There's usually two schools of thought after particularly awful matches things could be so bad that some swear off the football for awhile, the things they've seen never to unseen. Or there's the view that another match can't come quickly enough, regardless of whether or not it promises something better.

Seven months after the sale of Andy Carroll, Newcastle United have, to the surprise of no one, failed to sign a suitable replacement to fill the void up front. A day of deadline drama, in which saw United lodge a "bid" for FC Twente's Bryan Ruiz, has ended up falling flat on it's face as [...]

I've spent much of the morning nursing a hangover after yesterday's debacle, and trying to organise my thoughts and come to some decision on what on Earth happened in the past few months. Like all of you, I'm racked with disappointment, anger, frustration but most of all betrayal. We pay our hard earned cash for [.

With the drama of the past few days behind us, focus begrudgingly shifts towards the meaty part of the international break and a full slate of matches for Liverpool's internationals. It'd be nice if the end of the window was closely followed by a match for the club it's not a completely new-look squad, but it has the feel of some sort of fresh start, and a chance for renewed optimism after a relatively disappointing end to the summer's activities.

Internationals. Qualifiers. Friendlies. Fun.

Three out of four ain't bad?

Hey, at least none of Liverpool's players came out of the first round of distractions with any knocks they didn't go in with...

Bulgaria v. England

England kicked another puppy around to the cheers of the press and have now clinched a top two finish in their group—first gets you into the Euros automatically, while runners-up get to head to a playoff.

Serbia is set to face the Faroe Islands in Group C action, while Kazakhstan heads to Azerbaijan in an exciting match-up of countries that can't qualify for next summer's European Championships. Plus there might be a couple of games that you'll be vaguely interested in because hey, it's football, which is better than nothing.

It's no secret that one of our favorite pastimes around here is drinking. Whether it's in an attempt to cope with the punishing reality of last fall or to celebrate any or all of life's little wonders, a nice drink is something to be enjoyed and cherished, often in large quantities. Our regulars seem to have embraced this ethos, churning out some remarkably coherent and insightful stuff while reportedly tipping back man's finest creation.

Craig Bellamy's golf game, the media's desire to talk negatives, and putting the muckraking press in its place over the issue of Carroll, drinking, and fitness in the wake of Capello's comments earlier in the week. We'll be along with more soon, but for now have an entertaining and informative exchange from Kenny Dalglish's pre-Stoke press conference to help pass the time:

Spoilers: Everybody came out of this set of internationals fit and unscathed and ready to take on Stoke on Saturday. Except perhaps for Martin Skrtel, though any damage he picked up is going to be of the mental variety. In any case, September's international break is over and done with, which means no more worries about Liverpool players getting injured in borderline meaningless games.

I wonder how many other letters of the alphabet Crouch can make with his body?... Liverpool travel to Stoke tomorrow for their first match after the annoying international break. Before the internationals got in the way Liverpool were playing some good football and will be looking to continue their form after that successful 3-1 victory over Bolton.

Liverpool head to the Britannia tomorrow to face Tony Pulis' Stoke City in one of the more challenging away fixtures on the Premier League calendar. The Reds have only earned two points in their last three visits, and the hosts have a well-founded reputation for being one of the least hospitable clubs in the top flight.

Kickoff from the Britannia Stadium at 3:00PM BST/10:00AM EST

Ways to Watch:

Live on Fox Soccer Plus in the US.

The Liverpool View has a map of locations around the world where you can watch the match live.

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StopStream.

Stoke City 1: Walters 21′
Liverpool 0

In many ways I suppose I'm glad the stream I was watching kept crapping out what I did see was the antithesis of the type of performance we'd hoped for from Liverpool, who came up against an opponent that was not so much interested in playing football as it was looking for a series of sparring matches.

I swore to myself I wouldn't get involved and would stay away from this fight as Ashley has got the fans at each other throats with the current state of affairs at SJP but after reading a recent 'blog by my colleague on here, and the fairly large response to it, I couldn't hold my [...]

Another trip to North London for Liverpool, this time to White Hart Lane to face Harry Redknapp's Spurs side. Tomorrow's hosts won both meetings last season, a feat they hadn't accomplished in nearly twenty-five years. They've been remarkably consistent over the past three years when hosting Liverpool, winning each time with a 2-1 scoreline.

It has to be fair game to wonder what happened to the faith Kenny Dalglish showed John Flanagan towards the end of last season; to wonder where it went on the back of a poor performance that owed a great deal to the young fullback being left exposed by the man playing in front of him.

It has to be fair game to wonder about the insistence on playing that man, Jordan Henderson, ahead of the more experienced Dirk Kuyt no matter the circumstances—even when coming up against one of the league's top six club's on the road.

Liverpool 2 Craig Bellamy 7′, Dirk Kuyt 81′
Brighton 1 Ashley Barnes (pen) 90′

Liverpool came out firing, looking to put doubts to rest in the wake of Sunday's shambolic visit to White Hart Lane—or, for the players who had been left out against Tottenham, perhaps attempting to show the manager that they were more deserving of starting roles.

Even when it's only a few days, filling the time between matches is often one of the more difficult tasks to accomplish there's mostly just people talking, followed by other people talking, followed by us talking, and then there's a bit more talking before things are polished off for around 100 minutes or so when the playing finally starts and the talking finally stops.

Liverpool look to tomorrow's match with an eye to getting back on track in league after losing two straight, but can take a few positives from the League Cup win over Brighton on Wednesday. Similar story for Wolves, who've also lost two straight after starting the season with two consecutive wins.

Liverpool 2: Johnson OG 11′, Suarez 38′
Wolves 1: Fletcher 49′

An encouraging first half followed by a nervy second, with the opposition growing in stature and causing all sorts of concerns. Wasted chance after wasted chance for Liverpool, with innumerable chances to extend a lead and put the match to bed.

An post match analysis by Sky Sports, Charlie Nicholas on the Liverpool v...

Jose Enrique had another display that argued his case as Liverpool's player of the season to date, but you won't see much of that here. Lucas played over 270 minutes in less than a week and still had the stamina to run from one end of the pitch to the other to make a match-saving tackle in injury time, but you won't see that here.

Afterwards, opinions ranged from Andy Carroll having finally shown something of his worth as more than a target for long clearances to him having done nothing in particular to rewrite the gargantuan failure narrative he's been saddled with since arriving at Liverpool for £35M in January. Sometimes those wildly divergent opinions even came from the same pundit.

Six matches into the season, and the discussion about where things stand from a Liverpool perspective, both individually and collectively, is well underway. Noel's given us a couple of great pieces already, first looking at Andy Carroll on Monday and Charlie Adam today. While both have a titular (not like that, pervs) focus on specific individuals, both have also created excellent conversation about these individuals' impact on the team as a whole, which, given the changes in the side, is an interesting and, in some cases, divisive topic.