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.

Is Ryan Babel the new Harry Kewell?

Okay, so maybe that's taking it a little too far, but someone needs to put an APB out for him. The 20-year-old Dutch winger has been conspicuously absent from the pitch in our last three matches although he was on the bench for yesterday's debacle. Maybe he has been hanging out with the invisible Aussie.

Anyhow, we could have probably used his pace and quickness against Marseilles last night. I like Leto, but he's just not ready. I wonder if Babel might have a slightly injury or Rafa may think he's getting burnt out? Maybe he's working on his website? Well, if he doesn't play against Tottenham on Sunday, I'll be surprised.

I'm a bit surprised there's be no rotation rubbish over him. Come on you muppets, you missed out on the Benayoun rotation spew. We spent over £10m for the kid! Seize the day!

Liverpool 0, Marseilles 0: halftime thoughts

Blah, blah, blah, same old crap. We look unmotivated, disorganized, are failing to use the flanks, and our spacing is horrid (especially Torres and Crouch).

First things first, someone needs to tell Crouch he's not a midfielder. If anyone should be playing that role, it's Torres. El Nino is much better on the ball and doesn't throw it away as much as Crouchy. El Girafe needs to get his ass as forward as possible where he isn't in other people's way and he can use his height more effectively. Other than that, he is a waste.

Second, Gerrard and Sissoko need to figure who's going to play what? Is Gerrard the attacking midfielder or is Momo? Is Momo the holding/defensive midfielder or is Gerrard? Sort it out boys because you're making yourselves look stupid. Switching up is obviously not working.

Finally, when our backs go forward it seems to confuse our midfielders. They look as if they don't know what they want to do. None of them have really played all that bad, they just don't seem as if they are communicating with one another.

It sort of looks like we expected to come out and just walk over them without trying and our boys should know much better than that. Stop trying the bloody long ball to Torres, that only works if the other side has pushed forward when they need a goal.

This lackadaisical approach is getting old, we don't even have a decent shot on goal. Patience is one thing, laziness is another.

If I were Benitez, I'd take out Sissoko for Mascherano and tell Crouch to either stop trying to throw the match or be permanantly out of the rotation loop. At this point, he's liability to the team.

EDIT: The Gerrard card was bullocks, btw.

Both Paul Anderson & Robbie Fowler scored today

Paul Anderson scored again for League One side, Swansea, in their 2-1 win over Swindon Town. The 19-year-old Leicester product is out on loan to the Swans for the season. It was his fourth overall goal for the club this season and his second in league play.

Robbie Fowler also netted. The former Liverpool Legend turned Cardiff City striker scored a penalty in the 45th minute of their match with Sheffield United. The Bluebirds eventually went up 3-1, but weren't able to hold on to the lead and had to settle for a 3-3 draw.

Finally, the Reserves lost to Sunderland, 1-0, with a side that was without Sebastian Leto nor Lucas. Maybe that means we'll see them tomorrow? According to the report from the official site, our boys were unlucky not to score a few times against the more experienced Black Cats side. Cheers.

Should Sebastian Leto be sent out on loan?

After watching this highlight video of our Reserves side manhandling a Wigan Reserve side, I wonder if some of our kids are wasting their time against obviously subpar opponents.

Sebastian Leto, Nabil El Zhar, and Ray Putterill are all obviously more adept then their opponents in the 3-0 thrashing of a Wigan side that featured many Lactics first-teamers. I can understand keeping Leto around until Harry Kewell gets back to fighting form, but El Zhar and Putterill don't look to break into even a first team Cup side until at least next year. By the way, I didn't get to see the whole match, but Insua just looks bored the few seconds he makes the highlight reel.

I guess we need a Reserves side, but so far we look miles better than any of our competition. On Tuesday we thrashed Blackburn 3-1 and that was without Putterill or Leto as well as Lucas and Hobbs, two other players that frequently take the pitch for us as Reserves. Gary Ablett even called the win 'unconvincing'. A two goal win at Blackburn without four major players is unconvincing? We either played really horrid or Ablett has some unbelievable expectations.

Speaking of players on loan, I still can't find that Guthrie stunner for Blackburn yesterday. I'm beginning to wonder if there were even cameras there. Cheers.

