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5 years ago almost to the hour, we were winning big ears, so what better time to share the possible opponents for our next European adventure? There's only 1 Jagiellonia Bialystok. Or how about Dukla Banska Bystrica? It's assumed that the seeded teams from the earlier qualifying rounds qualify, if not there'll be some even stranger teams in there.

LIVERPOOL 2 FC Rabotnicki 0 Report by Dave Usher at Anfield Scorer(s) – David Ngog, Steven Gerrard (pen)Half Time - 2-0 Venue - Anfield Date - Thu 5 Aug 2010 Star Man – Joe Cole The scoreline didn't show it, but this was a hammering. Completely one sided game in which we played some lovely football, and at no point did I get the feeling that we had eased off and decided to settle for what we had. We kept playing football and attacking, and even at the very end Johnson and Kelly were pushing forward from full back. Admittedly the opposition were terrible, but still, I really enjoyed myself and I can't wait for the Arsenal game. Games like this may be generally seen as a pain in the arse, and I'm sure Roy would have preferred not to have been thrown into competitive action so soon into his tenure, but I'd say that games like this are far better preparation than the friendlies we've been having. Fitness wise it has to be more benefit to the players, and mentally it also has to be good as the result actually matters which means they have to be switched on. The job that the players did in both games was excellent. The 1st leg proved to be extremely valuable in the sense that the youngsters showed they could do a job in a hostile environment, and the 2nd leg provided the likes of Carragher, Cole, and Johnson with a valuable 90 minutes of football. Had this been a friendly, they'd probably have been subbed after an hour. You don't have that luxury in competitive games of course, and Cole in particular will have benefitted greatly from this you'd imagine. He seemed to enjoy himself anyway, and the crowd certainly enjoyed watching him. The rapturous ovation he received as he saluted the Kop at the end was well deserved, he was outstanding on the night. As I stood there enthusiastically applauding the former Chelsea man, and the big cheer for him went up from the Kop, I just turned to my mate and said "it's great being a footy fan, we're such fickle bastards, we love him now!". I've spent the last few years hating Joe Cole, and calling him all kinds. I'm not going to pretend I didn't, and I'm not going to apologise for it either. One thing I will say though, is every time I saw him interviewed, it made it difficult to hate him. It's the same with Lampard to be fair, he generally comes across as a nice fella in interviews (thankfully there's no such problem with that twat Terry). On the pitch I couldn't stand Cole, but whenever I heard him speak it always made me waiver from that hatred because essentially he always seemed like a really nice lad. This was especially evident when he was in the Sky studio's at Anfield when we played Chelsea in the CL a couple of years back, and he was gushing in his comments about our club and fans. Now he's playing for us, there's no conflict anymore, he's just fucking boss. As I say, it may be fickle, but that's the beauty of being a football fan. It's going to be a lot of fun watching Joe this season. It was apparent early on in this game that he's on the same wavelength as Gerrard. Some of the link ups between them were brilliant, little flicks to each other and an instant understanding of what the other was going to do. When Maxi came on it was the same. Cole and the Argentine linked up very well, and assuming Maxi stays here (and his selection for this game suggests Roy has no intention of allowing him to go) I'm looking forward to seeing how that understanding develops too. You just know Torres will be on that wavelength as well, and if we can add another top quality forward player to the mix then we look to be in really good shape. For now, we're having to make do with Ngog in the absence of Torres, and he's doing a good job. His all round game clearly needs a lot of work, but the lad gets goals and he was on the scoresheet again in this game, although he should have had at least three. He also won the penalty (which I thought was a bit harsh at the time and haven't seen any replays), so it's difficult to knock him. I still maintain there's too big a drop off between Torres and Ngog, and we need someone else who can come in when Nando is unavailable (and who can partner him when the need arises), but you have to give credit to Ngog as it's his goals that have got us through this potentially awkward tie. He opened the scoring with a cracking header from a Joe Cole cross, but he'd earlier missed a great chance when Cole put him through on goal, and he later missed a similar chance when he attempted to pick out Gerrard rather than have a go himself (I thought that was unlucky though, and the skipper also seemed to appreciate what he tried to do as he went over to high five him). He went close with a good header in the 2nd half too, and was a threat all night. Ngog wasn't involved much in the build up, but he gets on the end of things and if Torres isn't ready for Arsenal (and it's difficult to imagine how we will be given he hasn't looked fit for about six months and is just coming off that injury he picked up in the WC Final), and we haven't signed another forward, I'm not actually too concerned if Ngog plays against the Gunners. As long as we create chances, he's likely to score. And with Gerrard and Cole in the side, we probably will create chances. I like the look of Jovanovic too. He's not a world beater, but I'd say he's certainly an upgrade on Riera. He has a touch of the Ronny Rosenthal's about him I think, but there's also some similarities with Dirk in that he looks like he's a real grafter. I like him, he looks like he'll do a good job for us this year when called on. Of course, you can't read too much into this, as Rabotnicki