Goal Of The Season

 Congratulations to Luis Suarez for winning the first annual LiverpoolJay goal of the season poll for his hat trick strike against Norwich at Carrow Road. It was a memorable strike from a huge distance and a deserved winner. The solid gold trophy I've had specially commissioned will be sent out in the post to him immediately, though with the state of the post nowadays there is a chance it may never arrive. On the off chance you never receive your trophy Luis, please contact the Royal Mail and not myself............

Looks Like Brendan Rodgers Is Coming To Liverpool

 Reports are flying around that a deal to bring in Brendan Rodgers as the new Liverpool manager is almost done. The two clubs are currently negotiating a compensation package believed to be around the £4.5 million mark with a formal announcement expected to be made by the end of the week. I’ll admit I don’t know too much about Rodgers but Swansea won many admirers last season for how they played and if he can bring that to Anfield the supporters will take to him. There have been many calls over recent years for one of the top clubs to give a young British manager a chance and it looks like us who will be the ones who do it. Let’s hope the press give us the appropriate praise for making such a move and let’s hope FSG’s bravery in the appointment pays off.

 We are a team in transition on the pitch but I believe the basis of a good side is already in place. A 4-4-2 with Reina in goal, Kelly, Agger, Skrtel and Enrique at the back, Gerrard and Lucas in central midfield with Downing and Glen Johnson on the wings and Suarez and Carroll up front has potential in my opinion and a tactically aware manager capable of motivating his players could do well with the current squad without having to spend too heavily on additions. A young British manager still carving out his reputation in the game such as Brendan Rodgers may struggle to attract the top level European players but this is where FSG plan to bring in a new structure above the first team manager.

 In what would be new structure to Premier League football our owners plan to use three men to fulfil a version of the role previously occupied by Damien Comolli. The thinking is to use one man working mainly on the statistical side of things, analysing transfer fees and player stats, that kind of thing, looking for where value can be found in the transfer market. Another man will be used as more of a negotiator in an attempt to seal deals and get the club the best price possible when it comes to transfers and contracts. The third man will be more of a traditional football man with contacts within the game, someone such as Louie Van Gaal who can aid in attracting players to the club and to give his opinions and experience to the manager when required. It has been reported that this structure has put off Roberto Martinez from becoming our new manager but in my view it seems a sound theory. At the end of the day a manager will live or die by the results he gets on the pitch and any help he can get with the other aspects of the club should be gratefully accepted, allowing him the opportunity to get on with the job of winning football matches with the minimum amount of distractions.  

 One observation I want to make of Brendan Rodgers is just a quick look at why he initially turned down the chance to interview for the job. There are three possible reasons not to interview. Firstly maybe he just didn’t fancy it. I’d like to think this isn’t the case and I’m sure it’s not. Secondly maybe he didn’t want to be one of several people interviewed as he felt he wouldn’t get the position. This would indicate a lack of faith in his own abilities and isn’t ideal in a top level manager, though again I’m sure this wasn’t the reason. Thirdly, and this is the one I think to be true, possibly he simply has total belief in himself and felt he shouldn’t have to be one of a long list of candidates. This could be overconfidence, bordering on arrogance, for a young manager with relatively little experience in the game but I think a manager with belief is what we need. As I have previously mentioned I don’t know too much about Brendan Rodgers, but if he believes 100% he’s up to the job then that’s a good start in my book.

Who's In Control?

 There have been a few comments in the media in the last few weeks from a few different people that have maybe seemed a little odd at a second glance. This isn’t all Liverpool related but could well affect us in some ways so I’m going to have a quick look at the examples that stuck in my head.

Firstly what directly affects us is Dave Whelan’s seemingly constant and certainly contradictory public words about Roberto Martinez. It’s no secret we’ve had talks with him, and it’s no secret that FSG want to interview several people for the job. Martinez is a fairly well thought of young manager who has done a decent job at Wigan and if our owners are leaving no stone unturned in their search then he definitely merits an interview. Mr Whelan has suggested Martinez will only take over at Liverpool if he can have total control of the club, the first team, the youth set up, everything. While he has done an effective job at Wigan and made a habit of winning crucial late season games to keep them in the top division I hardly feel this qualifies him to have total control of all footballing matters at a club the size of Liverpool. If we do appoint him in my eyes the best option would be to appoint him as first team manager and allow him to concentrate on improving our league position before growing into a more all seeing role over a period of years. I think despite being Martinez’ main cheerleader Whelan is trying very hard to give his current manager reasons to not join Liverpool, rather than reasons to stay at Wigan.

The subject of a manager having total control is a very interesting one at another club who are also currently seeking a new boss. Roberto Di Matteo certainly did enough in his four months in charge at Chelsea to deserve at least a full season to see if he can improve their fortunes but the fact he hasn’t yet been appointed is a pretty clear signal that he is their last option, their fall back plan. Fernando Torres said after the champions league final that he was fed up of being on the bench and wanted clarification on his position for next season. He has since said he is staying at Chelsea after talks with the owner. Not the manager. Not waiting to see who the manager will be next season and finding out where he fits into the team. Talks with the owner. Similarly the sought after Eden Hazard said his decision on where he plays next season will depend on his role within the team and how much playing time he will get. And he has now seemingly said he will join Chelsea, a club without a manager and who’s player of the season was a talented young player who plays in a very similar position to Hazard in Juan Mata. I wonder who can have told Hazard how much he’ll play and whereabouts in the side he will fit in? I think it’s pretty clear who picks the team at Stamford Bridge and I don’t understand why Abramovich is spending all of this time searching for a new manager when he could just appoint himself and get it over with.

Our owners may be still learning the game and learning the culture of the club, and they certainly haven’t put in the kind of money that others have at other clubs recently, but they have realised the limits to their knowledge on the actual game itself. The manager search may be taking longer than we’d hoped but at least they seem to be searching for the ideal candidate who can fulfil their brief of improving the league position, rather than looking for a yes man who will play whichever players he is old in whichever position he is told. And in seeking to appoint Louie Van Gaal they are putting in place a man with vast football knowledge to support whoever the new manager is instead of feeling qualified to advise him themselves and search out their own transfer targets, even if it is their money funding the whole project.

More Random Thoughts

 A few things Liverpool related have struck me over the last few days so I thought it was time I shared them.

 Firstly, I have to say I'm finding it hard to get overly excited about our search for a new manager. I'm putting this down to the fact that there are simply no obvious candidates, there is nobody who stands out as a man we simply HAVE to get, a man who all the fans want, a candidate with proven experience who will lead us all into next season with optimism. I like the fact that Louis Van Gaal is being linked with us, he's a coach I've always respected and he's had plenty of success at big clubs. He's also someone who gives the impression of taking no nonsense and that could be ideal right now. However, I think he's maybe a little older than our owners would like and there are certainly questions about how he would adapt to Premier League football fairly late in his career. The media seem to think he would be coming to us as a director of football which in my opinion could be a good move. If, as reported, we end up with the likes of Roberto Martinez or Brendan Rodgers as our new boss then having the name and reputation of somebody like Van Gaal on board would be necessary in luring the top players to Anfield. It's looking increasingly likely that we will have an up and coming Premier League manager in charge of our team next season and there are positives attached to this. Our last three seasons have begun with three different managers, all of them experienced in the game, and all three seasons have ended in a well below par league position. A younger, hungrier boss with a point to prove has not yet been tried and the time for that could be now.

 Something else I want to pass comment on is how it seems the media report on Liverpool, not all of them but a vast portion of the national journalists seem to find it very hard to stick up for anything Liverpool related. A case in point is the England squad. As soon as Capello stood down (my thoughts on this already shared in this article) the press were united in saying the new manager should give youth a chance. Roy Hodgson was appointed and the media still consistently called for a new generation to take over from the old guard. Hodgson picked his squad for the Euros and included a 23 year old striker with masses of potential, who ended the season in good form and who has the physique European defences traditionally struggle against. And the majority of the media decided to question the inclusion of our number nine rather than get behind the decision and objectively report that despite a struggle for goals this season Andy Carroll still has a long career ahead of him and the experience of playing in a big international tournament can only benefit the player and the national team for the next decade. The same story goes for Jordan Henderson's inclusion in the standby list. And as for the massive over reaction to Stuart Downing being called up for the tournament..... There is hardly a journalist out there who hasn't been scathing of both Hodgson and Downing since the squad was named. The lack of goals and assists for Downing this season is well documented and the argument for leaving him at home is definitely there, but, no other candidate stands out, Downing is the best Englishman in his position and on that basis should have quite obviously been one of the first names in the squad. A quick look at the league table should help make this decision. 1st, Man City, left wing, David Silva. 2nd, Man Utd, left wing, Giggs/Nani. 3rd, Arsenal, left wing I'm not sure but he's certainly not going to be English. 4th, Spurs - Gareth Bale. Newcastle - Hatem Ben Arfa. Chelsea - Juan Mata. Everton - Pienaar/Guaye. 8th, Liverpool, left wing Stuart Downing. Decision made.

 Even more than the anti Liverpool reporting I have to say the recent coverage of Joey Barton borders on the ridiculous. It's not really anything to do with Liverpool but I'm on a roll so I'm going to allow my rant to continue. Barton has received a 12 game ban for three separate incidents in the Man City v QPR game and most of the radio phone ins and written press seems to want Joey Barton sacked and never employed again within football. Barton doesn't come across as a particularly likeable chap and I think this doesn't help him but I believe incidents should be judged on their own merit, rather than on the personality of the accused. The ban has reached 12 games as a result of four incidents. His first sending off this season was for a headbutt when TV replays seemed to show there was no headbutt, and if there was it Bradley Johnson of Norwich who 'butted Barton rather than the other way round. My verdict? Not guilty. The second sending off was for a slight elbow on Carlos Tevez. Tevez hit him first and hardest, Barton did hit him back but not very hard and Tevez dropped to the ground. My verdict? Silly, a certain red card for both players after a small scuffle but no real violence and no lasting damage. The next incident was a knee to the back of Sergio Aguero which was stupid and unnecessary, certainly worthy of a ban. My verdict? Guilty, but he didn't get him particularly hard. And his explanation afterwards of trying to get a City player to react and be sent off also wasn't a clever thing to say but it wasn't a bad idea. QPR were fighting to stay in the division and Barton put them at a disadvantage, he tried to rectify that and failed but had Aguero got back up and gone for Barton he would also have seen red and City would not have won the game. Stupid but clever from Barton. The final incident was a headbutt aimed at Kompany. My verdict? Didn't touch him, wasn't trying to, no damage. Not clever but not worth a ban. Djibril Cisse has also been sent off twice for QPR this season (both incidents far more dangerous than anything Barton has done) but scored the goals which have kept them up. Does anyone want him sacked? 'Course not. And ask yourself one more question. Would you rather be on the receiving end of all four of Joey Barton's 'indiscretions' or Mario Balotelli's over the ball, studs first lunge into Alex Song for which he got no ban whatsoever? Not a hard decision is it?

 Sorry this has gone on so long, hope you've stuck with me. And don't forget to vote on the Liverpool goal of the season poll in the top right corner of the website. Thanks, YNWA.

7 Years

 Seven years ago today was the Miracle of Istanbul, how time flies. It still feels like it was yesterday (except I haven't got a hangover right now) and it was testament to how good football can make you feel.

 Let's hope our new manager, whoever he is, can bring back nights like this for us all to enjoy and look back on with such fond memories. Everyone remembers where they were when we won the Champions League that night in Turkey and the sooner we have more times like that the better.

Reds Goal Of The Season

As FSG search for a new manager and the press conjure up all sorts of names and supporters call in to radio phone ins to complain about candidates who haven’t even been interviewed yet I thought I’d look at something a bit more fun. What’s been our best goal this season? Should be easy as there aren’t exactly hundreds to choose from……

1: Glen Johnson away vs Chelsea. With Fernando Torres and Raul Meireles in the Chelsea ranks the fear was always that this game was going to be settled by an ex player and so it proved. A 2-1 win for Liverpool thanks to a 90^th minute Glen Johnson strike, picking the ball up wide on the right he dribbled into the penalty area and finished precisely into the bottom corner past Cech with his left foot.

2: Sebastain Coates away vs QPR. An powerful acrobatic effort from twelve yards out after QPR failed to clear a corner. It was the sort of strike you have to watch a few times just to work out what has actually happened and was worthy of winning any football match. Except it didn’t as we folded and turned a 2-0 lead into a 3-2 defeat in the final twelve minutes.

3: Andy Carroll vs Everton, FA Cup semi final. While not technically the greatest goal ever seen it was timely and important and one of the few high spots in an otherwise disappointing season. A couple of minutes left in the semi final of the world’s oldest cup competition at Wembley against the neighbours and Craig Bellamy’s free kick from the left is headed into the back of Tim Howard’s net by our much criticised number nine. Liverpool reach the final and David Moyes ends his tenth season in charge at Goodison the same way he’s ended the previous nine.

4: Luis Suarez away vs Norwich (3^rd goal). One of the best hat tricks the league has ever seen was completed with a fantastic strike from 45 yards over the head of John Ruddy and into the back of the Norwich net. It takes confidence, ability and a little cheek to score a goal like that, something our Uruguayan has plenty of. ‘Luis Suarez, you know what you are’ sang the Norwich fans, and by the time the final whistle sounded they knew exactly what he is too.

Vote for your favourite goal in the poll in the top right corner of the website and feel free to leave a comment about it, or simply let me know which goals I’ve missed that should’ve been included.

Champions League Effect

 Congratulations to Chelsea on their Champions League victory last night. They're far from my favourite team and there's alot to dislike about the club but winning a competition like that and beating some top sides along the way is a great achievement. There was an inevitability about their win against the odds the same way in 2005 it just seemed like fate was conspiring to hand us the trophy. Enough about them though, what does their victory mean for us?

 Well, I believe Chelsea winning the Champions League can have a few positive effects on Liverpool.

 Firstly, after winning both the FA and the European Cups it will be very hard for Roman Abramovich to fire Roberto Di Matteo. As we've found out in the last few days there are very few, if any, top managers available at the moment and if Chelsea aren't looking for one it pushes us closer to the front of the queue in gaining the services of whoever FSG decide is our first choice.

 Secondly it now relegates Spurs to the Europa League along with Newcastle and ourselves. Realistically we were never competing with Chelsea for players, their vast finances puts them in a league above us when it comes to salaries. But Tottenham are a club on a similar level to us at the moment and the fact they now can't offer Champions League football can only benefit us. Also in terms of the top sides they are probably the one we should target catching up with first and if players like Luka Modric and Gareth Bale decide their future lies elsewhere that can only enhance our chances of climbing the table next season.

 And finally, after watching Bayern last night it's nice to know it's not only us who are capable of dominating teams at home and failing to win, it can happen to anybody.

A Change In Charge

 The search for a new Liverpool manager begins! It’s a time that could be quite exciting, all the promise and potential that a new motivator and tactician can bring to the team, the hope of great things. This search is one with a slightly disappointing feel for a couple of reasons. Firstly everybody connected with Liverpool Football Club wants us to be successful with Kenny Dalglish in charge and the fact that a man held in such high regard has left is no cause for celebration. And secondly there is no obvious or outstanding candidate for the job.

 With the money invested in the squad over the last eighteen months it is important that the right appointment is made to continue the development of the players brought in. The names linked to the job so far are interesting more than exciting in my opinion. Andre Villas Boas had a great reputation before he joined Chelsea and had he been appointed last summer I think we would all have been very happy but his failure at Stamford Bridge while trying to introduce and bed in a younger playing staff means he would probably not be first choice to attempt the same thing at Anfield. Brendan Rogers, Roberto Martinez and Paul Lambert have all been mentioned and to be honest I couldn’t really separate the three of them in terms of who I would prefer. They all try to play decent football with limited resources but are all completely untried at a club the size and stature of Liverpool with such high expectation. Rafa Benitez has also been linked with a return but I think he’s had his chance and someone else should be given the opportunity. If the right person isn’t available this summer I believe Rafa would be a good short term option until the first choice manager could be appointed but if we were to go down this route then there was really no point removing Kenny from the position.

 The financial muscle of Manchester City, United, Arsenal and Chelsea along with the emergence of Tottenham means this is the hardest time of all to be trying to break back into the elusive ‘top four’ and the promised land of the Champions League that comes with it. Kenny Dalglish’s comments yesterday about not swapping the Carling Cup win for anything show exactly why he’s loved at Anfield and respected as a true football man and also exactly why we probably need a younger man to move the club forward. I fear that with the differences in finances between ourselves and the two Manchester clubs, aswell as the big London clubs who can charge London prices, means the only way we are going to earn our place back at the top table is by the appointment of a tactical genius, someone who can find every hole in our opposition’s armour and exploit it., someone who can find every strength and attribute we have within our squad and formulate tactics and strategies that utilise every little thing we have to give us an advantage in winning games. And men who can do this are few and far between. In fact I can’t think of one. Both Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez had spells where they seemed to get absolutely everything right, where every substitution brought a goal, even the signing of Abel Xavier brought us a goal within fifteen minutes on his debut. Both managers achieved a second place finish but both eventually ran out of ideas and their time at the club went stale.

 Clubs change managers regularly in modern football and special praise is reserved for those who stick with the same manager but I don’t think that having the same man in charge for the long haul is necessarily the way to go. Managers deliver success in the short term but over time their impact always fades. There is one notable exception but we won’t mention him. The other long serving managers in the Premier League are David Moyes and Arsene Wenger and both clubs are well thought of for keeping faith with established managers. But, and this is key in my opinion, Wenger has won nothing in the last seven years and Moyes has won nothing at all in ten years. Appointing a manager with the intention of him still being in place in a decade is all well and good but the current evidence doesn’t suggest to me that a long term appointment is the best way to gain success. In my opinion our owners need to think long and hard about which manager will best suit the squad we have now and the level we are currently at for the next two or three seasons and that is our man. Anything that comes after that is a welcome bonus.

Gone But Will Never Be Forgotten

 It has been announced in the last hour that Kenny Dalglish is no longer the Liverpool manager. The news isn't a big surprise and has already been met with a mixed response from some areas which really puzzles me. I think at the end of the day it's the club's final position in the league after a significant investment in the team that has led to the decision by Fenway Sports Group.

 Kenny Dalglish will always be loved at Liverpool Football Club and I'm incredibly glad that in his final season in the role of manager we won a trophy and beat our neighbours at Wembley in the first meeting between the two clubs in over twenty years at the famous stadium. Kenny has left us with a young squad with plenty of potential, a trophy in the cabinet and a European place next season. He won't be proud of finishing eighth in the Premier League but he leaves behind plenty to be proud of.

 What has surprised me has been some of the people already coming out and saying it's a shocking decision and he deserves at least another year. I don't disagree that Kenny deserves respect but that is something that he will always have at Anfield, even if we had been relegated this season he would be held in high esteem by everybody who matters. The thing I find shocking is the number of people who have been putting the boot into him all season, saying he handled the Luis Suarez situation disgracefully, saying he was condoning racism, saying our league form was embarrassing, saying he was presiding over the worst Liverpool side in living memory who are now coming out and saying he should have been given more time! Publicity surrounding Liverpool this season has been 99% negative and much of this has been directed towards our manager, who never ducked any criticism and protected his players so well, I would have expected an almost universally positive response to him leaving but it seems yet again the media want to criticise Liverpool Football Club.

 It wasn't an easy decision by our owners and let's hope it proves to be the right one. And let's hope we see much more of Kenny Dalglish at Anfield in whatever capacity suits him best, whether it be director of football, ambassador for the club or as a supporter. Thanks for everything Kenny Dalglish, You'll Never Walk Alone.

Darling You've Got To Let Me Know........

 Rumours are flying around that Kenny Dalglish is about to lose his job as manager of Liverpool after meetings with Fenway Sports Group in Boston. I've has a think about the arguments for and against letting Kenny go and I've come to the conclusion that FSG can't actually make the wrong decision on this one.

 Looking at our league results and the final league table it's clear we're not where we want to be. Despite poor performances and results under both Benitez and Hodgson this season has seen us finish 8th, that's below where we were when Rafa lost his job. The woodwork has been brought up as an excuse for a number of dropped points and while this is a factor you would expect having one of the greatest forwards ever to play football in charge of the team would help to increase the number of goals but as the season has gone on there has been no real improvement in the end result of our attacks. Then we have the signings, Downing, Henderson, Suarez and Carroll are the big money acquisitions Dalglish has made and none of them have been what you would call an unqualified success. Suarez has looked the best of the bunch whereas Downing, Carroll and Henderson have only impressed in short patches.

 Taking into account the money spent and the good form at the end of last season when Kenny replaced Hodgson it's fair to say more was expected of this season than was actually delivered. fourteen wins from thirty eight games is a very very poor return and if FSG decide Kenny Dalglish is not the man to lead Liverpool next season I think the majority of fans would accept that and support the search for a new manager.

 Looking at our squad something becomes clear. Kelly, Flanagan, Robinson, Shelvey, Henderson, Spearing, Carroll - all young and English. Suarez and Coates are both young and still learning about English football. Charlie Adam is still in the earlier part of his career, as is Lucas Leiva. Agger, Skrtel, Enrique, Downing and Reina all have a large portion of their career ahead of them. In short the squad we have is mainly young and, in a large part, British. We currently have a manager who has worked with these players for a year, and in some cases eighteen months, and changing manager now could mean a lot of these players starting again from scratch. The long term development of the current squad is best suited to happen under the guidance of a manager already familiar with all of the players.

 Focusing on improving the team we have, and therefore making the most of the money FSG have already spent, could lead them to think that changing the man at the helm right now could be bowing to media pressure rather than truly looking at what's best for the development of the playing staff. In short if FSG decide the arguments for keeping Kenny in charge are good ones then that is the decision they should make and the fans will come back next season and support the players and the manager the way they always do.

 One thing is for certain though, with the amount of speculation currently doing the rounds it's important that a decision is made soon and made public.

Why We All Love International Football

 Former Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has today appointed former Manchester United captain Gary Neville to his coaching staff for the next four years. To give everyone an insight into what Gary Neville will bring to the England set up here's an extract from his autobiography released last year

 "I don't see us competing seriously for a major tournament for at least ten years, there have been times when I've reflected on my international career and just thought "well that was a massive waste of time""

 I wonder who'll be delivering the motivational speeches to the players at half time...

A Few Random Observations Of Our Season.....

 Just a few observations from our season that I may go into in a little more depth over the next few weeks.

 Despite our shocking league results only one team actually beat us twice – Fulham.

 There are only three teams we beat twice, two of them finished above us – Everton and Chelsea – and one finished bottom – Wolves.

 Of the seven teams that finished above us we knocked four of them out of cup competitions – the other three we didn’t play against in the cups.

 Of all of our cup victories against Premier League sides (excluding games at a neutral venue), only Chelsea away in the Carling Cup was not a better result than we achieved in the league, swapping our cup results for our league ones would have given us ten more league points. However those ten points would only have been enough to raise us one league position.

 Despite it feeling like we lost every week we actually beat eleven out of our nineteen league opponents this season, there were only eight who we failed to beat – Man City, Man Utd, Spurs,  Fulham, Swansea, Sunderland, Stoke and Wigan. Five of those teams finished below us and certainly fall into the category of sides we should be beating.

 We won fourteen league matches and we lost fourteen league matches. Out of thirty eight games that is far too many defeats and nowhere near enough victories for us, no matter how unlucky we were with hitting the woodwork repeatedly.

 Of the twenty four games we failed to win this season, we only lost four by more than a solitary goal. This means that in twenty of our matches (which is more than half) a single goal in our favour would have increased our points tally. Personally I think this is the most telling fact of our season, it’s not just that we’ve struggled to score goals, it’s that we’ve completely failed to score goals when we needed to. Compare that with what happened in injury time in Manchester yesterday and you see the difference well timed goals can make.

They Think It's All Over... It Is! Thank God.

 That's our season finished, predictably with a defeat. We won on Tuesday and we've not really had two good league results in a row for as long as I can remember so I wasn't particularly surprised we lost to be honest. I'll look at our season in the next week or two and try to figure out where it went wrong, and try to highlight the few occasions when it went right.

 Congratulations to Man City on winning the title, left it very late but deserved it over the season. I know plenty of people (we all know who they support) who will say it's not a proper win as it's 'only on goal difference' but we all know the rules at the start of the season and that's what we play to. I think when two teams are level on points and one of them has both conceded the fewest goals and scored the most over the season they deserve to finish higher. And if that team has beaten the one they finish level with twice then there can really be no argument over who should be top. I'm much happier seeing Man City win the league than their neighbours but there is still a large amount of disappointment seeing yet another name on the Premiership trophy before ours. We've got a lot of catching up to do..........

Final Day Musings

 Sunday brings to a close a very memorable season for Liverpool for all sorts of reasons, some of them good, some of them not so much. Away at Swansea won’t be an easy fixture and a win there would be a good result if we can achieve this. We can finish either 7^th, 8^th or 9^th and it’s easy to argue that there is no real difference for a club like ours, whichever we end up in is below what we expect and certainly below what is acceptable. The two sides around us, Fulham and Everton, both have difficult games so we do have a realistic chance of 7^th if we can bring all three points back from North Wales. Being a point behind our neighbours adds a little spice to what could otherwise be a fairly flat final day for us and, while finishing above Everton is certainly not an aim for us like it is for them, it would be nice to not end up below them in the final table.

 With all of this in mind it makes choosing a team for the game quite difficult. Should Kenny pick the strongest team possible in order to give us the best chance of winning? Should the younger players like Coates, Shelvey and Henderson be given the ninety minutes in their preferred positions to help aid their development? Should we give the even younger players like Raheem Sterling and Jack Robinson a game? Should players who look like they might be on their way out like Maxi and Kuyt be given the chance to play for us one last time? It’s not an easy call.

 In the grand scheme of things the difference between finishing 7^th and 9^th isn’t great and playing youngsters who have a real chance of making the grade at Anfield seems like a decent approach to take into the game. However I think that our league results since Christmas have been so poor that the chance to win two games on the run at the end of the season should be taken with both hands. This season has had so many negatives that if we can finish on a positive it would make our summer so much better. Kenny Dalglish is a man who has been under so much scrutiny and has come in for so much criticism over the last few months and a victory would help his cause so I think he should pick as strong a side as he can.

 My starting eleven would be Reina, Agger, Skrtel, Carragher, Johnson, Downing, Gerrard, Henderson, Bellamy, Carroll and Suarez. The likes of Sterling, Coates, Robinson and Shelvey should certainly be on the bench along with Doni, Kuyt and either Enrique or Maxi. This isn’t necessarily the squad I think Dalglish will go with but it’s what I would pick. Swansea have played well this season and Sunday will be a big celebration of their season for them and whoever is in our side will find it a tough match. A victory for Liverpool would help us look to next season with excitement rather than dread whereas a defeat would leave us feeling pretty down going into the break. We’ve definitely got the squad to win comfortably at the Liberty Stadium and our away results this season have been much better than those at home so we should go into the game with confidence and a positive attitude. Let’s hope the performance and result against Chelsea on Tuesday can be repeated and then let’s get this season behind us and prepare properly for our next campaign.

New Kit

 Our kit for next season has been revealed and to be honest I quite like it. It’s the first one made for us by Warrior in their first venture into Premier League football kits and they’ve done well, at least they have done if it looks as good for real as it does in the pictures. It’s quite plain and I like that, it’s just plain red with a simple new badge and our sponsor in yellow. There is a small flame and a small number ‘96’ on the back in a respectful gesture to the Hillsborough victims though the club and the Hillsborough Justice Campaign disagree on just how much consultation there was between the manufacturers and the families of the bereaved.

 I’m a fan of proper green goalkeeper’s kits and I’m pleased to see we have one for next season, ‘keeper’s tops should be green, it’s just the way it is and there is no other colour that could go with the retro style of the new design.

 The kit is a big contrast to another one unveiled this week at the other end of the East Lancs with a pretty chavvy gingham pattern and ‘forged in industry, striving for glory’ written on the inside. But this is from a club who have one of the most famous stadiums in world football and still choose to give it a cheesy nickname…….

Hanging up The Boots

 The board has gone up for injury time, it’s 1-1 and the game will be remembered for a couple of superb goals from Xabi Alonso and Patrick Viera. Didi Hamman has done what he does and won us a free kick close to our own goal line and as Chris Kirkland prepares to launch the ball forward for the last time we begin to walk down from the back of the Kop towards the exits. Kirkland’s punt finds Harry Kewell’s head and then drops in front of Neil Mellor 25 yards from goal and he smashes it into the bottom corner past Jens Lehman. Pandemonium ensues on the terraces, Sol Campbell looks distraught on the pitch. By the time the celebrations in the stand begin to calm down we’re somehow about ten rows further forward than we were before the wonder strike. A quick chorus of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and then the journey home, filled with the optimism created by beating a great side as our new manager still finds his feet in the Premier League. These few minutes are one of my clearest memories in all my years of watching football at Anfield.

 Yesterday Neil Mellor announced his retirement at 29 years old due to a knee injury and I’m sure all Liverpool fans are gutted for him. He was very promising as a young player at Liverpool and seemed to score in every youth team and reserve match he played in, leading to plenty of calls for him to be brought into the first team. He was a strong player and a good finisher, probably lacking the speed that most top strikers have but he still proved himself to be a decent player every time he was called upon. Without his contribution against Olympiakos there would have been no Istanbul, and every Liverpool supporter will remain eternally grateful for the goal he scored that night at the Kop end within minutes of replacing Milan Baros.

 Footballers are often criticised for the amount of money they earn and the way they behave as if they don’t have a care in the world, but this isn’t all of them. It is a short career and here is a man retiring at only 29. He’s scored vital goals in the Premier League and the Champions League for Liverpool before finding a good home at Preston, a decent club I’ve always liked (obviously apart from a short spell under Alex Ferguson’s son) but I’d be surprised if he’s set for life. At his age most people will still have thirty five years of their working lives ahead of them and plenty of experience behind them. Footballers who finish at this age don’t often have anything else to fall back on. The top players will make enough money to set them up for life but this certainly isn’t true of every professional footballer and sometimes people should think about what they say before they make a sweeping criticism of everyone in the sport, it can be a great career, but it can also be very hard and very unfair.

 I hope Neil Mellor finds work within football, his managers and team mates have always been highly complimentary of him and he has good experience so I’m sure he would make it as a coach. His time as a youngster at Liverpool and the weight of expectation coming through the ranks after home grown strikers like Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen would give him a really good perspective on training up and coming talents, not just with the football side of things but how to deal with the pressures of being highly though of at a big club as well. It’s a shame when injury forces any player to retire (Roy Keane excluded), especially one who has provided Liverpool fans with good memories, maybe not as many as other players, but certainly ones just as important.

That's What It's Supposed To Be Like!

 Now that was a good way to sign off from Anfield for the season! This piece almost writes itself today there are that many easy things to point out. We put four past Chelsea with with ‘seeing is believing’ written on our shirts, we were doing our bit for charity but Chelsea were in a far more charitable mood than us etc…

 4-1 was a good was to exact some sort of revenge for our FA Cup final defeat at the weekend, and three home points were long long overdue. Every player put in a performance and for me the young central midfield pair of Henderson and Shelvey deserve special mention. They both scored and both got from box to box in a pair of energetic displays with more than a little flair to go with the effort. When I saw the team there were a few areas that concerned me including the centre of midfield up against the experienced Essien and Malouda but our youngsters did us proud. I was also sceptical about Carra’s chances against Torres but our veteran centre back came out on top and reminded us there’s life in the old dog yet. Torres has now played against us four times since he left in January last year and has lost all four, the only time Chelsea have beaten us since then is when they left him on the bench and didn’t allow him near the pitch. He’s probably due a hat-trick against us next season now……

 The performance itself wasn’t overly different from the majority of our home games this season but this time our chances went in the back of the net and the opposition (as well as us, naturally) hit the woodwork twice. Possession and goal attempts weren’t weighted any more heavily in our favour for this 4-1 victory than they have been in the majority of our home defeats and draws but we had players step up and finish last night which was fantastic to see, it was amazing to see the confidence in the performance after such a draining season, there was no going through the motions, it was a team determined to win.

 Despite all the positives there were a few things that helped to sum up why our season has left us where we are in the league. Henderson’s goal was only his second of the season while Shelvey and Agger both netted their first of the league campaign, Downing hit the woodwork twice and still hasn’t managed a league goal for us and Andy Carroll has begun to play well for us but has gone through the entire season without scoring in the league at our home ground. Despite a few shaky moments our defence this season has conceded an acceptable number of times (though there is always room for improvement) but we’ve simply not been anywhere close to clinical enough in front of goal and the whole team needs to take responsibility for this, not just the strikers. Our manager is one of the greatest forwards to have ever played the game so such wastefulness in front of goal is surprising and extremely frustrating.

 It’s Swansea away on the final day and they’ve been quite impressive this season, the game will be played out in front of a sold out crowd making a good atmosphere against a team with no pressure on them so it won’t be easy to get a win. We’ve also struggle to put two good results together this year so a win on Sunday will be a big result. There is the potential to finish above Everton if results go our way but this isn’t particularly important to me in the grand scheme of things. You finish where you deserve to over the thirty eight games and it is what it is. It’s nice not to be below our local rivals but whether we manage 7^th, 8^th or even 9^th it isn’t good enough. The only time I’d be particularly delighted to finish above the blues is if they were in 2^nd.

The Day The Line Was (Or Wasn't) Crossed

 So, defeat for Liverpool in the FA Cup final but we certainly didn't disgrace ourselves and the most controversial moment of the match definitely went against us. For the first hour we were second best, Chelsea weren't by any means dominant or even particularly impressive but we didn't commit men forward and didn't provide a goal threat, combine that with some poor tackling (Enrique) and sloppy passing (Spearing) and finding ourselves 2-0 down wasn't particularly a surprise. Andy Carroll came on and the giant woke up the sleeping Reds and we began to deliver a performance. The way Chelsea played leaves us with the feeling that if we had put in a decent hour or so during the game it would probably have been enough to win the cup for us, but we didn't, and for that we can only look at our own performance.

 Carroll was a battering ram when he came on, winning almost every ball and giving the Chelsea defenders something to think about, making their lives much more difficult than when they had only to deal with an isolated Suarez for the first sixty minutes. His goal was well taken, giving John Terry the run around before smashing the ball into the roof of the net. Then came the controversy. Carroll's header from Suarez' cross was palmed by Cech onto the underside of the bar and out into the six yard box. The Liverpool players ran off celebrating but the officials refused to say the ball had crossed the line and play continued. TV replays weren't particularly conclusive. ITV paused the footage with a small part of the ball hidden behind the crossbar, but it was clear the camera wasn't exactly in line with the goal (very poor positioning for such an expensive stadium!) and it was also clear that it was paused ever so slightly before Cech's hand touched the ball. So the ball still had a short distance to travel before it was propelled in the opposite direction, but this doesn't necessarily mean the whole of the ball was in. In short it's certain that at least 95% of the ball was over the line but the remaining 5% may or may not have gone in so it's hard to make a decision. I think with the speed the ball was travelling and the fact that Cech's body was between the linesman and the ball means that it would have been an impossible call for the official and no blame can be attached there for no goal being signalled. It's time to give them some help.

 From the position which Carroll headed the ball he shouldn't have given Cech a chance to save the attempt in the first place. Andy Carroll wins a lot of headers in the box and how many times have we seen his efforts skim the top of the crossbar or brush the roof of the net as they go slightly over the bar. What he doesn't seem to do is head the ball downwards, the way you are taught to do from the first age you head the ball, if he had aimed downwards yesterday afternoon as long as it was on target the keeper would have had no chance whatsoever of pulling off a save and we'd have been level at 2-2 with momentum in our favour. Such are the margins in big games.

 The performance in the last half hour gives us plenty of positives to take away form our third Wembley appearance of the season and if we can follow that up with two decent results in our last two games we can look to next season with an optimism that has been missing for the last few months.

Que Sera Sera

 The FA Cup final is almost upon us and the excitement is building. Our league form of late has certainly taken away a lot of the optimism usually associated with our loyal fans but come kick off on Saturday the ninety minutes against Chelsea will be all that matters. There has been debate this week about how the Premier League's growing importance is devaluing the FA Cup and it's hard to argue with that, teams now see finishing 4th or 5th as more of an aim than winning a trophy, the prestige of playing in Europe is more attractive than having a nice medal collection to look at when your career comes to an end. If given the choice this season of winning the FA Cup or gaining a Champions League place the decision is easy for me. We're still a work in progress and if we were in next season's Champions League I wouldn't see us as contenders for winning it so on that basis I'd pick winning this season's FA Cup over finishing in the top four. Ok, in an ideal world we would achieve both but this season has been about as far away from an ideal world as it could have been. We exist to win trophies, Liverpool fans live for finals, we have the banners, the banter, the passion and the global fanbase to make us the ideal participants in any showpiece game.

 There's no point pretending we're anything other than underdogs for the big game, a couple of dodgy results aside Chelsea have been excellent under Di Matteo and he's even got Fernando Torres scoring (maybe he could spend a little time training with Andy Carroll). The Chelsea players deserve to be in the Champions League final for their performances in the knockout stages and I have a sneaky feeling they will beat Bayern in the final. Whether or not their fans deserve such an honour after their behaviour before their semi final against Spurs is a little more debatable. It certainly wasn't the majority of their supporters shouting 'murderers' during the silence for the Hillsborough victims but it was by no means just a couple of isolated morons and this can only add extra spice to the final at Wembley. There's no love lost between the two sets of supporters as it is and the extra edge that has been added to the atmosphere should make for plenty of noise. I like the banner I've seen that says 'you were silent for fifty years, would one more minute have been too much to ask?'. To the point without being aggressive, perfect.

 It's difficult to choose a starting line up to play Chelsea. It's difficult to score against them with just one forward but the way they play in midfield almost demands we play three in the centre so it's a dilemma for the boss. I expect the team to be Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel and Enrique in defence, Spearing, Henderson and Gerrard in the middle of midfield with Bellamy and  Downing supporting Suarez from the wide areas but it also wouldn't surprise me if Carroll starts ahead of Bellamy and we go two up front. Drogba will start up front for Chelsea and he always seems to do well against us, he's been a really impressive player since he joined the Premier League and if he hadn't been so theatrical I think he's the type of player who fans of all teams would love. Torres will probably be on the bench and has shown signs lately of being a real threat so in order to win we will need to stay concentrated at the back for the entire game, any defending like that in the semi final against Everton will be suicidal.

 We've beaten Chelsea twice already this season and we're certainly capable of winning this weekend but it won't be easy. It's a tough game to call and extra time or even penalties could well come into play, meaning the Liverpool supporters could be arriving home very late. The FA Cup final traditionally kicks off at 3pm on a Saturday but this time it's going to start at 5:15pm. If anybody thinks the Champions League is devaluing the FA Cup they could be right, but the FA themselves aren't exactly helping to keep their competition traditional. Moving both semi finals to Wembley and now messing with the final kick off time shows where their priorities now lie, money first, football second.

 It could be a classic game, North v South, Red v Blue, tradition v money, but at the end of the day it's Liverpool v Chelsea, it's the FA Cup final and it's almost here!!

The Discomforts Of Home

 Another home game down, only one left to go now. Everybody complains when we draw too many at home but I’m really missing those days now, after Wigan, West Brom and now Fulham all came and took maximum points home with them I’m longing to get that ‘at least we didn’t get beat’ feeling back again.

 It’s good giving the likes of Coates, Kelly, Shelvey, Spearing, Henderson, and Carroll the responsibility to go out and win three points for Liverpool, in addition to slowly introducing players like Raheem Sterling to Premier League football, but it’s very hard for players such as these without having real leadership alongside them in the team, the kind that Steven Gerrard or Jamie Carragher provide. Martin Skrtel has been excellent this season and Dirk Kuyt is an experienced senior professional but neither is what you would call a natural leader, someone who can help the younger players with their game without letting their own standards slip or taking their eye off their own responsibilities. I haven’t seen enough of last night’s game to give a full analysis but it’s disappointing to concede so early and not fight back and at least score. 85 minutes at home against a team who conceded four goals at the weekend needing to score ourselves and failing isn’t good, this is where a leader to drag a performance out of the team makes a difference.

 The team selection clearly showed where our priorities lie and despite last night’s defeat it’s hard to argue that the FA Cup final is by far our most important match not just of our remaining fixtures this season, but of our whole campaign. Saturday will be an incredibly difficult game and anything that can give us an edge should be used, and that includes resting players so they’re ready for the Wembley showdown.

 It’s not all negative however, any of you thinking we’ve got it bad should spare a thought for our poor neighbours across Stanley Park. I’ve been informed several times today that Everton are going to win the league! Protestations that the two Manchester clubs might have something to say about that fell on deaf ears, apparently Everton are going to win the ‘Merseyside League’. We’ve not won the title for 22 years and we’ve only won five home league games this season but things haven’t yet got so bad that we have to start inventing competitions just so we can say we’ve won something….