Day of Reckoning Approaches.. But first, Fulham

Today we see the Reds bring out, essentially would be seen as their second team. With a team of players who have had few first team starts it was an interesting choice of players for Kenny but it we all knew why this team was picked.


With the FA Cup Final coming next, Kenny wanted to see who was really fighting for first team and I think today showed a little of who should and who shouldn't be.


OK so they lost, 0-1 to the first team of Fulham. Admittedly, it didn't seem as though they were pushing particularly hard but it there were a few chances for Dempsey and what a job Doni did!


A warm welcome return for John Arne Riise, but a not so emphatic one for Murphy. Riise being one of the influential fall-backs of his time while at Anfield returns to strike back. Making his trademark runs down the flank but his not so trademarked shots and crosses that didn't really go anywhere, almost to say he didn't want to score.


Team Line-Up
Doni, Kelly, Coates, Skrtel, Aurelio, Henderson, Shelvey, Spearing, Maxi, Carroll, Kuyt


A disappointing O.G. from Skrtel in the first 5mins didn't help things as this second team looked to strike back but a lot of miscommunication between players as to where the ball was being placed put a lot more unnecessary stress on all of them.
Best players I can say that didn't show any real flaws in the game, Doni, Coates, Kelly, Carroll (Yes I know, he did well *SHOCK* * HORROR*).


But lets see what needs fixing. Aurelio has been out of games and not really played much this season with his position taken up by Johnson and Enrique. Having been out of shape his abilities was a little lacking but he still had his keen eye to spot a player and a few decent through balls.
Skrtel didn't exactly have the best of starts but he still held down the defence and controlled the defence line.
Henderson played in centre midfield but lacked real movement, his crosses were a little optimistic if not blind-eyed crosses as they never really hit the targeted players. His attacking strength seems lacking as he still hesitates to push forward, with a lack of ball control, Henderson was a little disappointing.
Shelvey, did well in pushing forward making runs and did it with real accuracy but his passing accuracy was devastating as Fulham were countering well with each lost pass causing a need to fall back.
Spearings link up play with Carroll and Kuyt showed some flaws, defensively he did well and was strong but on the offence as he moved forward, he tend to lose the ball while trying to play it into Maxi and or Kuyt.
Kuyt's played well but unable to link up with any of the others as he has not really played a lot with any of them making it difficult to know how to play it in. His crosses were pin point accurate as always but with a few players in the box lacking in experience it was up to Carroll to sort it out.
As a whole, the defence was very strong, Skrtel and Coates did extremely well to hold everyone off while Doni made some amazing saves that were crucial to the game.
Sterling later came on and showed some extremely skilful footwork and a lovely cross that couldn't be converted. With just a few minutes, Sterling had really made some extremely crucial movements that forced the Fulham defence to really scramble.
Carroll, about time he showed his footwork capabilities once again as he was able to really push forward, hold off the defence and provide for the others, it is a shame the final shots did not convert. Simply put he will definitely feature in the final but.


Shots from Shelvey, Maxi and Carroll were all in vain as they were all off target and no crosses were able to be converted into goals.
Today's game showed our defensive strength but the lack of forward attacks which leaves Suarez and Gerrard is guaranteed a position while, although Kuyt's strong work ethic and hard chasing of the ball has always been affective and useful, his later form has shown to waiver. As disappointing as it seems, I would say he would be placed on the bench but maybe played as a game changer in the later third of the game as a shock-sub as his pace would really cause damage in the later stage, just as he once did.


Considering this was a mixed team of players who had never really played together in a PL game, it was admirable for them to hold off the first team of Fulham who have recently been in pretty good form except the game against an extremely in-form Everton.


Kenny will have more trouble picking who to have in defence as they have all shown real strength in the back but what lacked was anything in the attack. As well as they did push harder from midfield, there was still weakness upfront.


As far as I can see, the starting XI would be as follows.


Starting XI: Reina, Enrique, Agger, Skrtel, Kelly, Gerrard, Downing, Kuyt, Bellamy, Carroll, Suarez
Bench: Doni, Coates, Carragher, Maxi, Henderson, Spearing, Sterling


Reina has always been the reliable one to be in the back with a keen eye and experience, he has to be the real choice to be in goal.
Enrique has earned his rightful place over the season as the left-back while the return of Agger and Skrtel as the centre back has shown good partnership.
Kelly may seem an odd choice but his performance today has shown he is capable of keeping up with forward striking force as well as falling back to defend. His crosses still need a little improvement but with a little push and pressure, this final may just be the push he needs to provide.
Downing's ability, as Enrique, has shown he is capable of playing on both left and right but with Kuyt covering the right, I would have Downing working along side Enrique to provide crosses for Carroll and Suarez. In the centre I would put Gerrard in his rightful place.
Up front, Carroll centred with Bellamy and Suarez moving from left to right. With their abilities to play either side and provide for each other, Suarez and Bellamy would run riot in the defence.
The bench would consist mainly of defensive players as this game would need our full force of attacks to break the defence line of Chelsea.


Expected Starting XI: Reina, Enrique, Skrtel, Carragher, Johnson, Gerrard, Downing, Spearing, Kuyt, Suarez Carroll.


Experience would most likely be Kenny's choice of strength to use so Carragher would be more likely choice while his work along side Skrtel has been better than with Agger. He's happy with the way Spearing is capable of falling back to defend. Kuyt would be played but swapped out for Bellamy later on in the game as he is hoping on allowing Kuyt's work along side Suarez and Carroll to be worth the try. Kuyt's reputation on scoring crucial goals in cup games have been a show brilliance and a light of hope within the game.
This would be interesting how Kenny decides to play this game.

Third Trip To Trophy Victory?

First of all, apologies for the lack of blogging, I am currently in the middle of moving homes and things have been difficult.

Well I seem to have missed out quite a bit! Since the last blog a lot has happened!

Maxi Rodriguez was back on the pitch only to be overshadowed by Andy Carroll's goal.

Defeating Everton 2-1 at Wembley, third time in a season for the first time ever.

Rumours of Kuyts departure grows ever more as he loses first team play.

Cruyff is NOT coming to Liverpool.

And Hillsborough 96 anniversary

After a tight 3-2 win over Blackburn, where we saw Doni sent off, Jones was asked to come on only to have saved a penalty but also giving one away.

Maxi opened the game with 2 games, simple in its style but nontheless important. This is why Maxi needs to be in the first 11.

Maxi's ability to pick out loose balls as well as find gaps in the defence has been brilliant. His ability also to lose his marker and get himself into space has shown his strengths but Dalglish is yet to have him feature properly.

If he isn't featured in the starting XI on May 5th, I can see the game being a lot more difficult to win as I believe him to be that much of a game changer.

Nevertheless the team showed their worth and came back from a goal down after Jelavic was able to score from a miscommunication between Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger. Technically the goal was offside and should not have counted but in the end the Reds were able to fight back.

A mistake from Distin saw Suarez chase down a short back pass that allowed Suarez to score an equaliser.

Andy Carroll played his best game yet, moving much better, applying much more pressure on the defence and showing his own footwork. However there is still a lot of work that needs doing. Ian Rush was part of the crowd that saw Carroll miss 2 simple chances that he should have scored but narrowly missed. Towards the end Carroll was able to nod back a beautifully crossed ball from Bellamy with just 10 minutes left in the game.

Brad Jones played a smooth game where he was not really challenged apart from the defensive mistake and a few corners but even in those instances he made himself known. A brilliant goalkeeper in the making and no less Pepe Reina was happy to open his arms to him after the game.

Reina will retake the reigns as he will most likely be in for the final at Wembley.

But what of the team.

As I've mentioned, Kenny has been building and has admitted the team right now is still a team in the making and the Semi's has shown just what the future holds for this team.

Henderson played a much better game, Spearing played well and Downing has been providing a lot of crosses that gave Everton a lot of work to do.

However Everton were not weak. Besides his slip Distin had been solid. Baines showed his threatening pace and offensive ability putting balls into the Reds box and offering chances.

Fellani was also given too much space and time, chances could have destroyed Liverpool's chances but Agger and Skrtel were still able to deflect any chances of that happening.

