Musings on the Bolton match

Set piece defending is still a problem area for us as we continue to leak goals. This is because of certain players not pulling their weight and not because of zonal defending as the media would have you believe.

Our opponents in Group E

Lyon are probably the trickiest team we'll face. For the first time in 8 years, they didn't win their league last season, but they still have some dangerous players (Bastos, Gomis, and Lopez).

The enigma of Voronin

Voronin is certainly someone who flatters to deceive. His form in the Bundesliga proves he has the basic ingredients to be a decent striker, but he hasn't carried that form over to the Premiership.

Musings on the Villa match

The harsh reality is that this was yet another poor performance for us. Even though we dominated the play, we were wasteful in possession and lacked the creativity required to break down a Villa side who played well.

Musings on the Stoke match

There was a very stark contrast between our 0-0 draws with Stoke last season and last nights emphatic 4-0 victory. Also it was the perfect response to the disappointment of losing to Spurs.

Surprise signing of Sotirios Kyrgiakos

Hands up if any of you really thought we would sign Sotirios Kyrgiakos to shore up our defense. Nah, I didn't think so. None of us saw it coming.

Special mask for Martin Skrtel

I had a really bad feeling when Carragher and Skrtel clashed heads on Sunday. Not as bad as I'm sure they had, but you know what I mean. Turns out he didn't actually break his jaw, it's just heavily cracked.

Musings on the Spurs match

I know alot of people don't like it when I say things like this, but Spurs probably deserved the 3 points. Yes we should have been awarded another penalty in the 86th minute, but we've been down this road before and referring decisions balance themselves out over the course of a season.

Let the new season begin

It's been a very long summer without football, fortunately the wait is almost over. This will be the 6th year in a row we don't get to kick off the season at Anfield, which kinda sucks but I guess it's no big deal.

Long winded season previews

Regular readers are no doubt all too familiar with my preference for concise posts. With that in mind, I thought I'd take my own shot at a season preview (seeing as everyone else is doing one).

Nothing to see here, no injury crisis

On the surface our injury list doesn't make for good reading, but dig a little deeper and you'll see it's nothing to be too concerned about. Riera, Carragher and Gerrard had minor injuries and should all be fit this week.

Lucas Leiva in the making

The stand out player during pre-season, definitely had to be Lucas Leiva. He has beefed up physically, and we're now looking at a player who is a lot stronger, more confident and comfortable in his play.

Mixed emotions about Alberto Aquilani

LFC has been given permission by Roma to discuss personal terms with Aquilani. Even though he's an extremely talented player, the physical nature of the Premiership could prove problematic for him.

Undisclosed to save face for LFC or Real

Thankfully the whole Alonso saga is now over, so I won't ramble any further on the topic. But one thing which did catch my eye about LFC's announcment, is that the terms of the deal will remain undisclosed.

Remember, it's still only pre-season

So far pre-season has produced some lacklustre displays and poor results. Losing 3-0 against Espanyol was the worst of the lot. But it really doesn't matter and certainly isn't worth losing any sleep over it.

Building fitness is what's important, and not the result. Think of these games as glorified training sessions to give the lads a bit of a workout. Realistically these games won't negatively impact player confidence, so no harm done.

The only thing to be concerned about at this stage, is probably our midfield situation. With only a couple of weeks remaining before the league starts, we need this sorted out asap.