Saturday, September 8, 2007

Today's Banter: Voronin backs Benitez, Steven Taylor in the works?, Rafa loves Rugby? & more

(Sorry for not posting but once yesterday and in advance for being so brief today, but really, there's not much going on and Euro-qualifying is on my mind. Cheers.)

- First up, Voronin has come out in defense of Rafa's rotation policy. Again, it's been proven that Rafa in fact rotates his line-ups just as often as Mourinho and Fergie, but who cares, right. I'm glad to see the Ukrainian striker has had a change in thought though, before joining the team he made some comments about being a starter and not a super sub. Now that he's actually here, he has seen the light despite being used as a super sub at times.

- Apparently Steven Taylor has alerted Rafa Benitez, a long-time admirer of the 21-year-old Newcastle centre back, that he may be interested in a switch to Liverpool as early as this upcoming January transfer window. If we can get a young talent like Taylor to pair for Agger in the future, that would be awesome. According to reports, Newcastle made an 'insulting' contract extension offer to the England U21 captain.

- Rafa Benitez was seen catching a rugby match at Knowsley Road. St. Helens boss Daniel Anderson also revealed that he and Rafa have met before and that he'd been to Liverpool's training facility, Melwood, to talk shop.

- Finally, if you want to catch up with Alan Kennedy and the Legends squad, here is a nice read. Cheers everyone and good luck to Stevie-G, Xabi, El Nino, Pepe Reina, Luis Garcia, John Arne Riise, Daniel Agger, Ryan Babel, Dirk Kuyt, Andriy Voronin, Sami Hyypia, Yossi (not really though, just stay fit), and anyone else I may have forgotten in their international ties. Hope you guys win (except Yossi) , but most of all stay fit.

Friday, September 7, 2007

Today's Banter: The needle & hopefully no damage done for Gerrard & more

- Well, he's gone and done it, Steven Gerrard has declared himself fit to Steve McClaren for England's tie with Israel tomorrow. No word on whether he'll get an injection or not, and though I doubt we'll hear about it if he does with all the controversy surrounding it anyhow. After tomorrow, I don't expect Stevie-G to play for us for about a month, call it Anfield intuition.

- Not really that much else going on other than Voronin getting a lot of love and if you wrote Steven Gerrard, Luis Garcia, or Harry Kewell a love letter between February 12 and April 21 of this year, there's a good chance it ended up in this guy's house. Cheers.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Mascherano 94th? Ha ha ha!

I've seen this list posted on a few sites and still can't believe how unbelievably retarded it is. First of all, what is FourFourTwo's criteria? The opinion of Nike, Adidas, and FIFA? They certainly didn't take all-round play into account, because Kaka is a second rate defender at best. That's why they have Gattuso on Milan. There's no doubting the Brazilian's attacking skills, but he's utterly useless and a borderline burden on the other end. I know, I know, they have to make sure he doesn't get hurt. My bad.

I know I may be biased, but please prove me wrong. Mascherano was arguably our best player in our Champions League run last year, he was arguably the best player on the pitch versus AC Milan in the final (Just ask Kaka, who did shit all when Javi was on the pitch), and he was arguably Argentina's best player in Copa this past summer (save maybe Riquelme, and that's a big maybe). The biggest difference between a player like Mascherano and Kaka? Mascherano can play on the attack as he has for Liverpool and his country, but Kaka could never become a holding/defensive midfielder.

I guess being great at a couple of things is better than being really good at practically everything? Yeah, I want a player that you can only play if you have another certain kind player on their with them. In that regard, Mascherano is two players for the price of one, Kaka is not. FourFourTwo aren't idiots though. They know how to ride the marketing machine that has already pumped the name 'Kaka' into millions of the air-filled heads of the mindless masses. They know how to sell magazines and that's all that matters.

Babel thanks Rafa, receives praise from Dalglish

In an endearing piece in the Daily Mail today, summer acquisition and winger extraordinaire, Ryan Babel, has revealed that he owes a great deal of gratitude to Rafa Benitez for his tremendous start with the club.

Apparently when Babel was at Ajax, he would let outside interference (a.k.a the crowd) affect his play, so much so that he would become 'depressed on the pitch'. Benitez saw this while attending an Ajax away match during Babel's stay there and told the future star that the abuse ought to make him stronger and that the more the opposing fans swore at him, the more afraid of him they were.

Yeah, he better get used to it, especially with Goodison Park, Old Trafford, and Stamford Bridge all in his near future. If he can fuel from those fans' hate, the kid has the ability to win those matches for us almost singlehandedly.

