TLW

I'm happy to do it mate, you've always been good to me when it comes to plugging the fanzine.

this was the bit that especially pissed me off "against Milan they compressed into one move that ended with a misdirected shot by Emmanuel Eboué more pure football than Liverpool managed in 90 minutes against 10-man Inter." Must have missed that move that ended with Gerrard squaring the ball across the box just in front of Torres then. Or the move that saw Mascherano slip that brilliant pass into the path of Finnan, who's cross was cleared just before Torres got there. There were other slick moves too, but that doesn't fit in with what he'd decided he wanted to write, so it gets ignored. Fair enough, when we play shit have a go, but credit where it's due, we were really fucking good the other night.

I remember Dirk's run, and Mascherano's was amazing too. I think they had a corner, and Pepe gathered the ball. Mascherano sprinted from his own box deep into their half, but the ball didn't come. So he just turned and ran back. There was only a couple of minutes to go as well I think.

As Ron Deco says, has anyone (other than Bob and robbie) signed up for this yet? I suggested it to atk but his missus threatened to kill me as they'd be skint in no time.

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/news/57291-liverpool-2-inter-milan-0-match-report.html

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/news/57291-liverpool-2-inter-milan-0-match-report.html

LIVERPOOL 2 Inter Milan 0 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) – Dirk Kuyt, Steven GerrardHalf Time - 0-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Tuesday 19 February 2008 Star Man – Dirk Kuyt The sooner a European breakaway league is formed the better. We’d actually have a chance of winning that one, as there’s something about European competition that gives our players (and fans to be fair) an extra couple of gears. Inter Milan hadn’t lost any game for five months, they are miles ahead at the top of Serie A and they’ve got quality players all over the park and just as many on the bench. They got their arses handed to them last night though by a Liverpool side that couldn’t even beat Barnsley three days earlier. Of course I'm not serious about the European Super League, but it is immensely frustrating how we can play so well in Europe and so badly domestically. Losing to Barnsley and three days later beating Inter Milan? Rafa explained that one away by insisting the only difference was that we took two chances against Inter whereas we fluffed dozens of opening against Barnsley. That’s true, but the biggest difference was that we played with a high intensity against Inter from first minute to last, never letting the pace drop for a second and constantly looking to attack. If we did this in every game we wouldn’t be in the mess we are domestically. This was a brilliant performance, and a brilliant night. The support was fantastic, and the team matched them. I’d forgotten that football can actually be this pleasurable, as it’s a long time since I celebrated goals with as much emotion as last night. In fact, the last time would have been the Chelsea semi last season. Since then we’ve been on a downward spiral, on and off the field, lurching from one embarrassment to the next, culminating in the Barnsley debacle. But when the chips are down, the Champions League generally comes along to put the smiles back on our faces. Last season we went into a game at the Nou Camp in a state of disarray, and look what happened. So we shouldn’t be surprised by the performance against Inter. I’ll be honest, nothing would have surprised me last night, whether it be a convincing win or a humiliating defeat. I had no idea what would happen, but as kick off approached I’d convinced myself we were going to lose. Then I got into the ground just in time for YNWA, and I dismissed those fears immediately. This was going to be ‘one of those nights’. That was the best YNWA in a long, long time. It carried on, and on, and on, as the players lined up for the customary CL anthem and rituals it was still echoing around Anfield. I noticed Zanetti talking to whoever it was next to him in the line up, and you just know he was talking about the atmosphere. It was inspiring. In 2005 Juventus were blown away by the intenstity of the crowd and they were totally thrown off their game in the early stages. That didn’t happen to Inter, but only because we didn’t get an early goal. Inter never got into the game at all, they offered zero attacking threat, even when they had a full compliment of players. Of course, they were resolute in defence, especially the brilliant Ivan Cordoba. At times he held their backline together on his own, as the rest of them were petrified of the pace and determination of Torres and Gerrard. Chivu went into the book for pulling back Gerrard, and then Materazzi was yellow carded for bringing down Torres. I keep reading and hearing about how he was unfortunate with the first booking, but he wasn’t at all. The TV replays didn’t do it justice, but from where I was sat you could see it was a definite yellow card. It wasn’t the actual collision that was the problem, as that looked more like an innocent tangle of legs than anything more sinister. But when the two players both set off for the ball, I was right in line with them. Torres made a direct line for the ball, and Materazzi made a direct line for Torres. He ran away from the path of the ball and tried to cut off Torres’ run. He even put his arm across his chest to try and foul him. Torres was too quick though and brushed him off, and as he got in front of him there was a coming together and Torres went down. Had Materazzi ran towards the ball instead of the man it wouldn’t have happened (he’d have been skinned and Torres would have been away, which is why he tried to block him off), so the yellow card was correct as he knew what he was doing. That big tattoed jamook is just a red card waiting to happen, and I don’t think anyone will have been surprised when the blueshite hauled back Torres again and got his walking papers. I don’t actually think it helped us much at all, as from the moment he went off Inter pulled everyone back behind the ball and showed zero attacking intent. They weren’t actually showing much intent when they had a full compliment of players, but when Zidane’s buddy went off even Ibrahimovic was getting himself behind the ball to defend. In hindsight it may have been worthwhile sending Crouch on immediately, as they had no height in the backline without Materazzi and we didn’t need the extra body in midfield. The impact made by Crouch when he eventually came on was considerable to say the least. At the time though I wouldn’t have changed anything as we were playing well and in total command. We had chances too. Hyppia had a header tipped over the bar, Torres almost got on the end of a cross from Kuyt, and Gerrard got in behind following one of the best moves we’ve put together all season, but neither Torres nor Kuyt read his intentions and his ball across the box was cleared by Maicon. Kuyt shinned a volley straight at the keeper and Cordoba seemed to be the only thing standing between us and a comfortable victory. It was tough against the ten men though, especially when they are a well oiled Italian defensive machine. It’s difficult enough breaking down the likes of Birmingham when they are camped in their own half, so even though we had a man advantage we still had our work cut out against some of the finest exponents of the defensive arts in world football. At half time I was happy enough though, even if we hadn’t scored. We’d played well and at a very high tempo, and as long as we remained patient and stuck at it surely we’d get our reward? I was surprised that Inter didn’t make a change as soon as they went down to ten, but it was clear at half time that Vieira was going to be introduced sooner rather than later. It happened early in the second half, and unsurprisingly, it was Julio Cruz to make way. We played really well in the second half, once again our lack of confidence in front of goal threatened to undermine everything we were doing well. We had to wait until very late on to finally make the breakthrough, but with a bit more composure and luck we could have been in front much earlier. Hyypia headed over from a cross by Kuyt when he looked like he should have done better, but having seen the replay he was nudged slightly from behind by Cambiasso just as he made contact with the ball, so I don’t think he could have done much more in fairness. The same goes for Torres. He had a one on one with the keeper after a fortunate ricochet had sent him clear. You can argue he should have