The League Cup Effect part 2 : The Club

 Sunday wasn't just about a day out for the fans and medals for the players, it was an important occasion for the club as a whole. We've had alot of negative press over the course of this season, some of it hyped up over-reaction and some of it brought on by the club's own actions, the image of Steven Gerrard lifting a trophy gives our season something else to be remembered for and hopefully will bring us back into the affections of the neutrals we may have lost along the course of the past few months. With a little luck and alot of hard work we can add the FA Cup to the Carling Cup and that can only add to our positive worldwide image. I truly believe that Liverpool are not hated the way clubs like Chelsea and Man Utd are, ok we have certain rivals who despise us, but in the eyes of the football community we're basically a good club who is fairly well liked. Winning silverware will help our image amongst supporters of other teams, the line 'Liverpool Football Club exists to win trophies' sounds a bit hollow unless we can back it up on the pitch.

 There are still people out there who believe the appointment of Kenny Dalglish as manager was a purely sentimental decision, the team achieving success on the pitch justifies their decision to put Kenny back in charge. I was one of the sceptical ones when he came back as boss, I thought he had been away from the game a little too long but he has won me over with ease and must be doing the same with others. It's fantastic to see someone so respected within the sport having the success his profile, attitude and love of the game deserves. Kenny has made some big calls throughout the League Cup campaign and Sunday's victory owes more to him than to anyone else.

 Post match video from the dressing room shows Ian Ayre and Damian Comolli celebrating with the owners in a dignified but clearly very happy manner. The sight of John Henry in the dressing room with a glass of beer is great, and the more the owners enjoy our success the hungrier they will be for more. For them, new to the sport, seeing the team win something is a clear sign of progression and even though we're not where we want to be in the league yet it shows that spending money on players will bring rewards. The money we have spent could be expected to bring more than just the Carling Cup but we don't yet have the spending power of the Manchester clubs or Chelsea so it is a case of taking small steps on the way to the summit. The support from the fans on Sunday and the exposure the victory brings us is another good advert for a new stadium, the increased revenue from that would allow us to kick on and join the other biggest spenders in England and Europe. This first taste of success could tempt the owners into spending on more than just players..

 While the League Cup doesn't have the same appeal outside of England as the FA Cup does, it is still respected domestically and winning it will help attract new players to the club. Experienced big name players may not join purely on the strength of one League Cup success but promising young players will be excited to sign for Liverpool if they think a medal is a realistic possibility.

 There are probably more positives to be drawn from Sunday as an occasion than as a performance, if we can capitalise as a brand aswell as a team on the momentum generated from winning the Carling cup then the future can be alot brighter than it has looked for a few years. All in all a good weekend at Wembley.

The League Cup Effect part 1 : The Players

 Winning on penalties at Wembley on Sunday and bringing home the first trophy of the season should give everyone at the club a huge lift, especially the players. Fans of other teams have been very quick to point out 'it's only the Carling Cup' but this season we're not in Europe, we're not realistically challenging for the league so that leaves two competitions for us, we've won one and have a home draw in the quarter final of the other, can we ask for much more? Some of the press and opposition fans have been attempting to take the shine off our triumph by saying we didn't play well in the final and while this is true, the final alone does not win you a competition. It's very rare a team wins a tournament without a dodgy performance somewhere along the way. If we had beaten Cardiff on penalties in the quarter final and beaten Chelsea 2-0 in the final I think we would be getting alot more credit than we seem to be and this emphasises the role the entire squad has played in simply getting us to Wembley and really marks it down as a victory for all the playing staff, not just the starting XI in the final.

 Experienced Liverpool players like Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher must have had occasional thoughts that their careers may end without winning another trophy so this will certainly lift some of that self inflicted pressure from their shoulders and allow them to play with more freedom in the future. It will also serve as a reminder to them of how it feels to lift silverware for Liverpool and provide them with more determination to taste success in the red shirt again.

 Younger members of our squad, the likes of Jay Spearing, Martin Kelly, Jack Robinson, John Flanagan and Sebastian Coates have all played a part in our run to the final and can have a feeling that they have contributed to another victory for Liverpool Football Club. Only Spearing and Kelly made it into the final matchday squad but the others were all sat on the bench and heavily involved in the post match celebrations, as they deserved to be. Watching the victory from close quarters and contributing along the way can only aid their development as footballers and bodes well for the future of our club.

 Maybe the most important aspect of the cup win is the effect it could have on our higher profile new arrivals, Downing, Carroll, Henderson and Adam have all impressed in patches but haven't yet hit a consistent run of form. Winning a trophy for Liverpool should give them all confidence in their own ability to make it at this level, they haven't held the team back and they belong in a side that competes for honours. Henderson is a good footballer but is quite clearly still learning the game, watching his own performance on such a big stage can help him identify which aspects of his game he needs to work on to allow him to perform consistently for us. Charlie Adam did okay but his need to improve his defensive qualities was evident, he can take heart from many aspects of his performance on Sunday but can also use the game as something to learn from. Andy Carroll worked hard and there are no complaints about his effort against Cardiff but he can take an obvious lesson from playing almost 100 minutes only to see the man who replaced him for the last 20 score what at the time looked like being our winning goal. If that doesn't emphasise to Carroll the importance of being clinical and taking on the responsibility of scoring goals for the team then nothing will. Stuart Downing has improved over the last few weeks and wasn't a definite starter at Wembley but he took the man of the match award, totally justifying Kenny's choice to play him. He stuck his penalty away with composure and lets hope he now knows how he has to perform in order to regularly win trophies.

 For players like Pepe Reina, Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger, Glen Johnson and Luis Suarez who are happy at Liverpool it reassures them that the club is heading in the right direction. These players must have caught the eye of one or two other clubs and we must remain competitive in order to keep our better players, the likes of Torres, Alonso and Mascherano have proved very difficult to replace so it is essential we keep hold of senior players like this so we can challenge for major honours, winning trophies like this can only help convince these players to stay with us.

Good Watch

 This is good to watch, Phil Thompson is LFC through and through. Click anywhere on that last sentence to watch.

Weekend Views

 It’s the day after the League Cup final victory and despite not winning the game convincingly it’s still a good feeling to know we’ve got a trophy in the cabinet before the end of February. I’m going to write in more detail about what the victory means tomorrow but for today I’m going to write about a few things I observed from this weekend’s football.

 Man City don’t yet have the belief required to win the title. Imagine the scene, it’s Anfield, late February and we’re 3-0 up with ten minutes to go, victory will take us five points clear of Man Utd at the top of the league with twelve games remaining – Anfield would be rocking, absolutely bouncing, full of noise and atmosphere. Compare that with the reality of the Etihad Stadium on Saturday tea time, City were in that exact position and the stands were half empty and silent, the result was beyond doubt but instead of that meaning it was time for celebration it simply meant it was time to head home. If the belief they will win the title doesn’t come from the stands it won’t reach the team. I’ve felt Man City fans aren’t matching their team since the Carling Cup semi finals when they failed to sell out their allocation for either the home or away legs against us. Oldham sold all their tickets for their FA Cup 3^rd round visit to Anfield, as did Brighton for the 5^th round clash despite having to travel huge distances to the game for a 4:30pm kick off on a Sunday for a game that was on TV. Man City’s owners have got a huge task on their hands turning the club into a worldwide brand if they can’t generate high levels of interest in their own back yard. This may change with time but the signs so far are not good. There are several teams, the likes of Aston Villa, Everton, Newcastle, that consider themselves to be sleeping giants only needing the right opportunity to see them rise to their rightful place at the top. Man City should be a warning to them that things don't always go as well as you expect. Football fans support their team win or lose so the expectation that stadiums will begin to fill as the team begins to win are slightly unrealistic. And the new fans who turn up only because the team has heavy investment can be the type of fan the traditional supporter doesn't have any time for.

 Mud sticks – but only if someone slings it. I saw Gareth Bale dive to win a penalty against Arsenal and the commentators said ‘there was no contact’ but didn’t use the word ‘cheat’ or ‘dive’ or even ‘unsporting’ to describe it. In fact the debate for the rest of the half and at half time focused more on why the ref didn’t send off the Arsenal keeper than the fact Bale blatantly cheated and it shouldn’t have been a penalty to begin with. Bale also dived at Anfield when running past Daniel Agger recently and should be picking up a reputation as a cheat but as he is still the next great hope nobody seems willing to criticise him. Kenny Miller dived twice in the Carling Cup final, once running next to Downing when he just dropped to the floor looking at the ref and the commentator had the cheek so say he ‘slipped’. It’s not just one commentator, it’s all of them, they seem very unwilling to tell the full truth about the majority of players. Contrast all this to the reaction Suarez gets when he goes down. I’ll be honest, he exaggerates his falls sometimes, he gets his body between the defender and the ball so he gets kicked, he appeals for free kicks frequently when he is on the receiving end of a hard but fair challenge, but I’ve honestly not seen him go down under no contact. His close control is excellent and he keeps the ball right next to his feet so regularly when a defender wins the ball from him they will also take his foot leading him to believe he’s been fouled when he hasn’t. It was after such a challenge on Sunday when Alan Smith said Suarez didn’t win the free kick as his reputation went before him. The ball was won cleanly and the follow through went through Suarez, there was a fairly hefty amount of contact but it wasn’t a foul and it wasn’t a dive, no need for any such comment from Smith. There was also a second half incident when a long range shot struck an outstretched Cardiff arm in the penalty area, Suarez appealed for a penalty. It happened at speed and I’m not going to criticise the ref for missing it but TV replays showed it was handball and the closest person to it with the best view was Luis Suarez. Cue several replays from different angles of Suarez appealing, making him look like he was trying to con the ref when what should’ve been said was ‘that was a clear handball and you can’t blame him for appealing for a penalty in a cup final’.

 To be successful you need an organised defence. Cardiff didn’t offer a whole lot going forward but deserved to take us to penalties on the strength of their well organised defending as a team. Putting that sort of effort into keeping the opposition out can bring real rewards and if they had been a bit better at taking penalties their defence would’ve won them the trophy.

 You can be successful with a shocking defence as long as you’re good going forward. Arsenal were an absolute shambles at the back against Spurs and could’ve conceded far more than the two they did on Sunday but still came out with a fantastic win courtesy of their quick and accurate attacking. Arsenal’s performance in the North London derby was a coaches dream if he’s looking for examples of what to do and of what not to do in a football match.

 Penalties are the fairest way to decide a game. Steven Gerrard’s penalty was saved, Charlie Adam’s went somewhere close to the moon and all of a sudden you need to think of a better way to decide a drawn game. And you need to think of something that can be approved and implemented within the next thirty seconds or so. Think fast. Goal attempts? No, it will just encourage people to shoot from the halfway line so their team has more attempts. Fouls commited? Nah, will just encourage players to cheat to win more free kicks. Running from the halfway line with the ball, ten seconds to score? Nope, did you see how tired the players were at the end of the match? It wouldn’t really be a spectacle. Cardiff miss three penalties and you can only reach one conclusion - at the end of the day penalties are not only the most entertaining way to select a winner but they are the fairest and should never be replaced.

 Those, ladies and gentlemen, are my thoughts. YNWA.

Pens Again

 The first trophy of the season goes to Liverpool! Can't do any more than that, only one piece of silverware up for grabs so far and we have our hands firmly gripped on all three handles. Well done to all the lads, not just the ones who played today but practically the entire first team squad has been involved in this competition at some point and contributed to us reaching the final so congratulations all round.


 The game itself was a curious affair, Liverpool almost totally dominating possession and having not just the bulk of the goal attempts but pretty much all of them, Cardiff defending not only stubbornly but expertly at times and providing a real advert for the quality of Championship football. 


 To say Cardiff's opener was against the run of play would be an understatement, it was one of only two attempts on goal they had in the entire first half, but it gave them an advantage to defend and they did that very well, any time we went forward we struggled to find any space in the box as their two banks of four closed down our danger men effectively. Long range attempts were our best form of goal threat, none more so than when Glen Johnson hit the bar from twenty five yards in the opening couple of minutes. Slack defending cost us dear after eighteen minutes when the unmarked Miller played through the unmarked Mason to put a tidy finish past Reina. The first half continued as it had begun, a red tide sweeping forward time after time but unable to fashion a real clear cut chance until Daniel Agger headed straight at the keeper form Gerrard's free kick. 


 The second half was more of the same, Bellamy replaced the ineffective Henderson and we looked more likely to score but a set piece was always going to be our best option against such a resolute defensive unit. And so it proved to be, Carroll heading goalwards, Suarez almost turning it in but finding the post in the way and Martin Skrtel placing the rebound into the Cardiff net. The Bluebirds tired as the game went on and it looked like we were going to win inside the ninety minutes but despite mounting pressure the clear cut chance we craved eluded us. Carra came on for Agger just before the end of normal time, the Dane off with a suspected broken rib.


 'The man for the big occasion' arrived early on in extra time, replacing Any Carroll who had a solid but unspectacular game. And Kuyt it was who put us in front with ten minutes or so remaining, a determined run at a tiring defence gave him a shooting chance, blocked, but the rebound fell kindly for deadly Dirk and he finished powerfully into the bottom corner. Despite it being all Liverpool and our opponents clearly tiring the game somehow never felt safe and a succession of corners three minutes from time gave them their equaliser. Cardiff really didn't deserve two goals from their afternoons attacking but they certainly merited a draw for their organisation and hard work and 2-2 wasn't an unfair reflection on the afternoon's efforts though it certainly didn't mirror the pattern of the game.


 Our first two penalties missed, Gerrard with a decent attempt very well saved and Charlie Adam blazing high over the bar, Kuyt and Downing coolly putting their spot kicks away. Cardiff hit the post with two of their first four kicks, setting up sudden death for the final kicks of the regulation five each. Alot of credit goes to Glen Johnson for stepping up as taker number five, not a regular penalty taker but his attempt didn't show that, flying straight into the top corner, advantage Liverpool. Anthony Gerrard  came forward for Cardiff and put his shot wide, we win 3-2 on penalties without Reina making a save!! 


 It was so good to see Liverpool lifting a trophy at Wembley for the first time in over a decade, let's hope it is the first of many in the coming seasons. After watching other teams picking up silverware it's fantastic for us to be back in the mix, adding the FA Cup in May remains a realistic target and today's win sets us up nicely for that.


 Being ahead so late on today but conceding, added to missing our first two spot kicks, gave the victory a strange feeling, it almost felt like we escaped losing rather than we actually won. But a victory it is and it will help our developing side improve, it was a tough game and the effort required to bring home the trophy shows everyone at the club the levels they need to reach and maintain for success in the future. I will look at what today's victory means for the rest of the season and how it will affect the club in a post later this week.


 A final note from today, that's now three finals in a row we've won on penalties, and in all of them we've conceded the first goal. It would be nice to win the next one more convincingly and not test all of our nerves but it has to be said, winning the hard way is infinitely better than not winning at all. I'm off for a Carling........

Luis Carroll

 Football history is littered with great players, people with real talent bordering on genius and these players are rightly regarded as legends of our sport. The right player can win games, even competitions, on their own, think of Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup dragging an average Argentinian team to the pinnacle with his breathtaking performances. Truly great players make victories happen. However, players like Maradona and Pele are so rare that you simply cannot rely on finding someone who can win things for you on their own, you need a team, and within that team you need players who compliment each others styles, players who gel, you need partnerships.

 Liverpool have had so many famous double acts down the years we have been spoilt, Keegan – Toshack, Rush – Dalglish, Hansen – Lawrenson to name but a few. In recent years we have had Gerrard – Hamman, Hyypia – Henchoz, Torres – Gerrard, Alonso - Mascherano and many more. Now is the time for the emergence of Carroll and Suarez. The game against Brighton last weekend saw the first ever Liverpool starting eleven containing these two and Steven Gerrard and we scored six goals, albeit against a rather helpful defence, but still six goals is a good afternoon’s work. There was plenty to admire in our performance but maybe the most significant moment came right at the end of the game when Carroll headed the ball across goal for Suarez to easily nod the ball into the net from close range. As goals go it was hardly a classic but the importance of our two expensive forwards combining to score cannot be overstated. The game was won well before full time and Kenny found himself in the enviable position of being able to choose who he wanted to take off and rest ready for this weekend’s final, and he chose to keep Suarez and Carroll on the pitch together. Could be one of his best decisions of the season.

 The majority of successful striking partnerships have a big man / little man dynamic and Carroll / Suarez certainly fits this. They are certainly not too similar to play together and both bring different strengths to the table. Think back to when Michael Owen was emerging and how rarely he and Robbie Fowler were paired together up front, they were seen as both bringing the same type of style to the team so weren’t often considered as a duo despite them both being excellent individual performers. Carroll fits the target man role, giving the defence a long ball option when we are under pressure, it’s amazing how quickly defence can turn into attack when a long kick upfield is won by the striker. He also makes the job easier for the wingers and full backs when it comes to getting the ball into the box and his attacking presence at corners has led to a couple of goals recently without him actually going near the ball. Suarez is the more skilful of the pair, able to keep the ball for the team until support arrives or on some occasions take on the opposition by himself. He can come deep to get the ball and is mobile enough to cause the full backs problems aswell as the centre backs, in short he’s a nightmare for the opposing manager to plan for.

