From Madrid to Newcastle

Isn't he pathetic?! "I'm leaving because i want to win more trophies!" Hahaha... we might have already won the 6th CL trophy and 19th PL title by the time u get a decent medal. Before all you fickle-minded fans call for Rafa's head, let us cool down abit and think things through properly.

• He abandoned us on the eleventh hour. Speaks volume about his loyalty towards the club. Now he cant survive at Real and want to be out, is it our responsiblity to get him out? NO! He forsaked us in the first place. And it would be silly for us to sell Cisse (who is a red thru and thru) to fund for his return.

• Real paid £8m+Nunez for him. Why must we pay an exorbitant price of £16m to get him back?! Its like being held ransom!

• He never wanted to go thru sufferings with us. Now he wants back because the Rafalution has been a success. Why should we allow him to taste the fruit of success so easily without him toiling for it?!?!

• We never wanted Owen in the first place. If we did make plans for him, Rafa would not have placed Crouch his priority signing!

• Our priority is a CB and RW. That i fully agree with Rafa. I think we should spend the remaining cash wisely on getting our priorities first before spending the excess on a striker. Furthermore, i still have faith in Mori. I believe if we can get the wingers to put in accurate crosses, Mori will be able to deliver

• Owen DID NOT want to be a Barcode! He was left with NO CHOICE! He stated clearly that he wanted to be back at Anfield. We are not preparing to pay more than what we received for him. Real Madrid said that he'll have to warm the bench at Madrid if he cant find a club. And Owen wanted to play regularly in order to get selected for WC2006. He realise we are not going to pay for him eventually. He was left with no choice but to sign for Newcastle. Get this clear!

• From our previous matches, it looked seemingly clear that we need a clinical finisher. YES. But it did not have to be Owen my mates. Micheal Owen is NOT the only clinical finisher on this earth! FFS!

• Last but not least, NO PLAYER IS BIGGER THAN THE CLUB!!! Stop slatting the Board and the Coach for not getting Owen! Its a shame to have you people as fellow liverpool supporters! Have PRIDE in your club. We did not lose out to Newcastle, WE SIMPLY DIDN'T WANT OWEN!

Of course it'll be good to have Owen back, but lets be rational... paying £16m to get him back is CRAZY! We can buy at least 2 good players to fill the CB and LM position!So lets stop groaning and move on. ROLL ON THE RAFALUTION! PS: i'm not eating sour grapes. i know i plead Rafa to get Owen back earlier on. I will still welcome him if he change his mind in the last min (which is highly unlikely). But after cooling down and straightening my thoughts out, not getting MO doesn't seem too bad after all.

Super Super Sub

2 superb goals and an assist by Djibrilliant Cisse sums up the UEFA Super Cup tie between Liverpool and CSKA Moscow. 3-1 (aet) was a fair result for us. We were in control of the game with a larger share of possession and much more shots on goal. We would have been robbed if CSKA was to nip it by 0-1. No surprise really to see Rafa deploy the 4-5-1 formation with Morientes yet again the lone striker. Only difference was that Didi Hamann started instead of Sissoko. Finnan filled in the RM position(we desperately need a Right winger!), Zenden and Risse interchanged to play Left Wing and Luis garcia was given the free role. We started the game brightly, taking control immediately from the start of the whistle. The game started slowly but readily pick up speed as the clock ticks away. We created some chances early in the game but the same old problem arised... nobody was there to convert the chance. The only player that troubled our defence was Daniel Carlvaho. He was a constant threat to the defence throughout the night, earning majority of CSKA's freekick and got a goal on the 28th minute. CSKA played a very defensive game and frustrated the reds until the dying minutes when Djibril Cisse was brought on. Cisse punished the opponents instantly for using such defensive tactics. His speed was too much for the Russian backline to handle and he scored the equalizer barely 3 mins after he was brought on. CSKA was taken aback by the goal. They tried to come back in the last few minutes but was unable to do so. The game went into extra time. By then every player on the field were already very exhausted (except Cisse of course). Extra time was played through extremely slow motion. A beautiful ball from Hamann released Cisse from his marker to score the 2nd goal for the reds. Just when everyone thought that the game was over, Cisse stormed down the flank to deliver a cross for Garcia to score the icing on the cake. 10 mins left in extra time but the Russians knew it was game over for them. We lifted the Super Cup 3 mths after lifting the CL Cup. Only difference was Vice- captain Carra lifted the Cup this time round in the absence of Stevie G. GK Nothing much to do throughout the game. Not responsible for CSKA's goal. 2 awful throws that ended up with a CSKA player but other than that, no major problem. Defence I thought Josemi did well to contain the crafty Carlvaho. CSKA's goal was partially his fault for drifting out of position. But he played well up front, joining the attack with some nice runs and good crosses. Carra and Hyypia did excellent. They marshalled the defence well and did well to contain Vagner Love who was quiet throughout the game. Left back was awful... shall we just stick with Warnock there instead of Riise or Zenden? I felt that Zenden was awful in that position. We left a huge gap in that area whenever our LB went up to join the attack and most of the counter attacks saw the opponents making full use of that empty space at the left. Midfield Rafa is truely a Master Tactician. At first i was take aback when he decided to take out our best player on the field - Alonso. But the introduction of Sissoko changed the game. I felt we were better and more creative when Sissoko was on. And boy... this man is just amzaing. He singlehandedly breakdown most of CSKA's attack. He helped us retain possession and allowed us to control the game at midfield when he came on. Right mid was pathetic as usual. No one there to pump in the crosses and Finnan don't seem to fit in that position. Zenden did not run down the flanks like he did in the qualifiers. Luis garcia was wasteful in front of goal. Alonso was great. He did well to initiate attacks in the absence of Captain Wonder. Beautiful pinpoint passes as usual. Sinama Pongolle is improving with each match. Although he started the game slow, he was able to adapt to the game fast enough and did well to threaten CSKA's defence. Strikeforce How long is it going to take for Morientes to score? He did put in some beautiful first touch and passes in the game but that is not enough for a striker. He needs to score goals! And i don't know why Rafa keep insisting to start with Mori even without decent wingers to pump in the crosses for him. Its very frustrating to keep wasting chances in front of goal. 20 shots on goal and only 3 converted. What a shame! And for the first time i have to agree with the Anfield faithfuls that if indeed a striker needs to be sold to fund Owen's return... that one striker should be El Moro instead of Djibril Cisse.

