TLW

LIVERPOOL 5 Havant & Waterlooville 2 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) – Yossi Benayoun (3), Lucas, Peter CrouchHalf Time - 2-2 Venue - Anfield Date - Saturday 26 January 2008 Star Man – Jermaine Pennant There was never any danger that we’d actually lose this game, even though we fell behind twice and were level at 2-2 at half time. They were always going to tire, and we had Gerrard and Torres to call on if needed, so losing was never a real possibility. However, that opening 45 minutes was absolutely appalling and a number of the players involved should hang their heads in shame. The 2nd half was considerably better and obviously we’re through so there’s no harm done, but I’m sure Rafa Benitez will have taken note of the lack of appetite shown by some of his squad. Having said that, Havant’s players were brilliant and deserve great credit. They were assisted by the lacklustre approach of some of our ‘stars’, but take nothing away from the efforts of the non-league side, who showed far more adventure than many Premiership sides who visit Anfield. They played two up front, and they played two wingers. They weren’t shy throwing players forward, and they were rewarded with two goals at the Kop end. They defended very well too, and multi million pound international strikers such as Babel and Crouch were handled with an ease that I imagine will have alarmed and angered Rafa as much as it did a lot of the fans. Babel says he is a striker, not a winger. Most people would probably agree with that, I definitely would. I wanted to see him fgiven a go up front, but as a striker in this game he was so ineffective that Benitez ended up moving him back out to the wing and shifting Benayoun inside to play off Crouch. I expected Babel to run riot in this game, it was the ideal chance for him to stake a claim to play as a striker, but he blew it. Still, he was miles better than Crouch, and at least he looked like he was trying. Crouch simply wasn’t interested, he was a disgrace. I’ve probably been his most vocal supporter ever since he’s been here, but after witnessing the completely disinterested way he strolled about in this game I find it hard to say anything positive about him. When he scored at the end I just thought ‘you really didn’t deserve that’. He hardly won a header all afternoon, he didn’t hold the ball up, and most of the time he wasn’t even showing for the ball. He just didn’t look arsed, and I bet that was one of the easiest games those Havant central defenders have had all season. It was almost enough to make me understand why Benitez continually selects Kuyt over him. At least Kuyt’s attitude and commitment can never be questioned, even if his ability can. Crouch’s attitude was one of the things that made him so popular, so this was very disappointing. As you’d expect, we dominated possession and bossed the midfield. In fact, the midfield four are probably the only players to emerge from this game with any credit. The problem we had was that the strikers weren’t posing a threat, and the defence and keeper were dodgy as hell. It was a shock when Havant scored, but it wasn’t totally out of the blue as they’d already gone close before that after some lovely football. I think it was Skrtel who made the block to deny them that first time, but it was probably the only thing the lad did right in the first half. He was absolutely awful, and any time the ball went near him I was shitting myself. It was his error that led to the opening goal. He badly overhit and misdirected a backpass that gave Havant a cheap corner. Their fans went wild in celebration, but it was nothing to what they were feeling seconds later when Richard Pacquette rose highest to head the ball in. The goal was met by applause all around the ground, as let’s be honest, none of us were remotely worried and in a way it was pleasing that they’d gotten this moment, it was nice for them. Besides, it was only a matter of time before we would rip them apart with an avalanche of goals. Wasn’t it? Well no, it wasn’t. What we saw was a spell of terrible football and virtually no threat to the non-league side’s goal. Mascherano and Lucas were busy enough, their commitment can’t be faulted, and Pennant did get down the wing and deliver several crosses into the danger area. The problem we had was not enough player’s in the box, and those who were in there – ie Crouch – just didn’t have the desire to get on the end of things that the Havant defenders did. Tempers were becoming frayed in the crowd, and lots of abuse was beginning to be hurled in the direction of the players. It was mainly Riise who copped it by me, partly because he was nearest to where I sit, and partly because he’s everyone’s favourite whipping boy at the moment. I didn’t think he was especially bad, in fact he was probably the pick of our back four in the first half. That’s not saying much like. Skrtel was really worrying me. He was nervous in possession, but more alarming for me was the way he seemed completely unsure of what he was supposed to be doing. I watched him closely whenever Havant got the ball forward, and often he didn’t seem to know whether to get tight to his man or let him run in behind into an offside position. He was hesitant, nervy, and it was a debut to forget. Like the rest of the side, he was significantly