JAR: I LIKE TACKLING

[KD07]

off dottv

 

Seventeen goals in four games – the squad must feel unstoppable at the moment?

 

Yes, it's coming around. We struggled with scoring goals but in the last few games we've shown we're back in business. We're also very tight at the back right now, so it's good.

 

Something just seems to have clicked – is it a case of the new players have had time to settle in or is something else behind it?

 

I think we've played well all season but have had the problem of not scoring enough goals. As soon as we got a couple then lots have come, like in the Beşiktaş game. Every time we went forward we scored. Of course, the new players have had more time to settle in, but really I think we're just proving how good we actually are.

 

The team really seems to be shifting up the gears right now – have you got any more gears to go into?

 

Of course the way we're playing and the amount of goals we're scoring is good, but you can always improve. We know this and, yes, I think we can get better.

 

Two more goals for Fernando Torres on Wednesday – what an impact he's making?

 

Yes, and I think people haven't seen the best of him yet, either. He is a brilliant player – so strong. He takes a lot of beatings in games but he gets up and gives them a beating back. He's a very quiet lad but when he's on the pitch he's deadly. He has pace, power and can score goals. He is very important for us. In the last few games he's shown just how good he can be.

 

Is he just as good in training?

 

Oh yes. He doesn't seem that strong when you look at him, but he uses his body very well. He pulls defenders around and tackles. I'm glad he's on my team and I don't have to play against him in a match.

 

Could he be the final piece in the jigsaw that wins Liverpool the Premier League title?

 

I hope so. He and some other players, because we are a team. But we have been missing a player who can score 20-25 goals a season. It's not just his goals, though. I think defenders are frightened of him because of his pace. He can get two defenders on him and then it opens up space for someone else. He is world-class and very hard to mark. Fernando gives us that strength up front that we've needed for a long time and I hope he will be the last piece in the jigsaw to win us that title.

 

A third of the way into the season, how do you assess the league table and our Premier League challenge?

 

We're up there but we're six points behind Arsenal. They look very strong, but so do we. We haven't lost yet, though we have drawn too many games that we should have won, especially at home against Birmingham and Tottenham. It's unusual that we're better away from home than at Anfield, but we're confident we can keep our good form going and confident it will be tight at the end of the season.

 

What's behind that great away form?

 

We seem to be compact, very hard to beat. We play as a team and seem to be able to wear the opposition down. At the same time, we are taking our chances. If you look at Newcastle, that was maybe our best performance for a long time. We could have scored maybe eight goals, which away at Newcastle is unbelievable. We have found a way to play away and I think teams really respect us now.

 

Is this the best chance we have of winning the league since you've been at the club?

 

It's the best squad since I've been here, yes. It's my seventh season here and I am more confident of winning the league than in any other season. I also think the other teams are better, though.

 

You've won FA Cups, League Cups and Champions Leagues at Liverpool – how desperate are you personally to add a Premier League winners' medal to your collection?

 

There's a few players in this squad for whom the league is the only one missing. The league is something different, not only for us but the fans. It's been a long time coming. To be up there every single year is good, but we need to take that final step to prove ourselves. If it happens this year, great, but if not we are still in a great position with this squad.

 

You'd be absolute legends in Liverpool if you won it – is that something you think about?

 

We don't think too much about being legends, we just want to do it for ourselves, for the team and for the fans. When you play in a team like Liverpool, with it's history and the fans we have, you want to give something back. Even when a player is not playing at his best, the fans keep supporting him. You can see the support for Rafa as well, it's unbelievable.

 

Next up it's Bolton; always a tough, physical game – do you have to try and match them or is it about playing your own game?

 

The boss looks at the opposition, their strengths and their weaknesses, but at the end of the day it is about how we play. We have to use their weaknesses against them and be aware, but you have to play your own game and not change too much. Yes, they're physical and strong and we have to match them, but we also have to use our quality on the ball. We are a better team with the ball.

 

Is it the sort of fixture that if you don't give 100 per cent, you could get punished?

 

Yes. If you are not ready for a fight you are going down. They are big and strong and we need to match that. We have to be prepared. They had a game on Thursday so will have had less rest than us, but they are always up for it.

 

Are physical teams like Bolton the kind of games you look forward to playing in?

 

I look forward to it because it's part of my game. I don't like the games where you don't do anything. I like going off the pitch feeling pain and being tired because you've made a lot of tackles. That's what football is about. It's a great feeling to come away from a game knowing you have fought and won. Bolton will be this kind of game.

 

Their league position suggests you should beat them – is that the way you see it?

 

They have come along lately and they have a new manager, which means every player will want to prove how good he is. We know it will be tough but we are a better team. We just have to prove that. We have all the respect we can have for Bolton but it's the kind of game that, if you want to win the league, you have to get three points.

 

Nicolas Anelka and El Hadji Diouf are players you know all about from their spells at Liverpool – how dangerous can they be?

 

They are two very nice people and great players. I am surprised Anelka is still there because he's such a great player and he'd maybe want to play at a bigger club. But he's playing for Bolton and scoring goals. Nicolas is a world-class player and we have to watch him, he could cause us trouble. Diouf is Diouf: he is funny, plays with a lot of joy, has great technique and is also a match-winning player. We have to be careful. I was watching Bolton in the UEFA Cup and they were rested, so maybe they were thinking about us.

 

Is there an extra edge when you play against former teammates?

