Liverpool For Champions League Glory Again !

[kopite]

I'm hoping this time next year, i'll have thread "Man City For Champions League Glory"

early days yet, but the club is definately going in the right direction. thank god, might stop some of the obsession with your neighbours towards us

[scousemouse]

So here's the times for tonights games ,

Chelsea v Schalke 1:45 ESPN

Beskitas v Liverpool 1:45 Star Sports and channel 3 (thai tv).

No sign of the Celtic game though I reckon it will be shown after on a delay.

liverpool game starts at midnight scouse mouse

I thought I heard them saying that on football focus but in the Bangkok post it says it starts at 1:45 ????

Best just leave the t.v. on star sports .

i think im wrong mate. must be the program starting at midnight.

1 hr and 45 hours of build up!!! just as well, we dont get a lot of coverage on espn/star sports in the studio

Well at least it's 1 hr and 45 mins with some proper football panelist's , Super Gary McCallister ( he's got no hair but we don't care ) , Ruud Guillit and Glen Hoddle. A lot better than Shebby Singh , Paul Masefield and Jamie Reeves .

I've just seen our starting line up and I'm quite happy as it looks like Rafa is going for the win for a change. Both Pennant and Babbel are starting with Gerrard and Mascherano in the middle and the derby partneship of Kuyt , Voronnin up front.

Come on the reds !!!! .

[scousemouse]

I'm hoping this time next year, i'll have thread "Man City For Champions League Glory"

As I mentioned to Markr , there is a long way to go this year Mr b

[scousemouse]

half time scores :

Beskitas (and Hyppia) 1-0 Liverpool

Chelski 1-0 Schalke

Benfica 0-0 Celtic

A sloppy own goal conceded by Liverpool and man of the moment Hyppia , let's hope we see a bit of deja vu , the last time we were 1-0 down at half time to a Hyppia own goal we won the game 2-1 , unfortunately Clattenburg is on holiday .

[scousemouse]

half time scores :

Beskitas (and Hyppia) 1-0 Liverpool

Chelski 1-0 Schalke

Benfica 0-0 Celtic

A sloppy own goal conceded by Liverpool and man of the moment Hyppia , let's hope we see a bit of deja vu , the last time we were 1-0 down at half time to a Hyppia own goal we won the game 2-1 , unfortunately Clattenburg is on holiday .

full time scores :

Beskitas 2-1 Liverpool ( <deleted> )

Chelski 2-0 Schalke

Benfica 0-0 Celtic

Why the <deleted> Rafa waited untill the 83rd minute to bring on Crouch I don't know , soon as longshanks was on we really looked a threat. Kuyt once again worked hard but he is no target man and Voronin was missing all night and should have been taken off early.

Games like these already show just how important Torres is to the team now. We badly missed a target man all night , if he's not back for the match against the gooners then I don't fancy are chances .

[scousemouse]

half time scores :

Beskitas (and Hyppia) 1-0 Liverpool

Chelski 1-0 Schalke

Benfica 1-0 Celtic

A sloppy own goal conceded by Liverpool and man of the moment Hyppia , let's hope we see a bit of deja vu , the last time we were 1-0 down at half time to a Hyppia own goal we won the game 2-1 , unfortunately Clattenburg is on holiday .

full time scores :

Beskitas 2-1 Liverpool ( <deleted> )

Chelski 2-0 Schalke

Benfica 0-0 Celtic

Why the <deleted> Rafa waited untill the 83rd minute to bring on Crouch I don't know , soon as longshanks was on we really looked a threat. Kuyt once again worked hard but he is no target man and Voronin was missing all night and should have been taken off early.

Games like these already show just how important Torres is to the team now. We badly missed a target man all night , if he's not back for the match against the gooners then I don't fancy are chances .

Benfica 1-0 Celtic ( apologies , late goal )

[MiG16]

yeh saw first half of liverpool game

you were 1 nil down. by then chelsea already had 1 goal

sowwy scouse

my liverpool fan GF is devastated. england is not doing well in the qualifier, now liverpool looks like they are hard pressed to stay in the competition awwwww shes kinda heart broken (just got off phone with her )

[LeungKen]

I think the odds on Rafa leaving the 'pool just shortened considerably.