better after the break, and it’d be unfair to judge the lad just on the one game, especially as his last competitive game was several weeks ago (which makes it baffling that he hasn’t played in either of the two friendly games the reserves have had recently). As far as first impressions go however, he couldn’t have made much of a worse one. Havant had a chance to go two up when Itandje twice flapped at crosses causing an almighty scramble to ensue. When the ball broke to a yellow shirt, thankfully the lad blazed his shot over the bar. Itandje wasn’t inspiring confidence though, and the atmosphere was beginning to get a bit tense to say the least. Then out of nothing, normality was restored. Finnan played a long crossfield ball to Babel on the left, and he laid it back to Lucas 25 yards out. The young Brazilian moved centrally with the ball, and when it opened up for the shot he delivered a stunning strike into the top corner. Not a bad way to open his account. Like I said, normality restored. Not for long though. Four minutes later we were behind again, in farcical circumstances. A cross was cleared to Finnan, and as we looked to launch a counter attack, inexplicably the normally ultra reliable full back stood on the ball and presented left winger Alfie Potter with a sight of goal. Skrtel came across to block, but the ball deflected off him and wrongfooted Itandje. Again, applause rang out around Anfield, but if the first goal had been somewhat amusing (the wrong word perhaps, but I don’t think anyone really begrudged them scoring first), this was definitely not. Now it was becoming embarrassing. They deserved it though, I can’t deny them that. Their attitude was fantastic, and they played the ball on the floor and weren’t overly aggressive either. They came to Anfield and had a go, and played football the way it should be played. I give them all the credit in the world for that, and I wish them success in the future. From our point of view however, it just wasn’t acceptable. Thankfully, we drew level before half time, meaning the boos weren’t too bad. It wouldn’t have been pretty had we gone into the break behind. It was a good goal too, Pennant did well to find Yossi, and he finished superbly. You can make an argument that he’s perhaps the best finisher at the club at the moment, as he seems to keep a cool head and pick his spot. Like Pennant, he hadn’t been brilliant in the first half, but at least both of them showed the desired attitude. It was those two who made the difference after the break too. Our players are several classes above theirs, but only Jermaine and Yossi (Mascherano up to a point as well) actually went out and proved it. Pennant ran the full back ragged and delivered a lot of quality into the box, whilst Yossi thrived on the central role he was given and went on to claim his second hat-trick of the season. The decisive goal was his second, as it came early in the half and relieved a lot of the pressure we were clearly feeling. Once again, Pennant was the provider, and once again Yossi finished it superbly. His hat-trick goal was more of a bread and butter strike, following up sharply after the keeper could only parry Babel’s shot. He nearly added a fourth with a well directed volley from Riise’s excellent cross, before he was replaced by Kuyt. Not much was happening at this point, other than Mascherano desperately trying to score and failing miserably! Havant were really close to scoring again, when one of their lads rose well at the far post to meet a long free-kick, but Itandje made a fine instinctive stop and the defence managed to smuggle the danger away. Carragher and then Gerrard were brought on, presumably just so the Havant lads could say they played against them, and Gerrard showed in the five minutes he was on the field exactly what we’d been missing previously. Had he started, we’d have annihilated H&W. We should have been able to do it without him anyway, but couldn’t. In the short time he was on, he made a goal for Crouch, created another glorious chance that Kuyt and Crouch conspired to mess up, and he forced the keeper into a fine save. Crouch was clearly offside when he scored, and a big part of me wanted the linesman to flag, simply because he didn’t deserve that goal. Usually I’m made up for him when he gets on the scoresheet, but I can’t begin to describe how disappointed I was with the attitude he showed in this game. Still, alls well that ends well I guess, and when the dust settles on this the only things that really matter are we are in the hat for the next round after a relatively comfortable victory (in the end anyway), and Havant had the biggest day of their lives and produced a performance that they will talk about for years to come. The atmosphere between the fans was good, with them joining in YNWA and even singing ‘Stand up if you hate Man U’, which was pretty funny on their part really. Their players were given a great reception from our fans, and you could see how much that meant to them. I hate all that ‘magic of the cup’ clichéd bollocks, but you’d have to be pretty heartless not have enjoyed seeing the performance they put on. One thing is for sure, the next round won’t be as much fun. Team: Itandje; Finnan, Skrtel, Hyypia, Riise; Pennant, Lucas, Mascherano (Gerrard), Benayoun (Kuyt); Crouch, Babel:

Exactly right. The refinancing was essential or they would have had to sell to DIC on DIC's terms, or pay up their loans out of their own pockets. The refinancing changes nothing, it just eases the pressure on them to sell immediately. This isn't over, far from it.

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/news/55831-liverpool-2-aston-villa-2-match-report.html

LIVERPOOL 2 Aston Villa 2 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) – Yossi Benayoun, Peter CrouchHalf Time - 1-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Monday 21 January 2008 Star Man – Javier Mascherano At least we didn’t lose. Small consolation I know, and hardly cause for celebration, but this was actually a very important point we picked up in the end. Another two points dropped at home is depressing, but in the grand scheme of things it isn’t actually that costly when you look at it. If we were in a position where we were trying to keep pace with the top three, then a point would have been no good to us whatsoever. We aren’t competing with the top three though, we haven’t been for several weeks. There’s no point even worrying ourselves with what they are doing because it’s as relevant to us as it is to Derby County. Painful as it is to accept, we’re competing with Everton, City and Villa now. Peter Crouch’s late equaliser prevented Villa from moving above us in the table, and also took us a point closer to the blues whilst we still have a game in hand. So disappointing as it undoubtedly was, this draw isn’t really damaging in terms of the league table. It’s very damaging in terms of morale of course, and it’s difficult to see how morale could get any lower at the moment. Exits from the cup competitions would make it worse, obviously, as would the news that Gillett and Hicks are staying on. Hopefully neither of those scenarios will happen. The best we can hope to get out of this season now is a cup success (or two), 4th place and new owners. Much as I’d love to win something, right now if I was offered 4th place and new owners Id snatch your hand off. As expected, there were plenty of chants and banners condemning Gillett and Hicks, and whilst I thought it might have been a bit more hostile, overall I’d say it was a success. The constant chanting in the opening minutes was reminiscent of the ‘Justice’ demo last season, albeit on a lesser scale. At one point it reached a loud crescendo and that was very impressive. There were some good chants, and none of the ‘we hate yanks’ stuff I was concerned about. The danger was that we could be seen to be blaming an entire nation for the antics of two bellwhiffs, but thankfully that didn’t happen and full marks to the Kop for the way they handled it. There were some excellent banners too, including ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t Hicks it’ and ‘One DIC is better than two’. As for the chanting, ‘Tom Hicks has got a big fat head’ was amusing, and there was one chant that I can’t remember exactly, but the gist of it was ‘fuck off and take Parry with you’ also met with a favourable response around the ground. The atmosphere overall was a bit up and down, but personally I blame the performance for that. The crowd were up for it early on, singing about the owners but also backing the team and making noise. In the second half though, it just tailed off, but it’s understandable when the team are just not making anything happen. This was like so many of our games this season. We ‘controlled’ things, but we didn’t go for the jugular and we paid the price. Villa were rubbish, yet they’ll be getting all the praise today and we’ll be getting pilloried. It’s frustrating, because they didn’t have to really do anything to get something from the game. Reina had not had anything to do, then they get two set pieces and suddenly we’re 2-1 down. It shouldn’t have been like that. We went in front early enough, so there’s no excuse about struggling to break down a defensive side. Villa didn’t come to defend, they had two up front and didn’t have a defensive looking midfield either. It was hardly eleven men behind the ball all out defence stuff, so we don’t even have that as an excuse. We just didn’t do enough, it’s that simple. Why didn’t we do enough? Two factors for me. One, we didn’t show enough attacking intent, and two, we don’t have enough quality. Our widemen aren’t good enough, and Torres needs a top class partner. When that is addressed, teams like Villa, Wigan, Spurs and whoever else has taken points at Anfield this season will be seen off comfortably. The likes of Benayoun, Pennant, Kewell etc just aren’t of the required standard. I’d be happy for any of them to be back up to some real genuine quality widemen, but none of them are good enough to be playing week in week out. I like Yossi, and he can do a job, but he wouldn’t have a sniff of getting a game for the top three. I like Pennant too, but it’s the same with him. He isn’t a goal threat, which in turn puts too much pressure on others such as Gerrard and Torres. As for Kewell, well he’s finished. His pace has gone, and that is undermining everything else he tries to do. He can’t beat a man anymore, and that’s a pretty big drawback for a winger. Clearly that effects his confidence, and you look at him now and he’s a shadow of the player he was. It’s difficult to see that changing, as I can’t see him getting any quicker. The lack of quality in creative positions is just putting too much pressure on Gerrard and Torres, the genuine world class attacking players we have. If they don’t deliver, we have problems. Kuyt actually played pretty well in the first half against Villa, but did he look even remotely like scoring? He played a lovely little ball to set up Yossi’s goal, and he was busy and got involved, but the first sight of goal he had in the second half saw him produce an