Talking Reds

Time to worry - or not?

noreply@blogger.com (adelaidered) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:20:00 +0000

While I am the first to admit that 1 player does not make a team, there is a Strong argument that Alonzo is missed, clearly based upon the first 3 games of this season, we have looked light on in midfield.

Is this man going to make the difference, the problem is we won't know for another 6-8 weeks. I hate to say this but it will be all over by then, certainly based upon last nights performance. Have to be honest, we looked pretty ordinary against a team, we should have beaten easily.

For a large amount of time last night, we ran around in circles, or kept passing the ball sideways as we appeared unsure on how to break down the Villa defence, which I have to add included a 5 man midfield, coupled with the fact that our ex goalkeeper pulled off some good saves.

I watch with baited breath to our next game - away to Bolton, clearly a team we should beat easily - however things are not quite the same anymore!

Fighting on

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:54:00 +0000

Whatever happens at least we're keeping up our end of the bargain and beating everyone that's put in front of us in the faint hope that Manchester United will lose two of their final four games and, provided we win our final three, we take the Premier League crown this season.

And that's not a line you will have heard said in realistic terms at any point over the last 19 years since we were last champions of all England. To be able to say it is in itself an achievement despite the ethos of this club dictating that if you are second you are nowhere.

To still mathematically have a chance with three games to go is a massive step under Rafa Benitez. And given the series of setbacks we've suffered this season with injuries to Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard as well as countless silly draws, that is progress.

I don't think we'll do it being brutally honest. With the form United are in it is incredibly hard to see them capitulating now given they have made a habit of doing the business when it really matters.

Still, their run in isn't easy. Rivals Arsenal and Man City at home, tough away games at always difficult Wigan (although who would be surprised if Steve Bruce, United to the core, let his side roll over and be beaten) and relegation battling Hull City on the last day.

It would be an achievement to take it to the last day and that is a realistic goal. Of course it is all dependent on us maintaining our winning run. Not an easy task when we face Europe chasing West Ham at Upton Park next weekend, never an easy place to go.

But despite the odds being stacked firmly against us we are playing well, scoring goals and winning and that is the form of title contenders, which we have been and still are, no doubt about it.

The fat lady hasn't started yet!

noreply@blogger.com (adelaidered) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:03:00 +0000

Long may she stay quite!

With Manure winning 2-0 overnight and moving 3 points clear of Liverpool and still with a game in hand, the odds on winning the League are moving more towards them and away from Anfield.

However I actually don't feel that bad about it, this season and I acknowledge that there are still 5 games to go has been a success.

A lot depends upon how you measure success, if it is measured in silverware that I agree it doesn't look that good. However if you measure in terms of improvement, then I believe it has been an outstanding success.

I am suggesting that we will finish second (unless my prayers are answered and Manure fail in the last few games) a great improvement and a big step forward. We beat Manure twice and in the process we gave them a real pasting at Old Trafford - that really must have hurt Old Fergie - beat Chelsea twice and broke their long standing home (without losing a game) record - drew twice with Arsenal. Featured in one of the best ever Champions League matches when we drew 4-4 at Chelsea, a game that most people except Liverpool fans thought we had no chance. Oh how close we came to pulling off what seemed the impossible and without our captain!

Lets not forget, we beat the great Real Madrid both home and away and they never scored against us in a overall 5-0 demolition of this very good side.

There are just too many positives for me to feel downhearted about this season. The problem is that Liverpool Football Club and its fans set and expect such a high level of achievement that even coming second in the best league in the world can appear to be a disappointment.

Well for me who has supported this great club for nearly 50 years -

I CAN LIVE WITH THAT!

A reminder of 20 years ago but hope remains

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:35:00 +0000

As some of you will recall, 20 years ago it was late drama at Anfield in a game between Liverpool and Arsenal that ended the Reds title hopes.

Back then it couldn't have been more dramatic. With the title destined for Kenny Dalglish's side yet again, Michael Thomas raced through the Reds backline and with the very last kick of the Football League season scored the goal that gave Arsenal the title instead. It was a dark moment in the history of Liverpool Football Club coming just a matter of weeks after the darkest of moments at Hillsborough.

Fast forward almost 20 years later and to last night where Andrei Arshavin raced through on goal in the 90th minute to score his fourth of the game and put Arsenal in front, looking to have ended all hopes of Liverpool winning the league they have won just once since that fateful night in late May 1989.

At the end, it was by no means as dramatic as that night. Furthermore Yossi Benayoun's 93 minute close range finish earned a point that put us back on top and could prove crucial as our captain sagely observed.

