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.

May Month Report

What a month! We lost the 4th place but won the Champions League Final in the greatest comeback we have even seen. And our future is bright.

The month started brightly with a great win vs Chelsea. Garcia's goal was definitely in and the Football God was there to ensure justice prevailed. Then we officially lost the 4th place race at Highbury. Then we wrapped up our up and down league season with a nice win vs Aston Villa that Cisse scored both goals. Then come the Final. And the rest is history.

Players of the month (1) Carragher 8.25 (2) Gerrard 8.00 (3) Dudek 7.50. Incidentially all three of them contributed to the win in the Final.

Looking forward a lot of the current squad members will leave Liverpool, good luck to them (of course, apart from playing against us). The Rafalution is just picking up. Expect more great things next season.

Match Report 050525 vs AC Milan: The night the liverbird became a phoenix, arise from the ashes of death

3-3 after extra time and a 3-2 win in the penalty shootout and the European Cup belongs to us forever! What a way to finish a game that we lost 0-3 at half time! This is truly a result to the fans. Dear players, no matter where you will be next season you will be immortal in the history of Liverpool Football Club.

We played the first half so poor that it can end up 0-5 but somehow the result was only 0-3. In hindsight this is a good result as if it is 0-2 AC Milan will press for at least 15 minutes more in 2H and then it will be over. If it is 0-4 we just can't claw back. Rafa made a gamble and started Kewell and once again he screwed it up. This may be a blessing in disguise. The whole team played so bad that it is almost impossible to pick up one player that played well - maybe Finnan, but he also went injuried during half time and on come Hamann.

As Hamann comes up Rafa opted for an aggresive 3-2-4-1 formation and it paid off. Gerrard was then allowed to help the attack and he was as inspirational as he ever was. He scored the first goal, rolled the ball to Hamann who then rolled the ball to Smicer for the second goal, and get us the penalty that Alonso missed but hit on rebound. From then on there can only be one winner.

But the drama did not end here. In the extra time everybody were tired and Carra made 3 crucial tackles. Then Dudek's double save on Shevchenko just proved he is ready for the penalty kick. And don't forget he saved another one from Shevchenko when it was still 0-3.

On come the penalty shootout. Carra inspired Dudek to do the Grobbelaar tricks and we won the shootout. Brilliant!

Player Rating:
Dudek: 9 Maybe responsible for at least 2 of the 3 goals but has repaid by the heroic saves.
Finnan: 6 Was one of the better player in 1H but was injuried and can't carry on. But this proved to be a good blessing.
Carragher: 9 Did not perform in 1H, may be responsible for the 2nd goal, but was immortal in 2H and extra time for his numerous tackles.
Hyypia: 7.5 Maybe responsible for the 3rd goal, but also played much better in 2H.
Traore: 6.5 Responsible for 2 of the 3 goals, and conceded a freekick when we were 0-3 down but fortunately Dudek saved it. Was very nervous but later on he played much better.
Gerrard: 9 Was annoymous in 1H but after Hamann came on he became another player. Inspirational for all 3 goals.
Alonso: 7 He scored a great rebound after his first penalty was saved. And he dicitated our pace in 2H very well.
Garcia: 7 A little bit drop in standard but otherwise he had a good game.
Kewell: 4 Hopeless.
Riise: 7 Nice assist. Although he missed a penalty shootout but at the end it didn't matter.
Baros: 7 Fight alone against the Milan defense but it proved too much for him. But he did played a good game and contributed to the win.

Substitutions:
Smicer: 8 What a way to round up his Anfield career!
Hamann: 8.5 The catalyst for the come back. I wish Rafa will offer him another contract. And his penalty was not as bad as he thought!
Cisse: 6.5 Not much contribution and was guilty of selfish but at the end it din't matter.

Rafa: 10 Although his gamble failed his tactical resuffle was just a genius' act. We are really in good hands with such a great manager. Stevie G take note.

AC Milan: 8 Their 1H performance is as best as anything I ever seen. But they relaxed a bit and paid a heavy price.

Men of the Match: It has to be Rafa. But if I really need to pick from the players, I think Dudek, Carragher and Gerrard all played very well.

We believe

We believe we will win the Champions League. Milan may be a strong team but in Rafa we have a coach that can bring us glory. In Stevie G we have the best captain. In Carra we have the best center back and even Shankly will be pround of him.

And the Kop will be there to act as the 12th men. And Shankly, Paisley and Fagan will be awaken from their tombs to cheer for us as well. And there is a Football God to make sure we will win.

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

Result 2-0

Match Report 050515 vs Aston Villa: Cisse fully derseved the goals

2-1 and we saw Cisse scoring again. What a turnaround and what a strong character this guy has. I won't be surprised if Rafa decided to start him against AC Milan and he scores the winning goal.

Also, Carragher was rightly awarded the captain's armband for this game. And he performed very well, although the other defenders let him down again.

This match is probably the farewell game of many players. Good luck to them. Just don't play well against us.

Player Rating:
Carson: 7 A good display with a few great saves.
Josemi: 6 Haven't seen him for many months and he still have those basis errors. A nice assist though.
Carragher: 7.5 Captain marvel almost scored himself. And he is kind enough to stay back and allow Cisse to score the penalty.
Pellegrino: 5.5 This is probably his farewell game. Good luck man.
Warnock: 6.5 Based on current form Traore is a much better player than Warnock.
Alonso: 7 Pulling the strings as usual.
Biscan: 6.5 Tired towards the end and was rightly substituted by Hamann.
Nunez: 6.5 A fair game.
Kewell: 6.5 He has a few chances but didn't take it. Still been accused of unwilling to make any tackle.
Riise: 7 Performed as lively as usual. Missed a few chances as well.
Cisse: 9 It's really nice to see him back to the scoresheet. You really deserve it.

Substitutions:
Baros: 6.5 Work hard as usual. And he even pass the ball to Cisse on one occasion.
Hamann: 6.5 Provided some needed protection to the back 4 when Biscan faded.
Finnan: Not enough time to impress.

Rafa: 7 A season of change, most of the fans are satisfied with him although we are two points and one place below last year. But next year will be much better. And we now need to focus on the Champions League Final.

Aston Villa: 6 They only come back into the game after we faded.

Man of the Match: Cisse. Keep pushing for a starting place in the Champions League Final.

Time to recognize Carra's effort

Gerrard will be rested this game and I think it is time to recognize Carra's effort. Rafa, name him your captain.

My Team Prediction:
Dudek
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Traore
Biscan
Hamann
Kewell
Alonso
Riise
Cisse

Result: 3-0