A comeback?

Maybe.. just maybe

Who do I believe Liverpool need to sign this season?

Pool vs Inter

And I'm back! After a long disappearance.

A few months ago, people looked at me and gave me no hope that Liverpool will go through to the quarter finals after being drawn with Inter. No one gave them a chance. I keep reminding everyone that they said the same thing 12 months ago when the Opponent then was Barcelona.

Make no mistake. Inter is by far a super formidable team with the best form in Europe. Domestically, another one horse race to the title, a team with perhaps no weaknesses, and possibly seen as a thread to win the Champions League.

Unfortunately they were drawn against Liverpool. A team that is laughable in the League but a force like no other in Europe. A 2-0 win 2 weeks ago is proof that all my peers who laugh at me earlier was wrong.

Hahaha!

Hopefully by the end of this week, I will be continuing my unstoppable laughter

Super Super Sunday

Super Sunday x2 that is.

Its the clash of the giants on the same night!

I'm talking about Liverpool vs Man Utd and Arsenal vs Chelsea, where like it or not, these are make or break games. These are the games that will get you another step closer to the title. A win here basically means 3 points for yourselves, and denying your opponents a single point. No matter how much anyone plays the situation down, there is absolutely no doubt that this are important big games at important times.

Lets look at Liverpool vs Manchester United. Liverpool are without Agger and Xabi(ok lah, recovering) but they are unlikely to start. Man Utd are without Gary Neville but Owen Hargreaves is set to return in this match. As far as form and pressure goes, Liverpool might be relieved that they made it through the Champions League, but Man Utd are doing very well in the League, besides the defeat to Bolton.

Liverpool might not have a good run of games against Man Utd in recent times, but that was before Fernando Torres wore a red shirt. He will be the difference maker tonight, if there is one.

Its fair enough to predict that tonight's game will end up in a 1-1 draw.

Arsenal vs Chelsea is another big game, where Arsenal are without plenty of important players. Chelsea are without Drogba which is also a major blow. Both teams proved worthy this season but it is also another safe bet that this one would also end up as a draw.

We'l see

So Liverpool made it.

You know what is funny? Liverpool finish 2nd in a group where they put 4 or more goals past each and everyone of their opponents. Let me put this right. Against the same 3 opponents in the last three matches, Liverpool scored a total of 16 goals while conceding just one. Compare that to the first three games of 2 goals scored while conceding a total of 4.

Put that aside, in this competition, its time to focus on the knock-out rounds, where casualties hit the biggest baddest teams around. With 3 not so good matches, Liverpool's got a mountain right in their paths of European success. With the nature of the competition and the fact that Chelsea and Man Utd won their groups and Liverpool cannot face the group winners of their own group, Porto, the Reds are going to be up against the 5 other group winners.

Namely, Barcelona, Ac Milan, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Sevilla.

No disrespect to Sevilla but any other team versus Liverpool in the first Knockout round is simply a blockbuster round. Personally, I wish Sevilla will be our opponents, but that is just a 20% chance.

Either this is not the time to be afraid of any opponents thrown at us, and its about time pool make things happen.

That goes for their League Campaign as well. We all know the Christmas crunch time is coming up. Hopefully here we will see Benitez's rotation policy working.

Liverpool vs Marseille

In a group match where winner takes all, many did not anticipate for this to happen, not to Liverpool anyways. But lets face the truth. Liverpool have their backs against the wall and are going to do whatever it takes to get through to the group stages of this edition of UCL.

Liverpool did throw away their last league game for this match. Personally I will be very disappointed if that gamble fails today. Very! Throwing a good 3 points in a season where we were supposed to focus on the league and failed to progress to the knock out stages of European's premier competition, there is no consolation.

Liverpool's games means more guessing games for their opponents. Its only certain to bet on having Carragher, Reina, Gerrard and Torres to start in this crucial game. The other 7 is anyone's guess. 2 hours to the game, I can only assume that Crouch will be partnering Torres up front. Wait, Benitez could be playing a ground game with Voronin starting, or giving Kuyt a chance to prove himself again. Its all too possible to predict.

There are 2 ways for Liverpool to progress tonight. One is of course winning the game with any score line.

The other is if Besiktas win in Porto, a Marseille-Liverpool draw would also see the Reds progress, along with Besiktas. Porto, Liverpool and Marseille would all have eight points, Marseille's head to head is better than Liverpool's, but Porto's head to head is better than Marseille's - so goal difference would again come into the equation and Liverpool have the best goal difference in Group A.

Sounds simple but its football. And in football, anything can happen. Anything at all.

Dudek wants to leave

Goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek wants to leave Real Madrid in the January transfer window in search of regular first team action for the rest of the season so he can win a place in the Polish national team for Euro 2008.

I'm sorry. Can someone refresh my memory. Didn't Jerzy Dudek leave Liverpool earlier because he wanted first team football? And of all the clubs in the world, he chose Real Madrid, I assume hoping to get first team football in front of Iker Cassilas.

So should I classify the whole senario as dumb or stupid?

I pick both!

Euro 2008 draw

I know I'm late, but its always better late than never.

Netherlands
Italy
France
Romania

The whole point to have pots is to avoid situations like this. You will be considered lucky if you are not placed in Pot 1 before the draw. And believe it or not, the best qualifiers gets to be in pot 1.

Does this mean do what Germany probably did, not do so well when they already qualified and make sure they end up in pot 2 to avoid groups like these?

This group will be one for the fans, and I would love to see Romania topping it. I expect a lot of draws so 1 win and not losing is crucial for further advancement.

Truthfully, Italy and France have not been at their best, and this Dutch squad I would classify as weak compared to their seniors from the past. Romania is on good form lately, so don't count them out just yet.

We'll see what happens next summer.

And the Reds go marching onnnnn...

As of now I'm still feeling lazy so I should just plagiarize from the Liverpool home page. It was a great match by the way, dominating at the beginning and getting the job done at the end.

Fernando Torres struck a magnificent double as Liverpool left it late to clinch a 4-1 win over FC Porto and keep our hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League alive.

The Spain international, who has now scored 10 goals in 16 appearances, struck 12 minutes from time after his first-half opener was cancelled out by a Lisandro Lopez header with a Steven Gerrard penalty and a header from substitute Peter Crouch sealing the win.

The result means that Liverpool will qualify for the last 16 of the competition if they beat Marseille at the Stade Velodrome in an all-or-nothing clash on matchday six.

The Anfield faithful was in good voice ahead of the game and the team responded in kind, with a high-tempo opening that could have been rewarded with a penalty on five minutes, but the referee waived away Yossi Benayoun's appeals after his effort seemed to strike the arm of visiting defender Marek Cech.

Fernando Torres then showed just what he brings to the Liverpool side when he dispossessed Paulo Assuncao on the halfway line and ran at the heart of the Porto defence before unleashing a 20-yard strike that was well held by Helton.

Jesualdo Ferreira's men topped the group at the start of play and seemed content to sit back and soak up the pressure. But that all changed on 19 minutes when Fernando Torres gave Liverpool a deserved lead.

The Spain international rose unmarked to power home Steven Gerrard's corner from the right and claim his ninth goal of the campaign.

It was the perfect start for the Reds and they continued to dominate possession without truly troubling Helton in the Porto goal.

It seemed like they would go in at half-time with a priceless interval lead but on 33 minutes a defensive lapse allowed the away side in to equalise.

Przemyslaw Kazmierczak broke down the left and after evading the challenge of Steve Finnan he sent over a dangerous cross that was met by Lisandro Lopez who guided his header beyond Pepe Reina at the Kop end.

The goal was a bitter blow for the Reds but they did not lose heart and they could have restored their lead a minute later but Torres was thwarted at the last minute after a clever ball form Benayoun.

However, it could have been worse for Rafa and co and hearts where in mouths on 37 minutes when Lisandro Lopez contrived to stab his effort wide of the post after his intelligent run beat the offside trap.

Liverpool began the second period attacking the Kop end but chances were at a premium as the Portuguese outfit maintained their stubborn resistance.

Benayoun squandered the first opening of the half when he sliced his effort wide after good play by Torres before both substitute Harry Kewell and Sami Hyypia went close.

It looked like the visitors would hold on for a hard-fought draw but when Kewell fed Torres on 78 minutes the young forward held off the challenges to guide his effort past the keeper and send the home fans into delirium.

And it got better four minutes later when Steven Gerrard sent Helton the wrong way from the penalty-spot after a Porto defender was adjudged to have handled in the area.

There was even time for substitute Peter Crouch to put rub salt in the visitors' wounds as he headed in Gerrard's corner with Porto's defence all at sea.

Survey

I got this email on some census done of some 3000 England fans on what they think. I'm going to paste the whole chunk here.

Only 4% Of Fans Back England To Win World Cup

London 27th November 2007 … A Football Fans Census survey of over 3,000 England fans from all Premier and Football League Clubs has revealed that only 4% believe England will win the tournament in 2010.

The survey comes hot on the heels of the FA’s announcement to conduct a 'root and branch review' into the senior England set up following the defeat to Croatia. Fans will be hoping for some positive steps, as only 13% of them currently believe that the side will get beyond the Quarter Final stage in the 2010 World Cup.

England’s Poisoned Chalice?

The majority of fans (54%) believe the England Manager’s job has become a poisoned chalice. 60% of fans think there is too much pressure on the England Manager and 25% think that there is “way too much” pressure.

Worryingly, for everyone who has the best interests of the English national team at heart, 76% of fans feel there is a possibility that the amount of pressure on the England Manager could make it difficult to attract the best candidates.

Others Should Share Responsibility

While 94% of fans endorse The FA’s decision to sack Steve McClaren - they also feel that others should shoulder the responsibility.

When asked who they would blame the most for England's failure to qualify for the European Championships, 45% of fans blame the players - only 6% less than those who blame the manager. In another indictment of the “Golden Generation”, only 35% of fans think that the players still care enough about playing for England, although the majority of fans (58%) do not feel that individual players should be booed.

81% of fans feel it was right to sack Terry Venables, but their discontent does not end in the dressing room; 67% of supporters feel that Brian Barwick, The FA Chief Executive, should take “a lot” (45%) or “full” (22%) responsibility for England's failure to qualify for the European Championships. The majority of supporters (54%) also feel that FA Chairman, Geoff Thompson should take a lot (40%) or full (14%) responsibility.

Nationality Not An Issue

England fans want the best person for the England Manager job, regardless of nationality, and they feel that that person is Jose Mourinho.

The results are a clear indication that the majority of fans want the best man for the job, regardless of nationality. Non-English managers picked up 70% of the total manager vote, while only 14% of fans state that the next manager ‘has to be English’.

Fans were asked who they would like to see appointed as the next England Manager from a choice of 20 of the bookies’ favourite candidates on the day Steve McClaren was sacked.

Jose Mourinho emerges as the clear favourite among England fans as the man they want to succeed Steve McClaren. The “Special One” polled 36% of the vote, and in doing so received over four times as many votes as the two next best placed managers - Martin O’Neill and Harry Redknapp - both on 8% each.

Club & Country

The club v country debate is often central to discussions about the national side. While fans are most loyal to their clubs, they are also signalling that they want football’s decision makers to ensure that future developments in the game strike a balance between club football and the strength of the national side. When asked which is most important for them, a majority of fans 51% said their club, but 43% replied that club and country were equally important to and 6% said their country was most important.

The majority of fans aren’t too concerned about the effect the number of club games played has on the English National side (57% of think that the current amount of club games played has a neutral impact) however there is a significant minority of 31% who do feel that there is a negative impact.

Premier League Power

Fans are also questioning whether The FA has enough power within the game to implement the right strategy, only 14% of fans feel the balance of power between The FA and the Premier League is about right. 54% of fans feel the Premier League has too much power compared to The FA, while only 20% feel The FA has too much power.

Foreign Players

Whilst the quality of play in the Premier League may have benefited from an influx of foreign players, 59% of fans think that the current level of foreign players has a negative impact on the English National side.

Coaching System

There is a feeling that the coaching system is partly to blame for England’s failure in the Euro 2008 campaign, 76% of fans think that the English coaching system is not producing enough good English players, while 66% of fans feel that cutting the number of foreign players training through the club Academy systems would have a positive impact on the English national side.

World of Football

No I'm not dead. I've just been busy. While I was away, the World Cup qualifying draw was made, Man utd Lost to Bolton, Gerrard scored one of those goals that make your hair stand, and Platini talks about how England should be coached by an English man. Oh and Billy Davis.

More tomorrow, or the day after :)