Liverpool VS Wolves : Match Review

What a season it had been for the Reds!
Liverpool will now end year 2010 at the 12th placing with
22 points in 18 matches and 8 defeats in the league, a place
below arch-rival Everton and 16 points behind 1st place Man United.
The Reds suffered another humiliating defeat in Anfield in
the hand of last-place Wolves with a 0-1 scoreline.

I think Hodgson won't get pass the January transfer window
as Liverpool manager as he is now walking on a very thin
thread and any undesirable result against Bolton at Anfield
this Saturday New Year fixture may well be his final match
in charge of the Reds. He has been Clueless, Aimless and Witless
dealing with the opponents and I think he is more suitable for the 2-tier teams.

Yesterday, while watching the live match, I keep wondering
why is right-footed Kuyt playing as the left-wing when we have
Maxi, Jovanovic and Babel as the natural left-sided wingers.
Hodgson had played Cole as the left-winger and his performance
had been woeful and so predictable to the opposing defenders.
Then he played Kuyt on the left-wing which cemented my view that
Kuyt had past his prime and should be sold in the coming days and
week when he is still worth about 8 million if my guess is correct.

When Babel was substituted into the squad and played in the
left wing, there is a huge improvement in the flank attacks and
crosses. Why didn't Hodgson start Babel or even Maxi in the match?
Meireles had a great scoring chance in the first half to calm the
nerve of the team when a quick-wit free-kick by Torres found him
in a one-on-one situation, but somehow he shot right at the goalkeeper
and the ball went out for a corner. This is the best scoring chance
for Liverpool in the entire match, other than the speculative half-chances
taken by a handful of players.

Have the team rested far too long in the 2 weeks (18 days) break that they
have lost the match fitness and awareness? Even with captain Gerrald
back from injury, the team failed to perform infront of the home fans
and the passes and crosses were terribly below-par. Wolves played
a well-planned pressing game and they were rewarded with decent
midfield possessions which limited how the Reds midfielder can deliver
crosses and passes to Torres and Ngog at the front. Lucas was virtually
anonymous throughout the match except for his sudden appearance with
reckless tackle which earned him a deserved yellow card.

Skrtel and Kyrgiakos made a mess of themselves in dealing with a
simple pass by Wolves and allow Stephen Ward to score in a one-on-one
situation with Reina and this is his first Premier League goal. The back-four
played a forgettable match and I expect Agger to be in the line-up against
Bolton and either of the central-defender replaced. Johnson looked tired
yesterday and his supporting play was clearly missed as he made few attempts
to support the attacking play. Konchesky don't deserved to wear the Reds jersey
as he is always out of position and find wanting by the opponent attackers.
Aurelio played better than him when he was replaced in the 2nd half.

With regards to the 2 foward upfront, I think Torres touched the ball
less then 20 times yesterday and Ngog lacked the experiences and skill
to trouble Wolves defenders and goalkeeper. If Torres is not willing to
strive for the team and deliver what he is being paid for, then it maybe
a great time to cash him out. He is worth a stunning 60 million and the
money can be put into good uses since John Henry may just give the
team a 10-20 million to spend in the transfer window.

I am very disappointed with the team's performance yesterday as
I was expecting a perfect 6 points from the 2 home matches against
Wolves and Bolton. Now, there is another 3 points that the team
can strive for this New Year day. Hodgson deserved to be sacked
and go into the history book as the first manager the Reds have fired
before the season is over. I am still as always behind the team and
players but I am not behind the woefully lousy Hodgson to continue
as the manager. Sack the man! Bring King Kenny back!

I leave this posting with a article on why Hodgson must  GO now!

Six reasons why Hodgson must go now

Roy Hodgson's Liverpool reign hit a new low last night with defeat by Wolves, catcalls from the Kop and ill-advised criticism of fans for their lack of support, Here are six reasons why the Anfield faithful want him sacked - and fast.

Torres turmoil
It's slowly becoming clear that for whatever reason - and Liverpool supporters should look to their beloved striker as much, if not more, than their beleaguered manager - Fernando Torres isn't doing it for Hodgson or isn't willing to do it for him.
So abysmal was the striker against Wolves, one of a string of downbeat and disinterested displays in a season briefly illuminated by his heroics against Chelsea, that serious consideration must be given to shipping either he or his manager out in January.

It doesn't matter whether the reasons for El Nino's slump are tactical, personal, fitness-related, whatever. Liverpool simply can't go on with an undroppable player playing as badly as this week-in and week-out. Something has to give.

Terrible transfers
With a few notable exceptions, Liverpool's last two managers didn't have much luck in the transfer market, especially in the latter days of their reigns. Yet amid the mountains of mid-budget dross, Gerard Houllier managed to unearth gems like Sami Hyypia, Dietmar Hamman and Gary McAllister, while Rafa Benitez's big-money moves for Torres, Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano paid off sufficiently to give the 'Being Back Rafa' campaign amnesia about him spending £56.5m on Robbie Keane, Alberto Aquilani and Glen Johnson.

Hodgson, meanwhile, has had no luck - or shown no judgement - at all so far. Joe Cole was a questionable gamble after a lost couple of seasons at Chelsea, Brad Jones has not played, Christian Poulsen has not inspired and Paul Konchesky has not been anything other than a nightmare.
The sensible thing to do after his  mother's Facebook outburst against Liverpool fans would have been to quietly drop the former Fulham defender, but Hodgson has kept him in the fold. As such, Konchesky could end up being Hodgson's John McGovern - the Derby player who became a terrace hate figure during Brian Clough's 44 days at  Leeds and whose continued presence in the side despite a string of poor performances hastened Ol' Big 'Ead's Elland Road dismissal.

Missing man-management
Joe Cole's stay on Merseyside has so far been an unmitigated disaster. But there's surely no-one in the country who believes the former Chelsea and West Ham man would be playing so badly if he were now at Spurs, where Harry Redknapp - who was outbid by Hodgson in the summer - is a master of putting an arm around players short on confidence and bringing them back to their best.
Hodgson, by contrast, has always been more stick than carrot - after going 2-0 up in a match during their struggle against relegation, one Blackburn player recalls him strolling into the dressing room at half-time and jokingly asking, "what are you going to do to f** this one up?" His public criticism of Cole, Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger, while certainly justified in the first two cases, can't have gone down well in a tight dressing room. And, again, he has failed to bring the best - or anything approaching it - from Torres.

Backroom unrest
Not even Hodgson claims Liverpool is a happy ship at the moment. In addition to the player issues detailed in the previous point, gossip suggests that some Melwood backroom staffers - though crucially not yet their boss Daniel Commoli - view Hodgson's tactics, training and attitude to scouting unfavourably next to Benitez's precision and attention to detail.
If you believe "informed" talk from fan websites, the players' jury is certainly out on first team coach Mike Kelly, a Hodgson friend for over 40 years.

Tactics and personnel
While Hodgson must be given credit for making Lucas look like a footballer at last, the deficit column of his account is mounting up by the match. Torres' lacklustre form might be down to his head not being right, but some of it is surely to do with the switch from a 4-3-2-1 system with two players to support him.
Despite Daniel Agger's protests that "I'm here to play football and not to unload", it is too strong to call Hodgson a long-ball manager. But his desire for the ball to be played quickly to Torres will not pay off when the forward continually finds himself isolated even when he successfully holds play up. Meanwhile Liverpool's 4-4-2 makes them look among the Premier League's slowest and narrowest teams - no wonder Hodgson wants Ashley Young in the window - while fans are rightly baffled by their manager snubbing Agger and Fabio Aurelio, and either dropping Maxi Rodriguez and Raul Meireles or playing them out of position. It's a mess.

The final straw
Hodgson's remarks about the missing Anfield roar sound much worse in isolation than they did during his fairly reasonable post-match comments. However, he just shouldn't have gone there.
Remember David O'Leary's throwaway remark about Villa's "fickle" crowd and the subsequent "we're not fickle, we just don't like you banner". Where is O'Leary now? And where will Hodgson be in a fortnight?

Liverpool VS FC Utrecht : Match Review

I nearly fell asleep watching the match this early morning
as it was quite a boring, dull and disappointing all-square game.
My mind was telling me to skip this live match as Liverpool
are already guaranteed top place in the group and there
is really nothing to urge and spur the player on to achieve
a desirable result. But my heart and body are willing to forsake
a few hours of sleep to watch my beloved supported team
and players in action. I was disappointed by the proceeding
but I guess it is just what was expected when Hodgson is
still the lead-man.

In this purely academic match, Hodgson made the right decision
to put in the reserves and allow them to show the manager and
the fans what they are capable of. He made 10 changes to the
squad which lost to Newcastle at the weekend with Skrtel the
only player from the last match and was the captain for the match.
Reina wasn't even in the reserves and Brad Jones was the goalie
and it was a pretty reasonably quiet game as he was rarely challenged.

Wilson started alongside Skrtel in central defense with Kelly and
Aurelio at the side. Poulsen was given the call-up to partner Shelvey
in the central midfield and surprisingly Cole was played as a left-wing
and Javanovic was at right-wind when they should have change
sides. Babel and Eccleston were leading the attack.

The defense were doing fine with the countable challenges from
the opponent and Kelly and Aurelio were charging forward to
help out in the attacks whenever possible. The main issue is with
the midfield section.Poulsen was virtually anonymous in the match
and I think he has very few touches on the ball and was running around
like a headless-fly. Shelvey is doing well for a player at his age and
if he continue to perform and mature, he will be a wonderful asset
to the team and looks to fill Gerrard's shoe when the time comes.

Cole played badly in this match and really failed to meet expectation
of a player with his talent and pay grade. He lacked the speed and agility
to run-at and dribble pass the opponent and when he was given a clear
half-chance to score, he took a wild swing and delivered a weakling shot.
As what I have said before, Javanovic is a good player and when
given chance to play in a couple of games, he will show what he can do
to help the team. He was unlucky not to score in the 1st half when his
25m shot hit the cross-bar. If only Hodgson can allow him to play a
few more matches to allow him to show his prowess.

Unfortunately, Babel returned to his former self and performed below
par again in the match. Hodgson gave him a full-match to prove himself
but he was woeful in his shots and runs.Young Eccleston was also
given a chance to show his ability but his over-zealous late tackle resulted
in the only yellow card in the match. Although, he show-off his
speed and agility but he lacks the match positioning but at his age,
he can only improve if he get to play many more games.

Hodgson was seen rubbing his face in frustration as the team
was finding difficulties in finding opening in the opponent's defense
but he should see it coming with the squad that he put in.
If he put Pacheco in the starting 11, I think the whole game will
be played in a very distinct tempo and pace as from the way that
little Pacheco played when he was substituted into the team in
the 56th minutes. Liverpool clearly lack a winger to fully utilised
the width of the field and put in well-placed crosses for the
forward to attack it, and Hodgson need to address this issue
to bring in a quality player during the January transfer window.

Liverpool will face Hodgson's old club Fulham at Anfield this Saturday
and hopefully Gerrard will be fit to be featured in this match with
Torres back in the attack too. Given the terrible away form, the Reds
need to get all the 3 points at home and to correct the once-again
negative goal-difference with a delightful scoreline win.

You Will Never Walk Alone!

Newcastle VS Liverpool : Match Review

Final Score:
Newcastle 3 - 1 Liverpool

Another lousy and disgusting away loss by the Reds
and as the match proceeds, my anger was so hot that I
on the brink of smashing the TV. Fortunately, I never do
so but I just got to vent my anger with the team and
manager's performance at 4am now.

This is by far one of worst performance by the team
in the league with the 3-0 loss to Man City being the worst
in my view. Hodgson and his staffs and the team should have already
watched the video recordings of how Newcastle played again
other teams in the league. They should and must know that
the focus of the team is Andy Caroll and Kelvin Nolan.
I was expecting that the Liverpool's defense will be tight
on the play-maker and goal-scorer and I feel that it is not
shameful to even double man-mark the dangerous players
in the opponent team. Somehow, the defense and marking
on the 2 players was very lax which lead to 2 goals scored
by this 2 danger men.

Andy Caroll is a tough man to mark even with the injured
Carragher is around, but I feel that Skrtel and Kyrgiakos
did a really bad job in this match. The first and second goal
from Newcastle can be avoided and are really too soft a goal
to let in. The third goal by Caroll is an individual brilliance but
the defenders simply back off and back off and was inviting
Caroll to have a crack at Reina's goal which was duly punished
by a well-taken left-bottom shot. Lucas was the closest player
at that time, but he take no initiative to close down Caroll which
sum-up his below par performance.

I was expecting that Hodgson will start Babel with Torres infront
but I was disappointed to see Ngog got to start the match. Babel
should have start the game given his great form lately but Hodgson
choose to start with a safe option rather than taking a risk AGAIN.
Kuyt continued to be full of running and he scored the goal for the team
in this match but I feel that the fans will agree that he can't be the leading
player for the Reds for long. His pace is non-existence although his
hardworking attitude is admirable. He need to be replace with another
right winger and be "downgraded" to the squad or be sold away since
he still got some value in his price tag. As a player, he is without doubt the
most hardworking players in the Reds but he has past his prime
and it is time to let him go in January.

Lucas and Meireles are ok in the midfield section but still not good
enough. Gerrald should return for the home game against Hodgson's
former club, Fulham and he should be partner with Meireles for
the match. Maxi is only alive in the first half and is chasing shadows
in the 2nd half and was rightfully substituted by Babel. The fans should
noticed a significant improvement in the team's attack when Babel
came on. He created chances after chances but his efforts were
wasted by his teammates. Torres had an lousy match in his standard
and one wonders what will happen to the end-result if he put away
the goal when he was one-on-one with the goalkeeper when the score
was 1-1 Liverpool may have won the match in the best-case scenario.

There is another one thing that I really need to get off my mind and
that is regarding the manager, Roy Hodgson. In my view, he HAS
TO GO in the January transfer window. He has a bad away games
record even when he was still in Fulham last season and he is always
hopping for miracles when the team is not doing well and was pinned
down by the opponent. He took his own sweet time to make substitutions
and change of tactic (if any) in the match proceedings. I know that
Liverpool has a good record of not sacking any manager in the
mid-season but Hodgson really GOT TO GO! He is like a jinx and/or
curse to the teams he managed which caused the team to have
a very bad away game record. There are plenty of astute managers
out there who must have better away games record than him,
so bring the axe out!

Liverpool is like a ferocious tiger in the home matches and become
a fragile weaklings in away match, this has to stop to prevent any
more points erosion due to failure to win in away match even if it
is a much weaker team. If the team can only play with " You Will
Never Walk Alone" singing in the background, then the team is
in a dire state.

Liverpool will face FC Utrecht this Thursday followed by Fulham on
Saturday which is a must-win home match. Gerrald will be back
to lead the team again so I expect nothing other than 3 points in
the bag this weekend.

You Will Never Walk Alone!
(December 12, 4:40am)

Liverpool VS Aston Villa : Match Review

I have to confess first that I only managed to watch
the second-half of the match and completely missed
the first-half due to tiredness and went back to sleep
after the alarm had rang. I woke up in shock after suddenly
sit-up and rush out to switch on the cable box and TV.
Fortunately, I am rather pleased to see that Liverpool
was 2 goals up against Villa and I am still able to watch
the 3rd goal scored by Maxi live.

Liverpool started the match without Torres as his
wife is in labour and give birth to a baby boy, Leo Torres.
Congrats to Torres. Joe Cole was also sitting on the
bench and was only substituted in the 2nd half to replace
the hardworking Kuyt. His performance was again flat
and normal although he only had 10 minutes on the field.
Cole really need to play a few more matches to regain
his form and composure.

Babel and Ngog started as the front two for the Reds
and both performed well with a goal each to show.
I have long said that Babel if given the chance will
shine and glow in the squad and I still maintain this view.
Hodgson gave Babel a December 31 deadline to perform
or face the exit during the January transfer window.
I say, keep Babel for another 6 months at least and partner
him with Torres at the front or put him as a winger to let him
run at the defender with his pacy and trickery skill.

Hodgson may have other ideas about Babel and he may
still sell him away in January, but given his performance
lately, he should be able to command a higher transfer fee
this is the eventual outcome. I don't like to see Babel leave
the club as I consider him to be an asset to the team, but Hodgson
has the final say. I held the same view for Aquilani and hope to
see him back into the squad next summer and not at Juventus.

Maxi appears to be improving with goals and wonderful
performance to show recently. It is looking like he will be
useful asset as a utility man in the reserve if Hodgson were
to bring in new faces as the left winger role.
Actually, we will definitely see new faces come into the
squad in the transfer window, but what I really hope to see that
nobody is leaving the team at least for another 6 months.
It is a long season and we will need all the players we have to
have a serious assault for the Champions League position or even
higher if the top teams continue to stumble along the way.

Hodgson requires a transfer kitty of about 25-30 millions to be able
to bring in quality players to strength the team and we will see
how determined is Henry in his pursue of great honour for the team.

The Reds next game will be away to Newcastle at St James Park
this Saturday, and looking at the current manager-less situation at
Newcastle, Liverpool should be able to come back with 3 points in the
bag again. Torres should be able to start in this match and hope that his
newborn son, Leo, will be able to bring him luck to score a brace or hat-trick.
Hopefully, Gerrald can be back to the squad after the injury and that will
increase the strength of the team against the Magpies.

You Will Never Walk Alone!

Spurs VS Liverpool : Match Review

Once again, Spurs came back from behind to beat the opponent
as Aaron Lennon scored in a one-to-one situation after terrible
defensing by Konchesky allow Lennon to nick in from behind.
The Reds performed well in this very open end-to-end game with
many shots but poor finishing and woeful defensing destroyed what
should be a justified 1-1 draw or better.

Reds started the game full of ambition and vigour as the midfield
pairing of Lucas and Meireles controlled the central area and Kuyt
and Maxi were flying on both flanks. Both team have a number of
chances to opening the scoring and with the attacking-minded players
looking and searching for spaces for a decent scoring opportunities.
All the midfield players, Lucas, Maxi, Meireles and Kuyt registered
shots but were unable to open the scoring. The Reds were help in its
course with Van der Vaart limping off just 10 minutes of play and
Kaboul were injured and off too in the 35th minutes.

Liverpool finally broke the deadlock with Skrtel scoring in the 42th
minutes and what followed really angered me in the last few minutes
of match action before the break. Spurs came fighting for an equalizer
before the break and that leave gaps in their defense and both Maxi
and Torres have clear-cut chances to put away the game or at least
secure a comfortable lead into the dressing room. Both failed to do
so, and Liverpool went into the break with a mere thin lead of a single goal.

After the break, Torres were again presented with an glorious open one-to-one
opportunity to increas the Reds' lead but he again failed to shoot in time
before the challenge from the defender arrived. Both team continued
where they left off before the break and aerial and groundbombardments
were plentiful in the match with a total of 30 shots and 12 shot-on-target
in the match. Gareth Bale were very lively and full of running in the match,
and on occasions, even a double-team of Johnson and Kuyt or Lucas
can't even stop him from delivering crosses into the danger zone, and he
also got a goal-destined shot cleared off at the line by Meireles.

Spurs were "handled" a penalty after Ngog jumped with both arms aloft in the
wall after being awarded a free-kick and the referee pointed to the penalty
spot. I was expecting Bale to step-up to the task but Defoe decided he
should be the executor. He fired his shot wide and he will really be
executed by Harry if that penalty miss cost his team dearly. 
Spurs' first goal eventually came in the 65th minutes after Lukas
Modric burst into the box with amazing speed and wonderful ball-control
and his toe-poke cross can only be diverted into his own net by a desperate
last-minute lunge by Skrtel. The scoreline was even again.

Both teams had their chances to win the game but steady and stubborn
defense from both side canceled any attacks. I was thinking to myself that
a 1-1 draw wasn't a bad result with Carragher out injured with a dislocated
shoulder in the 87th minutes and his 450th match for the Reds. The world
came crashing down in  the 92th minutes after Aaron Lennon darted
past the terrible Konchesky after Crouch had headed the ball down and
beat Reina in a one-to-one situation. Why can't Torres and Maxi do the same
in this situation!!
Final score in White Hart Lane, Spur 2 - 1 Liverpool, and this is incidentally
the same scoreline at the same pitch for 3 consecutive seasons.

Liverpool may have won the match if the finishing from Torres and
Maxi were better, but we can't put on all the blames on the 2 players now.
The team indeed performed well in this match after being labeled
as the underdog, and a 1-1 draw is definitely a more justified and
deserving scoreline. If the team play in this manner in every match,
we can beat any team along the way.

After the match, it was revealed that Carragher will be out for at
least a month after having a dislocated shoulder and the FA Cup
3rd round draw also put the team against Manchester United which
was scheduled to be played on 9th January 2011. It will be a cracking
match to look forward to.

Liverpool managed to get 7 points out of the possible 15 from the last
5 matches with victories against Chelsea and West Ham, defeats at
Stoke and Spurs and a single draw with Wigan. The next 5 matches
will be:

6th Dec  Liverpool VS Aston Villa

11th Dec Newcastle VS Liverpool
18th Dec Liverpool VS Fulham
26th Dec Blackpool VS Liverpool
29th Dec Liverpool VS Wolves

As what Hodgson said, there are not easy matches against the weaker
team nowaday, but I am still looking at a 11-13 points from the maximum
15 points. I hope I will be right this time.
Liverpool will travel to Romania to face Steaua Bucuresti this Friday
in the Europa League group match, and it is confirmed that Hodgson
will field a side without many first-team players like Torres and Kuyt,
and give the young players a chance to shine again.

You Will Never Walk Alone!

Liverpool VS West Ham : Match Review

I got the score right for this match although I
hope that I was wrong and Liverpool managed to
add-on to the 3 goals scored in the first half.
Before the fans got carried away with this comfortable
victory, I have to say that we did not play very well
but it is because the opponent clearly gave up and
played extremely bad. Some reports that I encountered
used the word "Convincing", "Crashing", "Thrashing"
to describe the win, but to me, it is more like "Deserving",
"Comfortable" and "Splendid".

We play well in the first half as we completely dominated
the midfield, with Poulsen and Meireles having a good game.
Maxi and Kuyt were industriously running the flank and
Johnson helped in the attacks with his bustling runs. Johnson
was criticised by Hodgson last week for his below-par
performances, and he marked his return from injury with
a wonderful goal. He Chested the ball from the corner down
and fired an unstoppable shot past the hapless Robert Green.
1-0 to the Reds!

The 2nd goal was a penalty converted by Kuyt after West Ham's
Gabbidon handled the ball in the box.
2-0 to the Reds!

Ngog and Torres did not play well although they have a number
of goal scoring chances, but it was Torres who "indirectly" created
the 3 rd goal. Torres had a 1-to-1 shot blocked by Green's leg but
the rebound went to Konchesky who whip in the ball into the
danger zone, and the unmarked Maxi was there to guide the ball
with the slightest touch of his head into the right bottom corner of
the goal.
3-0 to the Reds.

I was hopeful that the team will have an equal, if not better performance
in the 2nd half to really add up to the Goal Difference which still
stands at -1 at the break. But the pace and the tempo of the team
dropped tremendously after coming out of the tunnel. The team looks
to be protecting the 3 goal cushion and trying to run down the clock.
To me, I don't like such a weak and conservative tactic deployed by
Hodgson. Several reports that I read suggested that Hodgson is
trying to be a Mr Nice Guy and not causing the opposing team's
Grant to have a "Thrashing" defeat! Before I end the review
on the match, I have to tell Hodgson that if you have spare cash
after buying all the players that you wanted in January, you can
consider snatching Carlton Cole at a bargain. I feel that Cole will
want to leave the team, and he will be good buy below 10 million,
within the 5-8 Million range.

We should and could have scored more goal if we just maintain
our momentum throughout the match, and further improve on
our negative Goal difference. In our next match against Spurs,
we need to the ruthless in our mindset, attacks and tackles.
Spurs had a great match overturning a 2 goal deficit by scoring
3 goals and won the North London derby against Arsenal.
They are on a high note, and if Liverpool were to beat them,
we need to hit them hard and fast. Go on a attack at the blow
of the whistle and seek to unsettle the Spurs' defence with
blistering attacks from the flank and midfield.

As what Hodgson said that the team was "written off" too early
and a win over Spurs will provide more evidence of the
revival of the team toward the top 4 and I certainly won't
want to discount the team off from even reaching the Top
if they can manage to put on a winning steak.
I will write on the preview in another few days on the match
aginst Spurs at White Hart Lane this Sunday.

Johnson scoring the first goal for the Reds!

Kuyt scoring from a beauty from the spot!

Maxi putting the final nail into the coffin!

Facts and Stats of Liverpool VS West Ham

Facts and stats ahead of Liverpool's Premier League encounter with West Ham at Anfield.

West Ham have won none of their last 24 Premier League away matches.
The Hammers have only kept one clean sheet in their last 23 Premier League away games.
Fernando Torres has scored five goals in four Premier League appearances against West Ham.
West Ham have failed to score in 12 of their 15 Premier League visits to Anfield.
The Hammers have failed to win in their last 38 league visits to Anfield since September 1963, failing to score in 27 of those games.

Liverpool have only won four of their last nine Premier League home games.
Liverpool have lost 49 Premier League matches at Anfield.
West Ham have drawn all five games against teams starting the weekend in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

Fernando Torres has hit 44 goals in 47 Premier League appearances at Anfield.
All 12 of Liverpool's goals since the opening day of the season have been either scored or assisted by Steven Gerrard or Fernando Torres.

Liverpool VS West Ham : Match Preview

Frankly speaking, I was in no mood to write a preview of
the utter-disappointing defeat against Stoke last Saturday.
I kept thinking "What if Rafa managed to sign Kenwyne
Jones last season" and "What didnt't Rafa keep Pennant
in the team" throughout the match, but all these was history
and we can't turn back the clock.

This Saturday, we will be at home against bottom-place
West Ham, which will not be an easy game as seen
on paper. Gerrard will be out for action for 3-4 weeks
after suffering a hamstring injury during the England
defeat to France match. This will be a huge blow to the team
and we just have to make use of we have left in the squad.
Lucas will be suspended for this match followed his
double yellow cards during the last game. Joe Cole is
still out with a hamstring injury. Fortunately, Kuyt, Skrtel,
Johnson and Torres are declared fit for tomorrow game.

Hodgson can start the game with Konchesky, Carragher,
Skrtel and Johnson in defense with Kyrgiakos and Kelly
in strong contention to start as well. The main issue now
is who to put in the central midfield role. With Lucas and
Gerrard unavailable, Hodgson will possibly put Poulsen and
Meireles in the important role. I am still not convince that
Poulsen deserve to wear the Reds jersey as what you can
read from my past postings. But I am willing to give him
a chance to prove me and other critics wrong as he promises
to prove himself in Liverpool. Meireles played superb during
the wonderful victory against World Champion, Spain, and
I hope that he can duplicate the same performance and
form in Liverpool.

I strongly feel that Jovanovic deserve chance to play in
the left wing again after falling out of favour of Hodgson's
selection. He got the skill and attitude to excel in this
position although he maybe lacking the speed aspect.
He stated that he won't play for Serbia until he wins back
his place in Liverpool first team, and this is the type of
never-say-die and gung-ho attitude that I like.
Hodgson, give Jovanovic a chance to shine again.
Maxi will be starting in the right wing and Kuyt can start
with Torres in attack. There will be backup from Babel,
Shelvey, Spearing and Ngog if they are needed
to provide the width coverage or the attacking power.

If you ask me, I have to say that Hodgson made a grave
mistake to loan Aquilani to Juventus at the beginning of
the season, if not, we can have the Italian's service right now.
He may be a sick chicken when he arrived at Anfield,
but during his occasional appearances, he proved what
he can do with and without the ball. To me, he will be
a great asset to the team, but somehow, Hodgson don't agree
with me, and we will likely lose him forever. Aquilani had openly
stated that he likes it in Italy, and urged Juventus to sign
him permanently. I feel that Hodgson can make a sincere
last-minute face-to-face talk with Aquilani to convince him
that he still has a marvelous future at Anfield.

Avram Grant's West Ham is like a wounded animal in a
corner, and Liverpool is without several key players at the
moment. This is really not a good time to meet, but it is
too late to say all these bullshit. If the real Liverpool play
like what we did to Chelsea 2 weeks ago, we can have
a convincing win with a few clear goals even without
Captain Gerrard around. We really need to score more
goals as we are -4 in the goal difference category.
Final Score: Liverpool 3 - 0 West Ham

Players to watch: Scott Parker, Boa Morte, Carlton Cole.

Stoke VS Liverpool : Match Preview

Will the real Liverpool please stand up?
Forget about the disappointing performance and result
against Wigan and concentrate on winning against
Stoke at Britannia Stadium this Saturday.

Gerrard shouldered the blame of drawing with Wigan
but he shouldn't had done so. Although his shot hitted
the crossbar when it could be the winning goal, Liverpool
played a off-form game and on other occasions, it could
have resulted in favour of the home team.

Kyrgiakos and Johnson may be back into the
defense line-up but I think Kelly can continue to start
matches to gain more exposures and experiences.
With Kyrigiakos back, the Reds will have a deadly
header to aim for during corners and free-kicks,
and I just have a feeling that he will rise to the occasion
and head in goal(s).
 
Cole may be back too after recovering from hamstring
injury but with Maxi playing decently in last few matches
it will be a good fight between them to start tomorrow.
Lucas and Meireles will continue to be featured at
midfield and hopefully they can control and dominate
the centre battle ground. Kuyt was virtually anonymous
in the last match, and it can be due to the fact the he
had just recovered from injured and is feeling tired.
He will start tomorrow and partner Torres in attack with
the help of Captain Marvel Gerrard running the show.

If you have read my previous posting, you may notice
that I have great respect for current Stoke striker,
Kenwyne Jones. He is the danger man tomorrow, and
Carragher and Kyrigiakos have to be alert to his aerial
ability and mark him tightly.

All in all, it will be an exciting match but the outcome
will be a away win for the Reds with the scoreline
Stoke 0 - 2 Liverpool at the fulltime whistle.

Players to look out for: Kenwyne Jones, Ricardo Fuller,
Jermaine Pennant

Liverpool VS Chelsea : Match Review

2 masterclass goals by Torres secured 3 points for the
Reds and propelled Liverpool to the top half of the
league table in the 9th position with 15 points from 11
games and just 5 points from the 4th position.
John Henry was present to watch the match with his lovely
wife and they must have enjoyed the proceedings.
He should make himself readily available in every home
games as the players will get a boost from the sight of
the boss and play the matches with vigor and passion.

Kuyt returned from injury and was unexpectedly playing
behind Torres as a supporting striker, and he is back
to his hardworking and tireless attitude which is always
good to see. Hodgson seems to be getting grip of the Liverpool games
nowaday, as he shifted Maxi to the left-wing and Meireles
to the right side, and Captain Gerrard and Lucas as the
midfield maestro. This strategy works as the Reds controlled
the midfield battles and this become somewhat easier with
Essien and Lampard out of Chelsea due to injuries.

Torres scored his first goal in the 11th minutes when a
perfectly angled cross from Kuyt found him between
Terry and A.Cole, and he controlled the ball well and
put in a well-placed shot passed the oncoming Cech.
1-0 to the Reds!

If the first goal is impressive then the second one will be
magnificent. Torres really showed that he is clearly on
his way to gaining his form back when his predatory instinct
surfaced. After receiving a pass from Meireles a minute before
halftime, he dribbled toward the Chelsea defender, Ivanovic,
and fired a wonderfully curling shot to the far post of Cech
and into the net. It was clearly the best first-half display of the
season from Liverpool. If only we can have many such performance
every week.
2-0 to the Reds!!

Drogba came on at the 2nd half and he look so sickly as
he was recovering from a fever. He is nevertheless still a
big threat and Carragher and Skrtel were there to counteract him.
Anelka had a bad game and he was never a real threat throughout
the match, but he was also constantly marshaled by Lucas and
Konchesky. Martin Kelly was handed a start in place of
injured Johnson, and he performed brilliantly to deal with
the 2nd half onslaught from Chelsea.

I was unhappy to see that Hodgson was trying to protect
the lead, and play very defensive in the 2nd half, only attacking
on the counter. It led to Chelsea having most of the possessions
and Reina was called into serious action and was tested 3 times
but he is on form too and  managed to palm and block the shots
to safety with the help from the defenders too. The scoreline could
have been extended by Kuyt and Maxi in the dying minutes, but
it was not to be. The final score at Anfield was 2-0, and indeed
the Reds gave Chelsea "hell of a game" and send them back to hell.

This is an invaluable victory and the 3 points lifted the team
up the table and the spirit and morale of the team and fans.
Torres is clearly on the eminent path of becoming his best
again, Kuyt is as-always excel in whatever position the manager
want him to be, and Gerrrad and Lucas have a good working
relationship and understanding in the midfield. M&M (Maxi and
Meireles) are doing fine, but it looks like Maxi will lose his
place when Cole is back from injury. 


If we can play every match with the same strong desire and will
to win, coupled with great determination and correct attitude,
this vibrant and unstoppable momentum can allow the Reds
to overcome any team in the league and in Europe.
The next 2 matches this week will be away to Wigan this Wednesday
(Thursday morning in Singapore) and away to Stoke this
Saturday. This is a good chance to repair the damages
caused by early poor start to the season.
Come on lads, get all the 6 points for this 2 match and
we can stage a serious challenge to the top end of the league.

You Will Never Walk Alone!

Some pictures of the match:

Torres scoring the first goal!

The second goal by Torres as he curled the ball to the far post!

Victory to the Reds!!! You Will Never Walk Alone!!

Liverpool VS Chelsea : Match Preview

It is the time of the year when a Big game comes
around, but looking at the recent articles and
pundits' view, Liverpool is going to have hard
time against Chelsea at Anfield tonight.

Chelsea is having a good start to the league
and sits at the top with 25 points, while Liverpool
is at 16th position after the Saturday matches.
This look like a loop-sided match, or is it really the case?

In my opinion, Liverpool should be able to scrap out
a narrow win tonight if Gerrard is given a free-to-run
role and duplicate the type performance against Napoli.
With a good decent form, I just have a optimistic sense
that we will continue the momentum by adding another
3 points tonight.

The main crux  of beating Chelsea is to contain 3 players
in the team, namely Drogba, Anelka and Essien. I have
a lot of respects for this 3 players and I wonder why didn't
Liverpool sign Anelka after his loan spell with us. Drogba
is very deadly in-front of goal, and he is a good "actor" too.
He can "create" goal and he can score equally well, and
any centre-back that RH field today will have a tough time
dealing with this scoring-machine. Essien is another player
that I hope we have as he is simply a great midfield commander.
This 3 players will create havoc in any team's defense
and I hope RH will know how to tackle this problem
and counteract their attacks.

If I am not wrong, RH will likely put Carragher and Kyrgiakos
in the central defense, and it will require huge determination
and strength to contain the Chelsea's attackers. They will be
assisted by Johnson and Konchesky at the side, who must be
alert and ready for any wing-run. With Kuyt set to come back
into the match after recovering, he should resume his role at
the right wing, and hopefully he will be full of zest today with
all his runs. Since RH rested Maxi in the mid-week match,
he should have high expectation of him to produce a good
performance tonight, and he should do fine in the left wing.
Lucas and Meireles will be in the centre of midfield and
they will need to cut-off any attacking from Essien and Lampard,
if he is back. Gerrard will be given the supporting role
behind Torres, and this should produce result with a
in-form Gerrard running show and Torres producing
the goals.

We will be the underdog for the match and it will be very hard-fought
match tonight, but the Reds will emerge as the victor with a 2-1
scoreline with the 12th man well behind the team, and
"You Will Never Walk Alone" singing throughout the match.
Let's give Chelsea "a hell of a game" like what RH mentioned!

Players to watch out: Drogba, Essien, Anelka, (Lampard?)

Liverpool VS Napoli: Match Review

If RH thinks that he made a great decision to bring
in Gerrard in the 2nd half of the match that leads
to him scoring a hat-trick and winning the game
single-handedly, then he must be either blinded
by the victory or oblivious to exactly what happened
during the match.

When the team sheet was out before the match,
I was quite amazed to see that Torres was not in
the squad at all, and Gerrard was in the reserves,
and the worst part is "Why is Poulsen in the starting
11 players?!" I am glad to see that Jovanovic was
in the team but a bad feeling suddenly pop-up in
my mind, "What if Ngog got injured during the match,
who can we bring on then?" Although I know that
Jovanovic can play as the centre-forward, which is
his position when he plays for Serbia, but I seriously
doubt RH will do that.

Except for the first 10-15 minutes when the Reds
started the game brightly, the remaining time in the
first half is clearly dominated by Napoli's midfielders
although the spiky hair Marek Hamsik was kept quiet
throughout the match by Konchesky. Poulsen and
Spearing simply cannot control the midfield, although
Shelvey and Jovanovic were hardworking in helping
out with the attack and defense as well.

I have been commenting about Poulsen, RH's so-called
protege, is fast becoming the flop of the season, and his
becoming a kitten after earning a reputation of being
a ferocious "beast" in Italy, and I was proven right again
when he "created" the goal, but it was gifted to the opposition.
He headed an un-challenged ball back to the defense and
it was picked up by Napoli's Cavani who cleverly
passed the ball to Lavezzi who scored a well-placed goal
despite Reina coming out and appearing big. I wasn't surprised
with Poulsen's performance as I have already labeled
him to be player not worthy to wear the Reds jersey but
RH thinks otherwise. Fortunately, Poulsen was finally
substituted in the 65th minutes and young Eccleston has
his taste of the match for 25th minutes.

Gerrard was expected by me to be featured in the 2nd half
as the midfield is simply not there and something got be done
and addressed asap. I was quite amused when I saw that
RH bring on Gerrard at the expenses of effectual Jovanovic.
It is quite obvious that Jovanovic was hardworking and
is running the left-wing well, and RH should have taken out
tumourous Poulsen. I am not being personal but I feel that
RH really don't like Jovanovic and is trying to keep him
out of the squad despite his obvious commendable performance.

Anyway, the whole atmosphere on and off the pitch changed
when Captain Marvel is on the field, and he was tirelessly staging
attacks after attacks with his runs and crosses. He was rewarded
in the 75th minutes when he bravely challenged a back-pass by
former Reds player, Dossena, and scored the equaliser  despite
protest and play-acting from Napoli's goalkeeper, De Sanctis.
I was sensing a victory is coming in the last 15 minutes as
it is looking to be a grand finale closing match. I am so
glad that my six-sense was proven right!!

The 2nd goal was a penalty won by Johnson when he was
brought down in the box and coolly put into the corner of
the net by Gerrard in the 88th minutes. My joy turned
into exuberant madness within a minute when Lucas,
coming in for injured Ngog in the 82th minutes, won
the ball and slot a through ball to Gerrard who calmly
chipped the ball past the goalie and completed his
4th hat trick for the Reds.

It was a wonderful performance by the Reds and
once again required the magic of Gerrard to win the
game, but the match was marred by an obvious red-card
challenge on Ngog which went unpunished. Ngog is
likely going to miss the Big match this Sunday, and one
wonder who will RH put in the reserves with Pacheco
the obvious choice.

The Reds really need to bring in quality players in the
January transfer window, hopefully matching the
standard of Gerrard and Torres. There has been
multiple reports about Henry going to provide about
25 millions for RH to beef up the squad. I know for sure
that Babel is leaving the team as RH must have
believe he has seen the best (worst) of Babel and
will seek to unload him in the transfer window.
Babel is valued about 8 millions and added to the
25 millions should be well enough to bring in some
quality players to move up the league positions
and winning the Europa League as a bonus.




   

Liverpool VS Napoli: Match Preview

It is a welcoming news to see that RH will field a
strong squad against Napoli in the Europa League
group match tonight, but it is also quite a bemused
decision from the manager too. He mentioned that
his focus this year will be the league, and all other
cups are just bonuses and maybe even disturbance
and disruption to him. Then all the most, he should
field a light squad against Napoli and rest some players
for the Big Match against Chelsea on Sunday.

The same squad against Napoli 2 weeks ago will
be too light-weight for this task which is to win
at home, so Gerrald should start behind Ngog, with
Meireles partnering Shelvey, and Maxi and Jovanovic
at the wings. Torres can be in the reserves and with
the 12th man behind the team at Anfield, he may not
even need to be featured in the match.

Johnson is expected to return for the match but I think
it is better to be cautious and leave him at the reserves.
Martin Kelly can do the job at the right-back, and with
Kyrgiakos out with injury, Carragher and Skrtel will be
our reliable centre-back with Konchesky completing
the line of defense.

John Henry will be present for tonight's match and Sunday
match against Chelsea, so let put on a good show for the
boss to admire en-route to another great victory this Sunday..

Full-time Score at Anfield:
Liverpool 2 - 0 Napoli

Player to watch out for: Marek Hamsik(You won't miss
him with his spiky hair-style), Ivan Lavezzi.

Bolton VS Liverpool: Match Review

A touch of genius from Torres and a well-taken shot by
Maxi are all it take to get Maxi-mum points from an intriguing
but scrappy match between Bolton and Liverpool on Sunday.
Like what Carragher said in the post-match interview, the Reds
were fortunate to take all 3 points in the match. Regardless of
what happened on the field, 3 points in the bag is as good as what
it can be as it moved us to 12th in the league table.
Get all the 3 points we can!

I wasn't pleased with the team selection when I saw that
Maxi is still in the same team which beat Blackburn last week,
as I felt that Jovanovic should be given a start at the left-wing
and move Cole to the right side. Maxi proved me wrong this time,
and I welcome such a move if it happens in every match. I am
still not convince that he is the right person at the right-wing
before Kuyt emerges from injury, and he is definitely not the
"New Romario" as commented by our very own Brazilian Lucas.
He is welcome to prove me wrong again, but I will stand by
my view at the moment.

In my match preview, I will expecting Kyrgiakos to tower over
Davies, but I was quite disappointed that it did not happen as
expected. Davies played well and was unlucky not to score
on multiple occasions amid the penalty shouts from the Bolton
players. Torres is still not at his best yet but he should still
buried the one-to-one opportunity that he had during the match.
Nevertheless, his sparks of genius created the goal and he is
on the right path back to his very best.

In my opinion, Liverpool need to beef up the midfield during
the January transfer window as I don't see our midfielders
dominating the match and it is a worrying scene. We have
been linked with many players like Steven Defour, Marko Marin,
Juan Mata etc, but what I would like to see is someone
like Chelsea's Michael Essien or Mascherano back then and
even Lionel Messi. By the way, Marko Marin has been hailed
as Germany Lionel Messi, and we shall see whether
Hodgson can secure his signature on January.

Liverpool next 5 league matches will be:
Nov 7   Liverpool vs Chelsea
Nov 10 Wigan vs Liverpool
Nov 13 Stoke vs Liverpool
Nov 20 Liverpool vs West Ham
Nov 28 Spurs vs Liverpool
In-between the league matches, Liverpool will have Europa games
and will face Napoli this Friday.
The following 5 matches are all tough matches, and I am
expecting 11-13 points from the matches if we play with
the same attitude and strength against Blackburn and Bolton.

Recent back-to-back winners' momentum should be the essential
impetus to beat Napoli this Friday and Chelsea on Sunday.
We should be back in the Top 4 VERY soon.

Bolton VS Liverpool : Match Preview

Bolton boss Owen Coyle said few days ago that he
believed Roy Hodgson is the man to take Liverpool
back to the top, so he should have no complain at all
when the Reds beat his team convincingly at the
Reebok Stadium tonight.

Hodgson is likely to field an almost identical, if not
entirely the same lineup in the match, although I hope to
see some chances in the midfield players. I hope to see
the same back-4 with Kyrgiakos continues to partner
Skrtel in central defense and Carragher at the right-back
and Konchesky completing the left-back role. Glen Johnson
will face a late fitness test to determine he is fully fit for the
match, but I say, let him be in the reserves and use him
only when required. With Kyrgiakos around, he will be
a menace to the Bolton's defense during free-kick and corners
and he maybe able to add a goal or two.

I hope to see some changes made to the midfield as I
really don't see how Maxi can continue to be featured in
matches when his performance is nothing great to talk about.
Continue to put Lucas and Meireles at the central-midfield
and Gerrald supporting Torres in attack, but switch the left
midfield role to Jovanovic and Cole at the right side.
Somehow, I don't understand why Jovanovic is sitting at
the reserves while Maxi continue to run around like a headless fly.
Let Jovanovic show us what he can do as he run around
the defense well and with his height advantage, he is a threat
at corners and free-kick again.

This is a match that I hope and see Liverpool continue the
momentum and producing another victory as long as the
team treat the match to be another must-win and play
like one. Hodgson must also act fast if the team is underperforming
and is being pin-down by Bolton (which I hope I will never see),
and makes changes to the team to correct the situation.

Bolton's goal threat will be coming from veteran striker
Kelvin Davies who is tremendous in the air and at holding up
the ball, and this is what Kyrgiakos will be called to counteract.

Expect to see a tough fight match tonight but the eventual victor
will be a convincing win for the Reds and the scoreline should stands
Bolton 0 - 2 Liverpool.

Players to watch out for: Kelvin Davies, Lee Chung-Yong, Martin Petrov

What I posted in AQ Part II

 13th August 2010

Finally, it is that time of the year again!
The Barclays Premier League starts tomorrow, and this is the fixture for the first weekend's matches.

Saturday 14 August 2010

Tottenham Hotspurs VS Manchester City (7.45pm)
Aston Villa VS West Ham (10 pm for the next 6 matches)
Blackburn VS Everton
Sunderland VS Birmingham
Wigan VS Blackpool
Bolton VS Fulham
Wolverhampton VS Stoke City
Chelsea VS West Bromwich Albion (Sunday morning 12.30am)

Sunday 15 August 2010
Liverpool VS Arsenal (The Heavyweight crash of this kickoff season)
(Sunday night 11pm)

Tuesday 17 August 2010
Manchester United VS Newcastle (Tuesday morning 2.30am)

Actually, Liverpool will have quite a busy August and September as the first 5 league games will be
Liverpool VS Arsenal (15 August)
Manchester City VS Liverpool (23 August)
Liverpool VS WBA (29 August)
Birmingham VS Liverpool (12 September)
Manchester United VS Liverpool (19 September)

And in-between the league games, Liverpool still need to entertain Trabzonsor in the Europa League at home on 19 August and away on 26 August. Liverpool definitely need to have an impressive start to the campaign as we can recall what happened to the club last season after a disastrous slow-start after losing to Spurs in the first match. My heart tells me that Liverpool is going to get a full 15 points from these 5 matches, but my brain will gladly take a 10-12 points start.

If you ask me about the current Liverpool squad, I will definitely tell you that we need to sign another quality striker as a backup to the marvelous Torres. Torres can be unstoppable when he is on form, but you can't expect him to be injury-free for the whole season. Ngog, his under-study, is still not up to the high standard required yet and he don't seems to score against the big-clubs and must further the killer instinct fast. If die-die no choice, Liverpool can put Kuyt, Babel, Pacheco and newcomer Jovanovic as stand-in forward, but we still need another, if not more, striker.

I am quite shocked that Stoke managed to sign Kenwyne Jones for 8 million from Sunderland and Liverpool didn't make the move. Jones is a quality striker in my opinion and he is used to Premier League's fast-pace matches, so he will be an asset to the team, but apparently Hodgson don't think this way. Another player that I feel has a bright future is Krisztian Nemeth which I have been watching for a while. He has the skill, speed and technique to become a super-star at Anfield, but Hodgson need to give the young man a chance to perform and shine on a big stage. With super-talented Balotelli looking set to joining cash-rich Man City, and Arsenal's speedy Chamakh, Man United's exciting Javier Hernandez and relatively unknown Bebe joining the league, it is going to be an entertaining and interesting challenge for the top scorer this year.

Somehow, I feel that Liverpool have too many midfielders on hand. If the unconfirmed
news that Spanish giants Barcelonaare set to sign Javier Mascherano which comprised of a player-plus-cash offer, with the Anfield outfit set to receive former Arsenal midfielder Aliaksandr Hleb and approximately €15 million for the Argentina captain is true, then we really have too many players at midfield. With Joe Cole, Jonjo Shelvey, Jovanovic, and Christian Poulsen in, and Riera and Benayoun out, the number of players vying for a midfield spot is going to be intense, with Babel, Gerrard, Lucas, Aquilani, Kuyt and Maxi already in the squad. Anyway, Mascherno is confirmed leaving as he simply cannot commit himself to the team, so make good use of his transfer fee, and buy another striker and defender to beef up the squad.

There isn't much changes to the defense with only young Scot Danny Wilson joining, and Insua and Aurelio "still" with the club, it is the same old-bird defense with vice-captain Carragher, Agger, Skrtel, Johnson and Kyrgiakos still in the game. The in-coming youngsters like Martin Kelly, Ayala, Stephen Darby and even the 16 years old Jack Robinson will be given chance to prove themselves this year. Reina is still the no. 1 goalkeeper and he will remain the last line of defense for many years to come, although the unconfirmed Brad Jones from Boro is a good addition to the squad.

Do you know that current Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has the same birthday as our nation? He was born on August 9, 1947, so he is 63 this year. My understanding of him still remains that he is the manager that led Fulham to last year's Europa League final, but "luckily" he lost that match or he may not become available as Fulham will grab a strong hold on him. He seems like a very experienced tactician and likes a attacking approach which maybe a fresh scene for Liverpool this year against the much-criticised Rafa's conservative tactic.

Lastly, the saga of Liverpool's takeover looms in so many rumours and unconfirmed news. I hope that Kenny Huang and the China government backing make a serious and committed bid for the club. This will be great for the club as it can have access to a massive market with the 1.4 billion population in China. I am neutral with the other bidders as long as they are not out to fleece the club again. But any bidders have only the next 2 months to make a bid, as RBS will own the club if the increasing debts are not cleared by October. Crossing my fingers on this saga to end soon.

You Will Never Walk Alone! Go Reds!

16th August 2010

I don't blame Pepe for that ridiculously comical own-goal which costed the team 2 points, as it is what I saw from yesterday's match that makes me a firm believer that we can really aim for something BIG with Hodgson this year. Liverpool showed character, strength and tenacity, even when playing with one man down, and we could have gotten all 3 points, but we will just have to move on and win this Friday morning's Europa League match and next monday game against Man City. If we play the same way as yesterday, the future is shinning bright.

Cole will face a 3-match ban in his early Liverpool career, but we will see how the appeal (if launched) comes about. It is a nonetheless reckless tackle which he really shouldn't and don't need to put in, but Cole is not a dirty player, and his FIRST career red card had devastated him. He will definitely bounce back up after the ban and contribute greatly to the team. Ngog continued his early scoring form and it was a well-taken shot that beat the goalkeeper at the tight-angle nearpost. He will continue to grow as he learn the trade from the master, Torres, and one fine day, he will glow in the big stage.

I am having a dilemma concerning Mascherano staying/leaving the club. On one hand, if he really leaves the club, then Liverpool can look forward to receiving about 25 million transfer fee (and maybe a player-fee deal), and using the money to good use and snatch up another forward and/or defender to beef up the squad. But from what I saw him playing in yesterday match, he will continue to be a great asset if he stays. He put in well-timed (not everytime) tackles and work tirelessly in his midfield-destroyer role, and I would like to see him in action every week. It is all about the $$$ issue now.



20th August 2010


Liverpool will face a treacherous away game at Turkey next week against Trabzonspor after only managed to win this morning home game 1-0. Hodgson chose to rest 7 players which started in the last league match against Arsenal, and handled Poulsen a debut, and Babel at the centre of attack, which pays off well. Frankly, Poulsen is another hardworking workhorse but he is rather slow and off the pace of the demanding game. He has to work out to full match fitness soon.

I watched the match this morning, and the final score if according to my script should be a home win of 3-1 or 4-1. Liverpool had so many glorious scoring opportunities but cannot kill off the match ahead of the away fixture next week. Joe Cole stepped up to take a penalty won by Lucas, and missed it as the goalie dived the right direction.

Liverpool will take a slender lead to Turkey, but will it be enough? Last few European nights at Turkey have been disastrous, and this time, Hodgson do need to put in the best-eleven. In theory, Liverpool can still go the group stage with a 2-1 or 3-2 defeat or draw in Turkey, and it is not a tall order.

Elsewhere in the Europa matches, Villa drew away with Rapid Vienna, and Bad Boy Mario Balotelli scored an away goal for Man City in his debut game against Romania's FC Timisoara. This Saturday's EPL heavyweight will once again involve Liverpool as they take on Man City at Eastlands on Monday (Tuesday morning local).

24th August 2010

A Humiliating and Disgraceful defeat!
Regardless that Torres is not back to full match-fitness and sharpness in-front of the goal, and Joe Hart once again showing a superb performance in making goal-destined saves, it was an "unforgettable" match which shows Liverpool being humbled 3 times. When I saw the team line-up before the match, it was obvious that Hodgson is going for a more attacking team 4-4-2 formation with Ngog and Torres starting together. But at half-time, when I saw that the 4-3-3 Man City had 63% ball possession which was a great achievement as Liverpool is a ball-holding and controlling side, I ponder why didn't Hodgson make some changes to correct the midfield situation?

Mascherano is obviously not in the right frame of mind as he ruled himself out of the match and demand a transfer to Barcelona. I say, Give it to him. Liverpool definitely don't need such un-committed player. Take the transfer fee and get another few players. Mascherano is such an ungrateful person that he has forgotten when Liverpool signed him, he was in the West Ham reserves, and Liverpool gave him a chance to really shine and glow. Forget such a lousy attitude man and move on. He won't go far.
There are reports that Rafa would like to be re-united with Kuyt and made an 15 million deal to get him over to Inter, which was rejected by Hodgson. He should have taken the deal as at 30, Kuyt isn't going to perform like what he did seasons ago. Although I don't wish to see Kuyt leaving, but it is nevertheless a good deal which won't be repeated when this season ended. Liverpool urgently need to instill fresh bloods and the money from Mas and Kuyt's deal can be put into good use in this last week of the transfer window.

The next league match will be at home against WBA, and Liverpool need to bounce back from this defeat and beat WBA, and if possible, thrash them. Nowadays, money can really make the world spin and maybe repeat the same situation as Chelsea, it seems like Man City is a real threat to the Big 4s with a lineup full of internationals and have multiple hundred millions worth of reserves sitting on the bench waiting to be call-up into action.

You Will Never Walk Alone!

27th August 2010

Managed to scape through this tough match against Trabzonspor in Turkey with an own-goal and a 87 minute goal by Kuyt. Let's see who Liverpool will face in the draw tonight. Final score in Turkey 1-2, Total score 1-3. Good job done by the Reds nevertheless.
Saw Villa leading and Man City drawing now, still got 2nd half for them.

You Will Never Walk Alone!

the first half was terrible and the lack of concentration allow Trabzonspor to score in the 4th minute, but I think Hodgson gave the lads a "hairdryer treatment" and they came back fighting in high spirit in the 2nd half. Liverpool should at least scored a goal before the own-goal with Ngog missing a clear open goal opportunity and some other good chances. It is a good match as Liverpool has not beaten an Turkish opponent before in their home turf, and this will surely spur them on with high morale and do the same thing against WBA this Sunday. Come on Reds, thrash WBA at home, I want to see a repeat of what Chelsea did. If Chelsea can do it, so can we!

It is confirmed that Barcelona has finally signed Mascherano for a fee of about 23 million. Hodgson can use the money to snap up some players before the transfer window close on next Tuesday.

13th September 2010

Unlucky United and Lucky Reds

Seriously, United really threw away 2 points in the 3-3 draw with Everton and that will result in a harsh "hair-dryer" treatment in the dressing room after the match. I watched the game and switched channel after United was up 3-1 thinking that the game had been wrapped-up and case-closed. But to my surprise, I was reasonably amazed by Everton upping the gear in stoppage time and scored 2 goals to tie the game 3-3. Look like the "oldest" squad this season may have many things to ponder about.
Wonderful run and crosses by Nani created the goals and finally Berbatov showed why Ferguson paid 30 million to engage his service but woeful defence by United in the dying minutes made them lost 2 points.

On the other hand, Liverpool was really lucky to get a point from the match against Birmingham. Liverpool could have lost a consecutive 3-0 defeat or worse if not for the superb-form Reina who single-handedly saved those goal-destined headers.
Torres looked out-of-sort and off-the-pace and he should have been replaced at the 2nd half, but I really wonder what was Hodgson thinking when he continued to allow Torres to roam the field like a headless fly. I say give Babel a chance and allow him to show us what he is capable of. Konchesky performed quite well in his debut but was injured and substituted. I hope he is is not another Aurélio in-the-making. Meireles came off late in the game at about the 76th minutes and have only 15 minutes to show his prowess and was just too short to make an impression, but he had a chance to score late in the game although he was clearly offside. An overall lousy performance by the Reds and should have been handled the 2nd defeat of the season, but due to the heroic saves from Reina, Liverpool gained a point.

This Sunday's Battle of the Titan match between United and Liverpool at Old Trafford will definitely be a intriguing one. Will Torres once against prove to be the nemesis of Vidic or Rodney finally settled his off-the-field "affair" (pun intended) and ready to play football. Another 6 days to go and I can't wait for the Big Day, but before that, United will face Rangers at home on Wednesday morning in Champion League group match and Liverpool will head off to Romania to face Steaua Bucuresti in a Europa League group match on Friday morning.


Maxi and Lucas are just too soft and don't put in tackles like Mascherano and they don't track back as much as Kuyt. Poulsen looks to be overrated but I think he maybe still getting used to the pace and strength of the BPL matches. Jovanovic has the skill to get past players and put in nice crosses and shots but I don't like his play-acting trying to get referee's attention "technique". He need to change this and play more "cleanly" further on. Frankly, I still believe Aquilani can contribute to the team although he is also a sick-chicken like Aurelio, but Hodgson thought othewise and prefer to loan him out.

19th September 2010

The fat lady has sung, and the final result between the two most successful clubs in EPL ended in 3-2 in favour of United. Liverpool fought back bravely after going 2 goals down to a defensive-mistake header and a wonderful overhead kick by Berbatov. Gerrald scored a penalty and free-kick to level the game but Berbatov scored another hat-trick header over Carragher to make it a victory for United and handled Liverpool their 2nd loss this season.

Torres once again played below par and should have been substituted but Hodgson stick with the superstar for the whole match expecting miracle to happen, but it was not to be. He should have given Babel a chance to shine as he scored the winner in the 2-1 victory 2 season ago, and Babel have a point to prove after been given the deadline. But the main problem of this defeat is allowing too much space for Nani to explore and charge forward. Liverpool should have deployed a "shadow" to follow his every moves and put in tackles when needed. Where is the famous hardliner Poulsen when he was a terror in Italy? Has he change into a kitten and has retracted his paws? Maxi is virtually non-existence and far too too soft to contribute to the game, and it is just too bad luck that Kuyt injured himself in a stupid manner. In my opinion, only Johnson performed reasonable in defence with the remaining 3 defenders plenty of things to ponder about. Meireles and Cole are almost the same style of player and performed decently but no where near to what was expected of them. Captain Gerrald is on form but it is just too bad that he can't lead the team to at least a draw in this game.

After this match, Liverpool has 5 points from 5 matches and stands at an undesirable 16th position while United sits at the 3rd place with 11 points. The next 5 league opponents will be Sunderland (Home), Blackpool (Home), Everton (Away), Blackburn (Home) and Bolton (Away). The team really need to buck up and at least pick up 10-13 points this time. I feel quite sad that the team with such a squad but still cannot gel together and start a winning streak.

20th September 2010

I read with disgust that Ferguson's arrogant comment that he thought United should have scored 10 goals and the accusation that Torres is a cheat and that the defeat is a "catastrophe" for Liverpool. I believe that he overrated his team and if not for Berbatov's sparks of genius strikes, he may be staring at another draw and maybe even a late dramatic defeat. United did dominate the game during the 1st half but it was an entirely different story in the 2nd, but Ferguson is blinded by the victory and choose to ignore this fact. I am counting the prospect that if during a sure-win home match with United completely dominating the match with overwhelming shots and did not break the deadlock but suffered a late goal defeat by the opponent, can old Ferguson take such an "catastrophic" blow and whether a draw result maybe a "travesty" to his team instead. He is not any younger so a calm and steady stance toward the matches maybe better for his health and body, a change of his current proud, arrogant and snobbish attitude.

What was even more disturbing and shocking to me was Liverpool's manager Hodgson's reaction toward his 20 years friend's comment and accusation on his current team's performance. He is afraid to take a forceful stand against all the sarcasms from his old friend and choose to be ambiguous in his post-match interview. Why can't he be as fiery as Sammy Lee and even David Moyes? I don't see the fire in his eyes and right now, I am feeling that he is a terrible weakling and this is definitely not a good sign for the club. He has no ambition for the club, stating that the only probable target this season is a Champion League position and not winning the league, that means a 2nd-4th placing. He also stated that all the rest of the cups are not his target. There is a very thin line between being realistic and ambitious, and I want the manager to be the latter rather than setting a low target and anything better is a bonus. I say, give the man a deadline too, as what he gave to Babel, to perform in both domestic and European matches, and if he is not up to the mark, get Dalglish to replace him. Anyway, Dalglish will always be the fans' choice and Hodgson is the club management's decision. Let Hodgson walk alone out of Anfield if he is found to be a "negative asset" to the club.

23th September 2010

Liverpool crashed out of League cup to a team in the 4th division and 69 places below through penalty after a 2-2 draw after extra time, what else can I say?
Although this is a cup that Hodgson placed little emphasis and focus on, as he made 11 changes to the team that lost to United at the weekend, but this is a match that the Anfield faithfuls hope to see a victory. I didn't watch the match live so I can only derive my views and opinions based on the reports that I read, but the tone of the reports are reasonably harsh on the Reds.

It was reported that fan boo and jeer the team and players after the embarrassing defeat in a half-filled Anfield, and rightly so. If I have watch the match live, I will also be shell-shocked and malu by such terrible performance. You can say that because the understrength fielded players are not familiar with one another as this maybe the first time that they have worked together. This is a lousy excuse as they are highly-paid professionals and by hook or by crook they need to deliver the result, and they didn't. Historically, Liverpool have never sack a manager before a season ended, but Hodgson is really walking on a tight rope now, and history is maybe in the making.

Hodgson did apologize to the fans for the cup exit "admitting he and the players had to accept responsibility for the defeat." I think this defeat will linger in the fans' memory for a while, and the extremely optimistic fans will said that at least we can now turn our focus to the remaining silverware to fight for: League title, FA Cup and Europa League. But if the league result is not getting better, then he will be one to walk alone out of Anfield. This weekend's home game against Sunderland will be an all-important one, and I expect hostile receptions from certain sectors of the stadium, while the hardcore faithfuls continue to sing "You Will Never Walk Alone".

Coincidentally, Chelsea and Man City are also out this least-importance cup, but they lost to fellow Premier League teams Newcastle and WBA, while Liverpool lost to a minnow, this is the biggest difference.

4th October 2010

It never rains but it pours at Miseryside, a mocking term used by the press to describe the plight of the 2 teams, Everton and Liverpool, from Merseyside. Everton finally recorded a win and moved out of the relegation zone while Liverpool again failed to win at Anfield. After the United defeat, I was glad to see that the next 2 matches will be at home against Sunderland and Backpool which under normal circumstance is warranted for a 4-6 points. Captain Gerrald saved the point at the first match, but this time nobody can save Liverpool for recording their 1st defeat at home in the league. To make things worse, Torres limp off the match after 10 minutes with a supposed groin injury, and we just have to see how bad is the condition. Luckily, with a silver lining in the cloud, he got 2 weeks to recover before the Miseryside Derby on the 17th against Everton.

The Reds supporters and fans boo off the team after the final whistle and sang "Dalglish" toward the end. I say, it is time to take some drastic action before anything worse happens. In the history book, Liverpool has never fired any manager before the season is over, but everything has it first, and this is exactly the time to make history. I really can't see Hodgson leading the team to glory or at least out of the misery. He simply has no fire in his eye and heart, no ambition of any sort. In my own opinion, he is just a mediocre manager, at his best. He is definitely not an tactician and he is simply hoping for miracle to happen when he fields his first eleven in a match. He don't dare to switch the superstars when they are clearly struggling and if he is that good, he won't be using the same tactic as Rafa. In my view, Hodgson is far worse than Rafa's reign at the club. Obviously, he is lost at the moment and really don't know what to do next, so maybe the club should lead him to the door. Angry calls for his head will be swarming in and it is time to bring out the axe. We got a fan favourite, King Dalglish on stand-by and he will be THE one to bring the Reds to glory and fame again.

You know when they say "Pay Peanuts and You get monkey". We got Maxi, Jovanovic and Cole on a free transfer, and frankly speaking, they are not performing at all. Maxi got to go in the January transfer window. After Mascherano and Insua left the club, his performance has gone downhill. Maybe is because of the lack of fellow companionship or whatsoever, but he got to go, even if it only a mere 2 million.
I like how Jovanovic play his football although I detest his occasional foul-wanting dives. He is a fighter and good left winger but he don't like to defense as much as what Hodgson want him to. I feel that he is obviously better than Cole on the left side and with his clear height advantage, he can and will be a constant threat in the air for any opponent, but Hodgson don't feel that way, and I can sense his frustration for not able to do more for the club.

From what I see, Ancelotti is really shrewd to allow Cole to leave the club and move to Liverpool. He also said that he thought Benayoun is better than Cole, and after watching those matches that Cole featured, I have to agree with the Italian. Cole came to Anfield with high hopes and expectations but he had failed terribly in my report book. He is made to play as a left winger and I do know that is not his natural playing position, but he is so predictable to the opposing defenders. He is always looking to cut into the centre and not crossing well and enough into the box. He don't provide support and cover for the left-back, which is by-far the most unfortunate position with all the regular left-back out with injuries. His playing style may work in Europe, but back in the league, he is just a common player, but since we got him for free, what can we say much?

Another highly-rated player to come to Anfield and to me is fast becoming a flop is Poulsen. He made his name in Germany, Spain and Italy as a fiery character packed with crunching tackles and an uncompromising midfield maestro. But suddenly, he became a cute and cuddly kitten in England, and one wonder where did his ferocious playing style goes to? He can't be compared to Mascherano and I feel that Lucas is better than this kitten with his once in a blue moon great individual goals. Till this day, I still believe that Aquilani is good enough to wear the Reds jersey but Hodgson just want to bring in his old-flame and this is a terrible mistake as Poulsen is not the same when they were together in FC Copenhagen. I say, bring Aquilani back.

Meireles is performing at a commendable level and it is 14 million well paid for although it is still consider pricey when I watched how the 8-million bargain buy Rafael van der Vaart performed in Spurs. Gerrald inter-switch with Meireles well and both can lead the attack as well as coming back to defense, and this is a good sign that I hope can lead to a something tangible. Kuyt's performance this season is erratic and not in his prime yet. He continues to work tirelessly till the final whistle and have a never-say-die attitude that I admire, but he is fast becoming THE headless fly in the team. He is much better as a right winger than a striker, but his recent runs had been rather meaningless and not as intimidating as before, and his leg is faltering fast.

I am hoping for Lady Luck to shine on the Reds at the Merseyside Derby in 2 weeks, and sometimes a tiny bit of the luck element will change the entire match in an instance. With a little luck, the one-to-one shot by Cole should have landed in the bottom-left corner, and maybe the thunderous header by Kyrgiakos may have gotten the team 3 points, but you can't change history now. A victory will earn the team 3 points and it is very crucial now to get into winning games.

Crisis, Chaos, Calamity, Catastrophe and Relegation Casualty are the 5 Cs associated with the team now, but I can only pray for the worst is over and the dark cloud will dispersed soon. The team should be able to rise up to the demanding challenges and stay calm to deliver classy and captivating football again, and maybe charging late toward the championship and the cups.

You Will Never Walk Alone!

11-16 September 2010

I have been saying bad comments on Poulsen in as many weeks, and it look I am right after all. He is a over-rated and over-hyped
player who is not up to the standard required in Premier League. He may do well in Italy, Germany but not in England and unfortunately he is with Liverpool now. If possible, Hogdson should get rid of Poulsen fast if he is still around to do so. Both should go in my opinion.

It has been confirmed that ex-Remisier King, Peter Lim was the unnamed Asian party who had earlier made an offer for the English soccer club worth 300 million pounds ($476.5 million) but lost out to a similar-sized bid from U.S.-based New England Sports Ventures, the owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball team. Peter has more money than John Henry, and was ranked 655th on Forbes magazine's list of global billionaires in March with a net worth of $1.5 billion.

He is set to make an improved offer for Liverpool, a day before a court case that could help to force through the Boston Red Sox owners' bid for the English club that has already been accepted by the board. Peter hinted he would be willing to trump the bid from Henry’s New England Sports Ventures company by about £100million, raising his offer to close to £400m. And he claims that if he succeeds in taking control at Anfield he would:* Wipe out £200m of club debt.

* Take on another £60m Liverpool still owe.
* Put almost £40m on the table for Roy Hodgson to strengthen his squad.

Lim believed his original offer was more attractive than those of his rivals because it was being financed from his own personal fortune, rather than through borrowing. But the current board are determined to push through their agreement with NESV. Lim is said to be ready to pounce with his revised offer, particularly if *Liverpool co-owners Tom Hicks and business partner George Gillett emerge successful from today’s High Court hearing, despite having lost all credibility with fans.

I would prefer Peter Lim to be the new owner of the club, but I may be wrong in this, I somehow recall from somewhere that I read that he is a Man Utd fan. I stand to be corrected.

I think I am right after all. According to a report, Peter's interest in English football stems from his ownership of several Manchester United themed bars in Asia - which have persuaded him that there is huge global potential for making money from top-flight English football. He and his good friend, Dennis Foo are Man Utd fan. I knew I read it somewhere before.

The Liverpool debt crisis is finally over, New England Sports Ventures had finally completed the takeover is now the owner of the club. With the off-the-field saga over, Hodgson and his man will have no more lousy excuses to blame their mediocre performance with other issues. Now the focus will be back to winning matches after matches, starting with the derby game tomorrow with Everton at Goodison park.

You Will Never Walk Alone. 

17th October 2010

A defeat at Merseyside derby by Everton.
I got nothing kind or good to say about the disastrous defeat, so I will keep my mouth temporarily shut for the time being.
I am thinking of setting up a blog to talk about Liverpool's performance and anything and everything about the team. I will have to ask Vinz (Vincent) permission whether I can put the website at the signature. It will definitely be more vocal and maybe even vulgar at the blog, as the team really need a wake-up knock. Will see whether Vinz approve it first.

Regardless of what is the result, I am always behind the team.
You Will Never Walk Alone. 

And this is how this blog comes about....

What I posted in AQ Part I

8th April 2010

Let me see, I am a football fan for over 20 years when I was in primary school and support Liverpool Football Club since then. Watch the games from free-to-air Channel 5 and 12 (If you don't know this channel, then you should be very young now ) ranging English Divsion 1, FA Cup, League (Coca Cola, Littlewoods, Worthington, Carling) Cup, Serie A, German League, European Cup, Cup Winners Cup, UEFA Cup, European Championship and World Cup then till now pay-to-watch English Premier League (EPL) to now Barclay Premier League (BPL), Champions League and Europa League.

It has been great being able to watch so many football matches and superstars displaying their spectacular and amazing skill to score goals and win matches. My CO used to comment that it is so boring and waste-of-time to watch 22 able-bodied man chasing after a small football, but she got "poisoned and psycho" by me and watch the games and cheer and shout with me now.

9th April 2010

A good attacking display by Liverpool produced 4 goals to power past Benfica
into the Europa League semi-final. Finally a much better-than-expected performance from Lucas to show calm and composure in a one-to-one situation with the goalkeeper and ended up rounding the goalie and score the second goal. As usual, Torres show why he is one of the deadly striker in the world to score 2 well-placed goals. He really need to guide Ngog in dealing with such a situation as he could have score the match winner against Birmingham in injury time last weekend.

Liverpool will face Fulham at Anfield this Sunday whom is also in the Europa League semi-final after beating Wolfsburg home and away. Look like we will have a battle of the in-form strikers between Torres and Zamora!

23th April 2010

Another away defeat in the Europa League, this time at the hand of Atletico Madrid. Need a turn-around game at Anfield again to go into the Final. Did it against Lille and Benfica, but Torres was around in those 2 matches, and this time he won't be around for next week's match.

Actually, if you ask me before yesterday match whether I will take 1-0 away defeat, I will reluctantly take it. It is the the manner in which Liverpool lost the match that angered me. I watched the match this morning, and only 3 shots and ZERO shot-on-target for the whole 93 minutes. It is that terrible!

Seriously, I don't think Ngog is of the high-standard required in Liverpool squad. I know he is still at 21 years old but that is not an excuse. Maybe if Voronin was not sold in December, he will perform better than Ngog.
I hope that Rafa will recall Krisztian Nemeth back, and let him prove his worth. Or for goodness sake, buy another quality striker and not rely on Torres so much. Since the bad-boy Balotelli had officially hand-in a transfer request at Inter, Rafa, try bidding for him. He is another young lad at 20, but from what I see, much better than Ngog.

Next friday morning match will be different with Anfield's faithful being the 12th man behind the team. We can overturn the one-goal deficit and win the match to be in the final on 12th May at Hamburg
 
25th April 2010

Dilemma...Dilemma...Everywhere...
Seriously, if you ask any Liverpool fan whether they will rather lose the home game to Chelsea or to allow Man Utd to get the 19th League title because of a price-less victory over Chelsea, the answer is quite obvious. But I still believe Rafa will field the strongest squad against Chelsea despite having a tiring Europa match against A.Madrid 2 days ago. This result can very well determine the eventual title winner.

Call me bias, but I can't say the same for the Sunderland vs Man Utd game. Sunderland is managed by Steve Bruce, who was the title-cup-winning captain under Ferguson in the 90s. During the last October match at Old Trafford, Man Utd narrowly escaped a home defeat when Sunderland's Anton Ferdinard scored an own-goal in the 90th minutes, and the match ended in a 2-2 draw.

Sunderland got the required squad and ability to beat Man Utd on the 1th May home match, but I believe Steve Bruce will not field the strongest squad on that day. He definitely won't want to go into the history book as the person costing Man Utd the 19th title. Sunderland is quite comfortable in the 10-13th placing, and Bruce don't even need to psyche the team up. He just need to say," Lads, just go out there and enjoy the game."

I hope that Kenwyne Jones (if he is on the field) will shine at the Stadium of Light, and score another goal or two against Man Utd, and I just got a sixth-sense feeling that Rafa will bid for him again this summer. He is much better than Ngog in my view, and will be a good addition to the Reds squad.

All the above view will be nothing if Chelsea can't even beat Stoke later at 10pm local time. Given that Singapore Pools is so confident that Chelsea will win in giving Chelsea -2.5 balls, they should and will win tonight.
Man Utd's last match is at home vs Stoke too which should once again warrant a -2.5 balls from S. Pools, while Chelsea will take on Wigan at home in their last match.

If you are a neutral, you may hope that the title is decided on the last day and match of the season, but if any foreseeable scenarios were to realise
then the last game of the season maybe just a formality.
Although, I am a long-term die-hard Liverpool fan, but I will cheer for Chelsea to take the title this year, rather than Others.


30th April 2010

What else can I say?!
Once again, Liverpool ended the season trophy-less and to say the truth, the chances of getting the fourth place in the premier league may be over this weekend.

A tiger-head-snake-tail performance from the Reds, and we should have seal-up the match in the first half. A wonderful goal by Aquilani and it should have been many more. Somehow, the players were like flatten ballons in the 2nd half, and nearly paid the price as A.Madrid threaten to score on a few occasions.

I thought we are going to have a All-England final when Benayoun scored with a tight-angle goal until the dreaded goal once again by former Man Utd Forlan nine minutes later. There is an interesting statistic given by the commentator as he mentioned that Forlan only scored 17 goals in about 100 matches he played for Man Utd, and out of those 17, I think I heard that 4 was against Liverpool. He had scored 17 goals in this season alone, and he got his 18th against Liverpool again. He is the nemesis to Liverpool.

Most of the players played well, but Gerrard is again not at his best when the team need him most. Aquilani, Kuyt, Mascherano, Carragher, Agger, Benayoun, Babel, Johnson played their heart out, but Gerrard disappoints the fans with a sub-standard performance.

Fatigue will be all-around when Liverpool host Chelsea this sunday, and it will be a tall order to expect the payers to perform at their peak to beat Chelsea. Rafa will put out the strongest squad, but the morale-draining defeat will be hard to overcome in just 2 days of rest.

Liverpool need to look back and reflect upon this season's failure to win something next season, and to seriously launch an premier league title assault against Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and now even Man City.
It is as morale-draining to me as well having watched the 120 minutes match, and following the roller-coaster ride to the abyss of defeat.
Even the sky look especially gloomy today.

10th May 2010

The Fat Lady has sung and the dust have settled.
As expected, Chelsea was deservedly crowned the Premier League title with a thrashing 8-0 win against Wigan, and Drogba scored a hat-trick to pip Man Utd's Rooney to win the Golden Boot award. Chelsea is now en route to a League and Cup double in this Saturday FA Cup final against league-relegated Portsmouth.
Well done Chelsea, with so many press reports highlighting how Wigan can beat Chelsea, and one has to ponder why Stoke can't beat Man Utd.

Liverpool once again preformed terribly in away game with Hull, and can managed to secure a lousy draw, with Gerrald hitting the pole in the dying minutes in the game. A win will move them up to sixth place as Villa lost to Blackburn with an own-goal in the 84th minutes. Sadly, for Liverpool now, the season will start in July with the Europa League qualifying games.

It has been a very exciting final weekend in the Premier League as 32 goals were scored in 10 matches, that is about 3.2 goals per match which is an incredible record. For the soccer fans, there are still the equally-exciting Barcelona-Madrid and Inter Milan-Roma final game deciders to look for this weekend. We still have the FA Cup, Europa League and Champions League final before the World Cup starts in June.







To be continued.....