Was Glen Johnson really that bad against Italy?

There are calls for Johnson to lose his place in the England side due to his 'dismal' performance against Itay at the World Cup, but is it really warranted?  Let's compare him to Leighton Baines, who can step on a puppy and the English press would publish articles about the state of his injured foot.

	Johnson	Baines
chances created	2	2
pass %	90	93
back pass %	36.2	50
tackles	3	2
tackle %	40	33
fouls	1	0
interceptions	0	2
blocked shots	0	0
clearances	0	0
dribbled past	1	1
key passes	2	2
true turnover index	9	4

This is a great example of how my 'true turnover index' can be skewed, especially when it comes to defenders.  Glen Johnson has a higher TTI simply because he had more possession of the ball.  He possessed the ball 15 more times than Baines and England's attack was 15% more from Johnson's side of the pitch.  Of course, that doesn't excuse bad shot selection.

Defensively, Johnson did little if nothing, but he also had less opportunity than Baines.  Italy's attack was more focused on the right side of pitch than the left, 38% to 27%.  He did have more tackles and a higher tackle % though, despite Baines' 2 interceptions.

Where Johnson is clearly better is passing.  Baines had the higher passing percentage, but half of his passes were toward his own goal, which is really not a good thing when you are a left back.  Johnson's 36.2% back pass rating is outstanding to say the least, especially paired with his 90% success rate, but his attacking abilities have never really been questioned.

The bottom line is, if Johnson should be dropped, so should Baines and probably most of the first team for that matter as really only Sturridge put on an outstanding performance.  He never has been and never will be a top class defender, but he is an above average attacking right back.

Pepe Reina or Simon Mignolet?

Since Napoli have admitted they won't be able to pay Pepe Reina to stay, he may be sold to Arsenal at a discount of £5m.  I think most would agree it would be bad business to sell Reina to a competing club like Arsenal, but what if a lesser club like West Brom or even Villa come knocking?  Should Reina be given the chance to be our number 1 again?  Should we try to keep him as a back-up? I don't know about anyone else, but I wasn't exactly blown away by Mignolet last season.  Let's look at the stats, two seasons ago for Reina and last season for Mignolet, league matches only.

	Reina	Mignolet
matches (sub)	31	38
clean sheets	14	10
goals allowed per	1.1	1.32
saves per match	1.35	1.97
saves per goal	1.27	1.7
avg claim success %	89	96
dist. success %	75	69
pass success %	70.8	67.3
aerial duel win %	85.7	83.3
long ball success %	45.8	39

The most important stats here are saves per goal and average claim success percentage, both of which go to Mignolet.  The 7% difference between the two keepers in ACSP is crippling to Reina if he has any aspirations to win his old job back.  It is an indication of what many think of the 31-year-old Spaniard: he takes unnecessary risks and has frequent momentary lapses of reason and concentration.

In his last couple of seasons, Reina appeared to be more interested in trying to create goal scoring opportunities instead of trying to prevent them.  The thing is, he's quite good at contributing to the attack, much more so than Mignolet, but what's the point if you can't do your primary job as a keeper?  I would even argue that Reina had a better defense in front of him than Mignolet does now.

Reina had Jamie Carragher and a healthy Jose Enrique for most of the season.  Though Carra was in his twilight year, he knew his limitations, made few mistakes, and was in command of Liverpool's defense, even when he wasn't on the pitch.  When he was, Carragher rarely went forward as much as Agger, Skrtel, and Sakho tend to.  The thing about Mignolet is that he doesn't take command like a keeper should and if that doesn't change, he should find his way somewhere else soon.

Sterling showed his strengths, but exposed his weaknesses vs Italy

There's no doubting that Raheem Sterling did an outstanding job introducing himself to the world yesterday.  It is nothing new to us Liverpool fans who have followed his progression the past four years.  Unfortunately, what he does worse was just as apparent as what he does well. His defense and ability to hold on to the ball left much to be desired:

chances created	1
back pass %	57.6
errant passes	3
shots	3
shot %	0
dispossessed	2
take ons	4
unsuccessful to	3
turnovers	1
true turnover index	13

He basically did two things good, albeit very good, he set-up England's only goal with a brilliant pass to Rooney and he treated the Italian defenders like orange cones, dribbling pass them at will.  That's all fine and dandy, but most of it was all for nothing.

A back pass % of 57.6 for a winger is abominable.  That means of his 33 pass attempts, 19 of them were toward his own goal and at least one of those fell into Italy's possession going in the direction they so desired.  True turnover index takes in effect whenever a player gives possession over to the other team either by shots that lead to opposition possession, errant pass, dispossession, unsuccessful take on, or offensive foul (including offside).  Sterling had the worst TTI of Englishman on the pitch.  In comparison, Rooney had a TTI of 10, Henderson and Sturridge each had a 9, Gerrard had an 8, and Welbeck had a 7.

As I stated in my last post though, I'd much rather have a player who takes risk, but the results have to prove positive.  Sterling's back pass percentage severely skews his stats and makes it seem that he is not as risky and turnover prone than he actually is.  He is only 19 though and a whole lot of fun to watch: http://vimeo.com/98246489.

Rickie Lambert makes Fabio Borini 'surplus to the cause'

With the addition of Rickie Lambert, Borini's days appear to have become numbered.  Who scored? probably sums it up best.  According to them:

Why not just stamp 'useless' on his forehead and send him packing.  Oh, that's right, we paid  £10.5m for him.  That's not a typo, £10.5m!  Borini is 23 so the 'he's still young' argument is invalid, his 'potential' will need to come to fruition very soon, like next season for whomever he plays for, or he'll fall under the David Bentley category.  If we need a fourth striker, I'd rather see the younger Luis Alberto or Samed Yeşil get a chance.  Unfortunately, we'll be lucky to get half of what was invested in Fabio.

A stat comparison with Rickie Lambert is even more daunting:

	Borini	Lambert
Apps (sub)	25 (7)	31 (6)
goals	7	13
assists	2	10
chances created	26	53
cc per	0.8	1.4
pass %	76.6	69.7
key passes	0.8	1.5
back pass %	52.9	41.4
shots pg	2.1	2.8
shot %	14	16
dispossessed pg	1.5	1.6
turnover pg	1.3	1.4

The significant stats here are assists, chances created, and key passes.  Lambert will most likely see the pitch with either Sturridge or Suarez as the front man, so he'll be most likely asked to be more of a set-up man than a finisher/poacher.  Borini's stats indicate that he lacks the ability to be a consistent second striker and poaching is seemingly the only skill he possesses.

One stat that I think should be more significant though rarely draws any attention is 'back pass %'.  Not to insult anyone's intelligence, but these are passes that go towards one goal and not towards the opposition's.  52.9% is very high and it completely invalidates Borini's superior pass % since it's much easier to pass back than to progress forward.  This probably why Lambert has five times the assists and twice as many chances created.  I'd rather have a player who tries to create goal chances and fails, then one that just gives up and passes the ball back to do it all over again.  It's not as if Lambert was turning the ball over significantly than Borini.

Would anyone take Balotelli over Sturridge right now?

Daniel Sturridge is king right now, the world is at his fingertips, but before January 31, 2011, he was a prisoner, an oppressed striker relegated to the wings and the bench of a Chelsea squad fiercely controlled by a maniacal Italian (that is called 'sarcasm').  Then he was sent out on loan to Bolton, where he scored  8 goals in 12 matches, and seemingly proved his ability up front, even with a lesser supporting cast.  Unfortunately, he got lost in the manager merry-go-round when he returned to Stamford Bridge and was oft-injured the next season-and-a-half.  I guess I should say 'thankfully', since those are the circumstances that led him to Liverpool.

Since joining LFC, he has been pure magic, scoring 31 goals and assisting 10 more in 43 matches (plus 4 goals in 6 cup matches).  He has had one major bout with injury and a few minor ones, which is concerning, but let's just hope that is behind him.  Otherwise, he's been outstanding on and off the field, which the same can't be said of his Italian counterpart.

I just don't understand all the hullabaloo over 'Super' Mario.  There's no denying his talent, but his crap attitude and spotlight antics are not worth the distraction.  I have no problem saying he was the reason City aren't three time champions, his efforts on the field were far less than off.  It's hilarious that he became such a prolific scorer for Milan, at least for the remaining of the 2012-13 season, I'm sure his lack of performance at City during the first half of the season was the Blues' fault and not his.

While I'm convinced Balotelli is more talented than Sturridge, he desperately lacks the maturity, self-respect, and work ethic that the latter displays.  Can you imagine how Balotelli would have reacted to having to play out of position for years (and young, developing years at that) like Sturridge did at Chelsea?  He would have cried and complained until his hair turned whatever color it hasn't been yet.

If there is any indication that he may be maturing and becoming more of a team player, it's the fact that he had 6 assists last season, that's 4 more than he had in any season at City and 3 more than he had his whole time there.  I won't hold my breathe though and with all that said, watch him go out and score a brace today, lead Italy to the finals, and get the most outstanding player of the tournament.  He and Sturridge are certainly both capable.

Gerrard is better than Pirlo

I have all the respect in the world for Andrea Pirlo, he is one of the few Italians that I admire, and that says a lot because I have no love for Gli Azzuri.  (There's too much blatant corruption and disrespect for the game in Italy, a history of rewriting itself for it's own greater good, but this blog is not about Italian football so I'll bite my tongue for now.)

He is not better than Gerrard though.  He does do some things slightly better, but overall, Gerrard is superior.  When I think of Pirlo, I think of George Best's quote about David Beckham: "He cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that he's all right."  Of course, Pirlo can kick with his left foot (though not penalties, right RVP?) and he's more than just all right and certainly preferred over Beckham in almost all facets, except for maybe self-marketing.

                                           Pirlo                   Gerrard
goals (pens)                           4                      13 (10)
assists                                    6                         13
pass %                                88.5                      86
chances created                    68                        67
successful dribble %              71                        71
dispossessed per                  1.2                       0.5
turnovers per                        0.3                       0.5
successful tackles                  43                        98 
tackle per match                   1.4                       2.9
tackle %                               29                        52
interceptions per                   1.3                       1.4
clearances per                      0.5                       2.7
dribbled past                        1.6                       0.6
blocked shots                       0.2                       0.4

As the stats above tell, Pirlo is slightly the better passer, chance creator, and is less error prone, but the Italian Medallion benefits from playing in a league better suited for a pace-challenged, technique-reliant 35-year-old.  It's no secret that Serie A is a slower-paced league, though I would disagree that the Prem is technically inferior (that's a subject for another day).  Also Pirlo makes less errors mostly because he is less involved in matches than Gerrard, Pirlo does very little (at least not well) if anything on the defensive side of the pitch.  One thing that did stand out for me though is Pirlo being dispossessed more per a match than Gerrard, I would figure with Stevie-G's more risque style, he would fall short in this category.

Compared to Gerrard, Pirlo is a defensive liability.  If he wasn't brilliant on the ball, he'd long be out of work. Gerrard doesn't just top Pirlo in nearly every defensive stat, he dwarfs him.  Though Pirlo's age does figure in his ability to contribute defensively as stats show he has become less involved over the years.  Regardless of all this info though, club football and international football (especially World Cup) are two vastly different animals.  So at the very least, Gerrard is better and more valuable at the club level.

Emre Can: Better than Gerrard at 20?

At first I was a bit skeptical of the seemingly endless praise for Emre Can, then I started to research his stats and watch his videos.  The kid is a beast and not only reminds me of a reckless 20-year-old Steven Gerrard, but he actually appears more advanced.

They have many similarities, Gerrard from that stage and Emre Can now.  Both are good on the ball, though I would give the edge to Can, each are creative passers, especially of the long ball, and both are solid tacklers, though Gerrard was seemingly a bit more committal, which can be a good or bad.  The one thing Can has and will have a hard time emulating is Gerrard's passion and, oddly enough, his discipline.

I thought Gerrard was a bit feisty at that age, but Can collected three-fold cards last season.  Maybe that's because Can played in Germany and Gerrard was a good ole boy in the EPL, but three-fold is three-fold.  I honestly thought Gerrard collected more cards.

I just hope Can tries to learn as much as he can from our fearless leader before he's set to take his place. Here's some eye candy from our future and our past:

Liverpool vs Man City: A look at the stats

Let's take a look at some key statistics from last season:

(league rank in parenthesis)             LFC                       MCFC
overall possession %                     55.8 (5)                   57.6 (2)
pass success %                             84.5 (4)                   86.1 (1)
chances created                             488 (3)                    533 (1)
shots conceded pg                        12.8 (8)                     9.5 (1)
shots OT pg                                   6.8 (1)                     6.3 (2)
fouled pg                                      10.8 (6)                     8.9 (20)
offsides pg                                     2.1 (9)                     1.6 (19)
open play goals                              55 (3)                       66 (1)
counter attack goals                         9 (1)                        5 (2)
set piece goals                                26 (1)                      20 (2)
crosses pg                                      17 (20)                    23 (6)
through ball pg                                5 (1)                         3 (4)
long balls pg                                   56 (18)                    55 (20)
short passes pg                              469 (4)                    502 (3)
possession in own half %                 29 (13)                    23 (1)
possession in opp half %                 28 (11)                    31 (1)

Clearly some of these are obvious: you keep the ball more (possession %), you make better decisions on the ball (pass success %), you create more chances, you don't allow your opponent many chances, and you keep the ball out of your own half, you've got a better chance to win more games.

What surprised me the most was LFC's attack efficiency, they scored more with less opportunity.  They had a goal per chance opportunity of 4.83 compared to Man City at 5.22.  Against the run of play which factors in possession pct per match, Liverpool is even more impressive since their possession pct was not as high (8.66 compared to 9.06).

Which leaves the white elephant in the room, defense.  Liverpool was not bad defensively, they were just merely average while Man City was very good (though not excellent).  The problem in statistically analyzing defensive performance is that it is nearly impossible to quantify things such as 'forced back pass' or 'passing lane reduction'.  These things limit opportunities of an opponent to score, but unless you watch every match and keep statistics yourself, which neither I nor no one I know has the time to do so, it's just not going to happen.  Plus there are judgement calls.

One thing I find interesting is how little opponent passing pct really matters, even in the attacking third.  According to StatsBomb, through April 21st, Man City was allowing a pass success rate of 81.5% overall and 68.2% in the final third, while LFC were superior in both at 79.2% and 66.7%.  The problem being that direction of pass is not being considered, Man City may be forcing their opponents to make back and horizontal passes by cutting off passing lanes/opportunities.

The bottom line is Man City were the best at preventing opponents from scoring chances, which unfortunately we can only validate by shots conceded per match, and though Liverpool were more efficient offensively, they created less chances for themselves overall (even though it lead to just one more goal overall).

Some observations that I think separated the two sides are lack of discipline by Liverpool defenders, especially Skrtel and Sakho, and not having a true defensive midfielder on the pitch a lot of the time. It also doesn't help that MCFC just has better defensive midfielders in Fernandinho and Javi Garcia with Yaya Toure occasionally deputized.  One of these problems may have been resolved with the addition of Emre Can, but he is closer to a box-to-box than a defensive midfielder and the lack of discipline has to be addressed by the coaching staff or else look for those who will listen.
                  

Adam Lallana is not even worth £15m

Again, like Lambert,  I like Lallana, but not for £15m... maybe £8m.  Apparently Southampton now want upwards of £25m, that's just laughable.  There are many other players out there that are just as good, if not better, that we can get for that much or less and honestly, do we really need another midfielder right now?  We have Suso back, who is only 20, and I think Jordon Ibe at least deserves a chance.

If they are going to spend £20m+ for an attacking midfielder, it should be for a young, talented, and somewhat proven player like Xherdan Shaqiri, Lazar Markovic, or even a forward/winger like Cristian Tello (who won't cost as much btw).  Lallana is 26 and he'll need to improve as much next season as he did the last, if he's even worth £15m.  I just don't see that happening, especially with all the competition at Anfield.

An interesting read: Xherdan Shaqiri vs Adam Lallana

Assessing Rickie Lambert

When I first heard we had spent £4m for Rickie Lee Lambert, I almost lost my shit.  Really?  Really, Mr. Rodgers?  What happened to our no spending for players over 23?  Not only that, but Rickie Lee Lambert, 32 year old striker who has spent a total of 2 seasons in top flight football?  It sounds crazy, but... it just might work.

He obviously won't be a starter, and if he does, we'll be in a world of shit to begin with.  I can see him being beneficial as a late match spark, as he provides a different approach then Sturridge or Suarez, and he'll also get starts in lesser cup matches, which should prove beneficial to his stat padding.

Listen, I don't dislike Lambert, I just think he's a poor man's Dirk Kuyt.  Might as well bring him back, if you're going to go that route.

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.)

Steven Gerrard is the new crack

Watch this video all the way through and you'll see what I mean...

Spurs 2, Liverpool 1: Absolutely pathetic

Not really that bad, but... well, you know... First, Babel is not a winger. When the fuck is Benitez going to wake up and realize this? Benayoun should have started, this isn't rocket science. Being an avid defender of Benitez is really making me look bad and having Ryan 'I have no clue how to the pass the ball despite having four defenders on me' Babel play wing is not helping.

Torres needs to stop being a little bitch, This is the Premiership, stop falling down when one of your hairs get out of place. Jesus Christ, yes, your a great player, but when the hell are you going to stop using your ability to deceive and start utilizing your strength to man-handle defenders? This is English football for fuck's sake.

I have beef with Carra as well, but I know when I'm walking on thin ice. What the fuck, dude? I know you love all things Liverpool, but when the fuck are going to learn to trust Skrtel? The guy hardly fucks up as it is, and we don't need you breaking his jaw on really bad decisions to go for the ball.

A bad start nonetheless even though Reina once again proved he's one of the best keepers in the world. Glen Johnson was outstanding as well, not to mention Lucas showing he's grown some balls. We need six points in the next two no matter what and fuck that FSC fucker who said that was our 'whole squad'. Really you dipshit England and Newcastle reject? Where was Riera, Agger, or Aquilani? Not to mention Martin Kelly is the next Steven Gerrard, Fuck off, you douche.

Steven Gerrard's goal versus Tranmere today

Not the greatest video ever made, but not too bad for a camera phone.

Essien trumps Gerrard

Is there really much else to say? I guess we could have played back and come to think of it, probably should have after the early goal, but, uh, we didn't. Not having Mascherano didn't help either. We're done in the Champions League. Let's get over it.

Some may say Benitez was out-coached by Hiddink and frankly I have to agree, especially on set pieces. Our attack was futile at best. Not even on our own set pieces could we penetrate the Blues' defense.

The only thing in our favor next Tuesday is that we have Masche and they won't have Terry, but with Evanovich all of sudden becoming a great goal-scorer, who knows.

Nemanja Vidić vs. Martin Škrteľ

Apparently Nemanja Vidić is the current odds on favorite to win PFA Player of the Year this season, and well, that sort of baffles me. I'm not saying Vidić is undeserving of recognition as one of the best center backs in the world, but our very own Martin Škrteľ has been just as, if not more impressive this season. The only thing going against the Slovakian back is that he's played in less matches, but the statistical comparison is, well, not much of one.

First we have what center backs are supposed to do best, stop the opposition. This is best represented by tackle success rate, tackles per match, and interceptions per contest. Škrteľ surprisingly takes all three of these categories. He easily beats his Man U counterpart in tackles per match with 1.82 tpm compared to 1.19, he dominates on tackle success rate with a resounding 88.2% to Vidić's 74.4%, and finally, he edges out the Serb, 2.18 to 1.96 in interceptions per. Pretty impressive if you ask me.

Another important trait is the ability to not only pass the ball effectively, but also to get to where you want it to go, in other words, pass success percentage. Once again, Škrteľ is superior, though only by a hair, 87.5% to 86.6%. Our boy also leads on assists with one to none and has created more goal attempts, 4 to 3, in 10 less matches played might I add.

The only category where Vidić dominates is goals scored and if we were talking about strikers that might make a huge difference, but we're not, and in almost every other single category, Škrteľ reigns supreme. Not to mention Liverpool's sweep of Man U exposed the weaknesses of Nemanja.

Gary Neville is a 'role model' for Liverpool youth

Ha. Chris Grayling is a feckin' idiot. Why would a politician ever make such a ridiculous statement that one of the players most reviled by Liverpool FC fans is a role model for it's city's youth? Oh, he's a Man U fan. Shocking. Neville is a no class loser, who wouldn't even make our reserves squad at this point.

At first I thought he was just having a go, but then I realized he was just like most Man U fans, clueless. He has a record of trying to lobby for industrial contracts for Liverpool companies, which leads me to believe that the weather is fair when it comes to the topic of football in the Grayling home.

You know who I think is a great role model for Liverpool youth, not Wayne Rooney, that's for sure.

Riera appears to have refound his form

There have been many factors in our current impressive vein of form, our relative return to health that allows us to play our best eleven being the most important and the overall career peak performances of Xabi Alonso, Steven Gerrard, and Fabio Aurelio, among others, also being crucial. Yesterday appeared to mark the continued resurgence of Albert Riera, whose controlled-chaos dribbling, spot-on passing, and nasty volley goal, produced minced-meat of the Villa defense, who were lucky the scoreline did not end worse.

In his first few matches for our club, Riera looked golden. His league debut against Man United in September was one of legends, as he made their defense look not only less than superhuman, but frankly porous, as we beat our bitter rivals, 2-1. It was our first league win against the Mancs since 2004 and our first at Anfield in nearly seven years. His gangly-legged, two-steps-forward-one-step back style then continued to leave Premier League defenders dazed and confused as his cleats chewed up the left sides of pitches across England. It was appearing that his £8m price tag was quite the bargain.

Suddenly though, he disappeared. After scoring his first league goal against Wigan, the energy that seemed to spark his unpredictable and unstoppable flair seemed to dissipate. Though flashes of brilliance would occasionally sneak through, for the most part Riera was ineffective, if not invisible. It appeared the physicality of the English game had worn him thin, sapping his mental strength and severely depleting his creative juices. To put it bluntly, His game went from grand to bland.

In December, a seasonal renaissance occurred with Riera scoring three goals in five matches, but still he seemed to lack the dynamic fortitude that he displayed earlier in the season. His first Champions League goal against PSV was followed up by a disappearing act against Hull and an uninspired effort versus Arsenal, only to end the year with a goal against Bolton, in an otherwise forgettable showing, and begin 2009 with a stunner against Preston North End in the FA Cup.

It ended up being more a mirage than glint of hope as the Spaniard once again fell into a lull. His lackluster play reflected our results as we went 1-1-5 over the next seven matches he played, including crashing out of the FA Cup in a loss to Everton. Then came the CL tie at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Being back in Spain seemed to rejuvenate Riera. Maybe a renewed hatred of Real Madrid or the familiarity of surroundings reignited the left winger as his effort was encouraging and reminiscent of early season form. Following that, he was left out of the match against Middlesborough, which we lost, 0-2. His omission was a bit baffling, but I'm not sure if he would have made much difference.

Then came a tremendous performance against Sunderland, where his spot-on passing, though wasted for the most part, certainly kept up the pressure on the Black Cats defense. He appeared to regain the confidence of his teammates as well, as their shyness to go to the left flank became less apparent. Real Madrid came to Anfield that following Tuesday and shockingly, Riera did not even make the bench. His omission leads me to speculate that Rafa does not believe Riera has the physical ability nor mental sharpness this late in the season to play more than one match a week. It's also convenient that we have plenty of left-side coverage in Ryan Babel, Fabio Aurelio, and Andrea Dossena, if needs be.

In our second meeting with United, Riera was solid, but not as scintillating as he was in the first match. Dossena once again played well and I think that may have caught the Spaniard's attention since he came out on fire against Villa, putting on one of his best performances of his short Liverpool career. It wasn't just his world class finish, but his pass completion percentage was a ridiculous 94% on a season high 52 balls played. Not to mention his making Nigel Reo-Coker not an option at right back for Villa anymore.

I'm not sure you could go as far as to say that Riera is the main factor in our results, but he's certainly an important one. When he's playing well, he takes out the right side attacking options of our opponents and those who lack all-round right sided wingers, like say, Manchester United, are completely exposed. I have to concur if Rafa is resting the Spaniard for one match a week, as he has shown the wear and tear has had effect, which leaves Benitez with some strategy to ponder with our four upcoming ties.

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.

12 points from Man U & Chelsea

It's a bit baffling to think we've taken the double from the two top squads in the league, but it may be a bit more confounding to realize that we've managed only six pts in six matches against four of the eight bottom sides (Tottenham, Hull, Stoke, and Middlesborough). In the end, those results are probably going to be what keeps us from the title.

Though not impossible, it is very much improbable, and as Benitez states, we must win our final nine contests to have any sort of chance. Taking a gander at our remaining schedule, closing out the campaign with twenty-seven points is a doable feat. The toughest matches left being versus Arsenal and Villa, but both of those are at Anfield. Away to West Ham and a visit from those pesky Spurs aren't going to be easy either, but then again, no match is nor should be approached as so, something United's defenders should have probably taken into account before today's contest.

The most impressive feat about today's match? That unless soccerbase.com is incorrect or my eyes have failed me*, Man U has never allowed 4 goals in a Premiership match at Old Trafford. NEVER. In fact, you have to go back to December 30, 1978, when the Mancs lost to West Brom, 5-3, in the old first division, to find a result of four or more allowed in the league. 30 years ago. Quite impressive.

Well, six days until we find out our next Champions League opponent and eight until we face Villa at home. Until then, cheers.

*EDIT - I stand corrected (or maybe I should look into wearing glasses). They allowed 4 goals against QPR at Old Trafford on January 1st, 1992. Still though, that was a first division match, so they truly never have allowed 4 at home in the Prem.

Top of the table... again... for now...

What a match, though for all intents and purposes, the theatrics I could do without. Our boys were clearly the better side from start to finish and for us to have to come back from a 1-0 deficit to begin with, was the biggest joke of all. If Nugent was onside, then so was Kuyt (on his called-back goal, of course)... EASILY. Nothing surprises me from an Evertonian though, as Nugent showed his true scum colors by trying every move in the book to cheat Liverpool of three points. Sorry, son, you lost.

Like it or not, Rafa's tactics worked. Ngog was effective as his speed kept the Pompey back four at bay, scared to leave the Frenchman unmarked for more than a few seconds. Benayoun continued his brilliant form, causing chaos throughout the pitch. The only real disappointment was Babel, who missed a mind-blowing sitter (who the hell uses their right foot on a right to left cross?) and still failed to find the pass when covered by multiple defenders. Somebody is open, somewhere, even if you have to pass it back, it's better than losing possession. In his defense though, he scared the living crap out of the defenders with his threatening pace.

The most effective aspect of Rafa's gameplan? Resting Kuyt, Xabi, and Torres until later in the match. He used his younger and less worn players to wear down the opposition, which made them easy pickings when the more experienced came on.

One thing I found amusing, for two reasons actually, is how hard Crouch played. First, if he had played that hard for us, he'd probably still have a place on our squad and second, he was still pretty much ineffective.

My player of the match goes to Yossi Benayoun. He was effectively everywhere throughout and set-up the match winning goal. As for the rest of the squad, no one played particularly horrible, but I've seen better days from Babel and Mascherano. I would also like to add that Aurelio played particularly well for basically playing out-of-position at central midfield for a majority of the match.

I know I said in my pre-match blog that a goal against us would be embarrassing, but while watching the match I realized that a lot of our 'defensive-minded' players, saw this as more of an opportunity to show their attacking abilities and in that way, it sort of backfired. I wouldn't go as far as to call it 'delusions of grandeur' (except for in maybe Mascherano's case) though. Agger and Aurelio were far from incompetent in what they offered on attack.

Well, two weeks and a day until Man City. Let's hope for a healthy return for all our internationals. Cheers.

The Tinkerman tinkers versus Portsmouth

No Torres, Xabi, Riera, nor Kuyt to start. Strangeways here we come... again. Torres being worn and Xabi being knocked are understandable... somewhat, but the absences of Kuyt and Riera are a bit baffling. Cahill and Arteta as well as a plethora of others played today for Everton?

Anyways, with that said, I like when Benitez gambles, as long as it works, but today's line-up is severely defensive-minded. Five defenders plus Mascherano? Agger has the ability to play midfield as he is good enough on the ball and an adequate passer with the talent to make the occasional great play. Not sure if he's to start there along side Masche though. Dossena and Aurelio on the left should be interesting as both players like going forward. No matter what though, a Pompey goal against will be nothing short of embarrassing.

