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.

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.

Tallaght tyro turns up trumps

There'll be a party in the square in Tallaght after that goal. What a way to open your account for your boyhood club? Fantastic instinctive finish, the type Robbie excels at. Good man yourself Rob. I hope that he goes from strength to strength now he's got the monkey off his back by breaking his duck. It's worth noting that he set up Torres on Saturday and El Nino returned the favour with a great cross after a strong run and pass from Kuyt. I think the two of them are learning each others games and a promising partnership looks to be forming. Hopefully Rafa will nurture it to maturity and it'll bear fruit and a bounteous harvest will be reaped by all.

It was Dirk who opened the scoring after 4 minutes. Kuyt has now scored 10 goals in his last 16 Champions league games. Can anybody else in Europe compare with that? Somehow I doubt it. He's proved time and again that he's a must pick in the champions league. Not bad for a player who's a donkey according to Eamonn Dunphy on RTE television. He also called Mascherano a donkey on Wednesday. It's a pity because he used to be a decent football pundit a few years back but now he's just a parody of himself. He was so sure that Liverpool wouldn't win in Istanbul that he promised to retire if we did. Unfortunately, he's not a man of his word.

Gerrard put the icing on the cake with a second half free kick. It was a noteworthy goal for the skipper as it was his 100th. The Times has a feature on 5 of Gerrards best goals out of his ton. Some crackers in there. It's some achievement for a midfielder at the age of 28. Of his 100, 72 have been scored under Rafa as detailed here in the echo. Hopefully he'll go on to score another 100.

It's time to visit Middle Eastlands this Sunday at 3. This will be a test. City are a decent team if a bit unpredictable. We seem to be improving every game at the moment and this is the kind of game that we need to win if we want to challenge this year. Given that Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd all have winnable games, we need to keep up the pressure at the top rather than falling behind and playing catch up like we do most seasons.

Afellay didn't play which is a pity as I would have liked to see him live. He looked good for the Dutch team in his cameo during the Euro's. Rafa is a fan too.

Rafa has revealed that he wants to see more from Babel on a 90 minute basis. He only got a few minutes to display his wares last night. If we qualify for the champions league knock out stages after 4 games, which is possible, then we might see a few starts for Babel.

The "A Liverpool thing" website has a good feature on Lauri Della Valle. The young Finn signed a professional contract this week and is very highly rated within the club.

"Everton won't like that"

Why are the blues so bitter? Given how easy the match was for us, the prematch comments from this chap look fairly stupid now. I can't remember a derby that was so one sided.

Moyes and his negative defensive tactics played right into our hands. Rafa must have been rubbing his hands when he saw the five man midfield with the negative Neville and Fellaini in the centre. Gerrard and Alonso thrived against them even though they were outnumbered. The commentators on BBC 5live said that Everton looked and played like the away team rather than the home one. We utterly dominated possession. Pepe didn't have a save to make all game. Handy number for him.

Two heartening aspects from the match were the combination play from Keane and El Nino. His first goal was a thing of beauty. Keane hit a superb ball from the byline back into the centre and Torres was waiting to volley it home first time to break the deadlock. Great goal. Keane looked very happy with himself and Torres ran straight over to celbrate with him. Robbie knew he was the architect of an artistic move. He also played a crucial role in the second goal with a lovely pass for Dirk to get through on goal. Lucky for us, the tackle from Jagielka only sent it back towards Torres who was waiting to dispatch it for the winner. He scored a third which was incorrectly ruled out by Reily who is a shit ref.

Nice to see little Timmy Cahill get his marching orders too. He likes to act the hard man with brave and courageous tackles from behind. Fairly snide and sly player in my view.

Tony Barrett in the Echo is effusive in his praise of Stevie. "Bossed the midfield in a mature and intelligent display which proved beyond any doubt that he can play with head as well as heart." It was his best display of the season by far according to most observers.

Stevie says that Rafa has improved him as a player. He seems happier now with what position he plays on the pitch, wherever Rafa plays him. Andy Gray and Jamie Redknapp won't be happy to hear that. The Mirror have a picture special featuring everyone of the captain's 99 goals.

Once again there were disgraceful chants and songs from both sets of fans. The days of the friendly derby are well and truly gone. It's become poisonous and vile over the last decade or two. Sad situation.

PSV will be the next team to try to become the first one to beat us this season. I was unimpressed with them when we played them last year. Affaley looks like a good player but I don't remember them having much beyond him. I fully expect us to get the win on Wed night.

It appears that the Academy is getting a new addition. But rather than a Spanish teen, it's Wrexham's head of youth development Steve Cooper. Will this mean the end of Elias or Hamberg who are currently in similar roles?

Could this young Brazilian centre back become the new Sami?

Dirk delivers

We don't like to do it the easy way, do we? That was too close for comfort. I thought that we'd batter them after the first leg where they were great. As it happened we were only marginally better and they were marginally worse. Even though we had almost three quarters of the possession, we didn't do a whole lot with it. Babel did well when he came on and beat the right full to put a far post into Kuyt who stuck it away. That's 9 goals in his last 15 champions league matches. Astounding record considering he was playing on the wing and his poor league record last year. But it was all he did last night as he was terrible. He wasn't the only one. Most of the team was poor bar Pepe and the defence. Arbeloa wasn't great. Gerrard didn't look fit which makes his sense given his groin op today. Honorable mention goes to El Zahr who looked lively when he came on. The ref somehow failed to give him a peno when he was taken down in the box. Between that decision and the pen given against us which was a yard outside the box in the first leg, we didn't have great luck with the officials. But despite all that, we're through. Cheers Dirk.


Our Olympians will return for the Villa match and we'll need them with Gerrard out for 2 weeks with a groin op. Here they are flanking scouse Olympic boxing medal winner David Price. I expect to see Javier slot in beside Xabi for the trip to Villa Park. It's going to be a tough one, despite their shock defeat to Stoke last weekend. O'Neil will have them fired up against his number one Rafa. Young and Agbonlahor can cause us problems with their pace. Carra at right back perhaps?

The Riera deal isn't done yet but I expect it to be completed shortly according to what's knocking around in the media. An initial £6.5m will be followed by £1.5m in add ons depending on appearances and success. This is a lot better deal than the £16m they had been looking for earlier this summer. Everton bid close to £12m which was turned down because the player only had eyes for us and would you blame him? On last nights evidence, maybe.

Gareth Barry to sign a cut price deal next summer perhaps? He's staying at Villa for now but won't discuss a new contract for 12 months, at which point he'll only have a year left on his current deal.

Thanks to Dirk we made it through to the CL draw today. Unfortunately we got a pretty tough draw. We drew arguably the easiest team possible from pot 2 in PSV but 2 of the hardest teams from pot 3 and 4 in Marseille and Atletico Madrid. PSV we've beaten comfortably in the last few seasons and I'd expect us to do so again. Marseille gave us loads of problems last year and beat us at home. We made up for it by dominating them in the Velodrome in the final group match. Atletico Madrid will be difficult. In Sergio Aguero they have one of the most exciting young talents in the game, one who Rafa tried to sign form Independiente. I would imagine that El Nino is glad that he gets to make a homecoming and I'm sure he'll receive a hero's welcome. I reckon it'll be a bittersweet victory for him if we win in the Calderon.

Peter the great

Why don't I take my own advice? I pointed out the fact that Crouch was great value for Champions League top scorer at 33-1 but I failed to put a bet on him. I then successfully predicted the winners of the four quarter final matches but again failed to put a bet on. I'm going to bet the house on everything in future.

As regards the PSV match, there isn't a whole lot to say really. Another goal by Crouch takes his champions league tally to 7 and makes him joint top scorer with Kaka and Morientes. Given that one of these players is already out and the other could soon follow, I think that gives Crouch a great chance. He took his goal well last night and could have had another with a header in the second half. Pennant had another good game, especially in the first half. He's really come on recently and I've changed my mind on his long term prospects at the club. If he was half a yard faster, then he'd be a world beater. Rafa took the oppertunity to rotate as the game died a death and we saw Paletta get a run out. He had some poor games earlier in the season but he's still young and has great examples to learn from in Agger, Sami and Carra.

So it's Chelsea in the next round. The war of words has started already and we can expect to hear a lot of talk from Jose in the next few weeks about Garcias goal in the 2005 semi final. It's a pity that we don't have Garcia fit for this stage of the competition as his ability to pull a goal out of nowhere in europe is invaluable. He is one of the few players in our squad who can do that. Kewell may be back shortly but I don't expect him to be match fit given how long he's been out. It's going to be really tough over the two legs but having them at Anfield for the second leg is a bonus. Hopefully they might get a few injuries in the meantime. I think that we can beat them, but I don't know if we will. I'll go for us to shade it, maybe on away goals. In the other tie I think that the youth and vigour of Utd will overcome a fairly toothless Milan. Don't see where the goals are going to come from for Milan beyond Kaka.

Back to the bread and butter of the lague on Sat with Man City at Eastlands. City are safe enough in 12th place so don't really have a huge amount to play for. We shuold be able to win this but I have a slight fear that our league campeign might peter out somewhat as we concentrate on Europe. I would like us to finish as high up the table as possible and as close to Chelsea/Utd as possible but if we finish third or fourth then it doesn't really matter I suppose.

Dirk delivers

What a difference a sub, or two, makes? It really looked like we were heading for a score draw at Reading. But with five minutes to go, Pennant came in from the right wing and beat the full back on the edge of the box. He delivered a sweet cross with the outside of his right boot which hung in the air long enough for Kuyt to meet it and power his header downwards into the net. It was great play from two of Rafas subs.

It was good to see Dirk score as he's looked a bit tired and short on confidence recently. He has 10 goals in the premiership this season which puts him one behind AJ at Everton and two behind Rooney. It would be great if he could get a few more over the next few games and finish his first English season with 12-14 goals.

Pennant has improved over the last six or seven games and had a great match against Arsenal. He made a telling impact here when he came on. I would like ot see him get a start against PSV so that he could grab a goal or a few assists.

Arbeloa had another great game and capped it with a stunning goal that you would surprised to see coming from a striker. He ran from his own half before exchanging a one two with Crouch. He was then through on goal with only the keeper to beat and he curled a beautiful shot around the goalie, in a manner that Michael Owen was fond of. Arbloa has been really impressive ever since his debut against Barca, where he marked Messi out of the match.

It was great to see Utd lose to Portsmouth at the weekend. It will make for a really interesting title run in now. Chelsea can do it if the win at Stamford bridge and utd lsip up again. But I still think it's more likely that Utd will hold on to their lead and stagger over the finish line, like students after happy hour.

The race for third got a bit more exciting after Arsenal were beaten by West Ham. We're now five points clear but they still have a game in hand. Arsenal have now lost three league games in a row for the first time in years. They play Newcastle today, and I for one, will cheering on the Toon. There is a real chance now that Arsenal could miss out on the champions league next season. I have nothing against them but it might make it easier for us to attract top class signings if we're not competing with them. Have a look here for an Irish Arsenal fans opinions on the "fuckin' excellent" Arse Blog.

It's hard to get too excited about the PSV match on Wed. Given that we're 3-0 up, I can't see Rafa taking too many chances. There is likley to be a lot of rotation and some of the fringe players like Zenden and Robbie will get a start, I would imagine. It might be interesting if some of the kids get a run out.

Crouch is 16-1 with Ladbrookes for top scorer in champs league and might be worth a punt. He was 33-1 before the PSV match. Paddy Power generally have poorer odds than their competitors in my view.
http://www.oddschecker.com/football/champions-league/champions-league/champions-league/top-goalscorer

PSV pulverised

That was much easier than I expected. I never imagined that PSV were a great team but I expected Koeman to "park the bus" in front of the goal. As it happened, Gerrard scored from a finnan cross early enough meaning that PSV had to try and chase the game. This left them stretched and exposed at the back. Riise added the second after half time with a stunning left foot strike from distance. I've been critical of him in the past but when he hits them like that, it's easy to forget his failings. Crouch got the third on the hour mark with a powerful header. Again it was a Steve Finnan cross from the right hand side that set him up. It's a pity that Stan Stanton doesn't pay attention to this and plays him at left back. Finnan is the best full back in the premiership in my view. Crouch seems to have improved his heading since coming back from his broken nose. Maybe Rafa should have broken it for him earlier in the season.

The injury to Fabio Aurelio was the one major downside of the match. He'll be out for the rest of the season after his Achilles injury. I feel sorry for the lad as he was starting to establish himself in the team and had a superb game on Saturday against Arsenal.

I think that we now have an unassailable lead going into the second leg next Wed. PSV aren't very good and will have to chase the game at Anfield without Alex and Kone. I would imagine that Rafa will rotate a few squad members as the tie is over. In the other quarter finals, I still think that we'll see Man Ure, Chelsea and Milan advance to the Semis.

A trip to the Madjeski stadium to play Reading is next up on Sat. They are safe in their league position now so I don't know if they will have a huge ammount to play for. I would like to see us do them over to try and keep the pressure up on Arsenal in fourth. They still have a game in hand, for now.

It sounds like the meetings between Rafa and the American owners went well last weekend. There was some speculation during the week that Rafa would be handed a "£40m warchest" for transfers in the summer. I don't know where the journos get these figures from but I would imagine that many are plucked from thin air. If we are to spend big on a striker, I don't think it will be on Samuel Eto'o. He says that he is happy in Barca, and who could blame him?

Crouch Classic

I have seen the light. On Saturday I was privilaged to witness the power and the glory that was the Peter Crouch show at Anfield. The Sunday Times said that he "played like Marco Van Bastin" and they weren't far off. As the losing manager said:

"He was superb," said Wenger. "Everything he did was intelligent. He has the size of a basketball player but the skill of a real football player. If you had put a real basketball player in, Kolo and Gallas would have had no problem."

It was a classic hat trick in the classic sense. A right foot near post strike in the first half, a towering heading, and a superb individual effort for the winner which was the pick of the bunch. Everything he did turned to gold and he could have had a couple more. In form like this he is unstoppable. Hopefully he'll be able to keep it up for the rest of the Premiership and the Champions league.

He wasn't the only star performer though. Mascherano, Pennant and Aurelio all had very good matches. Gonzalez put in some quality crosses. I think that the 4231 formation gave Pennant and Gonzalez room and liscence to move forward and support Crouch. I'm hopeing that the two of them can push on and make up for poor starts to the season.

PSV tomorrow night won't be a walkover. Koeman is no mug and has a couple of impressive results against English teams with Benfica and now PSV. We tend not to do as well when we're billed as favourites. But the fact that Alex and Kone are out injured should help. An away goal or two would make it a lot easier at Anfield.

Ron Deco rang me on Thursday afternoon to say that he had two tickets for me which was amazing. It was great to know that they were sorted and we weren't going over not knowing if we were going to get into Anfield or not. Our tickets were for the main stand, on the left side, near the Anfield road end, where the Away fans sit. This meant that we got to hear all of the banter between the fans. It was all good natured and quite entertaining when chants were composed and exchanged. My Dad is an Arsneal fan but I think he was happy that Liverpool won, for me. The last time we went to a game Chelsea hammered us 4-1 at Anfield. Needless to say, I wasn't on great form after that. This time I was much happier after the game. Here's a picture that I took with my phone. The resolution isn't great but you can get an idea of what a privilage it is to sit at Anfield.

Quarter final delight

All things considered PSV is about as good as it could have got for us in the quarter final draw. I wanted to avoid an English team and Valencia if possible so I was happy with the way that it panned out. We were able to beat them 2-0 on agg over the two group matches and I don't see any reason why it should be any different now. Koeman is a competent, if unadventurous coach. He did manage Benfica who put both us and Utd out last season so we must be wary. It won't be a walkover but we have every chance of going through. The fact that Alex and Kone will probably be out makes the task easier. If we do get through it may be Chelsea in the semi. It would be a fitting end to Joses english career if he were to come full circle and get knocked out at the same stage by us in the Champions League. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Of the other matches, I am really looking forward to Roma v Man Ure. I feel that Roma are capable of doing it given their attacking talent. But they also have a soft underbelly and a lack of discipline. So we can expect them to win in Roma but self destruct in Old Toilet with Totti getting himself sent off and Utd going through. Chelsea v Valencia is a tough one to call. It'll probably be Chelsea but it's not beyond Valencia by any means. I fancy Milan to beat Bayern and go through there.

So to Villa park and Aston Villa in the league this Sunday. Villa are down in 13th and don't really have much to play for. I would always expect an O'Neil team to be competent and steady, if unspectacular. Probably won't be a blinding match but we should have enough in our locker to get a 1-0. We beat them 3-1 at home and I would be thrilled if we could manage something similar this time around.

Finally, I'm going over to Anfield on the 31st of March for the Arsenal match and don't have tickets as of yet. If anyone has two spares I would be eternally grateful.