Croatian winger Daniel Pranjic is the latest player to be linked with a summer move to Anfield, but is he good enough to enhance the side and help take the club to the next level?
Pranjic's agent revealed Liverpool's purported interest earlier this week:
"I can confirm that several English and Spanish clubs are looking at Pranjic.

The Aurelio Household
It's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. Liverpool first choice left back Fabio Aurelio is set to miss up to six months of action after injuring himself playing with his children in the backyard. Aurelio injured his knee in a freak accident fooling around in the garden with his kids.

OPTA's latest statistics have revealed some surprising facts about the effectiveness of two of Liverpool's key midfielders.
According to OPTA, Javier Mascherano is the top passer in the Premiership this season, with 547 completed passes and an accuracy rate of 87%. Chelsea's Michael Essien has the same accuracy rate but has completed a lot less passes.

After a freak pre-season incident in which Fabio Aurelio was injured whilst having a back-yard kickabout with his son (!), Liverpool fans were looking forward to the Brazilian's return to action. Unfortunately, Aurelio's comeback is on hold yet again after another freak injury sustained at Liverpool's Melwood training ground today.

Veracruz 1 vs 1 Xolos
Falta de punteria, xolos tuvieron muchas oportunidades en el primer tiempo para adelantarse en el marcador pero no concretaron, la expulsion afecto el planteamiento tactico y el equipo se fue atras, el gol de veracruz ponia las cosas color hormiga para los xolos pero alcanzaron a rescatar el empate en el ultimo minuto, ojo, no se gano un punto, se perdieron dos, xolos reciben a albinegros en el caliente el proximo domingo a la una de la tarde.

Well we were sweating over the fitness of our two key men, obviously one has recovered quicker than Rafa thought and the doubful Gerrard isn't fit enough to start today. I've been told the team is as follows: Reina, Johnson, Agger, Carragher, Insua, Kuyt, Benayoun, Lucas, Mascherano, Aurelio, Torres.

Much to the delight of Liverpool fans, Daniel Agger, Alberto Aquilani and Fabio Aurelio will all be ready to start soon, and while we all know what positions Agger and Aquilani will play upon their return, Aurelio's position and influence on the team is more of a mystery. New Liverpool-Kop writer Bikram Rana takes a look at how the infludential Brazilian will fit into the team.

2:45pm on espn2. Chelsea lead 1-3 on aggregate.
Knockout Rounds:
Liverpool: 4-0 Real (h); 1-0 Real (a)
Chelsea: 2-2 Juve (a); 1-0 Juve (h)
Group Stage:
Liverpool: 3-1 PSV (a); 1-0 Marseille (h); 1-1 Atletico (h); 1-1 Atletico (a); 3-1 PSV (h); 2-1 Marseille (a)
Chelsea: 2-1 Cluj (h); 1-1 Bordeaux (a); 1-3 Roma (a); 1-0 Roma (h); 0-0 Cluj (a); 4-0 Bordeaux (h)
Last 3 matches:
Liverpool: 4-0 Blackburn (h); 1-3 Chelsea (h); 1-0 Fulham (a)
Chelsea: 4-3 Bolton (h); 3-1 Liverpool (a); 2-0 Newcastle (a)
Goalscorers (Europe):
Liverpool: Gerrard 7; Kuyt, Torres 2; Dossena, Babel, Benayoun, Ngog, Riera 1
Chelsea: Drogba 4; Anelka, Ivanovic, Terry 2; J Cole, Essien, Kalou, Lampard, Malouda 1
Referee: Luis Medina Cantalejo (SPA)
Guess at a squad
--------------Reina
----Skrtel Carragher Agger
Arbeloa------------------Aurelio
----Mascherano---Alonso
Kuyt-----------------------Babel
--------------Torres
All the news today, whether it's BBC or the official site, suggests Gerrard will be fit to start.

Gerrard out. Johnson out. Aurelio out. Torres half-fit. Several other players doubtful. Two defeats in three CL games. Third in the CL group table. eight defeats since the start of the season. Liverpool have no chance of beating Lyon on their own ground, right? WRONG.
Liverpool thrive on being underdogs and if history has proven one thing about the club it's this: in times of adversity, and when everything looks hopeless, Liverpool can and will triumph.

Yes, I am aware Daniel Agger is not even a left-back but it just shows how badly Insua has been playing. The Reds had their share of problems this season but one of the biggest reasons behind the disappointing results is the fact defence is leaking too many goals. Johnson, Carragher and Skrtel are doing really well when they are fully fit, thus I am positive the back line would be much more stable with Agger replacing completely unconvincing Insua.

Tonights Liverpool team to face Leeds United: Cavalieri, Degen, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Dossena, Aurelio, Spearing, Mascherano, Riera, Babel, Ngog. Subs: Reina, Gerrard, Torres, Skrtel, Voronin, Plessis, Johnson.

One of the highlights of last season was Liverpool's briliant double over Chelsea. Despite the club's poor overall record at Stamford Bridge - and a frustrating inability to beat the better teams so far this season - today's game is eminently winnable...but only if the formation and tactics are right, and that means aces in their place.

Pundits and so called 'experts' have been talking endlessly about the ineffective nature of quite a few players within Rafa's first team squad after some rather woeful performances and defensive nightmares, but are there really players at the club who are not good enough, and if so, who are they?

Portsmouth Vs Liverpool Tickets Still Available!

Todays Liverpool team to face Manchester United at Anfield! Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Insua, Carragher, Agger, Mascherano, Lucas, Aurelio, Benayoun, Kuyt, Torres. Subs: Cavalieri, Voronin, Babel, Ngog, Spearing, Degen, Skrtel.

From the comments in the last post:

Marlon said...
I thought it was interesting that while Aurelio might still be a better technical player than Insua, when Insua plays it seems to make Riera play better

Very interesting. The flanks have arguably been Liverpool's longest-standing concern, so the records of each pairing would seem a meaningful stat.

Liverpool v Chelsea
This is the fifth consecutive season that these two have met in the Champions League, which says a lot about their remarkable consistency in the tournament.
Or, another way of looking at it: oh no, not again. It might not be exciting, but it should at least be absorbing.

I've never seen such a game in all my life. Chelsea, at home, wind at their backs with a two goal (two away goals too) cushion and a simple stroll into the semi's in two weeks time. A battle-hardened Liverpool side bound and determined to claw their way back into the contest only to see it all fall apart in the dying moments.

This one is really coming out of nowhere, but just hear me out. Insua is selected by just 0.1% of fantasy managers. Not one percent. 1/10 of one percent. Basically, no one owns Liverpool's cheapest left back. That's the bad news.
The good news? The club has kept a clean sheet all three times that the left back Insua (4.

Best Moment: In March Liverpool thrashed Real Madrid in the Champions League and Sunderland, Manchester United and Aston Villa in the Premier League scoring fifteen and conceding a solitary goal. It was breath-taking stuff and such a shock after watching Benitez become more controlling and more defensive over the course of his reign.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has allayed fears that first choice left Fabio Aurelio will be out for the rest of the year after confirming the extent of the Brazilian's freak injury.
There were fears that Aurelio would be missing for the rest of the year after he suffered damaged his knee in a kickabout in his back garden.

£3.5 million for Arvalro Arbeloa? That's all? Seriously?

I mean, I know that's probably what his services are worth but that's not the issue. When Real Madrid have their checkbook out and are licking the tip of their bottomless ballpoint pen there is no call to stop at £3.5 million.

Tiburones Rojos vs Xoloitzcuintles2
Originally uploaded by prismatico Saca Xoloitzcuintles empate al Veracruz
VERACRUZ, VERACRUZ.- Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente jugó más de medio tiempo con un jugador de menos y logró sacar un empate a un gol de la casa de los Tiburones Rojos del Veracruz.

Veteran legend still has a season in the tank.

With Fabio Aurelio still out injured and Emiliano Insua a little raw for a long sting in the first team and the jury well and truly still out on Andrea Dossena, would a move for Roberto Carlos be a wise one?

Yes he's 36 but he is super fit and has a wealth of experience and is available, perhaps most crucially given the financial state we are in, for free.

Premier League Team News - Barclays Premier League - ESPN SoccernetNo certainty of O'Hara playing for Pompey - I like the thought of him as a cheap option but I'm not willing to go too far out on a limb until I know how (and if) they intend to deploy him regularly. More a BD option than something for this week if you ask me (and you sort of did by being here to read this column).

As I predicted yesterday, Xavier Masherano is out injured and does not make the squad.Steven Gerrard goes back into central midfield alongside Lucas.Benayoun plays behind Torres upfront with Riera wide on the left.Aurelio doesn't even make the bench.Team in full;Reina,Johnson,Insua,Carragher,Skertel,Lucas,Gerrard,Riera,Benayoun,Kuyt,Torres

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard is anticipating that January's African Cup of Nations could have a decisive influence in this season's Premier League title race, with the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea losing vital players to the three-week tournament, at a time of year when key points can be collected for the top sides.

