Nothing can be salvaged.

I realize its been a while since a new post was uploaded on 'What Can Be Salvaged?', but it was necessary to round it up at a neat ten posts,depicting the success or lack of this season.

So at this stage it is firmly established that answer to the blog's question is absolutely nothing. That's right Liverpool fans. Have a good think now and try and pick out one positive aspect of this season. well? You couldn't do it could you? I didn't think so. In a season full of despair, injuries, poor and performance the only thing its given Liverpool fans is a realistic view that the team is simply not good enough.

So since the last post which was somewhat optimistic as the side beat Benfica to progress to the semi finals of the Europa League, Liverpool have shut the door on success town and instead find themselves sitting in land of those averageness. Kind of like the Match of the Day 2 analysts. You know who they are, and realize that they are trying but you just know it's never going to happen for them. The first indication that Liverpool would salvage nothing came in the game just after the Benfica win when they took on Fulham. The game was literally 90 minutes of Liverpool taking shots. Fulham's players, bar the goalkeeper may as well have stayed at home with a cup of tea and some jaffa cakes watching Casualty. Then the wins at West ham(3-0) and at Burnley(4-0) gave some hope but had they not beaten the two there is a good chance there is a good chance there may have been mass protests/suicides on behalf of the Liverpool fans. Not literally of course, just to clear up the fact that I'm not making light at suicide, merely that Burnley's football this season makes one kind of ashamed that they enjoy football.

It is difficult to criticize Burnley however, when the game against Athletico Madrid showed the potential Liverpool had to be truly everything thats wrong with football. They mixed the no effort, no technique, no excitement with almost no football(pretty difficult to carry out in a game of football but they were close) in a way that would seem similar to the defensive Italian 'hard to break down' structure apart from the fact that the defense was as flimsy as Djibril Cisse's leg(the one that kept breaking, I'm sure the other one is strong as an ox). Not to mention the fact that the Athletico goal was as poor as they come, as the ball struck former Man Utd man Diego Forlan on the shoulder as he tried to header it and the sat up for an easy finish. The hope that the 2nd leg in Anfield would prove a very different game. Liverpool did improve but really shot themselves in the foot (which is kind of a bad thing as you obviously need your foot in football). Instead of finishing off the game before extra time, they drew, forcing extra time and scored within five minutes of the restart. Leaving many of us with the the puzzle of ''WHY FOR THE LOVE OF SHANKLY DIDN'T THEY DO THIS BEFORE EXTRA TIME''. As expected the already exhausted Liverpool team were unable to keep Athletico out and Diego Forlan's 2nd goal of the tie put Athletico through to the finals. Livepool just ran out of steam. And the substitutions really did not help the cause. The introduction of El Zahr and Degen proved the shocking lack of depth in the Liverpool squad. Finally the last home game of the season with title challengers Chelsea led to the official 'Nothing can be salvaged' status at Liverpool F.C. The idiotic rumours that Liverpool wanted to lost so that Man Utd would have less chance of winning the league were almost seemed realistic as they took on Chelsea. A bright start from the players showed the potential for an exciting and important game. But when Chelsea scored the first goal the game seemed to be over. It seemed they felt there was no reason to try anymore. And ultimately became a bore. Finally todays 0-0 draw at Hull made watching paint dry look like a laser show in a strip club on Valium whilst listening to the Prodigy's song 'Firestarter'. Steven Gerrard's one exciting effort that clippped the post in the 90th minute was about all Liverpool fans could cheer for. Apart from one of the worst seasons in a long time being finished.

So what exactly caused this horrendous season!? A mixture of poor management, low quality in the squad, problems with the owners and overall a lack of heart. I know this gives the blog a kind of Wizard of Oz vibe but its true. Crucially the team lacked any creativity in the midfield. Lucas and Mascherano are both defensive and with Stevie G playing off the striker, there was no decisive passing coming from the center, there was simply no way Liverpool could hope to play anywhere near the standard of last season. The sale of Xabi Alonso damaged the club. Aquilani was brought to the club injured and unfit. He therefore could not be the immediate replacement. Lucas coming in to replace Alonso was not working and even when Aquilani had recovered, Lucas was still favoured. This left Gerrard and Torres isolated up front. In the few games Gerrard returned to the middle of the pitch, there was more creativity. By the time he had been dropped back however, the season was almost lost and Gerrard really looked like he was fed up. The whole story is easily seen when you compare the 50 points dropped this season compared to the 28 last season. So next season Liverpool fans will be expecting a huge improvement. Huge changes will need to be made and the purchase of new and worthy players is vital. In particular a striker, a winger( perhaps 2) and a left back. Progression is needed. The biggest clubs have a mixture of financial backing and excellent management. This year both of these aspects have been questionable at Liverpool.

So now as the final whistle goes at the final disappointing Liverpool game of the season and many of the players and perhaps the manager say their farewells, 'What can be salvaged' will also bid thee farewell.

Thanks so much for reading and for the nice words on the blog. Its been a bit of a difficult season, and incredibly hard to write about but keep optimistic and don't give up on the team. Perhaps ,one day, the owners will sell the club to a decent and wealthy Liverpool fan who will bring instant success to the club. And maybe we will look back on this season and laugh. Or maybe it would be better to just block it out, pretend it never happened.

Also Congratulations Chelsea, thanks for stopping those Man Utd scallywags from beating our record. Perhaps someday in the not to distant future Liverpool can be the club to stop our rivals taking our record rather than leaving it to other clubs.

I shall leave you with an inspirational Shankly quote that will hopefully be said to the players and perhaps wake them up next season!

Shankly: ''A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe you are the best and then make sure you are.''

Cheers for the last time, Dec

Through to Semi's after emphatic victory

Liverpool progress through to the semi-finals of the Europa League after thrashing Benfica 4-1 at home. A satisfying result and performance ensured the victory, even though it seemed a replica of Manchester Utd's result against Munich was on the cards. Thankfuly Liverpool showed enough quality to kill the game off and are now two victories away from their first piece of silverware since the Fa cup in 2006.

Liverpool were without the suspended Ryan Babel and Emilano Insua, not that many people were worried as the two have been poor lately with all the panicking and face touching they have been doing. What did worry fans was the sight of Fernando Torres limping early on. However he shook off the injury and played on. After a slow start to the game it was Benfica who started the better, passing extremely well and putting pressure on Liverpool's make shift back four. Yet half chances were as far as either team were getting, with Torres's glancing header floating wide and Di Maria being unable to find the net with his effort. The deadline was broken in the 27th minute when Dirk Kuyt beat Benfica keeper Julio Cesar from a corner. Despite the linesman raising his flag to dissallow goal, the referee decided it was legite and the goal stood. Rightfuly so, considering it would be very difficult to get yourself in an offside position from a corner, although I'm sure Filipo Inzaghi would find a way. He loves his offsides. Liverpool then took the initiative again after a superb move, Gerrards excellent through ball found Lucas who beat the keeper and slotted the ball into the empty net. Liverpool fans were equally shocked by the excellent performance and the fact Lucas had scored. Benfica began getting frustrated as Liverpool crowded them out and got back in numbers. The Portugese club nearly leveled the tie just before half time when Ramires's shot deflected off Lucas and Benayoun and went narrowly wide. In the second half the scruffy stage began, as Benfica played sloppy football and Liverpool applied further pressure. Benfica were punished again after a few panicky incidents, Liverpool caught them on the break and Fernando Torres finished a fantastic move. Everything seemed perfect for Liverpool but an Oscar Cardozo free kick seemed to have dented that. The Paraguayan smashed the ball through the wall as Gerrard turned his back and beat Pepe Reina.This meant that Benfica needed just one goal to go through on away goals, as Munich had done the nght before. And what followed was a few nervy moments for Liverpool until the increased their lead again and ended the game. Fernando Torres's excellent finish beat Benfica's sub keeper after Julio Cesar left the pitch with a bizarre injury. At 4-1, the game was over. Benfica stopped playing their excellent pass and move football. The result was exactly what Liverpool deserved as the performance was one to be proud of.

At the beginning of the game it seemed the teams were playing contrasting football as Benfica used short passing and lots of movements, where as Liverpool seemed to have started with a direct manor, hitting long balls up to Torres. The goals Liverpool scored were excellent examples of how to play football. Fast and concise passing and excellent movement in to space. The Liverpool players also showed how to play when your tea doesn't have the ball as they hounded the Benfica players constantly. Benfica's Torres bashing tactic was undone and they struggled to create ay clear cut chances. Kyrgiakos was excellent, marking Cardozo out of the game and Dan Agger had an excellent game at left back as it allowed him to push forward a lot. Players such as Cardozo and Di Maria who were so effective in the first leg failed to make an impact this time. Overall the class difference in Leagues was exposed as Benfica, top of the Portugese league were hammered by a Liverpool team strugglin in the english league. (See i didn't even mention our position). The game wasn't really a thriller because apart from the goals there was few chances but any game with 5 goals entertains the winning side. But what was different about Liverpool in this game? They were more positive. Not to mention solid at the back. It seemed every player was really up for the game. Torres's finishing was top notch once again and the service to him was of high order again rather than the ball launched upfield. Perhaps also the fact that Torres remained on the pitch past the 60th minute. Not to be critical but had Ngog been in the same positions I'm not so sure he would have finished it. But Rafa will have to encourage that sort of football and hope the players form continues into the last five Premier League games and the semi final tie. All games are must wins at this stage!

So Rafa moves closer to getting his third Liverpool trophy and if he does so the season won't be seen as a total disaster. Since Liverpool have drawn Atheletico Madrid in the semis there is still a job to do before the fans can start getting excited about the silverware. An all English final is till on the cards after Fulham also progressed to the semis. So when watching Liverpool versus Fulham his weekend keep in mind it could be a Europa League final rehearsal. Not something either of the fans would have expected going into this season.But overall a good week for Liverpool. So heres hoping they continue and get a fairytale ending by getting 4th and the cup.Thanks for reading this weeks 'What can be salvaged?' . Next game is Fulham, and should make for some good 'This could be a Europa League final paractice' talk.
Yours,
living in hope, Dec

Champions League hopes dented again!

Liverpool's Champions League hopes were dented once again today following some slack defending and finishing in the 1-1 draw with Birmingham. They now trail Tottenham by three points and Man City by four points and have played a game more than the two. This is yet another poor result in
a season that has most people acting in a Roy Hodgson manorism, leaving chairs worldwide dented (I just saw Roy kicking a chair after conceding a goal so I thought I'd toss that in).

Liverpool seemed to have started the stronger, limiting Birmingham to half chances and creating one or two goal scoring oppertunities. The highlight of this being Maxi Rodriguez's cracking shot that was pushed on to the bar wonderfuly by should-be England goal keeper, Joe Hart. The football leading to this effort was arguably the best of the game and dissapointingly almost a highlight of the season. . .its been a pretty bad season. Liverpool could not find a way through Birmingham's back line and the poor free kicks and cornes were'nt helping. They seemed to have had a bad of Nani-itus with the quality of set pieces on display. It's a genuine condition, consult your local doctor if you cant lift the ball over the first man on the near post. Birmingham nearly went ahead when Pepe Reina failed to deal with a deep cross by James McFadden and Roger Johnson rose above the Liverpool defence but the center back could only head the ball wide.Birmingham then took advantage of Lucas's inability to find a forward pass and created a few half chances before half time. It was Liverpool who struck first however, just two minutes into the second half. Glen Johnson's mishit shot found Gerrard who turned Lee Bowyer and curled his shot into the far corner. Birmingham fought back however and leveled just under ten minutes later. Some terrible marking allowed Liam Ridgewell to sneak in at the back post and tap in McFadden's excellent cross. If Liverpool fans were upset by the goal, then the substitution of Fernando Torres in the 65th minute didn't to much to ease their nerves. The Spaniard was replaced by David Ngog much to the disgust to Liverpool and Birmingham fans as David Ngog isnt exactly the Fonz in the eyes of Birmingham supporters. The Liverpool fans weren't alone in their confusion of Torres sub, as the look on Steven Gerrard's face gave off a sort of WTF look as scratched his head. Liverpool pressed for a second goal for the remainder of the game and but for an accidental goal line clearence by Liverpool sub Aquilani, Maxi would have bagged his first and Liverpools second. A number of chances from Maxi,Ngog, Babel and an excellent oppertuniy for Birmingham's Lee Bowyer but he wasted from about 6 yards. The following was what will be remembered ,if Liverpool fail to achieve 4th spot this season, as the defining moment (not that it perticularly was, but when people think back to where the points were dropped that chance will be number one in the flashback library). David Ngog was presented with a golden chance from Dirk Kuyt, but Ngog could only scuff his shot and cause football fans worldwide to sigh. I'm sure even the David Ngog bebo fan club must have been somewhat upset. (Don't believe me? Go check! Theres at least 4 for him!) This game will be seen as two points lost rather than one gained and many Liverpool fans and players alike will surely begin questioning Benitez's decisions and future.

So at the moment it seems Liverpool will actually struggle to salvage anything which will lead to people logging on to see what has been written on 'What can be salvaged?' and to find the words ''Nothing. THE END'' written. So what went wrong today? Well basically Torres looked isolated because of the excellent defensive work from Birmingham's two center backs, so instead of sending an extra body up to support him, Rafa replaced him with a lesser striker (not that i dislike Ngog, but I'd prefer a tired and off form Torres with one leg, to him). But Rafa claims Torres was exhausted and that he wished he could have had Ngog's movement and Torres's finishing. Unfortunately Liverpool's scientists have not yet discovered how to morph players together leaving our hopes of Torgog(Torres and Ngog) a distant prospect. Yet Rafa did make the right decision by dropping Gerrard back to center midfield as Liverpool had more creativity since sliced bread was invented (seems like that long since Alonso left). The problem is that Stevie should be playing in there with Mascherano, because this allows Stevie to drive further forward rather than worry who the man next to him will drag down next. So now with five games left its even to Rafa that five wins out of five is needed. And he is right in the fact that there are still a lot of points to gain. This would be perfect if the other teams did not have this oppertunity, or if they were all Portsmouth and could only field 13 players.

Thanks for reading this weeks post. Next game will be Benfica, a vital part of the season and this blog. Will Liverpool trow away their last chance for silverware this season? Will this blog be very critical of Lucas because I'm fed up with the defensive approach? And what can be salvaged? (I know thats kind of corny, but I ran out of questions and then remembered that the title was also a question). So Liverpool fans, be sure from now on to say a quick prayer to the Liverpool God, not Robbie Fowler, the other guy!
Yours,
Dec

Javier is man of the Masch, but is Ryan B-able?

Thats right, Liverpool's 2-1 loss to Benfica today warrents a double pun headline. Despite taking an early lead Liverpool were second best throughout the hugely dramatic game. Javier Mascherano, whos hard work led to much post match praise, was the star of the night. Where as Ryan Babel's idiotic dismissal made him the villain, or at least the village idiot, and it may cost him dearly.

All work and no class, make Liverpool the losing team, a sentence that sums up the match. Liverpool started well and were ahead within the first ten minutes. Steven Gerrard was brought down just outside the box after driving towards the Benfica goal. Th resulting free kick was one to remember as Gerrard played a low pass to the feet of Dan Agger, who dispatched a cheeky flick towards goal. Liverpool's defence looked creaky as Benfica's Angel Di Maria and Oscar Cardozo began to find space and create chances. On the 30th minute drama struck when Fernando Torres was smashed down by Benfica captain Luisao. Luisao was not at all happy with being booked for this and made his feelings clear. Ryan Babel then reacted angrily and twice raised his hand to Luisao's face. The referee had no other choice but to send the winger off and upon seeing this Rafa Benitez looked infuriated. I imagine at Ryan Babel for leaving the team to play the remaining game with 10 men, rather than at the decision. The drama was not finished there however as just five minutes later Fernando Torres scored what seemed a perfectly acceptable goal, but it was ruled out because Dirk Kuyt was apparently offside. Benfica were incredibly lucky not to be two goals behind but at the same time were very wastful. At one stage Benfica's Ramires was outside the box with at least three options but instead chose to chip it straight to the edge of Reina's box, maybe he thought Liverpool were impervious to defending lobs. In the second half Cardozo had excellent chances to level the scored but had to wait until the 59th minute to get off the mark. Goal scorer Dan Agger brought Cardozo down on the edge of the box and the resulting free kick led to Insua conceding a penalty. Benfica's Aimar looked set to bury the rebounded free kick when Insua , who had a horrendus game, kicked through his legs. Cardozo dispatched the penalty passed the helpless Reina. Benfica started to domnate but Liverpool had an excellent chance to go ahead when Fernando Torres was one on one with the Benfica keeper but dragged his shot wide. Shorty after Benfica were awarded another penalty after an accidental handball, which Cardozo cooly converted. The game ended dissapointingly after that, but does make for an intresting second leg at Anfield, where there will be no Ryan Babel.... oh no . . .

So Benfica's Torres bashing tactic seems to have worked and Liverpool's negative one seems to have failed once again. Maybe its just me but after an impressive performance and 3 goals against Sunderland, I was hoping for more of the same. And after the dismissal of Ryan Babel, the midfield seemed to scream out for Gerrard to be moved to the middle and a winger to be put out on the left. But putting Gerrard out on the left seemed to take him out on the game and made him babysit Insua. That left Torres totally isolated and alone. Liverpool did however contiuely battle and refused to be walked all over. Actually they were the complete opposite, especially Jamie Carragher, who took the saying so literally that he attempted to walk on Oscar Cardozo at one stage (possibly mistaking him for a stairs. . . Jamie is getting older!). Javier Mascherano and Dirk Kuyt in particular were the hardest workers amongst the group, constantly chasing and hounding the opposition. But unfortunately Liverpool still lack that cutting edge most other top sides have. Overall this result is not a bad one. It could have been better but the officials seemed to be slightly biased towards the home side. I don't blame them though. They were obviously intimidated by the rough crowd throughing missles (small balls of paper) on to the pitch! They must have been reliving their school days (which are hard for junior referees, living in the shaddows of the actual footballers), as they were almost hit with these scary paper balls! Although the 'Ming The Merciless' official (pictured right) didn't seem too scared. Liverpool need to more adventurous in the return leg and might go down slight favourites because of the away goal. But Benfica will surely make it a difficult tie and Liverpool fans can only hope there will be no repeat of 2006 when Benfica beat them 2-0 at home.

So Liverpool results are becoming as random as Sven Goran Eriksson's jobs (so from Notts County football director of football to Ivory Coast boss. . . oooooh! I see the link now). But its time to bounce back from another defeat and beat Birmingham in the next Premier League game. The fact that many managers and critics have made the run in a three horse race and that Martin O Neill has hinted he might no be at Villa net year, seems to have eliminated one oponent. So one down, two to go, which is kind of the case in the relegation battele. (Portsmouth mourning). Once again though 'What can be salvaged?' will end with a plea to Rafa to finish the season in a more attacking style. Take the game to the opposition. Finish them off. And sell Ryan Babel to anyone who will take him at the end of the season!

Thanks for reading this weeks post. Next one against Birmingham should be a hum-dinger (first time I've ever used that word) and we'll get to hear the bad commentators make that oh-so hilarious connection between Benitez the Liverpool manager and Benitez the Birminham striker. Yup, we never get sick of that one.
Yours, angry at Ryan Babel-fuly
Dec

Maxi-mum points and a good performance!

Rafael Benitez remains confident that 4th place and UEFA Champions League football are still within Liverpool's reach after a 3-0 win over Sunderland today. He also hailed Maxi Rodriguez after one of the winger's best performances for Liverpool.

''He is a very good signing for the team'', Benitez said. ''He has game intelligence and can keep the ball. He can play in three different positions and works very hard. He is very positive in his approach. I am really pleased with him and he has been good for the team'' he continued. The performance will be seen as part of an overall good team performance, which hasn't been said very much this season. After Liverpool confirmed the 4-4-2 line up and threatened as early as fourty seconds into the game, one could only feel that they were bound to push on and dominate the game. Thirty five minutes and two goals later the possesion statistics showed Liverpool had 71% of the all to Sunderland's measily (a word that also describes Tony Mowbray's Celtic manager record) 29%. Fernando Torres put Liverpool in the lead, just three minutes into the game, with a wonder goal. The Spaniard cut inside Sunderland's Michael Turner and placed the ball in the top corner of the Sunderland goal. The oppertunity was delivered by Pepe Reina's hoof (similar to the ol 'Jack Charlton hoof' that Irish football fans may remember), but the finish thereafter was exquisite. This was followed by a barage of chances from Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Dan Agger, who seemed to run through Sunderland players willingly as if they were ghosts or worse, West Ham players. Eventually Sunderand fell apart and Glen Johnson's shot deflected off Turner, beating Craig Gordon. Torres then bagged his 2nd and Liverpool's third. As amazing as his 1st goal was, this one as equally as impressive. Torres dinked a beautiful effort past the helpless Craig Gordon, who had about as much of a say on the game as Benjani (yup, he's at Sunderland now and his lack of appearences helps my point further!) after being fed by the ever present Johnson.

Strangely Liverpool's control lasted the entire game. So what was different about Liverpool in this game compared to the rest of the season? Well number 1: Steven Gerrard was put back in the center, which should have been done when Alonso left and Aquilani was unavailable, but it only took Rafa 32 games to realise that(well better that than to take 30 games to realise Mowbray shouldn't be a Celtic manager. And number 2: The shackles and Liverpool played attacking football. Rafa even had the guts to bring on Aquilani, El Zahr and Ngog, who had time to miss a sitter... yay. Three attacking players brought on when the team was already 3-0 up which is completely unlike Benitez. It is doubtful however that he will continue this sysem because when important games arise Rafa is far too cautious. Thats why a £17million attack minded Italian midfielder sits on the bench while a £6million not too sure what-minded Brazilian(yeah strange isn't it) starts most games. This attacking approach appears to benefit a majority of the players, in particular Maxi who gave his finest performance for Liverpool, although it could have been the poor opposition. But frankly he linked up well with the other players and got involved as much as he could. Rafa claimed "Maxi can be a big difference. If you get clever movement from him, it can help us'', and although it sounds sort of gramatically wrong, he is right. Maxi has plenty of experience and seems to fit well into the team. Surely the form players such as Torres and Maxi and this attack minded approach,if it lasts, will drive Liverpool onward, hopefully to fourth.

The form of the other teams have led to some encouragement for Liverpool fans lately. With Villa being destroyed by Chelsea and our rivals Everton helping us out by beating City something may be salvaged! Firmly ahead by 7 points, some would favour Tottenham but they still have to play Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. So th 09/10 season has the potential to be one of the most exciting in the Premier League for many years. The 4th place battle has the potential to be a major success story for one cluband if Liverpool were to achieve this it would be an inspirational end (i know that would follow the pathetic start but at least it wouldn't be a Mowbray season [patetic start and pathetic finish]. And an inspirational end to this blog would suite me better than a melancholic end with flashbacks of where it all went wrong.

Nothing is for sure yet apart from the thrilling run in to the end of the season. So Livrpool have to keep on battling and winning and if things go their way 4th place might just be salvaged. So thanks for reading this week's edition of 'What can be salvaged?'. Next edition will be Thursday for the Benfica game, I'll be back discussing the game,tactics and lack of Riera (have fun in Russia where its about as cold as a witches tit) and maybe make another snide comment about Tony Mowbray's unsuccesful Celtic season. I'm just kidding Tony, I'm sure you'll be successful someday. . .

Yours, Dec (The Mowbray basher)

No walk in the Park for Liverpool

Rafa Benitez has revealed his fears of the struggle for a fourth place (extremely suprising...) spot in the Premier League after a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford. The winning goal scored by Park Ji-Sung came as quite a blow to Liverpool who now sit 4 points behind fouth place Tottenham who have a game in hand and just 1 point ahead of both Man City and Aston who have also played less games. (What a dreadful weekend for football, first Stan sacked from Darlington and now this). Leaving Liverpool with an incredibly difficult run in to the end of the season.

Despite taking the lead in the fifth minute, the team never got going. Lucas returned to his defensive midfield role meaning Liverpool returned to a negative shape. They retreated to the good ol 'we play worse football than you but we might just nick this' style Rafa Benitez seems to be fond of and unfortunately it was unsucessful. Some terrible marking by the Manchester United back line allowed Fernando Torres to head home a percise Dirk Kuyt cross (hmm that isn't said often). But United were soon level after referee Howard Webb(pictured right in his most favourite-est jersey) awarded United a peno after Mascherano's fouled Antonio Valencia, even though the incident seemed to take place outside the box. Despite the efforts of Pepe Reina (and Fernando Torres who returned to his box and clearly kicked a chunk out of the ground where the penalty was to be taken), Rooney scored the rebound after the original shot was saved. The tempo dropped somewhat after that (thanks a lot guys, how will I fill the rest of this blog now?) and after a few kicks in what was a dull start to the second half Liverpool began to feel the pressure. In the 60th minute Darren Fletcher floated in a beautiful cross which was met by the brave head of Park Ji-Sung through a sea of flying boots (sounds like a Kung-foo movie) and after missing a simple header earlier on in the game, he made no mistake with the second effort. Liverpool were gifted a chance to equalize near the end of the game when Fernando Torres got on the end of a Steven Gerrard cross but could only scuff his shot into the air which substitue Benayoun could not convert. This was one of very few chances Liverpol got today because a pure lack of creativity. Steven Gerrard was no where to be seen, instead there was a sign reading ''be back after World Cup....maybe''. The introduction of Aquilani and others was left far too late and they made little impact. All and all a poor performance, a poor season and now a poor position for Livepool.

The passion in todays game was questionable. Jamie Carragher seemed the only outfield Liverpool player who gave his all today. But while the game seemed to flounder on the pitch, the heated battle for toughest manager (sounds like a bad series hosted by Danny Dyer) seemed to begin on the sidelines with Rafa and Fergie exchanging unpleasentries like a more tidy 8 mile. Ultimately Fergie won when he questioned why Rafa started Lucas and Rafa choked. (8 mile sequal perhaps, 8th spot or maybe something a bit more witty?) Strangely Benitez seemed to have no complaints in the post match interview apart from admitting the penalty was questionable. But he seems to have accepted that Liverpools challenge for fourth spot is no longer in their own hands. Not long ago he was guaranteeing the fans 4th place and now all he can guarantee is that it wil be difficult, something someone with primary school maths skills could tell us by looking at the table. So has he lost hope? I don't think so. But Rafa is a smart (well somewhat smart) man. He knows the odds are against him, he knows that the board situation is far from perfect and he certainly knows other clubs are intrested in his services. For now the only thing he can do is concentrate on a tough Europa League campaign and keep winning in the league. As for the players hunger for the game, it definately seems to be fading by the game (like Stevies involvement!). However with a trophy still on the line we may see a somewhat motivated team at the end of the season.

Thanks for reading this weeks post, I'm sorry it was kind of short and sweet (well actually quite bitter considering the outcome of the game) but unfortunately the lads gave me little to work with! I'm also sorry the post was a little late. After the horrible happenings I just couldnt bring myself to write it. I hit the bottle pretty hard when I realized Steve Staunton would no longer be the gaffern(at Darlington)!!! Actually thats untrue. I kind of chuckled and got on with my life. The Liverpool result hurt me like affairs have hurt John Terry's career though. Well although the say laughter is the best medicine I think I'd still prefer 4th place.
Yours begrudgingly,
Dec

Three-sy does it for Rafa's reds

Despite the big success story today being Fulham's whomping (mixture of whollop and thumping) of Juventus, Liverpool cruised to a 3-0 victory over a very poor Lille team.
After the last encounte between the two which saw Lille scrape through with a 1-0, a lot more was expected from Liverpool and they did not dissapoint.
Steven Gerrard leveled the tie early on from the penalty spot after Lucas was brought down in the area. Enquiries are being made into why Lucas was anywhere near the penalty area, but thankfuly he was he was brought down before he could tamely put the ball straight and snug into the the Lille keeper's grasp. Apart from the bright start the remainder of the first half was extremely cagey. Fernando Torres and Dan Agger provided most of the chances but failed to convert. Lverpool fans then had their hearts in their mouths in the thirtieth minute as last week's goal scorer Eden Hazard stormed the goal but was denied by the wonderfuly large head of Pepe Reina. The teams remained deadlocked at 1-1 on aggragate at half time, leaving the Liverpool fans looking nervy and confused as to how Lucas had gotten that far up the pitch.

Every week Steven Gerrard's form is mentioned here on 'What can be salvaged?' he seems to knock his game up a notch so considering the next opponent is Manchester United it would be crazy of me not to do so! (come on stevie, bury won next week and we'll know its thanks to this blog...) But the captain and his team made a strong start to the second half and took the lead quite soon into the half. Fernando Torres slipped a world class finish past Lille keeper Landreau to put Liverool in the lead after the defenders gifted him a great oppertunity. After that the Lille team seemed to flop like an old piece of neck skin on a windy and earthquakey day. They seemed frustrated because their link up play and final ball were Portsmouth (my new word for poor) and at times you could describe their finishng as Dirk Kuyt-esc, although Dirk quickly corrected that by smashing the ball clean over the bar on the volley from about 7 yards out without knowing that he was offside. ''You call that a miss? This is a miss!'', came to mind when Dirk hoofed the ball up into the air.

Liverpool seemed comfortable however and kept pressure on their opponents until around teh 70th minute when the players seemd to take up surrendering possesion at every oppertunity as a hobby! (In fairness I see how it can be enjoyable.) This sloppiness allowed Lille substitute Aubemayang a golden chance in front of goal which he missed causing Lille manager Rudi Garcia to whip out his old HULK impression, it was pretty scary for those who missed it. The remainder of the game was quite Portsmouth (yeah I'm really trying to make it a thing) but Torres put the game beyond doubt in the 90th minute to the relief of the fans and the manager. (Although had they have lost I would have enjoyed seeing Rafa's HULK impression). The goal was followed by a bellowing ''YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE'' from the home crowd who were clearly delighted to be back to winning ways and still in contention for a trophy of some kind.

As the week's go by at Liverpool more and more issues seem to arise. This week, just 24 hours before the clash with Lille, winger Albert Riera criticized manager Rafa Benitez on Spanish Radio and claimed Liverpool were a ''sinking ship''. So as a tribute to Mr. Riera a new feature called 'The Sinking Ship' has been added to the blog, scroll down to see. It will be an update of all controversy, mayhem and general malarky happening at the club and seeing as Liverpool's script is about as obscene as Harchester United's of Dream Team (I'm pretty sur there was murder and everything in that show), believe you me there will be plenty more added to the new feature.

So Liverpool set out to be a nuisance(or Owen Hargreaves knee's as I like to say) to Man Utd's title hopes and nothing would make the fans happier than to stop Utd from winning the league.
Thanks for reading this week's post. I will be back next week, that is if we beat Utd. I think it would be too heart breaking to write a post about a loss like that. You might find that next week the blog (just like Albert Riera's Liverpool career) may no longer exist. No but really, there will be more posts, just none about Riera playing.

Dec

Liverpool Four The Win!

Liverpool 4-1 Portsmouth, a score that will satisfy fans and the performance to go with it. With goals from the ol' reliable Fernando Torres and two more from Babel and Aquilani, which should act as a confidence boost to them, and suck the last bit of life out of Pompey. (which I originally thought Avram Grant would do as his resembelance to Dracula is quite amazing).
Liverpools season so far seems to have been one disaster after another. But tonight Liverpool showed what they were really capable of, all beit against the wounded woodland critter that is Portsmouth F.C. (Although woodland critters are probably better off financially than Pompey).

It has been little under a week since the first post from 'What can be salvaged?' and it seems the audience is wider than I thought as Steven Gerrard seems to have been reborn since he was criticized here. (Not that it was the definate difference as I have no confirmation from Stevie himself, but thats probably because he's never heard of me or this blog).
Last week Steven Gerrard's performance was so poor it warrented a bit of criticism and a large image illustrating him hiding his face, which wasn't from the same game but frankly helped prove my point. His old lively performances had many suggesting he carried the team on his back but recently he looked sluggish and tired, which suggested he had literally carried the team on his back and was now burnt out from Lucas's daily piggyback ride. (Not a gay metaphor, more a Lucas has been poor and Gerrard would have to fill in metaphor). But this week there will be no criticism and the image is now a more happy, crest slapping Stevie G.

Despite all the work Stevie put in, such as forcing the error from Pompey keeper Jamie Ashdown that lead to the first goal, he was not the star of the show. Liverpool's £17 million summer signing Alberto Aquilani put in a master class performance and bagged his first Liverpool goal. Rafa disregarded his usual negative, boring tactics when he started the attack minded midfielder with Gerrard, Ryan Babel and Maxi Rodrigez all included. And yet it seems to have paid off. Once the shackles were released Aquilani popped up everywhere becoming consistantly involved in everything good Liverpool did. Honestly, 4-1 was a flattering scoreline for Pompey considering Torres and Babel's thunderous strikes both hit the post.

The only negative happenings of the night was the poorly defended goal converted by Belhadj ,who was a contendor for Pompeys best player despite having as much influence on the game as a beach ball at a Sunderland game. (Wait no, bad choice of comparison). And also the clash which saw Gerrard clatter Pompeys Michael Brown with his elbow. It is unclear whether the incident was deliberate, but Rafa seems pretty confident it was nothing and since we have no reason to doubt him ... dot dot dot etc. These incidents are just blips on an important win that will hopefully act as a springboard to Liverpool and help maintain the form in theweek ahead (Lille on Thursday and Man Utd on Sunday).

Well thanks again for reading this edition of What can be salvaged?. As usual, the next blog article will be posted after the game. Good luck against Lille lads!
And Liverpool fans, lets hold our heads high! We beat a lifeless, struggling debt ridden team! Oh yeah! It's like kicking an injured cat, well not quite as cruel but just about as easy.

Dec

Will the real Steve Gerrard please stand up?

Another bitterly dissapointing defeat this time 1-0 at the hands of the all mighty LILLE O.S.C!!!! (thats the cynicism kicking in). And with Stevie G showing off his incredible hiding, skills we never looked dangerous.
Hazard's late, and extremely poorly defended free kick just floated past all liverpool players just as the season seems to have done so far. Despite the luck Lille got with the free kick, they looked an extremely poor team. Liverpool dominated but yet again seemed to flounder anytime they made the move towards the opposition goal! Not a superior kind of domination like beating a weaker kid to the ground , more like walking against a strong breeze and just about reaching your destination.

When it comes down to it Liverpools squad just doesn't look like they have the hunger to play for their club! With recent comments like ''I don't care if I get a new contract'', thats hardly suprising. (That one was from Carra just in case your wondering!) Don't get me wrong, I'm not doubting the teams ability to win this trophy, I just feel that the players attending the World Cup seem to realise that they are not competing for any major trophies and would rather save themselves for the World Cup and the other players...... well lets say they are below par and leave it at that.

For example, Steven Gerrard. I think he is one of the if not the best central midfielder when he wants to be. He carried us many a game! But at the moment he seems completely unintrested!
I'm not sure if he has lost faith in Rafa (like most of the fans have) or is fed up with playing poor football or being isolated in the attacking ''free role'', which seems to hinder his performance!!!

Well thanks for reading! Go enjoy Rafa's '' well i think we were better team'' press confrence. (THAT DOESNT MATTER YOU HAVE TO SCORE TO GO THROUGH! AAAAAAARGH!)
Yup they're pretty painful.
Tune in next time! Same blog time, same blog channel. (hmmm libel? nah I should be alright)
Dec

What can be salvaged?

Hi, just a quick intro to this blog. Basically, I will write up these posts after Liverpool play from today 11/3/2010 (yeah i know we just lost but if you give me a minute I'll cover that) commenting on the run in to the end of the season to see what Liverpool can salvage from this nightmare of a season.
I am a Liverpool fan so of course I will be doing the best to cheer on my beloved club, but I won't hold back with criticism and cynicism towards performances (then again no one will at the moment!).
I hope to make this an entertaining read for you all and hopefuly I'll get to create a facebook/Twitter page on which you can leave your own post, suggest improvements or argue with my view if ya want to.

Thanks
Yours Liverpool-fuly (whatever that means)
Dec