The BLUE Half

Met up with some frens lately...
was having a cuppa...
yess...
tea...
and its in a coffee house.

We had our usual chat...
on all aspects of life...
then the topic had to pop up.

Its of course about football...
luckily...
this guys was not dat much of a fanatic...
cept for his alleged 'association' to one Everton Football Club.

Sad to say...
this BLUE half of the Merseyside are the opposite to Liverpool Football Club (the RED half)...
there u go...
the pride of all Merseysiders.

Well this fren was soo proud of his club just coz its currently above the REDS...
hmm...
wut went wrong...
or went right in Everton's case...???

Well...
dun wan to go into details...
just wanted to say...
Let Us See...!!!

Of Fans and Football.


U'll Never Walk Alone...!!!

Bloggs are up and running again...???

Looks like when I decide to write, its always due to a great moment in Football...
for Liverpool Football Club that is.

It has been hard to find time to write nowadays.
As we get old, there seems to be loads of responsibility...
which I still approach wif utmost recklessness.

Work seems to be endless...
Time flies under mach 10 velocity...
Traffic jams are preposterous...
and all the Cost cutting in the world does not help one bit.

It was nice to some of the guys updating their blogs...
kindda tell one what has been goin on...
especially relationships with frens are gettin sparce...
and we all can blame time for this.

Okie...
to cut the crap...
to wut I love dearly.

Back to a great nite of Liverpool FC football action.

Well, it has been respectible run under Spaniard Rafael Benitez's first season...
we are in the semi-finals of the League Cup...
and all thanks to Liverpool's youngsters...
it is indeed a refreshing sight to se senoir Benitez giving the younsters their dues...
and sticking with them...
It would of course be the pinnacle to eventually see the youngsters go all the way.

In Champions League, we are through to the 2nd round...
so this can only be a good thing...
so now we will have more matched to wet our appetite...

In the Premier League...
well they could be better...
however, believing in Benitez...
a cautious and nurturing approach might just work out well...
so lets see how passionate the derby game gonna be this weekend.

FA Cup's a starting...
cant wait.

Enuff of my rambling...
not many people might be reading this...
so I leave all Liverpool Fans with a nice artile posted on Soccernet...
I believe it sums up the Spanish Revolution at Anfield...
Enjoy.


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The Benitez effect
Norman Hubbard

It was one of the most arresting sights of the season.

Away at Champions League semi-finalists Deportivo La Coruna, a Liverpool player picked up the ball in a crowded midfield and set off for the penalty box, leaving opponents trailing in his wake. As defender after defender became preoccupied by his surge forward, he passed to the unmarked John Arne Riise, whose low cross was inadvertently turned in by Jorge Andrade for the winning goal.

It sounds entirely typical of Steven Gerrard; such driving runs are an integral part of his game. Except this wasn't Gerrard, or even Xabi Alonso.

It was Igor Biscan, the clumsy Croat invariably praised by Gerard Houllier after a hapless display in defence. Nor was Biscan's classy contribution in La Coruna a one-off. Against Fulham, he scored a sublime goal with conspicuous ease.

The blossoming of Biscan has been as unexpected as any development this season. When Rafael Benitez replaced Houllier, the £5.5 million man ranked high on the list of expensive misfits who had hampered Liverpool in the final two years of the Frenchman's reign. Instead, he has been rehabilitated in midfield.

Biscan was playing, too, as Liverpool's reserves overcame a full-strength Spurs side to reach the Carling Cup semi-finals. It was a stunning result, overshadowed by events at Old Trafford that night and Frederic Kanoute's role in Tottenham's exit. But whereas Spurs fielded Robbie Keane, Jermain Defoe and Ledley King, Liverpool included John Welsh, Richie Partridge and Darren Potter. The unknowns excelled.

And with Watford awaiting in the semi-final, Benitez appears almost certain to reach a final in his first season at Anfield. It is a reward for six months of quiet progress under the calm Spaniard. Even if Liverpool do not overcome Olympiakos to reach the last 16 of the Champions League, Benitez has vindicated Liverpool's under-fire chairman David Moores in his choice of appointment.

After the costly pay-offs to Houllier and his backroom staff and with the wish to strengthen an understaffed strike force in January, Liverpool need the revenue that qualification would generate. Failure to do so, however, should not obscure the achievements of the former Valencia manager.

Lessening Liverpool's dependence on Steven Gerrard is foremost among them.

It is hardly an exaggeration to suggest that, if he had missed the whole of last season, Houllier's side could have become embroiled in the relegation battle. This year, deprived of their inspirational captain, Benitez's team won away against Deportivo; it at least bodes better if Chelsea come calling again for Liverpool's outstanding player.

In midfield, the arrival of Xabi Alonso has eased the reliance on Gerrard as well as addressing a lack of quality. The slight Basque has a range of passing that may be unrivalled in the Premiership, the excellence of Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes notwithstanding.

Despite the jibes at the 'Spanish Armada', Alonso and Luis Garcia would not look out of place at Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United. The versatile Garcia brings vision and an aptitude for spectacular goals, if not clinical finishing while Milan Baros, marginalised by Houllier, offers the promise of the latter.

Djibril Cisse's horrific injury means Benitez does not have to resolve the problem of how to accommodate him and Baros. It also provided an opportunity for Neil Mellor and a further example of Benitez's ability to uncover players' hitherto hidden gifts. How else can the transformation of the limited Mellor from West Ham's fifth-choice forward to the slayer of Arsenal be explained?

There was a suspension of disbelief as the lumbering striker's dipping volley beat Jens Lehmann. It is still difficult to imagine Mellor making an impact at Anfield in the long term but, like Biscan, he has played a pivotal role in a crucial game.

A change of manager has also benefited the gangly Djimi Traore, who has come to resemble an accomplished defender; only the lackadaisical Harry Kewell appears immune to Benitez's alchemy.

The three major criticisms levelled at Liverpool this season are the ineffectiveness of Kewell, indifferent away form and Benitez's zonal marking system to defend set-pieces. Mikael Silvestre twice took advantage in a time of transition to condemn Liverpool to defeat at Old Trafford and a free kick proved decisive Olympiakos beat them in Greece.

But Benitez was the architect of Spain's best back four and there have been indications that Liverpool could be similarly frugal once they adapt to zonal marking.

The obdurate Jamie Carragher has relished his return to the centre of defence and must be a frontrunner for the club's player of the year award while Dietmar Hamann's efficiency as the anchor midfielder looks certain to prolong his Liverpool career.

The dominance of Hamann, Alonso and Gerrard provided the platform for the victory against Arsenal but it was also a tactical triumph for Benitez.

While his contemporaries collect FA charges and indulge in mind games, Liverpool's low-key manager has made fewer headlines.

The blue half of Merseyside may argue that is because 'Rafael Beneath-us' and his team are nine points behind Everton. But at Goodison Park on Saturday, that deficit can be reduced and

Liverpool can approach perhaps the biggest week of their season so far with the quiet confidence their manager exudes.