It's now or never.....

The game was over by the 40th minute. 5-0 against Villa and it's now 1 point between us and Man U (although they have a game in hand).

It was a great team performance especially in the context of the title challenge. Both Man U and Chelsea lost on Saturday. I was worried that we may not capitalise on the advantage and slip up again. But it was not to be. The moment Kyut scored the first goal, I knew then that we would win it big especially since Villa's confidence was at a low. What is frustrating is that our momentum will be disrupted by another international break this week. This is the third time this season when we had to break our good run in due to international friendlies or world cup qualifiers. We play Fulham next. They will be well rested and on a high after beating Man U convincingly at home. We need to win every game now if we are to maintain the title challenge. Man U still have a game in hand and if they win that, the gap will be restored to 4 points again.

I hope Gerard and Torres return injury free from their international duties. The players need to be focused and the next 2 months will be crucial.

We need the 19th league back in Anfield.

Rafa has signed a deal and Stevie issues warning in Europe

It has certainly been a wonderful week to be a Liverpool fan. As King Kenny rightly pointed out, the timing of Rafa penning a new deal cannot come at a better time. The comments from Hicks and Gillet seems to reflect a rare common consensus between the two American owners but how long will that last before they fight again? That's for all of us to guess! Stevie's comments in the aftermath of Manchester United thrashing indicates a growing sense of belief and returning confidence in the team. How can anyone fault him for saying that? It's a fact that massive wins do instill confidence and, with confidence, teams generally play better football. Let's just hope that this is true for the remaining season. Too often we have seen the team drop their standard of play after a string of good results. I guess it's a mental barrier the team must overcome in order to be champion material. 2 European finals in 4 years....that's a record that any team will be envious of in Europe. With Rafa's tactics and the way the team sets up it's play, Liverpool has proven to be a hard nut to crack in Europe. I expect nothing less than a semi final appearance this season. But then again that's not where we hope the team will be this season. It's the league title that we really desire. Imagine doing the double over Chelsea and Man United in a season and still not win the league title! Unbelievable! Maybe the Anfield factor is a reason for the team's lacklustre performances against the lower league teams. Anfield has been unable to regenerate the kind of atmosphere that exists on European nights. Agree that European nights have also been special in the hearts of all Red fans but in order to win the league, we need to do our part to inspire the team to raise their standard of play week in and week out. Rafa's decision to play the Anfield anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone" just before kick off was exactly for this purpose. He had hoped to inspire the players and the crowd before kickoff. However, too often, in recent season, the Anfield crowd had grown silent as the game progresses especially if the score remains goal less at half time. The fact is that players are human beings too and we can't expect them to raise their game weekly in order to produce the kind of performance we saw against Real Madrid and Manchester United. If only Anfield can become the all important 12th man in EVERY game we play, I am sure the players will be inspired to give their 110%. I am not sure if Rafa will be the man to bring us the league title. It's true we have progressed over the last 5 years but I feel we lack one or two players of Torres' quality. Look at Man United's bench. Look at Chelsea's bench. And then look at ours! There are a few players I feel needs to be shipped out. Lucas is one of them. He is ordinary at best and usually atrocious. We need a creative player in the class of David Villa or Frank Ribery or even Fabgregas. Besides Torres, we lack another world class striker. I still believe it was a mistake to sell Keane. Given another season, I am sure he will come good. On the left back position, Aurelio is turning out to be a decent player but Dossena is not the kind of player for us. We need another cover for right back as well. Arbeloa is not doing too badly but should he be injured, we need a proper right back as cover instead of playing Carragher, Mascherano, or worse still, Skrtel. 3 quality players - a striker, a midfielder and a left/right back. And provided Torres, Stevie, Alonso, Kyut, Benayoun, Mascherano, Carragher, Reina remains fit throughout, we have a team of players capable of beating anyone in England and even Europe.

What was next??.............a thrashing for Man-Ure!

Man U vs Liverpool 1-4....

If anyone had said this to me before the game, I will probably think he is insane. But that was the scoreline last night. Thrashed Man U in their own den. What was even better? Well, a few things: 1) Firstly, the only goal they scored was from a dubious penalty given by the referee, whom we all feel is a Man U fan, and not from open play. 2) Secondly, after bringing on 3 good players (Berbatov, Giggs and Scholes), they were immediately down to 10 men....thanks to Mr Vidic! 3) And scored with a beautifully taken free kick 4) A totally clear cut penalty awarded to us in "payment" for the one awarded to them 5) Dosenna scoring his second goal in 2 consecutive games and both were the 4th and last goal of the game 6) Making Ronney the fat pig eat his fat &%!@#*!% words.

3 Red players I felt were excellent yesterday. Torres, Gerard abd Hypia. In a game where some of our players were not exactly at their best, we had these 3 guys holding the team up. Reira seemed out of sorts, Reina were guilty of some slack goal keeping, Lucas was as usual rubbish,.....It is still a joy to watch Hypia these days. For me, he was a pillar of strenght and stability at the back. His experience makes up for his lack of speed.

Overall, it was an extremely excting game and I am totall mad we triumphed. We have now done the double over Chelsea and Man U this seasson. Can we win the title? Of course!! But only if Man U drops 2 games and draws one. It's gonna be tough but anything is possible...........Come On you Reds...

A historic European triumph..........but what next?

It was a great display of attacking football, backed up by a very special Anfield atmosphere. The scoreline could have been bigger if not for the performance of Casillas. I suppose the return of Torres and Gerard boosted everyone's confidence. I said on many occasions that no team likes to face Liverpool in Europe. The miraculous win 5 years ago in Istanbul created a sense of belief throughout the club - from the manager to the players to the fans. It's this belief that makes us so hard to beat in Europe. However, the story is different in the league. Our record of post-Champions League games is not great. The team has often been accused of post european hangover. With Man U coming up on Saturday and the title challenge at stake, will the same Liverpool side turn up? I am dying for a win on Saturday but I'd rather be cautious. Man U is playing really well now and they are in a rich vein of form. The game will be a cagey affair and I hope I will be able to sleep well that night.....

Liverpool Must Let Rafael Leave This Summer - an article by Sulmaan Ahmad

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When Rafa Met Parry

Anyone who has ever seen the masterful piece of film-making that is Speed may or may not remember Sandra Bullock's line to the immortal Keanu Reeves, when she says, "Relationships that start under intense circumstances, they never last." What's more intense than clawing your way out of the Champions League group stage, past a series of 'superior' teams in the knockout rounds and then, after going 3-0 down at half-time to one of the greatest teams of the last decade in the final, coming back to tie the game 3-3 and win on penalties? It was their fifth, it meant they could keep the trophy; all the more amazing when considering they had not even won a league title in 15 years at the time.It was all too much, and all too soon for Rafael Benitez at Liverpool. He was forgiven for finishing fifth in the Premier League only for his triumph in Istanbul. Development since has been stunted and insufficient, much like the excuses made by the man himself. Rafa is under pressure now, after this topsy-turvy engagement period, to tie himself down, take the plunge and marry himself to Merseyside. It seems he's not quite ready for that kind of commitment. The Spaniard is still wrangling over prenuptial agreements and trying to have it all his own way. He's good, but he's not that good. And in this day and age, you really do have to be that good to command that kind of power.Rafa wants it all his own way, and has already seen off chief executive Rick Parry, who announced he will be leaving the club at the end of this season. Nevertheless, the powers that be are unwilling to hand over complete control to Benitez, and nor should they. This is not a man to whom it should be a foreign concept for affairs in the transfer market to be handled by those above him. He's from Spain, where it is regular practice - where he won the league under such a system - and there is an air of selfishness surrounding his demands.Understandable, maybe. Everybody has their own best interests at heart, but let's look at this from Liverpool's point of view. The owners still look fairly likely to sell, and perhaps a manager on a long-term contract running his own ship would not entice many of the most attractive potential suitors.So what does Rafa really have in his corner when going into these negotiations? Despite many a miraculous result during his four-and-a-half seasons at Anfield, he has yet to convince that he is capable of being the best. He only knows how to win as an underdog - he cannot outplay his opposition - and that is not enough for Liverpool.There can be no doubt that they can and will continue to scrape past top opposition under Rafa's leadership, but they will not become anything resembling a great side until they learn to beat one and all comers. They don't need to be able to batter the Barcelonas and Inters of this world - fans have, and will, continue to forgive the defensive dirges if they could at least be promised the three points against the likes of Stoke City and Middlesbrough - but when Rafa has to attack a side, he ends up as impotent as Luiz Felipe Scolari's Chelsea.The Blues stuck their neck out - doing what they had to do - and soon, even supporters as loyal as Liverpool's will surely see that there is life after Rafa. It seems this unhappy couple are currently willing to settle for the odd moment of magic amid the monotony, purely due to the paralysing fear that they worry about whether they can find anybody better in the aftermath of parting ways.It is time for that leap of faith. Given time and money in equal measure, Benitez continues to make the same mistakes he did from the beginning and seems incapable of change. I said just last week that the Spaniard needed the Champons League to save his job, but just seven incredible days later, it seems as though not even that will do. Even if they win it, they will not be the side they need to be.The owners must be brave and the fans more far-sighted and understanding in seeing that the time is right to part ways, instead of handing all power over to a man who has still yet to do as well as he should have and is showing no signs of wanting to change his ways. Yes, it is now beyond beating a dead horse. This dead horse has already been beaten, decapitated by one of Vito Corleone's confidants and had its head left in George Gillett's blood-soaked bed. It's over. Both Liverpool and Rafa must move on.

Sulmaan Ahmad, Goal.com
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It's really over

I m still recovering from the shock loss at Riverside. Forget about the fantastic win at the Bernabeu. It's the league we wanted most and it's where we are let down again.

All that contract talks, the political decision to sell Robbie, the owner's boardroom fight, the talks with new managers, the club's finances, the new stadium, Rick Parry's departure.....all these were just plain rubbish and we were supposedly to be in the best league position in 19 years and with a real chance of winning it. So, now Man U will win their 18th title this season and if they win another European trophy, we will risk losing our status as the most successful club in England soon.

It's sad. It's heartbreaking. We need a change.