embarrassingly wild slice into the Kop. I just don’t get how he keeps his place. I want him to do well, but it isn’t happening and his confidence looks shot to pieces. Crouch hasn’t pulled up any trees this season either, but if Rafa is not going to use Babel alongside Torres (I’d certainly be looking at doing that now), then Crouch should be playing. When we went in front, it should have been the catalyst for us to go and get more goals, but we didn’t. We just kept passing it around with no real cutting edge or urgency, and aside from a really good five minutes early in the second half when we went close three or four times, we just seemed to amble along. That five minutes saw the crowd at it’s loudest, which suggests that if they give us something to shout about then we will do just that. Bore us into submission, and you’ll get the silence and apathy we’ve seen for most of the season. Despite us not doing too much ourselves, we never looked in any danger as Hyypia was in imperious form, and Mascherano was everywhere winning back the ball. Those two were miles ahead of anyone else on the field, although Carra and Gerrard were decent enough too. But then out of nothing, Villa drew level when we failed to deal with a set-piece. I blame myself more than anyone for that first goal though, and I knew when Harewood came on that it spelled trouble. You see, a few weeks ago I was on a ‘review of 2007’ show on Liverpool FC TV. One of the questions asked was ‘which opposition player impressed you most in 2007’. I went for Fabregas, but added ‘he just edged out big Marlon Harewood’. Obviously I was taking the piss, but who’s laughing now? ‘Marvellous Marlon’ that’s who. My bad. Just prior to that goal, Rafa had been preparing to bring on Martin Skrtel for his debut. I though maybe he’d rethink that when Villa scored, but that was because I thought it was a tactical decision. It wasn’t, Arbeloa was injured, so Skrtel had to come on and Carra moved to right back. Within minutes, things got worse. Again, we didn’t deal with a set piece, and Aurelio was unfortunate to see Mellberg’s shot deflect off him and leave Reina helpless. It was horrible, as the Villa fans were celebrating way before we could see the ball go into the net. From their angle, they could see that Reina wasn’t going to get there and they knew it was going in a good second before it actually did. It was panic stations now, with the Villa fans gleefully taunting Rafa with ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’. I don’t think there’s any immediate danger of that happening, as the owners have enough on their plate without worrying about sacking the manager. The only reason they’d do that now is out of pure spite, which isn’t something I’d completely rule out with Tom Hicks. Whatever the future holds for Rafa, he certainly deserves to outstay the two snakes who’ve made his life hell for the past year. Whether he would fare any better under new owners is a matter of opinion. I have serious doubts about him, but at the same time I’ve got enough respect for him to think he deserves more time, especially if new owners were to provide him the backing needed to mount a challenge. My gut feeling is that he still wouldn’t be able to do it, but I’d like him to be given the chance to prove me wrong. With the game slipping away, Rafa threw on Babel. For me, he should have been on ages before that, as Kewell and Kuyt were contributing very little. Babel wasted no time getting involved, and he is exciting when he gets the ball around the box. He’s strong, quick, has two good feet, great close control and a shot like a mule. All that’s lacking is maturity and the decision making that will com with that. Given the paucity of alternatives, I say just stick him up front with Torres now until the end of the season. Failing that, give him a run of games on the wing. He hasn’t convinced at all when he’s started, especially out wide, but when you look at how shit the alternatives have been, we may as well just play him as next season we’ll probably reap the benefits of it. Crouch was thrown on with ten minutes or so left, which again was way too late, but it’s what I’ve come to expect now. We began hitting long balls up to him, and tried to get people around him. It was all a bit desperate, and we didn’t especially look like scoring. But with three minutes left, we got a break. Carra attacked the space at the back post, and although he appeared to lose sight of the ball as it dropped over the last defender, it hit him on the knee and bounced back to Crouch. His finish was brilliant to be fair, as it’s so easy to sky that kind of shot high over the bar. There was still time for us to nick a winner, but Villa hung in there without too many problems and we had to settle for a point. We’ve played worse and won, and played better and lost this season. Were Villa worth a point? I don’t think so, but at the same time we didn’t show enough attacking intent to deserve to win, so we can have no complaints. Things are really bad at the moment, but if we can just hang in there and not let Everton or City or whoever else get ahead of us, things will surely pick up, especially if the ownership issue is resolved soon. I am worried about 4th place to be honest, simply because we still have to play all of the top three away from home, fixtures which generally see us lose and usually without even managing a goal. But then it’s been a strange old season and our home record is worse than our away one, so maybe we’ll buck the trend and pick up some points at Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and the Emirates? Stranger things have happened, such as Titus Bramble and Marlon Harewood scoring in consecutive games at Anfield. Team: Reina; Arbeloa (Skrtel), Carragher, Hyypia, Aurelio; Benayoun (Crouch), Gerrard, Mascherano, Kewell (Babel); Torres, Kuyt:

Catatania? "You give me Rrrrome Rrrrrage"

LIVERPOOL U18 0 Man United U18 1 Report by Dave Usher at the Academy Scorer(s) - Half Time - 0-0 Venue - Liverpool Academy, Kirkby Date - Sat 19 Jan 2008 Star Man - David Amoo Liverpool u18's disappointing start to the new year continued with an unfortunate 1-0 home defeat to Manchester United this weekend. In a game that mirrored several of the recent encounters between the senior sides, Liverpool did most of the pressing and had the better of the play, but couldn't find a way through the United defence, and were undone with a late sucker punch. The reds had been held to a draw at Bolton a fortnight ago, and had needed a last gasp equaliser to snatch a point against Everton last weekend, so they will have seen this as an ideal chance to put pressure on the league leaders. They failed to do that and the result was obviously disappointing, but there's a big youth cup game coming up later this month with Arsenal so the boys need to get this out of their system quickly. It's not as though they performed badly against United. They can play better certainly, but they did create some decent chances and by and large they defended well. Apparently Hughie's lads went close to scoring twice in the opening ten minutes, but I wouldn't know as I didn't get there until ten past. The game was played on the very back field, and not on the usual pitch, so it took a while to get round there. I obviously missed the best of the first half, as little else happened after that and there's nothing at all written in my notes until the start of the second half. The reds were pretty much at full strength, with Martin Hansen returning in goal and Daniel Ayala given a run out at centre half alongside the ever dependable Joe Kennedy. Scottish winger Gary McKay Steven was once again used at left back in place of Shane O'Connor, with the exciting Swede Alex Kacaniklic in front of him giving the left flank an extremely attacking look. The opposite flank had a more familar look to it, with Steve Irwin at full back and David Amoo in front of him. Usual midfield pairing Astrit Ajdarevic and Sean Highdale were in the centre, with the prolific duo of Marvin Pourie and top scorer Nathan Eccleston up front. Amoo had gone close early on, and he was Liverpool's best attacking outlet throughout. He should have opened the scoring two minutes after the restart, when a great run by McKay Steven down the left took him past a couple of challenges and saw him square the ball to Amoo. He did well to make space for himself but leaned back on his shot from 8 yards and it went over the bar. Two minutes later Eccleston did well to win the ball from a defender and surge into the box, but his left foot shot from a tight angle was gratefully clutched the near post by the United keeper. Liverpool were doing most of the pressing, but both defences were well on top. Amoo's pace and direct running created a chance for Kacaniklic on 57 minutes, but like Eccleston he saw his shot saved at the near post. United almost took the lead out of nothing just after the hour mark, as one of their midfielders let fly from outside the box and the ball crashed against the woodwork. It was the first real moment of danger they'd posed, but a couple of substitutions gave them a little bit more potency up front, and would eventually win them the game. Eccleston shot just wide from outside the box, and Highdale also went close after winning possession with some typically determined play. Kacaniklic also saw an effort from distance narrowly miss the target. United had not been causing problems, but when Antonio Bryan combined with his fellow sub and then drilled a low shot past Hansen from 18 yards, there was a sense of deja vu about it all. I'm sick of the mancs coming to our turf, sitting back and then nicking a 1-0 win. It's demoralising. Amoo did his best to get his side back into it, and made several good bursts down the right flank. from one of those forays Eccleston went close with a header, but unfortunately for him it went straight down the throat of the keeper. With three minutes remaining Irwin found Amoo in space, and he carried the ball forward before trying his luck from 25 yards. The ball went just wide, but he did the right thing in having a go as time was ticking away. No-one really stood out, but there were some solid performances for the reds, mainly in defence where Kennedy was impressive again and Ayala was quietly effective. Highdale was tenacious in midfield, and McKay Steven had some good moments coming forward from full back. Amoo gets the star man though, simply because he was the only one who looked like he might make the breakthrough. Team: Hansen; Irwin, Ayala, Kennedy, McKay-Steven (O'Connor); Amoo, Highdale, Ajdarevic, Kacaniklic; Pourie, Eccleston (Collins):

That wasn't me, it was my slimmer doppleganger. The real me would never be seen dead out in public with atk and robslappa

Yes. The twat.

Don't know what's happened to Bruna. He isn't playing for the 18s, and he's not featured for the ressies for a while either. I think he must be injured. http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/news/55533-liverpool-res-3-bury-res-1-match-report.html#post961421

LIVERPOOL RES 3 Bury Res 1 Report by Dave Usher at the Academy Scorer(s) Ryan Flynn, Dani Pacheco, O.G.Half Time – 1-0 Venue – Liverpool Academy, Kirkby Date - Wed 16 Jan 2008 Star Man – Ryan Flynn Liverpool reserves’ ran out comfortable 3-1 winners against Bury in a specially arranged friendly game at the Academy earlier today, but the scoreline really should have been much more emphatic as the young reds’ wasted countless clear cut openings. Hughie McAuley’s lads hadn’t played since before Christmas, and this game was arranged after a league game with Blackburn was postponed earlier in the week. The ressies face Wigan next week, and were desperately in need of some match practice ahead of that game. On this evidence, it was a good idea as their finishing especially was extremely rusty. Hopefully they will have sharpened up a bit in time for next week. Ablett was without Sebastian Leto and Nabil El Zhar, amidst rumours that the pair are about to leave on loan to Spanish side Racing Santander. Craig Lindfield was also unavailable, as he was due to link up with Chester City on loan for the rest of the season. Another absentee was Robbie Threlfall, who has been out on loan too, but is back at Melwood with an injury. He had hoped to play in this game but is still a week or so away. So Ablett lined up with young Australian Dean Bouzanis in goal, Stephen Darby and Emiliano Insua as full backs, and Daniel Ayala given an opportunity alongside skipper Jack Hobbs at the heart of the defence. Ryan Flynn returned from injury to line up on the right flank, with Ray Putterill on the other side and the regular pairing of Damian Plessis and Jay Spearing in the engine room. Dani Pacheco partnered Jordy Brouwer up front. Flynn gave the reds the perfect start after 8 minutes when he finished from close range after Hobbs had flicked on a left wing corner. Liverpool threatened to run riot early on as Putterill continually tormented the right back and delivered a series of crosses into the box. Darby and Flynn were also combining well down the other side, and plenty of balls were going into the Bury penalty area. For all the promising build up play though, the keeper had little to do. Brouwer was anonymous, and Pacheco fared little better, although he did have one brilliant effort superbly saved by the keeper right on half time. Even the usually inspirational Spearing was quiet in the opening half, and by and large it was a fairly dull 45 minutes. Ring rust may well have had a fair bit to do with it, as in the second half Liverpool really stepped up a gear and cut through the visitors defence with virtually every attack. The changes made by Ablett at the break were also a significant factor, most notably up front where Krisztian Nemeth replaced Brouwer and gave Bury’s defence all manner of problems with his movement and ability. Pacheco seemed to really enjoy partnering the Hungarian, and he really came to the fore after the break too. Between them, they really should have managed five or six goals given the clear opportunities that came their way. The link up between the pair was very encouraging however, and it’s difficult to see any reason why Brouwer would keep either out of the side. Other changes by Ablett saw San Jose replace Plessis in midfield, Huth came in for Ayala and Peter Gulacsi took over from Bouzanis in goal. Liverpool began creating chances from the very start of the second period. Spearing pushed much further forward than he had been in the first half, and Bury struggled to stem the tide. Nemeth’s close control and ability to turn gave Bury a problem that they didn’t have in the first half, and although the Hungarian often infuriated some of his team-mates by not releasing the ball quick enough, or running away from them when they wanted to play one two’s, Bury would have been much happier had he been left on the bench. He should have scored on 55 minutes when Spearing sent him clear on goal, but he dragged his shot across the goal and wide of the post. Considering the brilliant start he’s made to his reserve career it was surprising to see him miss the target, as virtually everything he’s hit so far has gone in. Liverpool were really beginning to put some lovely moves together now, and two minutes later Pacheco should have scored. The move started at the back with Huth, who played the ball up to Nemeth on half way. He released Putterill down the left, and when the winger picked out Pacheco in the box, the 16 year old former Barcelona striker showed his quick feet by skipping away from his marker and firing a shot across the goal and wide. Two minutes later Spearing and Nemeth combined well to create another chance for Pacheco, but this time his shot was saved. At this point I was struggling to keep up with my notes as every attack was resulting in an attempt at goal. A minute later the reds put together another fine move which ended with Putterill dragging a shot wide when he should have done better. The Bury goal was leading a charmed life now, and within a minute Spearing had slipped a great ball through to Pacheco who found himself one on one with the keeper again. He delicately clipped the ball past the keeper but it rolled wide. Another great chance gone begging. Putteril then fed Nemeth in the box, and he made space well and seemed certain to score until a defender got himself in the way to make a great block. It was difficult to believe it was still only 1-0, as Liverpool had peppered the Bury goal since the start of the 2nd half. The second goal finally arrived midway through the half, but it needed a Bury defender to show Liverpool’s wasteful forward players how it’s done. Flynn and Darby combined well again down the right, with Darby showing great desire to get to the byline and get his cross in. Pacheco was waiting for a tap in at the near post, but a defender beat him to it and prodded theball past his keeper. Five minutes later Spearing played in Flynn down the right, and although his cross was too deep, Pacheco didn’t give it up and retrieved it on the far touchline before dribbling back into the box and drilling the ball across the face of goal. The keeper parried it, and as the ball looped up Nemeth headed it back goalwards but couldn’t keep it down and it dropped onto the roof of the net. Pacheco was really growing in confidence now, despite the chances he had missed. With fifteen minutes to go he produced a wonderful touch to bring the ball down and turn in one motion, and then showed good vision to play in Nemeth. The Hungarian looked like he was favourite to get there, but a combination of a defender and keeper conspired to deny him. Two minutes later Flynn and Pacheco combined to create another chance fro Nemeth, but again he was denied by the keeper. It was becoming ridiculous now that Liverpool were only two goals up, and that neither striker had scored. Pacheco finally put that right with five minutes to go, when Flynn did brilliantly to dribble his way into the box and square the ball across the six yard box to present the young Spaniard with a tap in. He should have added another a minute later when Nemeth’s through ball put him clear, but again he shot wide. Bury had not offered any threat in the second half, and Gulacsi had hardly touched the ball. But when the referee awarded the visitors a dubious free-kick in stoppage time, Gulacsi was left helpless astheir centre half rose well and powered a header over him into the top corner. It was the last action of the game, as the referee blew up immediately after the restart. Overall it was a fine display, at least the second half was anyway. Pacheco and Nemeth were wasteful, but showed great promise and look like they could be an exciting pair. Spearing was outstanding in the second half, and Putterill had some good moments too. Star man for me though was a toss up between Flynn and Darby. I thought ‘Darbs’ had a really good game, defending well enough and constantly trying to get forward. I’m going to go with Flynn though, simply because he’s been out injured a few weeks and this was his first game back in a while. He did really well, scoring one and creating another. Team: Bouzanis (Gulacsi); Darby, Hobbs, Ayala (Huth), Insua; Flynn, Spearing, Plessis (San Jose), Putterill; Brouwer (Nemeth), Pacheco:

LIVERPOOL 5 Luton 0 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) – Steven Gerrard (3), Ryan Babel, Sami HyypiaHalf Time - 1-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Tuesday 15 January 2008 Star Man – Steven Gerrard At last something positive to focus on. 500 games for Carra, a hat-trick for Gerrard and Luton Town showing up for a cup replay at Anfield. It doesn’t remove the air of depression surrounding the club, but at light it provided some temporary respite from all the talk of refinancing, takeovers and Jurgen Fucking Klinsmann. The crowd made a point of showing their support for the manager from start to finish, and for the first time there were also chants against the owners. It won’t be the last, unless DIC come riding in on a white horse and run the cowboys out of town. With no game coming up at the weekend, I had a feeling we’d see a full strength side line up against Luton, and that, coupled with their well documented problems, prompted me to make a stop at the bookies and stick a couple of quid on a 10-0 win. As it turned out, I was right about the team selection but just a touch overly optimistic when it came to the score! Had we been more clinical early on maybe I’d have gotten a run for my money? We started the game really well, with Gerrard and Babel very prominent. What surprised me was the amount of space we had to play. Luton were obviously wanting to get men behind the ball and make it difficult, but it didn’t really work out that way. Probably as they had so many players missing and a lot of square pegs in round holes. Has Don Hutchison ever played centre half before? Certainly not at a high level, that’s for sure, but to be fair to him he did very well in the first half. Torres did nothing at all in this game, and Hutchison takes great credit for that in my opinion. I liked him when he was here, and it was good to see him back at Anfield. He did well in difficult circumstances. I don’t know any of Luton’s players, but I know that ‘Hutch’ isn’t a centre back, and nor is the short arse who was alongside him, who I assume is a full back. The keeper was playing on one leg, and couldn’t take any goal kicks himself. When you consider we put six past Premiership side Derby, and eight past Champions League outfit Besiktas, I think my 10-0 was worth a punt. But we needed a few early goals, and we didn’t get them. Babel hit the post with a brilliant curling shot, and both he and Torres shot over from the edge of the box when they could have done better. Like I say, there was plenty of space for us to play in, especially on the counter whenever they ventured forward. Some of the quick one touch passing from the likes of Babel, Gerrard and Alonso was a joy to watch, but either the final ball or finish was always lacking, and as half time approached frustration began to creep in. Had we gone it at the break level we may have seen a different second half, but Babel’s excellent strike in stoppage time eased the tension that had started to build, and seemed to relax the players a bit. The goal was well worked, and was another example of the space we seemed to have. Gerrard fed Torres, who advanced forward and released Babel down the right. He raced into the box and drilled a low shot into the corner. Babel had been on the left for most of the half, and was only on the right wing because Pennant had come across to the left to take a corner seconds before, and had stayed out there temporarily. Jermaine was back on the right for the second half, and he was excellent. He combined well with Arbeloa, and produced some excellent deliveries from out wide. One of his poorer efforts actually led to the second goal shortly after the break. It wasn’t a bad ball, but it was a little deep perhaps. With Crouch on the back post though an overhit cross can still turn out well, and that’s what happened as the big man nodded it back into the path of Gerrard, who lunged to head it into the corner. I’d noticed in the first half when Babel saw a cross cut out by the first defender that Crouch had gone over to him and spoke about something. My guess was that he’d told him where he would be and where he should cross the ball. Maybe he said the same to Pennant too, and the deep cross was a deliberate ploy? Gerrard seemed to anticipate it as well, and Crouch was aware of his skipper coming in to support, so I’d like to think it was a well worked goal. The third goal was certainly a planned move. In recent weeks Hyypia has gone close a few times from corners that he’s attacked at the near post, and he’d almost scored one early in the second half when his flick went just past the far post. He made no mistake when he got another chance, and rose well to glance the ball in at the Kop end. The fourth was a bit scrappy, as Torres turned in the box but saw his shot half blocked. Gerrard was following up, and coolly slid the ball into the corner. At this point, Lucas and Aurelio were both about to be introduced, and Gerrard had been in line to go off. Having scored a second goal though, Benitez had a change of heart and told Lucas to put his top back on. He called Gerrard over, and a brief conversation ensued. It was fairly obvious Rafa had told him he had five minutes to get his hat-trick, and it’s a mark of how good a player he is that five minutes later he banged in a screamer before leaving the field for a well earned rest. Torres and Crouch had also left the field, and without those three any hope I had of collecting on that bet went out the window. In truth, when Gerrard went off the game died a bit. Kuyt had a couple of chances, but the way things are going for him at the moment he was never going to score. He's having a nightmare season. It would have been nice to have really humiliated Luton, as I’ve still got a beef with them going way back to the plastic pitch, away fan ban and not showing up for games. Throw in the incident with Carra last week, booing Carra’s kid (who was mascot for this game) and the unintentionally ironic ‘we pay your benefits’ chants, and 5-0 just isn’t enough. “We pay your benefits” Fuck off, you can’t even pay your own players’ wages, you’re relying on OUR GATE RECEIPTS to be able to do that. And now you’re turning to Nick Owen to save you, a man who spent most of his career in the shadow of Ann Diamond, Rusty Lee and the Green Goddess. Mind you, I’d probably take Nick Owen over the two idiots we’ve been saddled with. Star man was easy. Gerrard was a class above everyone. Babel had some good moments but needs to do a bit more, Pennant played very well but yet again didn’t provide even the tiniest goal threat, and Arbeloa had a good game after a rare off day at the weekend. It was fitting that Carragher’s 500th appearance saw the defence keep a clean sheet, and here’s to the next 500! Team: Itandje; Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise; Pennant, Gerrard (Lucas), Alonso, Babel; Torres (Kuyt), Crouch (Aurelio):

