Skillz

Big toe was infected and is being reconfigured (?). Ankle (not sure if it achilles or not) tendon being scraped (cleaned up). Hip arthroscopy next week to try to fix groin problems. Time out is yet to be determined as far as i am aware.

Thank god for this thread. Makes me feel better i wasnt the only tearing my hair out. Unbelievable bias. I was thinking to myself "do i mute it or put some music on". in the end i listened to it cos i always like having the commentary go with it but it was torture.

1. Xabi 2. Finnan 3. Garcia

All good points. Thought Alonso showed glimpses of his true form against Chelsea. He was superb. Garcia was also excellant and his form has been more consistent this year IMO. He deserved THAT goal and what a goal that would of been. Too much much has been made about our performances over the last week but we didnt get the results our performances deserved. We are going alright IMO and if the strikers hit form look out!

Kewell to face two ops: reports September 21, 2006 SIDELINED Liverpool wing Harry Kewell enters hospital Thursday in Sydney for the first of two operations aimed at reviving his stalled football career, reports said. The Australian international will spend his 28th birthday Friday in a recovery ward after undergoing toe and ankle surgery, Sydney's Daily Telegraph said. Kewell is also expected to have a groin operation in Melbourne next week, the paper added. Liverpool confirmed on Wednesday that the Socceroos star, who has been sidelined with the problem since June, would face an operation in a bid to cure the foot injury he suffered in June during the World Cup in Germany. The English Premiership club said Kewell is expected to be out of action for several months. "I think we're getting to the bottom of things now and I have every belief that I'll get back and show people what I can do," Kewell told the Daily Telegraph last week. Thursday's paper quoted a close friend of Kewell as saying he was confident of overcoming the injury problems. Kewell has been dogged by a series of injuries since his move from Leeds United to Liverpool two and half years ago. He had an Achilles operation in 2001 and double groin surgery last year. Sydney surgeon Kim Slater told the newspaper he would reconfigure Kewell's left big toe after it was diagnosed as having septic arthritis after he scored the goal against Croatia that put Australia into the last 16 at Germany. Slater said he will also scrape one of the tendons in his right ankle. The Daily Telegraph said Kewell would undergo a hip arthroscopy late next week in a procedure aimed at alleviating pain in his groin. Australian team physio Les Gelis said he would oversee the rehabilitation process. "Harry will take the first steps of his recovery in Australia," he said. "It could be a few weeks and we'll assess things from there before deciding when he could return to England," Gelis told the paper. Source Foxsports.com.au LFC deserve credit here as it appears last chance saloon for Harry but they are giving him every opportunity to get it right. I believe the reason he is getting this done in Australia is due to their expertise in the hip operation or more to the point they are experts in this field as told to me by a mate (who may or may not know what he is talking about). Anyway good luck Harry and i hope it works and you come back the Harry we all want. PS I think the club were well aware he would be out for a long time hence Aurelio's purchase. Harry is obviously unsaleable at the moment so it is obviously in the clubs (and Harry's) interest to get this right once and for all.

Agreed. Just in different ways which is even better because they both bring different things to the team. I wonder if he was practicing this with Pepe recently cos he turned and ran straight to him, and it looked like Pepe was already there as well. They well enjoyed it anyway

If you hadnt noticed, and you should have because i felt it all the way over here in Australia the media had a field day with the "handshake". This was a ridiculous situation but it has to be said was caused by Jose himself by not shaking hands with the winner of the past 2 encounters (not counting yesterday). IMO a discussion took place between the two to end the farce which resulted in Jose waiting for Rafa at the end of the race looking very uncomfortable. Even after the "shake" he looked uncomfortable . My point is Rafa played this well in the media to the point Jose realised he couldnt win and it was better to end it. This is new territory for Jose if my memory serves me right. I even read quotes now that he considers Rafa one of the world's best, once again i have not read or heard any compliments about Rafa in the past, whereas Rafa has often said Jose is a great manager. I also read that Jose has mentioned it was a good win against a title contender, something he previously had not acknowledged. Why the sudden respect Jose! IMO Rafa has played this so well he has forced Jose to concede defeat and pay us some respect at last . Having said all that the true test will be Jose' reaction to a loss I know this is a tedious topic but watching on TV i was giggling at Jose' reaction to have to wait for Rafa (for some time), constantly turning around looking for him, wondering where he was

Having calmed down a lot i see plenty of positives in this match. Agger continues to impress (greatly) and Xabi's improved performance being the best of them. I have to say I thought we played quite well and were the better team even when 11 v 11. Last 20 minutes was particularly frustrating mainly due to us having an easy access route to the box (pennant) and his inability to capitalise. He really was poor during this period and turned it over far too easily IMO. As for Gerrard i thought he played ok and better than most of the CM for both teams. Fact is Chelsea's formation and the relative strength of both teams in the middle of the park make it very difficult to dominate. None of them had great games and as it was on any other day SG could of scored 1 or 2 and been the hero again. Look out Newcastle!

