TLW

I have a D in English too.

LIVERPOOL 2 Fulham 0 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) – Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard (pen)Half Time - 0-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Saturday 10 November 2007 Star Man – Sami Hyypia Just when you think you have Rafa figured out, he goes and does the unexpected again. There aren’t many managers who would change a side that had won 8-0 a few days before, but all the smart money would have been on Benitez doing it. Listening to the radio on Saturday afternoon, reds’ legends John Aldridge and Jan Molby even had a little wager with eachother over how many changes there’d be. Big Jan tried to get Aldo to go for an unchanged side, but he was having none of it and went for two changes. Molby went for ‘more than two’, and who can blame them? The papers were all anticipating at least one change, with some tipping Crouch to be relegated to bench duty again to make way for the fit-again Torres. So what does Rafa do? He shocks everyone and went for the straight forward option of saying ‘same again’. It was the right decision for me, as although the temptation to bring back Torres must have been huge, the players who performed so well against Besiktas deserved another crack. You could have made a case for Babel starting instead of Riise (who did ok in midweek but is having a wretched run of form), but Rafa is adopting a cautious approach where Babel is concerned, and for me he’s handling him extremely well. I must confess I was really worried about what team Rafa would select, and I was bracing myself for the worst. Had Crouch been left out I’d have been really frustrated and angry, but I have to admit I was half expecting Torres and Kuyt to start after neither got any playing time against Besiktas. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the team, and even though we had to wait until near the end to break down Fulham, I was actually pretty pleased with the performance too. With around 15 minutes to go I was thinking about how I was going to approach this report if we didn’t find the breakthrough, and I’d already decided it would be positive because I was happy with how we approached the game. Was it as spectacular as the Besiktas display? Obviously not, but silly as this may sound I don’t think there was too much difference between the two performances. The main difference being Fulham’s defence were resolute and disciplined, whereas the Turks gave up after they let in those quick goals just after half time. Had we scored a couple of early goals against Fulham then who knows, but we didn’t get the breakthrough and they made life difficult. Having said that, we didn’t panic and we just gradually turned the screw on them, building up a momentum which eventually saw them crack late on. We passed the ball around well, and the movement of the forward players was very good. Often this season the man in possession has been desperately short of options due to the lack of movement, but that wasn’t the case here. We played pretty well, but we found it hard to beat Anti Niemi, who was outstanding. It was always going to take something to special to beat him, and it was provided by Torres. Andriy Voronin went close several times, and had another fine match. He earned another standing ovation when he was replaced, and he’s clearly a very good player. Torres however, is on another level. The difference between a very good player and a great one can be defined perfectly by this substitution. This is not meant as a slight on Voronin in any way, as like I say I thought he had a really good game. But what Torres produced was simply breathtaking, and only special players can do that. When he’s on the pitch, you always feel we can score. He makes things happen. The goal he scored was amazing, because it came out of nothing. When Pepe sent a long pass in his direction, I doubt Laurie Sanchez was too concerned. Even when Torres immaculately brought the ball down on his chest, there seemed little danger. Had it been anyone else on the field in that situation, there would have been no danger. But Torres had no other thought in his head other than to run with the ball and score and that’s just what he did, prompting Reina to dash the length of the field to join in the celebrations. They love a goal celebration do the Spanish lads, you only have to look at how Arbeloa is always either first or second on the scene when a goal is scored! Torres just made it look so easy, but in reality it wasn’t even really a chance until he made it one. He’s got a habit of doing that, as the Chelsea goal looked effortless too, as did his first against Derby. When he actually collected the ball in all of those situations there wasn’t a goalscoring opportunity until he turned it into one. It’s great to have him back, he makes us a much more dangerous team. Credit to Rafa too, as all three of his substitutions were well timed and had the desired effect. Torres for Voronin was an obvious one (even if I did have a feeling it would be Crouch getting the hook), but bringing Babel on for Riise when he did made a big difference, and Lucas also made a contribution when he came on for the tiring Mascherano. Too often I’ve been left scratching my head at Rafa’s changes, so it’s nice to be able to give credit and say his changes won us the game. The impact Babel had was very significant, as he scared the Fulham defence and gave them lots of problems with his pace and positive approach. I mentioned earlier how I think Rafa is handling him very well, and whilst he is looking so good coming off the bench I’d continue using him that way. He hasn’t been so good when he’s started games, but when the game gets stretched and defenders are a bit tired, he can make a real difference. His confidence is growing by the week, whereas if he had been starting every game and struggling his confidence could be shattered. He’s very raw, but he’s exciting and he is improving by the week now. It was his burst through the centre and perfectly weighted pass to Crouch that won us the penalty that allowed Gerrard to put the seal on the victory. TV replays showed that the offence occurred just outside the box, but when it happened it looked a blatant pen and it certainly never even occurred to me that it may have been outside. My seat was directly in line with the offence, so the linesman had the same view as me, and like I say I thought it was well inside the box at the time. The linesman couldn’t be blamed for not seeing it because looking at the way Crouch fell and where he landed, it just seemed an obvious pen. Typically, Sanchez had a moan about it, claiming it made all the difference and they were robbed. Fuck off you absolute fucking nobody. You were shit as a player and made your name from one fucking flukey goal against us, and you’re a shit manager too. I hope Fulham go down, solely because of this tit. I actually quite like them as a club and have no beef with them, except for their twat of a manager. Cheeky fucker even claimed Crouch tripped over his own long legs. Prick. The penalty was irrelevant, as once Torres made the breakthrough that was the three points in the bag. Fulham offered nothing in an attacking sense, and were never going to score against us in a million years. Every attack they attempted was snuffed out by Carragher and the imperious Sami Hyypia. The big Finn has occasionally looked a bit vulnerable whilst standing in for Agger, but against Fulham he was flawless, constantly stepping in and dispossessing their forwards and even going close to a goal himself when his well struck left footer from 25 yards was superbly saved by his compatriot Niemi. The overworked keeper also denied Voronin a couple of times as well as making superb saves to deny Torres and Aurelio. His finest moment was a full stretch save to deny the once again impressive Yossi Benayoun. Whenever I’ve caught match of the day this season it seems like Niemi is pulling off all manner of great saves every week. I’d even go as far to say that if you swapped him with the Besiktas keeper then the scorelines of the two games wouldn’t have been much different. I’m not kidding myself that we were anything special against Fulham, but I was encouraged by a number of things. The main positive I took from it was Rafa. Sometimes I feel he tries to be too clever, wanting to do the unexpected all the time and making unnecessary changes. Not this time, I was made up with him keeping the same team, and his substations were spot on too. More of the same please Rafa. Also, I was heartened by the way the players remained calm and continued to play their football. We just wore Fulham down in the end, and I like that we never allowed ourselves to get frustrated and panic, even when time looked to be against us. The movement was very good, which makes it so much easier to play attractive football. The final pass or shot wasn’t always the best, but the movement impressed me and I thought we played some very attractive football in this game. Other positives were obviously Torres’ return to action, Babel’s continued improvement, Voronin’s all action display and Crouch being allowed to play another full ninety minutes. He played well too, and deserved a goal. The closest he came was a looping header that hit the bar in first half stoppage time, but he also won us the penalty and maybe at long last we’ll get to see him and Torres given a run out together next time out. It’s also good seeing Aurelio back in the side. I love watching him play, he’s such a good footballer and has a wonderful left foot. With Riise struggling, let’s just hope Fabio can stay fit as he helps us play better football as he keeps possession very well and rarely wastes a pass. The downside is the injury to Yossi, who’s doing great at the moment. Still, it is slightly amusing to me given how England seemed to have pinned their hopes on him! Never mind guys, you can still root for Idan Tal! Seriously though, we’ll miss Yossi, especially with Pennant still out. Maybe now Babel will have to start, or it could be that Gerrard moves out wide. I hope not, as he’s playing so well in the centre right now I wouldn’t want to change it. Personally I’d consider letting Dirk have a go at re-inventing himself as a right midfielder. He spends a lot of time out there anyway, and it would take a bit of the pressure off him when it comes to goalscoring. He certainly works hard enough to play there, and I think he’d do a good job for us. It would also mean we can keep Gerrard and Babel in the roles that they are filling so well at the moment. I doubt it will happen, but it was just a thought. Torres probably should get the star man as he was the reason we won the game. However, he was only on the field for twenty minutes, and Hyypia was our most impressive performer over the whole game. Besides, it seems people (me included) generally only mention Sami these days when he's looked a bit ropey, so credit where it's due, Sami's my star man. Team: Reina; Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Aurelio; Benayoun, Gerrard, Mascherano (Lucas), Riise (Babel); Voronin (Torres), Crouch:

Match report on now http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=882072 And Maldini, the strikers goal tally's: Eccleston 8 Amoo 7 Pourie 5