scored, but Torres put that ball exactly where he wanted to put it. The problem was the keeper made a stunning save with his fingertips to send the ball just wide of the post. It was going right in the corner, which is all you can ask of the forward in my opinion. I say it was a fortunate ricochet that put him clear, and it was. But that ricochet only happened because of the work rate and determination of Dirk Kuyt. He made a block in the middle of the park and the ball fell kindly for Torres, but if Dirk hadn’t been in there closing people down the chance wouldn’t have came about. It summed up the Dutchman’s performance, he was inspirational. He’s been shocking for most of the season, and I’ll admit I wouldn’t have selected him for this game. He justified Benitez’s faith though and then some. Even without his goal I’d have been praising him, as he played very well. His touch – so often his biggest weakness – was excellent all night. The ball stuck to him, he showed a nice trick or two and he linked up well with the likes of Torres, Gerrard and Finnan. I’m sure there are many who would have brought him off when Pennant was about to be sent on. I probably would have myself, although when I saw Babel’s number go up I didn’t have a problem with it. Babel had been lively in the first half, but didn’t do much after the break whereas Kuyt seemed to get more involved the longer the game went on. Rafa was proved right on this one. Crouch had earlier been introduced in place of the neat and tidy Lucas, and that change meant Dirk’s role in the side changed slightly as he went from playing as a right sided forward to n out and out winger. His movement was fantastic throughout, but especially after Crouch had been introduced. He was always on the move, pulling defenders out of position and creating space for the overlapping Finnan. When Pennant came on, Dirk switched to the left, and he was even more effective. One piece of skill and turn on the touchline that left Maicon for dead was exquisite. He’s had his critics this season, justifiably so, but it’s nice to be able to praise him as if there’s any footballer I’d love to see succeed it’s Dirk Kuyt. His moment arrived when Pennant swung a ball in that went over Crouch and fell to him at the far post. He brought it down and hit a shot into the ground that appeared to clip a defender as it flew over the keeper into the net. Anfield went berserk in a manner we haven’t seen all season. This goal meant so much to everyone, most of all the scorer. He’d gotten lucky, no doubt about it, but he deserved that luck after all he’s been through. Crouch was a factor in the goal, as even though he didn’t get on the end of the cross it was his presence that caused the problem for the defence. Every ball that went into the box caused problems in fact, as Crouch was winning headers as you’d expect, but was also able to bring the ball down on his chest on numerous occasions and get shots in. He should have scored when the game was still goalless, when he scewed a volley just wide from 18 yards. That incident was arguably the game’s main turning point, as it saw Cordoba twist his knee as he fell awkwardly and he had to leave the field. Without him, their defence looked very vulnerable. He’s a cracking little player, and I love those short arse South American defenders who take no prisoners and just defend like their lives depend on it. The likes of Montero, Ayala and Cordoba prove that you don’t need to be six foot plus to be a great centre half. Having said that, they’d find it difficult playing over here, especially against people like Crouch. With Cordoba gone, Inter’s defence wobbled. When the goal finally came, I looked at the clock and thought we could easily get another as there was enough time and they were well and truly on the ropes. We’d worn them down by keeping the ball and switching it from side to side and making them chase. We’d kept our patience well, and it paid off late on as they tired. Mind you, we wouldn’t have had to wait that long for the breakthrough had the referee and his assistant spotted the most blatant of handballs by Vieira. We’d had a few handball shouts prior to that, none of which I thought we had a case with. It’s funny seeing Carra going absolutely nuts at the ref screaming for a penalty when he’s gotten away with three or four far worse ones this season! The Vieira one though, well that was just a stonewall pen and it’s outrageous we didn’t get it. Gerrard had beaten him, and he stopped the ball with both his hands. He shouldn’t have even had his hands up so high, and I can’t believe he got away with it. I don’t blame the ref so much as he was watching the incident from behind and may not have seen it clearly. The linesman though had the same view that I – and half of the Main Stand, Paddock and Kop - did, except he was closer than all of us. Lucky enough, we scored twice so it didn’t prove to be that crucial, but that linesman really needs to take a look at himself after that. It was looking as though we’d have to settle for just the 1-0, and I’m sure we’d all have been happy enough with that. Gerrard had other ideas though, producing a perfect low drive from the corner of the box that found the net via the inside of the post. It was a great strike, and capped a superb performance from the captain. He was outstanding, especially when he was switched to his more orthodox central midfield berth when Crouch came on. He wasn’t alone though, as I thought everyone really shone. Pepe had nothing to do, and it was one of the easiest games he’s had all season. The back four defended very well, whilst Finnan especially got forward and was more like his old self than he has been in recent months. In midfield, Mascherano was just fucking immense yet again. His passing is much better than he’s given credit for, and he distributes the ball quickly which helped us against the ten men when we needed to stretch the play by using the flanks. He was always there for a return pass, and he kept things ticking over very efficiently. It’s without the ball that he really comes into his own though. There’s no finer sight in football for me these days than seeing Mascherano chasing someone down and just taking the ball off them with ease. One piece of play summed him up perfectly. His compatriot Zanetti produced some brilliant skill to get away from him in the centre circle, but Mascherano chased him down, caught up with and just bullied him off the ball. I love Mascherano, he’s my favourite player right now and fast on his way to becoming my all time favourite. His attitude is fantastic, and I love watching him play. I can’t wait until he finally scores, the roof will come off the place when that happens. Mascherano was probably our best player on the night, but I’m giving Kuyt the star man as he’s been through a lot but never stopped trying. He deserved the success he had in this game, and I’d love nothing better than for him to kick on from this and rediscover the form that made him so idolised back in Holland. I’ve got serious doubts as to whether that will happen, but nothing would give me greater pleasure as he's a top fella. This was a truly great result given the respective positions of both sides, but it is only half the job done. The key to progression is to score in the San Siro. If we do that, it’s all over as I don’t see us letting in four. Inter will be without their two first choice centre halves, and a case can be made for starting Crouch with Torres over there. I wouldn’t do it though, I’d play the same eleven that started this game (maybe with Alonso instead of Lucas) because I don’t think we’d be able to get enough of the ball to utilise Crouch fully. We won’t be camped in their half bombarding them with crosses like we were at Anfield, so I’d keep Crouch on the bench in case we need him. Torres is the key to the second leg. We saw how they struggled with his pace, and there will certainly be chances on the counter attack over there. Torres, Babel and Gerrard all have pace, and they could have some joy over there. We need a typically resolute defensive display, coupled with some incisive counter attacking and to ensure we take whatever chances come our way. I we do that, we’re in the hat for the next round, and no-one will want to play us. We know we have a lot of problems right now, but they can go on hold for a day or two. For now, let’s just bask in the glow of another brilliant European night at Anfield, because there isn’t another club in the country that can replicate it. Let's just hope they don't pay off the ref for the second leg... Team: Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Aurelio; Mascherano, Lucas (Crouch); Kuyt, Gerrard, Babel (Pennant); Torres:

LIVERPOOL 1 Barnsley 2 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) – Dirk KuytHalf Time - 1-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Saturday 16 February 2008 Star Man – Ryan Babel Well at least we don’t have to endure a replay at that shithole. Not really much consolation, but given that the last time we went to Oakwell our fans were ambushed by an angry mob of pumped up yokels, it’s the only positive thing I can come up with. The FA Cup draw has been extremely kind to us on three occasions this season, yet we made ridiculously hard work out of the first two ties and we got beat in the third. Not good enough. Not by a long shot. There’s a number of reasons why we lost this game, but bad luck isn’t one of them. Yes, we were denied by the woodwork a couple of times, yes their keeper had a blinder, and yes they only had three chances and scored from two of them. The bottom line is though, it’s completely our own fucking fault. When things go as badly wrong as they are for us at the moment, people look for scapegoats and no doubt there’ll be several individuals copping the flak after this. Straight after the game I met a couple of mates and spoke to a couple of others on the phone, and they were all blaming differnt people. One blamed Crouch for fluffing three good headed chances. Another blamed Kuyt for wanting too many touches whenever he got a shooting chance, another blamed Rafa for his team selection and the other one said it was the owners’ fault for the whole mess they’ve created. Who’s fault do I think it is? Personally, I think they’re all at fault. Owners, players and manager. We didn’t lose this game because of one factor, it was down to several things. The biggest thing for me was the attitude of the team. Not that they didn’t want to win, or they didn’t work hard, thats not what I’m saying. The problem I had was that when we were 1-0 up, we just cruised along thinking the game was won, and showed no urgency whatsoever to try and increase the lead. The game was dead, nothing was happening at either end and we were just sauntering along into the next round happy with a 1-0. If we got another, great, if not, so what 1-0 will do. Then they equalised, and it all went to shit. We suddenly realised we needed to actually break sweat and try to attack, and we did do. We piled on the pressure, created stacks of chances, but couldn’t find the net due to a combination of poor finishing and heroic defending. That, and the keeper having the game of his life. That happens sometimes, and you have to just get on with it. It doesn’t excuse some of the woeful finishing we saw, or the amount of times players wanted to walk the ball in. Had we shown that kind of urgency before they scored, we wouldn’t have been in that situation. The goal at the end was a kick in the bollocks, and you could say it was harsh on us, but I just think we bring this upon ourselves with the lack of attacking intent we show. Why can’t we just go out and try to fucking obliterate teams, instead of ‘controlling the game’ and doing just enough? I’m sick of it. He who dares wins, he who doesn’t... doesn’t. Ultimately, Rafa has to carry the can. He picks the team, he bought most of the players, they’re playing to his tactics, he makes the substitutions etc When we win, he gets the praise, so even though I feel the players have let him down (again), I can’t make excuses for him as he doesn’t help himself at times. Let’s look at the goalkeeping situation for a start. I’m sick of this stupid fucking policy of giving the second choice keeper the cup games. Last year we got knocked out of two cups in a week simply because Rafa had made a promise to the hopelessly out of form Dudek. We’ve seen already in the limited appearances he’s made that Charles Itandje is dodgy as fuck, and although I don’t specifically blame him for the goals he conceded, there’s no doubt in my mind he could have done better on both of them, and I can’t remember him taking anything cleanly all game. He needed two or three attempts to gather even the most simple of shots. He doesn’t inspire confidence, and as usual, when Reina doesn’t play we let in goals. But then how much of that is down to the lack of match practice Itandje gets? The season is into its seventh month, and I reckon Itandje has played less than ten games all season. Fair enough, he’s not going to get many first team games, so he should be playing for the reserves to keep his match sharpness up. He's played one reserve game I think. The reserve keeper needs to be playing for the reserves, it’s not rocket science. If Itandje is to be back up to Reina, then it should be him playing. Equally, if Dave Martin is playing for the ressies, then he should be Reina's back up as he's the one with the match sharpness. I don’t see why we even signed Itandje, as Martin is a much steadier (if unspectacular) keeper and would be a better back up to Reina (who should never be rested anyway). It’s not just about the keeper though. The rest of the team need to take a look at themselves too. We didn’t play that badly, and on any other day we’d have gone through easily. It was a bit of a freak result in terms of how the game went, but the fact remains we showed no urgency or desire to get goals until they had equalised. The first half was dull, but we probably did enough to deserve the lead as we were in total command, aside from one glorious chance presented to them by Hyypia that produced a good save from Itandje. For all our control, chances weren’t exactly flowing for us though. We did score an excellently worked goal however. I was pleased for Dirk, because watching him prior to the goal it was blatantly obvious that he had no confidence. He was playing ok, and working hard as he always does, but in front of goal he was hesitant and unwilling to shoot. There was one occasion when he spurned a great shooting opportunity and opted to play a near impossible pass to Crouch. It sums up his state of mind this season I think. But when Babel got to the line and cut the ball back to him six yards out, Kuyt controlled the ball and then rammed it in at the Kop end for what should have been the start of a goalfest. Unfortunately the team seemed to think that it was job done, and simply sauntered along at their own leisure until Barnsley produced a shock equaliser. I say ‘shock’, but to be fair I’d started to get a little concerned a few minutes before they scored. They forced a few corners, and we’ve found out several times to our cost this season already that all it takes is one set piece or freak goal to drop you in the shit in even the most comfortable looking of games. Their goal was brilliant from their point of view, and terrible from ours. The lad had no business getting that ball in from the right wing. I sit right by where he crossed it from, and Riise appeared to have the angle cut off, but he whipped in a stunning cross that straight away looked like causing a big problem. Itandje’s first movement was to come out for the cross. He then realised he was never going to get it, so started to edge backwards. When the forward sent the ball goalwards, Itandje was caught flat footed and couldn’t get high enough off the ground to make the save. The goal gave our players the kick up the arse they needed, and they almost regained the lead instantly when Yossi went through but was denied by the keeper. Crouch looked favourite to get the rebound, but his shot was blocked by a defender. Their player wanted it more than ours, and it was a pattern that was repeated all over the pitch. We had loads of other chances, too many to mention (and I’ve forgotten most of them anyway) but we couldn’t find a way through. Lucas and Kewell both hit the bar, Yossi was denied by a brilliant save and Kuyt and Crouch contrived to fluff a host of good openings that came their way, usually because they wanted too many touches. Rafa made changes to try and win the game. Gerrard for Lucas was an obvious one, but bringing on Kewell for Babel did not sit well with the crowd, some of whom booed the decision. I didn’t boo, but I was perplexed and disappointed by it. Babel wasn’t great, but he was probably our most dangerous player and at least he didn’t look like he was scared to shoot. And why Kewell? What kind of form has he shown in recent months to deserve to get on ahead of Pennant? Predictably, Kewell’s first involvement saw him get the ball and run at the defender, only to be dispossessed easily. It happens every time these days, it’s embarrassing. He may as well not even try and take anybody on. He did have a good shot that clipped the bar, but otherwise his contribution was very disappointing. As for Gerrard, well it’s ridiculous that we needed to summon him to try and get us out of the shit again. Some will argue that he should have been on from the start, but if we can’t beat Barnsley without him then what does that say about the rest of the squad? He threatened to do something, but it never really happened for him and it was looking like we’d have to go through the inconvenience of a replay at a ground where no-one really wants to go to. Mind you, in the last few minutes they began to look dangerous themselves as we threw everybody forward and left gaps at the back. The big lad they brought on up front may have lacked guile, but he was a handful and he put himself about. He gave us problems. I thought he should have had either a pen or a free-kick when he beat Itandje to the ball and was clattered. It looked a foul to me, but it was difficult to see if it was in the box. Itandje could have been red carded too with a different referee, which may have actually helped us when I look at it now. With only seconds remaining, Barnsley launched an attack and should have had a penalty when Hyypia blatantly fouled the number ten as he shaped to shoot. The ref was right on the spot, but bottled it completely and waved play on. I couldn’t believe it, as to me it looked like the clearest pen I’d seen all season. “We got out of jail there, no doubt there’ll be murder about that decision” I thought. As it turned out, no-one will even be mentioning it because seconds later the same lad who was fouled collected the ball in a similar position, and this time he made space and drilled a low shot that beat Itandje at his near post. It was almost the last kick of the game and we had no time to come back. I didn’t stay to see anything else, I was out of there like shit off a stick. I felt sick. We’ve still got the Champions League of course, but to be honest I’m more concerned with our league position now. If we win number six I couldn’t care less where we finish in the league, but that’s a big ‘IF’. Finishing below Everton (or City, Villa, Blackburn etc) is simply not acceptable and cannot be tolerated. We have to finish in the top four, because the financial implications don’t even bear thinking about. Of course, a takeover would soften the blow and lessen the seriousness of the situation, but no Champions League football coupled with Hicks still in charge is simply to scary to contemplate. And what of Rafa? Should he stay or go? Well it’s a pointless question right now as there is simply no option but to allow him to carry on. He’s lost the players, and it’s difficult to see a way back for him now. It’s surely a matter of when not if he goes, but it’s not going to happen whilst the ownership issue is still up in the air. It’s just so sad that things have come to this so quickly. It’s difficult to believe, but the club is fucked up in a big way. The first thing we need is new owners, and then everything else can be dealt with from there. For now though, we just have to hope there’s a swift conclusion to the much talked about takeover, and that we can upset the formbook by beating Inter on tuesday. Let’s hope at the end of the storm there’s a golden sky... Team: Itandje; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise; Benayoun, Lucas (Gerrard), Alonso, Babel (Kewell): Crouch, Kuyt:

Yeah, he invited him to a ressies game as his guest, had a chat and he wanted to hire him. I have no idea if he still does.

Don't know if it was the girls ma or not, but I couldn't be arsed with the hassle.

Thanks to Mark for doing it, sorry it took me so long to put it on. http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/news/56913-chelsea-0-liverpool-0-match-report.html

Chelsea 0 LIVERPOOL 0 Report by Mark Ingram at Stamford Bridge Scorer(s) – Half Time - 0-0 Venue - Stamford Bridge Date - Sunday 10 February 2008 Star Man – Steven Gerrard What an utter waste of time that was. If I’d wanted to watch something boring and pointless with loads of idiot cockneys spouting shite then I’d have saved my money and watched the Eastenders Omnibus on Sunday instead of that. Chelsea websites will probably be coming out with all sorts of guff about Liverpool setting a stall out for a draw, but let’s be honest here, did Chelsea look in anyway ambitious or threatening? Past meetings between the two sides have all been very similar, and this one epitomised them all. It was ridiculously cagey from start to finish, and as dull as a dinner date with Avram Grant. Benitez picked an unusually predictable line up (as my impressive Fantasy Rafa score of eight might suggest). Babel on the wing, Crouch and Kuyt up front, Skrtel alongside Carra, with the experience of Finnan and Riise preferred at full back. Gerrard was given licence to roam with the security of Mascherano behind him and Lucas always close by to cover. He didn’t actually do a great deal of roaming, but had he wanted to then I guess he’d have been protected by them two. Kuyt spent a lot of time dropping into midfield too so there wasn’t a great deal of space available, especially when you consider Alex and Potato Head could defend quite high knowing full well they weren’t going to get skinned by our two forwards. The first half was dominated by Liverpool possession and some very patient play. There were lots of back passes back to Reina as the back four tried to somehow suck Chelsea out of their own half, but they weren’t having any of it, and just sat there waiting to defend. I was expecting Chelsea to have a go at us, considering our recent form and the capitulation by the mancs at home to City an hour earlier giving them a chance to gain ground, but they just weren’t interested and showed very little ambition all afternoon. Our only chances in the first half fell to Crouch, or ‘freak’ as our friends from Fulham Broadway like to call him. Nice one lads, I bet his dad loves that whilst he’s sat amongst you all in his blue shirt. The first was a left footed shot from just inside of the box after a knock down from Babel and then a weak header after a great bit of play from Gerrard who’s cross curled just behind his run on goal. That was pretty much it. They weren’t great chances and they never looked like actually going in but that was all we had to get excited about all day. It really was that painful. Chelsea had a penalty shout after Joe Cole did his usual bit of cheating (or should I say ‘simulation’ as no one in football seems to have the balls to address diving. I loved Rooney’s yellow card the other day, though – he’s not quite learned the art as well as his mate, but give him credit, the lad’s trying). Riley, however, is clearly saving all his stupid penalty decisions for Old Trafford so in this instance the home team were not the beneficiaries. The second half showed little more in terms of memorable incidents, Ballack nearly scored with a looping volley, but again, it wasn’t a cast iron chance. Riley got knocked off his feet by a Mascherano pass which was easily the best thing that happened the whole game. To be honest I can’t remember much else, it was as bad a game as I’ve ever seen and I was barely paying attention by the end of it. Then all of a sudden with about a minute left on the clock Gerrard put Kuyt through but he took the worst touch humanly possible and the chance went begging. Typical of the way he’s playing at the moment and, yes, half of me feels sorry for him but please, Dirk, get your confidence back quick because your massively bad at the moment and it’s become embarrassing to watch. Positives to take from it are that Carragher and Skrtel looked fairly assured together in the middle but I can’t be the only one praying for Agger to return, he’s by far the better footballer and Carra seems to like him a bit more than Skrtel. To be honest it normally looks like Carra doesn’t like anyone on the football field for all the shouting he does, but this seems particularly apparent with Skrtel. The poor lad was getting a right old earful throughout the game. Even more of an earful than most people near Carra get. Between them they kept Anelka at bay which is no mean feat, and this must have gone someway to giving Skrtel some confidence after his decidedly dodgy start to life at Anfield. Gerrard probably deserves star man, he was impressive without doing anything amazing. He usually doesn’t play that well against these, but he had a decent afternoon and almost created a few things for the big man. All in all, it was an awful game and I apologise for the dreariness of this report, but to be honest there was very little to talk about. I can’t even be bothered to harp on about how much I detest Chelsea, because if I’m honest they’ve become infinitely less hateable since Mourinho was given the sack. It’s yet another draw which really doesn’t help us much and makes Everton look that bit more worrying with only 13 games left of the season. I still fancy us for the Champions league spot but it’s going to get a lot more complicated with two cup competitions still to bear in mind and Rafa’s eye for a tinker. Massively looking forward to the Inter Milan games, hopefully that can give our season a lift. Team: Reina; Finnan, Skrtel, Carragher, Riise; Mascherano, Lucas, Gerrard; Kuyt, Crouch, Babel (Pennant):

Spot on. You'll get all these people who contribute fuck all, and then they'll complain that their voice isn't being heard and moan about those who have made an effort to do something. The whole point of this is so everybody can have their say. If you don't want to have a say, fine, but don't start having a go at those who care enough to try and make a difference.

I have to be at the ground to sell the mag, but I'll be there in spirit

I knew this would happen, as there's always a few issues that are fucked up. My printer really should be checking them before he sends them out, but there's usually around ten or so with pages either blank or missing. I usually check through them myself, but this time I only checked half of them as there just wasn't time. If anyone else gets a copy with blank pages, pm me and I'll send another one out straight away.

I like Ian Wright in a 'let's all laugh at that silly cunt' kind of way. Give me him over the likes of Shearer anyday. He's a tit, but at least he's not a boring one. I love the utter devastation he shows whenever England lose. Never fails to make me smile.

LIVERPOOL 3 Sunderland 0 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) – Peter Crouch, Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard (pen)Half Time - 0-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Saturday 2 February 2008 Star Man – Javier Mascherano Finally something to smile about. It’s been a really shitty start to 2008 for us, and at half time on Saturday it was not looking as though it was going to get any better. The first 45 minutes had been dire, it took 38 minutes before we even managed to get an effort on target, and even that was a tame effort that Craig Gordon could have kept out even if he’d been impersonating Paul Robinson. Thankfully the second half was better, although it has done little to lift the mood of depression surrounding the club. Things are bad at the moment, very bad. Off the pitch we’re in deep trouble, and on the pitch things aren’t much better. The two are inextricably linked, as although it’s fair to say Rafa Benitez can be his own worst enemy, for me there’s little doubt that his job has been made much more difficult - if not impossible - due to the way he’s been undermined from above. It’s been apparent for some time now that the players aren’t doing it for him. I don’t want to say he’s lost them, and I don’t know that he has. All the evidence on the field however suggests that to be the case. In recent weeks the only players who have been consistently good are Mascherano and Hyypia, and those two shone once again for me against the Mackems. All the rest have been inconsistent (Reina can be excluded from that too I guess), and no-one is going to tell me this is a squad that is behind their manager. The problem as I see it, is that Rafa had his nuts cut off when the owners failed to deny the reports they were looking to sack him, and those nuts were then squashed into the dirt by Fat Tom’s cowboy boot when he admitted they’d approached Klinsmann about taking over. Rafa has always made strange decisions, and the players had just got on with it. It was a case of, he’s the manager, he knows what he’s doing, his track record proves that. As soon as it became clear he was in trouble however, that changed. Now when he makes a decision, I suspect he is being second guessed by the players and in my opinion they no longer just accept those decisions without question. Like I say, it’s just my opinion, but I don’t think they believe in him anymore, and it’s showing in their performances. I didn’t see it myself as I wasn’t there, but there were reports that Gerrard and Carragher were both seen to be shaking their heads at West Ham when Kewell was replaced by Lucas. If they weren’t happy about that, I doubt they’d have been best pleased to see Lucas starting the game on the left wing, and I daresay Carragher wasn’t thrilled to be back at full back. Six months ago however, I don’t think any of it would have been an issue. A lot has changed in six months though, and every move the manager makes is being analysed and scrutinised, by everybody. Fans, pundits, owners, press, players. I didn’t particularly like the line up he named for Sunderland, but in some ways I can understand it. On the surface, playing Carra at right back was baffling, but with Arbeloa injured and Finnan going through a bad spell the only other right back available was Stephen Darby. Personally, I’d have no qualms whatsoever about using ‘Darbs, he wouldn’t let anyone down. Rafa doesn’t seem to like giving youngsters a chance though, and perhaps he feels that now isn’t a good time to be putting any of them in because the team is struggling so much. So, he put Skrtlel in next to Hyypia and shifted Carragher to right back. I wouldn’t have done it, and it probably wasn’t too well received by Carra (and Finnan too I’d imagine), but it worked. We kept a clean sheet, Carra created the all important first goal, and six months ago Rafa would have been hailed for the decision. A lot can happen in six months though, and praise for the manager is thin on the ground. As for playing Lucas on the left, I don’t see too much sense in that but again, the lack of in form alternatives has probably forced Rafa’s hand. Kewell is finished, Riise is woefully out of form, Babel is generally rubbish when he starts, so that only leaves Lucas and Yossi. We only started playing at West Ham when Lucas came on, and he did well enough to deserve to keep his place. It didn’t work though, as the lad looked lost on the left flank. Even so, he probably did no worse than any of the others would have done, and that speaks volumes. The first half was wretched. We had most of the ball as you’d expect, but did nothing with it. There was plenty of play in front of the Sunderland defence, but we never got in a position to really hurt them and they were very comfortable. Pennant seemed to be the only creative outlet we had, but he didn’t get enough of the ball in positions where he could run at the full back. When he did get at the full back, he clearly had the beating of him, and it was from a superb piece of play by him that Torres had the first real opportunity seven minutes before the break. His header was weak though, and straight at Gordon. Torres has been hopelessly out of form in recent weeks, and when you combine that with Gerrard having another of those dips he seems to regularly go through (he hasn’t been awful, but he’s fallen from the sky high standards he was showing until the new year), you have the main reason why we’ve been so shit recently. We rely on those two far too much, and if they aren’t in form who else do we have? Well there is Crouch, providing he is in the mood and providing that he is actually on the pitch. He isn’t in the same class as Torres or Gerrard, but he is a match winner on his day. He was the main reason we beat Sunderland, even though I didn’t think his all round game was anything special. Goals win games, and Crouch is one of the few players at the club who can actually find the back of the net. He did so in some style early in the second half, when he planted a fine header into the bottom corner after some wing wizardry from Carragher. The goal had come at a time when the crowd suddenly found their voices and had started to get something going. It had been really subdued in the first half, but you can’t really blame the fans for that as there’s just nothing to get excited about at the moment. We’ll have a attack and the fans will make a bit of noise, hoping to contribute to a sustained spell of pressure, and then fuck all happens for ten minutes. It’s a two way thing obviously, and the fans have been guilty of not making enough noise at times, but the players have a responsibility too, and too often they seem to go out of their way to quiten the crowd - our crowd. If we see the team piling forward, snapping into tackles and putting the opposition under pressure, the crowd generally responds We just don’t see it enough. We started the second half quite well, and a few tackles went in and we put them under a bit of pressure. Suddenly the crowd got into it a bit, but then as usual, it looked as though it was going to drop off again, as a series of backward passes took the wind out of our sails. Just as I was moaning to myself about how they’d gone and quitened the crowd again with their lack of adventure, suddenly Carragher collected the ball out wide, skipped past the full back and whipped over a brilliant cross that Crouch despatched in a manner that we don’t see often enough. People say Crouch can’t head a ball, but it’s not true. He can, and there’s plenty of evidence to support it. Unfortunately he doesn’t do it often enough. The goal lifted him, and the team. Within minutes he almost had a spectacular second. The lively Pennant got away on the right, and hung up a ball to the back post which was met by a trademark Crouch bicycle kick. Gordon did well to keep it out, and Gerrard’s follow up was deflected wide by a defender. Crouch had his tail up now though, and it needed a goal-line clearance to keep out another towering header, this time from Gerrard’s corner kick. Torres also began to come to life around this time, and a brilliant piece of skill saw him race onto a pass and juggle the ball twice before letting fly with a left foot volley that Gordon parried away. It would have been an amazing goal, and it seemed to give him an extra spring in his step. When Crouch flicked a ball through the centre, Torres turned on the after-burners and simply flew past the defender before blasting a shot through Gordon to make it 2-0. Relief all round, as without that secnd goal we could quite easily have been pegged back. Not because it looked like we would concede, we didn’t. But we didn’t look like conceding against Wigan either. It only takes a second to let one in, so when Torres gave us that extr bit of breathing room I think everyone knew the points were safe. Gerrard added a late third from the penalty spot after Pennant was sent sprawling by Johnny Evans, but you’d have to say the scoreline flattered us somewhat. It wasn’t a totally convincing display, but we did enough and given our terrible home form the three points are most welcome. Star man was Mascherano - again. It seems like every time he plays I end up giving him the star man, or at least have him in the running. Big Sami too, he was flawless once again. Those two have been a model of consistency when all of those around them have been the opposite. Pennant did well again too, and he really should be in the team every week. It was also nice to see Skrtel put last week’s poor display behind him and he was assured in everything he did. A few thousand fans stayed behind at full time to protest against the owners, and it was a good turnout considering it was planned at such short notice and how little time the organisers had to make people aware of it. A decision was taken not to do anything during the game as there are many fans who don’t want to do that as they feel it harms the team. That’s fair enough, but after the game is a different story. Despite the ignorance of people like Steve McManaman (who’s comments on Setanta after the game were outrageous), we are in serious trouble if Gillett and Hicks remain at the club. We’ll have no money to spend, as even if we are in the Champions League every year and reaching the latter stages it will still be almost impossible to turn a profit given the £30m a season interest we will be paying on THEIR loans. They need to go, and it isn’t about siding with Rafa over them. Rafa is irrelevant, his future is a complete side issue. The issue is that if we don’t get them out, our club could be irreperably harmed. I’ve heard it suggested that we could never end up like Leeds because we have a bigger fanbase and are capable of generating far more revenue. That maybe so, but it won’t stop our best players leaving if they see that we can’t compete with the top clubs. And when that happens, will the money go back into the transfer kitty or will it go on paying off the banks? Or maybe it will go to the Texas Rangers (yeah right, as if he'd put ANY money into ANY of his teams, the tight bastard). Team: Reina; Carragher, Skrtel, Hyypia, Aurelio (Finnan); Pennant, Mascherano, Gerrard, Lucas (Benayoun); Crouch (Kuyt), Torres:

Yeah at least Le Tallec and Pongolle were good lads. Oh, hang on...

Haha very good that.

You'll notice an ad for Setanta popping up in the rotation. They've asked for a two week trial with a view to doing something more long term if its a success. They've paid for the two weeks, so they are serious about it and aren't just looking for a free plug. So if anyone is planning on subscribing to Setanta, do the site a favour and go through the advert on here so they can see it's working. Cheers folks.

Seconded. Also, gotta love Kop being the brains behind this but not getting the credit!

I hope he gets the Ireland job!

LUCAS LEIVA PROFILE by Dave Usher Date of Birth - 09/01/87Nationality - Brazilian Position - Midfielder Squad Number - 21 Cost - £5M Club Hons (Lpool) - Club Hons (other) - Intnl Hons - Brazil caps Other Clubs - Gremio Brazilian midfielder who arrived at Anfield in the summer of 2007 from Gremio for a fee of around £5m. Known as 'Lucas', the youngster had made a big impression in his homeland since making his debut in October 2005, and he was the youngest player ever to win the Bola de Ouro - an award for the best player in the Brazilian league. Previous winners of that award include Zico, Romario and Kaka. Lucas isn't that kind of player however, he's certainly not a typical Brazilian player, in that he isn't one for fancy flicks and showboating. He's more of an English style box to box midfielder, which is probably what attracted so many English clubs to him. After captaining Brazil's u20 side to success in the 2007 South American Championships, Lucas was being tracked by a number of clubs in the Premiership, as well as La Liga. However, Liverpool had moved early and lready had a deal wrapped up for him. His competitive debut for the reds came as a substitute in the Champions League qualifier against Toulouse, and his first start was in the Carling Cup against Reading. His senior debut for Brazil followed shortly after against Algeria. Lucas' first goal for Liverpool came in the 5-2 FA Cup win over Havant & Waterlooville, when he curled in a stunning strike from 25 yards to cancel out a shock early goal for the non-leaguers. He would have opened his account much sooner but for a handball on the goal-line from Eerton's Phil Neville in the Merseyside derby. Lucas had controversially been brought on to replace skipper Steven Gerrard, but he vindicated his manager's decision when he broke into the box and sent a shot goalwards that was handled by Neville, allowing Dirk Kuyt to score a last minute winner from the penalty spot. Despite always showing a good attitude and never hiding, Lucas found it difficult to win over the crowd and became something of a scapegoat. His manager's faith in him was viewed by many supporters as being completely misplaced, and the Brazilian has often been a target for the boo boys. He didn't help himself by often giving away silly free-kicks, and this would prove costly when his rash challenge resulted in a penalty at Wigan that cost the reds a vital two points. It got worse for the young Brazilian when he was sent off at Goodison in an FA Cup replay which Liverpool lost. The criticism was flying, but he kept plugging away and showed great strength of character to not buckle under the weight of criticism. The departure of Xabi Alonso in the summer of 2009 opened the door for Lucas to stake a claim for a regular starting place, and despite still not enjoying the full confidence of supporters, he performed steadily alongside Javier Mascherano and started the vast majority of games.

MARTIN SKRTEL PROFILE by Dave Usher Date of Birth - 15/12/84Nationality - Slovakian Position - Defender Squad Number - 37 Cost - £6.5m Club Hons (Lpool) - Club Hons (other) - Intnl Hons - Slovakian Caps Other Clubs - FC Previdza, FC Trencin, Zenit St Petersburg No nonsense Slovakian international centre half who joined the reds for a reported £6.5m from Russian club Zenit St Petersberg in January 2008. Skrtel is a strong, quick defender who caught the eye of a number of European clubs during his time with Zenit, and Liverpool had to beat off interest from Spurs, Valencia and Everton to secure his signature. With Daniel Agger sidelined with a long term foot injury, Rafa Benitez felt he needed extra competition at centre half, where Jamie Carragher and the ageing Sami Hyypia were the only experienced options avalable to him. A move for Milan's veteran defender Kaka Kaladze fell through when the club's owners refused to act as swiftly as Benitez wanted them to, prompting a huge fall out between the manager and his employers. But when Benitez then moved for Skrtel, this time he got his man. Skrtel made his Liverpool debut as a substitute against Aston Villa in a 2-2 draw at Anfield, and his first start came a few days later in the FA Cup against Havant & Waterloovile, where he endured something of a nightmare afternoon against the non-league outfit. In his defence, the Russian league season had finished several weeks earlier and Skrtel was clearly suffering from ring rust. In the first half against Havant he was all over the place, but he was much better after the break and could have got on the scoresheet with two headed efforts from set-pieces. Skrtel is no stranger to the scoresheet, and in his first 22 international games for Slovakia he found the net an impressive five times. Goals were much harder to come by for Liverpool though, and he had to wait until November 2009 to open his account with a nice finish from a set piece against Manchester City at Anfield.

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