Should Andre Wisdom be loaned to West Brom?

Andre Wisdom, like Suso, is a well-liked player that I think all Liverpool fans want to pan out, play the next 10 or so years in a LFC shirt, and retire a legend.  He's a beast and even though he may not have the best judgement behind the wheel, on the pitch he's already a coveted commodity.  His versatility, athletic ability, and skill make the sky the limit for the 21-year-old Leeds native. His loan to Derby last season did nothing but prove how promising a prospect he is, here are his stats from that time:

npgp90	gcp90	ccp90	ap90	ccv
0	0.09	0.64	0.09	14.3
pass%	bp%	sacc%	shot%	TTI90
82.9	36.5	23.1	0	10.4
gap90	gsp90	gop90	tgop	gopd
1.04	1.98	0.94	0.7	0.24
tp90	tack%	intp90	clrp90
1.56	54.5	0.73	3.35
dribpp90	bsp90	adwp90	adw%
0.34	0.52	1.04	60.7

The most impressive stat is in the 34 matches since he joined Derby, they garnered 73 points, and the 12 previous they only managed 12.  Without Wisdom, I highly doubt they would have even made the Championship playoff.

I honestly think we should keep Wisdom and make him the starter.  I understand Rodgers' thinking here, but I don't think hanging on to Johnson for another season when he still has sell value is a good plan.  Johnson will be 30 come August and I doubt he has but a few years left in competitive top flight football.  Wisdom and even Martin Kelly deserve their shot and bringing in another right back is just a waste of money.

Liverpool 2, Derby 1: When we find ourselves in times of trouble...

...all we have to do is call on Stevie-G. Fekkin' brilliant.

And he had a shit match otherwise.

As I said in my preview, this was not going to be an easy task, but the determination of our fearless captain pulled it out... again. I know I don't have to say it, but there's absolutely no player in the world with his class. Not even close. He can be having a woeful day and then put our side on his back and refuse to accept to defeat as he did. Absolutely, positively, fekkin' magic.

Fernando Torres, also once again, showed why we paid £20m for him. His goal was a phenomenal piece of class, something you rarely get to see at this level. It's disappointing that he can't play so mesmerizingly genius the entire match, but I'll take the few seconds that he can.

Derby needs to be commended for their effort. They certainly didn't deserve to walk away with nothing. I can already read the rubbish headlines now and honestly, it's disrespectful to the Rams. They were the better side in the second half by a mile.

I'm not sure what our deal was, maybe we were looking ahead to Sunday's match at Eastlands, but that's no excuse. We were not a top side today, to say the least. I was disappointed in Rafa's tactics as well. I would have gone with a different starting line-up and taking Hyppiä off, unless he was injured, was clearly a mistake.

I'll get into individual efforts when I do my player ratings, but if I had to pick a Man of the Match right now, I have no clue who'd I pick. Torres and Gerrard for their mere seconds of genius and conviction I guess are deserving, as is Xabi for his brilliant passing. In fact, Alonso made two world class passes in the first five minutes of the match, something we usually fail to do an entire ninety minutes.

And when the night is cloudy, there's still a light that shines on me... Stevie F'n G.

Liverpool at Derby: Strangedays Rafa returns

Here's the verdict:
Reina
Aurelio
Carragher
Hyypia
Finnan
Riise
Gerrard
Alonso
Babel
Voronin
Torres

Bench:
Itandje
Benayoun
Lucas
Kuyt
Mascherano

I don't know where to begin. Babel on the right? No defensive players on the bench? Well, other than Mascherano, but that doesn't really count. I have concerns... this is a good side, not our best possible, but still, no excuses for anything less than three points.

Liverpool at Derby: What would Carra do?

In the spirit of Saturnalia, I thought I'd do a little role reversal and with Carra considered the player most knowledgeable football-wise on the side, he would most likely switch with Rafa.

I have a feeling that this match will be a lot tougher than we hope. First off, Derby has been playing better as of late under Paul Jewell who took over at the end of November. They basically held United to three goals at Old Trafford and were unlucky not to get three points at St. James Park, though it isn't as if that is a monumental task these days. I don't buy the rubbish of their injury issues either, there's not a huge discrepancy of talent between their normal starters and their bench, so pride and determination would play a huge part to begin with.