LIVERPOOL U18 5 Bolton u18 2 Report by Dave Usher at the Academy Scorer(s) - Nathan Eccleston (2), David Amoo (2), Marvin PourieHalf Time - 3-1 Venue - Liverpool Academy, Kirkby Date - Sat 10 Nov 2007 Star Man - Astrit Ajdarevic Liverpool’s u18 side gave another powerful demonstration of the rich potential within its ranks, as they brushed aside Bolton Wanderers 5-2 at the Academy on Saturday morning. The visitors more than played their part in a brilliant spectacle, particularly in a first half where both sides seemed to be able to create chances at will. In the end, Liverpool’s extra firepower got them through, as doubles from Nathan Eccleston and David Amoo plus another goal from Marvin Pourie secured the win. The squad this year is a real mix of home grown and imported talent. The 13 players used against Bolton included four local lads, two Irishmen, two Swedes, a cockney, an Aussie, an Argentine, a German and a Spaniard. All played their part in this victory and there looks to be some real talent at Hughie McAuley’s disposal this year. With another handful of starlets due to arrive in January, selecting a side for the youth cup is going to be very difficult. Maybe we can enter two teams this year! McAuley made a few changes from the side that drew with Everton last weekend. Daniel Ayala came in at centre back, meaning Steve Irwin switched to right back in place of Mattone Awang who dropped to the bench. Dean Bouzanis replaced Martin Hansen in goal, and recent recruit from Real Madrid, Gerardo Bruna, came in on the left wing for Ben Parsonage. It was blowing a gale at the Academy, and often I’ve seen games ruined by these kind of conditions. Yet it didn’t have too much of an impact this time, probably as most of the football was played on the floor. The reds took only four minutes to create the first of what would be many good chances in the first half. Skipper Irwin crossed from the right wing, and an unmarked Amoo headed powerfully straight at the keeper. He should have scored, but he’d make amends later on. Three minutes later Liverpool were in front. The imperious Astrit Ajdarevic won the ball on halfway and strode forward before picking out Eccleston in the box, who netted his 7th goal of the season. Two minutes later it was almost 2-0, and once again Ajdarevic was the provider. His incisive through ball looking for Ecclestone was cut out at full stretch by a Bolton defender, but Pourie seized on the loose ball and hammered a shot just over the bar. Ajdarevic was enjoying himself in the middle of the park, and was really pulling the strings for the reds. On 16 minutes he broke through the centre once more and played another brilliant defence splitting pass to Amoo who had made a good run inside the full back. The former Millwall frontman went round the keeper but his touch took him a little bit wider than he would have liked and his left foot shot struck the far post. Bolton hadn’t managed to threaten much, but you could see from early on that their two frontmen were good players and would have to be watched. Topi Obadeyi is a man mountain of a striker, and he was a real handul, whilst Kevin Wolfe alongside him was a good foil and looks a clever player. Nevertheless, the first chance they had was not as a result of good play by them, but from a terrible mistake by Ayala. The young Spaniard never looked comfortable in the first half, and had some ropey moments, the worst of which saw him trod on the ball and lose out to Obadeyi. The powerful forward surged towards goal but was stopped in his tracks by a superb last ditch tackle by Joe Kennedy. Aside from that mini-scare, it had been all Liverpool. The attacking players were linking up to great effect, and on 20 minutes Pourie released Eccleston through the inside right channel, and he flashed a shot across the keeper and inches wide of the far post. A minute later, Bruna showed some lovely awareness in midfield to slip a perfect pass between two players into the path of Ajdarevic. A neat piece of skill saw him move away from a would be tackler, before once more he picked out a forward runner in the shape of Pourie. The German nutmegged the defender but his shot was smuggled away by the keeper for a corner. Marvin was giving Bolton’s defence major problems, and two minutes he was on the scoresheet thanks to a wonderful individual goal. The ball was played to him with his back to goal near the halfway line, but he turned his man brilliantly and raced through to score his fifth goal of the season. Not bad considering he missed three games through suspension. Bolton pulled a goal back a minute later in bizarre circumstances. An overhit ball through the centre looked to be posing no danger, but Bouzanis inexplicably strayed too far from goal and found himself five yards outside his box. Even so, it looked like he could have just chested the ball down, but he got into a right mess and handled it. At a more senior level of football he’d have been sent off. He didn’t even get a talking to here. Obadeyi dished out his own brand of punishment, as the free-kick was rolled back to him and he leathered it into the corner. It was some strike from the lad to be fair. Pourie should have had a second eight minutes later. Another wonderful defence splitting pass by Ajdarevic sent him clear, he took the ball round the keeper but with the goal at his mercy produced a weak shot with his left foot that was easily cleared by the covering defender. The pair combined well again a minute later, but this time Pourie was the provider as Ajdarevic played a 1-2 with him but his shot was saved by the under-siege Bolton keeper. Four minutes later the keeper was beaten again. Bruna made a good run through the centre and laid the ball into Pourie’s feet. He was tackled as he went for goal, but Amoo had once again come in off his wing and latched onto the rebound, sending the ball into the far corner of the net via the post. From the kick off, Obadeyi was a whisker away from one of the greatest goals I’ve ever seen. The ball was touched to him and he let fly from the centre circle. Bouzanis was backpeddling and may or may not have had it covered, but the ball cleared the crossbar by about an inch. This was the start of a great spell for the visitors. Wolfe went close with a snapshot that was well tipped over the bar by Bouzanis, and the left winger went even closer when he got in behind Irwin and rounded the reds’ Aussie keeper. He’d done well, but he left himself with an almost impossible angle and his shot hit the post. Bolton really had their tales up now, and a minute later Bouzanis had to make a good save to keep out Wolfe’s excellent 25 yarder. From the corner however, the keeper made a right mess of an attempted punch, sending the ball high up into the air before it landed on the crossbar and behind for another corner. It was all Bolton now, and Liverpool were hanging on for the half time whistle. In stoppage time, Bouzanis again had to make a good save to keep Wolfe from adding his name to the scoresheet, and the young reds went into the break with a 3-1 lead after a pulsating 45 minutes of football. The second half failed to match the standard of the first, but was still enjoyable to watch. Not much happened early on, and it was not until the hour mark that I had to write anything down on my notepad. The first half had seen me take down three pages of notes, which I believe is a first. The second half’s action I managed to fit onto one page, but that’s still not bad going by normal standards. I mentioned how Ayala had struggled in the first half, but he was much, much better after the break and as a result Bolton’s frontmen were quieter than they had been in the first period. Equally, Bolton seemed to be a bit more secure at the back too, having taken off one of their centre backs at half time. The poor lad had been given the runaround by Pourie, but his replacement did a lot better. Things had been relatively even at the start of the second half, as Ajdarevic’s influence waned somewhat and Pourie wasn’t getting quite so much joy either. Eccleston seemed to spend a lot of time pulling out to the left wing, the way Henry always used to do for Arsenal. With an hour gone, he produced a goal that even Henry would have been happy with. Some typically tenacious play from Highdale saw him win possession in the middle of the park, and he fed the ball early to Eccleston on the left. He ran at the defender, then cut inside and curled a great shot into the top corner from the edge of the area. It was his eighth goal of the season, and Nathan is really laying down a marker for a place in the youth cup team. The club have brought in very good strikers from outside, such as Amoo from Millwall, Pacheco from Barca and Pourie from Dortmund, but Eccleston is outscoring all of them at the moment. McAuley made his first substitution as the sides prepared to restart the game, withdrawing Bruna and sending on the promising Swede Alex Kakaniklic. Bruna may suffer from unfair expectation levels due to some sections of the Spanish press referring to him as Real Madrid’s answer to Lionel Messi. Messi is arguably the world’s best attacking player right now, and if Bruna turns out to be even half as good then we’ve done well to get him. He can do without the comparison though really, as it surely won’t do him any favours. It’s difficult to make any kind of assessment based on watching him for an hour, but I liked what I saw even if he is nothing like Messi in terms of style of play. He wasn’t dribbling past five or six players every time he got the ball, in fact I don’t remember seeing him dribble past anyone. That’s not to say he can’t of course, as like I say you can’t really tell from watching the lad in one game. What he did show was that he has great technique, good balance and a sweet left foot. Everything he did, he did very well, and the only problem was he was playing on the wing in a game where all our attacks came through the centre as that’s where we were getting so much success. Bruna didn’t see enough of the ball (through no fault of his own), but hopefully that will change next time he plays. Ironically, his replacement did see a fair bit of the ball as the game got stretched and we got opportunities to counter attack. I liked the look of Kakaniklic, he’s skilful, fast and direct. Again though, it’s difficult to judge based on one cameo appearance. The game became stretched because Bolton pulled a goal back on 67 minutes, and then decided to really go for it to try and get back into the game. The goal was scrappy, and somewhat fortuitous, as a hopeful shot from outside the box was deflected into the path of Wolfe, who took advantage to claim the goal that his performance had warranted. McAuley then made his second change, sending on Irishman Michael Collins to replace Pourie. With Bolton pushing forward there were plenty of gaps to exploit on the counter, and Kakaniklic wasted a great opportunity when he raced clear of the defence down the left. The Swede had shown impressive pace and control in getting clear of the full back, but having delayed the pass initially when it was on, I felt he should have had a go himself when he’d gotten clear. Instead he tried to find Eccleston but didn’t put enough on his cutback and a defender nipped in to take it off the frontman’s toes and deny him what would have been a well deserved hat-trick. A minute later the striker was hat-trick hunting again, when the Bolton keeper could only parry Highdale’s long range drive. Eccleston followed it in and almost got there first, but the keeper did well to get down and smother the danger. Ajdarevic then fizzed a shot narrowly over from distance, as he looked to claim his third goal of the season. His previous two also came from outside the box, and it looks like this is something he’s added to his game this season. If he can start banging in goals from the edge of the box, then the Paddy Berger comparison will become even more credible. The reds wrapped the win up in stoppage time, and it was pretty much all down to the work of Amoo. He ran with the ball from the right wing, cut inside and ran all the way across the box to the left hand side, before laying the ball off to Collins. His shot was blocked, but the ball dropped at the feet of Amoo who almost nonchalantly controlled and then prodded the ball past the keeper. It was a cool finish, and his seventh goal of the season. Considering he’s been on the wing for many of his games, it’s an impressive goal return. He isn’t a traditional winger, that much is obvious when you see him play. He’s a striker, and he has that striker’s instinct as he showed with both goals in this game. He doesn’t stay on the wing when the ball is on the other side, he likes to get in the box and he could easily have had four goals against Bolton. He had the header that went straight at the keeper, and he hit the post as well as scoring twice. All of those chances came from him moving from the wing and getting into the box. He was one of several candidates for the star man award. At half time Ajdarevic was miles ahead, but he had a quieter second half and his midfield partner Highdale came to the fore a lot more with his tackling and energy. Eccleston was very good, and I thought Kennedy played well at the back again. In the end though, Ajdarevic’s scintillating first half performance gets him the vote. With Damian Plessis’s injury leaving the reserve squad a little short of midfielders, it surely can’t be long before the talented Swede gets the call up to Gary Ablett’s reserve squad. Team: Bouzanis; Irwin, Ayala, Kennedy, O’Connor; Amoo, Highdale, Ajdarevic, Bruna (Kakaniklic); Pourie (Collins), Eccleston:

That was what I thought too. I don't trust either of them personally.

I thought we played very well today, and had we not won I wouldn't have complained about anything other than us not being clinical enough. Can't believe anyone thinks we played badly, there was some lovely football played today and I'm seeing some encouraging signs at long last.

Amoo is actually a good footballer with very good feet. Not a natural wideman though, but doing pretty well nonetheless. Astrit will be in the ressies before long, no doubt about it. Plessis' injury may give him a chance pretty soon.

Hyypia Gerrard Crouch

It's gonna be one hell of a job picking a team for the youth cup. So many options now.

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=880732

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=877960

LIVERPOOL 8 Besiktas 0 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) - Peter Crouch (2), Yossi Benayoun (3), Steven Gerrard, Ryan Babel (2)Half Time - 2-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Tuesday 6 November 2007 Star Man - Yossi Benayoun Well I don’t think anyone saw that coming did they? As poor as our recent form has been there was little doubt we’d win the game (not for me anyway, as soon as I saw Crouch’s name on the teamsheet I was straight down the bookies), but to do it by a Champions League record score was surely more than any of us could have hoped for. To think that we actually lost to these a fortnight ago! Jesus Christ. This was an absolutely sensational performance, and it was a pleasure to be there to see it. The players produced some stunning football, some wonderful goals, and they never let up all night. They kept pushing forward looking for more goals, and had the referee not generously blown for full time without playing any stoppage time at all (isn't the rule 30 seconds for every goal and substitution?), we’d probably have got double figures. We almost did get double figures actually, as Benayoun and Babel were both denied by the woodwork and the keeper made some good saves to deny Gerrard and Babel. 10-0 wouldn’t have flattered us, such was the dominance of our side. Of course they aren’t very good, but they are by no means the worst team to play in the Champions League and to win 8-0 against anyone at this level is something to be proud of. Rafa was asked afterwards if this had been coming, and he said it had because we’d been creating chances. Who is he kidding? There’s been nothing in recent months to think that this was coming, nothing at all. Then again, this was probably the first time in weeks he’d actually picked the team he should have done. I love Rafa, but lately I’ve just wanted to shake him and ask what the hell he’s doing. I’m sure I’m not the only one, and the players have probably wanted to do the same, some more than others. Peter Crouch is the prime example of Rafa’s recent madness. Earlier in the season the big man didn’t really have much to complain about when it came to his lack of game time. He wasn’t playing well when he did get a chance, and the others strikers were all contributing more than him. Last season Crouch could legitimately claim he deserved to play more, and most fans would have agreed. However, in the opening weeks of this season he deserved to be behind Torres, Kuyt and Voronin. Recently though, it’s been absolutely crazy that he hasn’t been playing. Torres has been injured, and Kuyt and Voronin should simply never ever be paired together as they cancel eachother out and neither looks any good when they play as a pair. The only way either of those should play is if it’s alongside either Torres or Crouch, and to be honest they should only be playing when Torres or Crouch aren’t available. Crouch and Torres deserve the opportunity to see if they can form a partnership, because if they can they will have opposition defenders shitting their pants at the prospect of facing them. Opposing sides get a huge lift when they see Crouch not in the starting line up. No-one likes playing against him, and when he’s on form we’re a much better side with him in it. In recent weeks, he has been back in form. Look at the games we’ve had of late, and the best moments we’ve had in all of them has been when Crouch has been on the field. In Turkey we only started to threaten when he came on at 2-0 down. Had he been on the field longer I’m sure we’d have got at least a draw in that game. Against Arsenal he came on for Torres at half time, and played really well. His link up play with Gerrard was a feature, and he went close to scoring on numerous occasions against the Gunners. Basically, he was a threat, which cannot be said of Kuyt or Voronin recently. He then started against Cardiff, and was excellent again. Once more his ability to hold the ball and link the play, especially when it comes to combining with his marauding captain, gave the side a cohesion that has been sadly lacking. “Great, we’re starting to look a bit better now” I was thinking. Then I saw the teamsheet at Ewood Park and straight away it put me on a downer. What followed was no surprise given the handicap the team selection had given us. We stank the place out, with Kuyt in a role that doesn’t suit him, and Gerrard in a role he cannot play unless Crouch is there for him to play off. The fans aren’t stupid, they know this, and spent most of the game chanting for Crouch to be brought on. When he eventually was, we absolutely battered Blackburn for the remainder of the game and should have won it in the end. So Crouch simply had to start against Besiktas, and not even Rafa is pig-headed enough that he would dare not to pick him for such a must win game. And what happened? The big man ran wild and we scored eight goals. I’m not putting that solely down to Crouch’s presence, as there were obviously other factors and to be honest he wasn’t even our man of the match (although only Benayoun’s marvellous display prevented it). But we would not have played this well and scored so many goals if he’d been on the bench, that’s for damn sure. Yet still the rumours coming out of Anfield are that Crouch will be sold in January. If that happens it’s an absolute disgrace and Rafa needs to have a serious rethink if that really is his intention. As delighted as I was after this game I couldn’t get too excited about it simply because I am fully expecting Rafa to fuck about with the team this weekend and wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Crouch back on the bench. I hope I’m wrong, but we’ll see. I can’t believe we’ve won 8-0 and I’ve spent most of the report so far moaning! Of course I’m pleased with what I saw and it was a great night to be at Anfield. I wish I could look at this game as the end of our bad run and the start of something special, but I’ve had my fingers burned too many times now and seen too many false dawns. If Rafa ever learns his lesson and stops playing favourites or trying to be clever, then there is a really good team here waiting to be unleashed. It’s a big ‘if’ though isn’t it? But I’ll stop moaning now, and concentrate on this game. Obviously it was a must win game, and the fans needed to up their game because we’ve been as lacklustre as the players for most of this season. The atmosphere for this was good, with the smallish number of Besiktas fans making their presence felt too, early on at least. They’d been fantastic at their place and made one hell of a din, but it didn’t take long for them to go quiet at Anfield. Besiktas actually started ok I thought. They were working really hard to close us down, and they were committing players forward on the break. We’d started well ourselves, but they were having a go and went close to an early goal when they got in behind Hyypia and when the ball was crossed to the near post one of their players got there first and shot into the side-netting. Pepe had it covered anyway, but it was a sign that they hadn’t come to just sit back. Unfortunately for them, they simply can’t deal with any kind of cross into the box. Whether it was a high cross or a low one, every time the ball went into the box we looked like scoring. Voronin shot wide after Crouch had nodded an Arbeloa cross into his path. Then Crouch headed wide after a great ball in from the left (by Riise I think). A goal was coming, and it was no great surprise who got it. Voronin turned the ball into the path of Crouch, and when he was challenged by a defender the ball broke fortuitously and sent him