LIVERPOOL FC: ALL OVER AFTER 8 GAMES?

JUST the 30 league games left then to try and turn around this "crisis".

As ever, there's plenty of hysterical reaction to any Liverpool defeat. Frankly, it's boring, predictable and nonsensical. One game you're brilliant, the next you're crap. What really amazes me is how many people buy into it.

I thought the Chelsea performance was much improved on the Fiorentina game. We started confidently - looking more like the home side than the home side - and for 60 minutes the game looked destined for a draw.

Considering we were playing the title favourites - probably one of the top four teams in Europe - in their own backyard it's not like they blew us away is it?

As ever against Chelsea it was a tight game, low on entertainment. And you got the feeling whoever scored first would win it. So it proved.

Yet had Fernando Torres took one of two very presentable chances - or had the referee awarded us a penalty for Didier Drogba's clear foul on Martin Skrtel - it could of been very different.

Drogba in the end proved the difference. Despite spending more time on the floor than a carpet fitter and showing acting skills that would look bad in a porn film, when he played football for a couple of minutes he won the game for Chelsea.

He's a horrible player to watch as an opposition fan but you'd love to have him in your team.

Jamie Carragher has held his hands up for the second goal but in general I thought he and Skrtel were improved.

And Glen Johnson showed that actually, he CAN defend.
 
Blame-hungry fans have again been quick to jump on Lucas' back but he was far from our worst performer on the day.

The Brazilian did a decent job defensively, making some key interceptions and tackles and playing the ball simple.

I don't think he's world-class, he's just OK for me, but he's certainly not as bad as many people are making out.

Yes, he doesn't offer the same skill set as Xabi Alonso. But would Xabi's inclusion have made the difference yesterday? You could argue either way - and the truth is no-one knows. But let's not build him up into something he wasn't - Xabi couldn't tackle and he was slow. So while he may have offered a better link to the attackers, perhaps he would have left more doors open for Chelsea's midfield?

What does look wrong is the balance between Lucas and Mascherano. They are operating in similar areas, neither seems too willing to join the attack and the partnership isn't really clicking.

But that's no great surprise is it? They have only just started playing together. And if Benitez had had his way it would be Gareth Barry sitting in there. Then there's still Alberto Aquilani to come. Knowing you're a second-choice partnership and your days are numbered can't be great for confidence.

Like everyone, I can't wait to see Aquilani. But the longer he stays locked away at Melwood the more the questions will come as to why we didn't set our sights on a player who could come straight in and do a job. The reports sound great and the videos look brilliant - but the lad will have even less time than is normally afforded to new players to shine - so, at least 10 minutes.

Players that didn't do it yesterday were Albert Riera and Steven Gerrard. Both were poor and while I can understand Riera's selection - he's stronger (and taller) than Benayoun and (in theory) better in the tackle - he did little to justify his manager's faith in him.

As for Gerrard, well his hot and cold season is continuing - he's lacking some consistency right now and yesterday was more cold than hot.

Sunderland, Lyon and Manchester United next up after the international break - a tough-looking week but a hat-trick of wins is well within the capability of the side.

Until then it's batten down the hatches time. Because without a game for 12 days you can guarantee a festival of knee-jerking with flak flying left, right and centre with Liverpool's name on it.

AVOIDING THE BULLSHIT: Today's recommended read - Rory Smith in the Telegraph.

ALONSO: IT'S BIG MONEY OR NO DEAL

PUT UP OR SHUT UP: Liverpool should make Real pay - or tell Xabi to stay

WHY do Liverpool always seem to get shafted when it comes to selling players?

OK, sometimes they are crap - El Hadji Diouf (in £11million, out £3m) and sometimes they haven't worked out - Robbie Keane (in £19m, out £15m), Stan Collymore (in £8.5m, out £7m).

But sometimes it seems to me that clubs see Liverpool as a soft touch.

This worrying trend seems to have gone for a while now and as the games continue over the future of Xabi Alonso it's rearing its ugly head yet again.

Real Madrid want our player of the season on the cheap. Just like when they signed Michael Owen for a paltry £8million - or Steve McManaman on a free.

Well if they can afford £80m for Cristiano Ronaldo and £56m for Kaka, they can afford the asking price of £35m for Alonso.

If they don't pay, make him stay.

