November Month Report

2 wins and 3 draw, we are out in the Champions League but we gradually climbed to fifth place of the league. Performances were not great but were improving, and we managed consecutive clean sheets since mid September. Our injury list is also reducing and going into December we should be able to field our strongest eleven finally.

Players of the month (1) Reina 7.20 (2) Carragher 7.13 (3) Lucas 7.10. As Hansen said without Reina we would be even worse this season. Time after time he has been there to save us from further misery. At the same time Carra's performance also gradually picked up, and he is now back to his normal level. And Lucas had some inspirational games in the month as well.

December prediction:
12/5 Blackburn Rovers (a) Start picking up points after the derby victory.
12/9 Fiorentina (h) A meaningless game now, Rafa should give the kids chances to show their worth.
12/13 Arsenal (h) We need to beat the gooners if we want to keep our top four berth.
12/16 Wigan Athletic (h) Wigan may be a bogey team but we need to beat them at home.
12/20 Portsmouth (a) Portsmouth is at the bottom of the league so we need to grab our chance and get 3 points.
12/26 Wolverhampton (h) Boxing day with the wolves and we need to bring some gifts to our fans.
12/29 Aston Villa (a) We lost to them at home so it is now time for a revenge. And for the top four berth.

Match Report 091129 at Everton: Change of luck

2-0 and although we were second best most of the time, we finally have some luck and have the last laugh. Our defense was superb and we took our chances well. This is an important win and bring us to fifth of the table. We now need to build on the win and kick start our season.

Players Rating:
Reina: 8.5 Superb double saves to earn us three points.
Johnson: 7 Good defending.
Carragher: 7.5 Rock at the back.
Agger: 7.5 Confidence growing.
Insua: 7 Almost scored from a header.
Mascherano: 7.5 Superb shot that bring us the lead.
Lucas: 7 A bit nervous but still defending well.
Kuyt: 7 A bit quiet but calmly scored a tap-in.
Gerrard: 6.5 Very quiet.
Aurelio: 6.5 Doing the defensive work well but seldom go forward.
Ngog: 6.5 Not yet strong enough to beat the Everton defense.

Substitutions:
Benayoun: 7.5 Changed the game flow when come on.
Riera: 7.5 Provided the crucial pass to the second goal.

Rafa: 7 Would be delight about the teamwork, although he also admit we were only second best on the pitch.

Everton: 6.5 Lack some luck but talks about them relegation is a bit pre-mature.

Man of the Match: Reina. World class goalkeeper.

Merseyside in trouble

The 212th Merseyside derby sees both teams in trouble recently. It is a time for the teams to restart the season. Everton may be poor as poor as (if not poorer than) us recently but in a derby game form means nothing. We need to play 120% if we want to take the three points home.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Carragher
Agger
Insua
Mascherano
Lucas
Kuyt
Gerrard
Benayoun
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 091124 at Debreceni VSC: Europa here we come!

1:0 but the victory is not enough and we now find ourselves in the Europa League. We were in control of the game and after the early strike by Ngog we have many many chances to increase the lead. But Debreceni hold on and at the end we only managed to beat them by one goal. Overall our performance is much better than previous games, and we now need to build on this result and restart our season.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Made a great save in the 2H to keep the clean sheet.
Johnson: 7 Provided many wicked crosses.
Carragher: 7.5 Solid defending and a great assist.
Agger: 7 Solid defending after the weekend injury.
Insua: 7 Solid defending and did well going forward.
Mascherano: 7 Control the midfield and almost scored.
Lucas: 7 Setting up the tempo well.
Kuyt: 7 Overlap well with Johnson.
Gerrard: 7 Condition better than last Saturday and almost scored.
Aurelio: 7.5Superb crossing that lead to the goal. Many wicked crosses as well.
Ngog: 8 Scored a goal from instinct and could have score more.

Substitution:
Benayoun/Dossena/Aquilani: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 Would be delighted about the team effort.

Debreceni: 6 Clearly different class.

Man of the Match: Ngog. Continue his fine form.

Do our best and pray for the rest

We are on the brink of elimination from the Champions League. Even a win tonight may not be enough, should result elsewhere is not helping us. And we have never win at Hungary. And Torres and Babel did not travel. Nevertheless we still need to do our job, and hope that we have some luck so that we can have a final showdown in two weeks' time.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Carragher
Skrtel
Aurelio
Lucas
Mascherano
Kuyt
Aquilani
Gerrard
Ngog

Result 2:0

Match Report 091121 vs Manchester City: When can we have some luck?

2-2 and our injury list just increased by two. We were in control the team but we sit back after taking the lead. Two silly defensive mistakes later and we found ourselves behind. Luckily City was also sleeping so we snatched a goal quickly. We have many chances to win the game, but just could not take any of them.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Defense let him down again.
Carragher: 6.5 Did OK on the right but failed to help attack.
Agger: 6 Injured early on.
Skrtel: 7 Scored a great goal, almost scored another, but were also guilty of conceding both goals.
Insua: 6.5 An average performance.
Lucas: 7.5 Solid performance with growing confidence. Just lack a bit creativity.
Mascherano: 7 Solid display.
Kuyt: 6.5 Have a few chances but failed to take.
Gerrard: 7 Not in his best condition and faded out quickly in 2H.
Babel: 6 Injured and could not contribute more.
Ngog: 6.5 Assisted on the equalizer.

Substitutions:
Kyrgiakos: 6.5 Solid in defending but his lack of pace is a big hindrance, especially facing pacy forwards like Tevez.
Benayoun: 7 Did well and scored a fantastic equalizer.
Aurelio: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Need to sort out the defense and pray for the injured players to return soon.

Manchester City: 6.5 Would such an expensive squad you expect them to play much better.

Man of the Match: Lucas. Need to improve his creativity though.

Restart the season

After a much needed break many injured players are recovering, and it is now time for us to restart the season. City has spent big money trying to buy glory, and we need to play to our best to get the 3 points to restart the season.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Carragher
Skrtel
Insua
Mascherano
Lucas
Kuyt
Gerrard
Babel
Ngog

Result 2:0

Match Report 091109 vs Birmingham City: Luck needed

2-2 and this is another 2 points lost. With the chances we created we should have won this game comfortably, but Torres was not around and we somehow conceded two goals. The penalty was dubious, but Ngog was not diving and merely lost balance and fall down. And our injury problem is never ending as Riera and Benayoun were both injured. Realistically we should now focus on safeguarding 4th place.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Can't do much on both goals conceded.
Johnson: 7.5 Very lively performance and created many chances.
Agger: 7 Solid display despite playing with back pain.
Skrtel: 6.5 Generally solid but at times feeling nervous.
Insua: 6.5 Did well in defending.
Lucas: 7 Solid in midfield.
Mascherano: 7 Tackles everywhere.
Benayoun: 6.5 Feeling a bit tired and torn his hamstring.
Kuyt: 6.5 Not taking his chances well.
Riera: 7 A nice assist before he torn his hamstring again.
Ngog: 7 Great goal scored, but was accused of diving in 2H.

Substitutions:
Gerrard: 7 Scored a penalty to savage 1 point.
Babel/Aquilani: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Would be grateful on the performance but not the result. Need to find ways to change our luck.

Birmingham City: 6 Taken their chances well and earned one point.

Man of the Match: Johnson. Good game going forward.

Pick ourselves up

After a period of 1 wins in 8 matches we now need to pick ourselves up and try to win every game. Many of the injured players are recovering, so we can have a better lineup tonight. Normally I don't like Monday night football but this time, the extra 2 days' rest really helps.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Skrtel
Agger
Insua
Mascherano
Lucas
Kuyt
Aquilani
Benayoun
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 091104 at Lyon: Miracle Needed

1-1 and this result send us to a mission impossible. We need Lyon to help us to beat Fiorentina in order to have any real chance to qualify. It will be very difficult, but it is not impossible. We played well and deserved to win but with one error in the last minute, our hope is fading and Europa League is looming onto us.

Player Ratings:
Reina: 7 Made a few great saves but could do nothing on the goal conceded.
Carragher: 7 Solid at the right back position.
Kyrgiakos: 5.5 His lack of pace exposed us and lead to the goal conceded.
Agger: 7 Solid despite playing through the pain barrier.
Insua: 6.5 Solid at the back.
Mascherano: 6.5 Solid in the middle.
Lucas: 7 Did well in the midfield.
Kuyt: 6.5 Workaholic as usual but failed to have any real impact.
Voronin: 6 Missed a glorious chance in 1H.
Benayoun: 7 Quiet game other than the assist to Babel.
Torres: 7 Credits to him in holding up the Lyon defense despite playing with an injury.

Substitutions:
Babel: 7.5 Finally made an impact again when called up.
Ngog: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 6.5 Would be disappointed on how we conceded the goal cheaply, despite it is clearly an offside goal. We need some more luck.

Lyon: 6.5 They didn't do too much to deserve a victory, but let's hope they will help us in beating Fiorentina in 3 weeks' time.

Man of the Match: Babel. Wonder strike although at the end it is still not enough

When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high

With a long list of injuries we are hugely weakened going into this important game. Rafa can barely has 19 players flew to France and not all of them are fully fit. It is time for the squad players to stand up and be counted. And show the world that you are capable of, and show that you deserve the red shirt.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Darby
Carragher
Agger
Insua
Mascherano
Lucas
Kuyt
Aquilani
Benayoun
Torres

Result 2:0

October Month Report

1 win and 5 defeats and this is as poor as you can see. We did have lots of injuries, no luck, and the fixture is not helping us, but still we are Liverpool and we should perform much better. Even beating United is of no use if we keep on playing this. Rafa, please turn this around quickly.

Players of the month (1) Reina 7.10 (2) Benayoun 6.99 (3) Kuyt 6.84. Although we lost so many matches Pepe has been a consistent player. Yossi also provided a lot of sparks during the month, and Kuyt has also been working hard as usual. But the other players need to step up and be counted.

November prediction:
11/4 Lyon (a) A defeat will means Europa. But with currently lineup we definitely need a miracle to get a result.
11/9 Birmingham City (h) By the time we play Birmingham we may be down to 9th depending on results elsewhere, and we need to pick up soon.
11/21 Manchester City (h) They are one of the top 4 contenders so we need to beat them at home to maintain an advantage.
11/24 Debreceni VSC (a) No matter where we are heading in Europe we need to beat the Hungarian team.
11/29 Everton (a) This year the Merseyside derby will feature two teams in trouble, but this may be another good opportunity for us to keep moving up.

Match Report 091031 at Fulham: Nightmare in Halloween

1-3 and this is a very poor result. True, we were hit by injuries and virus, but the starting lineup is still full of internationals and we should get more. The fact that Torres' goal is the only shot on target tells you how poor we are. Both red cards should not be given and we will appeal for both of them.

Player Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Could not do much to avoid the three goals conceded.
Degen: 6 Did well going up but let the defense exposed. Was wrongly sent off.
Carragher: 6 Did well in the defense but was harshly sent off. Debatable decision.
Kyrgiakos: 5.5 Very poor defending and was ball-watching for the first goal conceded.
Insua: 6 Lose Zamora and let in the first goal conceded.
Lucas: 7 One of the better playing in the squad.
Mascherano: 6.5 Did OK but could not drive the team forward.
Benayoun: 6.5 Have a shot hit the bar.
Voronin: 5.5 Useless.
Kuyt: 6.5 Worked hard as usual but failed to provide any impact.
Torres: 7.5 His goal is not enough to get us at least one point.

Substitutions:
Babel: 5.5 Barely seen on the pitch.
Eccleston/Ayala: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 5 Another very poor display by the team and he seems to have no method of turning it around...

Fulham: 6.5 Did enough to win the game although the scoreline flatters them.

Man of the Match: Torres. We definitely need him to be fit on Wednesday.