However, I suspect by the ever popular "mutual consent"

[mrbojangles]

Hard luck Liverpool. Uphill battle now to qualify.

[chavy]

depends how patient the two yanks are ? They've been very quiet of late

I think it'll be a shock to the system anyway to the majority of the squad.....they're not use to playing 2 consecutive games.

[mrtoad]

I think the odds on Rafa leaving the 'pool just shortened considerably.

However, I suspect by the ever popular "mutual consent"

It's the only way to get fired these days

I think he has until Christmas, but if they have an early exit and are behind by 10 points from the leaders at that point then I think he's gonna be stuffed like a Spanish Donkey.

[LeungKen]

I think the odds on Rafa leaving the 'pool just shortened considerably.

However, I suspect by the ever popular "mutual consent"

It's the only way to get fired these days

I think he has until Christmas, but if they have an early exit and are behind by 10 points from the leaders at that point then I think he's gonna be stuffed like a Spanish Donkey.

Will He Walk Alone ?

If he goes does that mean some of the "dead beats" stay - have to agree with earlier poster that 'pool, without Torres, look very insipid and sorry to say that whilst Hypia has given good service over the years the time has come for him to say goodbye at this level.

I'm a Man Utd supporter and even I feel for you guys.

[scousemouse]

Last nights performance was lacklustre , and that's putting it mildly .

Once again Rafa continues to bemuse us . Liverpool's passing in midfield was very sloppy and the game was crying out for Alonso to come on and make some decent passes. Why did he waited until the 83rd minute to bring Crouch on ??????. Even now if we win all out remaining games we are still relying on other teams dropping points and to be honest it might be a blessing in disguise if we get knocked out in the group stages ( as long as we don't finish 3rd and qualify for the UEFA cup ).

Regarding Hyypia , Liverpool fans and Rafa knew about 12 months ago his time was up , he was given a contract and was expected to be 4th choice. When some canny sh1t of a scotsman scuppered our bid for Heinze we were all of a sudden short at the back and everyone was saying what would happen if either Carragher or Agger got injured , well Agger broke his metatarsal and in stepped Hyypia . And what happened was 2 own goals in 2 games , plus poor performances throughout from Hyypia .

We need a quality centre back in January , we need Torres to never be injured again and we need Steven Gerrard to re-discover his best form .

If all the above happens then Liverpool (and Rafa) will be alright .

[LeungKen]

Last nights performance was lacklustre , and that's putting it mildly .

Once again Rafa continues to bemuse us . Liverpool's passing in midfield was very sloppy and the game was crying out for Alonso to come on and make some decent passes. Why did he waited until the 83rd minute to bring Crouch on ??????. Even now if we win all out remaining games we are still relying on other teams dropping points and to be honest it might be a blessing in disguise if we get knocked out in the group stages ( as long as we don't finish 3rd and qualify for the UEFA cup ).

Regarding Hyypia , Liverpool fans and Rafa knew about 12 months ago his time was up , he was given a contract and was expected to be 4th choice. When some canny sh1t of a scotsman scuppered our bid for Heinze we were all of a sudden short at the back and everyone was saying what would happen if either Carragher or Agger got injured , well Agger broke his metatarsal and in stepped Hyypia . And what happened was 2 own goals in 2 games , plus poor performances throughout from Hyypia .

We need a quality centre back in January , we need Torres to never be injured again and we need Steven Gerrard to re-discover his best form .

If all the above happens then Liverpool (and Rafa) will be alright .

Reminds me of an old Electric Light Orchestra song

..................."Hold On Tight To Your Dream"

[rychrde]

Shame about Hyypia - let us not forget he has been a great player for Liverpool. Sadly football's grim reaper is tapping him on the shoulder.

have there been any players who have moved directly between liverpool and scum? Paul Ince moved to Liverpool via Inter. Re heinze, i think Gerrard made some comment about he'd rather chop off his arm than play for the scum. So sentiments are mutual.

[rychrde]

Yeah I don't understand why Crouch came on so late. You could see Besiktas defence were crapping themselves once he was playing. Torres and Crouch up front for the rematch.

What's wrong with Rafa's decisions during matches? Subs always half an hour too late.

rych

[scousemouse]

Well the champions league is back tonight .

Liverpool v Beskitas 2:45 ESPN

Schalke v Chelsea 2:45 Star sports

For the lads who haven't got UBC I'm 100 % certain that thai tv will be showing one of these games live aswell , it's just a question of which one though it is usuallly Liverpool's game that's showed when there is a choice to make .

[scousemouse]

I hope he plays the full 90 mins for a change , words from Mark Lawrenson :

Time to unleash Crouch on Turks

THERE’S absolutely no reason to not have Peter Crouch in the starting line-up tonight. Liverpool are in a situation they probably didn’t expect to be in this early in the campaign, one where they know exactly what they have to do – win and score goals.

Fernando Torres isn’t around to do it, Dirk Kuyt doesn’t look like he’s capable of doing it at the moment and we don’t really know whether Andriy Voronin can be relied on to do it or not.

So that leaves Crouch. Since he came to Liverpool his ratio shows that if you throw him on and let him off the leash he can deliver.

Just get him in the 11, get men out wide to bang the crosses in and bombard the penalty area. Easy.

Games like this against Besiktas are not times to be cagey, cautious or worry about what the opposition are going to do.

It’s just a simple case of going out and imposing yourselves on a team that might have got the better of Liverpool two weeks ago but who remain one that Rafael Benitez knows his side can beat.

And the manager will also have noted the impact Crouch made in that game in Turkey when he came on and set Steven Gerrard’s goal up.

The Beskitas defenders seemed to be thinking “who or what is this?” when he entered the fray because they’re not used to coming up against players of that size. And, let’s face it, who is?

His very presence, even though he sometimes doesn’t make as much of it as he should, is enough to put doubt in defenders’ minds and if he can do that from the outset tonight then Liverpool will have a major advantage before they even kick off.

It think Benitez will also be aware that he waited too long to bring Crouch on in that first game.

They were already 2-0 down and there was only a few minutes left so what chance did he stand?

On Saturday he might have only had 18 minutes but that was more understandable because going to Ewood these days you do need to be more disciplined.

And if you can keep Blackburn out then force a winner by being more expansive towards the end, all very well.

It didn’t quite pay off on that occasion but for Benitez that situation was a delicate one to juggle. Tonight’s, however, isn’t.

Apart from the Carling Cup and the Champions League qualifier, Liverpool have only won that one game against Derby at home this season and that was more than two months ago.

Crouch has barely been involved in any of those games and I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

The fact is, he did well when he came on at Besiktas, he did well when he came on against Arsenal and he made a difference when he came on at Blackburn.

Tonight he needs to come on from the start because, in front of what’s bound to be a pumped-up Anfield crowd, an early impact is what Liverpool need – not one that’s too late to save their European Cup hopes.

[scousemouse]

Some calming words from Carra :

Desire to progress not fear of failure is driving force

LISTENING to the moans of armchair supporters that inundate the plethora of lazy radio and television phone-in shows, it would be easy to surmise Liverpool stand one defeat away from complete meltdown.

But rather than be alarmed, for Jamie Carragher, it’s merely that time of the year again.

More than a decade of life in the pressurised domain of the Liverpool first team has given the centre-back enough experience of dealing with a supposed crisis at Anfield.

And while “everybody is going nuts”, Carragher exudes the calm confidence of a player who has seen it all before.

Liverpool’s annual emergency has been prompted by an unconvincing opening to the Premier League season made worse by an uncharacteristic nightmare start to the Champions League.

Rafael Benitez’s side aim to begin rectifying the latter when they entertain Besiktas this evening, the first of three Group A games that must be won to secure progress to the knockout stages.

Despite remaining unbeaten in the top flight, the manager, his methods and his players have attracted some heavy flak following a string of frustrating performances.

But Carragher swats away any suggestions of serious problems at the club and believes recent performances indicate the corner is already being turned.

“I’ve been here 10 years and every year there’s a crisis at some stage,” says the 29-year-old. “In Rafa’s first year it was Burnley, then we lost to Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup and then there were the two Arsenal games close together last year.

We’re not playing great at the moment, we’d like to be better but it’s not all doom and gloom. I don’t think we’ve been too bad in the last few games.

“After we played Derby and Toulouse maybe the players themselves were a bit over the top with what they were saying, but it’s the same with the criticism. That’s the nature of football now, to hype things up.

“Against Everton, we went to Goodison which is as tough a place as any to go to, and created a lot of chances and got the three points. The Arsenal game was probably the game of the season up to now in the Premier League and we were happy with how we played then.

“Blackburn was a disappointing result, but again that’s a difficult place to go to, they’d won seven on the bounce and the chances we had we should have won.

“In the Champions League, it hasn’t been good enough, especially the Marseille game which was as poor as we have played in a long time.

“Hopefully, this is our period where everybody is going nuts about us then hopefully it will return to normal in a couple of weeks. Maybe it’s a sign of progress that we are having the crisis more early in the season!”

Despite that throwaway response, Carragher is acutely aware of the disgruntlement among sections of the Liverpool support, the first murmurs of which could be heard from the away end during the goalless draw at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

“I hear a lot of opinion on the streets and I know that a lot of people are disappointed with how things are going at the moment,” he says. “It means a lot to people in Liverpool, and with me being involved I get the brunt of it and I can understand the frustration of the fans.”

Even the usual safety net of the Champions League is in danger of being swept from beneath Liverpool after they followed an opening draw at Porto with defeats to Marseille and Besiktas.

Benitez’s side must now beat all three of their Group A rivals, and Carragher has called on his team-mates to note the calm, collected example set by their manager, whose grace under considerable fire has been severely tested by the barrage of criticism in recent weeks.

“I’ve been here for 10 years and I know you don’t gain anything from putting yourself under pressure or being nervous,” says the defender. “People are talking about the last game against Marseille being tough, but we have to forget that and just beat Besiktas first.

“The manager is very, very good at that. He very rarely gets flustered or nervous or lets things get to him. He is a very calm man and hopefully that can be shown in these next three Champions League games.

“He has stressed to us to forget about the other two games, concentrate on beating Besiktas and then move on to the next game.”

Having reached two of the last three finals of the Champions League, missing out on the knockout stage – and the millions of pounds qualification would ensure – is almost unthinkable for Liverpool.

[scousemouse]

And some strong words from Gerrard :

Steven Gerrard: We need to go for the jugular Nov 6 2007

by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

STEVEN GERRARD has urged Liverpool to “go for the jugular” as they aim to keep their Champions League dream alive this evening.

Rafael Benitez’s side entertain Besiktas knowing anything other than victory will almost certainly mean failure to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition for the first time under the Spaniard.

Liverpool were surprisingly beaten 2-1 in Istanbul by the Turkish side a fortnight ago, a result which means they effectively need to win their remaining three Group A games to progress. And Gerrard believes the Anfield outfit, who could have Fernando Torres available this evening, have no option but to attack from the off and ensure another famous European night at the stadium.

“I said after the game in Istanbul that we face three massive games, cup finals in effect, in our remaining Champions League group games and I have not changed my mind since then,” said Gerrard.

“We have to make a fast start and rock Besiktas early on. I don’t think we have anything to fear from them coming over here.

“We need to go for the jugular from the first whistle. We know we need a night like Juventus, Chelsea and Olympiakos, which was probably the last time we were in a similar position to now. Our backs were against the wall, and unfortunately that’s where we are again.

“But we know we can do it. On these European nights, everyone has to work together. We have to give the fans something to believe and get them going from the first whistle. Besiktas will sit back and break the game up, so we might need to be patient and then make sure our quality tells. If we get our performance right, then there are very few teams, if any, can live with us. We have got to get it right tonight.”

Liverpool were guilty of some profligate finishing against Besiktas two weeks ago before a late Gerrard goal gave hope of an equaliser after the Turks had led 2-0. And the skipper reckons the performance that night was an indicator Benitez’s side are capable of a morale-boosting triumph this evening.

“Despite the fact they got a good result in their own stadium, even they would admit we had more than enough chances to win the game over there,” added Gerrard.

“We believe in ourselves and our ability to go and get the job done. It would be great to send a message to the rest of the teams in our group that we are back, but we have to get the result on Tuesday.

“In the past we have saved some of our best games for this competition, but this season we have just not got going.

“We battled for a point in Porto without playing well and got what we deserved against Marseille. We didn’t take enough of our chances in Turkey and we won’t make the same mistake again here. We cannot afford to now we have left ourselves with no margin for error.”

Liverpool could have Torres in the squad tonight after the Span-iard made a quicker than expected recovery from his adductor problem.

The striker was in training yesterday and Benitez is considering taking a risk on the player given his team’s goal-scoring woes that were again illustrated against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

Benitez said: “We will talk with the doctor, the physios and the player, but he is much better than last time. We must be really positive but we also have to be careful.

“He wanted to play last time and it was a very important game, so perhaps he wasn’t really fit, but players always want to play and think they are fit in those situations. I think we have enough power up front without Torres, but this is also a game when we might have to take a risk.”

Harry Kewell is likely to be restricted to bench duty again following impressive substitute appearances against Cardiff City and Blackburn in the last week. However, both Xabi Alonso and Daniel Agger will remain sidelined for the next three weeks as they recover from their metatarsal injuries.

[mrbojangles]

And some strong words from Gerrard :

Unfortunately strong words aren't enough. Goals are what count.

Good luck tonight Scouse

[Jared]

I dont know what all the panic is about, were more than capable of winning our 2 home games against Besiktas and Porto and then all we have to do is beat Marseille away. If we dont get the 3 points tonight it is over and I would rather he plays reserve teams for the remainder of the competition and concentrate on the league. I wouldnt even like to finish 3rd and get the Uefa cup because you know Rafa will try making up for the champions league exit by going all out and trying to win it, risking our premiership chances.

[mrbojangles]

Well that was a close shave you stuffy buggers

Babel's was a nice one The other 7 weren't bad either

[scousemouse]

And some strong words from Gerrard :

Unfortunately strong words aren't enough. Goals are what count.

Good luck tonight Scouse

Is 8 o-k

[scousemouse]

A bit of frustration let out last night by the lads , lets hope this win gives us the boost we need in the premiership aswell :

Liverpool 8-0 Besiktas

Crouch (back) was the catalyst for Liverpool's winYossi Benayoun grabbed a hat-trick as a rampant Liverpool beat Besiktas to keep their Champions League campaign alive.

Peter Crouch slotted in after his first shot was saved to open the scoring.

Benayoun took down a cross and lashed home before twice side-footing in after John Arne Riise and Steven Gerrard had strikes parried into his path.

Gerrard powered in a shot, Ryan Babel backheeled in a deft goal and then deflected in a Besiktas clearance before Crouch nodded in for an eighth.

Liverpool came into the game with their backs against the wall as they needed victory to keep alive any realistic hopes of progressing in the competition.

The Reds started with the urgency their predicament merited but saw Mehmet Sedef shoot wide at the near post after a cross from Matias Delgado.

The home side heeded the warning as a sign to swarm forward in greater numbers.

Crouch nodded a ball into the path of Andriy Voronin, who shot disappointingly wide, and then got the power on a header from Riise's cross only to see his effort go wide.

Right-back Alvaro Arbeloa was consistently marauding forward and he crossed for Benayoun to guide a shot against the outside of near post.

The inevitability of the Reds goal finally came when Edouard Cisse inadvertently played Crouch through on goal with a tackle towards his own goal.

Crouch netted the rebound as he scored the goal Liverpool craved to settle nerves before Riise had a header cleared off the line.

Voronin then found Benayoun at the far post and the Israeli took two touches to control and then lash in a shot to add a second.

Benayoun was instrumental in Liverpool's win

Liverpool continued to scythe through Besiktas after the break and Benayoun had a simple tap-in for a third after keeper Hakan Arikan could only parry a Riise shot into his path.

The fourth from the Reds came much the same way when Arikan failed to gather a fiercely driven Gerrard free-kick and Benayoun poached a another goal for his hat-trick.

The stunned Turkish visitors had little answer to Liverpool's play as the Anfield side refused to let up.

And another goal soon followed as a superb backheel from Voronin put Gerrard through on goal as the two players produced a neat one-two, which the Reds skipper finished with a stinging shot.

Benayoun turned provider late on when he crossed low for Babel and he audaciously back-heeled in at the near post.

Babel chased down a long ball and was rewarded when a clearance struck him and looped into the net.

Babel even had time to head against the crossbar, while Crouch glanced in a header from a Benayoun cross to complete the rout and the biggest win in the Champions League.

Liverpool: Reina, Aurelio (Babel 63), Hyypia, Carragher, Arbeloa, Riise, Mascherano, Gerrard (Lucas 72), Benayoun, Voronin (Kewell 72), Crouch.

Subs Not Used: Martin, Finnan, Torres, Kuyt.

Goals: Crouch 19, Benayoun 32, 53, 56, Gerrard 69, Babel 79, 81, Crouch 89.

Besiktas: Arikan, Uzulmez, Toraman, Diatta, Kurtulus (Higuain 62), Sedef (Ricardinho 78), Cisse, Avci, Ozcan (Tandogan 46), Delgado, Bobo.

Subs Not Used: Rustu, Yozgatli, Kas, Karadeniz.

Booked: Ozcan.

Att: 41,143 Ref: Markus Merk (Germany).

[Jared]

Fantastic game and goals, although I think I would of been even more happy with a 1-0 win and a draw in the other game. Dont we still need to rely on porto and Marseille dropping points against Besiktas?

[scousemouse]

Fantastic game and goals, although I think I would of been even more happy with a 1-0 win and a draw in the other game. Dont we still need to rely on porto and Marseille dropping points against Besiktas?

Thats right Jared , even if we win our games against Porto and Marseille 10-0 , all they have to do is beat Beskitas and they go through .

Porto have already beaten Beskitas in Turkey so they should have no problems at home against them , so that leaves us needing Marsielle to drop points when they visit Beskitas and I can't see the turks wanting to do us any favours after we spanked them 8-0 .

[scousemouse]

Fantastic game and goals, although I think I would of been even more happy with a 1-0 win and a draw in the other game. Dont we still need to rely on porto and Marseille dropping points against Besiktas?

Thats right Jared , even if we win our games against Porto and Marseille 10-0 , all they have to do is beat Beskitas and they go through .

Porto have already beaten Beskitas in Turkey so they should have no problems at home against them , so that leaves us needing Marsielle to drop points when they visit Beskitas and I can't see the turks wanting to do us any favours after we spanked them 8-0 .

Wooops !!! , I've just found out if we beat Porto and Marsielle then we will qualify with Porto regardless of if Marseille beat Beskitas or not

[scousemouse]

Fantastic game and goals, although I think I would of been even more happy with a 1-0 win and a draw in the other game. Dont we still need to rely on porto and Marseille dropping points against Besiktas?

Thats right Jared , even if we win our games against Porto and Marseille 10-0 , all they have to do is beat Beskitas and they go through .

Porto have already beaten Beskitas in Turkey so they should have no problems at home against them , so that leaves us needing Marsielle to drop points when they visit Beskitas and I can't see the turks wanting to do us any favours after we spanked them 8-0 .

Wooops !!! , I've just found out if we beat Porto and Marsielle then we will qualify with Porto regardless of if Marseille beat Beskitas or not

Which is a lot better than getting knocked out

[mrtoad]

Great result for you guys last night, although I say it through gritted teeth. Might kick start your home form, although I have to admit that I hope it doesn't.