On the attack side, it's going to be up to Benayoun to lead. Yossi has been playing exceptionable lately though, hopefully that will rub off on Babel and Ngog. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Mascherano or even Carragher uncharacteristically forward. Here's to being back on top by the end of ninety.

contemplating tottenham

My first post in who-knows-how-long and it's about another club. Go figure. Anyways, I have soft place in my heart for the Spurs. I've honestly never met a White Hart Lane fan that I didn't like, maybe that's just dumb luck, but it also doesn't hurt that Berbatov the Impaler (who I hate now, btw) won me a pretty penny last season with his late game heroics against West Ham in one of the best matches I've ever watched.

To get to the point of this post, after watching Stoke embarrass them, I was thinking about the Spurs squad and wondering just how talented it is. Which players would make our squad? And would they even see the pitch? The only player who I thought would get decent time is Alan Hutton. I love the Scot and rate him higher than Arbeloa despite the fact that he looks as if he's 23 going on 40.

Other players I wouldn't mind having around are Pavlyuchenko, Huddlestone, Lennon, Luka Modrić, and David Bentley. Not sure if any of them would get enough minutes to be content, but I could definitely see the Russian being a late game replacement at striker and Modrić clearly has the talent to break into the starting side. Bentley would be a decent option on the right, but it would come down to availability and match-ups. The kids would likely wallow in lesser cup/match limbo for the most part and for a player like Huddlestone, I'm not sure that would be the best for their development.

It goes without saying, the Spurs are in shambles. A sad state of affairs that doesn't look to improve anytime soon. If you can't beat a mediocre side like Stoke with an obviously more-talented squad, than something is very, very wrong. I just don't think Ramos, who is the second-worst manager in Spurs history record-wise, understands the English game. Defense isn't exactly the strong point of the Spanish game and unlike La Liga, the Premiership sees no shame in nil-nil results. If he's trying to bring wild-style matches to England, well, he's failing miserably. They didn't look much a threat to score multiple goals today nor any day for that matter. Calling Big Sam?

God Bless the Fates for Dirk Kuyt?

Gees, what a way to win the match. Played useless for most the match and then he comes up with the most important goal for the season so far. No big surprise.

So I've slept through the season so far, this match being little difference. In our defense, Liege played 8 back for the majority, but with the amount of talent we have, it shouldn't have been this hard.

My man of the match? Well, nobody, really. Skrtel was somewhat of a standout, but for the most part no one appeared to be able to figure out the Pandora's Jar that was Liege's defense. Nabil El Zhar and Babel certainly streesed out their defense though.

Well, hopefully our run of playing less than mediocre and producing results will continue this weekend.

'Yeah, but how many of those were penalties?'

I can't remember how many times I heard that question when we signed Torres in the off-season. Some were even mislead to believe that he would be as turnover prone as Luis Garcia. Oh, how the football geniuses must be red-faced now. Sure, 'the Golden One' is far from perfect, but he's easily the best forward in the Premiership and well worth the £20m+ price tag.

I'll admit I myself was a skeptic, but as I was watching Tevez today, all I could think about was how much better El Niño is than 'the Little Argentine that could.' Hell, Masche is certainly the better of the pair to cross the pond and though I won't expound more than necessary, I still believe El Jefecito is our best and probably most valuable player.

'Somewhat disappointed' would have been a good way to describe my feelings before the season started when we failed to get 'the Cave Dweller' and had to 'settle' for Torres. I don't mind being wrong, sometimes I actually enjoy it. 27 goals in 36 matches? Ridiculous. Highlighted by brilliant goals against Chelsea, Internazionale at the San Siro, and countless others. Not to mention the three hat-tricks, the three braces, and the fact that he didn't even play in the 8-0 thumping of Besitkas.

I often ask myself if I have any faith left in Benitez and it's hard to say. As meaningless as it is, the recent relatively easy taking of the Dallas Cup by the Reserves side certainly gives me some hope that the youth movement Rafa is trying to instill not only with that side, but the Academy as well, allows me some patience. I just hope some of those kids develop in time to help Stevie-G bring home the Premiership. After all, he's only got a few more years in the shirt.

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.

And the man in black steals the show...

How appropriate on the most holy of holiest days. Respect for the FA? Laughable to say the least. No one had money on Man U today, the payback wasn't worth it. Logic, reasoning, and rationality rarely applies to those who are pathological about illogical, unreasonable, and irrational desires.

Maybe the collapse of the world economy will be a good thing. Maybe then those who can afford to bet millions with a better chance of making a profit will invest in the 'heavy favorites'. After all, it is probably a more stable investment than anything other than gold at the moment.

I would have liked to see Kewell or Pennant get some time on the pitch, but then again, I would have also liked to see the match called fairly. A momentary lapse of reason? I'm having a laugh. God bless the ghost of Tom Joad and Merry Easter to all.

A yellow for speaking to a ref? You're having a laugh.

Just the fact that he already had a weak yellow and appeared quite restrained in his conversion with 'Sir Bennett' negates any legitimacy to the call. If that's the case, Rooney should have been suspended from the league for life by now.

The show must go on with all the revisionist rule writing one can fathom. Get creative, fellars.

'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.

Liverpool 2, Inter 0: The show must go on...

All we heard coming into this match is how this was Rafa's last stand or how 'awesome' Inter, the supposedly best side in Europe, was going to 'crush' Liverpool. Fueling the delusions of the betting man, whether intentional or not. Unfortunately this win was about as legit as our American owners promises of bringing back the glory days. Not that I think Liverpool wouldn't have won otherwise.

Even when it was eleven-all, the Reds were the better, if not dominate side. When Materazzi was sent off, it was merely a matter of time. The fact that 'the Matrix' was the subject of 'poor' refereeing is comical nonetheless. Here's a player, who when he actually plays football, is pretty good, but he's also smart enough to know that he doesn't to be effective. His 'style of play' makes it almost too easy for a ref to give advantage to an opposing side. Nevertheless the red card was undeserving, though the powers-at-be had to protect their most likely scoring prospect.

Once again Rafa got away with poor tactics by not starting Pennant on the right. Hate him for his style of play, shady past, skin-color, what may you will, JP was a key to what little success we had last year in the Premiership and the Champions League. Even in this match he was misused by his teammates, who appeared to have forgotten what it was like to play with him. Regardless, he still had a hand in both goals.

Taking out Babel, even for Pennant, was also a little baffling since he didn't appear fatigued and was still somewhat a threat. As was taking out Lucas for Crouch. Crouch was once again useless if not detrimental to his own side. Even with service from Finnan, Pennant, and Aurelio, the 'lanky one' did nothing. If he has to rely on the perfect pass to be effective, then he is essentially ineffective.

Kuyt, on the other hand, looked once again as if he was taking 'Cristiano Ronaldo' pills. Maybe he is taking the PESs that the Portuguese Prince and his teammates have been taking for years. If so, more power to him, it gave him actual pace and made some decent decisions with the ball. In other words, he didn't appear to be a liability.

No one was really outstanding for the entire match though Torres did put forth a commendable effort. Gerrard made up for small snafus with his brilliant strike and it appeared 'the ghost of Momo Sissoko' had possessed Mascherano at times. If I had to pick a man of the match, why not award the man who gifted us a relatively easy win, Frank De Bleeckere. Until the next farce, keep lying to yourself, reading spineless crap, and most of all, betting against Liverpool. Cheers.

A win tomorrow would be the worse possible thing

Here we are again at about the same point we were last year. All that's left is the Champions League and quite frankly, I hope that dream ends tomorrow... but it probably won't. Losing to Barnsley was nothing more than a confidence boost to all those poor betting addicts who think the Reds have no chance against the big, bad Internazionale. Go ahead, make your wager, it's a done deal. Bet the house, the kid's college money, and then make sure to have a rafter to set the noose. The show must go on.

Rafa made one glaring mistake in the Barnsley match and whether he did it intentionally or not, matters little. Babel, who was clearly our catalyst on attack, should have been left on the field until the final whistle. He appeared to be the only player with a clue about how to bring the ball up. My apologies to Xabi, of course, who once again displayed his brilliant passing abilities, but appears too timid to play too far forward, especially with the less-disciplined Lucas at his side.

I could beat a dead white elephant, but what's the point? Crouch is useless. He has no pace and even less creativity. Against a side that made Dirk Kuyt look like an Olympic class sprinter, Crouch was a witless turtle playing against apparently genius Championship-level hares. Not that Kuyt deserves any praise himself, he as well deserves no place on our club.

Where was Jermaine Pennant? When we finally got our act together in the league last season it was because of JP becoming the main ball-carrier and creator on attack. Yossi is not a true winger and having him out there supposedly playing that position only creates congestion and frustration. Having him out there with Crouch and Kuyt is borderline insane, stupid, or criminal, you can decide that which best fits your feelings.

Don't get me wrong, winning tomorrow would be great, except it would only see Rafa staying on longer and the American owners sticking around as well. Two things I could do without. Of course, the 'Golden Child' will be back and hopefully will stay fit for the entire contest and Masche will be back at Stevie-G's side.

As a supporter I have little reason to be optimistic about our club. A whole lot of change will have to happen this offseason for me to think otherwise. New owners, new manager, Crouch and Kuyt sold, Hyypia retired, Kewell apparently gone since he's no longer getting much playing time, and the infusion of some of the youngsters like Paul Anderson would be nice. What we be even more nicer would know Hicks' and Gillet's true agenda.

Kewell and Pennant should be starting

I love Babel and Lucas, but I would have gone with King Harry and JP on the wings. Pennant scored against the Bluesers last year.

Of course the outcome will justify Rafa's decision either way.

Skrtel, Skrtel, Sktrel, he's not made of clay...

A special pair of boots...

A special pair of boots,
Our D-agger wears a special pair of boots.

Gees.
Let's hope he's back to best form as soon as humanly possible.

Swansea or Everton? Yes, it's that bad.

Until the Americans go and frankly, until we get a more qualified manager (Sorry, love Rafa, but I'm tired of defending someone who's clearly out of his element), I'm done giving a rat's ass about this squad. I'll always be a Liverpool supporter, but basically I currently find it to be a waste of my time and emotions. Sorry Stevie-G.

Why Crouch is still around is beyond baffling. Kuyt has clearly lost the plot and should probably be sent elsewhere as well.

I could reiterate everything in this article, but seriously, what's the point. We'll make Europe and blah blah.

Swansea it is.

Liverpool 0, West Ham 1: All you can do is laugh

Apparently handballs in the box aren't penalties and dives where the player (Lundjberg, in this case) had zero chance at a goal are. I'm so tired of the farce that is the Premier League, let's just hope we don't get screwed in the Champions League again. We are playing an Italian team though. Ha ha ah.

Liverpool nearly upset? What a joke.

And I'm not talking about our performance. I'm referring to the onslaught of garbage the press is force feeding the general public, most who didn't even see the match and won't look at the facts. The truth is this was a no contest. The truth is Havant scored on a set-piece, which any club can do against any other club no matter the differential in talent. The truth is the other goal was a deflection off Skrtel, ruled an own goal. The truth is Liverpool won quite easily, by three goals, but I guess the press has to conjure up bullshit to rectify and prove their control over the ignorance that is so rampant in the football world. At least the casual fan will concur. A farce nonetheless and it should have been worse if it weren't for a futile performance from the king of such, yes, I'm referring to one Peter Crouch.

The positives were abundant. Lucas opened up his scoring account for us with this piece of brilliance:

The kid is going to be a legend.

A lot of the attack went through Babel and Pennant, even though Benayoun will get most of the superficial credit since he did get a hat trick. It appears that Babel is finally learning that he doesn't have to go it alone, as the final goal by Crouch, which the young Dutchman set-up by finding Gerrard in the box on the left. Stevie-G then set it across to an offside Crouch who easily tapped it in. Yes, he was offside, but at that point it mattered little, the match was over.

Pennant looked like his old trickster self, bobbing and weaving his way through the Havant defense like a ghost through a graveyard. I was really glad to see him back to such form. He'll never get the credit he justly deserves since his past will allow the shallow their self-righteous judgments, but in reality, JP's style of play is eclectic and produces results. I hope this performance convinces Rafa that Pennant is deserving of more pitch time.

Havant deserve plenty of credit for playing hard and not giving in. They almost had a third, on a set play, if it weren't for a brilliant stop by Itandje. Their play was inspiring and the flow of their attack was quite impressive, if not lackluster. Defensively though they were as porous as a sponge and their wall-building schemes only managed to leave them stagnant. I could have also done without their overt physicality which was more prone to nearly injuring our players than accomplishing anything else.

As for negatives, well, I could go off on a tangent on how bad Crouch was, but why bother? Once again he showed he's not much better than an amateur. I fear what would have happened if Torres had started, which is another point, we didn't put out our best side and won by three goals. Enough said.

You're a f&@kin' idiot if you think Liverpool is in a crisis

Things happen for a reason. My computer went schizo a couple of weeks back and at the time I was bit stressed out about it, but now, I'm glad it happened. Why? It allowed me to once again realize how much rubbish is the press. I have had some computer access, as you may tell, so I would peruse the headlines and read an article or two, but for the most part, not much was worth writing about.

Is it just me or is every little nook and cranny involved with LFC blown out of proportion these days? Man U has a Christmas party where a woman is raped, a player is arrested, and that seems to get less coverage than Harry Kewell not worrying over a contract renewal. Analyzing the agenda of the media is easier said than done, but discussing the size of mountains with blind moles is a waste of everyone's time.

I'm not disillusioned by our recent run of form. I'm more baffled by the 'ignorance' of the media, that's a joke of course. I've said it a million times in the past and I'll say it a million more times until it happens, give Rafa some real money, some Abramovich money, some Glazer money, and we'll win either the league or the Champions League every year. I've already disproved any nonsense that he's had such funds, so you're a fucking idiot if you think otherwise.

We are not Premiership contenders, we never were. We have not invested near the amount of money to even lay claim to do so. For those who want to argue that neither has Arsenal, I have a some insight for you: Arsenal will not win the title this year. Sorry, Gunners fans, Wenger doesn't play the game and gets screwed for not doing so. If he did, Arsenal would have won the title the last two years and would have had a substantial lead already this season.

It's time to forget about the Premiership and turn to the Champions League and the FA Cup. Even if we get David Villa, I don't think we'll be able to make up the ground in the Premiership nor will we be allowed anyhow. It's not Rafa's fault nor Steven Gerrard's (such a fucking joke, btw) nor any other player's and at the moment, nor the owner's fault either. If they don't lock down Mascherano though...

All I want to know is why the press concentrates on such a 'little' club like Liverpool? It's laughable to say the least. We're not in a crisis of any sort. We're an improved side from last season and ultimately, that's all that matters. Whether we get the funds to compete with the best is yet to be seen, but I don't appreciate being lead on, lied to, or ridiculed by idiots who are too stupid to know better. Torres was a great start, but if that's all Hicks/Gillett are going to give us, be honest with us supporters or sell the club. Please.

Liverpool vs Wigan: Pennant's back! WTF?!

Here's the line-up:
Reina
Aurelio
Carragher
Arbeloa
Finnan
Kewell
Xabi
Mascherano
Pennant
Gerrard
Torres

Bench:
Itandje
Riise
Benayoun
Crouch
Kuyt

Wow. Didn't see that one coming, but really pleased we now have a true right winger out there. A bit odd that Crouch isn't starting with him though. I guess Rafa has enough faith in Gerrard and Torres to head the ball in from JP's and Aurelio's crosses. I'm pretty excited, nonetheless.

My second thought was where's Babel? He's not even on the bench, but Kuyt and Crouch are? Even with Benayoun, it doesn't leave us with many options of pace. I'd have put Babel there instead of Kuyt.

I also don't understand why we're going with a fully loaded squad. It's Wigan, not even a top ten side. If we don't get all three points here, we might as well pack it in and fully concentrate on Champions League. Absolutely no excuses, not even with Arbeloa at centre-back. God forbid if there's an injury, that has me more nervous than anything.

Liverpool vs Wigan: What will Rafa do?

With Crouch back from suspension, Voronin possessing fresh legs, and Wigan the opponent at Anfield, I don't see why Rafa wouldn't give Torres the match off here. That would ultimately result in a two week holiday, assuming that he isn't used for our FA Cup tie on Sunday at Luton. El Niño would, of course, be on the bench, in an emergency roll in at least the Lactics tie.

I think the same goes for Gerrard, Mascherano, and possibly even Harry Kewell. A midfield of Xabi and Momo would seem efficient, with possibly Lucas joining them as well and Babel going up front to make a 4-3-3 formation.

The Agger situation is getting more and more discouraging. I'm hoping that he gets a run out here, but if he doesn't get one at Luton, the injury is more severe than they're letting on. Let's just hope it's not career threatening. With that said, I guess Hobbs will start at CB since Hyypia is supposedly out until the 12th. I would go with Arbeloa, but I don't think Finnan can go for the third time in a week.

Here's my final guess:
Reina
Riise
Carra
Hobbs
Arbeloa
Xabi
Sissoko
Lucas
Voronin
Crouch
Babel

Bench:
Itandje
Aurelio
Gerrard
Kuyt
Torres

Xabi might have be prepared to play a little centre back if needed. I'm pretty confident in the three points there, but not as impressively done as would like. Probably 2-0 with Babel getting at least one of 'em. Cheers.