LIVERPOOL CLIMB TO 5TH AS THEY WIN THE DERBY

Liverpool climb to 5th in the table after a hard-fought win against near rivals Everton at Goodison Park.

A deflected goal by Javier Mascherano on 11 minutes gave the red half of Liverpool an early lead.

The visitors then had to soak up alot of pressure from David Moyes side.

The Toffees had the ball in the net twice, only for both goals to be ruled correctly offside.

It took a brilliant double save by Pepe Reina in the second half from Everton to get the Reds to up the tempo.

The introductions of Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera to inject life into Liverpool's game.

Riera had a shot on goal from a Gerrard pass, the shot was saved by keeper Tim Howard only for Dirk Kuyt to smash home the loose ball to give Liverpool a 2-0 win.

This was a far from perfect display by Rafa's team but we emerged victorious and kept a clean sheet.

Today's win moves Liverpool up to fifth in the table, two points behind Arsenal and three behind Tottenham in third.

We play Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park next weekend.

Hopefully, we will have Fernando Torres back from injury for that one.

Liverpool have been drawn against Reading away in the FA Cup 3rd round, game to be played on the 2/3 of January, maybe Benitez will play Aquilani in that one.

My site was one year old on the 28th, here's to many more years talking about my beloved Liverpool.

LETS HOPE TORRES IS FIT TO PLAY

Merseyside derby time again this Sunday when Liverpool play Everton for a crucial three points and the bragging rights of victory in the famous old city.
While Liverpool Fc have been having a poor run of form of late, Everton currently lie in 14th on sixteen points, only four points behind us in seventh in the table on twenty points.
So its all to play for, a win for either side will see them jump up the table.
Lets hope that the Reds have top marksman Fernando Torres fit to start the game because he will, almost single handedly win the match for us.
Failing that, Alberto Aquilani is surely ready for a start in a Red jersey, a class player who is also a match-winner.
2-1 to the Reds, I hope in this match on Sunday

TORRES, GERRARD AQUILANI TO MOVE US UP THE TABLE

With all the gloom and doom around Anfield we can say one thing.
When we get our star players fit and playing together in the side then we can beat anybody.
Torres and Gerrard have been out for alot of games and new signing Alberto Aquilani has yet to start a game.
When these three players get on the pitch together, sparks will fly.
With Mascherano holding the midfield together and Aquilani and Gerrard bursting forward and Torres causing havoc upfront, we will go places again.
I would love all three to start against Everton on Sunday.
Its only November, well nearly December, but we have enough time to turn things around.
As long as we can get things right at the back again like last season, we should do well.
That's what I am hoping.
I hear the Van Nistleroy stories are all rubbish.
There is no interest from Liverpool in bringing in the crocked 33 year old Madrid striker to Anfield, thank God for that.

NIGHTMARE SCENARIO:TORRES IS SOLD TO MAKE RAFA WALK

After last night's exit from the Champion's League, Rafa Benitez's position as Liverpool boss has been hotly debated on TV and in the press.

Failure to finish fourth and qualify for next seasons CL would have catastrophic consequences for the club with an estimated minimum loss of £20 million for Liverpool.

Christian Purslow last night came on and said that Rafa's job is safe and that he is just 4 months into a new 5 year contract, so they are looking at the long term picture, rather than a knee-jerk reaction to a poor few months.

All this is very laudable and it is the Liverpool way of old, we don't sack our managers, especially not one who brought us to second in the Premier League last season.

However, should we fail to finish 4th this season, something will have to be done.

Hicks and Gillette put £350 million of debt onto the club when they bought it, scum, and simply cannot afford to pay off Benitez's contract.

There is a ground-zero, nuclear option however.

Rafa said, out of the blue, last week , that if Fernando Torres is sold, he would quit Liverpool.

Hicks and Gillette would pick up £75 million for our star striker, which would help pay off some of our debt.

Rafa would then walk away, meaning they would not have to pay off his £20 million contract.

They could then look for a new manager without being strapped for cash, as they are now.

Doomsday scenario, I want Rafa to stay as , despite everything, I still think he is the right man for the job

But if we don't finish 4th, I fear the worst.

LIVERPOOL CRASH OUT OF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Despite a victory in Debrecini, Liverpool fail to progress to the next phase of the Champion's League for the first time in 7 years.
David Ngog scored the only goal of a poor game on 4 mins to secure only our second win in the group.
However Fiorentina beat Lyon in Italy to go through, as I always thought they would.
So its the Europa League for Liverpool now and we are 6/1 to win it already.
Lets go for it, its silverware and there is TV money and UEFA
monies to come from it.
But the priority is to finish in the top four this season.
It will be tough with Man City, Spurs and Villa all proving to be contenders for that fourth place this season.
If we can steady up the defending, get Aquilani into the team and Torres back for the rest of the season, then I am hopeful we will have a very good second half of the season.
Meanwhile, Ryan Babel ran to The Press today, giving out about Rafa not giving him enough chances in the first team, how he wants to leave in the Transfer Window and how the Liverpool Squad is split into different groups away from match-days.
Ryan Babel, what were you thinking?

REDKNAPP RANTS ON ABOUT RAFA

Motormouth, Jamie Redknapp has been rabbiting on about Rafa Benitez and his former club, Liverpool.

The Sky pundit, he of the 'one black-tie' fame, has been saying that "Liverpool have only one win in ten now but he manipulates the fans, he gets them how he wants them."

Does he really Jamie?

We finished 2nd in the League last season so he hasn't become a bad manager overnight.

He then goes on to say that if we go out of the Europe this week and lose to Everton at the weekend, then the fans will turn against him.

We might go out of the Champions League but we will beat Everton come the weekend.

"If they don't get into the top four this season, it will be a major problem. On the pitch, the players are not playing well enough, that's a fact."

Can't argue with him there, we should get back into the top four when all our key players are fully fit though and I think it has just been our defending at corners that has let us down this season, otherwise, we have played pretty well.

It is very disappointing to hear a former Red constantly having a go at the club, he does it every time Liverpool are on Sky Sports.

I would expect a more balanced attitude from him and others like Ronnie Whelan and Graeme Souness when they go on the radio or TV and constantly criticise Rafa and the team.

It does the reputation of the club no good whatsoever.

IS PELLEGRINO THE PROBLEM?

Liverpool have had a very bad start to the season.

Thirteen games played only 6 wins and 2 draws to their name with an astounding 20 goals conceded already, our title challenge in all but over in November.

Why have Liverpool let in so many goals this season?

One has to question the role of backs coach Mauricio Pellegrino.

He played for Benitez at Valencia for four seasons, losing two Champion's League finals before winning the Spanish League title with Valencia under manager, Rafa Benitez in 01-02.

Benitez signed him for Liverpool in 2005 where he made just 12 appearances for the Reds as the years began to take their toll on him.

However, the sacking of Pablo Ayesteran, big mistake, meant that Benitez felt he needed a new backs coach, so he turned to his old deputy, Pellegrino and he has not delivered the goods.

Liverpool are letting in goals for fun this season, twenty in the League already.

The Argentine has not been a success and I think its time we had a change if we want to finish in the top four this season.

Delaying the inevitable will only cost us valuable points in the league.

REDS FIGHT BACK TO DRAW WITH CITY

Liverpool came from behind to draw 2-2 with Man City at Anfield today.

In a scoreless first half, Liverpool lost Daniel Agger and Ryan Babel through injuries.

The game came to life on 50mins when Martin Skrtel converted a Steven Gerrard free kick to give Liverpool the lead against a defensive City side.

Mark Hughes expensively built team then went on the attack and equalised when Adebayor was left unmarked by that man Skrtel and he headed the equaliser on 69mins.

City then went ahead through Steven Ireland, although he looked offside to me and most of the Anfield crowd.

However, Liverpool bounced back straight away when a deflected Ngog shot flashed across the box and Yossi Benayoun stabbed home the equaliser.

Liverpool spent the rest of the game in attack and Lucas had a great chance to win it in stoppage time , but he headed badly wide when unmarked.

So we are now a massive 13 points behind leaders Chelsea and seventh in the table.

I finally concede that the League is beyond us now, lets just try to win as many games as we can and see where it leaves us.

Why didn't Rafa bring on Aquilani, the team was crying out for a player of his ability

What was that pest Steven Ireland on about saying "we were robbed", you got off lightly son.

I see that Thierry Henry was loudly booed when he came on as a sub for Barcelona against Athletic Bilboa tonight.

I wonder why Thiery, I wonder why.

WITCH-DOCTOR CURES REDS

Liverpool were handed a massive boost when four players made a rapid return from injury to be available for tomorrow's game against Man City.
Glen Johnson, Fabio Aurielio, Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera were all sent to a physiotherapist, Marin Kovacevic, in Belgrade.
There they were given an unusual and highly unorthodox treatment of a cream made from Horse placenta combined with wave-treatment.
The results were astounding.
Benayoun and Riera had been ruled out with hamstring tears for four weeks, yet they were back training two weeks ahead of schedule as were Johnson and Aurelio this week.
This is good news for Rafa as he has an almost fully fit squad available, minus Torres.
The visit of big spenders Man City to Anfield tomorrow is a huge game.
I am hopeful that the team, with Steven Gerrard back, will be good enough to win a tough match and begin our climb up the table.

By the way, I was praising one Frenchman for cheating last week in David Ngog against Birmingham and damning one yesterday , also for cheating Ireland out of the World Cup.
Truth is, there is no place for cheating, in football, or in life.
Leave a comment, if you wish or vote in the poll below.

THE HAND OF SOD

Last night's dramatic play-off between Ireland and France which ended in disgrace for Thierry Henry who twice handled the ball in the box to set up Gallas to score a very controversial goal in extra-time to send Ireland out of the World Cup and France to shamefully go through.
The FAI have lodged an appeal to FIFA to have the game replayed but it has fallen on deaf ears.
FIFA have invoked their Rule Five which states that any incident that occurs in a football game is decided by the referee and his decision is final.
Henry has himself admitted that he did indeed handle the ball, saying "I'll be honest, it was handball."
Gerard Houllier and other figures in the French FA also agreed it was handball, but they all know that FIFA won't do anything about it.
France are going to The World Cup and brave Ireland are not.

RAFA SOLD ROBBIE COS HE COULDNT GET BARRY

Rafa Benitez today revealed that he originally bought Robbie Keane to be the linkman between Gareth Barry and Fernando Torres.
But when he failed to sign Barry, Robbie Keane was quickly sold "as collateral damage".
That clears that one up then.
I thought Keane was sold because Benitez didn't fancy him as a player.





Meanwhile, Xabi Alonso has admitted that he misses Liverpool but that he is happy at life back in Spain: "Its logical I miss Liverpool I had five happy years there, it was an unforgettable experience and I'll always have the club in my heart."
We badly miss you too Xabi, shame you wanted to leave.




Steven Gerrard has today said that he is very disappointed that the team have been on such a poor run since he has been out injured saying that he feels very frustrated watching injured from the sidelines as the team has been on such a bad run.
Good to know he will be back on Saturday to face Man City.


Finally, good luck to Ireland tonight in their play-off against France, lets hope they do enough to qualify for the World Cup next year.

ALL IS QUIET AT ANFIELD

We are in the midst of the final International Break of the season(thankfully) so things are pretty quiet at Anfield.

This particular break came at just the right time for Liverpool, who have a catalogue of injuries, as we all know.

With Torres, Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Riera, Benayoun and Aurelio all in the treatment-room, its been a difficult time for the Reds.

Our poor run of form and bad luck has caused dismay among the supporters and typical headlines in the papers questioning Rafa's abilities at the job.

It is, of course, only November and far too early to be calling for his head, and I for one think the man who took us to second in the League last season deserves more time in the Liverpool hot seat.

The return of Steven Gerrard last week and the appearance of Aquilani are positive signs for the future, so I am reasonably confident we will had a good second half of the season.

The rumours about signing Roman Pavluchenko from Spurs are interesting, yes we do desperately need back-up for Torres, so yes bring him on board, we need all the firepower we can get.

WHATS CRAIG JOHNSON ON ABOUT?

What does former Red, Craig Johnson think he is on about?

He is quoted in The Star as saying: "Has he lost the dressing room? Six defeats in eight games would say that he has."

The former Liverpool fancy-dan has got that one wrong, big time.

Despite our poor run of form, the players have not lost faith in Rafa Benitez, as anyone who has seen Liverpool's performances will tell you that they have given 100% commitment in every game.

He then goes to to claim that Kenny Dalglish was appointed by Hicks and Gillette when, in fact, it was Rafa's idea to bring King Kenny back to the club.

Stick to designing football boots Johnson.

Elsewhere, it is said that Javier Mascherano has agreed personal terms with Barcelona.

We are better off cutting our losses with this fella, if he wants to leave as he clearly does, then lets get the best possible price for him.

£36 million sounds like a good deal to me.

IS LUCAS WORTH £14MILLION? YES HE IS!

Amazingly, reports in the press today suggest that Lucas Lieva has been the subject of transfer inquiries.

Frankly, I am stunned that the lad is even being pursued by other clubs.

After a completely uninspiring start to his career at Liverpool, where he couldn't make a tackle, couldn't pass the ball to a team-mate and was roundly booed by the Anfield faithful every time he was near the ball, the lad is now coveted by some clubs in Europe.

True, he is starting to play some good football in the absence of departed Xabi Alonso and the injuries to Alberto Aquilani, but he is not and never will never be the type of quality midfielder that Liverpool needs.

However, he is one of Rafa Benitez's untouchables, first name on the team-sheet for every game this season, used as a holding midfielder alongside Masherano in all our matches this season.

The question is, would you sell him to buy the likes of Van Der Vaart of Real Madrid, or hang onto him in the hope that he becomes a great player for the Reds?

I would like to see him stay and progress at Anfield but I would also like the Dutchman to come to Liverpool in January.

What do you think, should Rafa cash in and buy a quality player instead?

RAFA REVEALS HE'S BEEN OFFERED OTHER JOBS

Rafael Benitez has revealed that he has been offered other jobs in Europe by clubs wishing to recruit him in the past 3 years.

Speaking to ITV journalists recently, the genial Liverpool boss said: " I have had offers from many clubs over the last three years, but I want to stay at Liverpool because it is a great club and because of the loyalty of the fans towards me."

After finishing 2nd to Man Utd last season with only two defeats in the League and amassing 86 points, it is no surprise that Rafa would have been coveted by Europe's big clubs.
Rafa was obviously feeling the heat when he gave this interview as our season has been poor so far: 11 points behind League leaders Chelsea, out of the Carling Cup and almost out of the Champions League.

He has been repeatedly linked with a return to Real Madrid who have always wanted him to return, one day, to manage the club.
I think Rafa was saying was that if he gets the sack, he has other options in football.

Athletico Madrid are also eyeing him up as they are having a poor season after qualifying for the Champions League last year but they are struggling for form this term.
I say, wait until the end of the season before we reach a verdict on Rafa's achievements, he hasn't suddenly become a bad Manager overnight.

What do you think. Should we let him off back to Spain or should we hang onto him?

WELCOME BREAK FOR INJURED REDS

While I normally hate the dreaded 'International Break',

for once, I am glad it is upon us.

Liverpool have an injury list as long as your arm and this break of almost two weeks has come at just the right time for us.

Obviously, Fernando Torres is the main concern with that Hernia problem as there seems to be no quick fix with that type of complaint.

Benayoun and Riera both did their hamstrings on Monday night.

It looks like Benayoun will be out for at least a month so it will give Aquilani a chance to show his undoubted talent in a Liverpool shirt.

Glen Johnson also aggravated his calf while Danny Agger has done his back again.

While it was very welcome to see Steven Gerrard back playing and scoring against Birmingham, he too is not fully fit.

I'm sure Rafa himself could do with a beak from the day to day pressures of running the club with all the injuries and the poor run of form we have been in.

So, International Break?

Bring it on.

SO NGOG DIVED, BIG DEAL

So, after last night's gripping draw at Anfield, all the talk today is about David Ngog taking a dive in the penalty box.

Replays show that the young French Striker did try to con the ref and it worked but I think he went down in anticipation of contact from Carsley.

The fact that the Birmingham player didn't touch him at all has led to universal condemnation of the player.

I don't see what all the fuss is about. Everybody is doing it these days. Its an unfortunate part of the modern game and everybody, sadly, has to live with it.

I say well done young man, you scored a great goal in the first half and won us the penalty to draw the game. 

DRAW NOT THE END OF THE WORLD

OK, so we dropped two points against lowly Birmingham at home in the Premier League to leave us 11 points behind table-toppers Chelsea but, its not the end of the world.
That's because we put in our best performance of the season and we could have and should have won this match.
Liverpool played some really good positive football, mounting wave after wave of attack for the full ninety minutes.
Everybody played well with Glen Johnson causing havoc down the right, young striker David Ngog took his goal very well, Lucas had a good game in midfield alongside Javier Mascherano and Gerrard played well considering he is only just back from a groin injury.
Again, its at the back where the problems continue to lay.
We conceded a soft goal scored by Christian Benitez from a free-kick, then we let Cameron Gerome score with a shot to nothing from 35 yards out.
Skrtel and Agger were playing together in defence for the first time so that might explain those two errors as Jamie Carragher, suspended, watched from the stands.
But the most encouraging thing was the attitude, energy and drive from Liverpool, that was brilliant.
We may currently lie in 7th but if we play like that for the rest of the season, we will be alright.

2-2 AT ANFIELD

Liverpool failed to close the gap on Chelsea tonight as they could only manage a two all draw against Birmingham at Anfield.
David Ngog opened the scoring for the Reds with a thunderous volley into the roof of the net on 12mins.
However Birmingham were soon level when Christian Benitez headed a goal from a free kick on 28mins.
Liverpool has 75% of the play and were totally dominating the game.
Albert Riera pulled up with a hamstring injury again and was replaced by Steven Gerrard on 45 mins.
The Blues took a shock lead in first half injury-time through a wonder shot from Cameron Gerome from 35 yards out.
Liverpool came out fighting again in the second half and had numerous chances and shots at goal but it wasn't until the 68min when Ngog won a penalty, he took a dive.
Steven Gerard blasted the ball into the bottom right corner to level the game.
Benayoun then went off with a suspected hamstring injury as well on 77mins to be replaced by Ryan Babel.
Liverpool kept attacking but Birmingham held firm.
Aquilani came on for Lucas late in the game but we couldn't find a way through, despite almost total dominance of the game.

POSSIBLE TEAM NEWS FOR TONIGHT'S GAME

Early team news from the "Make Us Dream" website suggest that there is no place for Fernando Torres who, as widely-reported, has hernia trouble.
Instead, Tom suggests David Ngog will partner Dirk Kuyt upfront.
Steven Gerrard may be on the bench, that would be welcome news for the Reds.

Possible Team News:
Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Insua, Reira, Mascherano, Lucas, Benayoun, Kuyt, Ngog.

Lets hope for a win and a good performance from whatever team runs out at Anfield against Birmingham.
A win would move us back up to 5th in the League.
....That is the Officially confirmed team!

THE CHAVS BEAT THE SCUM

Chelsea beat Man Utd 1-0 at Stamford Bridge today.

A late John Terry header beat Ferguson's team to stay top of the League on 30 points, 5 ahead of Arsenal and Utd and a whopping 12 points ahead of us in seventh.

While I don't like Chelsea much, I despise Man Utd, so I am delighted they were beaten.

We play Birmingham tomorrow night and if we win, we can move onto 21 points, not a million miles off the top.

Benitez has said that Aquilani will get a run-out in the game so that is good news as the lad can play, com'on ye reds.

LATEST LIVERPOOL NEWS

Latest rumours in the press are that that the Liverpool owners want to replace struggling Benitez with Aston Villa's Martin O'Neill, it is believed Hicks & Gillette are impressed buy the way the Irishman has built a strong squad on limited funds from Randy Learner and is riding high in the Premier League.

It is believed that Kenny Dalglish will take temporary charge until the end of the season and O'Neill will be the next Liverpool manager in the summer.

I don't give this story much credence as I believe the board will give Benitez until the summer to judge him.

Another report says that "Barcelona will sign Mascherano in January for £20 million and Liverpool will use the funds to buy a striker to play alongside Fernando Torres".

This is a possibility as the Argentine wanted to join the Catalans in the summer, my gut instinct is that Javier will stay on until the Summer at least.

Tom Hicks has issued a statement this evening saying that "No players will be sold regardless of results. We have significant investor interest and we want to pick high quality partners to invest in the club" however he did add pointedly that he hoped "things would be better on the pitch!"

Watch out Rafa, the knives may be out.

Other reports suggest that Liverpool may raise as much as £250 million in naming rights for the proposed new stadium in advance of the building of the Stanley Park ground.

Nice work if you can get it Christian Purslow.

Finally, Daniel Agger, just back from a spine injury has quipped that "Injuries can't be used as an excuse, we have a big enough squad."

Big squad alright Dan but just a bit short on quality this year.

HAS RAFA CONCEEDED THE TITLE ALREADY?

Rafa Benitez revealed he has held talks with Liverpool CEO Christian Purslow about the consequences of failure in the Champions League this season, about which Benitez said: "The first thing though is that we have confidence we can still reach the last 16 this season".
That is going to need, already qualified, Lyon to beat Fiorentina away, not going to happen.
But then Rafa virtually gave up on winning the League when he said: "I am confident the team will finish in the top four.."
Dear oh dear, its only November and the Boss has hopes only of finishing in the top four.
True, we have lost five games out of eleven already this season and we lie 7th in the table after today's games, but its a bit too early for Benitez, of all people, to be writing off our Title hopes.
There are an awful lot of games to be played between now and the end of the season and while I admit that its going to be very hard to win the Trophy this year, I still live in hope.
Once you give up hope, Rafa, then you have very little to play for.

RAFA'S MILLIONS

MESSAGE TO RAFA: SPEND IT WISELY!
Latest rumours suggest that fresh capital is finally about to be injected into the club by the hated Hicks and Gillette selling up to 30% of their joint holding to new investors in a hope to raise £100 million for the club.
Some of that money is supposedly for the new stadium, although I doubt that, much of it will go on repaying the debt.
However, it looks like Rafa will be given a significant share to go into the January transfer window and buy some players.
We badly need a quality striker to play upfront and instead of Torres when he is injured, as is the case now.
David Villa, David Silva or Sergio Aguero would do nicely.
We also need to bolster up the midfield with a player like Simao, someone the improving Lucas will never be.
Rumours suggest that Rafa may be sacked by the yanks if things don't improve but Benitez has the full backing of the board. I believe.
He is the right man to lead us out of this crisis and back up near the top of the table again where we belong, aiming for the League.
By the way, the bookies have Liverpool at 6/1 today to win The Europa League and I wrote about it a day before they opened the betting on it.

WHY NOT WIN THE EUROPA LEAGUE?

I might be a bit premature in saying this, but with our Champion's League hopes hanging by a thread, I was looking at the B competition, The Europa League.

In it you have some of the powerhouses of European football such as Stum Graz, FC Sheriff, Fc Twente, Bate, Dinamo Zagreb, Austria Vienna and other Luminaries of the game!

Should we get relegated to this competition then we should fancy our chances of winning this trophy in its first year in the new format.

There is no team in there to fear and by the time we would have to play in the competition, we should hopefully have everyone fit and playing at their best for Liverpool.

Lets hope that Rafa is given some money by the dreaded Yanks in January to bring in another striker who can score goals.

We need a decent forward who can stand in for poor Fernando Torres who is having to play through the pain as we are without another quality forward to replace him, its a major problem for Liverpool and has been for two or three seasons and must be addressed soon.

BABEL'S BRILLIANCE NOT ENOUGH FOR LIVERPOOL

Liverpool only managed a 1-1 draw away to Lyon tonight which may not be enough to qualify for the quarter finals of the Champions League.

A depleted Liverpool team had most of the possession away to Lyon and had a few good attempts on goal saved by the Lyon keeper, until sub Ryan Babel scored with a magnificent thunderbolt shot on 83 mins to give the Reds a deserved lead.

However, the lead was short-lived as Lyon's Lisandro Lopez capitalised on a Kyrgiakos mistake to beat Reina in stoppage time to draw a match Liverpool ought to have won.

The result means Lyon have qualified for the knock-out stages while Liverpool have only 4 points so far and must hope that Fiorentina lose to Lyon to have any chance of qualifying for the next round.

The Europa League looks the more likely route for Liverpool as we are so far behind the leaders, it looks an impossible task.

Still, the team played well enough and would have won the match if they have kept going at the back for the full 90mins.

So another disappointing night for the Reds this season which is going from bad to worse very quickly, but we are going to improve as the season goes on, I hope.

Leave a comment or vote in the poll, cheers.

WE CAN BEAT LYON

With our injury crisis and our poor run of form, Lyon are favourites to win in France tonight.

However, I am sticking my neck out and going for another famous win in Europe.

Yes, we are missing loads of first team players, most notably Steven Gerrard.

Yes, Fernando Torres isn't fully fit and yes we are in our worst run of form for decades.

But, it is just at times like these that Liverpool defy the odds and put in great performances and victories.

Rafa is woefully short on numbers in defence with Aurelio, Johnson and Skrtel out injured and Jamie Carragher is struggling for pace and form and it looks like either youngster Steven Darby may make his debut or centre-back Ayala may start.

The midfield is fine with Mascherano and Lucas flanked by Benayoun and Kuyt.

Rumours abound that Aquilani is set to join Torres upfront, this could work as the young Italian can easily play in the hole between attack and midfield.

So, providing the defence doesn't concede anymore soft goals and the team plays like men possessed, then we can do it!

FORMER GREAT DEFENDS LIVERPOOL

Liverpool legend Dietmar Hamann has come to Rafa Benitez's aid by saying "People calling for Rafa's head are very premature, he has been there five years and has improved them every season.
Rafa has got everything a top-class manager needs, he will be turn it around. The team is good enough to pull through, they were pretty unlucky against Fulham. Every year Rafa has gradually improved Liverpool, every year he has taken them forward."
Yes he has Didi, but now he is in trouble with a run of defeats and a huge injury-list, the man has nowhere to hide.
Its a pity we couldn't have a Hamann back in the side, playing at his peak, then we could go after every trophy and win them.
However, thanks Didi for your calming advice for Liverpool.

TORRES HAS A HERNIA! GOD, THATS ALLWE NEED

According to Tony Barret in The Times, Fernando Torres has been struggling with a hernia he developed while playing for Spain last month.

Great news is it not?

The only proper striker we have at the club is playing through the pain to try and save the club from disaster.

With so many players in the squad injured at the moment, we will struggle to put out 11 fit players on Wednesday in Lyon.

Rafa should have hung onto Robbie Keane or replaced him with another quality striker.

Liverpool is now paying the price for buying second-rate squad players who are not fit to wear the jersey.

Lets hope we can get through this crisis without crashing out of the Champions League and falling further behind in the Premiership.

Vote or comment on the crisis at our club, cheers.

RAFA NEEDS TIME TO GET IT RIGHT

Its got to be Liverpool's worst run in years.

Five defeats in the League already, beaten twice in the Champion's League and we will be going out unless we win our last three group matches, plus out of the Carling Cup already

It is Rafa Benitez's poorest spell in charge of Liverpool since he joined us five years ago.

So what do we do?

Sack him or give him a chance to turn things around as he has done on many occasions in the past.

The guy has not become a bad manager overnight, 2nd in the League last season only losing two games to Spurs and Middlesboro(yes, Middlesboro!).

But this season has, so far, been a disaster, as I said, losing five league games to leave us nine points behind Leaders Chelsea gives us an uphill task if we want to win the Premiership.

Yes Saturday's performance at Fulham was woeful, but we had alot of players out with injuries of one sort or another.

The team that did play at Craven Cottage simply did not do their jobs properly and they should take some of the blame for that defeat.

However, taking off Torres on 60mins with the game finely balanced at 1-1 was a bad mistake by Benitez and one which cost us the match.

I don't agee with him saying we don't have to win a trophy this season to be sucessful, yes we do Rafa, yes we do.

I also take issue with his view that Liverpool have a better squad now than when he first joined the club; Vorornin, Lucas, Babel, Ngog? Hardly World-Beaters are they Rafa?

But despite his failings, Rafa Benitez is a good manager with a good record and the time to judge him is at the end of the season and not now.

We need to be patient and wait until he gets Torres, Gerrard and Aquilani fully match-fit and playing in the side week in, week out, then I am hopeful that we will be back to our best.

In Rafa we trust, for now.

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