PUYET DETERMINED TO BEAT LIVERPOOL

Ahead of this evening’s 5th round tie between Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield, Gus Puyet was in resilient form ahead of the FA Cup tie:
“I will do everything I can to win a football match, whatever you can imagine.”

Brighton lie two points of the play-off places and are undefeated in ten games to date.
That run has coincided with the return of winger Will Buckley who has scored five in the last seven games for The Seagulls.

Brighton, having knocked out Newcastle in the last round are sure to be really up for the game against Liverpool and we can expect a tough encounter at a packed Anfield.

Liverpool are unbeaten at home in all competitions this Season, winning six and drawing nine of their games at home.

We did beat Brighton earlier this Season in the Carling Cup at the all-new Amex Stadium with goals by Bellamy and Kuyt cancelling out a Barnes penalty to give Liverpool a 2-1 victory at the former Goldstone ground.

Lets hope for more of the same this evening.

SUAREZ: STORM IN A VERY BIG TEA-CUP

This furore over Luis Suarez Suarez ‘non-handshake’ with that Evra fella has gone out of control and is totally out of proportion for what has occurred.

True, Suarez is guilty of going back on his promise to shake that man Evra’s hand and he did make a mistake there after previously promising to Liverpool that he would do so.
But “victim” Evra who grabbed him by the arm, tried to break his legs early in the game, only to scythe down team-mate Rio Ferdinand, who also refused to shake Suarez’s hand, is no angel.

“Your sister’s pussy” and repeated rants at Suarez calling him a “South-American, South-American, South-American” show that Evra is no Angel.
When Dirk Kuyt intervened in that match back in October, Mr. Evra forcibly pushed placid Kuyt away, without a booking.

Then to cap it all, he goes on a personal victory March around Old Trafford on Saturday, eventually having to be restrained by Referee Phil Dowd.

That particular Frenchman has behaved very foolishly all throughout the whole sordid affair and he has been extremely
fortunate to emerge unscathed.

Next Up: FA Cup: Brighton v Liverpool

LEAVING BELLAMY AND ADAM OUT WAS A MISTAKE

King Kenny got his team selection and tactics wrong on Saturday afternoon against Man Utd.

He opted for a cautious, defensive line-up with Luis Suarez up-front as Kuyt lined up on the right wing and youngsters Spearing and Henderson were in midfield, bizarrely at the expence of Charlie Adam.

Adam has been an integral part of the midfield all season and I was stunned to hear he was only on the bench.
Also Stuart Downing was prefered to bang in form, Craig Bellamy and that simply put was a bad call by Dalglish.

It worked ok until half-time as the sides went in level 0-0, but it back-fired early in the second half as two quick goals by Rooney undid Liverpool’s cautious approach.

Dalglish soon afterwards changed his personnel bringing on Carroll and Bellamy for Spearing and Kuyt.
Charlie Adam then entered the fray for the ineffective Downing and his influence was almost immediate when he swung in a great cross into the box which Luis Suarez prodded home.

Glen Johnson had a good shot tipped over by DeGhea late on, but Utd ran out comfortable winners thanks to a less than inspired performance by Liverpool on the day.

It was a far cry fom the 3-1 defeat of Utd in March last year when we attacked them from the first whistle and ran out easy winners thanks to Suarez’s trickery and Dirk Kuyt’s goals.

Attack Kenny, is the best form of defence.
We finished fifth last Season and for whatever reason, we are stuck in Seventh this year.

Bring back Sammy Lee.

POSSIBLE LIVERPOOL TEAM V UTD

So its almost upon us, the biggest derby in the Premier League.
Man Utd v Liverpool FC at Old Trafford today at 12:45pm, live on Sky Sports to a watching and waiting audience of millions arounds the World.

With Utd chasing for their 20th League Title and Liverpool aiming for The Champions League, its all to play for in this lunch-time kick-off.

United sit in second place behind Man City in the league, while Liverpool are only in 7th following too many drawn games at Anfield.

However, Liverpool beat Man Utd in late January with goals by Daniel Agger & Dirk Kuyt to seal a victory by 2-1 at Anfield in the FA CUP.

Luis Suarez is likely to start up-front at the expence of Craig Bellamy who has been outstanding in front of goal lately.

A possible partnership with Andy Carroll may put Utd to the test at the back.

Expect a 2-1 or 3-1 victory for Liverpool.

HOW DID HARRY GET AWAY WITH IT?

I was amazed earlier today (Wed) when the jury at Southwark Crown Court found Harry Rednapp innocent of avoiding tax payments in an off-shore account in Monaco.

The Spurs Supremo had been under investigation for five years by the Inland Revenue concerning his HBSC account in Monaco’s tax haven.

He has £189,000 stashed away there from his days as Portsmouth Manager under Chairman, Milan Manderic.

