Predictions for Sunday

There is no doubt the game on Sunday is a close one to call.
Mark Lawrenson has predicted a 1-1 draw on the bbc website.
Skysports.com have also gone for a 1-1 with Charlie Nicholas expecting another 0-0 draw.
I think we will win the game 2-1. We were the better team on Wednesday and I'm sure we can again be dominant on Sunday. However this time I think we will play a more attacking game and with a bit of luck we can score a couple. Although I'm expecting Chelsea to score as well causing a tense finish.
Please post your thoughts and predictions.

Gerrard ready for Chelsea

Stevie G is predicting a win against Chelsea following our promising performance on Wednesday. He had this to say to Liverpool's official website:

"Everyone is saying that they are invincible and unbeatable, and that no-one was going to take any points off them but we have proved to ourselves that the gap is not that big," Gerrard told Liverpoolfc.tv in an exclusive interview ahead of the big game. "I think the first half was pretty even and that we cancelled each other out a bit but we made all the running in the second half. Overall I'd say we controlled the game and were the team that looked like they wanted to win it more.
"Nevertheless the result on Wednesday gives us is a massive belief that we can match them again and take the game to them. It also instils a confidence in us that we can claim all three points. We know we can get at Chelsea and that we can beat them."

"It is a hugely important game, that's for sure, but everytime we play at home is a 'must win' for Liverpool. Three points are a necessity for us whoever we are playing and we'll be approaching it like we do any other."

I am also confident about the game ahead. I think it will be more open than the game on Wednesday as I am expecting us to play a bit further up the pitch and closer to Peter Crouch.
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Rafa unperturbed by points difference

Rafa doesn't care about the points gap so far this season. As usual he is only concerned about the next game:
"I don't think about gaps, I just want to win the next game. If that is possible then we will move closer.
"But if you start thinking about gaps in September, it is wrong. There are a lot of points to play for and we do not need to think about Chelsea or other teams, only how to improve ourselves in each game."
"I have a lot of confidence this season in the team. Last season we had a very bad time, we finished fifth and we were three points behind Everton.
"But if you compare the games we have played this season with the same matches last season, we have taken more points from games against Manchester United, Birmingham and Middlesbrough.
"That gives us confidence that we are improving. If we keep going along these lines, improving on like for like games, then we will finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League. That is an improvement."
He added: "I am not bothered about people saying we are better in Europe than the Premiership. They talked of us not scoring in the league and when we do and also concede goals like at Birmingham last week, they talk of the errors. But I know we have improved."
Rafa is learning everyday about how the Premiership works. It's only a matter of time until our performances in the league match our European exploits.
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Joaquin bid possible in January

Reports this morning have stated that Rafa is planning a £12 million swoop for Joaquin in the January transfer window. Joaquin has a buy out clause of £40 million but Betis may well sell for around £16 million.
Paco Herrera invited the player's agent Gonzalo Arguiano to Anfield for Wednesday night's Champions League clash with Chelsea.
We are still crying out for some top quality on the right and Joaquin would fit the bill nicely.
He would be cup tied for Europe this season having played for Betis in the Champions League.
Our other option is Simao after Rick Parry hinted we are still tracking him, "He is a great player and we need more like him," Parry told O Jogo.
"I did not see the Manchester United - Benfica game, but I heard about his great goal and excellent performance.
"Simao is confirming that he is a great player."
"We have still not definitively decided, but it is an interesting option for us.
"We need a player with his characteristics.
"I don't know if Benfica are willing to let him go, but we can talk."
Ideally every effort will be made in January to capture Joaquin and if we can't get him then move for Simao.
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Lampard impressed with Reds

Frank Lampard knows he was in a difficult game last night and has backed us to rise up the league table:

"They are a top team and I think they have got a couple of games in hand and can push up the league, he says. "They have got quality players in their team so it is up to them to win those games in hand.
"They are always enjoyable battles with Steven Gerrard. They have got a good midfield, very strong, similar to us and it is always a great battle at Anfield. When a team pushes Crouch forward they make it very hard for you to play and credit to them."

Lampard was impressed with Peter Crouch's contribution and is backing him to become a useful member of the England squad:

"It was a tough game," he conceded. "They put a lot of balls into Crouch which made it hard.
"Every team gives you different problems and at Liverpool it was Crouch. First and foremost he is good at what he does, holding the ball up and trying to bring people into the game.
"We dealt with it and will go away and look at it. Everybody brings up different things and Liverpool brought that threat. We will see what lessons there are to learn.
"I could have told you before that Crouch is one of the best at what he does. He poses a different kind of threat to what you encounter elsewhere and does it very well. You know when he is playing he is going to get hit with a lot of long balls and you have to deal with it.
"He has got great feet and not only does he flick the ball on but he is a good player with his feet. He will be pushing for an England place for sure. He is fresh and different. He played well last night and is someone we can use."

Lampard was very quiet last night due to the strength of our midfield. Hopefully he will be just as quiet on Sunday.

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Momo & Nando are back

Rafa has confirmed today that Momo Sissoko and Fernando Morientes are back in full training and fit for action against Chlesea on Sunday. Rafa doesn't like playing Didi twice in one week so I think Momo will take his place. We can see now what Rafa means when he says we have a better squad. Our central midfield area is particularly impressive in strength and depth.

Carra blasts hypocritical Mourinho

Carra has reminded Maureen that his team are the long ball merchants and not Liverpool:

"We watched videos of Chelsea before the game and when we saw their game against Bayern Munich from last season ' s Champions League, I couldn't remember seeing so many long balls in a match since I started watching football in the 1980s.
"No-one could accuse us of playing too direct last night. Our midfielders got the better of them. When you look at the quality they've got in Lampard, Essien and Makelele, I thought Xabi, Didi and Steven had the upper hand.
"I know it's an easy accusation to make against a side when you've a six foot seven striker, but we showed a lot of good quality all over the pitch.
"We've now got an another option in Peter Crouch, but I'm not having it that we played it all long to him. We didn't.
Carragher said: "We watched videos of Chelsea before the game and when we saw their game against Bayern Munich from last season ' s Champions League, I couldn't remember seeing so many long balls in a match since I started watching football in the 1980s.
"No-one could accuse us of playing too direct last night. Our midfielders got the better of them. When you look at the quality they've got in Lampard, Essien and Makelele, I thought Xabi, Didi and Steven had the upper hand.
"I know it's an easy accusation to make against a side when you've a six foot seven striker, but we showed a lot of good quality all over the pitch.
"We've now got an another option in Peter Crouch, but I'm not having it that we played it all long to him. We didn't."We'll take a lot of confidence from the game because we feel we've played really well and could have won it," said Carragher.
"They've not scored against us in their last three games and the goals they did get last season were all from set pieces.
"I've got a lot of respect for their defenders and they are very hard to score against, but we know we've got nothing to fear."
I think Carra is now winning on points in his feud with Mourinho.
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Rafa happy with performance

Rafa was pleased with our football yesterday and thought we were the better side:

"I think we were the better side, we worked hard and played very well. We won in the air and on the ground and as a manager I am happy with my team and I am sure our supporters are too."
Benitez said: "There could have been a penalty, maybe two. This is the difference. It was a clear penalty, the player said it was clear and I watched on TV and it was obvious.
"I am happy with my team, but people do not remember such things. We are playing to beat a big team and a detail like that is critical.
"They were time-wasting in the final minutes and that shows they have a lot of respect for us as a team.
"Crouch was maybe man of the match. He kept the ball and we need to work closer to him to give us more options."

I'm glad Rafa has hinted above that we may play further up the pitch to prevent Crouch being so isolated.
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Carra livid over penalty decision

Carra spoke after the game stating that once again we have been denied a clear cut penalty by the Ref in an encounter against Chelsea.
"It was a definite penalty - every time we play them we should get a penalty but they are never given," said Carragher "If we had got a penalty, there's a 70% chance we would have scored and won the game - but we'll try not to cry about it too much." Carragher admits it was a tight and tense affair between the two favourites to qualify from Group G. "Maybe we know each other too well - there weren't many chances at either end and it will probably be the same at Stamford Bridge," he added. "We've probably played our two toughest back to back games now in Betis away and Chelsea at home so to have four points is good. You probably want to take seven from nine at home and then pick up something away."
Hopefully the decisions will start evening themselves out on Sunday.
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Riise needs to fix up

John Arne Riise has be told to buck up his ideas if he wishes to keep representing his Country. His season has yet to get going after finding himself second choice for Liverpool following the arrival of Zenden and the form of Steve Warnock. His International boss, Hreide, had this to say:
"I am not happy with Riise at all.
"He was really great last season but was very weak in our defeat against Scotland and has been for Liverpool so far this season as well.
"I have spoken to John about this and am counting on him to sort himself out and show us an improvement.
"He definitely needs to pull himself together."
I am very surprised that Riise is struggling to get into the team this season. He was one of our best players last season and should be one of the first names on the team sheet.
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Denied by the Ref against Chelsea Again

Our performance yesterday proved what we already knew, we can match Chelsea. Particularly in the second half we were dominant with our midfield controlling the game and Didi on outstanding form. Our defence looked very solid with Carragher superb as usual. Yet again though it appeared that the officials were under the influence of Abramovich's millions as there were three occasions when penalties could have been awarded. Hyypia looked set for a tap in until he was taken down by Drogba. Replays showed that Drogba was nowhere near the ball. Luis Garcia was ready to open the scoring until he was tugged back by Ferreira although the contact would have been difficult for the ref to see. Most blatant of all though was the handball of Gallas. His hand was outstretched for no reason and the ball clearly struck it. How the ref didn't give a penalty in front of the Kop was a mystery.

Our attacking play is improving although we again struggled to create clear chances, though it must be remembered we were playing against an excellent defence. Most of our efforts were from long range and Petr Cech was not properly tested. The final third is certainly the most difficult area to succeed on the football field. Once our play improves in this area we will be almost unstoppable. Again Cisse suffered by playing on the right of midfield. He looks uneasy playing in this role and offered little to the team. Rafa needs to play him upfront or his morale will be affected.
Overall though the game yesterday should give us the confidence boost required to play even better on Sunday when a victory is vital.

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Time to kickstart our season

The game tonight offers a perfect opportunity to show why we are the European Champions and get our season up and running. A victory will state our intent to retain our trophy and show the win last year was not a one off.
If we start the game at breakneck speed propelled by the Anfield roar we can knock Chelsea off their efficient stride. Hopefully we can grab a goal or two and then slow the game down using the composure and passing ability of Alonso. In the second half at Stamford Bridge last season we were in command for the last twenty minutes with Gerrard and Alonso bossing the midfield area there is nothing to suggest this can't be repeated.
I'm hoping we will see better signs of the team being able to offer support to Peter Crouch. He has been far too isolated in attack in our previous games. There is no point lumping the ball up there for him to win in the air if there is no one to move onto his flick ons. It's unlikely to happen but hopefully Rafa will select Cisse to play alongside him.
Defensively I think Rafa will opt for Traore as he prefers his experience in the European games. Pep Reina will need to have recovered from his mistake at the weekend as he is likely to be test from crosses particulary if Drogba plays. It will be interesting to see if Rafa selects Josemi or Finnan. I'm sure he favours his countryman as Finnan did enough to make the spot his own last season.
I'm prediciting a very tight game and another 1-0 victory. Hopefully the goal will be less controversial this time to keep maureen quiet.
Please post your comments and predictions.

Gerrard hoping for backing of 12th man

Gerrard is looking forward to the atmosphere tonight and hoping it will have the same galvanising effect as last season:
"The atmosphere will be special, as it always is when we play a Champions League game at Anfield," said Gerrard. "We know the fans will be behind us and everyone knows what a massive difference they made last season, not just against Chelsea, but in all the rounds. "The fans love the Champions League as much as the players and they'll want to play their part again. "As far as I'm concerned, what happened in the competition last season is history. It's gone. "You have to look to the future when you're in this game and not live off what you've just done before. We all want to win more trophies.
Stevie is ready to put an end to Chelsea's unbeaten run this season. "We know if we can get a good result tonight it puts a marker down for the rest of the season. We want to be the first team to beat Chelsea this season and then show we mean business in Europe and the Premiership. "We know what the rewards are if you can win a game like this. We were all sitting there in the dressing rooms last season and we were on cloud nine. That's a feeling we want again, but you don't get it by looking back. You only get it by getting similar results when you play big matches. "This is another opportunity for us to experience another big win in Europe. All the lads are ready for this game. We're not thinking about the fact we've got to face them twice in a week. I don't think you can afford to do that. "We want to concentrate all our efforts on the first game and then we'll think about the Premiership. All of us have got to be at our best going into tonight's match and I'm sure we will be."
Judging by the comments from our players over the last few days they have been well drilled by Rafa to do the business and move on from last season.
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Carra expects Cisse to be a big hit

Cisse's Liverpool career has been stop start so far and he has failed to set the world alight. However Carra is convinced Djib will start producing great performances for us soon:
"Djibril is going to be a big hit, it is just a matter of time," insisted Carragher.
"With his two goals, he won the European Super Cup alone and showed all his determination.
"That is the same determination he showed to recover from his awful injury.
"When it happened, he told us he would play again before the end of the season. Frankly, it made us laugh but he is so strong in his state of mind and he did it."
Carra has great footballing knowledge so he knows a good player when he sees one. I'm hoping Rafa will give Djib the backing and playing time he needs to develop into the player who was once tipped to become better then Henry.
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Harry is back

Harry Kewell has made his return with a substitute appearance for our reserves. He played the last 30 minutes just behind the lone striker. Maybe this is the position Rafa has earmarked him for this season.
There is no doubt that if Kewell has made a full recovery he will be a great asset for us. He has been playing with injuries for the last 18 months, that have been affecting his performances, so hopefully the troubles will now be behind him.
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Garcia: "Gerrard will win more trophies at Liverpool"

Luis Garcia has entered the war of words between Mourinho and Liverpool. He has applauded Gerrard's decision to stay and predicted more success for Liverpool than Chelsea in terms of winning trophies:

"Mourinho did say Stevie would win more trophies at Chelsea than he would at Liverpool but I don't agree."I think this season will be fantastic for Liverpool and I can see us winning MORE trophies than Chelsea." The two sides lock horns at Anfield tonight in their Euro Group G clash. And Garcia added: "We can show Mourinho he shouldn't have spoken so lightly about us. "It's strange to think Gerrard could have been wearing a Chelsea shirt this season - I can't imagine that ever happening now. "I think he will remain a Red for many years. It was great news for us when Steven decided to continue his Liverpool career and now that all the speculation has ended, I see this as his home for ever." While Gerrard and Frank Lampard are poised for a Titanic midfield battle tonight, the clash between Peter Crouch and John Terry could be just as explosive. Garcia is tipping the Kop's beanpole hitman to come out on top and added: "Crouch versus Terry will be very interesting indeed. "Crouch is a very good striker and Terry is a top-class defender. But if I had to bet who comes out on top it will be Crouch. "I like the way he plays because he has a very clear mind. But he is also a fighter who wins a lot of balls for us in attack. "Not only is he strong in the air, he also has fantastic control and a powerful shot. "He hasn't surprised me with his skills, though. We knew all about his qualities when he played for Southampton last season. "I believe Peter can cause a lot of damage to the Chelsea defence in this match."

Hopefully Luis is right and we can look forward to a Shankly/Paisley type dynasty with Rafa in charge.
Please discuss.

Sami ready to defeat Chelsea again

Sami predicts we will be able to exploit Chelsea's weaknesses. He has stated we will have the required belief to beat them after last years success:

"Chelsea are a good team but with some weaknesses and we have to take advantage of them. "Last May, no-one expected us to win the final but no team is invincible. Chelsea will have eleven on the pitch, the same as us. "I know they are a very good team but you always have to have confidence you can win - and beating them last season gives us plenty of confidence for this game. "They're not from another planet. If you have a good team it's not always enough." Sami is delighted that Stevie will be lining up in the red of Liverpool and not the blue of Chelsea. "I am very glad that Steven Gerrard decided to stay," he added. "He is our captain and has been our main player. He was very good last season and has continued his good form this season. He is very important to us. "With Steven, it is his determination that shines. He is a Liverpool lad and he is willing to do anything for the club."

Sami and Carra will need to produce the same type of dogged defensive perfomance as last year to ensure we are victorious.

