Match Report 050118 at Burnley: Tragedy

0-1 lost at Burnley and we are glad we didn't lost by more goals. If this is not tragedy, what is it?

We were so poor that we probably have no clear chance to score a goal throughout the match. And it's really a surprise that it takes so long (51 minutes) and Traore to score the superb Zidane-type own goal. The players have no determination at all, and something need to be done ASAP.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 6 A few good saves in the game, but really can't do anything for such a superb own goal.
Raven: 5 Work hard, but not much impact. Poor compare to the last game which he played so well.
Whitbread: 5 Fail to clear the ball and lead to the goal. Compare to his recet few games this is one to forget.
Hyypia: 5 Unable to inspire the players. And poor performance as the rest of the team.
Traore: 4 Superb goal, but at wrong end.
Nunez: 3.5 A few good crosses but useless. And get a red card unnecessarily.
Biscan: 4 Almost invisible and when he shows up, he just give the ball away.
Welsh: 6 Relatively speaking he is playing OK.
Warnock: 5 Unable to provide any significant chance to the front men.
Potter: 5 The holding role is not his favorite position. Played better after move back to central midfield.
Sinama-Pongolle: 5.5 On once oocasion he should pass the ball to Biscan but didn't... If he did we may have won the game.

Substitutions:
Baros: 5.5 Can't change the game despite work hard.
Mellor: 5.5 Not much impact to the game.

Rafa: 4 This time his tricks of rotation and half time team talk don't work. And we have to question his decision to play one up front.

Burnley: 7.5 Credit to the derseved winner.

Man of the Match: Dudek. Relatively a better than the others.

Young guns get a chance

Finally the 3rd round FA Cup match is on and the young guns are on. The pitch may be a problem but the young guns will get through and win the game for us.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Raven
Hyypia
Whitbread
Traore
Nunez
Biscan
Welsh
Warnock
Mellor
Sinama-Pongolle

Result: 2-0

Match Report 050115: Worst Case Scenario

0-1 and a goal from the former "Once a blue, always a blue" guy... A hat trick of fumbles from Dudek... Can it be even worse?

The match was hyped up by Morientes' debut, but there's actually another surprise in happing Pellegrino. Despite their obvious lack of match fitness they both look very good buys from Rafa. Well done man. Pellgrino may lack space but his positioning is more than enough to make cover. Carra was superb in playing right back, and have a pass of the match and almost scored our equalizer. Traore also have an excellent game as well, and so is Hyypia, Milan and Nando working hard upfront, but so much for the goods...

The bad things are, Dudek makes yet another error, and none of the midfield play well. Maybe Rafa should play 4-5-1 to have more steel in midfield, but we just let them run the show...

On a positive side, apart from Arsenal away we can probably win all the remaining games, and as Nando getting more match fitness and banging in goals, the only way to go is up. We may not be able to finish as 3rd place or above, but at least we can finish as 4th and closing the gap.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 5 Errors at home vs them three years in a row... No excuse.
Carragher: 7.5 Pass of the match and almost equalized. On a day he's playing as deputy right back and Gerrard no where to be seen, once again he shows the others how to play.
Hyypia: 6.5 Had a solid game in defense.
Pellegrino: 6.5 He may lack space, but his positioning is excellent. Now we have a better backup at the back.
Traore: 7 Good performance from Djimi. Keep on the consistency and you can keep the left back for your own.
Garcia: 5 He is doing more harm than good to the team. Just go down to basic.
Gerrard: 6.5 Had a very quiet game and missed chances and chances.
Hamann: 6 A quiet game, doing all the dirty jobs quietly.
Riise: 6 A quiet game as well. Maybe he's tired.
Baros: 6 Work very hard but not much fruit.
Morientes: 6.5 Had a few half chances especially headers, but clearly lack match fitness.

Substitutions:
Sinama-Pongolle: 6.5 This time he can't turn gold.
Nunez: 6.5 In hinsight he should be start instead of Garcia. His crossing is getting better and better.
Biscan: 6 Almost score from his first touch.

Rafa: 5 Maybe we should play 4-5-1 and not throw Morientes in so early. His gamble is lost... and we definitely need to sort out the goalkeeping problem.

Manchester United: 7 They play better, but we don't deserve to lost. And it is now very difficult to catch them.

Man of the Match: Carragher. Even Stevie G should learn from him on how to be so consistent.

Have a nice debut, Nando

It's Morientes' debut and as Gerrard said, we love to see him play (and score a hat trick on his debut, of course). You rarely get a bigger debut than this. And with Nando in a Koller mode Baros will find it easy to adapt. His form may not be too good as he rarely got a game, but a class player will certainly raise his level to a game like this, and Nando is no doubt a class player.

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

Result: 4-0

Match Report 050111 vs Watford: Seniors let the youngsters down

1-0 and that means all is not settled, and Rafa may not be able to play as many youngsters as he wish in the 2nd leg.

First half was a poor game and Watford had probably more deadly chances than us. After the teamtalk the team played better, and as soon as Baros is on the pitch, he made an impact and we scored. Dudek threw the ball to Garcia, who flicked on to Sinama-Pongolle. He then passed the ball superbly to Baros, whose cross was palmed away by Jones, but then Gerrard's shot was too strong and it hits Cox's head and deflected into the goal.

Then we failed to build on the lead and Watford almost equalized if not for the brilliant defense of Carragher, Finnan, Traore and Dudek. Anyway, it's still a win and we will improve, especially next game is vs Manchester United and Morientes joined us.

The good thing is our defense is as solid with Carragher partnering Traore. On one hand Traore played well (Carra as well) but on the other hand I think this is due to the zonal defensive system, so that no matter who's playing, the playing already knows where he should be. Credit to Rafa.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 7.5 A good display with several nice saves. Well done man!
Finnan: 7 If he is not alert Watford may have equalized. Well done!
Carrafger: 7.5 Stopped the ball from a set piece to avoild Watford equalized. Play well along Traore.
Traore: 7 Good display as well.
Riise: 6.5 Playing him as defender probably wasted his attacking skills. Not as spectacular as the previous few games as midfielder.
Nunez: 6.5 He played quite good in 1H with several good crosses, but was invisible in 2H. Maybe due to the tactics that our attacks are on the left side in 2H.
Gerrard: 8 Scored the goal. Excellent performance as usual.
Hamann: 6.5 Doing all the dirty works in midfield. Hamann as usual.
Garcia: 6.5 His flick on produced the goal, other than that he had a few scoring chances but missed.
Mellor: 6 Not his day and was rightly substituted. Had a tame shot just before that.
Sinama-Pongolle: 7 Lively performance and involved in the goal.

Substitutions:
Baros: 7 Instant impact! Welcome back!
Biscan: 6.5 Substituted Hamann and did nothing wrong, although nothing spectacular.
Warnock: Not enough time to made a significant impact.

Rafa: 6.5 Same old problem of unable to made the team play well for 90 minutes, but with Morientes coming things can only be better. At least it's better than playing well and lose. And his teamtalk works again!

Watford: 8 Credit to them. They played really well. But we will win the 2nd leg as well.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Another nice performance. Although Carra also come close.

2 games to the final

After an unexpected long break it's the big guns coming back again. If we win tonight comfortably Rafa can then play the youngsters in the next game. Do it for the youngsters!

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Traore
Warnock
Nunez
Hamann
Gerrard
Riise
Baros
Mellor

Result: 3-0

Do your best, youngsters

It's FA Cup time and Rafa will mix some young guns with old boys. I think this is a wise move especially it was reported that the turf may be muddy. The last thing we want is more injuries. Let's do our best and win the game!

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Raven
Carragher
Whitbread
Traore
Nunez
Welsh
Diao
Warnock
Mellor
Pongolle

Result: 1-0

Note: Match postponed to 1/18 due to waterlogged pitch

Match Report 050103 at Norwich City: Poor performance, good result

2-1 and we were very poor especially during 1H. It was so boring that I almost felt asleep. Luckily Rafa did some good teamtalk and we were much better during 2H. Yet when we were 2-0 up I still am not too sure if we will win, and we did conceded one and fortunately only one.

Looking back for the Festive period, we got 9 out of 12 points. Consider we played poorly in the Southampton and Norwich game and won (which should have been draws), and play well and lost to Chelsea (which we should won), We are still better off.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 7 His confidence is back. Even his distribution is better now. This is very important as Kirkland will probably out for the season now...
Finnan: 6 A poor game. He can't contain Huckerby at all...
Carragher: 8 Another superb performance. The so called handball event was never a handball.
Hyypia: 7.5 Sami was also very good in this game.
Warnock: 7 He's playing well as left back.
Nunez: 6.5 His crossing were poor, but I think he's a strong player with lots of strength. Maybe his best position is AM.
Gerrard: 6.5 A poor game from his high standard.
Diao: 6 As usual, scary.
Riise: 8 1 goal 1 assist. He is sure a midfielder.
Garcia: 7 I still think he should work more basic instead of tricks.
Mellor: 6 A poor game with no service.

Substitutions:
Sinama-Pongolle: 7 Have an instant impact when coming up that forced the 2nd goal.
Hamann/Traore: Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 He must have some good teamtalk to turn around. Now he need to work on the transfer market.

Norwich: 6 They lack a proper striker and will probably go down unless they have a proper striker.

Men of the Match: Carragher and Riise, one for his defensive work and the other for his offensive work.

We need to respond

The unfair game in Chelsea should be put to an end. Let's win the game for Alonso!

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Traore
Nunez
Gerrard
Hamann
Garcia
Riise
Sinama-Pongolle

Result: 3-0

Match Report 050101 vs Chelsea: We need a Fung Shui Master

0-1 and it's another Joe Cole deflected goal off Carragher. And we lost Alonso for 6 weeks. And the referee, who happened to be sponsored by Emigates as Chelsea, did not give us a penalty for a clear handball (and another not too clear, but a definitely penalty at Old Trafford). So how unlucky can we be?

Fortunately (?) the 2 teams right ahead of us both lost, so we did not lose ground to chase the 4th position. But if we are more ambitious then we are losing ground, now 9 points behind Manchester United...

We played very well especially in 1H although in 2H we slowed a bit and let Chelsea come back. But still we can't play at this top level for 90 minutes. In the game vs Arsenal we scored one in 1H (by Alonso...) and then Mellor scored in the last minute (he only had 6 minutes to play...) If Baros is fit this may be another story...

Player Rating:
Dudek: 7.5 Best game this season. He had 2 great saves but still have no chance on the deflected goal... It's really a pity he didn't get a 3rd consecutive clean sheet.
Finnan: 6.5 A bit quiet this game. And one slip in 2H almost lead to a Chelsea goal.
Carragher: 7.5 Did a lot of things and even have 2 goal attempts. Unlucky to have the ball deflected off him for the goal.
Hyypia: 7 The unsung hero of the team. I reall wish he will start scoring goals.
Traore: 6.5 Had our first shot on target but it was a weak side kick. Then lost the ball twice... scary.
Garcia: 6.5 I think he should try using less tricks and be more down to earth. His tricks are nice to watch but not too effective. He had already won the heart of the fans so it's time to deliver. Had a good header near the end but was saved.
Gerrard: 7 Work hard as ever, but it's a bit not up to his usual high standard. Maybe he had something to think about? Hope not.
Alonso: 6 We will miss him. Get well soon.
Hamann: 7 Another unsung hero doing all the dirty tricks.
Riise: 7 Unlucky to be injuried. Hope it's not too serious.
Sinama-Pongolle: 7 Had a half penalty denied. Work very hard but his lack of strength and height makes him difficult to go through Gallas.

Substitution:
Nunez: 6.5 Should have won us a penalty but the referee was corrupted. Worked very hard.
Mellor: Maybe Rafa should send him on earlier.

Rafa: 7 To be fair the injuries and the referee interrupted his plan. But his gameplan works very well in 1H. Still need to find a way to make us play more consistent. And now he needs to worry on the transfer market.

Chelsea: 6 They didn't play well but managed to win. They now have the most important element of winning the League - Luck and I think they will win it.

Men of the Match: Dudek/Carragher. It's the best game Dudek had this season, and Carragher give 120% as usual and even had 2 shots. These two guys are both extremely for the goal conceded.

Show Stevie G which team he should play for

It's Chelsea at home and let's show Stevie G where he should be. Of course the whole team need to be at its best to win.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Traore
Pongolle
Alonso
Hamann
Riise
Gerrard
Mellor

Result: 2-1

Midterm Report

We played 31 games in the first half of the season, with 16 wins 6 draws and 9 losts. In the league we won 10 matches, drawn 4 and lost 6 with 34 points and sitting in 6th place, 15 points behind leader Chelsea, 6 points behind 3rd and 4th place Manchester United and Everton and 1 point behind 5th place Middlesborough. In Champions League we are in last 16 and in League Cup Semi Final. With 18 games remaining in the league the highest we can get is 88 points.

Departmental Comments:
Goalkeeper
Our goalkeepers is a really big concern. Dudek started 17 games and Kirkand 14, yet both convinved he should be the number one for the team. There was rumor that Dudek may be sold to generate some transfer fund, and another rumor that we have bidded Carson, but with Kirkland currently injuried and had a poor run before that, Rafa may have a second thought.

Defence
People are still questioning the zonal system, but I think it's working quite well gradually. Hyypia and Carragher played quite well, but with Hyypia getting old we may want to buy another centerback. And Henchoz seemed to have played his last game for us. Good luck to him. In right back Josemi was disappointed let's hope he can play better after his injury. Luckily Finnan was playing very well, but we are a bit short in cover in this position. In leftback Traore played his best football with us before his injury, hopefully he can continue this. And Riise... I think his best position should be midfield, he's scoring goals and assisting there. Warnock also played a game as left back vs Southampton. From the reserve Whitbread shows he is a player that could come to first team in 1 or 2 years, and Raven's performance in the Spurs league cup game also catch our eyes as well.

Midfielder
Stevie G continues to carry us through, and Alonso is really nice to watch. Garcia wins lots of cheers from the fans, but he is not as consistent. Nunez just come back from injury and he is showing signs that he's really good. In defensive midfield Hamann is taking his position well, although Biscan is also revived and even scored a goal. Hope the rumor that he's going to be sold is not true. Rafa seems to prefer Diao then Biscan, but I think Diao should be sold. Hopefully he had played his last game for us. Kewell is another disappointment but he is showing signs that he is coming back to his best form. Currently he is injuried but as I always say he only plays half season well, so it's not bad if he can come back and play his best football for us. Warnock is a surprise to all people and he plays well, apart from a few big games like Olympiacos away showing he's not completely established yet. Potter also played a few games for us well. Other youngsters like Partridge, Welsh and Smyth also get a few games in the League Cup.

Attackers:
A certain ex-player's departure made us short of headcount in this department, and Cisse's horrible injury made the situation even worse. He's a tough and nice guy, hope he get well soon. Fortunately Baros finally take off, and Sinama-Pongolle and Mellor played quite well recently, although they are still yet to be able to play it in a consistent level. Rafa for sure will bring a new player, wheather it's Morientes, Anelka or another player is yet to be seen, but he won't spend madly like a certain team does.

Player Rating (Games played, Minutes played, Goal scored/conceded, Assists/cleansheets, MoM, Rating)
Goalkeepers
Dudek: 17G 1560M 10GC 8CS 0.5MoM 6.56
Harrison: 7 unused substitute
Kirkland: 14G 1260M 15GC 3CS 0MoM 6.61
Luzi: 2 unused substitute

Defenders
Carragher: 28G 2520M 0GS 2A 6.5MoM 6.96
Finnan: 20G 1829M 1GS 0A 0MoM 6.71
Henchoz: 4G 390M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.88
Hyypia: 28G 2440M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.83
Josemi: 22G 1624M 0GS 1A 0MoM 6.23
Raven: 1G 120M 0GS 0A 0MoM 7.00
Riise: 29G 2352M 4GS 3A 2MoM 6.87
Traore: 21G 1432M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.25
Whitbread: 3G 300M 0GS 0A 0MoM 7.17

Midfielders
Alonso: 22G 1698M 2GS 4A 2MoM 7.05
Biscan: 12G 515M 1GS 0A 2MoM 7.25
Diao: 13G 676M 1GS 0A 0MoM 5.94
Foy: 1 unused substitute
Garcia: 19G 1461M 4GS 3A 2MoM 6.89
Gerrard: 18G 1442M 7GS 4A 5.5MoM 7.47
Hamann: 25G 1879M 0GS 4A 2MoM 6.80
Kewell: 23G 1678M 1GS 4A 0MoM 6.32
Nunez: 9G 465M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.28
Partridge: 2G 30M 0GS 1A 0MoM 7.00
Potter: 5G 395M 0GS 2A 0MoM 6.88
Smyth: 1G 50M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.50
Warnock: 16G 671M 0GS 2A 0MoM 6.46
Welsh: 2G 82M 0GS 0A 0MoM 7.00

Attackers:
Baros: 22G 1561M 11G 2A 4MoM 7.21
Cisse: 15G 1061M 3GS 1A 2MoM 6.93
Mellor: 12G 722M 5GS 1A 0MoM 6.90
Owen: 1 unused substitute
Sinama-Pongolle: 19G 794M 4GS 0A 2.5MoM 7.14

Players of the 1st half season (1000 mins or above):
(1) Gerrard 7.47
(2) Baros 7.21
(3) Alonso 7.05
(4) Carragher 6.96
(5) Cisse 6.93

Rafa: 6.73 Still yet to find a consistency team, but we are getting there. He should play Riise more in midfield especially now that Kewell is injuried. And he will bring in some quality players.

2H Result Prediction
League:
1st-5th place teams (Chelsea H, Arsenal A, Manchester United H, Everton H, Middlesborugh H) 2W2D1L
7th-10th place teams (Charlton A, Tottenham H, Birmingham City A, Portsmouth A) 3W1D
11th-15th place teams (Aston Villa H, Manchester City A, Bolton Wanderers H, Newcastle United A, Blackburn Rovers H) 3W2D
16th-20th place teams (Fulham H, Crystal Palace A, Norwich A, Southampton A, West Bromwich Albion A (played)) 3W1D
Total for 2H 11W6D1L 39 points
Total for the season 73 points

League Cup: We get a good draw in semi final and should go through to final. Whether we will play Chelsea and Manchester United are not that different, but Rafa may switch back to the A team. Anyways it's not bad to win something in the first season.

Champions League: Another good draw and we should be able to go through to quarter final. As the strong teams are playing each other in final 16, with a bit luck we can get a good draw, and who knows where we will end up to be?

FA Cup: Still too early to call, but let's beat Burnley first. This is the cup I really want to win, but Rafa may yet play some B team players, if not all.

December Month Review

4W3D1L. With 8 games in December, we achieved a lot. We were in semifinal of League Cup and Last 16 of Champions League, and with a relatively kind draws (also in FA Cup as well) we should be able to progress well. In the league despite some early setbacks for the first 3 games, we managed to bounce back and won 3 in a row for the first time of the season (and counting), and we gradually moved up to 5th place. Let's continue the good form and fight!

We started December with an away draw at Spurs in the League Cup, which Sinama-Pongolle kick started his season by scoring an important penalty in the 117th minute and then the winning penalty in the shootout. Then we dominated at Villa, but failed to win the game due to our inability to score the second goal. Then come the amazing win over Olympiacos, which we were one down and Sinama-Pongolle once again scored an important game. Mellor also scored another important one, and then Stevie G scored that 15 million pound goal and we are in the last 16. Unfortunately our good run did not last and then we lost at Everton and let Portsmouth scored a last minute equalizer. Then we recovered and win 3 in a row, the Newcastle game saw us win from behind, the West Brom game see us hit 5 and win the second away game, and we just managed to beat Southampton by 1 goal.

The problem for the team is still sometimes we are unable to score the important second goal. But as the players are coming back, we get more organized and new players coming in, hopefully Rafa can sort it out soon.

Players of the Month: (1) Sinama-Pongolle 7.67 (2) Gerrard 7.21 (3) Riise 7.08. Sinama-Pongolle and Riise are really on fire this month. And Gerrard brought us to Champions League.

Janauary Prediction:
1/1 Chlesea (H) We can win this game. Let's show Gerrard that he should stay with us.
1/3 Norwich City (A) We should also win this away game as well.
1/7 Burnley (A) Away at a Championship team in FA Cup is always tricky. And Burnley is famous for its tight defense at home. But we should have enough firepower to win.
1/11 Watford (H) First leg of League Cup Semifinal. Let's hope we can seal the business in this game
1/15 Manchester United (H) We gotta do a revenge over them. Stevie G to score.
1/22 Southampton (A) We didn't play too well at home, and let's improve. May see Biscan and Henchoz play for them.
1/25 Watford (A) It would be great if we don't need to win this game to go to the final, but still I think we will win it.
1/29 FA Cup 4th Round Depend on who we draw, but given our luck in the draws this season, I think we can draw a home easy game.

Match Report 041228 vs Southampton: Right result, wrong performance, but I think it's justice prevailed

1-0 and performance was not that good, but the most important thing is we have 3 points. Also, remember there's a few games we played well and don't get the result, I think this is justice prevailed.

We again have lots of possession in 1H, but Southampton is determined to get 1 point and played a 5 man midfield. Alonso was tightly marked but still provided 2 great passes, one a diagonal to Riise whose right foot is not as good as the golden left foot, and the other an excellent through ball to Sinama-Pongolle for the winning goal.

2H as time goes by and we don't get the second goal, the team became nervous and Southampton back into the game. Fortunately they don't have any clear chances except one mis-judge of Dudek that almost gifted them a goal. At the end we get what we need. Good result, although performance was not that good.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 6 An error in judging a throwin almost gifted them a goal. Otherwise virtually a spectator only.
Finnan: 6 Unfortunately injuried, hope he can recover soon for the Chelsea game, or else we may have a problem.
Carragher: 7 Solid at the back despite having Diao on his right, and also have bought the ball forward a few times.
Hyypia: 7 His confidence is back, keep it up!
Warnock: 7 A rare start as left back and performed well. And helped to save Dudek from conceding a stupid goal.
Garcia: 6.5 A poor game apart from a great header in 2H saved.
Gerrard: 7.5 Fighting from beginning to the end.
Alonso: 7 Tightly marked but still provided a few wonderful passes, one of it lead to the goal.
Riise: 7.5 Another good performance and have 2 great scoring chances, one use his weak right foot and easily saved, the other smashed into the bar. Unlucky.
Mellor: 6.5 A quiet game as he got no service from midfield.
Sinama-Pongolle: 8 Scored another important goal. His pace is really an asset to us.

Substitutions:
Diao: 5.5 Shaky... Last game for us?
Nunez: 6 A fair game but not too much impact.
Hamann: Only played several minutes to bolster the defence.

Rafa: 6.5 He had to shuffle due to injuries, but need to find a way to cure the nervousness.

Southampton: Beattie is to be sold very soon, and Redknapp need to use the money wisely to buy some players to save them, othewise it's going to be tough to see them survive.

Man of the Match: Sinama-Pongolle. 4 goals in December. A nice performance!

Show no mercy

As Gerrard says we need to show no mercy to the Saint. Given our recent performance a win should not be a problem. Let's close the gap with the front teams!

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Traore
Garcia
Gerrard
Alonso
Riise
Mellor
Pongolle

Result: 3-0

Match Report 041226 at West Bromwich Albion: A Merry Christmas!

5-0 win in away and it is an excellent, although I would prefer to spread a few goals to the other away games so that we can get more points. But on a day all teams above us except Boro win, we definitely need this win.

We started the game brightly and have a lot of possession, and we never in danger apart from a few unlikey error from Carra, which Hyypia and Dudek handled brightly to help Carra out. Riise in particular was superb. 2 goals, 2 assists and in fact he should score at least 2 more. And Milan's miss penalty did not even matter. Hope this won't affect his confidence.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 7.5 Finally a cleansheet. And Dudek had made a fewgreat saves when te game was not fully settled.
Finnan: 7 A good display linking well with Nunez.
Carragher: 6.5 Certainly not his day. Have a slip and that almost result to a West Brom bt luckily Hyypia saved Carra.
Hyypia: 7.5 Saved Carra and he is very solid throughout.
Traore: 7 A better performance than the previous few games.
Nunez: 7 He's getting there. His crossings were very good and one of his shot resulted in Contra handballed and got sent off.
Gerrard: 8 His assist to Riise's first goal was superb. And scored another great freekick. Rafa even has the luxury to rest him after 62 minutes.
Hamann: 7 Proves he still has a place in the team especially in away games. And his assist to Gerrard was simple and effective.
Riise: 10 Two goal, two assists. What can you say? Perhaps he should score more?
Pongolle: 8 Worked very hard and was very lively and causing West Brom defense lots of problems. And he scored a well derseved goal with the perfect 1-2 pass with Riise.
Baros: 6.5 Not his day. His penalty was weak. And we need him back to his best ASAP to face Southampton and Chelsea.

Substitutions:
Alonso: 7 Provided some classy passes and one of it resulted in the 2nd Riise goal.
Garcia: 7 Provided us another dimension of attack when come up, and scored a great goal thanks to yet another Riise assist.
Warnock: 6.5 Not much impact when come up.

Rafa: 9 Excellent tactics and get a well derseved win. He should also note Riise plays better at midfield than defence, and Traore is definitely a left back, not left wing.

West Brom: No team at the bottom of the league at Christmas Day will every survive in the Premiership, and I don't think they will be an exception.

Man of the Match: Riise. How can you not give him credit for such a performance?

The perfect place to start winning away game

Last time when we visited West Brom we beat them 6-0, Owen scored 4 and Baros scored 2. If we really wanna win away, this is the place. Rafa should stick with Baros and Mellor up front, and let's make it 6 out of 6 for the Christmas fixture!

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Garcia
Gerrard
Alonso
Kewell
Mellor
Baros

Result: 3-0

Match Report 041219 vs Newcastle United: 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 going forward?

3-1 and it was a very good performance, if you don't watch the first 30 minutes. The first half an hour was like the Portsmouth game and every pass were to a Newcastle United, even though we were winning possession. Luckily (?) Newcastle scored a controversial goal and we wake up immediately. Within minutes Riise has a shot just 2 feet wide, Mellor was greedy and not pass the ball to Baros who was in a much better position. Then we won a corner and Stevie G's cross found Bramble and he duly scored. 1-1.

Within minutes Baros and Mellor link up again. This time Baros had the ball, seeing Mellor in a better position, he passed nicely and Mellor didn't disappoint. Hope he learn from Milan.

2H we were still in control and then there can only be one winner in this game. Milan scored but referee ruled he fouled Given first... Finally in 60th minute Kewell got the ball in midfield. He turned and passed the ball beautifully to Baros, and Milan turned Given and put the ball into the empty net.

After that Newcastle had several chances, namely Robert's freekick which Dudek saved superbly, and Jenas blown into air from 6 yards. To calm down Newcastle's attack, Rafa substituted Mellor. While most would think Hamann would come to play, instead he opted to play Sinama-Pongolle, and his pace has caused lots of troubles to Newcastle. Finally Bowyer was annoyed and he rightly earned a red card. Job done.

In general this is a good display from the players. They show a hunger to win things back especially after we were 1 goal down, and Rafa need to think thoughfully whether to play 4-5-1 or 4-4-2. My thought is, if Baros play, 4-4-2. Otherwise, 4-5-1 probably fit better.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 7 A good display especially the Robert freekick save. Had no chance of the goal as defense let him down.
Finnan: 7 Good job defensively. Had a nice cross to Baros which almost led to a Milan overhead goal.
Carragher: 7 Solid as usual, try to made a last man save to the Kluivert goal but just missed it.
Hyypia: 6.5 Maybe he's tired, he wasn't as good as he should be, and he had his goal robbed by Bramble...
Riise: 7 Looks a bit tired, but still do a lot of overlaps and attacks. Almost scored a great goal but just missed by 1-2 feet.
Garcia: 6.5 Welcome back. Not back to his best yet, but a good game in general.
Gerrard: 6.5 A quiet game in his high standard. The talk of the game was his shot to row z, someone (Carra?) shared a joke with him afterwards.
Alonso: 7.5 Good display in central midfield especially after 25 minutes when Rafa had a few words with him.
Kewell: 7 A nice assist. This is what we expect from him! And we want more and more!
Baros: 8.5 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 disallowed goal, 1 overhead kick. And he shown Mellor what to be done when teammate is in better position. Great game.
Mellor: 7 Apart from the goal he had a quiet game. Maybe it's Rafa's tactic to let him pull out the center backs to create space.

Substitutions:
Nunez: 7 Good display substituting Garcia.
Sinama-Pongolle: 7.5 Created a lot of troubles for Newcastle. Well done!
Traore: Is he our new left wing? Why is he always playing left wing when substituting Kewell?

Rafa: 8 The change to 4-4-2 really suits Baros. And I need to quote Strachan's comment:

"Liverpool targeted the area where Newcastle are weak: they gave the two centre-halves a problem by opting to play two wide men, and playing them really wide.

If the ball was in a central position, the two wide men stayed right out on the touchline and gave the full-backs a problem. So the full-backs were caught in half positions, covering centre-halves and watching out for the wide men.

That gave a lot of space between the centre-halves and the full-backs, meaning it was two-on-two with Neil Mellor and Milan Baros up against Robbie Elliott and Titus Bramble. Liverpool tried to feed Baros the ball in front of him, or he could turn back when in the centre.

If the ball was wide in behind the full-back, then Baros would run into the channels, taking centre-halves with him. If the full-backs did come in and tighten, then the wide men would get the ball.

Alternatively, you can have the wingers come deeper and bring the full-back with them. The ball played over the top of the full-back has Baros running into the space the full-back has left.

To give your wide men licence to roam you've got to have two central midfielders who can do it in there on their own. Liverpool did: Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard. Gerrard's playing like two men now, with his extra power and heading ability in the middle of the park. Newcastle couldn't cope."

Whether we will continue to play 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 is probably Rafa need to think.

Newcastle: With Bramble they can lose any game. And Bowyer is back to his original temper now.

Man of the Match: Baros. A nice all-round display.

Important games ahead to steer us to the right track

The coming games are very important: Home vs Newcastle, then we have a relatively comfortable fixture playing away at West Brom on 12/26 and then at home vs Southampton. I think we should at least get 7 points, if not 9, from these 3 games. Then a relatively trickly New Year schedule, Chelsea at home and Norwich away and we may get 4 points. If we can get at least 11 points we probably can close the gap with the front teams. Remember the winning team always kick start around Christmas. If we can build our momentum from now, together with the new players coming and Garcia bacn and Baros back to his form, we may have a good season.

Newcastle at home is our traditional easy game. Let's do it again! Remember, let's get a clean sheet now.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Pongolle
Alonso
Hamann
Kewell
Gerrard
Baros

Result: 2-0

Match Report 041214 vs Portsmouth: Definitely 2 points lost

1-1 and we are gutted by the last minute equalizer. Though Rafa refused to blame Dudek but it is clear his fault that lead to the goal.

We had abount 70% procession except for the last 10 minutes, when Portsmouth was pushing for the equalizer. Unfortunately we were very quiet in 1H and didn't get excited until 2H. We keep on testing Portsmouth and finally Gerrard had an absolutely unsavable freekick rocketed into the net. We failed to get the 2nd goal and at the end it hurts.

I am in particular unhappy about the last minutes that we keep on inviting Portsmouth to get the equalizer. We just can't lose possession like this.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 4.5 Absoultely responsible in punching the cross into LuaLua. Otherwise nothing to do.
Finnan: 6.5 A good performance throughout the game.
Carragher: 6.5 Good game for Carra as well although at the end we only get 1 point.
Hyypia: 6.5 Still in search for the first goal. He's the man next to LuaLua when he scored, but can't really blame him.
Traore: 6 He may be a better choice than Riise in left back, but we can't really proof this in this game.
Nunez: 6.5 He's improving game after game, had a quiet 1H but get better in 2H like the rest of the team.
Hamann: 7 A nice assist to the goal, and almost scored a free header. Beside he does the dirty works very well.
Alonso: 6.5 Heart of the attack, he winned the freekick that lead to the goal as well.
Kewell: 6 1H was poor but he had a few chances in 2H but couldn't score any of it.
Gerrard: 7.5 Even his fantastic rocket couldn't get us 3 points. A quiet 1H but 2H he shows his real class.
Baros: 6.5 No supply from the midfield during 1H, 2H he had a few chances. Still need some time after the hamstring injury.

Substitutions:
Sinama-Pongolle/Josemi: Too little time to impress.

Rafa: 6 He probably had a good team talk during half time and the team fired up after that, but he must be very disappointed to only get 1 point. Still we need to address the goal drought and also try to hold the ball better when leading.

Portsmouth: 6 They only have 2-3 chances and scored one.

Berger: 5.5 He didn't have much to do apart from taking corners.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. The freekick is really fabulous and I feel sorry for him not to take 3 points.

Prove your worth, Jerzy

Kirkland is injuried and Dudek is getting another chance to prove himself. Alonso and Baros should be back to starting lineup as well, and we gotta win this game in hand.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Nunez
Hamann
Alonso
Kewell
Gerrard
Baros

Result: 3-0

Match Report 041211 at Everton: Another poor performance

0-1 lost at the Derby game. I think they are more determined than us and this is the key. Rafa rested a few players and the major surprise was Diao get a start. He did try his best to prove himself but that's it. We have more chances than they do but failed to take any, and Martyn was class, but they have more processions. At the end I don't think we derserve to win. And when will we start winning away games again?

Player Rating:
Kirkland: 5.5 His recent form is really worrying. Had allowed Everton to have 2 golden chances but they failed. He may have been blocked by players for the goal, but still I think he should do better. Dudek is watching.
Josemi: 6 Started as Finnan was rested and as usual, get a yellow card.
Carragher: 6.5 You can tell he's determined to win, but one man's work is not enough.
Hyypia: 6 Still in search for his first goal. Defensively he's as good as usual.
Riise: 6 Somehow I think he's not as good playing the left back again... Tough call for Rafa.
Sinama-Pongolle: 6 Maybe he's not strong enough in this highly physical derby game. Not as effective as last game.
Hamann: 6 As usual. But it's a bit strange Rafa sub him before Diao
Diao: 6 Tried very hard to impress, but failed to convince.
Kewell: 6 Back to the poor Kewell...
Gerrard: 6 Had a few blunders which made the Everton fans happy. He did tried but maybe he's tired, not the best performance we would expect from him.
Mellor: 6.5 Had a few chances but somehow Martyn saved magnificantly. Together with Carra he's one of our better player.

Substitutions:
Nunez: 6 Failed to impress.
Traore/Alonso: Too little time to impress.

Rafa: 5 Maybe a bad judgement to rest Alonso, and yet to improve the away form.

Everton: 7 We must give credit to Moyes. He really lifted the team. Hopefully this is the end of their fairy tale and they are back to where they should be.

Man of the Match: 6.5 Carra is spiced up for this match. If the whole team are as dedicated as him, we will win.

The 200th Merseyside Derby

It's been many years that we were 9 points beind Everton, but if we win this game and the game in hand on Wednesday, we will be just 3 points behind. The players' morale are definitely at their highest, and let's build on the momentum!

My Team Prediction:
Kirkland
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Nunez
Hamann
Alonso
Kewell
Gerrard
Mellor

Result: 2-1

Match Report 041208 vs Olympiacos: At the end of the storm, there's a golden sky

3-1 and we came back from hell! Rafa's tactics were really spot-on, 2 substitution, 2 goals from their respective first touches, and Stevie G scored the most important winner in his life, and probably the most important goal in Liverpool history. Absolute stunning!

We dominated the whole game and almost scored in 2nd minutes but the referee decided Hyypia had fouled the goalkeeper. In fact we scored 5 - 2 of them ruled out. However we didn't scored and Alonso losted the ball in midfielder and it lead to a Olympiakos counter attack. Non of our defenders stopped him and Hyypia had to foul him to stop him. Unfortunately, bad defense - the wall was pulled out by the Olympiakos players and probably blocked Kirkland's view, allowed Rivaldo to score directly. Given his class we should not allow him to do so. At half time We look hopeless as we need to score 3 goals. Where will they come from?

Rafa had an answer. He substituted Traore with Sinama-Pongolle and we immediately get an equalizer. A nice pass from the centre circle found Kewell on the left wing, and his lovely low cross found Sinama-Pongolle and we are equalized. 43 minutes to go to score 2 more!

Olympiakos throughout the game had been playing all-defense, and their players pretend they were painful after every tackles. As time goes by we get frustuated, especially Stevie G who had a silly needless tackle which resulted in a yellow card and he will miss the next European game. Baros was not too effective, given this is his first game back, and time is running out.

Then Rafa did his trick again. He substituted Baros with Mellor, and once again he scored. It's also another Sinama-Pongolle trick. We won a freekick and Stevie G crossed the ball into the penalty box. Florent got the ball and passed it back to Nunez, his header was not strong enough and the goalkeeper parried, but it wasn't far enough and Mellor tapped it in. 9 minutes to go and we need to score one more!

At this point of time the Kop is at its loudest, and I am very confident that the much needed goal will come. But from whom? Of course Stevie G. I must admit that I was not too happy about his display in this game, he seems to have mind in elsewhere (Chelsea?) and did not play to his very best. But the Kop lifted him. Great pass from Carragher and found Mellor, he headed the ball to the edge of the penalty, and here comes Stevie G - a magnificant strike into the net, an unstoppable striker. Stevie G loves it, his happiness shows how much he loves the club and wants to win things to the club. And the Kop loves it too!

So now we are in the last 16 and will face either one of Juventus, Inter, AC Milan, Lyon or Leverkusen. I personally would love to draw Leverkusen. I still remember it was that game at Leverkusen that Houllier somehow substituted Hamann and then lead to us lost to Leverkusen and start to see the fall of the club... It would be nice to re-start there.

Player Rating:
Kirkland: 6 At fault for the Rivaldo goal. He has been conceding 2 goals from freekicks in a row. Need to sort it out ASAP.
Finnan: 6.5 Do well defensively and have time to attack as well.
Carragher: 6.5 Apart from that Rivaldo goal his performance was very consistent.
Hyypia: 7 Same comment as Carra, he's also been a threat to the Olympiakos goalkeeper especially during freekicks.
Traore: 6 He plays OK and was substituted for tactical reason.
Nunez: 6 Not quite there yet, but is getting close.
Alonso: 6.5 He's been the playmaker once again. Good performance.
Gerrard: 7.5 Excellent strike. Do it more often! Get a silly yellow card and apart from the goal, I was not too happy about his performance. But what's important is that he scored that goal.
Riise: 6 1H as left midfielder and 2H as left back. An OK performance.
Kewell: 7 Excellent assist to Florent's goal. Also missed a few chances. His confidence is getting back. A goal at Goodison park would be nice.
Baros: 6 Scored a goal but was rule out... Since this is only his first game back so he looks a bit off the form. Hope he can pick up soon.

Substitution:
Sinama-Pongolle: 8.5 Scored a great goal to kick start 2H and also involved in the 2nd goal. Maybe this is the way to play him - as a supersub and use his pace when the opponent defenders are tired.
Mellor: 8 One goal, one assist in 12 minutes. Another supersub!
Josemi: Played only a few minutes. A bit shaky as he fouled in a bad position and created some fear to us.

Rafa: 10 Brilliant team talk and substitutions. But need to sort out the defensive free kick tactics ASAP.

Olympiakos: 4 No sportsmanship at all. They derseve to play in UEFA Cup.

Man of the match: The Kop. Without the Kop's support we can't do it. But for the players on the pitch, Sinama-Pongolle had the most impact. Great job young man!

Do it again, Kop

A must win game by 1-0 or winning margin by 2 goals to be 100% sure we are through to last 16, this game is very important. We definitely need the Kop to chear us up. Let's win it!

My Team Prediction:

Kirkland
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Nunez
Biscan
Alonso
Kewell
Gerrard
Baros

Result 3-0

Match Report 041204 at Aston Villa: Good performance, but bad result

1-1 and on paper it is a good result given our poor away form and Villa's strong home form (still remain unbeaten), but if you watched the game you would wonder why we don't win: It's the same old problem that we failed to find the much needed 2nd goal to kill off the game.

We were so good that Villa only had 2-3 shots, one resulted in a goal and the other Solano free kick come close. Other than that it's all us, especially in 1H that we can go 3-0 if not for Sorensen's excellent saves from Gerrard or Mellor.

Some good things from this game are that this 4-5-1 seems to fit every body well, and as Baros is coming back (maybe Wednesday, but by latest Saturday) we should be starting to kick off finally. And hopefully Kewell's goal re-ignite his power. After all, he always play only half season good.

Player Rating:
Kirkland: 6 I think he's partly responsible for the goal, though Solano's strike is very hard to catch, and he did made a great save in 2H. But he should instruct the wall so that he can see where the ball is coming from.
Finnan: 7 Another solid performance, 1H as right back and 2H as right midfielder.
Carragher: 7 The freekick that resulted in the goal should never been given - even the Villa players apologized for that. Other than this Carra is as usual reliable.
Hyypia: 7 Still haven't open his account, but maybe it's due to the quality of corners. Gerrard please note!
Riise: 6 I think John Arne was not as good in this match than the previous matches. But why he was keep at left back when Traore come on is a real mystery.
Nunez: 6 Hope he can adapt to the pace of Premiership very soon.
Hamann: 7 Another solid performance. This formation really suit him.
Alonso: 7 Xabi players very well in the play maker role. And with Hamann and Gerrard protecting him he can take time to make some nice passes.
Kewell: 7 First goal of the season, wish more to come. He also seems to link up with Gerrard perfectly.
Gerrard: 7.5 He's everywhere, but his finishing let him down... Or is it Sorensen somehow can read his mind? I understand his frustuation of being substituted, but there's a bigger game coming up.
Mellor: 7 Plays very well in the lone striker role and was unlucky not to have scored...

Substitutions:
Josemi: 7 I think he played quite well in 2H. Keep it up!
Traore: 6 Maybe there's some secret training for him as left midfielder? But I think it doesn't work. And missed a glorious chance in the injury time.
Sinama-Pongolle: Only played a few minutes, but looks lively.

Rafa: 6 Why he played Traore as midfielder is a puzzle to Liverpool fans. We'll see.

Aston Villa: 6 They are lucky to get 1 point in this game. But I think they should be doing well and challenge the UEFA Cup slot.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. With performance like this from the captain, the only way to go for us is up.

Let's build on the momentum

The Villa game will probably see the first team players coming back, especially the B team has played 120 minutes. Rafa may rest a few players for the Olympiacos game, but I think we can stick with the 4-5-1 and win the game

My Team Prediction:

Kirkland
Josemi
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Finnan
Hamann
Alonso
Kewell
Gerrard
Mellor

Result: 1-0

Match Report 041201 at Tottenham Hotspur: Three more wins to win the League Cup!

0-0 in 90 minutes and 1-1 after extra time and we won 4-3 at penalties. Sinama-Pongolle is the hero by scoring the penalty in 117 minute and then the last one in the penalty shootout. The young guns are playing quite well, so Rafa will probably stick with the same squad for the League Cup (and FA Cup as well?)

Next we will face Watford, on paper this seems the best draw, but I think they will be more up to win this game than Manchester and Chelsea. We'll see how we go. But looks like we are winning the League Cup once every 2 years, so this year we will win it.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 8 Made some godod saves in normal time and also won at the penalty shootout.
Raven: 7 A good debut display for the young guy.
Henchoz: 7 Scored his first ever goal for us in the shootout, but it may be the last as well...
Whitbread: 7 Another good display. He gave us a reason to sell Henchoz and raise some money.
Warnock: 6.5 Another solid display
Nunez: 6 He's picking up and will get there.
Biscan: 7 Good display especially 2nd half to inspire the team to up a gear.
Diao: 7 Not bad, but this may be the last for him.
Potter: 6 Although he missed a penalty in the shootout, in general his performance is OK.
Sinama-Pongolle: 8 Scored 2 penalties. What a display! Let's keep it up!
Mellor: 6 Substituted early as Rafa need to save him for the Saturday game.

Substitutions:
Welsh: 7 A good display and scored in the shootout. Well done!
Smyth: 6.5 A nice debut for this young guy. Made an impact almost immediately.
Partridge: Played only a few minutes, but scored in the shootout as well.

Rafa: 7 The team display shows that he knows how to rotate. And the young guys didn't let him down.

Spurs: 6 They probably blown away their biggest chance of winning a trophy.

Men of the Match: Dudek and Sinama-Pongolle, one prevent us from falling behind even more and one scored 2 goals to keep us forward.

Another chance for the youngsters

League Cup remains at the bottom of Rafa's list and he will file a B team again. This is really a chance for the youngsters to prove they can do it. 4 more wins and we will win the Cup!

My Team Prediction:

Dudek
Finnan
Whitbread
Henchoz
Traore
Nunez
Welsh
Biscan
Warnock
Pongolle
Mellor

Result: 2-0

November Month Review

4W3L. It's been a month of roller coasters. We lost Baros, Garcia, Trare, Josemi via injuries, but Stevie G and Nunez are back. We lost two league game, which at least we should get 4 points. Then we won a great game against Arsenal and hopefully this will re-ignite the players. We also won one and lost one in Champions League, so we need to win by 1-0 or 2 goals to qualify.

This month saw us losing one place to 7th, but with the game in hand we can go back to 5th. We need to keep the pace with the leaders before we lose too much ground (and Gerrard as well..) December is a big month with 8 games and we need to get a good result, particular with not enough service up front. Hopefully Stevie G, after 2 month's "rest", should have enough power to play like in the Arsenal game through this season.

Players of the Month: (1) Alonso (2) Carragher (3) Baros/Biscan/Mellor.
Xabi did well in the wins vs Palace and Arsenal, but somehow he's not too consistent and Rafa even dropped him for the Monaco game. Carragher, needless to say, is as consistent as ever. The third place goes to 3 different players because they all only played a few games, nevertheless Baros and Mellor both scored 3 goals, and Biscan has been class whenever he played.

December Prediction:
12/1 Tottenham Hotspur (A) This is the lowest on Rafa's agenda, but I think we can still win it.
12/4 Aston Villa (A) A draw won't be too bad, but with the big win vs Arsenal, we can carry the momentum and win this as well.
12/8 Olympiakos (H) A must win game. And their away record is poor. 2-0!
12/11 Everton (A) We seems to do good at Goodison Park over the past few years. First derby for the Spaniards and possibly Milan will be back this game. A win for us.
12/14 Portsmoouth (H) This is the game in hand. With Portsmouth recent turmoil and form we should win this easily. The only thing I am worry is this may be their new manager's first game, and for some reason we always perform badly in this kind of situation.
12/19 Newcastle United (H) Need to win this game. And we should be able to do it. But with Robson gone and Souness in, they may get a draw.
12/26 West Bromwich Albion (A) Another game we should win. But this probably is a test for Rafa's rotation strategy.
12/28 Southampton (H) Southampton is doing very poor. Another win.

Match Report 041128 vs Arsenal: A well derseved win

2-1 and we are fully deserved to win the game. Rafa's tactic of 4-2-3-1 really nullified Arsenal - so good that they have no shot in 1H and only 2 in 2H, 1 the goal and 1 the 40 yard Henry wasteful lob, and Arsenal did not have a single corner.

Our 2 goals are all great goals as well. First one started when Hamann intercepted the ball in midfield. He found Finnan, who crossed the ball diagonally to Kewell, who headed back to Gerrard. Anybody will think he will pass to Mellor running into the penalty box, and so did the Arsenal defenders. Instead Stevie G passed it to Alonso, who had lots of space due to Mellor's effort, and banged the ball into the corner of the net.

The second goal was in the 92 minutes. Finnan refused to lose a corner and Henry was fouled him. Probably at that time the Arsenal players thought the game is over and they are not paying attention. But not for us. Kirkland had a great pass and Vieira failed to get it, the ball somehow was passed to Mellor, who put it into the net from 30 yards. What a goal!

As I mentioned in the preview we need 3 conditions to win the gam: (1) Henry not playing (literally he wasn't apart from that goal) (2) Vieira sent off (well, almost) and (3) a goal from nowhere (although not as bizarre as from Kewell, Carra or Kirkland, they came from Alonso (2nd goal only) and Mellor (first ever league goal).

This is really a team effort. Every one plays well and hard working, and the first half was almost perfect. 2nd half after they scored we were down a gear, maybe due to tireness as well, but you can see we are more eager to win the game, and we win it in the most spectacular way. Arsenal really had no chance to come back.

Player Rating:
Kirkland 7: Can't do anything about the Arsenal goal, otherwise he's commanding the penalty area very well
Finnan: 7 Done much better in defence that Josemi, and have a great diagonal pass to Kewell to create the first goal.
Carragher: 7.5 As usual the solid rock of the defense. He contained Henry very well.
Hyypia: 7.5 Same comment as Carra. And he had a good block on Henry to prevent him scoring a goal.
Riise: 7 He is also excellent in defense.
Sinama-Pongolle 7 Works very hard in right midfield, unfortunately injuried. Hope he is doing fine.
Alonso: 8 Scored a great goal and was very good in the midfield combination with Hamann and Gerrard.
Hamann: 7.5 A great performance for Hamann especially the first half. Second half he's a bit tired and not as effective, but still a good performance.
Kewell: 7 He works very hard and was very good defensively. For attacks he was involved in the first goal, and had a header saved.
Gerrard: 9 Plays very well in this 2nd striker role, and the Captain really bring everyone up a gear.
Mellor: 8 It's tough to play in this lone striker role but Mellor played very well. And he deserves the goal.

Substitution:
Nunez: 6 First game and was OK. Need to adapt to the pace ASAP.

Rafa: 9.5 Excellent tactic. He's really a good manager. Well done man!

Arsenal: 5 A poor game and had no heart. They don't derseve to get any point in this game. Hopefully they will recover ASAP and challenge Chelsea.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Captain Marvel!

We need luck

With so many injuries we probably need a lot of luck to be able to win this game. First we need to have Henry injuried, then Vieira sent off in consecutive games, and third a goal from nowhere, probably Kewell, Carragher, Kirkland, or an own goal.

My Team Prediction:

Kirkland
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Kewell
Alonso
Hamann
Gerrard
Biscan
Mellor

Result 1-0

RIP, Jim Suk

James Wong, or Jim Suk, passed away.

While I have never met him in person, I was lucky enough to be a La Sallian like him. His great works, especially in Chinese Lyrics, gave HK people a lot of laughter, confidence and precious moments. I can say I grown up with Jim Suk's lyrics.

Jim Suk, I will never forgot your laughter, and your great lyrics. RIP.

滄海一聲笑 滔滔兩岸潮
浮沉隨浪只記今朝
蒼天笑 紛紛世上潮
誰負誰勝出天知曉
江山笑 煙雨遙
濤浪淘盡紅塵俗世幾多嬌
清風笑 竟惹寂寥
豪情還勝了一襟晚照
蒼生笑 不再寂寥
豪情仍在痴痴笑笑

Match Report 041123: 2 more injuries

0-1 and we were beaten by a handled goal. Saviola's goal is definitely a handball and why the referee can't detect it is really every person's guess. And worst of all, we lost Garcia and Josemi. So Rafa is soon to reach his 13 first team players injuried scenario... And we are facing Arsenal this Sunday... I wonder where the goal will come from. Carragher or Kirkland or Henchoz?

The starting gameplan Rafa had is rather conservative, Mellor as loan striker, 3 in middle, and Riise and Garcia as wings. And within 2 minutes Garcia pulled his hamstring... but Rafa changed the gameplan and subbed Josemi. He's actually doing quite well, but he was subsequently injuried with 20 stiches on his head with a knock with a Monaco player...

Now we need to beat Olympiakos by 2 goals to be sure to go through, if we only beat them by 1 goal, a 1-0 will mean both Olympiakos has exactly same points, same goal scored and same goal difference, which will lead to the comparison of team coefficients and we should then go through. If we only beat them 2-1, we need Monaco not to win to go through. Of course, if we don't win, then we will be heading to UEFA cup. Is it an achievable task? Yes it is, but with the injury crisis, we need someone to score 2 goals.

Player Rating:
Kirkland: 6.5 Consistent as usual, but frankly speaking he doesn't has too many things to do thanks to the superb performance of Carragher.
Finnan: 6 First 2 minutes as right back and then as right midfielder, then back to right back when Josemi injuried. An average performance, he failed to provide too much attacking support.
Carragher: 7.5 Saved Kirky many chances. And even if he's beaten he will soon be back to cover. With this performance he should be able to contain Henry. But Arsenal is probably more than that.
Hyypia: 6.5 Had one scoring chance but failed to convert. With the current injury crisis we definitely need the vice Captain to score some goals from set pieces.
Traore: 6.5 He did quite well in containing Saviola, and was only substituted due to change in game plan when we were 1 goal behind.
Garcia: Unlucky, now we will miss him for a month...
Biscan: 6.5 He did better than Hamann and Gerrard in midfield. Have 1 half chance in 1st half but failed to convert.
Gerrard: 6 Still not back to his best level, we need patience...
Hamann: 6 Earned a yellow card and will miss the Olympiakos match. But Biscan should be more than enough to cover if Rafa plan to start a more defensive player.
Riise: 6 Failed to impress in his former home ground.
Mellor: 5.5 On one hand there's virtually no supply to him, but in general he did not do enough to convince us he is right up to the job yet. The last minute goal should have been stand if not the referee is biased and deemed Warnock as going too dangerously.

Substitutions:
Josemi: 6 Maybe the pace of an European game suit him better, he played better than his last few league games, but let's hope he will get well soon.
Warnock: 5 Not many contributions. I think he need to control his temper. If he did not earn the yellow card, the referee may not be so biased and deemed his last minute getting the ball tackle and then assist as too dangerous.
Kewell: 5 When will he be back to an acceptable level?

Rafa: 5 I just don't understand the game plan. And he now need to face with 2 more injuries. Hopefully Nunez will be back soon.

Monaco: 6 They win by a controversal goal, hopefully with the help of Deportivo winning all 3 home games would not be enough for them to go through.

Man of the Match: Carragher. Who else? Maybe we should play him as a striker now.

Win it, or lose it.

It's really simple. 3 points at Monaco and we are through. If not, we may as well lose the game as we probably need to win vs Olympiacos at home, unless they lost to Deportivo tonight. Monaco may have not won in 8 games, but they still get Saviola. We should try to attack from the very beginning until the end, but frankly speaking, where's the strikers?

My Team Prediction:
Kirkland
Josemi Carragher Hyypia Traore
Finnan Gerrard Alonso Riise
Kewell Garcia

Result 1-0

Match Report 041120: We need a striker!

0-2 and it was a very poor result. The lack of striker is very obvious. I don't understand why Rafa did not start at least one of Mellor or Sinama-Pongolle, if not both. The formation is more like a 6-4-0 than 4-4-2.

We played quite well in the first 30 minutes and contained Boro quite well, with the exception of attack. Then all of a sudden a defense lapse and we are one down. Garcia 's goal was then incorrectly judged as offside. This is his second goal incorrectly ruled out... Kewell was improving, but definitively lack of confidence. He has wasted way too many chances! Then we lost the second goal due to a Alonso error... The only plus from the game is that Gerrard is back, but it is very clear that he needs to catch up... Time is running out, and we have two very difficult games coming.

Player Rating:
Kirkland: 6 Helpless in the 2 goals, once again defense let him down.
Josemi: 5 Luckily we won't see him again vs Arsenal as he got his 5th yellow card.
Carragher: 6.5 Solid as usual and saved at least 2 Boro chances. Even have a run forward in 2H.
Hyypia: 6 Can't stopped the 2nd goal as the ball was passed through his legs.
Traore: 5.5 Fault on 1st goal and before that, another Boro opportunity but Carra saved him.
Finnan: 6 Played quite bad. But need to gear up at next week facing Henry.
Alonso: 6 At the heart of every chance we have, but couldn't get something. Was faulty in the 2nd goal, first lost the ball in midfield, then covered the offsided Zenden.
Hamann: 6 Substituted for Gerrard. As usual he failed to inspire the teammates.
Riise: 6 Tried very hard but couldn't get anything.
Garcia: 6.5 A bad day as his goal was incorrectly ruled out...But he is one of our better player.
Kewell: 5 Wasted so many chances. And Rafa need to do something to improve his confience.

Substitutions:
Gerrard: 6 Welcome back! He's still not in 100% condition, and hopefully he will be there soon.
Pongolle: 5.5 Not much contribution for his 20 minutes on the pitch.
Biscan: Played a few minutes only

Rafa: 5.5 Why not play either or both Mellor or Sinama-Pongolle is really a mystery. And finally he will stop playing Josemi vs Arsenal.

Boro: 8 Played very well especially Downing. Maybe we should get him as well.

Man of the Match: Garcia/Carragher. Garcia was unlucky not on the scoresheet, and Carra is as usual reliable.

Welcome back, Stevie G, and do it again, Mellor

Stevie G is back but Baros is out for 4 weeks... so we need Mellor to score again. I don't think Stevie G should start this game.. a bit too early. Boro away is never an easy task to us. A draw won't be too bad a result.

My Team Prediction:

Kirland
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Traore
Kewell
Hamann
Alonso
Riise
Garcia
Mellor

Result 1-0

Match Report 041113 vs Crystal Palace: Milan! Milan! Milan!

3-2 and Milan scores his first hat trick for us! Hope this is the start of many hat tricks.

We started the match brightly and was only denied to take a lead earlier only by the brilliant performance of their goalkeeper. Carra even has a shot! I don't know why he was in the Palace area as it was not a set piece action... Milan was terrible and he won us 2 penalties and another free kick that lead to the 3 goals.

The defence was OK except Josemi. He's evolved into our weakest link... better catch up soon.

Players Rating:
Kirkland: 6.5 Wasn't too bad, the 2 goals are not his responsibility, and he has a nice diving header outside the box in the dying minute to prevent Palace to equalize the third time.
Josemi: 5 Need to adapt to the Premiership pace ASAP. Or Rafa should start Finnan instead. Fault on both goals.
Carragher: 7.5 Solid as usual, and even have our first scoring chance in the game.
Hyypia: 7 A good understanding with Carra has developed.
Traore: 7 A good display throughout, but if his crossing improves he will be a better player.
Hamann: 7 Rock in midfield.
Alonso: 8 His vision bring to the first penalty and also his intelligent pass created the 2nd goal. A good display.
Riise: 7 A good performance but was unfortunately substituted due to tactical reason. His freekick just before he is substituted is very close.
Kewell: 6.5 He created the 2nd and 3rd goal , but most of the time he just give away the ball or not daring to dribble pass a player... Still unsure.
Garcia: 7 An OK display.
Baros: 10 A full mark display. His Euro 04 form is back! One thing he need to work on is to try pass to other players when they are in a better position to score.

Substitutions:
Finnan: 7 A very good game. I think he should be starting ahead of Josemi.
Mellor/Sinama-Pongolle: Not enough time to shine.

Rafa: 7 A good win, but I think he should consider starting Finnan instead of Josemi. How he is going to shuffle now that Stevie G is back is really interesting to see.

Crystal Palace: 7 They just never give up! If they continue to play like this I am sure they will staty up. Maybe as high as 11th place.

Man of the Match: Baros. Let's score more hat tricks!

Let's restart our winning streak

Home game against Crystal Palace. Hopefully after their midweek defeat they will be a bit down. And we gotta restart our winning steak after last week's unexpected lost. The key is really how the strickers are performing.

My Team Prediction:
Kirkland
Josemi
Carragher
Hyypia
Traore
Garcia
Alonso
Biscan
Riise
Baros
Mellor

Result 3-0

Match Report 041023 vs Middlesbrough: Well done, lads!

2-0 and Mellor scored both. I am really happy about his and other young lads, notably Partridge, Whitbread and Potter. Knock on the door for the A Team! Next round would be at Spurs. 4 more games to win the League Cup!

Players Rating:
Dudek: 7 Rarely troubled, even though there's a goal conceded but it's ruled offside.
Finnan: 7 A solid experience.
Henchoz: 7 Another good experience. Although I am still not sure he will be here for too long...
Whitbread: 7.5 An excellent home debut. Hyypia should be worried now.
Traore: 7 He's getting better and better.
Potter: 7.5 A good display with a nice assist for the 2nd goal.
Biscan: 8 A good display and almost score again. I think we should start Igor instead of Hamann.
Diao: 6.5 The fact he was substituted probably means he's not playing too well.
Warnock: 6.5 Can be better.
Sinama-Pongolle: 7 Injuried... hope he will recover in time and open his account soon.
Mellor: 8 2 goals scorer, well done lad!

Substitutions:
Partridge: 7 Come up and had an assist on the first goal. A good experience. Hope his career finally kick start.
Welsh/Riise: Played a bit of the game. I am really pleased Welsh is playing. Let's hope he get more and more chance (at least he should be ahead of Diao).

Rafa: 7 Good game using the B Team and giving so many young lads a chance to display. Well done Rafa!

Middlesbrough: 6.5 We gotta beat them again next week.

Man of the match: Biscan. He should start instead of Hamann.

RIP, crazy horse

Emlyn Hughers, our great captain, died last nite... Maybe he rest in peace, and let's win the game for him - League Cup is the only Trophy he didn't get in Liverpool, althogh he made up by winning it with Wolves.

Although Rafa will only play the team B, but they should be able to have the job done, especially Boro is going to rest a few first team players.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Josemi Whitbread Henchoz Traore
Warnock Biscan Diao Potter
Mellor Pongolle

Result 2-1 in normal time

European Handover?

Every team except Chelsea who played in the midweek European games lost points. And our problem is even bigger as even Milan is injured.

We played quite well but just couldn't score the goal. Sinama-Pongolle missed a chance to shine, and Kewell was blamed by everyone. At the end a minor of lack of concertation had Anderton scored the goal. He seems to be doing well against us... And under Rennie's referee we lost 2 games in a row, in the first game he ruled Garcia's equalizer offside, and this time he ruled the clear handball by Izzet out... So let's hope we won't have another game under him.

Player Rating:
Kirkland: 7 Do nothing bad but can't prevent the goal. The teammates let him down.
Josemi: 6 Once again his slow in motion let the team down... And another yellow card.
Carragher: 6.5 Nothing bad, even dribbled pass 3 players in 2H.
Hyypia: 6.5 Fail to inspire the team. Maybe time to let Carra be the captain.
Traore: 6.5 An OK game, though not as good as the previous few games.
Garcia: 5.5 Missed chances and lost balls easily. Let us down.
Hamann: 5.5 Once again when the team was not doing well he can't inspire the others. Maybe time to play Biscan instead.
Alonso: 7 Do all the tricks but with no strikers available, what can he done?
Riise: 6.5 A fair game... Was winning every header
Kewell: 5 We need Harry to play well ASAP.
Sinama-Pongolle: 5.5 A chance for him to shine, but he didn't take it.

Substitutions:
Finnan: Did not lose the ball easily.
Mellor: Maybe he should be introduced earlier...
Biscan: Had one scoring chance despite only played for a few minutes.

Rafa: 5 Need to bring Siname-Pongolle and Kewell (and Garcia) up to speed ASAP.

Birmingham City: 6 As Bruce said it should be a penalty, anyway they stole 2 points from us.

Heskey: 5 As usual, misses chance after chance.

Man of the Match: Alonso. But only him doing well does not help. We need every one to spot on.

Welcome back, Emil, but no welcome

Saturday Heskey will be back after his transfer to Birmingham. Given the recent form of Birmingham it should be an easy game to us. The question for Rafa is really who to partner Baros. Let's roll on and win the game!

My Team Prediction:
Kirkland
Josemi Carragher Hyypia Traore
Alonso Hamann Biscan Kewell
Garcia
Baros

Result 3-0

Match Report 041103 at Deportivo La Coruna: A great performance!

1-0 win and saw us within 1 win to qualify. Now is really simple. 1 win in the next 2 game will do. Of course we want to have the job done in France. :)

We started the match brightly and Baros almost scored in the first minute. Biscan was everywhere and rightly deserved a man of the match performance. He "created" the goal by dribbling the ball and passed 2-3 opponents. He then passed the ball to Riise, whose great cross forced the Deportivo defender to put the ball in his own net.

The defense was really great and Kirkland has almost nothing to do besides colided with Biscan (he's everywhere). We have a few chances but can't finish off, but at the end we deserved to win.

As Rafa said the game plan was executed perfectly. He tried to maintain a high tempo and Deportivo was never really into the game. If we have this performance day in, day out, who knows how high we will finish?

Player Rating:
Kirkland: 7 Almost nothing to do.
Josemi: 7 A much better performance. Maybe because he's back to his homeland?
Carragher: 7 Solid as ever.
Hyypia: 7 He wins every header, though his passing need to improve.
Traore: 7 Another solid performance.
Kewell: 7 He tried very hard and in fact his performance is not bad. But maybe due to tactical reason he was substituted.
Hamann: 7 A typical good Hamann performance.
Biscan: 8 The best performance of Igor in a red shirt. More to come!
Riise: 7 His great cross lead to the own goal, and he has several shoting attempts.
Garcia: 7 A good performance, created several chances.
Baros: 7.5 Works very hard. And he was constant threat to Deportivo.

Substitutions:
Finnan: 6 A good substitution performance.
Sinama-Pongolle: Conceded several free kicks. Need to improve
Alonso: He was deemed unfit to play for more than 45 minutes. But due to the excellent performance of Igor, he only need to walk 3 minutes during injury time - enough to break his jinx against Deportivo.

Rafa: 8.5 An excellent tactical win for Rafa. The high tempo methodology finally works for the whole match. The key is too put Igor ahead of Diao.

Deportivo: 6 Unless they win the last 2 home games they can't qualify. I really wish they can qualify as this means the other teams are losing points, which is good to us.

Man of the match: Biscan. First of many great performances coming.

We need to get something

If we are to qualify the next 2 away games are crucial. But Deportivo at home will be a differnet team. Our defense need to be at their best. And Milan, please score for Djibril.

My Team Prediction:
Kirkland
Josemi Carragher Hyypia Traore
Finnan Hamann Alonso Riise
Garcia
Baros

Result 1-0

October Month Review

3 wins, 2 draws and 1 lost. Not too bad, but can be better.

October began with one of the toughest game of the season, away at Chelsea. And we lost 0-1, which is perhaps a bit unlucky. Then there is the international break and we didn't have another game until 10/16 at Fulham. We started poorly and was 2 goal behind in 30 minutes. In second half Alonso played and the whole game was transformed. Even Biscan scored a goal which is quite an achievement. The next game we hosted Deportivo, which we played very well esp 1H but didn't win. Then we host Charlton at home and it was a easy win. After that the B team played and we win 3-0 at Milwall in the League Cup. The month ended in a bad mood as Cisse was cruelly injuried and will be out for a long time in the Blackburn game, which the result was not too good given Arsenal drawn and Man United lost.

We gradually climb up the league table and is now 6th, if we win our game in hand we will be 4th. The 3rd place is still ours and Man United's battle for, but with Cisse now out Rafa need to do his tricks on Sinama-Pongolle or Mellor or Kewell. In the League Cup we will play the defending Champion Boro at home, which will not be easy. But the B team gotta come up and prove. In Champions League, we need to get something in the next 2 away match or else we will be out.

Players of the month: (1) Carragher 7.5 (2) Baros 7.33 (3) Alonso 7.2 Carragher was very consistent in the month and is the worthy winner of the PoM. Baros started to show his Eurp form, and we need him to do so consistently now. Alonso still need to maintain his consistency. At Chelsea he was crap but after that he played very well, especially the Fulham game.

November Predictions:
11/3 Deportivo La Coruna (A) At least a point is needed.
11/6 Birmingham City (H) A game that we have to and should win.
11/10 Middlesbrough (H) It's clear League Cup is not Rafa's first priority, so the B team need to show their worth
11/13 Crystal Palace (H) Another game have to and should win.
11/20 Middlesbrough (A) A double on Boro!
11/23 Monaco (A) We can win this game. Go for it!
11/28 Arsenal (H) A draw won't be too bad against the top dog. But we can win.
11/30 League Cup Quarter Final Depend on opponents and whether we go thru, a winnable game.

Match Report 041030 at Blackburn Rovers: We're All Behind You, Djibril

2-2, but result does not matter any more. We are all behind Djibril and really hope he will recover soon and become a stronger player.

As I said before, we need to control the pace, and in fact we did it for the opening session. We started the game brightly, and Riise scored another great goal in the 7th minute. But the lead did not last too long and we let Blackburn control the pace. A hestitation by Traore played Emerton onside and he played the ball calmly to let Bothroyd score easily. Then things went worse with Cisse broke his leg, and another hestitation by Hyypia sent the ball to Emerton and he curved the ball into the net in the dying minute of 1H...

2H we played a gear up and equalized. It was a clever pass by Garcia, the new dad, who get the ball from an Blackburn error and passed it to Baros, who calmly put it into the net. After that both teams have a few chances, notably Garcia did a last man save, but it finished 2-2, which is probably a fair result for both teams. One thing that I really didn't like is that at some time we just allow Blackburn to control the game, at one point the 5 minute possession shows 85% Blackburn 15% Liverpool! Can't let this allow anymore. On a day that Arsenal drawn and Man United lost, it's really not too good a result to lost 2 points.

Player Rating:
Kirkland: 7 Once again the defense let him down. But he did made some great saves or else we will lost the game.
Josemi: 5.5 Lack pace. Out run by Emerton several times. Need to improve a lot, and to avoid the needless tackles.
Carragher 7 The only defender that is up to standard.
Hyypia: 6 Responsible for the 2nd goal.
Traore: 5.5 Played Emerton onside that result in the 1st goal.
Finnan: 6 Nothing spectacular done, and was substituted early 2H. Although I would put him ahead of Josemi at the time being.
Alonso: 6.5 Had a great assist, and other then that a good performance, but he can have a bigger impact.
Hamann: 6 Typical Hamann performance, ie, stable, but can't raise us to a higher level.
Riise: 7 Scored a great goal. We are getting close to see the best of Riise. Striker in next game?
Cisse: 6 Just as he started to show bonding with Milan, he was cruelly injured... Get well soon.
Baros: 7.5 Scored a great goal and was constantly our greatest threat. And from now on we need to rely on him. Milan, bring your Euro 2004 form back!

Substitutions:
Garcia: 7 A great assist shows his awareness. Also, have a last man save. Well done newly dad!
Kewell: 6.5 Need to gear up now that Cisse is injuried.
Diao: Scary...

Rafa: 6 Need to solve our away form, especially the defense.

Blackburn: 6 Let's put it straight here: This is a bad pitch for us, so let's hope they get relegated.

Man of the Match: Baros. And he need to perform this day in day out now. Let's prove you are a better striker than a certain former player.

Key is to control the pace of the game

Blackburn is now in a mess, but we need to prevent a backslash from them, as Rafa says. If we can control the pace and not letting them to hld the ball, we will win the game. Let's build on the recent good run!

My Team Prediction:
Kirkland
Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore
Garcia, Hamann, Alonso, Riise
Baros, Cisse

Result 2-0

Match Report 041026 at Milwall: The B Team wins

3-0 against Milwall is not bad a result, but the match was overshadowed by the ugly Milwall fans' chants on Hillsborough.

Frankly I found the B team not too effective, especially for the midfield. It looks to me as if the center midfielders have no connections with the wings. And despite Sinama-Pongolle and Mellor working so hard, it was only until Baros came in and score the 2-0 goal that we were finally secured the game. Having said that, I think it's a good team result. Rafa also mentioned he will use the B team in the next round against defending Champion Middlesborough. Let's see if it works or not.

Player Rating:
Dudek: 7 Solid as usual. Keep challenging Kirkland please.
Josemi: 6.5 No real crucial task during the whole match.
Henchoz: 7 If this game is to show his potential next employer, it's a really good show
Whitbread: 7 A very good debut for the young lad.
Traore: 6.5 The only survivor from the Charlton game. It's really amazing Rafa has turned him from a no-hope player to a decent player.
Potter: 7 A fine assist and also his corner created the first goal. Well done young man!
Diao: 7 Scored a goal! It really amazed me.. but his defence is still very poor...
Biscan: 7 "overshadowed" by Diao as he didn't score... just kidding, I think he plays quite well.
Warnock: 7 Another good assist as well. Good job!
Sinama-Pongolle: 7.5 A fine display form Florent but unfortunately he was injuried... He was creating lots of chances. I in particular like his unselfish pass to Mellor in 1H.
Mellor: 6.5 Tried hard, but couldn't score... Still need to improve a lot, he may be our Sherringham.


Substitutions:
Baros: 7.5 Showed the young lads how goals are scored. He keep the Milwall defenders busy, but was too stupid to earn a yellow card (luckily it's not red)
Finnan/Riise: Not much to do for the short time on the pitch.

Rafa: 7 He tries the B team and works. Though it still need to be tweaked.

Milwall: 3 Both the players and the fans show no discipline.

Anything could happen tonight.

3rd round of League Cup means our B team is coming out. A few out of favor players and reserve talents will play in this game. I think we will win the game, but it's going to be a tough one. And the team prediction will be very tricky. Let's see how many players I predicted correctly.

My team prediction:
Dudek
Josemi Carragher Henchoz Traore
Warnock Biscan Diao Kewell
Mellor Pongolle

Result 2-1 in normal time

Match Report 041023 vs Charlton Athletic: Another easy win

2-0 and we could have win more. In fact in the first 15 minutes we already had 7 shots, if not for the alert of Kiely and the superb last man save by Murphy we would be 2-0 up in 10 minutes already.

We controlled the game as the 1H of the Deportivo game, and Charlton had only about 3 shots in the whole game, but none is dangerous. We may just put Diao there and still win the game easily.

Maybe it's just the opponents are crap, but certainly the 4 home wins will build up our confidence, and Fortress Anfield is rebuilt.

Player Rating:
Kirkland: 7 Nothing to do 2 games in a row and got 2 clean sheets. His presence makes the back 4 feel comfortable.
Finnan: 7 He's doing quite well and probably right back is a better position for him. Challenging Josemi's position.
Carragher: 7.5 Another excellent for Carra. Patrolling the defence brilliantly.
Hyypia: 7 Almost score from a corner if not for Murphy's last man save (probably he practiced this in the past). The subsequent overhead kick is close as well.
Traore: 7 Getting better and better. Maybe there's really something Rafa spotted that we don't...
Garcia: 8 Scored a brilliant goal and has lots of links with both midfield and the front 2. A very good game for Garcia.
Alonso: 7.5 Another good game for Xabi. Keep up the consistency!
Hamann: 7 Another solid performance from Didi.
Riise: 7.5 Scored a brilliant goal. It's really too long that he has not scored in 65 games... Hope he can score 4-5 more this season at least. And need to try shotting using the right foot too.
Cisse: 7.5 Probably his best posotion is to be inclined to the right. The co-operation with Milan is slowing working. In 2H he showed us how quick he can be, getting rid of Murphy in midfield by kicking the ball far away by ~20 yards, and managed to cross it out.
Baros: 7.5 Could have scored a hat trick in the first half. He works very hard, and the linkage with Cisse is improving, though more improvements are still needed.


Substitutions:
Kewell: Rafa is not rushing to put Kewell in the squad, which is good.
Sinama-Pongolle: Worked hard to try impress the manager. Keep it up!
Warnock: The Kop definitely loves to see this lad on the pitch. Good job Steve!

Rafa: 7.5 A good choice of squad. Though he still need to work more for Milan and Djibril.

Murphy: 5.5 Only highlight is the first half last man save, and he balloned 2 free kicks in the similar position as where Alonso balloned 4 vs Chelsea.

Charlton Athletic: Really need to improve the away form if they want to challenge Europe. But I think at least they will finish in the top half of the table.

Man of the Match: Garcia. Scored a great goal, and done a lot of tricks. Keep up the good job!

Welcome home Danny, but no welcome

Danny will be back the first time since he moved to Charlton. Many people blamed Rafa on selling Danny, but the truth is, Danny knows he is only a backup player, and in this stage of his career he really wants to play more, so he decided to move on. We will always welcome him back, but we will still win the game. And hopefully the attackers will bond together finally.

My Team Prediction:
Kirkland
Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise
Garcia, Hamann, Alonso, Kewell
Baros, Cisse

Result 2-0

Match Report 041019: A good performance, but a disappointing result.

0-0 only vs Deportivo. This put us in a very disadvantage position that we need to at least get 2 points from the next 2 away games, which could be tough.

The performance was actually not bad, especially 1H. Apart from 1 last man safe by Riise, we basically control the tempo of the game. Deportivo seldom has any chance and we look like sure winner, the only thing missing is a goal, thanks to the superb goalkeeping of their goalie, and the wastage of our attackers.

2H we let them get into the game and we did not control the game, although it's still a closely matched game only. So at the end, 0-0 is definitely 2 points dropped.

Player Rating:
Kirkland: 7 First clean sheet of the season, but he has almost nothing to do. But he command his area well. I feel the back 4 are more comfortable with him in goal.
Josemi: 6.5 He's OK defense-wise, but offer only a few attacking-wise.
Carragher: 7.5 Another excellent for Carra. Is this really his best position, or he is good in any position assigned? If so, we should play him as a striker to solve our attack problem.
Hyypia: 7 Another solid performance as well for Sami.
Traore: 6 Maybe it's good news, there's really no chance for him to shine/make error whatsoever.
Garcia: 6.5 Played quite well 1H, missed a glorious chance, but performance drops a lot in 2H. Maybe he's still unable produce for the full 90 minutes?
Alonso: 7.5 Class as the Fulham game. He's a very ambitious player, another goal attempt from the center circle (his 3rd of the season). But similar to Garcia, performance dropped a bit in 2H. And his winless streak vs Deportivo is still on...
Hamann: 7 Solid performance from Didi as usual. Balloned our last free kick goal attempt as usual.
Riise: 7 Even though he's playing as left midfield his most significant contribution was the last man save in 1H. Not much offered for attacks, but I am a bit surprised Rafa substituted him instead of Traore.
Cisse: 7 Have a few half chances but didn't score. Still need to finetune the partnership with Baros.
Baros: 7.5 Work very hard especially 1H. I think we are beginning to see the Milan of Euro 04.

Substitions:
Kewell: 7 Has a few goal scoring moments but like the rest of the team, couldn't convert. He's getting better and better.
Finnan: I don't understand why he gets on for Cisse. Why not Warnock? Or is it warmup for the Charlton game as Josemi will be suspended?
Sinama-Pongolle: Very ambitious to prove himself, but I think he falls to the ground too easily. Not convincing at all. And please work hard to win your place!

Rafa: 6.5 He tried lots of attacking patterns, but couldn't produce a goal. I think we need to work hard especially the bonding of Milan and Cisse.

Deportivo: 7 They came for a point and get it. It would be tough to play at their stadium in 2 weeks time, let's hope we can find a way to win the game, but I won't feel too bad if we only get a draw.

Win this game and we are highly likely to qualify

Here we come, European game. After the Fulham we need to build some continuity, and so let's win this game. Deportivo may have a bad season, but they are dangerous team. Rafa definitely need to put in the strongest squad for this game. Our Spaniard players probably have 1 or 2 hints on how to play against them.

My Team Prediction:
Kirkland
Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise
Garcia, Hamann, Alonso, Kewell
Baros, Cisse

Result 2-0

Match Report 041016 at Fulham: What a game!

4-2 and this is the first time in 13 years that we come back from behind away from Anfield. After 84 games in all competition, in which we drawn 13 and lost 71, we finally win from behind. I wonder when was the last time we overcame a 2 goal deficit? Also, we have 3 shots on target and score 4. Isn't it good?

First half was just painful. Fortunately (?) the local cable TV had some problem and so it was not shown. But listening to live commentary from Steve Hunter is already painful. Apart from one or two moments like Riise's header or Garcia's ambitious goal attmepts we were just hopeless.

Enter 2nd half and Xabi, and it'a different ball game. And luck be with us this time too. Baro was probably trying to cross the ball to Garcia at far post when the ball deflected on Knight and went into the goal. 2-1 and confidence was back and we looked more and more likely to be winner. Then Xabi had a great cross and Garcia's header saved by Van der Sar, but Baros was quick enough to score. 2-2.

Then Josemi was sent off but we seemed to be ignoring this fact. Another freekick and Xabi scored it with the help of another deflection. 2-3. In 92 minutes Biscan came on for Baros to kill time, but he certainly had another thoughts. A nice pass to Warnock, then Warnock 1-2 back to Biscan, and he scored! 2-4 and game over!

I think this game proves that when Xabi plays well he's even better than Gerrard. Compare this performance with the Chelsea game and you will know what I mean. How Rafa will change the formation when Stevie G is back is really interesting, but we would love this problem.

Player Rating:
Kirkland: 7 Not his fault for the 2 goals, and he looks more commanding than Dudek. Keep on the good work!
Josemi: 5.5 As in the Chelsea game he's too slow when facing pacy players. The red card was derseved, but I like his fighting spirit.
Carragher: 8 If we lost this game he will certainly be the man of the match for the 3rd match in a row! Carra is always there when we need him. Covers Sami well.
Hyypia: 7 A bit undecisive at times, but in general not a bad performance.
Traore: 6 At time he shows some flair when going front, but defensively there's still a lot to improve.
Garcia: 7 He can player much better. He lost the ball and lead to Fulham's 2nd goal. Almost score if not for Van der Sar's great save, but fortunately Baros scored the rebound.
Hamann: 7.5 A solid game for Didi, but this game also highlights one of his problem: He can't lift the level of the players. So in 1H when Diao was there he just let him do the damage... With Xabi on in 2H, he plays much better.
Diao: 3 Enough trial, Rafa. How can you play a backheal in your own half and let the other team score?
Riise: 7 A solid game, almost score a header to equalize when we were 1 down.
Cisse: 7 Although his bonding with Milan is not perfect, it is improving. But he need to link up more with the midfield.
Baros: 8 Score a goal and "assist" the first own goal. A good performance in 2H. Otherwise same comment as Cisse.

Substitutions
Alonso: 9 How often did we see a player change the game? Not so often. In this game Xabi shown us how to do it. But somehow he missed an absolute sitter at 6 yards.
Warnock: 7 Played 5 minutes and had an assist. Good job!
Biscan: 7 Played 40 seconds and touched the ball twice: 1 pass to Warnock, and 1 shot and 1 goal! You derseve it!

Rafa: 7 If playing Diao is a mistake, he's quick to admit it and repaired the damage. And sending Biscan on is probably a genius touch!

Fulham: 6 1H shows they can playing some good football, but in 2H Xabi changed the game.

Man of the Match: Alonso. He came on and made us all happy.

The 4000th game

So the Fulham game will be our 4000th game. It's a winnable game, and thank God every player played in the International games are back and apart from Finnan, everybody seems to be OK. Let's start our away winning streak here!

My Team Prediction:
Kirkland
Josemi, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise
Garcia, Hamann, Alonso, Kewell
Baros, Cisse

Result 2-0

Match Report 041002: Yet another away loss

0-1. I think our performance is not that bad. 1H they have lots of chances but for some reason Lampard missed a hat trick. 2H we are more even, but Joe Cole's goal (was it a well planned freekick or a fluke?) seals the game. We only have 1 shot on target at the 90 minutes, which is worrying, but Cisse did almost scored.

It's really good to see Kirkland get a chance, and I think he is more commanding than Dudek, as he screams at the defenders to organize things and won't hesitate to come out and punch the ball.

I think the zonal defensive system is gradually in place now. We defended quite well except for the goal, especially Carragher. That goal will probably still be scored even if we man-mark (after all, I can't see us man-marking Joe Cole)....

We now played in 2 of the 3 away games vs team ahead of us last season. Hopefully from next game onward we will be keep on winning, both home and away.


Player Rating:
Kirkland: 7 A good performance despite we lost the game. He seems to be more confident than Dudek and more commanding. England #1.
Josemi: 5 A poor performance and was rightly substituted. He was outpaced by Drogba and Duff frequently.
Carragher: 7.5 He should be the captain as he is more inspiring than Hyypia! Cleared the ball a lot of times. Didn't do a single thing fault.
Hyypia: 6 Not as commanding as Carra and Kirky, perhaps it's time to hand the vice Captain role to Carragher.
Traore: 5.5 A rare start, and doing OK. Just OK.
Garcia: 5.5 A quiet game for player of his standard. Still struggling away from home.
Alonso: 5 Balled 4 free kicks at the same position. He had a very poor game. But why don't he let the other guys to take free kick?
Diao: 5.5 Same comment as Traore.
Riise: 6 Doing not bad both defending and attacking.
Kewell: 5.5 Played slightly better in 1H, but his only contribution was a last man save from a corner.
Cisse: 6 Has a missed chance in 1H. Struggling with no service to him.

Substitutions:
Baros: 6 Worked very hard but can't change the result.
Finnan/Hamann: No effect to the result. Finnan did has our only on target shot.

Rafa: 5 Probably changed too many players. And why isn't Sinama-Pongolle even in the sub?

Chelsea: 6.5 I don't think they were outclassing us too much, but they probably will finish 2nd.

Man of the match: Carragher again. He's everywhere in defense and seems to be playing the zonal defending quite well. But Kirkland is not too far behind.