March Month Report

2W1D1L and we are doing very well in the League, but was crashed out in the Europa League. 2 league wins and we are still fighting for the 5th place. It will be tough, but we will do it if we have the belief.

Players of the Month: (1) Kuyt 7.38 (2) Reina 7.13 (3) Carragher 7.00. 4 goals in 2 league game, including probably a shortest hat trick (7 yards in total), Kuyt is currently on fire. 2 more clean sheets for Reina and he is as rock solid as usual. And Carragher once again stood up and lead the team when Gerrard is injured. It is worth noting that Suarez is cup tied, or otherwise he will be running away with MoM with his superb performance.

April Prediction:
4/2 West Bromwich Albion (a) RH is still unbeaten and they will be tough to beat at home.
4/11 Manchester City (h) We lost 0-3 in the first round so we need to improve in order to knock them down.
4/17 Arsenal (a) Gooner may be chasing league title but they are very unreliable and we still want to beat them.
4/23 Birmingham City (h) Birmingham will be fighting for survival so it will be another tough match for us.

Match Report 100320 at Sunderland: Another magical moment

2:0 and one controversial penalty and a genius move by our No. 7 settled the game. At first it was quite even, but after a controversial penalty we took the lead and in control of the game. The win give us an outsider shout for the 5th place, and if we can improve from this, we may get it.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Barely tested.
Carragher: 7.5 Leading the back 4 well.
Skrtel: 7 More comfortable on the right side.
Agger: 7 Good performance after coming back from injury.
Johnson: 7 Another good run on the left.
Lucas: 7 Solid as usual although placed a bit more miss passes than usual.
Spearing: 7.5 Confidence grown after the penalty incident.
Meireles: 7 Very accurate corner delivery.
Kuyt: 7.5 Coolly taken penalty.
Carroll: 7 A bit unlucky not to score.
Suarez: 8 Another brilliant performance.

Substitutions:
Ngog: 6.5 Did well when come up.
Maxi/Cole: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

King Kenny: 7.5 Would be delighted about the team respond from the mid week setback.

Sunderland: 6 Well beaten and did not do much to guarantee a point.

Man of the Match: Suarez. Another superb goal.

Improvements needed

After a disappointing midweek game, the focus is now back to the league. Steve Bruce's team is always difficult to beat, so it will be a very difficult match and we need to improve a lot if we want to bring 3 points home.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Carragher
Skrtel
Agger
Johnson
Kuyt
Lucas
Meireles
Maxi
Suarez
Carroll

Result 2:0

Match Report 110317 vs Braga: Lack of cutting edge

0:0 and our Europa journey is now over. Across two legs we failed to show a cutting edge and did not deserve to go through. Now the focus is back to the remaining nine league matches, and we need to try to win all to see if there is any miracle...

Players Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Made a few good saves in his 300th appearances.
Johnson: 6.5 Did not offer too much in attack.
Carragher: 7 Solid display.
Skrtel: 7 Played well.
Wilson: 6.5 A bit nervous in the beginning.
Cole: 6.5 Passed well.
Lucas: 6.5 Solid in the middle.
Meireles: 6.5 Tried hard to win the game but failed to do so.
Maxi: 6.5 A bit quiet.
Kuyt 7 Worked very hard.
Carroll: 7 Provided another dimension.

Substitutions:
Ngog: 6.5 Missed a great chance.
Spearing: 6.5 Played with heart.

King Kenny: 6.5 Would be disappointed about the lack of creativity of the team.

Braga: 7 Deserved to go through, and good luck to them.

Man of the Match: Reina. Another clean sheet.

A must win game

As King Kenny said we are lucky to be only 1 goal down at this stage, so we need to take the chance and try to win and proceed. As we can see in the first leg, Braga can be very dangerous. So we need the Kop to be at full voice to support the players.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Carragher
Skrtel
Agger
Johnson
Lucas
Poulsen
Kuyt
Meireles
Cole
Ngog

Result 2:0

Match Report 110310 at Braga: Poor performance

0:1 and we are lucky to only trailing by 1 goal. First half was in particular poor, but we did improve a bit in the second half. We should have a penalty but at the end, we don't deserve a win and we need to improve significantly if we want to go through to last 8.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Rarely tested.
Carragher: 6.5 Solid in general
Kyrgiakos: 5 Conceded a needless penalty.
Skrtel: 6.5 Solid in general.
Johnson: 6.5 Good in defense.
Lucas: 6.5 Good passing.
Poulsen: 6 Good passing but failed to make an impact.
Spearing: 6 Did not provide any width.
Meireles: 6.5 Failed to shine on his return to Portugal.
Cole: 6 Played too narrow.
Kuyt: 7 Worked hard and have a great chance saved.

Substitution:
Carroll: 7 Provided us another dimension when came on. Still need more match fitness.

King Kenny: 6.5 Would be disappointed about the performance.

Braga: 7 Solid game plan worked.

Man of the Match: Kuyt. Worked hard as usual.

Tough away match

Another away European tie and it could be a tricky trip, especially with Gerrard not travelling and Suarez cup-tied. But King Kenny will have a plan and if the players stick with it, we will have a chance.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Carragher
Skrtel
Kyrgiakos
Johnson
Cole
Meireles
Lucas
Poulsen
Maxi
Kuyt

Result 2:0

Match Report 110306 vs Manchester United: A great team effort

3:1 and this is a superb team effort. We defend well, win the midfield and our strikers did their job well. Although 4th place is still very remote but we still need to fight till the end to see if there is any miracle.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Rarely tested.
Johnson: 7 Did well on both ends.
Carragher: 7 A bit lucky to stay on the pitch.
Skrtel: 7 A solid display.
Aurelio: 6.5 Injury let him down again.
Meireles: 7.5 Very good performance.
Gerrard: 7 Disciplined performance.
Lucas: 7 Solid in protecting the back 4.
Maxi: 7 Linked up well.
Kuyt: 8 3 goals from a total of 7 yards.
Suarez: 8.5 Simply sensational.

Substitutions:
Kyrgiakos: 7 Solid performance.
Carroll: 7 A good debut.
Cole: 6.5 Not enough time to impress.

King Kenny: 7.5 Spot on in his tactics.

Manchester United: 6.5 Still the team to beat but we shown that they have holes for other teams to explore.

Man of the Match: Suarez. What a player he is!

For the pride of the Club

Although #19 seems to be going to the other side come May, we still need to try to delay it. The players will be ready for this fight and we will show the world what we can do if King Kenny was here from the beginning.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Carragher
Skrtel
Agger
Johnson
Lucas
Meireles
Gerrard
Aurelio
Kuyt
Suarez

Result 2:0

February Month Report

3W2D1L and we are consolidating in 6th place and trying to climb up the table. The month began with 2 solid wins vs Stoke and Chelsea, but then we failed to win the last two league games. In between we took care of Sparta Prague although they did give us some hard times. New signing Suarez has played very well in particular and Kelly and Meireles also played well. It is a pity that Kelly is injured and hope he will recover soon.

Players of the Month (1) Reina 7.0833 (2) Meireles 7.0828 (3) Kuyt 7.02. Pepe get another PoM with 4 clean sheets from 6 games. And Meireles has been sensational with 3 goals and 1 assist. And Kuyt scored the important goal vs Sparta to send us to the last 16 of Europa League.

March Prediction:
3/6 Manchester United (h) We need to delay them to get #19, if not stopping them.
3/10 Braga (a) A tough away European game.
3/17 Braga (h) Another sensational European night at Anfield will see us through.
3/20 Sunderland (a) The balloon ball memory is still in our mind and it is now time to get a revenge.

Match Report 110306 at West Ham United: A day to forget

1:3 and it was a very poor performance coped with 2 injuries, and our unbeaten streak has finally ended. Performance was bad especially after the tough match in midweek, and the injury of Kelly and Meireles has made matter even worse. We now need to work hard to correct the mistakes, and to prepare for another big match the coming Sunday.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6 A below par performance.
Carragher: 6.5 Was exposed by the Hammers.
Skrtel: 5 Very poor performance.
Wilson: 6.5 Did OK at the back.
Kelly: 7 Did well before the injury. Get well soon.
Lucas: 6 Below par.
Gerrard: 5 Finding his match form.
Johnson: 6.5 Did well with a nice goal.
Kuyt: 6 Worked hard but was not effective.
Suarez: 7.5 Getting better and better.

Substitutions:
Cole: 6 Did not shine on his return to Upton Park.
Ngog: 5,5 No impact at all.

King Kenny: 6 Would be disappointed with the team performance and the injuries. Now need to correct the mistakes.

West Ham United: 7 Credits to them as they are more eager to win the game.

Man of the Match: Suarez. Superb assist.