MINCING MY WORDS
Well, once again I've been made to mince my words.
So our 2-0 win over Inter Milan means that we look to be going towards the impossible dream once more - to get 6th European Cup.
Dirk Kuyt has now scored for two consecutive games, Steven Gerrard looks like he's firing on all cylinders, and we've managed to keep a clean sheet against a team that hadn't lost for five months before they met us.
And for the next game, Rafa looks like he's going to make five or six changes, and we might just draw with Middlesbrough. Right? I certainly don't hope so, though.
For now, I just want to rejoice about one of the sweetest victories I have tasted as a Liverpool fan this season.
Before I launch into the recent discussion about what is the "best XI", let me just say where we have done well this season.
We have been fantastic in goalkeeping, and it's all thanks to our colossus of Spain, Jose Reina, who looks set to establish himself as one of the legends at Liverpool.
We have done very well in defensive midfield, where Javier Mascherano has been nothing short of magnificent in cleaning up those attacks that may have threatened us this season. He more than deserves that 17 million pounds we may - or may not - pay for him, and even if George and Tom don't know the difference between a good coach and a bad one (no disrespect to Jurgen K), they should know that letting Masch go will be the second biggest mistake of their lives. (The biggest, of course, was buying Liverpool).
However, we strongly need reinforcements now in left midfield. Since we bought Ryan Babel to let him sit on the bench, we need someone better than Harry Kewell to play on the left. Reiterating the frustration of every Liverpool fan, that Dutchman should play every 90 minutes whenever fit. He's 20, but Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo played to no problems at the age of 17 and 18 respectively, and I sincerely suspect that Babel belongs in the league of the wunderkinds. Set him loose, set him free, and watch the lion go. Otherwise, it's time to go shopping for someone more experienced on the wings.
Right midfield is also a worry. Jermaine Pennant has improved in the past few games, but class and form are by far two different things. Unfortunately, he isn't going to quite set Anfield alight, so it might be time to kiss and say goodbye. But he's still the most suitable player for the right wing that we've got, so we should play him while we've got no choice.
Striking is a massive problem. We used to produce homegrown strikers from our academy but because of the drought in the last decade we haven't had the talent that we could have had. So we need to look carefully for talent. Dirk Kuyt was a free-scoring Robbie Fowler-like striker in the Dutch league, but the comparison with our former God has ironically caused the words to become flesh. Kuyt, for all the running, can't seem to score when it's critical - but I was made to mince my words against Inter.
Then again, you can't always count on deflections to score, unless you're Frank Lampard. But to be honest, if he scores a deflected goal every game, he will be loved by everyone in the Kop.
So Rafa, left midfield and striker, go get them! (That's what I would do if I were you, but because you are still the man who won the European Cup, please do what you deem fit.)
My best XI:
Jose Reina, Alvaro Arbeloa, John Arne Riise (but he needs to step up a couple of gears with his performances), Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger, Jermaine Pennant, Ryan Babel*** (VIP - Very important player), Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Yossi Benayoun, Fernando Torres
We've got 39 points left for contention in the League for us - so let us make it the best fight we possibly can.
So our 2-0 win over Inter Milan means that we look to be going towards the impossible dream once more - to get 6th European Cup.
Dirk Kuyt has now scored for two consecutive games, Steven Gerrard looks like he's firing on all cylinders, and we've managed to keep a clean sheet against a team that hadn't lost for five months before they met us.
And for the next game, Rafa looks like he's going to make five or six changes, and we might just draw with Middlesbrough. Right? I certainly don't hope so, though.
For now, I just want to rejoice about one of the sweetest victories I have tasted as a Liverpool fan this season.
Before I launch into the recent discussion about what is the "best XI", let me just say where we have done well this season.
We have been fantastic in goalkeeping, and it's all thanks to our colossus of Spain, Jose Reina, who looks set to establish himself as one of the legends at Liverpool.
We have done very well in defensive midfield, where Javier Mascherano has been nothing short of magnificent in cleaning up those attacks that may have threatened us this season. He more than deserves that 17 million pounds we may - or may not - pay for him, and even if George and Tom don't know the difference between a good coach and a bad one (no disrespect to Jurgen K), they should know that letting Masch go will be the second biggest mistake of their lives. (The biggest, of course, was buying Liverpool).
However, we strongly need reinforcements now in left midfield. Since we bought Ryan Babel to let him sit on the bench, we need someone better than Harry Kewell to play on the left. Reiterating the frustration of every Liverpool fan, that Dutchman should play every 90 minutes whenever fit. He's 20, but Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo played to no problems at the age of 17 and 18 respectively, and I sincerely suspect that Babel belongs in the league of the wunderkinds. Set him loose, set him free, and watch the lion go. Otherwise, it's time to go shopping for someone more experienced on the wings.
Right midfield is also a worry. Jermaine Pennant has improved in the past few games, but class and form are by far two different things. Unfortunately, he isn't going to quite set Anfield alight, so it might be time to kiss and say goodbye. But he's still the most suitable player for the right wing that we've got, so we should play him while we've got no choice.
Striking is a massive problem. We used to produce homegrown strikers from our academy but because of the drought in the last decade we haven't had the talent that we could have had. So we need to look carefully for talent. Dirk Kuyt was a free-scoring Robbie Fowler-like striker in the Dutch league, but the comparison with our former God has ironically caused the words to become flesh. Kuyt, for all the running, can't seem to score when it's critical - but I was made to mince my words against Inter.
Then again, you can't always count on deflections to score, unless you're Frank Lampard. But to be honest, if he scores a deflected goal every game, he will be loved by everyone in the Kop.
So Rafa, left midfield and striker, go get them! (That's what I would do if I were you, but because you are still the man who won the European Cup, please do what you deem fit.)
My best XI:
Jose Reina, Alvaro Arbeloa, John Arne Riise (but he needs to step up a couple of gears with his performances), Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger, Jermaine Pennant, Ryan Babel*** (VIP - Very important player), Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Yossi Benayoun, Fernando Torres
We've got 39 points left for contention in the League for us - so let us make it the best fight we possibly can.
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