This is the season

Another league season starts today. Away at Boro may not be a good place to visit for the past, but with Rafa setting up the training sessions earlier and we played 5 competitive games already, we will be better equiped. We believe in Rafa.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Luis Garcia
Gerrard
Alonso
Zenden
Morientes
Cisse

Result 2-0

Match Report 050810 at CSKA Sofia: Nando finally scores!

3-1 and it's really nice to see Nando scored a brace. As Rafa said if we provide enough service to Nando he will score. We are now in a commanding position to be back to where we should be.

We started the match a bit reserved and invited Sofia to control the game, but once again Stevie G is the catalyst to the team. His 3 superb assists tells you the story. The worrying point is when we were 2-0 up a moment of lapse of concentration by Hyypia and Warnock let Sofia to score on crucial goal right before half time, but fortunately we regained control in 2H and Nando sums up with a nice taken goal.

Player Rating:
Reina: 7 Make one good save but otherwise just a perdestrian
Warnock:6 Partly at fault for the goal conceded
Carra: 7 Carra as usual
Hyypia: 6 A bit too slow to let the goal conceded
Finnan: 6.5 Tried hard to help the attack
Gerrard: 8 Three excellent assists
Luis Garcia: 6.5 Work hard
Alonso: 7 Doing well in midfield
Riise: 7 Above average performance
Morientes: 8 Could have scored 5, but the most important thing is he's finally back on the scoresheet
Cisse: 7.5 Lively performance and a well deserved goal

Substitutions:
Sissoko: 6.5 Show one moment of flashes when he passed 3 defenders
Hamann: 6.5 Not much to do
Barragan: Not enough time to impress, but looks positive

CSKA Sofia: They controlled the game well in the first 20 minutes, but as soon as Cisse scored, they cannot cope with.

Rafa: 7 His insistance on Nando finally pay off. But he need to work harder on the defense.

Man of the Match: Gerrard/Morientes. Both deserve credit for their contributions to the victory.

A tougher test, but we will get through

3rd round sees us facing CSKA Sofia, a much stronger opponent than the last 2 rounds. We suddenly has a very slim team as a few players were loaned out and we have 8 injuried players. We definitely need Nando to perform to his best now.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Warnock
Garcia
Gerrard
Alonso
Riise
Morientes
Cisse

Result 2-0

Match Report 050802 vs FBK Kaunas: Job well done

2-0 and once again we need Stevie G to cheer up the team. Next round will be tougher as we will be facing CSKA Sofia.

The first half was boring as we tried hard but cannot pass through the stubbon defense of Kaunas. Then in 2H Cisse comes up and suddenly the team move up one gear. The worrying signs are that Crouch is injuried and Nando is still in a poor form. We definitely need him to be back to his best soon.

Player Rating:
Carson: 6.5 Not much to do but look commanding
Finnan: 6.5 Not really tested but need to move up one gear for the start of the season
Hyypia: 7 Commanding the back, and unlikey to hit the bar
Whitbread: 6.5 He certainly take his chance well. Keep up to challenge Sami and Jamie!
Warnock: 6.5 Good display
Garcia: 7 Work hard and his assist to Cisse is inch perfect
Hamann: 6.5 A fair display, but the lack of Xabi and Stevie G in 1H really mean we lack creativity
Sissoko: 7 A commanding figure in the center. He will be challenging Didi this season
Zenden: 7 Quiet in 1H, but performed much better in 2H
Morientes: 6 I am getting worried about him and he is rightly substituted
Crouch: 6.5 Did provide flashes of his useful especially when Cisse come up but is injuried and substituted

Substitutions:
Cisse: 7.5 A nice display and scored a well deserved goal
Potter: 6 A fair display on the right
Gerrard: 8 Even though he is only on the pitch for 16 minutes but his contributions are priceless

Kaunas: 6 Not really creating any troubles to us. The match is already won in the first leg.

Rafa: 6.5 Need to get Nando up to speed ASAP

Man of the Match: Gerrard. His contribution is significant.

Be careful and do your best

With a 2 goal lead and playing at home, we are favorite to go through. Just make sure we don't take it for granted.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Warnock
Potter
Gerrard
Sissoko
Zenden
Crouch
Cisse

Result 3-0

July Monthly Review

It's the first time in history that the season starts so early, and we already played 3 games.

Stevie G is gone and back, and played very well to prove his heart is with us. With 6 goals already scored, he will be favorite to be our top goal scorer. Defense is OK but the backups seem to be not as good as the first team, and Hyypia seems to be getting old. Carra is as solid as ever and even managed to score a goal! Midfield is very strong with Stevie G and Alonso leading the guys, but the strikers need to work harder.

Men of the Month: (1) Gerrard 8.00 (2) Alonso 7.50 (3) Cisse 7.25. With 6 goals scored who can knock him off as man of the month? Xabi's passing is as good as ever, and Cisse also scored 2 goals.

August Prediction:
8/2 FBK Kounas (H): Should not pose too much problem, but we need to show respect to them.
8/10 KF Tirana/PFC CSKA Sofia: If we pass through we will most likely face Sofia, Let's be careful.
8/13 Middlesbrough (A): Season opener and see Zenden back. We should be much better physically, so let's beat them.
8/20 Sunderland (H): First home league game and we should win this game.
8/24 KF Tirana/PFC CSKA Sofia: Get through this and we will be in the group stage.
8/26 CSKA Moscow (N): A glorious friendly, but we should win it.

Match Report 050726 at FBK Kounas: Carra goal

3-1 and the most important thing is Carra scored his first goal in 6 1/2 years - or first goal of this millenium, or 3rd goal of his career. Rafa challenge him to score 3-4 goals this season and he will do it. His post match quote is class: "I probably deserve the match ball after that. Me scoring one is like someone else getting a hat-trick."

We were a bit shaky in defense but fortunately we managed to gear up and win the game. Crouch really provided another dimension and this is what Rafa has been looking for. Sissoko also has a good debut too after Gerrard scored his 6th goals of the season. The only minus is that defense is shaky - Riise didn't play well in defense and Hyypia was slow. But this is still pre-season so let's hope things will get better.

Player Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Not much to do, but did make some saves to keep them scoring
Josemi: 6 Better than last year, but still need to improve to convince people
Carragher: 8 Scored the great header and regained us the lead. Class
Hyypia: 6 At fault for the first goal
Riise: 6.5 His best position is definitely left midfield
Potter: 7 A good game from the young guy
Gerrard: 7.5 Still dictating the game with an assist and a penalty
Alonso: 7.5 Great passes as usual
Zenden: 7 Great cross that lead to the equaliser. Rafa bought him with a great reason
Crouch: 7 Good performance with another assist
Cisse: 7 Scored the equaliser but missed a hat trick

Substitutions:
Sissoko: 6.5 A good debut
Luis Garcia: 6.5 Another good display
Morientes: 6.5 A good substitution display but we need more goals from him

FBK Kounas: 6 Provided a few scares to us but at the end the difference in class proved too much

Rafa: 7 Now we understand why he bought Zenden and Crouch. We definitely need more goals like this

Man of the Match: Carragher. Gerrard may have contributed more but Carra goal is really a historic moment

Travel into the unknown

FBK Kaunas is a relative unknown team and they will be physically fitter as they are in the middle of their season. Our condition is getting better and better now, but we still need to guard against complacency.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Carragher
Hyypia
Whitbread
Riise
Cisse
Gerrard
Alonso
Zenden
Morientes
Crouch

Result 2-0

Match Report 050719 at Total Network Solutions: So far so good

3-0 again and Gerrard scored another 2. But the scoreline is really not important as the game is already sealed when Cisse scored in 1H. Now we need to step up the condition as Kounas will be physically better as they are in the middle of their season.

With Crouch signed it will be interesting to see if Milan will be sold. Maybe Rafa is thinking to use Crouch as a Koller to helo Milan? Time will tell.

Player Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Not much to do
Finnan: 6 Out of position a few times
Carragher: 7 Captain in 1H and perform as good as ever. Almost scored
Hyypia: 6.5 As good as usual
Riise: 7 This time as left back and still provide the assit to Cisse
Potter: 6.5 Probably be content to be a reserve player this season
Alonso: 7.5 Dictating midfield as he should be
Hamann: 6 Missed a penalty but really doesn't matter
Zenden 6: Provided a few good crosses but Crouch has not yet arrived so there is no one to receive it
Le Tallec: 6 Need to improve or else he will be down the rank
Cisse: 7.5 Opened his account this season, more to come

Substitutions:
Whitbread: 6.5 Doing very well to fight for a first team place
Gerrard: 8 Scored 2 goals as a super sub
Luis Garcia: 6.5 A nice assist

TNS: 5.5 At least they have a shot on target!

Rafa: 6.5 Still pre-season time, but we need to improve a lot next round.

Man of the match: Gerrard. Who else can it be?

Be cautious and courageous

Rafa again "rest" Milan and Jersy, perhaps their future may soon be over... The condition of the players are better now especially after the friendly against Leverkusen. Let's get the job done.

My team prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Warnock
Potter
Gerrard
Alonso
Zenden
Morientes
Cisse

Result 4-0

Match Report 050713 vs Total Network Solution: First of many from Stevie G

3-0 and Gerrard scores a hat trick! It's the first of his many for us, and it almost wrap up the tie. Rafa may want to try a few options in the 2nd leg.

Credits to TNS they played bravely and it was not until the last minute that they concede the third and crucial goal. If not the second leg will be tricky. Their goalkeeper has done a good job in keeping the score more honourable.

One thing worth to note is that in the second half the team seems to be tired. With the Swiss training camp coming up, the players need to train up physically as soon as possible.

Player Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Easy debut with almost nothing to do
Finnan: 6.5 Not really tested
Carragher: 6.5 Same as above
Hyypia: 6.5 Same as above
Warnock: 6.5 Same as above
Potter: 6.5 Good display in 1H but tired in 2H
Gerrard: 8.5 A good hat trick to start
Alonso: 7.5 A good display with lots of nice passes
Riise: 7.5 Good game, but not as impressive in 2H apart from the assist
Le Tallec: 7.5 Nice assist, but should have scored
Morientes: 7.5 Should have scored if not for the good display of the TNS captain

Substitutions:
Zenden/Cisse: Good display in general especially Zenden

Rafa: 7 Not really a test, but the way he treat this game is well appreciated

TNS: 6 They fight till the end but the last goal probably kill them any hope

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Need to keep up the display though.

The journey starts here!

So, the journey starts here. We got a few new faces and Stevie G stays for good(hope he won't change his mind again in the future), and a few new faces are expected to come. It's really an exciting season and with Rafa, maybe we can achieve the unexpected again (a League/CL double?)

The good thing of starting so early is that by the time the league starts, we will be the best team in terms of physical. Although the down side will be we may not last for the whole season - and that's where the rotation strategy comes in play, and Rafa is no amateur in this. Finger crossed, with a healthy squad and good rotation, we can maintain the good form over the season.

Rafa has a recruited a lot of good players to provide challenges in every position, the only exception is maybe the defense. A few players like Upson and Milito have been mentioned and Rafa will have his only idea, don't worry. And if he really can get Crouch and Figo we will have more attacking options as well. It will be interesting and exciting to see how Rafa findtune the team to each match now that he is more familiar with the Premiership.

Going back to the TNS match, on paper it's a easy win. But Rafa is very honest. Instead of the normal no complamancy/show them respect talk he also mention one key point - that we have the quality and skills but we lack the physical as we are only back from training for 2 weeks. So the players need to be very careful.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Garcia
Hamann
Gerrard
Zenden
Cisse
Morientes

Result: 4-0

Hope this is the end

Stevie G is now staying. Hope this won't happen again and he will stay on till he retires.

I think everybody need to be blamed and do something to repair. Now that everything is clear let's move on to win the big thing.

Credit to the man, he did resigned the captaincy and credits to the team (Rafa and the senior players in particular) they let him be the captain. Now it's up to him to put his head up and perform consistently.

In Rafa we trust. In Stevie G we have hope.

Dramatic turnaround

So, he decided to stay. But is he still deserve to be captain? I don't think so. Hand it to Carra, and prove you are committed.

We are all hurt. And it takes time to heal.

You'll always walk alone

So you decided to leave. It's nice to see that the one who claimed he loves the club, yet always blackmail the club, is finally leave. Yes, you have done a lot of great things to the club, but now they are history. And let's bring on captain Carra - a guy who may not be born to be a red, but he is a true red unlike you.

And if you think you are bigger than the club, go. We don't need you anymore.

You'll always walk alone. All the worst.

Thanks Smicer

Smicer has officially joined Bordeaux today.

Due to injuries he only showed his best form rarely - mainly in European games. His 2 goals in the Champions League Final - the 2-3 goal which brings us hope, and the crucial penalty when we were tied at 2-2, are vital in bringing the glory to us. This is after he is confirmed to leave.

Perhaps his style fits more to the contintental football rather than the Premiership football, I think he will perform well in France. Good luck, Czech mate.

Shame on you, UEFA

UEFA decided to let Liverpool defend the title, but only to start from the 1st Qualifying Round.

In order to counter their lack of appreciation to the defending Champion, the Club should send a reserve squad to play for the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA World Club Championships. I can visualize John Welsh to life the Cups for us.

Season Review 2004/05

What a season! This should be a season of transition. Although we missed out the 4th place and exited the FA Cup in the 3rd round in a dreadful way, we were in the League Cup Final and won the Champions League Final! Whether we will be able to defend the title is still unknown at this moment, but chances are, we will. After all, this is a competition about money, and without the defending Champion, UEFA will be under severe pressure from the sponsors.

Although we win the big thing, Rafa is honest enough to admit that the season is not good enough. And I remember a few years ago Carra said he would feel embarassed to win the Champions League without winning the Premier League first. So now we have to win the league. Of course, perhaps we may need a few years before we can win it, but at least we need to close the gap. And in doing so Rafa will need to break the team.

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

Goalkeepers:
Carson: 5G 450M 4GC 1CS 1 MoM 6.80
Dudek: 41G 3780M 36GC 15CS 2.83MoM 6.65
Harrison: 12 unused substitute
Kirkland: 14G 1260M 15GC 3CS 0MoM 6.61
Luzi: 2 unused substitute

Dudek played most of the game in the second half and still had his ups and downs. The up is no doubt the CL Final, which made him a memeber of the Anfield Hall of Fame. The downs are the blunders vs Portsmouth and Manchester United. He may not be a consisent player, but I do believe Rafa should keep him.

Carson played 5 games and shown some promising sign. His high of the season is the Juventus game. Although he conceded a goal but his performance was no doubt very good.

Kirkland, with so much hope on him, was once again injuried. It would be tough to keep him now, given he did not progress well enough since he joined us, and now that Carson joined it will do no good to him as both will be fighting not only the Liverpool #1 jersey but also the England #1 jersey as well. Chances are he will be sold.

Harrison and Luzi were both released. Good luck to them.

So we only have 3 goalkeepers and one of them may be sold. As such Rafa will bring at least one goalkeeper in. Rumor is that Reina of Spain is joining. We'll see.

Defenders:
Carragher: 56G 5080M 0GS 2A 13.8MoM 7.11
Finnan: 52G 4048M 1GS 0A 0.5MoM 6.65
Henchoz: 4G 390M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.88
Hyypia: 49G 4367M 3GS 0A 0.5MoM 6.81
Josemi: 23G 1714M 0GS 2A 0MoM 6.21
Pellegrino: 13G 1002M 0GS 0A 1MoM 6.17
Raven: 3G 233M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.00
Traore: 42G 3118M 0GS 1A 0MoM 6.38
Whitbread: 4G 390M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.63

Without doubt Carra is the best defender of the season. Hyypia, despite all his critics, performed better in the second half of the season and scored 3 goals. Finnan was a consistent player but need to improve, and Traore is still very inconsistent.

Rafa will probably buy a quick center back to play along Carra. Hyypia will still command a place, although he will probably play less games next season. And don't be surprised to see new full backs on both side next season - may not be necessary to be in the first team immediately, but will be there to challanege Finnan and Traore.

Midfielders:
Alonso: 31G 2469M 3GS 4A 2MoM 7.00
Biscan: 35G 2000M 2GS 2A 3.5MoM 6.69
Diao: 14G 766M 1GS 0A 0MoM 6.00
Foy: 1 unused substitute
Garcia: 44G 3559M 13GS 6A 3.5MoM 6.82
Gerrard: 43G 3685M 12GS 6A 11.3MoM 7.16
Hamann: 43G 3057M 1GS 7A 2MoM 6.74
Kewell: 31G 2051M 1GS 4A 0MoM 6.26
Le Tallec: 7G 310M 0GS 1A 0MoM 6.50
Nunez: 27G 1406M 1GS 0A 0MoM 6.22
Partridge: 2G 30M 0GS 1A 0MoM 7.00
Potter: 10G 543M 0GS 2A 0MoM 6.33
Riise: 57G 4656M 8GS 10A 3.5MoM 6.82
Smicer: 16G 504M 1GS 0A 0MoM 6.21
Smyth: 1G 50M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.50
Warnock: 30G 1402M 0GS 2A 1MoM 6.43
Welsh: 7G 352M 0GS 0A 0MoM 6.30

To be honest Gerrard's form dipped a lot in the second half - the worst is of course the League Cup Final. He admitted that as well. Now that he should be signing for next season I hope his mind will be more focused. Garcia was probably the best midfielder in 2H and scored many great goals as well. Xabi was very good as well and he will also form the nucleus of next season. Riise' form dipped little bit in the second half but he still had a good season. Not sure about the future of Hamann and Smicer, but even if they have played the last game for us they will have no regrets for they have scored in the biggest game. But I will expect Didi to stay.

For next season, Rafa would build the midfield amonst Gerrard, Alonso, Riise and Garcia. He may bring in a holding midfielder (Hargraves?) and right midfielder or attacking midfielder as well. Despite the sticks on Kewell Rafa did rate him very high, so don't be surprised to see him around next season. And we should give Nunez some more time as well.

Attackers:
Baros: 45G 3144M 13G 3A 4MoM 6.88
Cisse: 25G 1367M 5GS 1A 3MoM 6.90
Mellor: 16G 854M 5GS 1A 0MoM 6.65
Morientes: 15G 1178M 3G 1A 2MoM 6.43
Owen: 1 unused substitute
Sinama-Pongolle: 26G 1146M 4GS 0A 3.5MoM 6.94

This is the department that need a big rebuild next season. Baros' form dipped significantly in the second half and only scored 2 goals in the second half. He said Valencia is after him, and if so, let's wish we can get Aimar in return. Cisse and Nando are affected by injury and short of match fitness. So we will see a different Cisse and Morientes next season. The question is really how Rafa play them, especially whether it is a 4-5-1 or 4-4-2. We may see another attacker joined us as well.

Player of the season: (1) Gerrard 7.17 (2) Carragher 7.11 (3) Alonso 7.00. Despite his dip in form in 2H Gerrard still had a very good season and scored a crucial goal in the CL Final. Carra is very consistent but just lack a bit of flashes like a goal. And Xabi, we may even finish 3rd if he is fit for the whole season.

Forward plans
So for next season our target will be the League. Let's try to challenge at least 2nd place. But with Rafa the magician, any thing can happen.

We may probably see 3-4 new players in. With the plan to advance pre-season to end of June, and we may probably experience less injuries with a fitter squad, the next season would be a even better one.

Clark Kent in the League, Supermen in Europe

So true!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/4582357.stm

and Du the Dudek!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/photo_galleries/4583457.stm

A tale of two football players

In July 2004, after the Euro 2004, a football player, who almost decided to move to a rich man's club, had his heart over his head and decided to stay with his club. 10 months later, he fulfilled his boyhood dream.

In August 2004, one of his "better" teammate, had another offer from another rich man's club, and he decided to sit out a Champions League qualifier. 3 days later, he became a super-sub of the rich man's team. And 9 months later, he didn't win anything.

There is no man bigger than Liverpool Football Club.