Games Ahead?

Liverpool next play host to West Brom who have won 2 of the last 6 in the Premier League. Liverpool's league form has not been great and with Everton ahead by a mere point, it is most likely Dalglish would not let this game be a loss.

Although focus should be on the finals, PL positioning is still important and with a run of losses to teams Liverpool should be winning, it is most likely, West Brom will be desperate to keep themselves out of relegation. Although they are currently 13 points away from relegation, with all the bottom teams playing well, particularly seeing Wigan win against Manchester United, West Brom are still in a difficult position.

Liverpool have essentially lost their chances of a top 4/5 finish but a respectable position is still expected, namely being above Everton.

What's with Cruyff?

Johan Cruyff was one of the Dutch league giants who, like the current no. 7 Luis Suarez, played for Ajax and one of the few who have scored 100 goals for the club.

Cruyff was famous for a skill that would soon after his time be named after him.

The Cruyff turn, one which was demonstrated by Doni in his Debut game, feints one direction, and plays the ball to the players other foot to confuse and pass a defending player.

There were talks of the legend coming to Liverpool but he has spoken out against these claims. Cruyff once worked for Manchester United, attempting to get his son into the team, but his son was not on the same level of his father.

But the question is who? Who would you have to take over Commoli's position?

15th April saw the anniversary of the Hillsborough 96. Respect from all over the world for the loss of the Liverpool fans who took their last trip to watch Liverpool play.

YNWA  - JUSTICE 96 - YNWA

6 out of 8, will it be 8 out of 10 reds?

Another miserable day for the reds as we see them lose 2-0 against the MAgpies with a lot of controversy.


Today's Line up saw the absence of Kelly, Johnson and Agger out one would suspect Kenny to play a defence line which best fit but with the only option of Flanagan on the right, and the usual suspects for the other three.
Midfield sees Gerrard in line with Spearing who will have to play a defensive role to support the young one in the back; Shelvey also comes in with Maxi and Kuyt STILL on the bench.
Up front, Kenny had stuck all three forwards to try and get some goals but seems wishful thinking as we see in the game.


In the first 15 minutes, Liverpool were dominants making some good chances but as of late, not finishing well. With the defence so weakened by the lack of experience of the four working together, it looked like the Magpies exposed the weakness and attacked Flanagan with their own strike force of Cisse. I do not blame Flanagan, I thought he did well but Cisse's ability to open up space was brilliant. Flanagan's lack of experience was his downfall for his errors.
After that first 15-16 minutes Cisse was able to score after breaking away from his man and cross one into the far corner.


After that, it all went downhill for Liverpool.
Carrolls chance for a goal as he went one on one with the keeper (with 2 defenders just on his tail) but instead of taking a shot, he dives and was given a yellow card and it was a poor dive at that.
Simpsons Handball was covered by Carroll for the referee to see and the linesman's line of sight would suggest it was behind the woodwork and out of his view so a penalty was not rewarded. Also a red card would have had to be given for a handball on the goal line.


The defence line held on well but cracks could be seen and the Toons spotted them and really made the backline work.
Second half saw the cracks appear as Cisse slips behind Flanagan, and you could see the young one constantly turning his head checking where he was except for the last few crucial moments where he let Cisse drop further away into space and net a second. Although controversy strikes again as Cisse was technically offside for his goal as no contact was made from the pass while he was still in an offside position.


Towards the end, Dalglish makes sustitutions of Bellamy, Carroll and Shelvey for Henderson, Kuyt and Downing. besides the Bellamy exchange, that should have been the line up for the team from the beginning.

Toons continued to push forward and a late challenge from Perch saw the frustration in Reina's eyes explode as he aims it at Perch. An apparent head-butt which was rather over-dramatised saw Reina see more Red than the shirts around him as he goes off. With all substitutes used up, Enrique was forced to fill his boots and gloves.


Personally, an extremely odd formation to have Shelvey, I can see why Kenny would play him, he is an excellent player but to provide for those players you also need a player who can cover the distance well and still support the front line. This is where Kuyt excels and should have been played from the start.