Also in the Daily Mail, was an article about Dalglish singing Babel's praises. The Liverpool Legend spoke of the young Dutch International's "cracker of a goal" against Derby and how he thinks that could have been the straw that breaks the camel's back, giving Babel the final piece of confidence he needs to become a force in the Premiership. Of course, King Kenny doesn't know anything about football.

Fagan receives four match ban

Derby County striker Craig Fagan received a four-match ban from the FA today for stamping Alvaro Arbeloa on the calf in Liverpool's 6-0 demolition exhibition of the Rams last Saturday. The punishment was originally only three matches, but an additional match was added due to the 25-year-old's appeal and calling the matter 'frivolous'.

I have seen the incident a few times and personally think that it is without a doubt the correct call. He doesn't lose his balance by any means and appears to be looking down at Arbeloa's leg before his cleat leaves the ground. I'm just happy that our player wasn't injured by the incident and still can't believe a card wasn't handed out as it was done almost right in front of the sideline official.

Today's Banter: Crouch an internet sex god?, Le Tallec snubbed Hearts, Xabi could get rare start, & more

- Apparently Peter Crouch is one sexy bastard. According to this article, the England striker has quite the following on Facebook with a group dubbed 'Peter Crouch is a Sex God'. I don't do Facebook so I can't confirm it, but when asked, here's what Crouch supposedly said: "I've never been classed as that before. I'd certainly like to meet these people. I'm sure they're all very attractive." He'd like to meet them? Uh, Crouchy, I don't think you do.

- Anthony Le Tallec is claiming that Hearts offered him 'crazy money' to play for them instead of returning to his home country of France on loan to Le Mans. Wouldn't surprise me since the owner of Hearts, Vladimir Romanov, is mental and has loads of cash. Le Tallec turned down the deal for 'sporting' reasons, which I'm assuming was because of international ambitions.

- Spanish national team manager Luis Aragones has hinted that Xabi Alonso could get a rare start in his country's upcoming Euro-qualifier versus Iceland on Saturday. Xabi had been reduced to bench status for the past year, ever since the World Cup. Aragones also said that, despite a minor knee injury, he expects Torres to start as well.

- Javier Mascherano has come in support of Rafa's rotation policy despite not playing as much as a World Class midfielder would expect. It seems like he's played more for Argentina lately. Javi is all right with his lack of playing time because he understands that it is a long season, we are going after the quadruple, and the more amount of fresh bodies, the better is our chance of winning. It's not rocket science. Too bad the pundits don't get it.

- Finally in two separate articles that have nothing in common, here's a look at our team's debt issues and an article that mentions a few of our former players who will be attending Rhys Jones' funeral. Cheers.

Liverpool Reserves 1, Middlesborough Reserves 1: the highlights

Here are the video highlights from Tuesdays Reserves 1-1 draw with the Middlesborough Reserves. The 'Hand of God' goal from 'Boro is about 1:30 into the video and the penalty incident for Liverpool is about 6:30 into the highlights. Cheers.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

LFC Tea Time: Torres Injured, Gerrard trains, Finnan ruled out, Fagan denies stamping & Benayoun praises Stevie-G

- A pretty busy day for knocks and minor bruises on the Liverpool scene, speaking of which, Fernando Torres apparently slightly injured himself in training with Spain today on a challenge from David Abelda. It doesn't appear to be serious, but the 23-year-old striker said that it began to hurt more and more as the day wore on. He is still expected to play for his country in their upcoming Euro-qualifiers against Iceland and Latvia.

- Steven Gerrard participated more in training today for England as they prepare for their Euro-qualifiers against Israel and Russia. Apparently Stevie-G told McClaren that he would be fit for the first match against Israel at Wembley on Saturday. No word on whether he will receive an injection or not.

- With Finnan yet to show at Ireland's training in Malahide, Irish boss Steve Staunton has concluded that the right-back will not be available for his side's upcoming Euro-qualifiers against Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Finnan remained in Liverpool for treatment and assessment from club physicians.

- 25-year-old Derby County striker Craig Fagan has denied charges from the FA that he intentionally stamped on Alvaro Arbeloa's calf in last Saturday's match. He has appealed the decision and the case will now be heard by a regulatory commission tomorrow. Like I've said before, he may have not done it with the appearance of malice, but it looks very intentional.

