I am unrealistically confident.

I don’t know why???

Despite the key injuries, I just have a sneaky suspicion we might take this 2-0!

And though it would be better for us if they had two more games to contend with, I do hope that Inter beat Scum 1-0.
Short of that, United win, but have to go into extra time to do it, likewise Chelsea, and they get drawn against each other, and that 2nd leg goes to extra time, with Chelsea beating them… then Arsenal beat Chelsea in the Semi.

hey a boy can dream can’t he?

Aitch, I was confident as well, until I read that most fellow reds are also confident. This smacks of over-confidence, which is never a good thing.

Just nervous, I guess, before the kick-off.

Nerves are always good before a Game..

Torres and Gerrard in the starting line up. I think Rafa is also thinking about Man Utd and beyond with picking the two. If they can gel in this game it only brings confidence. Whereas if one or both didnt start i think we would be lacking fluency against United.

What an attacking lineup..

I dreaded what the media would say if we are caught by counterattacks. Then they would say that Rafa is an idiot not to put up a defensive lineup to defend against the “mighty” Real

Torres looks fit .

GET IN.

Torress!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Juve one up against the Chavs

If we don’t win this game… it would be the biggest cock up in the modern days football.. if we made them looked ordinary in the first game, we made them look like schoolboys in the first 20 minutes

No penalty but I’ll take it

Goal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i’m sorry but that was a bogus penalty. really poor decision. the only that makes me feel half-way decent about getting that second goal is that we easily could have two others…

torres turn in the 4th minute was sublime. that boy is a big game player…incredible lad.

Look what happen if Gerrard and Torres can play together……

This is suprisingly the fourth match they played together this season….. fourth I think….

It hit the shoulder of Heinze…

I think the linesman intimidated by the 12th player on the field.

…and thats a lot of singings on the field. I hope the same could be said for premier league games..

we have been ruthless these first 20 mins or so…i still cant believe torres just missed that clean break on that sublime turn. would have been goal of the season.

I don’t want to sound like a Milan fan in Istanbul… but i do hope we don’t commit the same mistakes lke the Milan team of 2005

Still to play for …

Bayern running riot against Sporting… 4-1 in the first half

Chavs equalized

skeat…remember who was on the other end of that istanbul final? if anyone is going to be wary of the possibilities in football, its rafa, no?

YNWA

Hehe… how could I ever forget, Alec..?
I just hope that the lads won’t get carried away by this.
And its not impossible to score 3 in a half..
(Bayern scored 4)

Monster would be suspended in the quarters first half for a foul which is not his….

poor poor referee-ing

poor monster masch…unlucky card to receive…especially since he’ll miss the next match. but skeat, i think he was booked for kicking the ball away. watch the replay again. i think it was for kicking the ball away after xabi’s foul. lucas has put in some good performances for us in the CL though, so at least we have a fair substitute in that position.

gerrard and torres are a frightening partnership. shocking to think theyve only started 4 matches this season. terribly unlucky for us, that.

YNWA

Gerrard!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its truly over now

awesome third goal

lads, it’s time to sit back and enjoy. We only have 1 life.

YWNA

it really does the head in…3-0 against real. 0-2 against middlesbrough. the players seem so up for this match today. what a night!

hey… Lets be positive….
3-0 up against Real madrid following the Sunderland win at Anfield..

Time to enjoy the rest of the match now

Lets do a besiktas on Real…

Maybe Middlesborough was the kick up the arse

Now, lets hope no more injuries for the team…. for the upcoming crunch game at old toilet

Was Lucas boo-ed? All i heard was Claps all around for Alonso…saved for Manure game..

Noone realised it was him Skeat, that new haircut. I really do hope Lucas gets a fair go from the supporters. If he isnt required and moves on in the end thats fine, but while he is playing for us we cant boo him.

Notice it has been a messy game now after Alonso was substituted

Villareal, Bayern, Chavs and ourselves I think should be able to proceed now…

Bayern cruising 5-1, Villareal 2-1 away Juve needs to score 2 against Chavs

Juve one man down… and scored through a penalty thru Del Piero… 2-1 now… though they still need one more

so made up to see jay spearing on the pitch. i love the boys heart, has such passion for the club. looked great every time i’ve seen him play. 5ft 0 of pure LFC passion!

Carra looks destroyed. he needs a rest. played brilliantly, but that cross just bounced right in front of him that gago blasted over the bar.

what a night!!!

YNWA

i tell you, if it wasnt for casillas, we would have won this match 8-0

Drogba scored for Chavs…. Juve out…

Agreed, alec the red.

Bayern now 7-1…….hmm….Luckily we scored 8 against Besiktas

Goal!!!!!!!!!!!

Dosser!! haha..

The sound of our work telly isn’t that good, so could someone please explain why Liverpool are playing Leeds tonight?
****
A comment in Guardian.co.uk

This was the best game I ve seen us playing, apart from the Newcastle away game.. enjoyed every minute of it.

going to zzzz now..

Sum up with the final comment from Guardians,

FULL TIME: Liverpool 4-0 Iker Casillas +10 traffic cones. That was an outstanding performance by Liverpool. Real were absolutely dreadful, of course, but nobody could have lived with Rafael Benitez’s side tonight. They were, to a man, superlative

and I agreed with him…

AWESOME FOOTBALL!!!!

Liverpool swept Real Madrid aside.
Torres is just Immense, his touch and movement
are just something that you can’t teach.
Gerrard’s second was a thing of beauty.

The Crowd sounded Fantastic.My Stereo was roaring, my poor neighbours are lucky they are at work.

Great to see Jay Spearing get a run out, and even better to see him acquitted himself well.
Crowd sing” there’s only one Jay Spearing”
Nothing like a Liverpool Crowd.

Expect to see our players pictures on wanted posters tommorow, because we murdered Madrid tonight

so after watching the summary on ITV, this is the worst RM team of all time.

Best performance of the season and still no respect.

Don’t want an english team in the next round
…

The positives about tonight:-

Anfield BACKED the Team

Anfield BACKED the Players

Anfield BACKED the Manager

What a fantastic performance! Happy Times!

Just a hypothetical question… What the fuck are we going to do if Rafa decides not to give us another season?

Special mention to Dossena… and Lucas and Spearing as well…

Finally, I think we would see media giving us credits for playing this excellently

They even said that haha… *chuckle* that not one real madrid player tonight could get into the first eleven of Liverpool team tonight…

haha..I agreed to that as well.

FS,

We always have Klinsmann as replacement…
(I meant it as a sarcasm btw)

Thought Babel played well tonight, his attitude seem’s to have improved in recent games, hope we get to see the player we know he can be

Got to go to bed now, up in 5 hours for work, but how the hell do I sleep now.
4-0 against Real Madrid, could have been 6 or 7

What a performance that was. Wow how much of a fuckwit must the RM President feel now, his team had it’s arse wiped.
.
Congrats to Babel I thought he had his best game of the season. Finally looked interested.
.
Ninja, Mash and Alonso looked brilliant. Spearing god bless him gave his all, well done young fella.
.
SG and Torres well what can you say, thumped them.
.
Well done Rafa to by the way. What price on rumours galore that RM are after Rafa as their number 1 priority, after this.
.
Quite a stunning performance.

We’ll get another manager FS and move on. We’re LFC not RFC. Awesome performance tonight. Probably the best I’ve seen us play since the 2nd half in Ataturk. Well done lads!

Thats a very daunting thought if Rafa decides to go. I can only see us going backwards from then on. I think it would be very dangerous for Liverpool to get on to the Manager-go-round!

FS, Nice hypothetical question indeed.
Take a bow everyone who has sat through games to some frustrating results, heard Anfield boo-ing it’s own,read foul non-sense and put up with uninformed comments spouted by morons.
For Skeat, knight, hyde, keith, Aussie and all the gang allover the world up ’till all hours … This one is for you. I love it !!!!

It’s new fans I’d wish for. The manager’s alright

FS. We just beat Real Madrid, can’t you hold off for a day at least about what happens if Benitez leaves?

Let’s savour this great result.

Yeah the fans sucked tonight FS.

I might be mistaken but did Babel use his left foot tonight?

great to see the lads staying in second gear tonight lol save 3rd and 4rd for saturday.

come on you mighty redmen.

Well that was a fucking great way to start the day! Some of the best stuff I’ve seen us play. Gerrard and Torres were on fire, and Masch didn’t let anything go past him. Love his passion.

I had to laugh at myself for the first goal because I didn’t even cheer – I was sure it had been held up for a foul, because a coward EPL referee would have been too scared to allow a defender to fall over without calling a foul. Replay showed it was no foul. Terrible decision on the penalty, they must’ve thought we were Man U!

The crowd were sensational too – some say that it is the “occasion” of a European night. But I’ve said this before – I don’t think that fully explains it. I think it’s the fact that it is a different crowd, ie more & different people can get a ticket to Anfield on a European night… as compared to the weekly “faithful” who seem pretty quiet at the league games these days.

FS, Gerry, any other Anfield regulars – what’s your take on that?

Scouse BB,

Babel crossed and assisted Gerrard for his second goal using his left foot.

Firstly, for fuck’s sake, get someone to work on TIA’s dodgy server! Everytime after a game, it tends to crash, meaning I have to type my message all over from scratch, which is infuriating.

Anyway, I’m still pinching myself to make sure what I saw was real (no pun intended). We didn’t just beat Real Madrid, we BEAT THE CRAP out of them. Before the match, even Rafa’s had enough with these media hacks and asked for a bit of respect, surly he must have some now after such a fine display.

Now if only we can carry on this momentum onto this Saturday, we’ll have a chance in Old Crapford. (I’ll also be crossing me fingers for Inter’s Special Needs One to do his thing tomorrow night and wear the Scum out. )

Bright Lights/Big City atmosphere of the Champions League televised worldwide… and all 14 players put in 10 out of 10 performances.
Pity they slack off when it comes to the community theater of Stoke/Middlesborough, etc!

My favorite things tonight:
Torres’ big fuck you to the Real fans, turning his back on them during his goal celebration and pointing to his name after scoring!

Having a BIG bogus penalty decision go in our favor! (especially as Iker Casillas was the ONLY reason they weren’t already 3-0 down!)

Lucas NOT getting booed (hmm… perhaps the crowd nipped out for a pie and Rafa saw his opportunity?)

Jay Spearing getting a run out and an SG worthy chant (Kudos Kopites!)

And despite the fact that we backed off to the point where we were practically inviting them back into the game… we killed them off with a fourth! (Why was Dossena so pissed off about scoring? hmmm?)

As previously mentioned, ALL the players looking well up for it!

and the #1 thing that rocked my world tonight…
Javier Mascherano’s Linda Blair Quality, devil-posessed, absolutely MANIC fuckin goal celebration when Dosser scored!

Things I didn’t like, but found bloody typical…
Setanta host stating that given Rafa’s cautious tactics, despite the 1-0 lead, the advantage was actually in Real’s favor!
(I mean seriously WHAT THE FUCK????)

The same nob’ead after the game stating “… of course, this is clearly the worst Real team in 4 decades.”

But it was just too good a result to be bothered by it.

Now more of the same come Saturday, please Lads!

Elsewhere..

People were commenting on how “lucky” we are to draw teams which are on the decline everytime.

Hopefully Real madrid will win the La Liga, which will see Juande ramos got the managerial post in Bernabeu, and put to rest all the rumors surrounding Rafa to Real..

Thank you Skeat for re-afirming what I thought I saw, I couldn’t believe it!

Arent Real 2 time defending champions at the moment eventhough they are trailing Barcelona?

Aitch I watched it on ESPN, and they didn’t do too bad a job of commentating.
I agree about the first goal, I was waiting for the Ref to rule it no goal for a push.
But he had the backbone to give it,
Torres looked like he was really up for it tonight.
Points to prove to THE Madrid fans.
He is just fabulous to watch when he is in that kind of mood.
I would put out the same eleven against the Scum.

Yeah Aitch Maschers celebration was off the charts again! More manic than his one at Pompey even! Tell ya what though, when he was verbally accosting the ref after his booking I froze. Almost on the anniversary of his old trafford meltdown I must admit I thought ‘I’ve seen this movie before’. Luckily Stevie got in on time before the ref thought ‘right, thats enough of this’. Good job skip.

I think Rafa will rest Babel….or play him as subs for the SCUM game.

Nice to see Arbeloa lively and playing well.. I think we missed him … a lot

Ohh one thing i wanted to point out. Imagine had we lost the match, Rafas “rant” about wanting more respect for Liverpool’s european record would have been blamed, hey Digger??

Perfect scenario now is for Inter to knock the Mancs out tomorrow – dent their confidence ahead of the weekend’s match. Pity about all Inter’s injuries, but I’ll be getting up early again to cheer them on. Would LOVE to see the look on Whiskey-Fungus’s face if they get knocked out.

Great win and great to see Babel put in a fine performance.

About the penalty, yes the replays showed it shouldnt have been a penalty but watching it live I thought it was as he brought his arm up and it appeared to me to be handball, remeber, thats all the ref see’s, he doesnt get replay after replay.

Would’ve been nice for Babel to get a goal, I thought he deserved one, and it’d do wonders for his confidence. So does he start against Manure this weekend? Problem is he’ll be up against Christine on that left wing so Rafa might go for the rested and supposedly more disciplined Riera.

Great to hear the Kop singing for little Jay Spearing… must’ve made him feel like he was 5ft tall!!

When Gerrard starts scoring goals he tends to keep scoring… I’m putting him down for one this weekend.

Andy i dont think Rafa will start Babel (substitute role in the manure game) because i still think he is lacking defensively. Wouldnt suprise me if Insua comes in for left back and Aurellio for Left mid.

Lately i have been very happy with corners and free kicks taken by Fabio, thats why i think he must start at either LB or LM

What can I add to what’s already been said? My happiest moment watching the game yesterday? #4 by the Doss! It might be hard to explain that one, but I’d prayed for a massive contribution from our fringe/squad players. I thought it time someone threw a bone to Dossena. He’s clearly improved since his debut for us, and isn’t anywhere near as fat as people make him out to be. Carra and Hyypia have never been known for speed, but it doesn’t make them any less Kop icons.

The second thing I enjoyed is seeing how many goals Real scored towards making their president’s vow of a 5-1 (3-0 at the Bern, and 2-1 at Anfield) aggregate win over us come to pass. I’m not insulting anyone, but have enjoyed reading the normally anti-all-things-Liverpool-media shower accolades on our display.

From an observation point of view, our four-pronged attack yesterday did wonders. Pairing (if you can do that for four players) Torres, Gerrard, Babel and Kuyt upfront, the latter two on the flanks, worked very well. Fine, Babel’s tendency to lose the ball was slightly infuriating, but his pace and power down the flanks wasn’t welcomed by an overwhelmed Merengue defense. There were lots of threats from just about everywhere, with shots flying and everyone seeking to score. I don’t know how many saw forays upfront by Skrtel, Masch, Dossena (for the brief time he came on), Alonso and everybody else?

Rafa continues to defy. The Reds continue to confound. Anfield’s magic is right up there with the Arabian nights and other legends of our existence.

What a team, what a club, what a manager, what a stadium, what a group of supporters. There’s only one Liverpool FC. We truly are the Reds, and everyone else isn’t. Let the true Kopites stand and be counted.

YNWA!

“Oh What a Night” to steal a phrase, cheers Dougle justification is always sweet.

To cautious, to defensive, we don’t try win matches? Ramos take a bow one of the best motivational speeches for us in a long time.

One of the best team performances of the season, Rafa take a very big bow the tactics and formation were spot on. This was not a poor Real Madrid side this was a Rafa master class on how to destroy your opponent and not let them in the game.

Digger shame on you, you can criticize, moan and complain but you cannot give credit where credit is due. Just we will replace him, way to go in the supporting stakes, it’s about time you took those blinkers off.

Gerry great blog, funny old game hey, one week zero’s next wek hero’s and you are spot on in your observations. Our best 11 will take on and beat anybody, we have proved it time and again, despite the financial disadvantage we find ourselves in. However as you pointed out over a long attritional season when we pick up injuries we just do not have the strength and quality in depth just yet, but we are not too far off.

The Torres, Gerrard partnership was sublime and shows us what we have been missing the whole year and yet we are sill in second place. That was Babbels best game of he year, Ramos who! He skinned him and made a world class defender look very ordinary. One of Monsters best games as well. Arbelloe is sheer class at right back, another who proved how much we miss him, not bad for a 2.5 mill player. The whole team was brilliant.

A game to be proud of viva the Rafalution

Well, I too thought the penalty itself was a bit harsh, but oh well, let’s just take it as Heinz’s way of repaying Rafa for recognizing his talent but not being able to join him because of a certain Mister Ferguscum.

Come to think of it, it was also Heinz that indirectly led to Benny Onion’s goal in the 1st leg.

I was going to give our players ratings but I thought that they were all on 8. Yes, that’s right! All get 8 equally, maybe 7 for Babel to be realistic, but he deserves plenty of credit for putting in a decent shift so he gets the 8. Mashcerano shades a 9, but it was such a *team* performance that I think wouldn’t mind getting the same reward as the rest. Why not a 9 for Torres and Gerrard, you may ask; well when you’re as gifted as they are one tends to automatically assume that that they played great, but I think their effort was matched by all, it’s just that their natural skill tends to make them look better.

KeithSA, I’ll disagree with you about the tactics and formation, but you may be surprised that to find that my difference is in praise of Rafa. I don’t think this was a masterclass in tactics and formations, it was simply a masterclass in pure football. Out team out-fought and out-thought Madrid everywhere on the pitch. I don’t know what Rafa said to them, but whatever it was, it made them play – I’d go as far to say – the best *ever* under Rafa. This team, (I’d fancy) would beat the Valencia side that gave a footballing lesson to us back ’03(?). Rafa has endured (still is) one of the most disgusting witchhunts I’ve seen. My criticism aside, which is always reserved for fellow Liverpool fans, Rafa has answered the knife-sharpeners with the only reply that they cannot counter. It was the best “Fuck You”, that he could ever have come up with. And for that, I praise him no-end. Full credit to Rafa. But the problem for Rafa now is that he has shown what his team are capable of, and any below-par performances will be seen as a motivational weakness. Come Rafa, show us that that wasn’t a one-off. I really enjoyed that game so much. I was giggling with delight even when moves didn’t come off.

Real Madrid are not the mugs they’d have us believe – they have pace and guile all over the shop. They are the reigning champions FFS! I don’t really admire them that much, but only in so far as I don’t admire Robben or Gago, but you can’t deny their quality. I hope Ronaldo goes to them now – they deserve each other. Knob!

Kinny Riddle- I ALWAYS copy & paste my comment before I click “Say It!”. Paste it anywhere, such as: Notes, or just a draft for an email.

Good morning amazing fellow liverpool fans,isn’t like absolutely fan-fuckin-tastic!!!!!!
I may have had 10pints last nite but that hangover isn’t getting a chance today.
Great to see the positive comments and posters holding hands in the blog again.(for now)

Just want to point out that everyone who may think lady luck had a helping hand last nite(it wasn’t a handball)the way henize raised his arm it looked like one and the bar i was in everyone called it. Also if you cast your memories back to the man city game when dunne stopped a goal-ward bound shot with his hand which was not given which in turn put the huge dent in our title hopes,its about time we got a wee reach around.

All in all perfect nite. though masch getting booked was the only sour note however we can cross that bridge when we come to it. (can anyone confirm for me if a yellow card can be overturned because it looked like he meant to book alonso??)

All we need now is inter to have a set of balls tonight and make them bastards work hard,pick up injurys even go out of the comp. and there will be a great change of momentum in the season.
I truly believe that us winnin in such spectacular fashion will alone put pressure on the manc’s. They will want to make a simular statement after seeing us, so our result last nite could be more effect than we think.

god willing.

That was a fantastic performance last night. Every single player was top class. The pass and move was excellent.

aiyic: Rafa’s tatics were spot on. We did the same against Juve a couple of seasons ago. First 20 mins we went at them like a train and they weren’t ready for us and we were 2-0 up and the tie was done and dusted. It was the same last night, Real were expecting us to play the same way as we did in the first leg and we caught them cold. The tie was over after 20 mins.

the penalty decision was a bit harsh but for me he did move his arm and he’s an ex manc and that’s as close to a decision against them that we’ll ever come. it made no difference to the result.

I think we should go at Manure the same way. No one has a go at them. The only two teams to do it this season are? Us and the arse. The result? 2 defeats for the mancs. They have a class forward line but for me their midfield is the worst of the top four and their defence while good can be got at. Van der Sar is a good shot stopper but he is a flapper, so for me if we go at them I fancy us for a win.

last thought Arbeloa was outstanding. Torres was magnificent. His turn against Cannavaro was sublime.

