Flamini still king, Lovren holds on, & Senderos' assaults are invaluable to Villa: EPL player rankings

Most efficient EPL players on attack:

S. Nasri	0.855
Y. Toure	0.835
Cesc Fàbregas	0.819
M. Flamini	0.818
D. Fletcher	0.813
E. Capoue	0.800
F. Coloccini	0.791
Juan Mata	0.790
T. Blackett	0.786
Schneiderlin	0.782

Players must have player 60 mins per teams total matches played (240 mins).

Gerrard is the highest ranked Liverpool player at 14th.  Sakho is 6th in all players who have played 180 or more minutes so far this season.

Most efficient EPL players on defence:

S. Dann	0.926
M. Demichelis	0.914
P. Jagielka	0.911
John Terry	0.910
F. Coloccini	0.907
P. Mertesacker	0.906
Curtis Davies	0.906
J. O'Shea	0.905
M. Flamini	0.904
D. Lovren	0.895

Lt Dann at the top, that's surprising.  Lovren hangs on to a top ten spot, barely.

Most efficient EPL players overall:

M. Flamini	0.861
F. Coloccini	0.849
E. Capoue	0.842
T. Blackett	0.839
J. O'Shea	0.839
Y. Toure	0.835
S. Nasri	0.834
D. Fletcher	0.827
Fernando	0.824
M. Schneiderlin	0.820
G. Barry	0.816

Coloccini cuts Flamini's lead in half, but if the centre back ever takes the overall lead, I'll be shocked.  Lovren shot up to 19th to become Liverpool's highest rated player and Gerrard went up 8 spots to 25th overall.

Most valuable players to their club per efficiency rating:

J. O'Shea	0.214
S. N'Zonzi	0.198
Ron Vlaar	0.192
F. Coloccini	0.191
J. Olsson	0.187
Andy King	0.186
Dean Marney	0.180
D. Hammond	0.173
P. Senderos	0.169
David Jones	0.160

Senderos' assaulted his way into the top ten for Aston Villa.  Lovren is the 35th most valuable player, which is not a bad thing when you look at the clubs of all the listed players above.

Liverpool 0, Man City 0: Player ratings

As I said in my review, we actually played quite well, but not well enough. I'm going to have a hard time not reflecting my disappointing of certain players. Anyhow, here's the scale:
1 - Take off the f*%kin' kit
2 - Still not fit to where it
3 - It better have been just a poor day
4 - Drink too much last night, did we?
5 - Glad you showed up
6 - Good effort, but you could do better
7 - Solid performance
8 - Brilliant at times, adequate at others
9 - Top man
10 - Unbelievably f&*kin' brilliant

Pepe Reina 5
Pepe is usually always the hardest player to rate and today was no exception. I mean, he did what he had to to get the clean sheet, but that wasn't much. So giving him a 5 is in no way a negative rating.

Fabio Aurelio 7
Played well in all facets of the game: on defense, on attack, passing, and shooting, and if one of his efforts had even lead to a goal, he would have been a candidate for Man of the Match.

Jamie Carragher 9 Man of the Match
Was simply brilliant in the first half and did what was needed in the second, including getting involved on attack by coming forward at times, but mostly by making some brilliant long passes. He cleared nearly every ball and stopped nearly every Man City attack single-handedly throughout and almost got the assist on the winner.

Alvaro Arbeloa 6
I'm cutting him some slack since he was playing out of position and after about thirty minutes he actually regained composure. In the second half, discipline set in and he appeared much more reliable.

Steve Finnan 6.5
Would have liked him to get more involved on attack, but can't ask for much more from him. This was the second match for him in five days and I don't care how fit a 31-year-old he is, that's still a lot.

Harry Kewell 7
Solid performance, kept the ball well and created chances on attack.

Steve Gerrard 6.5
His distrust of Arbeloa in the first half probably hurt us from taking control of the match before the second half, but once he got involved on attack, asserting ourselves became much easier.

Javier Mascherano 8
A tremendous performance from the Argentine as he plucked away the ball from the Man City players almost effortlessly and got to show off some of his ball-handling skills.

Yossi Benayoun 7
It's hard to get down on Yossi for holding on the ball too long when he creates so much and does make some great passes, but the truth is, he does try to do too much at times.

