Chelsea was the worse possible draw

I would have much preferred Barça or Man U to the Blues. Sure we've beaten them twice in the league this season, but that was without their best player, Michael Essien. Now that he's back, we cannot enter thinking these matches will be anything like the previous two. Being one of the best players in the world, he is a large enough factor to push them past us. It will take a monumental effort to overcome the Blues and I hope our boys approach them with tremendous respect, because without it, we won't advance.

My 2007 World's Best XI

I'm pretty bored, so I thought I'd throw my irrelevant two cents into the mix. Here's who I think were the world's best XI in 2007. Feel free to flog me, I know nothing, of course.

GK - Petr Čech
Casillas, Reina, and Buffon are all incredible, but some of the saves Čech makes are just plain silly. Rarely does a side score against him without a phenomenal effort.

LB - Gianluca Zambrotta
Heinze, Thuram, and Lahm are all tremendous as well, but Zambrotta is probably the most consistent.

CB - John Terry
CB - Fabio Cannavaro
Just too many good ones, and really, it comes down to personal preference. Carra would no doubt be in the squad. I don't really want to get into it, but these are the two I would trust most if I were managing the world's best XI.

RB - Steve Finnan
Yeah, I know I'll get plenty of flack for this one, but Finney was the second best overall defensive player in the Premiership last season according to Actim and his qualities are undeniable. Even at 31, he's arguably the best right wing-back in the world. Dani Alves and even Arbeloa deserve recognition as well.

LM/LW - Lionel Messi
This isn't even debatable. Not even Ronaldinho takes his spot.

CM/DM - Javier Mascherano
Simply the best defensive midfielder in the world. Dietmar Hamann is going to be hard to leave out of the squad though.

CM - Steven Gerrard
If I have to defend this pick, you're a victim of the anti-English press or your own inability to know world-class when you see it.

RM/RW - Kaká
You can pretty much start him anywhere at midfield or forward with this side. With Gerrard and Mascherano there to provide cover, he, like Messi, are just additional forwards.

FW - Fernando Torres
FW - Didier Drogba
As with CB, there's just so much quality at that spot that it comes down to personal preference.

Squad (23 total):
Pepe Reina
Jamie Carragher
Cristiano Ronaldo
David Villa
Philipp Lahm
Andrea Pirlo
Patrice Evra
Franck Ribéry
Carles Puyol
Ronaldinho
Dani Alves
Deco

I think I'm pretty fair in my assessment overall. Like I said, I think the Finnan pick is a bit controversial, as even a lot of Liverpool fans don't seem to realize his consistency and contributions though he's clearly a tremendous player. Alves is not as good as Finney defensive-wise, but he is superior in the pace and attacking aspects.

I really hate putting Pirlo on just the squad. He's probably my favorite Italian player and for someone who loathes the Italian game, he'll always be one of my favorite players of all-time. Gattuso is nothing compared to Mascherano, and I'm not having a go with that, I'm just preaching the truth.

I don't feel as if I have to defend putting Carra on the squad, but I will. First of all, go ask the Milan and Chelsea players how good he is, they'll tell ya. Second, he's also pretty versatile having played fullback for Liverpool in his earlier years, and he can even play defensive midfield, as he has with England.

I'm pretty confident that this side could go undefeated and win any league at the moment and the Champions League and domestic cup as well. There's just very little fault. They may not be as defensive-minded as even I would like, but a clean sheet against a side of this caliber would be an unbelievable effort.

Today's Banter: Gerrard okay, Today's flavor: Pasquale Foggia, Abbey Clancy wants to be Crouch's baby's momma & more

- Despite limping off the field yesterday in the 70th minute of England's 3-0 win over Israel, Stevie-G did not re-aggravate his toe injury. He apparently just had cramps. I guess he boozed a little the night before with the boys. Unfortunately, that means there's a chance he'll play versus Russia on Wednesday much to mine and Gus Hiddink's dismay. Not only was Gerrard okay, but it looks like we escaped yesterday with a still fit side. One day down, one day to go.

- The transfer window may be closed, but that doesn't mean the rumors have to stop. Yesterday we saw the beginning of what looks to be a neverending saga about whether Steven Taylor will be a Liverpool player come January or not. Today the seeds of the Pasquale Foggia beanstalk were planted. I know very little about the 24-year-old other than he's Italian, he plays for Cagliari, and he can play left wing but is pretty versatile. And just to set the record straight, Giovani dos Santo will never be a Liverpool player. Seriously, if you sell papers writing crap like that...

- Abigail Clancy may be pissing off her co-stars on Hell's Kitchen for getting paid almost twice as much as them, but at least the girl has got good intentions when it comes to her boy Crouchy. She has come out and said she wants to have the striker's baby, the problem is though, her boobs have appeared to have shrunk from the heat of her latest Telly reality cooking adventure. Not sure what that has to do with having a baby, but anyhow, she also claims to have turned down a job with a top modeling agency in LA to stay with Peter. Hmmm, maybe his people should call the Galaxy people, a Beckham to Crouch connection would probably give the Los Angeles club a better chance of making the playoffs next season. Finally, Abbey says she attends "all the important games." Glad to see she's there when the cameras are.

- Finally, you'd figure a Spanish newspaper would know the difference between Xavi and Xabi. Apparently not. Cheers.