- Yossi Benayoun has named Steven Gerrard as the best midfielder in the world and believes the Liverpool skipper will do all he can to play for England on Saturday. Not a bad compliment from a guy who has played multiple seasons in La Liga and now the Premiership. I have a feeling he just wants Gerrard to play, hoping he'll re-aggravate his injury, and bettering Benayoun's chances to get pitch time with the club. Just kidding. Cheers.

LFC Awards for August

First our best XI:
GK - Pepe Reina
No one else played there for us so this is pretty much a given, though not allowing a goal from the field in 6 matches is not an unimpressive feat.

LB - Alvaro Arbeloa
His ability to defend was rarely held in question last year, especially with his speed and strength, but the things he seemed weak on, especially positioning and discipline, has improved immensely. Not to mention his passing has been spot-on.

CB - Jamie Carragher
Same old reliable Carra and hopefully he'll have the legs towards the end of the season after retiring from International play

CB - Sami Hyypia
Has appeared to find his second legs after faltering a little earlier last year. I really think the fact that he thought he was just a bench player at the beginning of last season hurt him in a negative way, but now he knows that if performs well, he'll get plenty of time on the pitch.

RB - Steve Finnan
Who else? The best right-back in the game has been just as good as ever.

LM - Ryan Babel
Has been simply electric in his performances and though not wholly consistent, has shown flashes of world class ability. His passing and vision are amazing for a 20-year-old and he's only going to get better.

CM - Steven Gerrard
The free kick goal against Aston Villa and the assist to Torres against Chelsea may have been the highlights so far, but our skipper does so much more.

CM - Momo Sissoko
This is the hardest to pick so far as Mascherano has been great as well, but the goal and the calm, calculated nature of his play gives him a slight edge. He has definitely showed signs of maturity this year.

RM - Jermaine Pennant
Though slow to start, he has shown flashes of improvement over his impressive form from last season. At times, he's simply unstoppable with his unpredictable play, but he needs to know that it's alright to shoot once-in-a-while.

F - Fernando Torres
World Class, that's all I really need to say. The kid does so much more than score goals, he literally worries defenses tireless.

F - Dirk Kuyt & Andriy Voronin
I honestly can't pick between the two, both have been tireless and versatile in their performances.

Honorable Mentions -
Daniel Agger, CB - Has appeared to put it together a little in the last couple of matches, but he still has not shown the same form we were treated to most of last year

Yossi Benayoun, MF - It's sort of ridiculous that Yossi is our second choice at the wingers because he's such a threat and a catalyst on attack

Javier Mascherano, CM - The best in the business has been no less than dominating in the few matches he's played this season

I can't stress enough that nobody on our squad has played bad, but in the case of someone like Xabi and even Agger, I just expect so much more. Maybe Xabi's two goals versus Derby will give him more confidence, though he might just still be trying to figure out what his role on the team is.

Player of the Month: Fernando Torres
I could easily see Stevie-G picking this up as well, but Torres truly showed his class and has been the reason for our great start.

Goal of the Month: Steven Gerrard's free kick goal versus Aston Villa
I could have went with Torres' goal against Chelsea, but the Captain's goal just oozed world class. It was simply unsaveable.

Graham Poll: Crouch targeted at World Cup

Former International and England referee Graham Poll has revealed that officials at last year's World Cup were told to keep a close watch on the Three Lions' Peter Crouch. He claims that they went as far as watching England warm-up matches so they would know what to look for, emphasizing the way the lanky striker uses his arms. A biased against an English player in the World Cup in Germany? Crazy.

A player being targeted by refs seems a serious subject to me, yet I've seen very little about it in the media. I know the German, Italian, and most other non-English European media will ignore any subject regarding discrimination against England and an English player, but if there is any truth to this, something should be done. Maybe England should just resort to the corrupt and cheating tactics of their European competitors, as it looks like that's the only way they're going to get a 'fair' deal in international competition.

Today's Banter: Gerrard & the needle debate, Micah Richards' thoughts on that subject, Jimmy Ryan would rather play for Shrewsbury Town, & more

- The big debate in the British papers today seems to be whether or not Steven Gerrard should receive a painkiller injection in his injured toe if it allows him to play for England on Saturday versus Israel at Wembley. It is no secret that Rafa thinks if Stevie-G needs an injection, he is still not fit, and no risk should be taken to further aggravate that injury. Steve McClaren sees no problem in it. The problem is Stevie wants to play, almost at all costs. I understand him wanting to play for his country, wanting to be the hero that helps them qualify for Euro 2008, but with our start in the league and our tendency over the last couple of years to get better as the season progresses, we have the best chance at winning the EPL for the first time in 17 years. McClaren dug this hole himself and I say let him make the sacrifice to get England out of it.

- For some reason, Micah Richards has offered his two cents on the Gerrard-needle debate, saying that he would gladly take the needle to play for his country. Oh the ignorant optimism of youth, it's what keeps the body bag industry in business during time of war. If anyone gives a rat's ass what a 19-year-old with a total of 5 international caps has to say, then you're an idiot. Leave it up to the big boys, son.

- On-loan Jimmy Ryan has revealed that he'd rather stay at Shrewsbury Town than return to Liverpool to fight for a spot. I say give the player his wish because if he'd be happy just to play instead of playing for a top club, he has no place on our squad.

- Finally, Fernando Torres has vowed to bring the title back to Anfield while Jamie Carragher has expressed his desperate desire to bring number 19 to his club before he retires. Maybe Carra can have a sit down with Gerrard.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

'Hand of God' gets Middlesborough Reserves a draw, Paul Anderson scores for Swansea

According to the match report on the official site, the Middlesborough Reserves side featuring Gaizka Mendieta and Lee Cattermole needed a 'Hand of God' a la Diego Maradona goal to draw 1-1 with our Reserves. Our goal was scored by Ray Putterill from the spot after a handball was called on Boro defender Jonathan Grounds in the box. Apparently Sebastian Leto was unstoppable and Lucas Leiva put in a solid match as well, but we were either unlucky or sloppy on our finishes. The next Reserves match will be on September 19th against Wigan Athletic at their place.

In other news, Paul Anderson has scored his second goal for Swansea City, netting in the 16th minute of Swansea's 3-2 League Trophy win over Millwall. It was Anderson's third start for the Swans, though he has played in three League One matches. His first goal for his out-on-loan club was in League Cup play against Walsall. The irony of the match was that the deciding goal was an Own Goal by former Liverpool defender, American Zak Whitbread.

Bernd Schuster already worried about drawing Liverpool in CL play

I didn't really expect anyone to be paying us any attention in the Champions League at least until after the Group Stage, but apparently we're causing Real Madrid's Bernd Schuster a little anxiety, which is surprising seeing how well his squad has started this season. In this article, the former German International has this to say about our side:
"Liverpool is not so attractive in it's game; it is an ugly team to play, hard and difficult. It is not necessary to remind people how tough they made it for Barcelona last season."

Though most newspapers are trying to play this up as Schuster talking a little smack, it looks as if they're just trying to sell papers. I think all he's saying is that we are great defensively and unpredictable on attack as much can be lost or added in translation.

The thing that baffles me is how he says that Man U has the best attack and Chelsea have the best defense. Has he watched either of these sides play this season? I have no doubts that a fully fit Man U squad with Rooney, Giggs, Ronaldo, and Scholes firing on all cylinders are certainly a formidable attack, but Rooney's injured, Giggs and Scholes look a year older, and I guess we'll have to wait and see what post-suspension Ronaldo looks like. Nani and Tevez have been competent, but also look like two new players struggling to build chemistry with their new teammates.

As for Chelsea's defense, they are certainly capable of being an impenetrable fortress, but allowing two goals against Birmingham at Stamford Bridge and the two goals they allowed against Aston Villa this past weekend make them far from impressive nor in top form. I honestly think they should have never gotten rid of Diarra, but apparently that was unavoidable, and Alex has been far less impressive than he was at PSV last year.

Ultimately, if we can stay fit and maintain our current form, then sure, Schuster does have something to worry about, but to come out now and voice his concerns just doesn't make much sense.

McEveley: We gave Liverpool too much respect

Scottish International and Derby County left-back, James McEveley, had some interesting words about his side's 6-0 annihilation at Anfield last Saturday. Here's what he had to say:
"I think we gave Liverpool too much respect. We didn't get in their faces, we were standing back in awe of some of the players as opposed to going out and saying, 'It's me against you and you are not going to beat me'."

That's quite a revisionist's excuse since I think most people who watched that match would think different. In fact, I'd be hard pressed not to say that McEveley's side were quite physical and challenged us on every goal save Xabi's first one which was without a doubt a fluke. The rest of the goals were clear indications of our superior size, speed, and football instincts. If they had tried to be more physical, we would have just used our prevailing pace and skill to administer a similar beat-down, probably allowing them to pick up some cards and run themselves ragged in the process.

If Derby County's idea of too much respect is cleat stomping on one of our players while they are down, what are they going to do next? Wear brass knuckles and punch opponents in their Charlie Browns? I'm just glad we were on the winning side of this match as I have a feeling the Rams won't make the same mistakes, that is trying to play with a better squad instead of trying to dictate the pace of the match, when they go to Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford.

Steve Finnan injured, may not play for Ireland?

May not play for Ireland? That's ridiculous. I don't care how much he wants to play for his country, if he has even the slightest tinge of pain in his knee, he should not be allowed to play. I would understand if he was a 25-year-old, but he's not, he's 31. Not only that, but we signed him to a two-year deal this offseason and he should show his club the proper respect and not put himself at any more risk than humanly possible.

This type of crap really pisses me off and I don't understand why Rafa didn't ask him to retire from International duty when he re-signed him. If I were a manager of any football squad, I would make 30-years-old the mandatory International retirement age for my players and if they didn't like it then I would tell them to go waste some other clubs time, money, and effort by risking injury for their country.

In other news, apparently Steven Gerrard will be forbidden to play for England if painkillers are required. I'm not sure if that's what Stevie-G, Rafa, or Steve McClaren has decided, but whomever did, thank God. There's absolutely no reason for our captain risk further injury. Steve McClown got his country's squad in their current dire position and he should be the one to get them out of it, not any of the players.

Today's Banter: Stevie to play injured for England, Rafa speaks out against Platini, Super Reserves to take pitch tonight, & more

(First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Brian and I used to do the Liverpool blog over at the Offside. I have taken over this blog from my brother and will be posting here frequently, especially in-depth coverage on game days. Feel free to leave any comments, particularly negative ones, I love haters. Cheers.)

- It appears that Steve McClown will get what he wants when a not fully fit Gerrard is expected to take the pitch for England next Saturday in their Euro-qualifying match with Israel at New Wembley. If you can't tell, I'm extremely over-joyed about this. I understand he's England's best player and they have little to no chance of qualifying without him, but if he re-aggravates the hairline fracture in his toe, he won't be available for the Wednesday match versus Russia and possibly even the mid-October ties with Estonia and Russia, again. The only thing I can take comfort with is the fact that we haven't needed our world class midfielder since the first match of the Premiership season at Villa. I'm also very thankful that Carra has quit the Three Lions and we should have him back when the break ends in two weeks.

- Rafa has added his voice to the dissent against UEFA head Michel Platini's proposal to have domestic cup winners be the final choice representative in the following year's Champions League tournament. Benitez basically shares the same view as most that it could potentially weaken the field of the world's greatest club tournament. Not only that, but it could potentially hurt not only the integrity of the domestic cup but also the league/country where it's participants play. Just imagine a manager of a mid-level Premiership club who knows that his team has a better chance of winning the domestic cup than finishing in the top three in the league, especially since they know the sides with the best shot of taking the CL league spots are akin to playing lesser squads in domestic cups. Champions League money is a great incentive if a side knows it can beat relegation with a half-assed EPL effort and still make it to the big European stage.

- We're fielding a pretty damn good Reserves side today in our opening fixture for The Barclays Premier Reserve League (North) against Middlesborough's reserve team. Among them will be first-teamer and Pepe back-up, the Frenchman Charles Itandje, recent official signing CB Spaniard Mikel San Jose, Former Stockport County wonder kid Ryan Crowther, and South Americans and part-time 1st teamers Lucas Leiva and Sebastian Leto. The normal crew will also be there including Emiliano Insua and Craig Lindfield. Our boys haven't played since their mid-August Scandinavian tour were they trounced Norwegian side, Kvik Halden, 5-1, and Swedish squad, Karlstad, 4-0 thanks to a Craig Lindfield hat trick. I have little doubt that our Reserves could easily maintain a mid-level spot in the Championship.

- Finally, there's been a lot of love coming from inside and outside of the club in recognition of some recent individual performances on the pitch. Rafa has recently praised Alvaro Arbeloa for not only playing every minute of every match so far this season, not only for playing out of his natural position most of the time, but also for just being awesome and showing an unbelievable amount of improvement over the last eight months since joining the squad. I have to concur, Arbeloa has went from an undisciplined back who appeared to care more about getting goals than stopping attacks to arguably our best defender, which when you have players named Carragher, Hyypia, Agger, Finnan, and Mascherano at your club, that's saying a lot. Also, Real Madrid captain Raul has noticed a 'different' Torres, hinting that he believes his Spain teammate might be enjoying life a little better at Anfield than he ever did at Atletico. I think it might be the fact that there's a lot less pressure for him to be 'the man' at Liverpool with the likes of local boys Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher as well as our world class midfielder Javier Mascherano. Cheers.

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