Yes Kenny the tactics were spot-on, but it was not an *overly* tactical game. It was the desire to win, steely determination and the accuracy of our passing that won us that game. If we’d all known the fitness levels of the players, I don’t think there would be any difference between all our selections. But that is not to take away from Rafa. Full praise for motivating them after such a break. I’ve kind felt that we stumble after a long lay-off. People talk about the benefits of not having to play for a 10 days, but so far this season we haven’t gained from those rests – until now. And Rafa did a great job in raising the mojo of the lads.

Mascherano was on fucking fire, and Torres chased back into our own half a number of times, and it that kind of thing that made them look like mugs, and (imho) that ain’t tactics. That’s just an undeniable will to win.

I’m still flying after the game tis morning!

Well, Mash yellow was timely if u ask me. I’d rather having him unavailable on the 1st leg of the quarters instead of any games after that! Whether Torres is there or not, we can somehow get a goal from one of our players eg. Benny, SG, Hyypia etc … But Monster Mash is ESSENTIAL! He’s the one who does the dirty job 4 us.
On a lighter note, I wish we wud be 3 nil up by the 80th minute vs. Scums this Saturday and Rafa decide to bring in Cavalieri for whoever and play Pepe Reina as a striker. Hope he scores one and rubs shit allover that fucking fungal infected face! DAy dreaming huh? Who’s to say?!

In 113 on the previous blog, I correctly forecast the team that Rafa would play but I didn’t predict Lucas getting a haircut!.We need to play the same formation and tactics @ Grayskull.As good as the 5-0 V Forest in 1988.Hope we don’t get a Prem team in the quarters.Jose 2 do the biz 2night?.

I can’t believe we gave Real Madrid such a hiding!! A flawless display! Well done Rafa and team!!! Everyone looked so up for it. Masch was a fucking warrior. Torres in the first 30 mins was on a different planet. Gerrard was Gerrard. Man, the team set up and the way everyone set about their job was magnificent. Made Real look like Rotherham and if were not for the brilliant Cassilas it would have been a Rugby score.

Aiyic: go at them from the off were the tactics.

LB: Torres was magnificent and did you see how his ankle was strapped up at the end? His touch was unbelievable but so was his hunger, he robbed the ball off players in our half after chasing back 30-40 yards. Arbeloa was outstanding for me too. Stevie G’s finish was pure class, was it Gago who had a similar chance at the other end and blazed it over?

But Kenny, that’s not tactics. That’s saying, “now go for it”. And good luck to him for it. I bet he didn’t instruct Torres to chase back. Now like I said, don’t misconstrue what I’m saying as criticism. I’m praising Rafa for revving the team up. That’s motivation, and not tactics. Did you see Rafa gesturing during the game (one which I’d never seen Rafa do before) palms facing down, calm down, calm down.

My favourite part of the game was Snyder’s freekick. Joke.

Yes Torres was hungry. He don’t like Real Madrid. He must have been demanding that Rafa put him in the side. I can imagine him at Melwood training like a madman and telling Rafa “I’m f*cking fit ok, play me!” The touch was maginificent. Made Cannavaro look like Bramble. Babel looked hungry. Arbeloa was wicked! Hey if he plays an entire season like that I’ll be chuffed. I reckon if he could work on his crossing he could be a top world class fullback.

My favourite move was the couple of one-twos between Arbie and Alonso from right wing to centre midfield but then Alonso played it through to Kuyt who was offside – but blazed near post wide anyway.

Another thing I loved about the game was that we won the ball in the opposition’s half on numerous occasions! We have to do this more often in the league. I’ve noticed the mancs get a lot of goals by robbing the ball off the other team in their own half. How hungry were we to get the ball back last night? Lets see that hunger at Old Trafford. No fear, just fucking tear into the mancs, rob the ball of Carrick and storm into their last 3rd.

Fucking typical of The Sun:

++And to the detractors who point out that both of Liverpool’s opening goals were somewhat dubious, The Sun argues that, although ‘Real could point to the fact that Belgian referee Frank De Bleeckere might as well have had a red shirt on because of a couple of dodgy decisions which led to Liverpool’s first two goals, such was the home side’s superiority, they would surely have won anyway.’++

Well it got shoved down their throat last night!

MOTM: Casillas

Says it all!

I have always thought that Reina was the best Spanish keeper but last night I now understand why Casillas is #1 (although Reina is not that far behind).

KUDOS for him.

Still put 4 by him though

Aiyic do you think Rafa is turning into a scouser? hands palms down saying calm down clam down. I think it is tactics because we don’t always play that way in Europe. We did it against the Chav’s too for the “ghost goal”. The job was done and Rafa then wanted us to be professional.

LB: I hope Torres doesn’t like the mancs either because if that’s the way he plays when he doesn’t like someone God help Ferdinand.

Kenny, Rafa is a scally alright. No doubt! Mike Phelan was at the game. I wouldn’t like to be him in reporting what he saw to Ferguson.

Ferguson- What weaknesses can we exploit on Saturday Mike?
Phelan- Eh…oh! Is that the time already?!
Ferguson- Mike! Mike!

Lurgan Cassilas is the best keeper in the world. I’ve thought that for years. I watch La Liga quite regularly and he rescues Real Madrid a lot of the time believe me. Is a much better keeper than Reina I’m afraid. Reina is very good but Cassilas is great in my opinion.

Kenny, notice how Torres always had 2,3 or 4 red shirts close to him in that first 30 mins. That was rare. Usually he’s isolated or might have Gerrard close by. I think he might even be on the bench at Old Trafford, he had a big pack of ice strapped around that ankle after coming off. I wonder if Babel will play of if Riera will be recalled. I’d reward Babel.

Delicious performance. Delicious night.

I just wish our players were this fit for the whole season, but I guess that is unreasonable.
For once, whiskerface had it right– real’s back four were far too slow to deal with Premiership teams.

I think Rafa is the one who is enjoying this the most. A massive big UP YOURS must have been going through his mind.

(And Thanks for the shout, dougle.)

LB: I’ve watched la liga quite regularly too. Casillas is no.1 on merit in the Spain side but what a deputy to have in Reina in case of injury. Reina for me is not far behind and i certainly make him better than Czech and Van der Sar now. I like Reina’s mentality. He can make a mistake but he doesn’t go to pieces. Dudek and Westerveld were good keepers but their mentality was fragile one mistake and they were done for.

LB: Good point about the forward play. We hunted in packs all night every time a Madrid player got the ball there were 2 or 3 men on to them.

My fave part? When the ball was going out for a throw on the right hand side and Arbeloa sprinted as fast as he could kept it in and stormed off up the wing on the attack. He could easily have let it run out for a throw and we were 3-0 up I think.

Ole! What a win!

As been stated in this blog before, our best XI, in that sort of form are a match for anybody, anyday. But to put things into perspective, our bench yesterday tells us all we need to know as to why we cant sustain this over a season: Hyppia, Diego Cavalieri, Dossena, Lucas Leiva, David Ngog, Jay Spearing and Martin Kelly.

Even adding Benny to that, compare it to the other squads and then thank lordy that we still get nights like the last.

YNWA

LB, don’t worry about Torres for Saturday – he’ll play. The ice will have just been the planned treatment for his ankle after the game no matter what. Playing 80 minutes when recovering from an ankle sprain will have triggered some swelling so the ice will have just been to limit that. Trust me, I’ve done both my ankles too many times to count!

You can add Agger/Insua/Riera to that but for me it’s our attacking options that let us down when Torres or Gerrard are injured. A David Villa would put a stop to that though!

My favorite part of the night was right after Nando’s goal when he made it a point to run right in front of the Madrid supporters and pointed to the name on the back of his jersey.

If you recall, they were chanting his name and “son of a whore” throughout the first leg, and I’m sure that chant was going on last night as well, although I couldn’t hear it.

That’s one way to answer them.

Casillas is the best keeper in the world, and he showed last night why he is Spain’s first choice. Real Madrid has won the league the past two seasons with a defense that is quite porous. Casillas is left stranded quite often, yet he finds a way to save Madrid’s bacon with regularity.

Unfortunately for Pepe Reina, it’s not the first time a Liverpool keeper has been kept out of his own national team (Ray Clemence anyone?).

Lads, I saw this on F365, and thought is was worth sharing with others. It’s a decent manc putting it out there. It all to often pains me to see bickering amongst Liverpool fans, hence, I get a great shot in the arm of hope when an even bigger divide can be bridged.

++…It shames me greatly to read the amount of Manchester United fans who chose to react to Liverpool drubbing of Real Madrid by dismissing the achievement on the part of Real Madrid shambolic display. Even as a Utd fan and supporter myself I have the humility to admit that it was Liverpool’s intensity of play and skill going forward which rendered Real to the ordinary side they came across as. In Mahmadou Dirarra and Lassana Diarra they have two defensive midfielders worth over £40m between them. In Van Der Vaart and Sneijder they have Holland’s most talented and skillful play making midfielders and in Raul they boast a modern legend. Cannavaro, the world and European player of the year in 2006, was reduced to a jibbering wreck and the world’s ‘best keeper’ was hamstrung and toally helpless to have any effect on the result at all.

I do agree that Real Madrid are a different side to the one that dumped Utd out of the CL twice in three years, beating us 3-2 at OT, at the start of this decade but it would be churlish of me to celebrate Utd’s 7-1 hammering of Roma two seasons ago and yet dismiss Liverpool’s 4-0 humbling of Real as lucky. I think most Liverpool supporters would admit that Real were disappointing, but it’s important to recognise that they weren’t poor by choice – Liverpool made them poor.

Here’s hoping we hump Mourinho out of the CL tonight. If not, I’ll be distraught and resigned to the fact that I’ll have to watch Liverpool win yet another CL.
H-dawg Manchester ++

aiyic, I DID copy and paste in a notepad as a backup. When I did that, it was about 15-30 minutes after the match was over, so I kept clicking the refresh button, hoping the site would come back, but to no avail. But then I had to leave for work (it was morning over here), so I had to retype my message all over again in my office computer.

I feel your pain Kinny, I’ve been there. It is very frustrating after a post-worthy game for the gremlins to come out.

I reckon the TIA server is not able to handle all the traffic it gets at times. Hence when EVERYONE is either desperate to come on and vent their spleen or share a truly joyous occasion the site crashes. That’s my guess, I’m no techie.

