Liverpool F.c.

[scousemouse]

Hat's off to the gooners , they are going to have a great ( and many more ) season. The football they are playing at the moment is superb.

As for our performance , to have 2 unfit players ( Torres , Alonso ) starting who have to go off and still come out of the game with a draw is a satisfactory result and at least our unbeaten record is still intact , at times tonight it was in danger of going.

ps - the boy Fabregas was man of the match and is a bit special.

[scousemouse]

We have 5 premiership games left before we face the mancs at Anfield and in those games we really need to put in some good performances and show the rest that we are genuine title contenders.

The games before the mancs are :

Saturday, 03 November 2007Barclays Premier LeagueBlackburn v Liverpool 17:15

Saturday, 10 November 2007Barclays Premier LeagueLiverpoolv Fulham 15:00

Saturday, 24 November 2007Barclays Premier League Football Forum beer night in Bangkok Newcastle v Liverpool 15:00

Sunday, 02 December 2007Barclays Premier LeagueLiverpool v Bolton 15:00

Saturday, 08 December 2007Barclays Premier LeagueReading v Liverpool 15:00

We should be looking to win all these games and if we want to win the title then that's what we should be expecting , no slip ups allowed .

[nev]

mate you honestly think you are title contenders you have only 1 win at home this season,very lucky against arse to get a draw,heard arsenal fans singing liverpool HOOF!!!the ball. lol funny one that.

the big 3 united arsenal and chelsea are on fire and will battle out for the title, and one of those three are capable of winninhg the champions league with the great squads they have.

you are in 6th spot now and you know 5 draws are not good enough if you want to win the league, look at arsenal won 8 drawn 2, even though the 2 games away from london they drew,they have played 8 in london 6 at home they have nott had to travel much and there first teast against you guys they have proven they have whAT it takes to win the league.

we have put 8 wins together,before we started that run you was quite a few point in front of us now 6 behind.

chelsea are looking on form too.

i have seen on a few football forums that a lot of liverpool fans want rafa out.

well i hope he stay's he is doing a great job. lol.

[mrtoad]

We have 5 premiership games left before we face the mancs at Anfield and in those games we really need to put in some good performances and show the rest that we are genuine title contenders.

The games before the mancs are :

Saturday, 03 November 2007Barclays Premier LeagueBlackburn v Liverpool 17:15 Blacburn win

Saturday, 10 November 2007Barclays Premier LeagueLiverpoolv Fulham 15:00 Liverpool Win

Saturday, 24 November 2007Barclays Premier League Football Forum beer night in Bangkok Newcastle v Liverpool 15:00 Newcastle win

Sunday, 02 December 2007Barclays Premier LeagueLiverpool v Bolton 15:00 Liverpool Win

Saturday, 08 December 2007Barclays Premier LeagueReading v Liverpool 15:00 Draw

We should be looking to win all these games and if we want to win the title then that's what we should be expecting , no slip ups allowed .

Not that I'm excellent at predicting, but wouldn't be suprised to see Liverpool drop around 7 points from those games. Not good that you also have Torres, Mascherano and Alonso out.

[scousemouse]

Triple injury blow hits Liverpool

Liverpool players Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano all face spells out after suffering injuries in Sunday's 1-1 draw against Arsenal.

Alonso (metatarsal) and Torres (abductor muscle) both had recurrences of the injuries which had kept them out for a month before the game.

Alonso limped off after 68 minutes while Torres was replaced by Peter Crouch at half-time.

Mascherano suffered a foot injury and left with his foot in a medical boot.

Manager Rafael Benitez said: "Alonso has suffered the same injury again, the metatarsal, he felt something go in his foot.

"Torres also has a similar injury, a problem with an abductor muscle. Maybe he is not as bad as before. But he could not work as hard as we wanted, we wanted his pace and it was not available.

"He just was not fit. We talked beforehand and he said he was fine. Now we must wait again, he had been out for some time and we have been pushing to get him back, but he has not been right and he still is not right.

"I will need to check with the doctor to see how the players are in the next two days."

Benitez admitted his side paid the price for the injuries they experienced during the game at Anfield.

"We had problems when we lost Torres and then Alonso. We could not control the midfield then, we also had Mascherano with a foot injury and had lost (Mohamed) Sissoko beforehand with sickness," he said.

"In the end there were too many problems against a really good team."

But he praised the contribution of his captain Steven Gerrard who netted Liverpool's goal after a difficult week.

"Stevie has been playing better and this was a very good performance," he added.

"We had a plan to use the strikers wide and for Stevie to attack through the middle with two holding players behind.

"But when we started losing players through injury, it just became too difficult to get forward.

"What pleased me most was the commitment of the players, our supporters should be happy with the efforts they put in against a very good team like Arsenal. "Arsenal are playing well, a fantastic team. But it is too early, we are six points behind with a game in hand and there is a long way to go yet."

[scousemouse]

OK Scousemouse after last nights Utd win I'm looking for a nice little 1 - 1 draw from your mob against the "Ar*e" (Sorry Mig16) !

So see what you can do when you're having a quiet chat to Bhudda or whoever it is upstairs that organises these things.

Whoever you chat to Ken seems to know his stuff .

[scousemouse]

mate you honestly think you are title contenders

<deleted> , If you read my post "ned" then you'll see I said we have to put in good performances ( win ) our next 5 games in the premiership BEFORE we are considered title contenders

[scousemouse]

Liverpool 1, Arsenal 1

HAVING been admonished for their recent inability to make the most of their chances, Liverpool proceeded to waste another opportunity yesterday.

Rafael Benitez’s side were within 10 minutes of defeating leaders Arsenal and administering a significant shot in the arm to their own championship hopes.

Instead, they emerged with only a draw and regrets over the sacrifice made in their attempt to baulk the Gunners’ charge at the top of the Premier League.

Steven Gerrard’s seventh-minute strike and a heroic defensive performance, allied to some clever tactical tinkering from Benitez, had posed the first real questions of Arsene Wenger’s title credentials.

Cesc Fabregas’s 80th-minute equaliser meant Liverpool failed to make inroads on the six-point gap between the teams and, as against Chelsea earlier in the campaign, failed to transfer a winning position into notable victory against a championship rival.

But the greater disappointment for Benitez was the sight of two key players limping out of action with injuries that could hold long-term ramifications for Liverpool’s title challenge.

Both Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso were deemed to have sufficiently recovered from their respective groin and foot problems to take their place in the starting line-up.

In hindsight, it was the wrong decision.

From the very early stages, it was painfully obvious Torres was way short of full fitness, making his half-time substitution for a pumped-up Peter Crouch inevitable.

However, the main anxiety came from Alonso’s departure midway through the second half after aggravating the broken metatarsal that had sidelined him for the previous five weeks.

Scans this week could now reveal an even lengthier absence for the midfielder, and with Javier Mascherano also leaving Anfield wearing a foot brace, an injury list Benitez had hoped was clearing appears as long as ever.

That both teams later claimed they would have deserved all three points demonstrated how fine the margins were yesterday during a pulsating encounter in which the free-flowing football of Arsenal collided with the powerful, counter-attacking prowess of the hosts.

Benitez’s methods have attracted fierce criticism following a series of indifferent performances that culminated in a damaging Champions League defeat in Istanbul to Besiktas on Wednesday.

Perhaps typically, the Spaniard responded by employing a new 4-3-3 formation, providing defensive protection in the form of two holding midfielders while giving Gerrard scope to roam.

The skipper – on his 400th appearance for the club – revelled in the freedom, instigating and finishing the passage of play that gave Liverpool their early advantage and the home team’s most likely source of a goal throughout.

Yet the dynamic changed when the influential Alonso was replaced by Alvaro Arbeloa as a makeshift central midfielder, handing the initiative back to Arsenal just when it appeared the Gunners had ran out of ideas to breach a Liverpool defence in which Jamie Carragher was back to his tenacious best.

Indeed, it was Arbeloa’s failure to track back with Fabregas that allowed the Arsenal man to toe-poke Alexander Hleb’s through ball past Pepe Reina to ensure it isn’t just Liverpool’s unbeaten league record that remains intact.

Sir Alex Ferguson, whose Manchester United team take on the Londoners next week, had departed his seat in the Anfield directors’ box by that point.

But he will have already noted that any threat to their championship is more likely to come from the visitors, Wenger rightly satisfied his team emerged with their title credentials enhanced, not least for their show of character in coming from behind.

But while much of Arsenal’s passing and movement was mesmerising to watch, Manuel Almunia was the busier goalkeeper. Pepe Reina, although twice thankful for his left-hand post, made only one save of note.

Benitez’s side are still short of the form that saw them leap to the top of the table during the early weeks – their inability to win at Anfield becoming a major concern – but there were enough signs for encouragement in their performance yesterday, even if certain individual performances remain worryingly below par.

Such criticism could not be levelled at Crouch.

Once again the odd one out on the bench despite Benitez starting with three strikers, the England international capitalised on the misfortune of Torres with a fine second-half display to surely earn himself a run in the team.

Crouch, of course, netted a memorable hat-trick on Arsenal’s most recent visit to Anfield in March.

That was the last time the Gunners had been beaten on their Premier League travels, and they were behind in the seventh minute yesterday to a goal that owed everything to the persistence of Gerrard.

The skipper magnificently won possession from Mathieu Flamini 35 yards from goal and, after exchanging passes with Steve Finnan, released a low drive that Almunia parried back into play.

Once the ball was worked back into the danger zone, Fabregas downed Alonso on the edge of the area and, from the free-kick, John Arne Riise rolled the ball for Gerrard to blast through a gap in the wall vacated by Kuyt and Flamini past the flailing Almunia.

Arsenal rallied and, after Hleb dragged an effort wide, Fabregas released Emmanuel Adebayor but Reina raced from his line to block with his body.

The visitors came close again midway through the half when Tomas Rosicky cut inside from the left and clipped a shot over the approaching Reina. Sami Hyypia hooked clear and, after the ball fell invitingly for Emmanuel Eboue to fire goalward, Carragher nodded off the line.

The centre-back, who had already taken one blow to the head early on when accidentally caught by Riise’s elbow, was involved in another altercation on the half-hour when giving Eboue a friendly shove with the forearm as the pair jostled for position in the area.

The Arsenal man rarely needs much reason to begin rolling around on the floor and he wasn’t alone in being heavy on the amateur dramatics.

When they did keep their feet, Wenger’s men enjoyed the more threatening possession but it was Liverpool who created the final effort of the half, Flamini ballooning his attempted clearance from a corner and the ball dropping to Gerrard on the edge of the area to hit a volley that was turned over by Almunia.

Crouch wasted no time in announcing his introduction after the break when controlling a long ball, turning and firing a venomous 25-yard shot Almunia did well to turn behind.

But Arsenal should have been level on 53 minutes. Finally discovering a way behind the Liverpool defence, Eboue raced in from the right and struck the inside of Reina’s left-hand post. The ball then fell invitingly for Fabregas to complete the formality of tapping into an open net, only for the Spaniard to somehow shoot high and wide.

Crouch was causing the Arsenal defence all manner of problems, and was narrowly off target when shooting across the face from Voronin’s pass.

A Riise volley dropped on to the roof of the net but just when it looked as though Arsenal had exhausted, Fabregas made amends for his earlier miss to net his 10th goal of the season with 10 minutes remaining.

And seven minutes later it was the turn of substitute Nicklas Bendtner to miss an open goal from a rebound off the post, Fabregas this time the man to strike the same piece of woodwork.

Gerrard almost snatched victory in the final minute with a shot that was blocked by William Gallas, but that would have been harsh on Arsenal.

LIVERPOOL (4-2-1-3): Reina; Finnan, Hyypia, Carragher, Riise; Mascherano, Alonso (Arbeloa 68); Gerrard; Kuyt, Torres (Crouch 46), Voronin (Benayoun 65). Subs: Itandje, Babel.

BOOKING: Voronin and Carragher (both fouls).

ARSENAL (4-5-1): Almunia; Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy (Gilberto 75); Eboue (Bendtner 75), Fabregas, Flamini, Hleb, Rosicky (Walcott 66); Adebayor. Subs: Lehmann, Diarra.

BOOKINGS: Rosicky and Toure (both fouls) and Fabregas (unsporting behaviour).

REFEREE: Howard Webb.

[mrtoad]

mate you honestly think you are title contenders

<deleted> , If you read my post "ned" then you'll see I said we have to put in good performances ( win ) our next 5 games in the premiership BEFORE we are considered title contenders

Scouse, he's going to have to get the team killing games off first. Liverpool still seem to lack that extra bit of something that makes teams win the title.

[scousemouse]

mate you honestly think you are title contenders

<deleted> , If you read my post "ned" then you'll see I said we have to put in good performances ( win ) our next 5 games in the premiership BEFORE we are considered title contenders

Scouse, he's going to have to get the team killing games off first. Liverpool still seem to lack that extra bit of something that makes teams win the title.

We thought we had that extra bit of something when we got Torres. Now he's going to miss some vital games aswell as having already missed crucial games , all with an injury he picked up on international duty .

No point in moaning about it though , we have to remain optimistic and if we are still within 6 points of the leaders come new year then we will be in with a shout comre May.

[mrtoad]

mate you honestly think you are title contenders

<deleted> , If you read my post "ned" then you'll see I said we have to put in good performances ( win ) our next 5 games in the premiership BEFORE we are considered title contenders

Scouse, he's going to have to get the team killing games off first. Liverpool still seem to lack that extra bit of something that makes teams win the title.

We thought we had that extra bit of something when we got Torres. Now he's going to miss some vital games aswell as having already missed crucial games , all with an injury he picked up on international duty .

No point in moaning about it though , we have to remain optimistic and if we are still within 6 points of the leaders come new year then we will be in with a shout comre May.

Hardly a crisis, considering you are still unbeaten in the league. Just a few too many draws so far.

[kopite]

mate you honestly think you are title contenders you have only 1 win at home this season,very lucky against arse to get a draw,heard arsenal fans singing liverpool HOOF!!!the ball. lol funny one that.

so the obsession continues!!!

i have to admit the arsenal song was very good compared to the s***e you lot sing about us every week. and get this, they were playing against us

you are in 6th spot now and you know 5 draws are not good enough if you want to win the league, look at arsenal won 8 drawn 2, even though the 2 games away from london they drew,they have played 8 in london 6 at home they have nott had to travel much and there first teast against you guys they have proven they have whAT it takes to win the league.

we have put 8 wins together,before we started that run you was quite a few point in front of us now 6 behind.

if i could understand any of that, i would respond. take a deep breath next time

i have seen on a few football forums that a lot of liverpool fans want rafa out.

well i hope he stay's he is doing a great job. lol.

what forums mate? liverpool ones?

oh dear!!!

[scousemouse]

Update on the injuries :

Fernando Torres - out for 3 weeks ( abductor )

Xabi Alonso - out for 5/6 weeks ( metatarsal )

Javier Mascherano - out for 1/2 weeks ( severe bruising )

[scousemouse]

Nice words from both Gerrard and Fabregas :

Gerrard hails fantastic Fabregas

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard says Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas can achieve anything in the game after his awesome display in the 1-1 draw at Anfield.

Fabregas, 20, scored his 10th goal of the season to return Arsenal to the top of the Premier League on Sunday.

And Gerrard, who also scored in the absorbing encounter, said the Spaniard was playing at a fantastic level.

"The world is his oyster. He can go on to be one of the best in the world, there is no doubt about that," he said.

"So far this season he is having a fantastic time. If he keeps working hard at his game and stays as dedicated as he has been so far, he can achieve anything."

Fabregas's goal was typical of the player, and Arsenal, this season when he made a late run to latch onto a Alex Hleb through ball to toe-poke past Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina.

The midfielder also came close to winning the game for the Gunners when he hit a post with a curling shot from outside the penalty area.

The game was an intriguing battle between the two - who were named as the star players by users of the BBC Sport website player rater.

Gerrard and Fabregas were the only two players scoring over eight out of 10, with the Spaniard just ahead of the Englishman.

The Arsenal star said Gerrard inspired him.

"I would love to have (Gerrard) in my team," he said. "He is the player who four or five years ago when I was in my house I was looking up to him. "And now I have the chance to play against him, which is fantastic for me to keep learning, because he is one of the best midfielders in the world."

