2007/2008 Season

It was a nice way to end the season. We beat Spurs comfortably away with 2 superbly taken goals. It was significant how El Nino was involved in both of them. First with a perfectly timed flick on to Voronin and, second, a deadly-cool finish after rounding off the defender and keeper inside the 6 yard box. 33 goals in 46 appearances, of which 26 goals were scored in the EPL. That broke Ruud VanNisteroy's record for the most number of goals scored by a foreign player in his debut season in the EPL. That achievement spoke volumes of the quality of Fernando Torres, aka El Nino - Liverpool's Number 9. The frightening thing is that he will get better with time. Surrounded by better quality players who can play the ball into his feet or free him with a well-timed through pass or flick-on, Torres will inflict maximum damage when he is in a one-on-one situation. What he needs to cope better is the physical aspect of the English game. Defenders across England will now be aware of his talent and they will no doubt be looking at ways to stop him. He needs to be stronger and more physical.

On the whole, he is one player that made a huge difference this season. There are a few others I felt made a positive impact. Ranked no. 2 in my list is Ryan Babel. This dutchman has proven to be the next big thing in the club. He will improve and be a key player for the team in the next season. Rafa can employ him primarily as a left winger but also as a supporting striker. This boy can play. If he steps up a level higher and stays fit, it will be another dominant season down the left in the next season.

Yossi Benayoun, Javier Mascherano, Martin Skrtel......new faces that made an instant impact. In Benayoun, we have an extremely intelligent player that can either play wide or in the centre, score goals and provide quality crosses into the box. In Mascherano, we have with us one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. His forte lies in his uncanny ability to break up any counter attacks. One thing this boy must learn is to control his temper and the timing of his tackles. In Skrtel, we have a young defensive player who has proven to be extremely suited for the english game. He literally walked into the team in January and claimed that central defensive position and called it his own. Don't forget that we still have Daniel Agger. Once he recovers from his long term injury, we have with us another raw talent. The future looks bright as far as our defence is concerned.

Having said this, there are also a few players I felt let us down this season. Firstly, it's Steven Gerard. Our Captain. I simply adore Gerard and I cannot imagine ever losing him to another team. However, I felt that for a player of his quality and love for the club, he had an average season. Too often this season, he played below his standards. There were games when he was simply absent. Take last night's game for example. I felt he was already off for his summer holidays in Ibiza. With a firing Gerard, he is simply unstoppable and we all know that too well. From this alone, I felt he had a disappointing season amidst the fact that there were flashes of brilliance in the odd game he played in. Xabi Alonso. I am not sure what happened. He seemed a pale shadow of his former self. He appeared average for most part of the seaon and seemed more suited for a mid table kind of team - like Everton. I am not surprised his name was mentioned for a possible transfer in the summer. John Arnie Riise is next. Despite his occasional long range scuds, I always said that he is one player that needs to go. For too long we have lived with average players and he is certainly one of them. We need someone of a higher quality on the left side and I hope the young Argentine, Emiliano Insua, can finally provide the team with higher quality on that side of the pitch. Dirk Kyut. Although he played well in the last 2 months of the season, for the most part, he was a pain to watch. Although he tried to justify his drop in form to the passing of his father, I felt it was simply too convenient an excuse to justify for his poor performance and fat pay check.

As we break for the summer and re-group for the new season, the club needs resolve a few key issues. We need to sort out the club ownership and funding issues once and for all. We hope that the yanks will finally sell their stake to DIC. We need the new stadium construction to commence immediately. With ex Liverpool star Sammy Lee possibly coming onboard as Rafa's No.2, we need to re-discover our winning formula for the coming season.

Will we finally clinch our 19th League title? There are signs that the team has improved tremendously over the last 4 years. Rafa has been given the time to improve the squad and the expectations will not doubt rise. With Man U winning their number 17th, there is enough motivation for the club to protect that record in order to preserve our status as the most successful club in the history of english football. A status we are all too proud to lose. However, a lot will depend on the transfer activities of the other clubs. As much as we are trying to close the gap, it's really about who has the biggest access to funds in order to sign the best players.

I am looking forward to the next season with apprehension. The key will be to maintain consistency. Without which we will falter like we did the last few seasons. It's time to step up and dig deep. Rafa needs to spend his summer holidays reviewing what went wrong. In terms of tactics, there were times when he fell short. We need to play the same team week in, week out. The second team will need to step up and ensure success in the League and FA cups. With this dispersion of attention, I am sure we will pose a bigger challenge next season. Ferguson took 4 years with Man U before winning his first league title. Let's hope it's 4th time lucky for Rafa.....if he stays on as Manager.

The end of season 07/08

I can't bring myself to write about anything after our semi final loss to Chelsea. It was something I felt was coming before kick-off. The lineup was flawed, the tactics lacking, our players did not live up to the big match expectations. I was surprised what a quiet game Stevie had. The venue was the last stumbling block. Riise's own goal proved to be the nail in our Champions League coffin.

There is nothing else to play for. The season has ended. As we look forward to the next one, let's pray the boardroom turmoil will be resolved soon. I hope the yanks sell their stake to the arabs and Benitez leaves. I like him but I just don't think he has what it takes to bring us our League title. I may be wrong but that's how I feel for now.

Thanks to the Euro 2008, I will not suffer from a lack of football action for the next 3 months.

To be continued'..........