Liverpool vs Birmingham: the line-up

Here it be:
Reina
Riise
Carra
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Babel
Mascherano
Gerrard
Pennant
Voronin
Kuyt

Subs:
Itandje
Finnan
Crouch
Torres
Sissoko

Interesting having Mascherano in there. I thought for sure he'd be given the day off to think about his performance against Porto. I guess Sissoko will play Tuesday. Kuyt and Voronin is interesting as well. I know they've played together, but I believe this is the first time they've started alongside one another in a match that counts. Rafa means business today. Here's to Pennant wreaking havoc. Cheers.

Oh, yeah, also Robbie Fowler has a brace so far for Cardiff today.

Liverpool vs Birmingham: What will Rafa do?

Well, we went from arguably the easiest match to predict so far this season, to quite possibly the hardest league fixture so far. Wait until our Cup ties start, then it gets next to impossible to guess what Rafa the Mad Tinkerer will come up with.

There are a lot of outside factors to consider this week, especially at right midfield. It's Yom Kippur so that may rule out Benayoun. Jermaine Pennant's reckless performance at Porto may also see him starting from the bench. Also, with the Carling Cup tie coming up against Reading next Tuesday and Rafa apparently taking it more seriously this time around, you wonder who he'll reserve. I wouldn't be surprised to see Gerrard start on the right with Sissoko and Mascherano in the middle. It also wouldn't shock me to see Riise or Aurelio start on the left and Babel start on the right.

In other words, I have no clue what Rafa is going to do. Since it is a 'lesser' side, I hope he goes balls out and that doesn't mean bringing in any Reserves, but I don't really consider Sebastian Leto nor Lucas as full-time Reserves like I do say Robbie Threlfall or Ray Putterill. No offense to those two as they have both showed promise when given the opportunity, they just aren't as ready as the aforementioned pair. Once again, I would love to know what is up with Harry Kewell, having him fit for this match would be a huge boost. Ultimately, I'm looking for Rafa to take some risks here. As his squads have gotten deeper, he's gotten more predictable and I believe that's taken off some of the edge.

GK - Reina
If he's fit, he plays, and as far as I know, he's fine.

LB - Riise
He's back and he could start at left-mid with Aurelio here, but I think Rafa will want him to take it easy after coming back from a groin pull.

CB - Carragher
We need him to stay as healthy as possible.

CB - Arbeloa
Younger than Hyypia and though he could use a day off, I just don't see it happening here.

RB - Finnan
When's he fit, he'll play.

LM - Aurelio
I think Rafa goes defensive here, but that's using logic.

CM - Sissoko
Is back and after Masche's performance at Porto, the Argentine needs a day off.

CM - Gerrard
When he's fit and rested, he'll play.

RM - Benayoun or Babel
I don't see Pennant starting here only because his recent rash play and the fact that he used to play for Birmingham. I can see him making some bad decisions on and off the ball. Benayoun will start if Yom Kippur doesn't conflict, if not it will probably be Babel.

F - Voronin
I think Rafa will look to allow the Ukrainian to redeem himself for Portsmouth.

F - Torres
Torres will stay on until the three points are secured and then look for Crouch to get some pitch time

Bench:
Itandje
Mascherano
Hyypia
Babel or Leto (it depends whether or not Benayoun is available to play)
Crouch

I have no confidence that Rafa's selection will be the same, but that's pretty much who I would play. Cheers.

Liverpool 1, Porto 1: Man of the Match

Whoa, were my fellow Liverpool fans watching the same match I was? I just checked out the Fan's Man of the Match over at the official site and it had Dirk Kuyt voted first by the fans followed by Sami Hyypia and Mascherano?! Holy shit on a stick! Are you serious? Do I have unrealistic expectations of our Argentine midfielder or were you all drunk? Masche was appalling. I will admit that Hyypia started out just as unimpressive, but got better as the match progressed.

The site's picks were Jamie Carragher first followed by Hyypia and then Kuyt. There's just no way I put Kuyt behind Hyypia since it was mostly the latter's fault that they got the penalty. And what about Finney? Kudos for giving credit to one of our unsunge heroes in Carra, but I'd put Finnan above Hyypia as well.

In fact, if I had to rate our players in order from best to worst it would go something like this:

1. Kuyt
1. Carra

Kuyt is my Man of the Match, but I can't put Carragher very far behind him as he was in his inspirational form. The never-say-die Dutchman was relentless and per usual did what ever he was asked when he moved over to the right after Pennant was sent off. Carra was tremendous in keeping Porto and the ball away from the box.

3. Finnan

Another quiet, flawless performance. I'm going to start calling him the ghost because not only does he haunt our opponents, but no one ever seems to notice him.

4. Torres

El Nino did what El Nino was brought on to do, create space for Gerrard and worry the hell out of our opponent's defenses. He sent them scrambling mad on a couple of occasions.

5. Babel

It would have been nice if someone would have gotten open when he had the ball deep down in Porto territory.

6. Reina

Made a great save, but made questionable decisions in the box and on the ball, especially early on.

6. Hyypia

Almost made up for the penalty with his clearance and got better as the match wore on.

8. Gerrard

Was apparently hanging out with Harry Kewell.

9. Arbeloa

Looked tired and made some poor decisions after he was beat. His positioning was questionable as well.

10. Mascherano

His legal issues must be affecting him or he was having flashbacks of the Copa final when he heard the Porto players speaking in Portuguese.

11. Pennant

Thought his name was Ashley Cole again.

I'm not going to bother with the subs. Saturday can't come soon enough. Cheers.

Liverpool 1, Porto 1: the goal

Great team work. Torres won the foul, Finnan took the kick, Hyypia got the header assist, and Kuyt headed it home. It's Kuyt's third CL goal this season and fourth for his career. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Reaction to yesterday's match

Before I begin to criticize other's reactions to the match, let me make it clear that with our horrid performance and the fact that it was away, we really had no right taking a point yesterday. If it weren't for the performances of Carra, Kuyt, and Finnan, we probably wouldn't have. Babel and Torres weren't bad either, but other than those five, those were some of the worst efforts I have ever witnessed from our side.

I was especially disappointed in Mascherano and Pennant. I have stood up for JP countless times and yesterday he really let me down. He was nowhere near his form from last year. Maybe he isn't mature or secure enough to work in the rotation environment that any big club is going to utilize when going for multiple cups. I'm not going to bother to psycho-analyze the kid, but seriously, JP, get your shit together or ask for a transfer. With Benayoun on the bench, Kewell on his way back, Babel as versatile as he is, and Leto collecting Reserves caps, you should be worried about keeping your spot. As for Masche, I just think he had a bad outing and I don't expect one as poor ever again. On to the muck.

Some people think that certain individual efforts aren't to blame, especially Pennant and Reina. I don't know where that guy heard or read that people were blaming Reina and Pennant. If it wasn't for Reina, we would have lost 2-1 easy. His passing at times was a bit suspect and I'm not sure why Porto didn't just run over to Babel every time Pepe was about to attempt a goal kick, but as the game progressed, Reina's decisions got better. As for Pennant, he was appalling and I blame Rafa for leaving him in too long more than anything.

The same bloke who is hearing voices in his head also wonders why Liverpool are 'scared of the football'. That whole post is just preposterous. Scared to pass to each other? Are you having a laugh? Our passing was just off, particularly Masche's, that's it. Making a mountain out of mole hill, especially away in Europe is a bit ridiculous. And by the way, though I did predict the line-up accurately, Agger would replace Hyypia in our best XI. That's not an excuse though, for a man his age, Hyypia's form has been wholly impressive so far this season, but that was his least mentionable match so far.

On the official site, there are a couple of interesting articles. The first one is Rafa's reflections on the match. He seems somewhat pleased with the result and I for one agree with him. Ten-men for much of the second half when we appeared to be an actual threat to score and going home with a point, is nothing in which to be disappointed. Especially considering they needed a penalty to score on us. I definitely agree that we looked better and better towards the end of the match, but disagree that Torres should have been taken out. Unless El Nino was fatigued or for some other reason requested a sub, he should have been left in. Voronin basically brought the same elements to the match, nothing more and possibly less. Defenses just don't have the same respect for the Ukrainian as they do the Spaniard.

Also on the official site, Carra seems to be defending his buddy and captain, Stevie-G, by calling him the 'best skipper in the world'. No shit, Jamie, but if you are somehow trying to assuage us fans of his performance yesterday, you're wasting your breathe. He may have not been his best, but he did not cost us anything. A top form Gerrard would have probably put the team on his back and garnered us the three points, but yesterday he was merely just a cog in the inefficient machine. I expect better, but it's done and over so there's no point.

Apparently Rafa planned on subbing Pennant right before he was sent off. I was planning on moving to Hollywood and becoming the next Marlon Brando once, but it never happened. I'm so glad the ref saved him the trouble. Seriously, I'm usually not one to criticize Rafa's decisions, but this is the second match in a row that I have issues with his moves or lack thereof. Thankfully he has Birmingham at Anfield next weekend where he could play some of the members of the ladies team and still get the win.

Finally, we have Chris Bascombe's match review from the Echo which per usual was class. He not only blames our boys for a wasted evening, but also the Porto side, who for all accounts should have whipped up on us. I kind of think he fails to give Carra and Finnan the credit they deserve on defense, but they're used to it.

Bascombe also brings up some interesting things that I failed to notice. The first being Pennant's tendencies to dive this year. Last year he was on the brunt end of some bad non-calls and maybe he's been hanging out with Arbeloa too much these days. Seriously, JP, not that you should give a rat's ass, but I'm almost at my wits end with your behavior so far this season. Maybe the loss of Craig Bellamy, a man who probably wouldn't dive if both his legs were broken in half, has had a negative effect on you.

Another observation the Echo writer makes is the lack of Xabi's influence might have been integral. I never thought about it, but he's probably right, though with Xabi's poor attitude lately he could have easily been a card casualty as well. Furthermore, who says Rafa would have put Xabi in, and if he did, he would have probably put him in for Stevie-G instead of Masche, who should have been taken off so he can think about being mentally prepared to play next time. I wonder if all the talk of his potential legal troubles had an effect on him? I hope not. Cheers.

Liverpool 1, Porto 1: simply appalling

Where to begin? Well, first, that was the worse match I've ever seen Mascherano play. From the beginning it looked as if he was somewhere else. I'm not sure it was because he rarely plays for us these days, but his decisions on the ball were atrocious. I was actually surprised to not see him collect a few yellow cards (Yes, a few) with his suspect tackling.

Pennant was also a joke. I have no idea why Benayoun wasn't brought in to start the second half because it looked quite apparent to me that JP was a red card waiting happen. This was easily his worse appearance for us that I've witnessed. He needs to get his head together because if he continues being such a menace, he's really just a waste of space and that's a shame because he's so talented.

Gerrard, Arbeloa, and Hyypia were unimpressive as well.

As a team, we were shocking. Near the end we seemed to get it together and had a couple of near chances, but honestly, I didn't think we were going to score anyway. In the end, Porto were either just as poor or our defense is just that damn good, you can decide because I don't really care.

Positives? I thought Torres did well to worry the defense and forced them to have at least two to three players there, just in case. Kuyt played well also and probably should have gotten the penalty call after being pushed down in the box by a Porto defender, but it was away so we weren't going to get any calls. Babel put in a decent effort also, even if it found him all alone deep in the enemy's territory at most points.

Do I have a right to complain about a 1-1 draw at our most difficult opponent in the group stage's home? Not sure. I think if we played better, we could have pulled off the win, but maybe I'm not giving the Porto defense enough credit.

In the end I look at it this way, we played like crap and still got the point because of a penalty. That's impressive on some levels. Nobody was hurt and now Pennant will be available for more league matches. Mascherano though was wholly disappointing and I hope he never puts in a performance that awful again.

Liverpool vs Porto: the line-up

Here it is:
Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Hyypia
Finnan
Babel
Mascherano
Gerrard
Pennant
Kuyt
Torres

Bench:
Itandje
Lucas
Voronin
Benayoun
Aurelio
Agger
Crouch

Looks scarily familiar. Just as a heads up, there's little to no chance I'll be doing a halftime thoughts post because I'll be at the pub. I will be back after the match though. Cheers.

Liverpool 0, Portsmouth 0

Well, if I learned anything from this match, it's that we're not going to win tough away matches like this without Torres playing the full ninety. When he came on in the 63rd minute, we immediately became a greater threat to score. Gerrard came on four minutes later, was his usual class self and probably was the reason Torres had so much freedom up front, but for the most part Stevie-G wasn't too involved in the match the roughly thirty minutes he was on.

The thing I disagree with was taking out Pennant instead of Benayoun or Xabi for Gerrard. Pennant was having a better game than those two, and was beginning to get more involved in the attack in the second half, creating an early chance for Voronin that bounced off the top of the bar. Neither Benayoun nor Xabi did much the rest of the match to justify them staying on and in fact, Yossi wasted a golden opportunity in the box.

The officiating was wholly inconsistent, but that's expected on the road. Two things really bothered me other than the obvious horrible penalty call. A bogus foul was awarded to Portsmouth after Arbeloa stole the ball on the left side of the field and we looked to have the advantage on the attack and for the life of me, I don't know how either Davis or Johnson didn't collect more cards. Their play was appalling. Every time they were outclassed, they just stuck a dangerous foot out.

Overall, I don't know, we just didn't have it until Torres and Gerrard came in. Like I said before, I think taking out Pennant was a bad decision. He and our two world class players probably would have been enough to get a goal. In the end, this is not a devastating result, but a win would have been obviously been better. To look at it half full, a draw at Fratton Park is certainly better than a loss.

Liverpool 0, Porstmouth 0: the save

Here's Pepe's save on Kanu's penalty, that was wrongfully awarded, by the way. Cheers.

Liverpool 0, Portsmouth 0: halftime thoughts

Well despite the officials trying to gift Portsmouth the three points and the home side giving a clinic on how to cheat English football style, our boys find themselves drawn 0-0 at the break. Of course if it wasn't for the greatest penalty keep in the world, they'd probably find themselves down 0-1.

The awarded penalty in the 32nd minute was absolutely atrocious. On a Portsmouth cross into the box, Arbeloa went up beside an awaiting Pompey player and knocked the ball away with a flying karate kick. As he came back down, he momentarily, and I mean it maybe lasted one-and-a-half seconds at the most, grabbed at the Portsmouth player's shirt to regain his balance. If that was the line judge's reasoning for the call, bullocks, the ball was far away at that point. There was no contact prior to the ball's arrival either. It was completely unjustified.

Thankfully Pepe stepped up and saved Kanu's attempt by diving to his right. His uncanny ability to know where the ball was headed saved the line judge the embarrassment of having to apologize after the match. By the way, Xabi got a card in the mass protest that ensued after the call and before the penalty was tried.

As a team, we're letting Pompey's overt and near criminal physicality get to us. Early on we had a free flowing transition and looked a real threat to score, but that momentum has dissipated. We need to focus more on organizing our attack and in that regard getting the ball to Pennant more. In the beginning he was our main carrier and then for about a half an hour he disappeared. Toward the end of the half, we got the ball to him a couple of more times and things started to happen.

Our best player has probably been Momo. He's made some fantastic defensive stops, but he tends to revert back to his horrid passing decisions from time to time which seems to almost negate his stops. Pepe has been great on not allowing the ball to get past him, but once he gets possession of the ball, his decisions on who to give it to and how have been at times baffling. I hope it was just the jitters from not playing for a couple of weeks. The only other stand-out has been Carra, who seems to be the only one at times to have a head on his shoulders.

No one has been particularly bad, though I wouldn't call this Voronin's best match by any means. The Ukrainian seems to be letting the Pompey scum get to him. Neither Xabi nor Benayoun seem to be much into the match either and for once I don't have much to complain about Crouch's performance since he's hardly touched the ball.

It looks as if we're going to have to bring either Gerrard, Torres, or even Babel for an offensive spark. The Crouch-Voronin pairing isn't working today so maybe replacing one of them would be a good idea. We definitely need to get Pennant the ball more and I think the way to do that is by getting Benayoun more involved. Anyhow, the second half is about to begin. Come on boys!

Liverpool vs Portsmouth: the line-up

Reina
Finnan
Agger
Carragher
Arbeloa
Pennant
Sissoko
Alonso
Benayoun
Crouch
Voronin

Subs:
Itandje
Hyypia
Torres
Gerrard
Babel

No big surprises except Finnan. Looks awfully familiar though. Cheers.

Liverpool vs Portsmouth: What will Rafa do?

It's baaaccckkkkk!!!! My favorite game trying to predict what Rafa 'the Mad Tinkerer' Benitez will do tomorrow against Pompey. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments. Anyhow, let's go...

With about half the squad on international duty this past week, Rafa's choices have been somewhat limited to players who didn't play or play much on Wednesday because they aren't part of their country's national team (For now, that includes Pennant & Arbeloa), were injured or retired from international play (Finnan, the former, Carra, the latter), their country didn't have a fixture (Yossi Benayoun), they got a red card and were suspended for the match (Xabi, I'm talkin' 'bout you), or were an early exit or late sub from their teams' matches (Agger, the former, Peter Crouch and Andriy Voronin, the latter). That in turn makes my job of predicting who Rafa will field pretty simple, well, probably not.

Reina in goal as he didn't get to play for Spain because Aragones gets hand jobs from Iker Casillas. Honestly, I don't care, I'd rather have a fresh Pepe than see Spain advance and have the chance at having Torres injured at the Euro next year. My backline has Arbeloa on the right as it looks like Finnan will be a scratch thanks to a knee injury suffered in the Toulouse match at Anfield two-and-a-half weeks ago. Get well soon, Finney, we're gonna need ya. In the middle I have Carra back in action and Danny Agger, unless of course he did break his hand, but I figure we'd see something form the official site by now if he did. Finally, on the left will probably be Riise. Though Aurelio did play 45 minutes earlier this week in a Reserves match, I don't expect him to take the pitch in a first team match for at least another week. No need to rush him.

In midfield on the right will be Jermaine Pennant. Time to step it up lad, if we've ever needed a solid performance from JP, it's here. It the middle, despite Rafa supposedly amusing himself with thoughts of starting Gerrard, will be a well-rested Xabi Alonso and Momo Sissoko. Don't be surprised to see Gerrard on the bench though and he'll probably get into the game at some point in the second, if we're down, probably with at least twenty minutes left. On the left I expect to see Yossi since Babel played the full 90 for Holland on Wednesday, but I certainly hope the new John Barnes will be on the bench. Calling Harry Kewell, Harry Kewell, where are ya?

Up front is the toughest dilemma, using my theory of starting the least tired players, probably means Crouch and Voronin, which I'm fine with. As long as we have Torres or Kuyt available on the bench, just in case. Speaking of the bench, I think we'll see Gerrard, Hyypia, Leto, Torres, and Itandje there. Leto gives us coverage on the wings, though he probably won't see the pitch unless Pennant or Benayoun get hurt. So here's my final guess:

GK - Reina
RB - Arbeloa
CB - Agger
CB - Carra
LB - Riise
RM - Pennant
CM - Momo Sissoko
CM - Xabi Alonso
LM - Benayoun
F - Voronin
F - Crouch

Bench:
Gerrard
Hyypia
Leto or Babel
Torres
Itandje

Cheers and see ya tomorrow.

If Liverpool was an NFL side: The Offense

As I sat around with some friends this past Sunday watching some NFL and patiently awaiting the US-Brazil friendly in Chicago, I got to thinking how Javier Mascherano would make a bad ass American football player, particularly at running back. He seems to have the perfect low-gravity, wide, muscular build with powerful tree trunk like legs to propel him forward while carrying a couple of players with him. I could definitely see him slamming himself kamikaze-style through a wall of over-sized ogres and coming out the other side a la Emmitt Smith to scramble for a few more yards. It's too bad he was born in Argentina.

Then I got to thinking, if Liverpool FC was an American football club, at what positions would our players be best suited. On offense, the most obvious is Steven Gerrard at quarterback. He just has that high-shouldered approach that would allow him to keep a good eye on the entire field and allow him a quick over-the-shoulder release. Not to mention his leadership abilities and his uncanny knack to pull off something special when needed most. He certainly has all the physical attributes, he's quick and fast, though it probably wouldn't hurt for him to put on a few pounds, and at six-foot-one he's tall enough. The only thing he'd need to learn how to do is throw a football, but that probably wouldn't be too hard for someone of his athletic ability.

The biggest problem would be linemen. Of the players who could probably make it at that position due to their strength and toughness, certainly Sami Hyypia and Alvaro Arbeloa could, but both would still need to put on at least 100 pounds to even begin not to get pushed around by the opposition. John Arne Riise could probably make it as a tight end, but I'd rather see him and Jermaine Pennant sharing the backfield with Mascherano. I can just imagine Riise getting the ball, gathering up a head of steam and then barreling through some linebackers who later would have no idea what hit them. As for 'Crazy Legs' Pennant, I can definitely see him being like Warrick Dunn, scampering all over the field, defying tackles with juke moves and a relentless refusal to be taken down. He'd probably be one of our return specialists as well.

As for the receiving core, we'd be loaded with Momo Sissoko, Ryan Babel, Yossi Benayoun and of course, Peter Crouch, though I think Crouchy would probably get broken in half on the first decent hit. Pepe Reina would be our starting tight end after he put on about eighty pounds. Yossi and Crouch would be the possession receivers, while Momo and Babel would be flankers. I could also see Dirk Kuyt and Andriy Voronin as split ends or playing some sort of possession receiver roles due to their lack of speed. That leaves Torres, who'd probably be in the backfield, though I'm not sure how he'd fit in with the other three back there.

As for the rest of the team, Harry Kewell seems to have the mentality of the back-up quarterback. Though he may lack in size, he's definitely got the athletic ability and tends to come up with special plays from time to time. Of course he'd have to stay healthy first. For some reason, I see Jamie Carragher as a kicker. I don't mean that as an insult by any means, as I can see him kicking the ball off then going full speed at the opposition trying to take out as many blockers as possible on his way to dragging down the returner. Then we have Danny Agger, with whom I have no idea what to do with. With his height, he could probably play as receiver or tight end, but I just sort of see him sitting on the bench. I don't why, maybe he's just too much of a footballer to me.

If I ever get this bored again, I'll do the defense or somebody can shoot me. Whatever you deem appropriate. Cheers.

Liverpool vs Portsmouth: What will Rafa do?

Well, we got some good news today with the international clearances of Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel, and Lucas Leiva, as well as the near return to fitness for Stevie-G, because after Tuesday's match, it looks as if we'll need all the bodies we can harbor. I'm really excited about getting a look at Lucas and fully expect him to start in the middle with Gerrard.

The heat and the humidity definitely seemed to get our boys by the end of the last match. Danny Agger and John Arne Riise looked especially exhausted, which is not good, considering how thin we are on the back line. Carra and Arbeloa played the entire match as well and Hyypia saw some time at central midfield of all places.

I can see Rafa giving a start to Robbie Threlfall at left back as well as Gabriel Paletta in the middle. I also think, since Hyypia came in late and Finnan left early, they will probably allow them to start at centre back and right back respectively.

On the flanks, I think Babel might start on the left, though I wouldn't be surprised to see Kewell there since he was taken out early on Tuesday and with him just leaving the Asian Cup, he's probably pretty well adapted to the conditions. On the right, we'll probably see Pennant since he only played twenty-five minutes or so in the South China FC match.

Up front is not as simple as it would seem. One would think Torres would get the nod since he's well rested, but I think Rafa might start with a relatively fresh Kuyt and pair him with either Babel or even Crouch. If he starts Voronin there, I'll be shocked since the Ukrainian played the whole match Tuesday, but it is Rafa and he does know his player better than I. Voronin actually didn't look too worn out by the end of the match, but you never know.

At keep, I can definitely see Reina starting, but I think Carson will get the nod, if just to keep him happy.

So here's how I see it:
Carson
Threlfall
Hyypia
Paletta
Finnan
Kewell
Lucas
Gerrard
Pennant
Kuyt
Babel

As for the bench, who knows? If I knew the actual fitness of the players I could guess more accurately, but I definitely expect the younger players like Agger, Crouch, and Riise to be available, despite how the looked by the end on Tuesday.

I hope we win this match, but I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't. Portsmouth and Harry Redknapp, without a doubt, have more desire than we do to win this, despite Rafa's words. I just hope it's entertaining, no one gets injured, and we get a solid look at Lucas. Cheers.