Alonso might have told Rafael Benitez that he wants to leave but he is contracted to the club - he's a Liverpool player with three years to run on his deal at Anfield.

And if his "dream club" won't cough up - tough.

Ideally, Rafa should make Alonso stay no matter what - Javier Mascherano, too.

Because I truly believe for the back end of last season we were the best team in the league.

And why jeopardize that when our rivals look weaker than last time out?

Manchester United have lost Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, replacing these undoubted talents with 29-year-old Owen, Wigan winger Antonio Valencia and little-known Frenchman Gabriel Obertan.

And now that Alex Ferguson has said his summer spending is over, even the United fans are worried.

Chelsea have got another new manager, could potentially lose their captain John Terry to the lure of untold wealth in east Manchester, and, like the rest of the Premier League big boys, are struggling to convince Europe's biggest stars to come to these shores.

And Arsenal? And what? A title-challenge looks highly unlikely to emerge from the Emirates - if anything their miserly dealings in the transfer market put them most at risk to losing their top-four status to the emergence of Manchester City.

So what of City? With Tevez on board, and Emmanuel Adebayor, Joleon Lescott and possibly Terry to follow, they will be no mugs.

But while money can buy players, it can't buy a team. And that's what Liverpool had at the end of last season.

Rival fans scoff at players like Dirk Kuyt, Alvaro Arbeloa and Yossi Benayoun.

But that team was sweeping aside opponents with ease in the golden patch of the final three months of the season.

With Mascherano and Alonso still on board - plus the addition of Glen Johnson and possibly others - there's no reason why the Reds can't pick up where they left off.

But without the first-choice midfield pairing? Who knows? Because with any purchase of a new player there comes doubt.

Will he fit into the team? Will he settle in Liverpool? Most importantly - will he be as good?

For some forum writers it's simple. "Sell Xabi, buy David Villa and move Steven Gerrard back into midfield," wrote one today.

Ignoring the fact Villa doesn't seem interested in a move to England, why would you want to break up the Fernando Torres-Gerrard partnership?

That is THE best front pairing in the league - as United and many others have found out.

But for it to thrive, it needs the passing of Alonso (second only to Jan Molby in my book) and for Xabi to pass, he needs the destructive force of Mascherano.

In other words, we had found the perfect balance - through the middle anyway - and if it is broken up it will be our rivals who are celebrating.

Keep it together and while other teams (hopefully) make a slow start, we can get off to a flyer, put down a marker and make other teams do the chasing for once.

The other argument doing the rounds is 'if they don't want to play for us, let them go'.

In an ideal world maybe - but with funds at a premium, and a transfer market more inflated than Stay Puft on helium, replacements look far from obvious.

Hang on to Alonso and Mascherano for a year - sufficient time to find replacements - and with the World Cup to come it's unlikely you will see a dip in form from either man, no matter how unhappy they are.

It's also Rafa's chance to show what he's made of in the transfer market now he has total control of the ins and outs.

Maybe then we can ditch the tag of being a soft touch, and if a player is to leave Anfield it's for the right money - or more.

HEAVEN KNOWS I'M NOT MISERABLE NOW

SO what exactly is there to feel down about?

Every media outlet is telling me I should be slitting my wrists while gloating glory-hunters mock away on the internet.

But why?

It's as you were in the Premier League, we need the Mancs to slip up. It's Chelsea again in the Champions League quarter finals on Wednesday.

We are in good form, top scorers in the league and in the stage of the season when we are traditionally at our strongest under Rafa Benitez.

Most importantly, with seven games left, we're in with a chance of the title.

If you'd offered me that at the start of the season I'd have snapped your hand off.

Forget what's gone on since, at the start of the season the task for Benitez was to get closer to winning the league. To see in the New Year with number 19 still a possibility. And to start getting results against our Big Four rivals.

So in that respect, it's job done.

No Red with an ounce of football knowledge seriously expected us to win the league at the start of the campaign.

Of course, now we are so close, things are different.

But the fact remains it's the Mancs' title to lose. Of course, they nearly slipped up for a third game in a row today.

They struggled against a team we swept aside 5-0 and were a scuffed Ronaldo shot and a dream debut goal away from getting beat.

So there's still reasons to be cheerful.

I still believe there's been a shift in the sands since we blew Fergie's boys away at Old Trafford - look at how Villa started today.

Teams are finally going to Stretford believing they can win, and not just rolling over for a tickle.

United still have the added distraction of the FA Cup, a semi-final which is looking more difficult by the day against Everton.

And as Fulham proved, games that people write off as an easy win for United don't always prove that way.

Look at the fixtures, there's plenty of potential for slips ups - for both clubs.

So unlike limp-wristed Lawro, I'm not throwing in the towel. And neither, I'd guess, will Gerrard, Carragher, Mascherano and the rest.

So let the glories gloat - bite your tongue, be gracious, and just think: How sweet would be it be if they throw it all away?

BRIDGING THE GAP...

THERE was no punching the air, gritting the teeth or swearing under the breath. No wild title predictions or talk of winning a 'cup final' (take note Alvaro Arbeloa).
That's because for Jamie Carragher, winning at Chelsea is exactly what Liverpool should be doing.
Don't get me wrong, the 1-0 win, which ended Chelsea's magnificent 86-game unbeaten record at Stamford Bridge, was a good win - a great win, even.
And, of course, there are lots and lots of plus points to take from the game.
The positive attitude, the coolness, the calmness, the number of chances carved out and the passages of fluid, passing play.
Add to that the performances of Carragher, Daniel Agger, Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso and Albert Riera - and, importantly, the fact that this wasn't a Houllier-esque 'bus parked in front of the goal' performance.
As I say, plenty to be positive about - and I haven't even mentioned that we're unbeaten and top of the league.
Or that we didn't have Fernando Torres.
But all that aside, it's important not to get carried away. And with Carragher around, there's not much chance of that.
You can tell he's a manager in the making. Because while Gerrard clenched his fist and muttered 'Yes' through gritted teeth as he marched off the pitch, Carragher wiped the sweat from his brow, took Nicolas Anelka out of his pocket, and swigged a bottle of water.
All he needed to do then was look at the camera, shrug his shoulders and say 'Yeah, and what like?'
But he didn't need to. His body language did it for him. To Carragher, it's three points. It's nice, but it's three points. And now it's on to Portsmouth at Anfield on Wednesday. Where, let's be honest, anything less than a win would be a major disappointment.
Typically, Rafa Benitez was in the Carra camp, too. 'Does it change anything?' he was asked.
'No,' he replied. 'One game at a time'.
Couldn't agree more - bring on Pompey!


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They think it's all over...is it b*llocks!

They skidded on the turf, embraced, punched the air and turned to face their jubilant fans.

The Chelsea players had won...er...well, nothing actually. Not the match. Not the tie. Definitely not the Champions League.

And yet there they were. All smiles. Frank Lampard clenching his fist at the deflated Kop. And the section of Anfield Road housing the Chelsea fans going wild.

It was like they had won the European Cup. But then, they don't know what that feels like do they?

OK, so they had snatched an equaliser in the 95th minute through a bizarre own goal from the hapless John Arne Riise - Liverpool's weak link and a player who has looked out of his depth at Anfield for at least a couple of seasons.
OK, so they are now favourites because if they can keep Rafa Benitez's side out for 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge next week they are through.

But, in a similar fashion to Arsenal in the quarter finals, didn't they make just a little too much of their celebrations? And we know what happened to Arsenal.

Chelsea deserved their luck, according to Lampard - a view echoed by Baron Greenback (aka Avram Grant). The sickly smile said it all. He thinks they've done it. He's already planning how to spend his roubles and taking vodka orders from his mates. In his mind they're in Moscow.

And it's not just Chelski and their fans who have decided it's all over. The texts came in from gloating Evertonians within seconds of Riise's gaffe. The Facebook updates rubbed it in further.

But me? I'm with Steven Gerrard. Asked if he was worried that Liverpool have never won at Chelsea under Benitez, he replied: "We haven't played there with Fernando Torres, have we?" My point exactly. There's 90 minutes to go. It's half time. We were the better team tonight and we can be the better team at Stamford Bridge.

Big games need big performances from big players. Tonight, we played well. But Gerrard, and Torres, can do better. Much better.

Let the Bluenoses snipe. And let Lampard and Grant count their roubles. Liverpool have already won in the San Siro against Serie A leaders Inter Milan in the Champions League. And - as if you need reminding - they've been in much stickier spots than this - and got out of it. Think Olympiakos. Think Istanbul.

If anyone can win at Stamford Bridge and leave the doubters choking on their text message, it's Liverpool.