May Kop Bless You

Well, this has to be the biggest night of our season so far. With the Premiership title out of our grasp since day one and got booted out of two domestic cup competitions in 6 days by Arsenal, the Champions League once again remain the only saving grace for what look like a rather disappointing season.

But with the Blues from London carrying over a solitary goal lead into Anfield tonight, they will once again come face to face with the wall of noise.

I'm talking about Anfield of course.

Two years ago, tonight, we've seen one of the most wonderful night in Anfield history and it's probably the best 'performance' from the Kopites in modern time.



But tonight, it's more than just the Kop doing it's best. The players have to be at their best as well. With that rather woeful performance at Stamford Bridge last week, they're lucky to escape with only a goal down.

With only a goal down, maybe Liverpool still sense some hope. But first and foremost, they cannot concede any more to Chelsea or the away goal will kill of any chance of Liverpool reaching their second Champions League final in 3 seasons.

To defend the one goal lead, Chelsea will have to do without Ricardo Carvalho, the Portuguese centre half whom in my eye, is their best defender. That'll force Mourinho to shift Michael Essien into defence after he was suspended last week.

Not so sure whether it's good or bad news but Andriy Shevchenko will miss out on this one due to unknown reason. It's another field day for the people at Fleet Street as they'll come up with 101 reasons why he's absent.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that he flopped in English football and in epic proportion.

That'll certainly mean Drogba to start upfront and with Joe Cole and Saloman Kalou just behind him in a 4-3-3 formation.

Liverpool, meanwhile, will welcome back Steve Finnan after being absent for the past 2 weeks through injury. That'll be a huge boost to Liverpool as it enables Benitez to shift Arbeloa back into the left back slot and freeing up Riise onto the left midfield position.

Despite making a comeback in the reserve game last night, it's a pity Harry Kewell won't make it into the squad tonight as well as other injury casualties such as Fabio Aurelio and the hero of 2005, Luis Garcia.

Who Benitez will decide to put upfront is still a guess but with Mourinho coming out claiming that Liverpool will go with Crouch, my bet would be he'll start. It's yet another mind game by Mourinho and from his words, you could tell he's fearing the big man.

Without Carvalho, can Chelsea cope with the height of Crouch?

I for one, can't wait for the kick off. It's going to be a really special night and I'm pretty positive that Liverpool will get the right result tonight. And let's anticipate yet another wonderful 'performance' from Anfield.

Wanna Join The "Anfield Choir" ?

LIVERPOOL have given the go-ahead to form an official ‘Kop choir’ for the start of next season – as the new owners’ vision for the most famous stand in the world becomes clearer.

The plans to restore the unique atmosphere come as it’s revealed the Kop in the new stadium – which won’t now open until the 2010/11 season – will be an awesome 18,000 seater, single tier stand.

From next August, the Reds have agreed to set aside 1800 Kop tickets for the most vocal, passionate supporters in order to preserve the Anfield atmosphere.

In an unprecedented move, club officials have acted to create a specific ‘singing section’ of the famous terrace in a bid to ensure every home fixture replicates the volume of more high profile games.

However, the ECHO can confirm the new arena on Stanley Park definitely won’t be open in time for the start of the 2009-10 season as originally stated.

Architect HKS see the new stadium taking the form of an orchestral theatre, with The Kop taking centre stage towering over the pitch and other stands.


Drogballs: Isn't it great news, lads. Not on the choir part but rather, the new owners being sensible and sensitive enough to understand the club culture and trying their best to do whatever that pleases the fans. That assured me we won't be turning into a soul-less club anytime soon.

And that New Anfield plan sounds really promising. It's going to look a little unorthodox, I reckon. The Kop tier being able to hold 18,000 and bigger than other stands is going to make it 'stand out' and break out from the mold of modern day football stadiums that all look like a prototype of each other.

About the Anfield choir, I'm in support of it. Although the Anfield crowd do have their own initiative to sing most of the time but I think it's great to have a group of appointed 'loud-hailers' out there to take the lead and wake some fans up.

The smell and feel of Anfield might not be able to be brought over but I'm sure with the fans and owners working together, it won't be that far off and the combination of football plus music is certainly a sight to behold!