JRC

Our Penalty Shootout record is something like won 10 from 11. That's the kind of 'lottery' I'm up for.

I believe Geoge Gilletrt was there lat night, according to some reports - that's good to hear, that's the kind of commitment and involvment we should expect. Well Done to the Lads and Steve Heighway, but thinks are about to change at the Academy for sure

I was very confident - optimistic even - before last night, but now that we have to 1. score 2. prevent them scoring ...and this at our own ground, where we are so poor, then I realise that ths is a task beyond mere mortals, and I have given up all hope. 1-0 in 90 minutes in a CL semi-final? Unlikely. 2-0 in 90 minutes against Chelsea at Anfield? Unprecedented. Prevent them scoring? Would have to emulate the Newcastle defence. Worst case and score 3? Only the mighty Tottenham have done that in the past...month or so. Anyone want my tickets for next Tuesday, it just doesn't seem worth it now?

I thought Agger was covering him well for the goal, but the angle of the touch as Drogba forced himself inside towards the area (plus a bit of acceleration and muscle) meant he could never get the tackle in, then the cut back in the area to unbalance Danny, and give Drogba a fraction to get the cross in - brilliant forward play, and would have embarassed many a top-class defender even more.

At least his shooting was OK today, and they weren't always the wrong option, unlike Wednesday. Last Saturday, he couldn't even be arsed running, never mind shooting. I expect him to be lethal against Chelsea, mind - he's working up to it.

Not sure it was Poll with Berger, but he did disallow (perfectly correctly) Everton's last second 'goal' in the Derby when Hutchinson got in the way of Sander's Free-kick, making our cousins from across the Park even more bitter, always something to cherish.

We don't know whether he asked for a tip-off, or asked whether Poll would publicly warn Song if his persistent fouling had got to within 1 offence of another card; and Poll may simply have repled that, in those circumstances, he normally issues such a public warning - which I suspect he does, given his taste for the theatrical, and which in this case he did. Not collusion, just a Ref clarifyig how he will deal with a situation on the pitch. I'd be more concerned if Poll had told Pardew he intended to keep it a secret, and deliberately not issue a warning to Song (or any other player) that they were getting close to the point where he would be obliged to issue a card.

By all accounts, Poll's 'secret signal' to Pardew was by pointng to various parts of the pitch where Song had committed the previous fouls, then holding up 1 finger to say that he had had his last chance, and would be off if he did it again - and was seen and understood by 26,000 people, including Pardew. That is a fairly common sight, and sensible refereeing - there is no suggestion that he was warned as an alternative to sending off, or that a straight yellow offence would not have been carded immediately, or that anyone has been disadvantaged. Can't see the problem people have with this at all. It's better than Refs having a kind of 'Triple Secret Detention' list in their heads for persistent offending.

Didn't his dad play for Barca?

Masch by a distance.

To be exact, the etiquette is to engage them in negotiation whilst a colleague kneels down behind them, whereupon you push them over, Buster Keaton-film style, and relieve them of their ill-gotten gains before distributing them, as you say, in the manner of Robin Hood. I saw THAT at Wembley, and it was only enhanced when a very senior copper laughed directly in the face of the tout as he tearfully implored them to do something about him 'being robbed', and told him he hadn't seen anything happen and to stop wasting his time!

I'm surprised more haven't taken offence at the typically arsey Guardian comment at the end of the fuller article on the inside pages about the Barca game being ' a clash between two great clubs, even if Barcelona are genuinely that...whereas Liverpool are now owned by a Company which has a Head Office in Dallas, Texas, but which is registered, so as not to pay much tax, in Delaware, by way of the Cayman Islands.' i.e. we are no longer a genuinely great club, because our Owners are businessmen maximising the tax efficiency - legally - of their business.

I thought our bottle would go after they scored, but apart from a chance almost immediately, they didn't really get near our Goal again. By the 3 extra minutes, we were playing and controlling it in their half, which I loved - I almost relaxed!

...And perhaps for there NOT to be that collective and clearly audible groan of disapproval that he got on the one occasion he tried to take on Neville (and failed), and which still blights Garcia's efforts that turn out anything less than magnificent - not fair considering what he has produced at times, but which, thankfully, doesn't really seem to phase him - , and which possibly also helped prevent Smicer coming out of his shell and showing his full ability in his time...

Ah, Ziggy Boniek. He cold play anywhere - and did. In Poland (Lodz?), if he felt like being sweeper, he just told the manager he was going to, and then did it As mad as a box of Frogs, and as unpredictable, but blessed with Genius; but not, perhaps, an out-and-out striker? BITW candidates? Kenny, Rush, Souness, Hansen, Barnes - but Liddell actually PLAYED for a Rest of the World Team - twice, I think - , so has to be a contender

Imagine the outcry if no Liverpool players had been picked...deliberate snub....in denial of our greater success.....etc. etc.

Yeah, but it doesn't mean that G&T will be paying me back the remainder on my season ticket for the rest of the season, though, does it. Cheapskates.

Whilst I don't deny (and Moores apparently admitted to Gillett) that we could do more on Merchandising, I've yet to see proof of how 'Bad' we are commercially that is conclusive, as opposed to anecdotal. The Arsenal and Chelsea lead over us in T/O terms could well be down to ticket prices, other activities (Chelsea Village), winnings (CL Final), Media etc. (and our figures may be depressed by the Reebok case). Certainly they will include the factor that they have both recently signed Sponsorship deals at a new Benchmark level, whilst ours is several years old - the next deal will be interesting to see. In pure Merchandising terms, the last figures I saw (about 3 years ago) suggested our income stream was double that of these 2, behind only ManU in England, and that foreign revenue is only a small part, even for the Mancs.

More interesting are the comparisons which break turnover down into TV, sponsorship, Merchandise, 'Match Day' Income, Winnings etc. TV Money varies greatly depending on progress, number of TV Matches selected etc. As has been said, I'm not sure if the Chelsea Turnover includes Chelsea Village anyway

The Guardian makes for fun reading - an article about Liverpool, billionaires, world domination etc has a throwaway paragraph at the end about Everton submitting provisional plans for a new stadium at Cherryfield Drive, Kirkby, along with Tesco. It reads like those tiny notices in the Crosby Herald or Evening Visiter - Small Time or what. FLMAO. http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2007445,00.html

I nunderstand the argument about Hillsborough leading to the PL/Stadia/Cash around in Football today, but for the life of me cannot follow Hayward's logic in getting from harrumphing about Hicks and Gillett to the Hillsborough Victims Families. Mooks explanation above is probably right, in which case Hayward is confirmed as a w*nker of the first order.

What it does do is kill the argument about 'Well everyone knew the rules at the start of the competition', because this, and the Real precedent, suggests that anyone who did know would have assumed the CL Winners would go through. OK, History now, but the Maschareno 'special dispensation' has meant it is being thrown at us again.

Know your enemy

The Mike Parry stuff was hilarious. He was apopleptic on the phone to TS last night, and made some dangerously off-colour remarks about Rafa, Spain and the Spanish. A couple of callers (not Reds) picked him up on it, and Kinghorn (never normally afraid to stick the boot into LFC) kept repeating that the station distanced themselves from his remarks - not jokily, but like he had been strongly advised legally. Mickey Quinn, of course, was useless in any kind of defence of Liverpool or Rafa - didn't argue with the stupid assertion that Rafa would be in trouble now if he hadn't won the CL. So would any succesful manager be....if they hadn't been succesful! This morning though, Parry was a little less demented, but in a random ad section, extolling the Ford Ranger, he spoke of driving from Madrid to Portugal in one in 2004, and repeated all the stuff he'd said about Spanish Peasants etc, but now in the style of 'local colour' or a travelogue, with no mentionm of the Rafa stuff from the night before - like he was nervousd about getting pulled up about his jibes, and building a post-facto defence that it had been this kind of 'journalistic story' rather than a nasty, xenophobic diatribe!

I was at the match, and thought Agger had a poor game today - although he got better after a couple of solid tackles late in the 1st half. Perhaps a bit of Derby Day adrenailin had him overhitting too many of his passes. They were quite happy to let him come forward. Alonso had a total mare - by his standards, but still saw a lot of the ball, and put some decent passes in -, as did Riise and Crouch; Kuyt looked uncomfortable Wide Left; Bellamy tried hard but didn't get as much out of Stubbs as someone with his pace should; I thought Pennant did OK, only in that he hada decent contest with Lescott, who at least had to play well to keep him quiet at times. Gerrard seemd to have too much to do to be an influence. Very surpised Rafa didn't mix it by bringing Gonzales on against Hibbert, pushing Kuyt up in place of Crouch. I don't agree that he is normally conservativbe with his substitutions, he tends to use them to change things rather than maintain them, but today he was conservative. Bringing Robbie on looked like we were hoping for a romantic, but unlikely, denouement. But we didn't lose, and were due a poor performance - it happens. If anything we played better in the Goodison match, and they played the same. Bring on the Barcodes.