Lets get Owen back... RIGHT NOW!

Lets admit it, our strikeforce is in shambles. We are not, i repeat, WE ARE NOT going to challenge for the title with a strikeforce like this! We are woeful wasteful in front of goal and its painful to see us wasting chance after chance even at home ground. I bet even an over-age Rush could have convert half of those awful misses into goals! Can you imagine what the full-time score will be like if Alonso did not convert the freekick or Welsh not given the red card? I shiver at the thought of Alonso failing to deliver the freekick. There are fans out there asking the 'whiners' to give the team a break because we've got the 3pts afterall despite a nightmare performances. Wake up people! Are you seriously contented with a win like this? We are lucky to scrap thru with 3pts against a 'weakest' team by playing like that. Can you imagine how many pts we are going to lose if we have to struggle like this against mid-table teams? This team that played the last 2 PL game is totally different from the team that played in the friendlies! Where has the sense of urgency and creativity in the Leverkusan or Olympiakos match go to??? Where's the committment? I don't want to carry on ranting, i just want to say it was painful to watch the last 2 matches. I will eat this humble pie and beg Rafa to get Owen back! We really need him up front to convert the chances. PLEASE RAFA! Either Owen or somebody CAPABLE of converting chances. Alternative solution is not fielding Morientes as the lone striker until we get wingers, field Cisse as the lone striker if you have to play 4-5-1 or play 4-4-2 ffs! I'm sounding desperate...you bet.

Wiltord + £4million = Cisse

NO WAY!

According to Koptalk, our 'beloved' ex-boss has offered Sylvain Wiltord plus £4million in cash for Cisse. Someone please tell me this is just a sick joke?! Why is Wiltord valued at £10m when ex-footballer of the year Luis Figo is not even worth £2m??? Why are we selling Djibril Cisse in the first place??? i think all these transfer speculations are getting far too absurb! Last week we are just trying to offload Morientes and this week we have switched target to Cisse. How fast! Is it because we cannot find bidders for Morientes??? What a load of shit! With Baros looking most certain to go to Villa and MO most likely to be back, we have just enough strikers to challenge for glories and it makes no sense why Rafa wants to offload Cisse. Honestly speaking, i cant see how Morientes and Crouch can get even 20goals between them. And pls do not mention Mellor and FloPo... i doubt they can even hit 5 altogether. So why are we selling Cisse? It makes no sense at all unless Rafa has strong faith that Crouch alone can score 20goals... *geez* Or we desperately need the transfer cash to get a CB and RW. That leaves me with 1 question...is the club's finance sound? We had around £30m according to Perry and we barely spent half of it. So why are we made looking so desperate in getting cash? I'm getting abit worried... with 31st of August drawing nearer and us not making any headway in the transfer market. But since Rafa looks so calm as before...i believe he has some tricks up his sleeves. Hmm...

Top 3 already ahead

FFS, its only the first match of the season and there are already people whining about ManUSA, Arsenal and Chelski going 2pts ahead of us! True, i'm disappointed with the 0-0 draw at the Riverside Stadium but i think we played well overall. Its unfortunate that we have to settle for a draw with that performance but we have to give credit to Boro's defence for holding up strong despite going down to 10men in the dying minutes. However, there are things that left me in doubts after the game...