As for who we'll play, I'm not completely convinced we need to go with our best available side. Man City awaits on Saturday at Eastlands, so I'm not sure it's wise to risk fatigue and injury. Crouch's suspension doesn't help though, a front line of Kuyt and Voronin would seem a bit futile, though we could start Babel there. I think Hobbs is likely to get the start over 'Old Man' Hyppiä.

Here's my guess:
Reina
Aurelio
Carra
Hobbs
Arbeloa
Kewell
Xabi
Lucas
Benayoun
Voronin
Torres

Bench:
Itandje
Riise
Hyypiä
Babel
Gerrard

If Crouch was available, I could definitely see him starting here. I believe Finnan is still injured, if not, he'd also probably get the start. I think we'll win, just not as impressively as most will think. I'm sure the 2-0 victory by Chelsea at Pride Park in late November will elude the ever omnipotent post-match press, once the reviews are published. Cheers.

Now that Mourinho is gone, get ready for Rafa vs Big Sam

I guess I spoke too soon. You may recall earlier in the week when Big Sam Allardyce put in his two cents regarding Rafa's rotation policy, particularly his decision not to start Gerrard and Torres against Portsmouth last Saturday. That was of course before his Newcastle side went into Pride Park Stadium and lost relegation candidates Derby County, 1-0.

The Magpies boss felt he had the right to blast Rafa for not caring about the Premiership as much as he does Europe. Big Sam added: "Rafa would be very lucky to be in a job if he hadn't got to two Champions League finals, because they have had some very, very poor finishes in the Premier League." Third place is a poor finish? Interesting. I won't bother looking to see where his Bolton sides finished over the last three years, but I don't ever remember them even making the Champions League.

He also gave us this gem: "Being a foreigner, Rafa doesn't understand it's supposed to be Premier League first and Champions League second." The last time an English manager won the league was 1992 when Howard Wilkinson won it with Leeds. That was before it was called the Premiership, by the way.

Anyhow, Rafa has responded by reiterating my initial reaction to Allardyce's rant, saying "I think he should be more worried about his own business because he must have more problems than to waste time talking about other managers."

Then he goes on to hint that Big Sam must not have a very good memory and reminds the Newcastle manager that we've won the Super Cup, FA Cup and Champions League as well as reachied another Champions League final, a Carling Cup final and twice finishing third in the Premier League during the Spaniard's reign. My question is, where's your silverware, Big Sam?

Fagan receives four match ban

Derby County striker Craig Fagan received a four-match ban from the FA today for stamping Alvaro Arbeloa on the calf in Liverpool's 6-0 demolition exhibition of the Rams last Saturday. The punishment was originally only three matches, but an additional match was added due to the 25-year-old's appeal and calling the matter 'frivolous'.

I have seen the incident a few times and personally think that it is without a doubt the correct call. He doesn't lose his balance by any means and appears to be looking down at Arbeloa's leg before his cleat leaves the ground. I'm just happy that our player wasn't injured by the incident and still can't believe a card wasn't handed out as it was done almost right in front of the sideline official.

McEveley: We gave Liverpool too much respect

Scottish International and Derby County left-back, James McEveley, had some interesting words about his side's 6-0 annihilation at Anfield last Saturday. Here's what he had to say:

"I think we gave Liverpool too much respect. We didn't get in their faces, we were standing back in awe of some of the players as opposed to going out and saying, 'It's me against you and you are not going to beat me'."

That's quite a revisionist's excuse since I think most people who watched that match would think different. In fact, I'd be hard pressed not to say that McEveley's side were quite physical and challenged us on every goal save Xabi's first one which was without a doubt a fluke. The rest of the goals were clear indications of our superior size, speed, and football instincts. If they had tried to be more physical, we would have just used our prevailing pace and skill to administer a similar beat-down, probably allowing them to pick up some cards and run themselves ragged in the process.

If Derby County's idea of too much respect is cleat stomping on one of our players while they are down, what are they going to do next? Wear brass knuckles and punch opponents in their Charlie Browns? I'm just glad we were on the winning side of this match as I have a feeling the Rams won't make the same mistakes, that is trying to play with a better squad instead of trying to dictate the pace of the match, when they go to Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford.