If only all injuries had quick returns

Well some good news on our injury front after that triple injury scare against Arsenal. Mascherano is back training already. Agger & Torres could both be back in 2 weeks time. Injury plagued Kewell could be set for a start tonight after impressing in a reserve game last week.

As for Alonso he saw a specialist yesterday but the outcome of that is as yet unknown, while he will probably be out for a couple of months, having Mascherano back already hopefully means he won't be missed too much.

No doubt an emotional return

How many players (from the opposing team) get to be cheered when scoring in front of the Kop ?

Well tonight we just might get to see that happen with Robbie Fowler ! It's great to hear the likes of Benitez speaking so highly of him and even joking that maybe they could arrange for him to score in front of the Kop, albeit provided we're 3-0 up at that stage !

Kuyt also sang his praises saying how much he helped him to settle in and also to develop better as a striker, hmmm, I think he might have neglected the goal scoring side of being a striker ;-)

As long as we win, I'll be welcoming the third coming of Fowler very much.

Another Reds starlet is leaving

An agreement is already in place for FA Youth Cup winner Jimmy Ryan to make his loan move with Shrewsbury Town permanent in January. The midfielder was part of our famed youth team from a couple of years back and like the rest of those players he never broke in to the first team.

I'd high hopes that from that crop of players we'd get to see another local youngster make the breakthrough, while Spearing and Lindfield remain part of the squad it looks like the very talented Adam Hammill (on loan with Southampton) is the one with most potential. Now that LFC is 'cash rich' I hope it doesn't mean we'll always look to the transfer market for our next player :-(

At least we've got our hunger back

I have to say I thought it was quite an exciting game, true Arsenal outclassed us at times, but it was great seeing so many of our players (excluding Riise) with their hunger back :-)

Tactically I think Rafa was right and if Alonso & Torres were match fit it probably would have worked wonders, although I'm not sure why Arbeloa came on instead of Babel who could have given us some much needed penetration on the wing. Also the triple injury blow could prove problematic for us.

Despite Reinas uncharacteristic mistake, Arsenal deserved to score and a draw was a good result for us considering everything. We're moving in the right direction again and soon enough we'll get to see the Reds playing with confidence.

Ouch ! That's a triple injury blow for us

Both Alonso and Torres looked well off the pace throughout the game, biggest surprise was Alonso not being subbed sooner. Torres didn't even look like trying against Arsenal, hope he won't be out for too long after aggravating his thigh injury. While Alonso looked a bit better in the second half, sure enough we end up losing him again probably for another several weeks :-(

When Agger is back fit(ish) I hope he gets some reserve team action before being reintroduced to the fold so he can be back to his best before a first team run out. While the extent of Mascheranos toe injury is not yet known he could prove the bigger loss unless Sissoko gets his confidence back.

Great news for Benayoun

But not so great news for Pennant who has suffered an acute exacerbation of the stress fracture to his right tibia and will have to undergo surgery which will keep him out for 10 weeks.

Which of course opens the door for Benayoun to get a prolonged run of games under his belt, he's such a clever little player, his skill and vision allows him to carve teams open. Having Benayouns creativity on the pitch can only be a good thing for Liverpool :-)

Agger lets us play more than anyone

Defenders sadly don't get the level of exposure they deserve, especially in Aggers case. Since he's been out injured it radically alters how we're allowed to play.

His pace allows the defence to play further up the field, but it's his ball control and passing ability which impresses me the most. Alonso may be our best passer, but in the absence of Agger he has to play further down the pitch and has less influence on the game as a result.

The cool thing under Rafas regime is that he likes us to play the ball from the back rather than have a random punt of the ball down the field (Houlier). With Agger we have a defender who can really play the ball and start attacks. Despite our excellent defensive record, it's in the attacking stakes that Agger gives us what the other defenders don't. Can't wait till he's back in a couple of weeks :-)

Title challenge is a fair expectation

Unsurprisingly the Yanks have said Rafa will have to justify his massive spending come season end. If for example we finish with 90 odd points and don't win anything, they're hardly going to give him the boot, these guys are pragmatists (and optimists thankfully).

Rafa is in his 4th season and has no real excuses (beyond his own failings) for not mounting a realistic title challenge.