in on goal. His first effort was saved by the keeper, but he was first to react to the rebound and gleefully slotted the ball home. His relief was there for all to see, it’s been a terrible couple of months for the big man, but he’s come through it and has rediscovered his form. Whether it’s enough to convince his manager he should play more remains to be seen, but at least now he’s not making it easy for Benitez to leave him out. The delighted frontman slid to the turf in celebration, whilst a delighted me clutched the betting slip in my pocket that had Crouch first goalscorer in a 4-0 win. I was halfway there, and confident we’d have no trouble in getting the other three goals. Especially the way Arbeloa was raiding down the right hand side and getting balls into the box. He was very impressive again, and providing he maintains the level he's shown so far he will have to be considered one of Rafa's best pieces of business, given that he cost under £3m. Yossi almost made it 2-0 when Mascherano cleverly fed Arbeloa, and he turned brilliantly away from his marker before cutting the ball across to Benayoun. His first time shot was well struck but bounced off the post and away. The little Israeli had another decent chance shortly after but shot wide, but he didn’t have to wait long for his first Anfield goal. Riise’s quick throw set Voronin scampering down the left. He cut inside the full back and picked Yossi out with a perfect cross. One touch and an emphatic finish later and it was game over. Besiktas gave up after that, and whereas they’d been trying to counter attack and get forward earlier in the game, now they were content to just sit in their own half and adopt a damage limitation policy. As for me, I was feeling pretty confident of winning my bet when the half time whistle went and we were two goals up. Another goal around the hour mark and then the fourth with five or ten minutes to go would do me nicely. Problem was, Besiktas’ goalie had other ideas. Twice he parried shots into the path of Benayoun, who gleefully slid the ball into the empty net to claim a hat-trick. It was no more than he deserved, and no more than the keeper deserved after failing to acknowledge the applause of the Kop, and then infuriating them further by feigning injury after a nothing challenge with Gerrard. Those two quick goals put my bet in real danger though, and at that point I was calling for Dirk to be brought on! No such luck though, as the misfiring Dutchman remained on the bench as the rampant reds continued to pour forward looking for more goals. Typical of my luck, as usually when we get a few in front we relax a bit and take it easy. Rafa normally subs his best players and the game fizzles out. But when I’ve potentially got some much needed cash coming in, we go all gung ho looking for more goals. Bastards. The fifth goal was inevitable, and typically it was Stevie Me who got it, his ego not allowing him to settle for just the 4-0 win, the selfish prick. Bitter, me? You betchya! Seriously though, it was a fantastic goal and came from the kind of football we don’t see anywhere near enough of. Actually, some of the other goals had been really good too, notably Benayoun’s second which was the result of some terrific build up play involving the influential Voronin and the much maligned Riise. The Ukranian played a big part in Gerrard’s goal too. Mascherano cleverly slid the ball between two Besiktas players into his skipper’s path, and he found Voronin before continuing his run into the gaping space vacated by the Besiktas defence. Voronin’s instant flick back into the space was perfect and Gerrard surged through to score with the aid of a deflection. Brilliant goal. Gerrard was subbed shortly after to give him a well earned rest and to give the promising Lucas another run out. Voronin was also replaced by Babel, and earned himself a standing ovation from an appreciative crowd. He was creative, inventive, and worked tirelessly. On one occasion Arbeloa had charged forward and the move broke down. Besiktas tried to counter in the space he’d vacated, but Voronin and the ever diligent Mascherano had both got across there to cover and between them won back possession. I like Voronin, for the most part he’s played well this season, and the occasions he hasn’t has usually been when he’s partnered Kuyt or been used out wide as he was against Arsenal. Whenever he’s partnered Torres or Crouch he’s played well, and he’s another who has made a strong case to keep his place this weekend. His replacement, Ryan Babel, couldn’t have done any more either when it comes to laying down a marker for a place in attack. He scored one delightful back-heeled goal following more brilliant set up play from Yossi, and then he scored a somewhat less delightful effort when a defender hit the ball against him and it looped comically over the keeper into the net. He was inches away from a hat-trick when he met Kewell’s cross with a thumping header that almost broke the bar at the Kop end, and he was a constant threat from the moment he came on. He looks far better up front than out wide, and with Kewell edging closer to full fitness we may see more of Babel in a striking role. Kewell again looked lively, and if he’s up to it I’d start him at the weekend. Even if he can only manage an hour, it will be worth it because he’s by far and away the best option we have for the left wing. With the crowd in celebratory mood and chanting ‘attack attack attack’ and we want eight, the players didn’t disappoint. The wonderful Mascherano played a crossfield ball to Benayoun that Alonso would have been proud of, and once more the Israeli’s delivery into the box was perfect, as Crouch glanced a fine header into the roof of the net. It was fitting that Crouch started and finished the scoring, because for me he was the catalyst to this performance. When the ball was played up to him, whether it came to his feet, chest or head, time and again he’d get the ball down and find a team-mate and keep our attacking momentum going. Like I said earlier, when he’s on form he knits our play together and others perform better. So far I think he has only partnered Torres once, in the Carling Cup when the Spaniard bagged three against Reading. On paper it seems like a perfect partnership, so let’s hope we see them get the opportunity to make it work. As impressive as Crouch was however, it’s impossible to look past Benayoun when it comes to the star man award. He scored three, hit a post, and had two assists. A brilliant performance from a player who didn’t exactly have people dancing in the streets when he arrived. I for one was distinctly underwhelmed by his signing, largely because I felt he was an inferior version of the man he replaced, Luis Garcia. I was wrong about that though, we are certainly not a weaker squad by having Yossi instead of Luis. Whether Yossi proves to be the big game player Garcia was remains to be seen, but he’s already shown that he’s as much of a goal threat and just as creative as the popular little Spaniard. Whatsmore, he gives the ball away much less than Luis did, and he’s making a lot of people eat their words, me most definitely included. As for what this result will do for our season, well I hope we use it as a springboard to go on a run and start playing better football. We should still qualify from this group because the other teams are simply not that good and we should be beating them. We've made it hard for ourselves with some wretched performances, but providing the manager stops helping other teams out with his team selections we should have no trouble winning our remaining games. I’d like to think that this performance will have shown Rafa how important an in form Peter Crouch is to Liverpool, but I fear his mind is already made up and we should just enjoy the big man’s magic feet whilst we can. Some may argue that this performance vindicates Rafa's rotation policy or his recent treatment of Crouch, as clearly the player was keen to prove a point. I disagree, I'd say this display merely highlights the folly of some of Rafa's recent selections. Rotation is one thing, but playing out of form players ahead of those who can offer more to the team is another. I await Saturday's team selection with great interest, not to mention trepidation. Team: Reina; Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Aurelio (Kewell); Benayoun, Gerrard (Lucas), Mascherano, Riise; Voronin (Babel), Crouch:

It is I, Dave U Report is on now.

A pity is one way to describe it. A fucking farce is another.

LIVERPOOL U18 1 Everton u18 1 Report by Dave Usher at the Academy Scorer(s) - Astrit AjdarevicHalf Time - 0-0 Venue - Liverpool Academy, Kirkby Date - Sat 3 Nov 2007 Star Man - Astrit Ajdarevic Liverpool’s youngsters completely dominated their Everton counterparts, yet the spoils were somehow shared after a one sided game at the reds’ Academy. Hughie McAuley’s side struck the woodwork twice, had another two efforts cleared off the line and wasted several other clear opportunities to finish off an Everton side who only offered any kind of threat from set-pieces. Astrit Ajdarevic’s powerful low strike had given the reds a second half lead, but Everton’s centre half headed in an equaliser from a left wing free-kick shortly after. To make matters worse for Liverpool, midfielder Sean Highdale was then sent off for a second yellow card offence. I’ve seen plenty of these Academy derby games over the years, and they’re always the same. We play all of the football, and they scrap and battle and generally only look like scoring from free-kicks and corners. This was probably the most one sided of these games I’ve seen, and I don’t think Everton managed to put more than three passes together all afternoon. To be fair, I think they had a few players missing, as I hadn’t heard of hardly any of their team. We had a few missing too though. There was no Pacheco, Bruna, Ayala, Mackay-Steven, Kacaniklic, or Kelly. Marvin Pourie was back from suspension though, and resumed his promising partnership with Natahan Eccleston, meaning that another highly promising striker, David Amoo (pictured), reverted back to the right wing. The u18 squad has a lot of depth this season, and despite all the absentees McAuley was still able to field a strong line up that completely dominated the game. As always, it was a very physical game and tackles were flying in from both sides. Most of the physical stuff came from the blues, but Highdale was matching them and flew into some real crunching tackles. It wasn’t a game for the faint hearted. Eccleston was first to threaten, when he broke into the box and got a shot in that appeared to strike the arm of the defender. A pen would have been harsh as the defender just threw himself in front of the ball and didn’t deliberately handle. It was hardly Phil Neville standard anyway. Pourie had the first real clear opportunity of the game when he broke clear of the defence and beat the keeper with a low shot only to see the ball hacked off the line by a defender. It was superb covering by the defender who seemed to come from nowhere to prevent what looked a certain goal. Parsonage, Pourie and Eccleston all shot high over the bar from distance as Liverpool made all the running, and Pourie went desperately close again three minutes before the break when he took advantage of a slack pass in the Everton defence to latch onto the ball and hit a deflected shot against the far post. The blues only managed their first attack two minutes before half time when the centre forward O’Kane collected a right wing cross and shot over the bar from 12 yards. Prior to that, his only contribution to the game had been to leave his foot in on every challenge he made. There was one occasion when he led with his elbow into the back of Steve Irwin’s head, which inevitably resulted in a free kick. Yet I heard some of his team-mates applauding him and shouting ‘that’s it lad, well done’. The School of Science indeed. Second half was more of the same. Liverpool playing all the football, them kicking lumps out of anything in red. Parsonage had a chance four minutes after the restart when he intercepted a pass and ran at the defence. He cut inside from the left, but his shot was deflected over the bar. Four minutes later the tigerish Highdale shrugged an Everton player off the ball in the centre circle and played a pass behind the defence for Eccleston to latch onto. His pace got him there first, but just as he was about to shoot a defender got a desperate last ditch tackle in to clear the danger. A minute later Pourie did well down the right flank and when his cross wasn’t dealt with, the ball dropped to Eccleston who’s powerful goalbound shot beat the keeper but was headed off the line by a defender. It was one way traffic, but Liverpool’s luck seemed to be out, and when Parsonage curled a shot onto the bar just before the hour mark it was beginning to look as though it wouldn’t be Liverpool’s day. Then a minute later the breakthrough finally came. Shane O’Connor did well on the left and battled through a couple of challenges that left him off balance. As he stumbled he was absolutely hammered by Everton’s right back (a big burly grock who produced a series of heavy challenges) and left in a heap. As everyone appealed for a free-kick that didn’t come, the ball was worked infield to Ajdarevic who drilled a low shot into the corner of the net from 25 yards. It was the Swede’s second goal of the season, and if he can become a regular goalscorer then he really will have a promising future ahead of him as he’s a very talented ball player. Having worked so hard to establish the advantage, Liverpool threw it away within six minutes. Highdale felt he should have had a free-kick by his own corner flag, and when it wasn’t given he let his frustration get the better of him and he elbowed an Everton player as he challenged for a header. A free kick was awarded in a dangerous position, and Highdale was given a yellow card. When the ball was sent into the box, Everton’s centre half met it with a well directed header into the corner that gave Martin Hansen no chance. Cue the customary cup final style wild celebrations. The reds were inches away from regaining the lead just two minutes later, when Amoo’s powerful run and superb cross was met by the head of Pourie, but his header went narrowly over. McAuley sent on Michael Collins for Parsonage, but any tactical plans he had went out the window shortly after when Highdale was given a second yellow card for dragging down an Everton player as they attempted to counter attack. He wasn’t happy about the decision, but for me it did look like he pulled the lads shirt before they both tumbled to the floor. Despite being a man down, it was the reds that continued to push forward looking for a winner. The lively Pourie saw a 30 yard free kick deflected onto the roof of the net, and then in stoppage time Eccleston had a goalbound shot blocked by a defender. It was a frustrating day for Liverpool, who never really hit top form yet still absolutely pulverised the blues for most of this game. This was my first u18 game of the season, and the first chance I have had to look at some of the new players. I thought Pourie was very good, and he’s a real character. There was a comical moment late on when he yelled to Michael Collins at the top of his voice: “Mikey, shut your fucking mouth man!” He played very well, and led the line excellently. He’s very good in the air, has a good touch and works really hard. I like him a lot, he’s got promise, as has his strike partner Eccleston. I also liked the look of Amoo as well, even though he had a fairly quiet game. It was obvious watching him that he was a striker who was stuck out on the wing. He’s not a natural wideman, and I’m looking forward to seeing him play up front as I think he could be a very exciting player. He’s quick and strong, and looks to be quite skilful too. At the back skipper Steve Irwin played well in an unaccustomed centre back role alongside big Joe Kennedy, who also had a good game before he was subbed late on. Mattone Awang was solid at right back, and I was very impressed with O’Connor at left back. He looks to be growing into that role since being converted from a winger, and he played very well in this game. Until his sending off I was probably going to give Highdale the star man, as he was extremely impressive in the middle of the park but blotted his copybook slightly with some indiscipline that proved costly. In the end, I wasn’t sure who to give it to. Pourie was close as he got better and better as the game wore on, but I’m going to give it to Ajdarevic who caught the eye not just with his goal, but also with his close control and impressive passing. Team: Hansen; Awang, Irwin, Kennedy (McGiveron), O’Connor; Amoo, Highdale, Ajdarevic, Parsonage (Collins); Eccleston, Pourie:

LIVERPOOL 2 Cardiff 1 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) - Nabil El Zhar, Steven GerrardHalf Time - 0-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Wed 31 October 2007 Star Man - Steven Gerrard It may be fourth on the list of priorities, but realistically the Carling Cup represents our best chance of silverware this season. That’s not to say we can’t win anything else, but we’re in the last eight of this competition now so logically you’d have to say it’s our best hope of a trophy. There seems to be a stigma attached to this trophy these days. One of the big four always seems to win it, but with all four having had their hands on bigger prizes in recent years, a League Cup success is never really seen as much cause for great celebration. But you know what, at the start of a season there are only four trophies up for grabs, and maybe we need to take a step back and stop being so picky. Of course we want to win the Premiership and the Champions League, and if we have to settle for a cup instead most people would choose the FA Cup. No-one seems to care about the League Cup, but honestly I’d be made up if we won it this year. It wouldn’t make up for a poor season in the league, but lifting any trophy is an achievement and it’s always a great day out. Sometimes we don’t realise how lucky we are as Liverpool fans. There are 88 teams in the League that would give absolutely anything to win the Carling Cup, because it’s so rare for them to win anything. Fans of the big four have become very blasé about winning this trophy, and I’m as guilty of that as anyone (I remember mocking the mancs for celebrating winning this trophy a couple of years ago). The thing is though, you never know what’s around the corner and it could be that we end up slipping into the ranks of the also rans who rarely get to play in any kind of cup final. So if we could get to the final and win this trophy, I plan to savour it and I’d be made up. Not as made up as I’d be if we won any of the others, but I’d make sure I enjoyed every second of it. Of course, there’s a long way to go