Aiyic I thought Babbel had an excellent game, his movement, passing, crossing was the best I have seen all season. He had a hand in two of the goals and on this performance deserves his place ahead of Riera. He made an absolute monkey out of one of the best right backs in the game (Ramos) and that is no mean feat in itself.

It shows what we are capable of and as I said earlier our best 11 is a match for anybody and on any given day. I don’t know if the stat is correct but this was the 4th time Torres and Gerrard have played together all season. Well that says it all we have not got the depth we need, if we suffer with key injuries.

I have just read an article in the Times Real generate and income of 290 mill per year, while we languish in seventh place on a miserly 168 mill per year, yet under Rafa we are ranked number 1 in Europe and still compete and beat these teams ahead of us time and again despite these massive disadvantages. That included Arsenal, Chelsea and ManU, maybe the Rafa doubters could take this into account before the next blame game starts.

LB for the comment that this is how we should play, I cannot agree more with you, however the high intensity game is very tiring and you need a big squad to pull it off regularly, which unfortunately we do not have. Also it works better against the stronger sides but once we dominate possession it falls away, hence the need for a fit Torres and Gerrard or quality backup.

Aiyic high intensity, closing down and flying out of the straps is defiantly a tactic that was worked out on practise field the entire week. Read a few of the interviews on how Rafa went about instituting it. More tactic than motivational, he has used it before, it was a definite thought out tactical ploy. Worked a treat Real had no answer and where caught with their pants down.

Well, at least I would stay away during a bad result, my spleen would already be quite damaged by then, I wouldn’t want to damage my other internal organs any further.

Like Gerry, I would immerse myself into all things non-football related for two to three days. (Or weeks if it’s against a major rival, but I really hope to see you guys again this Sunday with good spirits. Fingers crossed, mates. )

Shame on me eh Keith?! For what? Pointing out what our great club will do when Rafa leaves? Ffs man pull yourself together. Someday Rafas gonna leave Keith, yes leave. Shock! Horror! And when you’ve recoiled from your foetal position you’ll realise its not the fucken apocalypse! Its a time when the club says thanks for the memories and moves on. Thats all I was saying. Jesus. But I’m guilty of not supporting and should be ashamed. Riiiight. Christ I’d hate to imagine what you’d be like after Bob retired.

Digger, myself, Steve the red and Gaz would be the 4 horsemen of that apocalypse lol.

I would like to know what TimmyTorres thought of the game, as he went! The atmosphere sounded fantastic, even though ITV get turning the sound of the crowd down!

The best scenario for tonight’s game would be a hard physical battle with Inter nicking the win at the death, weather that be penalties or in extra time. Doubt will then creep in for our game.

For our game I predict a physical, aggressive and perhaps volatile game, with the ginger tosser Scoles taking the lead on the professional fouls front. The flapping legs one to dive in or just out side the box, to earn a free kick or 10.

Idea scenario, they have a player sent off (never happen) and we get a penalty (again never happen), but we win at the death. More doubt creeps in??

Fantastic play, brilliant teamwork, marvelous result. And what a night for the 30 odd rad fans who turned up at the Cobra Club in Malaysia at 3.45am (Yawn!). The Cobra Club had 6 helpers who were paid overnight and told to come and serve beers to us.
The atmosphere was good for that hour of the night. We clapped and cheered with every kick at the goalmouth, moaned and groaned when we missed.
Who would be brave and predict a 4-0 win last night against the Champions of Spain? Gosh, I am as happy as a lark.

Everyone played well: Torres, Stevie, Kuyt, Masch, Alonso, Arbeloa, Skrtel, Carra, Reina. Why even Babel played well and made two assists.

Bring on the Manure team this Saturday…

Scouse by blood do you have a crystal ball? or has this game already been played?

Aiyic: Read Torre’s comments on the official site to see if that was the planned tactics last night.

Cmon Inter. Cmon Jose! I never thought I’d be saying that.

Digger have you seen any of the interviews of fans when Shanks retired? There’s one piece of footage when they tell this young lad and the lad starts crying and says “you’re lying, you’re joking aren’t ye!” I think his name was Keith.

LOL!! Good one.

I remember seeing footage of fans being told by a reporter Shanks had resigned. They looked to be in total despair. Who’d have thought the club’s most successful period was around the corner.

How long did Shanks manage us?

The comments of some Real Madrid fans after last nights thrashing, somehow they sound strangely familar.

http://www.oleole.com/blogs/realmadridtalk/posts/liverpool-vs-real-madrid–live-match-comments

Kenny, I can just see United trying to rile Mascherano again and kick the hell out of Torres? The United players always have an innate sense that whatever they do they will never be punished at Old Trafford.

My favourite was this:

45. fofos Wrote: | 22.00GMT | Mar 10, 2009
Gosh!!! Terrible!! Exactly what I was saying after the first game. This shows the difference between la liga and EPL. The pressure on our players was too much and therefore our passing was really off.

Ok some key points on why we sucked(in my opinion)
1)Juande Ramos – I cant believe he didnt take Gago out…he was the worst player in the game. And in general pure strategy against a great tactician (benitez)
2)Gago…as I said…just running and running but couldnt mark anybody and in fact left a lot of room to exploit after he missed his interceptions…also terrible passing
3)Cannavaro…a rarely bad performance but it really cost us
4)Robben was taken out way too early…Juande should have found a way to put him back in the game instead of just giving up on him.

Anw I hope nobody actually believes that the referree is to blame for the loss…we didnt create anything all game and they had 100 chances. There is no way we can match up to Liverpool or Man utd or chelsea for that matter if we continue to have coaches that only play a certain style of play that it suits la liga but is so easy to counter act with pressing high all the time and good defences. The coach for me is 99% at blame. Again he was never able to beat english teams.

Sorry I just need to express my complains somewhere where they feel the same, all my friends were liverpool supporters

Heh heh! No I’ve never seen that footage Kenny. What age are you Keith?! Shanks managed us for 14 years LB. And very funny in post 109 too mate, I sometimes think thats the way the lads view us!

Fair enough, Kenny I hold my hands up if that was a *tactical* game, but it seemed like spirit to me. If it was tictacs let’s hope that Rafa employs those tictacs again, and again. Even the usual cautious subbing was nowhere to be seen, hence the fourth goal.

KeithSA my friend, are you nit-picking on my #79 post?? C’mon man, I said Babel put in a shift and deserved credit, I didn’t say he did badly. He was excellent in most departments and I awarded him the eight. If pressed, I’d say he still needs to get his head up, but other than that trait, he was top-drawer.

Digger
The club will move on
Yes it will, but you have a short memory of what happens on the manager merry go round
And I for one dont fancy another 5 years of rebuilding under a different manager

I have a very good memory 5yrplan. And who said we’ll be on the manager merry-go-round? Or who says we’ll be rebuilding for 5yrs again? Clearly your another with the apocalyptic view! Sheesh, and I get chastised for perceived negativity. I was only answering FS question in only way it could be answered: the Liverpool way, i.e we’ll move on together as a club as we always do. Simple as. But I must have forgot, the sky is falling!….the sky is falling!….

Any thoughts on who we’ll get in the draw lads? A lot of my mates seem to think Bayern is on the cards. A Klinsman vs Rafa kind of thing. I must admit it would be a delicious twist of fate if we were to meet and eliminate them. I would be well pleased for Rafa, what a fuck you that would be to the yanks! I think we’ll get villareal or barca though. Needless to say they all fear us anyway. Drawing us is a death knell for any of em!

I want Barca or Bayern in the next round. We play better against big sides. I don’t want an English team, not that I’m afraid of them. It’s just we bloody well play them regularly enough anyway. If we draw Chelsea again I’ll cry.

I agree LB, the last team we need to meet in the next round is the fuckin Chavs.
But I’d also suggest we want to avoid Beyern at this point also. They are truly in-form right now, so let someone else have a go at them before we have to meet them.

I want Inter to dump Scum tonight, but barring that, I’d like to see Scum/Chelsea next round and the Chavs get their revenge.
But having said that… “fuck em all, and let god sort ‘em out!”
We have no one to fear and you just wonder after a result/performance like that, if our name is already on it?

Digger, there is no doubt we would go on without rafa, (or SG or whoever.)
We are LFC and no one is bigger than the team, but to suggest we were fine when Shanks left and when Bob left, is to ignore that we were far from fine after Kenny left, doesn’t it?

If Rafa leaves, how many players stay or go is very much dependant on who his replacement is, and how much financial backing he is given.

So with that in mind… let’s hope Rafa gets his extension and we won’t have to worry about it (or have this discussion) until 2013 when he once again, has a year left on his contract and we’ve all visited Anfield and had our photos taken with a couple of Prem and CL trophies!

Sorry guys, some of you may have already read this, but for those who haven’t here are some quotes from Tony Barrett’s match review.

“Real were not just beaten, they were pummelled into submission by a Liverpool side which grabbed their illustrious opponents by the scruff of the neck and never let go until all signs of life had been squeezed out of them. Rafa Benitez may justifiably feel that his team’s exploits in Europe are never given the credit they so richly deserve, but who needs the respect of critics when you can have results like this?”

“This might not have been the Madrid of Puskas and di Stefano and Juande Ramos’ team may well have been a pale shadow of the famous Galacticos who played football from an another planet earlier this decade, but as their recent league form underlines, they are no mugs either. The fact that they were made to look like they were says everything about a Liverpool performance which will live long in the memory of all who were fortunate enough to witness it.”

“From the very first blast of Frank de Bleeckere’s whistle to the very last, every man jack in a red shirt played as if possessed by a burning desire to be on the winning side in this battle of two of Europe’s real giants.”

“This was not the tactical battle so many had expected, it was a tactical mis-match with Benitez outmanoeuvering his opposite number with contemptuous ease. If the battle plan was down to the Reds boss, it was executed with ruthless efficiency by his players who did not rest on their laurels even when a three goal aggregate lead had been established.”

“Imperiously brushing footballing royalty aside was not enough for Liverpool though and the hunger which had put them in such a commanding position did not diminish even with the game and the tie well and truly in the bag.”

Well said Tony, la!
After reading that, I nead a post-orgasmic ciggie…. and I don’t even smoke!

I agree LB the last team I want is Chelsea, we’ve played em enough in the c.l. But I think inters gonna do the mancs and of course its in the stars then jose will get his return to the bridge. Aitch we were fine when Kenny left. Souness dismantled and destroyed us. And Rafa has got his extension. 5 times. All we’re waiting for is his signature. I’d love to know what he’s waiting for. Anyone know? Even Aldo said on sly today he’d love to know, he thinks its 50:50. Not good.

Sorry to hog, but one more thing…

aiyic, I am perhaps one of the harshest in here, in terms of witholding praise for certain performances…. but how you only rate the majority of the 14 players who took the field yesterday as 8 out of 10 is mind-boggling.

I know its easy to get carried away with these things, but I think you’ve done the opposite mate. Everyone was 10 out of 10 yesterday… I don’t know how you could argue less?

The only possible justification for giving anyone a lower score, would be the 15 or 20 minutes in the middle of the 2nd half when we took our foot off the gas, and gave them a few sniffs at goal, but I’d judge that as more of a breather period, to catch our breath, than a drop in performance!

In fact, you certainly make a case for giving Masch and Torres a Spinal Tap-ish “…but these all go to eleven” score for their relentless committment to the cause!

My only question is WHY they don’t play like that against Middlesborough on a cold, rainy Wednesday night?
THAT is why we are not free and clear at the top of the Prem… not because of some strange Rafa tactical stubborness!

And in that vein, I’d like to make another point that some of you probably won’t agree with, but I think is an important part of the “Liverpool Way” mentality….

The only thing missing from last night was something I have been thoroughly disturbed by for quite some time….
Players not touching the “This Is Anfield” sign in the stairwell en-route to the field.

That sign used to mean something.
It used to mean that there was something about Anfield, that no matter how well you played as an opposition player, the result was on the cards.
Call it divine intervention, call it fate, destiny, kismet, whatever.
Opposition players, seeing every Red touch that sign, meant that the Reds players believed they were invincible. It gave us the advantage before the whistle was blown… (in somewhat the same way that Scum’s arrogant swagger does them?)

Performances like last night could go a long way to restoring Fortress Anfield, but the players must be made to believe that!

They all have their superstitions. Babel praising Allah when he scores, the Spanish contingent doing their sign of the cross when they enter the fray from the touchline… whatever.
Touching that sign should become…. no…. MUST become… ingrained in them in the same way!
So Rafa and Sammy, if you could get on that right away, please?

Lads,
just saw something flash across the bottom of the screen on sly sports saying that LFC are assessing injuries to gerrard, Alonso and Aurelio and that they are all doubts for the match against the scum. can’t find this anywhere else, anyone know anything? Or is this the usual crap from the pro scum ‘journos’ on sly sports

Digger,
“Aitch we were fine when Kenny left. Souness dismantled and destroyed us.”

So your argument is that any supposed replacement of Rafa WONT do a Souness? That isn’t a possibility?

As far as why he is waiting to sign…
I’m not in football, but in my industry, I’ve been a freelance/contract worker for the better part of the last 16 years. I don’t know if you’ve ever worked as a contract employee Dig, but its an entirely different kettle of fish from being an “employee”… and I only say that coz my family still don’t understand how/why it works, and they’ve had me explaining it to them for that long.

From a personal perspective, my current contract is up at the end of April… at which point I’m unemployed.
They may offer me a 2 month extention, and they may offer me a new 12 month contract.
But the department I work for just had its budget cut by 30 percent, which means, going forward I will have fewer resources to complete my work, and I already operate on a shoestring budget.
I could get a bigger contract on more pay elsewhere, but I really don’t want to. I love what I currently do… that doesn’t mean I’ll sign the dotted line on whatever document they hand me. I’ll assess the situation carefully and make my decisions accordingly.

Its easy to say “if I were handed an LFC contract tomorrow, I’d sign it even if it meant cleaning the bogs at Mellwood” but then again, we’re born-n-bred, or died-in-red…
I believe Rafa when he says he’s died-in-red, but I don’t blame Rafa for wanting certain assurances in his contract.

Look what happened to him the last time he signed a contract with LFC.
1. The owner fucked off.
2. The new owners backed him publicly but went behind his back to interview his replacement.
3. The transfer fees he was promised were reduced.
4. His identified targets were overlooked in favor of his cheaper 3rd choice options.

…christ the list goes on… and you wonder what’s the hold up?

Regardless of what he signs with G&H, he’s sitting across from new bosses come August (like happened when he signed with Moores) and will be tied then, to whatever contractual obligations he agrees to now.

It would be a nice boost if Rafa signed his contract on the eve of the manc game.

Fucking mancs 1-0 up after 4 minutes but Inter are coming back into it a little bit so you never know. Come on Inter!

I see people are calling for that type of performance week in week out and asking why we can do that to Real and not Boro, Stoke, West Ham etc….

1: It’s called tactics. Rafa’s quite good at them. So, when everyone and his dog expected LFC to be compact, sit back, protect the lead and hit on the counter, Rafa hurled them out of the traps. But it wasn’t just Gung-ho go and get them boys. Rafa had dropped hints about Real’s defence being slow and how he intended to take advantage of that.
(I do agree though, it would be nice to see that more often. And we probably will if the man sees out the job and is allowed to finish the squad he is building. I’ve said it a million times… he won’t reinvent the wheel. We will get a Valencia like side that can grind out results when needed, but also take teams apart like last night).

2: Why can’t we do that week in week out…
We haven’t got the strength in numbers. We would be burned out within a couple of months of being into a long hard season. Highlited by the stat Keith put up…. (Yes. Keith that is right) …that was only the 4th time Gerrard and Torres had played together all season.

Its a possibility Aitch yes. Unlikely however. Nobody could be that fucken stupid again! And yes I’d love to know what the hold up is. After 5 or 6 drafts you’d think the stumbling blocks would be removed no? Yes Ger it would be a great boost if he signed friday night. There is no doubt Rafa has contributed to the instability this season, this could’ve been done at seasons end and not in the media but it is what it is now. The sooner its put to bed the better for everyone.

Inter need to stop squandering chances! The Zlatan miss was shocking. Their number 45 can play init?

Fuck sake

2-0…. basically game over unless inter can do an Istanbul..

I m gooing to sleep

How are ManU Playing? What is the performance like?

For fucks sake can anyone beat these cunts? Looks like its up to us.

I’ve given up on Inter now and switched over to Roma against the Arse. Roma winning on the night 1-0 but 1-1 on aggregate.

“Its a possibility Aitch yes. Unlikely however. Nobody could be that fucken stupid again!”

Why is it unlikely? Because it furthurs your argument Dig? How unlikely? 90%, 70% a 50/50 shot?
I’m not suggesting that were Rafa to be replaced, we would implode, but to suggest it is “unlikely” and that “nobody could be that stupid” completely ignores the fact that Dumb & Dumber wanted to replace him with Klinssman!!!

Look what happened to Chelsea after Moaner left. Granted they haven’t imploded yet, but they are hardly the powerhouse they were under JoMo.
Of course, they’ve acted very quickly to correct that (at the moment) by offing Scolari and bringing in Guus.

I didn’t watch the Scum game (actually trying to catch up on all the work I missed yesterday) but saw a few miinutes towards the end and it looked like Scum parked the bus in front of goal.

Where they just protecting their lead?
(you can bet they won’t be accused of it as Rafa would in such a circumstance)

Did they have an easy go of it, or was it a hard won 2-0?

Arsenal look to be making hard work of it.

Penalty kicks in Rome….

Aitch, the mancs started off like a house on fire, scored after 4 mins. After 20 mins or so Inter settled, played quite well, created a couple of chances. One sitter in particular that Ibrahimovic fluffed. 2nd half, Inter started the better side. Mancs caught them on the break. Wanker scored with header. 2-0. Mancs parked the bus and Inter couldn’t get near their goal.

Inter also hit the goal post on several occasions..(was it 3 times?)..unlucky..

Looks like all 4 english teams will advance to the next round…
hmm…

the last time we met Arsenal…
I wonder who will Liverpool meet this time?

Does anyone know when the CL draw is announced, I think it’s going to be an English team again. Wouldn’t mind Porto or Bayern.
.
It will probably be Chelsea as that chip seems stuck to ours.
.
Still stunned by the result.
.
S looking forward to the Man U game and I can’t even watch it as I’m working. Live updates on the internet at best.
.
In regard to the comments from media outlets, Liverpool playing the worst RM team in decades. Well wasn’t this the RM who’s second in La Liga, has had 9 straight wins, scored 6 in it’s game prior to the first round. Have they forgot all that.
.
Well maybe I shouldn’t expect any better and anything else would actually be taking the piss.
.
I see Mr Platini raising his ugly head again.

Thanks for the skinny LB.

I dunno about the rest of you, but in my opinion most of those were apallingly bad penalties!

I hope Scum get either Chelsea or Beyern.

I wouldn’t want any of those 3, we’ve had Chavs too many times, I don’t want Scum this early and Beyern look in form at the moment. (Not that I don’t think we could beat any of them, just wouldn’t be my preference at this stage.)

I reckon we could well manage Arsenal, (though that’s gonna mean a triple header, since we have the league game around the same time,) or anyone else left in it… and at least there’s no possibility of an LFC vs Roma-on-home-turf final, which is one less thing to be concerned about.

One thing you can be sure of.. the twats at UEFA are brainstorming changes to the competition to rid themselves of the blight that is 4 English teams progressing in, and sullying their beautiful competition.
You know, limiting the number of Spanish players on a non-spanish team to 2 players, requiring 7+ home grown players, removing restrictions preventing home-nations facing each other in earlier rounds, etc, etc.

gazmaninaus, the draw will take place on Friday 20 March

Imagine 4 English teams in the semi finals.

Well what can i say i think the team said it all last night,nobody can argue
with the “Facts”.
Digger i’d have thought Rafa would have convinced even you to have faith
in him instead of some unknown manager. The thing is while i see debating
whether to give Rafa another contract. We dont see many debating what if
Rafa doesn’t give us another contract. (#48 FS)
Would it put us on the Merry-go-round I think if there’s a chance it would
then id rather not get on the Merry-go-round ,they some times last longer
than you would like and its hard to get off once it starts.
Untill Carra & Gerrard are ready Rafa is the best man for the job.

YNWA

Aitch, as regards giving every player an 8/8, don’t get hung up about it. Maybe your 9 is my 8! My 10 is pretty hot, and not awarded lightly. It’s like the Iron Cross: very very few have it in them. The point is that we are surely both in agreement that they played magnificently – the best under Rafa so far, imho. I think you might be a tad nit-picky with me, we agree on pretty much everything about the game – I’ve read all your posts, and you’ve read my mind. We were brilliant, fuckin’ awesome man, but let’s not lose the run of ourselves. A 10 is the absolute perfect storm, so let’s save it for when (not if) it happens.

Did anyone notice that Almunia would not look during the penalties, against Roma? Doni, the Brazilian for Roma, did. What a lightweight dweeb!

Gerry It was good to read the Real blog it just like this one, with all the same
kind of characters.Goes to show Football fans are the same all over the World.
I liked the reds comments( and been honest enough to identify themselves )
PS Read comment 50 on Real blog.
YNWA

I do have faith in Rafa in Europe Rome. I said on this blog 2 wks ago we’d beat Real. Now when he starts motivating our team to beat the stokes, boros, and hulls of the league and in doing so eliminate our annual 10 draws then he’ll have my unconditional faith. But for now your right and I wish he would just sign and put it to bed. No Aitch its unlikely because as I said, nobody could be that fucken stupid again! And I’m about 90%sure history has shown Souness’ formula of ‘dismantling’ to be 100% retarded!

Would like to point out that yes, it is frustrating that players do not perform consistently in the league as well as they all did last night (and that is not down to Rafa) But the same can be equally said of the fans……Anfield last night was superb, and its a really special place to be when its like that. Lets be honest, even many of our fans cant motivate themselves on a wet Wednesday night against Middlesboro, and whatever anyone thinks that must transmit to the players and manager. The players are not the only ones in Shanks holy trinity that are underperforming in the premiership. Our fans are unique and integral to our successes (Dortmund, Istanbul, Anfield against the mancs this year) Any ideas why this is?

Best moments last night as well as all that have been mentioned for me were;

the fella in the lower centenary waving an Athletico Madrid Shirt at any “Galactico” that came near him!

The Real defence arguing amongst themselves 10 minutes into the game

Raul as our unofficial ballboy!! (getting the ball for Pepe on several occasions) I know he was trying to look like he was speeding up play, but it was dead funny to see…

Crowds in all parts of the ground in fine voice, and songs old and new sung loud and proud….

Support for Lucas and Babel, instead of moaning about them

Baiting the Real fans and players with the huge “Paris 81″ banner in the kop (gave Real something to look at when they came out early for the second half!)

Best of all, that feeling in the air that “we are Liverpool” and we are different, summed up by the huge Scouse Solidarity banner in the Kop done in the style of the Gdansk Shipyard workers during their strike in the late 70s. The co-incidence that the Gdansk shipyard workers solidarity movement started the chain of events that eventually led to the form of communist domination ……. as last night proved, amazing what we can do when we all stick together and support one another, as in Shanks holy Trinity……………..

Viva The Rafalution!

Sorry, I meant fall not “form”! I also forgot to mention the loud and proud support of Rafa fronm all parts of the ground, god knows hes got enough people trying to undermine him without us joining in…

Did anyone notice the RM fan with the Everton scarf? Ah, bless!

I was laughing my arse off at that aiyic, though I suspect he was actually an Everton fan and NOT a real fan with a blues scarf… but you gotta give the looney his due, at 0-3 down, he was still holding it high and proud and shouting his daft head off! (poor dear!)

And I understand everyone’s ratings would be different Aiyic, as I said, it is a rare occasion when I would give 10/10 to anyone… but as someone else alluded to earlier… I don’t think its the euphoria talking, or stretching the truth to suggest that last nights performance was on a par with the Forrest 5-0 game from the 80s… its total football!

It proves that they are all capable of it, not just SG and TOrres, but all to a man… which makes it all the more frustrating that we’ve had to endure such shoddy performances in some of the draws this season!

And Digger, I’m not trying to pick a fight, but half the people in this forum and on others think half our squad is useless and should be shipped out… including many of the players that were in the team last night!

The idea that there aren’t more than a few top managers who might come in and ship em all out for their own signings, is unlikely?
Really?
We have 3 players left from Ged’s days. Ged himself replaced more than half of the squad he inherited from Evans.

Great post Redboyslim!

Gerry, thanks for that Real Madrid link. It was a very interesting read. I do not like to rub salt in other teams’ supporters’ wounds (unless it is the mancs) because we have had our fair share over the years, but I enjoyed reading the comments to get insights as to how our counterpart’s supporters felt about the game.

For those who always point out that the spanish team coaches get sacked easily as if to mention that Rafa is getting it easy, one of Real fans’ comments should be a warning (in addition to the fact that the game itself was a warning):

“106. helmet_09 Wrote: | 16.34GMT | Mar 11, 2009
A lot of people here are saying that Real need a world class coach but we have had them. We had Capello and Del Bosque and look at what we did with them. We fired them for not winning pretty or for going on a bad run. No serious coach would ever come to Real becasue they know it can be a 6-month job. You lose a few games the crowd at the Bernabeu asks for your head and the media automatically point to the coach not doing his job. Until we change the hierarchy of the club we will never get a stable coach that could stay for more than 2 years. The last coach to stay at Madrid for more than 2 years was Vicente Del Bosque and we won 7 throphies including the UCL twice. We need stability in the board room and as fans and supporters we need to do just that, support the team despite a few lost games or not playing attractive football. “

Hyde, just goes to show you, some Spanish Fellas really know their stuff!

I know your not picking a fight Aitch, no problem mate. And no doubt a new manager would off-load some of our deadwood. I know I would. The difference is Aitch a new manager wouldent off-load top class players in their prime like Houghton, Whelan, Beardsley and Staunton, or their present day equivalents if you get my point. Really? Really! No way anyone would be that stupid again right? Now that I think about it selling your best players and replacing them with shit isnt ‘dismantling’, its destruction.

Great insight to what the Real fans are thinking Gerry, not to dissimilar to the reaction by our fans when we loose or draw against the mighty Hull.

Aiyic it was not so much a go at you but more of a query when you rated Babbel 7 the lowest rating you rated anybody in a red shirt. I just thought he had a very good game, his best of the season that’s all.

Digger you are so full of shit sometimes, in the nicest possible way as a fellow Red supporter, your own sense of what is right or wrong, justifiable or not, is quite overwhelming at times. I honestly don’t know where to begin. I was going to leave it alone so as not to get into a tit for tat but thought what the fuck so I hope you take this the right way.

Firstly I am 49 and have been a life long Red fan, not as old (just) or as knowledgeable as FS but as passionate. I am a Paisley boy; I was too young for Shanks. Anyway age has nothing to do with being sensible, realistic or even intelligence, as quite a few of the younger people on this blog prove time and again with their reasoned out and intelligent comments. You can also be stupid and unrealistic at any age as well, which, before you get your knickers in a knot, you do not fall into the first category but, in my opinion (don’t you just love that saying) you do fall into the second one.

The shame on you was a gentle jibe, no more or no less, that in our finest hour, certainly of this season so far, you where not big enough to even acknowledge Rafa and what he accomplished tactically after all the hammering you had previously given him for wrong selections, wrong tactics, to negative, using that clichéd phrase you love, I call it how I see it and it is my right to do so. I know you have since acknowledged what he has done in Europe, but not in the Prem despite us still being in second, but this is in response to your earlier comment.

Your response to FS’s statement was just; “ We would get another manager and move on we are Liverpool FC.” Don’t you think that, that was just a little mean spirited after what we had just accomplished? That was the context of “Shame on you. “

Also why is it Rafa’s fault in terms of the contract delays? Unless you have inside information or are sitting at the table, the facts as far as the people in the know put the delays firmly at the Yanks and Parry’s door. Firstly it has never been about money, which was agreed quickly; even the length of the contract was agreed upon fairly quickly after the initial disagreement. The delays where all about control of the playing and recruiting side, which if we are honest and with Parry’s past record should rest 100% with Rafa. If you want to hold him 100% accountable then give him 100% control, of the footballing side at least. This was even agreed upon eventually. However what was agreed upon verbally was somehow changed when it came to the legal contract, so it was sent back time and again. While this was happening it became apparent that the Yanks where trying to sell. All Rafa wanted in his contract was a get out clause if the new owners did not invest or make funds available to improve the squad. This was to negate the financial penalties if he chose to resign. I think this is more than fair after everything he has been through. The last thing Rafa wants to do is to walk out on the club, but who knows who or what our next owners will do. Our record from Moors to THicks and Gillette do not fill one with confidence.

KeithSA, I do think that Babel had his best game of this season, if not his best ever. He was between a 7/8 in my little mind. He played excellently, so I would stretch to the 8, which is quite good. Just for perspective, a 10 would be if we played like that, regardless of score, against a more superior team such as Barcelona or Utd. Now that is not to say that Madrid are a shabby outfit – they’re not. With Diarra, Casillas, Robben, Sergio Ramos and Sneijder, they’re not the fallen stars that the media would have you believe. But a 10 out of 10 would be on a godly level.

I’ve also been thinking of how, if Aston Villa (or they’re kind) were to play Madrid, how would they fair out? Or even Boro? Huh huh! Now we can see the level that we played at. How’s that for perspective! Which makes me think of how good Barcelona looked last night. I hope we get them in the next round. Fuck it! They stank at the back though. Lyon gave them the fright of their lives. Both defenses were…eh…an afterthought.

We’re in third btw.

Got to respect the Real madrid fans. After the game they were held back as all away fans are and they chanting Stevie’s name after watching a master class performance from the man. Good Sportsmanship after seeing their team hammered 4-0.

Spot on Keith, spot on!.

Rafa doesnt get a break does he.
The so called “rant” (which we all know wasnt a rant had you watched the interview) was completely blamed for the dip. The players missed sitters and tap ins and rafa is to blame etc etc etc.

However, Rafa speaks to the media and asks for respect for the club in europe. Further he gets the tactics spot on, selection spot on and motivationally spot on. Yet it seems he gets no praise because it was only the players who decided to turn up.
So in the latest example, it seems it wasnt rafas media interview that inspired the players, nor his tactics or selectiion that eventuated in the club destroying madrid.

For fucks sake, if you are going to criticize him for one thing, and then chose not to praise for the exact same situation then it clearly demonstrates a biased opinion.

I had mentioned our bench “strength” in an earlier post. Compare it to the Scums yesterday: Anderson, Park, Tevez, Foster, Evans, Fletcher, Gibson.

Throw in a Heagreaves, Nani, Neville etc – you get the picture.

I can understand the frustration of 19 years w/o the league, maybe even the shock of some of our league performances when we see what we did to Real. But to throw it all at Rafa, and not appreciate what he is doing for the club boggles my mind. To simplify the tactics of the last game as ‘Rafa just asked the players to have a proper go’ is ridiculous – beyond words. Not to mention self-righteous statements like ‘I just point out Rafa’s mistake’. (I must admit that made me chuckle). I have no idea what then you are doing in the comfort of your living room, you should be by Rafa’s side, at the least.

