Demolition Derby

I go away for one week and it all hell breaks loose. Rafa and Pako have decided to split after 11 years and go their separate ways. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

But while there was turmoil off the pitch, on it there was the kind of ruthless attacking display which we haven't seen at Anfield in a while. It's common for us to beat teams but rare for us to put them to the sword in such a convincing manner. Often we would take our foot off the pedal once the game was won. Not so against Derby. Derby were happy to sit back and defend but it didn't do them much good. We attacked with wave after wave of devestating penetration. By halftime it was 3-0 and 6-0 at full time. Torres and Alonso scored a brace each with Voronin getting one and Babel scoring the pick of the bunch. Rout complete and job done.

Funnily, some people are still saying that Torres a) is overrated b) is overpriced (a potential £18m which is in the same bracket as Bent or Anderson) c) is a Spanish striker and therefore will never adapt. He's now scored three goals in four matches and is looking fantastic. Have a read of this for a great Torres interview.

Liverpool travel to Fratten Park to face Portsmouth on Sat at 12.45. This has been a tough fixture for us in the past but I expect us to be able to win here. It won't be 6-0 but it could well be a 2-0 or 2-1. Let's hope that we don't get any injuries on wed and that Carra and Finnan have recovered in time for kick off.

There was one signing before transfer deadline day in Damien Plessi who's a 19 year old french midfielder. He's joined from Lyon and will be playing with the reserves this season. Given the amount of young midfielders and centre halves that we've bought recently, we'll have to play to 5-5-0 formation with the reserves.

The big news off the pitch was that assistant manager and fitness guru Pako Ayestarán has left the club. I'm a bit surprised about this but Ballague was talking about him on the Game podcast. He said that the pair haven't been getting on for a while. It seems that Pako will not be directly replaced and his duties will be shared among Alex Miller, Paco De Miguel and the other coaches, at least for the moment.

I didn't get to see the Irish match on Sat as I was sat in Firenze, enjoying the sunshine. Managed to take in the Italy v France match which was decent but lacked a goal. Tuscany kicks Ireland's ass any day of the week. Oh for more fantastic meals and wine at low prices.

Buona sera.