But if we're being honest it wasn't enough when we had said beforehand that six wins from the last six was a must. Assuming Manchester United win their two games in hand they go six points clear at the summit and with five games left there may not be enough time for us to claw it back and end the title famine.

But then who could have predicted two 4-4 draws in our last two games, or a 4-1 win at Old Trafford or any of the remarkable late comebacks or wins we have witnessed at Anfield and on the road throughout this season?

It's been an unpredictable campaign, full of ups and downs and late drama. Whose to say that with five games left that there can't be a bit more?

It's not over yet, not till it's mathematically impossible.

A powerful message has made a difference

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:35:00 +0000

On Wednesday at Anfield, the 96 people who died at Hillsborough 20 years ago were not just remembered and honoured, their long suffering families were given hope.

Last night and the next six

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:23:00 +0000

I haven't got too much to say about last night except everyone on that pitch did Liverpool Football Club and the memory of the 96 very proud indeed.

We could not have asked for more and it was only the cruel nature of Chelsea's first goal that swung the tie in their favour and gave them the confidence to finish off the tie even after a late scare.

We remain an excellent side and one capable of winning the Premier League title this season, we are certainly closer than at any point during the last 19 title-less years and that is an excellent achievement in itself given we have had to cope for a large portion of the season without our talisman, Fernando Torres.

We are reliant on others to help us out but more than a few people have said to me that if we win our final six games, and this is a big if then we will be champions. And to be champions this season would mean so much.

Six games to go, let's go!

Remembering the 96

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:12:00 +0000

I’ve supported Liverpool pretty much all my life and I have contemplated for a long while writing something about Hillsborough, never really being able to decide how or what to write about.....

Crashing down to earth but with hope in our hearts

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:08:00 +0000

The euphoria of the past few weeks had to end at some point. We hoped it would be in May with a league and European Cup to our name alas the latter looks unlikely after tonight but far from impossible.

After a month where we've seen the Reds stick four past Real and Man U (Andrea Dossena scoring in both games!), obliterate a strong Aston Villa and summon the latest of late goals at Fulham to cap yet another improbable stoppage time win you've got to believe that we can go to Stamford Bridge and score three without reply, afterall we scored four at Old Trafford...

The point is don't give up yet but this wasn't good tonight for sure. The awesome start that smashed Real Madrid looked on the cards when Torres put us in front but Chelsea's comeback was impressive. Didier Drogba should have levelled on two occasions. Ivanovic's equaliser was preventable but inevitable as was his second goal, the flaws of zonal marking rearing their ugly head again but what odds a full back scoring two goals in a Champions League quarter final?

Drogba's third was deserved and a fine finish to a fine move. We had no reply. Our heads dropped from the moment Chelsea equalised and we just couldn't break them down. Lucas and Dossena, two players who have played out of their skins in recent weeks suddenly returned to their average selves, losing the ball, messing up the easy things. It was Middlesbrough away all over again but at a higher level and far more costly.

Quite simply, Rafa Benitez was tactically outclassed in Europe and there's a line you've probably never read in the five years he's been at Liverpool. He won't like that and that's all we can hope for when it comes to Stamford Bridge next Tuesday night, that he is so riled by tonight that he sends his players out to achieve the unlikely and they've been doing it all season.

And let us not forget that next week we play for the 96 Reds who should be here today. There is no greater incentive than that. Do them proud redmen. Believe.

Momentum gives us a real shot at greatness

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:02:00 +0000

Momentum. A word we're used to hearing in football terms. Momentum helps a striker maintain a hot goal-scoring streak. Momentum wins football games. Momentum wins titles. At the moment Liverpool have momentum and they have it in abundance.

It has allowed the Reds to put 13 goals past three previous European Cup winners, one of them the current holders, in the last few weeks, to catapult themselves back into the title race and has underlined their extraordinary European credentials.

No one, and I mean no one, is capable of dealing with us on this form. Not Real Madrid who had been in stunning form under Juande Ramos prior to their tie with us, not a quintuple chasing Manchester United, not an Aston Villa who have been solid all season and never capitulated in the manner that they did this afternoon.

When we're good, we're very very good.

And yet it makes it all the more frustrating that we weren't this good when Stoke City, Fulham, West Ham and a few other teams turned up at Anfield and stifled us into playing the type of football that makes us look poor. And when we're poor, we're very very poor.

We can only hope those days are behind us now. We have eight games to make our mark on this title race. Eight winnable games that must all be won in the hope that United's capitulation last week and yesterday at Craven Cottage can be repeated in their remaining nine encounters.

There is no greater motivation then the desire of players like Steven Gerrard to attain the one medal that has so far eluded him in club football. No greater motivation for the fans and the club on whole than to deny Manchester United a chance to equal our proud and at one point, widely thought, unmatchable record of 18 league titles.

