Five Things Learnt: Lallana is a sorcerer, not a magician

1. Lallana has apparently put a spell on most LFC fans. I have never been more shocked and ashamed by my fellow Reds supporters than today.  Adam Lallana voted as Man of the Match? Why? Someone please give me a rational, logical explanation with examples and statistics.  Gerrard, Henderson, Sterling, Lovren, Moreno, Manquillo, and Skrtel were all more deserving.  Markovic is six years his senior and has never played 'English' football, though he wasn't much worse than the Prince of St. Albans.  Seriously, is it the Anglo-Saxon halo that is blinding you?

2. Balotelli is a match away from being rubbished. Or at least he should be.  Super Mario was all but and it's becoming more apparent with each match that he either doesn't want/understand/care to play our style of football. He stands around doing nothing, thinks he'll be able to perform magic once he gets the ball, and then looks like a donkey when he does.  I think he forgot how much faster and more physical the EPL is compared to Serie A.  He'll be longing to return to Italy soon enough.

3. Henderson's passing is becoming unparalleled. Some of his passes in the first half I have only seen the likes of from one Steven George Gerrard.  Brilliant stuff.  I am not a huge Hendo fan, but if he continues to move the ball around like he did today, it's only a matter of time.  Not to mention he has all-round skills with an engine that never quits.  The only issue I have with him is that he gets too excited and still let's his age show by turning the ball over, taking a bad shot, making a bad tackle, etc.

4, We can play defence. We held Everton to just a goal and it was a lucky one at that. Coming in the Blues had scored at least two goals in every previous EPL match.  Lovren and Skrtel appeared to get along and neither went forward too often, but even when they did, they would dump the ball then get back.  Everton actually had more possession and a free-flowing ball moment until they got close to the 18-yard area, then they got shut down.

5. Gerrard still has it. Though I'd still give Man of the Match to Hendo for his all-round performance, Stevie-G silenced his critics with an outstanding show.  The free kick was just the icing on the cake as his passing was world class, not to mention he added three successful tackles and three clearances to his tally.  He's far from done.

Liverpool 1, Everton 1: The Toffees have won the league!

Liverpool took a step in the right direction today, whether it was baby steps or a Neil Armstrong leap, we'll have to wait and see, but at least some of our issues of late look to have been addressed.  First, we played much better defense.  We shut down Everton nearly every opportunity that arose, especially when they tried to infiltrate the box.  It was more or less written in stone that the Blues would have to score from outside the area and of course, they did.  It doesn't take away from a valiant effort of defending, holding Everton to a single luck goal is an admirable achievement considering they've scored at least two goals in every other Prem match they've played.

It is also quite evident Rodgers gave his boys full permission to fire away though he should have taken that privilege from Balotelli after the half.  We took 24 shots, 10 from Balotelli alone, though only 8 were on-target.  A different story than Middlesbrough on Tuesday when we only took 11 shots in regulation.  Being a constant threat from anywhere around the goal opened lanes, allowing us easier access for runs and passes into the box.

As for individual performances, Jordan Henderson made some world class passes in the first half reminiscent of his captain.  He also created four chances, had five tackles, three interceptions, and completed 91% of his passes.  Sterling was outstanding as well, creating six chances and successful on five take-ons.  Gerrard put on a clinic in passing, completing 91%, going 3 for 4 on crosses and 7 for 8 on long balls, not to mention that class free kick goal.  Moreno, Lovren, Skrtel, Manquillo, and Coutinho all played well as well.

The not-so-good starts with Lallana.  How can anyone call that a great performance? He did little else other than dribble the ball and tackle out-of-bounds, take the Anglo-Saxon halo off his head and he'd been booed off the pitch for being a 26-year-old Championship quality player.  He is paid to create goals and he had nothing to do with it today.  Markovic was woeful as well, but first, he's 20-years-old, this is his first season playing Engliish football, and go back and look at the service he got, very few players in the world could have done anything with some of those passes.  I'm also not so sure he's comfortable in his role in the side, he's a winger, where he played a lot of the match, but it looked like Rodgers wanted him to play a more central, 'hole' position, which he looked uncomfortable and out-of-place when he did.

Finally, we get to Mr. Balotelli.  What a crock match from him.  When Sturridge comes back, we won't see a better Balotelli, we probably will hardly see him at all.  At least not for a while.  Benching him, making him a super sub and forcing him to play his way back into the side is probably best for all.  Make him learn his role the hard way.  A couple of those things he needs to learn is making runs and creating space.  When he's being marked, he seems to always just stand in the middle of the box, instead of moving about to allow other players to make runs or shoot.  Also, he needs to work on his timing, Markovic made the only decent run all day.  We could do with less of the antics as well.

This match reminded me of a few years ago when we would dominate matches, but were unable to score much and our opponents would get a wonder goal to win or draw.  The Champions league Marseille match when Valbuena scored that amazing curlier from outside of the box for the win comes to mind.  There were definite improvements all-round today and we are on the right track, but we can't let a luck goal knock us off our rail and distract us from our objectives.  We go to Basel on Wednesday and if he's not back by then, Sturridge should be ready for West Brom next Saturday.

