5 TIMES.....WE SCREWED UP 5 TIMES...

Pre-Season Friendly

FC Mainz 5 - 0 Liverpool

Er, before you ask me to edit the score, sorry, that WAS the scoreline last night. I think now, even the most optimistic fan(like me) will be pretty worried with that pathetic performance. It's not like we're gonna be out of a cup or something, it's a friendly. BUT let me say that I'm worried with the strikeforce as well as the defence. It's not right and I think we better kick our butts and start bucking up as Maccabi Haifa looms next Wednesday.

Started out with the stars like Gerrard, Alonso and Crouch. But there was a certain lacking of creativity, motivation and clearly devoid of any ideas. Crouch and Bellamy looks isolated and both Gerrard and Alonso couldn't drive the team in the middle.

And look at the past few matches, the one against Kaiserslautern, Grasshoppers and tonight against Mainz. We shipped in goals like we NEEDED it. It was almost ALL down to personal mistakes I reckon. Hobbs the other day, then it was Paletta. Tonight it was a grand total of 4 to 5 f*ck-ups and nothing seemed to work right to be honest.

Maybe it's down to the player's over-confidence and pride, I guess. They're too full of themselves sometimes and you need defeats like this to get that into the player's mind, to get back down to planet earth and start working hard instead of having the air of unbeatable-ness in the team.

And I'm amazed that Salif Diao and Djimi Traore still don in the Liverpool shirt. Seriously, they belong to the English Championship level and should be ship out ASAP. Kromkamp looks shaky as well. I think we're blessed with a squad of pretty good individual players, but when it comes to strength in depth, we will always lack behind to the likes of Chelsea and ManYoo to be honest with you.

Something I can't understand is why the defenders just seemed to wandered off and lose concentration so quickly during the pre-season friendlies. It's something I can't get a grip of and the usual solid Liverpool defence constantly looked fragile and stretched. I've no idea why, maybe Rafa knows.

I'm not totally pissed, but neither am I pleased. All I hope is that we won't get royally owned by M. Haifa next week like we did today. Today, it's a friendly and does no effect (maybe psychologically), but next week, we CANNOT afford to slip up anymore. It's do or die. Hope the lads learned something today and as a result of getting their butts kicked, they'll learn to come back down to earth. Grrrrr.....

GERRARD'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Not sure when it'll be out, but thanks to the RAWK forums, they have a link to the little snippet off his autobiography. He talks about the FA Cup finals, everything about it. How he goes into the match feeling different, how he would NOT have hit the ball if he wasn't having the cramp and also a little on Rafa's character. As a Liverpool fan, it's a must read. It's wonderful to see Stevie being down to earth and Rafa being a motivator instead of a 'friend' to the players.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK

I doubt he wrote it himself, but I can see it was from the Scouse lad himself. Fantastic read. I must get my hands on the book!

Tags: Steven Gerrard, Autobiography

GRAY, STOP SUCKING UP AND TALKING B*LLOCKS

Came back from a 3km run and expected some nice articles on Football365. To my horror, it's the article from the most biased and most anti-Reds pundit ever, and his name is none other than Andy "OH YOU BEAAAUUTY" Gray. Hearing him talking in that stupid Scottish accent week in week out is frustrating enough. But now, he's doing a Jose and having the new illness called the "Pre-Season verbal diarrhoea", where people talk bollocks and don't make sense due to their boredom, with no football on TV.

First,

READ THE ANDY GRAY ARTICLE HERE

How do you feel? I felt like it was a wind up, from an ex-Everton player. Surprise! Let's take his column, word by word and let me analyse for you those points.

They've proved they're a difficult team to beat but they draw too many games to be a threat over a Premiership season

Drogballs: Drawn too many games? Have a look at our 05/06 table and it reads 7 draws. While most of these draws went back in the start of the season when we're still finding our feet, 7 draws is not ALOT compared to erm, ManYoo, who had 8. So since when on the blue moon, is 7 more than 8? You talk sh*te. Sorry.

But for me, they will struggle to get anywhere near Chelsea, because you just wonder where the goals are going to come from in that team. Peter Crouch has a lot to prove at this level, Robbie Fowler has obviously seen better days and Craig Bellamy's 13 goals in the Premiership last season was his best-ever haul.

Drogballs: I admit that sometimes we struggled to get goals, especially when teams packed their defence into groups of 9 and stuck them in the penalty area. We know what Crouch is able to do and his ability might NOT be world class, but certainly, he IS improving.

And about him saying that Robbie Fowler is past it, it's the typical stereotype isn't it. Players like Bergkamp and Sheringham played well into 35 and those media goes on to say 'OH WHAT A LEGEND' and goes on for a w*nk. He might not be what he was 7-8 years ago, but his presence brought a new belief and an identity to the club. He's a favourite among the Kop and on field, he's a smart footballer with a wicked left foot. Form is temporary, class is permanent.

Craig Bellamy had a great goalscoring record last season EVEN THOUGH he was out for a couple of matches (I'm not so sure about how many, sorry!). And yes that's the best ever haul from the Welsh. So what's the point, Andy? Trying to say he's a one-season wonder? Sorry, please take a look at Bent instead.

It's a rare title-challenging side that doesn't have a 20-goal player, and for Liverpool to expect Steven Gerrard to be that player is a little optimistic I think. He looked jaded this summer and I just can't see him having that sort of season again.

Drogballs: Writing off Stevie G already, eh? He looks jaded, BUT HE STILL SCORED 2 GOALS for England, get that in your head. So now what, look at Frank Lampard. Top scorer for Chelsea last season. What happened to him during the World Cup? If you're gonna look at player's performances in the WC and then translate them into cub football, then sorry, it's gonna disappoint you. Instead of slagging off Stevie, why not just say, Chelsea doesn't have a 20 goals a season player and putting the burden on Lampard is optimistic because, er, he's as accurate as Hizbollah's missiles?


AND HE WENT ON TO SAY:

As it is, they're a striker down, but they do have Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha, Guiseppe Rossi and Alan Smith, who knows how to finish. If they could get in somebody with experience who didn't cost the earth, then fair enough, but I don't think United fans should be too perturbed about starting the season with the current squad.

Drogballs: He wrote off Liverpool because we LACKED a 20 goals a season striker. Now look, he's talking about ManYoo and have a look at those names there. Which of those players actually brings you 20 goals a season? Rooney? He's good, but he never scores enough goals. Saha? A bit part player who will get injured in October and make ManYoo scrambling for new strikers during the winter break. Putting your trust on Rossi is gonna end up in disappointments and Smith? Now you would need to convert him back to striker as he had became the new Roy Keane, eh?


I can be a bitter Liverpool fan and goes on to slag him, but seriously, if he had more insights and less bias-ness, things would never turn out this way, as awry as that piece of article. I'm not angry that he wrote us off. We're certainly NOT as good as the teams mentioned ON PAPER. But what football is about is not what your squad is on paper and not some numbers or figures. But it's about how a coach gets the best ouf a team and fulfilling the potential. I believe that with Benitez, Liverpool will continue to be the rise and one day, overtake Chelsea and we'll be back on our perch sooner than you think.

Continue to write us off, sure. When one day, we're back on our perch, you'll have a look at Andy Gray sucking up to us and writing other teams off. It's all about sucking up to the leader, isn't it?

Tags: Andy Gray, Liverpool

FM IS JUST A GAME, AFTERALL!

First Of All, Here's Ronaldinho On FM (As Requested):-


Certainly not as versatile and 'all-rounded' as Stevie Gerrard, just like real life. I never had the honour and pleasure to manage the best player on Planet Football currently sadly, so I can't say much about his abilities. Those numbers are pretty accurate to me though..

Unrealistic? Certainly!


That van Horseface certainly cheats! Oh and if he really scores in such manner, ManYoo will be damn heartbroken I tell ya..

And The Mother Of All Shockers...Wait for it....










Seriously, WTF? I know it's a game, but come on. The MOST OVERATED FOOTBALLER EVER scoring 8 GOALS in a SINGLE MATCH? Zlatan Ibra-overated-movic is a cheat! I personally manages Liverpool (surprise!) and dread to play against Juventus. They ALWAYS score goal (Trez and Ibra) and you can't really score (Buffon, Canna and Thuram).

Yea that's about it, just got the time to log onto FM and have some fun. Maybe feeling a little puzzled at the same time...

JON OBI MIKEL: MERCENERY

Read this first..

"It's totally fantastic to come to a great club like Manchester United. Not many players my age get that chance, I love everything here" - Obi Mikel on 29 April 2005

On 3 August 2006:

"I love the people here," Mikel said.

"I came here for trials before and enjoyed my stay.

"I enjoyed being with the players and they were all nice people. The manager is good, everyone is fantastic and I loved them all.

"I really wanted to be a Chelsea player and that's why I wanted to come here. That was a big decision for me. Finally I got it right."

Even though I have no love for ManYoo, you gotta feel for them. Whatever the case, one year actually make you love a different club altogether. Sounds like a bloody glory hunter! Oh no wait. Maybe he just watch too much teenage chick flicks.

GROW SOME BALLS, WILL YOU?

And Have Some Backbone, Football Authorities:

AC Milan will have a chance to play in next season's Champions League if they manage to beat Red Star Belgrade in the upcoming 3rd Round Qualifier. But the decision made known to them and us were different 2 weeks ago, when they were punished together with Juventus, Fiorentina and Lazio for various match-fixing and breaking rules of different magnitude.

Surprised that they over-ruled the punishment?

Not for me. It seemed like the football authorities high up there are not doing much to help the game of football. It's supposed to be the most popular sport in the world with the most number of fans and audience while the football authorities seemed to watch and do nothing as the game turned into a farce. Why? They don't have the balls to show their might and authority, to punish teams that deserves punishment and to set things right from the start. Don't even get me on the subjects of diving and cheating ON the pitch. We're talking about things OFF the pitch now.

The 4 Italians club were 'convicted' for match-fixing and 3 of the 4 teams were relegated as a result. Milan were spared for some 'minor' offence. But let's get things straight. Match fixing yes? In another word, it's outright CHEATING. And since when has cheating been tolerated up till such an extent? If I'm not wrong, the rider who recently won the Tour de France, Floyd Landis, is now known to have taken illegal substance and his title might get stripped off. What about the runner, something Gatlin. Second time offence right? We're not sure what the authorities are going to do with those cheaters, but whatever it is, it seemed like they always got off easy in the world of football.

After a rather 'harsh' punishment from the Italian FA, the clubs decided to lodge an appeal and guess what, they got lighter sentences! Surprised? Not for me again. Juventus was the worst hit ones, going down to Serie B while the other 2 teams was reinstated to the Serie A. Milan? They still managed to get into the goddamn Champions League! So the most prestigious club competition in the world, allowing a team that cheats, into the competition?

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Milan. But I just hope to these people at the top get things straight. Send out a message to the mass that CHEATING IS WRONG and start acting like an authority instead of a church. Sometimes forgiveness should not be shown to these teams that brought the game to disrepute and bring shame to planet football.

Start showing some backbone and grow some balls, or people will climb all over your head. Rant. Over.

Tags: Italian Football Scandal, AC Milan, Juventus, Fiorentina, Lazio

THE FIGHT CLUB - REAL MADRID

The Danish hard-man against the little kid from Brazil. A fight almost ensued after Robinho tackled Gravesen hard and the Danish retaliated with 2 bone-crunching tackles.



I know there are more to that little 'scuffle', just that the Spanish TV didn't show it to the public. Sometimes you wonder about their team spirit, eh? Galacticos?

Tags: Real Madrid, Robinho, Gravesen

JOSE WITH HIS USUAL VERBAL DIARRHOEA

He's More Afraid of ManYoo & L'Arsenal Than Liverpool

Jose Mourinho claims Manchester United and Arsenal pose a bigger threat to Chelsea's Barclays Premiership crown than Liverpool.

The colourful Stamford Bridge manager disagrees with captain John Terry's prediction that Rafael Benitez's men will be leading the chasing pack in the race for the title this season.

He said: "I still believe that Man United and Arsenal will be the biggest threat, in spite of the fact Arsenal finished fourth and Liverpool third. They will still be the better teams.

"I say that because of the quality of their football, the way they play, the improvements in their squads.

"Man United will improve a lot by having Michael Carrick. He's a very, very good player and he will improve them

"Liverpool are different. They are very competitive, it's very difficult to beat them. If they score a goal before you score it's very difficult to change it because they defend really well with 11 players very, very compact.

"They are tactically very good. And they are potentially fighting for the front pack but I still fancy more the way Manchester United and Arsenal play football."

"I don't believe it will be easy for other clubs to stop us because we are building a very strong football team and also a very strong family."

Drogballs: Really? Jose? You worry about them more than us? Than why are you having a dig at us? Ha, Mr Mind Games is getting a little tiresome there, eh? Only a threatened man sound like him and he bloody well know that we're gonna launch an attack of the Premiership crown and everyone knows we're really not far behind. I don't believe he's not afraid of us, we kicked them out of 2 semi finals in consective seasons, hello? How about cutting down the point difference from 04/05's 37 points to last season's 9 points. Is he not threatened?

We're facing off with the 'biggest club in the world' ,Chelsea soon in the FA Community Shield match. They have bought players big time yet again with Andriy Shevchenko and Mikael Ballack already added into a squad of extraordinary talents while we have bought pretty wisely, albeit unable to match Chelsea's huge-money transfers. But is having the best player in your squad the way to success? Half way there, Jose. But with several merceneries serving the club, it might be the ultimate downfall for them.

He pointed out that L'Arse and ManYoo should be feared more because THEY PLAY BETTER FOOTBALL. Alright then, DOES CHELSEA PLAY GOOD FOOTBALL? The answer is 90% NO. So does Jose think that they're gonna win the title again? Hmm, only he can answer that. If he continue to think that Chelsea are going to be the champion and have the born right to, then sorry, you guys might just end up like the mighty Brazil, whom overconfidence seeped into the squad and before you know, it all came crashing down to earth.

And do I need to tell you that Jose is a poor 'advisor' ? You can believe his words in this, but he meant otherwise, trust me on that. Remember before England played Portugal? He actually gave an 'advice' to England, asking them not to play Peter Crouch in the match as he'll get marked out by a certain Carvalho. Don't know if Sven believed his words by not placing him in the starting XI, but Crouch came on as a substitute and put up a great one man show up front. Conclusion? Jose is a twister of words and one should never take his words, literally.

Fine, Jose. Not afraid of us? WE'LL MAKE YOU AFRAID OF US, THEN.

BRING.IT.ON.

BLUE SC*MS!

Tags: Liverpool, Chelsea, Jose Mourinho

GRASSHOPPERS HOP PAST REDS

Pre-Season Friendly

Liverpool 0 - 2 Grasshopper Zurich

Scorers:
ZUR - Salatic, Blumer;

Okay! So, second successive lost in the pre-season friendlies. Before you go on and throw stones and bricks at Rafa's house, chill and don't get all agitated aight? I don't mean that friendlies mean nothing, but you know, as long as they perform up to their usual standard when needed, I'm happy enough. It's not nice watching them lose of course, after a great 05/06 season, where we rarely lost. But I believe that losing friendlies might not as bad as some might think. It basically brings the team down to earth a little and of course, that might take some pressure away from them. This games will give players extra training and to sharpen their match fitness a little, after 2 months of partying and 'siesta'-ing.

Rafa tried to experiment with a 3-4-2-1 tactic in the beginning but the Grasshoppers 'hopped' pass the Reds defence pretty easily as they looked to break down the Liverpool defence with ball over the top tactics and springing the offside trap.

World Cup stars returned to squad as well, after taking a 3 weeks break, with Crouch, Carragher and Gerrard back in the fray. Hobbs was given a 2nd chance after screwing up the game against Kaiserslautern and did alright this time. But the problem seemed to be passed on to Paletta, who looked like a no-nonsense defender. This time round he tried to be smart as he back-passed a ball to Reina, but got intercepted and Blumer scored from an acute angle.

The England trio was then given a run out and Gerrard, with his usual dominating self should have scored a goal if only he had his match sharpness back. Crouch coming close on some occasions as well.


Did Well:

Sissoko - Running around like a crazy ostrich again, eh? (Not racist, okay!)

Zenden - Industrious, but lacked a little composure playing in the middle of the pitch.

Pennant - Lively, showing some good touch. But not sure what made him slipped so many times.

Bellamy - Link up with Pennant pretty well. Should've scored as well. Very hardworking.

Crouch - Nice touch for a big man! Ah, that line of words again. Need to get back his sharpness fast though.

Gerrard - Need to say more?

MANYOO WANTS REINA?

Manchester United have sounded out interest in Liverpool's midfielder-cum-penalty hero, Pepe Reina as they are desperately in search of the 'new Roy Keane'. They have just completed the signing of Spurs midfielder, Michael Carrick for 18 million and they need another player to partner the him in the central of midfield.

Paddy Vieira have sounded out his desire to don the red shirt but most people believe that Gary Neville will make his life extremely difficult at Old Trafford while Marcos Senna is not interested in the move.

But perhaps ManYoo have found the one player to partner Carrick. It's none other than Liverpool's Pepe Reina, who put in an excellent performance at the heart of midfield in the match against Kaiserslautern.

Although he needs to work a little in his finishing, he created chances and ManYoo will have a look at him today, as Liverpool plays Grasshopper Zurich tonight.

Sources: Unknown



If you believe the words, you're pretty gullible!

THE REAL CLEAR-OUT

After the recent problems over in Italy, sending vultures from all over Europe to try and get something out of the 4 Italian clubs, maybe now the 'pack of vultures' have an alternative 'feeding' spot and it's none other than Real 'Biggest club in the whole wide galaxy!' Madrid. According to reports:

Ivan Helguera and Michel Salgado headline a long list of Real Madrid players being made available this summer.

Real coach Fabio Capello will meet with sports director Predrag Mijatovic today in Austria to run a final check over those players he's prepared to offload.

Michel Salgado, Carlos Diogo, Oscar Minambres, Francisco Pavon, Jonathan Woodgate, Ruben, Raul Bravo, Ivan Helguera, Alvaro Mejia, Pablo Garcia, Thomas Gravesen, Borja, Javier Portillo, Julio Baptista and Ronaldo are all expected to have their names circulated around Europe's biggest clubs this week.

Most of those players are, well, fringe players and should have walked long ago. But there are some pretty interesting ones! Let's take a look.

Michel Salgado: He might be a little old, but I still think he can cut it at Premiership levels, even at teams like Tottenham, who lacks a right-back.

Jon Woodgate: Too injury prone, but on his day, he's better than Rio Ferdinand and maybe Ledley King. Maybe Newcastle's interested to take the boy back? Since Boumsong and Bramble clearly don't cut it at this level.

Thomas Gravesen: Instead of splashing 18.2million on Carrick, why does ManYoo not try a little bid for this 'Shrek' MK2 here. He might be getting a little old now, but still does his job well. Experience's the key.

Julio Baptista: Everyone thought he'll shine at Real, but after some lacklustre performance, might be on his way out. So definitely, Arsenal will be interested after missing out on him last season. Why not this, Arsenl exchanges that wussy Jose Reyes for the Baptista himself? Seems like a good deal.

Ronaldo(Fat & Real One): A little lazy. A little fat. But no one can doubt his quality. Still a pretty good striker, albeit a stop-gap for most big clubs, desperately searching for strikers that seemed so, so scarce in recent times. Maybe Liverpool might be interested, but most likely he'll return to Internazionale.

Tags: Real Madrid, Clear-out

I'LL SETTLE THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL

GERRARD > LAMPARD:

Look at how Football Manager rates Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. Don't need to be a rocket scientist to tell who's better, right?




Before You Say FM Is Just A Game....

Taken from CFCnet:

RH: Player you'd most like to see at the club in the future? You can't say Stevie G!

Frank Lampard (laughs): Yep, that's all done with now. (muses for a bit). If I could have anyone in the world, it would be Ronaldinho. He's fantastic, I love watching him. He's a player the players love to watch. He can create, like he created here, out of nothing. Although I'd rather have Stevie, he's the greatest midfielder in the world, maybe of his generation.

END.OF.DISCUSSION.

OH, And...

Without the deflections, I am merely Darren Fletcher - Frank Lampard

PS: If you believe what he just said, you're quite naive... HAHA MERK'D!

Tags: Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard

BIG GAME BOTTLER SPEAKS OUT

Lampard Hits Out At Svennis:-

England star Frank Lampard has delivered a damning verdict on Sven Goran Eriksson's tenure after questioning both the training methods implemented by the Swede and also his decision not to take Jermain Defoe to the World Cup.

A World Cup challenge that never rose above a level of mediocrity in Germany saw Eriksson end his tenure in indistinguished fashion and, while previously he has always enjoyed the support of his senior players, Lampard has now spoken out.

The Chelsea workhorse, who endured a tournament best forgot, feels that England's preparations were not what they should have been and that the players involved should have been pushed harder in their pre-tournament preparations.

''My legs were really heavy,'' revealed Lampard in his autobiography, serialised in the News of the World.

''And there were days when I became frustrated - I know what I need to do to be sharp - because the manager gave us days off when I'd rather have been training.
''The day before we were due to return from Portugal we were due to take the day off so Rio Ferdinand and I did some work on our own.

''Though I was told I was the fittest player in the squad when we were in Portugal, I knew I was a bit short of my optimum level.

''Sometimes a manager needs to trust his players to know what they need. In retrospect maybe I should have been more forceful.''

Another bone of contention with regards England's failed challenge was the inclusion of just four strikers, with two of those - Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney - still in the process of recovering from serious injuries and another, Theo Walcott, entirely untested at the highest level having yet to even make his Premiership bow.

Calls for the inclusion of Defoe, or alternatively Darren Bent fell on deaf ears and this is another folly Lampard believes Eriksson committed.

"Questions had been asked about why we didn't have five strikers in the squad when two of our forwards went into the tournament trying to recover fitness,'' he added.
"Personally, I'd have included Jermain as well. I played with him at West Ham and he is a natural goalscorer.

"In terms of the line-ups for each match, I don't think they would have been affected.

"I'd have preferred some insurance though, and it would have given us more options. In that respect I would have taken Defoe."

Drogballs: Fair enough Lamps, but took you around.. a month to reveal all this? Last month, after the exit of England after defeat to Portugal, I wrote a report on who's to be blamed and to me, the main culprit was Sven himself. So now, a senior England player took a parting shot at the departing Swede and now we actually knew what happened on the inside.

But I have to point out, that instead of blaming everything on Sven, why not take a look at yourself, Lumplard. He gave permission for you to take a break? So what? Go train on yourself then! It's not like Sven ordered his men to tie you down in your room?

And can you really blame Sven for you not hitting the cow's arse with a banjo? Do Lamps meant that Sven was the one playing 'Winning Eleven' and controlling him, and by holding the button a wee bit too long, he blasted the ball to the stands? Bollocks, Lamps. Don't blame your mediocre performance on others. Take a damn good look at yourself.

He's right on the last point though, of Sven bringing Walcott instead of Defoe/Ashton/Bent. This will goes down in the history as one of the most controversial decisions ever made by a manager, more so an England manager paid around 5 million a year.

RANT. OVER .

WANNA BE A SUCCESSFUL FOOTBALL MANAGER?

Learn from no other than...

Rafael Benitez the nerd!

So actually, he plays Football Manager as well! Ha! Ooh how I love the man...

Tags: Liverpool, Rafael Benitez

NO GERRARD, SO NO 3-3

Pre Season Friendly

Liverpool 2 - 3 Kaiserslautern

Scorers:
LIV - Bellamy (60min), Luis Garcia (67min);
KAS - Villar (56min), Ziemer (71min, 87min);

Liverpool: Dudek, Traore, Paletta, Hyypia (captain), Peltier, Gonzalez, Zenden, Hobbs, Anderson, Fowler, Bellamy. Subs - Reina, Finnan, Riise, Aurelio, Pennant, Sissoko, Garcia

(Below: PEPE REINA THE GOALKEEPER AS AN OUTFIELD PLAYER!)

Ooh, quite unlucky anyway. 3 mistakes from young defender/midfielder Jack Hobbs gave Kaiserslautern the win and Dudek should be blamed for his terrible goalkeeper as well! But the game soon became..like some sort of a comedy when both Aurelio and Luis Garcia limped out of the game and Liverpool had no more subs to use! A weird rule to be honest, especially when they limit it to 7 subs in a friendly? So Rafa discussed with the 4th official to let him put Fowler back into the game after he was substituted out and also, to put goalkeeper, Pepe Reina into the outfield position!


Anyway Pepe Reina went in and tried to do Gerrard's job by nearly grabbing the 3rd goal, but JUST not good enough! And apparently we've signed another defender that looks similar to Hyypia, with that blond hair and the 'I don't give a damn' look. And his name is Sami Nyypia!

The camera angle was awkward and after watching for around 10-15 minutes, I was a little irritated and switched channels. The commentary was quite rubbish as well, but anyway I'm not at all troubled by losing the game, as long as the players had a good run out and gear up for the upcoming season.

I should mention that I'm thoroughly impressed by new signing Gabriel Paletta. He's the type of no-nonsense player in the Carragher mould and reads the game really well. Lee Peltier on the right-back slot was solid as well and Zenden looks comfortable in the central midfield position. Bellamy and Fowler still needs to work on their partnership but looks alright to me. Fabio Aurelio's partnership with Riise down the left looks impressive while Pennant did quite well.

Feel sorry for Hobbs. He looked really gutted at the end of the game with Finnan giving him a light pat on the back. Nevermind, finally we saw them in action after around 2 months!

By the way, who needs Gerrard when we have Reina!! and Nyypia.

Tags: Liverpool, Kaiserslauter, Friendly