3 wins at home and 2 losts away. So are we good or are we bad?
We started brightly with 2 great wins at home. 3-0 vs West Brom and 2-0 vs Monaco put everyone's hope high. Then we encountered the worse - not the lost at MU, but the injury of Stevie G. Then we win another great game at home vs Norwich when Alonso performed a great midfield show. Unfortunately our away blues are still there and we played a poor game and lost at Olympiacos, our first ever lost in Greece.
I still hold the view that we can finish 3rd. But we need to sort out the away blues ASAP. For Champions League, as Deportivo only get 1 point so the group is wide open. We definitely need to beat them in the home game, and get at least 1 point in the reverse game.
Players of the month: (1) Garcia 7.5 (2) Alonso 7.1 (3) Finnan 7. Gerrard only played 2 1/2 games, so he's not eligible. Garcia and Alonso played extremely well in the 2 home league game especially, and Finnan scored a great goal vs West Brom.
October predictions:
10/3 Chelsea (A) Given our current away form a draw would be a great achivement and our realistic target.
10/16 Fulham (A) If we don't win at Stamford Bridge we would need to starting winning away games here.
10/19 Deportivo La Coruna (H) A must win game, if not it will be very difficult to qualify.
10/23 Charlton Athletic (H) Return of Danny Murphy, but we should be able to win this game.
10/26 Milwall (A) A win should not be too hard unless we played a too week team.
10/30 Blackburn Rovers (A) Probably a draw. Somehow Mark Hughes always do good against us.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Match Report 040928 at Olympiacos: When will we win away?
0-1. As Carra said our problem were at home under GH and now our problem is the away games. Maybe we should have GH to manage when we are away?
Rafa said the players need to adjust mentally when playing a different formation. Maybe that's the reason. And we have problem in set piece again. Gotta solve it soon.
Next game would be even tougher. Away at Chelsea. Hope we can edge a 1-0 win.
Player Rating:
Dudek: 6 No chance at the header, and he almost give Olympiacos another goal. Maybe it's time to play Kirkland on Sunday.
Josemi: 5.5 A poor performance and was subsequently substituted.
Carragher: 6.5 Fight with heart. But can't prevent the lose.
Hyypia: 5.5 Was responsible for the goal.
Riise: 6 Seldom go forward. Has a freekick in 2H but off target.
Finnan: 5.5 Poor performance. Maybe his best position is really right back.
Hamann: 6 Has a busy day trying to help defence.
Alonso: 6 Not as effective as the Norwich game. And has too many long balls.
Warnock: 5 He's probably too green for a European game. Need time to grow.
Garcia: 5.5 Poor game. The Olympiacos defence closed him well.
Baros: 6 Hard working game but have no fruit...
Substitutions:
Kewell: 6 With him in 2H we played slightly better. Please Harry, back to your best condition ASAP!
Cisse: not much impact
Diao: replaced Hamann and played 9 minutes.
Olympiacos: 8 A good performance from the Greek and Rivaldo's delivery is just class.
Rafa: 5 Need to sort out the set piece problem and the mentality of the player ASAP. Chelsea on Sunday...
Man of the match: Carragher. Played with 100% heart, but to be honest every time he is MoM probably means we play crap...
Rafa said the players need to adjust mentally when playing a different formation. Maybe that's the reason. And we have problem in set piece again. Gotta solve it soon.
Next game would be even tougher. Away at Chelsea. Hope we can edge a 1-0 win.
Player Rating:
Dudek: 6 No chance at the header, and he almost give Olympiacos another goal. Maybe it's time to play Kirkland on Sunday.
Josemi: 5.5 A poor performance and was subsequently substituted.
Carragher: 6.5 Fight with heart. But can't prevent the lose.
Hyypia: 5.5 Was responsible for the goal.
Riise: 6 Seldom go forward. Has a freekick in 2H but off target.
Finnan: 5.5 Poor performance. Maybe his best position is really right back.
Hamann: 6 Has a busy day trying to help defence.
Alonso: 6 Not as effective as the Norwich game. And has too many long balls.
Warnock: 5 He's probably too green for a European game. Need time to grow.
Garcia: 5.5 Poor game. The Olympiacos defence closed him well.
Baros: 6 Hard working game but have no fruit...
Substitutions:
Kewell: 6 With him in 2H we played slightly better. Please Harry, back to your best condition ASAP!
Cisse: not much impact
Diao: replaced Hamann and played 9 minutes.
Olympiacos: 8 A good performance from the Greek and Rivaldo's delivery is just class.
Rafa: 5 Need to sort out the set piece problem and the mentality of the player ASAP. Chelsea on Sunday...
Man of the match: Carragher. Played with 100% heart, but to be honest every time he is MoM probably means we play crap...
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Beware of the Brazilians
As Rafa said Olympiacos is a very good side with Rivaldo in. And they have lost only 2 home games in Champions League. An away win there is not bad to kick start our away wins.
Probably Rafa will play a less attacking formation with only Cisse in the front, and Josemi will be starting again after the rest. I really hope he will play Warnock ahead of Kewell
My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise
Finnan, Hamann, Alonso, Warnock
Garcia, Cisse
Result 2-1
Probably Rafa will play a less attacking formation with only Cisse in the front, and Josemi will be starting again after the rest. I really hope he will play Warnock ahead of Kewell
My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise
Finnan, Hamann, Alonso, Warnock
Garcia, Cisse
Result 2-1
Match Report 040925 vs Norwich City: Good perfornance from everyone!
Another easy 3-0 win. We are the only team that has a 100% home record. If we can keep this on and improve our away performance we will be winning the league.
We basically control the game from the first minute, and Norwich never has a chance in the game. Alonso and Garcia were class. Dudek was redundent because of everyone else' good performance. And Warnock has a really good home debut. This lad has a very bright future. May be the last jigsaw to solve the England left midfield problem.
Player rating:
Dudek: 7 Probably the easiest game in his lifetime. I think he probably catch the ball more during warmup! Nice team defense indeed.
Finnan: 7 Back to his natural right back as Rafa rested Josemi. Not much to do indeed.
Hyypia: 7 Solid defensive display from our captain. Even played as winger several times when chasing the ball during corner.
Carragher: 7 Solid defensive display from the ever-reliable Carra.
Riise: 7 Good display both defensive and offensively.
Garcia: 9 Excellent display. Could have scored in the 3rd minute but the ball hit the bar, A nice taken goal though it is actually a deflected one. Well done Luis! Alonso: 9.5 He made the loss of Gerrard less painful. The Norwich manager said this is the best ever midfielder display he has ever seen. Steve Hunter said the only way to stop him is to kick him. I was told he only made one wrong pass the whole game. Keep on the good performance!
Hamann: 8 Very good display from Didi. With him in midfield Alonso get the license to go forward and prosper. I wonder how Rafa will play when Gerrard is out.
Garcia: 7.5 Nice home debut! The Kop loves to see more local boy get through!
Cisse: 8 Quiet 1H except for the great assist and has a nice taken goal in 2H. But his attitude wasn't that good. A minute ago he pretended he was injury and the next minute he scored a goal and has a double sommersault! Don't do this again (I mean the pretend, not the double sommersault) as referees will take note of this.
Baros: 8.5 A well taken goal that open the floodgate. He was fighting very hard!
Substitutions:
Diao/Biscan/Traore: Not much to do as they came out when everything is settled.
Rafa: 8 I think the injuries help him a bit: With Gerrard out Alonso can play more a more attacking role which is his best position. With Kewell injuried he can play Warnock which did not let us down. And he can rest Josemi as well!
Norwich: 4 Never into the game. Good thing for them is they have already played 5 of last year's top 6, So they may still get a chance to survive. But I think they will finish at 18th place.
Man of the Match: Alonso. A great performance overall.
We basically control the game from the first minute, and Norwich never has a chance in the game. Alonso and Garcia were class. Dudek was redundent because of everyone else' good performance. And Warnock has a really good home debut. This lad has a very bright future. May be the last jigsaw to solve the England left midfield problem.
Player rating:
Dudek: 7 Probably the easiest game in his lifetime. I think he probably catch the ball more during warmup! Nice team defense indeed.
Finnan: 7 Back to his natural right back as Rafa rested Josemi. Not much to do indeed.
Hyypia: 7 Solid defensive display from our captain. Even played as winger several times when chasing the ball during corner.
Carragher: 7 Solid defensive display from the ever-reliable Carra.
Riise: 7 Good display both defensive and offensively.
Garcia: 9 Excellent display. Could have scored in the 3rd minute but the ball hit the bar, A nice taken goal though it is actually a deflected one. Well done Luis! Alonso: 9.5 He made the loss of Gerrard less painful. The Norwich manager said this is the best ever midfielder display he has ever seen. Steve Hunter said the only way to stop him is to kick him. I was told he only made one wrong pass the whole game. Keep on the good performance!
