As I was reading brilliant reviews of the season and feeling melancholy, I came across a bunch of headlines in the futbol world saying that Roman Abramovich has bid £40million for our favorite striker. Now, put aside all the stupid reports from banks you’ve heard about Liverpool possibly having to sell Torres and Babel because of interest payments or some nonsense. Torres will not leave because of two reasons. 1) He produces on the field. We’ve finally found a striker that can leave defenders scratching their heads while saying, “what the hell just happened?” 2) he sells shirts. The Torres shirt was voted as the most sought after. The club would be silly to get rid of someone who scores goals AND makes money. Aside from shirts, I’m sure he puts a few butts in seats as well. There’s links and factual data for everything I just said out there, but I’m partially drunk and unfortunately the part that is drunk controls my research methods.

There are two untouchables at the club right now, Torres is one and Gerrard is the other. They are Liverpool until the manager decides that they are not. The fans are behind both players and would absolutely shit a break if either left. You could probably lump Carragher into the mix if he played for England still, but those are the only two constants. So really, there are 4 for sure things: death, taxes, Torres, and Gerrard.

It’s going to be a long summer as we wait to see who Rafa will be able to bring in. Hopefully, we’ll go into next season with owners who are on the same page, who support the manager, and have the new stadium underway. More than likely, the issues that we’re ending the season with will still be there when we start the new one. All we can do is keep supporting the boys on the pitch and dream that maybe next season will be the one when we recapture the league title.

Fellow Spaniard goalkeeper Reina has said that Fernando Torres will be even better next year; however Rafa Benitez is convinced that he will have a tougher time getting past defenders who will by then have figured out some of his tricks. What do you think? I think if Rafa puts the right people around him, Torres will have an even better season. So much depends on this transfer period.

Rumor has it that Riise has been handed his walking papers in a bid to exchange him for Aston Villa’s Gareth Barry. I’m sure this has nothing to do with a certain goal coming off of Riise’s head. It seems like most of the players that are brought in are for the midfield, do we really need Barry? With the current formation, our midfield is only two players. We need better strikers to take the heat off of Torres. The only thing I really see positive about Barry is that he’s not from Spain.

Until next time…
YNWA

The away crowd did a good job of showing their support for Sven-Goran Eriksson, waiving pictures of the manager as well as banners that said “S.O.S. Save Our Sven.” That reminds me of the Dubai S.O.S. banners that could once be seen at Liverpool games. Maybe Dubai can buy Manchester City as well.

A sad day as we might have seen the last goal by Fernando Torres. He has one more chance left to leave us dazzled for the summer, but for me this was it. All that’s left to do now is speculate on who’s going to be bought or sold this summer and then say, “I miss watching the Reds…remember how awesome it was watching the Reds and how awesome it’s going to be when the Reds come back?” I kind of stole that line from Kevin Smith…oh well.

YNWA

All that’s left now are two league games that really have no bearing on anything. Winning won’t put us into 3rd and losing won’t put us into 5th. The season’s over and we have nothing to show for it. The ownership is in shambles and the future is uncertain. All we can do is hope that this summer brings an end to uncertainties and that new talent is pumped into the squad.

I’m quite pessimistic right now and all I really feel like doing is drowning myself in melancholy. Will next season be better? Will we have new owners or at least owners that are able function with the management of the club? Will next season be a repeat of this one where we buy a few players that are enough to throw off the dynamic of the squad, but not really improve it? I’m anxious to know the answers to these questions. I’m pretty sure I can find them in the bottom of one of these beer bottles. I’ll let you know when I do.

YNWA

This team is fully capable of beating Chelsea and they proved that last week. Yes, we drew in the 95th minute of a 94 minute game, but that was a fluke. I’m willing to bet that Riise has been practicing clearances in front of the goal all week and will realize that his feet are much better suited for clearing a ball kicked low than his head.

I’m a little down that Barcelona couldn’t get past Man Utd, but not really surprised. You could tell from the passing alone that the players are not on the same page. I think they would have been entertaining to play in the final, should we progress, but Man Utd will do. They’re being touted as the best team in the world right now, so who better to crush? We just have to get through that pesky Russian team first.

If you’re stuck at work without a TV, catch the action here at Daryl’s live blog.

For a good rundown of the match, check out eplmatches.blogspot.com. I was going to post the same highlight video they have here, but you can just follow the link. After reading Rob’s post on the Champions League blog, I decided to post some different videos.

Other than the fact that Torres is as much a diver as Drogba, It does seem a strange way to approach the build up to a game.

Is that right? I’d like to see what evidence this statement is based on other than still throwing a fit about Materazzi getting himself sent off because apparently that’s why Inter couldn’t ever find the back of the net in two matches. I’ve always seen Torres make the extra effort to keep his feet and avoid other players. Maybe that’s why he has 30 goals and Drogba has 13.

Here’s some clips of the real drama queen…
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We have a little match with Birmingham City on Saturday. I say little because it will probably be another opportunity for Rafa to rest several key players for Wednesday at Stamford Bridge. Birmingham has the number one spot in the relegation zone and are coming off of a 5-1 raping by Aston Villa. And if you think our board has problems, at least they’re not being arrested.

Rafa will more than likely put a conservative squad out and play for a draw, hoping for the accidental goal (maybe even in the proper net). We only need one point to stay clear of Everton for the rest of the season. Chelsea on the other hand, needs to beat Man Utd to keep their league hopes alive so will more than likely field their best XI. Frank Lampard will no doubt miss out this weekend after having lost his mother and is questionable for Wednesday. I was really sorry to hear of that happening because 1) losing a mother is horrible, especially when she was only 59, and 2) I want Chelsea to be in great form with all their players in good shape when we zip past them. C’est la vie.

Speaking of the Champions League, apparently Riise was the victim of some training ground graffiti. I tended to agree back when they spray painted “play your best team for fuck sake,” but kicking a man when he’s down is a bit much. Riise has been a great player for the club and has produced some memorable moments. Just because he made one mistake isn’t enough to write him off. He’s already going through enough crap. Could you imagine having to go back to the locker room after heading a ball into your own net in the last few seconds of such an important match? Let the poor guy be and remember the words that are sung at every match.

YNWA

Chelsea did a pretty good job of shutting down Torres as we did Drogba. Torres had a few opportunities that I was surprised he didn’t capitalize on, but just couldn’t seem to beat Cech. We can’t let the own goal make us forget Kuyt’s hard work. Without the short pass from Gerrard and Kuyt’s brilliant finish, we’d be one down instead of even.

So at the end of the day, it’s time for this team to face another big challenge. It’s time to man up and show that we deserve this cup.