Liverpool 1, Wigan 0: Yossi plays, we win

I wonder if we'll hear any nonsense about Yossi not starting today as to why we barely pulled this one off. Probably not, I figure the memory vacuum will take care of all the Rafa rotation bashing. Anyhow, on to the match.

Wigan should be commended for a well-played, well-executed game plan. We were really lucky to come away with three points as they were the better side and missed a couple of relatively easy opportunities in front of the net.

Overall, we were not a top side. We seemed to lack motivation as a whole and were timid about scoring. Wigan stuffed the box when we had the best chances to score and our attempts to do so were characteristic of keystone cops. Our lack of ability to be creative, utilize the whole field, and movement off the ball was quite evident in these cases.

Individually, Yossi stole the show with an absolute class strike. I posted a video of it in an earlier post, but I'm not sure if it's working or not. The Israeli seemed to revitalize our side the minute he stepped onto the pitch, especially Gerrard.

Our defense was surprisingly appalling at times, particularly Hyypia. He talked about how he's never had pace earlier this week, but it's never really hurt his performance. Today it seemed to as Wigan quickly countered set plays which left the heavy-footed Finn well out of position. It forced Carra to make some tackles that frankly could have been called penalties, but were not.

We grinded out the win and I'm happy about that, but better sides would have at least drew us. I know I complained about Pennant not cutting inside enough, but he did it a little too much here and as a team, we failed miserably at using the entire pitch, especially the deep flanks.

Kuyt was simply not fit to wear the shirt. He really needs to dig deep and get more creative. I'm not sure what his issue was today, but he was our worse player by far. Anyhow, I gotta go. Cheers.

Liverpool 1, Wigan 0: the goal

Here's Yossi's phenomenal goal from earlier today. The Israeli saved us from another embarassing draw. Cheers.

Liverpool 0, Wigan 0:halftime thoughts

Well, I missed the first ten minutes of the match, but from what I've seen we're dangerous to score, well, at least Torres is. If he doesn't score in the second half or at least set up a goal, I'll be surprised.

As a team we seem to play well in brief stretches, but for the most part look like a bunch of unfocused eight-year-olds waiting for ice cream. Pennant has been the most baffling, at times he looks fantastic, while other times he looks like he's never played the sport. At one point, he had the ball at the top of the box and should have blasted it, instead he laid it off to Riise, who was far over on the left and had defenders in front of him.

Speaking of Pennant, when did he become Wigan's punching bag? Koumas could have probably got a straight red for trying to break his leg on a blatant attempt to do so and towards the end of the half one of the loser Wigan thugs threw a punch at him. It's ridiculous not to expect JP to retaliate when the ref is letting the Lactics get away with assault.

As for the rest of the side, Kuyt and Gerrard are invisible, though no one has played bad. I don't think Stevie-G is fully fit yet, but with Xabi out and the inexperienced Lucas as the only real option, there's little choice. I guess we could play Sissoko, but that would almost guarantee a draw.

Anyhow, second half is about to start. I think we can win this, but I won't get my hopes up. We really need a Riise belter.

Liverpool vs Wigan: the line-up

Here it is:
Reina
Aurelio
Hyypia
Carragher
Arbeloa
Riise
Mascherano
Gerrard
Pennant
Kuyt
Torres

Subs:
Itandje
Benayoun
Sissoko
Finnan
Voronin

Once again, Rafa isn't messing around. I wonder how Voronin feels about the rotation now and really don't care how Crouch feels. I'm thinking Rafa is taking the Ukrainian's age in perspective and since he played well against Toulouse, maybe the gaffer is thinking of holding him for Marseilles. Babel's also getting an extending vacation, I hope he's okay. I do recall him limping off in the last match. I'm just glad I dropped him from my fantasy team. Anyhow, I doubt I'm going to get to see this match, I have company coming into town, but I'll definitely watch it tomorrow and have a report by Monday plus (hopefully) lots of goal clips. Cheers.

Robbie Fowler to return!!

Wow, great job rigging the draw whoever did. Not only do we get a relatively easy opponent for our fourth round Carling Cup tie, but 'God' gets to return to Anfield. This match could be played on All Hallows' Eve as well.

Liverpool vs Wigan: What will Rafa do?

