Time to stand up

After the defeat at Blackburn we are facing two tough games. We seldom beat Spurs at home, and they are on fire at home at the moment, but we need to get a result. Time to stand up.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Riise
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Luis Garcia
Bellamy
Kuyt

Result: 1-0

Match Report 061226 at Blackburn: Back to square one

0-1 and we are back to square one, with lots of chances but failed to convert. The first defeat in 7 league games sent us back to 6th place, and critics are saying our chase for CL is endangered, especially we face 2 challenges in the next 2 games. This is purely rubbish, Rafa will fix the problem soon.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Was exposed and have no chance on the goal conceded.
Finnan: 6.5 Played well as wing back.
Carragher: 6.5 Solid if not spectacular.
Hyypia: 7 The better defender.
Agger: 6.5 Solid display but get an unnecessary hand ball.
Riise: 6.5 Tried hard to help the attack.
Gerrard: 6.5 A bit affected by the illness of his daughter, but still play well.
Alonso: 7.5 Unlucky not to score at least a goal - one denied by the post, one by Friedel.
Gonzalez: 6 Disappointed performance.
Bellamy: 6 May be he got too excited by the return to Ewood Park, unfortunately this is not a game he want to remember.
Crouch: 6 Missed a hat trick.

Substitutions:
Kuyt: 6.5 Almost made an immediately when coming up.
Aurelio: 6 No impact at al.
Luis Garcia: 6.5 Tried hard but didn't get anything.

Rafa: 6 Would be disappointed by the ruthless attack.

Blackburn: At time it's 1 vs 11, but still they get 3 points. Maybe 2 points too much.

Man of the Match: Alonso. Very unfortunate not to have scored.

Get a result

It was against Blackburn that Bellamy scored his first league goal for us, and this is the first real test of the Christmas season. Rafa will probably rotate a few players, but Bellamy is on fire and will guide us to another victory.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Aurelio
Bellamy
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 061223 vs Watford: Patience pevails

2-0 and it was the patience of the team that finally break through the deadlock. Bellamy is again on fire and terrorizing the Watford defense from the start. Alonso is also doing well and was rewarded with a great goal. We certainly had an eye on the remaining matches of the Christmas season and the team never go beyond 2nd gear. Nevertheless the difference in class finally separated the two teams.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Not really tested apart from a few scary moments that the Watford strikers failed to shot on target.
Finnan: 7 A solid perforamance.
Carragher: 7 A bit sloopy in defense, but was unlucky not to score.
Agger: 7.5 Stands up when Carra was having a rare off day.
Riise: 7 A hard working performance.
Pennant: 7 Another good display as he picks up his form.
Gerrard: 7.5 Another good performance from center midfield.
Alonso: 8 Rewarded with a great goal.
Luis Garcia: 7.5 A lively performance on both sides of the midfield.
Bellamy: 8.5 Another great performance.
Kuyt: 7.5 Helped in both goals.

Substitutions:
Gonzalez: 7 Almost provided an assist from his first touch of the ball.
Crouch/Aurelio: 6.5 Not enough time to shine.

Rafa: 7 Another great team performance, although Rafa may concern on the lack of clinical finishing.

Watford: 6 Sadly, they look like the team to go down, especially finishing bottom of the league at Christmas.

Player of the Match: Bellamy. Bring on Blackburn.

Make sure we have a Merry Christmas

It is the festival week again and we will play 4 matches over this period, with a start at home vs Watford. With the forced "rest" in the midweek Rafa will be able to file a strong team to kick off this 4 games, and expect everybody to play a part in the period.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Riise
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Luis Garcia
Bellamy
Kuyt

Result 3-0

FA Cup Rehersal

Fate has put Arsenal and us together in both the local cups, and it is a perfect time to revenge for the defeat earlier this season. Arsenal may opt for a younger squad due to their injuries and maturity of their youth team, but Rafa will no doubt play a strong team to win the game and keep the momentum running.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Aurelio
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Luis Garcia
Fowler
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 061216 at Charlton Athletic: Another good result

3-0 and we have wasted many chances and could actually go double in the scoreline. Nevertheless this is a good result, especially we lost at the Valley last year and we get 3 points this year. The team is basically in a smooth running mode, Rafa just need to fine tune the attacks so that the strikers can improve the conversion rate especially away from home.

Player Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Another easy afternoon.
Finnan: 7.5 A solid performance.
Carragher: 7.5 Comfortable display.
Hyypia: 7.5 An easy outing for Sami.
Riise: 7 A good display.
Pennant: 7.5 A nice display on the side and even have a few scoring opportunities.
Gerrard: 8 Drove the team on and at the end get a well deserved goal.
Alonso: 7.5 His penalty goal kick started the rally.
Gonzalez: 7 A solid display.
Bellamy: 8.5 Scored an absolute beauty and run around the pitch all the time.
Kuyt: 7 Denied a goal by lady luck.

Substitutions:
Luis Garcia: 6.5 Get a stupid yellow card.
Aurelio: 6.5 Welcome back.
Crouch: 7 A nice easy assist for Stevie G.

Rafa: 7.5 The big Red machine is running very smooth.

Charlton Athletic: 5.5 Sadly, it looks like they will get relegated.

Man of the Match: Bellamy. Building a rapport with Kuyt.

Time to catch up

Last season we drawn Charlton at home and lost to them away, not is the perfect chance to catch up. Stevie G is driven to overcome Reed, and with a good break in the week (and a funny Christmas Party) the team will have the momentum to keep winning.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Riise
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Luis Garcia
Bellamy
Kuyt

Result: 2-0

Match Report 061209 vs Fulham: Scousers shines!

4-0 and this is another fine result. The team was patient and once the flood gate is opened, the goals just flow in. And it was really nice to see Carra scored the league goal of the century. Hope the next goal will come very soon. Now we need to keep up the momentum into the new year.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Made one big save in 1H to prevent Fulham scoring.
Finnan: 7.5 Impressive performance against his old club.
Carragher: 9 Scored a great goal from the far post.
Agger: 8 Two assists from the centre back? This guy is really genius.
Riise: 7 Did well at both ends.
Pennant: 7 Performed well in the attacks at both side of the pitch.
Gerrard: 9 Scored the rebound from his own penalty to open the flood gate.
Alonso: 7.5 A quiet but effective display.
Luis Garcia: 8 Scored a nice header and was impressive overall.
Kuyt: 7 Missed a glorious chance in 1H.
Bellamy: 7 Tear off the Fulham defense.

Substitutions:
Gonzalez: 7.5 Scored from a great free kick.
Fowler: 7 Unlucky not to score, but he did contribute to the free kick that lead to the Gonzalez goal.
Crouch: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 8 Another impressive display and he is very happy.

Fulham: 6 Come for 1 point, was resistant for 60 minutes but then fall apart.

Man of the Match: Carragher/Gerrard. Scousers shines!

Be creative

Teams coming to Anfield these days will try to defend as hard as they could. We need to be creative to explore for ways to go through. Now that more injured players are back Rafa would have more options. Just be calm.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Carragher
Hyypia
Agger
Finnan
Gerrard
Alonso
Gonzalez
Riise
Bellamy
Kuyt

Result 3-0

Match Report 061205 at Galatasaray: Defense let us down

2-3 and the poor defending had let us down. Fowler did his best to scored 2 - his first two goals in Champions League, but still we lose. Since this is a game with no significance at all it is difficult to raise the level of the players, but Dudek and Fowler will feel more disappointed.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 6 Back to Istanbul, conceded 3 again, but this time no miracle.
Peltier: 6 A rare chance for the youngster.
Carragher: 6 Defense at a unit failed.
Paletta: 6 A poor mistake.
Agger: 6 Could have done better.
Pennant: 6.5 A poor performance although he had an assist at the end.
Alonso: 6 Made a bad mistake but in general OK.
Riise: 6 Should take a rest but there is no left foot player remaining.
Fowler: 8 Scored 2 great goals.
Bellamy: 6.5 In generall disappointed.

Substitutions:
Luis Garcia/Crouch/Roque: Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6 It is difficult to lift the players for such a game.

Galatasaray: 7 Deserved winner.

Man of the Match: Fowler. First game scoring more than 1 goal since he is back.

Farewell to Dudek?

We are back to Ali Sami Yen Stadium and this may be Dudek's last game for us. We have many great memory of that night, and no matter where he goes, he will forever be our hero. I still feel I am crying when thinking about that night. Rafa will be resting a lot of first team players, so whoever who get a rare start tonight, grab your chance to impress.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Darby
Carragher
Agger
Riise
Pennant
Guthrie
Roque
Luis Garcia
Fowler
Bellamy

Result 2-0

Match Report 051202 at Wigan Athletic: Sky cleared

4-0 and this is simply the best performance of the season so far. Bellamy started to do business after his court case is cleared, and the team started to win away. Although it would be nice to spare the goals to some of the previous away games so that we can get more point, but we are now back on track. Finally.

Players Rating:
Reina: 8 Made as many saves as possible to keep the clean sheet. Wonderful performance.
Agger: 7.5 Played well in the 3-5-2 formation.
Carragher: 7.5 Leader at the back 3.
Hyypia: 7 An easy game for Sami.
Finnan: 7 A good performance at the wing back position.
Luis Garcia: 7 Performance well at both ends of the pitch.
Gerrard: 8.5 Influential performance and was involved in 2 of the goals.
Alonso: 7.5 Midfield is more assured with Xabi in.
Riise: 7.5 A nice attacking performance and was also involved in 2 of the goals.
Bellamy: 9 Scored 2, made 1 and offsided 8 times. Showed why Rafa bought him by running hard to cause problem in the counter attacks.
Kuyt: 7.5 Influential and was reward for his first goal in 1 month.

Substitutions:
Pennant/Guthrie/Paletta: 6.5 At 4-0 up you won't expect them to do any fancy things. Did well.

Rafa: 8 A nice performance and from now on we will win more away games.

Wigan Athletic: 6. The score line was cruel to them, 3-1 seems a more appropriate score. But they will have no problem to stay up.

Man of the Match: Bellamy. Will be an effective tool in counter attack.

Break the away duck

It's December and we have still to win away from home in the league. Now come Wigan. It will not be easy, especially we have so many injury now, but as we have already qualified for Champions League we will be very focused in this game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Agger
Hyypia
Riise
Pennant
Gerrard
Carragher
Luis Garcia
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 2-0

November Month Review

4W2D1L and we are still in the middle of the table. We secured 1st spot in the Champions League Table and are through to quarter final of League Cup, but in the league we still failed to win away, and lost 2 points at home vs Portsmouth. We also suffered from many injuries and our midfield are now left to bare minimum. December will be a busy month and it is now up to Rafa and the players to start response and move up in the table.

Players of the Month: (1) Agger 7.18 (2) Gerrard 7.17 (3) Reina 6.92. Agger responded well after his injury and will continue to challenge for the first team spot. Stevie G started scoring and playing better and better, especially in the middle. And with 6 clean sheets in the last 7 games, Pepe's form is back and is rewarded with a well deserved extension of his contract.

December Forecast:
12/2 Wigan Athletic (a) We need to start winning away.
12/5 Galatasaray AK (a) This is a game we don't really care. And it would be emotional to see Jersy back to his heroic place.
12/9 Fulham (h) A game we need to win.
12/16 Charlton Athletic (a) We lost there last year and we need to make sure we won't do so again.
12/19 Arsenal (h) No matter what team Arsenal will start, we should beat them.
12/23 Watford (h) Another game we need to win to finish the last game at Anfield in 2006.
12/26 Blackburn Rovers (a) Boxing day match, and Craig is back to his home.
12/30 Tottenham Hotspur (a) This will be a tough game to finish the year.

Match Report 061129 vs Portsmouth: 2 points lost

0-0 and we missed a great chance to sit at 3rd place. Portsmouth has a game plan to come here and get one point, and they succeeded. Rafa is short of options currently because of the injuries, and the team just don't have enough tricks to break down the dead lock. We never really tested David James and he earned his first point at Anfield since he left. At the end the draw is a fair result, albeit a disappointed one.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Not really tested in the whole match.
Finnan: 6.5 No contribution on the attack.
Agger: 7 Another solid performance.
Hyypia: 7.5 A comfortable match.
Riise: 6.5 Good in defense but not attack.
Pennant: 6 A disappointed performance.
Gerrard: 7 Tried hard but were only close.
Carragher: 7 Provide the solid to the team but not the creativity.
Luis Garcia: 6 Had the most dangerous chance but once again wasted.
Kuyt: 6.5 No supply at all.
Crouch: 6.5 Disappointed game.

Substitutions:
Fowler: 6 No contribution at all.
El Zhar/Guthrie: 6 Not much contribution in their league debuts.

Rafa: 6 Was constrained by the lack of options and lack of response from the wingers.

Portsmouth: 6.5 A solid performance and get a deserved point.

Man of the Match: Hyypia. Vintage performance.

No more injuries

With Stevie G the only first team midfielder available the least thing we want is another injury. Rafa will need to move one of Carra, Hyypia and Agger to play DM, and I would think it will help to release Stevie G's potential. And of course we need a disciplined Luis Garcia tonight.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Hyypia
Agger
Riise
Pennant
Carragher
Gerrard
Luis Garcia
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 061125 vs Manchester City: Stevie G to the rescue

1-0 and it was our mighty captain who rescued us again. Due to the injuries Rafa opted for a rare 3-5-2 formation, Stevie G has a very disciplined performance and play as DM to protect the back 3. But one moment of superb tackling by Kuyt released Stevie G and the ball in the net. Bravo.

And from his own words you can see he matures a lot:
"I can't go forward at every moment. I have to think about the team and pick the right moments. Fortunately, today I picked the right moment."

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Another clean sheet and his confidence is back.
Carragher: 7 Doing well in the back 3.
Hyypia: 7 Doing well at both ends of the pitch.
Agger: 7.5 An superb performance.
Finnan: 6.5 Played in the 5-men midfield but not doing much in helping the attacks.
Luis Garcia: 6 Missed 2 great chances and was in general a very poor performance.
Gerrard: 8 Need I saw more?
Zenden: 6.5 Not much contribution.
Riise: 6.5 Can't cope with Luis Garcia's free role and at times confused.
Kuyt: 7.5 His hard working bring the ball to Stevie G and thundered into the net.
Crouch: 6.5 Missed a few half chance.

Substitutions:
Pennant: 6.5 After him coming on the team is more balanced.
Fowler: 6.5 Doing not much against his former team.
Bellamy: 6.5 Almost scored from his first touch.

Rafa: 6.5 The 3-5-2 seems not working too well as the strength of Stevie G cannot be released as he play at DM. Maybe Rafa should try Carra as DM instead.

Manchester City: 5.5 Their season mirrored us: Excellent at home, poor traveller.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Gave us the 3 points single hand.

Let's shake off the injuries

With the injuries Rafa will need to reshuffle with limited resources. Midfield is in particular concern and Rafa may even need to play Carra there. We will see the return to Anfield of Hamann, and how we miss him!

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Riise
Luis Garcia
Gerrard
Zenden
Bellamy
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 3-0

Match Report 061122 vs PSV Eindhoven: A win with a heavy price

2-0 but the victory come with a big price as 3 midfielders were injuried. We are now confirmed to finish at top spot and Rafa can send a reserve team in the next match. Gerrard was influential in his favortite middle of midfield, and with Xabi now injuried Stevie will have lots of chances to play there, which should be good for the team.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Another clean sheet.
Finnan: 7 A good display in both ends of the pitch.
Carragher: 7 A good performance.
Agger: 7 Probably has disposed Sammi his first team position.
Riise: 7 A good job.
Pennant: 6.5 Did well before injuried. Get well soon.
Gerrard: 8 Close to his best.
Alonso: 6.5 We will miss him. A big blow to the team.
Gonzalez: 6.5 A good performance before the injury.
Kuyt: 7 A good display despite not scoring.
Crouch: 7.5 Nice goal and assist.

Substitutions:
Luis Garcia: 6.5 Influential when coming up.
Zenden: 6.5 We now need to see the best of Bolo as we have a midfielder shortage.
Bellamy: 6.5 Could play as winger to help the team.

Rafa: 7 A nice display but Rafa will now need to sort out the injury crisis.

PSV Eindhoben: 6 Did well in preventing us to score but at the end Stevie G destroyed them.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Lead by example.

It's time to deliver

After the draw at the weekend it is now time for the team to deliver. Although the result of this match is not that important, it would be nice to kick start another winning streak now.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Gonzalez
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 061118 at Middlesbrough: Unlucky

0-0 and we are really unlucky not to win this time. With 17 shots (10 on target) vs their 1 shot, Boro was very tough in denying us a well deserved win. But with performance like this result will be coming very soon. Dec 2 at Wigan.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Not much to do but handle the crossing well, and denied Euell a goal to keep the score.
Finnan: 6.5 Not much involvement going forward.
Carragher: 7 Solid display
Agger: 7 Comfortable display and almost scored.
Riise: 6.5 Tried hard to help the attacks but no return.
Pennant: 7 Lively performance along both flanks.
Gerrard: 6.5 Played in the middle as he wish.
Alonso: 7 Control the midfield and have a few shots not on target.
Gonzalez: 6.5 An OK performance.
Bellamy: 6 OK performance.
Kuyt: 6.5 Had a golden chance but shot wide.

Substitutions:
Crouch: 6.5 Deadly when coming up and almost scored.
Zenden: 6 Get a few boos from the home crowd and not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 A solid performace but still we lack the cutting edge up front. Maybe we now see the future back 5.

Middlesbrough: 5.5 Very negative and play for 1 point at home, and get it.

Man of the match: Reina. Good performance.

Rest in peace, two of the Greats of the 20th century

Milton Friedman, the greatest Economist, and Puskas, the greatest footballer, both passed away today...

Start winning away

Another away game and to everyone's surprise our record in Riverside since its opening is actually poorer than in Goodison Park, Old Trafford or Highbury during the same period. Boro just won last time and they seems to be failed to get back to back result (a bit like us...) but we definitely need to start winning away.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Warnock
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Riise
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 061112 at Arsenal: Nightmare

0-3 and we have absolutely no desire to win. We failed completely. The defense was a nightmare, the midfield lack strength after Momo's injury, and the attack has no goal provided. We just don't have any reason to win.

To think positive, we have now played all the tough away wins. Perhaps we are now in the home straight till the end.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6 One of the better defensive player and he did his best to minimize the damage.
Finnan: 5 Pedestrian.
Carragher: 5 Can count himself lucky to be still on the pitch at the end.
Hyyppia: 5 Too slow to contain the Arsenal attack.
Riise: 5 Him and Gerrard are to be blamed for the third goal.
Gerrard: 5.5 Poor condition.
Alonso: 6.5 One of the better player, but he can't do two men's job.
Zenden: 5.5 Missed many chances, but at least he tried.
Gonzalez: 5 Can't penetrate the Arsenal defense.
Kuyt: 5.5 A quiet game.
Crouch: 5.5 Scored an offside goal, but other than that very quiet.

Substitutions:
Pennant: 6 Tried hard but not much impact.
Bellamy: 6 Scored another offside goal.
Agger: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 5 Need to sort out the defensive mess immediately.

Arsenal: 7 Played well on their home ground.

Man of the Match: Alonso. But other players need to help him as well.

We believe

With Sissoko out for 3 months Stevie G will return to middle. We need to silence the midfield if we really want to win this game. And maybe we need some magic from Luis Garcia as well.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Luis Garcia
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 1-0

Match Report 061108 at Birmingham City: Job done

1-0 and we are in the last 8 of the League Cup. The victory was marred by the injury of Sissoko. We are going to miss him. Get well soon. We were always in control if not playing superb football, Fowler and Bellamy both missed great chances. At the end the defense played well to keep the clean sheet. Amazingly, this is the first match we win away in England soil. So bring on Arsenal.

Players Rating:
Dudek: 7 Kept a clean sheet on his first match of the season.
Peltier: 6.5 Solid display.
Paletta: 6.5 Solid display but need to adapt to the English style or otherwise he will get a lot of cards.
Agger: 7.5 A nice goal that makes a difference.
Warnock: 6.5 Good display.
Pennant: 7 Returned home and have a nice assist.
Sissoko: 6.5 We are going to miss him.
Zenden: 6.5 Good if not supreme display. We now need him more as cover after Momo's injury.
Gonzalez: 6.5 Lively display.
Fowler: 6.5 On of his poorer display after he is back.
Bellamy: 6.5 Missed a lot of chances including a penalty.

Substitutions:
Alonso: 6.5 Good display after the unexpected call-up after Momo's injury.
Kuyt: 6.5 Good warm up for the big game on Sunday.
Guthrie: 6 Another run-in for the youngster.

Rafa: 6.5 Job done. But he now needs to face the problem of missing Momo.

Birmingham City: 6 Played well.

Man of the Match: Agger. More goals are welcome.

Jermaine back home

Last time when we visit Birmingham in FA Cup we beat them 7-0. Surely this will be a tough act to repeat, but Rafa's team will be fired up, especially for Pennant who is back to his home.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Peltier
Agger
Paletta
Warnock
Pennant
Zenden
Alonso
Gonzalez
Fowler
Bellamy

Result 2-0

Match Report 061104 vs Reading: Cruise control

2-0 and it was an unspectacular but convincing win. We never go higher than second gear. Reading come to avoid a humiliating defeat and succeeded. Now we need to transfer the winning habit to the away games.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Another confidence-built win although at times he was clumsy.
Finnan: 7 Solid display.
Carragher: 7.5 Good display in his 300th league display. Blocked a shot before Kuyt scored, and go up very often and even almost scored one himself.
Hyypia: 7 Solid defending and also orchestrating some attacks in style.
Riise: 7 Good display.
Pennant: 7 Good display and had a great corner that contributed to the second goal.
Gerrard: 8 Great display in the middle and had a great pass that lead to the first goal.
Alonso: 7 Solid display in the heart of midfield.
Zenden: 6 Hard working, but not much contribution.
Kuyt: 8.5 Scored two great goals.
Crouch: 8 Two great assists.

Substitutions:
Gonzalez/Sissoko/Fowler: 6 Solid display when coming up.

Rafa: 7 A good display and now we need to bring it up to the away games.

Reading: 6 Never really into the game.

Man of the Match: Kuyt. Proving his worth.

Rotation again

Luis Garcia is out and Rafa need to appl his rotation again. As he will rotate in the next league cup anyway, the count restarts again.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Gonzalez
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 3-0

October Month Report

4 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat and the month just goes better. We started the month with international break, and after we are back we lost our first 2 points at home by drawing Blackburn. Then we beat Bordeaux at the home ground, and the defeat at Old Trafford have everyone write off our chance and questioning Rafa's rotation. We responded superbly by winning 3 in a row, first a 4-3 roller coaster vs Reading in the League Cup, then 3-1 win vs the only unbeaten team Aston Villa, and a 3-0 win vs Bordeaux that sealed our presence in the last 16 of Champions League. Things are getting better and better, and now we need to rediscover how to win away from home.

Players of the Month: (1) Kuyt 7.0 (2) Sissoko 6.75 (3) Alonso 6.54. Kuyt played well and scored a nice goal at home vs Villa. Sissoko as usual protected the defense well, and Alonso was very consistent despite not very impressive.

November review:
11/4 Reading (h) We win in the rehearsal, and we need to repeat this again.
11/8 Birmingham City (a) Last time we beat them 7-0, we will be happy to repeat the feat.
11/12 Arsenal (a) Let's start winning away from home here.
11/18 Middlesbrough (a) Please, win this one for me :)
11/22 PSV Eindhoven (h) A win will secure us the first spot in the draw
11/25 Manchester City (h) City is just poor away from home. Let's crash them.
11/29 Portsmouth (h) The surprised package of the season, but by the end of November their gas should be running out.

Match Report 061031 vs Bordeaux: Mission accomplished

3-0 and we are through. To everyone's surprise (except me :) ) Rafa has sent the same team in 100 games. The team played well and we deserved to win.

Player Rating:
Reina: 7 A clean sheet to boast his confidence.
Finnan: 7 Good defensive work.
Carragher: 7 Another solid performance.
Hyypia: 7 Vintage performance.
Riise: 7 Was unlucky to get headbutted but played well.
Gerrard: 8 Finally broke his duck. Look how relief he was!
Alonso: 7 Control the midfield as usual.
Sissoko: 7 Doing the dirty works well, but was unlucky to get a yellow card.
Luis Garcia: 8.5 European King. Big math player.
Kuyt: 7 No goal this time but performance was good.
Crouch: 7 Good performance as well.

Substitutions:
Zenden: 7 A nice through ball to set up Stevie G for that goal.
Pennat/Fowler: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7.5 Master stroke in keeping the same lineup. Now we are back to zero. :)

Bordeaux: 5.5 On current form it will even have trouble to win a UEFA cup spot.

Player of the match: Luis Garcia. We all love him.

Let's get the job done

A win tonight, together with PSV not losing, will see us through to the last 16. Rafa seems to have found the right team, and let's welcome Smicer by going through!

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Luis Garcia
Kuyt
Crouch

Result: 2-0

Match Report 061028 vs Aston Villa: A great win

3-1 and it was a really great performance especially first half. We were simply flying high and banged 3 goals in 15 minutes. After that we relaxed a bit in second half, but we never look in danger. Everybody contributes to the win.

Player Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Made a great save to keep the score at 3-1.
Finnan: 7 Sent a nice cross to Crouch for the second goal.
Carragher: 7 Solid defense and contributed to the first goal.
Hyypia: 7 Solid defense and a nice assist.
Riise: 7 No goal but played well.
Gerrard: 7 Was unlucky not to score.
Alonso: 7 Control the midfield as usual.
Sissoko: 7 Doing the dirty works well.
Luis Garcia: 7.5 The Luis Garcia we love to see is back.
Kuyt: 8 Scored a nice goal for his dad.
Crouch: 7.5 Scored a hard taken goal.

Substitutions:
Pennant/Zenden: 6 Did well when coming on.
Fowler: 6.5 Almost score but the ball was a few yards away.

Rafa: 7.5 Seems to find his team now. Great selection.

Aston Villa: 6.5 Was humbled by the mighty red machine. However they will finish in top 8th.

Player of the match: Kuyt. A nice taken goal that opened the floodgate.

Keep winning

After the roller coaster win in midfield we are now back to our bread and butter - the Premier League. Aston Villa has yet to lose a game this season, but this is now the time. In doing so the defense will need to be alert and help Reina to build up his confidence again.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Pennant
Alonso
Sissoko
Gerrard
Fowler
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 061025 vs Reading: A classic cup game

4-3 and we are through to the next round of the League Cup. Reading provided some scary moment to us towards the end, but we are happy to go through. However, Rafa need to help Reina to rediscover his goalkeeping ability sooner rather than later.

Players Rating:
Reina: 5 Lost confidence after conceded the first goal.
Peltier: 6.5 A good debut.
Paletta: 7 Dream debut with a goal.
Agger: 6 Glad to seem him back.
Warnock: 6 The most senior of the back four, but didn't inspire the others enough.
Pennant: 7.5 Lively with 2 assists, and rewarded with a start to face his former teammates in Birmingham.
Sissoko: 7.5 Did well to protect the back 4, and after he is rested, we can see the difference.
Zenden: 6 A good if not impressive performance.
Riise: 7 A good game with a goal.
Fowler: 8 Captain Marvel back to his best. Scored one and made one. Rafa should consider playing him more.
Crouch: 7 Scored a nice goal.

Substitutions:
Guthrie/Smith: 6 Happy to have their first taste of first team, although none of them did have significant impact to the game.
Kuyt: 6 Hit the crossbar.

Rafa: 6.5 A nice mix of experienced and youngsters. Although he still had no solution to the defensive leaks.

Reading: 6.5 Credits to them to provide us some scare, but it will be a different game 10 days later.

Man of the Match: Fowler. Showed why Rafa should play him more.

God, please save us

After the defeat on Sunday pressure is now on Rafa, especially on his rotation policy. I still believe in him and from now on, players need to stand up and be counted. This is the first time ever we face Reading, and Fowler will be in the squad. God, please help us.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Peltier
Carragher
Pallata
Warnock
Pennant
Sissoko
Zenden
Guthrie
Fowler
Kuyt

Result: 2-0

Match Report 061022 at Manchester United: A very poor performance

0-2 and we don't look like we can get anything from this game right from the beginning. Despite playing 4-5-1 we still lose the midfield battle. Kuyt was left along up front and have to face 3 to 4 defenders all the time. And defense still showed leakages everywhere.

So another away game lost and we are already 11 points behind the leaders. It will now be very difficult to keep pace, but Rafa need to stop the leakages and start winning games, especially away from home.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6 Made a few good saves but cannot prevent both goals.
Finnan: 6 A poor game.
Carragher: 6 An OK game in general, but he was limping and so could not clear the ball that lead to the second goal.
Hyypia: 6 His indecisive moment lead to the first goal.
Riise: 6 Had 2 shots wild away from goal.
Luis Garcia: 5 Another invisible display.
Gerrard: 6 A poor game from our captain.
Alonso: 6 Failed to show an impact.
Sissoko: 6.5 The best player of the team.
Gonzalez: 5.5 Apart from a dash he was in general invisible.
Kuyt: 5.5 All by himself up front and only had a tame header.

Substitutions:
Pennant: 6 Almost invisible.
Crouch: 6 No impact apart from a crazy challenge on van Der Sar.

Rafa: 5 Forced to play 4-5-1 as Bellamy was injuried, but the playing of Gerrard on the right in a 5 men midfield is a total mistake.

Manchester United: 7 An easy win for them. But it was only we were poor.

Man of the Match: Sissoko. Tackle everywhere.

Let's kickstart the season from Old Trafford

Rafa has yet to beat Manchester at their home ground and yet to win an away league game this season, and this is the perfect place to break the duck. Gerrard will be back to the squad and the team seems to be staring to gel, so be careful at the back, and Crouch will continue his scoring run at his favorite ground.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Aurelio
Bellamy
Crouch

Result 1-0

Match Report 061018 at Bordeaux: One foot on qualification

1-0 and with this first away win of the season, we already have one foot stepped on qualification. If we win the next game we will already be qualified.

With all the injuries Rafa has picked a somewhat attacking mind but weak in defense midfield. The first half was very boring without many chances for both sides. But in second half Crouch managed to score a header from a nice Bellamy corner. Defense was solid under the leadership of Carra as we managed our first clean sheet away from home.

This is a well timed away win as we will be visiting Old Trafford in the next game. Stevie G will be back, and as Rafa said now that the internationals are over, we will have better training routines and our season really starts from here.

Player Rating:
Reina: 7 A much improved performance.
Finnan: 7 Nice performance.
Carragher: 7 Leaded the team with example.
Hyypia: 7 A good job.
Riise: 6.5 Busy as he was constantly exposed by Gonzalez's lack of defensive duty.
Luis Garcia: 7 A lively performance.
Alonso: 7 A good performance.
Zenden: 7 Slot into the midfield well.
Gonzalez: 6 Ineffective in attack, and lack of awareness defensively.
Bellamy: 7.5 Good performance with a nice corner assist.
Crouch: 7.5 Missed a glorious chance in 1H but fortunately scored one in 2H that won us the game.

Substitutions:
Kuyt: 6 Replaced Crouch but without too many contributions.
Sissoko: 6 Provided some steel in midfield when we needed it.
Warnock: 6 Had a nice run but unfortunately his finishing was not good.

Rafa: 7 Urged the team to respond and get his call answered.

Boardeaux: 6 Poor in attack. May at best challenge for the UEFA Cup spot now.

Men of the Match: Bellany/Crouch. Nice combination for the winning goal.

Rafa:

We need a result

A draw will not be a bad result, but if we win this game, we will be half way through to qualify. With Stevie G injuried Rafa is going to resuffle. And Carra the captain, lead the team to glory.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Aurelio
Luis Garcia
Alonso
Sissoko
Gonzalez
Bellamy
Crouch

Result 1-0

Match Report 061014 vs Blackburn Rovers: Disappointed

1-1 and the result is very disappointed. Although we won't expect the team to win all home league games. but the fact that the team did not wake up until 2H is really disappointing. We are now 8 points behind the leaders and some people have already written us off. Not Rafa. He will do his best to drive us back to the right route.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6 Indecisive at the goal conceded, but at the end did make some good saves to keep the score.
Finnan: 5.5 Guilty of the goal conceded.
Carragher: 6 Need to raise his game as well.
Hyypia: 6 Was getting slower and slower...
Riise: 6 Suffer as a group of the defense.
Pennant: 5.5 Had a day off and only offered poor crosses.
Gerrard: 6.5 Performance hindered by the injury.
Alonso: 6.5 One of the better player.
Aurelio: 6.5 Played very well in 2H as left back and provided a nice assist.
Bellany: 7 Finally broke the duck against his old team. A lively performance.
Crouch: 6 Had 2 chances early but then faded out.

Substitution:
Luis Garcia: 6 Provided another dimension to the team.

Rafa: 6 Inspired the team in HT, but still need to sort out the leakages.

Blackburn Rovers: 6.5 They played well and may deserve to win as well. Fortunately they don't.

Man of the Match: Bellany. It's written in the script.

Start winning

After the international break we need to start winning games. We are lucky that Gerrard can be rested, and with lots of players playing for the national teams, Rafa should start players who are overlooked like Fowler and Aurelio. And we will see Bellamy start scoring against his old team.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Aurelio
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Gonzalez
Fowler
Bellamy

Result 2-0

September Monthly Report

3 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats. We won all our home games but none of our away games. In fairness the fixture has been unkind to us and we have now played 3 of the toughst away game, with the 2 remaining coming up in the next 2 away games. There was a big concern that we have yet to get any points from these tough games yet, so Rafa need to work out a good game plan to start winning away. Starting from Old Tradford.

Players of the Month: (1) Kuyt 6.93 (2) Gerrard 6.90 (3) Agger/Sissoko 6.70. Kuyt worked very hard and was rewarded for 2 nice league goals. Stevie G has yet to score, but continue to shine from any place in the midfield. For Agger and Sissoko, they provided defensive comfort especially in the home games.

October Prediction:
10/14 Blackburn Rovers (h) Would be nice to see Craig score against his old club to kick start his scoring streak.
10/18 Bordeaux (a) We visit Smicer, and if we get a win we will be almost there for qualification.
10/22 Manchester United (a) The place we start to win away this season.
10/25 Reading (h) League Cup game with Dudek, Fowler and the young guns having a chance to shine.
10/28 Aston Villa (h) Villa has yet to lose a game this season and it will be a tough game for us.
10/31 Bordeaux (h) Reteurn of Smicer.

Match Report 060930 at Bolton Wanderers: Heartless display

0-2 and our display was very poor. We started very brightly in 1H, but after a ridiculous error by the assistant referee, we were one down and ever since then, the players just conceded defeat. Rafa's tinkering tactics is once again under fire, but as Xabi said, we need to focus on the big picture.

Players Rating:
Reina: 5 Very poor performance. The freekick was an error, but he should do better for both goals conceded, especially the first one.
Finnan: 5.5 Exposed by Bolton and let Campo headed in the second goal.
Carragher: 6 Can't do anything to help.
Hyypia: 6 Called up to face the physical challenge from Bolton, but at the end it was not effective.
Riise: 6 An average display.
Pennant: 6 Ineffective.
Alonso: 6 Failed to make an impact.
Sissoko: 6.5 Played very well but Rafa was forced to take him off for tactical reason.
Gerrard: 7 Played well, especially in 2H when moved into middle, but couldn't help.
Bellamy: 5.5 Simply ineffective and still searching for his first league goal.
Kuyt: 6 Failed to make an impact and was forced to be subsituted after he suffered from an injury.

Substitutions:
Crouch/Luis Garcia/Zenden: 6 All failed to make impact.

Rafa: 6 I think he should not say things in the press to fire Bolton up. It is a challenge for Rafa to heal our away day sickness. Starting for our next 2 away games at Old Trafford and Emirates Stadium...

Bolton: 7 They have more heart to win it, and nothing else.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Sissoko also ran close.

Third time luck

Rafa has not beaten Bolton in his last two visit there, and this time it will still be a tough physical game. We need to play strongly defensively, and we need some great crosses to tear off their defense. This is probably one of our five toughest away game this season, so we have to be alert.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Luis Garcia
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 1-0

Match Report 060927 vs Galatasaray: A different ending

3-2 and at times it was afraid that the Istanbul Final will happened again but with a reverse result, but fortunately we hang on and win the game. Crouch was on fire after given a rare chance, and both wingers were playing extremely well. It was a well deserved win and we are in a good position. Should we beat Bordeaux home and away we will be through.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Made a few great saves at the end to keep the score.
Finnan: 7 A nice cross for the wonderful Crouch overhead kick
Carragher: 6.5 Back from a rest with a nice display.
Agger: 6.5 He is soon to be our best defender.
Aurelio: 6.5 A nice assist, but he was at fault for both goals conceded.
Pennant: 7.5 His best performance for us so far. Certainly it will do no harm for his recall to the national team.
Gerrard: 7 Drive the team as usual and was involved in the first goal.
Alonso: 6.5 Another nice performance.
Luis Garcia: 7.5 Made a difference with a nice header goal.
Kuyt: 6.5 Worked hard and was rested for tactical purpose.
Crouch: 8 Back with 2 goals and reminded Rafa that he can also do a job.

Substitutions:
Gonzalez: 6 Another nice display.
Sissoko: 6 Provided assurance to the defense when we need it.
Bellamy: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7.5 His use of Crouch was a nice move and paid off handsomely, but he need to address the lost of concentration.

Galatasaray: 6.5 Showed they can play good football in 2H. It would be helpful to us if they beat PSV.

Man of the Match: Crouch. Still on fire.

A win and we will be in pole position

This is the 2nd group stage game of Champions League and if we beat Galatasaray we will be in a good position to qualify. We may not know how Rafa will shuffle the team this time, but he has done enough research and no doubt he will send the most suitable team to play.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Luis Garcia
Kuyt
Crouch

Result: 2-0

Match Report 060923 vs Tottenham Hotspur: A deserved but flattered win

3-0 is a flatter scoreline but we fully deserved to win the game. We controlled the game but somehow Spurs are reluctant to lose. The turning point is no doubt Jenas' amazing miss, as after that Gonzalez scored from a Bellamy off-the-post shot. And then Kuyt showed his classy scoring a nice goal, and Riise signals his return by scoring yet another screamer - although it is not as far away as Alonso's goal.

After the two well deserved wins we are now climing up to a more respectable position, but now the key is that we need to start winning away from home.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Another clean sheet with no real threats from the Spurs.
Finnan: 7 Another nice display from our unsung hero.
Agger: 7 His good performance had lead Rafa to do the unthinkable - to rest Carra.
Hyypia: 7 Performed well after he was rested 3 games.
Riise: 7.5 Back with a screamer. Need this as Aurelio and Warnock are competing with him for the left back spot.
Gerrard: 7.5 A great dummy lead to the first goal.
Alonso: 7 No goal this time as he did not have chance to score in our own half.
Sissoko: 7.5 Rock solid.
Gonzalez: 7.5 Opened the floodgate by scoring a great goal with his alertness and quickness.
Bellamy: 6.5 Should have scored but fortunately Gonzalez scored on the rebound.
Kuyt: 8 Another great goal. His first touch and work rate were class.

Substitutions:
Luis Garcia: 7 Almost invisible but still managed to provide 2 assists in 22 minutes.
Aurelio/Carragher: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7.5 He now has a settled pair of strikers, and it is also nice to see the defense defended another clean sheet.

Tottenham Hotspur: 6 They just can't take their chances now. If they don't improve they will rather heading to relegation rather than Europe.

Man of the Match: Kuyt. An instant Anfield hero.

Keep it up

After the wonderful game vs Newcastle the morale will be absolutely high, especially now that Rafa seemed to have found a settled team. Spurs is in a troubled time, but they always raise the game when playing us, but if we continue to play a fluid game, there is no reason we can't beat them.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Aurelio
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Pennant
Kuyt
Crouch

Result: 2-0

Match Report 060920 vs Newcastle United: Goal from heaven

2-0 and Xabi scored another long long range goal. This meant he scored his last 3 goals on an average distance of over 50 yards from the goal. We controlled the game apart from a brief 10 minutes run early in the second half. If it was not luck we may have been 3 or 4 up already. Anyway this is a nice and well deserved win to the Club.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Handling the game with confidence.
Finnan: 7.5 A great assist to the first goal, and continues to provide lots of quality crosses from the right.
Carragher: 7 A leader of the defense, and apart from 2 debatable goal to hand claims, he has the Newcastle attacks in his pocket.
Agger: 6.5 Played well in 1H but somehow he seemed to be unable to cope with the physical side of Newcastle attacks.
Aurelio: 6.5 Once again was dangerous on free kicks.
Gerrard: 7 A bit sloopy in 1H but geared up in 2H.
Alonso: 9 Wonderful goal from heaven. Also was the architect for the first goal. The Xabi we know is back. I was thinking Rafa should rest him, but fortunately Rafa knows the team better than I do.
Sissoko: 7 A rock in helping the back 4.
Luis Garcia: 7 Very exciting performance and almost scored, although he was silly to handle the ball and get a yellow card.
Bellamy: 6.5 Missed a glorious chance to kill off the game.
Kuyt: 7.5 First of many goals he will score for us. Could have scored another.

Substitutions:
Crouch and Gonzalez: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 His confidence on the team pays off well and it is a well deserved win.

Newcastle United: 6 Never really into the game, and could count themselves lucky to have only lose by 2 goals.

Man of the Match: Alonso. A genius.

Let's start winning

After the nightmare 3 away games we now have 2 home league games coming up. Without Owen and Given, we have a great chance to beat them. And Kuyt to start scoring.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Warnock
Pennant
Gerrard
Sissoko
Bellamy
Kuyt
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 060917 at Chelsea: We deserve more

0-1 probably don't reflect the game and we should at least get 1 point. However, the strikers failed to break through, Chelsea was a bit luck with that Drogba wonderful goal, and Riley again didn't see some obvious penalty, that we lost again.

In terms of performance we were at least as good as Chelsea, especially on the right hand frank that Pennant has lots of spaces to exploit. It's just the finishing were not there yet, but this will change.

We have now played 2 of the 4 most difficult away games, and from now on let's build up a momentum.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6 Can't do much for the goal conceded.
Finnan: 6 Doing well at defense.
Carragher: 6 Did very well but somehow let Drogba scored that goal.
Agger: 7 A convincing display.
Warnock: 6.5 Recovered well from the early yellow card and made some crucual tackles.
Pennant: 6.5 Lots of spaces to run, and were very dangerous.
Alonso: 6 Still not back to his best.
Sissoko: 6.5 Did well in stopping the Chelsea midfield.
Gerrard: 6.5 Didn't played too well at the left, but for tactical reason this is probably the best play to play Stevie G. Should pass the ball in at least 2 occasions instead of taking the shots.
Bellamy: 5.5 A bit disappointing.
Kuyt: 6.5 Deadly, but still searching for his first goal.

Substitutions:
Aurelio: 6 Doing OK after tactical change to replace Warnock, but should do more attacks.
Zenden: 6 Doing Ok.
Crouch: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Tried his best to win the game for us, but Drogba's goal is simply unstoppable. Defense is more secure now with Carra and Agger, and if we keep on play like this, we can still win the title.

Chelsea: 6.5 Their lack of width would be a major concern, and we will beat them next time.

Man of the Match: Agger. Another outstanding display.

Defy the impossibility

Chelsea has not lost a game at home for a long time, and now is the time. Rafa will no doubt play his strongest team this time, and as we have beat them twice in a row now, it would be nice to make it 3 in a row.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Warnock
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Aurelio
Bellamy
Kuyt

Result: 1-0

Match Report 060912 at PSV Eindhoven: A well deserved point

0-0 away in Europe should never be considered a poor result, although people may question Rafa's decision of leaving out the big guns like Stevie G, Xabi and Sami. Rafa's game plan seems to be making it hard for PSV to penetrate and in this regard the game is a real success. We finally get our first clean sheet of the season (since mid April) and Stevie G almost win it for us at the end. Depending on whether you are optimistic or not, you may view this as a start of another unbeaten run, or we are 2 games without a win now. But let's be positive.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 First clean sheet of the season although at times he was a bit shaky.
Finnan: 6.5 Good defensive display.
Carragher: 6.5 A better display than the derby.
Agger: 6.5 A really eye-catching display. Proved again he can dispense Hyypia.
Warnock 6.5 A good display after back from injury.
Pennant: 6.5 Working hard from the right flank.
Zenden: 6 A good display back to his former team.
Sissoko: 6.5 Bossed the midfield in the absense of Stevie and Xabi.
Aurelio: 6.5 Played better as left midfielder.
Bellamy: 6.5 Constant threats to PSV.
Kuyt: 7 Played very well back to his home country.

Substitutions:
Alonso: 6 Distributed the ball well when we needed it.
Gerrard: 6.5 An encouraging display and almost scored to win the game.
Gonzalez: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 A solid lineup and get a deserved point. And the defense looks calmer.

PSV Eindhoven: 6.5 A good display too but we should be able to beat them in the return game.

Man of the Match: Kuyt. Great display. Still looking for his first goal and it will come soon.

Champions League restarts

Champions League group stage restarts and we will beginning from visiting PSV Eindhoven, our first ever competitive match with them. We need to forget the crash in the derby, and the draw is quite kind for us, so it will be nice to at least get a point there for a start.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Agger
Hyypia
Carragher
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Gonzalez
Kuyt
Bellamy

Result: 1-0

Match Report 060909 at Everton: We tumbled

0-3 and this is the worst derby defeat in more than 40 years. We just don't perform well as a team. Reina again made some silly mistakes but defense as a whole played badly. Rafa's ommission of Bellamy also raised a few eyebrows. And although we dominated in goal attempts, but we lack the killing instinct. Also we were running out of luck as there were 2 shots hit the post, numerous shots just a few yards wide, and Poll failed to award us a penalty for a handball.

The unbeaten run since March finally ended and we need to pick ourselves up and start another run. Starting in Holland.

Players Rating:
Reina: 4.5 A very poor result especially letting in the 3rd goal. Is he lack of confidence or what? A few more performance like this and Rafa should switch to Dudek.
Finnan: 5 Poor defending that lead to the first goal. Almost scored in 2H.
Carragher: 5 Even Carra performed badly, especially the ineffective clearance that lead to the 2nd goal.
Hyypia: 5 Can't contain Johnson and his lack of pace is obvious.
Aurelio: 5.5 A nice freekick but still unconvincing in defense.
Gerrard: 6.5 The only player that played OK in this game, and hit the goalpost twice.
Alonso: 5.5 Yet to pick up his form this season.
Sissoko: 6 A solid display.
Luis Garcia: 5 A nice crossing in 1H was his only contribution.
Fowler: 5.5 Had a few shots in the opening minutes but then there is no supply to him.
Crouch: 5 A very poor performance. Almost invisible.

Substitutions:
Kuyt: 6 Looks sharp and dangerous, but failed to put the ball in the net.
Riise: 5.5 Injuried again for a bad tackle.
Pennant: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 5 The formation has a few problems and the internatinal run has disturbed Rafa's preparation. Nevertheless Rafa's omission of Bellamy and failure of setting the defense had exaggrated the problem.

Everton: 7 They played well and deserved the win, although the margin has flattered them.

Player of the Match: Gerrard. If he scored from one of the many opportunities, the result may be completely different.

First hurdle

It's Derby time again and this is the first hurdle of the season with 3 consecutive key away games. Both teams are running on a high recently but after the international weekend Rafa may rest a few key players. It would be nice to see Robbie score again.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Aurelio
Pennant
Gerrard
Sissoko
Gonzalez
Fowler
Crouch

Result: 3-1

August Month Review

3 wins and 2 draws was not a bad result, although it can always be better. Expectations were high after we beat Chelsea with our team C, but then it was back to ground level after we drew with Sheffield United and Maccabi Haifa. We have 4 injuries and defense was cracky, but the new boys fit in the team very well.

Looking ahead, Rafa need to sort out the defense problems quickly, as there will be a lot of tough away games in September.

Players of the Month: (1) Crouch 7.23 (2) Sissoko 7.13 (3) Bellamy and Pennant 7.10. Crouch scored 3 goals for the club and 2 more for England. Momo patrolled the midfield nicely before his injury, and the new boys Bellamy and Pennant both did their jobs well and impressed us.

September Prediction:
9/9 Everton (a) Last time Stevie G and Beattie were both sent off, and Everton is on a high. This is a good time to stop them.
9/12 PSV Eindhoven (a) Champions League restarts and Kuyt would provide us lots of information about PSV.
9/17 Chelsea (a) A very tough game, a draw would not be a bad result, but let's win it.
9/20 Newcastle United (h) Newcastle is still under evolution and we should beat them.
9/23 Tottenham Hotspur (h) Spurs may have made a mistake in selling Carrick, but still they are a strong team.
9/27 Galatasarak SK (h) A home game we should win.
9/30 Bolton Wanderers (a) Another tough away game. Beat them and we will be in a good position.

Match Report 060826 vs West Ham United: Lightning do strikes twice

2-1 and this match has re-run a few of the FA Cup Final events: Reina made an error and West Ham scored from a crossing, and there is a wonderful long range strike that reversed the momentum. In general we played well in this game, it's just we lack a bit of luck to score one more goal to settle the game.

Players Rating:
Reina: 5.5 Made a bad mistake and put Zamora's crossing into the goal, but made a good save at the end to keep the score. However, he needs to be more careful or else we will see Dudek again.
Finnan: 6.5 A steady game at the back.
Agger: 8 Wonderful strike. Nice defense. Future of the Club.
Hyypia: 6.5 Not the best game and was exposed in a few occasions.
Aurelio: 6.5 Had some good free kicks but could also do better for the goal conceded. Still doing better in attack than defense.
Pennant: 7.5 Provided a lot of options for the striker. Another good display.
Gerrard: 7 Drove the team to overcome the 1 goal deficit. He also helped en-route the winning goal.
Alonso: 7 Without Momo, he needed to do more the defensive works.
Luis Garcia: 7 Wasted numerous chances but at the end he provided a nice assist.
Bellamy: 7 Another lively game and provided many threats.
Crouch: 7.5 A well taken goal but other than that he did not have too many contributions.

Substitutions:
Kuyt: 7 Had a great impact when coming up. Definitely he will provide Rafa with more options.
Gonzalez: 6.5 Lively performance.
Zenden: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Was hindered by the injuries and still has not solved the defense problem.

West Ham United: 6.5 Scored with the only chance in 1H. They will be a top 10 team if Europe proved to be not too much a distraction.

Man of the Match: Agger. Wonder goal.

FA Cup Final re-run

It's West Ham again. Despite the injury of Ashton, they still have Zamora who is on fire. We are also hit with a more serious injury problem, but now that we are in Champions League, we should put our mind back and perform, especially this match is for celebrate the 100 years of Kop end.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Agger
Hyypia
Aurelio
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Luis Garcia
Kuyt
Crouch

Result: 2-0

Match Report 060822 vsMaccabi Haifa: A close shave

1-1 and we are through to the group stage, but it was with a lot of scary moment and another two injuries. Without Carra defense at a whole has problems, and we are some what lucky to just concede one goal thanks to Reina. Is it down to the aging of Hyypia or is it down to the new boys yet to fit in? Probably a mix of both.

It was also a mystery why with Crouch, Pennant and Gonzalez all starting it was not until Crouch scored that goal that we see a good cross from the wings. I would think this is the purpose of this formation. Nevertheless this is another great header from Crouch.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Helped to minimize damage and keep the score at 1-1.
Finnan: 6 Was exposed several times.
Agger: 6.5 Indecisive game.
Hyypia: 6 Showed again he is aging and fading very fast.
Warnock:6 Anoter injury...
Pennant: 7 A great cross and this is why Rafa signed him.
Alonso: 6.5 Tried hard to score early on.
Sissoko: 7 Played well before the injury.
Gonzalez: 6 A bit quiet, but maybe we have put too much pressure on him.
Luis Garcia: 6.5 Had a few shots on target but the keeper responded very well.
Crouch: 7.5 Created lots of chances for the team and scored the important one. He is ready to fight for the place.

Substitutions:
Aurelio: 6.5 Doing well going forward, but was always exposed when defending.
Gerrard: 6.5 Despite the stomache problem he is still driving the team when coming up.
Bellamy: Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6 Another game distorted by injuries. But Haifa is not a poor team and Rafa would be happy to the response of the attacking players, although he will be concerned about the defense.

Maccabi Haifa: 6.5 Matched us very well, and good luck to them in the UEFA Cup.

Player of the Match: Crouch. Another great header and he has scored 4 goals in 10 days for the Club and Country.

Be alert

We have a tricky match which is very important financially. Carra and Riise would not be able to participate, and the stand-in players need to be alert. Keep a clean sheet and score, and we will be through.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Agger
Hyypia
Aurelio
Pennant
Gerrard
Sissoko
Gonzalez
Bellamy
Crouch

Result: 2-0

Match Report 060819 at Sheffield United: Down to earth

1-1 and the result, especially after Sunday's Chelsea and Manchester United results, brought us down to earth again. What's worse, Carra and Riise were both injuried and will miss the crucial game against Maccabi Haifa. Rafa needs to sort out the defense problem as we keep on conceding goals.

Rafa's tactic is hindered by the early injuries. The defense has big problem as Hyypia was dragged by the Sheffield defender and Agger failed to react. Fortunately we have a some-what dubious penalty, and Fowler scored. Clearly everybody's mind is in the Maccabi Haifai game and so the team did not perform as it shoud be.

Player Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Not much to do and can't do much on the goal.
Kromkamp: 6 A surprise start, and failed in defense as a whole.
Carragher: 6.5 A worrying injury after a harsh tackle by Hulse.
Hyypia: 6 He is getting slower and slower and his performance is worrying.
Riise: 6.5 Suffered from a bad injury after a great cross.
Zenden: 6 Ineffective game.
Gerrard: 7.5 One of the better player. The penalty decision is a bit dubious
though.
Sissoko: 7 Battling hard in the midfield, but beware of the yellow cards.
Aruelio: 7 A nice performance and it is nice to see him take control of all the corners and free kicks. Should have scored directly from a free kick, but Kenny has a different thought.
Bellamy: 7 Another lively performance.
Fowler: 7 A quiet performance, but his penalty is class.

Substitutions:
Gonzalez: 6.5 Could have done better, and missed a great chance.
Agger: 6.5 Fits in well although he is also partly responsible for the goal conceded.
Pennant: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: His starting formation is a bit strange and his tactics is further hindered by the injuries. Need to sort out the defense sooner rather than later.

Sheffield United: 6.5 A well deserved draw. Warnock claimed we won't have that hard a challenge in the league this season. Hope his word is true.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Drove the team on.

19

This season, we have a much stronger team to challenge for #19. The new players look promising and adapting to the new team well, and the confidence within the team is high. We look difficult to beat. Last season, we were 6 points behind Chelsea, and the points were lost against the top 4 teams. For Chelsea, how many points can they gain? Not many. If we play with the same consistency, with a better record against the top 4 teams, and a bit of lucky, #19 is coming. But first, let's play well against Sheffield United.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Gonzalez
Bellamy

Result: 2-0

Match Report 060813 vs Chelsea: A well deserved win

2-1 and it is a nice way to start the domestic season. Rafa is bold enough to rest a lot of first team players, but the team still plays well. This shows how far we have developed. The team is now getting closer to Rafa's ideal team, and we will have a good chance in challenging the Premiership, especially if Chelsea is turning their focus to CL.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Nobody can stop that Shevchenko goal, but he did made 2 nice consecutive saves in 2H to keep the score at bay.
Finnan: 6.5 Played well but one slow action let Shevchenko scored.
Carragher: 7 Captain Carra did his best to protect the goal.
Agger: 7 A nice game for the young Dane. We can expect more games for the guy this season.
Riise: 7.5 Scored a nice goal after running the whole pitch.
Pennant: 7 Another lively match.
Sissoko: 8 The boss of the midfield, and shown Ballack how to play in Premiership.
Zenden: 7 A nice performance.
Gonzalez: 7 Another nice game.
Luis Garcia: 6.5 A good game.
Crouch: 7 Scored a nice goal thanks to Bellany's great cross.

Substitutions:
Aurelio: 7 A nice debut. His freekicks are class, and he almost scored a goal.
Alonso: 6.5 A good game although he was unlucky to get a yellow card.
Gerrard: 6.5 Still picking up his form.
Bellamy: 7 Another nice run and made an impact when substituted on.
Sinama-Pongolle: Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 His formation is very bold and his substitutions made impacts. Tactical genius.

Chelsea: 6.5 They will still be the favorite, but we are getting closer. And with a little bit luck, who knows what will happen?

Man of the Match: Sissoko. A real bargin for 5m.

Win the glamorous friendly

Community Shield is just a glamourous friendly game, and in the past only 30% of CS winner became league Champion. Nevertheless, this is a good game to testify how close we get to Chelsea. Rafa will no doubt make a few changes, and no matter who plays, make sure you don't injure yourself.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Pennant
Gerrard
Sissoko
Gonzalez
Crouch
Bellamy

Result: 2-0

Match Report 060809 vs Maccabi Haifa: Dream debuts

2-1 and it was not until 88 minutes that Gonzalez scored that we beat Maccabi Haifa. As you can expect after the World Cup, a lot of players are still far from the necessary fitness level. However the defense is really shocking and left so many holes for the opponents to explore. The new players have yet to gel with the team yet. Reina has to make a good save in 2H to prevent Haifa from taking the lead the second time. We have a Community Shield game and another friendly to go before the real season kicks off, and Rafa needs to sort it out quickly.

Player Rating:
Reina: 7 Can't do much about the goal conceded, and had made a good save in 2H.
Finnan: 6.5 Was a bit slow in making decision, but gradually recovered and even provided a good cross at the end.
Carragher: 7 Made a few great tackles.
Hyypia: 6 Was partly responsible for the goal conceded.
Riise: 6 Also responsible for the goal conceded.
Pennant: 7 A lively debut and provided a few good crosses.
Alonso: 7 A bit disappointing until his assist to Mark's goal.
Gerrard: 7 Shows some lack of form as he is still recovering from the long season.
Sissoko: 6.5 Running up and down, provided an assist, get a silly yellow card, and bursted the ball at the 93rd minute.
Zenden: 6 Trying very hard but not much use.
Bellamy: 7.5 A dream debut with a nice taken goal. It was funny to see him wearing #17, Stevie G's old number, running along with Stevie G to chase the ball when it was parried by the opponent goalkeeper, and scored it.

Substitutions:
Luis Garcia: 6.5 Tried hard and provided some threats, but his "dive" does not help.
Crouch: 6.5 Provided aerial threats and was close to score in 2 occasions.
Gonzalez: 7.5 Scored from his first touch. He is really speedy and almost run over the ball.

Rafa: 7 Great substitutions that create impact, although he need to work hard on the defense, the general fitness and the new player's understanding of the team flow.

Maccabi Haifa: Scored from their only shot on target, could have score 2 more. We need to be alert in the 2nd leg.

Players of the Match: Bellamy and Gonzalez. Dream debuts.

The most important match of the season

Although this is the first game of the season, this match is important as we need to get into Champions League to generate enough revenue. Looking at the result of the pre-season friendlies we were not at our best, especially the young defenders keep on making errors. Also, 3rd round qualifiers may be banana skin as the weaker teams will normally be physically better prepared and playing for the game of their life. And for us, since this is the world cup year many first team players were just back and fitness may be a problem. Nevertheless, we should have enough talent to dispose them of.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Zenden
Bellamy
Crouch

Result: 3-0

Back where it belongs

Fowler to wear the famous #9 again. How nice it is!

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N152952060721-1137.htm

Pre Season starts

After a short break the pre season game starts tomorrow. Although the players involving in the world cup will still be resting, there are still lots of new faces in the team, leaded by the fit again Fowler. Bellamy, Gonzalez and the two South Amercian young guns may have their debut, and this year, we will be better prepared and challenge the title.

One Year On

It was one year ago that we became the European Champions the 5th time and were entitled to keep the Big Ear forever. The memory is still here, but before it fades out, I need to keep it down.

It all began 2 years ago. We met Newcastle in the last game of the season, but since they did not beat Southampton the match before, we were virtually secured 4th place. This made me feel safe to travel to Melbourne on that Saturday night to have missed the game.

After the season is over Houllier resigned and Benitez arrived. It was certainly a season of changing, and Gerrard almost left. Luckily he didn't, but a certain striker did - he even sit out the Champions League 3rd round qualifier for this purporse. We rolled through to the Group Stage and was playing just OK. Misjudgement by the referees like the Saviola goal did not help, and we went into the last game knowing we need to beat Olympiakos by 2 goals to qualify.

The match was not going well in the first half. We were one down by a Rivaldo freekick and need to score three in the second half. Rafa brought up Sinama-Pongolle and he scored one. Then he brough up Mellor and he did the same. Time was running out, then come Stevie G, scoring a thrunder from 30 yards out and we were through. Now bring on Leverkusen.

At this stage I had some hope that perhaps this would be our season, although very few people gave us any chance at all. Leverkusen were duly destroyed, then came Juventus. It was fate that brought us together, 20 years after the Hasel tragedy. We won the first game 2-1 and kept a clean sheet at their home. And we were in the semi-final and next came Chelsea, the team we lost 3 times already that season.

First leg was a good 0-0, although the result was good, but we should have won the game. In the second leg the Kop did its best and sucked Luis Garcia's shot into the net. We kept our heads high, then in the 96th minute Gudjohnsen was very close to score - so close that the Football God came out and prevented the goal, and we were in the Final in Istanbul. I would have quite watching football if he scored, for that means there is no justice at all. After this game I cried - for we finally broke all omens and in the Final, after 20 years.

I have never been so nervous before. The match was on a Wednesday, and I began to feel nervous on Monday. On Tuesday I received the Champions League Final jersey and then came the Wednesday. I wore the jersey and we were well beaten 0-3 in 1H. I was hoping this was just a dream, and slightly think of the games at Basel and vs Olympiakos. I took off the jersey and wore my usual Stevie G #8 jersey on, and somehow, we came back. At 1-3 I thought it is good to get some pride back, but after Smicer scored that beauty, I knew we have a chance. Then Xabi missed that penalty and hit the rebound, I knew we can win it. Then we rolled on, and at the end of extra time, Dudek made that impossible double saves of Shevchenko, and I knew we will win. For the Football God won't be that crual and carry us so far and drop us.

Then came the penalty shootout. First came Milan and Dudek saved. From our side it was Hamann. I remembered his miss at Cardiff at that League Cup Final, but this time he made it. Then Dudek saved. Next came Cisse, who's miracle return from injury and scored the penalty. Then AC Milan scored and Riise missed. It was 2-2. Next came Smicer, a guy who had his heart with the Club, but due to injuries was never fulfilled his truth potential, scored his last goal for us. Now it's Shevchenko, the best striker in the world. But this was not his day and Dudek saved. And the rest is history.

Somehow I didn't cry this time, for maybe I have lost all my energy, but I am proud of the team. For this is certainly not the best team on the pitch apart from that 6 minutes, but due to their belief, together with the supporting fans, we made the impossible possible.

First to leave

Morientes became the first First-Team player to leave this off-season. It is a really pity that he did not play as good as his fame, but certainly he will be easier to adapt to Spain.

Good luck Nando.

2005/06 Season Review

Another season, another trophy. We also improved a lot in the league, and depends on how well Rafa can improve the team, we will be a serious challenger for the title. Now the team has some steal in it especially at home and we have the tag of "difficult to beat" attached. Next season will be even more challenging and let's see if we can win the big thing finally.

Player Rating (Games played, Minutes played, Goal scored/conceded, Assists/cleansheets, MoM, Rating)

Goalkeepers:
Carson: 4G 360M 6GC 1CS 0MoM 6.13
Dudek: 6G 459M 4GC 2CS 0MoM 6.60
Reina: 53G 4821M 34GC 30CS 2.5MoM 6.75

Reina was the number one in the post and did his job very well, with 30 clean sheets in his bag. He imposes a sense of security to the defenders. Although he may lost focus at times (especially the Birmingham away league game and the FA Cup Final) but in general he did very well.

Although Dudek lost his place to Reina he still played well whenever he is called up. Carson did not have any big progress at all and had eventually loaned out. One of them may be leaving this summer.

Defenders:
Agger: 4G 360M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.63
Carragher: 57G 5154M 1GS 2A 6MoM 6.94
Finnan: 52G 4556M 0GS 7A 1.5MoM 6.65
Hyypia: 59G 5205M 2GS 0A 2.5MoM 6.64
Josemi: 12G 832M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.39
Kromkamp: 17G 764M 0GS 1A 0MoM 6.45
Medjani: 1 unused substitute
Raven: 1G 90M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.00
Riise: 52G 3906M 4GS 5A 2MoM 6.74
Traore: 24G 1396M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.25
Warnock: 30G 1940M 1GS 0A 1MoM 6.33
Whitbread: 3G 216M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.33

Carra once again lead the defenders, and together with Reina, Hyypia, Finnan and Riise formed our best defensive lineup. This lineup played 18 times with 13 cleansheets and 7 goals conceded - 3 of them in the FA Cup Final and 4 game with 1 goal conceded and an impressive 14 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats. Agger and Kromkamp are bought in as backups and performed OK, and Warnock also did well in the second season, with a high in the Fulham game that he scored his first goal for us. For the others, Rafa will be looking for buyers as he had already bought a few young defenders.

Midfielders:
Alonso: 47G 4087M 5GS 8A 7.5MoM 6.88
Andersen: 1 unused substitute
Barragan: 1G 12M 0GS 0A 0MoM
Gerrard: 53G 4238M 23GS 17A 16MoM 7.19
Hamann: 32G 2222M 0GS 1A 0MoM 6.60
Kewell: 41G 2757M 3GS 3A 1MoM 6.78
Le Tallec: 2G 148M 0GS 1A 0MoM 6.50
Luis Garcia: 50G 2936M 11GS 6A 6MoM 6.72
Potter: 7G 400M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.42
Sissoko: 45G 3417M 0GS 2A 1.5MoM 6.84
Smicer: 16G 504M 1GS 0A 0MoM 6.21
Zenden: 17G 1095M 2GS 2A 0MoM 6.60

Gerrard is no doubt the best midfield and he is miles apart from the others. But then Alonso and Sissoko also did well as well, and Harry Kewell returning to his best (although he was hurt by another injury in the Final). Luis Garcia and Zenden (before his injury) also played well in the wings, and Hamann a rock in the central whenever he is called upon. For the others, they may see the exit door soon. Rafa has also keen in improving this area and a right winger will be high on his agenda, although he may still play Gerrard and Luis Garcia there as well.

Attackers:
Baros: 2G 38M 0G 0A 0MoM 6.50
Cisse: 54G 2873M 19GS 6A 3.5MoM 6.69
Crouch: 49G 3294M 12GS 7A 4MoM 6.76
Fowler: 16G 857M 5GS 1A 3.5MoM 6.93
Morientes: 46G 2947M 9G 5A 2.5MoM 6.56
Sinama-Pongolle: 16G 538M 3GS 0A 1MoM 6.63

We still need to bring in some players in this department. Despite scoring 19 goals Cisse is still likely to be offload if we have a good offer for him. Nando just did not perform to his level for two years and will most likely out. Cisse was good, but he is never a 20-goal striker for us. Rafa did his master-stroke and bring back Fowler, and his performance are just marvelous. Expect a lot of changes here.

Players of the Season (1) Gerrard 7.19 (2) Carragher 6.94 (3) Alonso 6.88. This is exactly the same as last season, as the three players played consistently well. Momo also played well as well and will be serious challenger for the top 3 post. And Fowler... if he can maintain his form for the whole season, the league title won't be far away from us.

Forward Plans
Rafa had rewritten history and became the first Liverpool manager to bring in trophy in his first two seasons. Now he is going to challenge himself by winning another trophy in the third season - this time the league championship. In analyzing the result of the season, we were slightly better in facing teams from 6th to 20th, but we did very poorly against the other top 5 teams, especially away. We definitely need to improve here. It will be difficult, but if Rafa can bring in a few players to complete his game plan, and if we can maintain our form in the league and improve in facing the top teams, anything is possible.

May Month Review

It's like Istanbul take two. We win at Portsmouth but it was not enough to move us into second place, but we were on a eleven game winning streak and confidence was high when we play West Ham in the FA Cup Final. Then the match become another FA Cup classic.

Players of the Month: (1) Gerrard 8.00 (2) Sissoko 7.75 (3) Cisse 7.50. Stevie G saved us again in the FA Cup with that superb 30 yard volley. Momo basically carried us through in the extra time. And Cisse scored in both games. Well done all!

As usual, there will be a summer shuffle and some players will leave and some will come. For all those who are leaving, thanks for your efforts and good luck; and for all those who will join us, hope you will bring us the one trophy we all long for. And lastly, for those who will be playing in the World Cup, good luck, and don't get injuried.

Match Report 060513 vs West Ham United: Lightning strikes twice

3-3 and just like in Istanbul we win the FA Cup after penalty shootouts. Credits to West Ham, they don't deserved to lose. But we have Gerrard - the man who almost left us due to misunderstanding, but now he get what he was dreaming as a kid - being the captain of Liverpool and lift FA Cup. Now there is only one last thing for him - to be the captain of Liverpool and win the league for us.

Maybe it was due to tireness that many of our reliable players all making mistakes at the same time. The match started very dull in the first 20 minutes and all of a sudden, West Ham had a counter-attack due to Xabi's mispass and lead to the ball strike to Carra's left foot and caused a goal. Then Reina fumbled and let Ashton scored another goal. At 0-2 down I was thinking Istanbul, but then Crouch has a legal goal incorrectly ruled offside. Luckily Cisse scored one from another superb Gerrard pass.

At the start of 2H Reina had to be alert to make a double save to keep the score at 1-2. Then Gerrard scored a volley, and we looked to be able to win the match at any time. Unfortunately, West Ham was lucky again and Konchesky scored a complete fluke with a cross gone into the goal. As the announcer announced there will be 4 extra minutes of added time, Gerrard got the loose ball, and hit a wonderful strike to the left side of the net. Game on!

During extra time lots of players from both sides get cramps and other injuries, and at the very end of the 2H of extra time, Reina had to be at his best again by tipping the ball away to the post from another West Ham attack. The ball then bounced to Harewood, but because he had cramp so he miskicked the ball completely, and the match gone to penalty.

At penalty there will only be one winner. We have won 8 of the previous 9 penalty shootouts and duly make it 9 out of 10. Reina was once again superb and saved 3. Hamann, Gerrard and Riise scored and then the FA Cup is ours.

Player Ratings:
Reina: 7 Crap in normal time especially for the second goal but later saved the team and win the Cup.
Finnan: 6.5 Probably his worst performace this season.
Carragher: 6.5 Scored an unlucky own goal but after that he performed well.
Hyypia: 6 Failed to contain Ashton and missed a penalty. Not his day.
Riise: 7.5 Become stronger and stronger as time drag on. And scored a penalty to kill of the ghost in Istanbul.
Gerrard: 8.5 It may be flattered to say he won us the Cup, but it is close. The Final will be rightly named as "The Gerrard Final".
Alonso: 6 A very poor performance from his high standard. Probably affected by injury.
Sissoko: 8 Only second to the captain. He had limitless energy in the midfield and carried us during extra time.
Kewell: 5.5 You have to feel sorry for him as he completed his Cup Final injury treble.
Cisse: 7.5 Scored a great volley but after that faded very fast.
Crouch: 6.5 Maybe too much pressure for him. Did not perform well at all.

Substitutions:
Morientes: 6.5 Could have played his last game for us. Not too bad, but not convincing.
Kromkamp: 6.5 An OK performance.
Hamann: 7.5 Once again his persence guided us to victory, and scored another great penalty to set the tone in the shotout.

Rafa: 8 A great game for Rafa, and once again his master stroke of introducing Hamann at the right time proves effective.

West Ham: 8 Although their 3 goals are considered lucky, it is also undeniable that they played a good game. Luckily Gerrard is on our team, and luck even out at the end.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. The Gerrard Final.

Win it for the fans, Fowler, and Luis Garcia

It is the FA Cup Final and we are hot favorite to win it. Rafa will make sure the team won't be complacement as West Ham will not be an easy opponent. And let's win it for the fans, especially those who suffered in that Burnley defeat, Fowler, who was cup-tied, and Luis Garcia, who did a lot in sending us to Final, but was too stupid to miss the Final for that sent-off.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Kewell
Cisse
Crouch

Result: 2-0

Match Report 060507 at Portsmouth: A nice win

3-1 and it is a nice win to conclude the league, especially Fowler to score after his contract extended. Although we cannot catch Manchester United as they also win, the result and the total points of 81 is really good and it creates the platform for us to challenge the title next season. Now we have the FA Cup Final to concentrate on, and let's hope Alonso's injury is not that serious and he can start.

Players Rating:
Dudek: 7 A nice performance. Hope this is not his last game for us.
Finnan: 7 A good defending performance after a rest.
Carragher: 7.5 As usual, Carra defends with passion and skills.
Hyypia: 7 A solid display.
Riise: 7 A good defending game.
Gerrard: 7.5 Played well with an assist.
Alonso: 6.5 Hope his injury is not that serious.
Sissoko: 7.5 Great defending midfield display.
Kewell: 7 Running the left side well.
Fowler: 8 Another goal. It is really great news that Rafa extended his contract.
Morientes: 7 A good display without a goal.

Substitutions:
Kromkamp: 7 A good display in the right midfield.
Crouch: 7.5 A nice goal taken.
Cisse: 7.5 One goal, one assist. No doubt Rafa should start him in the FA Cup Final.

Rafa: 7 A good team selection and he will be happy about the professional display of the team.

Portsmouth: 6 They are in holiday mood after securing the league position last week. Next season will probably be better.

Man of the Match: Fowler. Even the Portsmouth fans sing his name.

Just Win It.

This is the last game of the league season and if we win it, we will capture on a Manchester United slippage. Rafa probably will have one eye on the FA Cup final and rest some players, but for whoever called upon to this game, they will stick to the game plan and win it for us. Just win it, and we will hope for the good news.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Traore
Cisse
Sissoko
Hamann
Kewell
Fowler
Morientes

Result: 2-0

April Month Report

6W0D0L. A perfect month and we are now in FA Cup Final and 1 point behind Manchester United. Rafa even has the luxury to rest some players in the last 2 matches and still managed to win both games comfortably. Let's continue to play well in the final 2 matches of the season, and it will be great if we can finish the season 2nd in the table and have the FA Cup home.

Players of the Month (1) Gerrard 7.33 (2) Reina/Alonso/Fowler 7.30. Gerrard played well in the FA Cup semi-final and scored 2 great goals in the Villa game. Reina has been keeping the goals in superb form all season, Alonso has played well and have 3 assists in the month. And Fowler... 4 starts, 3 goals and 1 assist. Sign him up!

May Prediction:
5/7 Portsmouth (a): We will win this game to capitalize on any Manchester United slip.
5/13 West Ham United (n): Let's not be complacemancy, and win it for the fans.

Match Report 060429 vs Aston Villa: Keep chasing 2nd place

3-1 and it is a brilliant win thanks to the effort of the team especially Stevie G. As Manchester United have lost 5 points in the weekend we are just 1 point behind with 1 game to go. Should they failed to win in the last game and we beat Portsmouth, we will finish the league as second place. So let us avoid any complamancy and do our best to prepare for the arrival of the miracle.

We started the match sharply and Nando scored in just 3 minutes from a superb Alonso long pass. We then lowered our gear and gradually invited Villa to attack. They finally equalised in about an hour from our sloppy defending. Then we woke up and Stevie G scored 2 goals in 5 minutes and put the result beyond Villa's reach. Now we have a lot to play for the last league game of the season, so every player should make sure we are alert so that we can capitalize any Manchester United slip.

Player Ratings:
Reina: 7 Not much to do with the goal, and was alert to parry away a potential Sissoko own goal.
Kromkamp: 6.5 A steady display.
Carragher: 7 Defend with style. And his two kids are very cute!
Hyypia: 6.5 Made some rare errors in the game.
Traore: 6.5 A good defending display.
Cisse: 7 A good shout for the FA Cup Final starting place.
Gerrard: 8.5 Two nice goals to determine the result.
Alonso: 7.5 Two nice assists.
Riise: 7 A good display in the midfield.
Morientes: 7.5 A nice taken goal.
Crouch: 6.5 Not much impact in the game.

Substitutions:
Fowler: 6.5 Have a shoting chance but somehow missed.
Sissoko: 6.5 Almost scored an own goal, but in general a good display.
Warnock: 6.5 Not much impact.

Rafa: 7 Rested a few players and still able to get a win. And Fortress Anfield was rebuilt.

Aston Villa: 6 A really poor season for them.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Keep scoring as you may need to play striker for England!

Keep winning

This is the last home game of the season and let's win it for the fans and maintain our slim hope of catching up Manchester United. Rafa may again rest some players, but for whoever playing, don't do silly things and get you red cardded.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Kromkamp
Hyypia
Traore
Warnock
Gerrard
Hamann
Sissoko
Cisse
Fowler
Morientes

Result: 2-0

Match Report 060426 at West Ham United: Stupidity overshadowed victory

2-1 and the result will give us a psycological boast before the FA Cup Final, but for some stupidity by Luis Garcia, he get himself sent off and will miss the Final. While we may be sympathatic on the fact that he played well in the Semi Final that let us into the Final, but sometimes you need to be careful not to let the image that you are a diver get affect yourself. But unfortunately Luis Garcia learned it the hard way. Now, we are going to win this for him without his participation.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 6.5 A decent display for our CL hero.
Finnan: 6.5 A good display at the back.
Carragher: 6.5 Leading the defense well apart from the lapse at the start of 2H.
Traore: 6.5 Not bad performance as center back.
Warnock: 6.5 A good performance.
Kromkamp: 6.5 Played well in right midfield and right back.
Sissoko: 7.5 Nice performance and a nice assist.
Hamann: 7 Good display in midfield.
Cisse: 8 Two nice goals.
Fowler: 7 A great assist but should have score himself to make it 3-0.
Morientes: 6.5 Hit the crossbar...

Substitutions:
Hyypia: 6.5 Good display when called up.
Luis Garcia: 4 Have only himself to blame for the red card.
Riise: Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 A good rotation in resting most of the first team players, but would be angry for Luis Garcia's stupidity.

West Ham United: 6 Also rested many players, and it may hurt them more with Mullin's sent off. And we will beat them again in the FA Cup Final on May 13.

Man of the Match: Cisse. Great display, but why can't he play like every game?

The FA Cup rehersal

Although this game is the FA Cup rehersal expect there will be big changes to the lineup on May 13 as Rafa will be resting many players after a long season. This is a chance for the 2nd team players to impress tonight, and grab it well.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Kromkamp
Agger
Traore
Warnock
Cisse
Sissoko
Hamann
Riise
Morientes
Crouch

Result: 2-0

Match Report 060424 vs Chelsea: The better team won

2-1 and this time no doubt the better team won. Rafa's tactics were spot on and the players discharged accordingly. Luis Garcia proved again he is a big time player, and Harry Kewell had his best game for us. The job has not finished yet, and we will face West Ham in the Final. Let's not be complacement and finish the job professionally.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 A very poor decision in rusing out and lead to the Drogba goal. Other than that, he was not seriously tested.
Finnan: 7 Discharged his defensive responsibility well.
Carragher: 7 Another whole-hearted performance from Carra as you can expect.
Hyypia: 7 Handled the Chelsea strikers well.
Riise: 7.5 Scored another beauty, but his poor header clearance let to the Chelsea goal.
Luis Garcia: 8 Big time player, and this time the ball definitely crossed the line.
Gerrard: 7.5 Disciplined performance by the PFA Player of the year.
Alonso: 7.5 Goo display in the middle.
Sissoko: 7.5 Excellent defensive display in breaking the Chelsea midfield.
Kewell: 7.5 A superb display by Kewell. Made lots of fun of the Chelsea full backs.
Crouch: 7 His persence created lots of troubles to the Chelsea defense.

Substitutions:
Cisse: 6 Erratic and poor performance. Cannot keep the ball.
Traore/Morientes: Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 8 Spot on tactics.

Chelsea: 6 Tasteless.

Player of the Match: Luis Garcia. Magic.

Another 5th time lucky

It's Chelsea again and we won't mind to win once every five times if this means we are going to eliminate them again in another semi-final. It is a pity that Fowler is cup-tied and won't be able to continue his amazing scoring run, but the other strikers will now need to step up and take responsibility.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Luis Garcia
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Kewell
Crouch

Result: 1-0

Match Report 060416 at Blackburn Rovers: Happy Birthday to Rafa

1-0 and this time Fowler sent an excellent birthday gift to Rafa by scoring the goal that secured us 3rd place and Champions League qualification. The goal is a very controversal one, but this is how the rule is intrepreted... and fortunately this time we benefited from it.

Fowler has scored 4 goals in 4 starts now and it makes Rafa's decision easier. For Cisse, he is puting himself in an awful position... but he can improve it by scoring against Chelsea.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Another good goal keeping performance.
Finnan: 7 Defending very well
Carragher: 8 Another superb performance.
Hyypia: 7.5 He may have lost his pace, but it is more than covered by his superb positioning.
Warnock: 7 A bit shaky at times facing Bellamy but in general a good performance.
Cisse: 6.5 A good dummy in the offside position, but he missed 2 golden chances to make the win easier.
Alonso: 6.5 A slight off day from his high standard.
Sissoko: 7.5 Superb in midfield.
Riise: 7 A good display in left midfield and defense.
Fowler: 8 How can Rafa justify not renewing his contract?
Morientes: 6.5 An assist and a tame header.

Substitutions:
Luis Garcia: 7 Provided another level of threat to Blackburn
Kewell: 6.5 A good performance in general.
Krompamp: Not enough time to impress.

Blackburn Rovers: 6 Not really in the game, and now they probably need to settle on UEFA Cup.

Men of the Match: Carragher and Fowler. Two great Scrousers diplay for the Hillsborough 96.

We remember

It's Hillsborough anniversery and we remember those who lost their lives for their beloved team. Blackburn had done very well in moving the game by 1 day (although in hindsight it should not be scheduled on the day at first place). We have already secured fourth place after Arsenal's draw, but nevertheless let's win it for the people, and continue our fading dream of finishing 2nd.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Kewell
Fowler
Crouch

Result: 2-0

Match Report 060409 vs Bolton Wanderers: The Birthday gave us the birthday gift

1-0 and the birthday boy scored a really nice goal that was decisive. We did not play particularly well, but what matters is that we get 3 more points and 1 more win we will guarantee at least finishing 3rd, although finishing 2nd is still mathematically possible, but it will be very unlikely.

Player Ratings:
Reina: 8 Made a lot of saves to make sure we win.
Finnan: 6.5 A bit shaky.
Carragher: 7 Made a great tackle in 1H to keep the score at 0-0
Hyypia: 6.5 Looks a bit tired.
Riise: 6.5 A decent defense display, but not much use when pushing up.
Cisse: 6 Not effective in attack and was correctly substituted.
Gerrard: 6 Not very effective. Maybe he was rested for too long?
Alonso: 7 Have a few nice passes and was unlucky to hit the post.
Kewell: 6.5 Provided lots of problems to the Bolton defense.
Fowler: 7.5 A well taken goal that makes the difference.
Crouch: 7 A nice assist and a few tame header.

Substitutions:
Luis Garcia: 6.5 Have a good impact when come up but soon faded.
Hamann/Traore: Haven't seen them for a long time, but not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 A good game plan in general, although we seemed to be unable to control the pace.

Bolton Wanderers: 5.5 A poor display probably due to the jading of players. They need to step up a gear in order to qualify for UEFA Cup.

Man of the Match: Reina. Fowler scored the winning goal, and Reina makes sure we get the 3 points.

Prepare on another tough fight

Bolton may have lose many matches recently but they will still try their best to win this game as it is still mathematically possible for them to finish 4th. We will welcome Sammy Lee, but will make sure he is on the losing side.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Kewell
Fowler
Crouch

Result: 2-0

Match Report 060401at West Bromwich Albion: A easy win

2-0 and we were in control from start to finish. Cisse played very well on the right and showed us how his pace can terrify defenders with a goal and an assist. Alonso was playing like Joe Montana and it is really nice to see him excel especially without Stevie G. And Fowler has scored another poacher goal. Rafa, give him a contract.

Player Ratings:
Reina: 7.5 Had to be very alert in 2H against Gera to earn another clean sheet.
Finnan: 7 Nice defending.
Carragher: 7 Solid as usual.
Hyypia: 7 Good game in defense.
Riise: 7 Another nice display.
Cisse: 8 Used his pace very well and scored a well deserved goal.
Alonso: 8 Played like a quarter back. His long passes that feed Cisse provides a lot of danger and 2 goals.
Sissoko: 7.5 Tackle as if he was never injuried.
Kewell: 7 Doing the destroy on the left.
Fowler: 7.5 A nice goal and he surpassed Dalgish. We want more!
Crouch: 6.5 Missed a sitter.

Substitutions:
Luis Garcia: 6.5 Continue the terrifying job on the right.
Morientes: 6.5 A fair game.
Kromkamp: Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7.5 His tactic is spot on once again in using Cisse to outrun Robinson. Need to address the slightly sloopy defense 2H when Gera was on the pitch.

West Bromwich Albion: They are now back to relegation zone. And they really need to work very hard to survive.

Men of the Match: Alonso and Cisse. Both played well and deserve the award.