 

There is. Both did well for Liverpool. Anelka scored some goals; Diouf was a strange player but always in a good mood. We always enjoy playing against each other and seeing former teammates, but your friendship is forgotten as soon as you step on to the pitch.

 

It's very tight at the top like you say – you really can't afford many slip ups over the next few months, can you?

 

No, especially when you are behind. We have to hope the top teams lose games and we can't slip up, we have to keep winning. If we keep playing like we are, we will keep winning and it will be tight at the end. There are some big games coming up, the teams at the top will meet each other and anything can happen. We have to be ready and take advantage as soon as Man Utd or Arsenal lose.

 

There's so much competition for places down the left right now – you've missed out in the last two games. Is this frustrating or do you relish the challenge?

 

Before the last two games I played in the last 10 or something. We know it's going to be like that all season. It's competition. We've got so many left-backs and left-wingers that it's not funny: Harry is getting fit and Fabio is coming back again, so we have three left-backs and three wingers. It's not easy to keep your place but that's competition, that's how it's got to be. I think I will play a lot of games and be happy.

 

How do you asses your own form this season although we know it's been shit?

 

I felt very good in pre-season, really sharp. I think I started the season in not my best form. I didn't feel confident and at my best, but the last six or seven games before the internationals I felt very good. I felt like I was getting my strength and my aggression back, and I'm ready to go. I know some fans have been a little bit frustrated with me, that's the way it goes. I have to turn that round, hopefully starting on Sunday. The fans know I try to give 110 per cent when I go on the pitch, even if it doesn't always look like it. I have given them joy before and hopefully I can do it again.

[Frosty Jack]

"John from your position on the bench in recent games, can you see any special reason why the team seem to be playing better, especially down the left?"

Edited November 30, 2007 by Negativland

[Rory Fitzgerald]

Sundays story in one of the red tops for this game could be;

 

BOLTON ARE A SMALL CLUB - Riise taunts Trotters ahead of Sundays clash.

[sutty]

Sundays story in one of the red tops for this game could be;

 

BOLTON ARE A SMALL CLUB - Riise taunts Trotters ahead of Sundays clash.

 

 

Megson doesn't need to do the team talk, Rockets has already done it for them.

 

[Gilps]

Megson doesn't need to do the team talk, Rockets has already done it for them.

 

 

Which means if it all goes horribly wrong on Sunday, he can be the scapegoat even if he doesn't play.

[Coyler]

"John from your position on the bench in recent games, can you see any special reason why the team seem to be playing better, especially down the left?"

[John am Rhein]

I reckon the interviewer was a computer

[JohnnyH]

They seem to be rolling him out quite a bit for interviews. They are determined to make him popular again.

[Hightown Phil]

Which means if it all goes horribly wrong on Sunday, he can be the scapegoat even if he doesn't play.

 

Sounds good to me.

 

I hope we get leathered.

 

[sutty]

Sounds good to me.

 

I hope we get leathered.

 

 

 

So you can punch Will?

[John am Rhein]

Nicolas Anelka and El Hadji Diouf are players you know all about from their spells at Liverpool – how dangerous can they be?

 

They are two very nice people and great players. I am surprised Anelka is still there because he's such a great player and he'd maybe want to play at a bigger club. But he's playing for Bolton and scoring goals. Nicolas is a world-class player and we have to watch him, he could cause us trouble. Diouf is Diouf: he is funny, plays with a lot of joy, has great technique and is also a match-winning player. We have to be careful. I was watching Bolton in the UEFA Cup and they were rested, so maybe they were thinking about us.

 

[sutty]

I'd bring them both back.

[matty]

John, you're well known for getting your a*** out in public and harassing women by text. Tell us about that.

 

Well, one day I thought, 'my white little ass is too good to keep to myself, so why not let the world in on Norway's best kept secret.' So I got these photos done, and then thought I'd text them to some gorgeous birds. Scandie women like rimming, so y'know, why not give 'em the best. Of course, the picture had to be airbrushed because my left buttock is in reality twice as developed as my right one. I'm still not sure why that is.

[Guest Linton]

John, you're well known for getting your a*** out in public and harassing women by text. Tell us about that.

 

Well, one day I thought, 'my white little ass is too good to keep to myself, so why not let the world in on Norway's best kept secret.' So I got these photos done, and then thought I'd text them to some gorgeous birds. Scandie women like rimming, so y'know, why not give 'em the best. Of course, the picture had to be airbrushed because my left buttock is in reality twice as developed as my right one. I'm still not sure why that is.

 

 

 

RIMMING

[Hightown Phil]

So you can punch Will?

 

We don't need to lose for me to do that.

[sutty]

We don't need to lose for me to do that.

 

 

Ah, you meant the team get leathered

[Frosty Jack]

Sundays story in one of the red tops for this game could be;

 

BOLTON ARE A SMALL CLUB - Riise taunts Trotters ahead of Sundays clash.

 

"taunts trotters"

[Knox_Harrington]

John, you're well known for getting your a*** out in public and harassing women by text. Tell us about that.

 

Well, one day I thought, 'my white little ass is too good to keep to myself, so why not let the world in on Norway's best kept secret.' So I got these photos done, and then thought I'd text them to some gorgeous birds. Scandie women like rimming, so y'know, why not give 'em the best. Of course, the picture had to be airbrushed because my left buttock is in reality twice as developed as my right one. I'm still not sure why that is.