin can do that. We either tried to walk the ball through them, or slung in crosses that were swallowed up by their defenders. By the time Torres took to the field, Birmingham were well and truly set in their defensive shape and growing in confidence by the minute. The most lively attacking player was Pennant, who did ok against his old club and managed to get some crosses in that didn’t really come to anything. Babel did very little, and Gerrard was largely ineffectual. We didn’t ever really look like we would find a breakthrough, and as the game wore on the threat of losing something on the counter attack began to rear it’s ugly head. Reina’s goal was never seriously threatened, but they did have some promising situations that could have proved costly had they had more quality. Our back four deserve credit, as they’ve kept yet another clean sheet and did it fairly comfortably. The distribution from the back wasn’t the best though, and we missed Agger’s ability to carry the ball forward. Riise had an ok first half, but was terrible after the break. I thought Arbeloa did ok, and I would have probably given him the star man had it not been for Mascherano. I don’t actually think the Chief played that well, as he gave the ball away a few times with some unusually sloppy passing. But the chasing, harrying and general will to win he showed was admirable and made him stand out above the rest. Let’s not sugarcoat it, we were fucking awful once again, and the feelgood factor we had after hammering Derby is well and truly gone now. There’s been far too many echoes of last season in the past week, and although we’re still unbeaten I see no reason to celebrate that fact as dropping two points at home to Birmingham feels like a defeat. We can’t make up for this, as no matter what results we get from now on, we’ll always be looking back at these two points we threw away and wonder if they are going to prove costly. The mancs’ bad start had given us a good chance to build up a bit of a lead over them, but we’ve blown that now. Of course there’s a long way to go, but this result is just so, so, so depressing. It was the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways after two poor displays, and we blew it. It was just a horrible game, played out in a shit atmosphere. The singing section was introduced with games like this in mind, yet can anyone notice a difference between this and last season? The atmosphere was as dire as the performance, and the travelling fans made themselves heard way more than the Kop did. A miserable day, capping a miserable week. The players need to pull their fingers out, and Rafa needs to stop fucking about and play his best players in the league. This year is a really good opportunity for us to do something, but already we’re seeing signs that lessons of the past have not been learnt, and that maybe we still don’t have the required quality in attacking positions. Team: Reina; Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise; Pennant (Finnan), Gerrard, Mascherano, Babel (Torres); Kuyt, Voronin (Crouch):

Wigan Res 0 LIVERPOOL RES 3 Report by Pete Schulz at the JJB Stadium Scorer(s) Jordy Brouwer, Nabil El Zhar, Ray PutterillHalf Time – 0-1 Venue – JJB Stadium, Wigan Date - Wed 19 Sep 2007 Star Man – Sebastian Leto Sebastian Leto put in a solid performance as Liverpool reserves beat their Wigan counterparts 3-0 on Wednesday night. Just as the rest of the country was getting ready to watch Arsenal and Manchester United do the nation proud (unlike Liverpool and Chelsea) over a thousand fans at the JJB Stadium saw Gary Ablett’s side, lead by the dangerous Argentinian, destroy their hosts in a one sided affair. Despite the arrival of God knows how many new faces (can anyone keep track anymore?) only three of them – the promising Mikel San Jose and Damien Plessis and aforementioned Sebastian Leto – had made it into the starting eleven. Two of the new Hungarians weren’t even in the squad, although keeper Peter Gulacsi made the bench. The reds dominated from the first whistle and within a couple of minutes had already threatened the Wigan goal twice after neat some wing play. The opener arrived as early as the fifth minute when fullback Stephen Darby crossed from the right towards the back post. Craig Lindfield rose like a salmon to head across goal where Dutch forward Jordy Brouwer, who arrived in January, was on hand to score his first reserve league goal for the club from about half a yard. In the next minute, however, Wigan could have been level when Mikel San Jose slipped with the ball at his feet. This allowed his opponent (no idea who, but let’s just call him no. 10) to nip in and steal the ball, but his long range effort went wide of David Martin’s goal. The reds kept creating chances throughout the half and it never looked like the goals had dried up. Leto and El Zhar changed wings a couple of times to add to the confusion in a Wigan backline that, at times, was all over the place. Leto especially, looks threatening at pace with the ball at his feet, and he gave the fullbacks a torrid time all night. On the opposite flank El Zhar was a bit more hit and miss, but he did show good touches and some flashes of brilliance. The most entertaining moment of the half came, however, when Jordy Brouwer collided with the referee just outside the Wigan box and both had to receive treatment. Disappointingly, the referee – unlike Brouwer – did not have to wait for an official to wave him back on when play had resumed. The second half saw much of the same even though the tempo went down slightly. At the back, San Jose and Hobbs were rarely put under pressure, and Martin had only a couple of long range efforts to deal with. On this evidence, Mikel San Jose is a very composed and calm defender, and Hobbs was just Hobbs. No nonsense, but definitely benefiting from his season in midfield the year before last. Their two fullbacks both performed solidly as well. Further forward Damien Plessis and Jay Spearing dominated the midfield and Craig Lindfield was busy as ever up front and was constantly making dangerous runs on the edge of offside. Brouwer, despite his goal, still looks a little off the pace, I must admit. The second goal arrived just after the hour mark when Sebastian Leto powered his way through on the left and put a great cross onto the back post where Jay Spearing headed it down to Brouwer. His effort was blocked, but the ball fell to El Zhar who chested it down, took one touch and fired it under Mike Pollitt to double the lead. Then came Ablett’s substitutions. Brouwer, Plessis and El Zhar went off within 9 minutes and they were replaced by Ryan Flynn, Ray Putterill and Ryan Crowther. And it was one of them, Ray Putterill who benefited from more brilliant play by the Argentinian left winger. Again Leto reached the byline and his low cross, which was fired in with pace, was collected by the substitute who then couldn’t miss with his second touch. He made it three from about seven yards. And even after that there was more goalmouth action as Lindfield picked up a good ball from Putterill, but his right foot curler crashed off the bottom of Pollitt’s far post. And in the final minute of the game, Mike Pollitt was called into action again to save Putterill's low shot. 'Razor' had another good chance in stoppage time but his powerful close range shot found the side netting. Team: Martin; Darby, San Jose, Hobbs, Insua; El Zhar (Crowther 75), Spearing, Plessis (Putterill 73), Leto; Brouwer (Flynn 66), Lindfield.

Portsmouth 0 LIVERPOOL 0 Report Mark Ingram at Fratton Park Scorer(s) - Half Time - 0-0 Venue - Fratton Park Date - Sat 15 September 2007 Star Man - Pepe Reina What a wasted trip that was. The first thing Rafa was supposed to have learnt from last season’s slow start was the need to reduce his obsessive tinkering in the early stages of the season to maintain momentum and pressure. So with one eye on a tricky midweek champions league tie at Porto what does he do? Tinkers, like a travelling Irish gypsy. The whole body of the team changed from the mauling at home to Derby two weeks ago and along with it a vast proportion of the team’s creativity and finishing ability. Fratton Park may be a pikey little village green on the outskirts of a pikey little village but it’s not an easy place to come and win as an away team, and Rafa knows that. The only reason they are still plying their trade in the Premier League is because of their very impressive home record, easily matching that of the ‘big four’ clubs, and for me Rafa missed a trick here. Not an impressive day in his managerial record by any means. Crouch and Benayoun found themselves on the team sheet for a rare outing, whether that means they won’t be needed on Tuesday remains to be seen. Crouch was playing against one of his many former clubs but to be honest, you’d never have known it. There wasn’t much in the way of pantomime booing and hissing coming from angry sections of home fans, instead they were more interested in singing their trademark Play Up Pompey chant. To be fair to them, they do create an atmosphere there, much of the credit for their home record must therefore go to the home fans. Benayoun started the liveliest, getting a decent snap shot away which James comfortably guided past his near post. Always worth getting a few speculative shots away against James as you never know how dodgy he’ll be one day to the next. Today, unfortunately, he wasn’t dodgy at all and was never really troubled by the Liverpool team at all, which is very annoying to have to say. The most likely we looked to score was in the first half when Crouch was put through from a decent move involving Voronin, the big man did all that could be asked of him, hitting a low shot with his wrong foot towards the far post, but the angle was against him and James got his lumbering frame down fast enough to take away the danger. These two shots were the sum total of all the pressure placed on the Portsmouth defence in the whole of the first half – pretty poor stuff. The main talking point of the half happened at the wrong end. That waste of time ref Riley gave yet another one of his trademark soft penalties for what? Lord only knows, but if it was a clear goal scoring opportunity that Arbeloa infringed then I’m an athletic world class striker. (I’m not by the way. I’m a pretty average 5-a-side journeyman with a gut and man-boobs that Wank Lampard would be proud of). So anyway, Riley gave them the penner, Carra, Arbeloa etc. stood around with their hands on their heads screaming blue murder at Riley, Kanu lolloped up and passed it, waist height into the line of the superbly engineered parabola that was Reina’s dive, the ball flew away to safety and lots of south coast pikies screamed ‘NOOOO’ in unison. Kanu’s name was then added onto the long line of past Pepe penner victims. Of course it’s good to see justice being done but, I’d have preferred him to save Lampard’s four weeks ago at Anfield, although this one was barely a more deserving award. Can referees as a whole please take note: WILL YOU PLEASE STOP GIVING DAFT PENALTIES AGAINST LIVERPOOL. Thank you. There was no sign of any big stars undergoing rigorous warm ups during the half time break which immediately led us to believe that the mandatory wait until the hour mark before the first sub would occur. It’s very rare that Benitez changes his systems and this is one that he seems very set in his ways about. Another one is the lack of double substitutions. In this instance, the use of a double sub at half time would have shaken things up considerably and would have provided the subs with enough time to get into the game and make a difference. As it was, Gerrard and Torres arrived within about five minutes of each other around the customary hour-mark and only really combined once to create a decent chance, which Torres very disappointingly sliced into the crowd. I must admit to expecting a far better finish from Torres, which I suppose is a credit to how he’s played so far. It was a bad miss though and I screamed some very loud obscenities after that one, Gerrard had done enormously well to create the chance but it was spooned hopelessly. Very disappointing. He did his best to make amends a few minutes before time when he turned a defender on the by line, eased into the box with some exceptional grace and provide a beautiful ball across the six yard box only for Voronin to miss by the length of a stud, a la Gazza v the Germans in Euro 96. He nearly got there but his telepathic understanding with Torres wasn’t quite as in tune as it could have been and so the ball drifted agonisingly wide. Very disappointing indeed. Voronin also made something out of half a chance, when he grazed the crossbar with a speculative roundhouse kick, but it wasn’t to be either. He’s a good all round forward, by the looks of things is Voronin, one of the qualities I like the best is his following up on the keeper for rebounds and pre-empting loose balls in the six yard box. We need a poacher like that and he will score goals like his Derby goal for us this season but, alas, today he didn’t, and the three points were not to be. The same applies for Torres, good forward, will score goals from similar situations to the one he spooned, but not today. All in all, a very disappointing trip to a horrible little part of the country. Two points wasted, most of the blame lying with the manager, and now we’ve lost almost all the advantage we had over the mancs and the chavs from our early season run. Not the end of the world by any means and I refuse to get all down about it on the lads or Rafa, but I expected better to be honest. No one played particularly well. Carragher & Agger more than held their own against the three man attack, although had Utaka been less of a donkey, we’d have been a goal down early in the second half. Finnan & Arbeloa didn’t do much wrong but didn’t do a great deal to remember either. Alonso didn’t impact the game enough and Sissoko won a few free kicks with some dodgy diving but otherwise wasn’t as influential as he has been. Benayoun tried his best but wasn’t the threat he should have been and likewise Pennant didn’t do enough to do his recent reputation any merit. Crouch was a bit of a handful but by no means a complete menace and Voronin was encouraging but didn’t quite have the luck that would have transformed his near misses into hard currency. Gerrard & Torres both made a bit of a difference and both supplied qualities, no, but neither could make it count. I suppose that leaves Reina as star man who brilliantly saved the penalty that never was, and made a couple of other decent stops, but to be fair didn’t have a great deal to do otherwise. It was all pretty disappointing but I suppose the positives need to be taken from it. At the moment we’re a bit like Kiera Knightly, very tight at the back, pretty hard to penetrate whilst being a little dodgy up front. All in all the whole package isn’t quite out of the top drawer, but it’s certainly looking better than it has done previously. Team: Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Arbeloa; Pennant (Gerrard), Alonso (Babel), Sissoko, Benayoun; Voronin, Crouch (Torres):

LIVERPOOL U18 2 Sheff Wed U18 0 Report by Pete Schulz at the Academy Scorer(s) - Ryan Crowther, David AmooHalf Time - 1-0 Venue - Liverpool Academy, Kirkby Date - Sat 15 Sep 2007 Star Man - Marvin Pourie Liverpool U18s got their season back on track with a comfortable 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday at the academy on Saturday morning. Second half goals from new signings Ryan Crowther and David Amoo made sure of the points, but it could and should have been more for the young reds who dominated throughout. ‘New’ coach Hughie MacAuley, who has returned to the academy after a spell at Melwood with the reserves, has quite a few new faces to choose from this season, and several of them made it into his starting eleven. In goal, Australian Dean Bouzanis made his debut because of injury to the normal first choice goalkeeper Martin Hansen. The young Dane has had another operation on the injured finger which also kept him out of the second leg of last season’s Youth Cup final at Old Trafford. Swedish youth international Astrit Ajdarevic, who did play on that occasion, was also on the sidelines with slight groin problems. In front of him were the twin towers of Martin Kelly and Joe Kennedy with Mattone Awang and Shane O’Connor either side. In midfield MacAuley picked the two first years Steve Irwin and Sean Highdale with new additions Ryan Crowther and Gary Mackay Steven on the wings. Up front, German forward Marvin Pourie, a new arrival from Dortmund, partnered David Amoo who has been signed from Millwall. The two haven’t really gelled so far this season as they’ve tended to make the same kind of attacking runs, but both look promising. The young reds started brightly in the Kirkby sunshine and the strong German forward found himself at the end of several dangerous moves. However, his finishing coupled with the form of the visitors’ goalkeeper, Arron Jameson, meant that reds goals were not forthcoming. On the left Gary Mackay Steven was constantly giving his fullback a hard time. He kept finding Pourie in good positions and it was a blow when he had to go off injured after 32 minutes. The Scot was replaced by promising forward Nathan Eccleston, who has also previously been used on the left wing. The home side dominated but couldn’t find the decisive opening and on the stroke of half time, Wednesday’s Leon Lekaj saw his effort bounce off Bouzanis’ crossbar. There were no changes at half time and the game continued in the same fashion after the interval. Pourie was again at the centre of things as Amoo was moved to the left wing with Eccleston given a chance in the middle. Despite the domination the breakthrough came following a counter attacking move. Ryan Crowther, who is at Melwood as part of Gary Ablett's reserve squad, had had rather a poor game, but his deflected shot left Jameson with no chance and from then on it was only a question of how many. The reds introduced highly rated Swedish midfielder Alexander Kacaniklic in place of Crowther midway through the half and he showed some very good touches on the left. He signed for the club in February but was injured in April and has had to wait a long time for his debut at this level. David Amoo, now on the right, started to show glimpses of his qualities on several occasions and he really does seem to have frightening pace. But Hughie MacAuley will no doubt be looking to help him utilise it even better in the coming matches. The forward quartet was leaving positive overall impressions but they should really have made it count. Pourie, who was my star man because he got into so many good positions, was unlucky when he smashed a curling shot off both uprights. But it wasn’t to be his day in front of goal and he was replaced by Michael Collins with 15 minutes to go. The reds did manage to double the lead though as the game entered the final stages. A good give and go with Michael Collins sent David Amoo clear, and he planted a low shot in the far corner of the Wednesday goal. The partnership with Pourie still needs work but it will be interesting to see what kind of understanding they can strike up during the season. With promising players in all the attacking positions of this year’s youth team, regular Academy-goers could be in for a good few more goals this season than we have been treated with recently. Here’s hoping. And Steve Heighway, who spent the second half chatting to his successor – sort of – John Owens behind the goal in front of the Academy building, will surely be back to check on the progress of some of his former players. Team: Bouzanis; Awang, Kelly, Kennedy, O'Connor; Crowther (Kacaniklic), Irwin, Highdale, Steven (Eccleston); Amoo, Pourie (Collins):

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Wig says he wants to play this week.

LIVERPOOL RES 2 Crewe Res 1 Report by Dave Usher at the Academy Scorer(s) Xabi Alonso (pan), Ray PutterillHalf Time – 1-0 Venue – The Academy, Kirkby Date - Tue 11 Sep 2007 Star Man – Xabi Alonso & Dani Pacheco Xabi Alonso and Ray Putterill were the scorers, and Spanish starlet Dani Pacheco made a big impression as Liverpool overcame a hard working Crewe Alexandra side at the Academy this afternoon. Rafa Benitez used this hastily arranged friendly to give run outs to all his senior stars not on international duty, meaning the likes of Alonso, Sissoko, Arbeloa, Benayoun, Pennant and fit again Fabio Aurelio all started the game. The reds changed all ten outfield players at half time, with only keeper Dave Martin completing the full ninety minutes. Lucas Leiva and Sebastian Leto also started the game, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if this line up is similar to the one we will see at Reading in the Carling Cup. There will be a few changes obviously, as I doubt we'll see Alonso lining up at centre back like he did in this game, and if Jordy Brouwer is anywhere near the squad I'll be amazed. Jack Hobbs may well feature however, given that Paletta has now left the club and we are short on centre back cover. This game was little more than a glorified training session, especially in the first half when Crewe seemed happy to just be on the same pitch as some of our star names. In truth nobody really stood out for us, and the first half was pretty boring with very little goalmouth action. Pennant was lively on the right, without ever getting into third gear. Benayoun had some nice moments but was not on the ball enough, and Leto and Leiva didn't do much to be fair. Alonso was imperious at the back, rarely having to break sweat and enjoying the freedom on the ball to pick out some nice forward passes. He didn't have to defend much, and I doubt we'll see him in this role ever again, but there were definitely flashes of Big Jan about him. Xabi is obviously slimmer, and ever so slightly quicker, but seeing him back there did evoke memories of when Kenny used to play the Great Dane in that role. I was especially looking forward to seeing Leiva in action, as he's come with a big reputation and I liked what I saw from him against Toulouse when he came on as a sub. It's difficult to know what to make of him, as he's not your typical Brazilian player that's for sure. He's neat and tidy, works hard and looks to be a good all rounder, but I'm sure there's a hell of a lot more to his game than what was in evidence in this kick about. The first half was so uneventful I didn't even bother taking any notes. The only real incidents of note I can remember are a couple of free kicks from Alonso and Aurelio that were narrowly off target, and the penalty that gave us a half time lead. It was a good move that led to it, as Pennant cut inside and played a neat one two with Benayoun before he was bundled over inside the box. Alonso stepped up and scored with ease, although even I would have put that pen away as the keeper had dived to his left more or less as soon as Xabi started his run up. He saw the keeper move and just put it down the middle. Pennant put a couple of decent balls across the box but there was no-one to get on the end of them, and Leto had a shot easily saved. That's about it for the first half. Rafa got the players together on the pitch and had a chat with them, before telling them to get on the bus. Except Hobbs and Brouwer, who for some reason were made to do laps around the pitch. I know they're reserve team squad members and the other lads were first teamers, but it seemed a bit harsh to me like! The second half team performed slightly better than the 'big heads' had done in the first half, but they did let a soft goal in. A mix up on the left gave possession away, and Crewe switched the ball to the other flank where the left winger escaped the attentions of Darby and crossed low across the box for the right winger to tap in from close range. The reds threatened regularly, with young Dani Pacheco looking especially lively and tricky. The kid looks so much like Saviola when he's running with the ball, and some of his touches and close control were a joy to watch. He was involved in the winning goal when he sent in a dipping cross from the right, and Putterill capitalised on some confusion in the Crewe defence to volley in at the back post. Interestingly, most of his team-mates opted not to go and congratulate him. Clearly they were worried about being snogged :whistle: 'Razor' didn't have the best of games in truth, it looked like he was trying too hard to impress. Rumour is Crewe are interested in taking him on loan, and with Benitez there watching as well maybe he was trying to do too much. He can play much better than this, but he still got the winning goal so fair play to him. The reds were controlling the midfield, with Spearing his usual busy and influential self, and new boy Damian Plessis slotting in nicely alongside him. This is the first look I've had of him, and I was impressed. He's a very big and athletic looking, but has a nice touch and kept things simple. The other new lad, Mikel San Jose, had a steady game at the back but didn't have much to do. He's pretty good on the ball, but then anyone would look good on the ball compared to Ronald Huth. The word 'uncomplicated' sums Ronald up nicely. He's great in the air, extremely strong and is a good marker, but he doesn't mess about with the ball at his feet, that's for sure. Huth by name, Hoof by nature. He does a good job though to be fair, and not much gets past him. Lindfield had a weak shot from a tight angle saved, and also had a improvised backheel blocked by a defender, but the reds couldn't manage another goal and in the closing stages Crewe finally started to apply some pressure from set pieces. One almighty scramble at the end saw Martin make a save, and then the rebound was headed onto the bar before the danger was scrambled away. Anything but a Liverpool win would have been a travesty, as both Liverpool sides were in control of the game. Star man in the first half was between Alonso and Pennant, with Xabi just getting the nod. Second half, there were some decent displays. Lindfield worked hard and was unlucky not to score, Spearing and Plessis did well in the middle, but Pachecho was the pick for me. He was always dropping off looking for the ball, and when he laid it off he would go looking for it again. He's very busy, and very skillful. It's going to be fun watching him this season. For exclusive photo's from this game, click here Liverpool (1st half): Martin; Arbeloa, Hobbs, Alonso, Aurelio; Pennant, Sissoko, Leiva, Leto; Benayoun, Brouwer: (2nd half): Martin; Darby, San Jose, Huth, Threlfall; Flynn, Plessis, Spearing, Putterill; Pacheco, Lindfield:

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One down at half time: http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=813051

LIVERPOOL 6 Derby 0 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) - Xabi Alonso (2), Fernando Torres (2), Ryan Babel, Andriy VoroninHalf Time - 2-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Sat 1 September 2007 Star Man - Xabi Alonso It had been coming for a long time, and it was hardly a surprise that sorry Derby were on the receiving end. We are perhaps the most wasteful team in the league in front of goal, but there will be days where we get it right and when we do someone will take a battering. Yesterday it was Derby’s turn, but they won’t be the last to suffer. There’s been a change in Rafa Benitez’s approach this season, it’s as though he’s finally released the shackles and decided that shit teams need to be put to the sword, they don’t deserve the respect he’s often shown them. Witness the way he went to three men up front even though we were already four goals up. In the past, we’d go two goals up and settle for that. This time we went out to get more goals, and long may it continue. It seems like I’m always whining about us not being clinical enough and wasting too many chances. Even the other night against Toulouse we missed a shedload of clear chances, but like I said to mates afterwards I don’t care how many we miss as long as we score four. Or six! It would be churlish of me to complain about anything after this game, I’ll leave that to Rafa, as you know he’ll find something he wasn’t happy about just to keep people on their toes. I still feel we could have been more clinical in the first half, but ultimately it didn’t matter because the problem was more than rectified after the break when we ran riot. There’s so many things I liked about this game, and a hell of a lot of things to be encouraged about. For one thing, we’ve scored twelve goals in three games without Steven Gerrard. We haven’t missed him, not one tiny bit. That’s not meant to be disparaging of the captain, it’s merely making the point that we have people to cover. Whatsmore, we have more than one player to bring in. Last weekend Sissoko came in and was the matchwinner. This weekend Mascherano came in alongside Alonso, and it was a truly brilliant display from the pair. On paper a partnership of Mascherano and Alonso is not the greatest attacking force in the world, as both like to play more of a holding role. Thing is, sometimes we tend to pigeon hole players and think they can only do the one job. Having Mascherano alongside him allowed Xabi to get forward and play higher up the pitch. He scored two, and should have had three. And Mascherano also has a lot more in his locker than what he’s shown us so far. I really think he’s capable of getting forward and being a creative force. Neither are as effective as Gerrard, obviously, but I like the look of them as a pair. Mind you, Mascherano and Sissoko worked well together last weekend at Sunderland, and it seems that regardless of what combination we go for, there aren’t many teams in Europe that will be able to field a stronger central midfield than us (especially when you pick two from Gerrard, Mascherano and Alonso – sorry Momo!). But then we knew that anyway didn’t we? The big question marks we have had hanging over us are up front and out wide. Those question marks are still there, it’s too early to say otherwise, but the doubts are being erased by the week now. Pennant was brilliant again, he’s growing in stature every week now and he absolutely terrorised Derby’s right back. He was moved to the left flank early in the first half, a move that I thought was more for Babel’s benefit than anything else, as he wasn’t getting into the game at all. The Dutchman looks more at home on the right flank than the left, but on the evidence of this game Rafa may have stumbled upon something here. Pennant can play just as effectively on the left as he does on the right, and that is an interesting option for us to have. It probably won’t do his England chances any harm either, but that’s of no concern to me. Virtually everything we created in the first half had Pennant at the heart of it. First he produced a lovely cross from the right to pick out Torres, but his header was saved by the Derby keeper. Then he twice picked out Kuyt with pinpoint deliveries, only for Dirk to wastefully put both efforts over the bar. He was also involved in the opening goal, as it was he who won the free kick that Alonso fooled the keeper with. It was a fluke goal of course, but the delivery was excellent and although it’s easy to blame the keeper, I don’t think he could have done too much about it as he couldn’t commit himself to stopping the free-kick in case Kuyt got a touch. Had Bywater moved to collect the free-kick and Dirk got anything on it, it was a certain goal. That kind of situation is a nightmare for keepers, and plenty of goals seem to be scored like that these days. The goal should have opened the floodgates, but we had to wait until just before half time for the second. It was a truly stunning goal, one I could watch over and over. The whole moved just reeked of awesomeness. Arbeloa made a run in behind their full back and was pointing to exactly where he wanted the ball played. Agger spotted the run, and slid the ball through inch perfectly into the Spaniard’s path. With plenty of players to look for in the middle, it would have been easy to play the wrong pass, but Arbeloa took his time and cut it back to Babel on the edge of the box. The dummy that took two players out of the game was wonderful, but it was topped by the coolness he showed in giving the keeper the eyes before sweetly striking the ball into the other corner. It was just a truly fantastic goal all round. Up to that point Babel had not done much, but after the goal he was a different player. I had never seen him play prior to joining us, and I haven’t really been sure what to make of him. To me he looks a bit clumsy on the ball and always seems like he could stand on the ball and fall over at any time. I did wonder if it was just his style, and that maybe he’s one of those deceptive players who’s a lot better than he actually appears. You know the type, players with an ‘awkward’ style. After watching him against Derby, it’s obvious that this is indeed the case. He’s very raw, but he did some things that were breathtaking, not least the goal. I’m happy now that he is in actually control of what he is doing, even if it doesn’t always look like. The other night he showed some nifty footwork to play in Kuyt, but even then I was wondering if maybe he’d just gotten lucky. The more I see him, the more reassured I am that he just has a bit of an unusual style. He came alive after his goal and was direct and dangerous. Derby really were the perfect opposition to make an impression against, and to be fair every player in our side did that. The second half was an absolute demolition job. Derby were lucky to only concede six in the end. Alonso should have made it three nil just after the break after a superb flowing move started by the outstanding Arbeloa. Torres then fed Kuyt who rolled it to Xabi, but somehow he put it over the bar when it was easier to score. The key point here though, was that Alonso was forward in open play, and was shooting from the edge of the six yard box. How often have we seen that before? Like I said, he and Mascherano actually pose a lot more attacking threat than they often show. They just need to be allowed off the leash now and again! The third goal was always coming, and it was Mascherano’s presence up the field that created the opening for Torres. Not that the little Argie maestro was charging forward with the ball, he was doing what he does better than anyone (with the possible exception of Sissoko), closing people down and snapping at their heels. He just doesn’t give anyone a second on the ball, he’s awesome and must be a nightmare to play against. Derby’s holding midfielder (don’t know who he was) didn’t realise that the Chief was bearing down on him and he allowed himself to be caught in possession. The ball was fed into the path of Torres, and he did the rest, driving through the heart of Derby’s defence before finishing with aplomb into the bottom corner. He made it look easy, when it really wasn’t that clear of a chance when he first picked the ball up. With the game in the bag, Rafa decided to get his subs on. One of the most exciting aspects of what’s going on at the moment is that we have so many players desperate to play, that when we bring subs on you can see how keen they are to make an impression and catch the manager’s eye. First, Benayoun came on for Pennant who was given a rapturous reception when he left the field. It’s great to see the way he’s won the fans over after a poor start. It was around this time last year the crowd cheered him off the field in very different circumstances against Portsmouth, but he’s turned it round and credit to him. Like I keep saying, I really, really enjoy watching him play these days, he’s a class act. Benayoun is a player with a point to prove as well, as he wants playing time but he’ll have to perform to a very high standard to get it. That’s one of the reasons we’re looking so good at the moment. Players want to play, but they are in competition with other good players. Benayoun was very good against Toulouse, and some will have felt he did enough to deserve a start against Derby. But Pennant started the game, and raised the bar again. If Yossi is going to oust Jermaine from the side, he’ll need to raise his game even further, and that can only be good for assssss, no? It’s the same all over the park. Riise looks to have fallen behind Arbeloa in the pecking order, and on current form you can’t argue. Arbeloa started his career at Anfield very promisingly, then he had a few ropey games towards the end of the season and it was all threatening to go a bit ‘Josemi’. He’s started this season in brilliant form though, and looks a real find. £2m for the Arbeloa we’re seeing at the moment is threatening to be the steal of the decade. He needs to keep it up though as it’s still early days. Benayoun was involved in the fourth goal, although crediting him with an assist would be stretching things a little. Babel played a one two with Mascherano and surged into the box before cutting the ball back. Yossi was shaping to shoot when he was almost cut in two by a powerful challenge by McEveley, and with some of the crowd hopefully appealing for what would have been an incredibly harsh penalty, Alonso latched onto the loose ball and caressed it into the bottom corner for his second goal of the game. The strength of the squad and the hunger of the substitutes was further in evidence when Voronin replaced Babel. I’m sure I wasn’t the only person in the stadium that KNEW Voronin would score when he came on. As long as he had at least twenty minutes, I had no doubt he’d get one. He must have been looking at that Derby backline from the subs bench, itching to get on. His goal was a tap in, but credit to him for getting in there, and again it was good build up play that created the opening. Kuyt and Torres combining well before Bywater could only parry Dirk’s crosshot into the path of the Ukranian with the second coolest hair at the club (incidentally, Leto walked past me in the main stand before the game, and we shared a mutual nod of respect that you only get between people with good hair). Three goals already for Voronin now, which is a dream start for a player I’ll admit I expected very little from. Good on him, I’m delighted he’s proving doubters like myself wrong. He kept Crouch out of the 16, which will no doubt fuel the rumours that the big man is being pushed out. Thing is, like I said in the Toulouse game, Crouch had the chance to impress Benitez but I don’t think he took it. He didn’t do enough to force himself ahead of Voronin, never mind Kuyt. Crouch will have to do more because the competition is so fierce. Once again, that can only be good for the club. The competition for places up front hasn’t been this intense since the treble season when we had Owen, Fowler, Heskey and Litmanen battling it out. Torres of course is the number one striker, and the other three are basically fighting it out to partner him. The £20m man had missed a great chance to grab a second goal when he put the rebound wide after Babel had almost decapitated a defender with a trademark piledriver. Derby’s generosity ensured Fernando wouldn’t have to wait too long to double his afternoon’s tally, as Andy Todd’s shockingly underhit backpass allowed him to take the ball around Bywater and roll it into the empty net in front of the Kop. 6-0, and still time to add to it. Derby went into damage limitation mode, introducing extra defenders such as the giant Darren Moore and just trying to avoid letting in ten. Having said that, they should have pulled a goal back themselves, only for Fagan to horribly miss his kick from close range when he only had Reina to beat. Fagan had been a right snide all game, complaining to the referee and mouthing off at Arbeloa before committing a disgraceful stamp on the reds full back that went unpunished. Derby simply couldn’t cope, they were outplayed in every department and looked a very, very poor side. Even so, I’m not buying into this ‘well it was only Derby’ stuff. Yeah, they were shite, but so are plenty of other sides we’ve faced and not put six past. People say Sunderland are shit, but look at how the mancs struggled to beat them. We have a habit of making teams look bad, because we are very difficult to play against. It’s a skill we’ve had for some time, but now we have added an extra attacking threat to our play which means not only can we make teams look bad, we can make ourselves look good too. Torres is a big part of that, largely because you can see teams don’t want to play against him. Hansen’s assessment of Torres on MOTD was very interesting I thought. Jocky made the point that Torres plays through the centre all the time, he doesn’t go out wide too much, he likes to stay in between the two centre backs and play in areas where he can hurt them. He backed it up with plenty of examples and it was very informative. Torres works hard, and when you combine that with the phenomenal work ethic of Kuyt, defenders know they aren’t going to have a minutes peace. In fact, throughout our team we have an incredible work rate. We press the ball and don’t allow teams to play, and no-one is going to look forward to playing against us. We’re not exactly Rafa’s old Valencia ‘crushing machine’ yet, but we’re getting there. Star man could have been anyone from about six. Arbeloa was terrific, Torres was a real handful, Mascherano is just phenomenal, Pennant was electric, Babel was exciting, but I’m going for Alonso. He just had an all round great game. On a final note, Derby's fans were miles better than their team. The away end was packed, and they kept singing all game regardless of how many goals they let in. The 'bring on United' chant was funny, although I'm not sure what the 'six nil and you still don't sing' was all about, considering the Kop were singing for most of the game. Still, maybe they couldn't hear it from the away end, as it wasn't exactly enough to lift the roof off Anfield. Better than most of these kind of games though. One more thing, I've got a seriously irrational hatred of Billy Davies. I really, really can't stand him but have no real idea why. I hate his stupid little face and his stupid little voice, but it really shouldn't be enough to evoke such strong negative feelings towards him. He's not up there with Moyes, Ferguson or the Translator, obviously, but I really do hate the guy, which is weird. It's not a new phenemona either, I hated him last season even when they weren't in the Premiership. Strange one this, maybe I've just forgotten why I hate him, or maybe it's just completely irrational, like the hatred I feel for that Jon Dahl Tommasson twat. The pob looking bastard. Team: Reina; Finnan, Hyypia, Agger, Arbeloa; Pennant (Benayoun), Alonso, Mascherano (Sissoko), Babel (Voronin); Kuyt, Torres:

LIVERPOOL 4 Toulouse 0 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) - Peter Crouch, Sami Hyypia, Dirk Kuyt (2)Half Time - 1-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Tue 28 August 2007 Star Man - Javier Mascherano Dirk Kuyt and Peter Crouch both staked their claim to partner Fernando Torres this weekend, as sorry Toulouse were trampled into submission on an emotional night at Anfield. It wasn’t exactly a second string side, but to be able to win so convincingly without Gerrard, Alonso, Carragher, Pennant and Torres amongst others is highly encouraging. Toulouse weren’t much opposition, but even so, the manner in which they were overcome was impressive. The display of the players on the pitch was excellent, but it was surpassed by the performance of a capacity crowd who did the club, and the city, proud all evening. Beforehand there was much discussion about whether it was appropriate to play z-cars, or even whether this horrible tragedy is even football related. There is some validity in the arguments, but my own view was that Liverpool Football Club and its fans wanted to do something to show Rhys Jones’ family that they are in our thoughts. Whatever they came up was fine by me, I just wanted to be able to pay my respects to that poor family in some way. Had LFC not organised that tribute, how else would we have been able to do that? Seeing the Jones family stood there on the pitch was heart breaking. I can’t even begin to imagine what they are going through, my heart goes out to them. It was a fitting gesture, and the YNWA that followed z-cars was sung with more emotion than I can remember in a long time. Seeing Rafa hugging Melanie Jones brought a tear to the eye, and it felt to me like YNWA was being sung for three people dressed in Everton blue even more so than the eleven redmen out there. I don’t think this will make too much difference to red and blue relations (although you never know, I suppose), but at least for this one night there was some solidarity. Anfield on European nights is always special, and even though this was a low profile game in comparison to what we have become used to, the crowd were in good form all night. The tribute to Rhys was moving, the support during the game was excellent, and the sportsmanship at the end was typically impressive. In short, it was a priviledge to be at Anfield last night. The game itself was very enjoyable too, especially the first half when I thought we were excellent. Despite the numerous changes to the side, there was a fluidity to our play and the high tempo that was set by Mascherano and Sissoko was just too much for the French side to deal with. Whenever they had the ball, Momo and the Chief swarmed all over them, and the rest of the side were quick to follow their lead. The opening goal for Crouch was a great example of this. Momo won possession and started an attack. The attack looked to have broken down when Benayoun ran into trouble, but he didn’t give it up and made a tackle to get the ball to Kuyt on the right flank. He crossed, Crouch scored and the tie was as good as over from that moment on, as there was no way Toulouse were going to score twice. Crouch should have had three before half time, but made a hash out of two free headers. I had a little flutter before the game on him getting a hat-trick, so I was none too impressed with the big man’s profligacy in front of goal. Crouchy is reportedly unhappy about the way he appears to have slipped down the pecking order. I’ve got some sympathy for him, especially the way he was repeatedly left out last season even though he was scoring goals. There’s no point him sulking over it though, he’s got to perform to a level where he makes it virtually impossible for Benitez to overlook him. He scored a decent goal against Toulouse, but he hasn’t done nearly enough to make himself undroppable. Maybe if he’d buried another couple of the numerous chances he had then Rafa would have a problem, but he didn’t and it was his strike partner who staked the biggest claim to partner Torres. If ever a player got his just reward, it was Dirk in this game. Once Sami had made it 2-0 we started to cruise a little. There wasn’t that much urgency to go and score more goals, with Kuyt being the exception. He ran the channels and was constantly looking to get in behind them and get shots in. He had a shot deflected onto the bar, he missed a couple of headers and he dragged a shot wide from a difficult angle. He kept plugging away though, like he always does, and he got his just desserts with two goals in the closing minutes. Both were taken very well, the first after a lovely interchange with lively substitute Babel, and the second with a deft finish following a clever through ball from Benayoun. With Torres given the night off, Kuyt staked the biggest claim to partner him at the weekend when we entertain Derby. Two goals, an assist and a good all round performance have surely earned him the right to stay in the side. Opinion amongst the fans seems to be split on Kuyt. He does some good things and some bad things in every game he plays. I’m not convinced that he’s good enough in the long term, but I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a player to prove himself to be good enough as much as I want Kuyt to do it. In an era in which many modern footballers come across as spoilt, greedy, out of touch bellwhiffs (I’m talking Ferdinand, Dyer, Lampard, Ashley Cole etc), you look at someone like Dirk Kuyt and you can relate to him. I read a comment from someone on the forum describing him as ‘the foreign Carra’ and that’s spot on. If anyone deserves to be successful, it’s Dirk Kuyt. It was good to see him get off the mark for the season, and there’s definitely goals in him, I just don’t know how many. A combination of erratic finishing, and sacrificing himself to drop deep and help the team have restricted the impact he’s had in the scoring charts since coming here, but if he can be a little more clinical and selfish (and it was good to see his shoot on sight policy in this game) then he could still be our twenty goal a season man. I don’t know if he will prove to be capable of it, but it won’t be for a lack of trying. As good as Kuyt was, I still don’t think he was our best player on the night. That honour goes to Mascherano. He was just phenomenal, and gave a midfield masterclass. Defensively he was brilliant, as usual, and he also dictated the tempo of our play with his clever passing and switching of the play. I don’t remember him wasting a pass all night, and his work rate is really high. I get tired just watching him. What a player. A partnership of Mascherano and Sissoko is always going to make it tough for the opposition, but the concern would be that it makes it tough for us as well, as neither asre known for their attacking prowess (notwithstanding Momo’s goal at the weekend). Against Toulouse though it worked quite well. Momo got forward to help out the widemen and strikers, and the balance looked good. Of course, the level of opposition has to be taken into account, and I wouldn’t especially want to see Momo and the Chief playing too many Premiership games together, but it is encouraging to see that all of our midfield foursome can play together and be effective. That foursome might even become a fivesome, as young Lucas did well when he came on. I was impressed with his contribution, he was lively but kept things fairly simple and I’m looking forward to seeing more of him. I’m not sure what to make of Leto, aside from the fact he has great hair. Replacing Bolo was never going to be an easy task, but I think Rafa may well have topped the classically coiffed Dutchman. Young Leto has the best hair since Paddy Berger in his alice band wearing heyday. As for his footballing abilities, well I thought he started very brightly, but faded badly. All things considered, it was a decent debut from him, and he’s clearly got good technique and a sweet left foot. His corners were really good too, and hopefully as the season progresses he’ll develop into a player who can give us another option on the left flank, as although I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a problem position, it isn’t exactly our strongest area either. Riise had a poor game I thought, but everyone else did pretty well. Benayoun enjoyed a good home debut, showing some silky skills and clever passing. Arbeloa was excellent and is really proving to be a valuable player for us, and Sami Hyypia showed why we are lucky to have a player of his class as back up for Agger and Carragher. When he doesn’t have to play twice a week every week, Sami is awesome. Hopefully he will see out his career at Anfield and collect the only medal missing from his collection. At the final whistle, the Kop began chanting ‘Toulouse’. It took a few seconds for the away end to realise what was happening, but word quickly spread and they all began to applaud before responding by chanting ‘Liverpool’. Clearly these fans don’t share the views of their compatriots Platini and Gaillard when it comes to Liverpool supporters. No doubt Platini will be desperately hoping we get a tough group when the draw is made tomorrow, as the last thing he’ll want is us reaching another final. Personally I don’t care who we get, as in Europe I fancy us to beat anyone, home or away. I just wish we could get Chelsea, as it’d be nice to have a quick chance to make them pay for what happened a couple of weeks ago. It can wait til the semi finals though I suppose. Team: Reina; Arbeloa, Hyypia, Agger (Finnan), Riise; Benayoun, Sissoko (Lucas), Mascherano, Leto (Babel); Kuyt, Crouch:

LIVERPOOL 1 Chelsea 1 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) - Fernando TorresHalf Time - 1-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Sun 19 August 2007 Star Man - Steve Finnan New season, same old same old. Chelsea are still horrible snidey cheating twats, Rob Styles is still utterly incompetant and out of his depth, and we are still not converting enough chances. To criticise our players for wastefulness in front of goal would be unfair after this though, as we did enough to win and it is down to one man and one man only that we didn’t. There are many reds out there convinced that Styles was paid off. I’m not one of them, I just think he’s fucking useless and always has been. Had this been a good referee making such unfathomable decisions, I’d be suspicious. Rob Styles is known for his incompetence though. We should have seen that penalty coming, as even in the first half he made so many staggeringly bad decisions. As for the Essien ‘second yellow’, I don’t think he was booking Essien, he’d just forgotten that he’d already showed the card to Mongo a minute earlier and so he showed it again. He’s a fucking moron who should not be refereeing any big games as they are simply too much for him. But bollocks to Rob Styles, I’m not going to harp on about his performance as I’d prefer to focus on the positives to come out of this game, and there were plenty. One the one hand we’ve been screwed out of two points here, but it’s not the end of the world as we haven’t lost any ground on Chelsea or Arsenal, and we’ve gained another point over the mancs. So although things could and should be better, we’re not in bad shape. As for other positives, well Torres getting his first goal is a big one, especially given the manner of it. It was a goal of stunning quality, and it looked so effortless. His all round performance wasn’t anything to write home about (he was good, but not exceptionally so), but that goal was brilliant. His pace, directness and ability to go past people gives us something we’ve been lacking since Baros left. Pennant was another big positive. He’s well and truly won me over now, in fact he did that several months ago. I don’t care what he’s like off the pitch, or that every time he opens his mouth in interviews he seems to be crying about not getting an England call up. The bottom line is I really enjoy watching him play, he’s a damn good player and he’s getting better. I thought he was excellent today, and once again he had the beating of his pal Ashley. The big concern is his petulance and frustrating habit of picking up silly bookings. He’s been subbed a few times because Rafa was worried about him getting sent off, and maybe that’s why he was brought off in this game, I don’t know. I wouldn’t have taken him off though, as he seemed to have regained his cool and he was giving Chelsea loads of problems. The major plus for me though is the way we reacted to being pegged back. And perhaps even more significantly, the way Chelsea reacted. A year ago, if they’d got an equaliser against us they’d have put us right under the cosh and we’d have been hanging on. This time, we pegged them back, threw on an extra striker and they introduced an extra defender. Whatsmore, they were time wasting and doing everything they could to break the play up and stop us building up a head of steam. They were delighted with a point, we were desperately disappointed. That is significant, as they know we’re a threat. As frustrating as it is not to pick up the three points, ultimately it won’t be an issue if we just go out and beat all the sides we should be beating. Dropping two points to Chelsea is not especially damaging. Dropping two against the likes of Derby or Sunderland who we face in the next couple of weeks would be a very big deal. We were better than Chelsea and deserved to win, but there is definitely room for improvement. We missed some chances we should have put away, especially Riise but also Gerrard and Alonso. They weren’t sitters by any means, but you have to at least hit the target and we didn’t do it. We’ve got to become more clinical, because if we do then we’re capable of winning any competition we enter, including the Premiership. There were a few contenders for the star man. In the first half Gerrard was colossal. There was an aggressive intent in everything he did. He snapped into tackles and he chased and harried. He faded a bit in the second half, but I put that down to him picking up a booking and having to tone his game down slightly. He was still very good though. Arbeloa was good too. He defended well and got forward when he could. Wright-Phillips managed to get away from him a couple of times and got dangerous crosses in, but the little fella is in really good form at the moment and would give any full back problems. Overall Alvaro stuck to his task well. I’ve mentioned Pennant, and Carra and Agger played well too, but I’m going for Finnan as star man. Malouda has looked very good since joining Chelsea, but he got nothing out of Finnan who was his customary excellent self. It was interesting that Rafa opted for the same team that had faced Villa last week. We know he’s going to rotate, but a lot of people would like to see him play the same team for the first half a dozen or so league games so we can try and amass as many points as possible early on. Is that happening? We’ll know next week I suppose, but it does seem like this might be what Rafa feels is his strongest eleven. Team: Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Arbeloa; Pennant (Babel), Gerrard, Alonso, Riise (Crouch); Kuyt, Torres: You didn’t really think I was going to leave it at that did you? Like I could possibly write about this game without resorting to personal abuse to the likes of Mongo, Cashley and Drogba. The only difficulty is where to start. I’ll start at the top, with the Translator. Apparently the referee had a ‘positive game’. Depends on what you’re wanting from a referee I suppose. Then we have this little gem: "we are naive, because we don't dive into a swimming pool, we don't have violent people, we don't have nasty tacklers." What the fuck does that even mean? Half the time when he speaks I don’t even know what he’s talking about. Swimming Pool? What the fuck? As for not diving, well I’ve seen Mongo, Carvalho, both Coles, Robben, Drogba, Makalele and Ballack all take regular dives, and you can add Malouda to that list as well. There’s probably others who I have forgotten to mention. He also brought up Garcia’s goal in the press conference afterwards, the boring predictable strunz. He claims that he’s a changed man this season, but the only thing different I’ve noticed is that he’s got a different shit coat. Can’t wait til semi final time rolls round again. Then we have the captain. If there’s a more despicable horrible cunt in this league than Mongo then I’ve not seen him. I hate his face, his huge forehead, his stupid fucking thin spikey hair, his stumpy legs and his gay pulled up socks. He’s a dirty snide bastard, he’s a diver and he’s a mouthy twat who’s always in the refs face. He’s also a shithouse who doesn’t have the bottle to take a penalty and cries like a baby when he loses. I really, really hate him with a passion, and it was great seeing Torres taking no shit from him. They did their best to kick Torres out of the game, and definitely singled him out for special treatment. Nothing ‘naïve’ about that. As much as I hate Mongo though, the song about his ma made me a little uncomfortable. I don’t care whether his feelings were hurt or not, but his mum has done nothing to deserve being mocked and how can we have a go at Evertonians singing about Gerrard’s baby when we do this to John Terry? I can’t blame anyone for singing it as he is such a horrible specimen that it’s understandable, but personally I don’t think it does us any favours. Maybe I’m being a wet blanket, but it’s how I feel. There are plenty of other things we could mock him for without bringing his mother into it. But anyway, who’s next? Drogba. Now here is an absolutely awesome footballer, who if he didn’t act like such a fanny I would actually have a lot of time for. The way he can hold off a defender and bring down a ball under pressure has me in awe sometimes. He’s a phenomenal player, yet he’s also the second biggest cunt in English football behind his captain. He dives, he complains, and he’s just an all round fucking busy body. Whenever anything is happening on the field, you’ll see this catpiss haired twat with his arm around the referee bitching about something. He got away with murder yesterday. Pennant was booked for complaining about a shocking decision, yet Drogba was allowed to sarcastically applaud the referee and Carragher after he was penalised for a foul. He later kicked the ball away to waste time after he’d committed another foul, yet still no card from Stiles. I guess hanging around with the ref all game touching him up has it’s benefits. Next we have Tal Ben Haim, an ideal signing for Chelsea having served his apprenticeship at Bolton. Bolton under Allardyce were basically Chelsea without money. Similar formation, similar tactics, similar level of cuntiness. Bolton were the diet version to Chelsea’s full fat one. He’s a cry baby just like his captain, and did nothing but complain to the referee about Torres. He couldn’t stop Fernando by fair means, so he just resorted to obstructing him and then accusing our boy of diving. Another horrible twat who has found his spiritual home. Just like Ashley Cole in fact. Here is a player who was brilliant at Arsenal, a real swashbuckling attacking full back. But he got greedy and put money ahead of his football. Now he’s stuck in a team that doesn’t let him cross the half way line, and in which his limited defensive abilities are exposed. Pennant has got the better of him three times in a row now. Ashley Cole epitomises everything I hate about modern footballers. As does Lampard. Once again he was more or less anonymous against us. But for Styles gifting him the equaliser, the only contribution this turd made to the game was once again taking a cheapshot at Alonso. Have to laugh when I see him celebrating in front of the Chelsea fans as though he actually cares. He cares about money, and food. Nothing else. Twat. And what about that Obi Mikel piece of shit. Is it just me, or does anyone else think he’s absolutely fucking useless? A big clumsy lumbering grock who kicks people and wastes time by pretending to be injured. How in God’s name is he getting a game ahead of Makalele? Maybe he gives better sexual favours to Jose. Who else do we have? Essien is a little thug, Joe Cole licks windows and I’m really going to grow to hate Malouda, I can tell even at this early stage. Cech I don’t mind, except he looks like a tit in that crash helmet. At least he isn’t a twat like the rest of his team (actually I’ve nothing against Kalou or SWP either). I just hate Chelsea, they really are a despicable bunch of reprehensible human beings. No doubt this will end up being posted on a Chelsea forum, but I honestly couldn’t care less what anyone connected with Chelsea thinks. I’ve got no respect for their opinions. So don’t bother registering on the forum, or emailing me because I’m not interested in anything you have to say. I will talk football with fans of any club, even Evertonians and mancs. You can have decent conversations with them, but when it comes to Chelsea I just have no interest in anything they have to say. I have nothing in common with any of them. Their mentality is the complete opposite to mine, and can be summed up by them chanting ‘you let your country down’ to Carra. He’s scouse first, English second, but they could never possibly understand that. SOME OF US DON’T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ENGLAND, AND IT’S PARTLY BECAUSE OF GOBSHITES LIKE YOU. They laughably taunted us about our ‘atmosphere’, yet here is a club who’s fans sit there in silence at the Bridge when they’re playing Barcelona or Liverpool in massive CL games. They had a cheesy little banner claiming Liverpool is a trophyless zone. No sense of irony whatsoever these wankers. Five European Cups and Eighteen Leagues. . . . . I’m just really disappointed they didn’t bring those pretty little flags they all had for the semi last year at the Bridge. It would have really brightened up Anfield that would. Sad bastards.