I'll ring Al later.

Neither played for the ressies today, so could well be

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/news/55495-young-scot-stars-reserve-win.html

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/news/55497-reds-striker-joins-chester.html#post960311

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Happened again. I restarted the server as that seemed to be the problem this time. Then I got the database error, which I know means I have to restart mysql, and when I did that it came back up. It's becoming a pain now, as Tom was going to ring around today to try and get some advertising. The last thing I need is for potential advertisers to not be able to get ob because the site is down. Will is gonna be around later today so hopefully he can get to the bottom of it. It was running perfectly through the night and then this morning.

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/news/55062-sad-hatters-why-carra-did-what-he-did.html#post947871

It's 'KopTalkin' again. Nicky Alt and Graeme Agg are the other two guests. A few different topics are covered.

I'm trying to keep it simple for the non geeks :whistle: I actually don't know what happened or what the actual specifics of it were, just that to fix it I needed to restart the server, and then restart the MySQL server.

Yeah thats where I was this afternoon, so I couldn't get the site sorted. It's on tomorrow night.

That's exactly what the problem was. I restarted the server but didn't know about the MySQL thing until Will told me. The real issue is why it went down in the first place.

Fucking hell Coop, you were quick off the mark there. The site had only been back online a few seconds!

Don't know what happened today, but Will was in work and then I had to go out so we couldn't get the site back online. I've managed to contact Will and he talked me through how to get back up and running, but we need to find out what the problem was. Anyway, sorry if you had to resort to doing some work, or talking to the other half today, but we're back now.

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=941958