I have to admit I was quite surprised to see Torres start in the Carling Cup tie with Reading on Tuesday and I would be quite surprised to see him start tomorrow at the JJB after only three days rest. Last year we made mince meat of the Lactics with a 4-0 victory there, but that was as we were making our strong push up the EPL ladder and the best player for us that day was Craig Bellamy.

Some positives about this year's match-up is that former Liverpool Academy product, Paul Jewell, and their captain that day, Leighton Baines, are no longer there. Plus the Lactics are suffering from a major injury crisis that will see Landzaat and Heskey, among five total casualties, unavailable for manager Chris Hutchings. Basically I'm saying Rafa shouldn't expect to need Torres to win there.

In keep, I don't think we'll be seeing Itandje again until at least our opening FA Cup tie, so Pepe shall return. In front of him I see no reason why Riise won't be on the left, Hyypia and Carra in the middle, and Arbeloa on the right. I know I sound like a broken record, but Arbeloa needs a day off soon before he get burned out. This may be the match, but I doubt it with Finnan playing the full 90 on Tuesday.

At midfield, order shall be restored with Babel on the left, Gerrard and Mascherano in the middle, and Pennant on the right. Babel should be a key as pace is something the Lactics appear to have trouble with. I expect Masche to hang out in back even more than usual and Stevie-G allowed to go buck wild.

Up front, I think it'll be Kuyt and... maybe Torres, though Voronin seems to be the logical pick with him not playing in the mid-week. I would love to see Babel up front with Kuyt, but the only way that would happen is if Harry Kewell was available, although Benayoun could start on the left. The only problem I see with that, is that Yossi would have to restrict himself to the left side instead of having free-range as he did against Reading.

So here's my final answer:
Reina
Riise
Carra
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Babel
Mascherano
Gerrard
Pennant
Voronin
Kuyt

Bench:
Itandje
Torres
Finnan
Benayoun
Lucas

If we haven't scored nor look the threat by the half, expect Torres to be brought on, but I have a feeling that Kuyt is going to bring the pain. Also Hobbs might be on the bench instead of Lucas, we'll just have to wait and see if Rafa is going to ease the perpetual Reserve captain into the rotation. Cheers.

Danny Guthrie's goal (video)

Well, It's finally surfaced. Here's video of Danny's first goal for Bolton versus Fulham in their Carling Cup match from earlier this week. Unfortunately, the quality's not that great and there's no replay, but from what you can see, it's quite the stunner. It's the first goal on the video. Cheers.

Robbie Fowler to return for Cup tie?

How awesome would it be if we drew Cardiff City at Anfield tomorrow when they do the Carling Cup draw? God would get an improbable return to the place that made him a legend. Of course, knowing our cup draw luck, we'll probably get Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Here's the remaining sides:
Leicester City
Blackburn Rovers
Bolton Wanderers
Chelsea
Coventry City
Everton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Arsenal
Blackpool
Portsmouth
Luton Town
Manchester City
Sheffield United
Cardiff City

West Ham might be sweet as well since Craig Bellamy quit us and all. Maybe we can relive the 2006 FA Cup final. Ugh, forgot Arsenal was there. Just had a very painful flashback. Anyhow, the draw is at 12:15 GST Saturday. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Bellamy quit Liverpool?, Wigan limping, Babbel eyes return, & more

- This is interesting, according to Wigan midfielder Jason Koumas, Craig Bellamy quit us because of Rafa's rotation. Quit us? Who is Bellamy kidding? He barely had one foot in the door before most fans wanted him gone. The bottom line is, he just wasn't good enough for us. Too many offsides and not enough creativity. Room for Torres and Voronin were needed and Craig B had to go. In the link above, Koumas then goes on to say, like Bellamy did when he joined us, that he was a childhood Liverpool fan and wants the Reds to go on and win the title this season. Then he questions Rafa's rotation policy after saying it's hard to argue with Benitez' record due to our boss' ways. In the end, he just sounds confused.

- Wigan might have an even tougher time than usual against us as they will be missing five players due to injury. Kevin Kilbane, Ryan Taylor, Antonio Valenica, Denny Landzaat, and former Red Emile Heskey are all very doubtful for tomorrow's clash. It really doesn't matter if they have all their best players or not, if we play well, we should win.

- Per usual, the opposition manager has to chime in on his thoughts about Rafa's rotation policy and Wigan boss Chris Hutchings is no different. He claims that most players at Liverpool have grown to accept Rafa's tinkering ways and since a majority are also foreign, they are used to dealing with it. Hutchings also goes on to add that it doesn't really matter who Benitez puts out there, they are all top players and the Lactics will just have to deal with it.

- Former Liverpool defender Markus Babbel would like to return to the club he won the treble with in 2001 in the capacity of manager one day. The 35-year-old is currently an assistant with the club he ended his career with, VfB Stuttgart. The former European Championship winner with his native Germany was also part of the Bundesliga winning side last year, his final season of playing.

- Finally, Rick Parry feels the time is right for us to win the title. Though the 52-year-old Chief Executive of the club refuses to make a prediction on the grounds of frivolity, he thinks this year is different than past years as there is also expectation but not true belief.

Should Sebastian Leto be sent out on loan?

After watching this highlight video of our Reserves side manhandling a Wigan Reserve side, I wonder if some of our kids are wasting their time against obviously subpar opponents.

Sebastian Leto, Nabil El Zhar, and Ray Putterill are all obviously more adept then their opponents in the 3-0 thrashing of a Wigan side that featured many Lactics first-teamers. I can understand keeping Leto around until Harry Kewell gets back to fighting form, but El Zhar and Putterill don't look to break into even a first team Cup side until at least next year. By the way, I didn't get to see the whole match, but Insua just looks bored the few seconds he makes the highlight reel.

I guess we need a Reserves side, but so far we look miles better than any of our competition. On Tuesday we thrashed Blackburn 3-1 and that was without Putterill or Leto as well as Lucas and Hobbs, two other players that frequently take the pitch for us as Reserves. Gary Ablett even called the win 'unconvincing'. A two goal win at Blackburn without four major players is unconvincing? We either played really horrid or Ablett has some unbelievable expectations.

Speaking of players on loan, I still can't find that Guthrie stunner for Blackburn yesterday. I'm beginning to wonder if there were even cameras there. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Ref change for Wigan, Crouch wants answers, & Gerrard 'almost fit'

- Due to protest from Wigan manager Chris Hutchings, the referee for our match on Saturday has been switched from Steve Bennett to Mark Clattenburg. Hutchings' ground for protest was Bennett's sending off of Kilbane for apparently no reason whatsoever in the Lactics tie at Newcastle on the first of this month. Though he has yet to receive any punishment for what has been deemed an 'incorrect decision', it was thought best that Bennett not be in charge of this upcoming fixture. Fine by me, the guy has handed out four red cards in six Premiership matches so far this season which would have probably meant a sending off for Mascherano at the JJB. Clattenburg has yet to hand out a red so far this year. Knock on wood.

- Peter Crouch would like to know FIFA's response to Graham Poll's accusations that the refs during last year's World Cup were asked to single the forward out. It's pretty obvious that he was. While he had the stage, Crouch also warned Torres that performance is not the main factor in Rafa's selection process and therefore he may not even be on the bench at Wigan. Crouchy may either be trying to force Rafa to start him Saturday or he may just be laying the foundation for a request for a transfer come January. If Torres is selected, look for the lanky striker's whining to increase.

- Gerrard has proclaimed that his best form is just around the corner as pain in his toe has subsided. I really don't understand why he was playing with pain for England or our club otherwise. In fact, it's pretty obvious he should have left the limping Three Lions to the wolves since he got no credit for his solid performances against Israel and Russia. Then again, we're talking about the English press who are more superficial than Victoria Beckham.

- By the way, if you didn't know, Danny Guthrie scored a goal for Bolton yesterday. It was the first strike for the 20-year-old midfielder with the club in which he is on loan and proved crucial as the Wanderers beat Fulham, 2-1, in League Cup action. As soon as I can find a video of it, I'll either link or show. Cheers.

Danny Guthrie has scored for Bolton!

I'm not able to watch this match and quite frankly watching Barcelona-Zaragoza seemed like a better idea and probably was since three great goals, two by Messi have been scored, but anyhow our out-on-loan midfielder, Danny Guthrie, has scored his first goal for Bolton. His side is at Fulham for their third round Carling Cup tie. More on this and hopefully the video later. Cheers.

The Tinkerman tinkers again and we're still unbeaten

I love the muppets out there who are so proud of themselves by proclaiming that since we won last night, they were right by chastising Rafa for not playing Torres last Saturday. Of course, in actuality they are dead wrong. Again. Rafa played Torres as part of ten other changes to the side, which means all that bitching and moaning about Benitez' tinkering was all for naught. It was Rafa's rotation that gave us the win last night, plain and simple, but let's ignore the facts of the matter.

Aurelio made his first start of the year at left back. Arbeloa made his first start at centre back. Itandje made his first start ever for us. Finnan, who did not start against Birmingham, did so last night. The midfield had four different players starting in Leto, Sissoko, Lucas, and Benayoun, and of course, Crouch and Torres started up front, not Kuyt and Voronin. Call me crazy, but it looks like he rotated to me.

Another good point is that Torres probably wouldn't have scored a single goal if it weren't for the performances of Benayoun, Leto, Riise and Gerrard. Benayoun, as I stated in my final review, was crucial in taking the initiative and being the leader in the midfield. Let's fail to see that if it weren't for a cheeky through ball from Leto, a brilliant dribble and lay-off by Riise, and the vision of Gerrard, Torres could very well have went away goalless. The big difference between his performance and let's say Kuyt's and Voronin's from Saturday was that he did what he was paid to do, finish.

If you still don't realize that it was just a poor overall performance that earned us a draw on Saturday and not the exclusion of one single player, than I advise you to stop writing, because you're only going to continue to make a fool of yourself.

Video of Robbie Fowler's back-to-back braces

The Toxteth terror has scored a pair in each of Cardiff's last two matches. The first was a league match where the Bluebirds drew with Preston.


The second is a win over West Brom. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Rafa may sit Torres, Martin to Yeovil?, CNN needs a better fact checker, & more

- Rafa has made sure that everyone knows this is his club when he stated that Torres' performance last night doesn't guarantee him a place at Wigan on Saturday. It might be best to start him on the bench anyhow as we should have a fresh Kuyt and Voronin, both of whom should be looking to redeem themselves after Saturday's subpar performance versus Birmingham.

- It's looking less likely that a rumored loan move for keeper David Martin to Yeovil Town will come to fruition. With last night's shaky performance from Frenchman Charles Itandje, it's understandable that Rafa wants to keep the 21-year-old Reserves keeper around. If Itandje stumbles on his second outing, I fully expect Martin to get his shot. Both Martin and out-on-loan Nikolay Mihaylov gave solid performances in the preseason.

- CNN made a slight and understandable error in this report from yesterday's Sevilla-Espanyol match, unless Luis Garcia was recently loaned out from Atletico to Espanyol. I think I would have heard about it though.

- Coppell claims it's Torres' pace that sets him apart from other players. I would have to agree that El Nino has some speed and quickness, but he's also strong and how can you not deny his uncanny ability to score any which way by foot after the Chelsea goal and the phenomenal second strike yesterday? He's just so unpredictable on the ball.

- Finally, Ryan Babel and Dirk Kuyt have both been named to Marco Van Bastien's provisional Holland squad for their upcoming Euro qualifier matches in mid-October. The fixtures are just three weeks away. Cheers.

Liverpool vs Reading: the goals

Benayoun's strike


Torres' 1st


Torres 2nd (and best, in my opinion)


Torres 3rd

Liverpool 4, Reading 2

Two things happened early in the second half of this match that allowed Liverpool to play their game. First, we got an early goal on a well-played ball from Leto to Torres who beat Duberry and slotted it into side of the net past Federici. Then I guess the ref got tired of watching Reading turn the beautiful game into a pub brawl and started handing out the yellow cards. It's so odd that players I singled out in the first half, Duberry and Bikey, got cards, because, I mean, they played with such class. Once those two things occurred, Reading could no longer bully our side less they wanted to be reduced to ten.

With them having to allow us more space by not being able to grab a hold of our shirts, all of sudden we became a threat to score nearly every time we brought the ball down. Unfortunately that didn't do anything for our set-piece defense which was frantically horrid. I attest that to two things though, having Itandje make his first team debut and having Arbeloa play for the first time at centre back. The lack of communication on defense was apparent from the start and didn't seem to improve much as the match wore on.

It was because of our set-piece defense that Reading again equalized when a bobbled corner kick fell into John Halls' lap and the defender slammed it through a maze of legs into the back of the net. If either Pepe, Hyypia, or even Agger were in there I doubt it would have ever gotten to Halls as it was complete chaos in the box prior to and during the play. We didn't really seem that bothered by the equalizer, but then Rafa made a great decision anyhow to further tilt the match back in our favor.

Around the 69th minute, Riise came on for Aurelio and immediately made his presence felt. He took the ball down the left, faked out a Reading defender by passing it to himself through the defender's legs, and then dribbled closer to the box until he found a charging Torres to lay it off to. The Spaniard slammed the ball across the box and into the upper right corner of the goal. After that, Reading looked a side lacking confidence.

Once Gerrard came on in the 77th minute, the match was fully in Liverpool's grasp and with four minutes left a Gerrard to Torres pass made it all but official. The England International found the streaking Spanish International with no one left to beat but the keeper, which he did almost effortlessly.

Though not a perfect effort, it was a win on the road with a rotated side. Certainly our inability to utilize the whole field, Crouch reverting back to his ineffective ways, and the Itandje/defense communication issues are things that we need to work on. Also I was disappointed not to see Lucas more involved on the attack, which was one of the reasons why it seemed that Benayoun had free range of the field.

Despite Torres getting the hat-trick, I'm going to have to say Yossi was the Man of the Match. He made some huge plays including our first goal which was crucial because it forced the Reading defense to respect him as much as any other threat. He also had a header clearance in the box late in the match that if he didn't get to, might have allowed Reading to equalize once again. Most importantly he stepped up and took the initiative to run the offense when it looked as if no one else was going to. That kind of leadership is just priceless.

Next up, Wigan on Saturday at the JJB. Hopefully Kuyt will bring his ace form. Cheers.

Liverpool 1, Reading 1: halftime thoughts

You know, I understand the home side getting some calls, but this is simply shocking. First off, how Duberry and Bikey don't have cards is a mystery to me. Both have been making reckless tackles, pulling at shirts, and pushing players down left and right. How can the ref expect to maintain control of a match if he's allowing those two mongoloids to play American football while almost every time a Liverpool player runs into a Reading player, they get a foul called on them? If a Reading player gets his leg broken by a Liverpool player in the second half, don't blame the player, blame the ref.

Furthermore, the goal by Convey should not have been allowed. Lita was clearly offside through the obstruction rule as he was in Itandje's way. It is partly Itandje's fault though, since he should have came forward and made a bigger deal out of the obstruction. As for the keeper's performance so far, it's been awfully shaky and I can understand why he hasn't won the confidence of his teammates yet.

By the way, pardon me for wanting a ref to actually know the rules. If a Liverpool player would have obstructed the Reading keeper like that, not only would have the goal been disallowed, but that player would have probably gotten a card. I hope we come out in the second half and be twice as physical as them, I'm so tired of the thug approach teams with lesser talent take toward us, especially since they know for the most part the officials will let it go.

As for our play, we really need to start using the whole field. We barely used the right side and I blame Benayoun for that, though I can understand why he keeps going inside. It seems to me that neither Lucas nor Sissoko want to come up and be the attacking midfielder. I'd definitely would rather see Lucas take the initiative than Sissoko, since Momo is supposed to be a destroying type player. Of course, they may be a tad apprehensive to come forward since for some godforsaken reason Crouch thinks he's a midfielder now.

I don't want to go on an anti-Crouch rant, but for God's sake you overgrown gazelle, play forward and create space. Gees, you would think that he's never played forward before. He needs to be more aware of where he and his teammates are, especially Torres and the central midfielders. If the ball keeps going through Crouch, we might as well just forfeit because if he doesn't pass it back, he loses possession.

By the way, the goal by Benayoun was a thing of beauty. Arguably our best goal this season. I'll post a video of it later hopefully. Anyhow, the second half is about to start. I doubt we'll be able to win this one in regulation though. Cheers.

Liverpool vs Reading: the line-up

Rafa looks to be taking this match quite seriously.

Here's the line-up:
Itandje
Aurelio
Carragher
Arbeloa
Finnan
Leto
Sissoko
Lucas
Benayoun
Crouch
Torres

Subs:
Martin
Gerrard
Riise
Hobbs
Putterill

I'm pretty pumped to see Leto there as well as Lucas and Torres on the same pitch with him. Benayoun and Finnan should have plenty of room to operate on the right with Sebastian stretching the side as well as Crouch and Torres worrying the central defenders. Arbeloa to get a test run at centre is interesting, let's see how he does. His pace might come in handy against Lita.

Suprised not to see Pepe at least on the bench, but David Martin should be able to fill in if something were to happen to Itandje who gets his first start for the side. I hope Putterill gets on as well, I'd like to see what he can do against Premiership quality players. Here's to a fun match. Cheers.

Liverpool vs Reading: What will Rafa do?

Ah, these are the fun ones. Not necessarily to watch, though I hope this one is, but definitely fun to pick who Rafa will play. Before I get to that though, let me first offer an idea to any LFC website that has the funding to do so. How about having a 'pick Rafa's side' game? Seriously, I look forward to trying to pick out who Benitez will play more than anything else on my blog. Just a suggestion, anyhow...

For this match, I think the boss is going to try and mix the vets with the kids so to at least ensure that we don't get killed. I'm not so sure Pepe needs a game off since he is hardly called to do much in matches these days anyhow, but I think Itandje needs a start here and there outside of the Reserves. Pepe should grace the bench though.

At left-back, I hope to see Emiliano Insua and I think it's a good possibility, but I'll get to why in a minute. In the middle, it looks quite likely that we'll see Carra paired with Hobbs. Some may think that Carra will get the night off, but there's two reasons I think otherwise. First, he seems to be in great form as he showed with the Birmingham tie, and second, he is Hobbs mentor and what better way to show a student how it's done than by example. Take notes kid, because from what I've seen from you previously, you're gonna need all the advice you can get. On the right, I see Finnan getting the call as he only played the better part of a quarter-hour on Saturday.

At left-mid, I think Aurelio will get the call, which is why I think Insua will play behind him. Fabio provides a bit of defensive insurance on that side, just in case. I could see Riise starting there as well if Aurelio didn't need some pitch time. The only other thing I think Rafa might do is start Aurelio at left back and Leto at left wing, but I look for Leto to start from the bench and if injuries allow, come in the final thirty minutes for one of the left sided players. if he comes in for Insua, then Aurelio will be pushed back.

In central midfield, Sissoko has to get the call and I see Lucas paired with him. I'm hoping the attack runs through Lucas as much as possible because I really want to see what the Brazilian is capable of. I expect Sissoko to have a monster game as he has had a lot of time off. On the right, Yossi has to start. Pennant needs a day off as does Babel.

Up front is the real dilemma. I can definitely see Torres starting up front, but knowing Rafa, I don't think he will because it would look as if the boss is giving into his critics. After his performance on Saturday and playing the full match, I don't see Kuyt up there either. So I guess that leaves Voronin and Crouch. I can't see Crouch not starting here, he definitely needs more pitch time. Babel may get the call, but I don't think Rafa would pair him with Crouch.

So here's my final guess:
Itandje
Insua
Carra
Hobbs
Finnan
Aurelio
Lucas
Sissoko
Benayoun
Voronin
Crouch

Subs:
Reina
Gerrard
Torres
Hyypia
Leto

I'm not sure how many bench players Carling Cups allow, but I'll assume they go by FA rules.

With that line-up and Reading going with Convey and Lita, this could potentially be a fun match to watch. I don't really expect our side to win and honestly, don't care too much either. It's only the Carling Cup after all, but I'm hoping the kids realize that the better they play, the more likely we win, and if we win, that's more playing time for them. Be back later for the line-up, halftime report, and post-match report. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Nasri to miss CL clash, Carra closing in on 500, A battle of who could care less?, & more

- Marseille's Samir Nasri is set to miss his side's Champions League match next week with us due to meningitis-type flu. The 20-year-old attacking midfielder was hospitalized last weekend and has yet to be released. He is expected to require at least a two week convalescence period.

- Jamie Carragher is set to make his 476th appearance for Liverpool tonight against Reading. Impressive as that number is, the record is held by Ian Callaghan at 848. I sincerely doubt the 29-year-old Liverpool icon will be able to challenge that number.

- It seems like neither Coppell nor Rafa really care that much about winning their Carling Cup clash later today. Both seem to be using double-speak type antics to hide it, but it seems quite apparent with who they are looking at selection-wise. Coppell is looking to give Leroy Lita a test-run from injury as well as playing Bobby Convey as a means of practice time. The Reading boss is adamant though that he has no room for Reserves on his roster. Meanwhile Rafa is looking at giving time to some of his actual Reserves in Sebastian Leto and Lucas, though they would most definitely be regulars on a lot of Premiership sides.

- Finally, we have everyone and their mother giving their opinion on Rafa's rotating ways. Phil McNulty at BBC Sport wonders why Rafa went on such a tantrum about not having enough quality on his side after the Champions League final when he doesn't bother to play that quality as much as possible. Lawro thinks that Rafa should play his best players as much as possible now and rest them when needs be later. Finally, Ian Rush defends Rafa by saying that the Spaniard probably thought Kuyt and Voronin would have been able to beat Birmingham and that the movement of those two would open up the congested Blues side of the field.

Why only the ignorant bash Rafa's rotation ways

I'm so tired of all the muppets blaming Rafa's line-up tinkering for any and everything that goes wrong with our side. Do I always agree with who he plays? No. Do I always agree with what formation he uses? Definitely not. Do I always agree with who he subs? No, just see the previous post for proof, but as with the line-ups, I don't have access to the players, I don't know how fit they are, and I don't get to talk with them or observe them before the match to see how they might be mentally.

Rafa does what he does for several reasons. Sometimes, especially in Champions League play, he plays certain players in certain places for tactical reasons. The first example that comes to mind was Arbeloa at Camp Nou last year. He started Arbeloa on the left, which most found quite strange, but he did so, so the Spaniard could contain Messi, which he did quite well I might add.

For the most part, entering matches we are the superior side at nearly every position. Birmingham on Saturday is a good example of that. Would it have mattered had Torres started in one of the spots up front instead of Kuyt and Voronin? Maybe, but he could have also had his leg broken and been lost for the season, so speculating on just the positive is futile.

I still think Torres should have been brought in for Kuyt instead of Babel, but I don't know what the situation was, so that's all I can really say about that. The fact that Rafa didn't recognize Kuyt's poor form is kind of disheartening though. Maybe he was hoping he would improve, but I'm getting off the subject here.

The most important reason he rotates is to keep players fresh. If you need any proof that it works, just take a gander over his career. Managers like Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson need more than just a few great players to win trophies, Benitez has not. He didn't need ridiculously overpriced players to win the two Spanish Championships and a UEFA Cup that he did with Valencia nor did he needed a star-studded side when he won the Champions League and the FA Cup as he has with Liverpool.

In the 2005 Champions League run he got huge performances from players who he rotated quite liberally including Anthony Le Tallec, Florent Sinama-Pongolle, Dietmar Hamann, and Vladimir Smicer. Those players played well because they were fresh and those of us who have played the game know that in most cases, especially in youth, the least you play the better you seem to perform when the opportunity arises.

With Rafa's rotating, past November we have had the best record and garnered the most points in the league the previous two seasons. Having rested, fresh players against tired sides is what has allowed us to be successful in those latter months. Unlike the last two years though, we have had a much better start to the season. So let Arsenal, Man U, and any other club that are perceived to be challenging for the title this year run their horses into the ground. When the wee hours of the season are upon us, I bet you that it's Rafa's ways that help us to the Premiership title.

Liverpool 0, Birmingham 0: final thoughts

After viewing this match for the second time, with much less emotion involved since I knew the outcome, I have to say that the reason Liverpool did not get the three points is because most of the team, particularly up front, were mentally unprepared for this match while Birmingham seemed quite the opposite.

Kuyt was appalling and Voronin wasn't much better. In fact, I would have to say this is the worse match I have ever seen Kuyt play. He seemed to turn the ball over nearly every time he got possession or he took a bad shot when there was a smarter pass. Voronin appeared to just be waiting for the ball to come to him instead of going after it.

Overall we lacked intensity as a side, save Carra and Mascherano, who more than made up for his poor performance in Portugal last week. You can blame Rafa for not starting Torres all you want, but Kuyt should have been more than capable of getting the job done. If Dirk played for Birmingham he would easily be their best player.

I do have a problem with Rafa's subbing though. I feel as if Torres should have been brought on for Kuyt and if Babel needed to come off for one reason or another, then Finnan could have been brought in, Arbeloa pushed over to the left and Riise pushed up to midfield. Kuyt should have been taken off at the half in my opinion as he had no business wearing the shirt that day.

You can say that Birmingham played solid defense, but the truth is, Kuyt had plenty of opportunity to at least be the catalyst in scoring a goal and he messed up time and time again. His head clearly wasn't in the match.

The funny thing is, if we were Man United, we would have won this by at least a goal. Case in point, as the first half was coming to a close, Carra made a brilliant pass to Kuyt in the box who controlled and turned to shoot. Just as he was about to do so though, the ref blew the whistle to end the half. Apparently only Man U gets extra time to score the goal they need.

Also, Torres should have had a penalty late in the game. After being set-up by a nice pass from Pennant, he faked out Queudrue in the box and the Frenchman not only clearly obstructs El Nino's forward movement, but also grabs his shirt to prevent him from continuing play. If Saha's dive was a penalty, then there's no question that that was one as well.

Some other points, Babel wasn't at his best, but he by no means cost us the match. He needs to work on his corners a little bit though. Speaking of set plays, the few we got, we were abominable, except for maybe the last corner where Gerrard found Crouch's head with a perfect pass, though the latter couldn't finish the job.

Defensively, Arbeloa had his second lackluster performance in a row and I think it's time he get a game off. If he starts against Reading tomorrow, I'll be surprised. Riise seemed to lose steam as the match wore on, but I wouldn't characterize his performance as anything less than average. Carra and Hyypia were adequate if anything.

As for our skipper, I've seen him play better, but for the most part he just faded in and out of the match. I'm hoping the week off gets him back into preseason form. If he was so fatigued though, I wonder why Rafa just didn't let him and Mascherano switch up and make Stevie-G the holding midfielder?

Birmingham said they were going to focus on Pennant and most the first half they did. It allowed Babel more space, but the Dutchman still preferred to go inside instead of out, which sort of took away the space he would have provided had he gone wide. I can't really complain about Pennant's performance as he was hounded throughout the day and when they finally let up, he became more of a threat and created a few chances for us.

My man of the match is Mascherano, though I've seen him play much better. In fact, with Hyypia and Carra sitting so far back the entire match, Masche certainly could have gotten more involved on the attack. He did towards the end, but it was too little too late. He was tackling was on point per usual and he was without a doubt a menace to the Blues the entirety of the match.

I guess Birmingham does deserve some credit for executing their game plan, but in truth, it was just a poor, insipid performance by Kuyt and Voronin that cost us. Maybe if Babel stayed to the left more, Dirk and Andriy would have had more room to operate, but what's done is done and all we can hope is that he learns from it.

Reading next and I'm think why Carra and Hyypia were basically planters was because we'll probably need them to do the same tomorrow at the Mad Stad. I'll have my 'What will Rafa do?' up soon. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Hyypia backs Rafa, Rafa vows Reading Cup changes, Rafa frustrated over Gerrard, & more

- Sami Hyypia has been the latest star player at the club to vocally back his boss' rotation policy. The 33-year-old Finnish International has deemed Rafa's tinkering critics 'silly'. I've actually been thinking a lot about the pros and cons of Benitez' ways and will write a post with my conclusion later today. Meanwhile there are talks of Hyypia getting either a contract extension now or a new contract offer at the end of the season when his current one runs out. I really can't see Sami lasting more than another season, but one encouraging note is that the Finn himself is very realistic about what he can bring to the squad. He basically claims he never really had pace, doesn't feel as if he's gotten any slower over the years, and doesn't really understand why people question his abilities. It's refreshing to hear a player living in reality about their attributes. Hyypia's form this year has been inconsistent to say the least and even at times shocking. Hopefully he'll become more restraint in his discipline to help the team out more. If that means going up less for set plays in the box, then so be it.

- Expect to see an interesting and possibly exciting eleven hit the pitch tomorrow for our opening Carling Cup match at Reading. The boss has vowed changes from Saturday's side. I really don't give a monkey's uncle about the Carling Cup, but it would be a good confidence builder for the kids if we can advance. I do expect Reading to take it a bit more serious than us since they pretty much have no chance at much else. It would be great to see Insua, Leto, Lucas, with a rejuvenated Aurelio leading the way. I'll have my 'What will Rafa do?' up later.

- Maybe he's looking to deter the critics and have them turn to their ever favorite victim, the head coach for England, but Rafa has voiced his displeasure with McClaren's use of an unfit Gerrard in England's two recent Euro qualifier matches. I'm not sure if the person who wrote that article hasn't anything better to do or not, but honestly, it needs to be put the rest. Gerrard will probably not play tomorrow so a week off will do him good.

- I apologize for my review on Saturday, it's certainly not up to the standards in which I set myself. I won't erase it though. Anyhow, I'm going to watch the match again here a little bit and will be back with a proper review. Also I plan on doing a post about why Rafa's rotation policy will prevail and of course, my 'What will Rafa do?' for the Reading tie. Cheers.