1. why are we playing a defensive 4-5-1 so early in the match?
2. are we going for a win or is Rafa just going for a draw?
3. why is morientes starting if we deploy the 4-5-1 formation? shdnt we field a striker who is more capable of scoring as the lone figure up front?
4. why don't we try potter at the right instead of Garcia who keeps giving away possession?
5. do we have decent goalkeeping coach at anfield??? why are our keepers forever fumbling with crosses???
6. why cant we go for the kill early into the match instead of searching for a late goal in the dying minutes?

i know we have no choice but to make Cisse play down the right flank but why did he come on so late into the game? and the silly thing is when we start playing down the flanks and pumping in crosses, Moro has already been sub off the field. i think we should have just stick on with him. i think Rafa thought bringing on Baros will offer us an extra option but he didn't. I pray Baros would just go... he is just stalling up the transfers and its blatantly obvious that Rafa is not interested in him anymore. On the other hand, i think Momo had an excellent game! i really like this guy!

Guess who's back?

All Morientes slaters behold... come eat your humble pie! 2 goals, nearly a hattrick (glancing header well saved) and he's back! A comfortable 1-3 win away and there should not be a problem with the return leg. Good work overall but i must say the defence was woeful. Its all thanks to Carra the scoreline remain in our favor. Sami Hyypia has lost it. He's way too slow and many times i just see him hoof the ball upfront to 'no-man's land'. I guess he should be content to be a back-up once our new CB arrive. Steph Warnock, some people think he did a great job on the left, some people think he defended horrendously. To be far, i think he did an okay job. CSKA's Dimitrov did gave Warnock a hard time last night. He was fast and tricky and if Warnock is more experienced, he would have dealt with it easily. Like i say again, Warnock just lack the experience. Give him somemore time to learn and he'll shine.

Midfield was more or less steady. I just got a shock of my life when Rafa choose to take out both Alonso and Gerrard... making us abit vulnerable towards the end. And may i say that fielding Garcia on the right is a complete waste of possession?!?! This man ought to learn how to control the ball with his feet FFS!

Strikeforce was marvelous with Morientes and Cisse both firing. If we can get a decent winger, i can see Nando scoring more glancing headers!!!

11 days to go...

11 days to the start of the new season and i can hardly wait... Tonight's game against Kaunas shouldn't be a problem for the team. Hopefully the players can take this opportunity to shine and impress Rafa for a place in the starting 11. After tonight's game, we'll either face CSKA Sofia or Tirana in the 3rd qualifying round. I must say its a good draw, avoiding big teams like Udinese, Real Betis etc. Well, i was abit disappointed we did not get the Bluenose. But i'm sure Villareal will knock them back into reality. Its time the bitters wake up from their dreams and start their fight against relegation lol Onto Transfer news, it seems that ALT is going on loan at Sunderland. Good move from Benitez. Young players should be given the chance to stay in England and get familiarize with the PL instead of going to clubs overseas. What about Mellor? I think its best he goes on loan as well. Any takers? Schalke04 has withdrawn from the race to sign Baros. Seems that our neighbour is in for him for £5m. £5m Mr Moyes??? I'm sorry, other clubs can get him for that price but Bitters need to bid at least £50m. Even so, i doubt Milan will want to go to a club that will be struggling in the Uefa cup. Pss...i heard AJ is going to stay at Palace. Oh dear~ is anyone ever going to sign for you all?! Rafa said he'll be expecting 2 more signings - a CB and a right winger. As expected, every CB and right winger in the world is linked to us once again. Reliable sources coming from my dad's fren's cousin's brother's sister's dog patrolling at Anfield told me so and so is signing today blah blah blah. Crap! I think Rafa have a few candidates in mind. Upson, Alves, Stelios and Malbraque are the most strongly linked. Of cos not forgetting Luis-let me consider-Figo. I've seen Alves play and i am very impressed with him! But he is NOT a CB. I believe he played at the RB position. Honestly speaking, i alright with whoever Rafa sign. Look at Zenden, Sissoko, Reina... quality. All you people moan and moan about the players before they sign but i bet most of you are eating humble pies right now. I have 100% confidence in Rafa. And i can tell that we are definately heading in the right direction. I've never feel so good about the new season before... NEVER during GH's regime. If Rafa don't want Owen back then be it. I wouldn't be surprise if he becomes a Scum. He was never a true Scouser anyway. I'll come up with a PL roundup in a few days time. I seriously think we are going to be true title challengers this season. Anyone share the same thoughts as me? And to Moaningho...Will you just shut up you sour grape! I guess you are really scare of us now huh? Shhhhhhhhhhhoo...go play your mindgames with Wenger and Fergescum. We have more important things to do. P/S: StarH*b you @#$#%^&*, i pay S$15 bucks a mth and you are actually NOT going to show the 2nd leg tonight?!?! You suck!