Albert Riera has become the latest victim of Rafa Benitez's regrettable habit of dropping players after they score goals. How long is this damaging trend going to continue?
After being stuck on the bench for most of the season, Riera started the 6-1 thrashing of Hull and had a fantastic game.

The Times North West football writer says club must get back to basics if they are to address the problems that have dogged them this season.
What went wrong in Florence on Tuesday night?
Most Liverpool fans would have been concerned when they saw the team-sheet.

There's no option to italicize,bold and increase the font to 15 of the word "Bad" there. But I think you got the message already so I leave it to you. Listen, this whole global warming thing is sickening. There's also widespread poverty and a lot of kids with AK47 guns. Added to that are extra problems like say the rising Fuel prices, water problem and traffic through the city.

2:45pm, live in the US on FSC
Last 3 matches:
Liverpool: 1-3 Fulham (a); 1-2 Arsenal (a); 2-0 United (h)
Lyon: 1-0 St Etienne (a); 1-4 Nice (a); 2-1 Liverpool (a)
Group Stage:
Liverpool: 1-2 Lyon (h); 0-2 Fiorentina (a); 1-0 Debrecen (h)
Lyon: 2-1 Liverpool (a); 4-0 Debrecen (a); 1-0 Fiorentina (h)
Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (BEL)
De Bleeckere was the man in the middle for wins over Inter and Real in the last two seasons.

COS contributor ...Samlfc... Talks about who he thinks Rafa should bring to Anfield.

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My first post will be about who Liverpool should buy during the transfer window because this is a critical point in our season and it's a time that Rafa must not!

What a match, though for all intents and purposes, the theatrics I could do without. Our boys were clearly the better side from start to finish and for us to have to come back from a 1-0 deficit to begin with, was the biggest joke of all. If Nugent was onside, then so was Kuyt (on his called-back goal, of course).

Reina
Arbeloa Skrtel Carragher Aurelio
Lucas Alonso
Kuyt Gerrard Riera
Torres
Goals:
Torres 6'
Ivanovic 39' 62'
Drogba 67'
Well, admittedly, I'm prone to exaggeration after a bad result, but I'm pretty sure that's the Champions League done and dusted.

Prior to the game, I thought the odds of another Istanbul style comeback were far too slim to risk losing any of our big players. Winning number 19 was my preference above all else. With this in mind, I was uncharacteristically content with the prospect of us not winning a match.
But that all changed during the game, with Liverpool completely dominating the first half.

Michael Essien is an athletic beast. He got his head down in time for a goal line save in the 90th minute as Cech was beaten all ends up. The Blues would have gone to the semi-finals on goal aggregate even in defeat. It was a pulsating encounter with end to end action.

But Liverpool was riding on emotion with the observance of the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy this week.

This morning's thriller between Liverpool and Chelsea was the sort of game that occurs only once every European season, if that. A high-profile knockout game which captivates the fans and infuriates the coaches in about equal measure.
These two sides have produced some grim encounters over the last few years, but this one bore no resemblance to the unbearably tight aerial slugfests of the recent past.

In just seven days, Liverpool have been involved in two of the most entertaining games in years. First, it was the 4-4 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League last week. And second, it was tonight's 4-4 draw against Arsenal at Anfield.

Whatever happens this season, Liverpool has been an incredibly entertaining and adventurous side showing a wonderful passion and drive.

Rafa Benitez has named the starting 11 to face West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns, bringing in Lucas and Insua in place of Aurelio and Alonso.

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Back in early March, I took a look at Liverpool's record depending on who started on the left. I reckon it's worth updating that post, given the continuing emergence of Insua, more starts for Benayoun, and much less of Babel and Dossena. Fair warning: this is long, even for me.
The previous post went up to Sunderland on 3/3.

Por fin la directiva a través de Antonio Núñez dijo esta boca es mía y da a conocer algunas noticias, sin embargo paradójicamente las noticias no son noticias o sea son solo confirmación de lo que ya se sabia a manera de rumor, la salida de gente importante del equipo y lo relevante es que no vendría gente de trayectoria a cubrir vacantes sino que se recurriría a jóvenes de las fuerzas básica preferentemente.