Liverpool vs Reading: the goals

Benayoun's strike


Torres' 1st


Torres 2nd (and best, in my opinion)


Torres 3rd

Liverpool 4, Reading 2

Two things happened early in the second half of this match that allowed Liverpool to play their game. First, we got an early goal on a well-played ball from Leto to Torres who beat Duberry and slotted it into side of the net past Federici. Then I guess the ref got tired of watching Reading turn the beautiful game into a pub brawl and started handing out the yellow cards. It's so odd that players I singled out in the first half, Duberry and Bikey, got cards, because, I mean, they played with such class. Once those two things occurred, Reading could no longer bully our side less they wanted to be reduced to ten.

With them having to allow us more space by not being able to grab a hold of our shirts, all of sudden we became a threat to score nearly every time we brought the ball down. Unfortunately that didn't do anything for our set-piece defense which was frantically horrid. I attest that to two things though, having Itandje make his first team debut and having Arbeloa play for the first time at centre back. The lack of communication on defense was apparent from the start and didn't seem to improve much as the match wore on.

It was because of our set-piece defense that Reading again equalized when a bobbled corner kick fell into John Halls' lap and the defender slammed it through a maze of legs into the back of the net. If either Pepe, Hyypia, or even Agger were in there I doubt it would have ever gotten to Halls as it was complete chaos in the box prior to and during the play. We didn't really seem that bothered by the equalizer, but then Rafa made a great decision anyhow to further tilt the match back in our favor.

Around the 69th minute, Riise came on for Aurelio and immediately made his presence felt. He took the ball down the left, faked out a Reading defender by passing it to himself through the defender's legs, and then dribbled closer to the box until he found a charging Torres to lay it off to. The Spaniard slammed the ball across the box and into the upper right corner of the goal. After that, Reading looked a side lacking confidence.

Once Gerrard came on in the 77th minute, the match was fully in Liverpool's grasp and with four minutes left a Gerrard to Torres pass made it all but official. The England International found the streaking Spanish International with no one left to beat but the keeper, which he did almost effortlessly.

Though not a perfect effort, it was a win on the road with a rotated side. Certainly our inability to utilize the whole field, Crouch reverting back to his ineffective ways, and the Itandje/defense communication issues are things that we need to work on. Also I was disappointed not to see Lucas more involved on the attack, which was one of the reasons why it seemed that Benayoun had free range of the field.

Despite Torres getting the hat-trick, I'm going to have to say Yossi was the Man of the Match. He made some huge plays including our first goal which was crucial because it forced the Reading defense to respect him as much as any other threat. He also had a header clearance in the box late in the match that if he didn't get to, might have allowed Reading to equalize once again. Most importantly he stepped up and took the initiative to run the offense when it looked as if no one else was going to. That kind of leadership is just priceless.

Next up, Wigan on Saturday at the JJB. Hopefully Kuyt will bring his ace form. Cheers.

Liverpool 1, Reading 1: halftime thoughts

You know, I understand the home side getting some calls, but this is simply shocking. First off, how Duberry and Bikey don't have cards is a mystery to me. Both have been making reckless tackles, pulling at shirts, and pushing players down left and right. How can the ref expect to maintain control of a match if he's allowing those two mongoloids to play American football while almost every time a Liverpool player runs into a Reading player, they get a foul called on them? If a Reading player gets his leg broken by a Liverpool player in the second half, don't blame the player, blame the ref.

Furthermore, the goal by Convey should not have been allowed. Lita was clearly offside through the obstruction rule as he was in Itandje's way. It is partly Itandje's fault though, since he should have came forward and made a bigger deal out of the obstruction. As for the keeper's performance so far, it's been awfully shaky and I can understand why he hasn't won the confidence of his teammates yet.

By the way, pardon me for wanting a ref to actually know the rules. If a Liverpool player would have obstructed the Reading keeper like that, not only would have the goal been disallowed, but that player would have probably gotten a card. I hope we come out in the second half and be twice as physical as them, I'm so tired of the thug approach teams with lesser talent take toward us, especially since they know for the most part the officials will let it go.

As for our play, we really need to start using the whole field. We barely used the right side and I blame Benayoun for that, though I can understand why he keeps going inside. It seems to me that neither Lucas nor Sissoko want to come up and be the attacking midfielder. I'd definitely would rather see Lucas take the initiative than Sissoko, since Momo is supposed to be a destroying type player. Of course, they may be a tad apprehensive to come forward since for some godforsaken reason Crouch thinks he's a midfielder now.

