Bernd Schuster already worried about drawing Liverpool in CL play

I didn't really expect anyone to be paying us any attention in the Champions League at least until after the Group Stage, but apparently we're causing Real Madrid's Bernd Schuster a little anxiety, which is surprising seeing how well his squad has started this season. In this article, the former German International has this to say about our side:

"Liverpool is not so attractive in it's game; it is an ugly team to play, hard and difficult. It is not necessary to remind people how tough they made it for Barcelona last season."

Though most newspapers are trying to play this up as Schuster talking a little smack, it looks as if they're just trying to sell papers. I think all he's saying is that we are great defensively and unpredictable on attack as much can be lost or added in translation.

The thing that baffles me is how he says that Man U has the best attack and Chelsea have the best defense. Has he watched either of these sides play this season? I have no doubts that a fully fit Man U squad with Rooney, Giggs, Ronaldo, and Scholes firing on all cylinders are certainly a formidable attack, but Rooney's injured, Giggs and Scholes look a year older, and I guess we'll have to wait and see what post-suspension Ronaldo looks like. Nani and Tevez have been competent, but also look like two new players struggling to build chemistry with their new teammates.

As for Chelsea's defense, they are certainly capable of being an impenetrable fortress, but allowing two goals against Birmingham at Stamford Bridge and the two goals they allowed against Aston Villa this past weekend make them far from impressive nor in top form. I honestly think they should have never gotten rid of Diarra, but apparently that was unavoidable, and Alex has been far less impressive than he was at PSV last year.

Ultimately, if we can stay fit and maintain our current form, then sure, Schuster does have something to worry about, but to come out now and voice his concerns just doesn't make much sense.

Today's Banter: Stevie to play injured for England, Rafa speaks out against Platini, Super Reserves to take pitch tonight, & more

(First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Brian and I used to do the Liverpool blog over at the Offside. I have taken over this blog from my brother and will be posting here frequently, especially in-depth coverage on game days. Feel free to leave any comments, particularly negative ones, I love haters. Cheers.)

- It appears that Steve McClown will get what he wants when a not fully fit Gerrard is expected to take the pitch for England next Saturday in their Euro-qualifying match with Israel at New Wembley. If you can't tell, I'm extremely over-joyed about this. I understand he's England's best player and they have little to no chance of qualifying without him, but if he re-aggravates the hairline fracture in his toe, he won't be available for the Wednesday match versus Russia and possibly even the mid-October ties with Estonia and Russia, again. The only thing I can take comfort with is the fact that we haven't needed our world class midfielder since the first match of the Premiership season at Villa. I'm also very thankful that Carra has quit the Three Lions and we should have him back when the break ends in two weeks.

- Rafa has added his voice to the dissent against UEFA head Michel Platini's proposal to have domestic cup winners be the final choice representative in the following year's Champions League tournament. Benitez basically shares the same view as most that it could potentially weaken the field of the world's greatest club tournament. Not only that, but it could potentially hurt not only the integrity of the domestic cup but also the league/country where it's participants play. Just imagine a manager of a mid-level Premiership club who knows that his team has a better chance of winning the domestic cup than finishing in the top three in the league, especially since they know the sides with the best shot of taking the CL league spots are akin to playing lesser squads in domestic cups. Champions League money is a great incentive if a side knows it can beat relegation with a half-assed EPL effort and still make it to the big European stage.

- We're fielding a pretty damn good Reserves side today in our opening fixture for The Barclays Premier Reserve League (North) against Middlesborough's reserve team. Among them will be first-teamer and Pepe back-up, the Frenchman Charles Itandje, recent official signing CB Spaniard Mikel San Jose, Former Stockport County wonder kid Ryan Crowther, and South Americans and part-time 1st teamers Lucas Leiva and Sebastian Leto. The normal crew will also be there including Emiliano Insua and Craig Lindfield. Our boys haven't played since their mid-August Scandinavian tour were they trounced Norwegian side, Kvik Halden, 5-1, and Swedish squad, Karlstad, 4-0 thanks to a Craig Lindfield hat trick. I have little doubt that our Reserves could easily maintain a mid-level spot in the Championship.

- Finally, there's been a lot of love coming from inside and outside of the club in recognition of some recent individual performances on the pitch. Rafa has recently praised Alvaro Arbeloa for not only playing every minute of every match so far this season, not only for playing out of his natural position most of the time, but also for just being awesome and showing an unbelievable amount of improvement over the last eight months since joining the squad. I have to concur, Arbeloa has went from an undisciplined back who appeared to care more about getting goals than stopping attacks to arguably our best defender, which when you have players named Carragher, Hyypia, Agger, Finnan, and Mascherano at your club, that's saying a lot. Also, Real Madrid captain Raul has noticed a 'different' Torres, hinting that he believes his Spain teammate might be enjoying life a little better at Anfield than he ever did at Atletico. I think it might be the fact that there's a lot less pressure for him to be 'the man' at Liverpool with the likes of local boys Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher as well as our world class midfielder Javier Mascherano. Cheers.