March Month Report

2 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat. We began the month trailing Everton by 8 points and at the end of the month, after the derby game, we are now only trailing by 4 points. But we now have a full squad of casualties, so we definitely need to show more guts to take over Everton.

We started the month losing at Newcastle, but fortunately Blackburn beat Everton as well. After that we have a good display at Leverkusen and now will face Juventus in the Quarter Final. Then another poor display vs Blackburn and 2 points lost, and then we finish at a high by beating Everton 2-1. We will have 8 to 9 games to play in April, and if we can at least tie with Everton on 4/30, we will definitely take over them as their last 3 matches are against Newcastle, Arsenal and Bolton.

Players of the month (1) Garcia/Gerrard 7.38 (3) Warnock 7.17. Luis Garcia shows not only does he has style, he also has the guts and heart to fight for Liverpool. Baros/Kewell definitely lack the heart. Gerrard shows he still want to fight for Liverpool. Look at his face after the goal vs Everton, and his biting of the Liverbird after the goal, you know how much the team means to him. This may be the sign that he is still staying. Warnock shows he can take left back at his own, I just hope he can recover soon.

April Prediction:
4/2 Bolton Wanderers (H) This is going to be a tough one as we don't have any strikers. But with Garcia back, we will have the guts to win the game.
4/5 Juventus (H) Milan needs to show he still have the heart to fight after the crazy sent off. Score some goals against the best goalkeeper. And defense need to be at its best as well.
4/9 Manchester City (A) Robbie and Steve will have a day off and we will roll over.
4/13 Juventus (A) Another important game. Players need to show we can play against the best.
4/16 Tottenham Hotspur (H) They will probably start their summer vacation by then. Go for a win!
4/20 Portsmouth (A) Similar to Spurs they will be safe by now and will just let us win.
4/23 Crystal Palace (A) Maybe a tough game as Palace will still be fighting for their survival.
4/27 Champions League Semi Final Bring on Chelsea/Bayern! We won't scare them if we can beat Juventus.
4/30 Middlesbrough (H) They will probably be lacking motivation by now. We definitely need this win and if we can take over Everton by now, we will be OK.

Match Report 050320 vs Everton: This is the Liverpool team we want to see

2-1 and this is a true great result and the team stand up and show us the team we want to see - except for one player who probably care of himself more than the team. From the starting minutes with Stevie G's tackles we know there can only be one winner.

We are still suffered from the back luck on injuries, and Milan Baros just don't play as a team player. We may better sell him next season. Other than that every body performed well, and with such a mentality we can win each of the remaining games.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 7 Not much to do and have absolutely no chance in that goal.
Finnan: 7 A nice performance and was unfair to get a yellow due to time wasting ?!
Carragher: 9 Mr Liverpool. With no fear of whoever he's playing against.
Pellegrino: 7.5 Another superb performance and has as much heart as the local player. The critic should be silenced.
Warnock: 7 Whole-hearted performance but was unfortunate to be injuried. I just hope it's not too serious, and we need him.
Garcia: 8.5 He slienced the critics that he is light-weighted and he also shown his sense on scoring attempts. He also shown his willingness to fight for the team to stay on despite he's injuried. And he still has contributions to the team. Bravo!
Gerrard: 9 He played as if this is his last Merseryside derby, and after the game I just wish the game will change his mind. He is a local boy and winning for Liverpool is the ultimate goal - much much better than go to Real Madrid or Chelsea and win everything.
Hamann: 7 A much better performance but was unfortunate to be injuried.
Riise: 7 Started as left midfielder but was forced to play left back as Warnock injuried.
Morientes: 7.5 An excellent dipping shot from 40 yards that almost scored, but Martyn could not maintain his momentum and was forced to palm it away - but only to Garcia and he scored.
Baros: 4 If you do not want to commit to play for Liverpool. Go.

Substitutions:
Nunez: 7.5 His best performance so far. It was his pass to Garcia that lead to the free kick for the first goal.
Biscan: 7 He played a very well game, had a nice dribble but the shot was not on target. And the fans cheered when he beat up Osman's tackle in a midfield fight.
Smicer: 6.5 Still not in full fitness depsite having 1 or 2 telling passes in 2H. We need him to be back in form now as we don't have any strikers now.

Rafa: 9 Finally the players stand up and play well and he was as emotional as every fans was. Now he understands what a derby game means.

Everton: 5 The way they played is just a disgrace to football. But why do they remain to have 11 players and no injuries will be a question the referee need to explain. This match will knock down their confidence and they will finish 5th.

Man of the match: Carragher and Gerrard. The 2 scousers raised everybody in the team.

Stand up and be counted

With only 9 games to go and trailed by 7 points, a draw or a lost will probably means we cannot catch Everton. They will most likely play with 4-5-1 and I really don't know how to break through. And we are now 3 league games without a goal... Maybe it's time for Carra to score the winning goal.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Warnock
Garcia
Gerrard
Biscan
Riise
Baros
Morientes

Result 2-0

Draw or lose, the race to 4th will be over

With only 9 games remaining and we are still trailing by 7 points, if we don't win we probably cannot finish ahead of Everton. Everton will likely play 4-5-1 and I really don't know how we can break this formation. We need a magic touch from somewhere. Perhaps it's time for Carra to score the winning goal?

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Warnock
Gerrard
Hamann
Riise
Garcia
Baros
Morientes

Result 2-0

Match Report 050316 vs Blackburn Rovers: Time is running out.

0-0 and time is running out for us to catch Everton. And we are now running the risk of being catched by other teams. Player seems to be disinterested in the league. And if this is the case, the club has no hope at all.

The fact that both goalkeepers have not have a decent save to made probably tells you how boring the game is. It was not until Riise come on during half time that we started to look interested in the game. Rafa need to use whatever method to boast up the morale before it's too late.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 6.5 Not a save to be made.
Finnan: 6.5 He does not have any significant impact on the attack.
Carragher: 6.5 Solid as ever, could have earned us a penalty but referee think the other way.
Pellegrino: 6.5 Surprised start so that Hyypia can take a rest, and he is doing OK without any significance moment. Have probably our only 2 shots in 1H but both failed to trouble Friedel.
Warnock: 7 Played well both attacking and defending. Considering Smicer is almost invisible and he is doing everything alone in 1H this is an exceptional performance.
Garcia: 6 Start from the right and this is not his best position and no doubt his game suffered.
Gerrard: 6.5 Suffered from the rumours or what? He's just ineffective.
Hamann: 6 Again, did not raise his level when it is needed.
Smicer: 5 I won't be surprised if this is his last game for us.
Baros: 6 Made a lot of runs, but clearly he's not playing his best game.
Morientes: 6 Always double marked and hardly made an impact.

Substitutions:
Riise: 7 Come on during half time and we look a different team with him. Sadly it didn't last too long.
Nunez: 5.5 Almost invislble like Smicer.
Biscan: Not enough time to make an impact.

Rafa: 5 Rumor said Real Madrid may want him, and given the players' performance I am afraid he will be tempted.

Blackburn: 6 Come for 1 point and get it.

Friedel: 6.5 Hardly challenged and deserved to win his first clean sheet against us.
Matteo: 6 A late 2H substition.

Man of the match: Warnock. One of the few players that shown determination in the game.

Three important home games

This is the first of the three important home games in a row. Anything less than 9 points will cast a serious doubt on our chance of finishing 4th in the league. Blackburn seems to be revived a bit and they even helped us to beat Everton. We must capitalize on this and reduce the gap to 5 points.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Warnock
Garcia
Gerrard
Hamann
Riise
Baros
Morientes

Result 3-0

Match Report 050309 at Bayer 04 Leverkusen: Thanks Rafa

3-1 and it is a really good result. In particular we have to thank Rafa - not just for his excellent strategy but also for his decision to hang out with the away fans the night before, no matter whether it is an intended trip or just a fluke. It really shows how much he cares for the fans, and how much the fans love him. And it also boast our morale. What's more, this was the place 3 years ago that saw the beginning of decline of the Houllier era. So the demon has finally been broken.

From the start we were not prepared to sit back and defend our 2 goal lead, and it finally paid off in 28 minutes. And Garcia scored another in 32 minutes and the game was almost over. After Baros finally scored his 2nd in 2005 Rafa even has the luxury to substitute Hamann (no more nightmare this time!) and the ever-present Carragher to avoid them picking any yellow card and miss the next game. It is really one of the best performance this season.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 6.5 Barely any thing to do especially in 1H.
Finnan: 6.5 Solid display despite not too spectacular.
Carragher: 6.5 Good defending but Rafa need to take him off (1st time in the season!) to protect him from getting extra yellow card.
Hyypia: 6.5 Not much to do.
Warnock: 7.5 Another good display for the youngster. Young player of the year for us.
Garcia: 9 2 goals scored in 4 minutes and send us through. He seems to play much better in European game. Perhaps the game suits his style better.
Hamann: 7 Solid, and Rafa also need to take him off to avoid getting yellow card.
Biscan: 7.5 An assist and a solid display.
Riise: 6.5 Nice display from the iron man.
Gerrard: 7.5 Nice assist and almost scored a thunder.
Baros: 7.5 Works much harder than the Newcastle game. This is the Milan we wanna see.

Substitutions:
Smicer: 6 Tried too hard and had a few unnecessary shots that he should instead pass to another teammate.
Welsh: 6.5 Solid display from the youngster who took Carra's place in defense.
Nunez: 6 A solid substitution display.

Rafa: 9 Excellent game plan include the pub visit.

Leverkusen: 6 They played poorly, but credit to their kindness to the Liverpool team and supporters. They even played YNWA after the game!

Man of the match: Garcia. Scored 2 and could have been even more.

Again, make sure we won't regret

Last time when we were away at Leverkusen it turned out to be a heart broken event - and possibly the beginning of the fall of the Houllier era. It's now time to revenge. We need to make sure we at least get a draw, and everybody, especially Dudek, Gerrard and Baros, need to be at their best.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Warnock
Nunez
Gerrard
Hamann
Riise
Garcia
Baros

Result 1-0

Match Report 050305 at Newcastle United: Players want to win the Champions League

0-1 and it was a very dull performance, with 5 of the regulars missing. And the rest looks like as if they are still suffering from the League Cup hangover. We were never into the game and I don't think we will score apart from 2 Gerrard efforts. It may be more fair to have a draw but Robert's superb freekick changed the result.

On a bright note, Pellegrino finally shows his worth. He was superb at the back and completely marked out Shearer. More performance like this and Rafa will have no problem in extending his contract. Everton also lost so the damage of the lost is reduced to the minimum. If we don't finish 4th then the only way we can participate in the Champions League next year is to win it this year. But then we need to freshen up at Germany and wish we get an easy draw, if ever there is such a draw.

Player Rating:
Carson: 6 A quiet debut with very few things to do, and the Robert free kick is unstoppable.
Finnan: 6 A dull performance.
Carragher: 6.5 One of the better player on the pitch.
Hyypia: 6 An ordinary performance from Sami.
Pellegrino: 7 His best performance for us so far. He completely marked out Shearer.
Gerrard: 6.5 Surprisely on the right and have 2 shotting efforts but off target.
Biscan: 6 Doing the job of Hamann quite well.
Smicer: 6 Not an effective game for Smicer. I would be surprised if Rafa extend his contract based on a performance like this.
Riise: 6 More as a wing back position, but he should be doing more of the attacking work instead.
Garcia: 6 He had a spectacular bicycle kick early in the game but unfortunately it's just over the bar.
Baros: 5.5 He is too selfish and I think he is playing for his name instead of for the club. I won't be surprised if he is sold.

Substitutions:
Nunez/Le Tallec/Warnock: Unable to impress.

Rafa: 5 A dull display but he is robbed 5 regulars, especially Traore, Hamann and Morientes are well missed.

Newcastle United: A first win for Souness against us, and Newcastle is on the high. I won't be surprised if they can finish high enough to qualify for UEFA cup, or they winning a cup double. Maybe this is really the year for Shearer (although not winning the big thing)

Man of the Match: Pellegrino. Shown us wht Rafa rated him so high. More performance like this would be nice.

A difficult game

Away at Newcastle is always difficult, especially they are on the high currently. If we don't win and Everton win tomorrow, we will be in big trouble. Players, show your response to that unworthy defeat.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Nunez
Gerrard
Hamann
Garcia
Morientes
Baros

Result 2-1

February Month Report

It started so bright, but ended so sad. We won the first 2 matches in style, at Charlton we won by coming from behind, courtesy of goals from Riise and Nando, his first for us. We then win comfortably vs Fulham, but then lost 0-2 at Birmingham, with the whole team disappointed. After that we come back by beating Leverkusen convincingly, but then lost to Chelsea in a very poor way.

Looking back, the old consistency still exist. How can Rafa solve it? I really don't know. And we have 3 crucial league games in March, and they will shape our season, and whether Stevie G is staying or not.

Players of the month (1) Carragher 7.00 (2) Riise 6.90 (3) Garcia/Morientes 6.75. Carra is probably our only player who can leave Cardiff proudly, and Riise's goals are really nice to watch. Garcia had 2 assist and 1 goal, and he is showing signs of his real quality. And Nando opened his account with 2 nice goals, and it is a pity he is cup-tied in the Champions League.

Time is running out. We need to win the next 3 league games if we really want to catch up Everton. Simple as this.

March Prediction:
3/5 Newcastle United (A) A very tough away game as Newcastle is on the high. But didn't I say the same thing last month before the Charlton game? We can do it.
3/9 Bayer 04 Leverkusen (A) A draw or even 1 goal defeat is enough, but it's better to win it. Defense display is the key. And an early goal from Stevie G will settle it.
3/16 Blackburn Rovers (H) We should win this game.
3/20 Everton (H) Of the 3 league games this is the most important. Definitely need to win.

Match Report 050227 vs Chelsea: We shall overcome

2-3 and it is really sad to see us lose due to a Gerrard own goal. He have not had a good game, but still he does not derseved to have such a nightmare.

We started brightly with Riise scored within 45 seconds under a superb Morientes assist. However, we were then defending for the rest of the game and Cech was not challenged until the middle of 2H. Dudek, was also not too busy because the back 4 are doing superbly, but when he's called into service he deal with it superbly.

Two injuries forced Rafa to make changes. Kewell, who obviously was not fit enough, and Traore, were injuried and Rafa put up Nunez and Biscan, who dealed with superbly. But the real problem is really putting Riise back to left back, and he was our best midfielder before! We did have at least 2 great chances to make it 2-0 but Hamann's shot was well saved and Gerrard's goal attempt was tackled at the last second - and we even don't get a corner! Of course we were denied a clear cut penalty.

As soon as Chelsea equalized our morale dropped. It become even worse when Dudek was injuried, and it proved to be critical, as if he is fit he should have deal with at least one of the other goal. But now these are all history. We definitely need to find a way to improve our luck.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 7 Superb performance before injury, this is the Dudek we all want to see.
Finnan: 6.5 He dealed well with Duff and made him a non existence player.
Carragher: 7.5 If every body play like Carra we will win every game.
Hyypia: 6.5 A good game although at times he can't cope with Drogba. Was in fault for the second goal.
Traore: 7 He was excellent and should be our man of the match if we win the game.
Kewell: 5 Surprisely played on the right and was ineffective at all.
Gerrard: 5.5 Unlucky to score the own goal. Was he under great pressure over the last 2 months? We definitely need to support him.
Hamann: 6.5 He was doing the defensive work silently and effectively. Unlucky not to score.
Riise: 7 Superb goal and was one of our best midfielder. But after he was forced to switch to left back he was not as effective.
Garcia: 5.5 Give away the ball too much.
Morientes: 6.5 Superb assist but after that he was having no support at all.

Substitutions:
Nunez: 6.5 I really hope this goal will boast his confidence and he will play better for us. His crossing will be good for Nando to score.
Biscan: 6 Played quite good in midfield, have 2 scoring chances but could not take it.
Baros: 5.5 It was reported that he was upset of not starting the game, but if he play like this, what more can he expect?

Rafa: 5.5 Unfortunately his strategy of defending does not work. But we do show signs that we can defend if we need to.

Chelsea: 6 Credits to them, they keep pressing and finally get their reward.

Man of the Match: Carragher. He was excellent and we need every player to have his attitude.