I agree. Bring it on!!!

We definately miss Harry. His critics will say he didnt score enough last year but he played 40 games as a true LW because we had SG as RW with a license. This meant Harry rarely found himself in a scoring position but he contributed to our lead up play all year. Unfortunately as soon as Harry puts in 100% he breaks down and the Chelsea FA cup Semi is a perfect example. He was at his best in that game and showed what he is capable of. Unfortunately he broke down again and it is now clear if he does not find a cure he is a great squad player only, not the star he should be.

Well said. LFC does not need that crap. We are above it and hopefully we are rid of it. Rant over.

Agree with that but Stevie was the one to go and win it for us. Didi allowed him to do it, but He did it when it was needed and lifted the players and the fans. He made us believe. Having said that i gave Didi man of the match as well. Stevie has not played in teams with the same quality IMO. He will be in the next few years and he will benefit for it. Hopefully he will add the elusive title to his CV. And then a couple more

Definitely not, Ant. I was just responding to the OP question which is a valid question. We all want to smash the S**** and to be honest we should win, but the derby is always a difficult game, particularly there. Having said that we do need to beat them to really get our season moving in the right direction early. A draw would not be the end of it however.

No offence Scot but I couldnt care what our opponents are doing. Our toughest opponent this year in the EPL could afford to let everyone in for free this year and it really wouldnt matter. What matters is that we continue to survive and grow at a level that allows the manager to compete. This is getting increasingly harder due to the "MSI"s of the world but we are doing ok. Having one of if not the highest rated Managers in the world helps. Have a read of some Manc forums, i have. I know i shouldnt but i get a morbid satisfaction in reading there dismay in ther lack of ability to attract talent without paying ridiculous fees for average talent. Mancs, a*** and Chavski (up front) squads are thin and vulnerable IMO.

Small price to pay I agree though we would of paid a LOT out in bonuses. This year should reduce and this coming year will be similar again even though we have improved the quality of our squad massively IMO

Tim can probably enlighten us more but i would suggest our wage structure is reducing as a percentage of turnover even with the recent aquisitions. We offloaded a lot of deadwood this year Still got Daio though! (not for long though!)

Well most of us (Aussie's) are LFC supporters. Lot smarter than people give us credit i say.

Does seem that way. He's been wrong before though. Hasn't he?

Now why should we tell you anything!

Yep. But i do not want to give the impression i knew he was the right choice. I didnt. Parry and Moores deserve that credit though and they are the ones that have the pressure of making the right decision. That decision is made under all sorts of pressure, Fans and media alike. Rafa winning the CL with the squad he did has given them (Parry and Moores) confidence to move ahead IMO. All of a sudden i do not think investment is so important. PS I am not saying if the right investor came along they would not consider it but we are not as desperate. This is good IMO as i believe we have people in charge who have the right priorities in charge and the current ownership status may just be the way forward.

I would of bought Benitez. Hindsight of course. Oneill could not attract the talent we have since Benitez has been here IMO. Rafa may of been a bit of an unknown to us but in Europe surely his exploits at the time meant he was 1st choice. Could Martin O'neill attract Xabi to Anfield?

Of course they have considered naming rights. My point is why tell anyone until they need to eg when it is all done and dusted. We need hard proof to certain committees/organisations etc but noone else. IMO keep it quiet until it is done, which i believe we are.

Getting ahead of yourself arent you. Is the stadium opening next week? Why do fans think we should conduct our business in the media? PS except for their own gratification.

Me too. Riise is first choice for me just because he along with the rest of the back 4 are so organised. Big games i expect him to play, or at least start. Against the lesser likes though and especially in LC/FAcup both Aurelio and Agger will get chances. ATTACK!!!