[scousemouse]

mate you honestly think you are title contenders you have only 1 win at home this season,very lucky against arse to get a draw,heard arsenal fans singing liverpool HOOF!!!the ball. lol funny one that.

so the obsession continues!!!

i have to admit the arsenal song was very good compared to the s***e you lot sing about us every week. and get this, they were playing against us

you are in 6th spot now and you know 5 draws are not good enough if you want to win the league, look at arsenal won 8 drawn 2, even though the 2 games away from london they drew,they have played 8 in london 6 at home they have nott had to travel much and there first teast against you guys they have proven they have whAT it takes to win the league.

we have put 8 wins together,before we started that run you was quite a few point in front of us now 6 behind.

if i could understand any of that, i would respond. take a deep breath next time

i have seen on a few football forums that a lot of liverpool fans want rafa out.

well i hope he stay's he is doing a great job. lol.

what forums mate? liverpool ones?

oh dear!!!

manc drivel Kopite mate

[nev]

mate you honestly think you are title contenders you have only 1 win at home this season,very lucky against arse to get a draw,heard arsenal fans singing liverpool HOOF!!!the ball. lol funny one that.

so the obsession continues!!!

i have to admit the arsenal song was very good compared to the s***e you lot sing about us every week. and get this, they were playing against us

you are in 6th spot now and you know 5 draws are not good enough if you want to win the league, look at arsenal won 8 drawn 2, even though the 2 games away from london they drew,they have played 8 in london 6 at home they have nott had to travel much and there first teast against you guys they have proven they have whAT it takes to win the league.

we have put 8 wins together,before we started that run you was quite a few point in front of us now 6 behind.

if i could understand any of that, i would respond. take a deep breath next time

i have seen on a few football forums that a lot of liverpool fans want rafa out.

well i hope he stay's he is doing a great job. lol.

what forums mate? liverpool ones?

oh dear!!!

never been on a liverpool forum, the liverpool fans who have stated to me there opinion are on our man united forum,invisionfree.

we have 4 liverpool fans on there who are very honest none of this you are obsessed crap, i just asked for an opinion of you lads if you honestly think you are good enough to win the league

what dont you understand above i stated arsenal have only dropped points when they have travelled,you and blackburn.

so answer me are you good enough, 1 home win out of 5 at home is this good enough.

[mrtoad]

never been on a liverpool forum, the liverpool fans who have stated to me there opinion are on our man united forum,invisionfree.

we have 4 liverpool fans on there who are very honest none of this you are obsessed crap, i just asked for an opinion of you lads if you honestly think you are good enough to win the league

what dont you understand above i stated arsenal have only dropped points when they have travelled,you and blackburn.

so answer me are you good enough, 1 home win out of 5 at home is this good enough.

I think deep down they know the answear. Personally, I think that they have got the players there, but the manager is the problem with his lack of understanding of the demands of the premier league. As you quite rightly say, 1 from 5 is poor form for a title contender, but Rafa is living on credit at the moment from his European triumph. I wonder how much longer that will last? I think scouse, agrees that the next 6 games are crucial, the last one of those six beiong against us.

[kopite]

i for one dont buy into the media's bulls**t.

liverpool never start well. FACT!!!

that has always been the case. so we have drawn four out of 5 at home. big deal. two of those games were against chelsea and arsenal. the other two games against birmingham and tottenham we should have one, and needed to win to be at the top of the table.

however, its november in a couple of days. there is 7 months to go. with 28 games left to play. we find ourselves in sixth place 6 points of the top with a game in hand over most. we are still unbeaten.

what happens if united draw or lose this weekend and we win at blackburn? we win our game in hand and all of a we are biting everyones ankles. but of course it could go the other way, thats life, thats football.

this whole thing with rafa is total <deleted>, and to be honest its very tiresome. there is a problem within at the moment, but im not sure its all down to him. the players are all underperfoming. but he has won the european cup, fa cup and we had another european cup final last year. not a bad first three years!!! whiskey nose hasnt managed to get to 2 european cup finals in 18 years!!!

we have also progressed in the league under rafa. a stronger finish every year. and the way it stands at the moment, we are currently 6 points better off then we were last season at this point with 0 games lost, compared to of having lost

4 games at this point last year.

so by all means, listen to the phone-ins from libpool fans with dodgy accents, read the posts on forums and believe every word they say and write if it makes you happy. most of the people who have been slagging rafa off are whoppers who think football started in 1992.

ill reserve my judgement on the man and the season in may.

[scousemouse]

i

however, its november in a couple of days. there is 7 months to go. with 28 games left to play. we find ourselves in sixth place 6 points of the top with a game in hand over most. we are still unbeaten.

ill reserve my judgement on the man and the season in may.

Exactly .

[scousemouse]

I hope Peter Crouch has a good game and Robbie Fowler scores :

Liverpool v Cardiff

Peter Crouch is set to start for Liverpool but Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, Fernando Torres are out.

Alvaro Arbeloa returns after injury while second-choice keeper Charles Itandje is set to start and Harry Kewell could get a run-out.

Cardiff striker Robbie Fowler lines up against his former club.

Kevin McNaughton, Roger Johnson, Trevor Sinclair and Paul Parry are injury doubts and on-loan Manchester City keeper Kasper Schmeichel is ineligible. Michael Oakes will return to the starting line-up in Schmeichel's place, with youngster Josh Magennis on the bench as David Ford is cup-tied.

[MiG16]

Hat's off to the gooners , they are going to have a great ( and many more ) season. The football they are playing at the moment is superb.

ps - the boy Fabregas was man of the match and is a bit special.

thanks scouse.

gotta admit, was a tough game...your boys are good too.

in a way Im happy with the result, eventhough towards end of the game I felt we could have had 3 points.

[kopite]

is the game on tonight? had a look but couldnt find it. dont really want to watch via internet

[PST]

is the game on tonight? had a look but couldnt find it. dont really want to watch via internet

Should be on thai tv,not sure what channel,but i reckon it will defo be on,coventry and west ham was on last night.

PST.

[kopite]

ah right, cheers mate

[scousemouse]

Wishfull thinking from Rafa , let's hope not :

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez says he would be happy to let former striker Robbie Fowler score for Cardiff when the sides meet in the Carling Cup at Anfield on Wednesday. Benitez said: "Maybe we can leave him to score a fantastic goal in front of the Kop, but at the end of the game, if we have scored three." (Various)

[scousemouse]

Seen as Torres is going to be out for a while , let's hope Crouch can show he should be first choice :

Peter Crouch ready to take his Liverpool chance

HUNGRY Peter Crouch is determined to make the most of any first-team chance this evening – as Harry Kewell prepares for his long-awaited senior return for Liverpool.

Crouch is primed for only his fifth start of the season as Rafael Benitez’s entertain Coca-Cola Championship side Cardiff City in the Carling Cup fourth round.

The 26-year-old made an impressive appearance as a second-half substitute for the injured Fernando Torres in the 1-1 draw with Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday.

With Torres now sidelined for at least the next fortnight and both Dirk Kuyt and Andriy Voronin having started three games in eight days, Benitez is almost certain to turn to Crouch this evening.

And the England international said: “I’m looking forward to the Cardiff game and hoping to get 90 minutes under my belt.

“I was pleased to get on against Arsenal, even though it wasn’t in the circumstances I would have liked with Fernando getting injured. You always want your best players on the pitch and hopefully he won’t be out for too long.

“From my point of view I haven’t had too many chances this season and so I have to take them when they come along.

“It’s going to be a long season, we have a big squad and everybody will get games at some point. I just know that whenever I play I have to perform.

“Players are greedy and they want to play every week but it’s not possible.

“We know there could be anything up to 70 matches this season and we understand what the manager is trying to do.”

Former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler will line up for Cardiff this evening, with the Welsh side expected to be backed by more than 5,000 travelling supporters.

Victory would put Liverpool through to the quarter-finals of the competition for the third time in four seasons under Benitez.

And Crouch added: “The Cardiff game is obviously one we’re expected to win but we can’t take anything for granted.

“It’ll be nice to see Robbie Fowler again because he has been fantastic for this club over the years.

“It was great when he came back here and he did a magnificent job for the team. He was also a good character to have around the dressing room and I’m sure the boys are looking forward to seeing him again.”

Liverpool will this morning have a better idea of how long they will be without Xabi Alonso after the Spaniard aggravated his metatarsal injury at the weekend.

Alonso saw a specialist late yesterday afternoon and a precise timescale on his recovery will be determined today.

Benitez, though, expects Torres to have recovered from his adductor injury within a fortnight while Javier Mascherano trained yesterday.

The Argentine is nevertheless unlikely to figure tonight, with Benitez keen to give a number of fringe players an outing.

The most high-profile of those likely to figure is Kewell, who hasn’t turned out for the first team since the European Cup final in May due to a thigh problem, but scored in a 45-minute appearance for the reserves last week.

South American trio Lucas, Sebastian Leto and Fabio Aurelio and Yossi Benayoun are also vying for a start, while Momo Sissoko has recovered from illness and Alvaro Arbeloa should figure alongside Jamie Carragher at centre-back.

Charles Itandje will replace Pepe Reina in goal, but reserve players such as Jack Hobbs will almost certainly be consigned to bench duty.

“We’ll have to see who we play,” said Benitez. “It depends on which players are fit. Lucas needs to play, Sebastian Leto needs to play and so does Fabio Aurelio. So I don’t know how many players we can use from the reserves, but I know I will also need some of the senior players.

“Harry Kewell played 45 minutes in the reserves last week and he too needs to play games, so we will see.

“I have several fringe players I want to use in the game, and maybe Jack Hobbs too, but I do not really want him to be learning about Robbie Fowler out there on the pitch. That is why we will need our senior men.”

[kopite]

my favourite fowler moments

http://youtube.com/watch?v=czc5vKu5wqg

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wB8AG6NhmDo

http://youtube.com/watch?v=n_aYR75wjRA

[scousemouse]

Views on liverpool and our league chances from Liverpool legend Tommmy Smith :

Real test of Reds’ strength in depth

Oct 31 2007

by Tommy Smith, Liverpool Echo

THE Liverpool squad is regarded as one of the best assembled at Anfield for many years.

Just how good it actually is will probably be revealed over the next month as Rafa Benitez tries to maintain challenges on three fronts with key players out injured.

Xabi Alonso and Jermaine Pennant are longer term casualties. Fernando Torres is sidelined for a few weeks and Daniel Agger is still recovering from his broken metatarsal, while Javier Mascherano also took a knock.

It was always likely that a “fringe” line-up might play in the Carling Cup tonight, but the crux of our title ambitions may well come in the next five games with Blackburn, Fulham, Newcastle, Bolton and Reading, providing the opposition.

If it had been the start of the season, as the Reds were playing then, I think the sides mentioned would have been swamped. Now, even if a full strength squad was at Rafa Benitez’s disposal, it would be tough.

Something has gone wrong at Anfield lately and I can’t put my finger on it. There is no longer an absolute certainty that we will win games.

I am now apprehensive about what the team will be, how it will perform, and there are certainly question marks about some players.

I don’t see the squad being as good as we thought it was at the start of the season.

Years ago, you knew what was happening. Now, fans go to games and they haven’t a clue who is playing, or why.

I don’t think Torres or Alonso looked 100% fit to face the Gunners. If they weren’t, was it a case of desperation? I think some injuries occur through players being in and out of the side. They are trying just too hard to impress at times and putting that extra in can lead to injuries.

Players try to attain a good level of form and fitness in training, but being involved in a match is an entirely different proposition.

Sometimes with players not knowing whether they’re selected or on the bench, it can mess up the team and mess up people’s heads.

Even Steven Gerrard, the best player in the team, sometimes does not know if he is playing or not.

Having so many players out injured is awful, but the next few weeks will provide a good indication of the quality of players Benitez has assembled.

Chance to look at our rising stars

I WAS more than happy with a point against Arsenal.

As I have said before, I feel the Gunners have some great youngsters and their fast flowing football was excellent, but the Reds matched them with their passion and determination.

I felt we were lacking the sparkle up front that might put us on the road to winning the league.

Now we are hit by injuries it will give supporters the chance to see how our younger players compare with Arsene Wenger’s crop.

I think the Liverpool boss has some bright stars but they need the experience of the older players to help them through. If you put too many in at once it could create a problem.

[scousemouse]

my favourite fowler moments

http://youtube.com/watch?v=czc5vKu5wqg

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wB8AG6NhmDo

http://youtube.com/watch?v=n_aYR75wjRA

Nice one Kopite mate , I

[scousemouse]

my favourite fowler moments

http://youtube.com/watch?v=czc5vKu5wqg

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wB8AG6NhmDo

http://youtube.com/watch?v=n_aYR75wjRA

Nice one Kopite mate , I

Nice one Kopite mate , I enjoyed them.

And every Robbie Fowler and Liverpool fan should check this out ( and the other 99 vid's )

4 - Robbie Fowler