AND ALLARDYCE WANTED TO BE ENGLAND BOSS?

Liverpool's two best players scored the goals as Liverpool secured a victory against Sam Allardyce's Blackburn Rovers at Anfield today.

Big Sam wants his teams to kick opponents to death, thankfully that didn't happen today as Liverpool held sway.

England manager? Don't make me laugh.

Goals by Steven Gerrard and returning Fernando Torres were enough to get past Blackburn who somehow, had more shots on goal than us.

Are we going to finish 4th this season?

It will be tough, but we have the ability to do it.

LETS SHUT BIG SAM'S BIG MOUTH UP!

Big Sam Allardyce is at it again.
The out-spoken manager of Blackburn Rovers has been at it again, saying that Liverpool have become as physical as his old Bolton side were.
Absolute Rubbish. Liverpool have not resorted to the prehistoric football that Allardyce makes his teams play and we never will.
He then claimed that Rafa had sent Referee Keith Hackett a DVD of Bolton's rough tactics before a match two seasons ago, maybe he did.
Good man Rafa if you tried to expose big Sam's nasty brand of football.
There is no love lost between the two managers as we all know.
I don't have much time time for the Blackburn manager and I dearly hope that we give his side a thrashing at Anfield tomorrow.
Man City's surprise win at Chelsea today has made it imperative that we keep on their tails by beating 'Big Sam's' Blackburn tomorrow.
I am sure we will, Ryan babel has found a bit of form, Stevie G got a goal too mid-week and Torres waits in the wings should we need the guy.
Prediction: Liverpool 3 Blackburn 1.

LIVERPOOL FACE LILLE NEXT IN EUROPE

After Liverpool's largely impressive 3-1 away win against Unirea tonight, we face a tricky tie against French side Lille in the next 'knockout' round of the Europa 'League'?
The French side got past Fenerbahce 3-2 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw in Istanbul.
Turkish teams are notoriously difficult to beat, they don't usually travel well, but with their intimidating home support at home, they often get the results they need.
So, a 1-1 draw in Istanbul is a fine result by the
French side, who lie third in the French League, they will be no pushovers, that's for sure.
We played pretty well against Unirea tonight, despite going behind early on, we scored some good goals through Mascherano, Babel and Steven Gerrard to go through comfortably in the end.
The first leg against Lille will be played in France on Thursday, 11th March.
Next up for the Reds is Blackburn Rovers in the Premiership on Sunday at 3pm.

FINAL SCORE: LIVERPOOL 3-1

Liverpool are comfortably winning this away tie against Unirea .
Goals by Mascherano with a pile-driver followed by a deft touch and finish by Ryan Babel gave the Reds a 2-1 lead at half time.
Liverpool went further ahead with a Steven Gerrard shot in the box, which the Unirea Keeper failed to deal with to leave it Liverpool 3-1 up and 4-1 ahead on aggregate and at Full Time it ends Liverpool 3-1 winners against Unirea.

UNIREA BOSS IS GOING ALL OUT FOR A WIN

Ronny Levy, the Manager of Romanian side, Unirea, promised his team would be abandoning their ultra-cautious approach from last Thursday's defeat at Anfield and will, instead, go on the attack at home to Liverpool.

"I believe at home we will try to attack more and with the support of our fans, maybe we can surprise Liverpool. This game is very important to us."

Liverpool hold a 1-0 advantage going into the return leg thanks to a late David Ngog header.

Unirea midfielder Sorin Paraschiv who was part of a defensive shield in the middle of the Anfield pitch said: "I don't think we will defend, not with the crowd behind us. We will aim to do more, at home we have played very well in Europe.''

Indeed, they beat Spanish side Sevilla, so it will be no pushover.

Liverpool have Yossi Benayoun and Fernando Torres back in the squad.

While Benayoun may start, Benitez will not risk Torres who may come off the bench in the second half, if needed.

THE GUY AT TESCO'S

I was in Tesco's last June buying the Season Review DVD as I do every year. I was handing over me few quid when the bloke behind the counter started shaking his head slowly.
I asked him "Whats wrong?"
He muttered words to the effect that we had blown our chances last season of winning the League and that we would struggle to repeat the feat this year.
"Not at all", I said.
"We will go on and win the Premiership this year!"
The wise shop assistant slowly shook his head as he took my few quid and I walked away, DVD in hand and new doubts in my mind.
Was it a great opportunity missed last season, or would we go one better this year.
Well, its February 2010 and I guess we all know the answer to that.
Out of The Champion's League, The Carling Cup, The FA Cup and struggling to finish fourth in The Premier League.
It has been a disastrous season for Liverpool FC.
I am still in support of the manager and I believe/hope we can finish fourth despite intense competition from Villa, Spurs and City who have all spent more money than us in the recent past.
These clubs have all progressed while we have stood still thanks to our pathetic owners.
While they put the club £237 million in debt, other clubs have marched on around us.
The sooner Hicks and Gillette are kicked out the better.
Having a manager like Rafa Benitez to do the best with what we have is our best option.
He is the best man to manage our limited resources and our team.
The guy in Tesco's was right to shake his head at it all.

RAFA AND STEVIE GERRARD TO BEAT CITY

Right, I have won few friends with my last few articles.

I compared Rafa's record With Houllier, who was, in the end a failure.

I do think that Benitez is a better manager and we have been more exciting to watch over the last four years, especially in the Champion's League.

I have always rated Steven Gerrard as a vital part of our team and a vital one at that.

This season has been the strangest one since I started following the Reds.

We lost Alonso and Sammi Hyypia and we struggled to adjust without them.

New recruit, Aquilani was bought without being fit to pass a medical and has yet to impress.

Maxi Rodriguez is settling into life in the Premiership and could prove to be a super signing by Rafa.

Today's match against Manchester's millionaires will be tricky but I believe in Benitez and the team to win it, 1-0.

A DRAW WILL SUIT CITY

Sunday's crunch match at The Eastlands between Liverpool and Man City is a 6 pointer.
Make no mistake, fourth place is at stake here.
Whoever wins this game will be fourth in The Premier League and may very well stay there.
As it stands, the Blues are a solitary point ahead of us in fourth right now, a win will put them four points clear of us, still with a game in hand.
However, a win for Liverpool will put us two points above them again.
After last night's laboured win in the Europa League against Unirea, Rafa and his team are now focused on Sunday's crucial match and he said today in his press conference that Liverpool will be going all out for a win.
Truth is we really need to win this game, whereas Mancini's men would be quite happy with a draw.
Carlos Teves is unavailable due to family matters while Patrick Viera is banned for a kick in the goulies to Stoke's Glenn Whelan.
However they have Adebyor and former Red, Craig Bellamy to bring in.
But Mancini, being Italian, is a typically cautious coach. He has played with three defensive midfielders lately and will likely do the same against Liverpool on Sunday.
He will hope to stop Liverpool gaining control in midfield as we like to do and he will try to sneak a goal through Bellamy and Shaun Wright Phillips on the wings.
It will be a very tough game for us, but I am hoping for a win with that great man Gerrard to be back among the goals.

MAYBE TIME TO CASH IN ON STEVIE G

STEVEN GERRARD has long been Liverpool's saviour.
Who will ever forget the way he inspired his team's astonishing second-half comeback in their glorious Champions League final triumph against AC Milan in 2005?
Or his sizzling, last-gasp, so-yard strike that denied West Ham victory in the FA Cup final 12 months later?
Rarely has a player in football history been solely responsible for saving his club on so many occasions. Gerrard's shoulders and back must be aching, given the number of times he has carried Liverpool down the years.
Yet I fear the only way he may now be able to save the club he joined as a nine-year-old lad is by... and whisper it quietly in the red half of Merseyside... leaving Anfield.
I realise this will not be the consensus on the Kop, where their captain is rightly revered for the accomplishments and the loyalty he has shown his hometown club in the 12 years since he made his first-team debut.
And I am not advocating that he should jump what, this season, has turned out to be a sinking ship.
I just recognise selling Gerrard may be a viable way to get Liverpool out of the mess in which they currently find themselves.
Out of the Premier League title race, out of the Champions League, out of the FA Cup and out of the Carling Cup, Rafa Benitez's team are currently sixth in the table and face a desperate scrap even to finish in the top four this time around.
y$ A squad which does not score enough goals and relies too heavily on its two
talismen, Gerrard and Fernando Torres, is in clear need of an overhaul.
You might think it bizarre, then, to consider getting rid of one the best players of this or any other team.
And I agree that, not so long ago, the idea of selling Gerrard would have been unthinkable.
But these are drastic times at Anfield - and drastic times call for drastic measures.
The squad undoubtedly needs to be improved. Yet, as I have said before, the club under Tom Hicks and George Gillett appears to be in a financial straitjacket restricting their movement in the transfer market and consequently their capability to challenge for honours.
Liverpool and their American owners are in a Catch 22 situation. They need to sign new players but, seemingly, do not have the funds to do so. Cashing in on the captain could be the stark solution to the problem.
It would not go down well with Liverpool supporters and I know it would cause uproar in the short term.
Long term, though, it might turn out to be the best thing for the club -provided the transfer fee went direct to squad strengthening and not towards wiping off any debts.
The £4Om, £50111 or even £6om received for Gerrard could fund three or four good signings and be the catalyst for a bright new era at Anfield.
It could help build a new team with more than two key players in its line-up. The heavy load of the Kop's expectation would be spread more evenly across the side.
Liverpool could have a new direction, new tactics. Goals could come from elsewhere on the field.
A move could also prove to be beneficial to Gerrard.
He has always performed tremendously for Liverpool and has set high standards.
But it must be tough when you are expected to be superhuman every time that you take the field.
I am sure he is as frustrated as anybody by his club's season.
He almost left for Chelsea six years ago. Yet his conscience and love for Liverpool got the better of him and made him stay at Anfield.
He has made no secret of the fact he is desperate to add the Premier League trophy to the Champions League, FA Cup and other gongs he has won in his career.
With his milestone soth birthday approaching in May, I wonder if, after taking stock of his club's season, he may decide to depart this summer.
Much will depend, I am sure, on where his club finish this term and on the World Cup, where he will have an important role to play for England.
If he does leave Liverpool, it will not be the end of the world for the Kop - just maybe the start of a brave new one.

NGOG WINS IT FOR LIVERPOOL

David Ngog's 80min header from a Danny Pacheco knockdown was enough to give Liverpool a 1-0 victory at Anfield against defensive Unirea from Romania.
In our first outing in the Europa League, Liverpool totally dominated the game without getting the goals they deserved.
Steven Gerrard should have had a hat-trick but his shots and header were narrowly wide of the goal on each occasion.
Unirea came to Anfield to defend and not to conceed a goal and their game-plan seemed to be working as the clock counted down in the 2nd half.
Rafa brought on youngster Danny Pacheco for the ineffective Aquilani and Babel for the hopeless Riera and it payed dividends when Babel's cross from the left was headed down by Pacheco in the box or Ngog to gleefully head home for the only goal of the game.
So our first outing in the revamped UEFA Cup/Europa League has begun with a victory.
While it was less than convincing, it a win and a lead to take into the 2nd leg in Romania next Thursday.

MAN CITY GET A LUCKY POINT TO GO FOURTH

Manchester City escaped from the Potteries with a point that they did not deserve against Stoke.
Tony Pulis's side were down to ten men when Abdoulaye Faye was sent off.
However, Glenn Whelan gave Stoke the lead on 62mins.
Gareth Barry then equalised with 5 minutes left on the clock.
Stoke then had the ball in the net through Ryan Shawcross but the goal was wrongly cancelled out by ref Alan Wiley for a push on goalkeeper Shay Given, he took a dive.
The draw means Man City move above us into fourth but, with a point between us, we have a great chance to overtake them on Sunday with a win.
We have nothing to fear from mega rich-City on Sunday.

GERRARD HOULLIER WAS MORE SUCESSFUL THAN BENITEZ

With Liverpool currently struggling to just qualify for next season's Champion's League by finishing fourth in this season's Premier League, it is worth remembering the time Frenchman, Gerrard Houllier's time record at Liverpool.

Houllier spent five years as Liverpool manager. In that time he was a reasonable success.

His treble-winning achievement in 2000/01 where he won the League Cup, the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup was a great year for the club.

We finished 2nd in the League behind Arsenal the following year and he won the League Cup in 2002, however his long-ball, defensive tactics drew criticism from the Anfield faithful.

He also won the Charity Shield and the Super Cup before he was sacked by Liverpool to be replaced by the current boss, Rafael Benitez.

The Spaniard won the Champion's League in 2005, as we all remember so well.

He also won the FA Cup the following year in the Stevie G final.

If you compare the two manager's records in charge of Liverpool, it is fair to say that Houllier was more successful than Benitez has been in five years at the club.

I like Rafa and I believe he has what it takes to make us win the Premiership, but he hasn't been an overwhelming success so far, has he?

CARRA OUT ''FOR A FEW DAYS'' LFC UPDATE

Latest news from Liverpool FC is that Jamie Carragher, who went off injured to the detriment of the team and the result, does not have a groin strain as first feared.

Instead LFC have stated that he has a slight abductor pull which will only keep him out of action for ''a couple of days.''

His departure from the field was significant as Arsenal scored through Diaby on the right side of Liverpool's defence.

It was a pity as the Reds did not deserve to lose that game, a draw would have been a fair result.

We are still in 4th, level on points with Man City who have two games in hand on us, Aston Villa drew with Man Utd, while Spurs lost to Wolves.

It was a disappointing night for Rafa and the team.

Our next game in the League is on Sunday week against Man City, our biggest rivals for 4th spot, its a 6 pointer.

Hurry up and get fit Torres, we need you.

JOVANOVIC SIGNS FOR LIVERPOOL?

It seems that Serbian striker Milan Jovanovic has signed a contract with Liverpool to join them in the Summer on a 3 year deal worth £3 million a year to the Standard Leige forward.
His agent said that the player had talks with Rafa Benitez about Liverpool's future and was very impressed by what he had to say.
So much so that it is believed he has put pen to paper on a deal with the Reds to join us in the Summer.
Lets hope that this rumour is true and that we have signed the player as he looks to be the real deal.

CITY WIN BUT WE STAY FOURTH AS JOVANOVIC SIGNS?

Man City beat lowly Bolton 2-0 at home to go level on points with Liverpool in the League, however they are only in 5th as we have a superior goal difference, so we remain in 4th place.


That makes tomorrow night's game against Arsenal all the more important.


We have not won at Highbury or the Emirates in the league in ten seasons so tomorrow is the night when we will look to put that right.


Arsenal are looking a bit shaky right now having lost to Man Utd and Chelsea in their last couple of games.


Liverpool have put together a good run of results since Christmas to climb back up to fourth and a win tomorrow night would put us just two points behind Wenger's team and breathing down their necks in the hunt for third place.


The Times claimed this morning that two different wealthy Businessmen were looking to buy a stake in our club, the men later denied the claims, so I won't add anything to that story, for now.

**NEWSFLASH**

Meanwhile, Serbian striker, Milan Jovanovic may be on his way to Anfield, after all.
He is reported to have signed a 3 year deal tonight worth £3 million a year.
His agent claimed that the player had talks with Rafa and is said to impressed with the manager's plans so much so that he is willing to join Liverpool in the summer, good move lad.

FOURTH? WE CAN FINISH THIRD

What a match! A titanic tussle between Merseyside's rivals which was as physical and intense a derby I have witnessed.
Liverpool played the game with just ten men for nearly an hour.
Dirk Kuyt's 50th goal for the Reds early in the second half was enough for Liverpool, who played like men possessed throughout the game.
The win pushed us into fourth place and we stay there tonight as Man City lost to Hull and Spurs and Villa played out a 0-0 draw.
We now have 44 points, just five behind Arsenal, who play Chelsea tomorrow.
Should the Gunners lose on Sunday, then we have a great chance to close the gap on them to just two points on Wednesday night.
That is something well within our grasp as we have finally gotten over our poor early season form.
Its onwards and upwards from now on.

SO THE TOFFEES THINK THEY CAN BEAT US...

Its derby day again and the Blue side of Liverpool feel they have the beating of us lot at Liverpool FC.

Apparently, David Moyes(Mr.Grumpy) thinks Liverpool are now at an equal footing to Everton money-wise with no money for new signings and with Dutchman Johnny Heitinga mouthing off about Liverpool's poor form making today's game the perfect one for Everton to beat us.

No chance, expect Phil Neville to get sent off against us yet again as he tries to kick lumps out of any player in a Red shirt.

It is true that this will be a very tough match for Liverpool to win but I am hopeful that we can do it.

Everton have not lost a game since we beat them 2-0 in November but we have been undefeated in the Premiership since December, so you have two form teams going head-to-head today.

It will be a tough game as usual.

Lets hope Kiriagos continues his fine form at the back and that Stevie G, Dirk Kuyt and David Ngog get the goals.

Failing that, Mascherano got a nice one against them at Goodison in November, so lets hope he might do the same today.

2-0 to the Reds.

VIDEO OF MILAN JOVANOVIC

Here is a video of alleged summer signing Milan Jovanovic.

The Standard Liege striker is reported to have agreed a move to Anfield in the Summer, after the World Cup Finals, in which he will play for his native Serbia.

Good bit of business by Rafa, if it does turn out to be true.

LIVERPOOL SIGN TOROSIDIS

Liverpool look to have signed Greek full-back Vasilis Torosidis from Olympiakos in a loan deal with an option to purchase the right-sided international for €7 million in the summer.
It seems that Rafa wanted an experienced player to deputise for the injured Glenn Johnson.

**NEWSFLASH** Liverpool have just failed in their bid to sign Torosidis as the clubs couldn't agree terms before the deadline.