‘Arry opened the account under the name of his dog: Rosie 47 .
This was discovered by the Revenue Commissioners and they begun proceedings against everybody’s pal Harry and the dour Croat Milan Mandaric.

The week-long Court Case finally concluded on Tuesday and the jury retired for the day to decide on their verdict and on Wednesday they found Harry Rednapp Not Guilty of dodging tax and national insurance payments.

Speaking on the steps outside London’s Southwark Crown Court, the Tottenham Hotspur manager said: ‘It really has been a nightmare. I’ve got to be honest.
 It’s been five years and this is a case that should never have come to court because it’s unbelievable, really.

‘It was horrendous, you know, but it was a unanimous decision.
The jury were absolutely unanimous that there was no case to answer. I’m pleased now we can go home and get on with our lives.

Amazing that a wealthy man in Harry can go to a foreign country on the quiet, lodge £189,000 into a Bank and then cry foul when he is found out.

How has he been found innocent?

I don’t know, can someone please tell me?

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LIVERPOOL HAVE A GOOD CHANCE OF BEATING UNITED ON SATURDAY

I HATE HIM

On paper, it seems a difficult job to get anything from the game, but I believe Liverpool are in the right frame of mind to gain at least a point, if not all three against Ferguson’s creaking side.

Yes, they are second behind Man City and are 15 points ahead of us in the Premier League but recent results between the teams have shown that we are well capable of beating them on our day (see graph).

They held us to a draw last October while we beat them last week 2-1 with goals from Danny Agger & Dirk Kuyt to dump them out of the FA Cup.

Despite being second in the table, Utd are vulnerable as showed by their concession of three goals to Chelsea on Sunday, with their defence struggling to cope with the loss of Vedic at centre-back, putting the likes of Smalling and Evans in their defence, they are always likely to conceed goals.

Also, the fact that Ferguson had to coax Scholes out of retirement to shore up midfield added to 38 year old Giggs playing on shows how close their team is to implosion.

Liverpool, with the attacking ethos, energy and drive have found a winning way past Man Utd already this Season.
Expect more of the same on Saturday, expect a hostile reception for Suarez aswell.

   Last five head-to-head fixtures:

DALGLISH DENOUNCES SUAREZ BAN AGAIN: VIDEO

Well said Kenny, lets hope your comments are not jumped on by the Holier than thou brigade, Suarez was harshly treated by the Evra incident and it is great to have the talented striker back playing for Liverpool again.

Should be an interesting game against Utd at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon with Evra and Suarez likely to be on the same pitch again, expect sparks to fly.

POSSIBLE LIVERPOOL TEAM V SPURS

With the return of Luis Suarez to the Liverpool on Monday night, having served his mammoth ban from football, reports are that Manager Kenny Dalglish will opt to unleash the talismatic Uraguyan striker from the bench.

Monday night’s game from Anfield will see Liverpool pit their wits against 3rd-placed Spurs who are 13 points ahead of Liverpool in the Premier League.

Indeed, Liverpool were given a harsh footballing lesson by Tottenham in the encounter last September when we had Charlie Adam sent off after half an hour following a Luka Modric goal, once Martin Skrtel got sent of that day aswell, we went down to a 4-0 defeat at White Hart Lane.

There is every hope that Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool side will provide a much stiffer test for Harry ‘Bung’ Rednapp’s side and I firmly believe Liverpool have the momentum to do just that on Monday night.

After dumping the two Manchester clubs out of the FA Cup & the Carling Cup plus the 3-0 victory against Wolves, I think that the way Liverpool play, they have enough about them to beat Spurs on Monday night to move into 5th and fight for the Champions League places

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LIVERPOOL V TOTTENHAM RESULTS ALL-TIME & NOW

With Liverpool facing Harry Rednapp’s Spurs next Monday night,
statistics over the years show that Liverpool have the edge over Tottenham in the Primiership down the years as shown in the graph below.

However, in the last three games between the two sides its Spurs who are on top with a thumping 4-0 beating of Liverpool, preceded
by a 2-0 defeat at Anfield last May.

Prior to that, Liverpool defeated Rednapp’s side 2-0 in January 2010 while we were beaten again in September of that year 2-1.

So, there is very little to choose between the teams in terms of results nowadays, let us hope for a victory against Harry Rednapp’s tax-dodgers on Monday night.

       LIVERPOOL V SPURS

BELLAMY MOVES AHEAD OF SUAREZ IN LIVERPOOL GOAL-SCORING CHARTS

IS KENNY RIGHT TO RULE OUT NEW SIGNINGS?

Liverpool boss, Kenny Dalglish has come out and said that there will be no signings in or out of Melwood this window.

After two great results against the Manchester clubs this week, it is easy to think that we have no need to find a striker and a midfielder in the January window.

However, we are seventh in the League, behind unfancied Newcastle and six points behind Chelsea in fourth place.

It is a brave move by Kenny not to seek reinforcements and to place his job in the trust of the performances of Andy Carroll, Downing, Henderson and Adam because these players are central to his Liverpool project this season.

True, we are in the Carling Cup Final next month, great news for every Liverpool fan and we are in the 5th round of the FA Cup aswell.

However I feel we are missing a trick by not signing another striker in this window, afterall, we sold Torres, Babel and Ngog last season and we have not replaced them.

Hope you are proved right Kenny.

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BEWARE BRIGHTON IN THE FA CUP

On the face of it Liverpool have been granted a favourable draw in the FA Cup 5th round with Championship side Brighton having to travel to Anfield in mid-February.

Kenny Dalglish’s men defeated the same opposition 2-1 at the brand new Amex Stadium earlier in the season in the Carling Cup with goals coming from Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt.

Gus Poyet’s side play an attractive brand of football and they currently sit in 10th in the Championship.
Their Chairman, Dick Knight oversaw the building of a new stadium, the appointment of Poyet and the advancement of the club which once neared extinction.

However, expect the fairytale to end on the 18/19th of February when they come to Anfield as Liverpool will go all out for a victory to qualify for the quarter-finals of the FA Cup at Wembley.

KENNY CHANGES TACTICS TO DEFEAT UTD

Liverpool beat Man Utd 2-1 in the FA Cup 4th round on Saturday, thanks to an overdue goal from Dirk Kuyt in the 88th minute.

Liverpool lined up with a defensive formation with Jamie Carragher in front of a flat back four, paying too much respect to a United side shorn of players like Vidic, Ferdinand and Rooney.

Liverpool took the lead on 21 mins from a clever corner which sucked in keeper David De Ghea to allow Daniel Agger to power home a header, his first goal this Season for Liverpool.

Thereafter, Liverpool retreated and Utd gradually grew into the game in midfield with Scholes and Giggs prominent.

An attack down the right from Utd drew them level when José Enrique failed to cut out a cross to Ji Sung Park who drew the sides level with a goal on 39 mins.

Early in the second-half, thankfully Kenny Dalglish decided to change the team’s approach when he withdrew Jamie Carragher for Dirk Kuyt on 62 mins, Charlie Adam and Craig Bellamy also came on for Captain Steven Gerrard and Maxi Rodriguez.

Now Liverpool really went for it with a much more attacking approach, sensing victory in their nostrils.

Liverpool took the game to Ferguson’s team in the final half-hour with Adam providing the impetous to every attack.

Yet the game seemed to be destined for a draw until a long punt upfield by Pepe Reina found the head of the hard-working Andy Carroll who flicked the ball into the path of Dirk Kuyt and the Flying Dutchman slammed the ball past De Ghea on 88 mins to give Liverpool a 2-1 lead in the tie.

A fervent Liverpool crowd rose to their feet to a man to support the team and Liverpool nearly had a third when a Carroll header smacked off the crossbar into the path of Kuyt again, who this time sent his shot wide.

However, Liverpool were not to be denied as they sealed a famous win 2-1 against Man Utd to progress into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Man of the Match: Andy Carroll

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PREDICTED LIVERPOOL TEAM AGAINST MAN UTD

So its Round Two against the Manchester clubs this Saturday afternoon.

We face the Old Enemy Utd at Anfield in an early kick-off 12:45pm.

Liverpool have everything to play for and have home advantage in the highest profile game of the FA Cup 4th round.

Following the great performance and result against Man City on Wednesday to reach the Carling Cup Final next month,
 Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool now have the chance to dump Man Utd out of the FA Cup at Anfield.

Will Kenny Dalglish risk playing Craig Bellamy again?
After his man of the match performance against City, is Bellamy’s knee up to starting a game again, so soon after Wednesday’s performance.
I think Kenny will play him again for an hour or so in the hope of establishing a lead against Ferguson’s team who may be missing Rio Ferdinand, Nani and possibly Wayne Rooney to injury.

Jay Spearing is back in contention following his hamstring strain but it may be a game too soon for the tough-tackling midfield dynamo.

The game is shrouded by the eight game suspension to Liverpool’s Luis Suarez thanks to Patrice Evra’s complaints to the FA.
The fact that the FA chose to accept Evra’s comments, even though he had no evidence to back it up is a major source of annoyance at Liverpool FC and Suarez himself who is nearing the completion of the harsh ban.

If Liverpool play with the application and intensity they showed against Man City then I fancy them to win 2-1 at Anfield.

NOW LETS BEAT THE OTHER MANCS

After Liverpool’s fantastic achievement in beating Man City over two legs to reach the Carling Cup Final last Wednesday night, thanks to Craig Bellamy’s goal.