Liverpool vs Everton: Our envious older brother is coming for a visit

Oh Everton, we are so sorry.  It's not our fault that we were blessed with greater talent and conviction.  You cannot blame us for being superior at football.  Just accept that you've been surpassed by your younger sibling and... come on... don't be like that... Mum's gonna be disappointed.

Liverpool are 10-10-2 versus Everton at Anfield since the conception of the Premier League. The Toffees have not won this fixture in exactly 15 years come match day.  Recently a pattern has developed, since 2006 Liverpool has won one year and drawn the next, which means we are due a draw tomorrow.  I honestly think that's the worst that could happen.

The last time the Blues made the five minute trip down the road, they got hammered 4-0.  That match occurred in January of this year and coming in, Everton was sitting just one point on the table behind LFC.  Though it isn't indicative of the final score, our cross-town rivals were arguably better than us that day, but were just unable to score.  The story of our current season so far.

I don't think this is the match that Rodgers can use to right the ship since Everton play a similar style of football.  A win would definitely be a push in the right direction, but the real test will be Stoke in 8 days.  We will need to toughen up for the Potters are begin to accept a long season of suffering.

As for the Blues, I hope Rodgers will use this match to get Moreno more involved and just see what works best for us in general.  One thing he'll have to keep heavy tabs on is our centre backs moving forward and communication on defence in general.  Mignolet and whoever starts at CB need to talk to one another early and often, I am so tired of the defensive errors that come from their inability to convey intentions.

We should win this match, we are the better side.  As woeful as we are on defence, Everton is worse. Even without Sturridge, we will score, and we have the ability to hold them, whether we will or not is any body's guess.

Listen big brother, sorry I broke all your records... Can we just go down to the pub for a pint? Brother?

EPL Fantasy Week 5: Slim pickings (Everton, Tottenham, and...)

Well, last week you could pick names out of a hat and have a good shot of putting together a solid squad, this week there won't be many names to draw.  The clubs to go with are Everton or Tottenham, but if you have to pick from other squads, I'd go Arsenal, Swansea, or Hull.

Keeper
Tim Howard or Hugo Llloris.  If you want to get adventurous, go with Szczesny, since Aston Villa can only score on set pieces and put backs.

Long term, Mignolet will probably not blunder for at least 3-4 matches now that he goofed on Tuesday.  Plus Liverpool do have a rather easy run upon them. Begovic is still the best keeper in the league and Stoke are still the best defence, so their upcoming fixtures seem manageable on paper.  If you're really into gambling Forster hasn't been the worst form lately and Southampton should be competitive in the next 5 matches or so.

Defenders
Everton's back four of Baines, Jagielka, Stones, and Coleman, if that's who start, are all candidates, as are Tottenham's Kaboul, Dier, Vertonghen, and Danny Rose.  Arsenal and Man U defenders should be decent as well with latter playing a Leicester side that will try to play a very 'controlled' match.  In other words a 0-0 draw will be as good as a victory for them.  Don't bet on that result though.  If I went with my gut, I'd go Chambers, Dier, Rojo, and Jagielka.

Lovren, Shawcross, Moreno, and Alderweireld would be my best bets for the next 4-5 weeks.

Midfielders
Here's where you can get a little risky and not sacrifice points like on defence.  Still Mirallas and McGeady from Everton along with Chadli, Lamela, and Eriksen from Tottenham are the most likely/safest picks.  Arsenal midfielders are a shot in the dark, only because there are so many to chose from, you don't know who'll play.  Last week I was sure Cazorla would make an impact and he never saw the pitch.  The obvious is Ramsey, but even Flamini can put in a decent match here and there. The same with Swansea, as you never know who's going to have big day, you're most likely high scorer is Sigurdsson, but Dyer, Shelvey, Sung-Yeung, and Routledge could all go off any given match.  Out of all those above, I'd go Mirallas, Chadli, Lamela, and Dyer.

In the long term, Sterling, Schniederlin, Victor Moses,  DiMaria and Tadic are the most likely to produce mucho points.

Forward
The most obvious picks here Lukaku and Adebayor, but don't fret over Naismith and Eto'o is a decent roll of the dice.  I don't know about Harry Kane though, you got some brass cajones if you pick him up.  If you want to go Arsenal, Welbeck is bound to have a decent match at some point, but if you want to play it safe there's always Alexis Sanchez.  Other players worth a shot include Jelavic and Abel Hernandez at Hull and Wilfried Bony for Swansea, who is bound to get his starting spot back after Gomis unable to take advantage of his first start.

My long term forwards are Balotelli, Pelle, Diouf, and Flacao.

Three weeks of hell? Or has the Fixture God shown mercy?

Liverpool play seven matches in three weeks starting with Villa at Anfield on Saturday.  The thing is, all seven are winnable, even with the injuries we have sustained recently.  The 2-0-1 record, 7 points, and current third place standing on the table are flattering to deceive for the Villans.  To say they've been lucky would be the understatement of the season by far.  They were manhandled at Stoke in their first match, but somehow managed a 1-0 win. They needed a red card by Newcastle to get a 0-0 result at home in week two, and barely managed to hold on against Hull at Villa Park two weekends ago.  Karma has to catch up with them at some point and history says it could very well come Saturday.

Next up we host Ludogorets on Tuesday, our easiest Champions League fixture by far.  I can see Rodgers going with a 'weaker' side in this match, hopefully Suso will play a part.  I don't know if he'll go as far as starting Borini, but he could make the bench.  Then we go to Upton Park to take on the Hammers, where Liverpool has won 7 of the last 9 matches and Rodgers has never lost to Allardyce or West Ham.   The London club has the sixth most efficient defence, but sixth worst attacking efficiency, who knows how that could change when they face the equally volatile Hull City on Monday.

Three days later, Liverpool host Middlesborough in the League Cup.  We should definitely see an 'experimental' side here.  If Markovic hasn't broken his duck by then, this will be his best opportunity.  Liverpool have not lost to the Boro at Anfield since March 6, 1976, 38 years ago and before I was born.  The two have not met since 2009, when the then Premier League side beat Liverpool 2-0 at Riverside.  I remember the dismal affair, Nabil El Zhar started for us, Xabi scored an own goal, and Tuncay sealed it in the 63rd minute.  LFC dominated the match in every aspect, winning 9 corners to Boro's 2, having 16 shots, 7 on-target to the home side's 5 and 3 respectively, 84.7% to 65.6% passing, and 72% to 28% possession, but just couldn't score.  It was one of the matches looked back on as costing Liverpool the title that season and baffled many as the Reds had just beat Real Madrid 1-0 at the Bernabeu three days earlier.

One of the harder matches of the lot is Liverpool hosting Everton the Saturday following the Boro fixture.  I'm not really that worried as much as I probably should be when it comes to hosting the lesser Liverpool club.  They have not beaten us in four years, at Anfield in 19 years, and how suspect their defence has been this season, we should be able to get the goals needed for three points.  Any result less than a win will be unacceptable and detrimental to any chance of winning the League.

If a visit from the Blue side of Merseyside isn't the hardest fixture of this bunch, the trip to Basel four days later definitely is.  Kicking off October at the defending Swiss Super League Champions in our second CL fixture isn't the worst of scenarios, but even if our squad isn't as injury depleted as it is now, we will still have fatigued players.  That'll be six matches in 19 days, only Man City have the depth to maintain a high level of football during that kind of run.  The good news is, we've never lost to Basel, that bad news is, we've never beaten Basel and we've only ever played them twice.  The 'Rotblau' currently sit atop the SSL table, are unbeaten in 7 matches with 6 wins, and lead the league in goals scored with 18.  I still think we can get a win here, but will not be too aggrieved if we only manage a draw.  Wins at home are a must in CL group play and that should be enough to get us through to the elimination round.

Finally, we end the Shine on Harvest Moon tour with a visit from West Brom.  The Baggies have baffled us the past few years, a ship that seemed to be righted with our 4-1 dismantling of the West Midlands club, but a title costly 1-1 result at the Hawthorns last February rekindled the recent pain. Before winning at Anfield in two of the last three meetings, WBA hadn't won there since 1965.  Liverpool are 3-1-4 versus West Brom in their last 8 meetings in all comps, but the Baggies have the least efficient defence in the league by quite a distance.  We should be able to end this run with three points as long as we don't beat ourselves.

All tomorrow's winners: Man United, Man City, Chelsea, Newcastle, Swansea, & West Ham

Predictions for tomorrow:
Burnley vs Man United
Betting on Burnley is a sucker bet as United's attack is far better than portrayed and Burnley has the worst defence in the league.  This one could get ugly and expect Van Persie to open his account for the season. Burnley 1, Man United 3

Man City vs Stoke
Begovic & company are good enough on defence to hold this to late, but I don't think they will.  City will probably get a goal around the middle of the first half and then add another late.  The Potters just don't have the ability to break down the City defense at the Etihad without a major mistake from their hosts. Look for Dzeko to get his first goal of the season. Man City 2, Stoke 0

Newcastle vs Crystal Palace
Three points will not get any easier for the Magpies.  They boast a decent attack and a respectable defence plus playing at home against Palace, who are dreadful on attack, should give them a significant edge.  If Dwight Gayle plays a significant amount, Palace will get at least a goal from him, but not sure it's worth the risk.  Newcastle 3, Crystal Palace 1

QPR vs Sunderland
Joey Barton and Rio Ferdinand have played exceptionally for their less than exceptional side, but if Remy is not available, this match has draw written all over it.  Sunderland is superior both on attack and in defence, but the confidings of Loftus Road will give QPR a proper boost. QPR 2, Sunderland 2

Swansea vs West Brom
This match could end up being the most exciting of the day.  Swansea is just poor enough on defence to allow a mediocre WBA attack to keep it exciting, but ultimately the superior Swan attack should prevail.  Wilfried Bony is itching for a goal. Swansea 3, WBA 2

West Ham vs Southampton
Another candidate for match of the day, Southampton should have enough to make it interesting against a somewhat decent West Ham defence.  In the end though, the Hammers strength of Allardyce's 'air ball' are the Saints' weakness.  West Ham 2, Southampton 0

Everton vs Chelsea
Despite being at Goodison, I don't think the Toffees will be able to compete with Chelsea, but if they try, the London club could humiliate them.  This is just a bad match-up for the blue side of Merseyside, Chelsea play a similar yet superior style of attack and are far better on defence.  I'll go conservative here though and say Everton 0, Chelsea 2.

Coutinho least efficient for Liverpool, Anichebe worst in the league

Coutinho, our wee Brazilian wizard, may have just been called up by Brazil, but it's doubtfully due to his performance versus Southampton on Sunday.  He posted the worst outfield player passing rate of 75.7% and turned the ball over 17 times.  His stats combined gave him an efficiency in possession rating of 0.569 and efficiency over team score of -0.159.  There's no doubt he'll improve, he's just got to realize this isn't pre-season anymore.

Though his numbers weren't good, at least our Radagast was no where near the bottom of the efficiency tables in the Prem.  Here are the ten worst in per and eot:

Player efficiency rating

V. Anichebe	0.303
C. Wickham	0.350
C. Cole	0.367
Kieran Tripper	0.397
A. Knockaert	0.400
M. Biram Diouf	0.407
J. Puncheon	0.407
S. Pocognoli	0.418
Y. Bolasie	0.421
F. Campbell	0.423

Efficiency over team

V. Anichebe	-0.351
C. Cole	-0.338
M. Biram Diouf	-0.314
Y. Sanogo	-0.311
C. Wickham	-0.299
P. Bardsley	-0.297
A. Knockaert	-0.267
S. Pocognoli	-0.235
D. Tadic	-0.230
C. Austin	-0.207

Former Everton and current West Brom forward Victor Anichebe tops a list of a lot of other medicore front-liners to take the Golden Rubbish Bin.  Anichebe played the full 90, but only managed 33 touches and 8 completed passes at a 44.4% completion rate.  Meanwhile his partner scored a brace.

Other questions these tables bring up are how long will Sunderland wait for Wickham to find his form?  How long will Sanogo have to prove himself at Arsenal?  And is Tadic really that poor?  He didn't seem so, but the stats say different.

Is Romelu Lukaku worth £26m?

Recent rumours have LFC linked to Chelsea striker, Romelu Lukaku.  The 21-year-old Belgian has spent the last two seasons out on loan, first at West Brom and last season at Everton. Let's look at his output from those campaigns:

Everton 2013-14

npgp90	gcp90	ccp90	ap90	ccv
0.53	0.74	1.13	0.21	18.8
pass%	bp%	sacc%	shot%	TTI90
66.5	53.3	45.9	15.3	11.1
gap90	gsp90	gop90	tgop	gopd90
1.06	1.9	0.84	0.58	0.26

West Brom 2012-13

npgp90	gcp90	ccp90	ap90	ccv
0.67	0.94	1.61	0.18	11.1
pass%	bp%	sacc%	shot%	TTI90
72.1	57.6	48.5	17.5	15
gap90	gsp90	gop90	tgop	gopd90
1.8	1.7	-0.1	-0.1	0

Everton finished 5th last season, while WBA ended up 8th in 2012-13, though the difference between 7th, where Liverpool placed that year, was 12 pts and a 32 goal difference, the second largest point gap next to 19th and 20th, and the largest goal difference by much distance.  Lukaku scored 32.1% of goals and was responsible for 39.6% of goals scored for West Brom, while he had part in 24.6% and 34.4% respectively for Everton last season.

The improvement in his chance created value and turnover rate are probably signs of both growth and being surrounded by more capable teammates, which, if he came to Liverpool, would be the case once again.  His passing rate is a bit worrisome though, but in the few matches he has played for Chelsea, his percentage was 81.2%, which is significantly better.  Why it decreased from WBA to Everton could also be due to the fact that he passed it backward less.

Is he worth £26m though? Well, given his age, physical capabilities, and skills, absolutely.  In fact, that could wind up being a bargain.  I don't think he'll ever be a world class talent, but I can see him scoring 20-25 goals for a lot of seasons to come.  If I were Mourinho, I'd send Torres packing and start playing Lukaku, but you never know with the 'Special One'.

Victor Moses: worse than Aspas?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say Victor Moses' loan stay last season was a disaster.  In fact, ever since Moses joined Chelsea from Wigan, his career has down-spiraled, but was he really worth all the hype to begin with?

club	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
year	Wigan	Wigan	Wigan	Wig/Che	Liverpool
age	19	20	21	22	23
app(subs)	2(12)	8(13)	36(2)	13(11)	6(13)
mins	443	815	3212	1215	651
p90	4.9	9.1	35.7	13.5	7.2
goals	1	1	6	1	1
assist	3	3	1	1	0
chances	11	16	41	22	10
npgp90	0.20	0.11	0.17	0.07	0.14
gcp90	0.82	0.44	0.20	0.15	0.14
ccp90	2.24	1.76	1.15	1.63	1.39
ap90	0.61	0.33	0.03	0.07	0
ccv	27.2	18.8	2.6	4.3	0
pass%	79.3	73.2	81.2	82.5	86.6
bp%	-	-	-	52.6	50.5
sacc%	21.4	29.2	29.1	21.4	36.4
shot%	7.1	4.2	5.8	3.6	9.1
TTI90	16.7	14.5	11.1	10.3	10
gap90	1.63	1.43	0.76	0.82	1.38
gsp90	2.04	1.76	1.51	1.7	1.66
gop90	0.41	0.33	0.75	0.88	0.28

Though he has improved over the years, especially passing and ball-handling, he has yet to develop into the player for which Chelsea paid £10.12m and at 23, he probably never will.  His goals on pitch last season, and basically throughout his career, was dreadful. 0.28? For a club that averaged 1.32? A full goal! That is mind-bottling.  Just for perspective, Aspas had a 0.94 gopd last season.  In fact, let's compare their output from 2013-14:

	Aspas	Moses
npgp90	0	0.14
gcp90	0.23	0.14
ccp90	1.86	1.39
ap90	0.23	0
ccv	12.4	0
pass%	75.4	86.6
bp%	58.1	50.5
sacc%	50	36.4
shot%	0	9.1
TTI90	14.4	10
gap90	0.47	1.38
gsp90	1.41	1.66
gop90	0.94	0.28

Moses is the better passer, though his 50.5% back pass rate is only comparable to Aspas.  If Moses hadn't scored his lone goal of the season against Swansea, his stats would be unbelievably bad.  Arguing who had the better year between the two would be like comparing dog feces with cat dung, who cares? They both smell like shit.

I don't see what Rodgers sees in him, he doesn't seem to have amazing athletic ability to make up for lack of skill. Honestly he should beg Mourinho to sell him on the cheap to a mid-table club like Stoke or Sunderland, so he can at least have a chance to become a 'cult hero'.  Something tells me Martinez would probably take him back under his wing at Everton as well.

Just a glimpse of Maxi

Dirk Kuyt scored the winning goal, Javier Mascherano was a beast, Daniel Agger re-introduced himself to the footballing world, and Steven Gerrard was, well, Stevie-G, but the player who I thought put in the most important performance today was Maxi Rodriguez. If Liverpool are to finish in the top four, it's clear they are going to need a creative spark from somewhere and Maxi showed against Everton he's more than capable of filling that role.

Like Xabi before him, Rodriguez' passing prowess went unnoticed as the pundits, press, and fellow bloggers praised the performances of the aforementioned (as well as Carra and Insua, who both played well too I might add). In fact, I have yet to read anywhere about how Maxi's brilliant bloop pass to N'Gog set up the corner that lead to the game-winning goal. It was just one of about five that raised my eye brows. Not to mention, the Argentine showed a toughness that quite frankly before today, I felt he failed to possess.

The next big question is whether or not Rafa will try to integrate Maxi into a more central midfield position where he can utilize his skills with greater area to operate. He primarily played on the left today (a bit odd considering we got that Riera fella) and though he has the ability to play out wide, I personally think it's a waste of talent. Regardless, it was a promising performance and as he becomes more familiar and comfortable with his teammates and his role with the team, more great things are bound to come.

(By the way, I will not be updating this blog regularly but only sporadically due to other commitments. Sorry, that's just the way it is, but I greatly appreciate all those who read it. Cheers.)

No Masche, No problem?

Here's an interesting stat, when Mascherano receives a card, the side is 2-4-5 with the only wins coming in a squeaker at Wigan earlier this season and a surprising route of PSV in the final eight of the Champions League last season. It's no coincidence that he's received cards in the last two matches with Man U, not to mention the farce that was the Champions League final last season.

This poses a problem on so many levels, it's hard to fathom. With him on the pitch, nothing less than a draw would seem feasible, but without him, we'll more than likely turn to the unpredictability of Lucas... unless Rafa loses his gourd and returns to the rotation asylum. Unfortunately, he won't have Harry Kewell at his disposal.

I would love to see Pennant get a start, but I won't hold my breathe. Babel up front with Torres would be awesome as well, but the chances of that happening is even slimmer. One thing I don't want to see is Peter Crouch... at all.

We haven't lost to Everton at Anfield in almost nine years, but with Howard Webb at the helm, who knows? Remember 1-1 Luton Town in the FA Cup, way back in January? Yep, that was him. I could wish for an untainted result, either way, but it won't matter. The 2-1 win at Goodison was fixed in our favor, I can only hope for the same here. Cheers.

'Inter is going to kill Liverpool'

That's all I heard going into our first elimination showdown from those who think they are in the know. I hope now they have a better understanding of how the footballing world works and some clue who the true ringmasters are... or maybe I should say puppets and puppet masters. Here's a clue, those with the strings attached to their arses are the team with the least amount of players on the pitch and those controlling the strings make the most money from matches. It's not rocket science.

The first match at Anfield was a joke nonetheless. With a man advantage and a ferocity of attack it was merely a matter of time before Liverpool netted. The second match was one of less subtlety. The surprise Torres goal seemed to spark a change of favoritism, atoned probably to in-game betting, but the ref could hardly keep his hand out of his card pocket with or without the smirk on his mug. A draw would have sufficed, a win for Liverpool was probably more profitable.

