TLW

STEPHEN DARBY 2008-12 by Dave Usher Date of Birth - 06/10/88 Nationality - English Position - Defender Games - 6 Goals - 0 Club Hons (Lpool) - FA Youth Cup 2006, 2007 Premier Reserve League North 2007/08, National Reserve Title 2007/08 Intnl Hons - None Other Clubs - Swindon Town (loan), Notts County (loan), Rochdale (loan), Bradford City Mr Consistency, Stephen is a versatile performer who is comfortable playing anywhere across the back four. His natural position is right back, but in his Academy days he often played on the opposite flank and also had a successful spell at centre back. All of his appearances for the first team came at right back however. Darby skippered the u18 side to youth cup success in 2006 and was one of the mainstays of the side, performing at a high level in every round. Along with four of his team-mates from that side, Stephen was promoted from the Academy to Gary Ablett's reserve squad for the 2006/07 season, and was handed a call up to the first team squad for the trip to Galatasaray in the Champions League. Stephen was an unused sub that night, and upon his return to England he was whisked from the airport down to the Midlands so he could line up for the youth team at West Brom as they began their successful defence of the FA Youth. Whilst he relinquished the captain's armband to Jay Spearing (Jay would have been skipper the previous season but for injury), Stephen was still a leader on the pitch and his displays in the youth cup were outstanding once more. Not least when he faced the highly rated Chelsea winger Scott Sinclair in the 4th round clash at Anfield and never gave him a kick. In the summer of 2007 Stephen travelled to Switzerland with the first team for their pre-season training camp, and appeared in friendly games against Werder Bremen and Auxerre, and although he was unable to force his way into the senior side during the season he was a mainstay in Gary Ablett's second string, and ended the campaign by lifting the national reserve title in front of a large crowd at Anfield. 'Darbs' featured heavily in the reds' pre-season fixtures in the summer of 2008, and made his first team debut at White Hart Lane as Liverpool crashed out of the League Cup to Spurs. Stephen appeared as a late sub for the injured Phillip Degen. He also featured as a substitute in the Champions League against PSV Eindhoven. The following season saw more opportunities come along for the hard working full back. Appearances for the first team against Lyon in the Champions League and Reading in the FA Cup were reward for the patience shown by the youngster. He acquitted himself well against Lyon at Anfield, until deep into stoppage time he made an error that resulted in the winning goal for the French side. He had to wait several weeks for a chance to make amends, and he did just that with a man of the match display against Reading in the FA Cup. The emergence of Martin Kelly pushed Darby further down the pecking order, and he spent 2010/11 at Notts County, and then joined Rochdale on loan the following season before signing for Bradford City in the summer of 2012.

DANIEL AGGER PROFILE by Peter Schulz & Dave Usher Date of Birth - 12/12/84Nationality - Danish Position - Defender Squad Number - 5 Cost - £5m Club Hons (Lpool) - 2006 Community Shield Club Hons (other) - Danish Championship 2005, Danish Cup 2005 Intnl Hons - Denmark Caps Other Clubs - Rosenhoj, Brondby Left-footed central defender Daniel Agger’s short career has been meteoric so far. He made his debut for Brøndby in 2004 and helped the club win a league and cup double in his first season. The following year he was named best Danish sporting find (all sports) and within 12 months of his Brøndby debut, he lined up for Denmark against former red Jari Litmanen. Agger was solid and Denmark won 1-0 in Tampere, Finland. He moved to Liverpool in January 2006 under much furore. Nobody had seen much of him apart from his appearance in Denmark’s 4-1 win against England in August 2005. Back in Denmark fans were mostly positive about the move and most saw Daniel as one of the most promising defenders of his generation. He was not to disappoint. He made his debut at Anfield against Birmingham in Robbie Fowler’s comeback game and initially looked a little nervous. He was then injured in the reserves after an atrocious challenge by Everton’s Victor Anichebe and spent most of the rest of the season on the sidelines. Another injury picked up at the European U21 Championships 2006 kept him out of much of the preseason, but he made a surprise return to the side in the Community Shield win against Chelsea, drawing plaudits from all sides. Due to his awareness, passing ability and skill on the ball, he is often compared to former great Alan Hansen, and it is a comparison neither should be ashamed of. in 2006-07 Daniel established himself alongside Jamie Carragher as first choice in the reds’ central defence, stringing together a series of excellent performances and chipping in with goals too, most notably a brilliant 30 yard strike against West Ham at Anfield and a crucial goal against Chelsea in the CL semi final win at Anfield. The following campaign was again disrupted by injury, and the arrival of Martin Skrtel combined with the continued excellence of veteran Sami Hyypia meant that Agger lost his status as first choice partner for Carragher. It was a frustrating time for the Dane, as he was sidelined for a long time and Skrtel established himself well during his absence. So highly rated is Daniel that despite his injury problems he was awarded a new long term contract in 2009, and the following season he regained his place in the side and began showing glimpses of the form that had excited so many people in his early days at the club.

JERZY DUDEK 2001-07 by Phil Matthews Date of Birth - 28/03/73 Nationality - Polish Position - Goalkeeper Games - 186 Goals - 0 Club Hons (Lpool) - League Cup 2003; Champions League 2005; European Super Cup 2005; FA Cup 2006; Club Hons (Other) - Dutch Championship Intnl Hons - Polish Caps Other Clubs - GKS Tychy, Feyenoord, Real Madrid Jerzy Dudek started his professional career slightly later than most footballers. He signed his first professional contract at Polish side GKS Tychy at the age of 21. He only played 15 matches for them before he was signed by Dutch giants Feyenoord to be understudy to Ed De Goey. After De Goey moved on to Chelsea, Dudek was given a chance to make the first team goalkeeper position his own, which he did in some style, being almost an ever present over the next four seasons. In the 98/99 season Feyenoord won the title and Dudek was voted the best goalkeeper in the Eredivisie, as well as establishing him as a massive hero with the fans. He received his first international call up and his form led to him being linked with a move to the Premiership, most prominently with Arsenal who needed a replacement for the ageing David Seaman. Meanwhile, Anfield custodian Sander Westerveld was in the most erratic form of his life. Several high profile gaffes, most notably one against Bolton had led Gerard Houllier to look to alternatives. On transfer deadline day, deals were on the table for both Dudek and England U21 goalkeeper Chris Kirkland. After concern that one of the deals may fall through, Liverpool signed both players and come the next match Dudek was between the sticks for The Reds. In his first season, Dudek was a revelation. He kept 26 clean sheets and his agility and athleticism won him many plaudits. The turning point in Dudek's career was the 2002 World Cup. Poland crashed out of the group stages and Dudek turned in what were generally considered to be some poor performances. His next season for The Reds saw Dudek starting to show some inconsistency. While he was still a very good shot stopper, he started to flap at crosses somewhat and began to make some critical mistakes, particularly against Manchester United. This lead to Dudek being dropped for a spell and Kirkland stepped up with a string of good performances. Luckily for Dudek, Kirkland was and is made of crisps and predictably enough was soon injured. Dudek grasped the opportunity and put in some stunning performances including a man of the match performance in the 2003 Carling Cup final, ironically against Manchester United. Dudek's past Liverpool career, whilst frustrating is almost completely overshadowed by his performance in Istanbul. In the first half Liverpool were battered by AC Milan, shipping 3 goals. None of them were particularly Dudek's fault. However, his extra time double save from Andrei Shevchenko defied physics, and then there was his penalty shootout antics. After a pre shootout pep talk from Jamie Carragher, Dudek, aping the antics of Bruce Grobbelar against Rome in 1984 began to do what can basically be described as some kind of aerobics routine. It seemed to do the trick though. Serginho ballooned Milan's first penalty over the bar and then Dudek saved Pirlo's weak effort, although it was later shown that Dudek had moved from his line when the penalty had been struck. Tomasson and Kaka struck both their penalties past Dudek, but after Vladimir Smicer scored his effort, the score was 3-2 to Liverpool and the next penalty could be the decisive one. Milan had to score or Liverpool were Champions of Europe. The decisive penalty was to be taken by Andrei Shevchenko, arguably the best and most in form striker in the entire world. His penalty was poor and Dudek saved it easily to give Liverpool their fifth European Cup. Dudek was awarded a new contract shortly after, although his erratic form lead to a lack of confidence in him. He was replaced by Spanish international Jose Reina and after that became a bit part player, mainly limited to reserve and cup appearances. His form suffered drastically, and he endured two nightmare displays against Arsenal in the space of four days, conceding nine goals as the reds were dumped out of two cup competitions An unlikely move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2007 saw the popular Pole depart Anfield, and he will leave behind memories of an erratic career with the Reds, but mainly of his role in our historic victory in Istanbul.

