In an interview with 'The Times' today, Rafa Benitez once again laid the blame for Robbie Keane's failure at Liverpool at the feet of the player himself, claiming that he was sold because 'he was not playing at the level we knew he could play'. In my view, Benitez's mis-managment was the real reason Keane did not prosper at Anfield. Click to continue reading...

Warning : This could be boring

The Past few weeks have seen the worst crisis period of your wonderful career. There are times I used to think what made you quit as a Valencia coach and join Liverpool. You had two La Liga titles and a Uefa cup glory with a meek Valencia side.

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Dirk Kuyt's supporters are always trying to convince everyone he deserves his place in the team because he's so 'hard-working', has 'endless stamina' and gives his all for the team. Well, that may be the case but as I will illustrate, Rafa Benitez's continued favouritism for the player has had - and is having - a negative impact on Liverpool FC's attacking effectiveness. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool striker David Ngog claims team-mate Fernando Torres is the best striker in the world and has played down his role as a direct replacement.
The French youngster has netted four goals from nine games this season and now heads the list of replacements for crocked first-choice Torres. Click to continue reading...

As we saw once again against Birmingham on Monday, Glen Johnson's best work this season continues to come when he's playing higher up the field. Should Liverpool capitalise on this and convert him into a permanent right-winger?
In my view, the Birmingham game illustrated once again the occasional defensive lapses to which Johnson is prone; his failure to push out quick enough meant Christian Benitez was onside when he scored the equalising goal. Click to continue reading...

Steven Gerrard's hotly-disputed second-half penalty rescued a point for Liverpool but did little to lift the pressure on boss Rafael Benitez.
It is just one win now in nine matches for the Reds and they must be grateful for the two-week international break which will allow the dust to settle on their faltering season. Click to continue reading...

Early team news from the "Make Us Dream" website suggest that there is no place for Fernando Torres who, as widely-reported, has hernia trouble.
Instead, Tom suggests David Ngog will partner Dirk Kuyt upfront.
Steven Gerrard may be on the bench, that would be welcome news for the Reds.
Possible Team News:
Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Insua, Reira, Mascherano, Lucas, Benayoun, Kuyt, Ngog. Click to continue reading...

Despite the doom and gloom of the last few weeks - and amid the continued misplaced vitriol towards the owners - there are plenty of reasons for Liverpool fans to be positive at the moment.
As many people who visit this regularly will know, I take a critical, realist approach to LFC. Within that approach, I always try and be fair, and there is plenty of evidence for that on the site. Click to continue reading...

So... to review... for Liverpool to qualify for the Champions League round of sixteen one of the following scenarios needs to occur:

1.) Liverpool beat Debrecen AND Lyon beat Fiorentina AND Liverpool beat Fiorentina.

2.) Liverpool beat Debrecen AND Lyon draw with Fiorentina AND Liverpool beat Fiorentina by at least three goals.

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Lyon hosted Liverpool on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 in the UEFA Champions League. Liverpool has lost 6 of 7 matches and is looking to get a much needed win to improve their chances of qualifying for the knockout stage. Lyon is undefeated in the group stage entering the match and looks to continue their good form.

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Liverpool suffered a disastrous defeat to Roy Hodgson's Fulham at Craven Cottage this afternoon.
Without Skrtel and Agger due to a virus, Rafa chose to field an emergency line-up with Deggen and Kyrgiakos in defence and Voronin upfront alongside Torres.
Liverpool started brightly attacking Fulham in waves. Click to continue reading...

Rafa Benitez's future at Liverpool has become even more cloudy following Fulham's determined 3-1 win at Craven Cottage. Liverpool picked up two red cards along the way as Erik Nevland's clever goal proved to be enough for Fulham to grab all three points.

Bobby Zamora got things going for the home side in the first half, but his strike was quickly cancelled out by a stunning Fernando Torres goal.

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Little to say after what promises to be one of the most surreal thirty minutes in recent memory.

Chronologically:

-Torres off, Ryan Babel on. Apparently uninjured. Maybe with the midweek Champions League fixture in mind...but after that first half stunner, tough pill to swallow.

-Goal Fulham.

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He may not yet know the intricacies of their card school, but Alberto Aquilani has already shown he can potentially be Liverpool's ace in the pack on the pitch.
The long wait was ended on Wednesday night when the £20m signing from Roma made a first competitive appearance for his new club at the Emirates. Click to continue reading...

To celebrate the launch of our brand new members' area Arsenalinsider, in association with Icons, are giving one lucky reader the chance to win a signed Fabregas shirt.

To be in with a chance, all you need to do is sign up for a free account.

Each members' account will enable you to communicate with other Arsenal fans, just like on Facebook.

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Teenager Fran Merida netted his first Arsenal goal as Arsene Wenger's young Gunners beat Liverpool 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup.
Just back from the Under-20 World Cup with Spain, the 19-year-old former Barcelona trainee drilled in a fine first-half strike as Wenger's faith in youth was once again justified. Click to continue reading...

My normal pre-match bravado wasn't at full strength after the four-game losing streak (Liverpool's worst run since the Spring of 1987) and going into the fixture against Manchester United Sunday I was a sleepless bag of frenetic nerves.

We tend to play our best against the strongest opposition (I thought our outing against Chelsea was one of our best performances of the season except for of course the two moments that led to their two goals) and Fernando Torres was on the starting team sheet.

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Rafa interested in Wanderers man apparently?

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Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is pondering a move for Taylor.

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Javier Mascherano has further rocked the listing Anfield boat this morning by snubbing a new contract.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez, already on the ropes after four straight defeats, has always believed the Argentine midfielder would join his golden list of long-term stars.
Skipper Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Pepe Reina, Dirk Kuyt, Daniel Agger and Yossi Benayoun were all secured on bumper summer deals. Click to continue reading...

It's been a week of hell for the players and supporters of Liverpool Football Club, but a much deserved 2-0 win against their arch-enemy Manchester United Sunday will remove the gloom and doom on Merseyside and offer Rafael Benitez vindication as a football manager.

Simply put, Liverpool were deserved winners in this game.

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The biggest match of the weekend in the English Premier League was on Sunday with Liverpool hosting Manchester United. Liverpool has been struggling of late and needs a win at home against Manchester United. So, who won the match and what happened? Here's a recap of the match along with video highlights

Liverpool beats Manchester United 2-0 Video Highlights

1st Half

It was an electric crowd at Anfield as Liverpool looked to defeat Man U after winning both EPL matches last season.

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Speculation mounts about Argentine's future.

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JAVIER MASCHERANO has further rocked the listing Anfield boat this morning by snubbing a new contract.

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"There is a massive difference in money but we have better fans than United."

I don't know whether I'd describe the difference as 'massive', but yes, Rafael Benitez has spent more money than Sir Alex Ferguson.

Money
Liverpool
2004/2005
In:
Djibril Cisse £14m
Xabi Alonso £10.

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Rafa Benitez, prior to substantial weight and facial hair gain
I. Manchester United @ Liverpool: A must win game for under fire manager Rafa Benitez, but one that if he wins - will put Liverpool just 4 points behind United after 10 games. Not too much to worry about then if Liverpool can pull off the win against the league leaders. Click to continue reading...

Since so much has been said about yesterday's game, I'm not going to go too much into it. I just wanted to say how proud I am of my team. We've been waiting for this win for a long time. It might just be the group stages, but the biggest criticism of Lyon has been that they've been unable to defeat a big team away from home.

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This was a game that Liverpool had to win and for over an hour looked like they could do so. Then Lyon equalised and you sensed that something dramatic was about to happen. Sadly, it did and now Liverpool have a huge task in their hands to qualify. They have done so in the past under similar circumstances but this time it looks too much with two very good teams in the group. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool supporters talk about European nights at Anfield, but it was French side Lyon who "did a Liverpool" Tuesday night with an injury-time goal to seal a 2-1 come from behind victory on Merseyside.

The win for Lyon was a bit of a harsh result for the Reds especially since Rafael Benitez's side played far better than they did against Sunderland.

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The mark of an exceptional football commentator is when they add value to a match you're watching on television. Otherwise, if they're not adding anything worthwhile, you're better off watching the game in silence.

Take for example the incident when Dirk Kuyt scored for Liverpool in the first half of Tuesday's Champions League match against Lyon, only for the goal to be disallowed.

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Liverpool have plenty of work to do to qualify for the Champions League knockout phase after they lost 2-1 at home to Group E leaders Lyon.
Yossi Benayoun put the hosts ahead in the 41st minute only for substitute Maxime Gonalans to head home a corner 18 minutes from the end and Cesar Delgado snatch the winner in added time. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool legend Phil Thompson believes the club's opening day Premier League defeat against Tottenham underlined the club's lack of depth and quality, and that has evidently manifested itself over the last few weeks against Aston Villa, Chelsea and Sunderland.
Thompson told Skysports.com: "I'll start by saying I don't think Liverpool's season is hanging on the Lyon game but there's no doubt it is massive - and one they must win. Click to continue reading...

Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres have both been ruled out of Liverpool's trip to Sunderland on Saturday because of injuries picked up on international duty.
Gerrard, Liverpool's captain, suffered a groin injury in England's World Cup defeat to Ukraine last weekend and limped out of training two days later, subsequently missing the home win against Belarus. Click to continue reading...

Dirk Kuyt has given Liverpool's preparations for Saturday's trip to Sunderland a much-needed lift by declaring himself fit for duty.
The Holland international picked up an ankle injury during his country's trip to Australia last weekend and exacerbated the problem during the 0-0 draw in Sydney. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool remain confident Steven Gerrard will be fit for their trip to Sunderland this weekend, despite fears he may have sustained a slight tear in his adductor muscle.
Gerrard, who was substituted at half time in England's defeat in Ukraine on Saturday, returned to Merseyside for a precautionary scan after managing only 10 minutes of training with Fabio Capello's squad on Tuesday. Click to continue reading...

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. Click to continue reading...

"My superman pose is better than yours." - Martin "No it's not" - Zavon

• Blog favorite Jimmy Bullard made it 2-in-2 as he scored for Hull's reserves yesterday in the 2-2 draw with York City. Bullard may even start against old club Fulham this weekend. I love this guy [Vital Football]

• Another one of my man crushes, West Ham's speedy Zavon Hines, has impressed recently for both club and country [EPL Talk]

• Dirk Kuyt admires big umbrella.

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