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I have been a quiet observer for a while, and what a season we are having already.
Quick summary of what have been going on for Liverpool so far.
- Summer Buys
1) Torres
Scored against Chelsea, created a hattrick in Carling Cup, bag few more in the league, looking sharp and dangerous. The price tag seems quickly justified. I am more than impressed actually at how good he is. For me, he has the right attitude, cool and composed. It's no wonder that he was appointed captaincy back in Atletico Madrid.
2) Voronin
Scored. Played well occasionally, but generally better than what people expect. Certainly good value for a free transfer.
3) Babel
Scored. Showing great potential, and it's just the matter of how soon he can unleash them all. I was most satisfied with Babel's buy during the summer, and I have been very pleased with that i saw.
4) Benayoun
Scored. Hattrick on the record win against Besiktas. Played with the grace I expected him to and has been better than average on his games.
5) Lucas & Leto
Both haven't been playing much, but Lucas showing obvious talent more apparent than of Leto's. From the way Rafa subbed him in the two league games, it seems like Lucas is prepared to be the successor of Gerrard if not a competitor in that position for coming years.
- Position in League & Cups
1) Premier League
Still undefeated. 6 points away from Arsenal, the league leaders. It's not really too far away, so no faith is worth losing.
2) Carling Cup
Now in the quarter final. Another meeting with Chelsea on the way. I don't really care about this match, although yes, I want us to win. Who doesn't?
3) Champions League
Have to win remaining 2 matches against Porto and Marseille to have any hope of qualifying. Ironic to think we have been regarded as the masters of Europe. But does anyone remember we won this trophy back then after a struggling group phase?
In terms of summer buys, I generally think we did a great job. The reason why I emphasize whether they have scored a goal is because I think they are brought in to contribute and they are mostly attacking players. We are improving what we lacked previously, at least we are now more equipped to challenge the league title and as I mentioned from the summary, we are still in the hunt!
We did play like shit after the 6-0 thumping on Derby County, and it persisted for many matches. The fact that we did not lose actually amazed me. But shit happens, I hope it's now ending after the 8-0 win against Besiktas. It felt so sweet, but everyone watching the match should be able to tell it's more because of our opponents, how they have given up and lacking quality to fight back. I am trying to be very critical here because I don't want to put myself in the overly optimistic 8th heaven because of such a win only to be hit back to ground if we don't win against Fulham this weekend. We DID play well, but we were not superb.
However, we do seem to be on the up again. Gerrard's returning form, also the impressive comeback of Kewell. Crouchy's scoring goals again, and Torres could be playing in the coming match. I hope this time we can go all the way winning, not another row of draws, because the last time we won convincingly (6-0 against Derby) we had 6 freaking draws afterwards!
It has been a season of twists and turns, but we are still not too far away from the glory. So let's hope the engine is now finally started and we will catch up with the rest fast!
Time has come. Finally after so many seasons, I have this very feeling that our time to seriously challenging or even winning the league has arrived.
Captain fantastic flying high
Starting with a team sheet that is unsurprisingly surprising, I didn’t know what to expect. At first sight, Riise on left wing? And we don’t even have a left winger in the bench? What was Rafa thinking?!
Combined with the fact that we were poor on away games and never won opening match under Rafa, this match seemed to be going an uncertain way.
But then, as the match progressed, slowly it begins to make some sense. Rafa wasn’t gambling, he was using his several years of premier league experience. Maybe the fact that we were poor on away and never won on opening are actually giving him enough experience to finally break the tradition.
We are no longer sitting and wait for chance to break in with 4-5-1 formation. Gerrard, Alonso, Torres and Kuyt are set for attack. And the reason for Riise placed in left wing was to close down Villa’s attacks. It was very obvious everyone were running hard and restricting Villa players’ space. Had Rafa put Kewell, it won’t be possible with him still finding his full fitness while Leto is a gamble. Pennant was needed to help attacking, but I am puzzled by the absence of Benayoun even in the bench.
Our attacking front were performing and linking up very well. And that’s the cause for the own goal to our favor. There were chances, but we couldn’t score another killer. When we looked set to win with a goal difference, Villa were given penalty after Carra handled the ball inside penalty box. At that moment, our lionheart hero suddenly turned villain, and he looked deeply disappointed. Barry made no mistake and the game is now looking towards a draw with less than 5 minutes to full time.
Then came the moment convincing me to believe this season is going to be special.
Gerrard shown no intention of letting the game go into a draw, and soon get himself into action and stopped clumsily by Petrov. We got ourselves a free kick, but by no means it’s easy to score at that spot. Then we are reminded that Gerrard is our captain marvelous. A perfect curling free kick and we are back leading the match. 2-1. And that’s the final scoreline.
All night, Gerrard has been imperious. The goal is very deserving for him, and what a start to the season. Liverpool fans will surely find it no stranger to have a lot of goals of the season, but this one is just perfect.
The other reason for me to be happy was Torres and Babel’s performances. Torres is definitely going to raise our level, and he looked pretty comfortable with Kuyt. Babel was excellent when he came on for Pennant. He should seriously be given more time on the right wing than Pennant. His fast pace drives and shots are simply exciting and effective. Compared to last season, the team we have now look so much more likely to score than the previous one.
And this is just the opening. Three points, we are off the ground running.
I watched the Portsmouth game last week, and although we lost, I am quite pleased with what I saw.
The game reminds me of last season's typical encounter with teams that prefer to play 10 defenders and we struggled to break though. Wasted some chances and never got to score the all important goal. And I thought that's exactly why we spent around 40 million pounds to buy the new players!
I think Torres played well, although he should have scored with a few chances. Still, it's his early pre season, I don't put my expectation bar too high. He missed the penalty, it's a bit disappointing, but everyone misses once in a while. All in all, it's too bad that he couldn't score any goals in this game, but luckily it's just an exhibition cup. For me, it doesn't bother if you miss a lot, just make sure you hit when it matters. I don't care if he scores a hundred goals in pre season, there's no use if he can't score any when the season kicks off!
I guess it's very common that people, especially fans, tend to have their expectations raised straightaway when a big money splashed on the big player. And we are entitled to that. BUT, we have to be logical, not impatient. What do people really prefer, a striker that scores a lot in matches we easily won but couldn't find the net on big occasion or striker that scores the one goal in many 1-0 matches. It's the difference they make eventually that worths the money, not the number of goals in pre season!
That's also something I thought is misleading from the use of number of goals to judge a player. Sure statistic doesn't lie, but it doesn't says everything. I don't mind if Torres isn't scoring 20-30 goals (although I would love to see), but even if he just score 15 goals in which 10 of them crucial in winning us games, then I am more than happy because he just won us 30 points!
The point I made is clear. In our current situation, we need a striker that can make a difference, and we are yet to see if Torres, Babel or Voronin can provide us that. In my opinion, that's the key to premiership. So don't write any of their names off yet just because of one or two pre season games!
On other notes, I still can't understand why Heinze saga is taking so long. I don't know about the complication of the contract, but if the agent said there is a release clause, then isn't it solved by meeting the clause? I thought Rafa has made a bid for that. It's very funny and honestly quite tiring to see. Now that Juve has made clear of their interest in signing him, I guess it could end up Heinze signing for them instead, unless he really has such a big intention to join us which I very much welcome.
Also, with Parry hinting at continuing spending, there could be something more to see before the transfer window closes. Supposedly, Heinze should be the last signing. But now with Heinze looking difficult, will us be interested in flirting with Alves again?
It doesn't really matter to me I guess, somehow I am very happy with the squad we have now. I am very excited to see Babel play on the Portsmouth match even though he wasn't exactly the best performer that night. Still, I can see the glimpses of Henry-esque in him and I have no doubt he will be a success sooner or later. And also, Harry was playing well at the left wing, hope he can continue and be fit all season.
All in all, it's not a bad pre season, and hope we can rocket into the top straightaway from the start, which is just 9 days away!
YNWA.
[image credit: liverpoolfc.net]
Our triple B's, Babel Benitez Benayoun
I just knew it. Signings are flowing, and look who we got, Benayoun and Babel!
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We signed who? Oh! Voronin, yes of course!
I didn't know we have yet to officialise the signing of Voronin. But I guess just like how people very much forget about him, no one really cares too much. And until now, I still have no clear idea of why is he signed for. To replace our good ol' Zenden, now that he has signed for Marseilles? We don't need another Zenden in my opinion, utility player and player that can't produce are two different things. Of course, we can't take away everything from Zenden, he was decent on few occasions. Still, that's not exactly what we need for a winning team?
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Rafa looked very macho, doesn't he?
So we have finally finalised the deal and Torres is our new number 9. Woo! I am still very excited about this
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So what everyone has been expecting these days come true. Luis Garcia will be going opposite way while Liverpool is closer to the signing of Fernando Torres from Atletico Madrid.
Garcia's trademark goal celebration
I seriously cannot believe Garcia is really going out of Anfield. He was just here for 2 seasons and it feels like a long time. His fantastic goals against Juventus, Chelsea, Charlton and others will be remembered forever. I don't know about other fans, but I feel very sad with his departure. As I said in my previous entry, he had both worst and best moments in a red shirt, but I think his contribution outweighs his mistakes. I had missed him last season when he was injured and thought about how much we could have done with him on our side, like Champions League final. Alas, I never thought we would have seen the last magics from him. I wish him the very best of luck in the future, and he will never walk alone
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That's Momo and..who?
Honestly I was shocked when I first saw that picture. Who is that, he looks familiar....oh! It's Rafa's dad
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I know my post title will get any Liverpool fans excited, jumping around crazily only to get disappointed after reading what I meant was that we signed new contracts with our current players
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For Sydney fans of all football, there couldn't be any worse day than yesterday. In Rugby League, the prestigious State of Origin I saw NSW lost to Queensland after leading the first half by two tries. Back in football, Sydney FC are kicked out of Asian Champions League after managed to only finish the game scoreless against Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds. They needed a win to proceed to the next round. And for Liverpool fans in Sydney, such as myself, it can only triple the disaster with the defeat in the final.
A dream shattered
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Let's hope he scores more when the season kicks off this Saturday.
Well as long as we being realistic, a healthy dose of bias shouldn't be a problem yeah? Hehe.
Comment by Hardy
on AC Milan keeper Dida receives two-match ban
Mighty Reds Days
Don't use video replays to during the game, but use it to catch players dive and cheat, and punish them. Simple as that.