yet and we could get dumped out in the next round. I don’t think we will though, because the players really want to win this competition. You only have to look at the performance of Steven Gerrard against Cardiff to see that. The skipper was phenomenal, and the Welsh side simply couldn’t deal with him. The scoreline suggests this was a tight game, but for me it was anything but. I always felt we were in total control, and it was a case of how many chances we would convert. We scored twice, but it should have been more because any time we actually moved out of second gear we created a chance. Even with an experimental line up including youngsters Jack Hobbs, Nabil El Zhar, Lucas Leiva and Sebastian Leto, we still had too much for a hard working but limited Cardiff side, who’s only threat came from set-pieces. With Peter Crouch back to his best form, we had a great platform from which to build attacks. When Crouch is in the side and playing well, Gerrard has an extra dimension to his play and the two link up superbly at times. The skipper knows when the ball is played up to Crouch that he can gamble and run off him, because nine times of ten the big man will divert the ball into the path of his run. With Kuyt or Voronin in the side, Gerrard wouldn’t even bother making the run as there’d be no point. He’s always linked well with Crouch, and it’s great to see both of them back in form. Cardiff, backed by a massive following, started quite brightly and won a free-kick on the edge of the box a few minutes in. With Fowler over the ball, eyeing up the net at the Kop end, I definitely thought we were about to go a goal down. The Cardiff fans were singing for Hasselbaink to take the kick, but let’s face it, that was never going to happen. Robbie curled it over the wall and towards the top corner, but Itandje got across and made a great save. No fairytale homecoming for God then, who was hardly given a sniff after that by Carragher and Hobbs. We began to get the ball down and pass it about well, with Aurelio very prominent in most attacks. The Brazilian is an excellent footballer, it’s just a shame he’s made of paper and always seems to have some kind of pull or tear. His use of the ball down the left flank was excellent, and with his compatriot Lucas catching the eye with some neat and tidy play in the centre alongside his captain, we quickly took control of the game. El Zhar was busy on the right flank, but didn’t make too much impact in the first half apart from one nice cross that Crouch headed at the keeper. Leto was involved a bit more on the other side, and would have had two goals had his finishing been sharper. The lad looks like a world beater in reserve games, but he’s struggling to transmit that form into his first team outings. There’s more to Leto than just great hair, but so far we haven’t seen it in the first team. I think he’s got something, but he may need to go somewhere on loan and play every week before we see it. He definitely has talent, anyone who’s seen him in the reserves will testify to that, but he doesn’t look ready for the first team. Lucas on the other hand, looks like he could walk into the side now and hold his own. I really like this lad, he’s got a good football brain and makes the game look easy. He covers a phenomenal amount of ground, but he does it almost unnoticed. He isn’t like Momo or Mascherano who you see charging all over the place, but he gets from box to box really well and he’s never far from the man in possession. There was one occasion in the first half where he played a nice long ball into the channel for Babel to chase. The Dutchman gathered the ball by the touchline, turned around and looked to see who was available for a pass, and who was the first man to reach him and ask for the ball? Lucas. With Alonso injured, I’d play the young Brazilian alongside Mascherano, and use Gerrard in the role he played in against Arsenal last weekend. Lucas looks very much like a Liverpool player, and his progression looks to be bad news for Sissoko who is going to have a very hard time getting a game now. At half time I was fairly happy with how we had played. Some of the football had been good, and we really should have been in front. Babel had been lively if a bit erratic, but the partnership with Crouch had shown signs of promise I thought. I’d rather have those two in tandem than Kuyt and Voronin, that’s for damn sure. With Kewell and Benayoun on the bench, it was inevitable that in the second half they’d be on for the two young lads on the flanks, and that’s what eventually happened. Not before El Zhar had produced a moment of quality that he’ll remember for the rest of his life however. Collecting the ball from Gerrard, the Morroccan u21 star unleashed a powerful shot from 25 yards that left the keeper with no chance as it crashed into the Kop end net via the inside the post. I was really pleased for the lad, as on his previous outings with the first team he’d looked completely out of his depth. Having watched him a lot for the reserves, I like him as he’s a worker and always tries his best. He’s a good little player, but I don’t think he’s anywhere near good enough to become a regular first teamer. To me he’s a poor man’s Pongolle, and he wasn’t good enough either. Whatever happens to him in the future, Nabil will always have this goal to look back on, and good for him. We should have gone two up when Gerrard made a sensational burst onto a Crouch lay off and cut right through the Cardiff defence before dragging a shot wide. Other chances came and went, whilst Cardiff went really close to an equaliser when the left winger cut inside and had a shot fantastically saved by Itandje. The keeper didn’t have that much to do, but he made two or three really good saves and will be happy to have got this game at Anfield under his belt. He doesn’t look like a keeper to me, the way he has his shirt not tucked into his shorts makes him look like an outfielder who has donned the gloves in an emergency, but as far as back up keepers go I reckon he’s not bad and I certainly trust him more than I would Dudek. I think he’s suspect on crosses, but there’s nothing wrong his shot stopping. I’m not sure if he could have done anything about Cardiff’s equaliser, but at the time I didn’t think he had much chance. The ball seemed to go in slow motion, but it was right in the corner and it looked to me like Itandje just couldn’t get across in time. Maybe TV replays suggest differently, but that’s how I saw it on the night. Of all the players in their side, Darren Purse is the one I’d have wanted to score the least as I still remember him from the 2001 final in his Birmingham days, pointing at the name on the back of his shirt like he was somebody. You’re not somebody, you’re a chump, and guess what, you lost again. Understandably, their fans in the away end went crazy. The ones scattered about the rest of the stadium did too, resulting in a flurry of steward and police activity in the Kop. I don’t have a problem with fans of other clubs sitting in our end, as sometimes it’s the only place you can get a ticket. However, there’s certain unwritten rules that you have to adhere to and the majority of Cardiff fans on the Kop didn’t do that. I’ve sat in with the home fans when we’ve been away from home, and I wouldn’t jump up when we scored or antagonise the home fans by shouting and chanting. There are some things you just don’t do, as it’s seen as a sign of disrespect. If you sit on the Kop as an away fan and piss off those around you by giving it the big ‘un then you’re gonna either get filled in or thrown out or both. And rightly so. There were Cardiff fans being ejected all over the place, which was stupid from their point of view as now it looked like we had a real cup tie on our hands. That lasted less than a minute though, as the imperious Gerrard released Benayoun down the left, and then surged into the box to collect the Israeli’s clever cut back and bury the ball into the Kop net. 2-1 and there was no way we were going to let them back in it this time. The margin of victory should have been greater, but we couldn’t find the killer goal. Babel’s wayward shooting cost him a couple of goals, whilst Crouch was denied by the keeper following a brilliant cross by Babel. The best chance of all fell to Yossi right at the end, but he took too long and the keeper saved. Overall, I really enjoyed this game. It was entertaining, and at no point did I ever think we would not win it, so I was pretty relaxed all the way through. I really enjoy Carling Cup games, because it’s always interesting to see players who don’t normally get a chance. Hobbs came through this game very well, but having watched him develop in the reserves over the last 12 months I’m not surprised at how comfortable he looked. When Jack played for the first team in pre-season a year or so ago, he wasn’t really ready to be involved at that level and he made some bad mistakes. Since then though he’s really progressed as a player, and he’s absolutely outstanding in the reserves week in week out. He deserved this chance, and he did enough to suggest that he may get more opportunities over the coming months. It’s a pity Jay Spearing didn’t a chance too, as he was originally going to be on the bench until Mascherano declared himself fit on the day of the game. With only Premiership teams remaining in the draw, it’s unlikely that the younger lads will get a chance now and we will probably see several of them go out on loan. Threlfall and Lindfield both went out this week, and Spearing might be the next one to go. Hobbs would have been a contender for the star man award under normal circumstances, but Gerrard’s performance was of such a high standard that the decision was a no-brainer. He’s come back to top form just when we need it, and with others such as Carragher, Mascherano and Crouch also looking like they are back at the top of their game I’m hopeful that we can come out of the slump we’ve been in, starting at Blackburn this Saturday. As for the Carling Cup, well we’re three games away from a place in the final. I just hope we get the chance to knock the blues out on the way. Hopefully we’ll get them next, but I also like the idea of facing them in a two legged semi. Mind you, two legged semi’s are much more fun when we play Chelsea, so hopefully Everton at Anfield will come out of the hat for the next round. Team: Itandje; Arbeloa, Carragher, Hobbs, Aurelio; El Zhar (Benayoun), Gerrard, Lucas (Mascherano), Leto (Kewell); Babel, Crouch:

I didn't see the handball, and haven't seen any tv replays since, so I take it back about the ref. He was still shite though, even if he got that one right.

Spearing trained with the first team as they were short on numbers. It doesn't mean he's in the squad for tomorrow, but hopefully he will be. Threlfall is finalising a loan move to Hereford, which is why he hasn't been involved lately.

Bit late I know, but I should get my internet back tomorrow and things will be back to normal. http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=52425

LIVERPOOL 1 Arsenal 1 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) - Steven GerrardHalf Time - 1-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Sun 28 October 2007 Star Man - Javier Mascherano It’s difficult to take any positives from a game in which we were passed off the park by one of our main rivals, and in which three key players picked up injuries. Yet in a strange way I feel more encouraged after this game than I have following any since we thrashed Derby County to go top of the league. I’m not even sure why I feel that way, as most of my mates were really disheartened at how this game went. I was too in a lot of ways, but at the same time I think we have to take a few things into consideration. Firstly, they are flying at the moment, and this isn’t the best time to be facing them. Secondly, we’re most certainly not flying, so again, it isn’t a good time to be facing them. Nevertheless, we didn’t lose and that is hugely important, as psychologically a defeat here would have been devastating given the way we are struggling for form at the moment. Is it good enough? Of course not. I don’t like seeing us given the runaround at home, and let’s face it that’s what happened at times in this game. There were moments when I couldn’t help thinking back to that 2-2 game a few years ago when we were given a footballing lesson by Henry and co. This wasn’t as bad as that, but there were some similarities. We got a result that night by digging in and scrapping, and we did the same here. They were clearly superior, but in terms of chances there was nothing in it really. We had as many opportunities as they did, even if ours weren’t created with as much style and panache. People will be saying now how Arsenal are so much better than us and how we’re falling behind. That may be true, time will tell. However, for me a lot of it is down to timing. If we had played Arsenal two months ago, or two months from now, it could have been a different story entirely. But we’re struggling at the moment, and they are on top of their game. It was always going to be difficult. When they knocked us out of two cups in a week last season everyone was creaming themselves over Arsenal, but come May they were below us in the table and we were in another European Cup final. That’s why I’m not reading too much into this game. Our biggest problem is that we are carrying a few passengers at the moment. Reina, Carragher, Gerrard, Crouch and Mascherano were excellent, but that isn’t enough when you’re facing opposition of Arsenal’s class. You need eight or nine players on top form, and we didn’t have that. Voronin and Kuyt did very little in the wide attacking roles they were given, whilst Riise had an absolute nightmare. Alonso showed some signs of ring rust in the first half, but played his way into the game, and had he not been forced off through injury I reckon we’d probably have got the three points. We’ve missed him terribly, and depressingly we will now have to do without him for several more weeks by the looks of it. Was he rushed back too early, or was it just bad luck? I’d be inclined to put it down to bad luck, but in Torres’ case I’d say he definitely wasn’t ready to be brought back in, as he was blatantly unfit and did nothing in the 45 minutes he was on the field. It was no surprise when he was replaced at half time, and I just hope he’s ok for next week. Torres’ lack of fitness basically meant we had a front three contributing hardly anything, and in hindsight we would have been much better with an attacking three of Crouch, Babel and Benayoun. As is the norm these days, there were several contentious issues concerning Rafa’s team selection and substitutions. The one thing I really couldn’t understand was why Babel didn’t start. This was possibly the first time this season we’ve played the system that Ryan is used to, with three strikers, so it was baffling that he wasn’t given the chance to show what he could do, especially as Voronin hasn’t been pulling up any trees recently. Benayoun would also have given us a bit more creativity, but to me it looks as though Rafa has gone for workrate above anything else. Maybe he wanted to stop their full backs from going forward, or maybe he felt Kuyt and Voronin would give us more of a goal threat, I don’t know. Then there’s the substitutions. Alonso’s departure really killed us, and questions will be asked as to why Arbeloa was used as a direct replacement for Xabi. He could have gone left back, with Riise pushing further forward and Gerrard dropping back into the middle in a 4-4-2. Looking at it now, that would surely have been the better option, but I have to admit that when it became clear Xabi couldn’t carry on, I automatically assumed Arbeloa would go into midfield. It never even entered my head that Rafa would do anything else, as he will have wanted to keep the shape of the team. Looking back, it was a mistake as not only did it reduce our attacking capabilities, but it was Arbeloa who failed to track Fabregas for their equaliser. That was a basic error, and he should have gone with the run, but in his defence how often has he ever been in that situation? It doesn’t come natural to him to track runners from the half way line, as he’s usually in the back four. Presumably those who defended Rafa’s decision to sub Gerrard at Goodison because he got the result in the end will be equally as quick to condemn him for this one? Personally I just think we were a bit unlucky against Arsenal. Yes, we can point to things like team selection, substitutions, individual errors or the fact that maybe we just aren’t good enough. All of those arguments carry some weight, but at the same time we could easily have won this game with a bit of good fortune. Crouch had a few good efforts that on another day might have gone in, Gerrard had a chance at the end that could have won it for us, and Riise was inches away from a spectacular winner as well. Of course, Arsenal can say the same. They hit the woodwork twice and spurned the rebounds, Pepe made a terrific save in the first half and they had other chances. The game could have gone either way, which is why I’m not THAT disheartened by it. It’s not like it was completely one sided. We started the game quite well, playing at a high tempo and not letting Arsenal settle. Gerrard was the key to it, he was involved in everything and predictably it was him that gave us the lead. Alonso was hacked down by Fabregas on the edge of the box, in an incident remarkably similar to one last season (also against Arsenal I think) that went unpunished. This time we got the free kick, and when it was laid off to Gerrard he lashed it past the wall and beat Almunia all ends up. Interestingly, Reina had spotted something as Almunia lined up his wall, and he raced to the half way line to give Sami some information to pass on to Gerrard. When the ball hit the net, Pepe went nuts, which suggests that they’d followed his suggestion. The game was pretty much end to end in the first half. Arsenal had most of the ball, and played some eye catching football, but we always looked like we had another goal in us, mainly when Gerrard got near their penalty box. One spectacular volley forced Almunia into a smart save, whilst at the other end Pepe was out quickly to foil Hleb. There was another scary moment at the Kop end when Reina raced out to meet Rosicky, but didn’t get there and the ball was sent flying across the goalmouth towards Hyypia. Usually he’d have put the ball behind for a corner, but with own goals in his two previous outings you could almost see what he was thinking when he just knocked the ball back into the area instead. Fortunately it was met by one of his team-mates and the danger was cleared. We were in front, but we spent a lot of the game at full stretch trying to keep them at bay. The movement of all their midfielders was really impressive, and we needed some colossal performances from Carragher and Mascherano to keep us in front. Adebayor is a real handful, and Carra had to put in a superhuman effort to stay with him at times. Adebayor is stronger and quicker than Carra, but sheer willpower from the vice captain gave him the edge in what was a titanic battle. Crouch’s introduction gave us a much needed outlet up front, and he produced his best performance of the season so far. He hit a hat-trick against Arsenal last season, and could have repeated the feat this time with a bit more luck. I’ve written a few times this season that Crouch can’t have too many complaints about his lack of starts, as he hasn’t done enough when he has played. However, he does have a right to complain when he’s only given ten minutes at the end of games when it’s been glaringly obvious that we’ve needed him on earlier. Neither Kuyt nor Voronin have done enough to keep him on the sidelines, but Rafa has stubbornly refused to give Crouch his chance. I don’t know what his beef with the big man is, but for me he’s let it get in the way of the best interests of the team recently. Giving Crouch ten minutes in Turkey was disgraceful, and you can be sure the Besiktas players were delighted not to have had to face him. Crouch has not responded too well to Benitez’s treatment of him, and has looked like he’s been sulking a bit at times. I just think it’s a real shame how their relationship seems to have broken down, because when Crouch was struggling it was his manager’s confidence in him that got him through. Crouch needs that faith from Benitez again, whilst Benitez needs an in form Peter Crouch because for me he’s still potentially the best partner for Torres, and definitely a twenty goal a season striker. Maybe it’s too late, and a parting of the ways is inevitable, but Crouch’s performance against Arsenal suggests that perhaps he’s still up for the battle. Hopefully Benitez will give him the same opportunities he’s given Kuyt and Voronin recently. If he does, you can be sure Crouch will score more goals than both of them put together. He almost scored the goal of the season so far but for a great save by Almunia. He brought the ball down on his chest, took it in his stride and unleashed a venomous shot that seemed destined for the far corner because the Gunners keeper turned it round the post. Arsenal’s centre backs had been very comfortable in the first half due to Torres’ lack of fitness, but now they knew they were in a game. Crouch had another good chance when Voronin’s fine through ball sent him clear, but he dragged his shot just wide. I felt we were looking relatively comfortable at this point. Of course Arsenal were still dangerous and had to be watched (such as when Eboue hit the post and Fanregas ballooned the rebound wide of an empty net), but we looked like we had a second goal in us and once Benayoun replaced Voronin I felt that gave us the little bit of extra guile that could prove decisive. I would also liked to have seen Babel replace Kuyt, as his pace would have given us a real weapon on the counter attack, but any hope of that happening disappeared when Alonso was forced off. I haven’t seen the incident on TV, so I don ‘t know exactly what happened. I was too busy screaming at the referee (who was dreadful by the way) for awarding a free-kick against him when for me he did nothing wrong as he attacked Gerrard’s dipping free-kick. Then when Xabi stayed down the whole stadium seemed to mutter a collective ‘oh shit’. He may not have had an outstanding game, and at times early on he did understandably look a little off the pace, but his importance to us can’t be underestimated. He makes us tick, he sets the tempo to our play, and defensively he’s miles better then he’s ever given credit for. With him, Mascherano and Gerrard in the same midfield we’re more than a match for anyone. When he was replaced by Arbeloa, it signalled our intent to just hang onto what we had. It was understandable given the circumstances, as we desperately needed the three points and if we could have hung on it would have been a massive win. With ten minutes to go I was thinking that we looked to have weathered the storm, but out of nothing Fabregas ran onto a pass from Hleb and caught Pepe off guard with an early shot that found the corner. It was a hammer blow, and Arsenal will have fancied themselves to go on and win it after that, but I thought we rallied well and had a good go ourselves. At this point we were effectively playing with ten men, as the brilliant Mascherano had picked up a knock after being caught with a late tackle that went unpunished. He hobbled around for the final ten minutes or so, clearly in pain and unable to run, yet he still managed to get some vital tackles in and still managed to play some good passes. He was an absolute giant in this game, but then the better the opposition the better he plays. The otherwise dreadful John Arne Riise almost won it for us with a volley from the edge of the box, and Kuyt also went close after latching on to one of numerous excellent flick ons by Crouch. Then right at the death, Crouch diverted the ball into the path of the marauding Gerrard, and a dramatic late winner looked on the cards until Gallas made a terrific block. A draw was a fair result, and both sides should be relatively happy with it under the circumstances. In an ideal world I’d love to see us playing football the way Arsenal do, but that’s not going to happen as it’s not Rafa’s style. What we do have is character and resilience, and when we’re not playing well this is what we rely on to get us through. When Arsenal’s pretty football goes off the boil we’ll see what they have left to fall back on, as they won’t play to this standard for an entire season. These are tough times for us, as we are struggling to cope with the absence of injured players. We should have a big enough squad to cope, but clearly we don’t as Agger, Alonso and Torres have been desperately missed. We need those three fit and playing, and when they are I think we’ll be alright. At the moment it looks like Arsenal, Chelsea and the mancs are all light years ahead of us as they are scoring goals for fun and playing excellent football. We’re plodding along, grinding out draws and wins in the Premiership and losing in Europe. It doesn’t look good right now, but things can change quickly and we just have to try and battle through this tough period. I liked what I saw from the team in terms of effort and commitment against the Gunners, and for all the plaudits Arsenal are getting the bottom line is they didn’t beat us. The next time we meet, hopefully we’ll be in better form and then let’s see what happens. We’re in a really bad spell, but despite that we’re not in bad shape when you look at the table. We’re hanging in there, and we need to scrap for every point until our form returns. I just hope that it’s soon. Team: Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise; Mascherano, Alonso (Arbeloa), Gerrard; Kuyt, Torres (Crouch), Voronin (Benayoun):

Nail on head. Plus he's a despicable little snide. Fuck Fabregas and the constant wankfest over him. I hate the little twat, always have. PS It is I, Dave U, posting from my mums house. I'm due to get internet switched on in the new place in the next couple of days.