 What the Suarez / Carroll partnership lacks is an obvious goalscorer, with the likes of Dalglish and Rush it was clear which of the pair was going to take on the responsibility for scoring the majority of the goals but neither Suarez or Carroll realistically looks like getting 20 league goals in a season so it is important they both chip in with 15 or so. At the end of the day a successful forward partnership will reach a certain number of goals between them, how they are shared is not so important but if that figure isn’t reached the team suffers. The way the two of them play the game suggests that Carroll more than Suarez will find himself directly in front of goal so he needs to become more clinical with his finishing but he certainly has the right manager to help him achieve this. Two promising young forwards looking to improve their game and form a deadly partnership couldn’t wish to be working under a better manager for them than Kenny Dalglish. And there can be no better place and time for the partnership to announce it’s arrival than at Wembley on Sunday in the League Cup Final.

A Bench Of Carraghers?

 Six months ago it seemed unthinkable that Liverpool could go into a big important game without Jamie Carragher in the team but Sunday sees a real possibility of that happening. Carra has been around the first eleven for going on fifteen years and has been a consistent starter for a decade, putting in whole hearted performances every week and very rarely slipping below an 8 out of 10. Sometimes his workrate, determination and obvious effort are cited as his biggest qualities but most Liverpool fans feel that is a little insulting and overshadows his real main quality – his ability. Jamie’s football brain often sees him in exactly the right place to make an important tackle and his influence on his team mates’ positioning has saved us from conceding many many more goals than his knack for sticking the ball into his own net has cost us. His long range passing isn’t a standout feature of his game but it’s certainly on a par with that of John Terry and other respected centre backs, and his intelligence when passing short allows us to retain the ball comfortably enabling the midfield to get on with its job of providing service to the front men. Jamie Carragher has not only been a fantastic servant to Liverpool Football Club but also a fantastic player for us, and he continues to be so, his performance against Brighton on Sunday was up to his usual standard.

 I’ve chosen to highlight our number 23 in the run up to Sunday’s Cup Final to show the harsh reality of being a professional footballer and it looks like Jamie could find himself very unlucky. Carra has been one of the first names on the teamsheet for ten years, a leader by attitude and a leader by example. He is LFC through and through and playing at Wembley for Liverpool would mean as much to him as it would to anybody, he has often spoken of how much he wants this and how proud it would make him. It’s hugely unfortunate that in the few months before our first Wembley final of the millennium he has lost his place in the team for the first time in a decade.

 What should Kenny do about the defence this weekend?

 Pick Carra for sentimental reasons? If chosen to partner either Martin Skrtel or Daniel Agger he wouldn’t let us down and including Jamie wouldn’t weaken the team but picking him purely so he can play at Wembley for Liverpool is kind of insulting to somebody who doesn’t deserve it. Jamie wants to be in the team on merit and more than anybody would hate to feel he got the sympathy vote.

 Leave Carra out of the side and play Agger and Sktrel? These two have been in excellent form and will provide the heart of our defence for years to come. They both deserve to be in the team at Wembley and it would hit either one of them hard if they were left out. They are both quick, strong, dominant in the air and, in real contrast to Carragher, goal threats. They should both be in the starting eleven.

 Change formation and play three centre backs? I think this is a real possibility, Kenny has played three central defenders a few times this season and, while the team has never looked totally comfortable with it, it is certainly a system they are not unfamiliar with. This would allow Gerrard, Adam, Henderson, Suarez and Carroll to provide our attacking threat, aided by Johnson and Enrique on the flanks. Downing and Kuyt have improved since the turn of the year but neither has been in undroppable form. Bellamy would be a good option out wide against a club that means so much to him but he hasn’t really featured in the last couple of matches so could justifiably be left on the bench. I would expect Cardiff to pack their midfield against Liverpool so 5-3-2 would mean we weren’t outnumbered in that area. The only downside is I don’t expect Cardiff to commit too many men forward, meaning we may have an extra central defender with very little to do, and you can’t afford any redundant positions in a cup final.

 Choosing how we line up on Sunday and informing those who don’t start of his decision is a part of Kenny’s job I wouldn’t want. As exciting as it is picking a team for a cup final it looks like there will be at least one very difficult call to make. Let’s hope we’re 4-0 up at half time and we have the opportunity to give plenty of time on the pitch to all of those who deserve it.

bAnthem Both

 A decision has been made by the powers that be not to play the national anthems of England and Wales before Sunday’s Carling Cup Final. The reasoning goes that they are worried the two sets of fans will be disrespectful towards the opposite anthem and in this current climate where behaviour in football is under the microscope it is wisest to avoid any potential flashpoint. It is a situation which the FA rarely comes up against, the vast majority of their showpiece occasions are fought out between two English sides so there is only cause to play one anthem that covers both clubs and fits the event perfectly.

 To be totally honest I hadn’t given a seconds thought to the fact that the national anthem would be played before Sunday’s match and even less thought that the Welsh anthem might be played. It’s easy to say that Cardiff choose to play in the English league so should just accept the God Save The Queen being played but football isn’t about reason, it’s about passion, identity and belonging and I think it’s only right that a team from the Welsh capital is represented by their own national anthem. I think where the FA have gone wrong in cutting out the traditional pre match ritual is forgetting they are dealing with Liverpool fans……

 I think the Liverpool supporters would treat both anthems with a similar amount of indifference, Merseyside is one of a number of areas around Britain where national pride is a very distant second to being proud of the region you come from and the English national anthem on Sunday would be more likely to be drowned out by You’ll Never Walk Alone than anything else. I suspect that if the Welsh anthem was played first the Liverpool fans wouldn’t be disrespectful towards it and then the Cardiff fans would follow on from this and behave appropriately. Liverpool supporters have had some fantastic times in Cardiff over the last few years and those memories don’t fade easily. If the English anthem was played first the Cardiff fans may chant over it or boo, setting the tone for the Liverpool fans to repeat the gesture minutes later. I think of the two sets of fans Cardiff certainly have stronger feelings towards both anthems than the Liverpool supporters do but on such a big occasion would surely be more concerned with supporting their own team than booing a rival national anthem.

 I think it’s a little disrespectful towards both sets of fans for the FA to infer that they don’t trust either group to know how to behave at a cup final and as long as football supporters are treated like children there is a likelihood they will act like them. Liverpool supporters have so much experience of finals that their ability to follow protocol should not be questioned, we are Liverpool and we represent our club and our opponents properly. The opposition goalkeeper ALWAYS gets applauded as he walks towards the Kop whoever he plays for and supporters of visiting European teams are warmly welcomed, often with fans groups arranging special events where the home and visiting fans can mix. I feel so little affinity for our national anthem that I won’t miss it if it’s not there at Wembley on Sunday so the FA’s decision doesn’t particularly concern me but it’s not nice to feel you’re not trusted by those who run the game. The game wouldn’t exist without the supporters so the FA need to show respect to those who deserve it the most.

Anyone Fancy A Carling?

 With this season’s first major final around the corner I thought I’d have a quick look back at our run to Wembley and see what stands out. To get to the final we’ve knocked out Exeter, Brighton, Stoke, Chelsea and Man City without having a home tie until the last possible game before the final itself, a 2-2 draw with City at Anfield. What is instantly noticeable is our away form, indeed our only home match of the competition is the only match we didn’t win, though we needed just a draw to progress. Over the last decade or so we’ve only really had one or two seasons where our away form has been anywhere approaching what it should be for a club of our stature who have invested what we have done in the transfer market. We’ve had some good results on out travels in the Champions League but haven’t produced consistent away results domestically which has certainly contributed to our lack of trophies since 2006. Ok it’s not all been plain sailing on our travels this season, Bolton, Fulham and Spurs stand out as poor results, but at least it feels Kenny is moving us in the right direction. Shown that set of fixtures before the tournament how many of us would have thought we wouldn’t have slipped up somewhere along the line?

 Another plus from this season’s League Cup campaign has been the use of our squad players and youngsters. Jack Robinson and John Flanagan both impressed at full back in tricky venues showing real promise and acting as very good adverts for the work being done at our Academy. I’ve long been an advocate of our young players bulking out the squad, I don’t see the point in paying £5million for the likes of a Salif Diao to play 10-15 games a season, Jay Spearing has proved over the last calendar year that our reserve players can fill that role when called upon without the need to enter the transfer market. Maxi has played the majority of the games and looked good, getting key goals at important times. Coates and Carragher have also had chances to stay match fitness and keep match practiced during spells out of the first team. I’m surprised Doni hasn’t had at least one game in goal but I suppose when you have the best keeper in the world it’s hard to leave him out.

 It’s long been said that success breeds success and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that after our good run in the Carling Cup all of our FA Cup ties have sold out. The game against Man Utd was always going to draw the fans in but recently fixtures against the likes of Oldham and Brighton would certainly not have been guaranteed full houses. With Wembley in our sights in one competition it really whets the supporters appetites for another trip in the FA Cup, the potential becomes real and even the most pessimistic of fans begins to sense it could be our year. We’re all in it together and the spirit and optimism in the stands helps the players through.

 With Arsenal and Chelsea having poor seasons and both sets of fans calling for the heads of their managers on every radio phone in a trophy by the end of February would be fantastic for Kenny Dalglish. We’re in a similar league position to the other two but our closeness to silverware is definitely helping the mood around the club and setting the tone for local newspaper coverage. It’s a season of transition for us and bedding new players in is always made easier with a trophy. It makes the players realise they are at the right club and sets the standards for what they need to achieve while they wear the red shirt. Roll on Sunday and let’s bring the trophy back to Anfield.

Cup Final Postponed!!

 Well it’s official and it’s the news nobody wanted to hear, this weekend’s Cup Final has been postponed. Some stadiums have an aura, a mythical spiritual quality that just makes them special, like a proper cathedral not just of football but of life and we dream of seeing our team emerge victorious from such a world famous arena. Gladiators doing battle and conquering their foes in such a special setting, the place where all children grow up wanting to play, it’s the stuff legends are made of. And not winning there since the 1990’s hurts, it hurts badly, watching other teams like Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea, hell even Blackpool winning there more recently isn’t easy. ‘It should be us, when is it our turn?’ the supporters scream. Winning anywhere else just doesn’t quite cut it, some victories have to happen at certain venues to make them right. A decade and a half of sleepless nights, just lying there picturing your heroes departing the pitch with victory secured, supporters pouring into the bars, tonight’s celebrations will never end, this will go down in history as a day to remember, no, as THE day to remember, the chance to say ‘I was there the day it happened’.

 It could so easily be the beginning of a new chapter in the clubs history, winning on an occasion like this can provide a springboard for careers, not just for the rest of the season. New signings get that feeling of belonging, of acceptance, old warriors get a new lease of life, a burst of energy they thought was long gone from their legs. Supporters get the chance to create new songs to celebrate the victory and tales to tell the grandchildren in years to come. The game being postponed is not good news, the anticipation is so great, the extra waiting time can only lead to greater expectancy and more pressure, it only makes things harder. Let’s hope the FA rearrange the game for as soon as possible, for the sake of sanity, it’s been too long, waiting any more will cause immeasurable almost unsurvivable heartache.

 Anyway, enough from the Everton fans about the Anfield derby being moved, it’s now time to concentrate on Liverpool’s forthcoming appearance in the Carling Cup Final at Wembley on Sunday.

Oggy Oggy Oggy!!!

 So a fairly comprehensive victory sees us progress to the quarter finals of the FA Cup where we will have another home tie, this time against Stoke. Quirky draws this season have seen us drawn away in every round of the League Cup and at home each time in the FA Cup. Stoke will provide a far tougher challenge than Brighton and we will have to be at our best to get through to the semi final but with Spurs and Chelsea still in the competition it could’ve been worse. I didn’t like knowing who our next opponents would be before we’d played our game as it felt a bit like tempting fate but it worked out well in the end.

 Brighton more than held their own in the first half and their supporters made a lot of noise, especially after their very well hit equaliser, but an FA Cup record three own goals in one match will have left them feeling bummed. Liverpool started well and Skrtel’s early headed goal gave the game an air of formality but when we were pegged back to 1-1 this all but disappeared. Good footwork by Suarez in the area created one or two chances for us and when we got the second, an own goal after a bit of pinball in the area just before half time, it was deserved. A good Andy Carroll strike, two more own goals and a late close range header from Suarez completed the rout. There was even time for Suarez to miss a penalty, possibly the last time he is allowed to take one for us, all credit to him for wanting it, he was clearly desperate to score in front of a Kop that had supported him all game, but the kick itself was tame and easily saved. We’ve now missed at least one penalty in every competition we’ve played in this season…

 An interesting side note to the actual football was the reaction of the away fans to our two strikers and the way they both dealt with it. Luis Suarez was booed for most of the game and this is something he’ll have to get used to. While the Brighton fans certainly didn’t cross any boundaries with their reaction to the Uruguayan it was certainly noticeable. Suarez kept his head down and didn’t react to the fans, even when the odd piece of poor control lead to cheers he just kept playing and didn’t rise to anything and at no point looked in any danger of losing his discipline. The support from the Liverpool fans for him throughout the game was loud and clear and obviously helped him. I think ultimately with Suarez what happens inside football stadiums will not be the deciding factor in whether or not he chooses to leave English football, I think he will only make up his mind to go if people on the street give him problems when he is out with his wife and child. He clearly loves and appreciates the Liverpool supporters and they feel the same about him.

 Andy Carroll was also on the Brighton fans radar and hopefully he will learn from his afternoon and it will help him improve as a player and emphasise to him the importance of having the right attitude. When he missed a chance he was on the end of ‘what a waste of money’ chants. He was then nudged easily off the ball and was subjected to donkey noise chants. A bad first touch led to ‘you’re getting sold in the summer’ taunts. Another occasion when he failed to make clean contact with the ball under pressure brought more donkey noises. Emphatically slamming the ball into the Brighton net from Downing’s pull back and the Brighton fans had nothing, no taunts, no jeers, nothing. The lesson? If you don’t want thousands of people making fun of you put the ball in the back of the net and they won’t have reason to. Carroll has shown in small doses that he can be a force at Liverpool, learning lessons and striving to improve could help him turn into an important player for us for years to come.

 Onwards to the quarter finals…………….

Up For The Cup

 Tomorrow is FA Cup 5th round day at Anfield and it should be good, knockout games at our stadium usually have a memorable moment or two and let's hope it's memorable tomorrow for a good home win. On paper at home against a lower division side should be a straightforward victory but our results this season have shown how difficult is has been for us to break down the smaller sides. I think starting with two up front is a necessity, unless we play Carroll with Bellamy and Suarez either side and use almost three orthodox forwards, you only need to look at Everton's result today in a potentially tricky fixture to see the importance of starting positively and getting an early goal or two.

 If we can start on the front foot in front of a passionate crowd generating an atmosphere we know Anfield is capable of in home knockout matches it could be an entertaining afternoon for Liverpool fans. There is the added spice that the game is the last chance players will have to stake a claim for a place in the team at Wembley next weekend. With this in mind I wouldn't be surprised if Kenny gives Carra a game at centre back and Martin Kelly a start at right back, I think he will give plenty of opportunity for the home grown players to enhance their chances of starting against Cardiff. Brighton are having a decent season and will be a team to face in preparation for the Carling Cup final.

 On a separate note I will be handing out a few cards at the game to promote this website, if you're a new visitor reading after picking up a card then welcome. I try to update daily, failing this I always manage every two days at least. I welcome any contributions and am very happy to publish any well thought out pieces on Liverpool or football in general. Please feel free to check out some of my previous articles on here to get an idea of what I write about and if you like it then tell all your friends!!

 See you tomorrow, block 202 of the Kop. YNWA.

A Golden Sky

 With all the negative publicity surrounding Liverpool lately it feels like we're constantly on the back foot and more likely to argue the case for our club than raise a smile at the progress that we're making. I think it's time we got the actual football into perspective and started giving the team and the coaching staff the praise that they deserve at the moment. Cast your mind back to Christmas time 2010, Roy Hodgson was in charge and we'd climbed out of the bottom half of the table but we were still way way below where we should be aspiring to be. The previous season had seen Rafa Benitez' side fail to qualify for the Champions League for the first time and there was a real sense of despair at the way we had been playing. Hodgson came in and while he's a decent, hardworking likeable football man it was obvious early on that his style didn't suit the club or the senior players.

 Then came the return of Kenny Dalglish along with the very smart appointment of Steve Clarke, a football icon alongside a coach respected throughout the league, on paper an excellent management team. Just over a year on from then and we find ourselves in the Carling Cup final, the 5th round of the FA Cup and 4 points off a Champions League place. Liverpool Football Club and it's supporters will never settle for 4th place as a long term goal, but in the short term it would be an achievement we'd all be happy with. And it's something we are certainly capable of grasping this season. It's easy to say we need to start turning the draws at home into wins but it seems far harder to put this into practice. Our away form hasn't been too bad this season, there have been low moments but we've not yet gone into an away match where you have the feeling before kick off we might as well not turn up, every fixture is met with the optimism that victories at West Brom and Wolves, just as much as at Stamford Bridge and the Emirates, has generated. We need to pick up more points at home but nobody has yet turned up at Anfield and looked like beating us so we should take heart from this and take more risks going forward, the defence has performed well enough this season for us to have faith in them.

 The Carling Cup final will not be an easy game, Cardiff are an excellent attacking side who may well earn themselves promotion to the Premier League at the end of the season but we are strong favourites and if we treat the game properly we should win. We have struggled over the last couple of years against lesser sides who have a go at us, Stoke are a good example of this so nothing should be taken for granted in the final but a win would set up the rest of our season nicely. With a Europa League spot already secured we can take risks in an attempt to crack the top four, there will be no need to accept draws towards the end of games, we can push for victories the way Liverpool should and in football the team that dares to win more often than not reaps the rewards.

 We still have new signings to reach their peak, Downing and Carroll can only improve, Henderson is looking better each week but is still capable of more, we have academy players coming through looking good, Spearing looks comfortable in the first team and Kelly will become an England player before too long, and our senior players are all now injury and suspension free. The prospect of Gerrard and Suarez in the same side is mouthwatering and if they can both play the rest of the season they can definitely earn us more points than Chelsea, Newcastle and Arsenal. Consistent creative attacking play from those two should inspire Carroll and Downing to reach the levels we have seen them play at with other clubs, as well as help talents like Adam and Henderson settle in and learn more about what it takes to play at the top level.

 Liverpool are not yet where we want to be but looking at where we were fourteen months ago we're moving in the right direction. Real success doesn't come overnight but we're moving in the right direction and the rest of the season should be met with the optimism it deserves. YNWA.

Clean The Stands

 Earlier this week I read something a politician had said, 'it's not just racist abuse in football, it's all kinds of abuse aimed at players, managers and other supporters, we wouldn't tolerate it in our streets so why should we tolerate it in our stadiums?'. I may be ever so slightly misquoting but the main parts and certainly the sentiment is accurate, I'm just annoyed at myself for not taking note of who said it as me agreeing with a politician is rare to say the least. Anyways, it got me thinking.

 I want to say right now that this is NOT a piece aimed at making out Manchester United fans to all be sub human morons, but I do want to point out that the last football match I watched was Man Utd v Liverpool at Old Trafford so the freshest memories I have to back up my opinions are from that game. The aim of this article is to highlight the need for clubs and their supporters to take responsibility for what happens in their stadiums, despite recent events it is true to say racist abuse within the English game is not the norm, it hardly ever happens. This does not mean we should pat ourselves on the back, say 'that problem is dealt with' and wrap up the 'kick it out' campaign, I'm saying that there are games I would not want to take a child to because I fear they will hear things they shouldn't, not because I fear they will hear racist abuse. Quick example - from the rumours I've read (and I stress only rumours) John Terry is alleged to have called Anton Ferdinand a 'black c**t' which if true is an appalling thing to say but why is the 'black' part the only part causing all the uproar? Even if you take the word black out of the sentence should it really be acceptable to use that kind of language in what is essentially a workplace? I know if I called somebody that with anger at work it would not be tolerated.

 There is all kinds of abuse thrown around at football matches between sets of fans and who polices that when it crosses the line? Nobody. Who can? The clubs and the fans. After the game on Saturday Alex Ferguson came out and said Suarez 'could have caused a riot and was a disgrace and should never play for Liverpool again'. Now ask yourself what effect those remarks will have on the crowd the next time the two teams meet, talking about Suarez causing a riot and then coming out with such an inflammatory statement is irresponsible, especially with relations between the two sets of supporters being at an all time low. If Ferguson had instead condemned his own fans for the KKK masks in their fanzine and 'the sun was right, you're murderers' chants very audible throughout the game it would maybe go alot further in diffusing tensions before the next game between the two sides. I'm not saying all supporters are like this, in fact I'd say it's a minority, I know people who regularly go to Old Trafford and certainly wouldn't be part of any of that and I also know people who would. But I think what most reasonable people would agree on is that these incidents cross the line.

 I'm certainly not suggesting we attempt to take rivalry out of football, where would Barcelona be without Real Madrid, Liverpool be without Man Utd, Celtic be without Rangers? We need that rivalry and we need games with a real edge to them, it keeps us all enthralled and it's why certain games are watched worldwide by people who support neither team, we want to see that rivalry and the interaction between two traditional enemies. But where does rivalry spill over into hatred, who can control it, and SHOULD we keep a lid on it? Manchester United fans singing 'Steven Gerrard kisses the badge on his chest and hands in a transfer request' is banter, Everton fans singing 'Steven Gerrard, the baby's not yours' isn't banter, it's personal, offensive and out of order. Liverpool fans chanting 'once a blue, always a manc' at Wayne Rooney is banter, chanting 'the elephant man' at Joleon Lescott is not banter, it's too far and I hope Liverpool fans realise this and don't sing it again. Players get in trouble if they make a gesture towards the crowd but in the face of some ridiculous abuse who can blame them? The only way to stop chants like this is for the supporters in the stands to take responsibility for their own actions and the actions of those around them, not always easy but if the decent among us want football to be football and not a venue for the venting of hatred then it must be done.

 The newspapers made a big deal of the booing at Anfield during the FA Cup 4th round game last month and this was very poor sensationalised reporting by experienced journalists with a responsibility to act in a better way than that. Booing at football isn't abuse, plain and simple. Anybody who has been to a game knows booing is a way to voice your disapproval but it is not a bile filled chant that crosses the line, it's not always used when appropriate but it's not vile. Supporters boo their own side and their own manager regularly but still come back the next week, booing is not a sign of hatred. There are times when football turns into pantomime, there are heroes and villains and we are taught to boo the baddies at primary school age, it's part of our culture and is not offensive. I personally chose not to boo the Man Utd left back at Anfield (it's hypocritical, how can you support Suarez on the grounds of lack of evidence and yet vilify his accuser when the same levels of evidence exist there?) but at the end of the recent Premier League fixture he chose to play the pantomime hero so when he next comes to Anfield I will boo him as the pantomime villain he has set himself up to be. No doubt the tabloids will report the booing as Liverpool fans supporting racism but as long as I know my reasons then my conscience will be clear.

 Bottom line to all of this is that none of us want the sport we love to take any more criticism from the moral watchdogs out there. We can prevent this by simply not giving them any more ammunition to fire at us, the supporters of the beautiful game. Players and managers talking to the press, supporters with fanzines and websites, journalists with sizeable audiences all need to start highlighting what isn't acceptable and shaming people into stopping, even if that means pointing out the failings of your own. will anybody be brave enough to start this? I don't know, but I'd like to think so.

Voice Of Experience And Reason

This man is uniquely positioned in English football to give his views on recent events, read them here.

Ban Them Both

 Today has been interesting, news coming out that Standard Chartered were involved in the Liverpool apologies shouldn't really be surprising, whilst most of us make Liverpool based decisions with our hearts we have to remember that our sponsors and commercial partners will be looking at things purely with business heads so even if we can justify and rationalise things going on around the club at the moment they have to look at the bigger picture and protect their investment.

 Also today I have heard so much about Saturday's game you wouldn't believe it. In fact, scratch that, I've heard nothing at all about Saturday's game, I've not even been reminded that we lost the match, but I've heard plenty about the circus surrounding Saturday. Without going into detail I've heard exactly how long Suarez should be banned for and why, I've heard why the KKK masks in the confiscated Man Utd fanzine were not only justified and a good idea but why they were necessary to fix today's broken society, I've heard why Rio Ferdinand HAS to be the next England captain, why Evra's actions at the end of the game should be applauded,  I've heard why Suarez' actions were far worse than Cantona's (honestly, you wouldn't believe the logic behind this one if I told you), why Wayne Rooney is the ideal role model, seriously, this list could go on for pages but I won't subject you to it.

 After listening to so many opinions (including my own) and reading all the press (over)reaction to the latest installment of Patrice Evra vs Luis Suarez I have reached a conclusion and I'm hoping you agree with my thoughts. While 'out of sight, out of mind' doesn't strictly apply here I think the only way to move forward is with bans, so I am now banning the words 'handshake' and 'Evra' from these pages for an indefinite length of time, effective from the end of this sentence*. I have said my piece on Alex Ferguson and why he is hypocritical talking about Liverpool players so I am now going to take my own advice and focus on my own club and not another.

 *Unless something incredibly commentworthy turns up.

Petulance, Hypocrisy And Apology

 The fallout from yesterday's game continues....

 Luis Suarez refused Patrice Evra's handshake and has been thoroughly and roundly condemned for it from all quarters. Suarez' action was childish and petulant but in my opinion not really out of order, Liverpool player dislikes Man Utd player, and vice versa, is a given in football not a headline, rivalry is the biggest part of the sport we love and taking that out of the game would mean all fixtures blend into one another, there would be no 'big' matches, just a set of fixtures all of equal importance. But was Suarez the only one to refuse the handshake? Eagle eyed Liverpool fans have spotted and uploaded to youtube (search for it if you like) slow motion clips of the 'handshake' and Evra clearly lowers his hand as Suarez approaches him, maybe this helped make up the Uruguayan's mind as to whether or not to shake.

