Euro-qualifying: A great day to be a Liverpool fan... well, almost.

I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. With the conclusion of today's matches, a large majority of our players who would normally be representing their countries in next year's Euro Championship, will now be getting the summer off. Like I've said prior, I don't give a rat's ass about international play, especially exhibition tournaments like the Euro and the World Cup. They're great for killing time or for an excuse to binge drink, but for the most part they aren't legitimate competitions anymore and have certainly ceased to matter. Too many questionable calls and duplicitous actions have tainted them far beyond any rational person's belief.

Anyhow, to get to today's matches, four teams, three featuring our players were given glints of hope before having them squashed by the all-mighty hand of reality. John Arne Riise and Norway crushed Malta, 4-1, but occurring at the same time Turkey was hosting Bosnia-Herzegovina in Instanbul. The Norwegians needed the Bosnians to at least manage a draw while they took care of business in Ta' Qali. After going up 2-0 in the first 28 minutes and Turkey appearing to have their problems scoring against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Norway probably started to believe they had luck on their side, but it wasn't meant to be. Villareal scoring machine, Nihat Kahveci, placed a shot in the far side of the net with two-minutes to go in the first half and Ay-Yıldızlılar managed to hold on, 1-0.

Sami Hyypiä and Finland were hoping to travel to Porto today and pull off one of the biggest upsets of qualifying by beating Portugal at the Estádio do Dragão. The only way for the Finns to advance was to win. They were lucky to come away with a 0-0 draw as Portugal unleashed an onslaught of attack on the Finnish side, but came away empty each time. The result eliminates the Huuhkajat from competition and with the summer months off, might allow Hyppiä to come back for one more season.

Then we have the Three Lions. After going down by a pair of comical goals by Croatia, England battled their way back to draw even, the latter goal a magnificent chest-catch and finish by Peter Crouch. It looked as if Gerrard and company might just get it done, but then Sol Campbell forgot he was supposed stop the ball from going towards the goal and conveniently got out of the way of a Mladen Petrić shot, which found itself in the back of the net. Carson hadn't a chance. Euro dreams for England were crushed and Steven Gerrard will finally have a couple of months off to recuperate. I can't say I'm not ecstatic.

Finally we have Spain with Pepe Reina the lone Spanish Red starting in goal. Thanks to a deflected shot from Xavi Hernandez, our Pepe got the win and the clean sheet. Other players who saw action include Andriy Voronin, who was the only goal scorer from our club, and the Dutch duo of Kuyt and Babel. The former came in at the half, while the latter played the full match and collected a yellow card to prove it. So Spain and Holland are the only two teams with our players that advance, which may mean up to six of our players, but it could have been worse.

Today's Banter: Kuyt burgled, Deco talks dirt?, Gerrard pep talks England, & more

Dirk Kuyt became the fifth Liverpool player in eighteen months to have his home burgled last Thursday while he was away on international duty. Just another reason to quit the national team if you ask me. Anyhow, this of course shows that Merseyside is riddled with crime and a far worse place to live than say Manchester or London, right? Wrong. If anything it shows that at least the criminals are smart enough to know who to target. Just for kicks, check out the 193-page report on crime in the UK and Wales from the Home Office. If you don't want to bother, ponder this: per 10,000 households in Merseyside approximately 0.0352% were burgled between August 2006 and July 2007. Greater Manchester? 0.0518%. London? 0.0422%. In fact, those two areas are worse percentage-wise in every category of crime, but facts don't matter, right? Moving on...

Oh my God, Barça's Deco forgot to mention us as contenders for the Champions League, so he must not think that we have much of a chance. I am so riled up at the moment, I mean, just because we have a slim chance of advancing to the knockout stage, doesn't mean we can't win at all! That Brazilian, uh, I mean Portuguese ponce! This is called 'mocking a shit rag site who has nothing better to do than make things up.' Deco doesn't mention us, big deal.

Gerrard must want some expensive gifts for Christmas. I mean, who are the two England players whose asses you'd kiss to get, say, most likely a Ferrari from as a present for Christmas? It's not Joleon Lescott or Nicky Shorey, I assure you that. Our captain was just full of praise for John Terry and David Beckham in this article.
Stevie-G wants the side to win it for the Chelsea defender and thinks that Beckham is still 'international class.' Those comments are worth at least a bottle or five of Krug Clos du Mesnil.

Robbie Threlfall dreams of playing for Liverpool one day. The soon-to-be 19-year-old local product may be far down the left-back totem pole, but he knows if he works hard and continues to develop, he's got a shot at making the first team. He's currently on-loan at Hereford United where he has started four matches. They play again today in FA Cup action at Leeds. I honestly think the kid's got what it takes to be a first-team contributor in two-to-three years after being impressed by him in the preseason against South China FC.

Finally, I feel sorry for Pepe Reina. It looks as if our keeper will be in net for Spain when they face Northern Ireland in Euro qualifying tomorrow. The game is meaningless to the Spaniards so I hope Luis Aragonés plays youngsters who care and are looking to impress their coach for future call-ups. If not, it could be a long day for Pepe as Norn Iron has to win to have any chance of advancing. Of course, with the Green & White Army relying on Latvia to upset Sweden, they might as well not even try either. Cheers.

Peter Crouch vs Dirk Kuyt: Who's the ideal second striker?

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It appears that following our 8-0 drubbing of Beşiktaş, the player that has gained the most points in the fans' approval ratings polls has been Peter Crouch. In my opinion, there were at least five other players on the pitch that night who were bigger contributors to our cause and that's not including either Steven Gerrard or Ryan Babel.

Most of those who are exalting Crouch's performance to delusional proportions appear to be the same people who kept complaining about his seemingly constant exclusion from the side in previous matches. Of course, none of them will admit that the England International has played a part now in five straight matches. Starting or not, if he doesn't take advantage of the time alloted him, when will he?

Crying over not getting the start when opportunity is clearly given, especially when afforded time when your opponents' energy levels have been somewhat depleted is irrational. A team player contributes to the whole no matter the circumstance and I, for one, would not be surprised if such a notion is not part of Crouch's character. His whining to the press in the past are a clear indication of that.

At the other end of the spectrum is Dirk Kuyt. Other than the Turkish side, the Dutch International seems to be the second biggest loser from Tuesday's Champions League clash. Coming off the match at Blackburn, where Kuyt clearly was not his best, the worse thing to happen would for an explosion of goals to occur with the second-year striker in the stands.

I'll be the first to admit that Kuyt has been in poor form so far this year, but Crouch has as well, and one match a season doesn't make. How quickly has everyone forgotten about the Marseille match where if Crouch had gotten a red card in the first ten seconds, we would have probably had a better chance of winning. The lanky striker was so horrid that one could easily make an argument that he was throwing the match.

In fact, since both strikers got a chance to take the pitch, let's take a closer look at their performances in the Marseille match, one I consider to be the worse home loss in Liverpool history. Crouch played 75 minutes before being subbed off for Kuyt. Now guess which of the two took a shot? Crouch, who played nearly 80% of the match, or Kuyt who was on for only about 20%? If you guessed the former, you're wrong. Crouch failed to take a single shot, not a shot-on-goal mind you, but an attempt in general, not even a half-assed, ten-feet off the mark crack at the net.

Comparing these two is not easy because they have such different styles. Crouch's strength is obviously his height. Outside of the box, he best uses the attribute to set-up others, while inside the box, other than scoring goals with his head, he puts it to use to create space for his teammates. Kuyt is more of a 'utility' forward, utilizing his passing abilities to set up others and his movement off the ball to create space.

Before I get into the statistical comparison of the two players, I just want to say that though neither player will be at their respective countries' Olympic trials for the 100m dash ever, Kuyt clearly has more pace than Crouch. A blind man listening to the rate of their footsteps could tell you that. Now for the bread and butter.

What do you look for in a second striker? Probably the penultimate player at the position is Wayne Rooney. Last Premiership season, he was second in assists and goals for Man U with 14 and 11 respectively, he's goal/attempt percentage was 31%, and he had a pass completion rate of 72.8%. He's also a decent defender at that spot with 30 tackles at a 78.9% success rate, 9 interceptions, and 47 fouls committed. Now that's quality.

Let's look at Crouch and Kuyt's total Premiership stats, last season and this season combined. First, Crouch has played in 36 matches, 17 as a substitute, with an average of 43.7 minutes per match. His minutes are irrelevant though and actually comes back to bite him, but I'll get to that later. He has scored 9 goals, assisted on 6 others, his goal/attempt percentage is 23.1%, and his pass completion rate is 67.3%. His defensive stats are: 10 tackles at a 71.4% success rate, 5 interceptions, and 42 fouls.

Kuyt's Premiership combined stats are: 43 matches played, 34 as a starter, 9 off the bench, with an average of 76.4 minutes per outing. He has scored 14 goals, assisted on four others, his goal/attempt percentage is 35.9%, and his pass completion rate is 71.2%. Finally, his defensive stats are: 41 tackles at a 70.7% success rate, 15 interceptions, and 64 fouls.

So what does this conclude? Well, that Kuyt is clearly the superior all-round player, something which should be required from a second striker. Crouch takes nearly twice as many shots per ninety minutes and is far less efficient at putting them in the net. He also commits way too many fouls for the significantly less time he is on the pitch than Kuyt. Every time he misses a shot or commits a foul, he gives the opposition possession of the ball, allowing them the opportunity to score.

Kuyt is the better passer and can provide some defensive help while Crouch is best suited to leave that side of the pitch alone. In fact, I make no qualms in saying Crouch is a defensive liability. I don't mean to put down Crouch, but anyone who thinks he's better suited to line-up beside Torres, you're wrong. Voronin maybe, but if both Kuyt and the Ukrainian are at the top of their game, I'll take Dirk most of the time.

The thing that bothers me most about Crouch is when he sits near the middle of the field waiting for someone to serve him the ball so he can head it forward to Gerrard or Babel or whomever is screeching down the field. That's the thing, without someone there to service Crouch, he's useless at the spot. I'd much rather see him further down the field, which opens up space over the middle for Gerrard. All I'm really saying is that Crouch is best suited near or in the box, while Kuyt is the better second striker.

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: Mourinho to replace Rafa?, Torres back in training, Benitez backs Kuyt, Babel, & more

Well, first let's get to the ridiculous rumor of the day. Apparently Jose Mourinho is interested in taking over at Liverpool if Rafa were to leave. I don't think 'The Special One' has thought this one through though. First, unlike at Chelsea, he would not have the resources to build a squad to his liking. He'll have some funds available to him and will probably be able to scrape up more by selling players he deems undesirable, but there's quite a gap between Abramovich money and Gillett/Hicks money. Second, does he really want to put up with the criticism he will most likely receive if he doesn't win the Champions League or Premiership title in the first season? The press and some 'fans' just don't live in reality in summing up our prospects and ability. Chelsea had little if any history or success before Mourinho, so he was pretty much their saviour and could do little wrong. The impatience among the so-called Liverpool faithful and the press seems almost viral at this point. Benitez wants to build the squad using players groomed and tested in the Academy and the Reserves, I don't understand what is so difficult to comprehend about that plan.

Moving on, it appears that Fernando Torres has already returned to training and could even be on the bench for Fulham on Saturday. The problem I see with that is it might give Luis Aragonés the idea that the 23-year-old Spaniard is available for Spain's Euro-qualifier with Sweden on November 17th. The last thing we need is for El Niño to get injured playing or training for his country again. We don't need the next Harry Kewell in that aspect.

The main course of today's banter meal appears to be the Kuyt/Crouch controversy. First off, unfortunately people, pundits, press, and bloggers need to be reminded that hindsight is 20-20 and that not knowing what Rafa knows, makes it a whole lot easier to criticize. In other words, you don't know who's slightly knocked, who's fatigued, nor who Rafa will need for our next match, which is coming up fast on Tuesday. Kuyt worked hard yet failed to take advantage of the opportunities afforded him. In my opinion, he was playing out-of-position at the true striker spot when his talents are much better utilized in the second striker position.

One of the arguments is that Rafa should have brought Crouch in for Kuyt and done so earlier in the match. I honestly think Rafa was trying to preserve Crouch for Tuesday's match with Besitkas and wanted to use the England International as sparingly as possible. As for bringing him in for Kuyt, well that would have crippled our efforts even more as Crouch appeared to take up and excel at the second striker position, pushing the ball forward to Kuyt, Gerrard, and Kewell with the use of headers. One other point I want to make is that it seems Harry Kewell is not getting the proper credit he deserves. The Aussie was just as much if not more so a contributor than Crouch to our sudden onslaught of attack late in the Blackburn match. I guess self-aggrandizement requires blinders.

Anyhow, I was glad to read that Benitez is in full support of not only Kuyt, but Babel as well. I feel most of the Kuyt criticism stems from a misunderstanding of the situation, but I can see why people were disappointed in his performance on Saturday. I was one of them after all. Kuyt is playing hard and giving it his all, but being played out-of-position and having to adjust your game to hinder your strengths are always potential recipes for a poor outing. As for Babel, after being arguably our man-of-the-match against Cardiff, the young Dutchman would have probably been suited to start from the bench, but Rafa didn't have the luxury to do so.

Before moving on and while I'm on the subject of the Cardiff match, I've read in a lot of other people's reviews and posts about the Blackburn match the questioning of why Lucas wasn't played. Well, first off he looked spent at the end of Wednesday's Carling Cup qualifying match and second, do you not think Rafa would have played him if he thought the young Brazilian would have been able to make a positive contribution? This second guessing Rafa is getting to the point of idiocy. He does what he does for the benefit of the club, why would he do otherwise? Use some common sense.

Finally, on the transfer speculation, we apparently now seem to be the front-runners for Burnley youngster John Cofie and are willing to pay £8m for a Spanish defensive midfielder named Juan de Dios Prados. The former is only 15-years-old, has been chased by Man U and Chelsea among other suitors, and would probably be an Academy player and possibly never heard of again. I know that may be negative, but odds are he, along with most Academy products, won't make it to the first team. As for Prados, if we pay £8m for a 21-year-old defensive midfielder when we already have Mascherano, Sissoko, and Damien Plessis, I have to believe that we either aren't going to re-sign Masche, which is insane, Sissoko is gone in January, which could happen but I doubt it, or Plessis will never play for the first team, which is possible, but from what I've seen from him, he's quite capable. Of course, that rumor may all very well be a pile of rubbish. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Kewell set for Cardiff, Torres may return sooner, Mascherano training, & more

- Wow, what a difference a day makes, but it's still not all roses & wine just yet. It would be great to hear that Xabi's injury is not as bad as thought, but optimism isn't my forte. Anyhow, it looks as if Harry Kewell will make the next step in his return to first team action when we play Cardiff in League Cup action tomorrow evening. That probably means he won't play against Blackburn on Saturday, but still, with his record, cautious baby steps are probably the best way to go about re-integrating him into the squad.

- Rafa has stated that Torres might be back sooner than expected. Before anyone throws the baby out with the bath water in belief that Rafa might be making another error in rushing Torres again, think about this. Benitez wants the Spaniard back fully fit and would never risk further injury. Torres wanted to play against Arsenal and by all accounts was good to go. I know rationality is not a trait of Rafa's critics, so I guess we'll just have to weather the storm of ignorance comments that the press and pundits might have in store for our boss. Fernando may return a week earlier than expected.

- Another piece of welcome news is that Javier Mascherano is already back in training. Thank Robbie Fowler. I doubt we'll see him on Wednesday, but Sissoko should suffice in that regard anyhow.

- With tomorrow nights fixture against Cardiff, Liverpool legend and current Bluebird striker, Robbie Fowler, is getting a lot of praise from a former Reds teammate and manager. Dirk Kuyt has thanked 'God' helping him adjust to English football and life in England. Meanwhile, Rafa Benitez might be planning some sort of grand return for the 32-year-old Toxteth Terror. Bringing back Fowler was one of Rafa's smartest moves both on and off the field.

- Fernando Torres is happy at Liverpool and plans to play out his six-year contract. It's good to hear that we have some positive voices coming from our squad. You taking notes, Crouch?

- Rafa has declared with his last two performances, Steven Gerrard is near top form once again. It's amazing what a couple of goals will do for one's confidence. Keep 'em coming, Stevie-G.

- Finally, Rafa has announced that he'll be resting some big names for the Cardiff clash. No big surprise, I fully expect Mascherano, Hyypia, Riise, and Reina to be get the night off and possibly Finnan, Gerrard, and Kuyt as well. According to Benitez, Leto, Lucas, and Aurelio will most likely start. I'm pretty confident Hobbs and Kewell will as well. I hope Stephen Darby and Emiliano Insua are there too. I know that's a lot of youth, but it's only the League Cup and honestly, a lot of our boys looked spent by match conclusion with Arsenal. Even our Reserves players mixed in with some first-teamers should be good enough to beat Cardiff.

The real issues of our current troubling form

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Today's Banter: Torres injury, Kuyt injury, Rafa worries, & more

- Apparently Fernando Torres sat out training today for Spain and is a doubt for his country's match with Denmark on Saturday. The 23-year-old striker is said to have a left ankle 'knock'.

- Dirk Kuyt has officially pulled out of the Netherlands' two upcoming Euro-qualifiers against Romania and Slovenia due to hamstring issues. It is unclear when he will be able to return, but he has returned to Liverpool to receive treament.

- Rafa is worried that the timing of the international break could further hurt our side. The last time we had such a break, we were at the top of the table, coming off our two best scoring displays. I honestly think that a little change in atmosphere of some players might do them well. Let's just hope they all come back injury free.

A couple of more links:
- We are keeping an eye on a French starlet named Menez
- The Fernando Torres Story pt. 1

Today's Banter: Nasri to miss CL clash, Carra closing in on 500, A battle of who could care less?, & more

- Marseille's Samir Nasri is set to miss his side's Champions League match next week with us due to meningitis-type flu. The 20-year-old attacking midfielder was hospitalized last weekend and has yet to be released. He is expected to require at least a two week convalescence period.

- Jamie Carragher is set to make his 476th appearance for Liverpool tonight against Reading. Impressive as that number is, the record is held by Ian Callaghan at 848. I sincerely doubt the 29-year-old Liverpool icon will be able to challenge that number.

- It seems like neither Coppell nor Rafa really care that much about winning their Carling Cup clash later today. Both seem to be using double-speak type antics to hide it, but it seems quite apparent with who they are looking at selection-wise. Coppell is looking to give Leroy Lita a test-run from injury as well as playing Bobby Convey as a means of practice time. The Reading boss is adamant though that he has no room for Reserves on his roster. Meanwhile Rafa is looking at giving time to some of his actual Reserves in Sebastian Leto and Lucas, though they would most definitely be regulars on a lot of Premiership sides.

- Finally, we have everyone and their mother giving their opinion on Rafa's rotating ways. Phil McNulty at BBC Sport wonders why Rafa went on such a tantrum about not having enough quality on his side after the Champions League final when he doesn't bother to play that quality as much as possible. Lawro thinks that Rafa should play his best players as much as possible now and rest them when needs be later. Finally, Ian Rush defends Rafa by saying that the Spaniard probably thought Kuyt and Voronin would have been able to beat Birmingham and that the movement of those two would open up the congested Blues side of the field.

Liverpool vs Porto: What will Rafa do?

This should be pretty easy considering who Rafa didn't start on Saturday at Pompey. The more I think about it, the more shocked I am that he started what is usually our European front in Voronin and Crouch. I understand that Torres and Kuyt probably needed the rest, but it sort of undermines the goal of the league. Anyhow, that's Rafa the Gaffa for ya.

Speaking of the Spanish mastermind, he has announced our Champions League intentions of qualifying for the knockout stages as quickly as possible and then turning our focus back to the Premiership. What better way to prove that aspiration then beating our toughest group stage opponent in their house. I don't see it happening and think we'll come away with a 1-1 or 0-0 draw, but you never know.

Up front we'll probably see Kuyt and Torres. In the midfield on the right, Jermaine Pennant, Gerrard and Mascherano in the middle, and Ryan Babel on the left. There is a possibility of seeing Babel start on the right and Fabio Aurelio making his first start of the year on the left, but I'm not sure how fit the Brazilian is. With Riise injured, the backline will probably have Arbeloa on the left, Hyypia and Carragher anchoring the middle, and Finnan on the right. Pepe in goal.

On the bench I expect to find Itandje, Aurelio, Agger, Xabi, Lucas, Voronin, and Benayoun. Harry Kewell, calling Harry Kewell, where are ya?

So here's my final answer:
Reina
Finnan
Hyypia
Carragher
Arbeloa
Pennant
Mascherano
Gerrard
Babel
Kuyt
Torres

Subs:
Itandje
Agger
Xabi
Voronin
Benayoun
Lucas
Aurelio

I was debating with myself whether or not Pennant would start on the right, but now that I just realized that's probably why Rafa took him out so early in the Portsmouth match I'm more confident he'll get the nod here. Cheers.

Rafa's rotation policy is brilliant

Anyone notice Man U's line-up this past weekend? Mikaël Silvestre started in mid-left, but that's the usual, right? No. Sir Alex has started Nani on the left four times this year and Patrice Evra began there the first match of the year. In fact, he's used 20 players in Man U's first six EPL matches this season. Suspensions, injuries, or fatigued players are excuses not allowed when it comes to Rafa Benitez, so Fergie will be treated no different.

What about Mourinho? How many players has he used in six league games? 21 and only four have played in every match. So with everyone complaining about Rafa's rotation policy he must have played more players than those two, right? Wrong. Rafa has only used 18 players in the team's five matches so far this year. He's had injuries to Carra, Gerrard, Finnan, and now Riise to contend with, and Javier Mascherano has seemingly played more for Argentina than he has his club lately. Excuses, reasoning, and rationale will not be tolerated though, right?

I'm so tired of idiots sounding off on Rafa's ways, especially since they have no clue what they're talking about. There are perfectly good reasons why Torres, Gerrard, Mascherano, and Kuyt did not start against Portsmouth on Saturday. One of those is that the boss wants to advance to the elimination stages of the Champions League as quick as possible, which means beating Porto in Portugal tomorrow.

Rafa doesn't care what you think, he's won plenty of silverware to do otherwise. You are not one of the best managers ever, he is. Complaining or commenting on the subject is a waste of time for you, me, and everyone else. If you're not going to read Paul Tomkins' article on the subject than keep stepping on your own clown feet. It only makes you look like a plonker. Cheers.

International Update: Agger injured?

From the looks of it, none of our boys suffered any major injuries today. In fact, some didn't even play which is awesome because it means there's a good chance they'll be available for Saturday at Portsmouth. Here's a round-up by player:

Sami Hyypia, Finland
Played the full ninety in his side's 0-0 draw with Poland. A win here would have been huge for the Finns chances of advancing, but since Portugal ended up tying as well, they stay in second place and live to fight another day. I doubt the 33-year-old will play versus Portsmouth considering this is his second full match in a row.

Andriy Voronin, Lithuania
Came in as a sub in the 60th minute in his country's disappointing loss in Kiev to Italy. They are pretty much eliminated from advancing now. His limited time on the pitch definitely makes him a possibility for Saturday. How you don't start Voronin in what is basically a must-win beats the snot out of me.

John Arne Riise, Norway
Riise scored an absolute cracker of a goal versus Greece today, but it wasn't enough as his side took a slight blow to their Euro advancing dreams with the 2-2 draw. I don't expect Riise to play Saturday, but he's known for his fitness and despite playing the full match, he is a possibility.

Craig Bellamy, Wales
Oops.

Steven Gerrard, England
Played the full 90 in the Three Lions crucial 3-0 victory over Russia which I guess it's good news since it means he's fit, but I doubt he'll play versus Portsmouth.

Peter Crouch, England
Came on with 10 minutes remaining for England in place of Emile Heskey. Will probably be on the bench on Saturday, but I doubt we'll see him play. Rafa will probably want to save him for our Champions League clash with FC Porto next Tuesday.

Daniel Agger, Denmark
Agger was substituted in the 28th minute of the Danes 4-0 romp over Liechtenstein. No news as of yet whether it was serious, but let's keep our fingers crossed. Losing a centre back could potentially be devastating for our side right now.

Fernando Torres, Spain
Torres played the full match and scored on a rebound in the 86th minute to assure his side's victory over Latvia. As long as he is deemed fit, I wouldn't be surprised to see Torres start against Portsmouth.

Pepe Reina, Spain
Didn't play, will start Saturday.

Ryan Babel, Netherlands
Played the full ninety for the Dutch in their last second 1-0 win over Albania, he's young though and I expect him to at least be on the bench Saturday.

Dirk Kuyt, Netherlands
Edit: Well, I just watched a majority of this match and it appeared that Kuyt was in the whole time, so it's unclear whether he'll play this weekend or not.

As soon as here something about Agger I'll post it. I'm just thankful we'll have Yossi, Xabi, JP, Arbeloa, and Momo ready for action. Cheers.

We should be all right Saturday at Portsmouth

I'm crossing my fingers that our boys on international duty get through the day tomorrow unscathed, but from the looks of the squad that we played against the Crewe Alexandra Reserves today, they might get the day off anyhow.

The starting line-up looked something like this:
GK - David Martin
LB - Fabio Aurelio
CB - Jack Hobbs
CB - Xabi Alonso
RB - Alvaro Arbeloa
LM - Sebastian Leto
CM - Momo Sissoko
CM - Lucas Leiva
RB - Jermaine Pennant
F - Yossi Benayoun
F - Jordy Brouwer

The second half line-up:
GK - David Martin
LB - Robbie Threlfall
CB - Mikael San Jose
CB - Ronald Huth
RB - Stephen Darby
LM - Ray Putterill
CM - Damien Plessis
CM - Jay Spearing
RM - Ryan Flynn
F - Craig Lindfield
F - Dani Pacheco

A couple of things come to mind. First, where is Emiliano Insua? I didn't see him named as part of the Argentina squad, so I'm assuming he's injured. That's not good, I hope it's nothing serious. Second, surprised not to see Carra. If he's expected to play Saturday and he didn't today, maybe that means we'll definitely see Aurelio get the start against Portsmouth. Finally, where's Harry Kewell?

Anyhow, it looks like we'll have a competent line-up on Saturday, though I doubt we'll see Xabi line-up with Carra at centre-back. To help us out, it would be nice to see Spain go up by a couple of goals early and allow Torres to take it easy the rest of the match and be fresh on Saturday. Also, I know I'm asking for the sky to rain dollar bills, but it'd be great if either Babel or Kuyt got the day off against Albania. If we can at least get a rested Torres back, we should be fine at Pompey.

Dirk Kuyt karate kick white classic