Today's Banter: Cappello to replace Rafa?, City in for Masche, Beşiktaş rout fixed?, & more

Apparently, Fabio Capello was contacted by the club before the Porto match to see if he would be interested in replacing Rafa, had the position opened. No word on what his response was, but it's looking more and more likely that Benitez is here to stay. I personally wouldn't mind the former AC Milan/Real Madrid/AC Milan/AS Roma/Juventus/Real Madrid manager taking over, as he has shown in the past that he's capable of taking a squad full of players that were there before he arrived and making them champions, but in the end, Rafa staying on board is best for the club.

In the rubbish transfer rumor of the day, Sven allegedly fancies Mascherano and is looking to place a bid of £17m for the defensive midfielder in the January transfer. Apparently Masche's 'owners', MSI, want to have him under contract to a club for next year by the end of the month. Seriously, I don't think Rafa is going anywhere, but if the owners don't think signing the Argentine to a permanent is our top objective come January, I wouldn't blame Benitez for handing in his notice. Anyhow, if Javier does leave, I doubt he'll stay in England when he can go to Juventus or Barcelona.

UEFA and Platini once again are making donkeys of themselves. "The European governing body has received information that 26 games in the Champions League, UEFA Cup and Intertoto Cup may have been fixed since 2005 with Liverpool's 8-0 drubbing of the Turkish club at Anfield - the highest score in Europe's premier competition - among those allegedly involved." Apparently a lot of higher winning margin bets were placed on LFC just before kick off and a few Beşiktaş players might have been paid off not to give their all. Platini should know what a fixed match looks-like and it's not 8-0, it's usually 2-1 with an allowed handball goal or maybe 1-1 with a questionable penalty. Anyhow, it won't matter in the end, it appears nobody at the club were involved and another scandal to distract Marseilles may be just what the doctor ordered.

Finally, due to the fact that Jamie Carragher is playing with fire, Jack Hobbs may get the start at Reading to prevent the Bootle icon and our side from getting burnt. Carra did have to leave the Bolton match early due to sore ribs, but that's not why he may start from the bench on Saturday. He also has four yellow cards, a fifth will earn him a one-game suspension and force him out of the Man U match on the 16th. If Hobbs can maintain the composure he showed in the second half against the Trotters, I don't see why he can't do the same at the Madejski this weekend. Maybe the 19-year-old centre back can take confidence that he made his Liverpool debut at the Reading stadium just two-and-a-half months back.

I'll be back later with a Kids Watch recap from all of yesterday's action including our Reserves thumping Everton, 3-0. Cheers.

Liverpool vs Fulham: What will Rafa do?

The big question going into this match is what kind of part will Fernando Torres play? From what I've read, it appears that Rafa is contemplating starting the Spaniard. Apparently he's looked good in training, but I'd be a little shocked if he started. There has also been some speculation as to whether or not Rafa will start the same XI he did against Beşiktaş. I'll go ahead and save everyone the trouble, he won't. So with that...

In front of Reina, starting on the left, I'd be shocked not to see Aurelio. He looked pretty sharp on Tuesday and I would hope that Rafa would want to keep the Brazilian that way. In the middle we'll probably see Hyypia and Carra, not only because Arbeloa is the only other choice here, but also because the two elder Reds didn't have to expend much energy against Beşiktaş. Finally on the right I suspect Steve Finnan will get the nod against his former club. Arbeloa should be on the bench.

In the midfield, I don't know why because he was probably our worse player on Tuesday, but Rafa will probably start Riise. I'd personally rather see Kewell or even Benayoun, but I think the Norwegian will get the nod. In the middle I'm gonna say Sissoko and Mascherano, even though it'll probably be Gerrard paired with the Argentine. Finally on the right, it's either Gerrard or Benayoun, I'll decide shortly.

Up front I'm hoping Rafa starts the Dutch connection and gives Kuyt and Babel the call. Like it or not, Kuyt's part of the rotation. He lead us in goals in the league last year and he'll eventually get it going.

So here's my final guess:
Reina
Aurelio
Carragher
Hyypia
Finnan
Kewell
Mascherano
Sissoko
Gerrard
Kuyt
Babel

Bench:
Martin
Arbeloa
Lucas
Torres
Benayoun

I changed my mind and put Kewell in for Riise. Probably wishful thinking, but oh well. I fully expect Torres to get a running out and for Lucas to get on if the Masche-Momo pairing isn't working or if we need a boost. I know Voronin is no where to be found but I honestly think the less he plays, the better he seems to be.

The thing I'll be looking for in this match is if we come out early with our blitzkrieg-style that we have been using since the last twenty minutes of the Blackburn match. Even if we don't create a goal early, we need to keep on pushing until we crack their defenses. One goal and as long as we keep going at the Cottagers, the floodgates will open. I don't expect another 8-0 or even 6-0, but 4-0 is very realistic and I hope Kuyt gets at least one for his confidence. Cheers.

Today's Banter: De-constructing Rafa, Babel babble, & A look at our depth

There isn't really much going on in the world of Liverpool Football Club, just reiterations of yesterday's headlines, so I've decided to just ramble on about a bunch of nonsense. Feel free to share your opinions below.

Before I go down that long and winding (or winded, which ever you prefer) road, there's an excellent piece on Rafa's obsession with our club and football in general by Oliver Kay at the Independent.ie. It gives good reason to laugh at all those who feel as if they are obligated to criticize the boss' managerial decisions. He puts in the time and has the trophies to prove it.

Anyhow, moving on, I think it's time Ryan Babel is made a permanent part of our striker force, don't you? From the looks of our last three matches, Rafa may have already decided to do so. He started there against Cardiff and when Kewell came on for Voronin in the Beşiktaş match, the young Dutchman was moved up to partner Crouch. He appears more comfortable there anyhow and in fact, when he plays for the Netherlands, that's his normal spot.

It seems as if when he does occupy the left, he's basically trying to play the role of a forward instead of a winger anyhow. Though I think it would be great if he learned to be effective on the flank, his talent seems best suited up front. With Harry Kewell back to share left wing duties with Riise and occasionally Benayoun, Babel is really no longer needed over there.

Which brings me to squad depth. Just for kicks, let's take a gander:

GK - Pepe Reina, Charles Itandje (inj), David Martin
LB - John Arne Riise, Fabio Aurelio, Alvaro Arbeloa, Emiliano Insua (res)
CB(2) - Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger (inj), Sami Hyypia, Alvaro Arbeloa, Jack Hobbs
RB - Steve Finnan, Alvaro Arbeloa, Stephen Darby (res)
LM - John Arne Riise, Harry Kewell, Ryan Babel, Yossi Benayoun, Sebastian Leto (res)
HM - Javer Mascherano, Xabi Alonso (inj), Momo Sissoko
AM - Steven Gerrard, Lucas Leiva, Xabi Alonso (inj), Momo Sissoko
RM - Jermaine Pennant (inj), Steven Gerrard, Yossi Benayoun, Ryan Babel
F2 - Dirk Kuyt, Andriy Voronin, Peter Crouch
F1 - Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel, Peter Crouch

(I put in bold who I believe to be our ideal starter at that spot, (inj) = injured, and (res) = primarily a Reserves player but capable of filling in on the first team on an emergency basis.)

The thing that stands out to me is our lack of depth at centre back. With Babel establishing himself as a forward, our focus during the January transfer window has to be a class centre back at any cost. Even when Agger gets back, having Jack Hobbs even in the depth chart is a scary aspect. The kid may be good one day, but he's still very raw.

The depth on the flanks is great, but most goals are scored from the middle of the field. One of the most positive results of the Beşiktaş match was that Hyypia and Carra had to do very little, which means they'll probably be pretty fresh come Saturday. After that, there's a two week layoff for the international break, which means when the team plays again at St. James Park on the 24th, we could have a full, fresh squad including Danny Agger and possibly Xabi Alonso.

Some other links to kill some time:
- Before there was Stevie Finnan, there was Jimmy Willis
- Carra calls on the entire squad to improve

Liverpool 8, Beşiktaş 0: post-match reaction

Cooler heads will prevail. Liverpool fans need to take that statement to heart. We won nothing but a match yesterday and need to realize that. Fabio Aurelio knows exactly what I'm talking about. The 28-year-old Brazilian has pleaded with everyone to remain focused: "Winning 8-0 against Besiktas gives us confidence and we need to take that on. We knew we needed to improve after recent results and we still need to improve. We must still work really hard - starting on Saturday. We must keep pushing ourselves." It was only one positive step forward on a long, arduous journey to come.

The Irish, ever self-involved, made a point to say that one of their own 'played no part' in the record-breaking performance yesterday. I disagree. Finnan is one of our best and most important players, without him available to rotate and rest Arbeloa, there's no way the Spaniard would have been able to put on the performance that he did. Finney should be back to take on his former club, Fulham, on Saturday.

Turning to the blogs, we have Who ate all the Pies? chiming in with their '10 conclusions' of the match. That site never ceases to amaze me with the brainless drivel they produce. Taking a quick gander, they make a half-assed attempt to pat themselves on the back with their first conclusion by stating that Rafa should play Crouch more often. More often? No surprise that a superficial site, easily manipulated by the media, would fail to do any research. Crouch has now appeared in five straight matches for us. I'm not going to spend much more time deriding such nonsense, but the eighth conclusion caught my eye as well: "I have never rated Alvaro Arbeloa particularly highly, but he was outstanding at right-back last night. Whether that was just because his defending was never really called into question remains to be seen." First off, they've never rated Arbeloa because they're Man U fans, but I won't get into that. Second, um, did you not watch the Champions League match at Camp Nou last season? Arbeloa owned that nobody Lionel Messi, there must have been a Man U match on at the same time. Anyhow.

Another blog that tries to woe the hits with shock jock headlines is CaughtOffside. One of their reactions to the match was this: "Rafa Benitez gets cocky after Liverpool thrash a very bad team." It's quite convenient that the article was apparently without an author as no one with even the intelligence of a baboon would own up to such rubbish. It was probably either an Everton or Man U fan sickly green with envy. The backbone-less author alludes to the thrashing of Derby and how it made us Liverpool fans 'think they might win the title before they went on their usual run of disappointing draws and losses.' What losses is he referring to? We're still undefeated in the league and only six points out from Arsenal. His delusion continues by trying to ridicule and spin Rafa's post match comments from yesterday by trying to convince himself that Rafa believes Beşiktaş are on par with the best clubs in the world. A pathetic attempt to assuage his irrationality nonetheless.

Unlike our friend over at CaughtOffside, the Guardian printed more of what Rafa said instead of just picking and choosing to spin and manipulate. If you want to read more on that, go here. It's funny how it sounds completely different when one lacks an agenda, doesn't it?

The Beşiktaş side is expectedly dire in their response. Their manager, Ertuğrul Sağlam, only had this to say before walking out on the post-game press conference: "It is very upsetting and we would like to apologise to our fans. It is very difficult to accept a result like this. We know we must work harder and we will do. Thank you very much." Club president Yildirim Demiroren seemed to think hard work won't be enough as he has proposed letting players go for such an embarassing result. Wow, that's a bit harsh. Imagine if we did that after the Marseilles match. There's a good chance Peter Crouch wouldn't have been around for this one if so.

Finally, two quick links if you have time to kill: icLiverpool has a list of greater European victories & the ever-intriguing Paul Tompkins sounds off on yesterday's match. Cheers.

Our Champions League scenario

I just wanted to clear this up since there seems to be a misunderstanding of what it will take for us to advance. First off, our destiny is basically in our own hands. If we win out, we advance, it's (almost) that simple.

The only way we don't advance by winning out is if Marseilles has a greater goal differential in the overall group and we beat the French side by the exact score of 1-0. For that to matter though, l'OM will have to beat Beşiktaş by at least ten goals, given we defeat Porto by only a goal. The reason the fourth tie-breaker of group goal differential would come into play is because we both would have beaten each other on opposing grounds by the score of 1-0, thus eliminating the head-to-head and away goals tie-breakers.

Get it? Got it? Good.

Liverpool 8, Beşiktaş 0: Match Highlights

If this gets taken down, please email me or leave a comment, I'll find others somewhere. Cheers.

Liverpool 8, Beşiktaş 0: Player Grades

Pepe Reina 6
Didn't have to do much, but got the job done and made a great save.

Fabio Aurelio 5.5
The Brazilian made little contribution, but it wasn't required. He came off early in the second for Babel, which I'm hoping was because of fatigue more than anything else.

Jamie Carragher 6
Wasn't called-on to do much, but did what he had to.

Sami Hyypia 6
Stayed back, didn't get beat. One of his better performances so far this year, but I bet you he can't wait for Agger to get back so he can go on holiday.

Alvaro Arbeloa 7.5
Was a real instigator on the attack early and can probably be credited for getting us going. Once Beşiktaş had to worry about him as well, even more space opened up. By the way, he completed 100% of his passes. Wow.

John Arne Riise 5.5
Made up for his passing woes by causing havoc.

Steven Gerrard 5.5
Must have been nice for him not to have to play his arse off and our side win like this.

Javier Mascherano 7
Another solid performance from our other World Class midfielder, was utterly dominate in midfield and lead our side with 8 tackles.

Yossi Benayoun 8
I don't think it's possible for a player to have as good a night as Yossi. 3 goals and 2 assists? Ridiculous. Man of the Match.

Andriy Voronin 7.5
An inspiring performance from the Ukrainian as his relentless attack caused problems all day for the Turkish side.

Peter Crouch 7
Get ready to hear a bunch of nonsense about Crouch being the reason we dominated this match. He wasn't. In fact, he missed quite a few opportunities that could have made the score even worse and turned over the ball many times. With that said, Crouch was good at creating space and drawing fouls. His effort should be commended.

Ryan Babel 7.5
Was a ball hog early, which appeared to annoy his teammates, but adapted and made a solid contribution. Once Kewell came on and he moved up front, he looked more comfortable. The first goal was simply brilliant and he was unlucky not to have a third when one of his headers from a corner hit the cross bar.

Harry Kewell & Lucas Leiva 6.5
Both players brought a lot of energy to our side, but neither really got enough time on to get comfortable. Kewell definitely needs a full match or close to it, so we can see what he can do.

I hope this match strikes fear into our upcoming opponents more it goes to our heads.

Liverpool 8, Beşiktaş 0: Utterly Ridiculous

I think the score pretty much speaks for itself here, don't you? I was worried that we might be tired after expending so much vigor in the opening 32 minutes of the first half, but it appears that I was the only one who was wasting energy by thinking about it. The second half was just stunning.

Seven minutes in, Yossi Benayoun scored his second goal of the match on a rebound from a John Riise rocket that the keeper did his best to stop. Unfortunately it rolled right into the path of the Israeli International who was lurking in the area. Four minutes after that Yossi made it a a hat-trick on a similar free kick attempt by Steven Gerrard. Once again the Beşiktaş keeper failed to contain the shot and once again Yossi was there to calmly slot the ball into the net.

Now down by four goals, the Turkish side looked beat and bewildered. To their credit, they played staunchly, but never really looked the threat. Once Gerrard broke free on a one-two backheel from Voronin and slammed home a shot in the box with about 21 minutes left, the Beşiktaş spirit was officially broken. To make matters worse, Benitez put in Lucas and Kewell to go along with a newly-introduced Babel to rejuvenate the side.

Six minutes following Babel added to the opposition's woes by cheekily deflecting a Benayoun cross into the opposite side of the net. The brilliant finish appeared to do wonders for the young Dutchman's confidence as he looked the threat from then on. Not three minutes later though, he had to believe luck was on his side as well when a Beşiktaş clearance hit off his back, shot up into the air and landed on the other side of the goal-line. Simply ridiculous and pretty much summed up our evening.

We weren't done just yet though. In the closing minutes, as the attack was pushed forward by Lucas and Kewell, Yossi Benayoun found Crouch on a cross and the lanky striker notched his second goal of the night with a powerful header finish. We not only set a new Champions League margin-of-victory record, we crushed it by two goals.

The true character of this squad will now be revealed this Saturday when we travel to Craven Cottage. If we continue our no-holds barred, rampant ways that began with about twenty minutes left in the Blackburn match and proceeded to run over the Kara Kartallar all day today, then I think we can once again have hope of a season ending in some sort of success. If not, if we resort to playing the long-ball, getting in each other's way, fail to use the entire field, and basically give half-ass efforts all-around, well, then we'll know today was just a fluke.

The worst thing for this side to do is think that they've accomplished anything worthwhile. A record is nice, but if we fail to qualify for the next roudn of the Champions League, it doesn't matter. There's still plenty of work to be done and no time to really sit back and revel in victory over a side that we should have beat at their home. If we can carry this momentum into the next dozen matches, this season could end up being something special.

Liverpool 2, Beşiktaş 0: halftime thoughts

So far, so good. We came out with a vengeance and frankly the first thing I thought was that we were expending too much energy. In fact our attack during the first fifteen minutes or so was highly enthusiastic, but had little organization. Once we stopped pushing everyone forward, especially Hyypia and Carra, and made a couple of simple, possession passes near the midfield, we appeared to gain some composure.

You wouldn't have known of it from the first goal though, which was a succession of Beşiktaş defensive blunders egged on by the determination of Peter Crouch. I was glad to see he didn't just give up for once and kept his cool.

After that, we could sense blood and the onslaught continued, except this time it appeared we had more of a plan and that was to attack down the right. Arbeloa played out of his head and created a couple of chances for himself and Benayoun, as the Spaniard came racing down the flank, noticeably alarming the Turkish side's defense, which had to scatter to mark him. Surprisingly nothing came out of it.

Even more surprising might be that the goal came from the left. Riise, aware of a screeching Voronin, rushed a throw-in to the Ukrainian, who crossed the ball to an awaiting Benayoun. Yossi calmly knocked down the ball and then slammed a cross-shot that found the corner of the net. I've read this week that neither Voronin nor Riise can cross, well, both have proved their critics wrong so far today.

After the second goal, we appeared to sit back and absorb the Kara Kartallar attack. I'm hoping we were just resting and saving up our energy for the second half and aren't becoming tired. Probably the most astounding aspect of our performance so far is that Gerrard has probably been our worst player. It's not that he's played horribly, but he's just made the most noticeable mistakes.

Anyhow, the second half is about to start. I'm hoping we can hold on. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Beşiktaş 'lip service', Pako to Valencia, & Gerrard backs Kuyt

Going into today's match, it appears we're getting the same old lip-service. Gerrard wants the squad to treat it like a cup final. We haven't heard that one before, oh wait, we have, two weeks ago in Istanbul. A lot of good it did then and a lot of good it'll do now. To put it plainly, 'Talk is cheap.' I'm personally tired of rallying-calls like this, it only matters what you do on the pitch.

Jamie Carragher also added his two cents to the cliché piggy bank by saying that we thrive on pressure. Well, good then, maybe our players should get paid according the results of how they handle that pressure.

Finally, Rafa plays the 'importance of the fans' card. Yeah, you don't want to forget about them. I know papers and sites need to write about something, but they should save themselves some time and money and instead of interviewing Rafa and the players, they should just write down all the normal banal pre-match jargon on little slips of paper, put them in a hat, and then pull one out and attribute to what ever it says to a certain person. Seriously, I think I get dumber reading these things.

On the flipside, we have Beşiktaş midfielder Matías Delgado who talks more junk than a heroin addict. The 24-year-old Argentine doesn't hold back at all in predicting a win for the Turkish side. Some of his comments are laughable though, 'In Istanbul we deserved the victory and played a sensational match.' Really? Because from my perspective we dominated the match, only failed to finish our chances, and your side only committed three fouls. That last point is so ludicrous, I won't start, but Delgado needs to send Platini a nice bottle of wine. Furthermore Delgado states: 'This Liverpool side is vulnerable and not the super team of previous seasons.' What season are you talking about? 2005? When we needed a couple of miracles to win the Champions League? And yes, we're vulnerable due to injury. Great analysis though. God I hope we crush this idiot, his arrogance precedes him.

Moving on, it looks like Pako Ayestaran might end up back at Valencia as an assistant to recently hired manager Ronald Koeman. I personally think Pako's role with the team has been over-stressed and his departure has been exploited as another cheap-shot at Rafa for our current dip in form. How Ayestaran left the club, whether he was asked to resign by Rafa or left on his own accord, is not clear, so any speculation about the matter is frivolous. It has always been the intentions of 44-year-old Spaniard to return to Spain anyhow. On a different note, in that article it alludes to Valencia fans in a recent match chanting for the club to bring back Benitez. At least he'd be appreciated there.

Finally we have Stevie-G throwing himself behind Dirk Kuyt in support of the Dutch striker despite the latter's recent goal-scoring issues. Gerrard actually says some worthwhile things in that article including: 'Missing chances is part and parcel of football. I’ve missed chances in the past and no doubt I’ll miss them again. The important thing is how you react...' & 'There’s no point picking on individuals when we don’t win. We win as a team, we draw as a team and we lose as a team, and that’s all there is to it.' Sounds like the words of a true leader. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Riise upset over wageslip leak, Villa want Crouch, Rafa afraid of 'God'?, & more

Well, another match day is here and I'll get to the normal routine in a bit, but first it's time to cover what's going on in the world of all things Liverpool FC. First off, John Arne Riise is furious that one of his wageslips from last season has been made public. The 27-year-old defender is convinced the paper was somehow stolen from him since he would never just throw something containing such sensitive information in the trash. Why this interests anyone except a criminal trying to use Riise's information to steal his identity is beyond me. Furthermore, it's obvious that there's a severe case of cognitive dissonance going around that is more viral than images of Riise's wageslip. I seriously doubt any of those people who have published the photo of the papers would want their wages and/or personal information revealed. Have some class and stop doing things just for your own self-benefit.

Martin O'Neill has revealed that Aston Villa are interested in making a bid for Peter Crouch in the January transfer window. It looks as if O'Neill is ready to break the £10m mark for the lanky striker, smashing the club transfer fee record in the process. Other interested parties such as Sven-Göran Eriksson and Man City seem reluctant to pay a proper sum for Crouch, obviously seeking a bargain. Rafa has recently said that the England International is not for sale, but I personally hope he's willing to change his mind for the right price.

Speaking of Crouch, there seems to be speculation that he could start tonight. I would sort of be surprised if Rafa didn't save him for Saturday, but then again, maybe he's planning on resting him then so he'll be in top form for our crucial Champions League clash with Beşiktaş at Anfield next week.

Rafa just can't stop praising Robbie Fowler. Benitez feels that 'God' could very well score against his former club this evening, but hopes he does so in a losing effort. He continues the Robbie Fowler love-fest by thanking the 32-year-old striker for his second term service to the club and being like an additional coach on and off the field. I love Fowler and am worried about him being extra motivated to score tonight, but I'd rather he didn't, losing effort or not.

Finally, Rafa has called a fit Harry Kewell like a new signing. I concur, but let's all hope he stays fit. The Aussie is due to start against Cardiff this evening and with Gerrard likely to sit, I look to him to be our leader. We need his heroics now more than ever. Cheers.

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.

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.

The official site is celebrating Halloween a little early

Two things on the front page of the official site, Liverpoolfc.tv, are giving me the chills. First, Pepe Reina looks like a cold-blooded vampire who's spotted a fresh drink of blood. Seriously, he's got crazy eyes. Also, if you click on the related article, 'Pepe proud to equal record', he thanks everyone in the defense for helping him achieve the clean sheet record except Jamie Carragher! Probably just a typo.

The other thing that's a bit creepy is the pictures of Beşiktaş J.K.'s stadium accommodations for visiting fans. They look like a seating section for an insane asylum with high white fences that drastically intrude the view of the pitch. There's just no way in hades that I would go to that match and sit in that cage. I understand other Turkey clubs (ha, no pun intended) visiting and their fans causing problems, but that just won't happen with our supporters. You'd think they'd have movable fencing or something of the sort for such occasions so they don't look like a country of barbarians.