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Mourinho can't let it go

Jose Mourinho is still unable to forget Chelsea's defeat in the Semi Final last season:
Mourinho said: "We cannot prove we are the best team in Europe, nobody can do that. Because many times the Champions League winner is not the best team in Europe. I was a Champions League winner and I keep saying the same thing."
When asked if he thought Liverpool were the best team in Europe last season, Mourinho replied: "No. Last season, the team which played the most beautiful football in the Champions League was Barcelona. They played fantastic football but we beat them so we must deserve credit for that. But Barcelona was a team that played better football.
"Liverpool has a lot of credit because of what they did. No doubts about that, especially what they did in the final. It was great. They also beat Chelsea without scoring a goal but they beat Chelsea."
"We are still winning 3-1. So I do not think the game is a question of revenge. But if you are persistent and want to talk about the same thing all the time, let's go for revenge. We are beating them 3-1.
"We beat them twice in the Premiership, we beat them in the Carling Cup final and drew with them in the Champions League semi-final and they beat us in the semi-final, so it is 3-1 for us.
Mourinho still fails to remember the incident that led to our goal last season. If the ball hadn't crossed the line we would have been given a penalty and Cech would have been sent off.
"They didn't score in the semi-final against us but I accept they beat us. They played in the final and we stayed at home, so of course I accept it.
"I was upset at that time but not any more. They beat us but they didn't score. I will say that for all my life but it doesn't mean I am sad. There are certain highlights in your career that you never forget and I won't forget the goal nobody saw.
"In five matches, we beat them three times, they beat us once and we drew once. The game in Anfield where everybody says they beat us was, I think, a zero-zero draw.
"I read somewhere that Liverpool know how to beat us but again I say it is 3-1 to us, so they also know how to lose."
"The difference between the two matches is that tomorrow both teams are in a very good situation," he explained. "But on Sunday it is a competition where we are in a very good situation and they are not.
"So, tomorrow, if somebody loses it is not a drama because there is still four matches to achieve nine points. But if they lose on Sunday, I think it is (the) finish for them."
It may be 3-1 to them in games at present but we know that our victory was the most significant. We also have a chance to make it 3-3 by Sunday evening and send issue a statement to the Premiership and Europe that we mean business.
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Rafa: "Chelsea gap not that big"

Rafa has stated that the gap in the league between us and Chelsea is not a true reflection of the difference between the teams:
"I don't believe the gap between Chelsea and us is as big as the Premiership table shows," insisted Benitez today.
"We have played fewer games than everyone else and we have shown we are improving. We're also going to be closer to Arsenal and Manchester United. It's true we need to improve more, but we've shown we can beat the top teams.
"A lot of people are talking about the games we've drawn, but last year we lost those games. I'd prefer to think positively because our results show we are stronger. We must have confidence in ourselves.
"Chelsea have won all their league games so far, but the gap between us in points does not reflect the difference in the teams because we have played less games.
"We beat them last season and we're confident we can do so again. I'm preparing this game in the knowledge they're a better side than last year, but we are better, too."I'm not thinking about the last game," he said.
"It's different because of the group situation. Both sides know if they lose it's not the end of their competition. "We always want to win, but we must also recognise the quality of the opponent and the situation of the group."
There is no doubt that Chelsea have an unfair advantage with their unlimited riches. But Rafa likes a challenge and he is the man to mastermind our ascent up the Premiership and beyond Chelsea.

How are our new signings performing?

After six weeks there has now been enough time to realistically assess the start our new players have made.

Bolo Zenden

It appears that Bolo will be nothing more than a squad player. He seems to have lost some pace and is now more suited to playing in central midfield after excelling there for Middlesborough last season. The problem is we already are well endowed in the central midfield area. The return of Harry Kewell is likely to further curtail his chances. As Rafa signed him on a free his purchase cannot be questioned.

Pep Reina

Initially Pep made a confident start and looked very solid. However he has recently looked very dodgy when it comes to dealing with crosses and corners. He also made a costly error against Birmingham. He is very good in one on one situations and is an accomplished shot stopper. The jury is still out on Reina. Hopefully he can bounce back from his mistake quickly unlike Dudek who used to suffer for a few games after he made mistakes.

Momo Sissoko

As a twenty year old coming to a foreign country his early performances have been exceptional. He is very aggressive with telescopic legs and amazing stamina. He must be a nightmare for opposing players. Momo has also shown good skills on the ball and a willingless to make attacking runs and be unafraid to shoot from distance. Definitely the pick of Rafa's summer sigings.

Peter Crouch

The signing of Crouch was greeted with dissaproval by a significant proportion of our supporters. He has made a promising start and shown exactly why Rafa has purchased him. The alternative options he offers are invaluable and one of the Real Betis defenders described him as unplayable. I am sure he would have bagged his first goal already if Rafa had used more attacking tactics.

Please leave your comments on our new signings.

Is Joaquin on his way to the Reds?

According to Spanish newspaper AS, Liverpool assistant manager Paco Herrera, has invited Real Betis winger Joaquin's agent Gonzalo Arguiñano to the Liverpool vs Chelsea game tomorrow night. This is a very interesting development as Joaquin would be a dream signing to play on our right. It is believed he would cost around £ 18 million. The paper goes on to say that we would need to raise funds to sign him by selling Cisse.

It is a difficult call to make but if Cisse's departure would mean the arrival of Joaquin then so be it. Although with our recent success and a few recent sales of players we should have the money to spend without having to sell.
I don't think former suitors Chelsea would rival us for the signing as they have recently spent £ 20 million plus on Wright-Phillips.

Please post your comments.

Crespo unable to banish final memories

Hernan Crespo is unable put the Champions league final behind him. Crespo would have been the hero having scored two goals for Milan but for our miraculous recovery:

"I want to forget the final against Liverpool! But it's impossible," said Crespo. "I have tried so much to wipe it out of my memory but nothing works. "It still makes me crazy. I scored two goals in the final of the Champions League - but it was not enough. "Every time I see the TV now, I see Steven Gerrard with the trophy, I'm still angry. It's like a knife. "Afterwards, I could not sleep well because there were always moments from the game playing in my head again and again.'' "My wife kept telling me to forget it but when you score two goals in such a game and the team is leading by three, you have a right to think you will lift the trophy," added Crespo. "I think the only way to forget that final is to win it this season with Chelsea. "I am here to win - to win all of the prizes. "With respect to Liverpool, it must have been destiny. They passed through the semi-final without scoring - because it was not a goal against Chelsea - and with Milan in the final it was just a case of six crazy minutes. "If you play like that for six minutes in training you never get three goals."

I'm sure our supporters will be doing their best to remind Crespo about our victory last season.
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Nando predicts Chelsea downfall

Moro has backed Rafa to repeat his tactical success over Chelsea. He was cup-tied last season and has been injured recently but should be fit to play now. He had this to say regarding the Chelsea and the Champions League group:

"We've got them sussed. If I was a betting man I'd tip us and Real Betis to go through - and not Chelsea."
But he added: "We were accused of being lucky in the semi-final.
"Yet Chelsea did not score in either leg and that tells you a lot about the good work done by Rafa Benitez. It was a perfectly-planned match.
"We have a great chance of beating them again - not because we are European champions but because we know how to play Chelsea."

We all hope you are right Nando.
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Stevie ready to use home advantage

Stevie Gerrard is looking forward to the Chelsea game stating that a win will enable us to take charge of the group:
"The game against Chelsea is massive," said Gerrard. "You don't have to get any of the lads up for that. We know how important the two games are but we've got to think about the European match first.
"If we can get a good result in that one, it will put us in the driving seat in the group.
"I will relish the challenge. Big games like this are what you want to play in. They don't come bigger than Liverpool versus Chelsea in the Champions League.
"I think the pressure is on us to get a result. You've got to take points at home. We've got to put in a good performance or we will get turned over."
Gerrard was on fine form against Birmingham. Another similar performance will do nicely. It will also show Chelsea exactly what they missed out on following Gerrard's transfer U turn in the summer.
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Garcia will continue to please (and frustrate)

Luis is ready to display his European form in the Premiership. Some of his recent performances have resulted in frustrated groans from the crowd as he has been wasteful in possession. There is no doubt that Garcia likes to entertain and some of his tricks don't come off as planned. Garcia has stated that he always gives 100% and the backing of Rafa gives him the required confidence:

"It's normal if you don't play well the supporters will speak and say so," says Garcia. "Our supporters know when we play a good game and when we don't. I understand that.
"Sometimes the fans will love me and sing my name, sometimes they will hate me. That's just how it is.
"I'm not bothered by my form so early in the season because in every year you will have good and bad games. You have to try your best in every match, which is what I always do. Sometimes not everything I do works.
"I'm not bothered if supporters say I've had a bad game, because the manager knows what I can do for the team and he gives me a lot of confidence.
"It's true I want to be considered a player who does well in Europe and the Premiership and I'm always trying to show my best in every game. That's the same whether it's Champions League, Premiership or FA Cup."
We must always accentuate the positives and Garcia is a flair player with the creativity required to unlock the most stubborn of defences. It is only a matter of time before he also becomes a top Premiership player.

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Djib ready to sacrifice himself for team's benefit

It looks like Djib may have to settle for a place on the right as Rafa favours the 4-5-1 formation with Peter Crouch upfront. Fortunately Djib is showing a great attitude, as usual, and will do what is requested:
"I love to play. But the boss can't put 20 players on the pitch so someone has to be on the bench and at the moment it's me. I accept it. I'm not frustrated.
"It is not my position on the right, but if I have to play there for the team I'll do it.
"All our strikers are different. Peter [Crouch] and Nando (Fernando Morientes) are good in the air, Flo likes to run with the ball and the good thing for me is I offer something unique because of my speed.
"The boss hasn't said why he isn't choosing me, but we do talk and have the normal relationship of a player and coach."
Personally I would love to see Djib feature alongside Crouch up front. The pace with Crouch's height would pose opposition defences lots of problems.
Please discuss.

Xabi knows Chelsea can be beaten

Xabi is hopeful of a repeat of last season’s European exploits. It will be nice for Xabi to play 90 minutes against Chelsea at Anfield. Last season he only managed half an hour in the League game before coming off with a broken ankle and was cruelly suspended for the home Champions league Semi Final after being booked when Gudjohnsen conned the ref:

He told Liverpoolfc.tv, "It will be a massive step for us and a great boost if we can beat Chelsea. There will still be another four games to play before the end of the group stages, but I think it'll be easier for us if we've got six points. "We had a brilliant result against a very good Real Betis team in the first match and now we're looking to build on that. Already we have a three point lead over Betis and that's important for us because they are tough opposition. Now we're looking for another victory. "We have a lot of respect for Chelsea but we are not afraid of them and I know we can beat them. They are going very well this season but no side is unbeatable. "We know all about them and we know it will be a tough game but we're confident. We want to have another good run in the Champions League this season and repeat what we achieved last year. It will be difficult but we're going to take things step by step and game by game and then see how far we can go."
This will be an ideal chance for Alonso & Gerrard to prove they are the best midfield pairing in Europe.
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Rafa ready to defeat Chelsea again

Rafa is confident of another victory against Chelsea. He has warned though that to get a positive result we will have to be at our very best both in terms of effort and performance:

He said: "We have beaten them before and we can beat them again. They are a better team than they were last year but we're a better team as well. "To beat them you need every player to be playing at one hundred per cent and you can't afford to make any mistakes because they have good players who can punish you. You need to work hard and concentrate for the full game. "They are not easy to play against because they work very hard in defence and always have good players going forward, but they can be beaten. We are confident, that's for sure." "We did a good job in our first match against Real Betis and it was important for us to win that game. "Now we have a home match and again we will be looking for three points. It's too early to talk about the shape of the group yet. We're just concentrating on winning the game on Wednesday and then looking forward to the next match."

It is vital we perform well as this will also give us a confidence boost for the following game against Chelsea in the league.

Gerrard feeling good

Just before another couple of massive games Gerrard has declared he his fully fit and raring to go:
The Liverpool midfielder said: "I suffered in the two England games because I wasn't 100% fit.
"My performances against Wales and Northern Ireland were not good enough. Now I am 100% - I can feel the sharpness coming back. I feel good."
England's defeat at the hands of Northern Ireland means that Sven-Goran Eriksson's side need to beat Austria and Poland in their final two qualifiers in October if they are to finish top of Group Six and automatically qualify for the 2006 finals in Germany.
"I think it was just the timing of the two England games," added Gerrard. "If they had come two or three weeks later and I could have got some training under my belt you would have seen a better Steven Gerrard.
"Hopefully, I'll get the chance to play in the games coming up with Austria and Poland at Old Trafford and will be 100% fit."
Gerrard was outstanding against Birmingham yesterday and we should expect some more fantastic perfomances from him now he is in top condition.

We are Abel to challenge Chelsea

Abel Xavier has said that we can make a title challenge this season. The eccentric Portuguese remembers the dressing room atmosphere from his time at Anfield when we reached the quarter finals of the Champions League and finished 2nd in the Premiership:
"I think Liverpool can challenge Chelsea, even this season. Steven Gerrard said Liverpool were European champions but nobody gave them credit for that. "People think the fight is just between Manchester United and Arsenal to challenge Chelsea. But I believe Liverpool are involved in that fight as well. I was not surprised that Liverpool won the European title. "I knew when they faced Chelsea in the semis that they would get to the final because of the fighting spirit in the dressing room, that was one of those precious things I have experienced in my career."

Let's hope he's right.

Reina warning ahead of Chelsea games

Pep Reina has admitted that he fears Chelsea's attacking options:

"Everything about Chelsea's attack worries me.
"You have to concentrate twice as hard from the moment you leave the dressing room until the moment you get back.
"They play well along the flanks and have Frank Lampard's shots from distance as a goal option or two excellent headers of the ball in Drogba and Crespo. We must be on our toes constantly

He added: "We're doing OK but it's true we need more goals. We have to start finding the net more often to start dreaming about the big things. Thankfully Morientes is well on the road to recovery and given our goal-scoring issue that could be very important."
Reina also explained that victory in the Premiership could prove more significant in the long term. He said: "Europe is important as we must show we're champions. But the League is possibly more so because we're off the pace and they have started extremely well."

Pep will have to put his display against Birmingham behind him. He has already proved to be a very competent shot stopper but his ability to deal with crosses and corners needs to be improved.

Please post your comments.

Rafa: "Stevie is already a legend"

Rafa has explained why Gerrard made the right decision, to stay, in the summer:
"I don't think it was a case for Steven Gerrard of whether he would win more trophies by staying with Liverpool or by moving to Chelsea," said Benitez.
"The important thing for him was to feel special - and he is something special to everyone at this club.
"Steven was right to stay with Liverpool because he believes that he will win trophies with the club and be successful. It is an exciting time to be here.
"But it's more than that. He has stayed with people who are his own. He has stayed at a stadium that is special to him, with a great atmosphere and the best fans in the world.
"I believe that Steven Gerrard will become a legend at this club. In fact, he is already a legend here.
"Would that have happened at Chelsea? I don't know because he would just have been looked upon by them as one more good player in a squad of good players.
"At Liverpool he is our captain, our key man. He had an opportunity to go to Chelsea and he said 'No'. The people here told him 'You are our man, you are more important to us than five or 10 new players.'
"He is already a legend here, but if he now goes on to win many more trophies, then the fans of this club will talk about Gerrard for years and years after he has finished playing."

It is interesting to hear Rafa speak this way about a player even if it is Stevie Gerrard. Rafa normally places the emphasis on the team preferring not to single out key players. Maybe this is why the problem developed between the Captain and Gaffer last year.

Please post your views.

Djib ready to show his best form

Djib has reiterated his desire to stay at Liverpool. He had this to say in an interview with The Times:

“I just want to say to people that I don’t want to leave,” says Cisse. “I want to be at Liverpool for a long time. I like the fans. I love the club. I don’t want to go anywhere and I don’t think I will. The speculation about me leaving never came from me and I don’t think it came from the club. I’ve had to be strong, but sometimes it’s made me sad.”

Cisse has received the backing of supporters with 89% wanting him to stay at Anfield:

“That touched me,” he says. Fans were displeased at what seemed to be petulant gestures at teammates in a recent game, but most were willing to put this down to angst: if you were young, abroad, your career had almost been ended and now you had to fight to prove yourself, how would you feel?
“England has not seen the best of me. I really want to show people what I can do,” he says. “Because of the love they’ve given me I want to give something back to supporters and score a lot of goals.”

After Cisse's promising cameo yesterday it is only a matter of time before he is given another start. Hopefully this time he can take his chance to justify the repuatation he arrived with.

Please post comments.

Rafa unhappy with dropped points

Rafa feels that given the chances we had the game should have been won:
"We had good chances to win the game and in the end it is two points lost for us. In the first half we controlled the game. We created some opportunities and went ahead.
"We lost the advantage in the space of five minutes but after the penalty we had two or three real good chances.
He was able to pick up a few positives though:
"To draw away from home is not the best result but it is not the worst. Last season we conceded a lot of goals away from home and this year the team is more consistent.
"We need to improve small details but then you always think that. We are certainly creating more chances than last season."
Rafa was happy with Luis Garcia's goalscoring sub appearance.
"He is clever. He has good intelligence and movement. He can play in three different positions and he did well today."

Birmingham game key to season's aspirations

After an average start to the season the game tomorrow at St Andrews is likely to give a clear indication of what can be expected this season. Last season Birmingham did the double over us. These are the type of teams we need to be beating home and away to move up to the next level. Can we produce a convincing away performance to banish the memory of some of our wretched away Premiership perfomances last season?

A lot will depend on how Rafa approaches the game. It has been clear for all to see this season that we need to take a few extra chances and make things happen. Rafa's selection tomorrow will be key to how the game will pan out. Will he opt for two upfront? Djib must be straining at the leash to play and make an impact. He had been in good goalscoring form but was given little chance by Rafa to continue, having started the last couple from the bench. It would have been nice to see Cisse in tandem with Crouch last week against Manu. Crouch was, as expected, winning lots of aerial balls and no one was within around 30 yards to move onto his flick ons.

There is no doubt we have the quality, and also now the confidence, to attack the majority of teams from the first whistle. Does Rafa see things the same way or will he continue with a more cagey counterattacking game? Tomorrow we should find out.

Please make comments.

Rafa likes his lone striker formations

Rafa has staunchly defended our tactics. He says that these tactics have proved fruitful in the past and there is no reason why they won't work in the future. Rafa has also pointed out that more strikers doesn't necessarily mean more goals:
"I know we need improvement in attack, but we are better in defence. If you want to build a strong team you must always start at the back," insists Benitez. "The quality of the players is the most important thing. You must know what you have and work with it. "The formation depends on the players you have and who you're playing. We play 4-2-3-1 a lot. People say it's 4-5-1 when you don't have the ball. "Chelsea play similar, but for them it becomes 4-3-3 when they have the ball and attack. But the system isn't that important. The players' movement is what makes it work. "You don't score a lot of goals just by playing a lot of strikers. What you need is a lot of players who are capable of getting into the box. "In the Champions League, Chelsea used Robert Huth as a striker in the last 10 minutes. They had four players as strikers at the end. Did that mean they scored goals? No. They still couldn't score. "Tell me, how do Chelsea win their matches? They control the game in defence first and then they have good forwards to build attacks. They win most games 1-0 or 2-0. United and Arsenal do the same. They defend properly first and don't allow their opponent many opportunities. That's what we're trying to achieve. "We have the defensive part better now, but for sure we must improve more in attack. It can take time to get the balance right but at this moment we are heading the right way. I know we can beat anyone. "Manchester United have conceded only once this season but when they came to Anfieldthey were afraid of what we could do to them. They paid us a lot of respect. "We know we need to win more games, but the first thing you must do is control the game inorder to make chances." Much has been said and written this week about Liverpool's failure to win more matches this season - but the boss has heard it all before. "In my first season in charge of Valencia we went 13 games without losing a match. There were seven draws in those games. Everyone spoke about the number of games we drew and how the team needed to win," he said. "At the end of the season, we were league champions."

In my opinion it will take approximately 90 points to win the league this season as Chelsea are so adept at winning games. We have already dropped 6 points leaving very little margin for error. We need to go on a run of victories very soon if we are to have any chance. In 2004 when Rafa was at Valencia 73 points was enough to win the league allowing him to fail to win 15 games and still win the Primera division.

Please post your comments.

Djimi ready to regain first team spot

Djimi was injured early in pre-season and Steve Warnock has deputised well enough to make the spot his own. However Djimi is happy to accept that we have a strong squad and will battle for his place as he explained on Liverpoolfc.tv:

"It was a terrible pre-season for me because I picked up the thigh injury just one week after we came back. That's two years in a row now I've missed pre-season and it was very disappointing. "I've worked as hard as I can to come back as quickly as possible and I'm pleased to be fit again now. I just need more games to improve my match fitness and my confidence. "It's going to be hard to get into the team though because we now have two or three good players for every position and that's good for the manager. "At left back there's me, Stevie Warnock and John Arne Riise. It's the same all over the field as well. All we can do is work hard and see who the manager chooses for each game."
"But I think we need to win this weekend otherwise we could be a long way behind the top three. "We've had a couple of good draws away from home but we need to start winning games now. If we can win some matches away then teams could start becoming a bit scared about playing Liverpool. It's not enough justto pick up points at home if you want to do well in the league. "I'm sure we'll be better at Birmingham this year. We have a stronger team and the new players understand our style of play better. It will be a tough game but we have to be confident." Traore is confident Liverpool will be successful in the future under Rafa Benitez and he's just delighted he's still around to play a part in it having signed a new deal in the summer. "We can be successful in the future," he said. "The main target is to win the league. Some players here have won a lot of trophies and the only thing missing is the league. "It was a boost to sign the new contract. During the summer I was wondering what I was going to do next season, but the manager told me he wanted to keep me for longer and I was pleased to hear that. "My target is to play more games than last season and to perform well in the team. I'm happy here, I signed a new contract so the club has confidence in me. "I'm 25 years old and I've been here since I was 19. I've done a lot of things with Liverpool and I feel this is my club now."
Personally I think it is time now for Djimi to feature as a centreback. He has more confidence than previously and his pace at the back will allow us to play higher up the pitch.
Please discuss.

Forget Chelsea We're concentrating on the League

Rafa is keeping to his prinicipals of focussing only on the next game. He had this to say on Liverpoolfc.tv:
"We are not thinking about Chelsea and the only concern is getting three points at Birmingham. "We know Birmingham have lost their three home games so far but they are a good team and it is not an easy place to go and get a result. We are training well, confident and I think we will start scoring goals soon. "We have bad memories of our visit to Birmingham last season when we lost 2-0 but now we have a better team and a stronger squad this time."
I think the team selection will give us an indication on how seriously the Chelsea game is being taken. Rafa always likes to use the old adage of taking things game by game but I'm sure he is really looking at the bigger picture.
Please post your comments.

Mixed injury news ahead of Birmingham game

Unfortunately Momo Sissoko has been ruled out of the game tomorrow with a muscle injury. It's only a minor injury though so he should be OK for the Chelsea game.
On a more positive note Nando is back in training and Rafa will decide later today whether he is ready to feature or not.

Sven makes Crouch World Cup hint

Sven has praised Peter Crouch and intimated that the alternative options he offers may well stand him in good stead for a place in the world cup squad."Peter Crouch signed for Liverpool and that was a very big step for him, but he has shown he was ready for it," said the England manager. "He started well, then was injured but has done well again since coming back into the team. "He certainly gives something completely different for a manager.

If Crouch can repeat his goalscoring form of last season he will definitely be in the world cup squad and everyone who criticised he signing will look very silly.

Please make your views known.

Tony Le T loving loan spell

Antony Le Tallec has said he will be happy to stay at Sunderland if he doesn't make it an Anfield. He has already notched a couple of goals for the Black Cats including the winner in their league cup tie:
"The team do not have 100 percent confidence at the moment," said the French youngster. "But that is to be expected as we have only got one point.
"But Mick McCarthy makes it a lot easier because he keeps smiling. If he was going around with a scowl that wouldn't be good for us.
"The spirit is still fine. We are a young team who are always learning and I still believe we can stay in the Premier League.
"I certainly have no regrets about coming on loan to Sunderland because I needed to be playing regularly and that was difficult at Liverpool."
Le Tallec expects to return to Anfield next summer, but admits he could remain in Sunderland if he is deemed surplus to requirements on Merseyside.
"At the moment I plan to go back there and try again," he added. "By then, hopefully, Sunderland will still be in the Premier League and I will have played my part in keeping them there.
"Perhaps if there is no future for me at Liverpool, I might stay here."
I think that once Le Tallec has a run of games in the Premiership and gets some confidence he will start showing why there was so much hype that preceeded his arrival. I'm sure Rafa is aware of what he could potentially achieve and showed his faith in the yougster by selecting him against Juventus last season in the Champions League.
Please post your comments.

Rafa on our lack of firepower

Rafa has said the onus is on our frontmen to allow our most creative players to thrive:
"If you think about the players we have who are most capable of providing the final ball or an assist, it's Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and Luis," insisted Benitez.
"We need players with different qualities who are capable of doing different things with the ball. We need to accept that, sometimes, in trying to be creative, Luis will lose the ball.
"He knows he needs to understand where he can do his best work and I think he's doing this.
"Luis scored 13 goals for us last season and now he's improving the physical side to his game. I know he can do well playing as a second striker behind Crouch, especially when we have more options in attack."
"In England, the style of football is different to Europe," added the Anfield boss.
"In Europe, Luis can play with more protection. Every contact ends with a free kick, but in England more challenges are allowed.
"But Luis is a clever player who can find a lot of space. I have no doubt he will play well this season because he did so last year.
"The problem for players like Luis and Xabi at the moment is there are fewer options in attack so they can't always pass the ball the way they like. This will get better.
I think that Rafa is still experimenting with our formations whilst he adapts to the Premiership. There is no doubt that Rafa has mastered tactics in Europe. I believe we should look to control every game now we have such great midfield options. No more sitting back away from home.
Please post comments

Carra hopeful of title challenge

Carra has told Sky Sports News that he is adamant that our team will become good enough to win the title in the next few seasons. He has admitted that the draw against Man U can not be seen as a good result due to Chelsea's succession of Premiership victories:
"Our next aim is the Premiership title and I am sure this season and the coming seasons we'll get more quality into the squad.
"I am sure that's what the manager will be looking to do, starting in January and start challenging the top three to try and win the Premiership title.
"It is something on the list that the players at the club desperately want.
"It is going to be difficult, we are up against some great sides in The Premiership.
"Look at the start Chelsea have made already, it is putting pressure on ourselves, Arsenal and Manchester United and we now feel even if we draw a game it's two points dropped rather than a point gained.
"It is tough to catch them, they've set the bar very high and now you can't afford to be losing more than two or three games so it is up to us to keep this unbeaten run going as long as we can."
Carra is unperturbed by Rafa being mentioned as a potential next manager for Madrid stating that it is unsurprising given the success he has achieved in his relatively short managerial career:
"I don't think it's a bad thing him getting linked there, it just shows that you've got a good manager,".
"What you would probably call the most successful club side in world football if they want your manager it shows you've got a good manager.
"He doesn't have to say anything. We are all sure he's dedicated to Liverpool.
"He's signed a four or five-year contract and has only just started. I'm sure he wants to be here for a few more years yet and win a few more trophies."
Please post comments.

Rafa expecting goals soon

Rafa is convinced our goalscoring problems will be behind us soon. Fortunately this has not been too costly as our defence has been superb. Rafa had this to say to Liverpoolfc.tv about the situation:

"We are analysing the games to see why we aren't scoring goals. We scored 25 times in pre-season and so that's why I'm confident it's only a matter of time before we start scoring in the league. "We are working hard with the midfielders and the strikers trying to improve our goalscoring. We played good football and scored lots of goals in the friendly matches before the season started and so there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to do it in the Premiership as well. "I am happy with the situation as far as the defence is concerned - but I'd be much happier if we scored goals at the other end as well. It's something we are working on." Rafa knows that we will need to improve on our performances against teams like Birmingham if we have title aspirations. "We have bad memories from games with Birmingham last season," he added. "They won both games against us and showed they are a good side. "We know it will be a physical game and the players will be ready for it. I am sure we'll be much better than we were in this game last year. "Our squad is stronger and we're more difficult to beat. If we keep concentrating as well as we have been then teams will find it very hard to score against us. We just need to find a way of scoring goals at the other end."

I think the lack of goals has partly been caused by our new striking options adapting to our teams style of play and vice versa. I also think that Rafa squad rotation system and lack of continuity in his selections do not help matter.

Please let me know what you think.

Crouch ready to beat Chelsea again

Peter Crouch is looking forward to the Champions League encounter against Chelsea in a match he describes as the biggest of his career:

"It will be the biggest game of my career, no doubt, Chelsea are the team to beat at the moment," Crouch told the Daily Mirror. "There are a lot of teams who have tried and failed already against them this year and last year and we all know that a lot of supporters of other clubs want to see them lose. "But we're a big enough club with good players, we showed last year that we can beat them and I think we're stronger than we were because the manager has been able to bring in his players. "Chelsea have spent a lot of money, as they do. "They're obviously going to improve, but we think we've improved as well."

Crouch has looked like a very useful outlet for us and will no doubt pose the Chelsea defence lots of problems.

Please post your views.

Nando ready to prove his doubters wrong

Fernando Morientes in the first to admit he has not been please with his start at Liverpool. He is convinced it is only a matter of time until he is banging the goals in regularly in the Premiership. He had this to say on Liverpoolfc.tv:
"I have not scored as many goals yet as I would have liked but I'm sure that will change," he said. "Last season was strange because of the Champions League and the fact that I couldn't play in the team. I would be in for the league games at the weekend and then out of the team in midweek because I was cup tied. It was difficult to get into a rhythm. "I also took longer than expected to adapt to the physical demands of the Premier League. You just don't get any time on the ball at all before someone is on top of you and snapping at your heels. "It is very different to the way I have played the game before in my career, but I must say I am now adapting to it better and I am really enjoying the challenge. "I don't think I have ever dodged a challenge anywhere in my career and I will not be doing it here at Liverpool. I believe I have a lot to offer this club. I haven't played to my full level as often as I would have liked but it is coming."
We all know Rafa will give Nando every chance to prove himself. If he can reproduce the form of a couple of years ago he will become a major asset and take the Premiership by storm.
Please post your comments.

Mellor set to return to training

Perhaps Neil Mellor may be the man to solve our scoring problems. He notched 5 goals in 11 starts last season including the unforgettable strike against Arsenal and the crucial 2nd against Olympiakos. He has almost recovered from his knee injury and had this to say:
"I hope to be back in training within two weeks," said Mellor.
"After that, I'm hoping I'll be playing again by the end of October or start of November. There's a reserve game against Manchester City on November 1 and that's the one I'm looking at.
"It's been a frustrating period for me. When I had the operation I was originally hoping to be fit for pre-season, but it's taken a lot longer to heal than I thought.
"There have been times when it's been difficult and I felt gutted to be out so long.
"Now I feel great and there's no pain at all so I'm really looking forward to playing again."

Rafa rubbishes exit speculation

After the usual stories that emerge when Madrid have a few bad results, linking Rafa to take over as their coach, Rafa has stated that his future is on Merseyside. He had this to say to Liverpoolfc.tv:
"At this moment I am very happy here. I am focused on the games we have coming up and I want to win things with my club.
"I don't want to waste my time talking about other possibilities. I am focused on my team, winning matches and I am happy at Liverpool."
Rafa has been in Italy to collect an award recognising him as the best coach in Europe:
He added: "I am delighted to have been named the best coach in Europe, but this award isn't for me. It's for the club, my staff, the players and our supporters. It's impossible to win trophies and be successful if you don't have the support of people around you at the club."

Rafa hungry for league success

Rafa has stated that we will be prioritising the Premiership this season. He was questioned on who would win the Champions League and played our own chances down but is convinced an Italian team will feature again in this seasons final:
"There are many favourites. Milan, Chelsea, Juve, Manchester United, Inter, Barcelona and Real Madrid. And I won't forget Lyon too.
"Liverpool? It's clear we want to go forward as much as possible. I don't know who but one between Milan, Inter and Juve will make the final.
"Chelsea? To a strong side who won the title Abramovich added other big players, and it means Chelsea remain the big favourite.
"But Liverpool haven't won the league for 15 years and we have a big hunger."
Judging by Rafa's comments it looks like he believes that we will mount a serious title challenge this season.
Please discuss.

Xabi confident the goals will come

Xabi Alonso is sure that our goalscoring problems will be over very soon. He says that the goalscoring form in Europe can be reproduced in the Premiership. He had this to say on Liverpoolfc.tv:

"Not scoring goals is a worry for us, there's no doubt about it. We are worried because we want to win games and that means we have to score goals. We have to work on that and try to score more. "I am confident we have enough good players and enough quality to get goals. Look at what we did in Seville against Real Betis. We controlled the first half and scored two good goals. "I am sure in our next game and the games after that we will show an improvement. "We have to get the balance right because at the moment our defensive work is perfect. We haven't conceded a goal yet and we have to continue in this way but also look to do better in terms of scoring."

We need Xabi to play a bit further up the pitch and play a few killer passes. Then I'm sure the goals will flow.

Please post comments.

Who shall we buy for £15m?

Reports this morning are suggesting that Rafa will be handed £ 15 million in January to strengthen the squad. We are certainly short in a few areas and Rafa has repeatedly pinpointed the right wing and central defence as two problem positions. I believe there are only a few players with the required qualities who are capable of filling these positions.
For the right of midfield we require someone with pace and skill who can cross the ball and is also happy to comply with Rafa’s disciplined defensive requirements. Simao is a definite target and Joaquin has stated he will be happy to fill the void on our right wing. In terms of their attacking ability they possess the required attributes. Hopefully they are also characters who are happy to take onboard instructions from their managers even if it curtails their natural game at times. Joaquin would be the number one choice. He showed how easily he can go past players in our recent Champions League game. The only problem would be his price tag. Rafa would need to spend his entire budget on one player and this may not even be enough to persuade Betis to sell.

There are not many obvious options available to solve our defensive problems. We have already been priced out of moves for Milito and Upson. A player I would like to see is Jorge Andrade. The Portuguese stopper has the required attributes for the Premiership and is also good on the ball. A stumbling block for the move could be the price. He is likely to cost in excess of £ 10 million. Otherwise we can hope that Rafa uses his vast knowledge and new scouting system to find someone who is unknown to us but will prove to be a good signing.

Please post your comments on who you think we can realistically buy in the transfer window.

Rafa still chasing top quality young talent

Rafa is determined to keep his eye out for more quality youngsters. As part of his scouting system he has sent people to Peru to the World under 17 championships:
"With regards to showcasing possible world-class players of the future this is a very important competition and we will have scouts over there looking out for any promising players that may crop up," says Benitez. "The likes of Sinama and Le Tallec were first spotted in this tournament a few years back. It is vital these days to spot talented players at a young age, get them in and starting working with them as early as possible. "All the best teams in this age group will be there and that means so will the best players. For this reason it is essential that we have representatives over in Peru. "Signing up the best young players is a very competitive market. There is always a lot of scouts at events like this and it will be difficult but we must do our best to try and sign up any players we deem good enough for this football club."
Hopefully we can snap up some more youngsters like Flo and potentially save millions on future transfers.
Please post comments.

Parry expecting Rafa to bring "sustained success"

Rick Parry has brushed aside speculation linking Rafa to Madrid stating that he can fulfill his ambitions by remaining at Anfield:
"It goes without saying that we are extremely happy with Rafa and want him to stay. We are working on a shared vision of sustained success on the pitch.
"Bringing trophies back to Anfield is all we are concerned with. Without underestimating the size of the challenge, we are very confident we can achieve that aim together.
"There's a tremendous opportunity facing us and a great opportunity for Rafa to fulfill his burning ambitions here."
Rafa certainly isn't someone to leave a job unfinished. He is meticulous in everything that he does. After acheiving a European Cup success with players who were mainly inherited imagine how much glory he can deliver with a squad that it his own.
Please post your views.

Reserves boss praises very young team

After a 3-2 win against Bolton Reserves Hugh Mcauley was pleased with the performance of the talented youngsters. He had this to say to Liverpoolfc.tv:
"We did very well and deserved the win. We thought in the first half we were too deep and we sorted that out in the second half. "Bolton played a lot of long balls against us but Miki Roque, Godwin Antwi and Danny O'Donnell won headers and tackles for us. "We were calling Manno (Mannix) Gary Mac at the end of the game because his brilliant free-kick was very similar to the one Gary McAllister got against Everton. "Danny Guthrie did very well again in midfield for us and scored a good goal. He has made a very good start to the season. Adam Hammill also did really well on the wing and he has lots of skill and can cause problems to the opposition. "We gave 45 minutes to Paul Anderson, a trialist from Hull City in the second half and he did well. He played up front and got involved quickly and was always a threat."
Our recent reserves performances have suggested that our long term future should be very interesting.
Please post your comments.

Rafa: "Traore is a key squad member"

After his setback in pre-season Djimi has now made his first team return and Rafa is clearly delighted:
"It's important for us to have Djimi back because we always need to have at least two players competing for each position," Benitez told Liverpoolfc.tv. "We have Djimi, Warnock and Riise now competing for the left-back slot and this can only be good for the team. "Having him back is like having a new signing in the squad. He gives us another option and increases the competition for places. "It was unfortunate for him to pick up the injury when he did because he'd enjoyed a very good pre-season. I've been pleased with his performances since coming back and his attitude has been spot on. It always is, whether in training or in games. "It was the same last season. He suffered the disappointment of scoring an own goal at Burnley in the FA Cup but didn't let the criticism affect him and bounced back positively. He is a key member of our squad."
There is no doubt that Djimi is one of Rafa's favourite players. Personally I am glad that Rafa rates Djimi he has proven to be a valuable member of our defence despite his lack of confidence on the ball at times.
Please discuss.

Get Real Rafa is staying with the Reds

Yet again after Madrid have struggled with some poor results we start seeing stories stating that Rafa is going to be their next boss. He has strong links to Real Madrid having been a reserve team player and a coach for the Spanish Giants. The Mirror claim that he was one of the options for Madrid in December before current boss Luxembergo was appointed and now Luxemburgo's position is in danger they will not hesitate to try and lure Rafa the Gaffer. There is no need to worry though as Rafa has stated time and again that his future is at Liverpool.

Please post comments.

Reds linked with yet another Spanish International

Reports in the press today have stated that Ivan Helguera, who has already stated his intention to leave Real Madrid on a Bosman, is a target. Arsenal, Man U and Newcastle have also been mentioned as admirers of the 30 year old Spaniard. Helguera can operate in midfield and central defence. I wouldn't be surprised if Rafa makes a sneaky bid in January given our defensive situation. Real Madrid would have to sell at a low price knowing that he could go for nothing a few months later.
Please post your comments.

Crouch defends our playing style

As the big man who tempts our players to knock the ball long Peter Crouch has insisted that we are no Wimbledon after predictable taunts from Man U supporters:
"The United fans are always going to take the mickey, but we know we don't play like that," said Crouch.
"We can play and pass. When you've got the likes of Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso, who are great ball players, we can play a good style. But we know we can mix it up too and sometimes you need to hit a long ball and feed off the seconds.
"I take a lot of the stick as a compliment. I wasn't going to let Rio Ferdinand have an easy time. When you play against world class players like that you want to unsettle them and that's my job done. I thought I did that well.
"Maybe we were a touch deep at times. It worked well against Betis but not so well yesterday in the final third. But the result in Betis shows there's no problem. There's enough quality to get goals."
In my opinion Peter Crouch has made a good start for us and the alternative options he gives us are invaluable, particularly when we are playing the better teams.
Please post your views.

Performance shows signs of improvement

There were a number of people who were disappointed by the 0-0 draw yesterday. As Liverpool supporters we should be pleased with the performance and the result. We had lost the previous three games at Anfield against Man U. Throughout the whole game there was not one spell when it could be said that Man U were on top. Their three dangerous attackers were almost completely nullified apart from one difficuly chipped effort from Van Nistelrooy.

Although we only created half chances at best the attacking side of our game will certainly improve once our new signings adapt to our style of play. Yet again Peter Crouch looked like a very useful acquisition showing some lovely touches whilst holding the ball up well. Problematically though the rest of the team seemed too deep to link up with him. Again though this is something that will come with time.

Defensively we are now beginning to look as solid as Valencia used to under Rafa. I remember a few of our players saying that Rafa's old team were the hardest they had faced. I am sure no team relishes playing us now as Rafa is instilling the same type of defensive organisation that has provided him with lots of success in his managerial career.

I think Rafa is close to finding the ideal balance between defence and attack in our play. Once this happens we will be able to call us ourselves realistic title challengers.
Please feel free to post your views on the game yesterday.

Rafa is in the results business

After our stalemate with Man U yesterday Rafa has insisted that results are more important than entertainment:
"We try to play as well as possible, sometimes you can play well, sometimes you can't, but the most important thing is to win games," said Benitez.
"Manchester United were one of the top three sides in the Premiership last season and beat us twice. We have only played them once this year and already we have a draw.
"If we can carry on playing at the same level it will mean we have moved a step higher than we were last season, but we will need to see how we go on against Chelsea and Arsenal before we can judge."
"Last Tuesday was another kind of game completely," Benitez insisted.
"We played a compact system in Betis, this time when we tried to go forward, Manchester United were waiting for us.
"I know we need to score if we want to win but sometimes you cannot create opportunities.
"You can't say we have bad players or a bad system, today the other team was very good."
Although we didn't create many chances yesterday we definitely looked like the team more likely to score.
Please post your comments.

Kewell close to comeback

Harry Kewell is back in training and should feature for the reserves in the next two weeks. He is likely to be in contention for a first team return by the middle of October. It will be a welcome boost as we are lacking a bit of creativity at present. Hopefully when he returns this time he will have fully recovered from all of his injury problems and can show the type of form that got us so excited when he signed.

Please post your comments on Kewell's return.

Rafa happy with point

Speaking after the goalless draw Rafa told Skysports that he was pleased with the level of performance and delighted with another clean sheet:

"It's a good point.
"Manchester United are strong and good in defence, so it was difficult.
"I think the teams are similar, although you will always opportunities to win these type of games."
Asked about his team's goalscoring difficulties, the Spaniard added: "You can't win if you don't score but it's better to have clean sheets.
"Sometimes it's down to luck - we can improve but we are going the right way because against clubs we are now controlling games and going forward."

Gerrard says draw was a fair result

Steven Gerrard was quick to justify our tactics stating that if you take too many chances against Man U you will be punished.

"Maybe we showed them a little bit too much respect in the first half."
"But if you take too many chances and push men forward they (United) are that good on the counter-attack they can nick it 1-0.
"I think they will be happy to come to Anfield and get a point."
"I think it's a fair result.
"They controlled the first half and we pushed more in the second half without creating any clear-cut chances."

The best effort of the game was a 25 yarder from Gerrard midway through the second half. He had this to say about the attempt, "I caught it well and saw it moving but it has to be right in the corner to beat Van der Sar - he is a world-class goalie. You have to hit it perfectly to beat him.
"I thought we started the second half a lot better and were the better side in the second half."
Gerrard is not overly concerned by our lack of goals. He said: "We'll keep working on the training ground and hopefully the goals will come."

Carra ready for Man U test

Jamie Carragher has stated that if we want to be part of the title race then a win against Man U today is paramount:

"We beat Sunderland at home and I think a draw was a fair result at Tottenham. We played well at Middlesbrough and should have won the game, so we're probably two points short of where we deserve to be at the moment. "I would say we've made a decent start to this season. We've got two tough away games out of the way without losing and now we can look forward to the Man United game. "It's important to get the three points because we want to move up the table. We're a couple of games behind most teams and so we're not as high in the league as we'd like to be, but if we win on Sunday then we can start moving forward. "If we beat Man United then not only will it be a great psychological boost for us, but I also think it will send out a message to the rest of the Premiership that we're going to be in there fighting for this title. "Of course we know it's going to be difficult because United are a great side with a lot of excellent players but we're certainly confident ahead of the game. "It's going to be a hard game but I know it's the one all our fans look forward to at the start of the season and so they'll be up for it. Hopefully we can get the three points and turn a decent start to the season into a good one."

There is no doubt that if everyone can show the same commitment as Carra today then we should get the three points.

Please don't hesitate to make comments.

Djib is back to his best

Djibril Cisse is satisfied that he has made a complete recovery from his career threatening injury. He also is happy to comply with Rafa's squad rotation policy:
"The season is long and you have to be rested from time to time. The coach makes the decisions and you have to accept them.
"The most important thing for me after the nightmare of last season is to feel I'm back to my best. It was hard to recover my form after an injury like that. But I am no longer afraid to go into tackles and I don't shy away from challenges."
There will be no better way for Djib to show his full commitment than against Man U today.
Please post comments.

Sami has faith in Rafa the gaffer

Sami Hyypia is expecting more good times with Benitez in charge. He has no problems with Rafa looking for another centre back to provide competition for his place and is ready for a battle to get closer to the top of the Premiership. He had this to say in an interview with the Guardian:

"I have trust in him,""When we came back from summer holiday on the first day he took me into his office and said: 'We are looking for a centre-half.' I said: 'Fine, competition is good.' Come January, I bet someone comes in. But I look at it positively.
"I feel Rafael Benitez brings good days, a lot of trophies."
"Chelsea is a great team and for them to be 37 points ahead of us last season, maybe we can't get past them this season. But we are definitely going to close the gap, and fight," added Hyypia.
I don't think Carra meant that we will give up. Of course we have to have the reality that it might not be possible [to win it]. But maybe Carra wanted to take some pressure off the team. We haven't given up anything.
"It will take time for the manager to get the squad that he wants.
"This season we have Zenden, Crouch, Sissoko and Reina, new faces.
"We will be more ready for the task because the manager has four new players he rates very highly."

Gerrard: Time to break into top three

Stevie G has had enough of us being classed as a mediocre Premiership team. He desperately wants us to change the top three into a top four and believes today's game is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate that this can be done:

"Domestically, people only ever speak about the top three teams - and I'm sick of hearing that,"
"We need to break up this so-called top three. It hurts when people talk about Chelsea, United and Arsenal - and Liverpool don't get a mention.
"This season, we have to prove we can get among them.
"We are playing United on Sunday and have games with Chelsea coming up, so these next few weeks give us a chance to make a statement.
"We may be the European champions but it is the Premiership where our priority is.
"We had a great season in Europe last season but the league was very disappointing.
"We are desperate to show we're improving and make sure Liverpool get a mention when people talk of the title."

I think its just a case of Rafa getting to know the Premiership. As soon as he has adapted to the playing style here he will have the tactical ability to guide the team towards the very top.

Please post your comments.

Rafa says fantastic Liverpool can beat Man U

Our first half performance the other day has inspired Rafa to believe that we can beat anyone:
"It is important to win games like these, games against sides in the top three.
"For the fans it will be fantastic if we win and I know it is what they want.
"But it is no more important than playing against any of the other very big clubs, we must be under control all the time and concentrate on winning.
"These games can be emotional, but we have experienced players who know how to keep calm in such situations.
"We are in good form, after the draw with Spurs we had three clean sheets which was much better than last season and I have watched the video of the Real Betis game and know that in the first half we were fantastic.
"I do not normally say such things about my team, but we made very few mistakes and played really well as a team.
"With this kind of performance we have confidence we can beat any team. Manchester United are a big team, we but can beat them, especially at home.
"I do not like losing games, and I do not like losing twice against the same team as we did last season against United.
"I know Sir Alex is a good manager, so from my point view it would be good to manage a team to beat them."
We are all looking forward to watching Rafa manage a team to beat Man U.

Reina ready for Man U

Sunday is going to be the first chance for Pep Reina to show us that he is up to dealing with the pressures posed by a huge game. He has made a solid start and of course will be looking for another shut out:
"I'm happy with the three clean sheets in the Premiership, but I always say the most important thing is to win the games as well.
"If we can keep a clean sheet on Sunday then we will have more possibilities to win the game, that's the important thing.
"It will be tough because Manchester United are a good side and we have a lot of respect for them.
"But we are doing a lot of defensive work in training and I feel we are working well together.
"Clean sheets are positive because they help you win and we will be thinking the same on Sunday.
"I know all about the rivalry with Liverpool and the fact we are at Anfield makes it particularly important for the fans.
"And Manchester United had a difficult game against Villarreal. I hoped Villarreal would win because it's my old team and I have friends there, but they did well to get a draw."
Hopefully Reina will banish the memories of the last two seasons when goalkeeping errors have cost us dear against Man United.
Please post your opinions.

Rafa sees Man U game as a 6 pointer

Rafa has spoken of his intention of closing the large points gap from last season. He says the best way to do this is by winning the big games against other title challengers:
"If we win, it will be fantastic for everyone,"
"We know how difficult it is but if we do our best and win, when the time comes for us to face Arsenal and Chelsea, who can say how close we will be? They know it's always going to be difficult for them when they come to Anfield.
"When you beat the big teams, nothing seems impossible for the rest of the season.
"When people talk about the gap of 19 points to United or 37 points to Chelsea, there is an immediate way to cut this.
"You can reduce the gap by six points in just one game. If we win, it's three points more to us compared to last year and three less for them. That gap can be reduced.
"If we had won against United home and away last season, for example, you're taking about a difference of 12 points, six for us, six less for them,
"That's why it's so important when two big clubs face each other and why there is always a rivalry. We know we are competing with each other for trophies."
We also need to make sure we win the games both home and away against the weaker teams in the league as this was also a major concern last season.
Please post your views.

Rafa confident ahead of United game

Rafa is hopeful of getting a positive result against the team he describes as the best to play at Anfield last season:
"I have bad memories of playing Manchester United last year," he said. "We conceded two goals from setpieces at Old Traf-ford early in the season when we had some new players and we lost at Anfield because of a mistake.
"I thought we did a good job for 30 minutes at home last season, but not after that. They kept the ball well and I think you could argue they were the best team to play at Anfield against us. They were definitely one of the best.
"I remember it was tough, but I think we have a better side now. I think we are more familiar with each other and our system now, and our coaching staff know more about how United play. We had some players like Morientes and Pellegrino making their debut against them last time, so it wasn't easy.
"This time we are going into the match with a lot of confidence. We have three clean sheets and two points away from home. That's not bad, but we know we need to start scoring goals. We've done that in midweek, so that shows that's not going to be a problem."
Our defence has looked very solid so far this season and if we take our chances as we did on Tuesday I am confident we can win.
Please post your comments on the game.

Heinze out of rivals clash

It has now been confirmed the Gabriel Heinze has suffered a serious knee injury and will miss the clash at Anfield and the majority of the season.
Man U have lost a few key players to injury recently. Gary Neville and Roy Keane are also out of the game.
It will be a good opportunity for us to win and put an early dent in Man U's title hopes.
Please post your comments.

Garcia looking to improve further

Luis Garcia has made an important impact since his arrival from Barca las year. He patricularly enjoys playing in Europe and his goals were pivotal in our victory last season. He is not ready to rest on his laurels though and has promised even better performances this season:

" I think this is going to be a good season for me because this is my second one. In my first season in England I was learning about the English football in a new team with new team-mates. "I have to always do my best and try and do much better than last year. I know what I have to do and I have changed some things to my game. I think this season will be much better for me. "I know I scored 13 goals last season which wasn't bad but but I think I can do a lot better this season. Everyone can be better and this season I will try to be better and I will do it."

Garcia carried on his European goalscoring exploits in Seville on Tuesday and was delighted with the strike:

"It is always nice to score goals and it was a nice goal. I know that Bolo Zenden always likes to cross early and I just tried to arrive before the defender which I managed to do. I think it was a very good goal because it was the second goal and it gave us the opportunity to control the game. "It was a very good win because we knew it would be a very difficult game against Real Betis. They have some very good players but we got the win and now we can look forward to the next game."

I still feel that Garcia is adapting to the English game and has been surprised by the physical side of the game. However he is very talented and I'm sure he will prove to be a key Premiership player as well soon.

Please post your comments on the gifted spaniard.

Reserves boss happy with new youngsters

Hugh Mcauley has already been impressed by the perfomances of Rafa's new young recruits for Liverpool's second string. He told the club's official website:

"Miki Roque is playing regular football for us this season at centre half and he is a very resilient defender who puts his foot in and competes very well. He picks up second balls and his distribution is by and large very good. He is a good competitor, he understands the game very well and we are getting 100 per cent out of him in every game.
"Our new boy from Austria Besian Idrizaj made his first start for us as a second striker and he generally plays there in that position. He needs more time to adapt but once he does that he will be a good player for us. He is an asset, likes getting forward and can score goals."

Having seen the highlights of the last reserves game it is clear that Barragan is making very good progress as well on the right of midfield.

Please post your comments.

Reds after another Spanish International?

There have been stories circulating in Spain that we are interested in 26 year old Basque midfielder Pablo Orbaiz. He is a solid midfield man who can play on the right and knows how to strike a dead ball. As is the case with the majority of Spanish players he has a buy out clause. This is believed to be around £ 16 million. However Bilbao are likely to let him go for less:
"We have only heard the rumours," stated Athletic president Fernando Lamikiz. "But the situation is very clear.
"Just as was the case for Del Horno, the player is not for sale, but if a club is prepared to pay what we consider his market price we will be obliged to study their offer.
"The key to any transfer is the size of the fee because our manager would need a good player to replace him."
The Spanish International would obviously welcome a move to the European Champions:
"Liverpool is a great club and it would be a dream, but right now I want to deal in reality," he declared.
It looks like Rafa is building a team that would win La Liga, hopefully it will be good enough to win the Premiership aswell.
Please post your comments.

Curbishley delighted Gerrard stayed at Liverpool

Alan Curbishley isn't the only one who was happy Gerrard didn't join Chelsea. He says that their riches pose a problem and they are already a fair distance ahead of the other top teams:
"When you get the top team of last year chasing Gerrard, a player from the side that has just won the Champions League, well, that is difficult.
"I think the fact it was resisted or didn't happen was a good thing. It might have been a relief for Liverpool but it was a good thing for everybody else.
"We have not been faced with this situation before, someone being in a position where, within reason, they can go for anyone they want.
"We may all sit here thinking how lucky they are, yet it is up to everybody to respond. "At the moment, the top teams have some catching up to do."
"The problem with Chelsea is that, unless something dramatic happens, their finances are not going to change.
At least we are building a proper squad and don't try and hijack our rivals transfers, apart from Sissoko!
Please make comments.

Pongolle delighted with goalscoring return

Flo has now recovered from a serious knee injury and scored a lovely goal in Seville on Tuesday. He has also said that he will be happy to fill the void on the right if need be:
"It was nice to score in my first start in the Champions League. It was a good opportunity for me and I was pleased. It was my first start for a while after my injury and it was nice to score and get the win. "The manager asked me to play on the right and I am happy to do that for the team. It's not my best position but if the manager wants me to do a job there then I will do it. I like to take on defenders and score some goals and if that means me playing down the right side then that is fine. "I just want to stay involved with the squad and stay free of injury now and play well for the team."

Rafa sees Flo as the new wingman

After missing out on Simao & Figo, Rafa needs to look at new options for the right midfield within the current squad. An excellent candidate for the position is Florent Sinama Pongolle. He is still very young and has time to adapt to a new position. This is what Rafa had to say:
"We've been looking for different solutions on the right hand side because we wanted to use Luis Garcia between midfield and attack, where I feel he played very well on Tuesday," said Benitez.
"Flo has the pace and intelligence to play there. He gives us a good option. I remember he played in the position very well against Arsenal last season. He played really well that day, as well as in the first half on Tuesday.
"There is an opportunity for him to learn the position."
If Pongolle does well then Rafa may have saved £ 10 million.
Please post your views.

Verdict on Betis Performance

The Defence

As a unit the defence performed well. Jose Reina made a number of important saves although his distribution was poor at times. Carra gave his usual solid performance with one mistake that resulted in a booking and a large bruise no doubt for Dani. Sami Hyypia used his aerial ability to great effect to deal with a barrage of second half corners. Djimi Traore made a couple of crucial interventions, one of which denied a probable goal, but had a bit of trouble dealing with Joaquin at times in the second half. This can be excused though a Joaquin is a very tricky customer. Josemi was mainly solid but still gave away a number of needless free kicks in dangerous areas. This will certainly cost us against better exponents of deadball situations.

The Midfield

In the first half the midfield were outstanding but they had more defensive work to do in the second half perhaps dropping a bit deeper than they should have done. Zenden gave his best performance so far in a Liverpool shirt. He looked solid, joined up well with the attack and set up the Garcia goal. Momo Sissoko showed what a valuable asset he already is. He covered every blade of grass, broke up numerous attacks and was tidy in possession. Xabi Alonso controlled the midfield at times and made some important interceptions. He didn't give his usual display of superb passing but was an effective performer nonetheless.

The Attack

Peter Crouch was superb showing exactly why Rafa was right to sign him. He held up the ball well allowing the midfield to join the attacks and played a major part in the second goal playing a disguised pass through to Bolo Zenden. Luis Garcia scored another goal in the Champions League with a beautifully timed finish. He also demonstrated some magical skills where the ball appeared to be glued to his feet. Sinama Pongolle interchanged with Luis Garcia as the second striker and right midfielder. He produced a reminder of his talent with a wonderfully executed lob. The control beforehand wasn't bad either. He also tracked back well and went on a couple of dangerous runs linking up well with Peter Crouch.
Overall it was a great start to the defence of our trophy. We again showed our defensive steel in the second half and our new attacking tactics aided by Peter Crouch in the first half.
Please post your comments on our performance.

Carra highly impressed by Sissoko's start

After his arrival Rafa claimed that Momo could turn out to be even better than Vieira. Now we have witnessed his first few superb performances it looks like Rafa might be right again. Jamie Carragher has been quick to recognise that we have signed a great player who already has produced a few man of the match performances:
"Momo's been superb. If he can continue to turn in the kind of performances he has been so far then I think we have a real player on our hands. "People have compared him to Patrick Vieira and I can see that. I normally don't like to compare players because you can end up with egg on your face but he is very similar to Vieira. "The way he runs is the same, and the way he gets tackles in with his long legs when he looks like he can't get to the ball is similar to Vieira as well. He's good with the ball, he plays with great pace running through midfield and he's always closing players down trying to win the ball. I think, though, that people should talk about how good Sissoko is rather than comparing him to anyone else. "I think he's one of the first names on the team-sheet at the moment. Our four central midfielders are as strong as any club in Europe now so the manager has a lot of options, but the way Sissoko is playing he's making it virtually impossible for the manager to leave him out."
It's amazing to think Momo is only twenty around eight or nine years away from his peak.
Please post comments.

Terry wants happier memories of Anfield

John Terry, who was in tears after last season's Champions league exit at Anfield, reckons Chelsea will avenge their defeat from last season:
"We've got that extra incentive going back to Anfield. We know the fans are going to be great again, that they'll be up for it," explained Terry. "But in the players' minds we're keeping quiet as we know it's our chance to go there and get revenge.
"It was a terrible, terrible night, there are bad memories for everybody. But this is the perfect opportunity to go back and put it right."
Following our win in Betis it's already looking like we will qualify from the group probably with Chelsea. This has certainly taken the pressure off the next game. Hopefully this time we can carry on attacking after we score.
Please post your comments.

Crouch ready to step in for England

After impressing in front of Sven on Tuesday, Peter Crouch has hinted that he is man for the job in Rooney's absence:
"There's a void to be filled against Austria and I did reasonably well out in America.
"If you're playing well at a club like Liverpool you'll get a chance.
"The manager seemed to be positive about me in America but obviously club form is the key.
"You don't get international recognition without doing the job at club level.
"So if I do make it into the England set-up, I'll have done the business for Liverpool first."
Crouch added: "I'd like to think I'd be the player that comes through over the next season.
"I feel a lot more confident now, going into every game.
"With the England thing and moving to Liverpool, there are obviously a lot of top-class managers who rate me quite highly.
"There was a time when I never thought I'd be at a stage like this, but I've come on a lot since then.
"I scored 16 goals in 24 starts last season and I'm just looking to take that on now.
"Of course the World Cup is the main aim. I think the manager has said he wants a bigger man up front and Mr Eriksson was complimentary while I was away with England. So if all goes well . . . "
I think Crouch will make it into the world cup squad as he is a completely different and dangerous option.
Please make your views known.

Carra has not ruled title bid out

Jamie Carragher has told liverpoolfc.tv that his comments at the weekend were misquoted and there is no way we would give up on winning the title with only a few games gone:
"We are Liverpool Football Club, the most successful side in the country in terms of winning the league and that's always our aim at the start of the season. "I spoke to a couple of journalists who I didn't know in London after the game at Spurs and they stitched me up. Maybe that's a lesson learned from my point of view and I should talk only to club media and the local press from now on because I know them well. "They put it to me that the result at Tottenham was disappointing if we wanted to win the title and I replied saying it was a good result considering a lot of our players had been away on international duty. Then they compared it to Chelsea winning there after an international break and I said that was different because of Chelsea's financial muscle. "I did say it would be difficult for us to win the league this season but not impossible. I said the same thing about the Champions League last season. "No-one here is throwing the towel in or giving the title away to Chelsea, Manchester United or Arsenal. It would be a strange time to throw the towel in when we play these teams over the next few weeks. These are going to be games which will define where we're going to go in the league this season. "We are the European Champions. We haven't won the league in a long time and so if you win the European Cup the next aim has to be winning your domestic league. That's what we'll try to do this season."
I thought the headlines were strange at the weekend and am glad Carra has set the record straight.
Please post your comments.

Keane out of Liverpool game

Roy Keane has sustained a hamstring injury and will be out for a couple of weeks. This means he will miss the game at Anfield on Sunday. This will make it easier for our midfield to dominate hopefully increasing our chances of a win. Apparently Man U lost almost half of the available points over the last two seasons when Keane was missing. Let's hope they will lose all of the available points on Sunday.

Verdict on Betis performance

The Defence

As a unit the defence performed well. Jose Reina made a number of important saves although his distribution was poor at times. Carra gave his usual solid performance with one mistake that resulted in a booking and a large bruise no doubt for Dani. Sami Hyypia used his aerial ability to great effect to deal with a barrage of second half corners. Djimi Traore made a couple of crucial interventions, one of which denied a probable goal, but had a bit of trouble dealing with Joaquin at times in the second half. This can be excused though a Joaquin is a very tricky customer. Josemi was mainly solid but still gave away a number of needless free kicks in dangerous areas. This will certainly cost us against better exponents of deadball situations.

The Midfield

In the first half the midfield were outstanding but they had more defensive work to do in the second half perhaps dropping a bit deeper than they should have done. Zenden gave his best performance so far in a Liverpool shirt. He looked solid, joined up well with the attack and set up the Garcia goal. Momo Sissoko showed what a valuable asset he already is. He covered every blade of grass, broke up numerous attacks and was tidy in possession. Xabi Alonso controlled the midfield at times and made some important interceptions. He didn't give his usual display of superb passing but was an effective performer nonetheless.

The Attack

Peter Crouch was superb showing exactly why Rafa was right to sign him. He held up the ball well allowing the midfield to join the attacks and played a major part in the second goal playing a disguised pass through to Bolo Zenden. Luis Garcia scored another goal in the Champions League with a beautifully timed finish. He also demonstrated some magical skills where the ball appeared to be glued to his feet. Sinama Pongolle interchanged with Luis Garcia as the second striker and right midfielder. He produced a reminder of his talent with a wonderfully executed lob. The control beforehand wasn't bad either. He also tracked back well and went on a couple of dangerous runs linking up well with Peter Crouch.

Overall it was a great start to the defence of our trophy. We again showed our defensive steel in the second half and our new attacking tactics aided by Peter Crouch in the first half.

Please post your comments on our performance.

Pep: "Carra is one of the best in the world"

It hasn't taken too long but our new keeper has already recognised how good Carra now is:

He said: "For me, Carra is one of the best defenders in the world. He is a very important player for us. "He was very good again last night, particularly in the second half when they put us under a lot of pressure. "The only problem is I don't understand a lot of what Carra is saying. It's not so difficult with Sami, but I still need to improve my communication overall with the defenders. "We have only been together a few months and we've done a lot of work on talking to each other. I'm trying to learn to speak good English as soon as possible so we're still going to improve." He added: "I'm happy with the three clean sheets in the Premiership, but I always say the most important thing is to win the games. "If we can keep a clean sheet on Sunday then we will have more possibilities to win the game. It will be tough because Manchester United are a good side and we have a lot of respect for them. But we are doing a lot of defensive work in training and I feel we are working well together."

I have been impressed with Reina so far and it is great that he has confidence in the defence in front of him.
Please post your comments.

Rafa pleased with Champions League start

Rafa enjoyed returning to his homeland with a 2-1 victory. He was obviously delighted with the start but had to change things in the second half when we were pinned back:
"We controlled the first half, but the second period was a problem. In fact, when I brought Cisse on for Peter Crouch it changed the game. He had pace and fresh legs and they had to defend against him and always be aware."In the end we finished the stronger side after a difficult spell. Earlier we had controlled the situation and had a very clear idea of when and how we would break."It was very important that we started this group with a win. Betis are a good side on their own ground with a very strong support and if they are able to get forward and attack they will cause other teams in this group many problems."I am always thinking only of winning, whatever game, and that includes our next match at home to Chelsea in this group."
Once again Rafa has shown that he is a great tactician in Europe.
As always please post comments.

Rafa tips Crouch for England

After his superb Champions League debut last night in front of the England coach, Rafa has talked up Peter Crouch's England chances:
Benitez said: "Peter Crouch played very well in the first half, he has done his England chances no harm.
"Sven knows he is a good target man, he keeps possession well for us and allows us to play our football much higher up the park rather than in defence."
With Rooney suspended for the next game there is a good chance Crouch may feature if he continues to put in performances like last night.

Please make comments.

Gerrard confident of more European glory

Speaking after the game last night to Sky Sports Gerrard has stated that we should fear no-one. It was fantastic to hear this from Gerrard as last year he claimed we had no chance of winning the competition. He also confirmed that he is still recovering from his calf injury and working his way back to full fitness:
"Last year has given us the belief to go anywhere and know we can get results,"
"We proved that whether we are at home or away, we are difficult to beat."
The England ace added: "After my calf injury I hadn't had much training and I was really tired after the two England games in such a short space of time.
"I think the idea tonight was to use all of the squad."
It's always nice when we put in a great performance without Gerrard. It makes anyone who calls us a one man team look ridiculous.

Please post your comments.

Rafa confirms Gerrard was rested

After the surprise omissions in the team Rafa, whose selections were fully vindicated, stressed the importance of using the squad system:

"We tried to protect Steven, there were a few players in the same condition. I felt we needed fresh legs for a very difficult match.
"Some people were tired, including Steven, and we needed to rest players for this match."
Benitez also left Steve Finnan, Stephen Warnock and Djibril Cisse on the bench, all of whom had been involved in international squads of late.
"We must use all of our squad to compete in the very top competitions,"

I'm sure Rafa also had the Manu game in mind when the team was selected.
Please post comments.

Gerrard left out of starting lineup

Rafa has sprung a selection surprise be leaving Stevie G on the bench. He has also left out Cisse with Sissoko & Pongolle coming in to a 4-5-1 formation. The team is as follows:


Reina Josemi Carragher Hyypia Traore Zenden Sissoko Alonso Garcia Pongolle Crouch
Subs: Carson Gerrard Finnan Riise Cisse Hamann Warnock

Joaquin not contemplating Betis exit

After reports the other day linking Joaquin with Liverpool the winger has said he is currently happy in Seville. He explained his situation to skysports.com:
"Personally I am not aiming to demonstrate myself in these matches against the English,"
"The clubs know my abilities on the field and it is not necessary to do any test.
"Today I am happy in Betis and I am not thinking about an exit.
"In my life money is not the key question. If this was the case I would have moved to Chelsea last year.
"(Roman) Abramovich had wanted to sign me several times but (Betis chairman Manuel Ruiz de) Lopera has rejected the money.
"To play in stadiums like Anfield or Stamford Bridge is an enjoyment for a player. The atmosphere is sensational.
"For me it will be a dream because in the last few seasons it was only possible to see them by television and now I am a direct protagonist. A dream has in fact become reality.
"I have dreamt of playing against an English club in my first Champions League experience but two in the first round is too much.
"The draw is not good for us but now we need to confirm that our excellent last season in the Spanish Liga was not by luck."
Hopefully we can knock Betis out of the Champions League and his only way of playing at Anfield will be after a transfer.
Please post your comments.

Is our squad really better than last year?

Rafa made this declaration yesterday:
"In my opinion we have a better team and a better squad. We still have some problems in some areas but we have to manage the situation until January."

Since the end of last season we have sold and purchased four players. We have also released five players and let three players who were part of last season's squad go out on loan. Considering the personnel that we have lost I believe the squad does not have as much depth as last season. For example, Antony Le Tallec, Ritchie Partridge, El Hadji Diouf & Vladimir Smicer could all have played on the right of midfield and now we have no options there at all. Pellegrino's contract was not renewed and now we have no cover for central defence.

We have certainly added some quality to the first team. Reina is a confident and commanding keeper and Sissoko can take over the Hamann role and offer more mobility. Peter Crouch will give us many more options upfront and is more of a team player than Milan Baros. However it remains to be seen what the purchase of Zenden has added to squad with the imminent return of Harry Kewell and the emergence of Steve Warnock on the left.

I feel our first team has improved slightly but the squad is lacking cover in some important areas. Rafa has already given Barragan a debut and perhaps he is relying on some of our young recruits to feature sooner rather than later to improve the depth of the squad.

Please make you views known.

Lampard expected Gerrard to join Chelsea

Frank Lampard has told Zoo magazine that he was ready to welcome Gerrard to Chelsea in the summer. Thankfully Gerrard saw sense in time and realised his place is at the European Champions:
"I've got to be honest, at one stage I did think he was coming to join us. It was very close.
"But I respect what Stevie's done - he was very honest about everything.
"Stevie was probably being torn in many directions by different people saying different things to him. I read that at one stage he just had to sit at home and decide for himself what he wanted to do.
"He decided he wanted to stay, and we have to give him credit for that. He's a friend of mine. I love playing with him for England and I look forward to seeing him do well for Liverpool. But obviously not against us."
It's still amazing to think that for one day we were all expecting Gerrard to leave and the relief and disbelief that we felt when news filtered through that he had changed his mind.
Please post your comments.

Rafa ready for new European assault

It's time to forget about the Champions League win last year and concentrate on this year's competition according to Rafa. Although he is confident that no one should be feared in the draw:

"We must not think about 'defending our trophy', we must only think about winning one game. The atmosphere in the stadium will be wonderful, but it will only be wonderful for Betis.
"Everybody in Seville has been very friendly, they always are, this is a lovely city. But I do not think the atmosphere will be friendly towards us when the match starts."
"It does not have any central defenders over six foot, they will find it difficult against Crouch."
"My only aim is to win here and not to concede a goal. We have worked on handling their free kicks and I do not want any silly mistakes.
"As for the rest of the group, yes we can also beat Chelsea. We beat them last season and we showed then that we can beat anyone in the tournament. But apart from the group games I do not intend thinking of anything else.
"I do not think about winning the trophy again, I cannot think about another final if we do not start right by winning here.
"We started last season by winning our opening match in the competition against Monaco, and I want another win here."

I must say that it's difficult not to think about the success last year. Our opponents will be using our tag, as the holders, to raise their game and we should be using the manner of our victory last season as inspiration in all situations.

Please post your comments.

Xabi wary but confident of beating Betis

Ahead of the game tomorrow Xabi has stated our intention to open the Champions League campaign with a win:
"We must be careful here, but we are also confident.
"Considering what happened to us last season in this competition, anything can happen. Of course we can go to the final again.
"But if we want to play in Paris next May then we must start by winning here in Seville. Of course there is a long way to go, but look what happened last season, anything is possible.
"But we know that other teams will be motivated because we are the European champions, and Betis are a very difficult side at home.
"They break quickly and have good wingers and a striker in Ricardo Oliveira who can score a lot of goals.
"But because we are champions we are confident of what we can do. It is great for myself and the rest of the Spanish lads in the Liverpool squad to come home to defend the trophy, but it will be greater still to go back to England with three points."
He added: "The good thing is that because we have all played in this stadium and know the Spanish teams, we know them well and what they can do.
"That is a good thing and it will help us explain to our English colleagues what to expect."
I think the game tomorrow will be like a La Liga game. We will need Alonso to keep the tempo slow because of the heat in Seville.

Is Rafa Prioritising the Champions League?

At 2:30 on Saturday I was surprised to see the line-up Rafa had selected. Alonso was on the bench obviously being rested in preparation for the Champions League game tomorrow. I was expecting our strongest team, including Alonso, to be selected for a tough league match. Instead Rafa opted for the experience of Hamann to partner Gerrard in central midfield. And when Hamann was concussed after being smacked by the ball on the head Sissoko was his replacement. Surely the presence of Alonso would have improved our chances of creating goalscoring opportunities and therefore winning the game.
I could understand the Champions League being given precedence towards the end of last season when the finishing line was in sight, even though it could have cost us dear in the end as we finished fifth. However at the beginning of this season, when it is clear our league form needs to be improved, I would have thought our strongest possible line up should be selected, particularly away from home.
Perhaps I’m over-reacting and Xabi just needed a rest.
Please let me know what you think about Rafa’s squad rotation policy.

Rafa confident of a good start

Rafa has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Spanish football therefore he knows exactly what to expect tomorrow night against Real Betis:
"They are a good team, very dangerous," said the Liverpool manager. "It's their first season in the Champions League and people in Seville have told me this game is all they are thinking about. "We are the defending Champions and so maybe there will be more pressure on us but for me the idea is always the same, to prepare well, to plan for the game and to win. "Usually it's difficult when you have such a short space of time to prepare in between games, but in this case it isn't too bad because I know about Betis. I know their team and their players and so I'll be able to give my players a lot of information and a lot of details. "They have many good players. Oliveira scores goals for them, Edu is an important part of their team and Joaquin is one of the best players in Spain on the right wing, particularly in one against one situations as he looks to get crosses in. "It will be a good game and their fans will be up for it. I can tell you it's always a fantastic atmosphere in Seville and the supporters really make some noise. "We know it's going to be a hard game but I'm always confident we can come away with the right result."
Rafa has acknowledged that we have been drawn in a hard group. This places even more importance on getting some early points on the board.
"I haven't analysed all of the groups but I do know that ours is very competitive," he said. "We're the Champions, we know what Chelsea can do, Betis came fourth in La Liga and Anderlecht will also be a hard game even though Belgian football isn't up there with English or Spanish. "We want to make a good start to the competition and that means getting a result in Seville. That will be our aim."
Hopefully Rafa will use the same formation as employed against Tottenham with two front men.
Please post your comments

Maureen still bitter about Champions League defeat

Jose Mourinho is still under the impression that his team were the best in the Champions League last season. This coming from a manager who resorted to playing a central defender up front against us in desperation because his team were unable to create any clear opportunities against our Carra inspired defence.

"When you look back to the semi-finals, nobody was better than Chelsea," he said. "Liverpool were not better than Chelsea, we were better than Liverpool.

"If you look at the whole Champions League, they were out until Steven Gerrard scored against Olympiakos in the group phase, but for us it was like a promenade. Four matches, 12 points.

"After three matches we had qualified and after four matches we had won the group. After that, one of best teams in Europe, Barcelona, came and we beat them. After that Bayern Munich came and we beat them, so our way was a very good way to reach the final."

I think Mourinho also needs reminding that we beat the previous and current Italian Champions and the English Champions.

Alonso pleased with Crouch signing

Xabi Alonso has spoken about our strikeforce claiming they will cause opponents all types of problems:

"Peter Crouch was a particularly good signing and I'm sure he'll be a big help to us in trying to win all the competitions this year.

"As everyone knows he is very, very tall and near him I feel very small. People will talk about Peter Crouch in a positive way this season and I think he will go on to play many more games for England.

"But Crouch is not only a target man - he also has very good quality on the ball. With Fernando Morientes and Crouch we can have the best attack in the country. They will make life crazy for opposition defenders this season, along with Djibril Cisse of course."

Alonso is in a good position to judge as he knows a thing or two about being good on the ball.

Please post comments.

Rafa to use Crouch height advantage

Rafa knows Peter Crouch will be a dangerman against Betis. The Seville side have a small defence and there will be only one winner if high balls are played into the box. The situation reminds me of when we used to play against Everton with small centrebacks and Duncan Ferguson caused us havoc:

"It will be difficult for the Betis defenders on Tuesday. In Spain, the central defenders are under 6 foot. It's very difficult for them against a player like Crouch. "He will give us a different option. If we need another solution we can play him. He is not a player who fights for the ball, he likes to play football. "Crouch will be important for us in England but I want to see him play in Europe. We are talking about a quality player. He's a target man who can keep the ball, play well, can head the ball and give the team time to go forward. "I have a friend, a Spanish coach, who watched him in our training sessions pre-season and he said to me afterwards 'That Crouch is a very good player'. "That was after just one training session. He was even impressed with his movement in the warm-up. "And he can improve. We will work with him. Maybe he needs some weight training but already he has the technique, the ability and the intelligence."

Crouch is already a handful. Imagine how dangerous he could be if he puts some meat on those bones.

Please post your opinions.

Joaquin wants to join the Rafalution

Joaquin has expressed a desire to join the European Champions. It seems that the Spanish lads have been doing a good recruitment job whilst on International duty. Joaquin had this to say about filling our right midfield vacancy:
"I know Liverpool are looking for a right winger and I'd love to play there if they want me," the Spaniard told the News of the World.
"Liverpool are a massive club and Rafael Benitez knows what he wants."
The Betis winger added: "But if Benitez comes in for me he's got to agree a deal with the Betis president."

We would all love Joaquin to play on our right wing as well. He would probably cost in the region of £ 20 million however Rafa stated the other day that he would only pay lots of money to buy the best. Joaquin certianly fits into this category.

Please post your comments on the potential signing of Joaquin

Sissoko ready to adapt to the Premiership

Momo has spoken of his delight at how well his life at Anfield has started. He has also expressed a desire to be more careful to limit the amount of bookings he received. Just as well becuase if he carries on how he's started he'll spend half of the season suspended: "I feel good since coming to Liverpool and the main thing is I'm playing," said Sissoko. "If I'm honest I didn't think I'd be playing right from the start but the manager has put me in the team and it has been a very positive start for me. I'm really happy and just hoping it carries on. "When you come to a club like Liverpool you know there are some great midfielders here and realise that it will be difficult to get into the side, particularly in the middle of the park as it is a very competitive area. "I came here to learn and to continue my apprenticeship so it is very good that I am playing but at the same time I'm training alongside and learning from all of these players around me. "This is a new league and a new experience for me. I've played in La Liga but this is a new style of football altogether, very hard and tough. In terms of football, it is a very, very good standard. There are some great players over here." Sissoko has also revealed he needs to get used to the way in which English matches are refereed as he looks to avoid unnecessary yellow cards without losing the physical nature of his game. He added: "I've picked up three cautions already, one in Europe and two in the league. It is important that I don't try to change my style too much as this is my main objective, to win the ball. I must carry on but try to get fewer cautions. "I have looked at the type of yellow cards I have picked up and two of them could probably have been easily avoided so I will take this on board and do everything I can to avoid these situations in future. "The standard of refereeing is different in England. Since my arrival I have also watched quite a few games and have noticed they have let a lot of things go. In Spain they will blow straightaway for the slightest touch or foul and give a free kick but the referee seems happier to let the game flow here, which probably suits my game more." I'm pleased with the way Momo has started and also his attitude. He seems to have a wise head on young shoulders. Please post your views on the Malian midfield battler.

Joaquin doubtful for Champions League encounter

Real Betis are struggling with some injury problems ahead of their Champions League debut. Joaquin suffered a knock to his knee on Saturday, in the 1-0 win over Osasuna, and was taken off. He has been resting in the hope that he will recover in time. Betis also have their left back Luis Fernandez and wide man Edu out with knee problems.
I'm sure Riise, Warnock & Djimi will be more relaxed if Joaquin is ruled out.
Please make comments.

Josemi predicts victory against Betis

Josemi has identified the Betis defence as a weakness. He believes this can be exploited and, if we keep Joaquin quiet, a win is there for the taking.
"I know a lot about Betis. They are an excellent team and they will make it hard for us to win the game. But that is true of all the teams we have been drawn with, none of them will be easy games. "We are the European Champions and everyone will want to beat us. We know that and we will be ready to match anyone we face. "I am quite lucky because my record against Betis for Malaga is good but it is not an easy place to go and play football. "They are a very good team going forward. In Joaquin they have one of the most dangerous attackers in the whole of Spain. He has lots of speed and is very direct. He provides great service for the other forwards and is one of the players we will have to watch closely. "They have lots of options in attack but I do think they are vulnerable at the back and I see no reason why we cannot get three vital points and get our campaign off to the best possible start."
Although Betis are clearly one of the best 4th seeded teams in the draw it is a distinct advantage playing a Spanish team with the personnel we have.

Please post your comments on how you think the game will go.

Carra backing for Djib

Jamie Carragher has revealed his belief that Djibril Cisse will be a striking success at Anfield:

"Djibril has already shown everyone his attitude is going to be spot on," said Carragher. "He came on against CSKA Moscow and won us the Super Cup virtually single-handedly. "He's also gone away with France and scored a couple of goals. With all the speculation going on at the time, he could have gone the other way. He didn't and that shows everyone how determined he is. "Djib's response has been great and I'm sure he's going to be desperate to score goals this season and show everyone he's a top player. "I was reading in the club programme before the CSKA Sofia game how if Djib had scored, he'd have equalled Steven Gerrard's European record. Until that point he'd scored in our last four European matches. "When you think he got another two in Monaco, that's six in six European games. That's a record any striker would be proud of. "He also knows he's got the fans behind him, and when you've got that it gives you the confidence to play even better. "They know how hard he worked to get back from the broken leg. When he told us last year he'd be back for the Champions League final, we all laughed. The fact he did it underlined the mental strength he's got. "I'm sure he feels he's still not had the chance to show everyone what he can do because of that injury and in some way he's still getting used to the Premiership. "Now he's got the opportunity to do so and I think he's got the ability to score a lot of goals."

I think Cisse has fully recovered and now has all of his pace back. There is no doubt that defences accross England & Europe will not relish the prospect of facing him.

Please post your views.

Rafa happy with defence but not attack

After our second goalless draw in three Premiership games Rafa has acknowledged that we must sharpen up our attacking skills:

"We have three clean sheets and we are better than last season in terms of defence but we need to improve in terms of attack."
"If we score three goals next week, then everything will change," he insisted.
"In football, it's easy to talk but it's better to wait. Everything can change. At this moment, I'm very happy with the players I have."
As for Gerrard's form, he added: "He's okay. He knew what to do during the game, he changed his position twice and he did a good job.
"The more games he plays, the better he will get. He was injured for 10 days and then played two games without training. Now he has played another game without training and in a few weeks, he will be better."
Dietmar Hamann was taken off after being smacked on the back of the head by the ball, however Rafa believes he will be fine for the trip to Seville.
"I think he will be okay but he got a blow on the head and was a bit dazed," he revealed.

It is indeed worrying that we have yet to score from open play, but its still early days and there's plenty of time for things to get better.

Please post comments.

Berger: "We have lost our best striker"

Patrik Berger is delighted Villa have signed his Czech mate Baros and reckons we have let our most talented frontman leave.
"We should be grateful we have him over here because Liverpool have released the best striker they have in my opinion," he said. "He is going to score goals for us and he has given a lift to everyone at the club."
"He likes to run at people, he likes to run into channels, he can hold the ball, he's quick, he can score goals and create them - he has got everything."

He also likes to run down blind alleys and doesn't appreciate the positions of his team mates. I think Rafa made the right decision to let Milan leave. He missed too many important chances and seemed to enjoy moaning too much when he wasn't selected.
Please post your comments.

Rafa calls for an end to away day troubles

Rafa has hinted that we may play a more attacking style on our travels this season. This could well mean that Cisse will partner Peter Crouch up front tomorrow.
"We may not have got Michael Owen, but for this game we have Cisse, Crouch and Sinama-Pongolle. That is enough for the moment.
"What we will be doing this season is playing a different way away from home than last season. We are trying to improve and we certainly have a better squad than last season. We have confidence.
"It is very important we improve our away form, which is why we have bought Peter Crouch. We want to change the idea of how we play in away matches. We must win more away."
Because our away form was so poor last season it is highly unlikely that it will not improve.

Please comment on what you think Rafa should do to make the team perform better away from home.

Jol Backs Reds to Finish in the Top Three

Martin Jol has been impressed with our perfomances under Rafa. He feels we are improving all the time and this will be reflected in our final league placing:

"Liverpool have another piece of silverware now with the Super Cup and Rafa Benitez is doing well for them. The league is different and they know that, they had a difficult season last time but are getting better and better. They have made some good signings and are team who can easily finish in the top three in England."

Jol has identified Steve Gerrard & Xabi Alonso as major threats to his team tomorrow. In the 2-2 draw last season Xabi gave a masterclass of midfield play by spraying incisive passes to all areas of the pitch. As his performance was exceptional against Spurs last season it is no surprise that Jol has earmarked him as a threat.

"Looking back to the Champions League final in May, I thought it was going to be a disastrous final, maybe the worst for a team ever. "It was 3-0 and I thought it might be five or six at the end. They came back, I don't think they did anything particularly differently but they had Steven Gerrard and he is a top class player - the best midfielder in England. "He got going and they took a lot of confidence from his goal and clawed their way back. I think it was one of the best finals we have ever seen. "Another goalscorer in that game, Xabi Alonso, played against us last year and he is a playmaker and is pretty tough as well. He is a good character and, with the styles Liverpool sometimes play, it can be difficult to cope with him as he is the holding player with Gerrard going forward. He is a good player but we have a lot of good players of our own. "Gerrard, when you think back to the Middlesbrough game on the opening day of the season, he had three or four chances he made himself. It was still a draw, but he is one we have to watch.

"It is a big game for us," he says. "We were unfortunate against Chelsea and hopefully we can make up for it against Liverpool. They are a good side - we are going from playing the champions to Champions League winners in two games and it will be difficult. "If we can play with a lot of confidence, like we did against Chelsea before the sending off, we can do well. With our crowd backing us all the time we have every chance.

If the Dutchman is right about our final league placing I would be delighted:

Please post your comments.

Kirkland wouldn't mind West Brom stay

After being allowed to leave on loan Chris Kirkland has said that if Liverpool don't welcome him back he would be happy to remain at Albion. He had this to say to West Brom's official website:
"As far as I'm concerned, I'm a West Brom player now.
"I'm here for the year and what will happen when my loan finishes, I don't know.
"It's up to Liverpool and I need to know what they want to do first before I make my mind up. "But I can't see any reason not to make my move to Albion permanent.
"It might be out of my hands because I don't know what Liverpool are thinking and I'll have to wait and see what they want at the end of the season.
"But if the opportunity came up then I would have no hesitation."
He added: "The team spirit is fantastic here and that had a big part in Albion staying up last season.
"If it hadn't have been as good as it is, they would probably have gone down.
"There are good players here and they have made me feel very welcome. My family are also down here and it just feels right.
"If I have to go back to Liverpool, I'll have to concentrate on them again.
"But until that comes, I'm not a Liverpool player anymore.
"I'm a West Brom player and I want to do everything to make sure we have a good season."
He concluded: "I don't regret moving to Liverpool.
"They've got Jerzy [Dudek] and Scott [Carson] and have brought Jose [Reina] from Spain.
"But that's football and I'm not bitter about that.
"I'm just delighted to be down at West Brom and all I want is to do well for them.
"They took a chance on me because I'd not played for eight or nine months in the league before that.
"I had a serious operation on my back as well so West Brom took a gamble and hopefully I can repay them for that."

It looks like Reina will certainly establish himself as our number one and it will be difficult for Kirkland to return. I hope that whatever happens to Kirkland in the future he can put his injuries woes behind him and fulfill his massive potential.
Please post your comments.

Rafa will only buy quality players at the right price

Rafa has stated that he will not be held to ransom on any new signings. Fortunately Rafa is very sensible in the transfer market. Despite the apparent desperation for a centreback and right winger, he would not pay over the odds, as the break down of Simao transfer demonstrated. The gaffer had this to say about his transfer policy:

"We have three or four months to get through. In January we need to reinforce the squad. We were thinking about a right-winger and centre half, everyone knows that, but when people say we left it until the last minute, that's not true. "We worked all summer. We never wanted to pay more for a player than his value. We didn't want to sign players we didn't need. "We tried, but because of circumstances, the clubs wouldn't sell. If a club is willing to sell without a fight, maybe the player isn't good enough. When the club tries hard to keep him, you know you're trying to sign someone of high class. "Simao is an example, as is Milito and Figo. We watched Simao for a long time, but we were looking at others first because we didn't know if he was available. We decided to try and Benfica said yes. We thought we had control of the situation. Then they changed their mind. "We also tried to sign centre-backs, but their clubs said no. Clubs think because we've won the Champions League we've got a lot of money. They put a £7m values on players who are no more than prospects. "If you look at our squad now compared to last May, we've signed very good players and improved. We couldn't find the right players for the right and at centre-half, but because we're European champions, only certain players are good enough to play for us. "If people want me to buy players to finish in the middle of the table, I can, but I want to win trophies. I will only buy players to do this. "I have a lot of confidence we will have a better team this year. People may not agree with my decisions, but when I spend a lot of money I want it to be on one of the best players in the world."

Just like the purchase of Alonso last year for £ 10 million.

Please post your comments.

Rafa: "Cisse show us how good you are"

Rafa has challenged Djibril to prove what an asset he can be for us. He wants Cisse to channel his aggression in the right way to improve his performances on the pitch:
"The most important thing when the transfer window is closed is the players know they are staying," says Benitez. "Cisse knows he can show everyone how good he is. He will do that by scoring goals, working hard and playing well. Cisse knows what I want from him and I don't have any problem with him. "As a manager, I just want to see my players scoring goals. I like players being angry when they're not playing. If he's angry, it's good for the team. At the same time, I want a player to have respect for his team-mates. "I will talk with all the players when they come back, not just Cisse. I know he scored two goals the other day, so if he's playing with some anger, that can be positive."
Let's hope Cisse will continue his promising run of goalscoring at White Hart Lane.
Please don't hesitate to post comments.

Spurs V Reds: The Big Pre-Match Preview

The game at Tottenham will certainly be our biggest test of the season so far. They have started the season well and are playing with confidence. Spurs were more than matching Chelsea last week until the Mido sending off. If we are to win we will need to be at our best. Spurs are likely to employ a 4-4-2 with Defoe partnering Keane or their new signing Rasiak up front. They will have a midfield including Davids, Carrick, Reid and perhaps a debutante in Jenas. Ledley king may return in central defence to partner Dawson with Stephen Kelly on the right and another debutante, the South Korean, Lee Young Pyo on the left.

Hopefully Rafa will match their formation with an attacking 4-4-2. I think the best way to win the game would be in midfield. Ideally we can play Sissoko and Alonso in the centre with Gerrard on the right to terrorise their new left back. Gerrard would also be able to keep Andy Reid quiet, as he is a dangerous outlet for Spurs. I would prefer Riise to Zenden on the left given the goal threat he will offer.

Due to the absence of Morientes, Cisse is likely partner Crouch up front. This on paper is a very dangerous partnership with the key ingredients of height and pace. Either Alonso can deliver the ball to Crouch to knock it down or Gerrard and Riise can advance in wide areas to cross the ball. Alternatively Cisse can take up positions wide on the right and Gerrard and Riise can bomb forward into the box from midfield.
In my opinion the most exciting aspect of this game will be the midfield confrontation. Hopefully Rafa will select Sissoko to do battle with Davids. The potential is there for fireworks with these two aggressive characters. It will also give us a better idea of exactly how good Sissoko is at the moment.

Tottenham have a solid defence and will be difficult to break down. However playing at home they are bound to attack. This will allow to use the pace and counter attacking skills of Riise, Gerrard & Cisse. We will need to be wary of Defoe. His ability to turn quickly will certainly cause Hyypia problems should any one on one situations develop.
We will certainly need to improve on our previous performances this season to get a positive result.

WithWolves Prediction:
I believe the game will end in a 1-1 draw with Crouch netting his first goal for us.

Please post your comments and predictions on the game.

Youngster Confident of Taking Chance

It is almost inevitable that young American defender Zak Whitbread will get his chance this season. He featured regularly in pre-season and the lack of defensive cover should contribute to him being given his opportunity before reinforcements, hopefully, arrive in January.

"I mean it is a long season and the manager has said everyone will be involved at some stage. I can only take that as a positive thing but Josemi can play at centre half as well and did well against Sofia in the Champions League. I can only keep playing well and training hard and hopefully get a chance.
"I've enjoyed every minute of every game I've played for the first team. I don't think I've done too bad but I'm still learning and there is a lot more to come from me.
"The manager has given all of the young lads a real confidence boost. There were times a couple of years ago when I was uncertain about my future. As soon as the new manager came in all the young lads felt there was a real opportunity to impress and when you got the chance you had to take it."

It would be fantastic if a youngster like Whitbread can come through this season and perhaps even prevent the need for more defenders to be signed.
Please post your comments.

Warnock keeping his feet firmly on the ground

Following his England call up Steve Warnock is now focusing on battling for his place in the Liverpool side. He faces competition from Djimi Traore & John Arne Riise. However if he carries on the way he has started this season the left back spot should soon be his own. He had this to say about his first full England call up:

"I'm not going to get carried away just because I've been called into the England squad," said Warnock.
"This first thing I've got to do is make sure I'm playing regularly for Liverpool, otherwise I won't even be considered for England again.
"I've really enjoyed my experience, but I'm looking at it as a bonus. My main aim is to get established in the Liverpool team. If I do that, the England scouts will be watching.
"When I joined up with the England squad, it was like the first day of school for me. I was thinking to myself 'don't do anything wrong'.
"It's been made easier because Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard are here, while Chris Kirkland and Michael Owen have made sure I knew what I was doing around the place as well.
"Sven Goran Eriksson congratulated me on my call-up and told me I deserved it.
"You learn to get used to it quite quickly. It's different to being at your club, obviously. Training is different, with more eleven-a-side games than you'd have at Liverpool.
"It's always a bit strange when you know the best you can hope for is a place on the bench. I was hoping I might make it there against Wales, but it wasn't to be."

I am sure he will get more chances in the future for England.
Please post your comments on Warnock.

Crouch Ready to Take On Tottenham

Peter Crouch has declared himself fit for action at White Hart Lane on Saturday. Following the injury to Morientes this is a welcome boost. Crouch had this to say about his fitness:

"I'd like to think I'll be ready for Tottenham. I've come through a reserve game OK.
"It was only 25 minutes but I've got some training under my belt and I'm sure I'll be ready to go.
"I was suspended for the first two games anyway which was frustrating.
"Getting the hamstring injury was a blow but I can't wait to make my Premiership debut for Liverpool."

Hopefully he will partner Cisse up front now the Frenchman has recovered from his ankle strain.

Mixed Fortunes for Reds on International Duty

Stevie Gerrard and Jamie Carragher featured in England's disastrous 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland. Gerrard was substituted after being moved to the left of midfield.
Sami Hyypia enjoyed a 5-1 win for Finland over Macedonia.
John Arne Riise played in Norway's surprise 2-1 home defeat to Scotland.
Djibril Cisse, after recovering from his ankle problem, made a late substitute appearance for France in their 1-0 win away to Ireland.
Xabi Alonso played the full 90 minutes and Luis Garcia was brought on as a replacement for Joaquin in Spain's 1-1 draw with Serbia & Montenegro.

Nando ruled out for 2 weeks

Unfortunately the Spanish national team doctors have confirmed after tests that Moro has pulled a muscle in his thigh. This is likely to rule him out for a fortnight. He will miss the Premiership games against Tottenham and Man United and the Champions League encounter with Real Betis.
Djibril Cisse & Peter Crouch will have chance to form an effective partnership is his absence.

No Defence for lack of Signings

Unfortunately no defensive additions of proven quality were made during the summer. This is going to leave Carra and Sami with the arduous task of playing every game until January provided they avoid any injuries. If either is unable to play we will be sadly lacking cover.
Josemi has played there in pre-season and in a couple of Champions League qualifiers but at present he is not the most confidence inspiring member of our squad. He loves a tackle so much that he is prone to dive in even when there is little chance of winning the ball. This is the last thing we need in central defence and doesn’t conform to the Hansen preferred method of staying on your feet. Josemi also lacks the height to win the ball in air if deputising for Hyypia. We don’t want to return to the days of the late 90’s when every corner caused our vertically challenged defence problems.
Personally I think Djimi Traore should now be given the chance to prove his worth as a centre back. All he has to learn is the ideal time to clear the ball. He has the pace that we are crying out for at the back and is fairly competent in the air. His distribution needs to improve but his improved confidence has led to better composure on the ball. I think Djimi will find it hard to be selected at left back with the recent emergence of Steve Warnock. The acquisition of Zenden is likely to push Riise into a more defensive role to put Djimi further down the pecking order.
The other options are youngsters. Although it’s best not to play them in central defence as this position is suited to experienced and fully physically developed players.
I find it astounding that we were unable to purchase a new central defender in the summer. This position is the most important in the team in terms of a foundation to give everyone confidence to attack. If Sami or Carra are injured or suspended it will inevitably have a negative impact on our season.

Please make your thoughts known.

Carra's All Time Great XI

Jamie Carragher has named his greatest ever XI for 4-4-2 magazine:

Southall, Cafu, Baresi, Desailly, Maldini, Souness, Keane, Zidane, Barnes, Van Basten, Dalglish.

Interestingly he has opted for Roy Keane in central midfield and Neville Southall in goal. However you can't argue with Dalglish featuring instead of Pele or Maradona!

Please post your comments.

Rafa Still After Uruguayan Defender

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is determined to land Sao Paulo defender Diego Lugano.

The Uruguay international confirmed an offer from Liverpool was turned down last week as Sao Paulo want to keep the defender for December's Club World Championships in Japan.
As we are also playing in Japan a meeting may be arranged to agree a transfer.

Yet again though Real Madrid could pose a problem with one of our transfers as Lugano's agent, Juan Figer, has apparently given Madrid first refusal.

Morientes out with Thigh Injury

Fernando Morientes has picked up an injury whilst training with Spain for their game against Serbia tomorrow. Nando had scored for Spain at the weekend and was hoping to cement his place in the Spanish side. However this injury, believed to be a thigh strain, is likely to rule him out for a number of weeks.

This is a major blow for us as Rafa seemed set to give Moro a run in the team to get the type of match sharpness that he has not be able to demonstrate since his arrival.

The Strike Partnership Possibilities

Rafa at the moment still needs to be convinced which players will form our 1st choice striking partnership. I believe Rafa is likely to opt for Peter Crouch & Morientes. He doesn’t seem to be as keen on Cisse as he was when his scout from Valencia told him they would win the league for the next three years if Cisse signed.
I feel the best pairing would be Cisse & Crouch. Crouch is able to hold up the ball enabling the midfield to join up. At 6ft 7ins he gives us aerial options that most teams would be unable to handle. Cisse also has a unique attribute. His acceleration and pace is unstoppable. It’s just a question of playing the right balls through for him to exploit. Crouch will hopefully be able to flick the balls on for Cisse to be first to run onto.
Morientes is in a catch 22 situation. At present he has not yet adapted to the pace and brutality of the English game. I don’t feel on present form he warrants a place in the team. However the only way he will get used to the Premiership is by playing regularly. Morientes offers good heading ability provided the service is there. He is also able to drop deep and be a creative influence. I don’t think Morientes & Crouch will work together as they are similar types of players. The only way Morientes and Cisse can operate up front together is if Morientes drops deeper and feeds Cisse. Although we need Morientes to be in the box to convert crosses into goals. Morientes can hold up the ball but does not shield the ball as well as Peter Crouch does.
The other options are Sinama Pongolle who was effective for a spell last season. He has the pace & trickery to succeed although his potential goalscoring ability at the highest level has yet to be confirmed. It appears that Neil Mellor will be sold once he regains his fitness. Luis Garcia & Harry Kewell can both play as support men. These types of positions are best employed with a pacy front man as Kaka & Shevchenko showed in the Champions League last season. Therefore Cisse would be the best option with Garcia or Kewell.
The common denominator for my preferred choices is Cisse. It will be interesting to see who Rafa selects on Saturday as we will need our strongest team present to for a difficult game against Tottenham

Please post your comments on our striking options.

King Likely to be Fit to Face Reds

Ledley King is back in light training and is expected to be fit for Saturday's clash at White Hart Lane. Hopefully he will have his work cut out on Saturday to contain Cisse and the marauding Gerrard.
I have noticed that prior to the big games we play our key players get injured and the opposition's key players always seem to recover in time to return against us.
Despite this I think we have what it takes to be victorious on Saturday especially with Cisse banging the goals in for fun at present.

Youngster Recognised as Great Talent

Ramon Calliste has been tipped, by Wales U21 boss Brian Flynn, to have a good future in the game. Calliste arrived at an Anfield having been discarded by Man United. Flynn had this to say about the young striker:

"It's a God-given chance for the lad, I hope he takes it. "He has had an eventful summer. It was a difficult time for him. At one stage it looked like he was going to Colchester and then he ends up at Liverpool. "Let's hope he progresses. Maybe he wants to prove a point to Manchester United by doing well at Liverpool. The ball is in his court. "He has great talent; he's just 19 with ability, pace and an eye for goal. When we played Germany 12 months ago he impressed everybody on the night in a difficult role up front. "But with the ability he has got he must have a chance of making it. He needs advice and help, it's not just an iron fist but also an arm around his shoulders sometimes. "I met him a few times in the summer to discuss his future and I do that with lots of the lads if I can help. I just hope Ramon takes this great chance to make something of his career."

I'm sure he is in the right place at Liverpool to be given the required attention to progress.

Cisse delighted with International Goalscoring Exploits

Djibril is in fine form at present. He has scored 8 goals in 7 competitive games this season. He was very pleased after his strikes for France put them in a good position to qualify for next year's World Cup:

"This is certainly my best evening in blue. "I am satisfied with our performance; we had a lot of opportunities especially at the start of the match. We scored fast which boosted our confidence. For me, we are getting better and better and we are improving."

He is also eagerly anticipating facing Steve Finnan on Wednesday provided he can shake off his ankle injury.

"This match was certainly a good preparation ahead of Ireland. I can't wait to be there. The atmosphere will be like in English stadiums. It will be noisy and great but I am expecting a very tough fight. "It will be strange playing against Steve (Finnan) but it should be a good battle. We have been winding each other up about this game for a long time now and I hope I'll be the one smiling when we return to Melwood on Thursday."

Let's hope they're both smiling at five on Saturday afternoon.

Rafa's Talent Production Line

Rafa has stated that all of the youngsters he has purchased this summer will have a chance to progress into the 1st team. Six of the Continent's most talented young players have arrived at Liverpool this summer. Four of them, Antonio Barragan, Jack Hobbs, Godwin Antwi & Miki Roque are defenders. The Austrian young player of the year, Besian Idrizaj, is an attacking midfielder and Ramon Calliste a, Man United reject, is a striker. Here is what Rafa had to say:

"Maybe they will have similar possibilities. "It depends on injuries and themselves. If they play really well then it will be difficult for me to ignore them. "From what I have seen so far they have done well and worked hard. We have a lot of young players in the reserve team now and it is a little bit light on experience."

Rafa's plan is to have a reserve team full of potential future stars. Hopefully this team will also feature a few graduates from the academy.

"What we are trying to do is prepare a new team that will be packed with quality players and in time we hope these players will be ready for the first team."

This is the type of system that has been successfully employed by Arsene Wenger. The Arsenal squad contains several players who were imported at a young age and are now holding their own in the Premiership.

Together with quality coaching and the top notch facilities at Melwood Rafa is building the foundations for long term success. Hopefully the Rafalution will return us to the glory days of the 70's and 80's.

Please post your comments.

Sven Excuses Gerrard for Below Par Performance

Gerrard was not at his best on Saturday but still gave a reasonable performance. It seems to me these days if Gerrard is not absolutely brilliant he gets criticised. Fortunately Sven was able to point out he was just back from injury:

You must remember that Steven Gerrard has trained only twice in the last 12 days," said Eriksson . "I think he was tired in the second half and maybe should have gone off earlier. We needed more energy in that area and when you get tired it's difficult to keep the ball. That's why it was coming back all the time towards the end of the match."

Gerrard offered another reason. He has been affected by being played in an abundance of varying roles for England:

"I think I was asked to play in three different positions in total," he said. "Usually it takes time to get used to the one position."

What do you think of Gerrard's performances for England? Please post your views.

Carra Hoping to Establish Himself as England Regular

After putting in a solid display against Wales Jamie Carragher is after a repeat performance against Northern Ireland to try and cement a place in the 1st team:

"I'd like to think I have put down a marker for the future," says Carra. "There is a game on Wednesday now and hopefully my performance can get me in the team for that match. "In international football it is difficult to put a marker down because you don't play too many games consecutively, so if I get the chance on Wednesday hopefully it is something I can build upon "The main thing though is that we got the result we needed. Our aim was to win these two games, so we are halfway there to getting the six points."

Unfortunately it's not going to be easy for Carra with both John Terry & Sol Campbell due to return soon.

Please post your comments.

Where is Gerrard's best position?

After watching Gerrard link up very well with Rooney in his advanced midfield role against Wales yesterday I have been left wondering just exactly where Gerrard should be deployed? Playing just behind the striker allows Gerrard to pick up the ball high up the pitch, run at the opposition and create shooting chances for himself. He can also drift to the flanks and deliver telling balls into the box. However sometimes, particularly when the team is playing defensively, he can be left isolated up front when you would really prefer him to drop back and influence the game more. I have never been convinced that Gerrard can play in a midfield two unless he is alongside a proper holding player, for example, Didi Hamann. We saw the effects in the 1st half of the Champions League final when Alonso & Gerrard were overrun and only when Hamann was introduced did the game change. This has also been the case with England. Neither Lampard or Gerrard want to sit back. The result is an unsettling of the team's formation. This may explain why England didn't do as well as they could have done in Euro 2004. Gerrard can play the midfield anchor role although he is not disciplined enough to sit and stay back and he knows his attacking talents will be suffocated in this role. I think Stevie is a victim of being such a good allround player. It's very tempting to play him in different positions because we all know he will do a good job anywhere on the pitch. He used to be played at right back for Liverpool with some suggesting this was his ideal place in the team. I feel that if Gerrard is to fulfill his potential at International level he needs to be played in one position only for both Club and Country. However I don't know where that postition is.

Please let me know what you think.

Momo: "I can be better than Vieira"

After making a very promising start at Anfield, 20 year old Sissoko has stated that with hard work he believes he can even surpass Patrick Vieira:

"Patrick has achieved almost everything there is to do in football and won lots of things," said Sissoko.
"But if I keep working hard maybe I can get to that level or become even better and one day people will talk about Sissoko rather than Vieira."

There is no doubt that if Momo is right he will become an Anfield Legend sooner rather than later.

How good do you think Sissoko can be? Please post your views.

Is Potter the Right Man?

After getting his contract extended Darren Potter is confident he will be given opportunities to establish himself on the right of our midfield. He is in the minority of people who are not too downhearted by the lack of signings for the right midfield problem area:

"You could say I've got mixed feelings with regards our not getting a new right midfielder," he says. "It would have been good for the club and the fans. I think everyone wanted us to make a big signing, so everyone is disappointed it didn't happen. "But from a personal point of view, I'm not too down about it. When you're in my position, a young player hoping to get some chances in the first team, it's a lot easier if there isn't a lot of competition. "If we'd signed a big name, I'm sure he'd have gone straight into the side and made it more difficult for me to get a game. "As it stands Luis Garcia and me are the only right midfielders in the squad. The boss will have ideas about playing others there, but I suppose I've got a 50-50 chance of playing quite a lot until January. That's not something I'm going to complain about." He adds: "It's a position I'm getting more and more used to. I've been brought up playing in the middle, but I know there's an opportunity there for me if I can keep improving as a right midfielder. "It's all about adapting to a new position for me. There are still things I need to adjust to, but the manager has shown he has belief in me and that's giving me a lot of confidence. "He's given me a few games already this season and he's made it clear that he sees me as part of his plans. I can't ask for more than that at the moment."

I'm unsure Potter has the ability to be up to the task despite Rafa's faith in the him.

Please let your views on Potter be known.

How much does Rafa want Cisse?

Rafa had this to say this morning about the French Striker:

"The rumours about Cisse were already going around before we beat CSKA Moscow in the Super Cup last week, and he still managed to score two goals for us that night. Cisse knows what he has to do - work hard, try to score goals and stay fit all season."

But Cisse has been troubled by the rumours as he explained to the News of The World:

"I heard Liverpool were in talks with other clubs behind my back - and that hurts. Everyone knows that being on the right is not where I want to play."
"I can't help but wonder about the club's attitude, but I'm prepared to put my head down and keep battling. "It's not my best position but the manager puts me there. I'm prepared to do it for the good of the club but it's difficult.
"It's a World Cup year and I need to win a place in the French side. At the moment that dream is under threat.
"I'm not like Michael Owen at Newcastle - I'm not guaranteed my place. I've spoken to my international manager and he told me I need to play as much as possible.
"He said I should go where I want as long as I am playing regularly.
"I ask myself, can I be happy only playing every other game? I can't help but wonder about the club's attitude towards me, but I'm prepared to put my head down and keep battling."

Perhaps Cisse will perform better in the knowledge his is playing for his place both for Club & Country and Rafa knows this is the way to get the best out of him.

Please post your comments.

Cisse bags a brace for France

Djbril has kept up his goalscoring form with a couple against the Faroes. The first was a good header and the second was a nice finish converted from a cross.
Hopefully he can keep this run going when he returns to Premiership action next Saturday at White Hart Lane.

Mellor may be off in January

According to his agent, Phil Sprosson, Neil Mellor should have a choice of clubs to move to when the transfer window re-opens. He is currently sidelined with a knee injury. This prevented a transfer in the previous window:

"First and foremost he has to get fit and playing again," "But if he is up and running by November, then there is clearly a chance Stoke might come back in for him in the January transfer window.
"I've mentioned Stoke to Neil and he is definitely interested. He has asked about the club, so I've told him it is a good club with a great fan base."
Sprosson expects his client to have much to consider in January.
"There will be no shortage of takers for a player like Neil once he is fit," added Sprosson. "Any club in the top half of The Championship would be interested."
"But if it's a loan deal then I think he will want to commute from his home in Cheshire and that could clearly give Stoke a big advantage. But if he doesn't fancy Stoke, then I've told him Port Vale would be a great move."

Rafa's New Reds Recruitment Regime

There may have been a few transfer dissappointments recently but this will not be the case in the future as Rafa's system will enable us to find and acquire quality players before our rivals even know who they are. He had this to say about searching for new talent:

"We have changed the entire scouting system and replaced some of the old scouts. We now have scouts working tirelessly on our behalf right around the world and we have situated these in what we believe to be the most important countries. "This new system we've put in place means they can now submit their reports to us easier and quicker, whether they are in Argentina or in this country. The information they provide us with is very important and could be the first step towards us signing a new player. "At this early stage we are yet to reap the benefits of these changes. This summer has come too soon for us. The new system has only just been put into place so it has not been easy but maybe when the transfer window opens again we will notice a difference. "The job of a scout is really important, in fact I'd say it is one of the most important at the club. If you have good scouts then you are one step ahead when it comes to trying to sign up good young players early in their career or established players who are good enough to step straight into the first team. "It's all about timing and you must get in there before other clubs. The transfer market is very competitive and a lot of the time you are competing with clubs that have a lot more money."

I find it hard to believe some people have questioned Rafa after missing out on Owen. How can anyone question Rafa? For me he knows exactly what he has to do to look after the best interests of the club.

Crouch delighted with move

I'm sure, even six months ago, if you mentioned to Peter Crouch he would be joining Liverpool in the summer, he would have questioned your sanity. Consequently, now the transfer has taken place, he has spoken of his joy:

"Everything about this place is top notch," he says. "The facilities at Anfield and Melwood are excellent and the standard of players I'm training alongside each day is obviously a lot higher. I've enjoyed every minute of it so far and I'm looking forward to returning to action.
"I know I still have a lot to prove but I'm relishing the challenge. It's always been a big ambition of mine to compete at the top level. When you move to a new club it's important to try and make a good impression as early as possible. I was pleased with the start I'd made but it was obviously disappointing and frustrating to get injured when I did."
"A lot has been written about my style of play but that is what Rafael Benitez bought me for and I'm sure I can add more to my game and develop as a player under his managership. It's a lot easier when you have players of the calibre of Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard has your supply line," he adds.
"Once I knew Liverpool were interested in me, they were the only club I wanted to join. The transfer did drag on a bit and at times it was frustrating but now I'm here life couldn't be better at the moment. This is a massive club to play for and the move here represents a great challenge for me."
"I'm from West London and I was a QPR fan as a kid," he confirms. "I've read in some reports that I supported Chelsea but I don't know where they got that from!"

Crouch will obviously give us a very alternative option but I think it will be a tall order for him to become a Kop hero.
Please post your views on Crouch.

Reds in weekend World Cup action

Sadly there is no top flight domestic football this weekend however lots of our players will be involved with their Countries:

Sami for Finland away to Andorra.
Stevie & Carra for England away to Wales. This one is live on Skysports 1 tomorrow kick off at 3:00pm.
Bolo Zenden will be playing for the Dutch away to Armenia.
Cisse should score some goals tomorrow evening against the Faroe Islands.
Momo & Djimi are off to Africa to play for Mali against the Congo.
Didi Hamann may feature for Germany away to Slovakia. This one kicks off at 7:00pm Saturday night and will be Live on Eurosport.

Let's hope they all return to Melwood unscathed from combat.

The right midfield options

Unfortunately we have failed to secure a new right winger therefore someone who is currently in our squad will have to take this role. Fortunately we do have a large squad with a lot of versatile players so it shouldn't be as much of a problem as some are saying. In my opinion we have seven different possibilities.

My preferred choice would be Gerrard. There is no doubt he could do a world class job on the right as he would do anywhere on the field. He played there to great effect in the treble season. His performance against Man U when he scored a 35 yard rocket immediately springs to mind. Now we have Sissoko, who has already proved himself to be Premiership class, to partner Alonso in what would be a not too Xabi central midfield partership. This can release Gerrard to the right without weakening other areas too much.
Florent Sinama Pongolle would be my number two choice. He has plenty of trickery and pace and can deliver reasonable quality balls into the box. I think Flo will find it hard to break into the 1st team as a striker after the arrivals of Morientes and Peter Crouch.
Luis Garcia has played there before however he likes to cut in too much and lacks defensive discipline. He is best suited playing just off a striker.
Harry Kewell is another option. He is someone else who likes to cut inside but can also use his right foot if necessary. He has the skills to bamboozle the defenders sufficiently to cut back and cross using his gifted left foot aswell. Ideally when Kewell regains his fitness, he will be able to show the form that made him one of the best left sided midfielders in Europe, on our left midfield.
Djibril Cisse does not like playing there but Rafa likes him to use his astonishing pace to beat defenders and cross the ball. He put in a wonderful ball in the Supercup for Garcia but hopefully, if given a proper chance, he will establish himself up front as our top striker.

Steve Finnan & Darren Potter could also potentially be played on the right wing. I hope not though as Finnan had made the right back position his own and Potter lacks the necessary speed to beat a man.

Please post your comments.

Josemi: "Premiership is stronger than La Liga"

Having played in both the English & Spanish top leagues Josemi has no doubts which one is the hardest to succeed in:

"The Premiership is stronger than Spain. Back in Spain you have Real Madrid, Barcelona and maybe two other teams capable of winning La Liga. Here you have many strong teams and the competition is tougher."

He has also spoken about the season ahead and his determination to prove that he can make it here:

"I am very happy at Liverpool. I have been here one year now and I hope to show my best form this season and not get any more injuries. I want to show the supporters that the manager was right to sign me for Liverpool. "The Premiership is a very difficult league and it took me a while to adapt to the pace and the physical side of the game. I had two injuries which didn't help me and kept me out for a long time but the manager has shown faith in me and I will be a lot better this season. The fans will see the best of Josemi this season. "I will play anywhere for the manager and for the team. I don't mind playing at right back or centre half. I love tackling and I really like playing at centre half, this is where I'm strongest. "We will have a lot of games this season with the Premiership, Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup so we need to have a big squad and competition for places." "The Premiership is stronger than Spain," insists Josemi. "Back in Spain you have Real Madrid, Barcelona and maybe two other teams capable of winning La Liga. Here you have many strong teams and the competition is tougher."

"A lot of people spoke about me returning to Spain in the summer, but for me that was never an intention," he adds. "I wanted to remain here and show I could be an important player for Liverpool."

Personally I think the English league is the most exciting in Europe but the Spanish is technically the best. Please post your comments on this subject and whether you think Josemi has what is takes to become a favourite at Anfield.

Gonzalez will join Reds

Mark Gonzalez is still set to become a Liverpool player. He was initially going to join on loan in August but was refused a work permit. He has now returned to back to Albacete in the Spanish second division. They have issued a statement in connection with the transfer:

"The Chilean player will wear the number 12 shirt after reaching an agreement with Liverpool. Mark will play for Albacete until he receives his work permit. That could happen on one of two dates - in January or on June 30."

Hopefully Speedy Gonzalez will arrive in January.

Potter's contract extended to 2008

Rafa has rewarded Darren Potter for his pre and early season form with a new deal. Since Rafa has arrived you could tell he rates the Irish under 21 International highly on the basis of his league cup selections. He is a creative central midfield player who lacks pace but compensates with speed of thought.

"I'm really pleased. I had two years left on my contract but the club have given me an extra year. It's fantastic news for me. "The manager has been great with me this season. I've been involved regularly in the squad and played a good amount of games. "The boss even took me to Monaco as part of the squad last week and gave me a winners medal even though I wasn't involved because of injury." Potter says he he has been happy to play right midfield this season but admits he has been pleasantly surprised to be involved regularly so far this season. Potter said: "I've been involved regularly with the first team so far this season, more than I've expected if I'm being honest. I have been asked to play on the right of midfield because of a shortage of players there and I have done a job there. "My best position is central midfield but I know I am competing against world class players for that role. As long as I'm playing then I don't mind where I play, as long as the manager is happy with me. I can do a job on the right side of midfield."

It may be harsh to say this but on the evidence seen so far I think Potter will find it very difficult to establish himself at Liverpool even with our current lack of right sided midfielders.

Please post your views.

Pongolle backs Cisse to be Djibrilliant

Florent Sinama Pongolle has spoken about his compatriot and predicts he will establish himself as a top Premiership striker:

"Djibril is my friend and I was very happy for him to score in the Super Cup. Djibril loves scoring goals, that's what he does best and he only wants to play football and score goals for Liverpool. "He scored two goals in the Super Cup and set the other goal up. You see the joy on his face when he scores a goal and you see how much it means to him. I know how much it means to him after his injury and he wants to do well for Liverpool. "I think he will score lots of goals this season in the Premiership. I watched him in France and he scored lots of goals and I am very confident he can do the same in England. I think Djibril will be brilliant in the Premiership this season.

I am also sure that Cisse has what it takes to silence all of his critics. It's just a question of where Rafa decides to play him.

Parry pensive after transfer troubles

After missing out on a whole host of targets our Chief Exec, Rick Parry, has remained positive on what can be achieved this season:

"We don't believe it should be all doom and gloom. There isn't a club which hasn't suffered disappointments in the transfer market, so we're no different," said Parry. "The big danger, particularly when you're approaching the deadline, is you get desperate and do the wrong deal. You have to hold your nerve and we decided not to pursue certain targets in the end yesterday. We have a lot of faith in the players we have. "We have brought in most of the players we wanted. Let's not forget we've spent £20m to bring in Pepe Reina, Momo Sissoko, Peter Crouch and Bolo Zenden. They are four top players. "We have spent the same amount we spent in 2002 when we bought just three players, so lack of money has not been an issue here. "We've enjoyed a pretty good summer in the transfer market. There's been a substantial outlay. "If you compare last August to this, we have spent heavily on strikers, as Jamie Carragher has pointed out today. "We didn't leave things too late because the deals we wanted were completed early during the summer and at that stage we were content we'd achieved four out of four on our list of targets. That left us looking for a right midfielder and cover for Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia at centre-half. "Yesterday was a strange day. We had an agreement with Benfica but when the story leaked there was such a strong reaction they felt they couldn't sell. Simao was sitting on a plane waiting to come for his medical, but Benfica called it off. In a way, it was similar to the Steven Gerrard situation here when Chelsea were interested. "It was disappointing but there is nothing we could do. Had the deal broken down on June 30, perhaps there wouldn't be such doom and gloom because you know there's time to find someone else. That's not the case on deadline day. "Rafa is philosophical about the situation. He insisted we didn't pay for players who weren't worth the money. We could have signed centre-halves yesterday, but there was no point wasting money for the sake of it. "He is sure we are better placed to challenge for the top places this season. We want to push on from last season and we are still confident we have the players to do it. "We haven't got 100 per cent of our targets, but which top club in the world ever gets everything it wants. We've done pretty well. It was a strange contrast between European success and disappointment in the Premiership. "Have we got a better squad to do well in all competitions this season? Rafa's answer to this is yes."

If Rafa is happy we should all be happy.

Pongolle: "Why can't we be champions?"

Flo has shown the type of confidence produced from last season's success:

"I feel we will do well this season in the Premiership. I think we have a strong squad with a good mentality. I think honestly we are quietly confident about the Premiership this season and why can't we be champions come the end of the season?"

He has also spoken about his role this season after making a quick recovery from a cruciate injury:

"It's great for me to be back and playing again. Just to be back on the pitch again after seven months out makes me very happy. "I am getting my fitness back gradually and maybe in a couple of weeks I will be back to my best. It was nice that I was able to come back for the Super Cup Final and win another trophy."
"My best position is a central striker," he said. "I can also play just off the striker and on the right hand side. The only problem with me playing on the right is I haven't got the best physical presence or stamina at the moment as I have just returned from injury. I will play on the right if the manager asks me to play there. "It is not about what is best for me though, it's all about the team and that is the most important thing."

Pongolle's attitude is great for a youngster and I am hopeful that he can make the right wing slot his own.

Carra confident without Owen

Jamie Carragher is happy with the strikers we have and believes they can make the impact required to help us forget about Michael Owen.
"You've got to have respect for the players we've still got around.
"I'm not sure if there will be a bit of criticism because we haven't signed him but we've spent a lot of money on strikers - £14million on Djibril Cisse, £7million on Peter Crouch and £6million on Fernando Morientes.
"We've got to have respect for the players at our club and hopefully they can do the damage for us. We've got a lot of good strikers."
"You don't want to criticise a club like Real Madrid, but it's unbelievable not to play him when you look at his goal ratio.
"I'm sure you won't see Robinho or Baptista doing more than he did in the time that he had. Maybe it's because he doesn't do backheels or flick the ball over people's heads.
"But the most important thing in the team is putting the ball in the back of the net and Newcastle have got one of the best around at doing that.
"Every season he seems to have people questioning him. Even at Liverpool, he'd maybe go six or seven games without scoring and it'd be all the talk.
"But then he'd score a hat-trick. He's very mentally strong. You can see that from the level he was playing at such a young age.
"He's a great fighter and I'm sure he'll show that at Newcastle. With him and Shearer together, it's going to be tough playing at St James' Park with the crowd behind them!"
I can't wait for the Newcastle game to see Carra have his best mate in his pocket.
Please post your views.

Diao loaned to Pompey & Solano snub

Salif Diao has joined Portsmouth on loan with a view to a permanent transfer. Since his £5 million transfer in 2002 it has been clear that Diao did not have the ability to make it at Liverpool. Hopefully he can do what is required to secure a permanent move to Portsmouth.
After the Simao deal broke down last night we made a last minute attempt to capture Solano. Unfortunately this was not successful as Aston Villa wanted a player in exchange to cover for his loss.

No deadline transfers but plenty of reasons for optimism

Our inability to make the required signings of a right winger and centreback has been difficult to take. As European Champions we have had no problem attracting players but the clubs we are trying to buy the players from have been upping the prices to unacceptable levels. It was documented last season that we required investment to take us to the next level. This has not been forthcoming and it has been hoped that the revenue generated by the Champions League success would compensate. You cannot blame the board for failing to buy players at unrealistic prices.
There is no need to panic though. We have signed a top quality goalkeeper and Sissoko looks to be a star in the making. The squad has been bolstered with Bolo Zenden and Peter Crouch may well be a great success. Cisse has returned from his horrific injury and has already scored lots of goal this season. Stevie Gerrard has opted to stay and has a chance to form a formidable midfield partnership with Xabi Alonso. Harry Kewell has had operations and will hopefully make a full recovery and show the type of form that caused such excitement when we signed him. Rafa has also done his best to secure the Continent's top teenage talent and they may get chances sooner rather than later.
Please post your comments on how you see this season going now we know our final squad.