It is now time to look towards beating the other half of Manchester in the form of the Red side of the City.

Our arch-rivals come to Anfield on Saturday afternoon in the fourth round of the FA Cup with it all to play for.

Man Utd will not be at full-strength, with Rio Ferdinand, Vidic and possibly, Rooney all ruled out through injury.
Good news for Liverpool.
If we can possibly reproduce the performance in the Carling Cup versus City then we stand a great chance of beating Utd again.
Will current hero Craig Bellamy be rested, owing to his dodgy knee or will he be playing from the start?
Kenny may chose to mix it up a little for Saturday’s game against the old enemy, but expect him to put out a very strong line-up again as he seeks to progress to the FA Cup last sixteen.

SORRY KENNY, IF YOU BUY AVERAGE PLAYERS, EXPECT AVERAGE RESULTS

After Saturday’s capitulation to lowly Bolton at the Reebok 3-1, Kenny Dalglish openly criticised his players for their attitude and performance in the defeat, even claiming that heads will roll after that display.

Well Kenny, it was an abject display by the team, a team you largely assembled yourself.

With the exception of Craig Bellamy in attack & Enrique at full-back, £90 million has been wasted on very average players who would not get into any of the current top four teams in the Premier League.
(Luis Suarez was brought in by the previous regime).

We were over-ran in midfield without the injured Lucas as Charlie Adam couldn’t make a legal tackle to save his own backside, Henderson had one shot on goal and zero tackles.
Andy Carroll did provide the assist for Bellamy’s goal but that was about all the big geordie did all day.
Stuart Downing has been a total flop since arriving from Aston Villa in the Summer, an England international, he has been dismal at Liverpool, God knows why, he has the ability.

So Kenny, go out and buy a quality striker and a proper midfielder before our Season is over by February, please.

KENNY V HODGSON RESULTS COMPARISON

I did a check on the respective results of Liverpool under Kenny Dalglish and Roy Hodgson before him from August to January in 2010 for Hodgson and in 2011 for Dalglish.

After our stalemate against Stoke last weekend, I felt it was time to step back and see the improvements in results at Liverpool since Kenny took over from the disasterous days under Roy Hodgson.

We are 11 points better off than this time last year and are in 7th place in the League compared to 13th and only having 26 points under Hodgson.

So while things are not ideal, we have made a major improvement with Dalglish back at the helm, despite not having Steven Gerrard for most of the Season so far and without the departed Torres, we are in contention for fourth place and one game away from the Carling Cup Final.

Lets hope for a much-needed win at the Reebok Arena versus Bolton.

WE NEED A NEW STRIKER!

HONEY, I’M HOME

We need a new striker..We need a new striker…We need a new striker…We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker..We need a new striker.

Thanks to Jack Nicholson in The Shining for this inspired piece of work.
Kenny and Damien, we are now 7th!
We need a new striker.

POSSIBLE TEAM V STOKE CITY AT ANFIELD

Having had a great win at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City in the Carling Cup on Wednesday night, expect to see Kenny re-introduce the likes of Jose Enriqué, Maxi Rodriguez as well as the combination of returning Captain Steven Gerrard to play alongside Charlie Adam in midfield in the absence of young Jay Spearing who did his hamstring on Wednesday.

Stoke City, under Tony Pulis are going well, 8th in the League and into the last 16 of the Europa League, we face a difficult game.
With former Red, Peter Crouch up-front alongside free-scoring Ireland International Jonathon Walters and tough-tackling Glenn Whelan in midfield plus Ryan Shawcross and Woodgate in defence, expect a very tough afternoon against the Potteries at three o’ clock.

2-1 to Liverpool, I hope.

LIVERPOOL’S DEFENSIVE EFFORT EARNS A WIN AT CITY

Liverpool will take a 1-0 advantage back to Anfield after defeating Manchester City in their Carling Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

The loss was City’s second at home in four days following the defeat to local rivals Manchester City on Sunday, while the visitors found more cup success after their 5-1 win over Oldham last Friday.


City would have been confident heading into the match having defeated Liverpool 3-0 at the same ground just a week ago.
Roberto Mancini’s side had a different look for this match though, with Yaya and Kolo Toure away on African Cup of Nations duties with the Ivory Coast and Vincent Kompany suspended.
Liverpool pressed from the off and Carroll was handed a great chance to open the scoring after the striker was sent through on goal by Downing.
Carroll shrugged off a challenge from Savic, but could not beat the oncoming Joe Hart with a low right-foot shot.
City hard barely attacked in the Reds’ third when Gerrard fired a stinging shot at Hart which dipped at the far corner, but the goalkeeper reacted quickly enough to palm the Liverpool skipper’s effort out for a corner.
From the set-piece, a rehearsed move between Gerrard and Downing had the latter testing Hart for the third time for the match.