A Good Fightback

It's not true we won only because Bolton had one man sent off. It can be a lot tougher to play against 10 men especially when they are leading at home. Credit must be given to the Reds for pressing hard and eventually a Gerrard-Kyut-Torres move culminated in our second leveller. From then on, there was only gonna be one winner. Time was on our side. We had approx 20mins to find that winning goal. No sweat. The way Gerrard blasted that goal from a Torres knock-down was sweet! 12 yards out....that was a typical Gerrard goal!

There was on thing that troubled me though. What was Lucas doing on the pitch? Even when Benayoun came on, it was for Reira and not Lucas. I couldn't believe it. Reira was a constant menace down the left all night long. Glenn and Kyut was doing the same down the right. But what was Lucas doing?? Nothing much really.....Why does Rafa love him so much? One wonders....

Our defense. Honestly, I feel Carragher's time is up. We can't be conceding silly goals all the time. Something needs to be done and done quickly. That greek defender (forgot his name) did reasonably well but I feel it's time to play Skrtel and Agger together once they are fit. Carragher is not as sharp and, more importantly, not as fast as before. After more than 10 years of distinguished service playing for the club, perhaps his time is nearing an end as a player.

For the last time, I hope Rafa stops playing Lucas. Period. We can\t afford to drop more points especially when Chelsea is picking up 3 points for fun.

Btw, all those bloody loud ManUre fans out there who think they did well by beating Arsenal. Think again. It was an own goal that gave them the 3 points.....if I were them, I would just thank my lucky stars and be damn quiet and humble. But I suppose that's a concept they will never fully comprehend. Hehehe ;-)

Lucas, Lucas on the wall, shoot him, kill him, just don't play him

Lucas was horrible. He played well against Stoke but against Villa, he was back to his usual self. The own goal conceded was unforgivable. How and why he head the ball towards goal baffles me. Without Alonso or a quality playmaker, we were just like headless chickens running around aimlessly.

Gerard, Kyut, Benayoun, Torres, Insua, Mascherano were all guily of below par peformance this morning. I don't understand why Reira was left on the bench.

I don't know what else to say. Just shocked. At the rate we are going with Lucas in the team, we ain't going anywhere this season.

Period.

First Win of the season

It was a good team performance. Everyone worked hard for each other. Even though Lucas was not fantastic, it was evident he was working his socks off for the team. Credit to him!

Glen Johnson was the livewire in the team. His relentless runs down the right flank, overlapping with Dirk Kyut, was a constant menace to the Potter's defence. He created a few goals and even scored one on his debut. What a start? (and what was he doing on the far post??). Anyway, I have said that the right back position had been our weak link for the last few years. Arbeloa was terrible in that position. Insua on the opposite flank was also providing amunition into the box consistently. With Reira and Insua down the left, we have 2 overlapping defenders that can join in the attack.

Gerard had a much better showing yesterday. His run into the box and the subsequent cut-back was pure quality. Torres showed a lot of grit and determination as well, scoring the first goal for us. It was great satisfaction to watch them play at their best. When both Torres and Gerard decides to play, we can beat anyone in the BPL.

We are not even at full strength yet. With Agger and Skrtel back in defence, Aquilani in the middle of the park, we will be a much stronger team. The key now is consistency. I have been saying that for years. Let's hope the win this morning will signal the start of our title chasing season. It's been 20 years. The wait must end now!

Next up, Aston Villa in Anfield. C'mon you Reds!!

09/10 Season Kickoff - Spurs 2 vs 1 Liverpool

Our pre-season was not fantastic and I had my fears prior to this game.

I expected a tough opening game at White Hart Lane but what puzzled me was the line-up Rafa put up. We lost to Spurs twice last season and to go there without our best available 11 is suicide. Benayoun and Voronin was on the bench. Instead we found Babel and Lucas in the starting line-up.

Babel was pathetic on the left. He lost possession too easily, lacked aerial presence, can't tackle, can't shoot, can't pass. He was simply a pain to watch. Lucas was quoted saying he is confident he can fill the void left by Alonso and I was surprised with that bold statement. We all know Lucas' quality. He is nowhere near Alonso. He is another disappointing player that day and all through last season as well. If not for Reina's saves, we could have been 2 goals down by half time and we didn't even have a single shot on target then. We saw the benefits when Rafa adopted an attacking style of play towards the end of last season. We were good going forward, always looked like scoring. I am not sure if the defensive approach adopted in the first half against Spurs had undone us. One thing for sure is that Lucas needs to be replaced. He is just aweful. In the absence of Aquilani, I feel Gerard need to be brought back into midfield to provide that creative spark and physical presence. Reira need to play on the left and perhaps Benayoun or Voronin can partner Torres up front.

I have been watching Carragher closely since last season. I feel his level of performance has dropped tremendously. The foul he gave away outside the penalty box led to the second spurs goal. That was absolutely unnecessary. Ayala came on and did relatively well. Perhaps, its time to rest Carra and give the youngsters a chance. Read a rumour that we had signed a Greek 30yr old defender from AEK Athens named Sotiris Kyrgiakos. I am not sure how good a player he is.

One other problem that I feel is hindering our progress is the ownership of the club. The yanks need to go. In today's context, without a big transfer kitty, we are not going to challenge for the BPL title. Look at Man City. We need another world class striker, play-maker and defender. In today's crazy transfer market, it can easily cost the club >100m pounds. Are the yanks ready to provide the club with that kind of funds?? I seriously doubt so.

We will be playing in Anfield in the next 2 games. 6 points is mandatory in the next 2 games to get out season started. We can't afford to lose ground with the top 3 teams this early in the season.