A harsh game for Flanagan to fill in for and now with Reina out for 3 games, pending an appeal from Liverpool for the Red card, Doni will be faced with the next few games which would see him appear for the Semi-Finals at Wembley where Liverpool's poor form are to face Merseyside Rivals Everton who are currently in form after 3 successive wins in a row in the league since the derby misery.
With that loss, it also sees Everton go above Liverpool and stay above Liverpool. Can they bounce back? with the Semi-Finals and 7 league games left, will the Reds be able to redeem themselves from this flop?


Excellent game to win for the Magpies, as Ben Arfa played some beautiful football, Ba providing a lot more than scoring but doing it all so well. Cisse, well with two goals, it's hard to say anything but good stuff as we see him score goals after goals since his arrival at St. James' Park.


Liverpool really need to push hard and the formation needs tightening up, glad to see Bellamy, Suarez and Carroll al out but the midfield was wrong, defence there wasn't much choice but they did well to keep it at 2-0 but that is still not acceptable as this season is Liverpool's worse season for conceding goals and so far only wolves have done worse in the number of losses since January.
Although the back was not great, then they should really look at the attacking formation. Take out Spearing and focus on the attack and keeping possession. Downing and Kuyt would have been a better pair to have. It wasn't as if the back needed help, it was the front that needed support and with Flanagan focusing on his defensive role as he should, for a junior player to come up against an International, there is a big gap, so trying to attack should not have been an option for him but to focus on his main role and allow Enrique to push.
Despite his performance today, Flanagan is doing well, he had a tough game to play and to defend a team who have been strong at home is a poor game to judge a young player like himself in. He will become a brilliant winger and Kenny giving him these games is good for him but it will put more pressure on him as well to fill in the boots of Johnson and Kelly.


We shall see what Doni is capable as he has yet to make a debut for Liverpool but we shall see first hand what he is made of soon enough.


Corinthians, Santos and Cruzeiro. Then he moved to AS Roma where he played along side Aquilani and former Red, John Arne Riise. He has plenty of experience and I'm sure will be another class Keeper for the Reds. May even see him challenge Reina for first Team Stopper position.

Merseyside Derby Semi-Final

Well after a terrible performance from the Sunderland side, Everton go through to Wembley for a Merseyside Derby Semi-Final.

After the first half goal from Jelavic, set up by Magaye, Sunderland were hopes were still in sight to at least level but it was the Toffees that pushed forward and made more chances. Sunderland seemed to wane in and out of the game as they gave the ball away far too many times. There was a lack of fire in the way they played. It didn't seem like Sunderland wanted to win.

A second half substitution of Kyrgiakos off for Vaughan was meant to be a sign of more offensive power but it was Vaughan who ended up netting for the Blues as he turned in a shot from Jelavic.

Vaughan tried to clear it with his left only for him to knock it into his right foot which sweeped across to knock it into his own net.

In the other game, Tottenham won 3-1 against Bolton. After the first was abandoned with the collapse of Muamba.

So the Semi-Finals for the FA-Cup is as follows:

Tottenham vs. Chelsea

Liverpool vs. Everton

Everton may have played more Semi's than most teams but results have not been great for them, although the last time Liverpool played the Toffees in a Semi final, Liverpool were forced into a repeat after a 2-2 draw in the first leg only for Liverpool to win the second with a magnificant 3-0 finish back in 1977. Liverpool have already beaten their Derby Rivals twice this season getting the double after the first was won with a goal from Suarez and Carroll, while the Anfield game saw Gerrard score a hat-trick in for a 3-0 win not too long ago.

With the game played at Wembley, will this be the game to see at Liverpool make it their second trip to Wembley having won the Carling Cup.

Dalglish has already spoken of the change in his game philosophy as the last two games saw Liverpool lose against bottom of the table clubs QPR and Wigan.

The introduction of the younger plays has shown potential in the Melwood Academy, hopefuls such as Sterling, Robinson, Flanagan, all of which hope to be the next Gerrard or Carragher.

It has been a while since such brilliant starlets have come out of Melwood, is this the start of a group of new legs to help carry Liverpool into the future.

Newcastle play host to Liverpool as they hope to creep closer to finishing in a position that reflects their true abilities. Against a very strong side that has been a real thorn in all the top teams sides, the Magpies are looking at stealing fifth from the top teams.

Bellamy is still out along with Agger. But with a weeks rest before the game, we'll see what the Reds can really do.

Suarez Says Stay!

Paris St Germain seems to be trying to buy everyone as of late, there were rumours of Henry (while he was back at Arsenal), Van Persie (Arsenal), Higuan (Barcelona) and now Suarez.

Well simply put, after the all the media about his time at Anfield, he has released statements on Facebook and Twitter of his stay at Merseyside and having no intention of moving anywhere.

Suarez served an eight match ban following the racial remarks made towards Patrice Evra during a clash of rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool and Anfield.

After the eight match ban, Suarez returned only to play the Red Devils at Old Trafford where he refused to shake Evra's hand. He publicly apologised and we move on.

However there were speculations as to whether he was happy in England suffering all the criticism and it is at this point, PSG offered him a way out of England. Playing on the media and what they heard, they believed to be giving Suarez a back door out of Liverpool and the Premier League to play for PSG.

PSG is a leading top-flight team in the French Ligue 1, where they currently stand at the top with 57 points, two points ahead of Montpellier Herault SC. Their team has some truly strong players such as their Brazilian midfielder, Nene, their current top scorer who is on 13 goals this season. Their strike force of Gameiro and Hoarau have a collective tally of 16 with a very offensive defence line who have scored at least a goal each this season.

But what team wouldn't always be on the look out for the best and Suarez is undoubtedly one of the best in the Premier League. Although with his 8 match ban, it was impossible to show what he was really capable of. With him back, he has been a threat to any and every defence, working along side Carroll who, despite playing more games has yet to score as many. His pace and accuracy to squeeze the ball into the smallest gaps to find the net puts him on many peoples top-player list also his footwork gives life to the game and makes the beautiful game ever more so.

His link ups with the Skipper proved deadly in the Merseyside Derby as he set-up Gerrard to get him his hat-trick and was a real threat throughout.

Suarez has spoken out in an interview of his love for Liverpool, how his family are happy in Liverpool and fully intends to honour his contract.

Liverpool have already spoken of extending that contract even further than the year 2016 he has signed for.

Next Game sees Liverpool go up against QPR who are struggling at the bottom but with the desire to stay in the premier league fuelling them, we shall see whether the Reds can take the battle to the enemy at Loftus Road.

Are you a C-Cup or an FA-Cup or both?

Apologise for the drought of blogging, but I'm back and after a brilliant Merseyside derby, we return to difficult FA Cup game against Stoke.

Well we finally see a return for Maxi who has finally been picked over Henderson, a character who was difficult to place on the pitch but did this really make a difference? This game also saw the return of Peter Crouch and Pennant.

First half was difficult to make out who was doing better, who was making the right moves as it started very messy from both teams. The sun was difficult to deal with making trouble with balls in the air causing issues between players.But after Liverpool finally find their feet, a little touch from Suarez onto Maxi who plays a first touch back to Suarez who makes the run and holds his composure to strike a brilliant shot into the bottom right-hand corner.

But this did not deter the Stoke players from moving forward and attacking.

With the striking force still full of energy, Crouch made his way up forward and became very threatening on the ball and in the air of which he made the most of to give Stoke the equaliser.

A corner from one side saw the ball knocked out of play which should have been a goal kick to Liverpool but the referee then decided against it and gave Stoke a second corner. This time, they make the most of it as Liverpool do not bring enough men back to defend properly and we see Crouch take advantage of the freedom.

Saying so, Reina's positioning as a goal keeper was spending too much time pressuring Shotton  and losing concentration on the ball giving the goal away.

Walters chance towards the end of the game seemed to be the only chance Stoke really had at getting a second but it was a poor shot as Walter fires it wide.

Start to the second half we see the sun go down for the Stoke team but with the Kop behind them, Liverpool were not about to let Stoke go ahead.

Liverpool get there act together for the second half and play brilliantly to keep possession and put much more pressure. All that was not to waste as a lovely play between Gerrard and Downing who was left with ample amount of space to run forward. A little help from the Skipper to play a ball for Downing to run forward and as he takes his time and knows he should take a shot and we see what Downing is truly capable of as he finishes with a beautiful strike to see Liverpool ahead.

Suarez close shave again as a corner came in but goes just slightly wide of the far post.

With all the pressure, it seemed Stoke was beginning to lose hope but the last minutes of pressure came as Liverpool try to keep hold of the ball only attacking during breakaways.

A wasted free kick just outside the box for Stoke as they take it short but with the slow movement, Spearing was able to close in quickly to cover the ball.

Both Kelly and Suarez were taken off at the same time as they both receive injuries. Kelly from a close chance for a goal while Suarez was stepped on by Shawcross was seen stepping on Suarez's foot though it does not seem to be in any malicious manner. Coates and Henderson were made to come on to replace the injured.

In the end a last minute corner was not enough and a couple of long throws from Delap was easily handled by Reina and cleared as Liverpool hold their one goal lead to take themselves into the Semi-Finals of the FA Cup against the winner of the Quarter Final game between Everton and Sunderland which currently are stuck as one a piece.

The other game sees Chelsea, who won convincingly today against Leicester by five goals to two, take on the winner of Tottenham and Bolton, a game which was dismissed  as Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest. Hopefully he recovers and is able to get back onto the field.

Now lets look at the players themselves shall we?

And I am sick and tired of saying this but watching Liverpool play with Carroll is as if they were playing with 10 players and his performance today showed it.

When strikers are needed to drop back to help defend, he seems to forget he has to get back into position as soon as the ball is played back into Liverpool's possession. Every single time he drops back he seems to becomes confused and takes about 5 seconds to realise where he is. The rest of the team are left stranded with one less player to play the ball to, who which is suppose to be the one who is capable of collecting the ball in the air.

Another problem is his lack of pace and the amount of time he spends on the floor. It is absolutely frustrating.

To play a one-two with Suarez seemed to be impossible as he seems to forget he's suppose to continue moving forward.

His positioning was poor as he drifted to the left constantly instead of running into the box where he should be which seemed to confuse Enrique and Downing as to where to make their move. He made some crosses to players that were essentially doing his job.

Also his ability to look up and see those around him is astoundingly bad as he played the ball far too many times back to the defenders when he moves back for the ball.

Spearing's role seemed to require a lot of effort from Gerrard who was playing more of a right back picking up after Spearing. His own chance came when the Captain played him in to take a shot but his shot was over the bar. Though Spearing did well to hold off Crouch as he tried to make his way down the centre.

Maxi Rodriguez did well to move forward and provide after assisting in the first goal but after a long stint of not playing first time, it looks as though Kenny was unsure about where to play him most effectively. He did well to play along side Suarez throughout the game but seemed frustrated to be subbed off for Kuyt.

Gerrard, as ever played a splendid game, though it seemed he had to play all over the place putting quite a bit of strain on him but as ever, played like a legend providing and picking out players.

Kelly did well pressing forward and making his way back into position to fend off any threats but an attempt to assault the back of the net which saw him being injured but with a little more work and he could really become a very threatening defender at the back and up front along side a strong forward.

Skrtel had the real tough holding back Crouch but did it as well as he always does while Enrique was tied up against Walters but Jose came out as the better player as he was able to recover the ball almost every time.

Downing's goal puts him down as my Man of the Match, he continuously put pressure on Stoke's defence as well as providing many chances for the attacking force making it difficult for anyone to speak badly of him.

We'll see soon enough whether this becomes a classic Merseyside Wembley Classic in the Semi-finals of the FA Cup. The next game we see Liverpool travel to Loftus Road to take on QPR. With Newcastle's win over  Norwich means Liverpool are stuck behind them in seventh with 5 points behind.

Liverpool will go up against a team which has lost 4 out of 6 of their last top-flight games though QPR are desperate to stay afloat as a draw or a win would take them out of the relegation zone.

Will their desperation bring forward a team that will take every chance and not waste them or will Liverpool continue this strong form they are having and keep up with Newcastle?