When venting frustration, as well as pointing out Rafa’s mistakes – keep it in context. You all are after all, the most knowledgable fans in the world.
YNWA

Alright lads,

I didn`t make the game there was afuck up by royal mail.When i got to my accomodation in liverpool i found nothing had been delivered.Turns out Royal mail thinks liverpool is in bristol.What a game to miss.Twats.

So i had to settle for watching it in the boozer.Shit happens.

The game was fantastic.Torres in the first half an hour was in another world.That turn on cannavaro was something else.He releshes the big occasion and this can only be good news for the rest of our season.That said the whole team played well.Delighted to see jay spearing play and play well too.

Whats the story with lucas` haircut? who cut it for him? his mother? i thought mother`s stopped cutting their kids hair 25 years ago

on the subject of some comments mentioning Rafa should not be given full control of transfers, this amazes me. Sure, Rafa has had a few duff signings, as all managers at his level has (King Kenny even bought Glenn Hysen and Torben Pychenic FFS!) but IMO, his european reputation whas and will go a long way to us securing the best European talent, given the funds available. Despite his shameful treatment in this country, he is still widely respected and admired across Europe……Hmm, that speaks volumes about the slurring, sensationalist nature of our media eh? (to quote a certain scumbag who used to be the editor of a gutter rag despised amongst reds “never let the truth get in the way of a good story”) Besides, anyone who can convince Xabo Alonso to come and play in a midfield that regularly contained Salif Diao and Gregory Vignal should have full control of transfers!!!

Redboyslim: Was it King Kenny who committed that crime signing Torben Pichniek? I thought it was Souness. Hysen was alright in my book as he did Sparky Hughes with an elbow.

More crimes committed: Nicky Tanner, Phil Babb(my first touch is a pass my second is a tackle), David Burrows, Istvan Koerzma. I’m breaking out in a cold sweat here.

Timmy i bet you was gutted not getting in Anfield .Lucas’s hair was cut before
the Sunderland game.
Red boy slim (comment 153) Well said about the fans at Anfield
A lot of them just don’t seem interested in some games in the Prem.
Anyway we’ve got the Scum to beat Saturday and it will be physical
The trouble is we can’t afford any injuries whereas the Scum can.
Vidic and Brown will be out to cripple somebody.
YNWA

Well at least you dident call me stupid eh Keith?! Heh heh! No problem mate, I’ll take it on the chin but I’m sorry to hear I’m overwhelming you! Anyway all messing aside, no tit for tat here bro, we know where we stand but I would genuinely love to definitively know what the delay is this time. Have you ever seen a more protracted public contract negotiation for a manager? I know I havent. To be honest Keith I’m tired of it. I just wish he’d sign.

test

RE: Lucas Leiva’s new haircut

Is it just me or is he beginning to resemble a certain Diego Forlan?

3rd time lucky?

for what steve?

I hope Rafa lets Stevie off the leash against the mancs. He was magnificent against Real Madrid. For me Stevie G is the most complete footballer in the world.

well isn’t it just typical. degan makes a return against the mancs reserves,scores then gets injured again. I hope the fella can get it sorted out,its really turning into a nightmare for him.
The nerves have well an truly started for tomorrow,everytime we come up against them its seems like its ten more times as important as the last!!!
Even if the league is a bridge too far just to beat them at OT would be fantastic. time to start crossing everthing.

YNWA

Roaring: Degan is the scarlet pimpernell. I have resigned myself to the fact that he will never play a game for the 1st team. I heard he pulled a hamstring putting his socks on.

I am desperate to beat the mancs at the theatre of wet dreams or castle greyskull.

My anxiety levels will be lower than normal watching this fixture. I believe the title race is over regardless of the result tomorrow. Obviously it would be great to beat the mancs. All our players and Rafa himself are talking about the need to win. I’m very interested to see how we will approach the game. I can’t see us flying out of the traps like against Real Madrid. I reckon we’ll be compact, keep it tight and try and keep the ball first of all and maybe try to win it in the last 20 mins. The last time I remember us really taking the game to the mancs at Old Trafford was when Barnes scored a brace and Ronnie Whelan chipped Grobelaar from 25 yards – best own goal I’ve seen live!

As for Degen….. Now we know why Dortmund let a 25 year old international run down his contract and leave on a free transfer.

Good read this

http://redfloyd.wordpress.com/2008/03/22/barnesy-brucey-beardo-and-an-%E2%80%9Cold-t%E2%80%9D-triumph/

Barclays League Division One: 18th March 1990

Manchester United 1
Whelan 82 og

Liverpool 2
Barnes 15, 54 (pen)

Manchester United: Leighton, Anderson, Martin, Bruce, Phelan, Pallister, Balckmore, Ince, McClair, Hughes, Beardsmore

Liverpool: Grobbelaar, Hysen, Venison, Staunton, Whelan, Hansen, Beardsley, Houghton, Rush, Barnes, McMahon

It would be surprising if that happened LB.
A draw or a loss will mean we cannot even think of challenging for the league. Only a win will do. I feel it will be a open game. I don’t know how Man U will play and i don’t care. If we play the way we played against Real, God help Man U.

Whats this with Dossena telling he’s open to offers from Italy? He’s got the backing of the Boss. He’s being given the opportunity to gel into the team. What’s his problem?

Regarding Voronin, hope we get a good value for you, You dumb f**k.

Redboyslim and Kenny, Torben was signed by Souey, and in defense of the signing, we were very thin on CDs and Torben Piechnik was a stalwart for Denmark in Euro ’92 when they won it, however, he was simply a wart for us. By the way, Hysen was a class act – a very cultured player who could play it out of defense. And David Burrows a crime? Are you ‘avin a larf? He was a great replacement for Jim Beglin, and marked Gazza out of the game when we played Spurs and should not be mentioned in the same sentence as Istvan Kozma. Nicky Tanner got his game out of necessity around the same time as Piechnik coming in, again Souey sold Gillespie and Staunton (LB, I know, but could do a job), Mark Wright was a crock from the start and I can’t remember what happened Ablett, but he wasn’t around. Phil Babb, signed by Evans, was the Coventry captain, had a great World Cup playing alongside Paul McGrath and was on everybody’s wishlist, he did have a few good spells but was fragile in the head.

Kenny Dalglish only bought one bad player in my mind – Jimmy Carter.

Man U won’t play an open game. I think they’ll pick Flethcer and Park and try to be energetic and physical. They will be compact themselves. I’d love to see us fly out the traps like we did against Real but away at Old Trafford? I can’t see it.

Correction above – “”(LB, I know, but could do a job)”" ___LB, as in Left Back. Sorry London Barnes!

Souey’s transfers – both ins and outs put the club back about 6 years I reckon. Sell Beardsley and bought Saunders. Sold Saunders and bought Nigel Clough. Sold Gellespie, Ablett and Staunton and bought Wright, Piecnic and Julian Dicks. Sold Houghton and bought Paul Stewart. During this time Kenny and Fungas were buying proper players at Blackburn and Man U.

Might sound controversial but Kenny should not have brought Rush back, should have kept Aldo as he had more years in him and scored a shite load of goals after leaving us. Rush got a lot of injuries after 1992.
David Speedy and Jimmy Carter – dodgy. Rosenthal won us a league title in 1990 but was then shite from then on.

Hindsight is lovely init.

I would agree about Rush, and I don’t think it was that good a deal either. It wasn’t a *huge* mistake but letting Aldo leave wasn’t a good move. Hindsight, huh! There was a strange voodoo that came with Rush – any game he scored in, we never lost, but he never scored against Utd pre Juventus. It continued after he came back for two seasons, but strangely, when he did score against Utd, we lost. Go figure!

I can’t agree about Speedie. We were ravaged by injuries up front and going through a slump. He scored on his debut at OT, scored two in his next game against Everton, Kenny Dalglish just over two weeks later, so the only person who could be an ally was gone. He scored something like 6 or 7 in 13 games or so.

As an aside, (and this is never mentioned, for fear of ridicule of defending GS) Souey was ravaged by injuries in his first season. On the books we had Barnes, Rush, Saunders and Rosenthal up front, but I think they all only played one game together in the first season. Now that’s hard to take! But he did fuck things up eventually.

I’m 37, so younger lads can only look up stats and things, or listen to conventional wisdom regarding the history of certain times, but won’t know of the climate, or feeling at the time in question. When Speedie was signed, we were playing like a bunch of pansies with no grit or aggression, or determination at the time. Speedie came in and was a real shot in the arm. I never really liked him before he came to us – I thought he was a petulant little prick, something like David Batty or Craig Bellamy, and was not the typical personality we had been bringing in. His time at the club has been unjustly sullied by history. Barnes and someone else in their books said he was an awful player in training, however, he never gave up in a game, and a lot of our players during that time were very guilty of that. Which you can understand to a degree, because they had won everything available to them. I could go on…

Towards the end of that season Aiyic, I remember looking at teletext and seeing QPR 3-1 Liverpool and genuinely believing it must be a missprint. Then we lost 4-2 against Chelsea with Jimmy Carter being a subbed substitute.

That season we won our first 11 games as well beating the mancs 4-0 at Anfield. I thought the title was a certainty. If memory serves me correct Barnes got a bad achilles injury and that was our title hopes up in smoke.

Correction we won 11 and drew 1 in our first 12 games that season with some vintage Barnes…. after that injury I don’t think he was ever the same.

Team for tomorrow? is Torres and Alonso fit?

It will be interesting to see how the team react to all this pressure being heaped on them – both internally and externally – with all this “must win” talk. We generally play well with our backs to the wall so I can see us putting in a good performance… let’s just hope it’s a fair contest with no dodgy game-changing decisions.

I’ve hunted around and finally found it – Alan Wiley is reffing the game – at least it’s not fucking Bennett again.

So – our lineup. I think most of it picks itself, the only question is who will start on the left – Babel or Riera? To be honest I don’t think Riera has done enough lately to deserve the start, whereas Babel played will against Real… however I’m pretty sure Rafa will prefer to start Riera and bring Babel on off the bench again. Either way, it probably won’t have a massive influence on the game – though who is playing at RB for the Mancs at the moment, Gary Nipple? It could be a bit of a weak spot for them, I reckon Babel could tear him a 3rd asshole if he runs at him.

