Midterm Report

We played 31 games in the first half of the season, with 16 wins 6 draws and 9 losts. In the league we won 10 matches, drawn 4 and lost 6 with 34 points and sitting in 6th place, 15 points behind leader Chelsea, 6 points behind 3rd and 4th place Manchester United and Everton and 1 point behind 5th place Middlesborough. In Champions League we are in last 16 and in League Cup Semi Final. With 18 games remaining in the league the highest we can get is 88 points.

Departmental Comments:
Goalkeeper
Our goalkeepers is a really big concern. Dudek started 17 games and Kirkand 14, yet both convinved he should be the number one for the team. There was rumor that Dudek may be sold to generate some transfer fund, and another rumor that we have bidded Carson, but with Kirkland currently injuried and had a poor run before that, Rafa may have a second thought.

Defence
People are still questioning the zonal system, but I think it's working quite well gradually. Hyypia and Carragher played quite well, but with Hyypia getting old we may want to buy another centerback. And Henchoz seemed to have played his last game for us. Good luck to him. In right back Josemi was disappointed let's hope he can play better after his injury. Luckily Finnan was playing very well, but we are a bit short in cover in this position. In leftback Traore played his best football with us before his injury, hopefully he can continue this. And Riise... I think his best position should be midfield, he's scoring goals and assisting there. Warnock also played a game as left back vs Southampton. From the reserve Whitbread shows he is a player that could come to first team in 1 or 2 years, and Raven's performance in the Spurs league cup game also catch our eyes as well.

Midfielder
Stevie G continues to carry us through, and Alonso is really nice to watch. Garcia wins lots of cheers from the fans, but he is not as consistent. Nunez just come back from injury and he is showing signs that he's really good. In defensive midfield Hamann is taking his position well, although Biscan is also revived and even scored a goal. Hope the rumor that he's going to be sold is not true. Rafa seems to prefer Diao then Biscan, but I think Diao should be sold. Hopefully he had played his last game for us. Kewell is another disappointment but he is showing signs that he is coming back to his best form. Currently he is injuried but as I always say he only plays half season well, so it's not bad if he can come back and play his best football for us. Warnock is a surprise to all people and he plays well, apart from a few big games like Olympiacos away showing he's not completely established yet. Potter also played a few games for us well. Other youngsters like Partridge, Welsh and Smyth also get a few games in the League Cup.

Attackers:
A certain ex-player's departure made us short of headcount in this department, and Cisse's horrible injury made the situation even worse. He's a tough and nice guy, hope he get well soon. Fortunately Baros finally take off, and Sinama-Pongolle and Mellor played quite well recently, although they are still yet to be able to play it in a consistent level. Rafa for sure will bring a new player, wheather it's Morientes, Anelka or another player is yet to be seen, but he won't spend madly like a certain team does.

Player Rating (Games played, Minutes played, Goal scored/conceded, Assists/cleansheets, MoM, Rating)
Goalkeepers
Dudek: 17G 1560M 10GC 8CS 0.5MoM 6.56
Harrison: 7 unused substitute
Kirkland: 14G 1260M 15GC 3CS 0MoM 6.61
Luzi: 2 unused substitute

Defenders
Carragher: 28G 2520M 0GS 2A 6.5MoM 6.96
Finnan: 20G 1829M 1GS 0A 0MoM 6.71
Henchoz: 4G 390M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.88
Hyypia: 28G 2440M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.83
Josemi: 22G 1624M 0GS 1A 0MoM 6.23
Raven: 1G 120M 0GS 0A 0MoM 7.00
Riise: 29G 2352M 4GS 3A 2MoM 6.87
Traore: 21G 1432M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.25
Whitbread: 3G 300M 0GS 0A 0MoM 7.17

Midfielders
Alonso: 22G 1698M 2GS 4A 2MoM 7.05
Biscan: 12G 515M 1GS 0A 2MoM 7.25
Diao: 13G 676M 1GS 0A 0MoM 5.94
Foy: 1 unused substitute
Garcia: 19G 1461M 4GS 3A 2MoM 6.89
Gerrard: 18G 1442M 7GS 4A 5.5MoM 7.47
Hamann: 25G 1879M 0GS 4A 2MoM 6.80
Kewell: 23G 1678M 1GS 4A 0MoM 6.32
Nunez: 9G 465M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.28
Partridge: 2G 30M 0GS 1A 0MoM 7.00
Potter: 5G 395M 0GS 2A 0MoM 6.88
Smyth: 1G 50M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.50
Warnock: 16G 671M 0GS 2A 0MoM 6.46
Welsh: 2G 82M 0GS 0A 0MoM 7.00

Attackers:
Baros: 22G 1561M 11G 2A 4MoM 7.21
Cisse: 15G 1061M 3GS 1A 2MoM 6.93
Mellor: 12G 722M 5GS 1A 0MoM 6.90
Owen: 1 unused substitute
Sinama-Pongolle: 19G 794M 4GS 0A 2.5MoM 7.14

Players of the 1st half season (1000 mins or above):
(1) Gerrard 7.47
(2) Baros 7.21
(3) Alonso 7.05
(4) Carragher 6.96
(5) Cisse 6.93

Rafa: 6.73 Still yet to find a consistency team, but we are getting there. He should play Riise more in midfield especially now that Kewell is injuried. And he will bring in some quality players.

2H Result Prediction
League:
1st-5th place teams (Chelsea H, Arsenal A, Manchester United H, Everton H, Middlesborugh H) 2W2D1L
7th-10th place teams (Charlton A, Tottenham H, Birmingham City A, Portsmouth A) 3W1D
11th-15th place teams (Aston Villa H, Manchester City A, Bolton Wanderers H, Newcastle United A, Blackburn Rovers H) 3W2D
16th-20th place teams (Fulham H, Crystal Palace A, Norwich A, Southampton A, West Bromwich Albion A (played)) 3W1D
Total for 2H 11W6D1L 39 points
Total for the season 73 points

League Cup: We get a good draw in semi final and should go through to final. Whether we will play Chelsea and Manchester United are not that different, but Rafa may switch back to the A team. Anyways it's not bad to win something in the first season.

Champions League: Another good draw and we should be able to go through to quarter final. As the strong teams are playing each other in final 16, with a bit luck we can get a good draw, and who knows where we will end up to be?

FA Cup: Still too early to call, but let's beat Burnley first. This is the cup I really want to win, but Rafa may yet play some B team players, if not all.

December Month Review

4W3D1L. With 8 games in December, we achieved a lot. We were in semifinal of League Cup and Last 16 of Champions League, and with a relatively kind draws (also in FA Cup as well) we should be able to progress well. In the league despite some early setbacks for the first 3 games, we managed to bounce back and won 3 in a row for the first time of the season (and counting), and we gradually moved up to 5th place. Let's continue the good form and fight!

We started December with an away draw at Spurs in the League Cup, which Sinama-Pongolle kick started his season by scoring an important penalty in the 117th minute and then the winning penalty in the shootout. Then we dominated at Villa, but failed to win the game due to our inability to score the second goal. Then come the amazing win over Olympiacos, which we were one down and Sinama-Pongolle once again scored an important game. Mellor also scored another important one, and then Stevie G scored that 15 million pound goal and we are in the last 16. Unfortunately our good run did not last and then we lost at Everton and let Portsmouth scored a last minute equalizer. Then we recovered and win 3 in a row, the Newcastle game saw us win from behind, the West Brom game see us hit 5 and win the second away game, and we just managed to beat Southampton by 1 goal.

The problem for the team is still sometimes we are unable to score the important second goal. But as the players are coming back, we get more organized and new players coming in, hopefully Rafa can sort it out soon.

Players of the Month: (1) Sinama-Pongolle 7.67 (2) Gerrard 7.21 (3) Riise 7.08. Sinama-Pongolle and Riise are really on fire this month. And Gerrard brought us to Champions League.

Janauary Prediction:
1/1 Chlesea (H) We can win this game. Let's show Gerrard that he should stay with us.
1/3 Norwich City (A) We should also win this away game as well.
1/7 Burnley (A) Away at a Championship team in FA Cup is always tricky. And Burnley is famous for its tight defense at home. But we should have enough firepower to win.
1/11 Watford (H) First leg of League Cup Semifinal. Let's hope we can seal the business in this game
1/15 Manchester United (H) We gotta do a revenge over them. Stevie G to score.
1/22 Southampton (A) We didn't play too well at home, and let's improve. May see Biscan and Henchoz play for them.
1/25 Watford (A) It would be great if we don't need to win this game to go to the final, but still I think we will win it.
1/29 FA Cup 4th Round Depend on who we draw, but given our luck in the draws this season, I think we can draw a home easy game.

Match Report 041228 vs Southampton: Right result, wrong performance, but I think it's justice prevailed

1-0 and performance was not that good, but the most important thing is we have 3 points. Also, remember there's a few games we played well and don't get the result, I think this is justice prevailed.

We again have lots of possession in 1H, but Southampton is determined to get 1 point and played a 5 man midfield. Alonso was tightly marked but still provided 2 great passes, one a diagonal to Riise whose right foot is not as good as the golden left foot, and the other an excellent through ball to Sinama-Pongolle for the winning goal.

2H as time goes by and we don't get the second goal, the team became nervous and Southampton back into the game. Fortunately they don't have any clear chances except one mis-judge of Dudek that almost gifted them a goal. At the end we get what we need. Good result, although performance was not that good.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 6 An error in judging a throwin almost gifted them a goal. Otherwise virtually a spectator only.
Finnan: 6 Unfortunately injuried, hope he can recover soon for the Chelsea game, or else we may have a problem.
Carragher: 7 Solid at the back despite having Diao on his right, and also have bought the ball forward a few times.
Hyypia: 7 His confidence is back, keep it up!
Warnock: 7 A rare start as left back and performed well. And helped to save Dudek from conceding a stupid goal.
Garcia: 6.5 A poor game apart from a great header in 2H saved.
Gerrard: 7.5 Fighting from beginning to the end.
Alonso: 7 Tightly marked but still provided a few wonderful passes, one of it lead to the goal.
Riise: 7.5 Another good performance and have 2 great scoring chances, one use his weak right foot and easily saved, the other smashed into the bar. Unlucky.
Mellor: 6.5 A quiet game as he got no service from midfield.
Sinama-Pongolle: 8 Scored another important goal. His pace is really an asset to us.

Substitutions:
Diao: 5.5 Shaky... Last game for us?
Nunez: 6 A fair game but not too much impact.
Hamann: Only played several minutes to bolster the defence.

Rafa: 6.5 He had to shuffle due to injuries, but need to find a way to cure the nervousness.

Southampton: Beattie is to be sold very soon, and Redknapp need to use the money wisely to buy some players to save them, othewise it's going to be tough to see them survive.

Man of the Match: Sinama-Pongolle. 4 goals in December. A nice performance!

Show no mercy

As Gerrard says we need to show no mercy to the Saint. Given our recent performance a win should not be a problem. Let's close the gap with the front teams!

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Traore
Garcia
Gerrard
Alonso
Riise
Mellor
Pongolle

Result: 3-0

Match Report 041226 at West Bromwich Albion: A Merry Christmas!

5-0 win in away and it is an excellent, although I would prefer to spread a few goals to the other away games so that we can get more points. But on a day all teams above us except Boro win, we definitely need this win.

We started the game brightly and have a lot of possession, and we never in danger apart from a few unlikey error from Carra, which Hyypia and Dudek handled brightly to help Carra out. Riise in particular was superb. 2 goals, 2 assists and in fact he should score at least 2 more. And Milan's miss penalty did not even matter. Hope this won't affect his confidence.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 7.5 Finally a cleansheet. And Dudek had made a fewgreat saves when te game was not fully settled.
Finnan: 7 A good display linking well with Nunez.
Carragher: 6.5 Certainly not his day. Have a slip and that almost result to a West Brom bt luckily Hyypia saved Carra.
Hyypia: 7.5 Saved Carra and he is very solid throughout.
Traore: 7 A better performance than the previous few games.
Nunez: 7 He's getting there. His crossings were very good and one of his shot resulted in Contra handballed and got sent off.
Gerrard: 8 His assist to Riise's first goal was superb. And scored another great freekick. Rafa even has the luxury to rest him after 62 minutes.
Hamann: 7 Proves he still has a place in the team especially in away games. And his assist to Gerrard was simple and effective.
Riise: 10 Two goal, two assists. What can you say? Perhaps he should score more?
Pongolle: 8 Worked very hard and was very lively and causing West Brom defense lots of problems. And he scored a well derseved goal with the perfect 1-2 pass with Riise.
Baros: 6.5 Not his day. His penalty was weak. And we need him back to his best ASAP to face Southampton and Chelsea.

Substitutions:
Alonso: 7 Provided some classy passes and one of it resulted in the 2nd Riise goal.
Garcia: 7 Provided us another dimension of attack when come up, and scored a great goal thanks to yet another Riise assist.
Warnock: 6.5 Not much impact when come up.

Rafa: 9 Excellent tactics and get a well derseved win. He should also note Riise plays better at midfield than defence, and Traore is definitely a left back, not left wing.

West Brom: No team at the bottom of the league at Christmas Day will every survive in the Premiership, and I don't think they will be an exception.

Man of the Match: Riise. How can you not give him credit for such a performance?

The perfect place to start winning away game

Last time when we visited West Brom we beat them 6-0, Owen scored 4 and Baros scored 2. If we really wanna win away, this is the place. Rafa should stick with Baros and Mellor up front, and let's make it 6 out of 6 for the Christmas fixture!

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Garcia
Gerrard
Alonso
Kewell
Mellor
Baros

Result: 3-0

Match Report 041219 vs Newcastle United: 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 going forward?

3-1 and it was a very good performance, if you don't watch the first 30 minutes. The first half an hour was like the Portsmouth game and every pass were to a Newcastle United, even though we were winning possession. Luckily (?) Newcastle scored a controversial goal and we wake up immediately. Within minutes Riise has a shot just 2 feet wide, Mellor was greedy and not pass the ball to Baros who was in a much better position. Then we won a corner and Stevie G's cross found Bramble and he duly scored. 1-1.

Within minutes Baros and Mellor link up again. This time Baros had the ball, seeing Mellor in a better position, he passed nicely and Mellor didn't disappoint. Hope he learn from Milan.

2H we were still in control and then there can only be one winner in this game. Milan scored but referee ruled he fouled Given first... Finally in 60th minute Kewell got the ball in midfield. He turned and passed the ball beautifully to Baros, and Milan turned Given and put the ball into the empty net.

After that Newcastle had several chances, namely Robert's freekick which Dudek saved superbly, and Jenas blown into air from 6 yards. To calm down Newcastle's attack, Rafa substituted Mellor. While most would think Hamann would come to play, instead he opted to play Sinama-Pongolle, and his pace has caused lots of troubles to Newcastle. Finally Bowyer was annoyed and he rightly earned a red card. Job done.

In general this is a good display from the players. They show a hunger to win things back especially after we were 1 goal down, and Rafa need to think thoughfully whether to play 4-5-1 or 4-4-2. My thought is, if Baros play, 4-4-2. Otherwise, 4-5-1 probably fit better.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 7 A good display especially the Robert freekick save. Had no chance of the goal as defense let him down.
Finnan: 7 Good job defensively. Had a nice cross to Baros which almost led to a Milan overhead goal.
Carragher: 7 Solid as usual, try to made a last man save to the Kluivert goal but just missed it.
Hyypia: 6.5 Maybe he's tired, he wasn't as good as he should be, and he had his goal robbed by Bramble...
Riise: 7 Looks a bit tired, but still do a lot of overlaps and attacks. Almost scored a great goal but just missed by 1-2 feet.
Garcia: 6.5 Welcome back. Not back to his best yet, but a good game in general.
Gerrard: 6.5 A quiet game in his high standard. The talk of the game was his shot to row z, someone (Carra?) shared a joke with him afterwards.
Alonso: 7.5 Good display in central midfield especially after 25 minutes when Rafa had a few words with him.
Kewell: 7 A nice assist. This is what we expect from him! And we want more and more!
Baros: 8.5 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 disallowed goal, 1 overhead kick. And he shown Mellor what to be done when teammate is in better position. Great game.
Mellor: 7 Apart from the goal he had a quiet game. Maybe it's Rafa's tactic to let him pull out the center backs to create space.

Substitutions:
Nunez: 7 Good display substituting Garcia.
Sinama-Pongolle: 7.5 Created a lot of troubles for Newcastle. Well done!
Traore: Is he our new left wing? Why is he always playing left wing when substituting Kewell?

Rafa: 8 The change to 4-4-2 really suits Baros. And I need to quote Strachan's comment:

"Liverpool targeted the area where Newcastle are weak: they gave the two centre-halves a problem by opting to play two wide men, and playing them really wide.

If the ball was in a central position, the two wide men stayed right out on the touchline and gave the full-backs a problem. So the full-backs were caught in half positions, covering centre-halves and watching out for the wide men.

That gave a lot of space between the centre-halves and the full-backs, meaning it was two-on-two with Neil Mellor and Milan Baros up against Robbie Elliott and Titus Bramble. Liverpool tried to feed Baros the ball in front of him, or he could turn back when in the centre.

If the ball was wide in behind the full-back, then Baros would run into the channels, taking centre-halves with him. If the full-backs did come in and tighten, then the wide men would get the ball.

Alternatively, you can have the wingers come deeper and bring the full-back with them. The ball played over the top of the full-back has Baros running into the space the full-back has left.

To give your wide men licence to roam you've got to have two central midfielders who can do it in there on their own. Liverpool did: Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard. Gerrard's playing like two men now, with his extra power and heading ability in the middle of the park. Newcastle couldn't cope."

Whether we will continue to play 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 is probably Rafa need to think.

Newcastle: With Bramble they can lose any game. And Bowyer is back to his original temper now.

Man of the Match: Baros. A nice all-round display.

Important games ahead to steer us to the right track

The coming games are very important: Home vs Newcastle, then we have a relatively comfortable fixture playing away at West Brom on 12/26 and then at home vs Southampton. I think we should at least get 7 points, if not 9, from these 3 games. Then a relatively trickly New Year schedule, Chelsea at home and Norwich away and we may get 4 points. If we can get at least 11 points we probably can close the gap with the front teams. Remember the winning team always kick start around Christmas. If we can build our momentum from now, together with the new players coming and Garcia bacn and Baros back to his form, we may have a good season.

Newcastle at home is our traditional easy game. Let's do it again! Remember, let's get a clean sheet now.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Pongolle
Alonso
Hamann
Kewell
Gerrard
Baros

Result: 2-0

Match Report 041214 vs Portsmouth: Definitely 2 points lost

1-1 and we are gutted by the last minute equalizer. Though Rafa refused to blame Dudek but it is clear his fault that lead to the goal.

We had abount 70% procession except for the last 10 minutes, when Portsmouth was pushing for the equalizer. Unfortunately we were very quiet in 1H and didn't get excited until 2H. We keep on testing Portsmouth and finally Gerrard had an absolutely unsavable freekick rocketed into the net. We failed to get the 2nd goal and at the end it hurts.

I am in particular unhappy about the last minutes that we keep on inviting Portsmouth to get the equalizer. We just can't lose possession like this.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 4.5 Absoultely responsible in punching the cross into LuaLua. Otherwise nothing to do.
Finnan: 6.5 A good performance throughout the game.
Carragher: 6.5 Good game for Carra as well although at the end we only get 1 point.
Hyypia: 6.5 Still in search for the first goal. He's the man next to LuaLua when he scored, but can't really blame him.
Traore: 6 He may be a better choice than Riise in left back, but we can't really proof this in this game.
Nunez: 6.5 He's improving game after game, had a quiet 1H but get better in 2H like the rest of the team.
Hamann: 7 A nice assist to the goal, and almost scored a free header. Beside he does the dirty works very well.
Alonso: 6.5 Heart of the attack, he winned the freekick that lead to the goal as well.
Kewell: 6 1H was poor but he had a few chances in 2H but couldn't score any of it.
Gerrard: 7.5 Even his fantastic rocket couldn't get us 3 points. A quiet 1H but 2H he shows his real class.
Baros: 6.5 No supply from the midfield during 1H, 2H he had a few chances. Still need some time after the hamstring injury.

Substitutions:
Sinama-Pongolle/Josemi: Too little time to impress.

Rafa: 6 He probably had a good team talk during half time and the team fired up after that, but he must be very disappointed to only get 1 point. Still we need to address the goal drought and also try to hold the ball better when leading.

Portsmouth: 6 They only have 2-3 chances and scored one.

Berger: 5.5 He didn't have much to do apart from taking corners.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. The freekick is really fabulous and I feel sorry for him not to take 3 points.

Prove your worth, Jerzy

Kirkland is injuried and Dudek is getting another chance to prove himself. Alonso and Baros should be back to starting lineup as well, and we gotta win this game in hand.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Nunez
Hamann
Alonso
Kewell
Gerrard
Baros

Result: 3-0

Match Report 041211 at Everton: Another poor performance

0-1 lost at the Derby game. I think they are more determined than us and this is the key. Rafa rested a few players and the major surprise was Diao get a start. He did try his best to prove himself but that's it. We have more chances than they do but failed to take any, and Martyn was class, but they have more processions. At the end I don't think we derserve to win. And when will we start winning away games again?

Player Rating:
Kirkland: 5.5 His recent form is really worrying. Had allowed Everton to have 2 golden chances but they failed. He may have been blocked by players for the goal, but still I think he should do better. Dudek is watching.
Josemi: 6 Started as Finnan was rested and as usual, get a yellow card.
Carragher: 6.5 You can tell he's determined to win, but one man's work is not enough.
Hyypia: 6 Still in search for his first goal. Defensively he's as good as usual.
Riise: 6 Somehow I think he's not as good playing the left back again... Tough call for Rafa.
Sinama-Pongolle: 6 Maybe he's not strong enough in this highly physical derby game. Not as effective as last game.
Hamann: 6 As usual. But it's a bit strange Rafa sub him before Diao
Diao: 6 Tried very hard to impress, but failed to convince.
Kewell: 6 Back to the poor Kewell...
Gerrard: 6 Had a few blunders which made the Everton fans happy. He did tried but maybe he's tired, not the best performance we would expect from him.
Mellor: 6.5 Had a few chances but somehow Martyn saved magnificantly. Together with Carra he's one of our better player.

Substitutions:
Nunez: 6 Failed to impress.
Traore/Alonso: Too little time to impress.

Rafa: 5 Maybe a bad judgement to rest Alonso, and yet to improve the away form.

Everton: 7 We must give credit to Moyes. He really lifted the team. Hopefully this is the end of their fairy tale and they are back to where they should be.

Man of the Match: 6.5 Carra is spiced up for this match. If the whole team are as dedicated as him, we will win.

The 200th Merseyside Derby

It's been many years that we were 9 points beind Everton, but if we win this game and the game in hand on Wednesday, we will be just 3 points behind. The players' morale are definitely at their highest, and let's build on the momentum!

My Team Prediction:
Kirkland
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Nunez
Hamann
Alonso
Kewell
Gerrard
Mellor

Result: 2-1

Match Report 041208 vs Olympiacos: At the end of the storm, there's a golden sky

3-1 and we came back from hell! Rafa's tactics were really spot-on, 2 substitution, 2 goals from their respective first touches, and Stevie G scored the most important winner in his life, and probably the most important goal in Liverpool history. Absolute stunning!

We dominated the whole game and almost scored in 2nd minutes but the referee decided Hyypia had fouled the goalkeeper. In fact we scored 5 - 2 of them ruled out. However we didn't scored and Alonso losted the ball in midfielder and it lead to a Olympiakos counter attack. Non of our defenders stopped him and Hyypia had to foul him to stop him. Unfortunately, bad defense - the wall was pulled out by the Olympiakos players and probably blocked Kirkland's view, allowed Rivaldo to score directly. Given his class we should not allow him to do so. At half time We look hopeless as we need to score 3 goals. Where will they come from?

Rafa had an answer. He substituted Traore with Sinama-Pongolle and we immediately get an equalizer. A nice pass from the centre circle found Kewell on the left wing, and his lovely low cross found Sinama-Pongolle and we are equalized. 43 minutes to go to score 2 more!

Olympiakos throughout the game had been playing all-defense, and their players pretend they were painful after every tackles. As time goes by we get frustuated, especially Stevie G who had a silly needless tackle which resulted in a yellow card and he will miss the next European game. Baros was not too effective, given this is his first game back, and time is running out.

Then Rafa did his trick again. He substituted Baros with Mellor, and once again he scored. It's also another Sinama-Pongolle trick. We won a freekick and Stevie G crossed the ball into the penalty box. Florent got the ball and passed it back to Nunez, his header was not strong enough and the goalkeeper parried, but it wasn't far enough and Mellor tapped it in. 9 minutes to go and we need to score one more!

At this point of time the Kop is at its loudest, and I am very confident that the much needed goal will come. But from whom? Of course Stevie G. I must admit that I was not too happy about his display in this game, he seems to have mind in elsewhere (Chelsea?) and did not play to his very best. But the Kop lifted him. Great pass from Carragher and found Mellor, he headed the ball to the edge of the penalty, and here comes Stevie G - a magnificant strike into the net, an unstoppable striker. Stevie G loves it, his happiness shows how much he loves the club and wants to win things to the club. And the Kop loves it too!

So now we are in the last 16 and will face either one of Juventus, Inter, AC Milan, Lyon or Leverkusen. I personally would love to draw Leverkusen. I still remember it was that game at Leverkusen that Houllier somehow substituted Hamann and then lead to us lost to Leverkusen and start to see the fall of the club... It would be nice to re-start there.

Player Rating:
Kirkland: 6 At fault for the Rivaldo goal. He has been conceding 2 goals from freekicks in a row. Need to sort it out ASAP.
Finnan: 6.5 Do well defensively and have time to attack as well.
Carragher: 6.5 Apart from that Rivaldo goal his performance was very consistent.
Hyypia: 7 Same comment as Carra, he's also been a threat to the Olympiakos goalkeeper especially during freekicks.
Traore: 6 He plays OK and was substituted for tactical reason.
Nunez: 6 Not quite there yet, but is getting close.
Alonso: 6.5 He's been the playmaker once again. Good performance.
Gerrard: 7.5 Excellent strike. Do it more often! Get a silly yellow card and apart from the goal, I was not too happy about his performance. But what's important is that he scored that goal.
Riise: 6 1H as left midfielder and 2H as left back. An OK performance.
Kewell: 7 Excellent assist to Florent's goal. Also missed a few chances. His confidence is getting back. A goal at Goodison park would be nice.
Baros: 6 Scored a goal but was rule out... Since this is only his first game back so he looks a bit off the form. Hope he can pick up soon.

Substitution:
Sinama-Pongolle: 8.5 Scored a great goal to kick start 2H and also involved in the 2nd goal. Maybe this is the way to play him - as a supersub and use his pace when the opponent defenders are tired.
Mellor: 8 One goal, one assist in 12 minutes. Another supersub!
Josemi: Played only a few minutes. A bit shaky as he fouled in a bad position and created some fear to us.

Rafa: 10 Brilliant team talk and substitutions. But need to sort out the defensive free kick tactics ASAP.

Olympiakos: 4 No sportsmanship at all. They derseve to play in UEFA Cup.

Man of the match: The Kop. Without the Kop's support we can't do it. But for the players on the pitch, Sinama-Pongolle had the most impact. Great job young man!

Do it again, Kop

A must win game by 1-0 or winning margin by 2 goals to be 100% sure we are through to last 16, this game is very important. We definitely need the Kop to chear us up. Let's win it!

My Team Prediction:

Kirkland
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Nunez
Biscan
Alonso
Kewell
Gerrard
Baros

Result 3-0

Match Report 041204 at Aston Villa: Good performance, but bad result

1-1 and on paper it is a good result given our poor away form and Villa's strong home form (still remain unbeaten), but if you watched the game you would wonder why we don't win: It's the same old problem that we failed to find the much needed 2nd goal to kill off the game.

We were so good that Villa only had 2-3 shots, one resulted in a goal and the other Solano free kick come close. Other than that it's all us, especially in 1H that we can go 3-0 if not for Sorensen's excellent saves from Gerrard or Mellor.

Some good things from this game are that this 4-5-1 seems to fit every body well, and as Baros is coming back (maybe Wednesday, but by latest Saturday) we should be starting to kick off finally. And hopefully Kewell's goal re-ignite his power. After all, he always play only half season good.

Player Rating:
Kirkland: 6 I think he's partly responsible for the goal, though Solano's strike is very hard to catch, and he did made a great save in 2H. But he should instruct the wall so that he can see where the ball is coming from.
Finnan: 7 Another solid performance, 1H as right back and 2H as right midfielder.
Carragher: 7 The freekick that resulted in the goal should never been given - even the Villa players apologized for that. Other than this Carra is as usual reliable.
Hyypia: 7 Still haven't open his account, but maybe it's due to the quality of corners. Gerrard please note!
Riise: 6 I think John Arne was not as good in this match than the previous matches. But why he was keep at left back when Traore come on is a real mystery.
Nunez: 6 Hope he can adapt to the pace of Premiership very soon.
Hamann: 7 Another solid performance. This formation really suit him.
Alonso: 7 Xabi players very well in the play maker role. And with Hamann and Gerrard protecting him he can take time to make some nice passes.
Kewell: 7 First goal of the season, wish more to come. He also seems to link up with Gerrard perfectly.
Gerrard: 7.5 He's everywhere, but his finishing let him down... Or is it Sorensen somehow can read his mind? I understand his frustuation of being substituted, but there's a bigger game coming up.
Mellor: 7 Plays very well in the lone striker role and was unlucky not to have scored...

Substitutions:
Josemi: 7 I think he played quite well in 2H. Keep it up!
Traore: 6 Maybe there's some secret training for him as left midfielder? But I think it doesn't work. And missed a glorious chance in the injury time.
Sinama-Pongolle: Only played a few minutes, but looks lively.

Rafa: 6 Why he played Traore as midfielder is a puzzle to Liverpool fans. We'll see.

Aston Villa: 6 They are lucky to get 1 point in this game. But I think they should be doing well and challenge the UEFA Cup slot.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. With performance like this from the captain, the only way to go for us is up.

Let's build on the momentum

The Villa game will probably see the first team players coming back, especially the B team has played 120 minutes. Rafa may rest a few players for the Olympiacos game, but I think we can stick with the 4-5-1 and win the game

My Team Prediction:

Kirkland
Josemi
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Finnan
Hamann
Alonso
Kewell
Gerrard
Mellor

Result: 1-0

Match Report 041201 at Tottenham Hotspur: Three more wins to win the League Cup!

0-0 in 90 minutes and 1-1 after extra time and we won 4-3 at penalties. Sinama-Pongolle is the hero by scoring the penalty in 117 minute and then the last one in the penalty shootout. The young guns are playing quite well, so Rafa will probably stick with the same squad for the League Cup (and FA Cup as well?)

Next we will face Watford, on paper this seems the best draw, but I think they will be more up to win this game than Manchester and Chelsea. We'll see how we go. But looks like we are winning the League Cup once every 2 years, so this year we will win it.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 8 Made some godod saves in normal time and also won at the penalty shootout.
Raven: 7 A good debut display for the young guy.
Henchoz: 7 Scored his first ever goal for us in the shootout, but it may be the last as well...
Whitbread: 7 Another good display. He gave us a reason to sell Henchoz and raise some money.
Warnock: 6.5 Another solid display
Nunez: 6 He's picking up and will get there.
Biscan: 7 Good display especially 2nd half to inspire the team to up a gear.
Diao: 7 Not bad, but this may be the last for him.
Potter: 6 Although he missed a penalty in the shootout, in general his performance is OK.
Sinama-Pongolle: 8 Scored 2 penalties. What a display! Let's keep it up!
Mellor: 6 Substituted early as Rafa need to save him for the Saturday game.

Substitutions:
Welsh: 7 A good display and scored in the shootout. Well done!
Smyth: 6.5 A nice debut for this young guy. Made an impact almost immediately.
Partridge: Played only a few minutes, but scored in the shootout as well.

Rafa: 7 The team display shows that he knows how to rotate. And the young guys didn't let him down.

Spurs: 6 They probably blown away their biggest chance of winning a trophy.

Men of the Match: Dudek and Sinama-Pongolle, one prevent us from falling behind even more and one scored 2 goals to keep us forward.

Another chance for the youngsters

League Cup remains at the bottom of Rafa's list and he will file a B team again. This is really a chance for the youngsters to prove they can do it. 4 more wins and we will win the Cup!

My Team Prediction:

Dudek
Finnan
Whitbread
Henchoz
Traore
Nunez
Welsh
Biscan
Warnock
Pongolle
Mellor

Result: 2-0