Now we have Arsenal and my first thoughts were, 'we've no chance.' The younger, more exciting Emirates side should in all reality have little trouble with the slower, less creative Reds. But one has to consider where the officiating crews' loyalties will lie. Hopefully not Arsenal, but who knows.

The coming schedule is brutal, but really, what is our goal? Fourth place and the Champions League? The latter negates the former, so what is more important? Obviously a trophy is nice but giving in and throwing away matches at Man United and Goodison Park are hard to fathom. I just don't see it.

The saddest casualty of the season was not Daniel Agger but Harry Kewell, who showed glimpses of past brilliance in the mere minutes his been able to play. Is Ryan Babel that much better than him right now? No. Hopefully King Harry will get a chance to once again shine with his future at Anfield now seemingly nonexistent.

Today's Banter: Latest on Riise wageslip leak, Sick Sissoko may miss Blackburn, Xabi back in a fortnight?, & more

Though the Merseyside police have stated that they will look no further into how John Arne Riise's wageslip was leaked to the internet due to lack of complaint, Liverpool FC have decided to take matters into their own hands by launching an independent investigation. The first anecdote to emerge involving the controversy is that a group of Everton fans co-conspired to rummage Riise's vehicle after spotting the 27-year-old Norwegian in a pub. While other Toffees fans kept watch on Riise, another co-conspirator allegedly searched out his SUV where the wageslip was apparently within plain view of a camera phone. The problem with that theory is: a)there was a hand clearly in one of the leaked pics, b)how did they know which vehicle was Riise's?, and c)the plot sounds a little too fantastic and definitely too intelligent for a group of Everton fans to pull off.

Rafa has revealed that the only reason Steven Gerrard played yesterday was because Momo Sissoko is still sick. Had the 22-year-old Malian been available, Stevie-G would have more than likely had the night off. Momo has been diagnosed with a virus of some sort and had trouble keeping food down earlier this week. His condition will be evaluated ahead of the Blackburn match on Saturday, but prospects of him playing are not looking good. Thankfully Mascherano's injury wasn't as severe as first thought as the Argentine played in the closing minutes of yesterday's match.

Speaking of injuries, our current crisis appears to be becoming less grim. Turns out Xabi Alonso's foot injury is not as disastrous as originally anticipated. The 25-year-old Spanish International was expected to be out up to two months, now it's looking more like two weeks. That means with a little luck, we could have a full and fit squad in a fortnight with Agger and Torres expected back by then as well.

Jack Hobbs and Nabil El Zhar have garnered loads of praise for their efforts versus Cardiff City yesterday. The 19-year-old Hobbs received acclaim from teammate and fellow centre back, Sami Hyypia. The legendary Finn went as far to say that he believed Hobbs was better than him at that age. Wow. Meanwhile, El Zhar, who scored an absolute cracker of a goal to give us an early lead has been getting his fair share of attention. In a post-game interview, he stated that he would play defender for us if it meant more playing time. Now that's the kind of attitude we need.

Finally, Hereford United has received permission from Reds management to FA cup-tie Robbie Threlfall. It looks as if the young left-back will be getting some pitch time for the Whites. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Jimmy Ryan gone, Torres, Xabi likely to be fit for Arsenal, New stadium costs rising, & more

- Jimmy Ryan will make his loan to Shrewsbury Town permanent in January. Good luck to the lad and hopefully he finds success with the League Two side. I know I criticized him in the past for not wanting to make it with a formidable club like our own, but honestly, if the kid just wants to play football than kudos to him.

- Xabi Alonso looks to be almost a sure thing to start on Sunday versus Arsenal while Torres is looking more and more likely to feature as well. I wonder if Harry Kewell might also be an option as he only played the first half for the Reserves yesterday? That might be rushing things though and with Kewell's track record, probably not the brightest of ideas.

- The new stadium, which is expected to be ready by 2011, was originally supposed to cost around £250m. Now Tom Hicks is saying around £400m is more like it. That's quite an increase in cost which is sure to come out of the supporters' pockets. The thing that most disturbs me about this article is Hicks saying, "There are far better investments I could make than buying a football team." Why do I feel like he's giving me the service?

- Should we feel sorry for Peter Crouch? David Prentice seems to think so. Unfortunately his article appears to lack a bit of logic, especially when it says things like 'They managed two more efforts after his introduction, and this time finally breached Besiktas’ goal' and when further speaking of that match, 'But Crouch looked predictably rusty and wasted the kind of chance he was gobbling up six months ago.' First insinuating that Crouch had something to do with the goal that Gerrard scored, which is far from reality, and then saying he was 'rusty' possibly due to lack of playing time, makes no sense. If Peter Crouch can't take advantage of the opportunities allowed him, then when will he? Predictably rusty? You've got to be kidding. He plays football nearly everyday in training, but apparently he's still 'predictably rusty'. Get off it. It's going to be a long, long time before I get the Marseilles match out of my head, when he was clearly not playing for us.

- Finally we have good ole David Moyes still moaning about Clattenburg's performance last Saturday and now how Liverpool and Benitez in particular reacted to being 'gifted' the three points. Get over it Moyes, maybe you should have played Tim Howard last year when Man United came to town. The Premiership is a corrupt league, except it or rot.

Today's Banter: Having a laugh at the expense of others

Overreaction and idiocy are probably the best words to describe some of the posts and articles in response to Liverpool's loss to Beşiktaş. I won't bother addressing most of them, because honestly, you won't find a nick of intelligence in them. They don't address actual play on the field nor the fact that we're in the midst of an injury crisis nor the factions that influence the match from behind closed doors. If you want to live in ignorance, that's fine, but your opinion will be held to that of a retarded child.

First, apparently Rafa's job is in jeopardy. This is just so laughable. The failure to mention our current injury crisis, six players out in all, three highly crucial, totally discredits anyone from ever writing anything in regards to Rafa's rotation policy. Continue to spew your ignorance and soon it will only fall on deaf ears. Thanks for desensitizing the zombie population, your efforts are commendable in that regard.

After that good laugh, we have two posts from two different club's fans. Neither worth the time put into them. The first which actually does have something to do with yesterday's match is a lowly Newcastle fan trying desperately to stretch reality to prove a moot point. This mongoloid wants us to believe that 'Big' Sam Allardyce was right about Benitez because of the results of one match. First of all, surprised you know how to spell Champions League since I don't recall Newcastle ever even making it to even qualifying. Also it must be disheartening that Derby County and Nottingham Forrest have more European Cup history than your side.

He continues to allude to Allardyce's comments in regard to Rafa's rotation policy, yet fails to mention our six injured players. Amazing. Not only that, then he plays the Crouch card. Did he even bother to watch the Marseilles match? Crouch's behavior in that match was suspiciously duplicitous and if not, shocking. No one who actually knows and understands the game would question a man with two La Liga titles, a Champions League trophy, a UEFA Cup, and an FA Cup. What has Allardyce ever won? A few hearts and minds in Bolton I presume. Whatever hole your poor soul crawled out of, please return to it preferably after you've wiped the egg off your face and the redness has gone away.

Moving on, of course we can't have a discussion about Liverpool without a Chelsea fan. That would be preposterous. I'm always baffled how Blues fans are always more concerned about our club than their own. Of course, they always have Abramovich's fat wallet and slimy ways to get them wins, which brings me to this die-hard Chelsea fan's post. This delusional twat just can't get over Mark Clattenburg doing us a favor versus Everton last Saturday. Oh, dear me, did he watch the Chelsea match at Anfield? Rob Styles was seen driving a new car to his new beach flat shortly after to spend that week off he got.

The biggest difference between a Chelsea fan and a Liverpool fan is that us Reds will actually admit we got a little help from the man in black. I clearly stated in my match review that Lescott deserved a penalty, but as for the other allegations, rubbish. Hibbert was clearly pulling on Gerrard's shirt in the box, but let's ignore fact and reality. I expect no less from a Chelsea fan. As for Gerrard muttering something under his breathe to Clattenburg as he walked away, that's just stupid. What did he say? 'Good call, he was pulling at my shirt. He's been doing it all day.' Oh no, that's just criminal. You don't know what transpired and maybe, just maybe, Clattenberg took out the wrong card to begin with, but like I said in my review, that single action didn't warrant a red card, but there might have been other factors involved. You weren't on the field, you don't know what was said beforehand, so keep your ignorant speculation to your head that's obviously already firmly up your ass.

The most comical part is that Hibbert made no qualms about accepting the decision. You figure he'd put up a fight if he thought the call against him was unwarranted, right? Thanks for sticking up for your Everton buddy, but he probably would have done so on his own had he felt differently. His take on the Kuyt foul is laughable as well. No contact was made, so let's ignore that as well. And if he's never seen such a malicious act on the pitch, than obviously you don't really watch much football. I've seen hundreds of tackles that were legit and contact actually made that were much more malicious. Nice try at trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill. Well, that's all I have to say about that, but don't mention the intentional handball by Neville. We wouldn't want Everton to be looked at in a negative light whatsoever.

On a much more serious note, this actually did disturb me. A betting company getting an article on a top news service basically telling everyone to bet on Liverpool to advance from the group stages in Champions League play warrants some attention, but not for the reasons it attempts to convey. First, I think this probably officially means our demise. The only thing I can think of would be Platini waking up, calling off the dogs to screw the gambling faction and giving us a few calls back. Could happen, but doubt it. It always worries me to see a betting company taking a side and promoting it. Anyhow, this was a fun post, hopefully as fun as Sunday will be. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Sissoko wants out?, Chasing another wonderkid, & Everton match backlash

- Reading this, I wonder if it was purposely taken out of context. Was Sissoko asked if he regrets not to flat out leave Liverpool to go to Juventus or was he asked if he thought he would have more playing opportunities at Juventus? I sort of doubt Sissoko wants to leave. I'm sure he has told friends at times that he would like to, but who doesn't at times bitch about their life and wishing for change to their closest acquaintances? Sissoko's form of late has been less than impressive and though I'm far from questioning his desire and motivation to play well, if he continues at this rate, he won't be wearing a Liverpool kit come next season. Especially if we can keep Mascherano on board and Lucas continues to impress.

