Liverpool vs Arsenal: What will Rafa do?

For this match, I'm praying that Benitez thinks both Xabi and Torres are fit enough to start. If so, we could possibly field are best side this year yet.

The only good thing to come out of Jermaine Pennant's injury is that Gerrard is probably our best option on the right now. I used to be one who was opposed to our captain playing there, but that was mainly because Pennant is naturally adept at that spot and his form seemed to get better the more he played that position.

With that said, I feel we will see Stevie-G start over there tomorrow. Ryan Babel and Benayoun are options, but I think Yossi is more likely to feature on the left and we have to start our best available eleven, which leaves the Dutchman as the odd man out.

Unfortunately I don't have any inside sources at the club unlike every single Rafa rotation critic, so I don't know who's fit and who's not. All I can do is speculate whether or not Arbeloa or Kewell can go tomorrow. My guess is that Arbeloa will start and Kewell might be on the bench. King Harry only played the first half of our Reserves match on Thursday, so I think there is a possibility he could contribute in some capacity.

Well, here's who I would play if possible:
Reina
Riise
Carragher
Arbeloa
Finnan
Benayoun
Mascherano
Xabi
Gerrard
Kuyt
Torres

Bench:
Itandje
Hyypia
Sissoko
Crouch
Babel or Kewell

I'm not sure what to expect tomorrow. I don't feel that Arsenal is overconfident and we certainly aren't feeling good about our form of late. A 2-2 draw seems to be somehow stuck in my head, especially with Howard Webb calling the match, but I'm hoping we get all three points. Anyhow...

Turns out Jermaine Pennant has been playing injured for the last two months

Well, this makes sense and sort of makes me feel bad for the kid, but honestly, he should have probably not been playing hurt and taken care of this right away. I'm not a team physician so I'll just assume they did what they felt was best for him. Pennant will have surgery this weekend for a stress factor of his right tibia. He is expected to be out at least ten weeks.

That means as of this moment we have seven players out and makes me even more confident that Arbeloa has some sort of injury as well as he has not played for us since October 7th when Tottenham visited Anfield. I'm sort of pissed they handled Pennant's injury this way, but I understand why they kept it such a secret. They felt as if they could deal with it while he could still play, but it just didn't work out that way. Here's hoping he returns fit and in top form.

So for all you idiots who blamed Rafa's rotation policy as to our stumbling form, you owe the man an apology. Turns out we were in the midst of an injury crisis. Dumb asses.

Interesting stat in regards to the Beşiktaş match

It's always alarming to see a referee drastically change his style of calling a match especially when an upset of this magnitude occurs, but of course, matches are never fixed, I mean, there's never an agenda to do so. Anyhow...

The referee in question, Claus Bo Larsen, prior to this match averaged about 29.8 fouls and three cards per match. (Information provided from Football-Lineups.com and UEFA.com.)

Larsen's total for the match in question? 10 fouls, zero cards. As I said in my match review, the early goal must have negated him from having to referee any further. And of course, a side down never changes their tactics.

Want an even more alarming stat? Beşiktaş committed three fouls the whole match. Three fouls? I implore anyone to show me a match where a side only had three fouls called on it, ever. That's insane.

That's why all you can do is laugh.

Edit: Well, I found a match where a side was called for two fouls and this is just incredulous. The match was the September 12 Euro-qualifier between Italy and Ukraine. Guess which side had only two fouls called on it? That's right, those amazing Italians. A total of 9 fouls was called for the entire match, quite a change from that particular ref's 28.8 average.

Anyhow, what's even more unbelievable is the referee who called the match was Howard Webb. Why is that significant? Because he's the head official for our match with Arsenal on Sunday. It doesn't get any better than that.

If I were Rafa...

...and the Sevilla job opened up, I'd probably make an inquiry and if their offer was substantial, I'd leave. Why? Well, first, the English press think they know football or at least they try to act like they do. The stupidity is rampant and the ignorance is a disease that frankly appears apocryphal. The relationship between the press and the gambling industry in England is suspicious at best, SkySports = SkyBet, comprende? Their motives are never for the best of anybody but their employers and their actions scream duplicity. Why would anyone want to put up with such insanity?

In Spain, the factions that have outside influence on the game are territorial and government-based, but at least at Sevilla the expectations would not be trumped up to a ridiculous level. Plus with the two main influences, the Madrilenians and the Catalans, constantly sabotaging one another in that power struggle, a team like Sevilla at least has a chance to sneak up and win La Liga like the way Valencia did twice when Benitez was at the helm.

It is difficult to tell who is controlling the English game these days, though I'm sure Abramovich is never far from influence and will probably regain that edge in due time. Hicks and Gillett just don't have the monetary means nor the underworld connections to compete with the Russian billionaire. Anyone who believes that the matches are completely played on the pitch is a victim of indoctrination by false premise and illogical notion. As Solzhenitsyn wrote, education doesn't make you smarter, the system wasn't created for such a task.

I feel sorry for Rafa since he is ultimately the victim of a smear campaign to downplay his winning tactics. Had the Champions League Final last year gone smoother and by no means am I talking about what transpired on the field (that clearly went over nicely for the Mafioso), UEFA would probably not have it in for us and we'd be sitting pretty atop our group. Unfortunately an organization run by unimaginative megalomaniacs have feelings that are easily crippled. Saying they have hearts and minds might be saying too much in itself.

As a Liverpool fan, I'd rather Rafa stick around, but wouldn't be surprised nor hurt if he left. Having to put up with all the brainless bullshit that he does is just ridiculous. I firmly believe we have enough talent to win the Premiership, but I wonder if Rafa feels too much pressure to stay within the bounds of non-experimental tatics, for instance, starting Babel up front. Maybe with Kewell coming back, we may see that. Then again, it would only be a matter of time before the 'Babel doesn't know how to head the ball' rubbish or the like would begin.

Ultimately, it may not matter what Rafa can do or does, with the greedy hands of Thaksin Shinawatra, Roman Abramovich, Björgólfur Guðmundsson, Arcadi Gaydamak, Harry Redknapp, Malcolm Glazer, George Gillett, Tom Hicks, Randy Lerner, Eggert Magnusson, and Rupert Murdoch, among many others, firmly entrenched in the game, the Premiership won't be won on the field for years to come. I love a great work of fiction, don't you?

Today's Banter: Jimmy Ryan gone, Torres, Xabi likely to be fit for Arsenal, New stadium costs rising, & more

- Jimmy Ryan will make his loan to Shrewsbury Town permanent in January. Good luck to the lad and hopefully he finds success with the League Two side. I know I criticized him in the past for not wanting to make it with a formidable club like our own, but honestly, if the kid just wants to play football than kudos to him.

- Xabi Alonso looks to be almost a sure thing to start on Sunday versus Arsenal while Torres is looking more and more likely to feature as well. I wonder if Harry Kewell might also be an option as he only played the first half for the Reserves yesterday? That might be rushing things though and with Kewell's track record, probably not the brightest of ideas.

- The new stadium, which is expected to be ready by 2011, was originally supposed to cost around £250m. Now Tom Hicks is saying around £400m is more like it. That's quite an increase in cost which is sure to come out of the supporters' pockets. The thing that most disturbs me about this article is Hicks saying, "There are far better investments I could make than buying a football team." Why do I feel like he's giving me the service?

- Should we feel sorry for Peter Crouch? David Prentice seems to think so. Unfortunately his article appears to lack a bit of logic, especially when it says things like 'They managed two more efforts after his introduction, and this time finally breached Besiktas’ goal' and when further speaking of that match, 'But Crouch looked predictably rusty and wasted the kind of chance he was gobbling up six months ago.' First insinuating that Crouch had something to do with the goal that Gerrard scored, which is far from reality, and then saying he was 'rusty' possibly due to lack of playing time, makes no sense. If Peter Crouch can't take advantage of the opportunities allowed him, then when will he? Predictably rusty? You've got to be kidding. He plays football nearly everyday in training, but apparently he's still 'predictably rusty'. Get off it. It's going to be a long, long time before I get the Marseilles match out of my head, when he was clearly not playing for us.

- Finally we have good ole David Moyes still moaning about Clattenburg's performance last Saturday and now how Liverpool and Benitez in particular reacted to being 'gifted' the three points. Get over it Moyes, maybe you should have played Tim Howard last year when Man United came to town. The Premiership is a corrupt league, except it or rot.

The real issues of our current troubling form

I know most are just used to getting a written summary of what happens on the field and then a long-winded illogical blaming of Rafa's rotation, so I thought I'd spend a few minutes and throw in my two cents.

First off, we're in the midst of an injury crisis. Six players are injured. I consider Agger the most devastating as it means Hyypia has to play more than his aged body can probably muster. Arbeloa is out for some reason and would be quite helpful in this regard. Xabi is the best passer on our side and he also allows Gerrard to play on the right, which I hope we see more of in the near future. Aurelio provides a cover on the left so Riise can have more fun playing left mid. If I have to tell you Torres' importance than you're an idiot. Finally we have Harry Kewell, who returned to action today for the Reserves and scored a goal. When Kewell is fit and at his top game, he's about as close to World Class as one can get. Hopefully he'll return to the first side soon, stay healthy, and help us in our quest for cups and trophies.

Second, there are certain players who have put themselves before the team. I know of at least three in the locker room who's grumblings have leaked out. The only one I will address is Peter Crouch. I could care less if I ever saw Crouch wear the kit again, I'm that upset with him. If anyone thinks he's an improvement over Kuyt, your sorely mistaken. The locker room rubbish has to stop or the players involved need to get a ticket out in January. It's that simple. If they're a distraction, they need to go.

Moving to the play on the pitch, certain players are nowhere near their form from last season. Jermaine Pennant, Javier Mascherano, and Momo Sissoko come to mind. All three need to elevate their game or get used to the bench. Of the three, Masche is the most crucial and most likely to regain the form that helped us get to the Champions League final last year. Pennant has showed flashes of what made him so valuable during last season's run, but overall his performances have been lackluster. I'm at my wit's end with Sissoko. If he's unhappy, he needs to go. I refuse to throw Hyypia under the bus, but it's obvious his age has prevented him of being effective as he has been in the past.

All right, the biggest obstacle I see preventing us from scoring goals is that we seem to get in each other's way. This has been quite prevalent in recent matches. It's bad enough that our opposition stuffs the box and puts eight to nine men behind the ball, so we don't need to congest the opponent's half any more. There are several ways to prevent this from stopping our own flow, but two stick out in my mind the most. The first option would be to send less people down field. We should be doing this anyhow with Hyypia in the back. If Sami's not going to stay back, we need to provide cover for him and the way to do that is to start two defensive-minded central midfielders, any combination of Mascherano, Alonso, and Sissoko, and start Gerrard on the right. The problem with that is of course, Stevie-G is not a true winger and so Finnan would have to come up, but that's okay since the Irishman seems comfortable playing from the far flank and drawing out defenders.

The other option is just be more disciplined in going forward. Kewell will be crucial in that regard as he seems fine at staying to the left, but Babel, Riise, and Benayoun seem to like to cut inside a bit and cause congestion issues for Gerrard. We must use more of the field to draw out more defenders and if they refuse to respect that, we must take advantage of their mistakes to do so. I know it's not that simple, but it's certainly makes sense.

Another issue I've been having with our side is that we don't even seem to want to score from outside of the box. I don't understand this whatsoever. We need to develop some sort of way to clear some room for Gerrard or whomever to get a decent try from right outside the area. Riise seems to try it a little too much, no matter the circumstance and that would be okay if actually converted once-in-a-while. I don't understand why we try to dribble it into the net so much, it's just baffling. Also, the extra passes need to stop, it's not a bad thing to be selfish at times, boys.

Then we have set pieces. Do we have any sort of plan when it comes to these? It seems like we just try to cross it over the middle every time and hope it connects with one of our players. We need more creativity, have some fun dammit. Lay it off, create room at the top and get the ball there. The more unpredictable we can become the more likely the other side will foul up. Overall I think our creativity level outside of Gerrard, Benayoun, and possibly Babel is severely lacking. What happened to the Dirk Kuyt who seemed so playful during the preseason? If the pressure is that extreme on our boys than fuck it, I'd rather have fun watching them play than win anything. I know it's near impossible with the atmosphere of top flight European football these days, but we need to let loose.

Ultimately, major injuries have been our biggest issue, but for some reason, the main stream press want everyone to point fingers at Rafa. That's fine, since it only makes them look like ignorant donkeys, but hopefully nobody on our side believes such rubbish. A side that plays together as whole, no matter which of their teammates is on the field, is going to be successful in the end, but expecting one to understand such a notion, seems to be asking the world of them. It is the pathetic English press after all, and by that I don't mean respectable journalists like Chris Bascombe.

Today's Banter: Having a laugh at the expense of others

Overreaction and idiocy are probably the best words to describe some of the posts and articles in response to Liverpool's loss to Beşiktaş. I won't bother addressing most of them, because honestly, you won't find a nick of intelligence in them. They don't address actual play on the field nor the fact that we're in the midst of an injury crisis nor the factions that influence the match from behind closed doors. If you want to live in ignorance, that's fine, but your opinion will be held to that of a retarded child.

First, apparently Rafa's job is in jeopardy. This is just so laughable. The failure to mention our current injury crisis, six players out in all, three highly crucial, totally discredits anyone from ever writing anything in regards to Rafa's rotation policy. Continue to spew your ignorance and soon it will only fall on deaf ears. Thanks for desensitizing the zombie population, your efforts are commendable in that regard.

After that good laugh, we have two posts from two different club's fans. Neither worth the time put into them. The first which actually does have something to do with yesterday's match is a lowly Newcastle fan trying desperately to stretch reality to prove a moot point. This mongoloid wants us to believe that 'Big' Sam Allardyce was right about Benitez because of the results of one match. First of all, surprised you know how to spell Champions League since I don't recall Newcastle ever even making it to even qualifying. Also it must be disheartening that Derby County and Nottingham Forrest have more European Cup history than your side.

He continues to allude to Allardyce's comments in regard to Rafa's rotation policy, yet fails to mention our six injured players. Amazing. Not only that, then he plays the Crouch card. Did he even bother to watch the Marseilles match? Crouch's behavior in that match was suspiciously duplicitous and if not, shocking. No one who actually knows and understands the game would question a man with two La Liga titles, a Champions League trophy, a UEFA Cup, and an FA Cup. What has Allardyce ever won? A few hearts and minds in Bolton I presume. Whatever hole your poor soul crawled out of, please return to it preferably after you've wiped the egg off your face and the redness has gone away.

Moving on, of course we can't have a discussion about Liverpool without a Chelsea fan. That would be preposterous. I'm always baffled how Blues fans are always more concerned about our club than their own. Of course, they always have Abramovich's fat wallet and slimy ways to get them wins, which brings me to this die-hard Chelsea fan's post. This delusional twat just can't get over Mark Clattenburg doing us a favor versus Everton last Saturday. Oh, dear me, did he watch the Chelsea match at Anfield? Rob Styles was seen driving a new car to his new beach flat shortly after to spend that week off he got.

The biggest difference between a Chelsea fan and a Liverpool fan is that us Reds will actually admit we got a little help from the man in black. I clearly stated in my match review that Lescott deserved a penalty, but as for the other allegations, rubbish. Hibbert was clearly pulling on Gerrard's shirt in the box, but let's ignore fact and reality. I expect no less from a Chelsea fan. As for Gerrard muttering something under his breathe to Clattenburg as he walked away, that's just stupid. What did he say? 'Good call, he was pulling at my shirt. He's been doing it all day.' Oh no, that's just criminal. You don't know what transpired and maybe, just maybe, Clattenberg took out the wrong card to begin with, but like I said in my review, that single action didn't warrant a red card, but there might have been other factors involved. You weren't on the field, you don't know what was said beforehand, so keep your ignorant speculation to your head that's obviously already firmly up your ass.

The most comical part is that Hibbert made no qualms about accepting the decision. You figure he'd put up a fight if he thought the call against him was unwarranted, right? Thanks for sticking up for your Everton buddy, but he probably would have done so on his own had he felt differently. His take on the Kuyt foul is laughable as well. No contact was made, so let's ignore that as well. And if he's never seen such a malicious act on the pitch, than obviously you don't really watch much football. I've seen hundreds of tackles that were legit and contact actually made that were much more malicious. Nice try at trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill. Well, that's all I have to say about that, but don't mention the intentional handball by Neville. We wouldn't want Everton to be looked at in a negative light whatsoever.

On a much more serious note, this actually did disturb me. A betting company getting an article on a top news service basically telling everyone to bet on Liverpool to advance from the group stages in Champions League play warrants some attention, but not for the reasons it attempts to convey. First, I think this probably officially means our demise. The only thing I can think of would be Platini waking up, calling off the dogs to screw the gambling faction and giving us a few calls back. Could happen, but doubt it. It always worries me to see a betting company taking a side and promoting it. Anyhow, this was a fun post, hopefully as fun as Sunday will be. Cheers.

Liverpool 1, Beşiktaş 2

Ha ha ha. I know Platini and UEFA have it in for us after we made them look like complete amateur donkeys at the final last year, but you could least try to make an effort that the ref wasn't debriefed before the match. Two handballs went uncalled and in fact, I don't recall a free kick the entire match. I guess the early goal negated any effort to try and to actually referee the game. Whatever. Crap like this makes me look forward to a G14 Super League.

As for our performance, Hyypia is obviously fatigued and needs to start using his brain a little more. He played critical roles in both of Beşiktaş' goals.

The rest of the team seemed to have trouble staying out of each other's way. We also don't appear to want to help each other out when it looks as if one of us will have three defenders on us.

We were without a doubt the more dominant side here, but ultimately decisions on the ball cost us. Anyhow, we're still not done in CL play, but with UEFA having an agenda, I don't expect us to advance. Unless the G14 steps in and takes care of business, which wouldn't surprise me.

Liverpool at Beşiktaş: the line-up

Here it is:
Reina
Riise
Hyypia
Carragher
Finnan
Babel
Mascherano
Gerrard
Pennant
Kuyt
Voronin

Subs:
Itandje
Hobbs
Alonso
Sissoko
Lucas
Benayoun
Crouch

No big surprises except maybe Crouch not starting. I could care less, after his Marseilles performance he can rot on the bench until January and then sold. We need Agger back soon as I don't feel comfortable with Hyypia playing this often. Also, what's up with Arbeloa? Is he injured? He's not even on the bench. Weird. Anyhow, boys, let's get this done.

Liverpool at Beşiktaş: What will Rafa do?

Well this is pretty much our Champions League life on the line. Anything but a win here and we'll need a miracle to advance to the knockout stages. We should be able to get the three points if we get a fairly called match and aren't sabotaged by one of our disgruntled players again. I'm specifically looking at you Mr. Crouch. Anyhow...

Here's who I would play:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Hyypia
Finnan
Riise
Mascherano
Xabi (or Gerrard)
Gerrard (or Pennant)
Voronin
Crouch

Bench:
Itandje
Babel
Lucas
Benayoun
Kuyt
Sissoko
Pennant (or Xabi)

When Gerrard starts on the right, which I think will start happening more often, we'll see Finnan instead of Arbeloa behind him since Finnan is more of a wing-back than Arbeloa. Arbeloa's attacking style is straight-forward and similar to Gerrard's so we would pretty much be wasting a flank by having those two line-up on the same side. If Rafa doesn't think Xabi is available to start, expect Gerrard to start in the middle with Pennant on the right.

When we get Agger and Aurelio back, our defense will be much better as Hyypia and Finnan will be able to rest more. I understand those two still wanting to play for their countries, but they need to seriously consider their age and inability to bounce back as fast from playing two matches every week. The affects on Hyypia have been slowly beginning to show as he looks tired and even less quick than usual.

I hope Rafa has a quick trigger when it comes to subbing under performers today. We cannot have Crouch trying to play midfield nor Riise attempting 35 foot bangers every time he gets the chance. I would like to see more shots from outside of the box, but from multiple players, especially Pennant if he gets the chance. We cannot afford to to relax at any point today and our attack must be relentless. I also believe it's high time Masche gets his first Liverpool goal. Maybe he can wear an Argentina kit under his shirt.

Today's Banter: Kewell is back!, Torres still out, Rafa does what he wants, & more

- It looks like there's a good chance both Harry Kewell and Fabio Aurelio will feature for the Reserves versus Newcastle on Thursday. It would be brilliant if we had everyone healthy by the first match in November.

- Unfortunately Torres' return will have to wait until Sunday, hopefully by then he'll be ready to go since it's Arsenal and all. Obviously that means that the Spanish striker won't be available for tomorrow's crucial Champions League clash at Besiktas. No word on whether Xabi will be available either.

- Rafa will sub Gerrard again if he sees fit, so get over it. This is Rafa's team not Stevie-G's and certainly not yours. By the way, fellow Liverpool fans, don't listen to all the spew from the press and especially learn to laugh at what fans of other sides have to say, they don't know nor care what's best for our boys.

- I worry when Benitez starts to praise player's character, particularly when that player is as experienced as Sami Hyypia. To me it means our long journey with the Finnish Legend is nearing an end.

- Finally I hope our boys back their words tomorrow and get us the three points. Anything less would be devastating. Dirk Kuyt and Javier Mascherano seem to be taking this upcoming fixture very seriously, which is good to hear, but knowing Benitez they'll probably both be on the bench when the opening whistle blows tomorrow. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Sissoko wants out?, Chasing another wonderkid, & Everton match backlash

- Reading this, I wonder if it was purposely taken out of context. Was Sissoko asked if he regrets not to flat out leave Liverpool to go to Juventus or was he asked if he thought he would have more playing opportunities at Juventus? I sort of doubt Sissoko wants to leave. I'm sure he has told friends at times that he would like to, but who doesn't at times bitch about their life and wishing for change to their closest acquaintances? Sissoko's form of late has been less than impressive and though I'm far from questioning his desire and motivation to play well, if he continues at this rate, he won't be wearing a Liverpool kit come next season. Especially if we can keep Mascherano on board and Lucas continues to impress.

- We're apparently keeping a close eye on 18-year-old Danish centre back Simon Kjær. The U19 Denmark International is highly-rated and has received interest from many top clubs including Real Madrid. His agent compares his talen to Messi, Rooney, Dos Santos, Jesus, and Gary Kasparov. If he's as good as advertised hopefully having Agger will persuade him to give our club a chance.

- Now, before I get to the comical reactions of Phil Neville and David Moyes, let me first comment on Rafa subbing Gerrard in the 70th minute. Rafa has said he did so to give the club 'less passion' believing that a more rational approach would provide a better chance of victory. This was justified of course by Lucas' winning the penalty on a Neville handball. Benitez also added that he has smoothed things over with our captain. Speaking of Neville's handball, the Everton captain has no right to criticize actions of neither Liverpool players nor the referee. He deliberately cheated and received his just due. Saying it was the intelligent thing is ridiculous, now he faces a three-match ban for his action. Ultimately, it didn't work and the Toffees may be without their captain for three more matches, brilliant. Neville was particularly upset that Kuyt wasn't sent off for his two-footed tackle attempt that only earned the Dutch international a yellow card. Rubbish, Kuyt made minimal if any contact with the Everton player. Had he done a Roy Keane, I would agree, but he mostly just tackled air. Moyes was particularly baffled at not receiving a penalty for Carra's apparent box take-down of Lescott late in the game. After watching the replay a few times, I have to agree that Carragher took Lescott down by grabbing his jersey from behind and a penalty should have been awarded, but after the Chelsea match, we deserve a little 'luck' ourselves. Unfortunately it was at the hands of the Toffees, who are now in a bit of trouble.

Liverpool 2, Everton 1

Well, I got a proper second watching of this one, so I feel as if I have a reasonable grip upon what occurred. First off, I think the play that best represented Everton's effort was Phil Neville's intentional handball/red card/penalty in the 90th minute. The Toffees were feisty, physical, and clearly looking to do whatever they could to gain advantage. Unfortunately, or fortunately by my perspective, they seemed to lack the energy level they had last year when they annihilated us 3-0 at Goodison.

I honestly don't feel either side dominated in the first. The ball went back and forth pretty liberally and neither side appeared to gain any sort of control. For our side, I can't really comfortably point out any player as playing poor, not even Hyypia, but I was somewhat disappointed in Mascherano and Sissoko's efforts. Some of their passing tries were a bit baffling. Stevie-G was clearly on the top of his game though as was Finnan. By the way, if anyone would like to send me clear video evidence of Kuyt being offside in the 17th minute goal he scored, please do, because from all the angles I've seen, it's 50-50 at best.

Moving on to the second half, Gerrard's penalty was the correct call. I don't agree with the red card, but James Hibbert seemed to put up little fight as to the consequences of his actions. He was clearly grabbing Gerrard's jersey and the contact initiated by him was the cause of the fall. Call it a dive or whatever, I don't care, Hibbert wasn't going for the ball and had no chance otherwise. I guess he doesn't have much faith in Howard, which is understandable I suppose.

The rest of the second half actually showed some encouraging signs as one of the issues I have with our side lately has been our inability to either create nor take advantage of shot opportunities just outside of the box. A couple of times our boys decided to blast away from that area, which is much different than what has been happening in recent matches. We still appear to have a serious lack of continuity and communication though, something that will continue to create wasted opportunities until we all get on the same plane.

The 90 minute penalty earned by Lucas on Neville's handball was a no-brainer. In fact, Neville as an England International and Everton captain should be ashamed of himself, but as I alluded earlier, the Toffees appeared to be a side without shame. Further accentuating this point was Lescott theatrics in the box in the closing seconds. I'm not saying it couldn't have been called a penalty, but I thought Clattenburg did the right thing with the no-call.

Anyhow, it's three points not only on the road, but against one of our most formidable opponents. I was certainly happy with the result especially considering who we put on the pitch. I have a feeling we better get used to Gerrard starting on the right and seeing Xabi paired with Mascherano in the middle. I certainly see that as part of our strongest side we could start. At Besitkas on Wednesday for our Champions League lives.