LB I’m sure both Torres and Alonso are fit, so I think our lineup will be identical to the one that smashed Real on Tuesday, as I said above maybe with Riera in for Babel (I think I’d prefer Babel though)

It was Allen Wiley that sent off Mascherano last year!

I think John Oshea will be at right back for the mancs with Evra at left back.

I’d love it if Rafa went with an unchanged team. Babel should be confident after that performance and you’d hope he would take that into the manc game. We could do with some pace in the match. Having said all that I think Rafa will pick Riera. The rest of the team picks itself if the players are healthy.

I’m gonna do a Mourinho and predict both line ups.

United (shit!)

Van der Saar
Oshea, Rio, Vidic, Evra
Ronaldo, Fletcher, Anderson, Carrick, Rooney
Berbatov

LFC

Reina
Arbie, Carra, Skrtel, Aurellio
Kuyt, Masch, Alonso, Riera
Gerrard
Torres

No Scouse, it was Bennett. Andy, I think the pressure is all on Utd for the game. They’re coming off the back of a bad performance, while we has a stormer. They’re the Champions at home, and are expected to put the scousers in the place, having been beaten by us already. And a loss to them could spell all kinds of trouble, they still have some tricky games left against Villa and the Arse, as well as a banana skin at the Riverside.

LB I think the team tomorrow will be pepe, arbeloa, jc, skrtel, aurelio, dirk, masch, xabi, riera, stevie and nando. If nando cant go I think it’ll be babel up top. What say you Mr. Barnes?!

Yes LB, Barnes was never the same after that Achilles injury, and that was when he started to pile it on too. Kenny is often criticised for letting the team get old too. What a crock! He signed Redknapp, Mike Marsh (who shouldn’t have been sold) and Don Hutchison who was such a talented player, but felt the wrath of Roy Evans old skool philosophy by getting the boot after flashing on hols, or something like that.

I also had the same experience of watching games on teletext – the internet of the day.

Digger, if Torres is injured I’d play Babel on the left and Ngog up front. If Kuyt plays up front with Gerrard behind him I’ll watch the horce racing instead. Joke.

Timmy, I wrote 3rd time lucky because I wrote a couple of posts earlier and they didn’t make on to the screen for some reason. I guess some of you guys have encountered the same problem.

I am still on cloud nine after our performance the other night, and wouldn’t it be especially sweeet to beat the scum in their own backyard tomorrow, which would be the best birthday present I could get tomorrow.

What a great feeling it was to wipe the floor with Real Madrid, christ , it could so easily have been 7-0 and enormous credit must go to Rafa and every single player envolved on the night.

Come on LFC even if we don’t win the leauge, wouldn’t it be lovely to have beaten the scum home and away.

By the way, I reckon we will get Bayern Munich in the quarter finals.

No way I’d even consider Ngog for this one LB. Whatever chance Babel or Dirk would have against cokehead and vidick the kid would get the shite kicked out of him. Yes he scored a tap in against Sunderland at Anfield, but to start him against the mancs at castle greyskull would be tantamount to setting the lad back 5yrs! Its all moot anyway I think LB, cant see Nando missing this one.

I hope your’e right Digger, we need Torres to play in this one and I can see him scoring tomorrow.

Paddy Power are offering to return the punters money for ALL losing bets IF Stevie G

scores tomorrow!

I think there is a very good chance he’ll score and a Stevie G goal is just as likely as a goal from anyone else.

Well Steve I’m watching Sly Sports News right now and they’re basically saying Torres is fit. But then the cunts in the next breath put up a graphic showing we’ve never won even a point at old crappord under Rafa or effectively never scored there under Rafa either, o’shea getting our only goal. Bastards! Jesus I would love it, just love it if we beat em at theirs!! Come on Reds!! Btw Aitch Georgie Thompson is really pushing Millie for the title these days!

Our record at Old Trafford is pants – never mind under Rafa. We’ve won there only 6 times since 1972. Bogey ground to say the least! Hopefully we keep 11 players on the field, that’ll be a start. No leaving their most dangerous players unmarked in the 6 yard box, string more than 3 passes to team mates would be good and comitting more than 2 players into the attacking 3rd. Then we need a Danny Murphy type character to show some composure and put the ball in the net.

Dig, its hard to chose between them. Millie is just cute as fuck, and gives the impression she’d be a right little raver. You know, that little twinkle in her eye that says she knows something you don’t?
But Georgie just has that bit of nastiness about her… maybe its the gravelly voice. She reminds me of a young Honor Blackman!

Anyway… as if it wasn’t important enough, here’s a couple more interesting things…

1. If we were to beat Scum, it will be Rafa’s 100th win in the Prem.

2. It might not make a difference to the eventual Prem Finish, BUT… remember that we could still draw them in the CL, so doing the double over them is vital psychologically!

3. (Thank fuck, its not Steve Bennett, but…)Alan Wiley to Ref means the game will not finish with 22 players on the field.

and one final note:
regardless of team selection, formation, tempo, or tactics… could we PLEASE remember to mark up on corners and free kicks?

Man United 1 (Giggs 49)
Liverpool 3 (Hyypia 4, Gerrard 36, Torres 89)

If anyone could be bothered for a head-scratchingly not-sure-whether-to-laugh-or-cry-read, google this: How Soccer is Ruining America: A Jeremiad

At the 1996 FA Cup Final, an unidentified Liverpool fan spat at Eric Cantona and threw a punch at Alex Ferguson as a victorious Manchester United team walked up the steps at Wembley Stadium to collect the trophy from the Royal Box.

Lads: own up one of you…….

I was sick to the stomach when that happened LB. We’re better than that. The coward spat through the fence; knowing what would happen if there was no fence. Haay ya!

Yeah Georgies got that smoky thing going on, reminds me of a young lauren bacall circa ‘to have and have not’ or ‘key largo’. What a dame! But Millie, ah Millie….. Aitch what the hell is wrong with us?! Anyway, your right about set piece’s; who was on the back post for vidicks goal Wednesday night? Right. No-one. If we concede another goal from a set piece at this shit-hole I’ll scream. Last few yrs, cokehead, silvestre ×2, and dident winker score from a corner last yr? Tight as fuck tomorrow please lads

You gotta love the English media; only in England could they make an ordeal out of the fact that Rooney hates Liverpool. There’s a big shocker. What’s next, that twat Neville hates us as well?

Here’s my Kopblog exclusive: Stevie G and Carra both hate United as well. Haven’t those hacks got anything better to print?

I’m hoping Nando can go tomorrow, but from the sounds of it he was quite banged up prior to the match on Tuesday night against Real Madrid. An injection of pain killers, heavy bracing on the ankle, and a severe hatred of Real Madrid got him through the match. I can only hope he’s developed that same sort of animosity towards the Mancs?

I don’t believe we will win the league, but if we’re to have any shot, we must win there tomorrow. I hope Rafa goes with a similar game plan he used against Real Madrid and we press and attack from the start.

The difference between doing this to Real Madrid and United is the speed of the two squads. I don’t think Rafa feared Madrid on the break; United is a different story. They live on the counter attack.

Let’s go for all three points. If we go after them and end up losing, I think I’ll be able to deal with it. I just don’t want to see us sitting back hoping to keep the score level and trying to nick a goal late. A draw does us no good.

It seems that both managers have been quite cagey in their respective press conferences, with United quite with their damage limitation in regards to Rooney’s comments. Neither wants to inflame any tensions before the game.

Do you think that Rafa is trying to tell the prospective new owners that he would like a substantial transfer kitty along side a New Stadium?

Substantial transfer kitty and new stadium would be nice

Well lads,I just popped in to wish the boys the best of luck tomorrow.I`m heading back over to liverpool tomorrow on a stag do so i`ll be cheering them on from a boozer in the city centre.

I predict a 2-0 win for the reds.Torres with the two.

I’m hoping we can pull this one off tomorrow. In going through our schedule in all competitions, we’ve won 25 games this year.

In the game following each of the first 24, we only managed to win 12 of those times. Hard to believe, isn’t it?

One thing we’ve lacked this year is the ability to string together wins in succession. Our longest winning streak this season is only 3 games.

That being said, I’m going to buck the current trend and go with us pulling at a 0-1 shocker at Old Toliet. Everyone’s favorite whipping boy, D. Kuyt with the winner. Fingers crossed!

“First things first, at risk of debunking a myth or two, the “perch” quote did not appear for the first time until a newspaper interview Ferguson gave in 2002. His most famous soundbite about Liverpool in his early years at United came on Easter Monday in 1988 when, after a pulsating 3-3 draw at Anfield in which Colin Gibson, the United full back, was sent off, he complained about opposing managers who “have to leave here choking on their own vomit — biting on their tongue, afraid to tell the truth”.

The truth, he claimed, was that referees were provoked and intimidated at Anfield — a rant not unlike that for which Benítez, talking about United 21 years later, has been widely lampooned. Kenny Dalglish, then the Liverpool manager, was not impressed, telling the press that they would get more sense out of his six-week-old daughter, Lauren. ” The Times

Heh heh! Thats classic Kenny alright Scouse. Jesus he was as brilliant off the pitch as he was on it. His intelligence was never flaunted but so evident and his wit was rapier like. As a child I used to love listening to or reading what he had to say. I loved his laconic style. Brilliant. As regards the Ferguson ‘perch’ quote I must admit I thought that was in the lexicon long before 02. I seem to remember my Manc school mates throwing it at me regularly in the early 90′s. Anyone have a definitive date?

bit gutted here, put several posts on and none of them are showing up…does this happed a lot?

Redboyslim if they have “links” on them Gerry has to check them first. If they are ok then they will appear later. To bypass this some people knock off the “h” so the “link” then starts with “ttp://”. I hope this helps?

Its been happening to a few people over the last week or so. I’ve had to retype several posts and one of mine disappeared altogether. Ghosts in the machine?

And Digger… I don’t think there’s anything wrong with us (aside from not being rich and a celebrity, and no longer being young… which alas, are usually prerequisites for a shot at the Millies/Georgies of this world)
Just you average red-blooded males + smokin hot sports news reporters = rampant horniness!

I have a standing agreement with my wife that I have carte blanche to cheat on her… with Halle Berry, Salma Hayek, and Georgie Thompson… coz obviously there’s no freakin way in hell I will ever get the opportunity! (nice gesture on her part though, I thought!)

A very nice gesture indeed Aitch! Right I’m off to bed to dream of me, georgie, millie and a jacuzzi…. Oh and a 2-0 victory tomorrow! Come on you Reds!!