 Kenny Dalglish after the game defended Suarez and has faced criticism for that. It has emerged today that our number 7 had led club officials and his manager to believe he intended to partake in the pre match handshake and they feel very angry at being misled by him. Kenny has been made to look foolish and he more than anybody deserves the apology from Luis Suarez that has been issued today. Patrice Evra's actions during and after the game mean he deserves the apology much less than those who have stuck by Suarez, Evra let himself down with his attempt to hack Suarez after 25 seconds and his childish post match skip of honour and should also issue an apology. Whether Suarez is right or wrong over the entire saga is a debate that will probably never really be settled but maybe the time to move on has arrived and hearing him say sorry is a good start, hopefully those who have hurried to lay into him will now accept the apology and publicly back his decision to issue it.

 When I started this blog I was determined not to let it turn into a vehicle for criticism of our rivals but occasionally somebody comes out with something that needs addressing and replying to. One such person who should take a long hard look at his own part in the reaction to yesterday's events is Alex Ferguson, he was obviously riled after yesterday's match but his comments were hypocritical, inflammatory and unnecessary. He claimed that in refusing to shake Evra's hand Suarez is a disgrace and should never play for Liverpool again. While his criticism of Suarez for the lack of a handshake is valid, his use of the word disgrace and his sentiment that the man should never play for Liverpool again is simply out of order and certainly not what he has practiced himself during his managerial career. Eric Cantona leapt into a crowd and kung fu kicked a supporter in the chest, did Ferguson consider this a disgrace and say the man should never play for the club again or did he give him a second chance? When Rio Ferdinand didn't bother to turn up for his drugs test and got away with only an eight month ban did Ferguson call him a disgrace and move him on from the club? When Wayne Rooney was caught with prostitutes while his pregnant wife was at home did Ferguson call him a disgrace and end his Man Utd career? When it emerged Ryan Giggs had been having a long affair with his brother's wife did Ferguson say he was disgraceful or did he say 'new contract Ryan?'? It's good to know where his moral boundaries are, these examples of human behaviour are all acceptable at Manchester United Football Club but refusing a handshake isn't? Are you sure about that Sir Alex? Youtube footage also exists of Paul Scholes and Roy Keane refusing to shake Patrick Viera's hand before a Man Utd v Arsenal fixture but both of these players managed to continue their careers at the club under the management of Mr Ferguson. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he made his comments in the heat of the moment without thinking about his own previous actions and look forward to his own public apology.

 One other comment made by Ferguson was that Liverpool should sell Suarez. Before you give any thought to the possibility of this and really think about what he was suggesting ask yourself one question : Do you believe that Sir Alex Ferguson would sanction the sale of any player from Manchester United in order for the club to improve relations with Liverpool? I'll let you work out your own answer to that one...

White Men Beaten By A Scouser!!!

 So the game came and went and was hardly a classic, neither team played particularly well but over the 90 minutes the result was about right, Liverpool passed the ball and tackled efficiently but didn't quite carry the same goal threat as the home side and once the first goal went in it was always going to be an uphill struggle. Rio Ferdinand was lucky to stay on the field after fouling Suarez when he was the last man but Phil Dowd, possibly trying not to turn the encounter any more heated than it already threatened to be, chose not to even award a free kick, therefore saving himself from having to send off the Utd defender and facing the inevitable wrath of the manager. A five minute spell at the start of the second half where we weren't completely switched on defensively is what cost us, Rooney scoring twice leaving us with a mountain to climb. Suarez finished from close range after a Ferdinand error from a Charlie Adam free kick to give us hope for the last ten minutes but Glen Johnson's long range effort was as close as we came.

 Much was made of the pre match handshakes and Suarez refused Evra's hand, the only thing shocking about this was that anybody was actually surprised. Suarez maintains he didn't say the majority of what Evra has claimed, and the part he agrees with he says has been misinterpreted when nothing racial was intended so why did anybody expect him to shake the hand of a man who cost him £40,000 and an eight game ban? In my opinion a handshake from Suarez would've amounted almost to an admission of guilt and having something to apologise for and his determination to stick to his not guilty plea meant this was never really an option. After Evra offered his hand to the Uruguayan it looked like he was being the bigger man. Until 25 seconds into the game when Suarez got the ball and in his blind determination to get to out number 7 he went through Rio Ferdinand and wiped him out instead. Makes you wonder if Rio hadn't got in the way whether or not Evra would have committed a serious foul, maybe Ferdinand getting in the way actually saved the Utd skipper from an embarrassingly early bath.

 It wasn't until after the final whistle that any real noise came from the crowd, Evra skipping around the edge of the pitch having to encourage the home crowd to create some volume despite the fact they had just secured a big victory over their rivals. Choosing to jump around celebrating in front of Suarez wasn't clever or necessary and any moral highground he had previously held over his conduct evaporated into the cold afternoon air.

 Before the match police confiscated a Utd fanzine carrying KKK masks, showing the true class of the Utd fans and robbing them of any chance to criticise Liverpool supporters for their behaviour over the whole saga. A man was also arrested for wearing an offensive t-shirt, adding to the arrest ten days ago of a supporter at Old Trafford for racially abusing Stoke City players. The problems of abuse and racial abuse in football go much deeper than just Liverpool and Luis Suarez and as long as supporters focus on their rivals behaviour without examining that of their own this won't go away any time soon.

 Two meetings in two weeks between English football's two biggest clubs have both resulted in 2-1 wins to the home sides, proving that Liverpool can match Man Utd on any given day but it's the consistency over the course of the season that has to improve drastically. If both teams had been offered one win I expect Liverpool would've been keen to progress in the cup and Utd would've wanted the league points so deep down I think both sets will accept the results that have happened in these two games. Everton beating Chelsea and Tottenham looking like taking all the points from Newcastle means that today's defeat hasn't been particularly costly in our quest for a top four finish, we have our main striker back and scoring, we have a cup final to look forward to and the rest of the season is shaping up to be very exciting, YNWA.

Moral Highground

 Tomorrow sees our much anticipated visit to Old Trafford and most of the pre match publicity and debate has centred on Luis Suarez and his actions during the reverse fixture at Anfield earlier this season. Whether you believe Suarez to be guilty or not (and there are certainly many who put forward a strong case for why they believe him to be not) the fact is he was convicted and banned. This fact has been at the forefront of the pre game 'banter' coming from almost every Man Utd fan and despite how much we don't like it or how much we disagree with it it still remains that people in power chose to use the evidence to punish the Uruguayan and this will lead to abuse from all opposition fans, not just those of our biggest rivals.

 'Disgusting', 'sub-human', 'should be banned for life', 'shouldn't be allowed to earn a living in this country' and 'they can't let people like him be role models for kids' are just some of the things I've heard Man Utd fans say about Suarez this week and I for one am glad to see a sense of morality return to the community in this day and age, it's about time decent people stood up to the less desirable elements of society. So a message to all Manchester United fans for tomorrow - give the racist hell, give him exactly what he deserves and let him know such despicable behaviour WILL NOT BE TOLERATED on parks, football pitches, streets and in our stadiums. And while you're at it give a big cheer to your centre back who served a ban for not going to his drugs test. And to your longest serving player who had a near decade long affair with his brother's wife. And to your star striker who paid prostitutes for sex while his wife was at home pregnant. Yes, give the South american racist all he deserves and show the rest of us how strong your morals really are.

Unemployment Figures On The Rise

 This could also have been titled ‘No Bottle No Boss’ or ‘No Guts No Gaffer’ after the departure of Fabio Capello from his position as England manager yesterday. Getting rid of Glenn Hoddle a decade or so back because he believed in reincarnation (try sacking somebody for their religious beliefs nowadays!!) was one thing but forcing a man respected throughout the football world to resign because he stated publicly that he believes in innocent until proven guilty is incredibly low even by the standards of the FA.

 It all stems from the complete lack of bravery by the FA to take any sort of stand over John Terry, God knows how strong the fence must be that they’re all sitting on over the allegations facing the former captain. The FA must have access to numerous statements and videos relating to the Terry – Ferdinand incident, surely private dialogue with Capello to establish their own opinion of innocence or guilt would have been the only way forward, stand by their man if they believed him to be innocent, relieve him of the captaincy with Capello’s blessing if as a group they felt he had a case to answer. Simply saying he cannot be skipper anymore without speaking to the manager first is a pathetic way of dealing with things and shows a total lack of bottle to face the situation head on. In my opinion the likelihood is the FA feel there is enough evidence against John Terry to suggest he will be found guilty in court otherwise they wouldn’t have taken away the armband, but to not involve the team manager in this process is basically not right and how can they be surprised that Capello didn’t help them present a united front when they didn’t reach the decision as a united unit?

 Joey Barton has come under scrutiny for his Tweets related to the case and there was talk he may be found in contempt of court as a result. He has been cleared of any wrongdoing and will face no action but I found the definition of contempt of court to be interesting – any actions that could prejudice a jury and influence their verdict before or during a trial are considered contempt of court. Any juror with two brain cells to rub together will work out that in order to strip the England captaincy from a player they must have evidence of the player being guilty of something inappropriate and therefore go into the trial already suspecting a guilty verdict. Surely the FA taking the position away from Terry falls into the definition of contempt of court, let’s see if any legal action follows.

 As for Capello’s successor, I hate to go along with the crowd but the obvious choice is Harry Redknapp, though the idea that he could do the job part time while still managing Spurs is ridiculous. So expect it to happen. I don’t think it is right for somebody to manage a Premier League club and England at the same time, imagine if you’re a manager under pressure such as Alex McLeish at Villa and you have a game against Tottenham at the weekend but three days before the game the Tottenham manager has Darren Bent with him for England and can decide whether or not he plays 90 minutes, 45 minutes or not at all in an international friendly. I’m not saying Redknapp would abuse his position if he had the chance but he would always be open to accusations of unfairness and the temptation must surely be there to rest players like Scott Parker or Aaron Lennon whilst away with England. Part time is not an option but hopefully Harry will take the job on full time and lead England to success.

Choose Your Army

With our toughest away game of the season almost upon us Kenny’s thoughts will be firmly fixed on what tactics and starting XI will best suit us on Saturday.

 The defence is really picking itself at the moment, Johnson – Skrtel – Agger – Enrique is working well. If Enrique is still out injured then Johnson will move to the left and Kelly will play right back where both did very well defensively on Monday against a Spurs team with real attacking quality on both flanks.

 After seeing how well Utd kept possession in midfield at Anfield last week I think playing three men in central midfield is pretty much a given for us, Spearing for his defensive qualities, Gerrard because he’s so good and either Henderson or Adam. Henderson has the energy and mobility and has looked very comfortable on the ball in recent weeks, Adam has a better eye for a pass and is more experienced which will probably count in his favour and earn him a place in the team. The two wide midfield positions will be very important in creating chances for our striker and in helping to slow down Utd’s attacking full backs. One thing that let us down on Monday night was the lack of a left footer playing on the left meaning we couldn’t whip crosses into the box first time, by the time Bellamy or Johnson had turned inside ready to cross the spurs defence had got themselves organised. I think we should start with Downing and Bellamy out wide, both men are comfortable on either side giving Kenny plenty of opportunities to switch things around as and when the game dictates.

 This leaves the most controversial position to be filled and gives the manager a real dilemma – Carroll, Kuyt or Suarez? All three have good reasons to be included and valid reasons for being left out so it will be very interesting to see who gets the nod. Andy Carroll has shown signs of improvement in performance and attitude lately and his size could be important against a strong Utd back line, on the down side his goalscoring record is poor and chances will be at a premium so anything that comes along must be capitalised on, is Carroll the man we trust to do that just yet? Dirk Kuyt has the energy and workrate to play up front on his own and his goal record against Utd is decent, albeit at Anfield rather than Old Trafford, he has also refound his scoring touch, netting in two of his last three games. Counting against him is his lack of pace and his tendency to drift away from the centre to aid his team mates, not a bad quality in itself but the lone striker role requires a certain amount of selfishness and laziness to ensure the formation functions properly. This all brings us to Luis Suarez fresh from his eight game ban. Suarez is skilful, fairly quick, energetic and his team mates love having him in the team, he can keep hold of the ball until support arrives and he can be direct and go straight for goal when the opportunity arises. There is no footballing reason to leave him out of the team. His involvement in the game will crank up the atmosphere and give the Utd fans a hate figure, a target for their abuse and songs about racism may even take over from songs about murderers! Keeping Suarez on the bench wouldn’t do him or the atmosphere any favours, would you want to be a steward at the front as he warms up in front of the home fans? No chance. Dalglish needs to have a long conversation with Suarez about how he must behave on Saturday and the Liverpool players need to keep an eye on him and keep him calm and help him channel his undoubted desire to perform in this of all fixtures into a matchwinning effort. As long as Luis Suarez behaves with dignity and does nothing to incite the crowd he has done his part, if anybody in the stands or indeed on the pitch goes too far with their treatment of him it will be dealt with but it is not for Luis to fight this cause on the pitch. I believe he should and he will start on Saturday and let’s hope he delivers the performance we know he is capable of.

You Fat Tweet

Last night’s game had it’s moments but wasn’t really the pulsating game many had predicted. Suarez returned, Bale dived, cat scampered, Spurs defended and Rooney tweeted, that’s about all.

Much of the pre match talk was about the returning Uruguayan and what impact he would have on the game and on the remainder of Liverpool’s season. He came on for the last half hour or so and looked very keen to make up for lost time, full of energy and desire but didn’t really have the opportunity to change the game. There was one chance, a header straight at Friedel from Gerrard’s free kick but there wasn’t enough power on the delivery to help fire the header past the keeper.

Suarez was also involved in one fairly innocuous moment that may turn out to be more controversial than it first appeared. The ball dropped in the penalty area and as Parker headed it clear Suarez swung a foot to try to volley the ball goalwards but caught the Spurs man square in the chest. It looked painful but was a genuine attempt to make contact with the ball and certainly wasn’t a studs first challenge and the only momentum was generated by Suarez’ leg swing, not by his body flying towards Parker. There were no protests from the visitors over the challenge and no arguments from Liverpool when the referee produced a yellow card to an apologetic Suarez. After a visit from the physio Parker got up and completed the game in his typical energetic style. Incident over and dealt with correctly by all parties.

Meanwhile somewhere in Manchester Wayne Rooney decided he didn’t like the challenge and expressed his views on Twitter saying that if the ref saw the foul it should’ve been a red and not a yellow card produced. Players are increasingly taking to Twitter to air their views and opinions and in this day and age where the gap between fans and players is wider than ever any medium that encourages interaction should be welcomed. And Wayne Rooney is entitled to his views just as much as anyone. TV coverage of football doesn’t stop at the final whistle, we all stay tuned in so we can hear the expert opinions offered by ex players and managers in the studio so it would be hypocritical to say we don’t want to hear the views of current players so I have no problem whatsoever with the idea of Rooney sharing his thoughts on the incident. What we need to remember though is that this is the same Wayne Rooney who was sent off for England against Portugal in a major tournament that the remaining ten men were subsequently knocked out of. That red card will be forever remembered not for Rooney’s actions but for the actions of Cristiano Ronaldo in helping the ref come to his decision, there was even talk Ronaldo would have to leave Man Utd and never play in England again as the backlash against him was so strong. What did the young Mr Rooney learn from this incident? That it’s morally wrong and very unsportsmanlike to treat an opponent in this way? No, he simply added what he learned from Ronaldo to his game. How many times have we seen him chasing referees halfway around the pitch trying to influence them into giving a decision against the opposition? Who was the only person shouting at the ref to send off Vincent Kompany in their FA Cup 3^rd round tie? Now it seems he has found a way of trying to get opponents in trouble without leaving his sofa.

As I have already mentioned I don’t have a problem with Rooney sharing his views, I just think in this case the timing is badly judged ahead of what will be a very highly charged encounter on Saturday lunchtime. The Man Utd fans I have come into contact with this morning have jumped on Rooney’s comments and Luis Suarez has changed from ‘racist Scouse bastard’ to ‘dirty racist Scouse bastard who shouldn’t even be playing on Saturday, the FA should ban him from playing in the Premier League again’. Before the FA Cup game at Anfield there were debates as to whether or not Patrice Evra should be left out simply to calm what was sure to be a poisonous atmosphere and those debates will resurface over the coming days about Luis Suarez, should Liverpool leave him at home not from a footballing perspective but simply in an attempt to keep the peace. At any other time I think Wayne Rooney didn’t really do a lot wrong with his Tweet but I think in this week of all weeks he should have stayed quiet and not done anything to fan the flames ahead of another tense encounter between the two biggest rivals in English football.

Blood Curdling

 A quick observations about fans behaviour during the first half of the Chelsea Vs Man Utd game....

 During our recent FA Cup game against Man Utd Patrice Evra was subjected to constant booing and chants of 'one lying bastard'. This was reported in the papers as blood curdling abuse.

 During the first half of Chelsea Vs Man Utd the Chelsea fans have constantly booed Rio Ferdinand for simply being Anton Ferdinand's brother and the Man Utd fans have been repeatedly chanting 'murderer' at Fernando Torres.

 I look forward to tomorrow's newspapers reporting the behaviour of the two sets of fans in terms as strongly as they reported events at Anfield..............

Three Lions, A Farce And An Armband

 So John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy and the name being most strongly put forward to replace him is that of our skipper, Steven Gerrard. Stevie is a great player, a great captain and a real inspiration on the pitch. He is a top professional who fully supports his managers and does everything that is asked of him and more and I'm sure if Fabio Capello comes calling he will be proud to take his country's armband once again. However, after the FA's handling of the John Terry and Luis Suarez incidents, added to the fact that Gerrard always seems to be captain by default when somebody else isn't available, I would love to see Stevie turn down the role. This is not to say I think he would say no, he would probably happily accept the position, I just think it would be nice if he (and I can't believe I'm saying this) followed Rio Ferdinand's example and ruled himself out of the running.

 Let's begin with the FA's choice to take the captaincy away from Terry. In my opinion it is an absolutely disgraceful decision, no other way of putting it. It is important to remember that the alleged incident involving John Terry and Anton Ferdinand happened in October, it is now February and the FA still HAVE NOT CHARGED John Terry with anything. It seems the FA have completely abandoned the ancient British principle of 'innocent until proven guilty'. In three and a half months they have not found enough evidence to bring a charge against the Chelsea man but during that time managed to charge, convict and suspend Luis Suarez in a case described by all involved as one of the most complicated they have ever participated in. Which ever way you look at it this simply does not add up. The reasons for the FA delaying Terry's charge seem obvious to those of us cynical enough to believe they don't want to convict their own captain or admit to Sepp Blatter that an Englishman is capable of racism on a football pitch. The criminal case brought against Terry by the CPS could be seen as a way for the FA to avoid having to make a decision one way or the other themselves and bring charges against Terry only if his high priced lawyers fail to help him avoid a conviction.

 The criminal trial being put back until July has clearly surprised the FA but I have a simple solution for them - Luis Suarez was not tried in a criminal court and was not subject to the 'guilty beyond all reasonable doubt' remit, why not put John Terry through the same FA process now in front of the same independent panel and reach your own conclusions based on the evidence available? Have the guts to come to a decision yourselves and stand by it, and if he is found not to have said anything out of order then he can still skipper his country at the Euros and Anton Ferdinand can be punished for his false accusations. If Terry is found guilty then take whatever action is felt appropriate with regards to his England selection. Taking the captaincy away from Terry so he can concentrate on his court case with no distractions is a very noble thing to do, putting the needs of the individual before the needs of the team. In fact it is so noble it almost seems implausible. Stripping Terry of his position for purely footballing reasons is not a decision the FA could have reached without conversation with Terry himself, and given he was informed of the decision rather than involved in the process of making it makes me feel that footballing reasons did not come into the thinking of the powers that be.

 As a Liverpool fan I feel proud whenever I see one of ours captaining his country and if Gerrard is chosen to lead England I will support him and wish him every success. As an organisation the FA seems to be going down in my estimation almost weekly and seeing my club captain as a figurehead for them is not an image I am particularly keen on. It also seems there is so much internal politics going on within the England set up at the moment (Capello having no say over the removal of his captain) aswell as potential conflicts between squad members (anyone still fancy a Terry-Ferdinand central defensive partnership?) and I think Stevie would be best served staying well clear of it all and concentrating on playing at the high levels he regularly performs at.

Them Vs The Other Them

 Sunday sees Man Utd visit Chelsea in a fixture that throws up a real head versus heart dilemma. Who do we want to win? Easy, right? We don't want Utd to win the title and open up a two championship gap on us, that's not a difficult choice. But a quick glance at the league table and it's obvious we don't want Chelsea to pick up maximum points either if we have any ambitions of finishing in a Champions League place.
 Spurs have been largely impressive this season and should build on that next term, the two Manchester clubs will probably finish as the top two this May and quite likely next May aswell. Chelsea and Arsenal have been very inconsistent in the league so far and could both put forward strong cases for why they will be better next season so the remaining fifteen or so matches this time around are vital for Liverpool's hopes of returning to Europe's top table. If we can push on from our recent upturn in form and come through our next group of tricky fixtures relatively unscathed I see no reason why we can't finish the season strongly and look behind us at Chelsea and Arsenal rather than up at them.
 Luis Suarez played in the Copa America last summer so his January 'rest' will have done him good, Steven Gerrard's season didn't really start until October so our key players should still be fresh for the run in. Add that to a kind fixture list meaning of our last eleven league games only one is a fixture (Torres' return to Anfield) against a team challenging at the top and all of a sudden a top four place doesn't seem so far from our reach. Transfer targets will be keenly fought over next summer, especially after the shop window of a major international tournament so if we can offer Champions League football it will give us a massive edge when it comes to persuading top players that Anfield is the right move for them.
 So where does all of this leave Sunday's fixture? It's not an easy thing to say but I think our need for Cheslea to be defeated outweighs our desire to see them put Man Utd to the sword......

Do You Recall?

 With our next game not until Monday evening it gives Kenny plenty of time to ponder his team selection for the visit of Spurs. Our biggest attacking talents are available again but where exactly do Gerrard and Suarez fit into the team? Who deserves to make way for the pair's reintroduction to the side?

 Andy Carroll has found a bit of form and got a good strikers goal on Tuesday at Wolves to add to his assist in the FA Cup so to leave him out at this point could damage the confidence he has built up. Playing Suarez alongside him certainly has the potential to cause Tottenham real problems and could be a match winning partnership so it will definitely be in the managers thinking. Doing this would mean going to 4-4-2 and having to choose only two from Gerrard, Adam, Spearing and Henderson, unless Henderson moves out wide but then that means leaving out either Bellamy or Kuyt who have both hit goalscoring form in recent weeks. Spearing has the most obvious defensive qualities of the available midfielders and given the attacking talent at Spurs' disposal I'd expect him to start, probably with Henderson and Gerrard behind Carroll, leaving the options of Adam, Suarez and Downing on the bench if we need to generate more attacking momentum. Deciding on the team and the formation for Monday's match won't be easy for the right reasons and it's a great dilemma for the boss to have.

 It is an intriguing fixture, Spurs will come into the game with confidence after winning at Anfield last season and comfortably beating us at White Hart Lane, while the Liverpool team will feel they have a real point to prove and certainly won't want to lose to the same opposition again. I think both teams will attack and there will be goals and it should prove to be very entertaining.

One Up Top

 Yesterday was the close of the transfer window and with no real business for Liverpool to discuss I'm going to get into tactics and how they've changed at Liverpool and in England in general over the last few seasons. Clubs have been spending millions and millions on strikers in the last decade or so and this trend shows no sign of slowing, a couple of goals in the Premier League and you automatically gain a £10 million plus price tag, score a few in Spain, France, Italy or Germany and the same thing happens, price tags go up well before a player proves his consistency and becomes a regular solid dependable performer.

 So why when all this money is being invested in players at the top end of the pitch has it become almost the norm to play with only one central striker?

 Last night Liverpool started with three strikers, Bellamy, Carroll and Kuyt, but who played up front? Only Carroll, the other two played wide midfield. Who plays up front for Arsenal? Van Persie. We played Man City and Man Utd last week and who played up front for them? Dzeko and Welbeck. Who plays there for Chelsea? Torres OR Drogba, not Torres AND Drogba. Where have the partnerships gone? All this money going on front men and yet managers seem reluctant to play two together. Why?

 Are teams getting more or less defensive with the recent shift away from the traditional 4-4-2? I put some of it down to players becoming more like superstars every year, the manager has increasingly become the scapegoat for anything that goes wrong on the pitch giving the players even more power. Talented wingers who don't want to track back (Laurent Robert, Robert Pires etc..) used to be regularly chastised for their lack of appetite for certain areas of the game, now if a manager isn't brave enough to drop them he must create a new position and we have the 4-3-3 with one central striker and two wide attacking midfielders with more defensive cover behind them and less defensive responsibility themselves. This can work very effectively as we demonstrated in our 3-0 win last night, Carroll scored from a central postiton, Bellamy scored coming in from the left and Kuyt did likewise from the right, intelligent movement combined with Charlie Adam's ability to pick a pass and this system gave us a comfortable win in what could well have been a tricky fixture.

 Is avoiding defeat becoming more important than securing victory? I've lost count of the number of matches I've seen over recent seasons where one man ploughs a lone furrow desperately seeking support that is not always forthcoming. Almost never now do we see 4-4-2 without one of the central midfielders occupying a purely defensive role meaning a switch to 4-5-1 with a third central midfielder is regularly chosen to help gain posession and creativity in central areas generating some forward momentum, though this often disappears with a pass to an isolated striker who is all too easily crowded out.

 Is all of this a result of the powers that be coming down harder and harder on good proper tackling? Possibly. Full blooded challenges in the middle of the park preventing the opposition breaking forward are regularly penalised and as a reaction to this managers are resorting to simply trying to outnumber their opponents in order to try to protect their defence.

 Formations and tactics must continually evolve to keep the game unpredictable and to give teams an edge over their opponents. Players must become comfortable in more than one role if they want to be thought of as top class and scouts are more important than ever in the potential signings they recommend to managers. Football is constantly changing and it's refreshing to see a mature manager like Kenny moving with the times and adapting his tactics to suit the modern game, long may it continue and let's hope it brings the success it deserves.