Of course the Yanks want a return on their investment, who wouldn't, but I hate all the silly sensationalist nonsense prepetuated by the media that Rafa will be sacked without the Premiership trophy this season :-(

Reds might get a kick up the Arse

At this stage I can't see us recovering form against Arsenal on Sunday. We're going to be relying on a healthy dose of luck to take any points off them or perhaps Hyypia can figure out which net to score in ;-)

There's few positives to take from last nights game, Gerrard looked to be playing better (about time), Babel on the other hand showed the most potential with some superb control, balance and turn of pace. As a team though we still lack cohesion! Qualification from Group A is still in our own hands thanks to Porto & Marseille drawing, but we have to win all 3 games :-(

Regardless of what happens on Sunday we're still in the title race (Arsenal & ManUre will have their own rocky patches too), I feel we only need a couple of good games for the guys to get their act together.

I can't see LFC bringing back terraces

There's going to be a commons debate today regarding the reintroduction of standing terraces in the Premiership. The FSF published a 27 page document last May in order to try and get the all seater rule repelled (they claim the support of 142 MPs).

The logic which they're using is that the reason why the 96 died in the Hillsborough tragedy was because of incompetent stewarding and poor stadium design (doubt The Sun would agree).

Everton's CEO Keith Wyness told a commons seminar last year his club would consider a pilot scheme for this also (doesn't seem too bright even if they are leaving Liverpool).

It'll be interesting to see the outcome of this, no matter what though I can't see LFC ever reintroducing standing terraces.

Back to Istanbul for 3 big points

Rather irrelevant fact for the superstitious types :- Liverpool have never beaten a Turkish team away !

Our away form this season has been excellent (first time for everything!) which I expect we should be capable of carrying over to Besiktas tomorrow night.

I'm going to miss the match (will have to settle for highlights) while flying to South Africa and I don't want to wake up on Thursday morning to find us effectively out of the Champions League. Realistically we need to win tomorrow night otherwise we'll find ourselves in a very sticky situation trying to qualify.

Although Alonso is in the squad, we're still missing Torres, Agger, Kewell, Arbeloa and Aurelio. So I hope Babel has learnt his recent lesson about sleeping in and doesn't miss the flight to Istanbul this morning ;-)

Stevie shouldn't be too surprised

The look of disbelief on his face when being substituted was slight cause for concern, surely he didn't really think it was unjustified ?

Our captains form has been rather terrible lately, more so than the rest of the team, so it was good to see Rafa taking him off.

I like the look of Leiva, while his confidence is not quite there yet he still possesses some sublime touches. The team as a whole didn't play too well until our first penalty against Everton but it was watching how the lads lifted their game once Stevie went off that I found somewhat intriguing.

I hope Rafa continues to drop Stevie when he doesn't play too well, he needs to know he has to fight for his place just like everyone else.

The beauty of balance :-)

I want to feel bad and all, but hey I don't :-) Nevilles penalty/red card was comical (it would've been a good save for a goalkeeper).

I don't think there's too many people who having watched the slow motion replay of Evertons penalty claim in the dying seconds will try to dispute the validity of the claim. We were robbed by Styles against Chelsea but things have a tendancy to balance themselves out over the course of a season and I think our balance has been restored a wee bit :-)

It was good to see the lads win, shame it took so long for them to play (reasonably) well and hopefully it will prove a much needed confidence booster for the lads.

Bye bye Persie, hello Torres :-)

With the upcoming game against Arsenal arriving on the back of a host of poor Reds performances, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't slightly concerned. Arsenal are on fire at the moment, Fabregas in particular is phenomenal, whatever happened to our Stevie G ?

But Arsenal have now lost Van Persie for a month to injury, and with our injured players arriving back shortly (Torres, Kuyt, Alonso, Kewell) it gives me a glimmer of hope that all is not yet lost ;-)

I hope we win (in any old fashion) against Everton & Besiktas so that the lads will hopefully have regained their lost confidence/motivation by the time we face Arsenal next week. Otherwise we will need Arsenal to lose several more players for us to have a chance !

Does Benitez tell the boys not to bother ?

There's been many bizarre and plausible reasons offered throughout the media for Liverpools recent slump in form. But the most bizarre one is from Rafa himself !

He says the problem is a tactical one and that he's responsible for that. Ok fair enough, perhaps... or perhaps not !

Given what I see with my own eyes in each game I can only infer that Rafa is therefore telling the players not to perform on the pitch. Watching the Reds lately has been almost painful, they lack confidence and seemingly motivation to perform.

If that's a result of Rafas tactics then I hope the boys disobey him this weekend and perform like motivated men ;-)

Didn't Rafa learn his lesson first time ?

How many times have you heard about signing the next Zidane etc, well how about this time the next Milan Baros.

According to the Italian press, Liverpool and Arsenal are chasing the signature of Czechoslovakian Martin Fenin who impressed in the under 20 World Cup. Normally when someone mentions the next Super Duper player, I roll my eyes and think oh no not again, but this time instead of associating him with a great player, they're associating him with one who's prone to run into blind alleys !

If he is the next Baros, hopefully Arsenal will beat us to his signature ;-)

I wanna know how you scored that goal !

John Carew landed Riise a right hook on their team bus last year ! I can only assume they have kissed and made up as now Carew claims that John Arne Riise is no longer happy at Liverpool and that the pair of them linking up at Aston Villa is a distinct possibility.

Riise has a tendancy to score some phenomenal goals, which has endeared him to Reds fans the world over, so his leaving would be kind of sad :-(

I wonder what it is with teammates trying to knock the stuffing out of the poor lad (Carew & Bellamy), maybe it's because he has never told us how he scored 'that' goal ;-)

Lots of fixture changes for the Reds

That's the beauty of the 'live' season calendar (top left of www.myanfield.net), with Sky Sports and Setanta Sports changing the times and dates of several LFC games, it's easy for those of you who don't already check it out to keep track of these changes as they arise ;-)

The most significant one being the game with Manchester United being put back to December 16th, Reading and Manchester City were also changed. The previously scheduled New Years day game with Wigan Athletic has been put back (watching football with a new years hangover has never been much fun).

Can the Crouch stop being a Grouch ?

With his poor attitude and performance this season, there's been no shortage of rumours that he'll be leaving in January.

I mentioned a few days ago that the one thing I fear most when international breaks come up is injuries. Kuyt (hamstring) and Torres (muscle strain) will both be out of action over the next week or two.

Which leaves us with 2 recognised strikers (well 3 if you include Babel), in Voronin I feel we have a very capable striker, however, in Crouchie we seem to have someone who can't be bothered lately especially against Marseille (we really would have been better off without him on the pitch that night!).

Yet come next Saturday against Everton we could find ourselves with having to place our trust in him to perform, but can we ?

Remember Harry Kewell ? He's back...

Benitez has confirmed that the injury plagued player will be back training in a few days. When Kewell is on form, there can be no denying he's an excellent player with experience, who can pass, shoot, dribble and give us the penetration we need down either flank.

Hopefully with his contract due to run out and claiming that he wants to stay with the Reds he will be very motivated to perform when given his chances. This should provide for some interesting competition between himself Babel, Pennant and Benayoun.

Competition for every place is what Benitez has been striving towards and we're just about there now, hopefully our recent blip can be put aside and the Reds can march to the title come season end :-)

Reds Starlet: Paul Anderson in demand

The talented and very pacy young winger has turned in to a goal scoring machine since joining Swansea City on a season long loan, he's hit 6 goals already ! The Swansea Evening Post reports that Swansea City want to make the deal a permanent one, can't really blame them can you.

Hopefully Liverpool FC won't let the 19 year old leave so soon, although he would command a seven figure transfer fee, we would be better off retaining him, maybe loan him out again next season to a Championship/Premiership side (League One is probably too easy for him). The resulting experience could do one of two things, either increase his transfer fee or better yet he may prove good enough to play for the Reds first team :-)

International injuries rear their ugly head

It's the one thing I fear most whenever the international break comes up, that we might suffer a 'break' with one of our top stars. Fernando Torres picked up a knock to his left ankle and sat out yesterdays training session with Spain. While they expect him to be fit for Saturdays match, they concede that his situation will be reassessed for the friendly next week.

Erm, that's nice but it's LFC who pay his wages whether injured or not, how about letting him sit out the Finland friendly (surely an easy win for Spain) to avoid aggravating the injury. That way we might have a fit and able Torres for our derby with Everton saturday week !

FIFA could open the door for Mascherano

Thanks to the protracted wranglings over the Carlos Tevez transfer, FIFA decided yesterday that it was time to look at how restrictive third party (eg MSI) ownership of a player can hinder transfers. They haven't publicly revealed exactly what their proposed solution is going to be other than to say it will be "simple and effective".

It's certainly no secret that LFC have an option with MSI to purchase the economic rights and player registration of Mascherano for £17 million before June 30 2008. However LFC will probably proceed with caution now that there's impending changes to be made to FIFAs regulations.

Hopefully the less restrictive regulations will translate into a lower transfer fee making it easier for us to strengthen in other areas too.

Injured Kuyt might miss Everton game

The Dutch FA confirmed yesterday that Dirk Kuyt will miss both their games (Romania & Slovakia) due to pulling his hamstring. If he's going to be missing for both games then I doubt it's a minor strain so I can't see him making the derby next week. Everton have also lost a striker, Andrew Johnson will be out for a month after going under the knife on his ankle.

Given our strength in squad depth, losing a striker has much less impact for LFC than for Everton, however, if the lads don't get their act together soon enough it won't matter what team we field on the day !

What's with booing the Reds at Anfield ?

Granted the lads have hardly been deserving a round of applause lately but whatever happened to "You'll Never Walk Alone". It's the clubs moto, something many of us have been brought up believing in since we were little kids.

Remember Istanbul, pubs were still packed (certainly in Ireland) at 3-0 and full of YNWA being sung and everyone getting behind the team, that's how it should be (we didn't exactly play well that night either).

Moving on to present day and people don't seem to be getting behind the Reds anymore, what a shame ! Genuine title contenders is what I think we should all justifiably expect from Liverpool, given the vast sums of money spent on players and the time Rafa has had to build a complete squad. At the same time we should to continue to support the team through thick and thin.

No need to panic, at least not yet !

The Reds mini-crisis shows little sign of abating, but at least we managed to score a couple of goals today, only to conceed a couple from a childhood Red (Keano) due to some defensive lapses.

It's not unusual for teams (including the eventual champions) to go through bad patches and hopefully we'll get back on track soon enough, as in really soon ! We've got a derby coming up, followed by a tricky game against Besiktas and of course then on to Arsenal who are on fire at the moment.

Comprehensive victories against these teams will go a long way to restoring my traditional early season optimism. Its still early days yet, so I don't think the league is beyond us but we do need to string together some excellent performances to remain in contention for the title.

Liverpool's problem is one of motivation

Liverpool's form since Paco left has been truly abysmal, the players collectively go from one lack lustre display to another. Paco was the players conduit to the manager and the one person brave enough to say no to Rafa.

Publicly the players say they support Rafa but there's only a machine like emotion free communication between Rafa and them. Rafa may very well be a tactical genius but his people skills are lacking. It's all good and well having lots of great players but we need someone who can motivate them, shame none of them seem to be able to stand up and be counted by themselves !

I'm a believer in the rotation system when you have the right players (we do), but I'm a much bigger believer in good motivators (we lack one) and its neglecting that aspect which will cost us the big trophies this year !

The Reds secret sauce has been revealed

I can't help but wonder what trade secrets Cisse & Zenden have revealed to their new club. Many companies these days have their employees sign NDA's to prevent them talking the talk once they leave. If only LFC would follow suit as Benitez himself has voiced his concerns over their knowledge.

I fear Marseille are by now fully aware that we change our team every single game and are prepared for the unexpected. Damn, there goes that element of surprise I was hoping for, that little cutting edge we'd require to beat them at home.

Normally I'm a proponent of rotation but perhaps tonight whats needed is a little unpredictability, we should play the same team as our last game !

His Lordship returns to Anfield tomorrow

Former club record signing Djibril Cisse is set to return to Anfield tomorrow night with Marseille, he's apparently concerned that the anfield faithful will boo him ! I'm no psychologist but I reckon the best way to ensure that doesn't happen is to NOT score against Liverpool ;-)

He says it will be an emotional experience for him to meet and play against his former teammates, thats ok Cisse, we understand, again please don't score !

The man of many hairdos never did quite cut it at Anfield, but let's not kid ourselves he has bags of pace and is well capable of scoring, something to which Hyypia recently attested (he spent 2 years marking him in training).

Former LFC players often feel a point to prove upon returning to Anfield and subsequently up their game, "break a leg" Cisse ;-)