NATHAN ECCLESTON PROFILE by Dave Usher Date of Birth - 30/12/90 Nationality - English Position - Striker Squad Number - 39 Cost - Club Hons (Lpool) - None Intnl Hons - England u18 Other Clubs - Huddersfield Town (loan), Charlton (loan) Pacey striker from Manchester who made the breakthrough to the first team squad in the 2009/10 season. Nathan has impressed at every level since joining the reds and enjoyed an excellent 2006/07 season for the u16 side, scoring a lot of goals and turning in a string of impressive displays. He was included in the FA Youth Cup squad for the semi final at Newcastle, and appeared as a substitute in the 1st leg of the final against Manchester United at Anfield. It was the following season however when he really came to prominence, scoring goals for fun at u18 level, and making his debut for the reserves. He scored in that game too, from the penalty spot. His progress was hampered in 2008/09 as he found himself in the middle of a political battle between Rafa Benitez and the Academy. Reserve team boss Gary Ablett wanted to select Nathan, as well as the likes of Amoo and Kacaniklic, but was not allowed to pick players from the Academy and had to select only from those players Benitez had recruited into his own 'Melwood Academy'. When Benitez got his new contract and the control over the Academy he wanted, Eccleston, Amoo and Kacaniklic were all promoted into the reserve set up and all have made big strides since. Nathan was quickly amongst the goals in 2009/10, and was called into the 1st team squad for the Carling Cup tie at Arsenal, where he featured as a late substitute. He also made his Premiership debut as a late sub against Fulham. In January 2010 Nathan was loaned out to Huddersfield Town, and made an immediate impact by scoring the winning goal on his debut. He returned to Liverpool for pre-season in 2010 and was a regular in new boss Roy Hodgson's squads in the early weeks of the season. A low point for Nathan came against Northampton in the League Cup, when he missed a penalty at the Kop end as the reds lost a penalty shoot out to the league two side. His first start came in the Europa League clash with Utrecht at Anfield, where he acquitted himself well. With 1st team opportunities limited, Nathan was loaned out to Charlton for the remainder of the season where he scored three times in 19 appearances. Video Clips of Nathan Eccleston in action mlOgrT_Lou8 yWx6EEnGcak 9-hfmyQMhcs

SEAN HIGHDALE PROFILE by Dave Usher Date of Birth - Nationality - English Position - Midfield Intnl Hons - England u16 Very promising young player who featured in the youth cup success of 2007 as a 15 year old. Sean has been a regular member of the England youth sides, and enjoyed a fine season with the reds' u16 side in 2006/07. The following season was a struggle for the u18's, despite a promising start. For Highdale personally, it was a year he'll never forget as he was almost killed in a horrific car accident that claimed the lives of two of his friends. Sean was in intensive care for a while, and his injuries kept him sidelined for the entire 2008-09 season.

MARTIN KELLY PROFILE by Dave Usher Date of Birth - 27/04/90 Nationality - English Position - Defence Squad Number - 34 Cost - Undisclosed Club Hons (Lpool) - Reserve League North 2007/08, National Reserve Title 2007/08 Intnl Hons - England u19 Strong defender who missed the entire 2005/06 season with a serious back problem, and only returned to action in the latter part of the 2006/07 season. He was very highly regarded by the club however, and spent the following pre-season training with Gary Ablett's reserve squad. He impressed sufficiently to earn a permanent place at Melwood with Ablett's group, and although he initially found appearances for the second string hard to come by, he impressed whenever called upon. The following year saw Martin become an integral part of Ablett's defence, and such was the quality of his performances he was called up by the first team and made his debut as a substitute in a Champions League clash at PSV Eindhoven. Three months later he sent on loan to Huddersfield to gain some league experience, and he made a big impression with the Yorkshiremen, scoring one goal in seven games and earning rave reviews in the process. Kelly also earned international recognition and has been capped by England at u18 and u19 level. He was included in the first team squad for the pre-season games ahead of the 2009-10 season and was handed his first start by Rafa Benitez when Lyon came to Anfield in the Champions League. Kelly was man of the match, despite having to leave the game due to injury midway through the 2nd half. Video Clips of Martin Kelly in action

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=762384 Apparently the little Spanish lad we got from Barca was very lively.

Latest blog entry, written by Hoddy http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/blog/?p=135

also, why the fuck does it say 'Queeg' next to TLW. I go away for a few days, and Will Robbo runs wild wrecking things. Will, sort that shit out now!

Didn't want to write this one at all (which is why it's taken me three days to get round to it), but I couldn't not have a report from the biggest game of the season just because we lost. You probably don't feel like reading it, but for anyone who does, here it is... http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=47018

Milan 2 LIVERPOOL 1 Report by Dave Usher in Athens Scorer(s) - Dirk Kuyt Half Time - 1-0 Venue - Olympic Stadium, Athens Date - Wed 23 May 2007 Star Man - Javier Mascherano It wasn’t supposed to be like this. ‘In Ancient Greece we’ll bring it back home’ seemed to be the general consensus amongst everyone I’ve spoken to since Chelsea were sent packing in the semi’s. I don’t think I can ever remember a high profile game in which people were so confident. Not one person I spoke to had even contemplated the possibility that we might not win, and I was as certain as everybody else that we’d do it. Why was everybody so ultra-confident though? Most of the pundits and so called experts were tipping Milan, mainly due to the ease they brushed the mancs aside at the San Siro. Yet speak to most Liverpool fans, and they were convinced we’d see them off and bring home number six. There just wasn’t even any doubt about it. Personally, defeat really never even entered my head. I was so sure of winning, that in itself began to make me nervous. Yeah, Milan had looked good against the mancs, but the reality is that United’s awful defending was the reason they were tonked in Italy. United are miles better than us domestically, and their style is perfectly suited to going to places like Villa Park and Goodison and ripping those sides apart. Tactically however, they aren’t the greatest and as a result they tend to struggle in Europe. We are the opposite. I’d fancy us to win in the Bernebeu more than I would at Bramall Lane. So Milan – and Kaka – held no fear for me, or for anyone else I spoke to before the final. Even though we lost, I still feel the same and if we were playing Milan tomorrow I’m positive we’d win. It just wasn’t meant to be this time. Maybe all our good fortune was used up in 2005. We should have won though, as we were the better side, we ‘controlled the game’ and restricted them to hardly any chances. Two years ago Milan cut through us regularly, but this time we made them look exceedingly ordinary. Unfortunately this game went the way of so many others this season, as profligacy in front of goal – coupled with some bad luck - proved our undoing. Four days have now passed since the final, and I’m still not exactly sure what I’m feeling. Initially, I didn’t take the defeat as hard as I would have expected. I mean, I always thought if I saw us lose a European Cup Final I’d be devastated, probably in tears. I wasn’t though, I was frustrated more than anything, because I don’t think we’ll ever have a better opportunity to win a European Cup than this. I don’t know if everyone else feels like this, and having not watched a re-run of the game since I got back (I doubt I will ever watch this game again to be honest) I could be wrong, but from the early stages of this game until the very end, I felt Milan were there for the taking. I wasn’t impressed with them in any way, shape or form. They didn’t attack well, their much vaunted midfield did nothing, and I thought they looked vulnerable at the back whenever we managed to put anything together and test them (admittedly nowhere near often enough). We just didn’t have the firepower to put them to the sword, and that’s why we aren’t Champions of Europe again. I’m upset about it, and I’m also angry about certain things that happened over there (mainly off the field matters, but I’m not getting into any of that here as this is a match report, nothing more), but I’m not as devastated about the result as I would have expected to be. If we’d won, it would have been amazing and we’d all be basking in the glow of it now. We’d have our bragging rights sorted for next season, and we’d all be on top of the world. It would have been a fantastic summer to be a Liverpool fan, but it could have papered over the cracks and actually damaged us in the long term. I know that sounds ridiculous, and given the choice obviously I’d want to win the game. What I’m saying though is that had we won, there is a danger that people would think we are better than what we are. Not Rafa, he’s realistic enough to know what improvements are needed, and even if we’d beaten Milan 5-0 it wouldn’t change his opinion on what needs to be done to turn us into contenders for our domestic title. But would Tom Hicks and George Gillett have felt the same? Having seen us lose, I’d like to think George and Tom will have been hurt by it and will be determined to give Rafa the platform to make us successful. Rafa will have been telling them that the squad isn’t good enough and big money is needed to get us challenging for the title again, but if we’d beaten Milan maybe they wouldn’t quite see the pressing need we have for new players? At least now they now that when Rafa told them we needed more star quality in creative areas, he wasn’t exaggerating. That was why we didn’t beat Milan. We were lacking up front and didn’t create enough chances, and we were not clinical enough with the chances that did come our way. It’s been a recurring theme throughout the season, a glaring weakness that we had managed to overcome throughout the Champions League campaign but ultimately tripped us up at the final hurdle. Rafa’s team selection has come in for a lot of criticism, and I can see why. I didn’t agree with it at the time, and I also thought he left it too late to change things. Having said that, I don’t think that is the reason we didn’t win and I also think that the team he picked did the job he wanted from them for the most part. We made Milan look extremely average. Where was Pirlo? Or Seedorf? They weren’t in the game, and even the brilliant Kaka did very little until late on when Mascherano wasn’t there to pick him up. Mascherano and Alonso bossed this game, whilst Gerrard’s inclusion in front of them may have restricted our attacking options but it helped us control the middle of the park. But Dirk is not a lone striker, and Gerrard doesn’t play the ‘number 10’ role especially well. Throw in Zenden’s presence on the left, and all that remained for us in terms of troubling Milan was the excellent Jermaine Pennant on the right wing. Pennant came of age in this game. He’s been playing well at Anfield for several months now, but away from home he hasn’t done much. Including him in this game was a gamble from Benitez, but Pennant repaid his manager’s faith and then some. Milan never got to grips with Jermaine all game, he was a constant threat. If he can add goals to his armoury, we will no longer have a ‘right wing problem’. He was unlucky not to score early on when Gerrard sent him clear, but Dida got down well to save his shot from a narrow angle. Maybe he should have blasted it, but I don’t think he did much wrong, as he tried to go across the keeper and it was a very good save to be fair. The first half was not exactly incident packed. Milan weren’t giving us anything to worry about at all, as the fantastic Mascherano shackled dangerman Kaka, and Inzaghi continued to live up to his reputation as one of the shittest, but luckiest strikers ever to lace up a pair of boots. Defenders who face him must be thinking they are having one of the most comfortable games of their careers, as he constantly gets caught offside, contributes nothing in build up play and generally looks shit. Then the ball hits him on the arse and ends up in the top corner. He’s made a career out of it, and what happened a minute before half time was just typical, in more ways than one. I haven’t seen the so called foul by Alonso, but several people have told me they didn’t think it was a foul, and even some hacks in the English press who never normally side with us have said it wasn’t a free-kick. What I did notice was that the referee couldn’t fucking wait to give it. He was on the spot blowing the whistle before Kaka had even hit the floor. It was just one of several incidents that has made me question the integrity of this official, but more on him later. As Pirlo lined up the free-kick, I feared the worst. Then again, whenever a free-kick is given in that position I fear the worst, especially when someone with real quality from a dead ball is over it. I thought Pirlo would score, and I wish he had to be honest. I could cope with that much better than seeing that useless twat Inzaghi deflect one in with his arm. Neither referee or linesman spotted the infringement, but I can’t say I’m surprised. It was a hammer blow coming just before half time, especially as I felt we were in control of the game. We’d looked more threatening, even if we hadn’t exactly overworked Dida. All Pepe had to do was make a routine stop from Kaka’s 20 yard shot. It was the only time the Brazilian had escaped the attention of ‘El Jefecito’ in the entire first half. Mascherano was immense, chasing people down and making tackles. There was one occasion when Kaka looked to have gotten away from him, but ‘Little Chief’ kept going and ended up making a perfect sliding challenge to win back the ball. He did the same thing in the second half too, and for me he was our best player on the night. Going in a goal down was a blow, but we’ve been in worse situations and turned it around, as Milan will testify. There were a couple of choruses of YNWA at half time, but there was something a bit scripted about it for me. It didn’t seem spontaneous like it was in Istanbul, and it didn’t seem heartfelt. Maybe it’s just me, but I thought our support inside the stadium during the game was disappointing. Before the game there was a real buzz, and it was everything I expected a European Cup Final would be. Once the game started though, too many people just seemed to be watching rather than getting involved. Maybe it’s just my own perception of it, and I would be interested to know what others who were there feel about it. YNWA at the start of the second half wasn’t inspiring, and neither were the sporadic ‘Campione’ and ‘FOAR’ chants. As I say, I thought it was disappointing, it was as though people were just expecting a re-run of Istanbul, rather than focussing on the game that was happening in front of them. The sportsmanship shown at full time was fantastic, I just thought the support during the game was somewhat muted. Milan were content to just sit back after the break, as we tried to take the game to them. I felt very confident we’d get back into it, as Milan were not offering anything at all and seemed to be hanging on. If we could put them under any sustained pressure, they would surely crack? Had Gerrard buried the glorious chance that fell to him, we’d have gone on to win this game, I’m sure of it. Instead, he got the ball stuck under his feet and produced a weak shot that Dida saved fairly comfortably. At the time I didn’t think it was that big a deal, as surely we’d create more chances? The ineffective Zenden inevitably made way for Kewell, which only served to add to the confidence I was feeling that we’d get back into it. Harry looked lively, Pennant was still causing problems and we were getting down the sides quite easily. The problem was, there was no Crouch to attack the crosses. Dida just kept coming and plucking them out of the air, and worryingly, the clock began to wind down. Eventually, Crouch was sent on. For me, he should have started the game in place of Kuyt, as he plays the role better, and he’s not actually that great coming off the bench. Crouchy usually needs a little while to get into a game, and fifteen minutes isn’t long enough for him to make an impact. Having said that, he came close to a terrific goal when he turned on the edge of the box and struck a powerful shot that Dida tipped over the bar. To get Crouch on, Rafa had been forced to take a gamble and withdraw Mascherano, meaning Kaka suddenly came into the game. With the benefit of hindsight it would have been better to take Alonso off, or maybe even gone to three at the back (it worked well enough in 2005), as Kaka was the only player who could really hurt us. Sure enough, the Brazilian got the ball in space outside the box, and slipped a ball through for Inzaghi who finished well to be fair. I didn’t even see the ball go in, as my view of the goal-line was obscured by an advertising board. This despite me being on row ten, and standing on top of my seat. How is it possible to be stood on a seat in the tenth row, and not be able to even see the goal-line? Thanks for that UEFA, you fucking money grabbing whores. You can shove your finals in future, I won’t be attending any more, but that’s another story. Had Mascherano still been on we wouldn’t have conceded that goal, but it’s difficult to criticise because we were losing and had to take some risks. That goal really killed us, even though we pulled one back relatively quickly when Dirk headed in from close range. If this game had lasted another five minutes, I honestly believe we’d have scored again, but it wasn’t to be, not with this ref anyway. The longer the game wore on, the more of an active hand the referee seemed to take in Milan’s favour. In the first half he’d given a series of free kicks (usually against Alonso) for innocuous incidents, and he was pissing me off a fair bit even then. As time ticked away though, he really began to get on my tits, to the point where I am now convinced he was determined we were not going to win this game. How else can you explain the way he TWICE waved away the most blatant fouls on Kewell by Gattuso? You will never see clearer fouls than that, but on both occasions he signalled that Kewell had dived. That being the case, why did he not produce a yellow card for Harry? Gattuso had been booked earlier for a nasty challenge, and both of the fouls on Kewell were worthy of yellow cards as they were cynical and stopped us when we were in good situations. Maybe that’s why he didn’t give them, or maybe he just didn’t want to. That ref was bent, and I don’t care if people think it’s just sour grapes because we got beat. I’ve not blamed a referee for any of the defeats we’ve suffered this season, even though we’ve had some seriously bad ones (the Arsenal cup games spring to mind). I’m not blaming this guy for us losing this game either, but he sure as hell did his best to make sure we lost and there’s something very fishy about the way he handled this game. I’d like an explanation as to where he came up with just three minutes stoppage time. The rule is 30 seconds per substitution, and 30 seconds per goal. When ninety minutes were up, we’d had two goals and five substitutions. That’s three and a half minutes right there, and it isn’t including the time wasted by that playacting shithouse Nesta. There should have been at least five minutes, plus another thirty seconds for a substitution they made during the stoppage time. Yet we didn’t even get the three minutes signalled, as the twat blew up well before. How can that be justified? I was watching him closely, and he had the whistle in his mouth for ages, looking at his watch and just waiting for the opportunity to blow. He couldn’t fucking wait to end the game, and was shitting himself any time we got near their box. Look at the ludicrous free-kick he gave against Crouch just to relieve the pressure Milan were under. He did everything he could to help Milan, and whilst I’m not going to go as far as to say they paid him off (although it wouldn’t be the first time), I’m positive he didn’t want us to win. We lost because we weren’t clinical with the chances we had, and because we didn’t have enough quality in attacking areas to make Milan pay for their negativity. Having said that, I still think that ref was bent and nobody will convince me he wasn’t. I tell you something else that pissed me off, I was the only person in my section who was even shouting at the ref, or at the time wasting Milan players. People around me just didn’t seem that arsed. It was surreal, I mean this is the fucking European Cup Final for God’s sake, show some passion. The people around me just seemed to accept what was happening, and I see more passion at Anfield even when we are playing shite teams like Sheffield United. It was just depressing, and that’s without even getting into all the shite that happened with people getting in without tickets. I’m not going into any of that here, but it will be covered in the next issue of the fanzine I’m sure. I’m also going to avoid going into what’s gone on since, with Rafa basically telling the world he thinks Parry is incompetant and that the Yanks need to put their money where their mouths are. With so much negativity happening, this has been a really shitty week to be a Liverpool fan. With all that’s gone on, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that we have just lost a European Cup Final. I honestly don’t think it has sunk it with me yet, probably because of all the other crap that has been happening. I’m glad the season is over to be fair, and it isn’t one I will be looking back on with any real fondness. This final was actually a microcosm of the season as a whole. Not good enough in attack, unable to come back when we concede the first goal, wasteful in front of goal, and a bit unlucky. And then there is Steven Gerrard. For me, he’s had a poor season (.tv readers clearly think otherwise, having just named him player of the year!), and although he is our best player, he is also perhaps one of our biggest problems at the moment. I know that sounds stupid, but bear with me. Rafa doesn’t want to pick him in centre midfield when we are up against good sides who can exploit the gap between our defence and midfield. So he has used him on the right, or behind a striker. What this season has shown however, is that Gerrard won’t play on the right, he either sulks or goes walkabout. Playing him off the frontman doesn’t work either, not because he sulks or doesn’t try, but because he just isn’t that effective in that role. So in effect, we are ‘accommodating’ him. I know that sounds daft, as he’s our best player, but if he isn’t playing in the middle then the balance of our team is seriously disrupted. If he knuckled down and played as he can do when selected on the right, it wouldn’t be a problem (like it wasn’t a problem last season), but if this campaign has taught us anything, it’s that playing Gerrard on the right just isn’t really a viable option anymore. So next year Rafa is going to have to bite the bullet and just play him in the centre, either with Mascherano if we’re up against Kaka or someone similar, or with Alonso (assuming he’s still here) if we’re playing someone shit. It’s time we let other teams worry about what we can do, rather than the other way around. It’s been a terrible few weeks for Liverpool fans, from the ticketing fiasco to losing a European Cup final, to the bad press we received thanks to the antics of a minority of scumbags who stormed the gates of the stadium, to the revelations from Benitez about how pissed off he is with Parry’s ineptitude and the American’s ‘all talk, no action’ approach. I’m just miserable as hell right now, and the result in Athens is only part of the reason. We need something to put the smiles back on our faces, and although I’ve no doubt Rafa is doing everything in his power to do just that, I’m not so sure the people above him are. If they put the money up, we could be celebrating the arrival of at least one top player by the end of the week. If they don’t, it’s going to be a long, miserable summer if you’re a red. Team: Reina; Finnan (Arbeloa), Carragher, Agger, Riise; Pennant, Alonso, Mascherano (Crouch), Zenden (Kewell); Gerrard, Kuyt:

LIVERPOOL 2 Charlton 2 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) - Xabi Alonso, Harry Kewell (pen)Half Time - 0-1 Venue - Anfield Date - Sun 12 May 2007 Star Man - Harry Kewell The last home game of the season. Usually a day where the sun shines, and Anfield is in party mood. Factor in a cup final appearance on the horizon, and these are afternoon’s where everyone is relaxed and the atmosphere is a jovial one. Not this time, the pissing down rain was rather apt, as it summed up the collective mood of those inside the stadium perfectly. The atmosphere inside Anfield was horrible, and were it not for the fact this was Robbie’s last game, it would have been a damn sight worse. There was a protest of course, but it didn’t generate as much support as it could have done, especially inside the stadium where many people were a bit wary about ruining Robbie’s farewell do. That ensured Parry didn’t get quite as much flak as he may have expected. He will no doubt have been aware of people’s feelings when the chant of ‘If you all hate Parry clap your hands’ went up in the 1st half, and a hell of a lot of people joined in. But I’ve said plenty about the ticket situation this week, and I will continue to do so. Not in this report though, or at least I’ll do my best not to. I’ll just say well done to those who took part in the protest, we all know no-one likes doing that kind of thing but there comes a point where you have to put certain things to one side (such as how it looks to outsiders) and take a stand. You did that on Sunday, and had I not been selling the fanzine I’d have been with you. Unfortunately, I have to try and make a living, and seeing as though I’ll be having to pay a tout if I want to get into the final, every penny counts. As for the Moores mosaic, I’m not even going to touch that one, it’s not worth the aggravation I’d get if I said what I felt about that and those responsible for it. So getting back to the football, well basically this was fucking awful until Harry Kewell came on and livened things up. Rafa has been criticised by some in recent weeks for fielding weakened sides. To be honest, it makes no difference what side he picks, the players are in wind down mode, and all minds are on Athens. He picks a weakened side, we lose at Portsmouth and Fulham. He picks a strong side, and they perform just as badly and scrape a draw at home to Charlton. It isn’t about the players selected, it’s about their mentality, and they’ve been concentrating solely on the Champions League for several weeks now. We got third place because Arsenal gave up on their season from the moment they were knocked out of three cups in a little over a week. We gave up too, but Arsenal’s shocking form meant we didn’t need to do anything to clinch third place. One point from our last three games was enough. Charlton should have won this game, and they should have won it easily. Had Darren Bent been on the end of the chances that fell to the Chinese lad (don’t know his name, sorry), they would have done. They went in front a little over a minute into the game with a scruffy goal from Matty Holland, and it set the tone for a terrible first half. The goal wasn’t Daniele Padelli’s fault, but it was the nightmare start for the kid, who looked nervous throughout. It didn’t help him that the back four produced their worst performance of the season in front of him, but he did his chances of a permanent move no favours at all. I’ve seen him several times for the reserves and he is a very good keeper, who is normally very positive. Nerves must have gotten the better of him, because he’s better than this. Arbeloa wasted two glorious opportunities to equalise, the first when he went clean through on the keeper and failed to square the ball to an unmarked Fowler and also failed to direct his shot on target. It looked to me like he panicked. He had too much time and didn’t know what to do. The second opportunity was different, he didn’t have much time, he just had to swing his leg and direct the ball on target from 14 yards, but he couldn’t keep his shot down. Gerrard sent Fowler through just before half time, but he slipped as he got his shot away and it went into the side netting. We hadn’t been playing well, but it was only Charlton, so chances still came even though we were well below par. We never really looked like taking those chances, and the atmosphere in the stands was reflected on the pitch, as the players looked like they’d rather be somewhere else too. Steven Gerrard was the one exception, as he chased all over the place and really looked desperate to win this game. There have been some games this season when that hasn’t been the case, and he’s looked disinterested and lethargic, but you couldn’t say that this time. I’m sure he was desperate to see Robbie go out on a high, and that was probably why he seemed to be trying harder than anyone else on the pitch. I don’t remember too much about the 1st half to tell the truth. My heart wasn’t in this at all, and I spent more time watching the crowd than the pitch. There seemed to be a lot of angry people towards the middle of the Kop, and they were the ones who got the Parry song going from what I could tell from my seat in the Main Stand. You could feel the undercurrent of unhappiness in the stadium, and for the first time that I can ever remember, there is a real split right now between the club and many of its fans. I certainly feel more detached from the club than I ever have. Not the team, certainly not. Rafa and the players have my total, one million percent backing, but the club itself (or more specifically, it’s chief executive) is a different matter. People were just miserable inside Anfield on Sunday. Those who didn’t get tickets felt pissed off and let down, whilst many of those who did get them felt guilty for having them when loads of their friends missed out. Those who have tickets can’t enjoy it, because they all know people who have missed out and it’s taking the shine off the final. Of course, every final sees people miss out, but this time it was different because the feeling is that the club have let us down. Think I’m exaggerating, well have you ever heard ‘We shall not be moved’ sung with less gusto? I haven’t, it was so half hearted it made me feel really sad. Usually it’s inspiring, this time it was insipid. We should have been giving the lads a rousing send off before they head off to the final, but even though I’m sure everyone wanted to do it, they just couldn’t lift themselves because people’s enthusiasm for this final has been sucked away. Charlton almost started the second half the way they had the first, but the Chinese lad missed a sitter after taking advantage of Carragher’s slip. He then missed a great headed opportunity, and every time Charlton came forward they looked threatening. Darren Bent had a fine game I have to say. He’s a good player, and was under serious consideration last summer before we bought Bellamy. If he’s still a target, he certainly didn’t do himself any harm with this lively display. I’m not convinced by him personally, I think we could, and should, be aiming higher. We were just not at the races all afternoon, but the game – and mood - perked up a little when Harry Kewell came off the bench looking trim and lively. His first real involvement saw him beat his man and clip a cross to Dirk on the back post. He nodded it back, and Alonso bundled the ball in despite completely miskicking his shot. The celebrations were muted, to say the least. The Aussie’s performance actually lifted the crowd out of its slumber. Whenever he got the ball, he looked electric. He produced a shot of absolutely stunning quality that almost broke the frame of the goal, such was it’s ferocity. The technique to strike a ball like that is something that few players have. With Kewell, talent has never been an issue. Fitness and mentality have been however. If in his mind he feels he is free of his injury problems, then we have a fantastic player on our hands. It’s a big ‘if’ of course, but I don’t know, maybe it’s just me but I’ve got a good feeling about Kewell at the moment. He says he’s rid himself of every niggling injury he had, and is as close to 100% fitness as he’s ever been. You can see he looks in great shape, better than he has since he arrived here in fact, so maybe now, at long last, we will see ‘the best of Harry Kewell’. Whether he did enough in this game to earn a start in Athens is down to Rafa, but he certainly made people sit up and take notice. After Kewell hit the woodwork, Charlton went up the other end and did likewise, through Alex Song. The visitors played like a team with nothing to lose, and kept piling forward. They got their reward when Padelli didn’t deal with Thatcher’s low cross as it skidded across the turf in front of him, and only managed to divert the ball into the path of Bent, who finished expertly. Kewell almost levelled with a blistering drive that was well saved by Charlton’s young keeper (don’t know his name, but he looked decent), and Robbie volleyed over from close range to miss out on the fairytale ending he deserved. It had been in the back of my mind that Fowler wouldn’t see out the game, as there was a good chance Rafa would want to allow him the ovation and bring him off just before the end. I was watching Crouchy warming up, waiting for him to get the call, and when he did I got this strange feeling in my stomach. I knew the end was coming, and it was with a heavy heart that I joined everyone else in standing to applaud ‘God’ from the field. He’d had chances to score in this game, but unusually for him, couldn’t take them. What happened less than a minute later – following a fantastic round of applause that continued well after he’d left the field – suggested that this just wasn’t meant to be his day. When the game restarted, we broke up the field through Kewell, and Alonso had a piledriver brilliantly saved by the keeper. From the corner, a defender inexplicably raised his hand and swatted the ball away. Dermot Gallagher pointed to the spot, and the whole ground looked towards the bench at Fowler. This should have been his moment, but he was no longer on the field. The Kop broke out of it’s depression to chant ironically ‘We want Fowler’, but like I say, Robbie wasn’t meant to score on this day. Kewell stepped up, and just about tucked the kick away via the keeper’s hand and the post. All that was left was for the player’s to embark on their lap of honour, and for Robbie to get a proper send off. Things I noticed from the lap of honour: * Luis Garcia was there, hidden under an umbrella. * Pepe Reina had Gabriel Paletta hold his umbrella over him to stop him and his new born baby getting wet. It was the most effective the Big Argentine has been all season. Actually, I’m sorry I said that, I actually like Paletta, I just think he’s a bit raw. * Jermaine Pennant wasn’t there when the lap of honour started. He arrived about half way through. He was probably asleep or something. * Rafa instructed one of his daughters to go and pick up a scarf that one of the fans had thrown on the pitch. She did, and then fell over on the wet turf. Made me laugh. * The players went round the wrong way. The usually go from the Anny Road past the Centenary and Kop, and finish at the Main Stand. They went the other way this time. I blame Gerrard, as he was in the lead. * Around half of Charlton’s fans stayed behind and applauded our players off the field. Nice touch that, and I hope they come straight back up. I think they will, as they have a good manager. Overall, this was a shitty that I’d want to forget were it not for Robbie. He deserved a better send off than this, all the players did, but when so many people have had their hearts broken by the club they have followed with such loyalty, it’s difficult to put that to one side. We tried, but the lack of enthusiasm was definitely in evidence. We’ve got a European Cup final in less than ten days, but people are miserable as fuck. Robbie’s farewell didn’t go exactly according to plan, but God moves in mysterious ways. He could have gone out with a penalty at the Kop End, but what price him getting the winning pen in Athens? Team: Padelli; Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Riise; Arbeloa (Alonso), Mascherano, Gerrard, Zenden (Kewell); Kuyt, Fowler (Crouch):