Dirk Kuyt 7
Probably his best performance of the year. He made some great plays, tried some different things, and made few mistakes. Ultimately though, Kuyt just doesn't have the pace to help us become Premier League champs.

Fernando Torres 5.5
Man City put on a clinic on how to stop El Niño and for the most part it worked. I thought the ref was awfully lenient on the roughness of the Man City defenders, but still, Torres lacked in creativity. Gerrard set him up with a perfect give-and-go which Fernando failed to put through, instead he tried to create something else on his own.

Ryan Babel 6
Like Benayoun, only worse, Babel needs to learn when to give up the ball instead of keeping it himself. It's fine if he scores, but most of the time he doesn't. I don't know if it's just a lack of intuitive skills or selfishness, but it's frustrating and very predictable for the defense.

Liverpool 4, Marseilles 0: player ratings

Pepe Reina 5.5
Clean sheet much to the work of his defense, so basically the average outing for the Spaniard. Marseilles was off-target most the day.

Alvaro Arbeloa 6.5
A zonal marking beast throughout who probably kept possession for the longest durations, but in reality had a poor passing day.

Jamie Carragher 6
Not much more you can ask from Carra, he irritated the l'OM attack to no end and really wasn't called upon to go kamikaze.

Sami Hyypiä 6
Like his fellow centre back, the Finn dug the trenches and absorbed Marseilles attack whenever it progressed to his spot.

John Arne Riise 6.5
Had the Norwegian not gotten the 'assist' on Gerrard's penalty call and played full out on defense, his grade would have been much worse. He is so wasteful on attack right now, it's appalling.

Yossi Benayoun 6.5
Yossi made up for a poor attacking display with a tremendous defensive effort and was a huge reason their attack rarely made it passed our midfield.

Steven Gerrard 7
The captain's performance sort of epitomized our effort as a side. He contained, marked, and tackled with remarkable efficiency, but on attack he took a lot of risks, most which didn't pay off. Instead of calculated intrusions into enemy territory, waiting to open up the defense, we were like a lightning cloud with an endless amount of bolts, striking at every opportunity. The problem with that approach is if you don't play defense intelligently and communicate well with your teammates, the opposition is going to murder you on the counter. Luckily our midfield was impenetrable.

Javier Mascherano 6.5
Ditto for the Argentine who tied for the high in tackles with Gerrard on 6. Hope his injury isn't too serious.

Harry Kewell 7.5 Man of the Match
King Harry set up two goals with astounding passes and though a lot of his brilliant attempts didn't make their destination, his effort was commendable. Hopefully he's back for good.

Dirk Kuyt 6.5
Effort, effort, effort, and a nice goal to boot. Truly showed his value as a marking forward and hopefully getting on the score sheet will only boost his confidence.

Fernando Torres 7
Another match, another goal, and what skill. Could still improve though, especially with his passing, but he drove the Marseilles defenders mad.

Fabio Aurelio 6
Got the assist on Babel's goal and I cut him some slack for minor defensive mistakes because it was his first match back in a month.

Ryan Babel 7
Our super sub strikes again. I can't wait until he adapts more to this level of play and learns to utilize his strengths best. What he needs to do is just study Torres since they both benefit best from their pace and strength.

Lucas N/A
I really wish Benitez would have taken Gerrard out for Lucas with about 20 minutes to go considering the Man U match is Sunday, but that's Rafa for ya.

Overall, as I tried to convey in my match review, it was an interesting yet odd match. I can't recall a match where we used the counter so effectively after absorbing the Marseilles attack. Efficient doesn't begin to describe it. Anyhow, not sure if that game plan will work Sunday. Cheers.

Liverpool 4, Bolton 0: player ratings

Before I get to my ratings for yesterday's match, I want to share a couple of more thoughts about and concerning it. First off, does everybody share Paul Tomkins latest sentiment that the media for the most part is not giving our side the proper credit by rubbishing our recent opponents? I'm not so sure and I don't really care. Let the media disinform future opponents on our quality, it'll only end up helping us in the end. Of course, I'm not one to care what the media has to say anyhow.

As for the match, the more I think about it, the more I feel we were predominantly a lethargic side, going through the motions a lot, but applying the right amount of energy when needed. In other words, when Bolton looked as if they might score, our defense took it up a notch, and when we sensed weakness while on the attack, we went for the kill. That kind of intuition says that team chemistry is building and the squad appears to be coming together more as a unit in reading our opponents and getting in touch with the ebb and flow of the match energy. The downfall is a better side than Bolton would probably have taken advantage of our defensive lapses, but then again, I'm sure our boys will be more intense against a more formidable opponent. Anyhow, here are my grades:

Pepe Reina 4
Made a couple of conspicuous errors, especially the Carragher fiasco. I honestly think he was just bored though and he did make at least one decent save that I can recall.

John Arne Riise 6
Definitely a return to better form for the Norwegian as his passing improved from recent outings and seemed to be back to his old self on attack. Was probably robbed of a penalty when a trademark rocket headed for the upper right corner of the goalmouth hit off a Bolton player's arm in the box, but might have been the reason Crouch got the call later in the match.

Sami Hyppiä 6.5
Another solid effort from the Finn and a goal to boot.

Jamie Carragher 5
Not the best match I've ever seen Carra play. He seemed out of sorts at times, not really on the same page as the rest of the squad, and basically uninvolved. The week off should do him some good.

Jack Hobbs 6
His first appearance where he appeared to have a clue. It's funny, the younger players seemed to be more confident in one another than the older do them. For instance, Hobbs passed to and received the most passes from Lucas, most likely due to them playing together on the Reserves, but Reina was a bit timid in handing the ball over to the 19-year-old.

Alvaro Arbeloa 7.5
Simply a brilliant performance by the Spaniard. His passing and tackling were both dead-on and he also made a goal-saving clearance. I've said it before and I'll continue to say it, Arbeloa could probably play up front if we needed him too, but in my opinion and as his performances have shown, he's best suited at right back.

Harry Kewell 6
Carried his great form from the end of the Porto match into this one and was unlucky not to have a goal to show for his effort. His decisions on the ball could improve, but for the most, he's known as a risk-taker.

Ryan Babel 7
Another superb display from our supersub. He probably should have had a brace, but you can't really hold it against him. He was a threat nearly every second on the pitch and gave the Bolton defenders fits to no end, but he still needs to learn that he does have teammates and he doesn't need to try and take on the whole opposition by himself.

Steven Gerrard 7.5 Man of the Match
What can you say? His recent form has been nothing short of golden and I have no problem stating he's the best player in the world right now. A world-class assist to Torres and an unstoppable penalty to go along with another assist (to Hyppiä) and five tackles.

Lucas 6.5
Another inspiring effort from the young Brazilian, so much so that I'm beginning to think that it was what we should come to expect from him. In other words, imagine an above average performance. That's just scary. The amazing thing about Lucas, among other things of course, is his ball distribution. Where a lot of players are more comfortable passing the ball a certain direction or to certain players, Lucas appears to lack any discrimination in that regard and the ball usually finds its destination.

Yossi Benayoun 6
A relatively quiet outing from the Israeli, not that he didn't contribute to the effort. For the most part, as long as he steps up when others appear to be faltering, like the Wigan match for instance, I have no problems with such displays. He was far from a detriment to the side and it was probably best he didn't try and assert himself on the attack every time, sometimes a little space for the other players is what is needed.

Peter Crouch 5.5
A decent show from the lanky one, I think I only yelled at him once... maybe twice. He didn't exactly utilize his strengths, but our plan of attack didn't appear to include that this time.

Fernando Torres 6.5
His goal was class and he definitely improved from the Port match, but still, at moments he shows some glimpses of prowess that make me believe we haven't seen anything yet. I have little problem calling him 'World Class' and would love for someone to show me a striker in the world in better form.

Dirk Kuyt N/A
Though his effort was, as usual, tireless, I just don't feel he got the proper time on the pitch to get comfortable.

Liverpool 3, Newcastle 0: Player Ratings

Before I get to my ratings for Saturday's match, I'd just like to say that there's absolutely nothing going on with our beloved club. Speculation about the rift between the owners and Rafa has been taken far out of the realm of common sense and given way too much attention. Mostly from wind-up blogs and children still craving attention from their neglectful mother. Who cares? Until something actually happens, I'm not even going to address it's existence. Also, any talk of Xabi Alonso going elsewhere is rubbish. Moving on...

Pepe Reina 5
An average outing for our keeper. I thought he was a bit lucky when Alan Smith knocked it wide and also I wish he'd stop trying the long ball so often. That probably is Rafa's fault though.

Alvaro Arbeloa 4
Was quite sloppy on the ball and just seemed out of it most the match. He didn't take any Newcastle players on nor did he even appear to want to attempt a run at the goal. Like I've said prior, he looks much more comfortable on the right, which brings me to ask where was Aurelio?

Jamie Carragher 6
Carra had to do little if nothing and in fact, seemed excited to get to come up for corners. Still, he was his reliable self.

Sami Hyppiä 7
Was again outstanding. Officially got the assist to Kuyt and even though it was cheeky little deflection, it was really Gerrard who earned it. As Carra has said recently, when Sami plays well, the team plays well. He's probably earned himself another year with the club with his recent run of matches, but Agger still has to get the start when fit. Hopefully Hyypiä won't fall back into a rut when he begins to play less. Hey, maybe Carra can have some games off?

Steve Finnan 6
Other than a wild cross in the first half, he was his same old reliable, efficient self.

Lucas 7.5
What can you say about our little Brazilian wrecking ball? He's never going to get the proper recognition from the press nor pundits, but he's on pace to be a LFC great. His performance here truly showed his footy smarts and almost allows me not worry about losing Mascherano. Almost. He lead the side with 11 tackles while committing just three fouls and also lead us in attempted passes with 63 and completed passes with 59. In fact, he had more completed passes than anyone else on our side had successful ones. Oh, and he got the assist on Gerrard's free kick goal.

Sissoko 6
I don't think most people understand Momo's job out there. He's not there to score goals, make brilliant passes, or even split defenses with runs off the ball. Whenever he does do these things, it's just icing. He's a destroyer and his job is to disrupt the flow of our opponents and he does this very well. The problem is we have Xabi, Masche, and Lucas, who are all pretty good at it as well, plus offer a little bit more. I'm sure it's up to the Malian if he wants to stick around though. Speaking of Mali, he'll be joining his fellow countrymen when the Africa Cup starts up.

Gerrard 7.5 Man of the Match
I'm really tempted to give MotM to Lucas, but our skipper was just brilliant and had he not scored that free kick goal, there's a good chance the match would have ended in a scoreless draw or worse. His assist to Babel was brilliant as well. You can just see the confidence oozing in Stevie-G these days as he's on a roll. That's six goals in seven matches and seven overall. Playing him on the right allows him to roam free and give us inspirational performances like he did Saturday. I hope Rafa continues to play him at that spot even when Pennant comes back.

Harry Kewell 4
Is King Harry timid about thumping away at the ball or what? I don't think this match could have done much for his confidence since he was clearly woeful. Hopefully it won't affect his playing opportunities because he probably needs to play more often and for longer durations if he's to get in sync with the rest of the club. The difference when Ryan Babel came on the pitch was quite evident, we were a better, more fluid side.

Dirk Kuyt 6
The ever efficient Dirk Kuyt: 2 shots, 1 goal, an 84% pass completion rate, and five tackles to boot. He doesn't want your praise, he just wants to do his job.

Fernando Torres 6
A comical performance that I hope he can look back on and laugh. In the end we didn't need the two or three or even four goals he probably should have had, so I hope it doesn't have any effect on future performances. He still worried the living daylights out of the Newcastle defense and also won the foul that gave Gerrard his free kick goal.

Ryan Babel 8
Had he played the entire match, he would have probably run away with the Man-of award. All that happens when he's on the pitch for thirty minutes is we score a goal, this time he was the benefactor of his own influence. Is he the best super-sub in the league? I'm beginning to think so. He's brilliant nonetheless.

Neither Crouch nor Riise did much of anything so I won't bother taking the time to rip their poor, yet time-constrained performances. I will say this though, Riise was particularly dreadful, so much so that I'm beginning to wonder if he's fully fit.

Well, there ya go, feel free to comment back, I have about thirty that I have to go through for past posts, but I hope to get to them sometime today. No daily today since there's nothing new or relevant worth discussing. Cheers.