LIVERPOOL U18 3 Sunderland U18 0 Report by Pete Schulz at the Academy Scorer(s) - David Amoo (2), Nathan EcclestonHalf Time - 1-0 Venue - Liverpool Academy, Kirkby Date - Wed 24 Oct 2007 Star Man - Dean Bouzanis Liverpool’s young strikers David Amoo and Nathan Eccleston added more goals to their impressive tallies as the U18s sent Sunderland home from the Academy with a 3-0 defeat on Wednesday afternoon. David Amoo scored two and Nathan Eccleston added a third but in truth Sunderland could count themselves very unlucky to leave with nothing. The visitors, watched at first hand by first team manager Roy Keane, created chances throughout the game but excellent goalkeeping from Australian keeper Dean Bouzanis kept the ball out of the reds net. Hughie McAuley handed a debut to two of the new Spaniards, centre back Daniel Ayala and left winger Gerardo Bruna and both 16-year-olds acquitted themselves well in their first outing. The third Spaniard to arrive recently, Dani Pacheco, is expected to figure for the reserves on Thursday night. Sunderland started in the ascendancy but after ten minutes found themselves a goal down as David Amoo ran onto a through ball on the right and finished low inside the far post. The visitors still looked the better side as the reds midfield including Astrit Ajdarevic and Sean Highdale were struggling to pick up their movement. Poor finishing, however, meant that Dean Bouzanis was relatively untroubled for much of the first half. The reds created a couple of half chances for Amoo and Bruna but they fared no better in front of goal than their visitors. Hughie McAuley made one change at half time bringing on Alexander Kaciniklic for Ryan Crowther at right wing. But things continued as they had in the first half with Sunderland pressing and Liverpool scoring. Sunderland thought they’d scored on 51 minutes but the goalbound cross/shot from the right was saved well on the line by Bouzanis. Liverpool doubled the lead on 54 minutes after a quick counterattacking move which saw Eccleston play the ball through for his partner Amoo. The pacey striker took on his marker on the outside left and stabbed the ball low past the onrushing goalkeeper and into the far corner. And just three minutes later they put the game beyond Sunderland. Dean Bouzanis launched a long freekick forward after a Sunderland forward had been caught offside. It was headed on by Amoo for Eccleston who took it on the chest and powered it past the keeper. The two look to have struck up a decent partnership in Marvin Pourie’s absence through suspension. Eccleston is all about skill and technique and Amoo is a bustling forward with lightning pace. The two go together very well. It was a blow for Sunderland who were still creating chances, several of which forced Bouzanis into making good saves. On one occasion the Australian blocked well when a forward found himself in a one on one situation and the follow-up was blocked by Ayala. Liverpool then took off Ajdarevic and Bruna and replaced them with Mattone Awang and highly rated debutant, first year U16s forward Adam Pepper who arrived from Everton last year. Both the Swede and the Spaniard were carrying slight knocks. The visitors were piling men forward but just couldn’t find a way past Bouzanis who was again helped out by more last ditch defending by Ayala and the reds held on for a 3-0 win. The scoreline flattered the home side as on another day, Sunderland could well have left with one, if not all the points. Liverpool U18s: Bouzanis; Irwin, Kennedy, Ayala, O’Connor; Crowther (Kacaniklic), Ajdarevic (Awang), Highdale, Bruna (Pepper); Eccleston, Amoo.

they should remove his name from that report and replace it with the sub editor's.

http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=846342

LIVERPOOL 2 Spurs 2 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) - Andriy Voronin, Fernando TorresHalf Time - 1-1 Venue - Anfield Date - Sat 7 October 2007 Star Man - Steve Finnan If we go on to achieve anything this season, we may well look back on Fernando Torres’ stoppage time equaliser against Spurs as a pivotal moment in our season. We’re in a real slump at the moment, and it was never going to end with a free flowing performance and a rush of goals. We will need to gradually play our way back into form and scrap for every point in the meantime. With that in mind, I don’t actually feel that bad about what happened against Spurs. Taken in isolation, I don’t think this was that bad a performance. We played some good stuff in patches, but we’re undone by uncharacteristic defensive errors. The problem is that we’re in a bad run, and desperately needed a win and a performance. We got neither, but the performance was the best we’ve seen since we blitzed Derby. Admittedly, if we’d not managed to rescue a point at the death I’d probably be a lot more downbeat, but I would also be saying that the result was incredibly harsh and we deserved more. We’ve still got problems, but they would have been a lot worse had Torres not popped up to save the day in stoppage time. The knives are out for Rafa in the press, and a growing number of fans are also beginning to express their doubts. Defeat here, coupled with the two week international break to follow, and it wouldn’t have been pleasant. I’m not overly concerned about Benitez anyway, it’s the players that are worrying me as clearly there’s a confidence issue there. They started this game ok, and once the early goal came they actually played pretty well in the first half. Unfortunately, they squandered some good chances to go further ahead, and then conceded an equaliser at the worst possible time, just before the break. That shook them, and when they let another in immediately after the restart it really put them up against it. After that the pressure began to show, and the crowd’s edginess got through to them as well. The 2nd half was not pretty, but they dug in and showed character, and their reward came in stoppage time when Torres nodded in Finnan’s beautifully flighted cross. It’s still two points lost, and hardly cause for celebration, but it could prove to be an important goal in the grand scheme of things. Of course, it might not, we’ll just have to see, but I prefer to try and look on the positive side because it’s going to be a miserable two weeks otherwise. As usual, there was great interest in what starting line up Rafa would go with. I got nine of eleven on my ‘Fantasy Rafa’ side, but if Rafa was picking a ‘Fantasy Dave’ side, he’d have gotten ten of the eleven I would have gone with. I’d have gone with Yossi or even Babel on the left ahead of Riise, but otherwise that’s the team I’d have picked. The one slight surprise I guess was Voronin ahead of Kuyt, but the Ukranian deserves his chance alongside El Nino. If everyone was at their best, then I still think Crouch is the best partner for Torres, but if you’re selecting a side based on what we’ve seen this season, then Voronin has the strongest claims for a place alongside Torres. After this performance, those claims just got stronger. I thought he was excellent, and thoroughly deserved his goal. His work rate was admirable, and several times he chased back to cover for team-mates who had been caught upfield. There was one occasion when he lost the ball in the Spurs half, and by the time they had worked a shooting opening Voronin was actually stood in between his centre backs and the ball struck him in the chest. That’s the kind of attitude we need right now. The one fault in his performance was his reluctance to shoot when Torres presented him with a glorious opportunity. Instead, he laid the ball back to Gerrard who was closed down and the chance was gone. You’d think that with a goal under his belt already Voronin would have been flying, but he seemed reluctant to take responsibility and definitely chose the wrong option. Maybe he wanted to repay his captain for the assist on the opening goal? Gerrard won the free-kick himself, and when Robinson could only parry his shot Voronin was first to the loose ball to claim his 4th goal of the season. Two of those goals have been rebounds, which is encouraging as it shows he’s got that poachers instinct. Torres had a couple of presentable chances to make it 2-0, but first he shot wide after an exciting run, and then he shot straight at Robinson after great play by Arbeloa down the left. Gerrard struck the post with a curling free-kick, and with each narrow escape Spurs had there came an increasing sense of inevitability that we’d pay the price. Berbatov and Keane began to link up ominously, and we’d already had a couple of warning flashes from them before Berbatov won a flick on and Keane nipped in between Finnan and Carragher to slot the ball past Reina in front of the Kop. I’m not sure who is to blame for it, take your pick from Hyypia, Carragher and Finnan I guess, as all three could have done better. It’s hard to have a go at the defence too much, because for most of the season they’ve been rock solid. They’ve been let down by the attacking side of our game more often than not, and this was the first real off day they’ve had all season. The equalising goal was bad, just route one stuff, but Keane’s second was even worse from our point of view. Once more it was a straight ball up the centre, once more Hyypia was beaten in the air by Berbatov, and once again Keane got in between Carragher and the full back (this time Arbeloa) to beat Pepe with a smart finish. We never let goals in like that, and it’s sod’s law that it should happen twice in a game that we desperately needed to be tight in. Spurs had a good spell after that, as we tried to clear the cobwebs. Eventually we began to get moving again, and Gerrard shot over the bar after a lovely attack involving Torres and Voronin. Benitez then made his first change, bringing on Babel for Arbeloa. The Spanish full back was unfortunate to get the hook, as he played ok and was certainly better than Riise was when he dropped back to replace him. We huffed and puffed, but there was little inspiration and you could see the side were bereft of confidence. Kuyt came on for the injured Pennant, which surprised me a little as Benayoun was a more logical replacement. Finnan had a shot saved by Robinson, and then Riise blazed a shot over when he simply had to at least hit the target. Kuyt began seeing a lot of the ball on the right, and it was from a low cross by him that Mascherano forced Robinson into another save. The little Argentine was everywhere in the 2nd half, and even though he occasionally gave the ball away with sloppy passing, he was an inspiration I thought, and it was the likes of him and Finnan that kept us going. Just when it looked like we’d ran out of ideas, Finnan jinxed his way this way and that, and floated in a lovely ball to the back post where Torres rose highest and planted a downwards header into the bottom corner. Had there been another few minutes remaining, we may have grabbed a winner, but you have to say a draw was a fair result as Spurs played well. We had some good performers, and some not so good. Voronin was good when he had the ball, and ran himself to a standstill. I thought Finnan was excellent again, the only blemish being his part in Spurs’ first goal. Mascherano was tireless and kept driving us forward, and Arbeloa was neat and tidy before he was replaced. The negatives were the centre backs, who struggled with Keane and Berbatov, Riise who was poor again, and Gerrard who although not that bad, just isn’t playing the way we need him to at the moment. The fans were another negative. Does anyone actually think the new singing section has made any difference? Doesn’t seem like it to me. The international break had a terrible effect on us last time, and if the same happens again it doesn’t even bear thinking about. We’ve got Everton and Arsenal next, both must win games, and it’s a pivotal point in the season coming up. Rafa will be tempted to go with the players who are fresh and perhaps haven’t been away with their countries. I hope he doesn’t, because if he leaves out some of his big guns and it backfires some fans’ patience will snap. We’re at a real crossroads in Rafa’s reign in my opinion. There are a lot of fans who are extremely disgruntled at the moment, and a defeat in the derby will be too much for them to take. Win the derby and beat Arsenal, and we’re back on track and the wolves will be banished from the door. Lose those games and it may be the beginning of the end, as once a slide starts it’s almost impossible to turn it around, just ask Souness, Evans and Gerard Houllier. Team: Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Arbeloa (Babel); Pennant (Kuyt), Gerrard, Mascherano, Riise; Voronin (Benayoun), Torres: