March Month Report

4W1D2L. A slow start in the month sees us out of Champions League and further behind Manchester United for the 2nd spot race. After that we have 4 great wins which we scored 18 goals and will play Chelsea (again!) in the FA Cup semi-final. Especially in the 4 wins we see Rafa as a tactical genius and the players starting to understand his vision. The 3-5-2 formation vs Newcastle and 4-4-1 with 10-men vs Everton highlights how good a manager Rafa is. The signs are good and the strikers are scoring goals for fun. Although it is now unlikey that we will finish 2nd the team will no doubt to contiune this final spark and try to catch and win the FA Cup.

Players of the Month: (1) Luis Garcia 7.25 (2) Crouch 7.21 (3) Carragher 7.14. Luis Garcia is hitting form and scoring his big match goals for fun. Expect him to score against Chelsea. Crouch also scored 3 goals and make many more goals which leads to the team's 4 wins. Carra is as usual a rock at the back. Fowler and Sissoko also played well as well when required.

April Prediction:
4/1 West Bromwich Albion (a): It will be a hard fight as West Brom is fighting for survival.
4/9 Bolton Wanderers (h): Bolton seems to be a bit tired currently, but they will still fight for the CL position. Expect anoter difficult win.
4/16 Blackburn Rovers (a): Thanks Blackburn for moving the game, but we will show no mercy.
4/22 Chelsea (n): 5th time lucky again this time vs Chelsea.
4/26 West Ham United (a): Rehersal of FA Cup Final.
4/29 Aston Villa (h): Maybe the last game Baros visit Anfield in the Villa jersey. Depend on the situation we may find Dudek being called on service.

Match Report 060325 vs Everton: The team is starting to understand Rafa's vision

3-1 and this is a tremendous result, especially we were one man down for most of the time due to the stupidity of Stevie G. Fortunately his teammates are not that stupid and they fight to the end according to Rafa's game plan. This is probably the best performance we have this season, and the signs are good that the team is getting closer to Rafa's vision.

Player Rating:
Reina: 7 Solid display.
Finnan: 7.5 A good performance in general with a highlight of fine assist.
Carragher: 8.5 Lead by example while Stevie G is gone.
Hyypia: 7.5 Solid display at the back.
Riise: 7 A bit quiet but still a good display.
Gerrard: 4 2 stupid mistakes, but he should appreciate his teammates filled his role, and the Kop still sings his name.
Alonso: 9 Rise to the situation and control the game.
Sissoko: 8 A generator in the middle. Tremendous display.
Kewell: 8 What a goal! And he keep on menancing the Everton defense.
Luis Garcia: 8.5 Another big match goal from our big match player. His goal eased our worry and drove us to victory.
Crouch: 8.5 Undefendable. His presence posed many worries to Everton.

Substitutions:
Warnock/Morientes: Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 9 What a tactical genius! And the players now understand his vision!

Everton: 5 Failed to take advantage with the additional man. And this game probably avoided them another embarassment in UEFA Cup.

Man of the Match: Alonso. Although all the players except Stevie played well too.

Derby Derby

It's Merseyside Derby on Staturday and Derby Derby day on Sunday in Hong Kong. The game is highly expected as both teams have hit form recently. Rafa is well prepared for the game and this game is probably win in the midfield.

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

Result: 3-1

Match Report 060321 at Birmingham City: Magnificiant Seven

7-0 and we break the duck and finally beaten Birmingham City. They may be hindered by the long injury list but still they are a Premiership Team. This is the largest margin win for two Premiership Team in the FA Cup and our biggest ever FA Cup away win.

The match was effectively over at 5 minutes when Crouch scored to make it 2-0. But then we keep on scoring and at the end the result did justify our efforts. We are in high confidence now and we will try our best to catch up Manchester and win the FA Cup as well.

Player Rating:
Reina: 7 One save to made and he made it superbly.
Finnan: 7 A good display
Carragher: 7.5 A nice tackle to prevent Forsell to score.
Hyypia: 8 Scored in 54 seconds to kick start the riot.
Traore: 6.5 Too bad he was injuries so early...
Gerrard: 8.5 Lead the team with 2 nice assists. Superb performance once again.
Alonso: 7 Played well without really shine.
Sissoko: 7.5 Welcome back! A nice goggle and a nice assist.
Riise: 7.5 A rocket goal!
Luis Garcia: 7.5 Two nice assists.
Crouch: 8 Two nice goals taken.

Substitutions:
Kewell: 7.5 A nice crossing that lead to a Birmingham own goal.
Morientes: 7.5 A nice taken goal thanks to the unselfishness of Gerrard.
Cisse: 7.5 Scored a nice goal in just 11 minutes on the pitch. And no disrespectful acts this time.

Rafa: 8 A nice team selection and a nice performance.

Birmingham City: 3 A very poor performance and it is unlikely they will survive - unless they beat Manchester United at the weekend and then Chelsea the following week.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Showing no tireness at all.

Another fifth time lucky

It is amazing that Birmingham City is the only Premiership team we have yet to beaten under Rafa (the other teams we have yet to beaten are: Burnley, Sao Paolo and Benfica) and tonight, we need to beat them finally to process in the FA Cup. As Rafa said he need to rotate the team, but no matter who he plays and what formation it will be, the key is to control the ryhthm and we will beat them. And, similar to Chelsea and Manchester United, we will beat them in the 5th game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Warnock
Gerrard
Alonso
Hamann
Kewell
Cisse
Crouch

Result: 2-0

Match Report 060319 at Newcastle United: A suprisingly easy win

3-1 and it is easier than we expected thanks to the comical errors of Bounsong. Rafa surprised everybody by fieidling a 5-4-1 formation, and it pays off in attack, although defense-wise it still need some fine-tuning, especially at the end of the second half we were under severe pressure from Newcastle. If not for the nice performance of Given we could win by a larger margin. We are keeping our pressure on Manchester United, and if they slip we will be there to catch up.

Player Rating:
Reina: 7 A commanding performance although he did not have too many to save.
Carragher: 7 Commanding display at the back.
Hyypia: 7 A good performance, although he is a bit guilty for the goal conceded.
Agger: 7 A solid display at the back and also contributed to the second goal.
Kromkamp: 7 A nice assist and a fine shot on target well saved by Given.
Warnock: 7 A good display both attacking and defending.
Cisse: 6.5 Nice penalty taken and good performance overall, but his childishness almost lead to him sent off.
Gerrard: 7.5 Good display in the middle and a nicely taken goal.
Hamann: 7 Doing the defensive job brilliantly.
Kewell: 7 Causing Newcastle defense lots of problems.
Crouch: 8 Simply undefendable. One goal, one assist and also earned us the penalty for the 3rd goal.

Substitutions:
Luis Garcia: 7 A good display overall.
Alonso: 7 Find goal attempt saved by Given.
Fowler: Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7.5 A bold decision to start 5-4-1 and surprised everybody. Shows he is a tactical genius.

Newcastle United: 5 Poor defending but must be glad they have Given in goal. Need to improve dramatically to beat Chelsea in FA Cup. Good luck to them.

Man of the Match: Crouch. Superb performance that repays Rafa's faith on him.

A tough game

Away at Newcastle is always a tricky game and it is probably the toughest of our remaining 9 games, although our ex-player will not be feature. But if we really want to challenge 2nd place, we have to win this game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Warnock
Luis Garcia
Gerrard
Alonso
Kewell
Cisse
Fowler

Result: 2-0

Match Report 060315 vs Fulham: Five star display

5-1 and it is really nice to see 3 strikers and Warnock all on the scoresheet, and Cisse playing a big part in 2 of the goals. It is one of the better display of the year, and if the strikers can now remember how to score goals, we can capitalize on any Manchester United slip and capture 2nd place. Well done all players!

Player Rating:
Reina: 7 A good display overall.
Finnan: 7.5 Lively display and could have scored.
Carragher: 7 Provided a solid platform for the team to go forward
Agger: 7 Good defending display.
Traore: 6.5 Out of position for the goal conceded, but in general he is not doing to bad.
Luis Garcia: 7.5 A good display and played big part in the first 2 goals. Almost scored but was unlucky to hit the bar.
Gerrard: 7.5 Seems a bit tired but still do lots of damages to Fulham.
Hamann: 7 Quietly doing his job well as usual.
Kewell: 7 Involved in the first 2 goals.
Morientes: 7 Wasted a lot of chances but at the end did score one.
Fowler: 8 This time the goal is not disallowed. And shown the teammates how to score.

Substitutions:
Cisse: 7 Involved in the 3rd and 4th goals. It's a pity he didn't score, but his day will come soon.
Crouch: 7 An instinct goal in changing direction of Gerrard's kick into the net.
Warnock: 7 What a stunner and open his scoring account. Well done young man!

Rafa: 7.5 A good display in general and his substitions once again grown fruit and involved in 3 goals.

Fulham: 6 Another poor display away from home. But they should still be able to survive.

Man of the Match: Fowler. He's back.

We need to finish strong

We are now 5 points behind and played one more game, and with only nine games to go, it will be difficult to overcome this gap. But we still need to finish the season strong - to prepare for the FA Cup and to avoid dropped to 4th place.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Agger
Warnock
Luis Garcia
Gerrard
Hamann
Kewell
Cisse
Fowler

Result: 2-0

Match Report 060312 at Arsenal: Disaster

1-2 and it was a disaster to see Alonso sent off for a slide and Stevie G back-passed to Henry for the winning goal. We may not deserve to win the game but at least a draw makes sense. The chance of catching up Manchester United is further slimmed, but we need to respond on Wednesday against Fulham.

The defense has problem in containing Henry, and the small size of Highbury means makes us difficult to pass the ball well. But still we do not create enough chance to win the game and yet we gifted Arsenal many many chances. Rafa need to re-shuffle the midfield now that Alonso is missing the Fulham game.

Player Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Can't do much for both goals, and he keeps us at 0-1 for his many good saves. At the end he still denied Henry a hat trick.
Finnan: 6 Has problem in containing Henry, but he has a few good crosses.
Carragher: 6.5 Also has problem in containing Henry.
Hyypia: 6 Tonigh he seemed getting old when facing Henry.
Warnock: 6 Shaky at first but gradually he gained control. Had a few nice crosses too.
Kromkamp: 6 Not a good choice for right midfield and only lasted 45 minutes.
Gerrard: 5 His error lead to the second Henry goal. But he will respond.
Alonso: 5 A bit hard in getting the red card as he was only slipped.
Hamann: 6 A fair game for Hamann
Luis Garcia: 7 Annoymous for most of the game, but once again shown his alertness in scoring the equaliser.
Crouch: 5.5 No clear cut chance throghout the game. Sit too deep at times.

Substitutions:
Kewell: 6 Not much impact.
Fowler: Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6 Would be angry for the dismal performance.

Arsenal: 7 They controlled the game quite well. They probably can catch up Spurs if they start to win away games, but I don't think they can conquer Europe.

Man of the Match: Reina. Could have lost 0-3 if not for his alertness.

Secure top four

As Rafa said winning at Highbury will probably secure top 4 position, which is crucial for the club. Of course we still need to fight till the end to finish second, but it will start from winning this game. And the strikers need to score some goals to boast morale.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Warnock
Gerrard
Alonso
Hamann
Kewell
Fowler
Crouch

Result: 1-0

Match Report 060308 vs Benfica: The dream has ended

0-2 and we are knocked out of Europe. We still cannot score and as Stevie G said we probably need more shooting trainings. And the defense without Hyypia and Riise were shaky. It's really disappointing, but now we need to focus on finishing 2nd and win the FA Cup.

Player Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Can't do much for the 2 goals.
Finnan: 6.5 A fair game.
Carragher: 6.5 Somewhat guilty for the first goal. Almost scored from a corner though.
Traore: 5.5 Too many errors and one of them lead to the first goal.
Warnock: 6 Still not convincing.
Luis Garcia: 6 Failed to make any significant threats.
Gerrard: 7 Can't lift the team to win the game.
Alonso: 6.5 Frustuated.
Kewell: 6 No magic provided.
Morientes: 5.5 Simply disappointed.
Crouch: 6 Missed too many chances.

Substitutions:
Cisse: 6 Not helpful at all.
Fowler: 6 Scored another disallowed goal.
Hamann: 6 Not much impact.

Rafa: 6 The team let him down. We have so many shots and corners but failed to score a goal.

Benfica: 7 Deserved winner. Substained our first 20 minute of pressure and later on scored 2 goals from counter attack. Good luck to them.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Righty said we need scoring practice.

We need to score

With a goal down we need to score two goals more than Benfica to get through to the next stage. It is a bit worrying that none of the strikers are scoring goals, but why not start from tonight? Maybe Robbie can score a hat trick.

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

Result: 2-0

Match Report 060304 vs Charlton Athletic: Another two point loss

0-0 and we should have win the game easily, but the lack of firepower let us down. We dominated the game but could not find a way to put the ball in the net. And even when Fowler did - Cisse was offside. It is a very fluctuating result, and we are just 1 point ahead of Manchester United but played 2 more games.

Player Rating:
Reina: 7 Not much to do but when he does need to do something, he did it well.
Kromkamp: 6.5 A good effort put up.
Carragher: 7 Lead the back 5 well.
Hyypia: 6.5 Was injuried and only played 1H. But he should be ready for the Benfica game.
Traore: 6.5 1H as left back and 2H as center back. A good display overall.
Cisse: 6 Tried very hard and was very lively, but was guilty of staying in the offside position that denied Fowler's goal.
Gerrard: 7 Another good display from the captain.
Hamann: 6.5 Doing the defensive work very well.
Kewell: 7 We need more from Harry. Had a few tame shots only.
Fowler: 7.5 Another disallowed goal, but the real one will come very soon.
Crouch: 7 Posed lots of threats to Charlton but unable to score.

Substitutions:
Riise: 6.5 Played 2H quite well.
Alonso: 7 Provided a few spectacular passes and shots but failed to find the net.
Morientes: Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Still unable to find solution to the lack of goals.

Charlton Athletic: 7 Come for 1 point and get what they want. But Myhre single-handly win them the point.

Man of the Match: Fowler. Showed us why Rafa brings him back. He may be annoymous for most of the game but was still the most deadiest in front of goal.

We need to start scoring more goals

We still have a problem in scoring goals with the strikers not scoring many goals. On current form Crouch is the best among the 4, but Fowler is getting closer and closer. Last time we lost a very poor game against Charlton and now we need to get a result from them.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Kromkamp
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Cisse
Gerrard
Alonso
Kewell
Fowler
Crouch

Result: 2-0

February Month Report

4W1D3L and it was not a good month for us as we lost 8 points in the league and are 1 down in the Champions League. The month started poorly with 1 point from 3 league games, and then we gradually improved by beating Wigan, Arsenal and Man United. Then we have a blip in conceding a late goal at Benfica, but then we bounced back and beat Manchester City.

The main problem is still the lack of goals. We scored 5 goals only in the month (which contributes to the 4 wins and 1 draw). Rafa need to find a way to flood the goals.

Players of the Month: (1) Gerrard 7.0 (2) Carragher/Hamann 6.6 (3) Hyypia 6.5. Stevie G is still the engine of the team and we lost both matches he didn't play. Carragher is as usual rock solid at the back. With the injury to Sissoko Hamann's role becomes more important and it is nice to see him preserved and performed to his best level. Hyypia scored a great goal at Wigan and we would of course love to see more.

March Prediction:
3/4 Charlton Athletic (h): Last time we didn't play well and this is now the time to get a result.
3/8 Benfica (h): We need to beat them by 2 clear goals. Remember Olympiakos?
3/12 Arsenal (a): This is a tricky game and we are not good traveller to London. But we will change the habit here.
3/15 Fulham (h): Same as the Charlton game we need to get a result.
3/19 Newcastle United (a): Anoter tricky game, Owen may be back in this game but still we would win it.
3/22 Birmingham City (a): 5th time lucky for Rafa.
3/25 Everton (h): The players need to be alert as this will be a very physical game.
3/29 Champions League Quarter FInal, 1st leg: If we pass through Benfica we will not fear any opponent.