Make yourselves at home...

You can already hear the doomsayers out in droves. Nothing makes those gits happier than a big black cloud and a always say die attitude. We’re on our way to Turkey and lining up against a team that put 3 goals past Fenerbahçe the day after we lost by 3 in Manchester. If you ever needed a reason to be negative, then this is it. With the transfer window almost shut, we’ve got no new owners and the fixtures are already piling up fast and furious. This will be the 2nd of a 3 match run in only 8 days. The TRABZONSPOR are a good side at home and anyone who thinks that qualification for the Europa League Group stages hasn’t been paying attention at all.

There are going to be some high profile absentees with Gerrard missing the trip with a slight back problem and Torres being nursed to full health after a disjointed match against the Citizens. Milan Jovanovic, Maxi Rodriguez and Daniel Agger will also miss out.

But you know what? Fuck it. A siege mentality¹ might be a bit Old Skool but so is Old Roy. Our formation and tactics might have been out to lunch on Monday but it’s about time we dusted ourselves off and made a show of it. There are quite a few points the Gaffer will need to address before we run out against the Black Sea Storm and if he learned anything from the spanking in Manchester, it’s that a 4-4-2 requires a little steel. The TRABZONSPOR² have proved time and time again that they know how to score so even though we failed to pot one against All The Sheiks Men, defence rather than offence is going to be the key to winning in Turkey.

Gonna be an Englishman in motion...

Changing a formation is one of the hardest things to do to a group of players that are used to playing one rigid system. Benitez was an obvious 4-5-1 manager and stuck to that and drilled it into the players. If Roy is going to continue to employ the 4-4-2, which despite it’s detractors³ can be a solid formation if deployed correctly, it’s going to take some fine tuning. My only fear, and sorry if this keeps any of you up at night, is that we don’t have the players to do it effectively.

I think the key⁴ to the 4-4-2, now that Macherano is out the door, is going to be Poulsen. I don’t think I have to re-hash the whole Lucas is not a defensive midfielder rant, which leaves the big Dane to pick up the slack. Thankfully he has the positional nuance to support the defence and is strong enough in the tackle to make a difference. He’s no midfield maestro but his passing doesn’t bring the word “hoof” to mind which is reassuring on so many levels.

The offence should more or less pick itself with Joe Cole returning to join the attack and Ngog has had the magic touch in weeks gone by. Johnson was one of the few⁵ standout players against Citeh and seemed to grow as the match progressed so he may be able to help out with the width problem that’s been highlighted on a number of occasions⁶. Carrying a 1-0 lead into Turkey is just shy of being far too slender but as long as we keep Cole away from the penalty spot, we can be in with a shout to progress.

Sqaud: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Aurelio, Lucas, Rodriguez, Kuyt, Babel, Cole, Wilson, Kelly, Ngog, Spearing, Poulsen, Shelvey, Kelly, Skrtel, Gulacsi, Ecclestone, Hansen.

-steven.

• Streams available at LFC Globe
• Game time commenting craziness at the Liverpool Offside
• Highlights after the match at FootyMix

1. Kinda early in the season for this one but once again, fuck it.
2. Evil corporation. Mar my words.
3. And there are many…
4. Assuming Roy isn’t scared off at this point.
5. Can I stress the word FEW?
6. We’ll see more of this in the future.

You! Get me an espresso...

When a team can tell a player like Robinho to just leave, you know they’ve got some cash. I guess that’s what it’s like to be at Manchester City these days. I think back to when they first got bought out and I was actually kind of happy for them. They had money to spend and would finally get out of that tacky red glare from across town. Two years later, they’ve taken Chelsea style spending and blown even their London rivals out. Roy might not be jealous of their spending power but I think he’s telling porkies. If you can piss away £120mil in one summer buying yet another squad full of players at least one envious eye is going to be cast your way…

We go to the City of Manchester Stadium tomorrow with one less creative player and our workhorse possibly joining him on the continent. With this season still wet behind the ears, it’s these matches that could define where we end up come May. It’s the matches against Shitty City, Spurs, Villa and Everton that will really make an impact¹. A draw against Arsenal is an acceptable result no matter where you are but a win tomorrow is vital.

Proud to be a Scouser.

Even if we do win, I can’t see it being that exciting. At least not through the center of the park anyways. Mancini might have a wealth of attacking players at his disposal but he makes even cautious Roy² look like he’s throwing everyone forward by playing an astounding 3 holding midfielders. Toure, De Jong and Barry all in the starting line up? I thought we were lacking in creativity.

We’ve farmed Aquilani out to Juve and Joe Cole is starting his first match of a 3 match ban³.  Does this mean that we’re going to push Gerrard forward? If so, will it be Lucas⁴ and Poulsen in the middle? If we’re going to win this battle, it’s going to have to be on the wings and up top. David Silva is taking some time to adjust to the English game while Jovanovic is off to a flier. Roberto Mancini might think new signing Mario Balotelli could be as good as Fernando Torres but the operative word there is “could”. A fully fit Torres is going to outshine⁵ that newbie anyday of the week. If he makes the starting 11, Monday will be that day.

3 points will be the only acceptable outcome⁶. We have the squad to do it and this is perfect opportunity to catch City with their pants down⁷. £120mil is a fuck of a lot of money but if it doesn’t put wins on the board, it’s a waste of the highest order. Our pay day might have just walked out the door but I’ve got a feeling Mancini is going to be counting his pennies on Tuesday morning.

-steven.