I don't want to go on an anti-Crouch rant, but for God's sake you overgrown gazelle, play forward and create space. Gees, you would think that he's never played forward before. He needs to be more aware of where he and his teammates are, especially Torres and the central midfielders. If the ball keeps going through Crouch, we might as well just forfeit because if he doesn't pass it back, he loses possession.

By the way, the goal by Benayoun was a thing of beauty. Arguably our best goal this season. I'll post a video of it later hopefully. Anyhow, the second half is about to start. I doubt we'll be able to win this one in regulation though. Cheers.

Liverpool vs Reading: the line-up

Rafa looks to be taking this match quite seriously.

Here's the line-up:
Itandje
Aurelio
Carragher
Arbeloa
Finnan
Leto
Sissoko
Lucas
Benayoun
Crouch
Torres

Subs:
Martin
Gerrard
Riise
Hobbs
Putterill

I'm pretty pumped to see Leto there as well as Lucas and Torres on the same pitch with him. Benayoun and Finnan should have plenty of room to operate on the right with Sebastian stretching the side as well as Crouch and Torres worrying the central defenders. Arbeloa to get a test run at centre is interesting, let's see how he does. His pace might come in handy against Lita.

Suprised not to see Pepe at least on the bench, but David Martin should be able to fill in if something were to happen to Itandje who gets his first start for the side. I hope Putterill gets on as well, I'd like to see what he can do against Premiership quality players. Here's to a fun match. Cheers.

Liverpool vs Reading: What will Rafa do?

Ah, these are the fun ones. Not necessarily to watch, though I hope this one is, but definitely fun to pick who Rafa will play. Before I get to that though, let me first offer an idea to any LFC website that has the funding to do so. How about having a 'pick Rafa's side' game? Seriously, I look forward to trying to pick out who Benitez will play more than anything else on my blog. Just a suggestion, anyhow...

For this match, I think the boss is going to try and mix the vets with the kids so to at least ensure that we don't get killed. I'm not so sure Pepe needs a game off since he is hardly called to do much in matches these days anyhow, but I think Itandje needs a start here and there outside of the Reserves. Pepe should grace the bench though.

At left-back, I hope to see Emiliano Insua and I think it's a good possibility, but I'll get to why in a minute. In the middle, it looks quite likely that we'll see Carra paired with Hobbs. Some may think that Carra will get the night off, but there's two reasons I think otherwise. First, he seems to be in great form as he showed with the Birmingham tie, and second, he is Hobbs mentor and what better way to show a student how it's done than by example. Take notes kid, because from what I've seen from you previously, you're gonna need all the advice you can get. On the right, I see Finnan getting the call as he only played the better part of a quarter-hour on Saturday.

At left-mid, I think Aurelio will get the call, which is why I think Insua will play behind him. Fabio provides a bit of defensive insurance on that side, just in case. I could see Riise starting there as well if Aurelio didn't need some pitch time. The only other thing I think Rafa might do is start Aurelio at left back and Leto at left wing, but I look for Leto to start from the bench and if injuries allow, come in the final thirty minutes for one of the left sided players. if he comes in for Insua, then Aurelio will be pushed back.

In central midfield, Sissoko has to get the call and I see Lucas paired with him. I'm hoping the attack runs through Lucas as much as possible because I really want to see what the Brazilian is capable of. I expect Sissoko to have a monster game as he has had a lot of time off. On the right, Yossi has to start. Pennant needs a day off as does Babel.

Up front is the real dilemma. I can definitely see Torres starting up front, but knowing Rafa, I don't think he will because it would look as if the boss is giving into his critics. After his performance on Saturday and playing the full match, I don't see Kuyt up there either. So I guess that leaves Voronin and Crouch. I can't see Crouch not starting here, he definitely needs more pitch time. Babel may get the call, but I don't think Rafa would pair him with Crouch.

So here's my final guess:
Itandje
Insua
Carra
Hobbs
Finnan
Aurelio
Lucas
Sissoko
Benayoun
Voronin
Crouch

Subs:
Reina
Gerrard
Torres
Hyypia
Leto

I'm not sure how many bench players Carling Cups allow, but I'll assume they go by FA rules.

With that line-up and Reading going with Convey and Lita, this could potentially be a fun match to watch. I don't really expect our side to win and honestly, don't care too much either. It's only the Carling Cup after all, but I'm hoping the kids realize that the better they play, the more likely we win, and if we win, that's more playing time for them. Be back later for the line-up, halftime report, and post-match report. Cheers.