LIVERPOOL NEWS

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

Liverpool's Champions League hero Jerzy Dudek made his comeback from injury on Tuesday night as the reserves won 2-0 at Wigan.

The Polish keeper has not played a competitive game for the Reds since his astonishing display in Istanbul after picking up an elbow injury in pre-season training, but he played the full 90 minutes against the Latics.

Zak Whitbread and highly-rated Wales striker Ramon Calliste got the goals in a fine display from Liverpool's young guns.

Dudek now faces a fight on his hands to win his place back at both club and international level, with Jose Reina and Scott Carson blocking his path at Anfield and Celtic star Artur Boruc in possession of the Poland number one shirt.

~~debbydo~~ · Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 19958 Location: Hertfordshire

i think we have a liverpool thread

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

European champions Liverpool take on Anderlecht in Belgium tonight looking to maintain their slender advantage over Champions League Group G rivals Chelsea, who entertain Real Betis at Stamford Bridge.

Rafael Benitez's men are top of the group on goals scored by virtue of their 2-1 win at Betis and will be looking to consolidate their position by going on the attack against an Anderlecht side which has lost of both of its matches to date.

Benitez, who is to deploy his favoured counter-attacking tactics at the Constant Vanden Stock stadium tonight, said: "They need to win, and it means they will have to attack, to play 'high' up the pitch. There will be spaces for us so we could use pace up front against them...

"The win over Blackburn gives us confidence. We can know we can play with three defenders and two strikers and although we could see problems to work on there were also positive things."

Chelsea, however, can gain the psychological advantage of taking top spot if they can achieve a better result than Liverpool against a Betis side which has claimed just two victories all season.

Despite the Spaniards' record, Mourinho is refusing to underestimate tonight's visitors to Stamford Bridge, telling reporters: "You cannot win every game or play well in every game. We are mentally very prepared to face the other side of the coin."

And the 42-year-old Portuguese added: "They have a lot of good, experienced players playing in a league like the Spanish one. They are dangerous because they can qualify....

"If they win one more game against us or Liverpool, it gives them nine points - a big chance to qualify. Liverpool and Chelsea are in real trouble because Real Betis are there."

Meanwhile, in Group H Rangers have enlisted the help of Old Firm rivals Celtic as they bid to overcome the potential banana skin provided by Artmedia Bratislava at Ibrox tonight.

Gordon Strachan's men's European campaign was brought to an abrupt halt before the domestic season in Scotland had even kicked off when they suffered a 5-0 drubbing in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier at the hands of the Slovakian champions.

And McLeish is desperate that his Gers, who have made a stuttering start to the Scottish Premier League campaign, do not suffer a similar European embarrassment and so has consulted Bhoys boss and former Scotland and Aberdeen team-mate Strachan.

The Rangers manager said: "We have already spoken about the game over the past few weeks and I have plenty information on Artmedia. This is a massive game for the club. We have a massive opportunity to do something in Eruope."

The men from Ibrox are three points behind group leaders Inter Milan but are level on three points with second-paced Artmedia Bratislava.

~~debbydo~~ · Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 19958 Location: Hertfordshire

poor liverpool .. :smt012

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

Starting To Doubt Rafa...
Rafa looked visibly shaken when interviewed after the Palace game - it’s the first time I’ve ever seen the man in such a state.

It actually disappointed me because for the first time since his arrival he looked like he was bullsh*tting. It's one thing defending the players by saying they worked hard (about 12 times) but when asked "are you disappointed to be out of this competition?", the answer is of course, "Yes". Not "we look to the next game" - save that for the excuse-makers, the likes of Allardyce and Souness.

In that one moment the shadow of doubt has been cast in mine and probably a lot of other Liverpool fans' minds about his managerial ability.

Liverpool can't buy a goal without Gerrard playing - what price Mickey Owen now? He looks cheap at twice the price.

Someone said to me about the Owen debacle "you can never go back to an old girlfriend - it’s just not the same", to which I now say "yeah, but what if the choice was that you’d never make love again..."

A disturbing sentiment I grant you, but possibly apt in this case.
Dan Tracey

...Just when I didn't think it can get any worse, Liverpool go and put in a downright awful performance like they did against Palace. It was an embarrassment (not quite as bad a Burnley last season). The first half seemed okay, we were creating chances and it was a mixture of good goalkeeping by Speroni and bad luck that kept out Morientes and Kewell efforts. Add to that some defensive howlers, and you have the recipe for disaster. Palace played okay, but they were there to be ripped apart, in the first half at least.

When we went 2-1 down, I thought okay, loads of time left, we should get back into this. But I was wrong, they didn't even create much or look like doing so. Some of these players aren't fit to wear the shirt. And Rafa's substitutions didn't help either - what was he doing? Taking off Morientes and Kewell who looked the only two capable of creating something, but leaving Crouch on, who was having a shocker. Okay, Nando and Kewell are just returning from injury, but both looked a hell of a lot more of a threat than Crouch, and their replacements Garcia and Pongolle. What really was the point of replacing Warnock with Traore? Some of Rafa's substitutions at times are simply baffling.

Okay it was 'only the Carling Cup' but it is a trophy, and a route into Europe, and at the moment I wouldn't bank on reaching Europe through a Premiership position.

Rafa needs to get a settled side, he should play his best XI and stick to it. But the problem is, he doesn't know what his best team is yet. Chelsea don't change often, unless forced to, but Rafa makes between 4-6 changes every week. This doesn't help. He should think, right, Cisse and Morientes are my best forwards, Kewell my best on the left, Alonso, Gerrard and Sissoko in central midfield, and then stick with them for 5-6 games. That and he seriously needs to shake up the squad, give them a kick up the ass and make it clear changes will be made in January if they do not improve.

Something needs to be done though.
Kevin Lowden

...It's almost as bad as the Houllier era watching Liverpool play against an English team these days. Palace looked like more believable European champions. Liverpool have no structure, no ideas, no strategy, no leadership on the pitch and to be honest, a team made up of about two good, six average and three rubbish players.

And from this day on, I'm including Crouch in the latter bracket. He's a disaster. He does know that he's a striker doesn't he? Meanwhile, the one striker that we have who is actually scoring goals regularly in domestic competition, in Europe and internationally is constantly shunted to the bench to make way for that lanky streak of p**s.

I agree with Benitez though - Morientes will start scoring. He looked fitter than he has in ages last night, and much as it pains me to say, Kewell looked good too before he was replaced, but Crouch? Stop trying to justify the seven million quid, stick him on the bench, and only look to him for the last ten minutes if we're losing.
Austin Lysaght

...When a team is desperate for results like Liverpool, Rafa should be picking his best 11 players to obtain victories and boost confidence amongst the team. There are too many talented players under-performing and too many players not match fit playing together.

Liverpool need to start grafting results out and that doesn't mean playing the likes of Sissoko, who can run all day, foul all day but can't complete a five-yard pass if he tried all day.
Albert Cheung

No, Fair Play To Rafa...
Liverpool have a rubbish squad, with some truly lamentable players. We have recently proved that we have a first 11 capable of beating the best in Europe (with a bit of luck), but we have no strength in depth

Rafa knows this, which is why he cannot criticise his players after the Palace game - they gave their all but simply weren't good enough. It is beyond disappointing that 100% effort from European champions was not enough to beat Championship opponents, but look at the different players on the pitch in the European Cup final.

Therefore Rafa is right not to criticise his (second string) players' effort - after the abject display at Fulham he got a much better and more energetic performance. The only question mark against Rafa's judgement is up front - what makes him favour the goal-shy Crouch and Morientes over the hungry Cisse? Our problem is a lack of goals, and Cisse is burning to score.

It can only be that Rafa likes good headers of the ball, so other people can play off them. However The Pool do not have enough quality players to make the most of such tactics just yet. Rafa needs to find a way of scoring with what we've got at the moment, and that appears to be playing Cisse. Why can't he see that?

We are at least a few seasons away from a squad that can challenge in all competitions. Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise that we can use our best players more regularly in the Premiership and Europe, now that we have one less cup to worry about.

Let's not forget that their keeper was in inspired form and won man of the match! It's not as if we were outplayed. Other positives are that Rafa does not yet have his ideal squad, hopefully he will do before too long - then we can start to impress.

I would be more concerned if I was a Scum fan, with a very expensive yet chronically under-performing squad entirely of the red-faced manager's choosing. They have no excuse for their mediocrity.
Morgan Goford

Weighing Up Rafa...
Why Rafa shouldn't (and won't) be sacked:

- He's barely into the second year of a five-year project.
- He has a proven track record of improving players and winning titles.
- He is restructuring the whole playing side of the club.
- Has had comparatively less money to spend than many of his predecessors.
- Istanbul 25.05.05 showed what he and an ordinary team are capable of, and has bought him plenty of time.
- Liverpool's board are the most loyal and supportive in the game.

Ominous signs:

- Not learning from mistakes.
- Positive mindset but not reflected in negative style of play.
- Commitment to 4-5-1 formation verging on the fanatical.
- Not dominating the opposition.
- Disturbing similarity to Houllier (obsession with stats, counter-attacking football, he even looks like him).

Solution:

- Decide his best team and play them as often as possible, especially domestically.
- This must include Cisse up front as he can actually score goals, Luis Garcia behind, and Gerrard on the right.
- Buy a centre-half and right-winger in January.
- Convince Josemi and Traore that their talents lie in the world of comedy, and retire from football.
Daniel Beckett, Gateacre

Reds Are Just Rubbish
Surely now everyone can stop pretending that they genuinely believe Liverpool to be a top-six or even top-four side. Without Stevie G and Carragher, they would struggle to even get in the top half. They have been really, really crap for about three years or so now.

The respect given to them these days is based purely on previous success (I know they won the Champions League but so did Porto, no one would say they are one of the great teams though).

So much for the Rafa-lution.
John Raftery, London

Some Sympathy For Crouch...
I am feeling a bit sorry for Peter Crouch at the moment. A few weeks ago I was at Anfield for the Blackburn game and watched mystified as Liverpool tried to service their seven-foot striker with Steve Finnan on one wing and Bolo Zenden on the other. Of course, the guy didn't get a sniff and was substituted. Shortly afterwards, Benitez introduced John-Arne Riise on the left and Luis Garcia on the right, whereupon crosses began fizzing in and chances were created, most of which unfortunately fell to 'Bird Flu' Morientes.

Last night we had a similar scenario - Crouch in the middle looking for service from Kewell on one wing and Potter on the other, neither of whom can beat a man and most of whose crosses failed to clear the first defender.

I'll be the first to admit that Crouch has missed a few chances and is lacking a bit of confidence but that's hardly surprising with such paucity of service. It seems absolutely ludicrous to me for Benitez to splash out £7m on the division's tallest striker and then not play to his strengths.
Andy Neilson

...I really am disgusted at the treatment of Peter Crouch these days. It's nothing short of a disgrace. Constantly booed any time he went near the ball and it doesn't surprise me that it was his worst game for Liverpool. When your confidence is shot after being booed by your home nation's fans (for no reason) the last thing you want is to go play an away match when you're booed constantly (for no reason) by oposition fans. All we need now is for Liverpool fans to boo him (for no reason) and he'll be found swing from an especially high tree.

I really do feel for the lad. The commentators were trying to hide it by saying it was because he was sent off against Palace last season. My Arse!!! Unless of course he was sent of for headbutting or breaking someone's leg...which I don't think he was.

Hopefully another Premiership team will sign a dwarf in January so the brain donor boo-boys can turn their attentions to someone else.
Vinnie Brownlow (Liverpool and Crouch Fan), Glasgow

The Loan Ranger...
Odd that the most concerning point about Tuesday's Carling Cup action has garnered hardly a word in the press. I am, of course, talking about Justin Hoyte's inclusion in the Sunderland team in the tie against Arsenal (from whom he is on loan), and the subsequent penalty he conceded after fouling Arsenal team-mate Arturo Lupoli in the penalty area.

Now, I'm not saying for one moment that Hoyte deliberately conceded the penalty to ensure his employers' safe passage to round four, but the possibility will always remain as long as loaned players are allowed to play against their own clubs.

Currently, it is the prerogative of the clubs involved to decide whether or not to allow their loanees to play (as Chelsea are preventing Smertin from playing for Charlton against them).

However, the possibilty of corruption is so high that there should be a new law to rule this sort of thing out.

If I was a Sunderland fan today, I would be very upset indeed.
Ryan Frost, Essex Gooner

Selling Out A Hero...
It breaks my heart to read Adam Taylor's e-mail yesterday linking United's decline with Beckham's departure. The reason being - the thing all United fans have known uncomfortably for the past two years - he's right. Fergie got the biggest managerial decisions of his life wrong because of his ego - and United fans will spend the next decade (at the very least) paying for them.

If, like Cher, I could turn back time - sell Keane to Celtic, make the peace with Beckham (at pretty much any cost) and keep Veron (really in that last "we've got our trophy back" (now Chelsea's I'm afraid) Championship season he was as good as Beckham at getting results. Remember that 'made in South America' last-kick winner against Chelsea that sent us on our way? Have you seen a better pass than Veron's to Forlan from a United player in the last five years?

Keane made it perfectly clear he couldn't stand Veron - body language alone made it look like Roy was lining up with the Paras from the Londonderry massacre every Saturday afternoon instead of the most gifted playmaker United have had in their ranks since Norman Whiteside stopped thinking he was a striker.

I grew up in Aberdeen. Fergie has been my Messiah since 1979 when he came north from Paisley to turn a promising Aberdeen side recovering from Ally McLeod's departure to oversee the 1978 World Cup fiasco and Billy McNeill's whirlwind few months before decamping to Parkhead into the best team in Europe. Leighton, McLeish, Miller, Cooper, Simpson, Strachan, Weir, Hewitt, McGhee and Eric Black - best team I've ever seen pound for pound. Played (and kicked the s*** out of) everybody else off the park - week after after week after week.

Glossing over the first three years at United - the "Christ this is a big club" years of Ralph Milne, Jim Leighton and Mal Donaghy, Fergie pre-2002 is my hero and my role model, the absolute model of relentless hunger for success and excellence in whatever profession you have chosen.

But come the Treble, come Gibraltar Rock, come being able to take the p*** with a magistrate and get off a speeding ticket by saying you needed a s*** and to hell with the law - came the onset of what happens to everybody - you start to believe all that stuff you say 'don't listen to'.

Here are the facts - man for man the goalkeeper and back four and the front three square up to any club in Europe.

But Fergie's Achilles heel is his slavish devotion to the men made in his own image, our crappy midfield - a past his sell-by date Keane vs Makelele, a quite-clearly clapped out Scholes vs Lampard (who I remember killing us in a FA Cup Tie at Old Trafford when we still had a chequebook - when Fergie would buy Forlan off a video and his brother's say-so) and the incomprehensible devotion to that stick insect Darren Fletcher.

Until those three leave the club (and I suspect it will take Fergie going to make that trio disappear) United will never win a trophy again.

There - I've sold my hero out. But - he deserves it for p***ing away a lifelong dynasty for his ego and the ego of Roy Keane.
Duncan Gray

Why The Fletcher Bashing?
This Darren Fletcher bashing amazes me sometimes. He is a 21-year-old very promising player who has already established himself in his national side. His 73% of tackles won according to the Opta Stats puts him joint top with Alan Smith (proving all those people right who say he can't tackle). I think his contribution has been a lot greater than the likes of Scholes this season and he has also performed well for Scotland scoring a screamer of a goal.

The new Roy Keane - of course not, but a fine midfield player. I'm sure many Premiership managers would love to have him in their side.
Michael Clifford

Why Hearts Should Give Gregory The Job
I see that John Gregory has thrown his hat into the ring for the Hearts job. Please, please give him the job - it could be one of the great experiments of modern-day football. How to turn a team who are championship contenders with great team spirit after 11 games into relegation candidates in complete disarray after 22!
Alistair King

~~debbydo~~ · Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 19958 Location: Hertfordshire

ermm perhaps i should go and train the boys .. [smilie=love sick.gif] [smilie=hot over you.gif]

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

Well, I wonder what u will do with them.

~~debbydo~~ · Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 19958 Location: Hertfordshire

i will use my secret formula

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

Yeah right.

No one can turn them round lol

~~debbydo~~ · Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 19958 Location: Hertfordshire

They are doing well at the moment.

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

They won at the weekend hun.

~~debbydo~~ · Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 19958 Location: Hertfordshire

Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :-D
i hope thye do it more often :smt021

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

Who are they playing at the weekend?

lovablemum · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 4068 Location: Northants

Player name: Steven Gerrard
Date of birth: 30 May, 1980
Nationality: English
Position: Midfielder
Height: 1.85

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Overall career totals
Apps As sub Goals Yellow Red
Total (Club) 303 (28) 51 35 4
League 210 (20) 29 27 4
FA Cup 13 (2) 1 2 0
League Cup 16 (1) 5 0 0
European/Others 64 (5) 16 6 0

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

International career totals
Apps As sub Goals Yellow Red
England 39 (1) 6 4 0

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Current club totals
Apps As sub Goals Yellow Red
Total (Club) 303 (28) 51 35 4
League 210 (20) 29 27 4
FA Cup 13 (2) 1 2 0
League Cup 16 (1) 5 0 0
European/Others 64 (5) 16 6 0

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This season
Apps As sub Goals Yellow Red
Total (Club) 20 (3) 10 1 0
League 10 (0) 2 1 0
FA Cup 0 (0) 0 0 0
League Cup 1 (0) 1 0 0
European/Others 9 (3) 7 0 0

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Liverpool
Apps As sub Goals Yellow Red
Total (Club) 20 (3) 10 1 0
League 10 (0) 2 1 0
FA Cup 0 (0) 0 0 0
League Cup 1 (0) 1 0 0
European/Others 9 (3) 7 0 0

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This season international
Apps As sub Goals Yellow Red
England 4 (0) 0 0 0

~~debbydo~~ · Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 19958 Location: Hertfordshire

wow my hero ...