Kids watch: Academy kids destroy Wycombe, Southampton finally wins with Hammill, Antwi loses to Peltier, & more

The U18s began their double defence of the FA Youth Cup with a resounding 5-0 shellacking of Wycombe. The Wanderers were undefeated in thirteen contests coming in while racking up a ridiculous +27 goal difference. Though they managed to hold our boys for the first half, an explosion of goals in the second, led by a brace from Nathan Eccleston, crushed the young Chairboys' hopes and dreams of the upset. I was utterly shocked to read about this win, especially considering Wycombe's dominance of all previous comers and the fact that it was at their house. Here are some other pics from the contest.

Adam Hammill may have finally had the match that gives him the belief of shining in the Championship. The flashy left-winger set up at least two goals and possibly three in the Saints 4-0 demolition of Hull City last Saturday. The most important aspect is that his side won, a first when the 19-year-old starts. Hopefully this will give George Burnley confidence in the youngster to make him a regular starter.

Godwin Antwi has continued his futile streak when it comes to on-loan 'derbies'. The twenty-year-old has now been on the third losing side of Hartlepool when they face a club featuring another Liverpool player on-loan. This time it was Lee Peltier and Yeovil Town thrashing the Monkey Hangers, 3-1, at Huish Park. I'm not sure if it's a continued sign of hard luck or an emphasis of his value to the side, but after going up 1-0, Antwi had to go off the pitch to receive treatment and while his side was down to ten men, the Glovers scored a pair to take the lead. Both players played the full ninety.

Swansea is on a roll and though Anderson has cooled off on his goal-scoring pace, when the 19-year-old Wirral product plays, the Swans usually get a result. In fact, they are undefeated in his last 19 appearances. Unbelievable. Their lastest match was a 6-2 drubbing of Horsham in the FA Cup. Though Anderson failed to net, he did have one disallowed for reasons unknown and assisted on at least one other. The Swans still sit atop the League One table with a match-in-hand and a considerable goal difference differential of 13 over table top sharers, Leyton Orient. They play Southend at the Liberty on Saturday.

Finally, Danny Guthrie played the full match in Bolton's 4-1 win over Wigan at the Reebok. The 20-year-old failed to score, but did collect his first career Premiership booking. Ryan Flynn has still yet to feature for Hereford and if you haven't heard, Besian Idrizaj, Craig Lindfield, and essentially Robbie Threlfall, have all concluded their loan spells. Cheerio.

Today's Banter: Liverpool may save Luton, Rush rates Crouch, Gerrard refuses Chucky Fab game, & more

If Luton Town can somehow manage to beat Nottingham Forest next Tuesday night and advance to the next round of the FA Cup to square off against Liverpool, it may prevent the side from slipping further into financial woe. The Hatters players have yet to be paid for October. It's sad to see a club so rich in history in such dire straits, a club that has been in existence for over 120 years. A club that finished as high as seventh in top-flight twenty years ago, won the League Cup in 1988, and won promotion to the Championship less than three years back. I'm not going to pretend as if I know what's going on over at Luton, but I do know that if a club has to go into administrative receivership, as the Hatters did on November 22nd, and there are prospective buyers 'banging at the door', something has to give.

Ian Rush has made a plea to Rafa for him not to sell Peter Crouch in the January window. The former legend can hardly contain himself when talking about 'the Lanky One': "He has done nothing wrong... Every time he has played for Liverpool he has been superb." With all due respect, Mr. Rush, he's done much wrong and is not good enough for a side that wants to win the League. A couple of weeks back I mentioned I was working on a database of stats for all the Liverpool players, well, I'm still not done with it, but so far, I've learned a couple of revealing things about Mr. Crouch. Most notably his wastefulness on possession. Not just giving the ball away, but also throwing it away by taking poor shots. In due time I'll reveal my findings, but as for now, unless Crouch really picks things up this month, he should be sold. Even if he does go on a remarkable run, one has to wonder, why did he play so poorly for much of this season? A journey into the psyche of Peter Crouch is probably warranted if so, analyzing his ego and pondering his true motivations. Rafa doesn't trust Crouch and he has no reason to. It also worries me that, even though Rush is a former player, a media pundit is making such a plea.

Steven Gerrard has no desire to compare himself to Chucky Fab (Fabregas for those unaware) and would rather concentrate on winning cups as part of a team. Kudos to Gerrard for an expected class response, but just for the record, no manager, including Wenger would take Chucky Fab over Gerrard at the moment. Fabregas is too young and immature, hence all the cards and reckless tackles. I also get the feeling that Chucky wants the rest of Arsenal to rely on him as the main man, which is fine when he's not injured, but as yesterday's 1-1 draw at St. James showed, a place where we demolished the Magpies by the way, is that the Gunners without Fabregas are a decent side, but no where near as good with him. Liverpool has coped without Gerrard at times this season and come out unscathed, beating Sunderland, Derby, and Toulouse, a combined 12-0. The opposition may not have been the best in the world, but is a Gerrard-less Liverpool three goals worse at St. James? No, in fact, Stevie-G played well against the Magpies, but it'll just be another solid performance lost in a book of legendary ones.

Speaking of Gerrard, he's been emphatic lately about getting to play with another world class caliber player in Fernando Torres. They certainly are brilliant to watch together. Remember a couple of paragraphs back when I mentioned the database I was working on, well, it has also showed some odd discrepancies concerning Torres. Let's just say his brilliant finishing saves him from finding a day job, but if you look at in a categorical sense, he does what's required of him with a little Spanish flare. I'm sure I'll rile some feeble bones when I write that post.

Finally, two things before I move on. First, Rafa has acknowledged the progress of Danny Guthrie at Bolton as something he expected. No word on whether we are willing to sell him though. A cluttered in-field is a cluttered in-field, a problem most managers would love to have, but I can't see Guthrie being any higher than sixth on the pecking order there. It sucks, but it looks like it's best for him if we sell him to the Wanderers. By the way, as I mentioned in my kids watch yesterday, Bolton plays in UEFA Cup action in a crucial match at Red Star Belgrade in a bit. No less than a win is required and there's a great chance Guthrie will start.

Also, the BBC should probably just ban the topic of Hillsborough from being discussed or mentioned on it's channels or website permanently. Once again an uninformed commentator has said untrue things about the tragedy for ill-effect. You can read about it here. Godspeed, you muppets.

Kids watch recap: Németh nets brace as Reserves crush Everton, Lindfield returns to LFC, Peltier Injured, & more

Krisztián Németh netted a pair for the second straight contest as the Reserves took the mini-derby, three to nil, at Halliwell Jones. It also saw the return of 19-year-old Spanish midfielder Francisco Durán, who came on in the 76th minute after being out for nine months with a knee injury. Leto was apparently quiet throughout, but Nabil El Zhar garnered Man of the Match honors from the official site. The squad currently sits 6th on the Premier Reserve League North table, but with a match-in-hand over everyone else except Middlesborough, they could go atop when they host 'Boro on December 10th.

Plenty of kids-on-loan yesterday found their names on the starting sheet, though no one managed to net. Most surprisingly may be Adam Hammill, who got the call for just the third time this season from George Burnley. The good news is, the Saints didn't lose this time as they have Hammill's previous two starts, the bad news is they not only didn't win, but failed to score as well in the 0-0 result at St. Mary's.

Paul Anderson returned to the starting line-up for Swansea and helped them win 3-0 over Northampton. The 19-year-old winger played the entire match, so it appears his injury worries are behind him. The three points keeps the Swans atop the League One table with now only Carlisle having a chance to overtake them with their match-in-hand. Coincidentally enough, the two sides meet on December 22nd.

Godwin Antwi started for Hartlepool and they actually won, 3-1, over Tranmere. The 'Pool had been winless in the five previous League One matches with Antwi from the outset, posting an 0-1-4 over that span. Unfortunately, the Rovers loan goal was due to a free kick on a questionable foul committed by the 19-year-old.

The only other player to see the pitch for his temporary club was Lee Peltier at Yeovil Town. The 20-year-old defender/midfielder started for the Glovers in their 2-1 win over Bournemouth, but was taken off in the 58th minute after suffering some sort of knock. I've yet to find any details about the injury, but will post accordingly.

In shocking news, Besian Idrizaj was no where to be found for Crystal Palace, though the Eagles did defeat QPR and their Chelsea on-loan contingency at Loftus Road, 2-1. Ryan Flynn failed to make his debut for Hereford United.

Finally, Craig Lindfield has ended his one month on-loan spell at Meadow Lane. Notts County no longer required the services of the 19-year-old after their roster was boosted by the return of a couple of injured strikers. It's probably not the best of times for Lindfield to return to the Reserves with the emergence of Németh and Jordy Brouwer playing well, but I guess he'd have to fight for a spot anyhow.

The only kid in action over the next two days is Danny Guthrie, as Bolton take on Red Star Belgrade at the Marakana in an UEFA Cup tie tomorrow. A win gives the Wanderers a decent chance to get through to the knockout stages, but a draw or loss puts too much emphasis on the results of group rival, Sporting Braga, who have a match more to play and sit just a point behind Bolton. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Bolton wish to keep Guthrie, Carson to Villa deal on hold, Gerrard wins style awards - thanks Carra & more

Danny Guthrie has impressed Bolton to the point that they are interested in keeping him on permanently, but according to manager Gary Megson, they have yet to speak to the 20-year-old about his intentions nor have they initiated talks with LFC. Due to the central midfield clutter, it is understood that Guthrie is available at the right price. If I had to take guess at his valuation, considering his age and the fact that he is not only already a regular starter in a Premiership side, but an obvious contributor to their better form, I'd say £5-7m. What do you think?

It appears that our club is waiting for a better run of form from Scott Carson to continue talks with Martin O'Neill about a transfer fee. Certainly Villa wanted to get it done shortly following his fiasco in the net for England so they could play off the negative press and low-ball us, but his first match back with the Birmingham club, he was phenomenal at Ewood, shutting down Blackburn, and he wasn't half-bad versus Arsenal last weekend. I hope we don't budge on the £10m asking price, there are a few other clubs interested in him including the aforementioned Gunners.

Steven Gerrard added two more awards to his ever growing list of accolades, but I get the feeling these are more likely to be used as paperweights instead of making their way into the trophy case. Our skipper won 'gongs' for Most Stylish Sporting Star and Icon from the inaugural 107.6 Juice FM Liverpool Style Awards at Sefton Park Palm House. In his acceptance speech, he had a go at Jamie Carragher and the awards themselves: “I would like to thank Jamie Carragher for this award.... If it wasn’t for him badgering me about my dress sense and hair cut then I wouldn’t be standing before you today. So ‘thank you Jamie’.”

Finally, two articles worth reading is one by Tony Barrett in the Liverpool Echo about Lucas and another at the FIFA site on Fernando Torres. The former tells how the Brazilian is learning from Gerrard and talks about his progression and role in the side in general while the latter brings up some interesting points about our world class Spanish striker. It talks of how his move to Liverpool has 'freed' him from the pressure of 'his iconic status with the Atletico fans' that also prevented him 'from leading anything resembling a normal life in Madrid.' Also, it brings up the fact that, at the age of 23, he already has 45 caps for Spain. That's just ridiculous and gives him a realistic chance at breaking records in that regard as well as total carreer goals (he has 15 now, Raúl scored the most at 44).

Kids watch and some other tidbits in the works. Cheers.

Anfield Banter Awards for November

My player of the month was Sami Hyppiä. I'm so glad I disabled comments because I can only imagine the garbage spewing from the mouths of those who have their own opinion. If you are one of those who know better, than I have a suggestion, start your own blog. Anyhow, here's the rest of the awards.

Unsung hero of the month
Well, I sort of shot myself in the foot on this one by naming Hyppiä as player of. Let me see, Carragher is certainly a candidate, as is Yossi, who seems no matter how well he plays gets little recognition, but I'm going to have to go with Javier Mascherano. The Argentine was instrumental in shutting down our opposition in the four matches he played and improved drastically from our previous matches with Beşiktaş and Porto. Not to mention he had to go to South America and back to play two matches for his home country.

Bench player of the month
Easy, Ryan Babel. In his three appearances as a sub, he scored three goals, utilizing his skill and pace to punish our opponents. Funny enough, he failed to net in his two starts. For now, Babel clearly is best suited coming on in the 60th minute.

Goal of the month
We scored 17 goals in five matches this past month, so there's plenty to choose from. I think I've got it down to five though. From the Beşiktaş match, Babel's first goal where he cleverly deflected a ball from Benayoun off the inside of his foot and Gerrard's nasty swerving blast in the box after receiving a cheeky back heel from Voronin, Gerrard's nasty free kick in the Newcastle tie, and finally both goals by Torres in the Porto match. The thing is, all of these goals have one thing in common, they were all team efforts, so I'll let you to decide for yourself. If I had a gun to my head though, I'd take Babel's first goal against Beşiktaş, only because it was a great announcement of the kind of talent the young Dutch forward possesses.

Assist of the month
Again, some great ones to choose from: Benayoun to Babel and Voronin to Gerrard against Beşiktaş, Kewell to Torres against Porto, and three corners from Gerrard to various players. I'm gonna have to go with the back heel by Voronin to a streaking Gerrard though, the whole play was just a thing of beauty.

On-loan player of the month
Hey, it's not Paul Anderson this time, even though the Swansea winger had another great month, playing in seven matches and scoring twice. No, this month's award goes to Danny Guthrie, who played in all but 16 minutes for Bolton while helping them go unbeaten for the month. Yes, you read that right, Bolton didn't lose in five matches in November, going 1-4-0. Only one win, but it was against Man U. Guthrie has proven a solid contributor to the side which makes me wonder what his future holds, our midfield is already cluttered as it is.

That's it for today... probably, but I'll be back tomorrow with my daily and a 'What will Rafa do?' for the Bolton match. Godspeed.

Today's Banter: Punch-drunk LFC love for Torres, the march toward Marseilles, Pepeadamus, & more

Fernando Torres has jumped on the Rafalution bandwagon, epitomized by the fans on the march yesterday. The enigmatic Spanish striker has praised Benitez as 'one of the greats' and 'more than just a manager.' He also added how impressed he was by the display the fans showed at Anfield yesterday, stating: "And we all had an idea that he's somewhat special here but, honestly, what I saw at Anfield tonight was really impressive... I'm really impressed at how much he's loved by the people, above anything else, even the players... I feel their affection, the support for my team-mates and with each passing day I'm feeling more of a part of this and happier with everything and at the end of the day those things are reflected on the pitch." The kid is all class, on and off the field. Do you think he's regretting not going to Man U now? At Old Trafford, he'd be just another cog in the soulless machine, while here he's sowing the seed to be an esteemed legend.

Build-up for the Marseilles match has already begun. The December 11th tie at Stade Vélodrome will decide whether or not we advance to the next stages of the Champions League. A win will assure us of it, a draw will require help from Beşiktaş, who would have to win at Porto for us to continue. It's probably best we walk away from Marseilles with all three points. The hero for the Ligue 1 side from the first meeting at Anfield, Mathieu Valbuena, has stated: "We'll approach that last match as if it were the Champions League final." Never heard that one before, think they'll score eight on us though? l'OM and their supporters have little else to anticipate these days though, they currently sit 14th on their league table, a point above the relegation zone. Steven Gerrard is looking forward to match as well, stating that he is 'happy that a win will almost certainly be required in Marseille.'

Pepe Reina has revealed his second occupation to be soothsayer. The 25-year-old keeper claims that he knew our recent deluge of goals was on the brink and it was only a matter of time before we broke the dam. No word yet on what the stones say about us winning the league.

Finally, Danny Guthrie is set to play for Bolton today in UEFA Cup group stage action as the Wanderers face Aris Saloniki at the Reebok. I don't see how the 20-year-old midfielder won't get the start as he is ineligible to play against us on Sunday citing on-loan rules. The Shrewsbury product was instrumental in Bolton's 1-0 upset of Man U last week. Coincidentally enough, Guthrie was released by Man U as a fifteen-year-old. Revenge must be sweet.

By the way, yes, I turned off commenting because there's not enough minutes in the day to go through them and for the most part, they're a waste of my time and energy anyhow. Thick-headed, baseless, and ego-driven jabs that were spineless, unwarranted, and for the most part, ignorant, were rampant and I have better things to do than deal with that crap. Blogs are about readers, not commenters. If you'd like to have an intelligent exchange or just drop me a line for any old reason, my email address is in plain sight. If you don't read this blog regularly and are wound-up by something I write, take a deep breathe before writing a scathing email to chastise me. My bite is much worse than my bark. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Gerrard wins Player of the Month, Lucas: the next legend, Guthrie excelling at Bolton, & more

Fans voted Steven Gerrard the PFA Player of the Month via their website. That's a bit surprising considering the efforts of Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney. I guess how he battled back from injuries, played so many matches, has had to put the club on his back at times, and finishing strong with three goals in his last three matches were the persuasive factors. Congrats Stevie and let's hope your progress to return to a world class level continues with Blackburn on Saturday.

Lucas Leiva has been hailed to become a Liverpool Legend by Steven Gerrard and Rafa Benitez. The 2006 Bola de Ouro winner, and the youngest ever I might add, has earned the praise of our captain and manager with his efforts in training and matches. Stevie-G points out that, if it weren't for Phil Neville being a cheat, Lucas would have had the game-winner in the derby, something that not many players can attest.

Meanwhile Rafa's contributions to that article are quit interesting. He first points out that for Lucas to already have a first team appearance for Brazil at the age of 20 is simply unheard of. If you want some perspective, Kaká didn't make his debut until the age of 21. Then Benitez talks about how impressed he's been with the seemingly seamless and swift adjustment the young Brazilian has made to life and play in England, especially considering that even the grass is different. I never thought about that, but he's right, even something as inconspicuous as grass can effect an individual's play.

Amidst all the turmoil and controversy that has arisen from Bolton this season, on-loan Danny Guthrie appears to be maintaining his focus and continue to progress. With Sammy Lee's departure, it looks as if opportunities to play for the 20-year-old will diminish, but Guthrie is taking it in stride. At least now he'll have the experience of going through a managerial switch and will be able to learn how best to handle such a potentially traumatic change.

Fernando Torres has vowed to take his return from injury this time with more patience and caution. The 23-year-old Spaniard admits he's never had an injury spell in his career of this proportions and doesn't like it. Well, that's good to hear, we already have one player who loves being injured in Harry Kewell, so we don't need two. (I'm kidding about Kewell, by the way. I know how sensitive Aussie fans can be, trust me.)

Speaking of King Harry, Rafa has stated that if Kewell can stay healthy and show his brilliant form of previous years, he'll be offered a contract to stay on with the Reds. There is nothing I want more than for that to happen. It is simply tragic how injury has devastated the 29-year-old Aussie over the last couple of seasons. At this point, we need him to step up and stay fit probably more than he needs us. Cheers.

AB Awards for October

October was a month to forget record-wise. We played a half-dozen matches, winning a pair (@Everton, Cardiff City), drawing a pair (Tottenham, Arsenal), and amazingly losing both our Champions League ties (Marseilles, @Beşiktaş). Injuries devastated us with no less than 8 regulars missing matches and causing others to have to play when they would be rested otherwise. Not to mention, if you include his ties for England, Steven Gerrard had to play in no less than eight matches last month, six in an eighteen day period. The most amazing stat is that after getting seven shutouts in the first two months of play, we failed to blank a single opponent in October. If that doesn't tell you how much we miss Daniel Agger, I don't know what does. Anyhow, on to the awards.

Player of the Month
The only real candidates for this accolade in my opinion are Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, and Steve Finnan. Carragher gave it his all in every match and looked utterly spent by the end of most of them and Finnan was consistent as ever, but with the amount of matches he's played, showing the integrity to work his way back to class form, and ending the month scoring his third goal in as many games, Gerrard, to me, is the most deserving.

Unsung hero of the month
This one is between the two players that just never seem to get the proper credit they deserve, probably because they are always business as usual and leave the glitz and glamor at home. If you don't know which two players I'm talking about, it's Jamie Carragher and Steve Finnan. With Arbeloa injured, Finney was asked to play a lot more than his 31-year-old body can probably handle, especially when you add his appearances for Ireland, but the Irishman never seemed to miss a beat and was his normal reliable self. Unfortunately he has a teammate named Carra who had the responsibility of making up for a subpar Hyypia. Hopefully Agger will return in due time.

Bench player of the month
Lucas, hands down. His effort against Everton won him this award alone.

Goal of the Month
I have this down to three: Torres versus Tottenham, Nabil El Zhar versus Cardiff, and Gerrard versus Arsenal. The first goal was a brilliant header finish to equalize and save us a point, but I have to give Steve Finnan partial credit for getting the assist. The second is just brilliant especially considering it was Nabil's first in a Liverpool kit. The award goes to Gerrard versus Arsenal, though because it was a classic Stevie-G effort and allowed me to breathe a little easier.

Assist of the Month
Though Benayoun's effort yesterday is worth a mention, only one assist came to mind: Finnan's assist to Torres to get the equalizer versus Tottenham.

Player-out-on-loan Award
Few candidates for this one as most of our boys seem to either be having it tough getting playing time or are fighting fitness. The only two that come to mind are Paul Anderson at Swansea and Danny Guthrie at Bolton. Though Guthrie either played or was on the bench for all six Wanderers' matches last month, Paul Anderson has to get the nod. The 19-year-old winger featured in all of the Swans matches in October, scoring three goals and helping them to a 5-0 record. He is looking more and more like the real deal, but a spell in the Championship next season should be the next step. Cheers.

Danny Guthrie's goal (video)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Danny Guthrie has scored for Bolton!

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