Hamann: 8 Very good display from Didi. With him in midfield Alonso get the license to go forward and prosper. I wonder how Rafa will play when Gerrard is out.
Garcia: 7.5 Nice home debut! The Kop loves to see more local boy get through!
Cisse: 8 Quiet 1H except for the great assist and has a nice taken goal in 2H. But his attitude wasn't that good. A minute ago he pretended he was injury and the next minute he scored a goal and has a double sommersault! Don't do this again (I mean the pretend, not the double sommersault) as referees will take note of this.
Baros: 8.5 A well taken goal that open the floodgate. He was fighting very hard!
Substitutions:
Diao/Biscan/Traore: Not much to do as they came out when everything is settled.
Rafa: 8 I think the injuries help him a bit: With Gerrard out Alonso can play more a more attacking role which is his best position. With Kewell injuried he can play Warnock which did not let us down. And he can rest Josemi as well!
Norwich: 4 Never into the game. Good thing for them is they have already played 5 of last year's top 6, So they may still get a chance to survive. But I think they will finish at 18th place.
Man of the Match: Alonso. A great performance overall.
Friday, September 24, 2004
We need to react positively
How do we adapt without Gerrard? Hopefully Rafa will find a way to solve this clue. Welsh has a good game for the reserve and scored a great goal. So he is knocking on the door for 1st team position. Let's hope to see him in the first team again soon.
Another question is whether we should play Dudek. He played quite well on Monday, but perhaps it's now the time to try Kirkland. Maybe he will have better coordination with the defenders.
I shouldn't say this, but I think it is a good news that Kewell is injuried. We may play Warnock or put Garcia on left wing and Baros up.
My Team Prediction:
Kirkland Jo
semi, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise
Finnan, Hamann, Alonso, Warnock
Garcia, Baros
Result 2-0
Another question is whether we should play Dudek. He played quite well on Monday, but perhaps it's now the time to try Kirkland. Maybe he will have better coordination with the defenders.
I shouldn't say this, but I think it is a good news that Kewell is injuried. We may play Warnock or put Garcia on left wing and Baros up.
My Team Prediction:
Kirkland Jo
semi, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise
Finnan, Hamann, Alonso, Warnock
Garcia, Baros
Result 2-0
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Match Report 040920 at Manchester United: A night to forget
1-2. A very poor performance. Maybe we need Murphy to score the 1-0 win. The defense has problem (a yet to be solved one) facing crosses, midfield just let MU run the show, and Cisse/Kewell were just disappearing. But the worst news is that Gerrard was injuried, and report said he may be out 6-8 weeks, if not longer. This will be a hugh blow to us. But on the other hand, maybe this is an opportunity to promote John Welsh.
Despite this loss, I still hold the opinion that we will be at 3rd place challenging 2nd place. The key is how we react without our influencing captain.
Player rating:
Dudek: 6.5 Can't blame him on both goals. But defense as a unit need to improve ASAP, especially facing crosses. Did made a few good saves.
Josemi: 6 He's probably guilty of not marking Silvestre for the first goal. It was a bit harsh for the yellow card as it was a ball-hit-hand case.
Hyypia: 6 Defense as a whole need to be improve! BTW he did not concede a foul that lead to the 1st goal. It should just be a throw in.
Carragher: 6 Maybe Carra still need to improve coordination with Dudek.
Riise: 6 He's somewhat guilty for not marking Silvestre for the 2nd goal.
Finnan: 6 Very quiet in the game except for the header that confuse every MU player and lead to the O'Shea own goal.
Alonso: 6 Not as effective as last match. Had a moment of genius when trying to lob Carroll from behind our own half but unfortunately Carroll managed to save it.
Gerrard: 5 Very quiet and was injuried. We need to react well without the mighty captain.
Kewell: 4 Apart from the set piece that lead to the goal, what have he done?
Garcia: 5 Nothing really spectacular from the game.
Cisse: 4 A night to be forgot.
Substitutions:
Hamann 6.5 After his introduction into the game, we seemed to get more possession in midfield. We need Hamann to play well and Alonso to go on attack in the next 2 months.
Baros: 4.5 As bad as Cisse.
Rafa: 5 Need to sort out the defensive set piece problem ASAP. And how he react without Stevie G is a very important. Especially we are visiting Chelsea 10/3.
MU: 7.5 We were completely outplayed. The return of many key players really help them a lot. But Poll helped them a lot. Why they have so many fouls but only 1 yellow card is a mystery to me. For the 1st goal, it was never a free kick but should be a throw in instead. For the 2nd goal, that shouldn't be a corner. It should be a goal kick.
