Let's 'Pool Our Money Together For A Decent Midfielder.

[Manxie_Ash]

Rafa Benitez is insane; everyone knows that now, most of us knew it before his fact filled speech that pretty much cost the Kop their first top division title since 1990. This is a club that should be competing with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United for honours but hasn’t won a major competition since the 2006 F.A Cup final, and that was only thanks for Steven Gerrards right boot and his tedium at constantly going behind to an inferior team.

The club finally saw sense; Rafa’s contract was “terminated by mutual consent” after Liverpool’s poorest showing in a long time and the search was on for a manager that could possibly restore some glory to the once great club, un steps Rhys Ledley, a Welsh born Manchester United supporter. This should be interesting, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Ledley will be taking his first managerial role since retiring from football, the former Cardiff City midfielder notched up 423 appearances for his club scoring 32 goals, and he managed to squeeze out 47 caps for his country which is surprising for a Welshman. His motivation for accepting the Liverpool job was said to be “***** and giggles” before laughing and shrugging his shoulders “Who wouldn’t take the opportunity to try and rebuild one of the best squads in the world, we all know Rafa couldn’t and that is certainly a fact.” Well, Mr Ledley, only time will tell if you are in-fact a good enough manager.

6th July 2010

Today it begins, why on earth I was picked is beyond me. After Roy Hodgson left Fulham, I was sure he would get the job over me, but there we go. Maybe it is just further proof that Liverpool’s owners have no idea how to run a club. I was presented before the media, with the usual hype and attention, and I must say holding up the red of Liverpool was a bizarre feeling after supporting their rivals for so long. I finally got to work, I met with my staff who basically told me what to do and after sending out some scouts and organising the training routine I set about looking for someone to replace Lucas, and with a kitty of £25m to work with I’m pretty sure I can find someone.

Squad

GK’s:

Pepe Reina – People have their reservations about him, but he is a decent enough ‘keeper and I have other areas of the pitch I need to sort out.

Charles Itandje – Same as Reina and will never really get a chance here, Transfer listed.

Brad Jones – Again, someone I’ll be looking to move on. I’d rather have a young ‘keeper to replace Reina.

Def:

Jamie Carragher– A Liverpool mainstay, he isn’t getting any younger but if he can quit the stupid mistakes he’ll keep his place at the heart of defence.

Sotiris Kyrgiakos – I need some new centre backs, don’t I?

Daniel Agger – Promised so much on his arrival, the Dane will get his shot again.

Martin Skrtel – I’ve never known what to think of Skrtel, he looks like a Mafia goon and has all the strength to match. We’ll see how he goes.

Paul Konchesky – Signed from Fulham on the off chance the Roy would be here, he’s not but I’ll probably end up using him.

Fabio Aurelio – Can he add some Brazilian flair to the squad, I doubt it...

Mid:

Christian Poulsen – Why he was signed I have no idea, another useless aging figure to add to the list. You’d think we were a retirement home for once average players.

Lucas – Transfer listed, for obvious reasons. Dear God, you thought I would keep him?

Raul Meireles – He played well for the period Portugal were in the World Cup, I have high hopes for him.

Joe Cole – A player any manager would want to work with, hopefully he can stave away injury to give us the boost we need.

Steven Gerrard – Need I say more?

Maxi Rodriguez – I’ve always liked him, but we do have a lot of attacking midfielders so he’s going to have to prove himself and age isn’t on his side.

Milan Jovanavic – Not as good as Rodriguez but will push him all the way for a place.

Ryan Babel – I want to give him a chance, he’s only 23 and he’s been poorly managed. He can do wonders if given the opportunity.

FWD’s:

Dirk Kuyt - I like Dirk Kuyt, he’s a good player when he wants to be, and can score important goals when needed.

Fernando Torres – See Steven Gerrard.

David N’Gog – The young Frenchman has shown promise, but has also shown that he is useless. I’ll be keeping a close eye on him.

Overall: We do have a good squad, we do. Anyone who says differently is clearly a moron. It’s just a case of getting the best out of the players. That being said, I will be looking for a new left back, centre back and maybe a promising looking striker. And an obvious replacement for Lucas, I shudder even saying his name.

Pre – Season report

Transfers In:

Claudio Marchisio (DM/MC) – Juventus - £8.25m

Adil Rami (DC) – Lille - £6m

Alex Smithies (GK) – Huddersfield - £245k

Transfers Out:

Lucas – Dynamo Kyiv – £3.9m

Gerardo Bruna – Oldham – Loan

Friendly Results:

Liverpool 5 – 0 Liverpool Reserves: Fernando Torres (32, 57), Christian Poulsen (39), Steven Gerrard (45, 71)

Plymouth Argyle 1 – 3 Liverpool: Claudio Marchisio (25), Milan Jovanovic (42, 48)

Brechin City 1 – 4 Liverpool: Paul Howie (Own Goal, 38), David N’Gog (43, 53), Maxi Rodriguez (60)

Racing Genk 0 – 4 Liverpool: Torres (1, 9, 34), Poulsen (64)

Sporting 1 – 1 Liverpool: David N’Gog (34)

Malaga 1 – 5 Liverpool: Steven Gerrard (5, 25, 59), Joe Cole (62), Raul Meireles (71)

[Manxie_Ash]

I've been thinking about Liverpool and how poorly they are doing again, and I did think to myself that I could probably do better with the Liverpool squad Woy has. So here it is, a Liverpool tale by a United fan.

Played on FM2011 Large database with the English leagues down to BSQ Conference loaded.

Wish me luck

[Manxie_Ash]

Europa League Third Round Qualifier Leg 1: Liverpool Vs Bnei Yehuda (Anfield, 29/7/2010)

Either side of our last two friendlies, we faced Europa league qualification. I don’t know a damned thing about our opposition apart from the fact they are from Israel and have a humorous name. It didn’t stop me fielding a full strength squad, I was always taught to never underestimate the unknown. It paid off pretty quickly as well, Steven Gerrard taking a touch from Marchisio’s through ball before smashing high past the ‘keeper. We looked supremely confident in front of the home fans and we had a second ten minutes later, Marchisio showing what he could do from 25 yards by firing a stinging shot that curled away from the ‘keeper’s outstretched glove. The half belonged to us, but we should have been three or four up wasteful strikes from Torres and Babel ensuring that the Israelis only had a two goal deficit to make up, ever the optimist.

I challenged the squad to turn the dominance into more goals and Torres was the first to take the message to heart, on 52 minutes he received the ball from Maxi Rodriguez, turned and fired home from the edge of the area. That was that until the dying minutes, Raul Meireles topping Claudio Marchisio’s effort by scoring a scorcher from 35 yards after some good work from Glen Johnson. I had my first competitive win and I was thoroughly pleased with what I had seen from my squad, especially Meireles and Marchisio. A good game and starting point for the fans, who had little to cheer about last year.

Liverpool 4: Steven Gerrard (4), Claudio Marchisio (14), Fernando Torres (52), Raul Meireles (89)

Bnei Yehuda 0

MotM: Raul Meireles (9.1)

Attendance (33,133)

[Manxie_Ash]

what follows is my worst result on any football manager game, the international games completely tore apart my first team squad leaving only a few first team players left with the rest having to be made up of youth players

Europa League Third Round Qualifying Leg 2: Liverpool Vs Bnei Yehuda (Bloomfield, 11/8/2010)

You remember what I said about underestimating unknown opponents? Well with my squad ravaged by international duties we were out of the Europa League, yeah, that’s right. We lost 5-0... Needless to say I am rather angry at FIFA and myself right now. One good thing, at least Europe wouldn’t get in the way of the real target this season. The excuses are starting already.

Bnei Yehuda 5: Yossi Cohen (25), Kobi Hazan (28), Snir Nasser Al-Din (30), Maor David (69), Ohad Moshe (90+3)

Liverpool 0

MotM: Kobi Hazan (9.2)

Pre-season round up

I’m shocked, after a very good pre-season that one huge slip up has put a downer on the season already. We have made some good signings and my players have looked very good, but because of international call ups decimating my squad the fans now want my head. I need to produce something special now.

[Manxie_Ash]

English Premier League Game 1: Liverpool Vs Wigan Athletic (14/8/2010, Anfield)

Team: Reina, Johnson, Rami, Agger, Konchesky, Meireles, Poulsen (Kuyt 55), Gerrard ©, Babel, Cole, N’Gog

Team News: With the international matches and injuries taking their toll, I had to leave Torres, Marchisio, Carragher and Aurelio out and give starts to Konchesky, Agger, N’Gog and Poulsen. I have adopted a 4-2-3-1 formation with Babel and Cole either side of Gerrard with Torres ahead of him. Meireles and Poulsen would provide support for attack and defence.

The season opener, the early kick off provided us with a chance to prove that we are not going to lie down like we did last season and in front of the expectant Kop fans. It didn’t happen, the first half was a farce of domination and wasted chances. Christian Poulsen should have had a hat-trick after three glorious chances were fasted within the first 20 minutes. I was appalled at our lack of shooting prowess, even Steven Gerrard, usually so prolific in front of goal blasted high and wide from 18 yards.

The second half wasn’t much better and it got worse after 54 minutes as our captain and guiding light, Steven Gerrard, was dismissed for a second bookable offence. Wigan took the initiative and almost scored, with their first chance of the game I might add, as Rodallega hit the post from the resulting free-kick, the match petered out with nothing but a Wigan red card to separate the match from the full time whistle. A disastrous season opener came to a close with the scores level at 0-0, at least we were top.

Liverpool 0: Steven Gerrard sent off, 54

Wigan 0: Steve Gohouri sent off, 90+1

MotM: Pepe Reina (7.6)

Attendance: 45,362

Gerrard will be banned for one match, pending investigation which could see him out for the arrival of Newcastle as well as our trip to Bolton. I felt sorry for the 45,000 people who paid to see this. Lot’s to do, it’s no wonder Rafa went mad.

Weekend Round-up

Checking out the results after the first weekend on Premier League action threw up some surprises. The three o’clock kicks offs provided our first shock, after their fourth place finish last season, big things were expected from ‘Arrys wonder boys at Spurs, Wolves had other plans and goals from Jelle Van Damme, Gary Halford and a brace from Greg Halford ensured a famous victory for the relegation candidates. Newcastle secured top spot with a 4-0 win over fellow championship promotee’s Blackpool. Sunday was a big, but wholly disappointing, day. A Midlands between Villa and Birmingham which ended 1-1 and a Community Shield repeat which saw Chelsea come out on top with a 2-1 win, Drogba ironically scoring a penalty to wrap up the win in the 87th minute. Monday saw the rich side of Manchester flaunt their talent “dan saff” against Mark Hughes, Fulham. Their millions succumbed to an embarrassing 3-1 loss to last years Europa League finalists.

Full results:

Liverpool 0 – 0 Wigan Athletic

Blackburn Rovers 1 – 2 Everton

Blackpool 0 – 4 Newcastle United

Sunderland 2 – 2 Stoke

West Ham 0 – 0 Bolton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers 4 – 0 Tottenham Hotspur

Arsenal 2 – 0 West Bromwich Albion

Birmingham 1 – 1 Aston Villa

Manchester United 1 – 2 Chelsea

Fulham 3 – 1 Manchester City

[salkster2102]

Try the youngsters Jonjo Shelvey and Danny Wilson. They did really well for me. Otherwise good luck and a good choice of team

[Manxie_Ash]

I've been trying to work them in, but Shelvey had a shocker against Bnei Yehuda so I'm reluctant at the moment. They'll get their chance

I am actually enjoying this save, so I suppose they aren't that bad

***

English Premier League Game 2: Bolton Wanderers Vs Liverpool (Reebok Stadium, 21/8/2010)

Team: Reina, Johnson, Rami, Agger, Konchesky, Marchisio (Poulsen 60), Meireles, Cole, Maxi Rodriguez, Kuyt ©, N’Gog

Team news: With Torres still recovering from injury and Gerrard banned, I was forced to play N’Gog and move Cole from the to the centre, also giving Maxi Rodriguez and Kuyt their first starts either side Kuyt would have the armband due to the absence of Carragher and Gerrard.

Starting Joe Cole in the centre had almost immediate dividends, with 53 seconds on the clock Meireles feed the ball to the England man and hit angled a shot inches to the left of Jaaskelainen’s post. He did get a goal, however, with 6 minutes on the clock, good inter play between Konchesky, N’Gog and Cole led to N’Gog playing a delightful through ball to Cole who opened his body up and slotted low and to the right of the Bolton goalie, It was a delightful move in front of the travelling supporters. We, again, failed to take advantage of our domination and after racking up 67% of the possession Bolton inevitably equalised, Mark Davies sprinting through and breaking our offside trap to latch onto Stuart Holden’s pass and round the advancing Reina before tucking the ball away. Shell shocked we let the half drag out, with Bolton seemingly happy to sit back.

I laid into the players, but it didn’t really work. Not until the introduction of Ryan Babel in the 60th minute did life being to spark into my players, except Poulsen but Marchisio was tiring and I had no choice, the Dutchman setting up Joe Cole to add his and our second with a header from close range that Jaaskelainen palmed into the roof of the net. We relaxed too much and Bolton equalised again, the offside trap broken again as Johan Elmander scored from close range in the 75th minute. Agger was furious, deeming that the goal shouldn’t stand due to Elmander being offside, replays confirming that Agger was playing the Swede onside. There we have it, two games and two points, not a good start really. Maybe this team does need Gerrard and Torres.

Bolton Wanderers 2: Mark Davies (36), Johann Elamnder (75)

Liverpool 2: Joe Cole (6, 66)

MotM: Cole (8.7)

Attendance: 24,345

Spooky that Joe Cole scored in those minutes... Maybe it’s a sign. A good performance all in all from my squad, the offside trap let us down today and we were rightly punished for some sloppy defending on Agger’s part. The link up play between Cole, Maxi Rodriguez and N’Gog seemed very promising and Joe Coles brace was delightful. We play Newcastle next week, and Torres should hopefully be fit for that game.

Weekend Round-up

The early kick off saw West Brom beaten thoroughly by Man United, two goals each from Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov wrapping up a 4-1 victory for the Red Devils. Spurs continued a stuttering start to the season conceding a late goal at the Lane to a resilient Birmingham side, their misery compounded as Michael Dawson was sent off for stamping on Barry Ferguson. Sunday’s results saw both Chelsea and City grind out 1-0 wins over Blackpool and Wolves respectively and Arsenal continue their good start to the season by seeing off Aston Villa 3-1.

Full results:

West Bromwich Albion 1 – 4 Manchester United

Everton 2 – 1 Sunderland

Newcastle 2 – 1 West Ham

Stoke 1 – 2 Fulham

Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 1 Birmingham 1

Wigan Athletic 0 – 1 Blackburn Rovers

Bolton Wanderers 2 – 2 Liverpool

Chelsea 1 – 0 Blackpool

Manchester City 1 – 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Aston Villa 1 – 3 Arsenal

[Manxie_Ash]

English Premier Division Game 3: Liverpool Vs Newcastle United (Anfield, 30/10/2010)

Team: Reina, Johnson, Rami, Agger, Konchesky, Marchisio (Rodriguez, 90), Meireles, Cole, Babel, Kuyt, Torres

Team News: Surely the return of Fernando Torres would give the team a much needed boost, I stuck with 4-2-3-1 to give it one last shot.

Here we go again, the Kop fans given nothing to shout about as the only piece of action between whistles was Joe Cole stinging the palms of Steve Harper with a vicious shot in the 43rd minute. The fans were given even less to shout about in the second half as we played out a game in midfield with the only significant occurrence being an injury to Claudio Marchisio on the brink of full time. Lack of goals, an ineffective Fernando Torres and an injury to one of our star players, this is only going to get easier surely.

Liverpool 0

Newcastle 0

MotM: Glen Johnson (7.4)

Attendance: 44,674

We offered little in the way of anything. The only good thing to say is that defensively we were rock solid, as seen through the man of the match performance given by Glen Johnson. Adil Rami and Daniel Agger seem to be forming a good partnership in the centre and are rightly keeping Skrtel, Carragher and Kyrgiakos out of the side. I am worried about our lack of attacking activity, Joe Cole seems to be the only one trying to score at the moment and it will be something I have to address before the long trip to London after the international break.

Weekend Round-up

The early kick-off was a tense North London derby at the Emirates, neither team taking advantage of sloppy defending and a late Aaron Lennon goal tied the game at 2-2. The shock of the day came as Blackpool continued West Brom’s poor start to the season by smashing four goals past them. The game of the day on Sunday was between Birmingham and Man City; the Brum overcame a 2-0 deficit to gain a point in front of the happy home crowd.

Full Results:

Arsenal 2 -2 Tottenham Hotspur

Blackpool 4 – 0 West Bromwich Albion

Fulham 2 – 1 Everton

Sunderland 2 – 1 Blackburn

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 – 1 Stoke

West Ham 0 – 2 Chelsea

Bolton Wanderers 0 – 0 Wigan Athletic

Birmingham 2 – 2 Manchester City

Manchester United 1 – 0 Aston Villa

Liverpool 0 – 0 Newcastle United

Good news, after the game I was able to announce the signing of 17 year old Belgian wonder kid Romelu Lukaku, who would be joining us for £6m from Anderlecht. I have high hopes for this kid and see him as natural back-up/successor to Torres. Bad news, Marchisio is out for 6 days and up next is Chelsea, we need a miracle.

[Manxie_Ash]

Transfer Round-up

Our dabble into the transfer marker saw us capture the signatures of some exciting players in Romelu Lukaku, Claudio Marchisio and Adil Rami. I also looked to the future with Alex Smithies joining us from Huddersfield, after some promising reviews from my scouts. The only player to leave us was Lucas, other than that a few of our youngsters went out on loan and Brad Jones was loaned to Bayern Munich for the season.

Elsewhere Chelsea added 5 players to their squad, spending £50m in the process, Landon Donavon and Neymar were the big names to sign for the blues. Manchester United were the other big stirrers adding some defensive options to their game with Jan Vertonghen and Alexandr Anyukov singing on the dotted line for the Red Devils.

[Manxie_Ash]

English Premier League Game 4: Chelsea Vs Liverpool (Stamford Bridge, 11/9/2010)

Team: Reina, Johnson, Rami, Agger, Konchesky (Carragher, 84), Marchisio, Meireles (Poulsen, 84), Cole, Babel, Maxi Rodriguez, Torres© (Kuyt, 84)

Team News: one change to the side who couldn’t hit a barn door against Newcastle, see’s Maxi Rodriguez replace Kuyt on the left of the attacking midfield trio.

Let’s face it, our early season form hasn’t been amazing. Sure we were unbeaten, but we hadn’t won either. So what we needed right now was a win. At Stamford Bridge. Against a Chelsea side that boasted three wins out of three so far this term. As expected Chelsea started the more dominant side, even without Drogba in the squad Anelka was doing a sterling job testing Reina in the opening moments, the Frenchman let rip from 18 yards forcing an excellent diving save from our ‘keeper. As the game wore on, though, we were looking more and more confident, Maxi Rodriguez and Cole started to dictate the tempo and after 23 minutes they combined to produce the first goal of the game. Rodriguez took Joe Coles excellent long ball over the Chelsea defence in his stride, before smashing low into the corner on Petr Cech’s goal, the home fans stunned as the Argentine wheeled away to celebrate. Chelsea immediately tried to hit back, Malouda arcing a sublime ball into the path of Frank Lampard who’s long range effort narrowly avoided the post as it fizzed wide. Chelsea were by no means out of this but we were the more threatening going into the break, Torres almost doubling our lead on the stroke of half time, a low strike forcing a good stop from the Chelsea ‘keeper.

The second half saw Chelsea retreat into their shell a bit, Ancelotti’s half time team talk not exactly doing wonders for the hosts as we upped the tempo and pushed for a second goal. Torres and Marchisio combining in the early exchanges, ending in the Italian smashing the foot of the post with a powerful strike, the away fans sounding their appreciation for the Italians effort, the half wore on and Chelsea could not produce any magic. As the blues brought on a former Anfield favourite in Benayoun, I replaced a tiring Torres with Dirk Kuyt and the Dutchman was almost immediately in the thick of the action, heading down Meireles corner into the path of Poulsen who fired low across Cech’s goal and agonisingly wide. With minutes left Chelsea launched one last attempt at goal, Landon Donavon steamed down the left and fire a cross for Anelka that Rami cleared with aplomb, his clearance booted into the path of Maxi Rodriguez who epitomized the good day he was having by driving in a cross for Dirk Kuyt to slot home to give us a 2-0 lead with 3 minutes left to play. Chelsea couldn’t come back, and I punched the air as our first three points were added to the board.

Chelsea 0

Liverpool 2: Maxi Rodriguez (23), Dirk Kuyt (87)

MotM: Maxi Rodriguez (8.5)

Attendance: 41,761

I was very pleased with the way we handled ourselves today, we looked good in every area of the pitch, Agger and Rami played solidly at the heart of defence and are forming a good partnership. Maxi Rodriguez made an excellent impression, and linked well with the rest of the front men. Torres looked good, but my concern is his lack of fitness after only a short layoff. Our next game will be at Anfield against struggling West Brom.

Weekend Round-up:

This week’s fixtures certainly make for interesting reading. The early Saturday kick off saw Wayne Rooney continue his goal scoring start, bagging four against the struggling Spurs in a 5-2 victory. Fulham maintained top spot thanks to a brace from Simon Davies which helped them on their way to a 4-2 victory over Blackburn. The late kick-off saw Man City overcome Arsenal 3-0 thanks to two goals from Tevez and a debut goal from David Silva. Sunday saw Stoke getting their season off and running with a 2 – 0 win over Birmingham in the only game there. And Monday saw a thrilling encounter between our rivals Everton and Wolves, a 2-2 continued Wolves good start to the season and helps Everton leapfrog us into 9th.

Full Results:

Tottenham Hotspurs 2 – 5 Manchester United

Aston Villa 1 – 1 Blackpool

Blackburn Rovers 2 – 4 Fulham

Chelsea 0 – 2 Liverpool

Newcastle 1 – 3 Bolton Wanderers

West Bromwich Albion 0 – 0 West Ham

Wigan Athletic 2 – 4 Sunderland

Manchester City 3 – 0 Arsenal

Stoke 2 – 0 Birmingham

Everton 2 – 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Our first inclusions in the Premier League Team Of The Week, Adil Rami, Daniel Agger and Maxi Rodriguez getting the deserved honours.

[Manxie_Ash]

English Premier League Game 5: Liverpool Vs West Bromwich Albion (Anfield 18/9/2010)

Team: Reina, Johnson, Rami, Agger, Konchesky, Kuyt, Marchisio, Babel (Cole 60), Gerrard ©, Torres, Lukaku (N’Gog 45)

Team News: Switching to a 4-1-2-1-2 to give a debut to Romelu Lukaku, partnering Torres up front. Kuyt and Babel either side of Gerrard and Marchisio.

Last week’s tie against Chelsea was important, but if anything this week was even bigger. We were in front of an expectant home crowd, against a team who were rock bottom having only one point from a possible 12 so far, also with Gerrard back in the frame, a demolition was expected. Steven Gerrard made sure we got off and running quickly, providing an inch perfect cross for Ryan Babel to slide into the net from close range after a mere four minutes, in front of the Kop end which went mental. A second was added four minutes later, West Brom tried to hit back with a counter as Chris Brunt forced a good save down low from Reina, Rami booted the ball clear and found Torres in space on the left, he raced forward and fired a beautifully timed low cross past Scott Carson to Dirk Kuyt who made no mistake from close range, our intentions had been voiced. We should have maybe had a third with barely 20 minutes registered, Fernando Torres looking for his first goal of the season, after a brilliant exchange of passing between Lukaku and Marchisio ended with the Italian cleverly chipping the ball over the backline, but Torres was off balance and his shot was skewered wide. West Brom didn’t know what hit them and we went into half time with a well deserved lead.

A knock picked up by Lukaku meant bringing David N’Gog on after the break, and the youngster nearly made it three, bursting through the stunned West Brom back line he attacked the ball and rifled a shot at Scott Carson who did remarkably well to turn the ball behind for a corner. Babel stepped up to take the corner and floated the ball to the back post, the ball was cleared only as far as Steven Gerrard on the edge of the box who powered home a half volley, before sprinting to the fans thumping the badge on his chest. We were hungry for more, and Torres could have scored a host of chances, his best being a thunderous effort from 25 yards which had Carson beaten, but the post had other ideas and it rebounded his shot back into play for N’Gog to tap in from close range. The game was won, and we had an important victory to kick start our season and restore the fans faith slightly.

Liverpool 4: Babel (4), Kuyt (8), Gerrard (50), N’Gog (68)

West Bromwich Albion 0

MotM: Gerrard (9.3)

Attendance: 44,380

A fully deserved win, Gerrard was fantastic in all aspects; his passing in particular was a highlight. Another clean sheet as well, which makes four in five games, Rami particular was a force at the back. Next up is a trip to Wigan in the League Cup followed by a visit to the Midlands to face Aston Villa.

Weekend Round-up:

Looking back the other Premier League fixtures over the weekend saw Spurs jump out of the relegation zone with a 4-0 victory over Blackpool. Newcastle maintained their healthy start by overturning a 1-0 deficit to grab all three points at home to Wigan, and Stoke held firm at the Emirates to record a famous victory and earn a vital three points. Sunday’s big game was the Manchester derby, a chance for City to prove that they mean business, a goal from Berbatov saw off any threat City may have had. Fulham kept top spot by holding off Sunderland to record a 2 – 1 win

Full Results:

Bolton Wanderers 0 – 2 Chelsea

Birmingham 1 – 2 Everton

Blackpool 0 – 4 Tottenham Hotspur

Liverpool 4 – 0 West Bromwich Albion

Newcastle 2- 1 Wigan Athletic

Arsenal 0 – 1 Stoke

Fulham 2 – 1 Sunderland

West Ham 1 – 2 Aston Villa

Manchester United 1 – 0 Manchester City

Here’s how the table looks after 5 games:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team        |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Fulham      |       | 5     | 5     | 0     | 0     | 13    | 6     | +7    | 15    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Man Utd     |       | 5     | 4     | 0     | 1     | 12    | 5     | +7    | 12    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Chelsea     |       | 5     | 4     | 0     | 1     | 7     | 3     | +4    | 12    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Newcastle   |       | 5     | 3     | 1     | 1     | 9     | 5     | +4    | 10    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Everton     |       | 5     | 3     | 1     | 1     | 9     | 7     | +2    | 10    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| [b]6th   |       | Liverpool   |       | 5     | 2     | 3     | 0     | 8     | 2     | +6    | 9     | [/b]
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Wolves      |       | 5     | 2     | 2     | 1     | 8     | 4     | +4    | 8     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Sunderland  |       | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 10    | 9     | +1    | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Man City    |       | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 7     | 6     | +1    | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Stoke       |       | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 7     | 6     | +1    | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Arsenal     |       | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 7     | 7     | 0     | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Bolton      |       | 5     | 1     | 3     | 1     | 5     | 5     | 0     | 6     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Aston Villa |       | 5     | 1     | 2     | 2     | 5     | 7     | -2    | 5     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Tottenham   |       | 5     | 1     | 2     | 2     | 9     | 12    | -3    | 5     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Blackburn   |       | 5     | 1     | 1     | 3     | 5     | 8     | -3    | 4     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Blackpool   |       | 5     | 1     | 1     | 3     | 5     | 10    | -5    | 4     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Birmingham  |       | 5     | 0     | 3     | 2     | 5     | 8     | -3    | 3     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Wigan       |       | 5     | 0     | 2     | 3     | 3     | 7     | -4    | 2     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | West Ham    |       | 5     | 0     | 2     | 3     | 2     | 6     | -4    | 2     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | West Brom   |       | 5     | 0     | 1     | 4     | 1     | 14    | -13   | 1     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |             |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[Manxie_Ash]

League Cup Third Round – Wigan Athletic Vs Liverpool (DW Stadium, 21.9.2010)

Team: Smithies, Johnson, Rami, Carragher, Aurelio, Kuyt (Babel 81), Marchisio, Cole (Pacheco 87), Gerrard ©, N’Gog (Maxi Rodriguez 86), Lukaku

Team News: I had planned on using Wilson and Shelvey for this game but the sporting Gods being the way they are, obviously they were injured. Smithies, Carragher and Aurelio make their first starts of the season; an unchanged midfield will provide support for the young strike force in Lukaku and N’Gog.

We were out of the Europa League at the first hurdle, and our opponents in the little cup were the team that frustrated us so at Anfield on the opening day, so this was by no means a walkover guaranteed, hence the pretty strong line-up. If any proof that this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park was needed, it would come in the shape of Franco Di Santo. Wigan’s £2m singing from champions Chelsea sliced apart our defence with one swift turn before lifted the ball over the on rushing Reina’s shoulder and it nestled in the bottom corner, with then minutes played the underdogs had taken the lead and the cupset was on. We immediately tried to level the score, Marchisio looking to capitalise on the good start he was having to his Scouse career, jinking between two defenders and hitting a fierce shot that cut across the bow of Kirklands goal and span inches wide of the left hand post. Marchisio was again involved in our equaliser, floating a delicious ball over to Kuyt on the left hand side who burst up the wing before shooting in a fine cross for Lukaku who had beaten his man and poked home for his first Liverpool goal and to become the youngest goal scorer (17 years, 131 days) In Liverpool’s history. Continuing to press on when we had done well hadn’t exactly been our strong point this season and we took our foot immediately off the pedal, much to my annoyance. It was that bad that we failed to create any significant chance right up until the final whistle.

With angry words ringing in their ears, and a brick in their shorts my team set about breaking down Wigan in extra time. Maxi Rodriguez was on late in the second half in place of the ineffective N’Gog and added an extra spark in the opening moments of extra time, Marchisio played the Argentine in but he was off balance and his shot was easily saved by Kirkland. We finally made the breakthrough late into the second half of extra time; Wigan had been pushing for a winner, Victor Moses going close with a powerful effort from the edge of the area that Smithies had done well to get down low for. The resulting throw found its way to Marchisio on the half way line; the Italian pushed forward and made a fool of Maynor Figueroa before dinking a clever ball into the path of Rodriguez who rounded the onrushing Kirkland and slotting home. It had been a tense game and we had progressed by the skin of our teeth.

Wigan Athletic 1: Franco Di Santo (10)

Liverpool 2: Romelu Lukaku (30), Maxi Rodriguez (118)

MotM: Claudio Marchisio (8.9)

Attendance: 23,904

I wasn’t happy with the drawn out way we had progressed, but I was happy with a few performances. Claudio Marchisio was the difference for us today, his passing and movement were amazing and the touches in the lead up to his assist were something else. Maxi Rodriguez made yet another impact, his late goal sending us through and the confidence with which he played after coming on was a highlight. Charles Smithies was the other player to impress me, the young goalkeeper looked a lot more confident than his European exploits at the start of the season, he made a couple of decent stops and looked confident.

League Cup Third Round Results:

Fulham 2 -1 West Ham United

Wigan Athletic 1 – 2 Liverpool (AET)

Sheffield United 0 – 3 Newcastle United

Chelsea 3 – 0 Nottingham Forest

Doncaster Rovers 3 – 1 Scunthorpe United

Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 3 Sunderland

Portsmouth 1 – 2 Stoke City

Aston Villa 3 – 0 Bristol City

Norwich 1 – 0 Walsall

Barnsley 1 – 2 Manchester United (AET)

Birmingham City 5 – 0 Preston North End

Huddersfield 2 – 3 Queens Park Rangers

Blackpool 1 – 2 Swansea

Derby County 3 – 1 Brentford (AET)

Arsenal 0 – 1 Blackburn Rovers

Manchester City 2 – 5 Everton

The fourth round draw has been made, and we have been handed a home tie with...Everton. The tie will be played on the 27th October, a mere four days before we make the long trip to Goodison Park for the league seasons first Merseyside Derby.