..what will happened if we ended up lower than fourth?

what will happened if we ended up lower than fourth position in the EPL this season.? As Rafa has somewhat guarantee the spot, which means automatic qualification for the Champions League next season, the repercussion of lesser results is unthinkable!!

Will Rafa go??? Thats' the main question playing in the minds of most Liverpool fans. For his detractors, who has been actively campaigning for his sacking, it will be a welcoming situation. But for his legion of fans..they are hoping for him to continue, especially for him to see through all the plans and foundation that he has laid down for the club's future.

Knowing Rafa's stubbornness and pride, failure to guide his Reds to the “guaranteed” fourth place finish that he has so boldly promised fans will lead to his departure from the club...but that same trait may see him stay and fight on to complete his 'mission.'

Will the club sack him?? He has time and again received support from the management, players and also ex-players. Managing director Christian Purslow, have come out in public in support of their man stating that he club has faith in Rafa and believe that, in Benitez, they have the man to lead Liverpool Football Club to great things in the future. The workings of the club has been built around him and have a long-term plan in mind. Ex players like King Kenny, Ian Rush, Didi Hamman and Sammy Hyppia has all came out in support of Benitez. So does current stars who believes that Rafa is the right man for Liverpool.

Sacking Rafa will also cost the Club enormous sum in compensation fees, and having less income due to non-qualification into the Champions league will limit the possibility of Rafa being sacked.

Will we see player exodus?? Lately, the media has been happily spinning news that players like Torres, Gerrard & Mascherano would leave for greener pasture if we failed to qualify for the Champions League. They further expect Reina and Riera would also leave in the event Rafa is sacked or quit the club. All players mentioned has rubbished the claim and said that they are very committed to the Liverpool cause.
The club and Rafa has also claimed that these players are not for sale. Furthermore, the club, in its effort to attract new investors would not want to sell it's most attractive and valuable assets i.e star players such as Torres, Gerrard & Mascherano.


Can we attract new investors?? With depleted income due to non qualification into the Champions league, many believes it would be a little difficult to attract new investors into the club. What more with the club laden with more than 240million pound in debts.
However, Liverpool is a big club, with very big fan based spread throughout the world. The financial prospect of the club is still very good and there are many prospective investors out there, provided the current owners are not too demanding.

*********

To night Liverpool will play Manchester City @ Eastland...in a must win match for Liverpool in its pursuit for fourth place. City will be without Tevez & Petrov. We will still be without Torres & Johnson, though Benayoun may make it to the bench.


I predict a win for Liverpool.

rafa benitez/.....ryan babel??

maybe that's the answer for rafa.


Good read :
;http://bleacherreport.com/articles/345684-rafael-benitez-is-building-liverpool-football-club-not-destroying-it

YNWA

..a show of passion, grit & commitment

i am in a very high spirit...just finished watching the game on tv, the 213th merseyside derby which ended with Liverpool winning 1 - 0. 

Again the hero is the much criticised (by knee jerked liverpool fans) Dirk Kuyt, scoring his fourth league goal in as many league games. However, credit goes to the whole team who fought hard despite playing with ten men after Kyrgiakos was red carded for a two-footed lunge at Marouane Fellaini in the 28th minutes. A few minutes earlier Steven Pienaar was shown the yellow in what should be a red card for a stud-up challenge on Macherano. However, Pienaar got what he deserved after he was shown the red card after a foul on Gerrard in injury time.

Besides the win, which moves us to 4th in the table, at least for a few hours pending results of the Spurs game, another very positive side of the game is that the team has shown a lot of passion, grit and commitment towards the game.....and Gerrard is back at his best.!

YNWA

blood is red for a reason.

For last night game against Spurs, Liverpool fans were in full force in the show of support to the manager & the team beleaguered by poor form and injuries to key players. The famous 12th man recreated the atmosphere usually reserved for European nights and the team responded with a solid team performance. 

Commitment, passion, drive, belief, persistence, concentration & tactical discipline were in abundance within the team. Spurs players were lost..not knowing what hit them. Every time a Spurs player got the ball, he will immediately be surrounded by two or three Liverpool players.

Liverpool were playing without key players such as Gerrard, Torres, Johnson & Benayoun but the team put forward were gritty and fought all the way for this meaningful win. Fringe players such as Philipp Degen and Kyrgiakos are beginning to show what a bargain they are. In fact, Kyrgiakos has churned up another 'man of the match' performance for a second game in a row. He has kept Crouch and Defoe quiet for the whole game and on the other end had come closed to scoring. Degen, playing in an unfamiliar right-side midfield role had a good chance of scoring when put through by kuyt. He has only Gomez to beat but he immediately reminded us of  his familiar defender role and make a wrong decision. Other than that, he had shown pace and skill and provided a solid performance.

Aquilani, playing in his familiar role as support striker, showed glimpse of why Rafa paid 20 million for his services. His passes were deft and quick and provided the assist for kuyt's first goal. With more game time and better fitness he will definitely more than capable of filling the gap left by alonso.

Dirk Kuyt, the hero of the day played his heart out. He was every where on the pitch, fighting for every ball. His first goal was well taken, and he was presented with two more sure-goal chances which he failed to convert. He kept his nerve in taking his penalty goal the second time, after the first kick was ruled out for infringement. 

Special mentioned to the stand-in captain, the courageous Jamie Carragher. He has set-up our intent and the shape of the game with a few well timed crunching tackles very early in the game. From there on, the players and us the fans knew what to expect....

The game against Spurs has brought out the best from all quarters of the Red Family..the manager, coaches & staff, the players and of course us "the 12th man". It proves that we are still up there with the best. So lets put our faith and continue with our undying support for the team......during good & bad times..blood is red for a reason!!! 

YNWA

'make or break'

harry redknapp said this is a good time to meet liverpool;

nico krancjar thought spurs is a better squad than liverpool;

shebby singh believed that Spurs will not lose this game;

and many others believed that liverpool will be hammered by spurs tonight;

rafa said this is a 'make or break' game;

we will be without torres, gerrard, benayoun & johnson;

statistic says; Tottenham have not tasted success at Anfield in the league since August 1993, though they did win a League Cup clash in front of the Kop in 1998.


i am with the statistic - Liverpool to win 2-0.(so no last minute/injury time goal against us)


Probable line-up : Reina, Degen, carragher, agger, insua, macherano, lucas, aquilani, rodriguez, kuyt, ngog.


YNWA

in danger of getting 'stoked'

Lfc will travel to the Brittania Stadium tonight for its EPL game against Stoke City.

with injuries to key players such as torres, gerrard, johnson, benayoun and martin kelly, the manager is facing a big headache in putting up a good enough squad considering the fact that the team performances were very bad lately and Stoke being a tough nut to crack at home.

everybody from the board , manager and players are under tremendous pressure to perform and to start winning again.

could this game be the turning point?...let's hope so and return the smiles to the faces of the true Lfc fans who has been sticking out with the team throughout this storm.

my team selection for the game will be as follows : Reina, Deggen, Carragher, Skrtel, Agger, Mascherano, Lucas, Aquilani, Rodriguez, Kuyt, Ngog.

Prediction : Stoke 1 - Liverpool 2

YNWA

Meanwhile, enjoy this video. (Not related)

bad news for those 'rafa-haters'

the news is..rafa benitez is definitely staying put at Lfc...at least until the end of his contract!

rafa was really put under pressure to leave Lfc lately,  by the all manipulating British Media, the so-called expert pundits and of course many 'knee-jerked' Lfc fans. These people has put the strings of bad showing by the team  on the pitch in the EPL and the failure to qualify to the knock out stages of the Champions League squarely on the shoulders of the manager. They questioned his every moves - his tactics, his team selections, his transfer records right down to his goatee and color of his socks. 

Besides being reminded on so many occasions, these groups refused to acknowledge all the problems faced by the manager;

• The fact that the long injury lists at the early part of the season has affected team performance (Agger, Aurelio, Johnson, Aquilani, Skrtel, Benayoun, Riera, Babel, Torres, Gerrard - that's like the whole team injured). Important players such as Gerrard, Torres, Masherano and Carragher suffer injuries and fighting for fitness & form for the best part of the season.
• The fact that the manager was refused adequate transfer funds to beef up a squad which in many peoples mind will be a contender for the Champion spot of the EPL this season. Of course many will question his decisions on the purchase of 'injured' Alberto Aquilani but like what the manager has explained, Aquilani is the best player available at a knock-down price. He would have cost double if he is fit.

Other teams are also performing better due to the financial support from their board/owners during last summer transfer widow. Manchester City, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspurs, Birmingham City all benefited from understanding owners. Though Man United, Chelsea and Arsenal has not spend much they have strong enough squad and has not suffer much injury problems.

Of course after a string of bad results, coupled with the many problems on and of the pitch, morale were low resulting in embarrassing show against the likes of Porthmouth. 

However, things look like brightening-up for Lfc. Players are back from injury and fit again (apart from Glenn Johnson). 

Despite all the pressures, Rafa looks set for the long haul at Lfc. His commitment towards the club is beyond doubt.

People might question this after he once issued a statement that he would quit if Fernando Torres is sold. At that time, Manchester City has tabled a bid of STG100million to Lfc - STG70million for Torres and another STG30million for Mascherano. Rafa rejected both offer.

"For those who didn't know, Rafa Benitez turned down the opportunity to take over at Real Madrid in the summer for the FOURTH time since he has been at Anfield. Benitez rejected a package worth €6million per year over a four-year deal and a transfer budget that a manager’s dreams are made of. The reason he rejected Real Madrid? Rafa believes that he is in the middle of a major project at Anfield, one that so far hasn’t reaped the rewards he expected, but is clearly a work in progress and he has faith in its ultimate success.

The aim is not to bring one league title to Anfield, but a succession of them and an era of Liverpool challenging for all major titles for years to come… "(By Gulliem Balague, Spanish Football Reporter cum Rafa's personal friend)

But for those Rafa haters, there is still hope..though it will be expensive for the club to sack Rafa (believed to be STG25million in compensation). Sell Torres for STG100million and Rafa will quit by himself... a handsome STG125million to the owners to settle their debt!!!

YNWA

50 torres goals in the EPL.

enjoy this video!!!

awesome!!! considering he's done it in record number of games (72) and without taking penalties and freekicks..
well done el-nino!

YNWA

aquilani full league debut

i did not watch the game, but found this video on YouTube...

YNWA

family outing in Penang

i am going to miss this weekend match against wolves;

now in Penang with 40 other family members for the annual family outing;

no astro at place of stay;

anyway, hoping that lfc will do very well and beat the hell out of wolves.

surrounded by MU suppoerters, but as usual YNWA!.. look at the Kopites at the back there!!!

YNWA

peluang merapatkan jurang

keputusan keputusan perlawanan EPL malam tadi yang berpihak kepada L:iverpool fc dalam merapatkan jurang dengan pendahulu liga;

chelsea 3 - 3 everton

bolton 3 - 3 manchester city

totenham hotspur 0 - 1 wolverhampton wonderers 

manchester united 0 - 1 aston villa

satu satunya pasukan yang berkedudukan diatas liverpool dalam carta liga yang menang ialah aston villa

peluang sudah di buka untuk liverpool merapatkan jurang!!!

ayuh!!! kalahkan arsenal malam ini!!!

YNWA

penentu hala tuju musim..

musim lepas, liverpool seri 4-4 dlm perlawanan menentan arsenal. torres menyumbang 2 gol!!

perlawanan menentang arsenal di anfield ahad ini amat penting buat Lfc!!!

di anggap permainan yang akan menentukan nasib Lfc musim ini.

apa lagi setelah kecundang di Champions league;

serta persembahan yang kurang meyakinkan setakat ini.

Lfc perlu bangkit!!!

menang!!..akan merupakan pembakar semangat untuk terus bertarung hingga keakhir musim;

masih tidak mustahil untuk Lfc ke puncak liga!!

kalah!!.. peluang ke puncak amat menyukarkan;

tinggal perjuangan untuk layak ke Champions league musim depan.

keadaan pasukan agak memberangsangkan;

semua pemain utama telah pulih dari kecederaan

torres, gerrard dan johnson di jangka akan turun berjuang;

juga reina, carragher, agger, insua, masherano, lucas, benayoun & kuyt;

aquilani, skrtel, aurellio, riera, ngog, cavilieri & el-zhar setia menanti di bangku simpanan:

sementara arsenal masih mengeluh;

van persie, rosicky dan bendtner masih belum boleh beraksi;

pertemuan musim lepas di anfield berkesudahan seri 4-4;

torres sumbat 2, tapi arshavin sumbat 4;

esok kedua duanya akan turun sekali lagi

tapi kali ini arshavin akan sumbat gol sendiri;

dan lfc menang 2-0.

sementara itu.........

menjelang perlawanan dengan liverpool, pengurus arsenal, arsene wenger berkata bahawa pertandingan merebut kejuaraan liga untuk musim ini adalah pertandingan yang paling terbuka pernah beliau saksikan.

MU menjuarai musim lepas dengan mengutip 90 mata manakala Chelsea menang dengan 95 mata di bawah Jose Mourinho  pada musim 2005/6. Rekod mata kejuaraan liga terendah dipegang MU pada tahun 1997 dengan 75 mata, 7 lebihan mata dari naib juara, Newcastle United.

petikan komen wenger seterusnya;

“Between 78 and 83 points will be enough,” Wenger said. “If Arsenal, or anybody else, gets to 83 points, they will win the league. This season, more than ever, it looks to be a very open Premier League campaign. It is more open and because everybody has slipped up — us at Sunderland, Man United at Burnley — and nobody can really predict what will happen.”
Wenger is adamant that the Barclays Premier League will not be solely contested by Chelsea and United, and believes that his side and Liverpool, tomorrow’s opponents, can still win the title.

“I don’t know why it should be a two-horse race,” he said. “Man United are two points behind Chelsea and we have a game in hand on both of them. That means normally, if we win our game in hand, we’re three points behind Man United. How can you say with 25 games to go it’s a two-horse race?

“I said after our game that Chelsea will drop points, and everybody looked at me thinking, ‘This guy has completely lost the plot.’ One week later they lost at Man City and it’s as simple as that"

Well mr wenger,...I personally think you are on the spot on this. Lfc will win the league and arsenal will be the runner-up..God willing!!

YNWA

Anfield of dreams: Memorable Liverpool v Arsenal meetings

*Liverpool 5 Arsenal 0

18 April 1964, First Division

Roger Hunt and Ian St John inspired the Reds to a famous victory to secure the first of Bill Shankly's three titles and begin an unprecedented era of dominance for the Merseyside team.

*Liverpool 0 Arsenal 2

26 May 1989, First Division

A match so iconic it inspired a book and film – Fever Pitch. Michael Thomas's injury-time goal allowed Arsenal to steal the First Division title from Liverpool in an astonishing climax to the season.

*Liverpool 3 Arsenal 0

28 August 1994, Premier League

A teenage Robbie Fowler scored three in four minutes 33 seconds to record the Premiership's fastest hat-trick.

*Liverpool 3 Arsenal 6

9 January 2007, League Cup

Brazilian forward Julio Baptista scored four, and also missed a penalty, as the Gunners progressed to the semi-finals.

*Liverpool 4 Arsenal 1

31 March 2007, Premier League

Peter Crouch hit a "perfect" hat-trick as Liverpool exacted revenge for the League Cup drubbing.

*Liverpool 4 Arsenal 2

8 April 2008, Champions League

Emmanuel Adebayor appeared to have put Arsenal through to the semi-finals before a Steven Gerrard penalty and Ryan Babel goal gave the hosts the spoils.

*Liverpool 4 Arsenal 4

21 April 2009, Premier League

Andrei Arshavin replicated Baptista's four-goal haul in a topsy-turvy game that damaged Liverpool's title challenge.

YNWA

negative weekend

steven gerrards' 500th liverpool appearance

as far as the results of games in this gameweek is concerned, it has been a negative week for lfc.

positives;

third successive clean sheet, and sixth game unbeaten;

 steven gerrards' 500th liverpool appearance;

chelsea's march to the EPL title "slowed down" with lost to man city;
our blue neighbours fought spurs to a draw;

negatives;
lfc's game with blackkburn shows' lack of consistency in team;

arsenal won;

aston villa won;

man city won;

man united won;

torres & aquilani not playing!


YNWA

The 212th Merseyside Derby

Malam ne Liverpool akan bertandang ke Goodison Park dalam pertemuan kali ke 212 diantara dua kelab yang berjiranan di Bandaraya Liverpool. Kedudukan diantara Anfield dan Goodison begitu hampir; hanya dipisahkan oleh Stanley Park. (tapak cadangan pembinaan stadium baru LFC????...yang entah bila nak jadi kenyataan)

Perlawanan malam ini menarik kerana kedua-dua pasukan sedang mengalami penurunan dari segi prestasi dan perlu memenangi perlawanan untuk mengembalikan semangat demi menghadapi cabaran cabaran seterusnya untuk musim ini. 

Bagi Liverpool, kemenangan malam ini akan merapatkan kedudukan dengan Spurs, Villa dan Man City yang semuanya hanya berjaya mampu seri didalam perlawanan mereka semalam.... dan kemudian kita harap Arsenal akan dapat 'memperlahankan' kemaraan Chelsea.

Liverpool di percayai akan turun tanpa Torres.....dan di harap Aquilani akan diberikan peluang untuk membuktikan kemampuan sebenar beliau.

Perlawanan antara jiran terdekat ini (local derby) tak pernah tak sengit dan selalu nya berakhir dengan  kontroversi. 

Berikut sedikit statistik menarik menurut liverpoolfc.tv;

• Liverpool have won 82 of the 211 meetings in all competitions with Everton winning 65 and 64 ending all square. 
• Today will mark the 181st league meeting with the Reds having won 68 to the Blues 56. It is the most played derby in English league football. 
• The Reds are looking to win three league games in a row at Goodison for only 3rd time in club's history. 
• Liverpool have lost just two of the last 11 derbies at Goodison winning seven of the last nine.  
• The Reds have kept two clean sheets in the last nine league visits to Goodison but in that time have scored 18 goals. 
• The Reds have lost just two of the last 19 meetings in the Premier League home and away. 
• Only four of the players currently at the two clubs have scored in a Merseyside league derby. Steven Gerrard (4), Fernando Torres (3) and Dirk Kuyt (2) have scored for the Reds while the only Everton player to do so is Tim Cahill (4).   
• Steven Gerrard and Phil Neville are the only players in Derby history to be sent off twice.
• 17 players have been sent off in the 34 Premier League meetings between the clubs with eight men seeing red in the last nine clashes.  
• Steven Gerrard made his Liverpool debut 11 years ago today as a substitute against Blackburn at Anfield. 
• This game could see him make his 499th appearance for the Reds.  
• Fernando Torres is two goals away from recording 50 in the league for the Reds. Should he score them in the next 12 games he will have achieved the feat quicker than any other Liverpool player ever, beating the record of 80 games held by Sam Raybould in 1902 and Albert Stubbins in 1949. 

Untuk statistik lain, baca disini.

Statistik menyebelahi kita. 

LFC's Probable line-up ; Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Aurellio, Mascherano, Lucas, Gerrard, Benayoun, Kuyt, Ngog. 

Subs ; Cavilieri, Skrtel, Spearing. Insua, Aquilani, Torres(doubtful), Kyrgiakos

Predictions;    Everton 0 - 3 Liverpool

YNWA