11 goals scored and only conceded 1 over the last 3 games against Newcastle, Porto and Bolton. What can I say?

The rumored dispute between Rafa and our American owners threatened to disrupt a crucial phase of our season. With must win games against Porto and Marseille to ensure survival in the Champions League, I was worried the spill-over effects on the team. However, my worries were unfounded when we cruised to comfortable wins against the teams I mentioned above. At the risk of sounding boastful, our team is beginning to look more and more like championship material. I dare say that only Arsenal is playing as well, if not better, than us at this point in time. It was mentioned in the reports that there were only twice in our previous 18-title winning seasons that we had more points at this stage of the season. The Dec to Jan period will be crucial. It will be the most challenging time of the season with the schedule packed with games and minimal rest in between. The depth and quality of the squad will make the difference. Consistency is next most important factor. Let's pray that Big Sam's Newcastle will cause damage to the Gunners this Thursday when they play their game in hand. It will be the do-or-die game for the big man...lose and he will be sacked.

Torres-Crouch. I feel so good whenever I see them playing together! It was a pity Crouch did not get his name on the score sheet last night but he did enough to seal a place (in my opinion) in the starting line-up with El-Nino (Torres). Someone needs to drill that into Rafa's head. Forget about Kyut. Better sell him during the Jan transfer window and use the money to secure Mascherano's future with us. We can always throw in Sissoko as a 'free-gift' to make the deal more attractive! With Lucas Leiva impressing, we don't need a liability in the squad. Sissoko was atrocious in the first 30mins against Newcastle. I must admit that he was once very good but somehow along the way he seemed to have lost his confidence and we cannot afford to baby-sit him in a high level league like the EPL. In Ryan Babel, we have a quality second striker. Notice how he calmly slotted the ball into the net for our 4th goal? His positioning was great too. Give that to Kyut and I assure you he will blast that into outer space. We need every single player to be at their 110% week in and week out. Players that can't keep up will have to be dropped and shipped out. No two ways about it. A friend of mine mentioned to me that perhaps the current crop of foreign players we have are starting to realise what it means to be playing in a red shirt. The players need to believe that they are the best in the business and they are playing for the greatest club in the world.

We had a great time 2 weekends ago in KL for the Liverpool Fan Clubs 5-a-side Futsal competition. Despite beating Thailand and Brunei, we were second in the group, losing to the defending Champions, Penang B (which went on to defend their title successfully). Besides drinking lots of carlsberg, I was asked to participate in the knowledge quiz. My partner's knowledge of the club is amazing. We were lucky enough to progress all the way to the finals where we met the Hong Kong Reds. These guys are expats working in HK and they are true-blue scousers. We lost the final despite leading 25-20 after round 1. Well, it's no shame losing to them since they should know more about the club than us.

We have Reading next followed by a must-win game against Marseille before the Mr Sir Alex Ferguson and his merry-men make their trip to Anfield. It will be the biggest match of the season so far, the most anticipated one. We lost last season to a stinking injury-time goal to someone by the name of John O'Shea. This time round they won't have it so easy. I am personally looking forward to the game very much since my beloved friend from France, a loser Man United fan, will be in town during that week. I can't wait to sing our favourite Man U songs to him. To my fellow Cavern friends, it's time to bring out your scarf and flags...let's show these Man U losers the Liverpool passion......Come on you Reds!!