Was very tired yesterday evening and also had some kind of virus too, so both of those added together made me feel less than brilliant. Anyway, enough about me. Yesterday was hardly a busy newsday LFC-wise either, so things kind of worked out OK in the end.
Today is, of course, the biggest game of the season and for a start lets hear what Rafa had to say in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
If you believe some parts of the press coverage, then our bid for the league ends today, if we lose. So it’s nice to see Rafa telling everyone to calm down. I could repeat the statistic of what happened last season but I think that is becoming increasingly irrelevant, if it was even relevant in the first place.
Aaah, I love the feeling of a Friday. That realisation that a footballing weekend is ahead of you and the joy, hope and promise that it brings. And it’s fair to say that this weekend is something a tiny bit special.
It’s been two and a half years since Rafa and Carlo last met and that time, there was more than a hint of revenge in the air. I don’t think any self respecting fan needs to be reminded of the events that led up to the events in Athens three summers ago, so the chance for the two managers to do battle in the confines of a league game is mouthwatering in the least. Though of course, Milan shouldn’t technically have been in the Champions League that season having been caught up in the Moggigate scandal that swept across Italian football the previous summer. They were initially denied a place in the Champions League after being deducted points; that was reduced on appeal which meant that they technically finished fourth and, well, the rest is history….
If there is one picture that clearly sums up Tuesday nights performance and all the talk of Rafa clearly losing his rag, then I think the one to the left is pretty much it.
I don’t think we needed Fabio Aurelio telling us that Rafa lost his temper, I think that was clear from his expression at the end of the game. Though it was partly Rafa’s fault for playing Aurelio in central midfield. It seemed odd, though I suppose the alternative (of playing Jay Spearing) alongside Lucas was hardly ideal either.
It does show though just how important Javier is to the system that we employ and that has been so successful in the last six months. Still, I do think Spearing would have fared better than Aurelio did.
Though personally speaking, the most disappointing aspect of the result on Tuesday is that it gave the press the oportunity to essentially rehash a lot of the old bollocks from earlier in the season.
So, no surprises what the majority of today’s news is about. I did say last night that losing the game wouldn’t be the worst result in the world. And clearly someone else agreed with me. After all, we were in a similar situation a couple of seasons ago, where we lost to Marseille and Besiktas in our opening three games and still qualified. What has been surprising has been the generally measured reaction from the British press. Though given the already rancid performance of the team, putting an extra layer of hate on top of that seems rather pointless. Though as usual, The Sun were quite happy to add whatever negativity they could, which is obviously rare form for them…
So, midweek football for the fourth week in a row and I think we can now say that the new season is well and truly up and running. But, as seems to be par for the course these days lets talk about the owners instead. Sigh…
With that out of the way, it’s worth remembering that there is a football match tonight and a semi important one at that. Defeat tonight wouldn’t be the worst result, even if Adrian Mutu wouldn’t care less. Defeat would mean that the two game against Lyon would have more of an edge to them, which isn’t ideal as they are clearly the strongest team in the group. Despite Rafa’s confidence, Lyon WILL be a tough game.
Is the one on the left saying to the other two I like you as a friend?
Still, at the moment, the win is the most important thing and after John Aldridge asked for a big performance, we certainly got one. And it was just as nice to see Torres come out and thank his teammates afterwards. Kuyt, Benayoun, Insua, Reina and Johnson have all helped to put alot of the talk about us being a two man team to bed and with Ryan Babel finally, FINALLY turning a corner, it seems like things are slowly coming together. Particularly with Daniel Agger set to return imminently, and with Emiliano getting a call-up to the Argentinian squad. No shock to me, but his progress over the last 12 months has been pretty spectacular. Still, after Rafa put his faith in Jamie Carragher before the game, a game against the league’s second worst defence was probably what he needed to deflect attention away from him. Still, a certain red nosed scotch elf needed to deflect questions about his own defence. Not that this was ever mentioned after That Manchester Team’s Late, Late, Late, Late Show. In fact, how did Fergie manage to leave it so late? Great joke right at the end.
Dossena joins Aquilani on sidelines – LIVERPOOL defender Andrea Dossena and midfielder Alberto Aquilani are the only two absentees from manager Rafael Benitez’s squad to face Hull tomorrow.
These are the latest news items relating to Liverpool Football Club.
BBC – BBC Sport: Phil McNulty: Premier League & England Q&A – Lots of questions on this one, namely my apparently controversial pre-season prediction that Liverpool would win the Premier League, so let's get this one out of the way first. The answer is yes – I am still backing Liverpool.
YouTube – Alex Ferguson manipulates time – LIVE! – Post-match interviews with Sir Alex, Mark Hughes and Michael Owen following the Manchester derby, which features footage of Sir Alex actually manipulating time live on air…
Sixes, being hit therefore
So, a nice quiet weekend then? The largest win of the season so far, followed up with yet another Middle eastern business man wanting to buy a share in the club, though valuations and Size and share vary by source. There’s no question though that at least of Hicks and Gillett want out, even if they express mock surprise about any potential investment.
Is the one on the left saying to the other two I like you as a friend?
Still, at the moment, the win is the most important thing and after John Aldridge asked for a big performance, we certainly got one. And it was just as nice to see Torres come out and thank his teammates afterwards. Kuyt, Benayoun, Insua, Reina and Johnson have all helped to put alot of the talk about us being a two man team to bed and with Ryan Babel finally, FINALLY turning a corner, it seems like things are slowly coming together. Particularly with Daniel Agger set to return imminently, and with Emiliano getting a call-up to the Argentinian squad. No shock to me, but his progress over the last 12 months has been pretty spectacular. Still, after Rafa put his faith in Jamie Carragher before the game, a game against the league’s second worst defence was probably what he needed to deflect attention away from him. Still, a certain red nosed scotch elf needed to deflect questions about his own defence. Not that this was ever mentioned after That Manchester Team’s Late, Late, Late, Late Show. In fact, how did Fergie manage to leave it so late? Great joke right at the end.