Cup runneth half full

Yesterday we saw the Reds settle for a 1-1 draw at Reading to bring the match to a replay at Anfield next week. In truth, it wasn't a great match and we didn't play well. Reading did enough to earn the draw and it's especially impressive considering they only have a caretaker manager at the minute. Gerrard hit a cross shot which Dirk dummied to confound the keeper and it was 1-1 at half time. We had played well enough as we neared the interval and looked like we'd push on in the second half. Alas, we let Reading back into it and it evened itself out overall.

So we'll have to do it all again. I suppose the owners will be happy at the extra pay day from the home match but I don't think Rafa will be jumping for joy at the extra match and possibility of injuries and suspensions. Carra praised young Steven Darby who filled in for GloJo at right back. He was much better than his previous game against Fiorentina but I still don't think he's up to our level. Martin Kelly could be back for the next game and I would expect him to replace Darby in the XI.It's another tough test this Sunday when Spurs visit Anfield. They're in top form and Defoe is one of the most dangerous players in the league this season. I'm attending this game so I'm hoping for a good display but I'm not overly confident. I wouldn't be surprised to see this ending in a stalemate.

Victor Moses could be available on the cheap according to the Daily Mail. Babel is "not for sale" according to Rafa. He also played down the suggestions that we might move for RVN.

Miracle required

1-1 was a sickener after playing so well. Babel made the breakthrough with a stunning goal but was let down by some madness at the back with 20 seconds remaining. If only we defended slightly better, we would have gotten the win we deserved. Now it's out of our hands.

Claude Puel, the Lyon manager says that they'll try to beat Fiorentina, and win the group. I would like to take him at his word but I fear that the fact they're qualified will lessen their teamsheet and need to win in Tuscany and I wouldn't blame them either were that to happen. So even if we win our next two group matches we will probably face elimination unless Lyon take a point or 3 in Italy, and we will have a few moments of defensive lapses to blame. If we had been slightly more switched on in either of the Lyon games, to get a draw in the first or win in the second then our fate would still be in our own hands. A draw in their match coupled with us winning in Hungary would leave us needing a 3 goal margin win in Italy.

But before all of that, we've got to beat Brum at home on Saturday. Physio room says that we might have Skrtel and Dossena back. We need all of the men we can get what with injuries and suspensions. Degen and Carragher are suspended so it could well be Ste Darby at right back unless GloJo does his best Lazarus impression, although the latest injury update from Rafa is more positive. Torres should make it but Gerrard won't. Could Aqulani make an appearance? Possibly off the bench.

Yoss we can!

LFC got back on track with a routine 2-0 home win. Sunderland did their best to frustrate and kept it goalless at the break. But Yossi said "I'm not having that" and ran at them until they gave in. I've been so impressed with him since Christmas and he's been head and shoulders ahead of the rest. He caused the black cats no end of problems and even managed to grab a poachers goal when Fulop fumbled a N'Gog effort. He linked up well with Kuyt, Gerrard and N'Gog and is clearly relishing the extra attacking responsibility he's been given with Torres out injured. Can we beat them? Yoss we can.

Sunderland parked the bus looking for a draw, after seeing so many teams stifle us effectively this year. It was up to us to break them down and Yossi took the lead in that department. David, or Charles as Jamie Redknapp likes to call him, scored his first premiership N'Goal for the club and put in an impressive performance. Riera sent over a lovely cross from the left for Gerrard to head back into the danger area and N'Goals finished from 6 yards out. How refreshing to take the lead in a match rather that having to chase a game? I wouldn't say he looked like the second coming but he showed some of the potential that the staff have invested in. He has a nice touch, decent pace and links up well with others. He still looks a bit slight and could do with some work in the gym this summer.

Javier Mascherano was pretty deadly at right back. Sky and Setanta were perplexed by the decision but he's played on the right before for River Plate. He's quick, reads the game superbly and is a great tackler. He made a few marauding runs up field and even hit the side netting with one shot. The next time that we have three right backs injured, Arbeloa, Darby and Degen, we should stick him in there. Maybe he would have been a better option there against Boro.We have a week off until the next Madrid game. I'm hoping that some or all of Torres, Arbeloa will be back fit by that stage. I'm sure that they're undergoing intensive treatment. We do have the away goal lead which is huge but it means nothing unless we keep a clean sheet. Javier had a great match in the first leg and we'll need him to be at his best again here. That's why we'll need Arbeloa fit so Javier can return to his usual post. We're in pole position but it isn't over and we can't take anything for granted.

Raul Albiol is being linked again with the fee being £13m. Arbeloa is yet again being linked with a move back to Spain, with Atletico willing to pay over £7m for him. I think he's improved on last year and has been steady if unspectacular. He's quicker than Finnan but doesn't cross as well. If he does go, I hope we get a top quality replacement in.

Adam Hammill is trying to impress the boss while on loan at Burnley. Seb Leto's loan at Olympiakos could be in trouble after a training ground bust up.

B team bonus

Abert Riera declared that he wanted us to finish the group stage in style. While he may have been disappointed with the first half, we certainly delivered in the second half, not least Riera himself who hit a stunning strike from distance. A 3-1 win away from home in the Champions League is always an achievement. When it's done without most of your first team regulars, that makes it even more impressive. The win made sure of top spot in the group on 14 points, which in theory should give us an easier draw on Friday 19th, but in reality the only bonus is the certainty that we play our second leg match at Anfield in the next round.

Robbie says he's going nowhere in Jan. I don't think that he was ever going to move, it was just paper talk. He was one of the notable performers last night in the second half and his through ball for N'Gog was sublime as was another where he set Lucas. He could have had a few goals if Babel and N'Gog had supplied him with the ball when he was in good positions. He came under some fire for his moaning over not receiving the ball but many premiership players do the same thing such as Gerrard now and Cantona in his day.

Lucas said that he wanted to repay the faith that Rafa has shown in him. The boss said that the Brazilian's performance was outstanding, as was that of N'Gog. Dossena built on his good showing against West Ham with another convincing performance at left full. Now we are starting to see some of the form that made him the Italian left back and Rafa pay £7m for him. Some of his crossing and attacking runs were fantastic.

It was great to see the Scouse kids getting a run out towards the end. I'm sure all of the academy players were looking on with pride when they saw their erstwhile team mates Darby, Kelly and Spearing, play in the worlds biggest club competition. I'm sure that Rafa will give them a chance in the FA cup if he feels it's worth the risk.Hull city represent tough test at Anfield this Saturday afternoon. We've seen too many teams park the bus and succeed in frustrating a scoreless draw out of us. We can't let this happen again. Fortunately, I don't think that Hull will pack their defence to the same degree which should leave gaps for us to exploit. Their ambition to do to us what they did to Arsenal could be their undoing. I expect the big guns who were rested v PSV, like Gerrard, Alonso and Kuyt, will come back for this league match, fitness permitting.

It sounds like Babel was so desperate for some more game minutes that he asked his agent to organise a loan back to his first club of Ajax. It was unsuccessful. One player who could be on his way to Holland could be Jordy Brower of the reserve team. Utrecht officials have mentioned him as a possible transfer target in Jan. I don't think that there would be too many tears shed if he were to return to his homeland as it would give the likes of Ince, Della Valle and others a chance to get a look in with the reserves.

Press reports suggest that contract talks between Rafa and the board have gone well and he'll sign a new 5 year deal in the next few days. This will be the most important signing of the season by far when it happens. Fingers crossed.

On the subject of new contracts, Galliani of AC Milan is denying comments attributed to him recently saying that he wanted to buy Danny Boy Agger. I really hope that Parry gets the finger out and signs him up to a new contract asap. This kid is a star and will be one of the best defenders in Europe in years to come. It will be a disgrace if we let him go on the cheap.

Ian Rush looks back on the career of Sami and declares him a red legend. It takes one to know one but I don't think that there would be any argument about Hyypia. Not bad for £2.5m almost 10 years ago.

Matt Hughes in the Times has a ridiculous piece on Rafa's transfers. There's so much wrong with this article that I don't know where to start. Journos have it easy, getting paid money to write shite like that. Hilarious.

No place is safe

Megson was tipping us for the league before the match. After that win we've moved inches closer, but we're still miles away. We're jumping all of the hurdles being put in front of us but there's much of the race yet to be won.

A 2-0 away win sounds routine, and it was. We created a whole host of chances and could have won 6-2. Gerrard, Lucas, Torres and Keane all missed glaring chances to put a gloss on the victory. Thankfully, deadly Dirk struck again and Gerrard headed a fine goal after a sublime cross from substitute Torres. Dirk had another superb game to continue his fine form this season. He took his goal fantastically well, a header from a great Aurelio cross, and saw a venomous shot crash back off the bar. Nicely done Dirk.

Rafa wants the squad to know that nobody is guarenteed a place. That includes Fernando Torres. The battle for a starting spot is really heating up. Nando will have to fight for a place when he returns from International duty. Let's hope he doesn't get injured this time. Gerrard won't be joining up with England as he's injured.

Once the tedium of a midweek international friendly is over, Fulham will be making their way to Anfield. We've a decent record over them in recent years and they tend not to do as well on the road. After that it's Marseille in L4. I'm really looking forward to the game as I'm making my first pilgrimage of the season and it'll be my first european game at the old ground. Can't wait.

Rafa has begun contract talks which is great news. Pennant looks to be on his way out of the club in January. To Bolton perhaps? A former target, Gareth Barry, is being linked with a move to Spurs now. Given the way Xabi has been playing, I hope we don't revive our interest.

Paul Tomkins on the official site has an interesting article on transfers and how long it can take for players to settle and deliver. He has a great list of players who were labeled flops but went on to be huge successes. It should be required reading for those who are writing off Robbie Keane already. A mate of mine told me that "it will all end in tears". I hope and predict that he'll be wrong.

Man Utd fan and former shareholders united member Keith Harris is predicting financial doom for us and advises a ground share with Everton.

Another Man Utd fan, the incredibly nerdy and boring Bill Edgar in the Times, says that we won't sustain a title challenge as we don't have the strength in depth. Has anybody else noticed how much better the Game podcast is this season now that he's been fired from it? Boring fool.

Ian Doyle in the post focuses on the academy and the rift between it and Melwood. This has been discussed by others like Dave Usher on the Liverpool way. It is a bit worrying and would be great if it gets sorted.

We need to talk about Andrea

Rafa felt the time was right to unleash his sinister rotation policy on the Carling cup. I saw this on a Liverpool forum and thought it was perfect. The boss used the opportunity of the Spurs match to bench some of the top players like Stevie, who needs a rest according to Rafa. Unfortunately, the reserves and fringe players took their opportunity with both hands - to show us that they're not good enough. It's only the carling cup so it doesn't hurt much but it's annoying to see the team perform so badly.

Agger said it wasn't good enough. He's not wrong. Not impressed with Dossena. But given how highly the Italians and Don Fabio himself rate him, there must be more to him than we've seen so far. But he has been fairly shit so far. I thought he was gradually improving but he was rubbish last night, as was Degen. If Arbeloa or Aurelio gets injured, which is quite likely in the latter case, we could be in trouble. Insua looks a better bet than Dossena at the moment. Maybe Dossena will go on to prove us wrong, or maybe Rafa will see he's not working here and cut his losses, as he did with Morientes and Josemi, and sell him in the summer.
The problem Rafa now faces is who to select against at right back against Bolton as Arbeloa is suspended. The options appear to be, play right back Degen or Darby, or move Carragher across from the centre and bring Sami in the middle, alongside Agger. The latter is more likely I reckon. If we go for option a, we can expect Bolton to put Davies on Degen/Darby and launch and aerial bombardment. If we have Carra out there then he'd be well able for it. Hopefully Torres will benefit from the run out and look sharper on Sat morning. We should have more than enough to batter them.

The A Liverpool thing blog has a feature on Fracisco Duran. Insert your own 80's joke here.

Riera has discussed the Spanish players and their use of English. Rafa seems very insistent on this and rightfully so. Speaking of Rafa, Stan Collymore doesn't think that Rafa deserves a new contract. Stan for manager. Tool.

Torres has reiterated that he has no desire to move anywhere else. He's a committed red and is staying here for a long time to come. Great news.

Investment banker Keith Harris reckons that the Americans may be forced to sell in January. Let's hope he's right.