There will be no joy around these parts if United hold aloft another league title in May, Fergie taking yet another step towards knocking us off our "fucking perch" as he so eloquently put it a few years ago.

Our only repreive in that case may be European glory in Rome in late May. Manchester United could also stand in our way there following the outcome of Friday's quarter, semi and final draw.

No one is relishing playing Chelsea again given the fact we've met them in the last four Champions League campaigns. Our record against them in Europe is favourable but their win in last season's semi final will give them confidence as will the knowledge that they have the second leg at Stamford Bridge.

But we have momentum, we have confidence and above we have genuine quality.

Now more than ever is the chance to cast aside all those silly draws with Stoke, Fulham, West Ham, Hull, Manchester City etc and to show our true potential under Rafael Benitez. We have shown the excellence we are capable of in our last three games. Time to show it time and again over the next two months.

WHAT A WEEK!

noreply@blogger.com (adelaidered) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:13:00 +0000

Not satisfied with giving Real Madrid a hammering during the week in the Champions League, Liverpool travelled to Old Trafford on Saturday and gave Utd a lesson on how to play attacking football putting 4 goals past them.

In both games the combination of Gerrard and Torres has been the key, Torres in particular who quite clearly on Saturday was not 100% fit - just imagine what would have happened had he been?

After all the hype about Utd going 10 points clear after they beat us disappeared when Torres broke clear and scored the first of the 4 goal humiliation.

While most fans were still on cloud 9 after putting 4 past one of Europe's best team and in all honesty it could have been a lot more, the thought of facing Utd at Old Trafford was daunting to say the least.

While Utd went ahead first, apart from the 5 minutes or so they were not really in the game, it was therefore with interest I read the Fergie has stated that Utd were the better team, this was quite unbelievable and I just wonder what game he was watching?

Our win was outstanding not only for the score line and the 3 points but we did not field our strongest team, Alonzo was missing and at the very last moment we had to draft Sammie into a central defence position and move Jamie to fullback. What a game our defence had, I don't think Sammie even broke into a sweat, so good was the midfield in front of him. I know that Raffa really likes this 2 lines of 4 - midfield and defence and in the last two games it has really worked. Last week against Madrid, time and time again the midfield broke up any attack and when they did break through the defence soaked up anything that came their way.

With only 9 games to go and with Utd having a game in hand, we all know that they still remain favourites to win the title, the challenge for Liverpool is not to let this great result be wasted by dropping points against lower placed teams, we all acknowledge that this result and this season have again been an improvement however we have dropped far too many points at Anfield with stupid draws. I mean look at Stoke, almost certain to be relegated and over 2 games we never even scored a goal against them.

Now this Friday will see the draw for the Champions League quarter finals and no seeding which means the chance of a Liverpool vs. Utd game is now a chance, as is against Chelsea.

On last weeks showing - we can match it with anybody!

Close encounters of the Parry kind

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:04:00 +0000

First of all another apology for the lack of blogging recently. I always write a recap blog after weeks of inactivity with the grand intentions of making sure I update this more regularly but I inevitably don't. Mostly because of laziness, but also I tend to forgot the thing even exists which is an awful shame.

I often wonder though if anyone is actually reading what I'm writing and if anyone is even interested. Perhaps if your reading this you might leave a comment just to acknowledge your presence on this blog, your avid readership and your disappointment that it's not updated more regularly....go on!

Anyway I felt compelled to update it now because the other night I happened to be walking back from football, up Myrtle Street, just past the Philharmonic Hall and across the street from Liverpool Community College when who do I see only Rick Parry, our esteemed chief executive, complete with suit and silly tie along with about half a dozen other suited middle aged men.

They were walking and talking and looking business like. I was in my football gear, Liverpool top included, I caught his eye, gave him a nod as I passed but all he could muster was a quick stare and then back to looking at his feet. Shame? Fear? (I'm 6ft 5 and rather scary looking or so I've been told) Who knows...

In any case it was all a bit surreal. When I told my Liverpool supporting friend later he wondered why I hadn't called him a twat to his face.

I wonder what our esteemed chief executive was up to? I didn't recognise anyone else in his posse so I can't report any secret meetings with Jurgen Klinsmann or whoever. Nor did they look foreign, of the Arab variety, so no new developments on our protracted Far Eastern takeover.

Since my last blog a fair bit has happened. Our FA Cup exit at Everton was no surprise given the way the night panned out. Our captain off early in the first half, our star striker clearly not fit and our much maligned Brazilian midfielder getting himself sent off.

The team at Portsmouth ten days ago was a bit of a shock as was the scoreline heading into the last five minutes but thank the lord for Dirk Kuyt and El Nino, keeping our hopes alive...

United can go five points clear tonight with a win against Fulham at Old Trafford which is pretty much a given. Worse still they are at home to Blackburn on Saturday evening before we host Manchester City on Sunday afternoon. By which time Fergie's lot could be eight points clear, a major psychological boost to the quintuple (a new word to the footballing lexicon this week) chasing side.

Still all we have to do is keep grinding out wins like we did at Portsmouth the other week and look to take three points at Old Trafford which may prompt sighs of disbelief among many but it looks increasingly as if this will be the only way we can seriously pull off this league winning lark.

Keane, Chelsea and another derby day

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:20:00 +0000

My issue is not with the selling of Robbie Keane.

Things just did not work out for the Irishman here. The situation was obviously so desperate, he obviously was not fitting in and the overriding feeling amongst all at the club was that Benitez (whether or not he bought him which is a whole different story) had to cut his losses. The stories I've been hearing about Keane's social exploits could hardly have done him any favours in the eyes of a man who expects a high standard of professionalism.

But to not find a replacement even something short term leaves the boss quite rightly open to criticism. Furthermore if we are not to land number 19 in May many, in fact everyone, in the media will most likely point to decision to sell Keane right at the end of the transfer window and not replace him as having led to our downfall.

David Ngog is no Fernando Torres, he's not even close although there is potential there. Dirk Kuyt's appearances up front have been few and far between since he switched to right wing last season whilst Ryan Babel has regressed so much that his Liverpool career may not last beyond the summer.

That said we saw the best of him towards the end of last season, the expectation being that he would progress further this term. That's not been the case and whilst we shouldn't write him off just yet we've got to be realistic, he really hasn't performed this season and it would take a remarkable turnaround form him to produce the form we expect and need from him.

The importance of Fernando Torres was underlined by his late double in Sunday's monumental win over Chelsea at Anfield. The Spaniard will now hopefully hit the goal trail which has been sorely missed even with our march towards the top of the table.

That is the one bonus perhaps, that we've survived for a large part of the season without his goals and now, with him back, things can only be better.

Better though is almost perfection from now until the end of the season. There can be no slip ups in the league and if there are we must hope Manchester United follow suit but they are wise old dogs in positions like this and they won't surrender many points between now and May, if any...

Keeping our confidence intact is important and that means getting a good result at Goodison in the cup tonight. I'm confident merely because our away form is better than that at home this season but it's a derby, it's the cup, it's a night game and they will be up for it. But if we're not then there's something seriously wrong.

Sunday was hopefully a turning point, let's kick on from here and show that even with a shortage up front we can do great things in the next three months.

Derby double does little to inspire

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:19:00 +0000

Two unsatisfactory but probably fair derby results that does little to improve our league position, gives us another fixture headache and perhaps most tellingly confirms we've hit a slump.

Five draws in our last eight games is not the form of title contenders and three draws in our last three is a worrying predicament when all around us particularly Manchester United are grinding out wins.

Everton understandably and predictably shut up shop in both games and took their chances when they came. We on the other hand seemed to spent 180 minutes and particularly yesterday passing across the edge of their box unable to make any inroads and were saved only by the class of Steven Gerrard and of course Fernando Torres whose flick for the skipper's equaliser was a beautiful thing.

It's good to have Nando back and although he's not found the scoresheet in the last three he's shown flashes of his brilliance that indicate it won't be long before he's on the goal trail again.

That's in stark contrast to Robbie Keane who is rumoured to have walked out of Anfield yesterday after being told he wasn't in the squad. Benitez this morning confirmed that he'd not spoken to Keane since announcing he wasn't in the 18 for yesterday but shed no further light on the matter.

It does little to dampen the constant speculation that has surrounded the Irishman almost from the day he arrived at the club. He has not been an abject failure but he has failed to live up to the expectations we had of him and his perfomance in Monday's derby was anonymous and that's not the first time that's happened this season.

With a week left in the transfer window the rumours are unlikely to go away. Keane won't be sold, of that I reckon we can be pretty certain but if he continues to be in and out of the side and in and out of form then Benitez may look to cut his losses in the summer.

Of course it all depends where we are in the summer. We could be champions, we could be runners up, we could have scrapped the last Champions League place.

It's hard to know now where we are headed because we are in unknown territory. We set the standard and led the way since the beginning of December. Now, knocked off the top we face a challenge and it is a mighty one where every game counts starting with Wednesday's trip to Wigan where three points is an absolute must.

Rafa's rejection is another headache

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:12:00 +0000

I don't think many of us were surprised that Rafa Benitez rejected the contract offered to him by the club given the stories that have been coming out ever since negotiations began that he wanted more control over transfers.

This simple yet important demand (it's not as if he's asking for a blank cheque book) isn't surprising given the time it takes for us to actually sign players and lord knows how many we've probably missed out on seeing as Rafa has to email Tom who has to talk to George who then both have to talk to Rick. This, I can only presume, is the standard procedure although it could be far more complicated.

Either the way the situation doesn't look good despite the rosy picture some are painting. Hicks latest media assault saw him give a "reassuring" interview to Sky Sports News insisting this was only a little bother and that it would all get sorted. Which is great, I mean it was a decent interview only for the fact that I and many others do not trust a single word that emanates from that man's mouth.

I trust Rafa who is just as keen to get things sorted as Tom insisted he was but it really is another unwelcome distraction as we head into a defining part of our season already disturbed by Steven Gerrard's antics in Southport at the end of last year.

Both sides have seemingly decided to put it on the back burner for football's sake which is good but all the while Rafa's contract runs down and he wouldn't be short of offers elsewhere. Of course he's dedicated to the club but he really is being tested by the antics of our American friends.

Benitez comments and bad weekend add more pressure

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 20:33:00 +0000

It was almost inevitable as soon as the words came out of Rafa Bentiez's mouth that they may come back to haunt us.

And so it transpired this weekend as we inexplicably dropped more points against a probably doomed Stoke City yesterday evening and United narrowed the gap by destroying Chelsea this afternoon.

Benitez today stood by his comments made in the above video. Which, by the way, I found very entertaining and very funny as someone finally told Fergie where to stick it and there was a certain sense of pride to be taken from a detailed and well thought out put down.

Yet I also knew that the media would make a massive deal out of it and now even more so given the way the weekend's panned out.

To drop four points to Stoke home and away and not score a single goal is not the form of title contenders. The form of title contenders is United's demolition of our hitherto closest challengers Chelsea at Old Trafford.

Fergie's complaints about fixture congestion which Rafa so eloquently addressed in Friday's press conference are, as the Spaniard pointed out, not really valid given the fantastic run in they now have. They face ourselves, Arsenal and Aston Villa at Old Trafford with the destination of this year's title very much in their hands.

Equally a win at Old Trafford coupled with identical results in the remaining 17 games puts the title in our hands but it's a bit too early to be talking like this.

The perceived wisdom is that points will be dropped by all sides chasing the league between now and May but there won't be many, certainly less than ten I would imagine.

It makes slip ups like yesterday's all the more damaging. Furthermore the comments of Benitez heaps further pressure on him and the team to maintain the form that has seen us lead the pack since early December.

Needless to say the derby on Monday week takes on even more importance now.

Everton league game more important than cup showdown

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:41:00 +0000

The draw for the fourth round of the FA Cup rather fittingly pits us against Everton in this the 20th year of the Hillsborough disaster.

Coming six days after our league meeting on January 19th and two days after Steven Gerrard's appearance at Sefton magistrates, it is sure to be an eventful week on Merseyside.

How we emerge from it may determine the course of our season. I'll put my neck on the line now by saying I'm more concerned about the league game then the cup one.

Of course there is a lot of emotional involvement in the cup tie given the year that's in it. As well as this it's our first cup meeting the Blues since 1991, when an epic three game marathon included a 4-4 draw at Goodison that would ultimately lead to the resignation of Kenny Dalglish and the end of 20 years dominance of English football.

Ironically here we are, 18 years on, top of the league and on a run that many now feel could end the lengthy 19 year wait for a league title.

This is why I'll take three important league points at Anfield over progression to the fifth round of the FA Cup even if there's an added incentive to winning the competition this year as acknowledged by Jamie Carragher, a man who invests more emotion than most Scousers in a Merseyside derby having experienced both sides of the increasingly bitter divide.

Gerrard's court appeareance in between the two games will not help matters. Everton fans are already putting the finishing touches to vile chants about our captain to go alongside the awful vitriol they spew about his family.

It is two derbies that would be of high intensity in normal circumstances but the surrounding factors are likely to ensure an extra bite both on and off the pitch later this month.

Top. 12 years ago and now.

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:47:00 +0000

You'll probably have heard more than a few times over the last few days about it being the first time we've been top at Christmas, and now heading into the New Year, for 12 years.

You may recall that 12 years ago at the end of December 1996 we stood five points clear of all below us heading into January 1997 as we reached our pinnacle under Roy Evans, playing some of the best football we'd played in years. John Barnes' precise long range effort at Southampton's old Dell ground secured a 1-0 win in the final game of the year and our position, given our form was not unjustified, nor is it 12 years on.

We pretty much continued to set the pace at the top or were there or thereabouts until about April or "squeaky bum" time as Alex Ferguson once labelled it. But our bums slipped off the seats and we threw it away. Most damaging in that period were home defeats to Manchester United and Coventry City that realistically ended our title hopes.

Apparently, Ferguson later admitted we were the best team that season and should have won the league. But United were the best team because they came to Anfield at a crucial time of the season and meticulously took us apart before going on to win another Premier League title.

Taking teams apart meticulously is something we're specialising in nowadays none more so than today's destruction of Newcastle United. Yes it was a shambolic Newcastle side but it was impressive from us nonetheless.

It was a performance that underlined our fantastic completion of the first half of the season and we're all delighted to have set the pace at the top but it is the next five months that will determine whether we really are a different proposition to Evans' side 12 years ago.

The two teams' styles differ greatly. Evans slightly gung-ho approach and 3-5-2 formation had us playing some amazing football but we were always suspect at the back. Benitez's more cautious but effective approach has us pretty much impregnable at the back and incisive and clinical going forward.

A lot has been said about us developing into the machine that he created at Valencia where teams were hounded out of possession and picked apart and this is becoming more and more evident as the season progresses and nowhere was it more evident than today at St James' Park.

Yet there are similarities between the two teams. In 96/97 it was our home form that was our undoing. We dropped 24 points at Anfield, not something you can afford when your going for the title.

This season we've drawn four home games against Stoke, Fulham, West Ham and Hull that we all would have counted as home bankers at the start of the season.

The anxiety amongst the Kop when we play at home is very evident. Understandably given we are at the summit and so desperate to stay there. But this anxiety creeps into the team's performances and unless we get an early lead we seem to struggle.

Put simply, our home form must improve in the New Year. There must be no slip ups. Realistically we should be looking to win every home game including those against the other big three, four if you count Aston Villa. At a minimum two home draws should be allowed given Chelsea, Arsenal and Villa have all to visit Anfield, but even that may not be acceptable. It depends on how many points we pick up on the road

Undoubtedly the side, the squad we have now is better than that in 1996/97. We have more truly world class players but then so do Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal, even Villa with the likes of Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor. The competition is just as tough now as it was then, probably even more so.

Chelsea again dropped points at Fulham today which gives us some breathing space but we should watch United below them with caution. They have three games in hand, win all three and they close the gap on us to a point with a visit to Old Trafford still awaiting Rafa's men in mid March.

What they have is experience, as do Chelsea. They know that points dropped now matter but not as much as dropping points in April/May time. United are the masters of staying in and around the top at this time of the season before pouncing when it really matters.

Traditionally we have finished strongly under Benitez. This bodes well. Our undoing last season after a good start was our mid season blip where we drew a lot of games before we once again finished strongly.

So far this season there's been no major drop in form. That said, before beating Bolton on Boxing Day we'd picked up seven points from five games but remained top thanks to other results, mainly Chelsea's similar drop in form.

It can be argued that this was our blip but you never know, worse form could yet be around the corner. We've waited 19 years for this title, in between plenty of false dawns, plenty of misguided hope just as in 1996/97 so it's better to be cautious at this stage.

I make no big predictions for 2009, that would be foolish.

Instead I have a few small ones. Mainly that Emiliano Insua will establish himself at left back at the expense of Andrea Dossena whose Liverpool career may sadly be a breif one.

Whilst Nabil El Zhar, a key player coming off the bench so far, will become increasingly important as the season progresses.

We've so much to look forward to in the New Year, top of the table, Real Madrid in the Champions League, the FA Cup. It's all in our hands, let's not have any regrets.

What a Christmas present!

noreply@blogger.com (adelaidered) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 02:14:00 +0000

I am sure that Raffa is shouting Merry Christmas to reds all over the world and rejoicing that history will prove that in the last 4 seasons the team that has been top on Christmas day went on to win the Premiership!

Now wouldn't that be nice?

I am the first to admit that we have not always been brilliant however we are on top even if it is only by the solitary point, however that is enough to win come the end of May.

While we have struggled with some teams and mainly at home I watched our performance against Arsenal and boy we were good, I still reckon, despite what their Manager said that we controlled the game for most of the first half and all the second half, a win would not have been an unfair result.

Roll on 2009!

An unlikely outcome

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:35:00 +0000

Two poor, poor performances and only one goal to show for it and yet Liverpool are into the next phase of the Champions League and top of the Premier League.

Yet with all that horrible booing that followed the final whistle at tonight's game you sure as hell wouldn't know it. We're top and yet we could be five points clear given the points Chelsea have thrown away in the last two weeks and that's what's troubling people.

