Goal videos after the bump.




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The gaffer has this eerie zen-like calmness about him. If there is a player out there that he really wants and has not been able to land for whatever reason, it is a well kept secret. The owner situation is stable for another year. The manager, back room staff, and most players are on long term deals. The only thing missing out of this equation is belief, but I’m going to stop with my negativity right now and say that I believe we have what it takes to win trophies this season. I believe that even though we may face adversity, as any club does, it is nothing we can not overcome. We are Liverpool Football Club and we’ve come to take your titles. Please engrave in a timely fashion and pass them up to the front.

A few videos to get you going:

New Torres song with extra verse

Aquilani Promo

Johnson Promo

Last season romp of Man U on Fanzone

Fans singing YNWA

Fields of Anfield Road

First of all, apologies all round for disappearing and props to Ed for holding this place up.
Thanks to CSD for hauling his arse back here. We missed you. Now that the sappy stuff is out of the way, here’s The Match!!

The last outing by Liverpool to Singapore was waaaay back in 2001 & I cannot believe it’s been 8 bloody years since they played here.
It’s virtually impossible to actually enjoy a live match, keep time, spot who’s on the ball and write a match report at the same time. So for all of you who are expecting a report, please refer to link above. Besides, I spilled my beer and was too grouchy to write anything.

We arrived just 15 minutes before kick-off and had to settle for seats high up the stands. We could have been sitting on the moon and it wouldn’t have made a difference. I could only spot pony-tail Veronin & chrome-dome Reina, among others. Nadia managed to sneak into the North stand where the tunnel was but we had to settle for South. Bugger.

The crowd was amazing. Made me wonder who the home team actually was! Being in the stadium itself while the crowd sings “You’ll never walk alone” sends shivers down any fan’s spine I swear.

Here’s my take on the match:
The 1st half was a scrappy affair with Rafa fielding mostly fringe players but most notable was Benayoun’s terrorizing runs down the left and Veronin’s efforts to chase down every ball and drives into the box. Glad to see his efforts rewarded with a goal inside injury time. Makes me wonder if this is the season for him to step up and be counted upon as a good back-up for Torres. Babel had a good run-out and was replaced by the arguably more effective Riera. Perhaps it was Riera’s wider play that afforded him more space to put in some decent crosses but I think that’s a better tactic against a defence-minded Singapore team.

The crowd was screaming for Torres to come on and he did. I swear I heard girls creaming his name from across the stadium whenever he touched the ball.

The Reds really wiped the floor with our national side when Xavi & Dirk joined the fray. Kuyt underlined his importance to the team with a stunning performance creating a bagful of chances. But it was Alonso who stole the show. Caught in the uncertainty of his future, the recreated Kop end cheered everytime he touched the ball.

I don’t know about you lot, but I feel Nemeth is turning out to be quite a class act as well.

Kudos to The Reds for enduring a punishing Far Eastern tour as they flew off the same night the match ended. It was truely a magical evening for us. Next up, saving enough for a trip to Anfield for a proper Premiership match!!! I’m open to sponsors, anyone???

On another note, The Asian Persuasion has been stalking Torres Liverpool around town all weekend, and managed to snag seats just above the players’ tunnel. I’m jealous.

Also, apologies for the blurry pictures. It’s hard to have a beer in 1 hand and a crap camera in the other!

It looked as though PSV would lead at the half until a free kick taken by Lucas glanced off of Ryan Babel’s head during extra time. Liverpool came out much stronger in the second half. Robbie Keane would have probably came up with a goal if he had been playing deeper or if Babel hadn’t been a selfish prick twice in a row and passed back to Keane. To be fair, Keane had a great opportunity earlier on and passed rather than attempt a shot. He also seemed to be playing in more of an attacking midfielder role than a striker. That role did lead to him supplying David Ngog with a long pass and the young Frenchman finished beautifully. Albert Riera can also be proud of his goal that was a howler from about 25 yards out that ended up in the top left corner.