are poor. We're still not anywhere near peak sharpness or fitness, and the players are all still learning Hodgson's tactics. It's been noticeable that not too much has changed in terms of the system we've been using. Whether that's because Roy wants to play that way long term, or because he felt he didn't have enough time to change too much I don't know. To the untrained eye, it doesn't look like too much has changed, but I'm sure there have been little things here and there that Hodgson has implemented. It's difficult to judge in a game like this. I mean, both full backs got forward a lot in this game, but is that a tactical instruction from the manager or is just because the opposition were shite and Johnson and Kelly knew they could safely go forward without us being caught at the back? We're not going to know until a few months into the season I'd say. The main things I take from it are that Joe Cole looks very comfortable in that position behind the striker, and Gerrard looked happy in midfield breaking forward to link up with him. That's how I expect we'll play in most games this season, although the addition of another top class forward would present the manager with a nice alternative option. There were lots of positives to take from the game, with Cole at the top of the list. Also, Kelly had a very good game in what is not his best position. He's clearly a lad with a big future if he can stop picking up injuries. He can fill in several positions, and could be a very useful player to have around. Maybe one day he'll establish himself at one position, most likely right back initially and eventually perhaps centre half, but for now I see him as filling the role for us that someone like John O'Shea has done for the mancs. Players like that are invaluable to a squad that is going to challenge for honours, and if Kelly can go on to fulfil that role for us it will be a nice option for the manager. He's one of a number of young players who will be hoping to establish themselves under Hodgson this season. Several of them got a chance in the 1st leg and did themselves no harm, and for the 2nd leg Roy took the opportunity to have a first look at Dani Pacheco. I came away from the game feeling a bit disappointed with Pacheco, and I noticed a number of people on the forum expressing similar sentiments. Looking back on the game now in the cold light of day however, I think Pacheco actually did alright. He didn't dazzle, but he wasn't bad by any means. He's clearly more talented than he showed against Rabotnicki, but maybe some of us were expecting a bit too much from him? He's hardly played for the 1st team, he's hardly trained with Hodgson as he's been away with Spain (yet again), and this will have been a good experience for him. I think the initial disappointment I felt was a little harsh on him, and had he put away the chance he had late on perhaps we'd have been looking at his display differently. It might be a little while before he gets another chance though, as the real stuff starts next week and we'll be welcoming back people like Kuyt and Babel into the reckoning, which will make it difficult for Pacheco to make the squad. On the plus side, seeing him line up in the reserves alongside Suso should ensure plenty of entertainment for those who go to Prenton Park. They'll be the Xavi and Iniesta of the Reserve League! Spearing also got a bit of a run out, and once again did his chances no harm. He was neat and tidy, took up good positions and played one brilliant defence splitting pass to Ngog that ultimately led to nothing, but had me wondering what would have happened if Torres had been on the end of it. It was an eventful night for Jay, who will have been a bit puzzled by the reception he was getting during his warm up in the 1st half. A lone voice kept yelling out his name from the Paddock, and went through a repertoire of songs including 'SuperJay' and 'Spearing give us a wave'. Jay and the other subs found it amusing, and Jay obliged by giving the fella the thumbs up, before shrugging his shoulders to the rest of the Paddock as if to say "I don't know who he is either". It was hilarious, and when Jay sat down and was replaced on the touchline by Soto, the fella started up again with 'SuperGreek'. A couple of minutes later, out of the corner of my eye I saw this portly looking lad make a run for the pitch and tried to take up a position at left back. He got over the advertising boards and just made it to the turf before he was hauled down by about five stewards. His kecks got pulled down displaying most of his arse, and he then wriggled out of his shirt in a bid to get free and take to the field. Was this Insua making one last desperate bid to show the manager what he can do? No, it was Spearing's number one fan. He was obviously absolutely bladdered, but the treatment he got from the stewards was pretty rough and he'll probably be feeling a bit sore today as he was dragged back over the boards and thrown to the ground. His own fault of course, he shouldn't be running on the pitch, but I still couldn't help but feel some sympathy with him. He'll probably get a lengthy ban now, which is a shame as I have a feeling he's going to be missing out on some great football this season. As an 8, 9 and 10 I doubt there are better than Gerrard, Torres and Cole anywhere in the world. It would be nice if we could add a number 7 of similar ability before the season starts, but even if we don't we still look to be in good shape. There were a number of empty seats and a subdued atmosphere, but that won't be the case a week on Sunday when Arsenal come to town. Anfield will be bouncing, and I can't fucking wait. Star man was unquestionably Joe Cole, it's just a pity he didn't get the goal his performance deserved. Still, it can wait until a week on Sunday. Honourable mentions to Kelly, Gerrard, Jovanovic and Johnson. Team: Cavalieri; Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Kelly; Lucas (Spearing), Gerrard (Aquilani); Pacheco, Cole, Jovanovic (Maxi); Ngog: