Match Report 101021 at Napoli: Youngsters seized their chance

0-0 and we have now go 7 games without a win. Nevertheless the kids do seized their chances and performed well. An away draw is not a bad result, and it lead us into a comfortable position entering the last 3 games of the group.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Solid throughout.
Kelly: 6.5 Have a good game.
Carragher: 6.5 Did well as usual before he is rested.
Skrtel: 6.5 Solid at the back and help cover Konchesky a lot.
Konchesky: 6.5 Made a goal line save.
Spearing: 6.5 A solid game in the midfield.
Poulsen: 6.5 The slow pace of Napoli created an illusion that he played well.
Jovanovic: 6.5 A good performance on the right.
Shelvey: 7 A very promising first start for the kid.
Babel: 6.5 Missed a glorious chance.
Ngog: 6.5 Have good movement throughout the game.

Substitutions:
Kyrgiakos: 6.5 Solid display.
Aurelio: 6.5 Not much influence.
Cole: 6.5 A good performance when called upon.

Roy: 6.5 Should show some dignity and quit now.

Napoli: 6 Did not do much for three points.

Man of the Match: Reina/Shelvey. Good performance throughout the game.

Countdown

We are very unhappy about Hodgson's performance, especially his shifting of burden to the players. A loss tonight will almost certain to say goodbye to him, although a win may also be not good enough. Let's see how it goes.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Kelly
Carragher
Skrtel
Aurelio
Lucas
Poulsen
Babel
Cole
Jovanovic
Ngog

Result 2:0

Match Report 101017 at Everton: Sack the incapable manager

It's really rare for Liverpool fans to call the head of the manager, but Rodgson is really not up to standard. He is unable to lift the team, has no plan B, slow to react, and somehow thought we played well. With him on board there is a very high risk that we may relegate. Dear Mr Henry, act now.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6 Can do nothing on both goals conceded.
Carragher: 6 Can't lift the team.
Kyrgiakos: 6.5 With heart to fight for the team.
Skrtel: 6 Could have done better.
Konchesky: At fault on the first goal conceded.
Lucas: 6 Did OK at the center.
Meireles: 6 At fault on the second goal conceded.
Maxi: 5.5 No crossing on the right...
Gerrard: 6 Could not lift the team.
Cole: 5.5 Wasted on the left.
Torres: 6 No service provided.

Substitutions:
Ngog: 6 Could not provide more spark for the team.
Babel: 6.5 Have a great run and should be rewarded with a start.
Jovanovic: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Roy: 5 Should go now.

Everton: 7 Credits to the toffees for playing well and be the deserved winner of the match.

Man of the Match: Kyrgiakos. Still need to improve in defending.

New chapter

It's a new chapter for the Club and how nice it is to face our nice neighbor. Both sides were not doing well recently, and we need to be at our best if we want to start the winning way again.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Carragher
Skrtel
Kyrgiakos
Konchesky
Lucas
Meireles
Maxi
Gerrard
Cole
Torres

Result 2:0

Welcome on board, NESV!

It's good to have finally get rid of G&H. Together, let's build a winning team, and you'll never walk alone!

Match Report 101002 vs Blackpool: Shame

1-2 and the result is simply unacceptable. The players have no heart, the manager is clueless and the fans are angry about this. Should we lose the derby Roy should probably leave before further damage is done.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Tried his best to reduce the damage.
Johnson: 5.5 Horrible defending.
Skrtel: 5.5 Poor defending.
Kyrgiakos: 6 Scored a goal but his defending was horrible.
Carragher: 6 Did OK on an unfamiliar left back position.
Meireles: 6 Limited his talent on the right.
Gerrard: 6.5 Could not lift the team.
Poulsen: 5 Shouldn't have played.
Cole: 6 Frustuated on the left.
Torres: 6 Played 10 minutes and injured.
Kuyt: 6.5 Worked hard as usual.

Substitutions:
Ngog: 6 Could not turn the game.
Jovanovic: 6 A better performance.
Maxi: 6 Not enough time to impress.

Roy: 4 Does he know what he is doing?

Blackpool: 7.5 Well deserved winner. Credits to them and please keep it up.

Man of the Match: Reina. But one man alone can't save us.

New month

After a very poor September finally we are entering October at 18th place. The team needs a result to kick start the season, but Blackpool is on a high recently. So we definitely need to improve a lot if we want to win this game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Carragher
Skrtel
Kelly
Gerrard
Poulsen
Kuyt
Meireles
Cole
Torres

Result 2:0

September Month Report

1W4D1L and we are unable to win in the league and are already out of League Cup. Hodgson seems to be unable to do anything to inspire the team and with October coming, it will be a crucial time for the club, both on the pitch and off the pitch. We need to start winning and get ourselves some momentum.

Players of the month (1) Reina 7.0 (2) Carragher 6.63 (3) Meireles 6.62. Reina is solid in general over the month. Carra is as usual solid at the back, and Meireles did OK for his first month with the club.

October Prediction:
10/3 Blackpool (h) Blackpool is going strong so we need to play better if we want to get 3 points.
10/17 Everton (a) Derby game but both teams are not doing well...
10/21 Napoli (a) A win at Italy would mean we get closer to qualification.
10/24 Blackburn Rovers (h) Home in is needed to shut Big Sam's month.
10/31 Bolton Wanderers (a) Another physical game to test the players's strength.

Match Report 100929 at Utrecht: Another disappointing draw

0-0 and luckily result elsewhere suited us, but once again it is another boring draw. We have no width and the midfield duo of Lucas and Poulsen could not provide any service to Torres and Kuyt. And most worrying at all, Hodgson could not do anything to inspire the players.

Player Rating:
Reina: 7.5 Made a few saves although at times look shaky.
Johnson: 6 Overlap a lot but could not provide any help.
Carragher: 6.5 Did well from the vice captain.
Skrtel: 6 A flat performance.
Kelly: 5.5 Tough night for the young kid at an unfamiliar position.
Meireles: 6.5 Did better in 1H but fade out soon.
Lucas: 6 Many mispasses
Poulsen: 6 Slightly better than last game.
Cole: 6 Did not feel comfortable on the left.
Kuyt: 7 Worked hard on his return to homeland.
Torres: 6 No service and ruined his only chance.

Substitution:
Maxi: 6 Not much contribution.

Roy: 5.5 Could not lift the team and it is another clueless performance by the manager.

Utrecht: 6.5 Solid at the back and would regret not to win the game.

Man of the Match: Reina. Solid in general.

Kuyt comes home

It's the homecoming match for Kuyt and he will no doubt be fired up. We also need to get a result in order to build up momentum into the league, so we would be fielding a strong squad and hope to bring another 3 points home.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Carragher
Skrtel
Kelly
Lucas
Poulsen
Kuyt
Meireles
Cole
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 100925 vs Sunderland: Slump continues

2:2 and our worst ever start in Premier League continues. We scored an intelligent goal (which is legal and valid, shut up Bruce) but then conceded two goals, before Gerrard rescued us again. We could have win it but the finishing denied us another goal. Hodgson's insistence of not using all 3 substitutes and 4231 could have cost us a lot. True, 4231 is the way to go, but Torres is still not fully fit and need someone to support him. Plus Gerrard is play like two men in the midfield so we may not concede that many possession as you may expect. We definitely need a win to kick start our season.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6.5 Helpless on both goals conceded.
Johnson: 6.5 Still better going forward than defense.
Carragher: 6.5 Lead the defense.
Skrtel: 6.5 Go forward often.
Konchesky: 6 Injured early on.
Gerrard: 7.5 Scored an important equalizer but could not drive us to victory.
Poulsen: 5.5 Conceded a needless and was in general poor.
Kuyt: 7 Back with a clever goal.
Meireles: 6.5 A good display.
Cole: 6.5 Getting better and better.
Torres: 7 Gradually improved his condition.

Substitutions:
Agger: 6.5 Solid defense and should have score the winner.
Ngog: 7 Came on and give us more attacking options.

Roy: 5.5 Should have play Ngog more often and be more proactive in substitutions.

Sunderland: 6.5 Would be delighted with getting a point home.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Once again saved us from further embarrassment.

Relegation fight

After 5 league games we are sitting at 16th place and the match against Sunderland is now like a relegation fight. We are playing poorly and we need to get a result as soon as possible, and anything but a win will mean the Club will have more pressure.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Carragher
Skrtel
Konchesky
Gerrard
Poulden
Kuyt
Meireles
Cole
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 100922 vs Northampton: Shame

2:2 and we lost the penalty shootout to a League 2 team. Can Roy steer us through the storm? Very doubtful.

Players Rating:
All very poor. The experienced players did not perform and the youngsters could not cope with it. Do we have a future?

Roy: 5 Toothless in preventing us from further sinking.

Northampton: 7 Credits to them in playing the game of their life.

Man of the Match. Spearing. But still the whole team is unacceptable.

Kids to shine

League cup is a good venue for the kids to show us how good they are, and for many years we have not have a good draw, except this year. No disrespect to Northampton, but the gap of the class should be big enough for the kids and B team to go through.

My Team Prediction:
Jones
Kelly
Kyrgiakos
Agger
Wilson
Spearing
Shelvey
Dalla Valle
Pacheco
Babel
Ngog

Result 2:0

Match Report 100919 at Manchester United: So close, so far away

2-3 and this is a really heart breaking scoreline considered we come back from 2 goals down. At the end the mistake of the defense is costly, and we went home empty handed. The good thing is that we did better and better into second half, and looks like the shape of Roy's team is gradually completed. From next game onward we need to go out and win more games.

Players Rating:
Reina: 6 Can't be fault on all three goals, as defense let him down.
Johnson: 6 Did well going forward.
Carragher: 6 Solid in general but at the end can't mark Berbatov and let in the third goal.
Skrtel: 6 Should do better in covering Carra.
Konchesky: 6 Failed to defense the post for the first goal conceded.
Gerrard: 7 Scored two goals but at the end was not enough.
Poulsen: 6.5 Did much better in 2H.
Maxi: 6 Very ineffective.
Meireles: 6.5 Gradually gelled with the team.
Cole: 6.5 Have a killer pass that lead in the penalty.
Torres: 6 No supply and still picking up his form.

Substitutions:
Ngog: 6.5 Came up and give us some more attacking options.
Jovanovic/Agger: 6 Did not do much when coming up.

Roy: 6 Would be disappointed in conceded a late goal, but he should also take note of the gradually improved performance in the 2H.

Manchester United: 7 One man show and whether their leaky defense and aged squad will sustain is questionable.

Man of the Match: Gerrard. Need to help Torres to find his form as well.

With hope in your heart

It's the toughest game of the year and we are not in a good shape. Torres is still not sharp, Kuyt is injured, new boys still need time to gel and we are still affected by the off the field incidents, but the players will be fired up and will try to get a result.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Carragher
Skrtel
Konchesky
Gerrard
Meireles
Maxi
Cole
Jovanovic
Torres

Result 2:0

Match Report 100916 vs Steaua Bucharest: Nice start in Europe League

4-1 and this is a very impressive result from the team. Many of the reserve team players played in this game and they did well to impress the manager. The victory makes us comfortably sitting at the top of the table, and is a morale boaster before the big game on Sunday.

Players Rating:
Reina: 7 Solid display from the captain.
Kelly: 7 Impressive performance from the youngster.
Kyrgiakos: 7 Very dangerous when coming up and gained us the penalty.
Agger: 7 Good performance after the weekend snub.
Konchesky: 7 Good home debut.
Meireles: 7 Dynamo in the midfield.
Spearing: 7 Worked hard and provided a nice assist to the final goal.
Maxi: 6.5 A bit quiet.
Cole: 7 Scored a nice goal to open his Anfield account.
Babel: 7 Did well to impress the manager.
Ngog: 7.5 Scored two nice goals.

Substitutions:
Lucas: 7.5 Scored a wonder goal that even Stevie G applauds.
Pacheco/Eccleston: 6.5 Good display from the kids.

Roy: 7 Would be delighted about the second half performance. Now we need to keep this up and maintain it for 90 minutes.

Steaua Bucharest: 6 Had a good chance and took it. But at the end the difference of class makes a difference.

Man of the Match: Ngog. Silence his critics.

Second tier game

With United visit on Sunday Roy will not play our big guns in this game. We have not played Steaua for many years but they will not be easy opponent, and our boys need to be really stand up and be counted if we want to win the game.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Carragher
Agger
Kyrgiakos
Meireles
Poulsen
Maxi
Cole
Babel
Ngog

Result 2:0

Match Report 100912 at Birmingham City: Disappointing draw

0-0 and this is the 7th consecutive draw with Birmingham. We did poorly and does not deserve to win the game, and thanks to the heroic performance of Reina, we managed to keep a clean sheet and a draw. More rebuilding works need to be done, but we need to sort it out quickly.

Players Rating:
Reina: 8 Superb saves to keep us one point home.
Johnson: 5.5 Horrible defending.
Carragher: 7.5 Vision on the ball is still second to none.
Skrtel: 6 Defend poorly.
Konchesky: 6.5 A nice debut before pulling his hamstring.
Lucas: 6 Uninspired performance.
Poulsen: 6 Invisible in 1H but gradually picking up in 2H.
Maxi: 6 Ineffective on both flanks.
Gerrard: 6.5 Tried hard but failed to deliver.
Jovanovic: 6 Not doing enough.
Torres: 6 Poor performance as there is no supply.

Substitutions:
Meireles: 6.5 Nice debut performance.
Agger: 6.5 Came up and did OK.

Roy: 6 Need to work hard in bringing the team on form. Some tough game coming up...

Birmingham City: 6.5 Credits to them in playing well at home.

Man of the Match: Reina. Yet another superb performance.

Break the duck

After the international break we are now back to the league. Birmingham at home is tough to beat and under Rafa we have not beat them in the league. New boys will get a chance to play, and we need to start break the duck.

My Team Prediction:
Reina
Johnson
Carragher
Skrtel
Aurelio
Gerrard
Poulsen
Maxi
Meireles
Jovanovic
Torres

Result 2:0