JOHN ARNE RIISE 2001-08 by Dave Usher Date of Birth - 24/09/80 Nationality - Norwegian Position - Left Back/Midfield Games - 348 Goals - 31 Club Hons (Lpool) - European Super Cup 2001, 2005; League Cup 2003; Champions League 2005; FA Cup 2006; Club Hons (Other) - French Championship Intnl Hons - Norway Caps Other Clubs - Aalesund, Monaco, Roma It's fair to say that young Norwegian John Arne Riise was something of an unknown quantity amongst Liverpudlians (except those from Norway of course) when he arrived at Anfield in the summer of 2001. Liverpool had been linked with him in the past, but given the fact that the last few years had seen us linked with almost every 'Carlos kickaball' in Europe and beyond, few will have taken the rumours seriously until the reds stole in at the11th hour to snatch the player from under the nose of Fulham boss Jean Tigana. There'd been speculation in the press for several weeks that the reds were preparing a bid for the powerhouse youngster, and the players mother - who also happened to be his agent at that time - more or less admitted that they were delaying signing for "the Cottagers" in the hope that Gerard Houllier would come in for him. It didn't look like happening until a problem concerning a sell on clause put the blocks on his move to Fulham, and that's when Houllier stepped in. Riise's former club in Norway, Aalesund, claimed they were entitled to 25% of the £4m transfer fee Monaco were due to receive from Fulham, and Fulham were understandably reluctant to part with more then the agreed price. Whilst the parties concerned were haggling over who was entitled to what, Gerard made his move, and Riise flew into Anfield for talks and a medical ahead of a £4.6m switch to the reds. When the negotiations had concluded, Monaco received their £4m, whilst Aalesund settled for £600,000. Riise was so keen to join the reds that he waived a £75,000 payment which was owed to him by Monaco, just to allow the deal to go through without any further hitches. Such commitment to the cause should see him become a popular figure in the years ahead. Riise arrived with an excellent pedigree. Tigana signed him up for Monaco when he was just 17 years of age. His time at Monaco was generally successful, although a falling out with the coach meant that his appearances during his final season in France were somewhat restricted. He had flourished under Tigana, and won the French title in his first full season at Monaco, and soon forced his way into the full Norwegian team, making his debut against Iceland in January 2000. His debut season with the reds couldn't have gone any better, as he hit an impressive total of eight goals, including memorable strikes against Newcastle, Everton, Arsenal and of course THAT free-kick against the mancs. Whether it was at left back or further forward, John was a revelation, and was the only player to have appeared in every single league game. His popularity with the fans was assured after scoring against both the mancs and the bitters, and the "I wanna know..." song was one of the most memorable things to come out of the 2001/02 season. The following season started well enough, with superb goals against Aston Villa and Blackburn suggesting that Riise would continue where he left off. It never worked out that way however, and the Norwegian endured a disappointing campaign, although his form did threaten to pick up briefly around the turn of the year and he scored another belter against the Gunners. The upturn in his form didn't last however, and the following season was little better. He was involved in most of the games though, as Houllier wasn't exactly overloaded with options on the left, and in the final month or so of the season did show some signs of recapturing the form which made him such a star in his first season at the club. The arrival of Rafa Benitez as manager saw a significant turnaround in Riise's form, and the goals began to flow again. A great strike against Charlton was followed up with a well taken volley at Ewood Park, and a brace at West Brom. Another goal followed away at Norwich as the Norwegian relished the attacking licence given to him by Benitez, who encouraged him to 'shoot on sight.' The goals continued to flow, and Riise was an automatic selection that season, either at full back or further forward, and the Norwegian was part of the team that lifted the Champions League Trophy on that amazing night in Turkey. The one disappointment for him was that he was the only Liverpool player not to score from the spot in the shoot out, his well placed kick being superbly saved by Milan keeper Dida. John would make up for that 12 months later however, as in yet another epic final Liverpool once again triumphed in a penalty shoot out after a 3-3 draw, this time against West Ham in the FA Cup. Riise had endured something of a nightmare performance, but he put it behind him to drive in a penalty past Shaka Hislop in the shoot out. The relief and outpouring of emotion as the ball hit the net was there for all to see, as he finally excorsised the demons that had been with him since Istanbul. Riise had been more or less an ever present once more that season, alternating between defence and midfield, and still contributing with the usual array of spectacular goals. The signings in the summer of 2006 of Fabio Aurelio and Mark Gonzalez had appeared to put Riise's place under serious threat, but once more he was a fixture in the side and was certainly involved in more games than any other left sided player at the club. His form was dropping off though, and the 2007-08 season would prove to be his last at the club. After being such a good servant for so many years, it was sad to see the way Riise went out. His own goal in front of the Kop in the CL semi final against Chelsea was a horrendous moment for him and team, as the reds were well in control of that tie up until that moment. Riise's stock had fallen dramatically amongst the fans by that point, and the own goal tipped some over the edge. Riise was clearly finished at Anfield, it was time for a change, and that change came a few weeks later when he signed for Roma. The Norwegian was a good signing by Gerard Houllier and enjoyed a fine career at Anfield. It ended badly as he appeared to have gone a little stale, but he was always a reliable player who was never injured, and who scored some stunning goals during his seven seasons on Merseyside.

JAMIE CARRAGHER PROFILE by Paul Natton Date of Birth - 28/01/78Nationality - Scouse Position - Defender Squad Number - 23 Cost - Nothing Club Hons (Lpool) - FA Youth Cup 1996, League Cup 2001, 2003, FA Cup 2001, 2006, UEFA Cup 2001, European Super Cup 2001, 2005, Champions League 2005 Club Hons (Other) - None Intnl Hons - England Caps Other Clubs - You must be joking Jamie Carragher’s first taste of success with Liverpool came in the FA Youth Cup in 1996 when he was part of the side that won the trophy. Famously a boyhood Blue, some may have thought that that win, and his subsequent signing of a professional deal with Liverpool, would leave him conflicted in his loyalties. Far from it, though. Carra fully turned from the dark side many years ago and now considers himself a Red, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the club’s history, as well as bringing up his own children as Liverpool fans. As a child, he actually did return briefly to Everton, but, in his own words, quickly realised he’d made a big mistake and returned “home”. Indeed his Red credentials could not have been more clearly proven than when he replied incredulously to a query from a Sky Muppet about leaving Liverpool for a bigger club with the words, “Bigger than Liverpool? I’m not having that. Who’s bigger than Liverpool?” His first professional appearance for the club came in the semi-final of the league cup against Boro when he came on as a sub. His league debut against Villa quickly followed and he actually scored a rare goal in front of The Kop. It could be lazily suggested that that moment was the start of an instant love affair between the fans and Carra. However, it took a long time for him to be fully appreciated. Despite early appearances up front and in midfield, Carra has always been a defender by vocation. His game is based around his mental strengths of confidence, concentration, judgement and reading of the game, as opposed to outrageous talent. However, it should not be inferred that he lacks skill. He is a good passer of the ball and is more than capable of beating a man going forward. It’s just that he doesn’t really see that as his job. Carra is much happier doing the simple things consistently well because he knows that’s the safest option, defensively speaking. It’s probably this attitude that initially left some fans with doubts about him as a player – especially when deployed as a fullback on either flank in a cautious side under Gerard Houllier. The fans’ frustrations with our lack of adventure sometimes manifested itself in criticism of Carra’s lack of movement forward. The fact that this was clearly a tactical policy didn’t seem to occur to some. However, despite getting the player of the year award in Roy Evans’ final season, when he played centre half, his true talents weren’t fully recognised until Rafael Benitez installed him permanently in the position after Houllier had dabbled with him there in the last few months of his tenure. It is in these last three years under Benitez that Carra has finally become recognised for what he is: one of the best defenders in the league. In fact, there isn’t a better pure defender than him around. When this fact is set against the context of his fantastic communication and leadership skills on the pitch, as well as his unbelievable personal commitment to both club and team, it’s no surprise to hear his “Team of Carraghers” song ringing around Anfield with such passion every week. It has been argued that he is vulnerable to the best players at the highest level – especially when confronted by genuine pace. However, he has shown on many occasions that he can cope with the best, combining his good pace over short distances with his deceptive upper body strength and excellent positioning. Furthermore, his intelligent reading of games and situations also adds to his armoury. It’s no surprise that Rafa considers him one of his most important players; an ever-present in these days of ever-changing first team line-ups. Carra’s greatest moment for Liverpool was undoubtedly in Istanbul when he repelled wave after wave of late Milan attacks, despite suffering from chronic and agonising cramps in both sides of his groin. Sheer force of will drove him on when lesser players and lesser men would have faltered or given up. His reward was the greatest prize in club football, and who could begrudge him it? In this age of player power when money seems to be the sole motivation of most, Jamie Carragher is the epitome of the one-club man; a throw back to a bygone era when passion, commitment and values really meant something. With his fantastic fitness record he hopefully has many more years and trophies ahead of him in the Liverpool first team. However, when the time comes to retire from playing, if ever there was a man equipped to switch career from pitch to manager’s office, it’s Carra. Who knows what the future holds, but don’t be surprised if his greatest days at Liverpool are still to come.

HARRY KEWELL 2003-08 by Julian Richards and Dave Usher Date of Birth - 22/09/78 Nationality - Australian Position - Winger Games - 139 Goals - 16 Club Hons (Lpool) - Champions League 2005, FA Cup 2006 Club Hons (Other) - None Intnl Hons - Australian Caps Other Clubs - Leeds, Galatasaray Liverpool’s former number seven is possibly the most frustrating player to have ever worn the red shirt. Signed in a wave of publicity in July 2003, Kewell had a stunted Liverpool career and never came close to justifying the hype that surrounded his signing. Born in Smithfield, Australia; Kewell joined Leeds United as a 15 year old. Starting his Leeds career in 1997, Kewell developed a reputation as a quick left winger and sometimes support striker. Kewell was integral to Leeds’ run to the Champions League semi-final in 2001. When Leeds developed financial difficulties after missing out on qualification for the competition they were forced to sell off most of their better players, as well as Rio Ferdinand. Kewell was eventually sold in the summer of 2003 but the transfer was to prove a frustrating affair. A number of clubs were in the running for Harry’s signature and he’d given an interview to Australian TV announcing who he was to sign for. As the transfer was about to go through, the deal hit a last minute snag. After some wrangling the deal was finally announced and Harry was Liverpool player. The ‘snag’ appeared to be the way the transfer fee of £5million was to be distributed. Kewell’s ‘advisor/agent’ Bernie Mandic was to be paid £2million of the transfer sum despite not being a FIFA registered agent. This led to a court case between Kewell and Gary Lineker over Lineker’s apparent defamation of character. Rick Parry made the comment that Kewell would be ‘an edge of your seat’ player and for the first few months of his career, he was. He scored against Everton in the derby, always guaranteed to help your standing, and gave balance to the team providing a threat down the left side of midfield. At this point Kewell’s career began to be disrupted by injury. The frequency of which was only matched by the ‘You haven’t seen the best of me’ stories in newspapers. With a change of management at Anfield, Rafa saw what qualities Kewell possessed. Seeing him as a natural fit as our left winger or even floating behind a lone striker. Kewell’s season was again disrupted but he managed to get himself fit for both cup finals that season, well fit enough to start them anyway. First he went off in the Carling Cup final for Antonio Nunez; who would go on to score, and then he famously limped off in the Champions League final; once again for an eventual goal scorer, Vladi Smicer. This gave Harry an unwanted reputation amongst some fans. The following season was equally frustrating for Kewell as he battled for fitness and with a longer hairstyle. He put in some decent performance most notably against Chelsea in the FA cup semi-final when he ran Geremi ragged. Once again though, a final appearance for Harry Kewell wasn’t complete without him limping off injured. He managed to get himself fit for the World Cup in Germany and got himself a haircut. It was after the World Cup that another injury hit Kewell and he didn't return to first team action for the reds until May when he appeared as a substitute at Fulham. Another substitute appearance followed on the final day, when he slotted home a last minute penalty at the Kop end to secure a draw with Charlton, and he did enough to earn a place on the bench for the CL final. Harry made a lively cameo in that game, but was unable to prevent Milan edging out the reds 2-1. One thing was certain about Harry Kewell and that was his talent. A clever player who can score goals with his head and his feet there was nothing to hold him back apart from his fitness. Some question his work rate on the pitch and his attitude towards some aspects of his game. Kewell certainly never lived up to the hype that followed him to Anfield and, some would argue, never justified has significant salary. He departed Anfield on a Bosman deal in the summer of 2008, taking the opportunity to join Galatasaray. Well they do great kebabs over there you know. As the man himself might say: We never seen the best of Harry Kewell.

BOLO ZENDEN PROFILE by Real Red Date of Birth - 15/08/76 Nationality - Dutch Position - Midfield Cost - Free Games - 47 Goals - 2 Club Hons (Lpool) - None Club Hons (other) - Dutch Championship 1996, Spanish Championship 1997, League Cup 2004 Intnl Hons - Dutch Caps Other Clubs - PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Chelsea, Middlesbrough, Marseille Midfielder Boudewijn Zenden is thankfully known better by the easier-to-spell first name of Bolo. His Anfield career was heavily impacted by injury, with him missing five months of his first season and three months of his second season. An excellent professional, Zenden was not really able to show his best form for any kind of extended period. He was born in Maastricht in Holland on August 15th 1976, and as a four year old started doing judo, which was one of his two big childhood sporting interests. The other was football, and he joined his first club aged just five - RKVS Leonidas. He would later join MVV Maastricht but at the age of 13 he joined the club that would become his first professional side, PSV Eindhoven. He was very successful at judo and became a "first dan" aged 14. He put martial arts to one side though at 16 when he got his first professional football contract from PSV. He made his debut against Vitesse Arnhem at 18 in the 1994-95 season. During these early years at PSV he still managed to continue his studies to higher education level, concentrating on Public Relations and Spanish. In 1996, just one season after he'd made his debut, Bolo picked up a Dutch Cup winners' medal and then in the following season he had made a big enough impression to be handed his international debut, playing a part in Holland's narrow 6-0 win over San Marino. He ended that second season as a first-team player with a Dutch league championship winners' medal. He ended his PSV career with the Young Dutch Footballer of the Year award for the 1997-98 season, before going to the World Cup with Holland. The Dutch finished fourth in the tournament, with Zenden scoring a goal in Holland's defeat in the third-place play-off match. He started his three-season stint at Barcelona in 1998, lasting for three seasons and scoring three goals in his 86 appearances. His first season in Spain saw him win a La Liga winners' medal. Various coaches came and went over the three years and Bolo never really felt established. In summer 2001, with various clubs chasing his signature, Bolo chose the Premiership and Chelsea where he signed for £7.5m. This was in the days before Chelsea had their vodka-daddy and the only medal he got for the Stamford Bridge outfit was a loser's medal in the 2002 FA Cup final. He managed just 32 appearances in his first season, thanks largely to injury problems, and after two seasons he had played his last game for Chelsea. In August 2003 Chelsea allowed him spend the final season of his contract on loan at Middlesbrough. Chelsea had been the only club he hadn't won silverware with but at 'Boro he was once again picking up a winners' medal. This time it was a League Cup winner's medal he was adding to his collection, scoring the winner at Cardiff and helping the Teeside club to their first major trophy ever. A free agent in the summer, Bolo chose to sign a 12 month contract with Boro and spent another season in the unique air of Middlesbrough. In summer 2005 came the chance for Bolo to join the then Champions of Europe, Liverpool. Again a free agent, Liverpool got a player with European and Premiership experience for free. Rafael Benítez had seen him in action in Spain during Bolo's time at the Nou Camp, but the Dutchman had also scored the winner against Liverpool at the Riverside that previous season. Bolo's debut appearance for the Reds came at the start of Liverpool's defence of the trophy as they took on the mighty Welsh champions TNS in July 2005. Bolo came on as a sub in the 3-0 win. This first season was unfortunately brought to a premature end when, after making just 17 appearances, he suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury, just as his best form had started to show and as his chances of getting a good run in the side had started to look up. In the summer of 2006 Rafa decided to let club legend Didi Hamann leave for Manchester City (via Bolton) because he felt Bolo was able to be part of the club's supply of central midfielders. Bolo's earlier career had been predominately as a left-side midfield player, but as his time at 'Boro went on he'd become a useful central midfielder. Rafa had been impressed by Bolo's attitude the previous season, pleased that despite being unable to play he always made the effort to show up in the dressing room and offer encouragement. When Momo Sissoko suffered a dislocated shoulder in the Carling Cup it looked like Zenden would be getting more chances to show his stuff in the centre of the park, but bad luck came back again and Zenden himself suffered another knee injury in November 2006, only returning to action the following February. Bolo wore number thirty in his first season at Anfield, but was able to grab his preferred number 32 for his second season after the departure of John Welsh. Bolo left Anfield for Marseille in the summer of 2007, his last appearance for the reds proving to be the Champions League final defeat by AC Milan in Athens.

LUIS GARCIA 2004-2007 by Phil Matthews Date of Birth - 24/06/78 Nationality - Spanish Position - Attacking Midfield/Forward Cost - £6m Games - 121 Goals - 30 Club Hons (Lpool) - Champions League 2005, European Super Cup 2005, FA Cup 2006 Club Hons (Other) - None Intnl Hons - Spanish Caps Other Clubs - Barcelona, Tenerife (loan), Atletico Madrid Luis Javier Garcia Sanz was signed by Rafael Benitez for £6m from Barcelona in August 2004 to bring some much needed creativity and flair to the Reds attack. He was regularly employed in various positions including both wings, although his primary position in the team was playing in the hole behind the forwards. Garcia was equally impressive with both feet and possessed a sublime touch, although he was frequently criticised for over elaborating and giving the ball away in dangerous positions. Also he was surprisingly tough and also good in the air considering his height and build. He is however 5ft 6, not 5ft 7 as the song goes. Luis was a product of Barcelona's youth system. After a successful few years playing for Barcelona's B team he was sold to Real Valladolid where he struggled to make an immediate impact and was farmed out on loan, firstly to Toledo and then latterly (and more successfully) to Tenerife where he linked up with his future coach Rafael Benitez. Garcia's 16 goals from the left wing helped Tenerife to promotion to La Liga and showed enough of his quality to assure him of a starting place upon his return to Valladolid. It also attracted the attention of Atletico Madrid who snapped him up. After a season at Atletico he returned to Barcelona where he was unable to force his way into such a star studded line up and spent the majority of the season as a substitute. The powers that be at the Nou Camp were keen for Luis to stay, but as soon as Liverpool came calling, he was on his way to join the Rafalution. Luis made his debut for Liverpool in a 1-0 away defeat to Bolton, where he had a goal disallowed for a highly dubious offside decision. Not one to get downhearted, Luis scored against West Brom to open his account for The Reds in the very next match. Luis finished the 2004/05 season with 13 goals in all competitions and his contribution to Liverpool's Champions League campaign will live long in the memory, thanks to his incredible 35 lob over Gianlugi Buffon against Juventus in the quarter finals and his controversial and blatantly over the line finish against Chelsea, which turned out to be the deciding goal in the semi final. Luis played the full 120 minutes in the final at the Attaturk and was picked in the UEFA team of the tournament. Luis is currently Liverpool's all time top goalscorer in the Champions League. Luis was less of a fixture in the side for his second season, but still weighed in with key goals, in particular his goal against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi final. He was sent off against West Ham in the league after an altercation with Hayden Mullins, which unfortunately ruled him out of the FA Cup Final (ironically against West Ham) An anterior cruciate ligament injury cut short his season in 2006/07, and proved to be the last Liverpool fans would see of the little man as he was sold to Atletico Madrid as part of the deal that saw Fernando Torres arrive at Anfield.

MARK GONZALEZ PROFILE by Joe Dodd Date of Birth - 10/07/84Nationality - Chilean Position - Winger Cost - £4.5m Games - 36 Goals - 3 Club Hons (Lpool) - 2006 Community Shield Intnl Hons - Chile Caps Other Clubs - Universidad Catolica Santiago, Albacete, Real Sociedad (loan), Real Betis Going by the full moniker of Mark Dennis Gonzalez Hoffman, the Chilean International finally joined the club in time for the start of the 2006-7 season. Originally signed by Rafa Benitez on loan from Albacete a year earlier, he was at first denied a work permit by the Department of Employment. In a sign of his faith that he had discovered a potential match winner Rafa then decided to purchase Gonzalez outright, despite him suffering from a serious knee ligament injury at the time, and loan him back to Spain. After recovering from injury Gonzalez made an impressive impact at Real Sociedad, scoring 5 goals in 12 appearances, most of them from long range, and helping to keep Sociedad in the division. Due to this form and maybe Chile's rise up the international rankings (who can really tell with the DoE's inconsistent decisions?) a work permit was duly granted at the second time of asking. Because of Rafa's long drawn out chase of the player, and the YouTube highlights of his goals in Spain, many Liverpool fans were building up hopes that we had a real top player on our hands. Unfortunately the start of Gonzalez's Liverpool career was a stop-start affair, again blighted by untimely injuries. There's no doubt that "Dave" had pace and an eye for a goal, but he never seemed to get to grips with the demands of English football and his performances seemed to get worse, not better, as the season wore on. It was no great surprise when he was sold to Real Betis after just one season on Merseyside.