• Streams at LFC Globe
• Matchday line up commenting craziness at the Liverpool Offside
• Highlights after the match at FootyMix

1. Forget Arsenal, Man United and Chelsea for a minute…
2. Even Rafa couldn’t justify that.
3. Good job, seriously.
4. Or Macherano?
5. Vastly.
6. Ask me at kickoff how confident I am.
7. George Micheals style!

Stevie G busts a move...

Or I might be on something. Either way, we need to quit complaining, me first and foremost, and just deal with our lot. The Europa League is far better than no European Football at all, isn’t it? Don’t answer that. I don’t want to hear it. The Turks are invading Anfield on Thursday and by God¹ we’ve got a job to do.

Even they've won something...

We’ve decided not to appeal Joe Cole’s shocker of a Red Card against the Gooners so I don’t have a doubt we’ll see him in the squad. Despite the progress we’ve made in Europe, it’s a good possibilty we’ll see another rag tag squad² filled with the Kids against last seasons Turkish Super Cup winners. Might not quite the be same as the one fielded against Rabotnicki in Macedonia but a few, like Martin Kelly, should be in the side to continue what they started.

TRABZONSPOR won their opening league match on the weekend with a Teofilo double over Ankaragücü. Teofilo, along with winger Umut Bulut are two of the Black Sea Storms players to watch out for as they look to kill the optimism³ on Merseyside. With the future of Diego Cavalieri in question, my thoughts drift towards whether or not we’ll see him in goal on Thursday or if it will be Pepe Reina trying to put up a wall against the advancing Turks.

With the fixtures piling up already, rotation will be the name of the game. Alberto Aquilani, who did not feature even from the bench against Arsenal, will likely make a bow as well. With Joe Cole out of the next 3 domestic fixtures⁴, we might see thet Italian fill “the hole” behind either Torres or Ngog⁵ as he fights for his place in the squad. No matter who lines up, I’m fully expecting a win. The Europa League might not be the crème de la crème of European football, but like fuck we’re just going to give it up this easily.

-steven.

1. Or Buddha, or Allah or Spongebob Squarepants…take your pick.
2. In the nicest possible terms…
3. Which is higher than Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock…
4. FUCK.
5. Injuries and form permitting.

We only sing when your scoring...

For the first time in forever, we’ll be kicking off the season in front of our own fans. New Boy Roy’s first EPL match in charge and ahead of it, he’s taking a cautious approach to the coming campaign. I hate to put so much emphasis on an opening day fixture but this could set the tone for the months ahead. We’ve got a lot of work to do and a win against the Gunners would light Anfield up and set the machine in motion. Despite my whiskey induced hang-over, I’m quietly optimistic going into this one. To be honest though, I can only be quietly optimistic. Anything louder and my head just might explode….

Arsenal have a number of injury worries and fitness concerns to contend with but that means nothing at this point. We have no less than 4 players who played 80 minutes or more in meaningless International Friendlies mid-week. I understand the importance of friendlies, I really do. I do not understand why they would have one only days before the season kicks off.

Regardless of all that, one player who didn’t play will be the main topic of conversation. The will he / won’t he Fernando Torres saga is hitting a fever pitch today. Will Hodgson risk it? Is playing him too much of a gamble? We’ll have to wait and see on that one but one thing is for sure, Steven Gerrard will be wearing the armband tomorrow. The skipper inspired England to a 2-1 win over Hungary mid-week and will look to do the same with the Reds tomorrow.

At least the skipper will have help this time. Joe Cole, Milan Jovanovic and maybe even new signing Christian Poulsen will be around to make life tough for the Gooners. It’s been a long, long summer and the wait is finally over. GET THE FUCK IN.

-steven.

Torres and Roy get down to business...

Could you be any happier? Put your fucking hands in the air for Fernando Torres. He may have kept his mouth shut to the point that we were all ready to scream but the words “best club in the country” and “loyalty and commitment” are music to our collective ears. He might be playing for For Sale FC in the immediate future but I don’t care. As long as the jersey is Red and not that ugly fuckin’ pastel Blue. With the 2nd leg of our Europa League clash with Rabotnicki coming up tomorrow, we’re all going to be able to rest easy. At least for one night, anyways…

We’ve got a 2 goal lead going into this and it’s ours to fuck up. David Ngog, who’s expected to lead the line in the absence of still injured Torres¹, has more or less sealed the deal for us. Maybe my brash confidence is a reflection on the work of previous seasons but in front of an Anfield crowd, Rabotnicki is going to crumble in the wake.

Fire power? We got it...

The backdrop might be one of financial uncertainty and hostile takeovers but football is what we do best. Roy might have a few other things on his agenda but come tomorrow, the Macedonian side is going to be the only thing in focus. Never mind the dry cleaning²) or Kenny Huang. An oil change for the car and Syrian Businessmen? Not an issue. Squad selection? Now, there’s something to talk about.

There’s some reports floating around that some of our “star players” will be included with Joe Cole being tipped to make his competitive debut. Our diminutive³ winger only featured briefly for Ingerland at the big kick about in South Africa so the sooner he gets into the side, the better. Stevie made a cameo appearance against Borussia Mochengladbach so we just might see him as well. All depends on how the B-Team and Alberto Aquilani do I suppose. Let’s just get this done and dusted. We’ve got bigger fish to fry come the 14th of August. GET THE FUCK IN.

-steven.

1. Get well soon, friend…
2. Which reminds me…
3. I’m one to talk, really…