Man of the Match: Hamann. We need him to perform well to survive without Stevie G!
Despite this loss, I still hold the opinion that we will be at 3rd place challenging 2nd place. The key is how we react without our influencing captain.
Player rating:
Dudek: 6.5 Can't blame him on both goals. But defense as a unit need to improve ASAP, especially facing crosses. Did made a few good saves.
Josemi: 6 He's probably guilty of not marking Silvestre for the first goal. It was a bit harsh for the yellow card as it was a ball-hit-hand case.
Hyypia: 6 Defense as a whole need to be improve! BTW he did not concede a foul that lead to the 1st goal. It should just be a throw in.
Carragher: 6 Maybe Carra still need to improve coordination with Dudek.
Riise: 6 He's somewhat guilty for not marking Silvestre for the 2nd goal.
Finnan: 6 Very quiet in the game except for the header that confuse every MU player and lead to the O'Shea own goal.
Alonso: 6 Not as effective as last match. Had a moment of genius when trying to lob Carroll from behind our own half but unfortunately Carroll managed to save it.
Gerrard: 5 Very quiet and was injuried. We need to react well without the mighty captain.
Kewell: 4 Apart from the set piece that lead to the goal, what have he done?
Garcia: 5 Nothing really spectacular from the game.
Cisse: 4 A night to be forgot.
Substitutions:
Hamann 6.5 After his introduction into the game, we seemed to get more possession in midfield. We need Hamann to play well and Alonso to go on attack in the next 2 months.
Baros: 4.5 As bad as Cisse.
Rafa: 5 Need to sort out the defensive set piece problem ASAP. And how he react without Stevie G is a very important. Especially we are visiting Chelsea 10/3.
MU: 7.5 We were completely outplayed. The return of many key players really help them a lot. But Poll helped them a lot. Why they have so many fouls but only 1 yellow card is a mystery to me. For the 1st goal, it was never a free kick but should be a throw in instead. For the 2nd goal, that shouldn't be a corner. It should be a goal kick.
Man of the Match: Hamann. We need him to perform well to survive without Stevie G!
Monday, September 20, 2004
We will win this game
Away game at Old Trafford has a 1-0 Murphy score feel for 3 of the last 4 seasons. As Murphy has left we need to find someone else to score. How about Stevie G and Cisse?
At first I think this is the race for 3rd place, but looking at how Chelsea and MU played, I think we are quite safe for 3rd place, and should challenge 2nd place as well.
My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise
Finnan, Gerrard, Alonso, Kewell
Garcia, Cisse
Result 2-0
At first I think this is the race for 3rd place, but looking at how Chelsea and MU played, I think we are quite safe for 3rd place, and should challenge 2nd place as well.
My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise
Finnan, Gerrard, Alonso, Kewell
Garcia, Cisse
Result 2-0
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Match Report 040915 vs Monaco: A good result!
A 2-0 win vs last year's Champions League runner up can never be a bad result. I think we were excellent in 1H and never let Monaco into the game. 2H after Deschamps made a change we seemed to be sit back a bit, which I was afraid we will fall into last year's habit of losing the lead. However, Monaco still don't have too many chances and so we held on, until Baros scored a superb individual goal and seal the game.
If we play like this we can be a surprise to many people. Dudek still seems to have trouble facing crosses, so it would be nice for Kirkland to be back ASAP.
Player rating:
Dudek: 7 Only made one save for the whole game, so you know how week Monaco's attack was. But he had 2 scary moments when Monaco crossed the ball. Is it because of his lack of coordination with Carra?
Josemi: 7.5 Not much to do defence-wise, for attack he has a few overlaps with Finnan which we love to see. His assist to Baro's goal is really a nice long pass.
Carragher: 7 Standard Carra performance. I am not sure if he still hasn't coordinated with Dudek well thoguh.
Hyypia: 7.5 Good performance. Command the defencive unit very well.
Riise: 7 He's getting much better this season. There was one very nice set piece but unfortunately he didn't hit the ball strong enough and get deflected. I won't bet against him scoring on Monday against MU.
Finnan: 7.5 So who still think he will be leaving? Keep up the good performance Stevie!
Alonso: 7 His passing is as good as Gerrard. The new Jan Molby, as the paper says.
Gerrard: 8 Excellent in all aspects. He is very happy nowadays, but we still need to keep up our good job to keep the captain.
Kewell: 6.5 Hey man, please improve ASAP or else you will lose your place!
Garcia: 8 The new Dalglish, he's the best linked man between midfield and attack. If he improve his finishing it will be even better.
Cisse: 8.5 A nice goal. Could have score more if not Roma was so good.
Substitutions:
Baros: 8 A very good individual goal. Let's hope he is soon back to his Euro 04 form.
Warnock/Biscan: Not much time to show their skills.
Rafa: 8 His tactic is getting better and better as players are gradually adapting. We all love to hear his name chanted!
Monaco: 5 We never give them any chance in the game, but as the 2 other teams in the group drawn this group is still wide open.
Our prospect in this group: We are topping the group, and since the other 2 teams draw we are in a very good position. Next game at Olympiakos I think we can at least get a draw.
Man of the match: Cisse. Scored a very well taken goal as his first goal at the Kop End. I am sure he will find a habit to do so very soon.
If we play like this we can be a surprise to many people. Dudek still seems to have trouble facing crosses, so it would be nice for Kirkland to be back ASAP.
Player rating:
Dudek: 7 Only made one save for the whole game, so you know how week Monaco's attack was. But he had 2 scary moments when Monaco crossed the ball. Is it because of his lack of coordination with Carra?
Josemi: 7.5 Not much to do defence-wise, for attack he has a few overlaps with Finnan which we love to see. His assist to Baro's goal is really a nice long pass.
Carragher: 7 Standard Carra performance. I am not sure if he still hasn't coordinated with Dudek well thoguh.
Hyypia: 7.5 Good performance. Command the defencive unit very well.
Riise: 7 He's getting much better this season. There was one very nice set piece but unfortunately he didn't hit the ball strong enough and get deflected. I won't bet against him scoring on Monday against MU.
Finnan: 7.5 So who still think he will be leaving? Keep up the good performance Stevie!
Alonso: 7 His passing is as good as Gerrard. The new Jan Molby, as the paper says.
Gerrard: 8 Excellent in all aspects. He is very happy nowadays, but we still need to keep up our good job to keep the captain.
Kewell: 6.5 Hey man, please improve ASAP or else you will lose your place!
Garcia: 8 The new Dalglish, he's the best linked man between midfield and attack. If he improve his finishing it will be even better.
Cisse: 8.5 A nice goal. Could have score more if not Roma was so good.
Substitutions:
Baros: 8 A very good individual goal. Let's hope he is soon back to his Euro 04 form.
Warnock/Biscan: Not much time to show their skills.
Rafa: 8 His tactic is getting better and better as players are gradually adapting. We all love to hear his name chanted!
Monaco: 5 We never give them any chance in the game, but as the 2 other teams in the group drawn this group is still wide open.
Our prospect in this group: We are topping the group, and since the other 2 teams draw we are in a very good position. Next game at Olympiakos I think we can at least get a draw.
Man of the match: Cisse. Scored a very well taken goal as his first goal at the Kop End. I am sure he will find a habit to do so very soon.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Tough game, but we can win this
Even though Monaco does not have Morientes and Prso this season, they have Kallon and Saviola as replacement. Fortunately Saviola is suspended for this game. It will be a tough game, but if we want to qualify from this group I think we have to win this game.
My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise
Finnan, Gerrard, Hamann, Kewell
Garcia, Cisse
Result 2-0
My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise
Finnan, Gerrard, Hamann, Kewell
Garcia, Cisse
Result 2-0
Monday, September 13, 2004
Match Report 040911 vs West Bromwich Albion: A new star is born
3-0. The best display so far this season. Most of the players played in the midweek World Cup fixtures are back and seemed not to be too tired. Rafa started Cisse and Garcia at the front, with Garcia seems to be playing the link between midfield and striker.
We controlled the game very well and thus West Brom did not have much attack and the defense can really take a day off. Gerrard and Garcia linked very well and created 2 of the 3 goals. Credits to Finnan, despite continuous rumor linking him out, he shown a very good display and scored his first ever goal for Liverpool - with his left foot.
One think that may pose a bit worry is that we still seems to be unable to clear cross balls/corners too well. Need to sort it out ASAP.
Even though this is only West Brom, we need to play like this week in, week out. Then no matter where we finish, the fans would be very happy.
Player Rating:
Dudek: 7.5 Not much to do, but did pulled out 3 good saves. His confidence is back, which is good. But we still wnat Kirkland to be back ASAP.
Josemi: 7 Not much to do as well, contained Greening very well.
Carragher: 7 Not much to do, which is good.
Hyypia: 7.5 Almost scored a nice header when one up. Good job!
Riise: 8 A good performance for Riise, both attackin and defending.
Gerrard: 10 So when is the last time we can rest Gerrard at 65 mins? Even though he only played 65 mins, he already performed a Man of the Match performance. I like what Rafa said: "Sometimes when a player plays well it is good that the supporters clap him. For the team it is good that all the players play and we won more time to prepare him for Wednesday."
Hamann: 7 Hamann as usual. He's making sure Alonso need to play very well to challenge his position.
Garcia: 10 mini Jari, this is what Hyypia called him. So there's no need to tell how good he is? His movement is really a joy to watch. Need to improve his shoting and he will be invinsible.
Kewell: 6.5 Very quiet game. Please improve ASAP.
Cisse: 7 Not too bad, despite not too good as well. Seems to adapt to this new system very well. As expected he is very good in using his pace to scare players.
Substitutions:
Alonso: 7 Good performance substituting the captain. Keep on challenge for 1st team place!
Baros: Good performance.
Traore: Not much time to scare us :) Anyway at 3-0 even Traore can't provide the damage.
Rafa: 8. The new formation is very useful. Well done Rafa! And he really meant it when after the Bolton game that Garcia only need 1 week to adapt!
West Brom: 4 To be honest if they play like this they are sure to get relegated. The 3 forwards (Horsfield, Kanu, Earnshaw) have no linkage at all.
Men of the Match: Gerrard & Garcia. Really can't differentiate who is better. So I pick both of them.
We controlled the game very well and thus West Brom did not have much attack and the defense can really take a day off. Gerrard and Garcia linked very well and created 2 of the 3 goals. Credits to Finnan, despite continuous rumor linking him out, he shown a very good display and scored his first ever goal for Liverpool - with his left foot.
One think that may pose a bit worry is that we still seems to be unable to clear cross balls/corners too well. Need to sort it out ASAP.
Even though this is only West Brom, we need to play like this week in, week out. Then no matter where we finish, the fans would be very happy.
Player Rating:
Dudek: 7.5 Not much to do, but did pulled out 3 good saves. His confidence is back, which is good. But we still wnat Kirkland to be back ASAP.
Josemi: 7 Not much to do as well, contained Greening very well.
Carragher: 7 Not much to do, which is good.
Hyypia: 7.5 Almost scored a nice header when one up. Good job!
Riise: 8 A good performance for Riise, both attackin and defending.
Gerrard: 10 So when is the last time we can rest Gerrard at 65 mins? Even though he only played 65 mins, he already performed a Man of the Match performance. I like what Rafa said: "Sometimes when a player plays well it is good that the supporters clap him. For the team it is good that all the players play and we won more time to prepare him for Wednesday."
Hamann: 7 Hamann as usual. He's making sure Alonso need to play very well to challenge his position.
Garcia: 10 mini Jari, this is what Hyypia called him. So there's no need to tell how good he is? His movement is really a joy to watch. Need to improve his shoting and he will be invinsible.
Kewell: 6.5 Very quiet game. Please improve ASAP.
Cisse: 7 Not too bad, despite not too good as well. Seems to adapt to this new system very well. As expected he is very good in using his pace to scare players.
Substitutions:
Alonso: 7 Good performance substituting the captain. Keep on challenge for 1st team place!
Baros: Good performance.
Traore: Not much time to scare us :) Anyway at 3-0 even Traore can't provide the damage.
Rafa: 8. The new formation is very useful. Well done Rafa! And he really meant it when after the Bolton game that Garcia only need 1 week to adapt!
West Brom: 4 To be honest if they play like this they are sure to get relegated. The 3 forwards (Horsfield, Kanu, Earnshaw) have no linkage at all.
Men of the Match: Gerrard & Garcia. Really can't differentiate who is better. So I pick both of them.
Friday, September 10, 2004
We need to win this game.
After 2 weeks of the Bolton game we finally get a game. Carra have picked up an injury and Cisse was forced to stay for one more night in Faroe Island. Other than this and Smicer, Kirkland and Nunez are still injuried we have a full squad. We definitely need to win this game, which I believe we have every right to. The guys need to be played as a team and control the game rhythm.
My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Josemi, Carragher/Henchoz, Hyypia, Riise
Warnock, Gerrard, Alonso, Garcia
Cisse, Baros
Result 3-1
My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Josemi, Carragher/Henchoz, Hyypia, Riise
Warnock, Gerrard, Alonso, Garcia
Cisse, Baros
Result 3-1
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
The Champions League Squad
Goalkeepers
1 Jerzy Dudek
22 Chris Kirkland
40 Paul Harrison
29 Patrice Luzi
Defenders
4 Sami Hyypia
2 Stephane Henchoz
3 Steve Finnan
23 Jamie Carragher
6 John Arne Riise
17 Josemi
21 Djimi Traore
36 Jon Otsemobor
31 David Raven
37 Zak Whitbread
Midfield
8 Steven Gerrard
16 Dietmar Hamann
7 Harry Kewell
14 Xabi Alonso
10 Luis Garcia
18 Antonio Nunez
28 Stephen Warnock
11 Vladimir Smicer
25 Igor Biscan
15 Salif Diao
32 John Welsh
34 Darren Potter
26 Richie Partridge
41 Mark Smyth
42 Robbie Foy
38 David Mannix
39 Ryan Wilkie
Strikers
5 Milan Baros
9 Djibril Cisse
24 Florent Sinama-Pongolle
33 Neil Mellor
1 Jerzy Dudek
22 Chris Kirkland
40 Paul Harrison
29 Patrice Luzi
Defenders
4 Sami Hyypia
2 Stephane Henchoz
3 Steve Finnan
23 Jamie Carragher
6 John Arne Riise
17 Josemi
21 Djimi Traore
36 Jon Otsemobor
31 David Raven
37 Zak Whitbread
Midfield
8 Steven Gerrard
16 Dietmar Hamann
7 Harry Kewell
14 Xabi Alonso
10 Luis Garcia
18 Antonio Nunez
28 Stephen Warnock
11 Vladimir Smicer
25 Igor Biscan
15 Salif Diao
32 John Welsh
34 Darren Potter
26 Richie Partridge
41 Mark Smyth
42 Robbie Foy
38 David Mannix
39 Ryan Wilkie
Strikers
5 Milan Baros
9 Djibril Cisse
24 Florent Sinama-Pongolle
33 Neil Mellor
Friday, September 03, 2004
August monthly review
A poor month despite we started off quite bright. The win at Graz proved to be critical, and it was the best game in August. 1H of Spurs game was good as well, but 2H was not that good. Similar comments of the Man City game, although this time 2H was much better than 1H. Then we have 2 poor games, 1 proved to be not so harmful as we still go thru CL, but the Bolton loss was quite harmful.
As at the end of August we stand 8 points behind the joint leaders of Arsenal and Chelsea, although we have 1 game on hand.
Probably for this year 3rd place is our best target, which I think is archievable especially if MU still play like this.
Players of the Month: (1) Gerrard 8.1 (2) Hyypia 7.5 (3)Kewell 7.25. Gerrard won by a mile, although it's a bit strange to see Kewell at 3rd place especially he get to a slum quite early.
September Predictions:
9/11 West Brom (H) Should be easy win or else we are in big trouble.
9/15 Monaco (H) We need to win the game. Hopefully the team will have more confidence after our win vs West Brom.
9/20 Manchester United (A) It's a shame that this match was postponed to 9/20 so that Rio can play. Hopefully his condition was not that good and we can at least get a draw. I missed Danny Murphy for this game...
9/25 Norwich City (H) Another home match vs the newly promoted team. Hopefully another easy win.
9/28 Olympiakos (A) We've been there and draw 2-2 in the Treple season. I expect a draw, although it's always nice to win the game (finger crossed).
As at the end of August we stand 8 points behind the joint leaders of Arsenal and Chelsea, although we have 1 game on hand.
Probably for this year 3rd place is our best target, which I think is archievable especially if MU still play like this.
Players of the Month: (1) Gerrard 8.1 (2) Hyypia 7.5 (3)Kewell 7.25. Gerrard won by a mile, although it's a bit strange to see Kewell at 3rd place especially he get to a slum quite early.
September Predictions:
9/11 West Brom (H) Should be easy win or else we are in big trouble.
9/15 Monaco (H) We need to win the game. Hopefully the team will have more confidence after our win vs West Brom.
9/20 Manchester United (A) It's a shame that this match was postponed to 9/20 so that Rio can play. Hopefully his condition was not that good and we can at least get a draw. I missed Danny Murphy for this game...
9/25 Norwich City (H) Another home match vs the newly promoted team. Hopefully another easy win.
9/28 Olympiakos (A) We've been there and draw 2-2 in the Treple season. I expect a draw, although it's always nice to win the game (finger crossed).
Match Report 040829 at Bolton Wanderers: I wish we have hit the bottom and the only way is up.
0-1. A very poor performance. 1H Rafa was playing a 4-5-1 and the players seem to be not sure how to adapt. Credits to Bolton they keep on pressing us and so there was a lot of miss passes. 2H the situation was not improved despite Cisse was playing. The Luis Garcia goal should stand but somehow I think it's better to lose this game - hope the players will react to the lost and play well starting with West Brom. If we don't win I will be very worried.
Player Rating:
Dudek: 6.5 To be fair he played very well. But we still need Kirkland to be back ASAP. And please Rafa don't loan him somewhere out.
Josemi: 6 Played quite well, unfortunately it was his mistake of not keeping pace with Pedersen that let to him crossing the winning ball to Davies...
Carragher: 7 Another solid performance at Center Back. But the other defensive players let the team time.
Hyypia: Unfortunately he was injuried early on... One of the excuses for the lost.
Riise: 6.5 A fair performance for Riise.
Gerrard: 6.5 So when Gerrard plays well we win, otherwise we fail. Simple as that. And he should be playing at the centre instead of the wings.
Hamann: 6 Hamann as usual. However I would think it was wrong to play him given Alonso is there.
Alonso: 6.5 I think we will definitely like him. But still need to be gel with the team ASAP. And perhaps to adapt to the England pace too.
Garcia: 6.5 Like Alonso I think Rafa bought 2 very good players. Same comment as Alonso, and also not to use hands to stop the ball. He was unlucky not to score on his debut.
Warnock 7: I think he is much better than Kewell at this moment, to be frank. Rafa should play him more. Also, I think Hamann instead of Warnock should be substituted at half time...
Baros 5.5: Just don't understand why he always play well for the national team but not for Liverpool.
Substitutions:
Traore: 5 So why do every manager love him? A mystery. He could end up be player of the match for Bolton. Just scary...
Cisse: 5.5 Only have a half chance for the 2H. Poor.
Rafa: 5 The 4-5-1 proved to be unsuccessful, hopefully it is just the player not get used to it yet. Why he played some of the players are mystery to us, eg, Traore, Hamann, and no Henchoz/Cisse?
Bolton: 7.5 Credits to Bolton and big Sam. They really played a good game. I think they probably can challenge for UEFA cup, and should have no problem to finish top 10. Next game was an easy one for them playing MU.
Man of the Match: Carragher. On a day Hyypia was injuried, Carra was the heart of the defense. However even his attempt of last man save can't prevent that goal.
Player Rating:
Dudek: 6.5 To be fair he played very well. But we still need Kirkland to be back ASAP. And please Rafa don't loan him somewhere out.
Josemi: 6 Played quite well, unfortunately it was his mistake of not keeping pace with Pedersen that let to him crossing the winning ball to Davies...
Carragher: 7 Another solid performance at Center Back. But the other defensive players let the team time.
Hyypia: Unfortunately he was injuried early on... One of the excuses for the lost.
Riise: 6.5 A fair performance for Riise.
Gerrard: 6.5 So when Gerrard plays well we win, otherwise we fail. Simple as that. And he should be playing at the centre instead of the wings.
Hamann: 6 Hamann as usual. However I would think it was wrong to play him given Alonso is there.
Alonso: 6.5 I think we will definitely like him. But still need to be gel with the team ASAP. And perhaps to adapt to the England pace too.
Garcia: 6.5 Like Alonso I think Rafa bought 2 very good players. Same comment as Alonso, and also not to use hands to stop the ball. He was unlucky not to score on his debut.
Warnock 7: I think he is much better than Kewell at this moment, to be frank. Rafa should play him more. Also, I think Hamann instead of Warnock should be substituted at half time...
Baros 5.5: Just don't understand why he always play well for the national team but not for Liverpool.
Substitutions:
Traore: 5 So why do every manager love him? A mystery. He could end up be player of the match for Bolton. Just scary...
Cisse: 5.5 Only have a half chance for the 2H. Poor.
Rafa: 5 The 4-5-1 proved to be unsuccessful, hopefully it is just the player not get used to it yet. Why he played some of the players are mystery to us, eg, Traore, Hamann, and no Henchoz/Cisse?
Bolton: 7.5 Credits to Bolton and big Sam. They really played a good game. I think they probably can challenge for UEFA cup, and should have no problem to finish top 10. Next game was an easy one for them playing MU.
Man of the Match: Carragher. On a day Hyypia was injuried, Carra was the heart of the defense. However even his attempt of last man save can't prevent that goal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)