MOMO SISSOKO 2005-08 by Neil Godfrey & Dave Usher Date of Birth - 22/01/85 Nationality - Mali Position - Midfield Games - 87 Goals - 1 Club Hons (Lpool) - Super Cup 2006, FA Cup 2006 Club Hons (other) - Spanish Championship 2005, UEFA Cup 2005 Intnl Hons - Mali Caps Other Clubs - Valencia, Juventus Mohamed Lamine Sissoko, better known as Momo, arrived at Anfield in July 2005 as a relative unknown. Over the course of the following season he established himself firmly as a fans’ favourite and one of the brightest prospects in English football. Momo was born in Rouen in France, to Malian parents. He began his career as a striker at Auxerre, but despite being a prolific scorer for the youth team he failed to make an appearance for the first team. In 2003, at the age of 18, he was signed for Valencia by Rafa Benitez, who converted him into the dynamic hard-tackling central midfielder that he became. Momo made 20 appearances for Valencia in their title-winning season of 2003/04. Momo represented France at under-21 level, but chose to commit his senior international career to the country of his parents, Mali, and featured for them in both the African Cup of Nations and the Olympics in 2004. Momo was reunited with his former boss at Anfield in 2005 when Rafa signed him from under the noses of Everton. Initially Momo was expected by many to be a squad player, but when Steven Gerrard was moved to right midfield after the Reds failed to sign a winger that summer, Momo was presented with the chance to cement his place in the first eleven. He took that chance magnificently, injecting much-needed energy and steel into the Liverpool midfield. Momo made 45 appearances in all competitions in his debut season, culminating in an outstanding individual performance in the FA Cup Final, where his exceptional energy levels helped him to carry his exhausted team-mates through extra time and on to victory. Often overlooked by the media in favour of the more visible midfield talents of Gerrard and Alonso, Momo was recognised and loved by Reds fans as one of the most consistent and committed performers at the club during his fairly brief time at Anfield. In a side that was often accused of lacking heart and self-belief, Momo possessed those qualities in abundance and that endeared him to the fans as well as his team-mates. For him there was simply no such thing as a lost cause. Momo’s Liverpool career was marred by two serious injuries. The first was a horrific eye injury sustained during a Champions League game in Barcelona in February 2006. When he was diagnosed with severe damage to his right retina after receiving an accidental kick to the head, there were genuine fears for his career and even for his eyesight. However he confounded expectations by returning to the side just a month later in an FA Cup tie at Birmingham City. He memorably started the game wearing a pair of custom-made protective goggles, before abandoning them as they began to mist up. He has opted not to wear them while playing despite the potential risk of further damage to his eye, a decision that exemplifies his fearless attitude. It was back at St Andrew’s that Momo picked up his second major injury, in a League Cup game in November 2006. An awkward fall saw him dislocate his shoulder, which required surgery and kept him out for three months. The nature of the injury raised fears that Momo could potentially suffer the type of recurring shoulder problems that plagued Bryan Robson’s career, but it would be a big mistake to think that this might affect his combative style of play in any way. Momo had been likened by his manager and others to a young Patrick Vieira, and for once the comparison was justified. His resemblance to the former Arsenal man was marked out not only by his workrate and tackling, but also by an accomplished close control when under pressure from opponents that wasn’t always widely recognised. Given how well he'd done in his first couple of seasons, it was remarkable how quickly Momo became expendible. The arrival of Javier Mascherano and Lucas Leiva meant that Benitez had five players to choose from and only two or at most three places to shoehorn them into. Had Sissoko been playing at the level of his first season at the club, it wouldn't have mattered who he was up against as he'd have held down a place in the side. But his form nosedived as he appeared to have a crisis of confidence. His passing was never his strongest suit, but suddenly it became woeful, even the most basic short passes were going astray. When Juventus came in with a sizeable offer, it made sense for the reds to accept it given that five into two didn't go, and Momo's brief but memorable time at Liverpool came to a close.

PETER CROUCH 2005-08 by Daniel Clein and Dave Usher Date of Birth - 30/01/81 Nationality - English Position - Striker Cost - £7m Games - 134 Goals - 42 Club Hons (Lpool) - Super Cup 2006, FA Cup 2006 Club Hons (other) - 1st Division 2004 Intnl Hons - England Caps Other Clubs - Tottenham, IFK Hässleholm (loan), QPR, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Norwich (loan), Southampton Eyebrows were raised in July 2005 when Rafael Benitez splashed out £7million to bring giant striker Peter Crouch to Anfield. The then 24-year-old had already amassed seven clubs in a less-than-stellar career, and many Liverpool fans feared the signing of a 6 ft 7 frontman would herald a return to the long-ball game often employed under Gerard Houllier's stewardship. Others felt a player who had played most of his football in the Championship and the lower reaches of the Prem would fail to make the step up in class required, despite the fact that the forward had recently been capped by England. For a while, it looked as if the critics might be proven right. Crouch failed to find the net in his first four months in a Liverpool shirt, even missing a penalty against Portsmouth in front of the Kop, although he also won plaudits for his deft touch and unselfish teamwork. The breakthrough finally came in the home tie against Wigan on the 3rd of December with a memorable brace; the first a speculative long-range effort that looped ridiculously into the air off Leighton Baines and beyond the despairing Mike Pollitt, the second a delightful cushioned lob over the advancing Wigan 'keeper. Crouch would find the net for Liverpool another 11 times that season, including the only goal of the game in the FA Cup fifth round tie against United, but it was his performances at international level that turned the player into a national sporting icon. After scoring his second England goal in a May 2006 friendly against Hungary, he hit the headlines for what followed next; a jerking, robotic dance celebration that briefly became a sensation. Four days later, he scored a hat-trick in the 6-0 win over Jamaica, despite again missing a penalty, and with Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney struggling for fitness, Peter Crouch went to the 2006 World Cup as England's top striker. In the event, he was the only England forward who scored a goal in Germany, with England crashing out on penalties against Portugal. Crouch - harshly dropped for the returning Rooney - came on as a substitute when the hot-headed Scouser was red-carded, but couldn't turn the tide. It was, however, a testament to the player's effectiveness that England looked a more dangerous side with 10 men than they did with 11. Crouch began the 2006/7 season in barnstorming fashion, with the winning goal in the Reds' Community Shield victory over Chelsea. Though the big man struggled to find the net with regularity in the league, his four goals in the Champions League group stage were a major factor in Liverpool's qualification as winners of Group C. Highlights of the season included spectacular bicycle kicks against Galatasaray and Bolton at Anfield. As the season wore on however, it became clear that Benitez didn't see Crouch as his first choice striker, and he was often left out of the side regardless of the form of others. Perhaps the biggest indication that Crouch's position at the club was under threat came in Athens, when Benitez opted to use Kuyt as a lone striker against AC Milan in the Champions League Final. Most observers felt that Milan's backline would have far more trouble coping with the awkward Crouch than they would the hard working but predictable Dutchman. Yet for 80 frustrating minutes Crouch sat watching from the touchline. By the time he got onto the field, Milan had a 2-0 lead and were comfortable. Kuyt hit a late consolation, but many Liverpool fans were left ruing the decision not to start with Crouch. That summer Fernando Torres and Andriy Voronin arrived, and Crouch found himself even more of a bit part player once more. Despite scoring regularly whenever called upon, he was unable to force his way into the side on a regular basis, often being left out in favour of Voronin or Kuyt (and occasionally both). When Benitez eventually settled on a system that saw room for only one striker, Crouch's days at Anfield were clearly numbered. He played his part as the reds reached the CL semi finals and had a respectable league campaign, but it was clear he would not settle for the occasional cameo appearance from the bench and the odd rare start when the manager rested Torres. One of those occasions was away at Arsenal when he scored a superb goal and gave the Gunners rearguard constant problems as he led the line brilliantly. That display was so good it earned him a place alongside Torres for the 2nd leg of CL Quarter Final with Arsene Wenger's side. Crouch played his part, with an assist for Torres as the reds won a pulsating game 4-2 to advance to the semi finals. With the 1st leg ending in a 1-1 draw, Liverpool came from behind at Stamford Bridge to draw 1-1 and force extra time. Chelsea proved to be too strong in the end, scoring twice in extra time to claim a place in the final, despite Ryan Babel's late goal that gave Liverpool brief hope. Crouch watched the entire 120 minutes from the bench. With his contract running down and no offer on the table, Crouch decided to move on and an £11m deal was struck that saw him return to Portsmouth, one of his many former clubs.

SAMI HYYPIA 1999-2009 by Phil Matthews & Dave Usher Date of Birth - 07/10/73 Nationality - Finnish Position - Centre Back Games - 464 Goals - 35 Club Hons (Lpool) - League Cup 2001, 2003; FA Cup 2001, 2006; UEFA Cup 2001; European Super Cup 2001, 2005; Champions League 2005; Club Hons (Other) - Finnish Cup Intnl Hons - Finland Caps Other Clubs - Pallo-Peikot, Kumu, My-Pa Anjalankoskim Willem II, Bayer Leverkusen Sami Hyppia was signed by Gerard Houllier in 1999. The defence that Houllier had inherited from Roy Evans had been guilty of some absolutely shambolic displays in the past and Houllier identified the defence as the first part which needed altering. Sami was signed from Eredivisie club Willem II for £2.6m and turned down the chance of Champions League football to sign for the club he supported as a boy. Hyppia started his career in his native Finland for Pallo-Peikot. His big break came when he signed for Veikkausliiga club MyPa in 1992, holding the door open for future Liverpool team-mate Jari Litmanen who was on his way to Ajax. In his time at MyPa, Hyppia won the Finnish Cup twice and got his first call up to the Finnish national team. In 1995, Sami moved onto Dutch club Willem II where he formed an impressive partnership with Jaap Stam who went on to play for Manchester United and also played for Milan in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul. In his final season, Hyppia captained Willem II into the qualifying rounds of The Champions League for the first time. In 1999 Liverpool came calling after one of our scouts spotted Sami whilst watching an opposition player. It's fair to say that not many supporters knew of Sami, but he was a colossus in his first season for Liverpool, forging a superb partnership alongside another new acquisition Stephane Henchoz. He displayed an aerial presence, composure, and ability to read the game that Liverpool's defence had been sadly lacking under Roy Evans. His commanding presence on the pitch saw him promoted to captain alongside Robbie Fowler and he played a vital role in the 00/01 season's historic treble, sporting the armband for the UEFA Cup, Super Cup and FA Cup finals. In 2002, Sami was promoted to full time captain of the squad, a role which was short lived and he surrendered the captain's armband to local boy Steven Gerrard. Under Rafael Benitez, Sami was partnered with Jamie Carragher in the middle and formed as solid a partnership as he had with Henchoz. Their partnership gave nothing away to opposing attackers and their impressive form together played a huge role in the CL success of 2005 and the 2006 FA Cup win. The arrivals of Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel saw Sami drop down the pecking order in his final few seasons at the club, but he still saw his fair share of action and showed he hadn't lost a step. He was arguably as good on the day he left the club as he was the day he signed. This was never more in evidence than in one of his final starts for the club, at Old Trafford, when he came in at the last minute after Arbloa had been injured in the pre-game warm up. Hyppia was flawless that day, as the reds recorded an impressive 4-1 victory over their old rivals. Although he was criticised by some for his lack of pace on occasion, most Liverpool fans consider Sami to be one of the greatest defenders ever to have played for the club. In his time at Liverpool, Sami won The Champions League, The FA Cup twice, The UEFA Cup, The UEFA Super Cup twice, The League Cup twice and the Charity Shield. The only trophy to elude him was the Premiership title, the closest he came was in his final season at the club when the reds finished second by four points. With his contract at Anfield expiring, Hyypia opted to take up a new challenge in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen. There were a lot of tears shed on Sami's last appearance at Anfield, and not just by the fans. The big Finn was unable to contain his emotions as team-mates lifted him onto their shoulders as he received the adulation and gratitude of the fans who he had served so well for ten years. Quite simply one of the greatest defenders Liverpool ever had. oGDTY5nP_ag 8ahX6vxei3A

STEVE FINNAN 2003-08 by Nick Weeks Date of Birth - 20/4/76 Nationality - Irish Position - Right Back Games - 217 Goals - 1 Club Hons (Lpool) - Champions League 2005, FA Cup 2006 Intnl Hons - Ireland Caps Other Clubs - Welling, Birmingham, Notts County, Fulham, Espanol, Portsmouth Limerick born Finnan, 30, has evolved into one of the most assured full-backs in the Premiership. His machine-like consistently is gradually earning him accolades from fans and players alike, with ex-red Ronnie Whelan describing Finnan as “the type of player every successful side needs." After spells at Birmingham City and then Notts County, Kevin Keegan (the Fulham manager at the time) saw potential in Finnan during the 97/98 season and promptly bought him for £600,000 the following summer. His steady progress in the Fulham side earned him his full Republic of Ireland debut in April 2000 against Greece, with Republic boss Mick McCarthy hugely impressed with him: "What I like about him is his ability, energy and willingness to tackle back”. The highlight of Finnan’s international career is undoubtedly the 2002 World Cup in Japan, where he played in the 3 group games (including the memorable 1-1 draw with Germany), and the second round match against Spain. In the summer of 2003, then Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier decided to strengthen the right-back positon in the squad and after lengthy negotiations bought Finnan for £3,500,000. Liverpool fans at the time were unsure about the player’s ability, and this wasn’t helped by Finnan getting a series of niggling injuries during his first season at Anfield. When Rafa Benitez joined the club in the summer of 2004, Finnan’s position in the team was in some doubt. Benitez had even signed a new defender from Malaga, Josemi, with a view to making him the first choice right-back. This was not to be however, as a combination of Finnan’s excellent performances (and Josemi’s very average performances) convinced the manager to give the Irishman the role on a more permanent basis. Finnan took the opportunity with both hands; he grew more comfortable with his defensive duties, which in turn allowed him to get forward more and revert to his natural game of attacking full-back. He played in the Champions League winning team of 2004/2005, and was a member of the Liverpool defence which broke the premiership record for clean sheets in the 2005/2006 season (culminating in the 2006 FA Cup final win at Cardiff). In December 2006, it was announced on the BBC1 program 'Final Score' that Steve Finnan is the only player to have played in every English football league (from the Premiership to the Conference), the Uefa Cup, the Champions League and the World Cup. In the summer of 2008 Finnan moved to Espanol, but things didn't work out well in Spain and he soon returned to England to join Portsmouth.

STEVEN GERRARD PROFILE by Paul Natton Date of Birth - 30/05/80Nationality - English Position - Midfield Squad Number - 8 Cost - Nothing Club Hons (Lpool) - League Cup 2001,2003: UEFA Cup 2001: FA Cup 2001, 2006: European Super Cup 2001, 2005: Champions League 2005: Intnl Hons - England Caps Other Clubs - None Despite an enviable (and almost complete) set of winner’s medals, Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool captain, remains a figure that divides Liverpool fans, albeit less so these days. The boyhood Red’s dalliances with Chelsea of a couple of years ago, whilst forgiven by most, are not yet forgotten by some. However, there is absolute unanimity amongst Reds of his qualities as a player, with Gerrard rightly lauded as the best we’ve had since the all-too distant days of number eighteen. The Whiston lad, famously a product of The Academy, has excited fans from his first moments in the team, with an early goal line clearance in the Derby, celebrated with a triumphant clenched fist, cementing his credentials as a fan favourite. Indeed, his all-action style makes it hard for him to be anything else. His game is based around pace, aggression and a fiercely attacking instinct. However, these qualities are allied to a rare talent that makes him a player without weakness: his tackling, passing, shooting, heading and crossing are all superb, and he has movement and vision to match. This embarrassment of riches has seen Gerrard suffer somewhat, as his ability to play brilliant football in almost any outfield position has seen him shunted around the pitch at both club and international level. In many ways, the frustrations that made Gerrard consider taking his prodigious talent elsewhere are understandable (if seen in a dispassionate way) as he has never really played in side that truly matched or made the best of his talent. The fact that journalists tend to overplay the one-man team story should not detract from the fact that he is our dominant player. Time and again he has been Liverpool’s match winner, often with goals of the quality that left Fabien Barthez hopelessly forlorn at Old Trafford several years ago as his thirty-yard rocket nearly burst the net. Even his magnificent PFA Player of the Year Award-winning season, where he was the team’s attacking focus (whether played from the centre or the right), was notable for the way he dominated his teammates in class. Indeed the FA Cup final of 2006 is a case in point: Gerrard won the trophy for Liverpool virtually single-handedly, surpassing even his magnificent exploits in helping the team win the European Cup in Istanbul twelve months previously. If there is any justice in football, Steven Gerrard will lift the English league title as captain of Liverpool, completing his set of medals and elevating him, without proviso, into the pantheon of greatest ever Reds. Certainly, if Rafa Benitez can handle Gerrard’s decidedly fragile ego with sufficient subtlety, whilst surrounding him with players of a quality to match his own, then there’s no reason why he can’t fulfil his own stated wishes at the signing of his last contract, and become seen as a legendary figure in the club’s history; one that his children and grandchildren will be forever proud to hear talked about by current and future Reds.

by Julian Richards Xabi was no stranger to football as youngster. His father ‘Periko’ Alonso played for both Sociedad and Barcelona, winning three La Liga titles along the way, two for Sociedad and one for Barcelona. With such football pedigree it was no surprise to Xabi join Sociedad as youngster where he progressed through the ranks to make his first team debut at the age if 18. Xabi gradually established himself as a first team regular playing an integral part of Sociedad’s second place finish in 2002-03 season; just two points behind winners Real Madrid. The following season wasn’t as successful for Sociedad domestically as they finished in 15th position that season. They did well in Europe however, making it to the last sixteen of the Champions League. Alonso was called up for the Spanish squad for Euro 2004 on the back of his form for Sociedad in those two seasons. That summer Rafa made Xabi a Liverpool player for £10.5million. Alonso and other new boy Luis Garcia made their debuts against Bolton on the 29th August 2004. Playing against Fat Sam’s cloggers was never going to give us an accurate example of what Alonso could though and the Reds lost 1-0. Xabi made his home debut against West Brom and it was here that most realised we had someone with that little extra. Alonso’s performance on that day was a master class in one touch passing and accurate long passes. Comparisons were made with the great Jan Molby on that day although it was more to do with ability than Rambo’s size. Xabi established himself in Liverpool’s first team that season until a fat cockney broke his ankle on New Years Day in the game against Chelsea. Testament to Xabi’s commitment was his insistence of trying to ‘run off’ and literally stamp off the effects of that broken ankle. Alonso didn’t play again until returning to take part in the Reds superb performance away at Juventus. Playing 90 minutes after being out for three months, Alonso proved once again what an accomplished player he was. Fate, or yet another cheating cockney, meant Xabi was suspended from that monumental semi-final against Chelsea at Anfield but he lined up for Liverpool in Istanbul for THAT game. Alonso didn’t have the best first half in Turkey but will always be remembered for scoring the equaliser that brought Liverpool back from the death on that historic night. Over the next four seasons Alonso established himself as one of Liverpool's most valuable players. His range of passing and his commitment to being involved stand out as his best traits. He also developed a reputation for spectacular goals, scoring two goals from inside of his own half. The first was in the Reds run to Cardiff in the 2005-06 season where he scored in the 5-3 comeback against Luton. The second was against Newcastle, at Anfield, in September 2006. A classy and determined player, Alonso proved time and again how vital he could be be for the reds. One of the finest examples of this was in the Anfield derby in 2005-06. After the early dismissal of Steven Gerrard, Liverpool looked to be in trouble, but Xabi ran the midfield against Everton, not giving them a sniff. He did the work of two players that day, and was truly imperious. Alonso's future at the club came into question in the summer of 2008 when Rafa Benitez wanted to sell him and bring in Gareth Barry. The move didn't happen, much to the relief of the Kop who gave Alonso a hero's welcome when he lined up in a pre-season game with Lazio at Anfield, and also chanted "You can stick your Gareth Barry up your arse". Alonso went on to become the club's player of the season that year, but the seeds for the popular midfielder's departure had been sewn a year earlier, and he departed for Real Madrid the following summer in a deal worth approximately €30m. He went on to enjoy an illustrious career with Madrid and then Bayern Munich before hanging up his boots in 2017. Xabi is one of the most popular foreign players ever to play for the club, he embraced the culture of both the city and the club, and he will always command a special place in the hearts of the fans.

SCOTT CARSON 2005-08 by Andrew Cartwright Date of Birth - 03/09/85 Nationality - English Position - Goalkeeper Games - 9 Goals - 0 Club Hons (Lpool) - 2005 Champions League Club Hons (Other) - None Intnl Hons - England Caps Other Clubs - Cleator Moor Celtic, Workington Reds, Leeds, Sheff Wed (loan), Charlton (loan), Aston Villa (loan), West Brom Scott played for Cleator Moor Celtic and Workington Reds until being snapped up by the Leeds United academy in 2002. After spending a short spell in their' under 17 and 19 squads he was handed the opportunity to make the number 1 shirt his own when Paul Robinson left for Spurs. Carson - known as 'Worzel' to his team-mates because of his scruffy appearance - impressed in his displays for Leeds which secured his move to Liverpool as Rafael Benitez's first English signing in January 2005. His most important display while in a Liverpool shirt was in the 2-1 win over Juventus in 2005 contributing to the team's successful European cup run. In order to get more first team experience Carson was loaned to Sheffield Wednesday at the end of the 2005/06 season, helping the club avoid relegation. For the 2006/07 season Scott was loaned to struggling Charlton Athletic where his displays drew high praise despite the Addicks poor run of form which eventually saw them relegated. Scott was voted Charlton's player of the year by the supporters. The next year he spent the season on loan at Villa Park, before joining West Brom on a permanent deal the following summer.

PEPE REINA PROFILE by Kurt Henriksen Date of Birth - 31/08/82 Nationality - Spanish Position - Goalkeeper Squad Number - 25 Cost - £7m Club Hons (Lpool) - Super Cup 2006, FA Cup 2006 Club Hons (other) - Intnl Hons - Spanish Caps Other Clubs - Barcelona, Villarreal Jose Manuel Reina Páez was born in Madrid on 31th of August 1982, a son of former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Reina Santos. Even though Jose (known as 'Pepe') was born in Madrid, he started his career with rivals FC Barcelona, playing 49 matches for the Catalans before moving to Villareal on loan in 2002. At Villareal he earned a reputation as one of the most promising goalkeepers in Spain, and the move was made permanent in 2004. The following season Pepe Reina was an integral part of the Villareal side that qualified for the Champions League, where he saved 7 out of 9 penalties in the process. His rapid development was closely monitored by Rafa Benitez, who managed to sign him for Liverpool shortly after the triumph in Istanbul 2005. On the 17th of August the same year, he made his first appearance for Spain. His first season at Liverpool proved he was much more than potential with an incredible 20 clean sheets in 33 league games. The season ended in triumph for Pepe when Liverpool beat West Ham in the FA Cup Final. It was a day of mixed emotions for the keeper, as he felt he was to blame for two of the Hammers goals, but he also made a miraculous stop in the final minute of extra time before cementing his reputation as a spot kick saving specialist by keeping out three out of West Hams four penalties. Over the course of the next few years, Reina proved himself to be arguably the best keeper in the Premier League, and one of the best in Europe. Unfortunately for him, international recognition was very difficult to come by as he was up against Real Madrid star Iker Casillas, widely regarded as the best in the business. If Pepe had been born in any other country he'd be first choice for his national side, but he has to play second fiddle to Casillas for Spain. A strong character with great self belief, Pepe has proved to be a very astute signing by Benitez. He has his best years ahead of him, and he looks set to make the Liverpool goalkeeper jersey his own for many years to come.

JACK HOBBS 2005-09 by Dave Usher Date of Birth - 18/8/88 Nationality - English Position - Centre Back Games - 5 Goals - 0 Club Hons (Lpool) - 2006 FA Youth Cup Intnl Hons - None Other Clubs - Lincoln, Scunthorpe (loan), Leicester Centre back Hobbs joined the reds as a raw 16 year old from Lincoln City in August 2005. He had looked all set to join Arsenal, but the deal stalled over a dispute over a sell on clause, and Rafa Benitez stepped in to bring the talented Hobbs to Anfield for an undisclosed fee. Jack spent his entire first season at reserve level playing in an unaccustomed midfield role, as Paco Herrera wanted him to improve on his passing and ball control. He did a steady job in there, but when he was called into the squad for the FA Youth Cup he reverted back to centre half. He was a revelation alongside Godwin Antwi, as the young reds went on to lift the trophy. Hobbs' finest hour during the youth cup run came in the 2nd leg of the final, when the reds found themselves under the cosh for 90 minutes as they protected a 3-0 1st leg lead. City poured men forward and pulled two goals back, but they couldn't get the equaliser as Hobbs and Antwi performed heroically. Jack's reward was a call up to the 1st team squad for their pre-season training camp in Switzerland. He was given plenty of playing time during pre-season, but the results were mixed. In one game he was directly responsible for three goals, and was in tears at full time. He was consoled by senior players such as Bellamy and Fowler, and Benitez showed his faith in the youngster by playing him for the entire ninety minutes of the reds' next friendly. Jack was excellent that night, showing a lot of character to bounce back from the torrid time he had in the previous game. A foot injury meant he missed most of the reserve games in the first part of the 2006/07 season, but he returned to fitness to make his second string comeback as a half time substitute away at Manchester United, where he excelled in a holding midfield role. Jack played out the remainder of the season in his natural position of centre back, and turned in a number of eye catching performances. Often he partnered the more experienced Gabriel Paletta, but he always outshone the Argentine and looked the more promising player. His reward for his fine form was a place in the senior squad for the pre-season training camp in Switzerland, but most of his appearances in pre-season were in midfield. He acquitted himself well though, and looked a much more accomplished player than he did a year previous. Jack featured in several first team games in 2007/08, and didn't let anyone down. The arrival of Martin Skrtel pushed him further down the pecking order however, and he joined Scunthorpe on loan for the second half of the season. After an encouraging start, things didn't go so well for Jack as he picked up an injury, and was then shipped to to right back before losing his place altogether. He began 2008/09 doing pre-season training with the first team squad, before he joined League One outfit Leicester City on loan for the season. He helped the Foxes clinch the League One title and earn promotion to the Championship, and Leicester moved swiftly to make the deal permanent.

DANNY GUTHRIE 2006-08 by Dave Usher Date of Birth - 18/04/87 Nationality - English Position - Midfield Games - 7 Goals - 0 Club Hons (Lpool) - None Intnl Hons - England u15, u16, u17, u18 Other Clubs - Southampton (loan), Bolton (loan), Newcastle United Telford lad Danny joined the reds after being released by Manchester United as a 15 year old. He made an instant impression at the Academy, and was rewarded by a call up to the England schoolboy side. He continued to impress under Steve Heighway's tutiledge at the Academy, and made the step up to reserve team football as a 17 year old. The 2005/06 season saw Danny produce a string of impressive displays at reserve level, and he was arguably the reserve side's player of the season. His first team bow came in the pre-season friendly at Wrexham, where he caught the eye on the left of midfield. As the season progressed, Danny began to see more and more involvement with the first team. His senior debut came in the Carling Cup when he appeared as a sub against Reading. Another substitute appearance followed against Birmingham in the same competition, whilst his Premiership debut came as a late substitute in the goalless draw with Portsmouth at Anfield. Danny then started in the Champions League against Galatasaray, and was rewarded with a new four year contract not long after. A good passer, Danny plays anywhere across the midfield and he's a very attack minded player with an eye for goal. He impressed towards the end of the 2006-07 season during a loan spell at Southampton, and he spent the 2007-08 season playing Premiership football for Bolton on a season long loan. He adapted to regular Premiership football very well, and Newcastle paid the reds £2.5m to secure his services in the summer of 2008.

GABRIEL PALETTA 2006-07 by Dave Usher Date of Birth - 15/02/86 Nationality - Argentinian Position - Defender Games - 8 Goals - 1 Club Hons (Lpool) - Intnl Hons - Argentina u21 Caps Other Clubs - Banfield, Boca Juniors Gabriel became the second Argentine to play for the reds when Rafa Benitez snapped him up for £2m in July 2006. The tough tackling centre back was regarded as one of the finest prospects in Argentine football, and River Plate boss, the legendary Daniel Passarella, had been hoping to persuade Paletta to join his side. Gabriel spurned his advances however, and embarked on his European dream by moving from Banfield to Anfield. He made his debut for Banfield in 2005, but came to prominence playing for his country in the FIFA World u20 Championships. He played all seven games at the heart of the defence as an Argentinian side inspired by Lionel Messi lifted the trophy. The following season (2005/06) saw Gabriel play 30 games for Banfield, and he managed to find the net on a couple of occasions. A typical Argentine defender, strong, aggressive and takes no prisoners. His first game for Liverpool came in a pre-season friendly at Wrexham, and he made an immediately favourable impression with the fans with his combative style and assuredness in possession. He began the season in the reserves, and had to wait until the Carling Cup before he featured for the senior side. His debut came against Reading, and he marked it in some style with a headed goal at the Kop end. He played against Birmingham in the next round, and made his Champions League bow in the 3-2 defeat at Galatasaray. He'd done ok in those games, but his lack of pace was severely exposed by Arsenal's frontline in the Gunners' 6-3 Carling Cup success at Anfield. He wasn't seen in the first team for a while after that, only appearing again towards the end of the season when Benitez rested a number of players in the Premiership so they could concentrate on the CL semi final and final. It was becoming clear that the big defender was not suited to English football, and he returned home to Argentina with Boca Juniors in a deal that saw Emiliano Insua come to Anfield.

ALVARO ARBELOA 2006-09 by Dave Usher Date of Birth - 17/01/83 Nationality - Spanish Position - Right Back Games - 98 Goals - 2 Club Hons (Lpool) - None Club Hons (Other) - None Intnl Hons - Spanish caps Other Clubs - Real Madrid (twice), Deportivo La Coruna Right back Arbeloa joined the reds in January 2006 from Spanish club Deportivo La Coruna. He'd only been a Deportivo player for five months having signed for them the previous summer after a season in the Secunda Division with Real Madrid's B team. Rafa Benitez needed cover for Steve Finnan, and moved swiftly for Arbeloa after missing out on Lucas Neill. Arbeloa played 21 times for Deportivo, either at right back or occasionally as a centre half, and he had been one of their top performers. Deportivo's fans were sorry to see him go, but the club needed the money from the transfer and the player himself felt it was too good an opportunity to turn down. Arbeloa had previously spent three seasons with Real Madrid's B side, captaining them in the 2005/06 season, and also played twice for Real's first team in 2004/05. He made his Liverpool debut as a second half substitute in a defeat at St James' Park in February 06, and his first start came in the Champions League tie at the Nou Camp. Alvaro was handed a surprise start in the unfamilar position of left back, as Rafa Benitez wanted to use a player who was quick and strong on his right side to combat the tricky of Barca's left footed right winger Lionel Messi. It proved to be a tactical masterstroke, as Messi's impact on the game was minimal as Arbeloa stuck to his task well. On the one occasion when Messi looked as though he had created an opening for himself, Arbeloa was on to hand to make a fantastic block to deflect the ball over the bar. He used the ball well too and as far as full debut's go, it was most impressive. Arbeloa went on to become a consistent performer for Benitez, mainly at right back where he eventually took over from Finnan, but he also did a god job at left back and even filled in adequately at centre half in the odd emergency. His solid form for the reds earned him international recognition too, and he was a part of the Spanish squad that won the European Championships in 2008. With just a year left on his contract, and seemingly no desire from either player or club to renew it, Arbeloa returned home to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009.

JAVIER MASCHERANO PROFILE by Dave Usher Date of Birth - 08/06/84 Nationality - Argentinian Position - Centre Midfield Games - 139 Goals - 2 Club Hons (Lpool) - None Intnl Hons - Argentina Caps Other Clubs - River Plate, Corinthians, West Ham, Barcelona A full Argentinian international before he had even made his club debut for River Plate, Mascherano quickly became one of the most highly rated midfielders in world football. He came to prominence in the 2001 World u17 Championships, and starred again in 2003 in the World Youth Championships. His first full cap came that same year, and he played a starring role in the 2004 Olympic Games where Argentina were victorious. Along with international team-mate Carlos Tevez, Javier joined Brazilian side Corinthians, whom he helped to the Brazilian league title in 2005. He starred for his country at the 2006 World Cup, and was one of the most sought after players in the world. Chelsea and Manchester United were both strongly linked with a move for him, but bizarrely he and Tevez ended up at West Ham United. Neither made any impression with the struggling Hammers initially (Tevez would play a key role in their survival later in the season however), and Mascherano found himself left out in the cold completely, often failing to even secure a place on the subs bench. Juventus seemed to be on the verge of securing a deal to take him to Serie B, but then Rafa Benitez was alerted to his possible availability, and went to see the player at his London flat. He convinced him that Anfield was the best place for him, but having already played for Corinthians and West Ham in the same season, the reds needed to get special permission from FIFA to sign the player. After protracted negotiations with FIFA Mascherano was given permission to join the reds, but his debut was further delayed as the Premier League decided to flex their muscles and look further into his registration and eligibility to play for Liverpool. Clearance was eventually given in mid-February, and Mascherano officially joined the reds on an 18 month loan deal with a view to a permanent deal. The acquisition of such a highly rated player for such a small initial outlay proved to be a masterstroke by Benitez. A tough tackling holding midfielder with a good range of passing, Mascherano was ideally suited to the way Benitez likes his teams to play. He settled into his stride very quickly and by the end of the season he was producing some collossal performances. He was fantastic in the CL semi final win over Chelsea at Anfield, covering every inch of the pitch in a lung busting display that earned him a standing ovation from the crowd when he replaced late in extra time. What made that performance even more impressive was that he was a yellow card away from missing the final. If he'd impressed the fans in that semi final, it was nothing compared to the display he turned in against Kaka and AC Milan in Athens. The reds may have lost that game, but in Mascherano they had the best player on the field. The little Argentine refused to allow Kaka to influence the game, and completely nullified the threat of the brilliant Brazilian. It was only when 'El Jefe' was sacrificed late on as Benitez had to get more attacking players on, that Kaka began to have any kind of success. Liverpool lost the final, but Mascherano had restored his reputation and Kopites knew they had a special player on their hands. That summer he helped Argentina reach the final of the Copa America, but once again there was heartbreak for the midfielder, as they were trounced 3-0 by Brazil. Mascherano had an impressive tournament, and even managed to get on the scoresheet twice. His first goal for the reds didn't arrive until March of the following season, a rasping drive from 25 yards against Reading. Mascherano was called up to the Argentina squad for the Olympic games in the summer of 2008, meaning he missed the start of the season with his club. Argentina won the gold medal, which was Mascherano's second Olympic gold having also won it four years earlier. His Olympic exploits took a toll on him though, and his form for the reds suffered for several months. He eventually returned to top form midway through the season, and he caught the eye of Spanish giants Barcelona, who wanted to take him to the Nou Camp in the summer of 2009. With Xabi Alonso joining Real Madrid, Benitez was desperate to keep hold of Mascherano and he succeeded, although the Argentina skipper was reportedly less than thrilled at missing out on the chance to join the European Champions. Nevertheless, he continued to give his all for the reds, and even though as a team things didn't go well in 2009/10, Mascherano was consistently one of the better performers and never gave less than 100% effort. Barcelona retained their interest in him and speculation was rife all summer that the popular Argentine would be headed to Camp Nou, but the Catalans left it late before making a move and Mascherano began the season a Liverpool player, turning in a superb display against Arsenal on the opening day. With time running out before the transfer window was due to close and Liverpool headed to Eastlands to face Manchester City, Mascherano felt he needed to force through his move and refused to play as he claimed he wasn't mentally right after the reds had turned down derisory offers from Barca and Inter Milan. That signalled the end of his time at Anfield, Mascherano was sold to Barca a few days later and what had been a good career at Liverpool ended on a sour note. Despite not being a regular in the side, Javier would go on to win both the Spanish title and the Champions League in his first season, as Pep Guardiola's side humiliated Manchester United at Wembley. Mascherano's first words as he was interviewed on the pitch were to dedicate the win to Liverpool supporters as well as Barca's.

LIVERPOOL 0 Everton 0 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) - Half Time - 0-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Sat 3 Feb 2007 Star Man - Jamie Carragher We’ve got a terrific home record this season, but this is now six points we’ve dropped to the smaller teams. Breaking down a ten man defence is never easy, but if you have genuine aspirations of being title contenders you have to cope with it. We didn’t do that against the blues, and they were full value for the point that they cherished so dearly. We huffed and puffed, but never looked like finding the breakthrough, and this result capped a shitty few days for the reds. I’m not getting into the takeover business here, and I’m also staying clear of ‘littleclubgate’ too. I’ve said my piece on that on the TLW blog. I’m also going to hold my tongue (or keyboard) concerning the Gerrard/Shields/Heysel chants, as no doubt I’ll have my say on that in the next issue of the fanzine. This is meant to be a match report, so that’s what it will be. I’d been looking forward to this game for ages. The players were looking to make up for what happened at the Pit earlier in the season, and I had a really good feeling we were going to tear them a new one. Then we had the takeover fiasco, and I began to get a bad feeling about the game. It had been a bad week, and I could see it getting worse. The confidence I had prior to the DIC breakdown disappeared quicker than Neville Southall at bathtime. I wasn’t convinced by our starting line up, largely due to assuming that Bellamy would be used on the left. As it turned out, he wasn’t. We played a weird formation with Kuyt drifting out to the left to give us shape, but it never really worked. Dirk was crap, as were Crouch and Bellamy. None of the strikers hit any kind of form in this game, and when you throw in poor performances from Riise and Alonso, coupled with Gerrard having a quiet game, it’s no wonder we couldn’t break them down. The only attacking player who played to a standard you would expect was Pennant, and given that the standards we expect from him are not exactly sky high, that’s not saying much. I thought Jermaine did ok, and contributed more than any of our other attacking players. He got plenty of decent crosses in, but those in the middle did nothing with them. The best chance we had fell to Crouch early on. His well struck volley striking the foot of the fortunate Tim Howard and bouncing to safety. I got a very bad feeling when that happened, and I was convinced it would be one of those days. Seeing Bellamy have a well worked goal disallowed shortly after only heightened that sense of foreboding. It was the correct decision, he was offside and I’ve got no complaints about it, but it did add to the feeling I had that this was not going to be a good afternoon for us. Much has been made of how negative the blues were, but I didn’t really notice it to be honest. Certainly not in the first half anyway. Yes, they only had one up front, but they play that way virtually all the time, so there was nothing unusual about it. I didn’t think they were overly defensive, and I’d say that when they had a chance to come forward they did. It’s just that they aren’t very good, that’s all. They were always going to rely on a Johnson breakaway or a set piece, and you can’t blame them for that as it almost paid off for them. I don’t see how we can criticise them for their tactics, as a team has to play to it’s strengths and their strength is being solid in defence and dangerous from set pieces. They were never going to come to Anfield and beat us by playing pretty little triangles in between our defenders. They got their tactics spot on, because they never looked like conceding. They had played more or less the same way at Goodison, and won 3-0. In many ways we played better that day than we did this time. At the Pit we created numerous chances, hit the woodwork twice and were denied at least two excellent penalty shouts. We were undone by poor refereeing and poor defending that day. This time we defended well, one 2nd half aberration apart, but we stank going forward. So what if they defended in numbers? Plenty of other sides have too, but we’ve seen them off. Chelsea, the mancs and Arsenal also have to deal with this every week, it’s the price you pay for being at the top. It’s not up to other teams to make it easy for us, it’s down to us to find the answers. Against the blues we never even looked like we knew what the question was let alone the answer. A succession of crosses and high balls into the box yielded little reward, and played into the hands of Stubbs, who had an excellent game for them. As he gleefully pointed out afterwards, everything was in front of him and we only got in behind a couple of times all game. Bellamy should be destroying Stubbs, but he never got into the game. Crouch looked jaded and was often slow to react when loose balls were bouncing around the box, and Dirk produced the kind of performance that is now becoming something of an alarming norm. This time though he couldn’t salvage it with a goal or an assist, although he does have the excuse of having to play in an unaccustomed role on the left. The longer the game went on, the deeper the blues sat and the harder we found it to get behind them. The only concern we had at the back was keeping an eye on Johnson. He’d miraculously been passed fit before the game, but whereas last time he benefited from an unfit Carra’s worst performance in years and some terrible goalkeeping from Reina, this time the two Liverpool men ensured Johnson draw a blank. He had one sight of goal, after a terrible mistake from the strangely off colour Alonso, but first he was denied by a fantastic block from Carra, and Reina then kept out his second effort. Some demons left over from Goodison were excorised in the reds backline with that incident. Carra made his intentions clear right from the off in this game, with a crunching challenge on Johnson early on, and I thought he was easily our best player on the day. Agger did ok as well, although I felt he was a little bit uncomfortable early on and didn’t quite look his assured self. He settled down midway through the first half, and along with Carra and Reina he was one of the only players to do themselves justice. We’ve been on a great run of late, and this result isn’t the end of the world. It’s two points dropped, but at least it’s ended the unrealistic hopes some of us had at maybe catching the mancs. Their emphatic win at Spurs, coupled with our inability to break down a side we should beat easily, proves that we still have a long way to go. I admit I was looking at the fixtures we had left, and comparing them with what United have, and I was thinking ‘maybe, just maybe’. This result was a big reality check. We need to be looking at holding off Arsenal, because catching the top two is going to be beyond us for this season. We still have to improve in certain areas, mainly out wide and up front. My view on our strikers has changed slightly after this game. I still think they’re all very good players, and choosing between them is really difficult as they’ve all got different attributes. The problem is I don’t think any of them are really top class. We need a top class striker, who will strike fear into sides and win games like this one. The other top four sides all have one. Rooney, Drogba and Henry would all drastically improve our side, so therefore we need a player of that calibre too. I’d be happy with any of Kuyt, Crouch or Bellamy partnering him, but we definitely need a really top forward this summer, along with one or two top, top widemen. Ronaldo and Rooney in our side would win us the title, so we need to find players of that standard. The problem is players like that are rare, and cost a lot of money. That’s where the new investors will have to step up to the plate I suppose. Team: Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Riise; Pennant, Gerrard, Alonso; Kuyt, Bellamy (Fowler), Crouch:

LIVERPOOL RES 1 Sheff Utd Res 0 Report by Peter Schulz at Ewen Fields Scorer(s) Half Time – 0-0 Venue – Ewen Fields, Hyde United FC Date - Thu 1 Feb 2007 Star Man – Miki Roque Boudewijn Zenden made his comeback from injury last night as Liverpool reserves side drew 0-0 with an experienced Manchester United side at Hyde United. The Dutchman played the opening 45 minutes with the same enthusiasm and commitment as we’ve come to expect from him. The home side line up included several internationals such as Darren Fletcher, Mickaël Silvestre, Wes Brown, Alan Smith and Chinese star, Dong Fangzhou. He was, however, rather limp throughout the evening’s proceedings. Having arrived early, we were told by other members of the press to just sit in the directors box, because it wouldn’t be full anyway. So we did. They also told us that Alex Ferguson was going to show up, so we were all hoping that we’d taken his seat. Personally, I was gutted when he failed to make it to see his new big Dong in action. But such is life. Liverpool lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with Antwi and Roque between fullbacks Darby and Threlfall. In midfield Peltier partnered Zenden with Guthrie and Flynn on either wing. Up front El Zhar and Lindfield were to battle it out with Silvestre and Brown. David Martin was back in goal. Strangely, none of the new signings were even included in the squad. Paul Anderson, out with a groin injury, was there watching with new boys Brouwer and Huth. Manchester Utd started off the game in dominant mood and within the opening half hour had missed three decent opportunities. Twice, the superb Miki Roque got down to block goalbound efforts from Fletcher and Eagles, and Alan Smith scuffed an attempt wide from 12 yards after Ryan Flynn had presented him with the ball with a mistimed header. The ball seemed to be mostly in our half. The reds, playing in yellow, did have a couple of half chances from long range through Zenden and Lindfield, but the home side’s defence looked very comfortable. Dong was still trying his best to bring some satisfaction to the magnificent home support. About 5-10 lads in their 20s and 30s spent the entire game singing the usual songs about scousers. So what did you do on Thursday then, boys? We spent the evening shouting abuse at a bunch of youngsters playing for Liverpool. Wow, how interesting your everyday lives must be… Fortunately, the young reds defence seemed intent on not letting them celebrate a goal and as the half progressed Liverpool created the two best chances before the interval. First Craig Lindfield curled a brilliant shot towards the top corner, but the keeper did well to keep it out. Two minutes later Nabil El Zhar’s half volley from the edge of the box fizzed just over the bar. Man Utd made three changes during half time. Goalkeeper Heaton and midfielder Fletcher were replaced by Crockett and Burns, and the halfwit fans behind David Martin’s goal had decided to switch ends and give him more of the tried and tested “you scouse bastard” treatment. The keeper was born in Romford. Even though Dong had fired blanks for 45 minutes, the home side persisted in the hope that he would explode into action. Liverpool introduced Jack Hobbs in place of Zenden, and the youngster, coming back from a broken foot, made a good impression in the “Hamann role” as the reds were much improved in the second half. Within four minutes of the restart Liverpool had the ball in United’s net, but the linesman raised his flag for some reason, apparently for offside as El Zhar latched onto a well-executed through ball from the excellent Guthrie and placed the ball just inside the far post. The reds began to dominate proceedings as El Zhar saw his 30 yard effort dip a fraction too late. Craig Lindfield, who never ever stopped running, tested the keeper with an amazing effort from the right touchline almost by the corner flag, but his attempt was palmed onto the cross bar and out for a corner. Two minutes from time, a deep cross from United’s left found Chris Eagles arriving at the back post, but he stabbed it wide. Liverpool then handed a reserve debut for left back/winger Michael Burns, and as time was running out, Man of the match Roque, with his only mistake of the night, presented Dong with a scoring opportunity, but the Chinese pissed it away (it hit the post). Gary Ablett can’t have been too disappointed with his side’s performance in this fixture, but hopefully we’ll get to see some of the new faces like Insua, Padelli and Brouwer in action when the reserves travel to Sheffield United on Wednesday night. Team: Martin; Darby, Roque, Antwi, Threlfall; Flynn, Peltier, Zenden (Hobbs), Guthrie; El Zhar (Burns), Lindfield:

LIVERPOOL U18 1 Reading U18 0 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) - Jimmy RyanHalf Time - 1-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Sat 26 Jan 2007 Star Man - Michael Burns Jimmy Ryan's terrific first half strike sent the reds through to the quarter finals of the FA Youth Cup, as an efficient performance saw off Reading in a tight game at Anfield tonight. The midfielder found the net with a blistering 20 yard drive just before the half hour, and some stout defending ensured there was no way back for the visitors. Steve Heighway named an unchanged side from the one that had so impressively saw off Chelsea in the previous round, but there was a place on the bench for new Swedish recruit Astrik Ajdarevic. The midfielder - a dead ringer for Paddy Berger in looks and playing style - was introduced at half time, and turned in a promising performance in the centre of midfield. The first half was very even, with the visitors looking very threatening from set pieces. They had a significant height advantage, especially when their centre halves came forward, and that looked their most likely source of success. Reds' left back Michael Burns had the game's first goal attempt, when he surged forward after itercepting a pass, and advanced as far as the edge of the Reading box before hitting a powerful shot that was parried by the keeper, who then gathered the ball up before Lindfield could get there. Reading then forced a series of set pieces, and threatened to take the lead on several occasions. Spearing cleared off the line after one of their centre halves had met a left wing corner, and eight minutes later the other centre half put a free header over the bar from another left wing corner. A minute later, a free kick from the left touchline was met by the head of midfielder Karakan but Martin Hansen made a routine save. Their height advantage was proving to be a real problem for the reds, but in open play Heighway's boys were largely untroubled. The only goal of the game arrived on 27 minutes, when Lindfield controlled a pass on the edge of the box, and laid the ball back into the path of Ryan who hit a superb first time shot into the top corner. The keeper got a hand on it, but there was so much power in the shot he couldn't keep it out. Jimmy must love playing at Anfield, as he scored a screamer at the Kop end last season too. He also got on the scoresheet against Chelsea in the previous round. Threlfall came close to adding a second four minutes later, when Ryan found him in space on the right. A lovely change of direction created space for the shot on his left foot, but the keeper got across his goal and parried the ball again. Reading had their chances, but their shooting was often wayward. A good example of that came on 37 minutes when they had a breakaway after clearing a Liverpool corner. Right winger Henry was allowed to run sixty yards unchallenged, but when he reached the edge of the box he dragged his shot wide. In first half stoppage time they had another great chance from yet another left wing corner. This time centre half Pearce put a free header wide at the back post. There is no height in the Liverpool side at all, and it could prove to be their undoing in this competition. The back four have been fantastic so far, and against footballing sides they cope easily enough, but they could collapse under an aerial bombardment and there were some signs of that against Reading. The visitors had three or four clear chances from corner kicks, but thankfully they didn't take any of them. Heighway made a change at half time, introducing Ajdarevic (pictured) for Lee Woodward. He went into the middle of midfield, with Flynn pushing forward to support Lindfield. The young Swede has not been at the club long, and I believe he trains at Melwood, but he slotted in straight away and looked at home. He's tall, all left foot, wears an alice band and he was wearing number 15. The resemblance to Paddy was there for all to see. He was involved in the action straight away, finding Putterill on the left flank in space. Ray was blocked off as he tried to get down the line, but he cut back infield and laid the ball across the box to Ryan who hit another sweetly struck first time shot. This time though it was right down the throat of the keeper. Another yard either side and he would have been celebrating his second goal. Three minutes later Reading wasted their best chance of the game. Yet again it came from a corner, as the ball was flicked on at the near post and Bygrave somehow put it over the bar from five yards out with the goal at his mercy. It was a sitter. There was a real lull for the next 25 minutes or so. Not much happened at either end, and the reds were looking very comfortable. With 15 minutes left Ryan hit another screamer from outside the box, this one curling inches wide with the keeper nowhere. Reading had not been able to get any joy in open play, and their widemen especially had been brilliantly shackled by the Liverpool full backs. The left winger Bignall had barely had a touch, but twice in the final ten minutes he got to the byline and got dangerous balls into the box. The first time he was played in by a good ball and drilled a ball across the six yard box. With the right winger waiting to put the ball into an empty net, Burns did well to get in front of him and head the ball to safety. Bignall got in again shortly after, when an attempted pass to the frontman was deflected into his path. Once again he drilled the ball across, but again Burns got in there to clear the danger. Heighway brought on Michael Collins for Putterill with five minutes to go, and the reds kept the ball well and wasted valuable time by keeping the ball in the Reading half. There was only one more moment of slight concern for the Liverpool backline, but Church's shot from 20 yards was easily dealt with by Hansen. It was a solid, efficient performance rather than a dazzling one, but then that's what this team is all about. They don't have the attacking flair of last year, as there's no Hammill or Anderson. They don't have the physical presence at the back any more, as Hobbs and Antwi aren't there this year. What they do have is a great team spirit, and a great understanding of how to play with eachother. Nowhere is that more prevalent than in the back four. Spearing and Threlfall were once again outstanding, and seem to have a telepathic understanding of where the other one is at all times. Darby is an intelligent full back who keeps it simple and is rarely beaten by any winger, and Burns has really taken to playing left back this season since being converted from the wing. He was my star man tonight, I thought he was brilliant in defence. He just edges out Threlfall and Ryan. Team: Hansen; Darby, Spearing, Threlfall, Burns; Ryan, Barnett, Flynn, Putterill (Collins): Woodward (Ajdarevic), Lindfield: