Slow News Day
By: CSD |
9 Comments Aside from Babel having a cry that he’s not getting any playing time and speculation that Aquilani might be closer to being fit than we thought, there’s not a whole lot happening during the break. There is, however, a little news on the new kit sponsor. It’s nothing new that Liverpool was looking for a shirt sponsor to replace Carlsberg that will bring more of the proverbial fat cash. It seemed that Standard Chartered Bank was the one that was going to land it, but now it looks like they might be in a bidding war with Prudential. Either way, the money will almost double what the club is getting now and bring in around £15m-a-year. That means we could buy another 6 or 7 Kyrgiakos’.So the lame question up for discussion is who would you rather have on the front of the next shirt you buy? I’ll miss Carlsberg, but it’s not that great of a beer and it’d be nice to have the kits look normal when playing in countries that ban alcohol advertising, like France. Although, Warsteiner would look cool. Someone hook that up!
Category: Team NewsStill Skeptical
By: CSD | 17 Comments Things are pretty grim when you start getting excited about a win over Bolton. To say that the team bounced back would be overstating their performance. It was looking like Liverpool were going to suffer another defeat or at least a draw until Sean Davis was sent off. With 80% possession, we have got to be playing better.The strategy Bolton was employing was man marking Gerrard. If you can shut down Gerrard, you can pretty much shut down our offence because our wings are not being used well. That is with the exception of Glen Johnson who should maybe be playing in the midfield instead of defending. Either way, is continues to show his worth after firing off a bullet from his left foot.
I thought Kyrgiakos was fairly solid in his debut. It’s hard to judge too much when someone puts on the red shirt for the first time. I think Voronin should be playing more, but I really don’t get why he drops so far back to the middle of the field if he’s supposed to be a forward. There were also a few times that he could have scored if he had read the play a bit better and been in the right spot. He’s definitely a worker and if Hertha Berlin could figure out a way to utilize him, we should be able to as well.
I still don’t like Lucas. I hope Aquilani makes a big splash in October and sends him to the bench. If Aquilani ends up being a flop or injured again, I will be depressed for the rest of the season.
Our set piece defending is still awful. It seemed to be improving last season. I’m not sure what changed, but it hasn’t been for the better. Maybe we can blame that on Xabi leaving as well.
This is a good time for an international break. We need to stop and have another look at what we’re doing without the pressure of a match coming up. Maybe Rafa will have some sort of divine inspiration and will shuffle things around before we face the mighty Burnley on September 12. After having their spirits crushed by Chelsea, they don’t look as dangerous.
Category: Team NewsThe Sound of Crickets
By: CSD | 9 Comments It has been relatively quiet around Liverpool recently. I think everyone is still speechless from the Villa catastrophe. A few things of note:We’ll be facing Lyon, Fiorentina, and Debreceni in the group stages. Debre-who? They are the league champs from Hungary. Personally, I am not familiar in the least with Hungarian football and have no idea how much of a threat they will be. I’m guessing, not a lot. It’s a breath of fresh air to have some teams that the club has never met in European competition. In theory, Liverpool should have no problem being at the top of this group, with maybe Lyon coming in second. We’ll face Debreceni first on September 16th.
One of our promising youngsters, Krisztián Németh, has been loaned to AEK Athens for a year. This is great news for him as it will give him the opportunity to get some more experience. At the moment, unless someone in our squad gets injured, it is hard to get first team action. I would like to see a few more of these deals signed for some of the others. We have a huge squad that is just kind of sitting around.
It’s off to Reebok Stadium on Saturday to face Bolton. The team should predictably bounce back before the international break. The next league game after that will be against Burnley. Why am I suddenly worried about Burnley?
I know this is kind of a crap post. Sorry =(.
LFC 1 - 3 Villa
By: CSD | 16 Comments So–yeah, about that title thing. Before everyone starts cussing the yank owners for their inability to fund an immediate replacement for Alonso, I would like to point out that we should not have to have a huge transfer budget to beat the likes of Tottenham and Aston Villa. Those teams certainly don’t. The only ones that do are Man Utd, Man City, and Chelsea.Read the rest of this entry »
The Greek, The Breakfast Club and Rappin’ Babel
By: CSD | 2 Comments Right now many in Athens, just like in Liverpool, are scratching their heads wondering what the hell just happened. Just days after pledging his allegiance to AEK Athens for the next four years, Sotiris Kyrgiakos was snapped up by Liverpool. On his official website, Kyrgiakos issued a statement explaining his decision.Read the rest of this entry »
LFC 4 - 0 Stoke, Post Match Yay!
By: CSD | 4 Comments I think the above highlights pretty much sum it all up. Liverpool totally dominated their first home game, a stark contrast from the performance on Sunday. Glen Johnson has already shown that he is worth every penny that was spent on him. I mean really, did you see that second goal? Holy shit! Daniel Ayala was nervous, but did well in his starting debut. I cannot imagine the pressure an 18 year old would feel stepping out on the pitch at Anfield with 40,000 screaming fans.
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Tags: AEK Athens, Burnley, Daniel Ayala, Glen Johnson, Liverpool, Liverpool Match Day Preview, Rafa Benitez, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Stoke City, Team NewsStoked About Stoke? Not Really
By: CSD | 1 Comment Fresh off the heart pounding, wonderful, performance on Sunday, the Reds will host Stoke City Wednesday at 3pm EST/8pm BST. Part of that last bit was sarcasm and I will give you a hint, it was not the time. To say that this season has had an ideal start would be, well, ideal. One would think that it should be. No one really picked up any knocks at the Confederations Cup, which saw Spain exit early thanks to the USA. Two big signings were made over the summer, albeit one was broken when the club bought him. Finally, what I think is the most important, this is the first time in about five seasons that we have not had to qualify to get into the Champions League.Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Alberto Aquilani, Daniel Agger, Dirk Kuyt, Javier Mascherano, Liverpool, Liverpool Match Day Preview, Martin Škrtel, Rafa Benitez, Steven Gerrard, Stoke City, Team News, Tony PulisSpurs 2 - 1 LFC Post Match, Ugh…
By: CSD | 7 Comments 
In short, that was awful. Credit to the Spurs for putting up a good fight and having a nearly impenetrable defense. Some of the officiating was unfortunate towards the end, but that’s how it goes in this league.Babel started, which was a shocker. With Benayoun available, he should have definitely been the first choice. There was much more energy when Yossi eventually came on for him, but the Reds still couldn’t put anything together. Nothing seemed to be clicking between the players. Missed passes, center backs running into each other, oh my. As if we did not have enough defenders injured, Carragher head butted Skrtel in the jaw when they went for the same ball. We’ll have to wait and find out how much damage was done to the big man, but he did not look too happy. Daniel Ayala, an 18 year old Spaniard, eventually came on for him and did pretty well.
Insua was decent and Johnson made a few runs forward that looked dangerous, one resulting in drawing a penalty after he was laid out by Spurs’ goalkeeper, Gomes. He also showed that he can put in a good cross, but unfortunately Torres couldn’t direct it in.
I think our biggest fear has come true, because the midfield is really where we were lacking today. No one showed today that they are capable of creating chances and space like Xabi Alonso could. The best of the worst would have to be Reina or Johnson. It’s a sad feeling when you have to say your keeper was one of the best performers, especially after losing.
Category: LiverpoolCome on You Reds!
By: CSD | 2 Comments I was sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I think mostly because I have been drinking light beer, when I realized that the dreary summer is over. Life without football has come to an end. Sure we have a few injuries and we’re kicking off the start of the league with a tough club, but it beats the hell out of the position we were in last season. I think it was around this time that we were wondering if we were going to make it into the Champions League or not after drawing our first match with Standard Liege. The gaffer has this eerie zen-like calmness about him. If there is a player out there that he really wants and has not been able to land for whatever reason, it is a well kept secret. The owner situation is stable for another year. The manager, back room staff, and most players are on long term deals. The only thing missing out of this equation is belief, but I’m going to stop with my negativity right now and say that I believe we have what it takes to win trophies this season. I believe that even though we may face adversity, as any club does, it is nothing we can not overcome. We are Liverpool Football Club and we’ve come to take your titles. Please engrave in a timely fashion and pass them up to the front.
A few videos to get you going:
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