- We're apparently keeping a close eye on 18-year-old Danish centre back Simon Kjær. The U19 Denmark International is highly-rated and has received interest from many top clubs including Real Madrid. His agent compares his talen to Messi, Rooney, Dos Santos, Jesus, and Gary Kasparov. If he's as good as advertised hopefully having Agger will persuade him to give our club a chance.

- Now, before I get to the comical reactions of Phil Neville and David Moyes, let me first comment on Rafa subbing Gerrard in the 70th minute. Rafa has said he did so to give the club 'less passion' believing that a more rational approach would provide a better chance of victory. This was justified of course by Lucas' winning the penalty on a Neville handball. Benitez also added that he has smoothed things over with our captain. Speaking of Neville's handball, the Everton captain has no right to criticize actions of neither Liverpool players nor the referee. He deliberately cheated and received his just due. Saying it was the intelligent thing is ridiculous, now he faces a three-match ban for his action. Ultimately, it didn't work and the Toffees may be without their captain for three more matches, brilliant. Neville was particularly upset that Kuyt wasn't sent off for his two-footed tackle attempt that only earned the Dutch international a yellow card. Rubbish, Kuyt made minimal if any contact with the Everton player. Had he done a Roy Keane, I would agree, but he mostly just tackled air. Moyes was particularly baffled at not receiving a penalty for Carra's apparent box take-down of Lescott late in the game. After watching the replay a few times, I have to agree that Carragher took Lescott down by grabbing his jersey from behind and a penalty should have been awarded, but after the Chelsea match, we deserve a little 'luck' ourselves. Unfortunately it was at the hands of the Toffees, who are now in a bit of trouble.

Liverpool 2, Everton 1

Well, I got a proper second watching of this one, so I feel as if I have a reasonable grip upon what occurred. First off, I think the play that best represented Everton's effort was Phil Neville's intentional handball/red card/penalty in the 90th minute. The Toffees were feisty, physical, and clearly looking to do whatever they could to gain advantage. Unfortunately, or fortunately by my perspective, they seemed to lack the energy level they had last year when they annihilated us 3-0 at Goodison.

I honestly don't feel either side dominated in the first. The ball went back and forth pretty liberally and neither side appeared to gain any sort of control. For our side, I can't really comfortably point out any player as playing poor, not even Hyypia, but I was somewhat disappointed in Mascherano and Sissoko's efforts. Some of their passing tries were a bit baffling. Stevie-G was clearly on the top of his game though as was Finnan. By the way, if anyone would like to send me clear video evidence of Kuyt being offside in the 17th minute goal he scored, please do, because from all the angles I've seen, it's 50-50 at best.

Moving on to the second half, Gerrard's penalty was the correct call. I don't agree with the red card, but James Hibbert seemed to put up little fight as to the consequences of his actions. He was clearly grabbing Gerrard's jersey and the contact initiated by him was the cause of the fall. Call it a dive or whatever, I don't care, Hibbert wasn't going for the ball and had no chance otherwise. I guess he doesn't have much faith in Howard, which is understandable I suppose.

The rest of the second half actually showed some encouraging signs as one of the issues I have with our side lately has been our inability to either create nor take advantage of shot opportunities just outside of the box. A couple of times our boys decided to blast away from that area, which is much different than what has been happening in recent matches. We still appear to have a serious lack of continuity and communication though, something that will continue to create wasted opportunities until we all get on the same plane.

The 90 minute penalty earned by Lucas on Neville's handball was a no-brainer. In fact, Neville as an England International and Everton captain should be ashamed of himself, but as I alluded earlier, the Toffees appeared to be a side without shame. Further accentuating this point was Lescott theatrics in the box in the closing seconds. I'm not saying it couldn't have been called a penalty, but I thought Clattenburg did the right thing with the no-call.

Anyhow, it's three points not only on the road, but against one of our most formidable opponents. I was certainly happy with the result especially considering who we put on the pitch. I have a feeling we better get used to Gerrard starting on the right and seeing Xabi paired with Mascherano in the middle. I certainly see that as part of our strongest side we could start. At Besitkas on Wednesday for our Champions League lives.

BREAKING NEWS: Torres Injured

Well this certainly isn't good. According to multiple reports, Fernando Torres tore a small muscle in his right leg during training for Spain today and is expected to be out eight to ten days. I would assume that rules him out of the Everton clash. Hopefully it's not more severe than thought. Click on the links to read more, but that's pretty much the gist of it. Cheers.

Harry Kewell could return for derby

Well, the vagueness of this article has me rolling my eyes, but apparently the Aussie could be back for our October 20th date at Goodison Park. That would be quite a boost if it's the case.

There's also a chance that Xabi could return for that match as well. I don't think we need either player nor Agger to win at Everton and especially don't want Rafa to rush anyone, which he rarely does anyhow. It's always nice to have a full squad though, particularly when the three players set to return are of that class.

By the way, the Reserves play Man U away on Thursday. I'll be interested to see who's included in that squad. Certainly Leto and Lucas will make their returns to the side and it would be great to see Kewell get a running out, but I won't hold my breathe.