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That ball he played from deep into the far post - 2nd half, where Brown stretched to clear when Carroll was right with him - was top quality.

Weird, I'd spent the last 7 or so months being really unconvinced by Carroll. And then having watched yesterday's match I thought he played really well in the first half, held the ball up well and generally showed good awareness and touch. For the first time saw a proper footballer in him. Put in a shift too. Second half he faded but the problem was the lack of movement around him. And so many are claiming he didn't show up. Must watch the game again.... Both him and Suarez spent a fair bit of time rushing chasing down the opposition defenders only to turn around and find their teammates about 35 yards behind the play. My concern is more with controlling the game, which comes from bossing the midfield. With the players that we have, we don't seem to be moving off the ball in support as well as we should. Team selection was fine, the bench selection was wrong if Maxi and Aquilani were both fit. Kenny has to shoulder responsibility for the performance as well - use of subs, shape of the team, pattern of play etc...

Torres is looking very sharp. He'll probably get injured in the 67th minute.

<br /><br />Red card for me. Ball was a bout a mile away. Imagine if Brown put that challenge in on Suarez...

Banega lit their team up instantly didn't he? Was on the end of a couple of heavy challenges as soon as he got on the pitch as well. That pass to Soldado (?) near the end was quite superb. He's a pass and move player that's for sure. The kind of player I thought and hoped Aquilani would be for us... As for Carroll, so far I've not been convinced he's a good fit for us as a first choice striker. As a player to have in the squad though, absolutely essential. From the evidence so far Kenny looks like he wants a fluid team which is able to pass and move, with players interchanging positions. I've not seen glimpses that Carroll possesses the kind of intelligent link play Crouch displayed in his first season. Not saying it can't happen though, since Carroll is clearly more talented of the two, and has time on his side. No doubt he will play his fair share of games, and score many goals, I have a feeling that come the end of this season our best/first choice front six will consist of Lucas holding the midfield (good to see him back today!), with Adam and Gerrard either side of him linking with Downing and Kuyt/Henderson, and Suarez as the main striker. Nonetheless intrigued to see how it pans out for Carroll, especially since he cost so much money. Thought Downing was very good, and definitely got more to his game than "putting in crosses for Carroll". Very impressed so far. Sticking my neck out here - Henderson is going to be a big player for us in the coming years. He's got something about him, the energy and still slightly raw talent waiting to be moulded. Excited to see how his career at LFC pans out, think we've potentially got a gem in our hands... Thought Valencia showed some excellent ability on the ball too, there were some passages of play which were fantastic to watch. I also think Aurelio's ability on the ball made a difference in the way we played first half. The difference between a Liverpool team with and without Johnson, Agger and Aurelio is just massive, and worrying. For obvious reasons. And Johnson's record isn't great too given he's spent extended periods out each of the last two seasons at LFC.

So that he could go without putting us in a spot...

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First interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4JTSFN7B8A Comes across very well, interesting bit around 6 mins in where he talks about being there for players in a personal sense; with reference to "people as a whole". Found the report which was leaked too: http://www.bragafut.com/artigos/art18.pdf I would imagine that FSG at least made an enquiry about his availability when weighing up candidates for our role, but were discouraged by the release fee... Have a bad feeling about this guy, in that he'll be successful at Chelsea, and what's worse is that he'll be quite a likeable character...

Aquilani and Meireles in the same midfield would produce some excellent pass and move footy...

There was this particular bit of skill against Spurs (2-2, 04/05 @ Anfield) where took a very high ball down and got past a defender around the edge of the box in one move that stands out in my memory - can't find it on the net though... PS: Took 42 posts for the first hater to make their mark on this thread. Not bad at all...

One should not downplay the schooling given to the Everton midfield by Mr.X after our captain had recklessly got himself sent off... (that lob made the list of 5 BTW)

Watching LFCTV online and there was a clip of his 5 best goals. That glancing header into the far post from just inside the box against Anderlecht at Anfield in 05/06...simply majestic. One of my all time favourites LFC goals that, wasn't even on the list of five. Scored a similar one against Fulham too in his last season for us. There was also the right foot volley against Chelsea in the FA cup semi which Cudicini had the cheek to say was a fluke afterwards. Loved his strikers' instinct as well, always first on the scene when the keeper couldn't hold onto a shot. Him and Benayoun shared a similar nose for goal, something that Dirk showed a bit of this season (especially for that hattrick). I know some on here disliked him as a player but I always have a soft spot for ball players who are capable of the sublime.

So it's OK to sh*t on the city/fans who idolise you? It's brand association. Not just the athlete, but the personality. That "decision" segment was greeted by many/most in the basketball circle (ex-players and fans alike) as very poor behavior. I think even the head of the NBA had a strong word with him and his camp afterwards. If he was a footballer everyone would say he's a fantastic talent but in terms of profile, not a Liverpool player. But a perfect fit for Man Utd / Real Madrid. That said, I want our club to be successful so gotta take the bad with the good I suppose. If this publicity means more money being invested into the team then great. Deal with the legion of plastic fans later I guess... Tendulkar - now that is someone you'd want associated with our club.

Still don't like Lebron. For those who don't know what he's like, think of him as the Cristiano Ronaldo of basketball but without the league or CL titles. Immensely talented, a freak of nature who can do just about everything he puts his mind to. Except that Ronaldo put in all the hard yards to make sure he can hit shots with his left foot, and takes advantage of his height by working on his heading ability. You get the idea... (Lebron still hasn't developed a solid post game because he probably feels like he doesn't need to given the rest of his game is pretty polished). As for the person, imagine if Gerrard who has been LFC's great hope (again without the FA/League/UEFA Cup and CL medals) wound down his contract 3 years ago during the peak of his career. Adidas then put together an hour long segment on Sky Sports (after a few days as a free agent) during which he gets interviewed and eventually announces the team of his choice. Without telling LFC his decision beforehand. To join Chelsea.

Very good point that. But, isn't Maicon supposed to be an excellent defender as well (haven't seen enough of him)? Javier Zanetti was superb as well on both ends of the pitch but he is also used as a midfielder from time to time.

Finished reading it 2 days ago. For me, the meat of the book centered around Rafa and how he snuffed out the clowns, and set about going to war with them. And how it ultimately cost him his job. Everything else was well documented. PS: anyone else remembered the panic when the injunction was lifted really early on the Friday morning and then rumours started flying around about how the pr1cks were going to pay off the loan to keep hold of the club? *chills*

Interesting - thanks for that! Tenner I paid for this! Doh - didn't realise what I did there...

Got the Kindle version earlier. Gone through a third of the book - pretty decent so far. At the point where Rafa is wandering around the streets of Athens with no room to go back to. PS: Doesn't make sense how an electronic version of a book is more expensive than a hardcopy one...

They didn't give him a point for that!!!

Even then for me (and I said it to friends at the time) if it was Drogba at his best compared against Torres at his best, there would be nothing between them. And I'd have picked Drogba. As for Suarez and Torres as a partnership I think they would have been amazing together. Along with Kuyt as a front three. Shame...

Suarez Dirk Lucas

Very disappoointed about that goal. VERY disappointed. 3-0 was a more reflective of our dominance. F*cking Arsenal are useless though - still don't fancy them to nick it.

I won't be greedy. I will settle for a 3-2 win now...in next year's fixture. I want to give these a proper whipping.

BRING ON ANDY CARROLL NOW!!!!