The King, the little Prince and the swordsman

Pre season training is nearly over. Any rustiness or sloppiness was swept clean, like this sloppy fecker. It started with a training camp in Switzerland and two friendlies. St Gallen drew 0-0 with Liverpool and then we were defeated 1-0 by Rapid Vienna. Then the asian leg of the tour started with a 1-1 draw against Thailand. Then things started to click into gear against Singapore with a 5-0 win. Kuyt and Nemeth were particularly strong performers. Then came an embaressing 3-0 loss to Espanol and a 2-0 win over Lyn Oslo featuring a goal from Babel. The final pre season game was a 2-1 loss against Atletico Madrid today, a big game for El Nino who hit the post and contrived not to score against his old team. Lucas was the scorer for us.

The second XI also played a few friendlies including a visit to Dunmanway in west Cork. I drove through the village last weekend and they were painting it red in anticipation of the red invasion. One of the worlds biggest teams playing one of the smallest. The match itself featured a free kick from young Danny Pacheco. This Monday will see the reserve squad play against Bohemians in Dalymount Park, Reds in Dublin. Not a 15 min walk from my own house here in the city centre.

The biggest news of the summer is that £30m+add ons Xabi Alonso will be replaced by £16m Alberto Aqulani who passed his medical on Friday. This is huge news. I really like Xabi, and he was probably my favourite red. A gentleman and a midfielder of such poise and technique that he lit up any game he played. He always made it look like he had much more time than everyone else. But now he's gone. He'll be missed but he gave us five great years and he wanted to move back to spain with his family, which is fair enough. He got a sword when he left Atletico, maybe he'll get a pan of scouse when he leaves merseyside? Good luck Xabi, unless you're playing against us.

While the Xabi saga rumbled on Bob Arbeloa was on his way to the bernabeu after a much quicker deal was agreed a fee of £3.5m + clauses for his transfer. I'm sad to see him go but he's only a year left onhis contract and clearly wants to return to Real Madrid. It means there will be opportunities for Degen and young Martin Kelly at right back. So out with the old and in with the new. Bertie Aqulani is setting up shop in L4 and let's hope he brings his girlfriend with him. There is no doubting the talent that this lad possesses. But what is doubtful, is his injury record. He has struggled a bit in recent times and is out at the moment with an ankle problem. But Roma fans seem to think that this is more to do with their training methods and medical staff. I'm hoping that we can get him fit and firing. His playing stats can be a little misleading because Spaletti often preferred Pizzaro to Bertie in recent years.5 Hungarian kids are coming over on trial and could end up joining their compatriots Gulasci Nemeth, Simon etc. Another young recruit is Danish midfield teen Kohlert who'll go into the reserves.

Hicks and Gillett have secured their refinancing deal which will require them to pay off some of their initial loan. While this sounds good on paper, I'm sure that they'll find a way to bill the club for the expense. They're a pair of leeches, sucking the life out of our club.

There is a certain purity and blind optimism to the first game of the season, you can legitimately expect all of the old problems to have sorted themselves out over the summer. It's a clean slate for all and the new recruits will make the difference. This time we'll go the extra yards. This year is our year. Number 19 is coming home.Celebrity red Samuel L Jackson is well up for the season. I'm sure he backs us to go far, maybe even the whole way to ending our 19 year league drought. The guardian season preview thinks we'll do it. I've been fairly cautious over the past few years and never said we'd do it. I correctly predicted second last season but this time I'm going to stick my neck out and say we'll reach the promised land of the league trophy. You can argue that we're weaker with the loss of Xabi and Arbeloa but the addition of Johnson and Aquilani doesn't leave us far off and might make us more attacking and capable of breaking down a packed defence, in time. There will be a bedding in period, for Alberto especially who hasn't had pre season with the team. If we can keep him fit alongside Torres and Gerrard, then we can do it. I know that's a big if but our inability to field our best XI cost us last year. I think we were the best team but Utd won the league as they had a best squad. I think the loss of Lady Ronaldo will be a problem for them as he destroyed teams and pulled goals out of nowhere so often. We we're very close last year, only four points off and I think that his loss will affect them more than our loss of Xabi. Of course, it will need the Americans to keep their noses out of Rafa's business and let him get on with training and coaching his team. Chelsea will be in there too but they'll need adaptation time to Carlo's methods and tactics. Sure we'll find out over the next 9 months, starting with Spurs on Sunday. The league is like a pregnancy. There are many bumps and kicks along the way but you have to wait until the end to find out the result. Here's hoping that it's the second coming of our league domination.

Return of the King

Long live King Kenny! He's coming home to as joyous a reception and will take up a role with the academy and as a global Ambassador on the commercial side, similar to Bobby Charlton at Utd. Good news all round.Paul Anderson is off to Forest for £250000 according to sky sports. Leto is heading off to Greece to join Panathinaikos, rather than Olympiakos. He never really built on his early promise in my so called life and requiem for a dream.

Glen Johnson has signed a 4 year deal. The kids keep coming. The latest signed include Jesus Suso Fernandez. No doubt he'll be the second coming. Another young spaniard en route to L4 is Luis Alberto of Seville, if this is to be believed. If you can read Danish you might learn that we're signing 16 year old Nicolaj Køhlert of Esbjerg. N'Gog has be joined at Anfield by his erstwhile PSG team-mate, defenderChris Mavinga. He also suggests that Alonso will be staying unless he hands in a transfer request or Madrid make us an offer too good to refuse. Messi wants Masch but Rafa says you're not getting him.

I'm not even going to bother giving the Ribery story a mention, just a bookie trying to generate business. If you're expecting discussion about Owen I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I was completely nonplussed by his move to Utd. The interesting aspect was how quickly the press went from branding him a has been and a laughing stock with his brochure, to it being a master stroke by Slur Alex. Pretty funny. Fergie must have been won over by the glossy paper.

Here's a new book from an Irish author who lives in Liverpool and works for the club. I heard him interviewed on Today FM and I was impressed with his research. Did you know that our first ever manager John McKenna, was Irish? Could be a good christmas present for a fellow Red in Ireland.

That's all for now. If we make a big signing I'll post a comment but otherwise, I'll be back in August with a season preview ahead of the Spurs match. Enjoy the sunshine, or rain if you're in Ireland.

Baggies burst

A 2-0 over the baggies marked their demise from the league and an end to our away campaign with just the spurs match to go. West Brom were clearly more "up for it" than we were and started the match at a ferocious pace. Not surprising given they were fighting for their lives. It took us a while to get up so speed but a gift from the home defence allowed Gerrard to pounce and score yet another league goal. It got easier after that. Dirk added the second after a fine pass from Stevie. Dirk has been in superb form this year and this was his 12th goal, equalling his best ever league haul. Even more impressive is the fact that they've all been from open play. Dirka dirka. Lucas put in a good shift in the middle with Xabi starting on the bench. When Javier came off injured the basque took his spot.

The fact that Utd had wrapped up the league yesterday did make this something of a damp squib. Arsenal took points from them but alas it was too late to matter. This did have the feel of a dead rubber but with Chelsea winning we had to make sure of second and the extra cash that we'll receive for it. Second place gets 30% of champions league revenue while third place only gets 15%. Big difference.

Carra explained that his bust up with Arbeloa was over trying to keep a clean sheet, with the aim of securing yet another golden gloves award for Pepe. Some people might be pissed off with it but it never bothers me seeing players have a go at each other. He shouldn't have raised his hands as he could've been sent off but I've no problem with keeping high standards through fear. Keane used to regularly bollock players at Utd, Gary Neville was on the end of one particularly savage tirade. It's been a great week for Steven Gerrard who was named Footballer of the year, the first Liverpool player to win the award since John Barnes in 1990. Here he is celebrating the 4-1 win at Old Toilet this season. He said in an interview today that he's matured in recent years and it's been obvious this year. He does appear less selfish now. His conversion to an attacking midfielder has helped to make the most of his qualities. John Giles said he was a worthy winner of the award. Much better choice than Giggs who won the PFA award despite barely playing or scoring. His 16 goals and 9 assists are a fantastic return. If only himself and Torres had been able to start a few more games. 13 starts together wasn't nearly enough.

Piet Hamburg is leaving the Academy this summer. This has been expected for a while as he seems to have been Rick Parrys man. He will be succeeded by Jose Segura who previously worked at the Barcelona academy. In other staff related news, Rafa has been praising Sammy lee saying he is close to perfect as a number 2. Is that because he no longer has ambition to be a boss after his failed attempt at Bolton?

Dossena is returning to Italy with Milan the likely venue according to channel 4. David Silva's agent says that there is interest from clubs and there are reports that we've offered £15m for the Valencia winger. Xabi's agent says he's going nowhere which must come as a great relief to us all. I still fear that he might be off if we receive a massive offer from Real Madrid or somebody else. Hope I'm wrong. Cadiz youngster Jesus "Suso" Fernandez is on his way to Anfield for talks according to the Mirror.

How would you feel about going to watch a match in the Carlsberg stadium on Stanley Park? While there might be emotional issues surrounding naming rights, the financial reality of our predicament means that we're going to have to sign up some partner for the stadium. Carlsberg have been decent over the years and wouldn't be a bad choice. Given the international money markets, it's a moot point at the moment.

Legend leaves for Leverkusen

Auf wiedesein Sami. In our defensive foursome, he was absolutely awesome. One Scandinavian defender signs as another leaves. The circle of life is complete. I'm sad to see Sami leave but I understand that he wants a last hurrah. It would have been hard to see him play against us for another premiership team so I wish him all the best in Germany. On the upside, it's great to see Dagger sign up for years. I was convinced that he was leaving in the summer so well done to Rafa and the staff for convincing him his future is here. Between him and Skrtel we're sorted at centre half for many a year. I expect one of San Jose or Martin Kelly will be promoted next season to cover as the fourth choice centre back.

Did this result put Newcastle down? 3-0 could have been 6-0 as we hit the woodwork three times. Xabi struck the crossbar twice with two fierce shots and Gerrard hit it once. Could have been a landslide. Yossi bagged the first with his knee after a cross from Dirk. It may have been marginally offside but any sense of injustice the Toon army had was soon wiped out when Dirk powered in a diving header from a Gerrard corner. Goals from corners always give me a special feeling, rare as they are. Our dominance continued in the second half but we had to wait until late on the for the third goal. Alonso was taken off after Joey Barton was red carded for a bad challenge on the Basque. Lucas came on and scored his first league goal with a close range header from a free kick from the right hand touch line. I'm happy for the Brazilian as he looked thrilled but it now looks like he could leave for £6m this summer according to the red tops.
We're off to Upton Park next weekend. It should be routine with or without Torres who didn't play yesterday. West Ham are quite safe now so don't have much to play for. I hope that we win all of our games to push Utd the whole way. I don't see Utd dropping the requisite points to make it interesting enough but I want to finish a close second with a small gap to the top. This experience of being in a title challenge to the end will do our players the world of good for next season.

The news that Rafa will have to sell to increase his transfer kitty is not unexpected. The BBC reckon Silva, Villa and Glen Johnson are targets. Javier Saviola is being linked with a free transfer in the summer. Gareth Barry has spoken about a summer move. I think he's quite likely to arrive for less than £10m. Given his performance's this year, I hope that it doesn't mean a Xabi departure. Sources in Italy suggest Juve might be back in for him this summer. Rafa says that Javier is going nowhere. What about Pandev of Lazio? He'd be a cheap option for a summer signing. His teammate Zarate has signed a permanent deal with Lazio so we won't be getting him. AZs Moroccan striker Mounir El Hamdaoui is being linked with us and Arsenal. Negredo of Almeria is a target. Rafa says that Yossi will get a new contract offer. If anybody deserves it then he does as he's been amazing in the last 6 months.

KC KO

A 3-1 win away from home was a case of job done. But it wasn't done very cleverly in a bad day at the office for most of the team. We were poor in a poor first half. Hull did well to close us down really quickly. Time and again we were caught in possession or had passes blocked by Hull players. Arbeloa and Mascherano were disappointing for the second game running. The whole team looked a bit rattled by the pressure exerted by Caleb Folan et al. But just before half time Javier broke down field and got a free kick when he fell over. It was really harsh on Hull but got worse when Xabi put it away. His initial effort hit the wall but he cracked the rebound into the bottom corner on the volley. Lovely strike, his fourth league goal of the season. I don't really understand how his passing is so sublime but his delivery from frees and corners is often askew. Strange.

The second half started much better than the first. Once Folen lost the plot and got sent off for a kick on Skrtel, things got easier. Dirk got a touch on a Skrtel shot to make it 2-0. Giovani pulled one back for them to make a little more tense. But Kuyt scored again in the 90th minute to put the result beyond doubt. Game over. Dirk now has 10 league goals which is superb given his position and reputation. He might even improve on that over the next few games.

Insua lost his man for the Hull goal but was much better than our other full back Arbeloa who had a really poor game. It's a pity that the spaniard has lost his form in recent games as he's had a good season to date.We can look forward to the Toon army visiting Anfield next Sunday. Shearer and co will be well up for a fight but are short on confidence. It's one that we really should win and we'll need to if we're going to push Utd all the way.

Could Rafa be interested in signing Man Utd loanee Carlos Tevez? Rafa refused to comment on him when asked in Fridays press conference. Fergie reckons he wants him to stay but we'll see. I think he'll leave Utd but I don't see us signing him, Madrid would be more likely. He'd be a nice addition to our team but we need somebody to compete for the Riera and Kuyt spots, not Gerrard and Torres positions. O'Neil seems to be preparing to let Barry leave this summer. Expect a cut price bid from Rafa given the fact his contract is up in 2010.

Lauri Della Valle scored 2 more goals as the junior reds beat Birmingham 3-1 second leg to seal a place in the FA youth cup final. Alex Kacaniklic scored the other to give an aggregate score of 6-1. They'll face Arsenal to win it.

Jack Hobbs who was part of the 2006 FA youth cup winning team, has sealed a permanent deal with Leicester. The young defender has helped them gain promotion from League one to the championship. I hope he does well in the future.

Done four?

3 defensive lapses cost us against Arsenal on Tuesday. May have even cost us the title, admittedly it was a long shot to begin with. 4-4 may have been good to watch but the result was sickening. We had it in our hands at 2-1 up but we threw it away and had to chase the game when 3-2 and 4-3 down. In the end we paid the price for our poor defending and got one point where three were required and would have been deserved.

We dominated Arsenal for much of the match but we gifted them goals that they didn't deserve. Mascherano, Aurelio and Arbeloa all made bad mistakes which led to Arshavin goals. Fairplay to the lad who took his chances but other than that had a poor enough game if such a thing is possible.

Dirk set up our first two goals for Torres and then Yossi. El Nino scored another and Yossi got the equaliser in injury time. This was the Israeli's best ever performance for the Reds. He revelled in the number 10 role usually occupied by Gerrard. I fear his absence much less with Yossi in this form. He showed great courage to throw his head into the mix for his first goal. A brave player who gives everything.Well done to the Everton fans who showed some merseyside solidarity with the 96 at the FA cup semi final against Utd on Sunday. I was happy to see them win and will be cheering them against Chelsea in the final. Let's hope that these kind of gestures will thaw the atmosphere in the Merseyside derbies which had become poisonous in recent years.

Gerrard is unlikely to be fit for the Hull City match on Saturday according to Rafa. His abductor muscle is still problematic. Yossi will deputise. I think we should be able to win this one despite what motivational miracles Phil Brown might try to pull. Utd don't play until Sunday but Spurs are safe now so I can't see them presenting too many problems for Slur and company.

The guardian are reporting that we could See a King Kenny comeback this summer slotting into a youth development role. Great news if it happens. Sammy Lee is in favour as is Alan Hansen. The King himself is desperate to help the club he loves in anyway he can.

It's great to see that the kids have one foot in the FA youth cup final after a 3-0 first leg win against Birmingham. Della Valle grabbed two goals and David Amoo got the other from right midfield. I expect we'll see quite a few of this team make first team appearances over the next few years.

Rafa's comments should be reassuring to Xabi and ensure that there isn't any repeat of last summers shenanigans. I'd be gutted if Xabi left. We know that Tores will leave us one day. I hope that day is far far away and I had assumed it would be to return to Atletico. But El Nino says he would like to try Serie A before Spain. Not what I expected but let's hope it's the distant future.

Alvaro Negredo of Almeria is being linked to Anfield by Setanta. The 23 year old striker has had a great season and has scored 17 goals. Sky sports reckon that we could be in for Mauro Zarate as Lazio only have 2 weeks left to take up their option on him. His agent says that there's been interest from two English clubs. He's a quality player who did well at Birmingham on loan but he'd cost a lot and I'm not sure where he'd fit into the team. If we bought him it could be the Robbie Keane scenario again where he's too good for the bench but no clear place in the team. The Daily Mirror reckon we're going to bid for Roque Santa Cruz of Blackburn this summer. He wants to leave but I can't see us competing with city in an auction for him as it would be too expensive.

A bridge too four

The pride of the Liverpool was evident last night. 4-4, an epic European contest. They said that there was no way we could go to London and score three. We went one better and scored four. We led 2-0 at half time but inevitable we left gaps at the back and Chelsea punished us. At 2-0 and 4-3 up, we were one goal from being ahead on aggregate but it wasn't to be. Despite it all, even deep into injury time, we never gave up. The spirit and desire of this team and this club is unmatched.

If we had Mascherano in the first leg and Gerrard in the second would the tie have turned out differently? Possibly but we'll never know. Stevie wasn't risked and watched from the stands. In his absence, Lucas did a decent job at the apex of the midfield where the captain normally plays. He put in a good shift and scored a goal thanks to an Essien deflection but Xabi stepped up as the main man on the night. He was awesome. I'm a huge fan of the basque schemer and this was up there as one of his best displays ever. I hope that Rafa never again considers selling him. Dirk was full of heart and running as we expect in European games. He took his goal well and has a habit of scoring important goals in this competition. Aurelio was another who recovered well from the first leg and his free kick goal was superb.

Drogba caused more problems as he did in the first leg. His diving and rolling around was as distasteful as ever. Anelka caused problems down the right and helped set Drogba up when he got a lucky touch off Pepe's glove. I wouldn't fault the keeper on it, it was just a freak deflection after the Ivorian had done very well.So now we can "concentrate on the league". Scant consolation but maybe the need to rotate will be lessened and we'll see our first choice team every match from now until May. Next Tuesday will be a vital league showdown with Arsenal at Anfield. The gunners will have a big say in the eventual destination of the title as they have to play us, Chelsea and Utd before the end of the season. They're in decent form at the moment but have a few defensive problems with Gallas, Clichy and Almunia injured. I fancy us to win it especially if the captain returns from injury.

Tony Evans in the TImes has a moving piece on going back to Hillsbourgh on the 20th anniversary. As I've said before on here, Evans is one of the few hacks that I respect when it comes to writing about LFC. You can hear him most weeks on the Game podcast from the Times.

The guardian rumour mill is linking us with another move for Javi Martinez at Bilbao. Could that mean that Lucas or Xabi are on their way this summer? Maybe he's being lined up as an alternative if moves for Gaz Baz fail again. I think the Englishman is a much likelier signing, mainly due to his nationality and his price. Another player linked is Wesley Sneijder who Real Madrid are willing to sell and David Silva who Valencia have to sell. Guillem Ballague reckons that we're interested in both of them but Real want Alonso and are using Sneijder as bait. I'd like to see us sign the Dutchman but not at Xabi's expense.

Babel says that he's not happy with sitting on the bench. Fair enough, but when he's played this year he's been fairly average. He's a prime candidate to be sold this summer from what I can see. We should be able to get a decent price for him as he's a young and talented player but I don't see him realising his potential with us.

All bar one

It was one of those nights. We dominated inferior opposition and created loads of chances. We even hit the woodwork four times. But not matter what we did the ball refused to go into the net. We looked destined for yet another disappointing draw but Yossi wasn't having it. Coming on as a sub he stamped his mark on the game deep into injury time, drifting in from the right to fire past Swartzer and send reds worldwide bouncing. The commentary in that clip is quite special. Yossi to the rescue. Yossi got injured while away with Israel. I doubt Rafa was too impressed with that but maybe he'll forgive him after this.

Rafa made three changes beforehand by bringing in Insua at left back, Lucas in the middle and Dossena on the left wing. All three did well. Insua is going to be some player and between him and Aurelio we're well set in what was once a problem position. Dossena was a potent threat going forward on the left while he was freed from defensive labours in this position. This could be a better role for him as he has been shown up defensively at full back. I still don't know if he has a future at the club beyond the summer but he will contribute during the run in.

It would have been a grand miscarriage of justice if Fulham had managed to hold out for a draw. They were beaten all ends up by us. Swartzer made some good saves to keep them in it and the width of the woodwork thwarted Xabi, Torres and Dossena twice. But we got our just deserts in the end. Now we have to hope that Villa can do us a favour today.Chelsea. Yes that's right, Chelsea. Yet again. I'm sure we'd prefer to have the second leg at Anfield as we saw in the tie last season. Hidink has them well organised and it won't be easy. I find these games interesting rather than exciting but I think I'm the only one there.
Stevie G gave us a good start to the weekend by signing a 2 year contract extension. The backroom staff have all followed Rafa's lead and signed contract extensions. Not to be outdone, Dirk agreed a two year extension. Let's hope that Dagger jumps on the bandwagon.

Del Bosque is impressed with Xabi's beard. Maybe we should all grow beards.

Rafa has denied any interest in Valencia attacker David Silva. Valencia are broke and are selling their stars to balance the books this summer. Could Arda Turn of Galatasary be a target this summer? He's a fan going by this interview. He's fast, tricky, plays wide and has performed well against us in the champions league. Sounds ideal. The BBC gossip column has us linked with Eto'o for £18m. While he is a class player, I don't see where he'd fit into our current formation. I'm not really into paying that much for a squad player or playing him out of position. Maybe we'd change formation? They also say that Hertha Berlin have agreed a £4m deal for Voronin. They should have the cash as they'll almost definitely finish in one of the champions league spots. Not bad for a player that we picked up for free. Agger isn't in any hurry to sign an extension. I had hoped that Rafa's new contract would have given him some encouragement but alas it doesn't seem to be happening. I fear he's off in the summer and maybe Albiol will be his replacement.

Here's a good sky compilation of footage and player interviews after the win at the theatre of prawns. Worth a full screen viewing.

Theatre of dreams finally lives up to its name

Sir Bobby Charlton, Wayne Rooney, Mick Hucknall, Roy Keane, Eamonn Holmes, Lady Ronaldo, Eric Cantona, Gary Neville. Alex Ferguson. are you listening? Alex Ferguson, your boys took a hell of a beating.Here are the facts.
Fact no. 1: Liverpool scored 4.
Fact no. 2: Utd scored 1.
Fact no. 3: Liverpool have taken 6 points from Utd and 13 out of 16 against top 4 opposition.
Fact no. 4: The ref sent off Vidic and gave us a penalty. Yes, at Old Toilet. Wonders will never cease. Maybe Rafa's so called rant about ref's at Old Toilet had an effect.
Fact no. 5: Torres is the best striker in the league.
Fact no. 6: Utd will still win the league.
The last is a most sobering thought. While Saturday was superb, it would take a catastrophic defeat for Utd to drop more than 7 points and us to take maximum points from now on. It's a big ask, too big. I can't see the teams that they will play taking too many points from them. We'll run them close but I fear it will be an ultimately futile chase.

But for now, let's bask in the glory of this. I had the interesting experience of watching the match in a bar in downtown Seoul with my mate Eoin. He pointed out to me that the Korean viewers voted Park Ji Sung man of the match. When we went a goal down, I feared for the worst. I wasn't convinced about the peno but you see them given. Don't think it was stonewall but wasn't up in arms about it. But we managed to get our shit together once Vidic decided to show why he should be player of the year. He shat his pants once Torres left him for dead and beat Edwin VDS at the far post. Beautiful. Where would we now be if he'd been fit all year? Nearer the summit if not top.

Then on the stroke of half time, we got a really soft peno when Evra took down Gerrard in the area. Stevie promptly dispatched it and we went in ahead at the break. Our domination continued in the second half. Torres was turning and tearing their defence at will. Gerrard was playing between the lines expoloiting the space that Torres made. Kuyt and Riera ably assisted on the wings. Utd had a short period of pressure but their much vaunted attack of Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo did very little. Arbeloa was injured in the warm up so Sami started in the heart of the defence and Carra went to right back. As usual Sami slotted in perfectly.

When Vidic took down a Gerrard who was through on goal, he gave the ref no choice but to send him off. The straight red means he'll miss 2 games. Hs pulled Torres in the box earlier which should have been another penalty but he got away with that one. He's been getting away with that kind of blocking and pulling all season but not this time. The excellent Aurelio swung in a superb free and VDS didn't even make an effort to save it. He is so far past it. Can't understand how people were praising him to high heavens a few weeks back. He's an average keeper behind a good defence, nothing more. Dossena added the icing on the cake with a injury time lob over VDS after a Reina kick out. 2 goals in 2 matches for the italian full back.

Poor Xabi wasn't fit enough to make the squad so javier started alongside Lucas in the midfield. It's high praise for the young Brazilian to say that Xabi wasn't missed. Carrick and Anderson weren't given a minutes peace and made mistake after mistake. They were made to look decidedly average by out south american combo. Mascherano has been immense this week. His will to win is staggering. Richard Williams in the Guardian argues that Mascherano rather than Torres represents Benitez's best signing.Now it's time for Villa. They're in shit form. I fancy us to do them as they're confidence seems to have drained. They have the pace to trouble us, especially if Arbeloa isn't back. But if Gerrard and Torres can continue their present form, who can stop them? Real and Utd couldn't. Can Zat Knight and Carlos Cuellar do better? We'll find out on Sunday afternoon.

Zidane recently labeled Gerrard the best player in the world. Gary Mac agrees so who am I to disagree with the two of them? Johan Cryff reckons that Europe fears us. Despite that, I don't really want to get Barcelona when the champions league draw is made on Friday.

Rick resigns as reds rumbled riverside

Liverpool suffered their second league defeat of the season as Boro won 2-0 at the Riverside. Why is it a team who hasn't won in 14 games manages to turn it around against us? The likes of Downing, O'Neil and Wheater looked great but I'm sure they'll be back to their normal level of mediocrity next game. Carragher wasn't up to playing right back so Skrtel had to fill in for the injured Arbeloa. He was uncomfortable in this position and Downing made the most of it. Brad Jones had a great match and made some superb saves. We were the better team for the first 30 mins and then Xabi put the ball into his own net towards the end of the first half. But after that Boro improved and fully deserved their win. We were blunt up front without the injured Torres. Then Gerrard had to come off in the second half and any chance of another comeback went with him.

El Zahr started his first senior match for the club. He put in a few decent performances from the bench early on this year but the young Moroccan offered very little here. Dirk had a poor day up front and missed an open goal. He wasn't the only one and very few of the lads can emerge from this with much credit. A shocking performance. We knew our title challenge was finished after the city draw last week but now it's surely game over. With Chelsea resurgent under Hiddink, we'll have to get our shit together. We've already lost second place and could really do with reclaiming it. Finishing second or third doesn't matter a huge amount but psychologically it might leave us in a better frame of mind regarding next season.

It's the black cats at anfield this Tuesday and a good chance for some of the poor performers to get their act together and show some pride. What we really need is an early goal. All too often this year we've been unable to convert our dominance and chances into goals, which gives the opposition hope if they keep us goalless until half time. This makes the Anfield faithful lose faith and their unease gets to the players. Let's hope we score a hat full in the first half to avoid this all too familiar scenario.

Tony Barrett in the echo revealed that Parry is leaving in the summer, which is great news for Rafa and the club. I was originally a fan of Parry but he's been a disaster in recent times. He was one of the major reason the yanks succeeded, we're poor commercially, ticket office is a joke, he's messed up loads of transfers through sloth and ineptitude (Walcott, Vidic, Alves etc), the list goes on and on. But with him leaving, it will mean that Hicks has a free reign to do what he wants at board level. This worries me. Hopefully he'll be forced to sell before he gets a chance to inflict any more damage.

The Brazilian media are linking us with a summer move for Olympiakos striker Diogo. He's a player that Arsenal, Chelsea and us have tried to sign in the past. He's only 21 and has done well in Greece since his move there. But whether he'd be able to make the step up to the premier league is a different story. Let the trail by youtube commence.

Rafa rages amid Stoke stalemate

That was a bad weekend at the office. In the run up to the match, Graham Poll backed up Rafa's comments on Fergie, which was all over the news. Those wise after the event will say that it cost us points and maybe the title. Bullshit I say. We've come out with rubbish performances all season, long before Rafa said anything about the incontinent Scotsman. There was nothing in his statement that I have a problem with. Many in the media such as Alan Green and Oliver Kay have backed him up. By coming out with his rant Rafa has set and changed the news agenda. All of the talk last week was of Steven Gerrard. Not anymore. Was Rafa trying to take the pressure off his captain?

The Arseblog has a post on limited teams playing for a draw which is worth a read. I think that Stoke were good value for their draw here. They played to their strengths here and tried to frustrate us. It worked and very few of our players came out with too much credit. Lucas was ineffective coming in for Xabi. But he was well worth his place after some good performances recently against Bolton, Newcastle and PSV. Dirk laboured but didn't create a whole lot. He really should have done better with his header from a Riera cross at the start. Stevie nearly won it at the end when he hit the woodwork twice. Rafa came in for loads of abuse for his selection but this is almost the same team that hammered Newcastle in the last league game. He gets stick when he rotates and stick when he doesn't.

So we're still top, but for how long? If Utd win their games in hand they will go top. We can still do it but it's looking less likely. We'll probably have to win at the theatre of prawns now which isn't going to be easy. And we need to get back to winning ways against the BS in the derby this weekend. Hopefully Torres will be fit to start this time. He looked a bit rusty against Stoke but the extra week of training should help him. They will be without Fellaini and any sort of strikers. Moyes has a terrible record against us with only 2 wins in 9 matches since Rafa's arrived. Hopefully that trend will continue at Anfield.
Xabi wasn't fit enough for the Stoke game but should be ok for the Derby, which is a boost.
Stoke midfielder and former Red Salif Diao is a big Rafa fan.

Olly Kay in the Times chairs a debate on Rafa's genius. The opinion in these kinds of articles tends to vary wildly depending on the most recent results.

Guillem Balague has an interview with El Nino on his website. Whatever you think of Balague, I think a pinch of salt is needed with whatever he says, he gets good access to players and managers. Balague suggests that Glen Johnson won't be making his way to Anfield. He also reckons that we are not interested in Angel Lafita of Deportivo, who's been linked to us in the Spanish press. Another youngster that we've been linked to is Grenoble playmaker Sofiane Feghouli. Utd are after him now so I would imagine that is the end of that, given that we don't have the finances to compete with them. German teen Marvin Pourie is leaving the Academy to return to his homeland and has signed a deal with Schalke 04. I hope we secured a percentage of his future sale clause because he was quite highly rated. Voronin could also seal a permanent move back to Germany soon, which would swell the coffers by a few million. Renato Agusto of Leverkusen is being linked with a move to Anfield. I can't see us having the £10m+ required to buy him unless we manage to sell a few players soon. Very unlikely. Setanta suggest El Zhar could be on his way to Malaga on loan.

Could Theo Walcott be on his way to his boyhood club next year? I can't really see it happening as Arsenal would surely sell him rather than let him go for free in 2010. The kid is a boyhood red and would be a perfect fit for the right hand side but this all pretty hypothetical as I think Arsenal will sign him up to a new deal soon.

Just as he was establishing himself as our first choice left back, Insua has received the call from Maradona and is heading off with the Argentine under 20 team for the South American youth tournament. On the topic of left backs, Rafa says that Dossena is going nowhere. Some reports have been linking him with a return to Italy but the boss says that's a non starter.

Tony Barrett in the Echo finds flaws in Stan Collymore's logic. Not too hard to do.

It seems that Hicks and Gillett have secured a 6 month extension on their bank loan. I don't think this is much of a surprise as word was out before Christmas that they would be able to get extra times from the banks.

Ian Ayre has been looking into an Indian academy and having a tie in with a reality tv show. Sounds like a bit of a publicity stunt but it should boost our popularity with the billion or so in the subcontinent. There may even be a decent footballer or two among them.

Reds dump Deepdale

2-0 and through to the next round is the headline but there are some interesting sub plots.

First, after being clinical against Newcastle and Bolton, we returned to our normal form this season where we create lots of chances but refuse to take them, letting the opposition back into the game. We made countless chances in the first half and should have been out of sight. I'm afraid to say that Keane was the main culprit here and had a string of embarrassing misses. It's not the the first time this year and I won't be drawing any conclusions from it but it's about time he got his act together and started taking simple chances. But, as he himself has said, let's judge him at the end of the season in May.

Secondly, Torres returned with a goals after coming off the bench. Good man Nando. Stevie unselfishly set him up after Babel had released the pair on goal with a flicked header. Great to see El Nino back in competitive action.

Thirdly, Alonso came off injured with his leg in a cast. There is no word yet on how long he'll be out for but it didn't look good. Luckily Lucas stepped into the breach and did well, but while he's improving, he's no Xabi. Who is?

Lastly, there were contrasting performances from the wingers. Riera was superb after a slow start and was a menace down the flank. He took his goal really well and set up Keane for what should have been another. In contrast, Babel was quite ineffective. I'm starting to think that he's finished at Anfield. He hasn't progressed this year and I fear Rafa will move him on in the summer. He doesn't appear to have the desire to stake a claim to a spot in the team and I can't see Rafa picking a half hearted player ahead of a less talented but more committed player like Dirk. I hope Ryan proves me wrong. We've drawn Everton in the next round which is a bit of a kick in the teeth but we've shown we are capable of beating them easily enough over the last few seasons. To be honest, I would swap a cup exit for three points against them in the league at Anfield the week before.

It's back to the bread and butter of the league when the leaders visit the potteries to face Stoke this Saturday. They managed to frustrate us with a scoreless draw at Anfield and I'm sure Rafa and co will want revenge. This time we should have Torres back in the saddle. The fact that United face Chelsea at the weekend if a huge boost for us. A draw there or even a Chelsea win would please me greatly.
Pennant wants to go to Spain. To Atletico perhaps? I'm happy enough to see him leave for any club as he won't contribute anything for the rest of the season.

Lucas thanks Rafa for backing him. As mentioned above, the kid has improved a lot in recent games. He'll have a good chance to build on this in matches to come if Xabi is badly injured.

Icelandic midfielder Victor Palsson who plays for Aarhaus is being linked with a move to L4. It should get sorted sometime over the month.

Just when I thought everything was going so well...

Balls. It's all kicking off. That's brought things back down to earth with a bang. There doesn't seem to be too many details so far so I'll hold fire until I know more. He won't be the first premiership footballer to spend a night in a jail cell and won't be the last either. Could be trivial but could be quite serious.
Back to more pleasant thoughts like the fact that we hammered the toon 5-1. On the pitch, everything is coming together nicely. After some indifferent form, we're starting to click. That's 8 goals in our last two games. And it could have been way more here. Only for an in form Shay Given it could have been double figures. An outstanding Gerrard managed to score two. The second of which was the goal of the day. A sublime through ball from the impressive Lucas freed Gerrard beyond the full back where he casually dinked the ball over an onrushing Given after giving him the eyes. World class.

Much was made of how terrible Newcastle were. We must remember that this is the same Newcastle team that held Chelsea goalless at Stamford bridge and drew with Man Utd in Old Toilet? How is it that a Liverpool team that is often labeled as defensive and conservative managed to score five against them away from home? I like the fact that we spread the goals around. Babel scored the scuffiest goal of the year after the Newcastle defence stood still for 10 mins, giving him time to put it in at the second attempt. Sami got one from a Gerrard corner and went really close with a few more headed efforts. Xabi took the penalty that Ngog won as Stevie had been taken off. Ngog himself could have scored but his attempt was ruled out.

I'm very happy for Lucas. Rafa showed faith him him despite the Kop jeering his selection and introduction into matches. He's repaid Rafa's faith and was good against Arsenal and great against Newcastle. I'm hoping that he'll build on this form in the second half of the season. We're starting to see the box to box midfielder that was the youngest player ever to have won player of the year in Brazil.

On Saturday it's time for the third round of the FA cup so get ready for loads of cliches about magic and stuff. We drew Preston North End who we should be able to beat with the B team. If we lose, I don't care. We're all about the league this year.

This is a name that we've heard before. Doesn't mean that I can spell it properly so I won't even attempt it. He'll cost a lot of cash so I reckon there will have to be a few outgoings if we are to launch a bid for him.

Adam Hamill is on his way back to the club after a loan spell at Blackpool. He's an exciting winger who can play left or right so it would be great to see Rafa give him a go here for the second half of the season. We might see him used as an impact sub, the way El Zhar has appeared recently. He may even get a run out against Preston in the cup.

Danny Agger wants his contract sorted. Git it signed Rick.

Dion Fanning in the Irish Indo has written another great piece about Rafa and the job he's done at the club. He's one of the best Irish sports writers. Pity he writes for such a poor paper. Paul Tomkins looks into Rafa rotating his side over Christmas and decides it's not such a bad thing. Maximum points and loads of goals back up his decisions.

Premier league 80% won?

Three and easy would sum up the Bolton game. Robbie continued his form from the Arsenal match and scored two lovely goals, after Riera had opened the scoring. The boss was back in the stands after his operation, to preside over the beating. We're still top of the table at the halfway point, have the second best goal difference and all is rosy in the Anfield garden. How's that for festive cheer?

The team was set up somewhat differently to recent home matches. Javier sat on the bench and Dirk was put up beside Robbie. Riera and Yossi pushed on from the flanks, assisted by Insua, who was outstanding at left back again, and Carragher from the right. Xabi and Stevie were able to pull the strings in the middle. And it it worked like clockwork. I think this has proved that we need to commit the extra attacker against unambitious teams at home. Javier is fantastic but not really need in these games. I'm sure that he'll be back in the team against Newcastle on Sunday.
Will Rafa feel the need to mix it up with two games in 72 hours? In the past he definitely would have. One change that nobody will argue with is seeing Torres take a place on the bench. Rumour has it that he's ready and raring to go. About time, in fairness. We've missed him in all of our draws but I think the decision to leave him until he was right, was the correct decision. Newcastle lost to Wigan in their last match and they're a bit flakey but nowhere near the pushover that they were before Kinnear came in. He's put some backbone and fight into them. Let's hope that we don't see an Owen headline for the wrong reasons on Monday.

Voronin may make his move to Hertha Berlin permanent. Another player on loan has been doing well for his club Olympiakos. Watch Seb Leto score a great goals when he picks the ball up in his own half and runs the length of the pitch before scoring a belter.

Xabi had an interview in the daily mail which you can read here. Johnathon Wilson discusses our tactics and Rafa's manipulation of space, both at Valencia and now at Anfield. He's an interesting writer and his book on tactics is reputed to be a great read.

The Mirror suggest that Celtic have made a bid for Pennant who Madrid want too. I can't see him going anywhere as he can go for free if he stays until the summer. Meanwhile, the daily Mail think that AC Milan are after Dossena.

Does anybody want to win the league?

2-2 at home against Hull isn't good enough. Fortunately, neither was Utd's draw with Spurs, Arsenal's draw with Boro or Chelsea's home draw with West Ham. It seems it's tough at the top for all of the big four this year. So the question remains, who wants to win the league title?

If we had put any sort of decent form together over the last half dozen games, we'd be 7 or more points clear rather than the solitary point we lead the table by now. One is the loneliest number as Amy Mann said. The lads showed considerable hunger and drive to come back from two down in an action packed first half. The captain struck again with two quality goals. But we weren't able to apply the finishing touch despite immense pressure and loads of possession. This has become a recurring theme against inferior opposition at home. Sami did hit the post and the Hull keeper pulled off some great saves but it didn't happen for us.On Sunday we'll be hoping to take a leaf out of Hull's book and win at the Emirates. Arsenal are in indifferent form, but so are we. It didn't stop them beating Utd and Chelsea this season. It would fit in with their current trend to get a poor result v Boro and then beat us. They do have quite a few injuries and their midfield is looking quite mediocre bar Fabregas, so we should have it in us to take all 3 points. But will we? All will be revealed on Sunday.

Rafa has rubbished reports in the S*n which said that our manager wrote off our title chances. Some of the red tops were trying to slate him for saying we couldn't win the league, which he didn't say, and then he was knocked for saying we've a great chance if we're still top after Christmas. The statics back him up as for the last four years, whoever is top after the Christmas period has won the title. Ramon Calderon finishes the Rafa review by saying that Madrid weren't trying to sign him.

Dossena reveals how Rafa has been helping him adapt to the league. He was at fault for McShane's goal on Sat. But he has been playing a hell of a lot better over the last few games. I hope he can regain his confidence and build a career in England. It would be a shame for him and the club if he had to return to Italy as a failure.

Kuyt never feels tired. You can understand that a statement like that is music to Rafa's ears. Terminator and Robocop have nothing on deadly Dirk. I wonder who Rafa would sign given the choice between Berbatov and Kuyt if money were no object?

Xabi is the league's pass master. He's been our player of the season and is making us tick in almost every match. The brain of the team.

Is Agger's agent trying to engineer a move away or just get extra money out of his contract talks? I would give him the money every time. The fact that he's been benched for Sami is slightly worrying. Does this suggest that the contract talks are going badly?

It seems that we're closing the gap on Utd in terms of worldwide fan base. A survey by Barcleys shows that we're level with them on 26% each. Get on.

I'll leave with a quote from the Argentine manager after Istanbul.

"Liverpool showed that miracles exist. They proved that football is the most beautiful sport of them all. After this game, my English team is going to be Liverpool. I came across some of their fans beforehand and they told me they were going to win, but that they would be made to suffer. It's just the way it happened. Liverpool are the best team in the world for what they have done in this Champions League. They deserved the Cup."

Diego Maradona

Robbieless reds rout rovers

LFC are back to winning ways with a 3-1 win away at Blackburn. At half time I was afraid that it was going to be yet another one of those days where we struggled to break down a packed defence. Pepe had kept us in the game with a superb save from Pederson after 30 mins. But in the second half Blackburn came at us a bit more and gaps opened. We exploited them to take our first win in three league matches, a win which keeps us a point clear at the top of the league. "Everybody's chasing Liverpool" as the commentator said yesterday. If we're still top in Jan I'll let myself get excited, for now it's a case of one game at a time.

Xabi opened the scoring after the hour mark with a shot which he passes into the net. Xabi was back to his best after a few mediocre performances. Yossi added the second after beating Warnock on the edge of the area, he shot past Robinson to place the ball inside the far post. Rafa will be annoyed that Santa Cruz was allowed to pull one back with a close range header for them with a few minutes to go. Stevie G put the icing on the cake after being set up by Riera.

Insua made a start and played really well in the absence of the injured Aurelio. He looked at home in the first team and added a lot going forward. He looks a safer bet than Dossena at the this stage. Yossi did well with his goal and could have had another in the first half only for a vital challenge from Warnock. But he is surely a squad player rather than somebody you rely on every week. Babel did alright with a few runs but could have contributed more. Setanta were getting ready to lambaste Rafa for not starting Keane if we didn't win. I'm hoping that Robbie will see this as a warning that nobody is guaranteed a place despite their price tag and step up his end product. It's the final match of the champions league this week and PSV host Liverpool FC knowing that they can't make it through to the last 16. We could do with banging a few goals in to improve our goal difference, which will enable us to finish ahead of Atleti, who face a harder journey to Marseille. The goals haven't really been flowing for us recently so this is a good chance to turn that around with a prize awaiting us if we can. Agger will come back in for Sami as the Finn isn't registered for the Champions league this year. I expect that Keane will be given a start and hopefully will repay that with goals.

It sounds like Gerrard is maturing when it comes to his position on the pitch. He is no longer demanding where he wants to be played. I'm glad to hear it. In the past I thought he was too selfish in trying to dictate where he should be played. That's a decision for Rafa to make, not Gerrard, not Jamie Redknapp, not Andy Gray nor anybody else.

Ince junior helped the youth team to advance to the next round of the FA youth cup by beating Leeds 2-1. It would be great if they could make a run in the competition this year. There are some very highly rated players in their ranks.

Torres has gone to Spain in search for a cure to his hamstring problems. There are mixed reports as to how long he might be out for. One suggests he'll be back in the new year with another saying he could be back for the Christmas programme. While we needs his goals, his long term fitness is more important.

Argentine kid Zuculini won't be making his way to Anfield just yet apparently. English kid Hammill will be coming back in January according to Sky. Maybe Rafa sees him as an impact sub on the left the same way he uses El Zhar on the right at the moment.

Tony Barett in the Echo suggests that Dubai may have dropped their interest in the club as cash for big investments isn't readily available anymore. If this is accurate then we could be in big trouble. The Times has a similar story. There may be trouble ahead.

The FA won't be taking actions against Liverpool over the Michael Shields demonstration. If you want to examine the facts and evidence which is stacked in Michael's favour, I suggest checking out the BBC inside out documentary on him here. Very informative. I'm very happy that the club have taken a stand here and backed one of their own. Unusual to see a premier league club make a decision like that without a financial motive behind it. Lawrence Donegan in the Guardian has a well thought out piece on the subject.

Mission accomplished

I know how to pick them don't I? That was a boring match to chose for my first game at Anfield this year. A 1-0 win assured qualification for the next round but it wasn't a game that will live long in my memory. Nice goal but a terrible performance.

The manager described the second half as scary. No argument. As has happened a few times this year, we should have put them away when we were dominant, and when we didn't get the killer second goal, we sat back and let them back into the game. It didn't help that Xabi and Javier were off form and didn't control the midfield as they usually do. Both players misplaced quite a few passes which is uncharacteristic.

Rafa has a few injury headaches ahead of the West Ham game on Monday. Torres and Aurelio are out for a few weeks. Dossena will come in at left back and will have to improve on his recent performances. Robbie will fill in for El Nino up top. It's going to be a good opportunity to get a run of games and establish himself. I'm hoping that he takes it with both hands.

Benitez is happy that Gerrard didn't react when hit by a lighter from the Marseille fans. Oli Kay in the times looks back at the captains 10 years since he made his debut as a sub against Blackburn.

Rafa says he expects to see more from Babel this season. We all do. He has so much talent that it'll be a crime if he doesn't make it. I think Rafa should give him more starts.

Tony Barrett in the Echo explores the academy and it's recent lack of first class graduates. Everton have had much more success then we have in recent times.

It appears as if Gerrard has taken up one the pastimes of the landed gentry, albeit with a LFC slant. Good ad.

Opportunity cost

I hate to say it, but I think that Rafa missed a trick yesterday. With Chelsea and Utd being held to draws in winnable games, we could have gone two points clear if we beat Fulham. It was a fantastic opportunity, one which is unlikely to come along too often this season. Rafa knows we messed up. I think the decision to start Lucas alongside Mascherano backfired. The service from the pair of them wasn't good enough to feed the strikers. When they did get the ball, they didn't take the chances. I know Xabi played for Spain this week, and may have been tired or carrying a knock, but we really missed his invention, especially with Gerrard out injured.

The boss will have to get the squad over it in time for the Marseille match on Wed. It isn't a formality but it's not a do or die match either. Atleti and LFC are pretty much qualified. It's just a case of who will finish top and get the easier draw in the last 16. Hopefully we can knock a few past Marseille and get revenge for them beating us at Anfield last season. This match is going to be my first trip to the hallowed turf of L4 this season and I'm quite excited about attending a champions league game there.

Xabi's current form is drawing plaudits. Rafa was gushing in his praise for the Basque midfielder after the Bolton game. This is back up with his best form ever in my view.

Rafa and I are of the same mind on ground share. I think this has only re entered the public domain as the Americans are experiencing funding difficulties at the moment. If they are bought out then I'm hoping that will the end of that and construction will begin in earnest. I don't think ground share is an option as both clubs and both sets of fans are against it.

Arbeloa is being linked with Atletico. I've been impressed with him over the last few years even though he has had a few poor matches. Get it sorted and give him a new contract Parry.

It sounds like Voronin would be happy to stay in Germany, if the money is right. I don't think that there will be any tears shed on Merseyside if that comes to pass.

Skrtel has said confirmed that he's happy in England and not looking to move back to Russia. There were claims earlier in the week that he hadn't settled. His recovery from injury seems to be coming along nicely. Rafa is going to have some tough decisions to make when he's fully fit.

Football 365 have an article on Aldo. He was always a favourite of mine growing up as he was Irish and Red. Here he is in action along with the class of 88, from before Sky invented football in 1992.

Dublin double downs Bagies

Robbie's happy. Rafa's happy. The fans are happy after watching this. Back on top of the league and all is rosy in the red half of Merseyside.

Well done Keane lad. It's been a long time coming but two quality strikes from Robert gave us a glimpse of what's to come from him. We all knew that the talent was there and that the goals would follow sooner or later. It was a little bit later than I'd have liked but he had been playing well and setting up goals for others, while not scoring himself. He looked really up for it on Sat, even before he scored. Once the first went in, he got hungry for more. Gerrard fed him with a beautiful ball for the first goal. I would imagine that he was slightly disappointed to be subbed when on two goals but Torres needs game time and we know team comes first for Rafa.

So we're back on top with Chelsea. I had hoped that Blackburn might take something from them but that was always unlikely I suppose. Utd betting beaten by Arsenal was great news. They're 8 points off the top now which is significant, but not insurmountable.

It's Carling cup this week which always gets the pulses racing. Spurs will be up for it to try and maintain the momentum they've built up in the league. I expect we'll see some of the kids on reserves on display so we might be heading for a beating. As is always the case with the domestic cups, to win a bonus but to lose is never a disaster.It appear that Torres and Babel were busy while they were out injured. They've both opened business in Clapham, south London. Fine entrepreneurs.

Alonso is once again being linked with a move, this time Valencia are said to be the club sniffing around. He's been superb this season so I hope that Rafa decides to keep him at Anfield.

Dossena is unhappy with his own form. I do think there is room for improvement there but he has being showing signs of a gradual upturn in recent weeks. The left back spot is up for grabs now if he or Aurelio can put a consistent run of form together.

Rafa thinks Maradona will make the correct choice in giving Mascherano the armband. The legend himself visited Melwood on Fri and all of the players got their photos taken with him. No sign of those snaps anywhere yet.

El Zhar scored a fantastic goal for the reserves in a 2-1 defeat to City this week. Nathan Ecclestone scored a hat trick for the u-18s when they beat Bolton 5-0. Their next game is against City.

Kerrison, the young Brazilian striker, is being linked to us again. I don't know anything much about this kid bar hearing Tim Vickery talking about him on the BBC 5live world football phone in.

Stamford Bridge has fallen down

Rafa is appealing for calm. Well I for one, intend to lose the run of myself. Look at this. It's a sight for sore eyes.
An 86 game unbeaten record at Stamford bridge came crashing down with our 1-0 win. Glorious. It's a pity Jose wasn't still around to see it. But more than that, we layed down a marker that we are going to title contenders as long as we can keep this form up, or at least, recover quickly when our form dips, which it inevitably will at some stage. Can we do it? Maybe. Will we do it? I think that depends on Hicks on Gillett more than anyone. Don't be surprised if they fuck us up by selling players or sacking Rafa at a crucial moment. I'm more worried about that than matters on the pitch destabilising us.

Rob Smyth in the Guardian match report suggests that Boswinga was less inclined to rampage forward due to "the considerable threat of the excellent Albert Riera." Henry Winter in the Telegraph says of Riera "if Bosingwa suffers a recurring nightmare over the next month it will involve a deft Spaniard ghosting past him." He had a great game. But Xabi was man of the match for me. He was superb. THe fact that he scored a deflected goal makes up for a few deflected Lampard and Joe Cole goals that Chelsea have scored against us. I am so happy that he didn't leave for Juve and I hope he goes on to spend many years here. Gerrard had a fine game too, probably his best of the season. He's sometimes accused of not showing it against the other big 4 clubs. No way that could be leveled at him yesterday. John Giles was full of praise for the captain on RTE tv.

The BBC blogger Phil McNulty suggested that a win would suggest that our start to the campaign wasn't another false dawn. So it has proved to be, so far. We're top and three points clear of Chelsea. Utd fell further behind by drawing with the blueshite at Goodison which makes the weekend even sweeter. Rafa says that it's a massive win. It is indeed Rafa. Before this game, Rafa hadn't beaten a top four side away from home in the league. That coupled with the fact that Chelsea haven't lost at home in four years make it something of a red letter day. I'm really happy that we managed to beat both Utd and Chelsea without Torres and Utd without Gerrard too. 6 points from 6 against top 4 opposition so far. This shows the strength of the squad that Rafa has developed. Henry Winter reckons that the gaffa was central to the win. "Liverpool were all heart, lungs and flying feet but the key factor was the mind of Benitez".

John Giles said that we were far better than Chelsea on the day and deserved the victory. I find it hard to argue with him. They created very little of note. "We didn't expect the result, but need to understand that Liverpool are a very good team," Scolari said. "Benítez is intelligent. He knows and I know that we don't have a two-metre centre-forward, so they gave us space, but when we crossed they have players who are very good at winning the ball." So Rafa let them cross, knowing that we could deal with it, and then we could win the ball back and channel it down the middle where Javier, Stevie and Xabi dominated Lampard, Mikel and Deco bar the end of the first half. Clever. Carragher and Agger were rocks at the back. Nothing got past them and Pepe didn't have too much to do.

It was hilarious to see England's Lionheart John Terry shit his pants when he was confronted by Pepe. He was well able to stick the elbow in when Reina had us eye on the ball, but once Pepe squared up to him he ran off to hide behind the ref. Such courage.
As Rafa said, we need to keep it going against Portsmouth on Wed. We slipped up badly against Stoke after beating Utd. Let's not let the same h=thing happen here. I'm hoping they'll be vulnerable with 'Arry gone. But Defoe and Crouch are going to be dangerous. Crouch is going to want to prove a point.

Here is some footage of Atleti and LFC supporters exchanging scarves and embraces at the Calderon on Wednesday night. Good to see. We're making friends all over Europe, as happened when the Barcelona fans visited Anfield last year.

Ryan Babel on the mike in case you've missed it. He had an impressive cameo when he came on against Chelsea. I hope to see him add a few more of those over the next few weeks.

Andy Gray reckons that Rafa could cost us the title. He is a blue nosed bullshitter. What's he saying now? Prick. He must be sick having to praise us.