A solid performance by Liverpool. It was good, but still not great. Cavalieri did well in goal, giving Reina a much deserved night off. Steven Gerrard surely also felt fortunate to not have to see the cold wet pitch. Even though he scored a goal with a glancing header, I felt Babel was the weakest in the team. He wasted too many opportunities. Robbie Keane’s work rate seemed to emulate Dirk Kuyt who was also given the night off. Lucas showed some of the quality that Rafa is convinced he has, but still has a long way to go. I don’t see him yet as the midfielder that’s going to supply the forwards with smart passes.

Stephen Darby, Jay Spearing, and Martin Kelly were handed debuts through substitutions. Alberto Riera, Álvaro Arbeloa, and Andrea Dossena all picked up yellows because the ref was obviously going in alphabetical order based on first names. It was a night that the younger players can definitely be proud of, but I doubt we’ll see many of them this Saturday against Hull City. Benitez will likely throw all of the experience he can into the league match because those Tigers are looking a little scary.

I’ve heard of Carragher being called man of the match as well as Lucas. My man of the match has to be Albert Riera who was consistent throughout the match and always posed a threat. It is a nice change to have so many players performing at a decent level for that choice to be a hard one.

Dressed to impress in those fashionable Red kit’s, Torres again proved why he’s one of the best (if not the best) striker on the planet right now with one of the most amazing goals I’ve seen in a long time. I’m pretty sure everyone has seen the goal, but I thought I’d link to it for those that need another look.

Torres’ ability to fight off the defender (who was attached to his hip) — and the keeper who was charging hard — and still manage to chip the ball into the bottom left corner of the net was nothing short of pure magic.

Spain looked the more deserved team for almost the entire match, and for Torres to be a part of the squad that ended the 44-year drought makes it that much sweeter. With the season less than two weeks out, I think I speak for everyone when I say that I can’t wait to see Nando back in OUR Red kit soon!

¡Las felicitaciones, Fernando!

What I do know is that we did beat Tottenham and Barcelona to get his signature, so he must have some type of skill; I also found out that Rafa was beating down the door down at his local club, Herfolge, to make sure we were first in line. Rafa liked him so much that he apparently made the offer himself to Herfolge sports director Per Rud. Here’s how it went down….

“‘This is Rafa’ he said,” Rud told the club’s official website. “I almost thought it was a lie!

“We are pleased and proud that Nikola has gone to one of the world’s best football clubs. We would have liked to have earned more money from Nikola but his injury and the fact that his contract expired in the New Year made it difficult.

“Liverpool acted extremely well in all cases and knew all the details,” he added. “They have been fair in the process and could’ve waited until the New Year but they will have him over now.”

WARNING: Please don’t drool too much over the video I found of him. Yes, it is absolutely FANTASTIC, but please remember that he still has to get acclimated to the physical English game. Any idea who he looks like in that video? (he reminds me of a lad with the initials FT.) Who says I can’t get carried away with the comparisons!

So yeah, get ready Liverpool, because Nikola Saric is now part of our youth system!

Second verse, same as the first. I wonder what the excuse will be this week. My favorite part of that video is when the announcer wigs out after Crouchie scores.

Both managers decided to rest key players and let the subs fight it out. In retrospect, it might have not been the smartest thing for Arsenal to do as their Premier League hopes seem to be over now. Wenger says that it’s still possible mathematically, but let’s be honest; it’s going to be hard to catch Man Yoo with only five matches left. They will likely be hungry for a win to continue in the CL on Tuesday, but will be fighting an uphill battle against an at home Liverpool side. If Arsenal couldn’t get it done at home, they won’t win on the road.

I’m glad Crouch scored. We haven’t seen much of him lately and it was good for him to show that he can still find the back of the net (well, inside of the net) even though he has been left out in favor of the Torres, Babel, and Kuyt trio.

Man, I can’t wait until Tuesday. Hopefully, this won’t be like the movies where the third installment that’s meant to wrap up the story ends up falling flat. For at least one of the sides though, it probably will be.