We should be seeing off a team like West Ham as we should have done with Fulham the weekend before last. The fact that we didn't and we're still top is good but the fact we haven't taken full advantage and established a credible lead means we may have regrets come May, like we always do.

Last Wednesday's performance was pretty terrible. Once Gerrard put is in front we seemed to do everything we could to allow Marseille back into the game on top of looking pretty toothless in attack. Our progression from the group is deserved overall but we will have to up our game in the knockout stages.

It's ironic really. I could be sitting here writing about two fabulous, goal-laden performances that could produce only CL progression and joint top of the table and yet Chelsea's defeat to Arsenal on Sunday has not only helped us go clear at the top but it has raised doubts about the Blues' title credentials given they've taken just one point from games against the other big three at Stamford Bridge.

What we should be concerned about is that Manchester United may now have found form having negotiated well a difficult derby game in Sunday's earlier kick off. Equally Arsenal's inspired performance at the Bridge could be the catalyst for a renewed assault on the title but it's hard to know which way it will go for them given their brilliant win over United a few weeks ago failed to have that catalyst effect.

It all points towards a very tight race indeed and I'm glad we're amongst it even if the last few games haven't made us believe we can still be amongst it when it matters. But for now we're in the mix, we need to up our game over Christmas and make sure we are still there in the New Year.

New Stevie G Adidas Ad....

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:21:00 +0000

The new batch of Adidas ads features our own captain strutting his stuff pretty impressively it has to be said. Shooting balls and hitting clay pigeons with the help of Xabi Alonso. I wouldn't mind seeing Xabi have a go at this mind you...

Apparently he got it in less than ten attempts as this article explains.

This Frank Ribery Nike advert is also doing the rounds. The colour is a bit extreme though...

You won't see any pairs of them down the Sunday League.

The importance of the next two games

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:02:00 +0000

Two important games coming up now. Two games where we need to reassert ourselves after Saturday's inept display.

It wasn't so much that Fulham were good defensively but we weren't very good going forward. A lot has been said about the decision to play Lucas and his subsequent performance but not a lot has been said about how poor Robbie Keane was.

It's not unfair to say that he hardly touched the ball at all in the second half and when he did, he did nothing with it. Maybe the return of Fernando Torres put him off a bit and he wasn't quite sure what he was meant to be doing having been the main man up front in recent games but if this partnership with the Spaniard is to flourish it needs to do so quickly.

The rest of the league won't wait for it to click and we were lucky in that, by freak, all of the big four failed to score at the weekend. The first time in over 80 years apparently.

Marseille tomorrow should be academic and we should secure our place in the knockout phase of the Champions League. But we've made hard work of so many games this season it just wouldn't be safe to assume this will be the case.

The same can be said of Monday's visit of struggling West Ham. It should be three points and comfortably so but you wouldn't put your house on it particularly after seeing us toil against Fulham, who had the worst away record in the league before the weekend.

All that said we are still in the exact same position we were before that game. But we could have been top and it leaves that lingering feeling that we won't get many opportunities to overtake Chelsea this season, when they do come along we need to take advantage of them particularly against teams like Fulham.

We'll be playing catch up by Monday night with all the other teams having played at the weekend. Three points is a must as is the case tomorrow night.

Putting the Champions League to bed before December can allow us to focus on our ultimate goal this season and ending the long wait.

Spurs 4-2 Reds: Fringe players can stay on the fringes

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:57:00 +0000

What a shambles that was at White Hart Lane tonight.

The weekend was a comfortable and relaxing win and really overdue given the way we've made hard work of most of our games this season. It's been entertaining but how I longed for a game such as West Brom on Saturday night.

Tonight, however, well the less said about it the better. But it probably needs to be said that Diego Cavalieri, Philip Degen and Andrea Dossena have a lot to do to resuce their careers at this club. Granted it was only Cavalieri and Degen's second games for the club but both looked so shaky and almost out of their depth it was embarassing.

Dossena, meanwhile, has been unimpressive all season. Tonight showed him at his very worst. Defensively his awareness was poor and he offered nothing going forward, something we were told he was going to be excellent at.

Degen was much the same but in fairness should have had a penalty in the second half at 4-2 and seemed a bit traumatised after Spurs' keeper Gomes was stretchered off following a collision with the Swiss full back.

Ryan Babel was poor. He didn't show enough to merit a place in the starting line up that some have been calling for. Lucas was our best player, working hard in midfield throughout and playing some good balls that others in the team should have made more of.

None of the youngsters showed much beyond what we already knew about them. They're all very good at reserve team level and distinctly average when they make the step up.

This may change with more games but these are the kind of games they should be shining in. Nabil El Zhar had a few good moments but was in and out of the game. Damien Plessis did well to pull it back to 3-1 but Emiliano Insua was fairly anonymous when he came on and young Stephen Darby didn't have enough time.

David Ngog looked very off the pace and may go the way of other previous French imports unless he starts to show a bit more potential at least.

Torres was off the pace but this was no surprise. His departure at 4-1 was a smart move by Benitez. The game was lost at that stage. No point tiring him out with some big games coming up.

Overall it was shite, but it was only the Carling Cup.

There are more pressing matters ahead but it's not been a good night and there are certain players who are on the fringe of the first team that would want to buck up their ideas if they have ambitions to progress any further at this football club.

Take it on the chin!

noreply@blogger.com (adelaidered) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:18:00 +0000

The turning point for me when watching the game on Saturday, was when the big mouthed reporter stated that Raffa since joining Liverpool had never lost to a Spurs side!

Thanks for that.

What can you say about these sorts of games, we were the overall better side, the early goal had us set up for another win, but a greasy surface didn't help when Carra put through his own goal and of course the compulsory last and winning goal deep into injury time .

For most of the game we controlled the midfield, not allowing Spurs to get into the game at all, the early part of the second half is when we should have killed them off, we made the chances, hitting the bar at least 3 times and putting some good chances just wide.

In fact I still think even though we got beat it was one of our best performances of the season, especially the way we controlled midfield, which meant the Spurs attack was almost none existent.

Lets face it we are going to face games like this when the best team loses. The real test for me, is how we bounce back. Look at Chelsea, since losing to Liverpool, they have registered 2 wins 3-0 and 5-0. That is a great example of how to deal with a set back.

We have a great opportunity tonight when we host Athletico Madrid in the Champions League. A win (and a good win) not only will secure us a place in the knock out stages it will do wonders for our confidence.

Chelski 0-1 Reds: Setting the marker down

noreply@blogger.com (Hugh O'Connell) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:59:00 +0000

It's hard to put in to words just how monumental yesterday's win was.

There's so much that an be said about it. We've ended Chelsea's seemingly unendable four year unbeaten run in the league at Stamford Bridge, ended their highly impressive unbeaten start to the season and sustained our own unbeaten start.

We are now heading into November top of the pile and looking every inch the title challenging side we've aspired to be for the past eighteen years.

With Man United and now Chelsea already vanquished this season there is genuine belief not only amongst the Anfield faithful but amongst the football world in general that Liverpool are a force to be reckoned with this season.

The fact that both sides were seen off without our talisman FernandoTorres also underlines that Rafa Benitez now has a squad capable of dealing with the rigors of sustaining a title challenge and going for glory in Europe.

Whilst victory at Atletico Madrid in midweek would have made it a perfect week, a draw at a difficult European ground followed by a win at arguably the most difficult ground in Europe four days later shows that we can cope.

It is early days, we are only nine games in but they've been no normal nine games. They've included four comebacks including one of the most impressive you will see all season at mega rich Manchester City and at home to Manchester United without Torres AND Steven Gerrard.

And still you get the feeling that we have not played the kind of football we are capable of. A lot of our victories have been the product of hard work, hassling opponents, being clinical in attack and having belief that we are never beaten.

We have played some lovely, free flowing football at times under Benitez and with a home game against demoralised Portsmouth this Wednesday there is the perfect opportunity to show that we can add flair to an extraordinary will to win that has put us top of the table so far.

We must guard against the kind of complacency that followed the Man United win and saw us held by Stoke City but for the moment we can bask in the glory of having done something extraordinary at the Bridge yesterday. Hopefully it won't be the last extraordinary thing we do this season.

Bigger than Big!

noreply@blogger.com (adelaidered) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:05:00 +0000

What a game this weekend, with the last 2 unbeaten teams in the Premiership going head to head on a ground that the home side has a no loss record for nearly 4 years.

Both teams have been scoring goals, so only a brave person would predict a 0-0 scoreline, while I admit it has been left to this man to score the all important winners in the last couple of games, goals having been arriving from all positions.

Last week Chelsea fielded a weakened side and still won 5-0 away from home while Liverpool left it very late again to snatch a 3-2 home win against Wigan. Clearly missing Torres will be a massive blow, but let's not forget we beat Manure with both him and Captain Stevie missing.

My main concern is defence, with Agger only just returning after a long time away, he has yet to hit the high spots and has been guilty of a couple of blunders which have cost us dearly. Against Wigan he was clearly at fault for the first goal and in midweek against Madrid, where was he when they scored, I couldn't see him?

Otherwise we have only a few niggling injuries that should see the rest of the squad all available.

I don't claim to be the best in the world when predicting scores but I still feel that there will be goals in this game and a likely result of a 2-2 draw feels just about right to me.