LIVERPOOL FC: DIFFERENT RESULT, SAME OLD PROBLEMS?

IT'S not often Liverpool and Everton fans are thinking the same thing – but that was the case at the weekend.

After deflating starts to the season, both sets of supporters will have looked at their fixtures – home to Wigan for them and away to Bolton for us – and thought "we've just got to win".

Sometimes results are more important than performances - this was one of those times.

Thankfully, Liverpool got the result.

And the added bonuses - another good performance from Glen Johnson, a decent return to the side for Albert Riera and quality finishes from Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres - were just the icing on the cake.

Now we can all take in some air during the international break and hope our boys come through their games unscathed.

After Bolton, like any game, the whys and wherefores were discussed and discussed until sane fans beg for mercy or lock themselves in a dark room - whichever comes first.

And the same old criticisms of Liverpool were wheeled out like an overweight former referee on Sky Sports.

Hackneyed 'observations' are about as entertaining as an ex-official with a crap tan enjoying his five minutes of fame – and when it comes to Liverpool there's plenty: zonal marking, over-reliance on Steven Gerrard, two-man team, missing Xabi Alonso....Zzzzzzz

Why this is trotted out over and over, I don't know. Who benefits from it? Who nods knowingly and silently thanks the reporter for this 'wisdom'?

Not me, anyway.

One group of people notable by their absence right now are the people who questioned Rafa Benitez's signing of Johnson - stand up Tony Cascarino, Paul Merson and the rest.

In case you missed it, Merson said: "The Premier League is not blessed with 15 world-class left wingers so I don't see how a right-back can affect a game that much...I just don't think you should be spending that amount of money on somebody who plays at right back."

And Cascarino added: "For me, they paid a hell of a lot of money for a right back who was unconvincing the last time he played for a big club."

Well it's a bit early in the season for humble pie but I'm sure there's a hefty slice sat in their respective fridges now, a bit of cream on it, cling film over the top and a shiny spoon next to it, ready to eat.

If Merson hasn't seen a right back affect a game he should watch Johnson. Speed, skill and a hell of a shot have already brought the England man two goals and two assists.

So pretty convincing at a big club so far, eh Tony?

And just to ram home the point there's further excellent statistical analysis of Johnson's contribution on Paul Tomkins' blog (don't pack it in mate!).

So not too many people complaining about the £17m fee now for the former Portsmouth defender. Meanwhile, 30-odd miles away, what about Antonio Valencia?

Pricier at £18m, signed as an attacking player and what's he delivered?

One assist.

I know who I would rather have in the side yet are people questioning Alex Ferguson signing the former Wigan man? Not that I've seen.

Finally, a further observation from the Bolton game regarding Gary Megson.

The Wanderers boss decided the reason they lost was "Liverpool chucking themselves all over the pitch".

Granted Lucas kicked up a fuss when Sean Davis (normally such a sportsman) clipped him so yes, maybe his red card was harsh.

But people in glasshouses and all that...Match of the Day highlighted Bolton's Jlloyd Samuel playing the ball out for a throw before waiting for Dirk Kuyt's challenge to arrive, falling to the floor and claiming a free kick - so not far shy from what Megson claimed Lucas did really.

Of course, Megson will haul Samuel into his office this week and give him a warning for this cardinal sin, won't he?

Maybe not, he's probably too busy dreaming up some new excuses for Bolton's next defeat.

AQUILANI v ALONSO

IF you haven't found time to go to YouTube and type in 'Alberto Aquilani' what have you been doing? Second thoughts don't answer that...

But in case you still don't know quite what to expect from our new midfield man when he pulls on a red shirt in October, watch the film above, expertly made by 'MilanKakaBaros' at FootyFilms. And if you're still drying your eyes after we ripped Madrid off for Xabi Alonso, well the film below is for you. Enjoy.

IT'S ALL OVER FOR LIVERPOOL - WITHOUT A BALL BEING KICKED...

THE new season is so close you can almost reach out and touch it.

It's the time of year when you should be dreaming up songs for new signings, dusting off your lucky boxer shorts and picking your fantasy footie team with a big smile on your face.

But if you believe the ex-pros and national newspaper columnists, you needn't bother this year.

Carry on shopping, cutting the grass and painting the fence - because without Xabi Alonso there's no hope of the title coming to Anfield in May.

Now it seems, Liverpool are no longer a two-man team, other Reds players are decent - now they've left, that is.

But if Xabi's suddenly so good he can single-handedly swing a title one way or another - where were the articles hailing him as the world's best?

Where was the praise for Benitez for plucking such a gem from the relative obscurity of Real Sociedad?

Well don't bother exercising your Google searchbar - they're not there.

Not just because it didn't suit certain journos' agendas to write that kind of piece. But also because Alonso had two ordinary seasons before peaking in the last campaign.

With the saga of his sale out the way, a sizeable sum of £30million banked, Rafa Benitez kissing his middle finger in the direction of Madrid and the quickfire signing of Alberto Aquilani, everything should be alright again though, right?

Wrong. He's a crock, we're told. Not in Xabi's class. Too lightweight for the Premier League. And on it goes.

Suddenly, everyone's an expert on Aquilani.

Well I'm not - and I'm not afraid to say it. I've read the background and watched the clips on Youtube. I've heard the Roma players and staff speak favourably about him, not least former Red John Arne Riise.

But I'll judge for myself when Aquilani runs out in red which, unfortunately by the looks of things, won't be until October.

Meanwhile, everyone continues to overstate the influence of Alonso.

How far can it go? It's like when Kevin Keegan left, Kenny Dalglish retired or Ian Rush headed for Italy?

Even better. How about that Liverpool's title challenge is over before a ball is kicked because of the sale of Alonso?

I'm exaggerating though, right? No-one could write off a club that finished four points shy of the title. A side that won home and away against the Champions and Chelsea. And all this despite not having the best striker in the world available for a large chunk of the season.

They could you know.

According to Daily Mail columnist Martin Samuel, by selling a player who was desperate to leave for an inflated fee and immediately replacing him with a highly-rated Italian, the Reds have: "put a stick of dynamite under their title aspirations again".

And once one 'expert' reels out this unsubstantiated drivel, they all follow suit. It's like a huge snowball - only this one is a browner shade of white.

I've been away on holiday for a week. And in the matter of hours since I've been back I've watched Ray Parlour and Andy Townsend write us off because Alonso's left.

Then I read a few season previews - everyone trotting out the same old line that Liverpool have been severely weakened by his departure and can't possibly push for the title.

It seems Rafa Benitez can't do anything right - while Alex Ferguson never does any wrong.
Glen Johnson is the England right back, Portsmouth's player of the year and could have gone back to Chelsea.

But he's too dear.

And there's no point in having a decent right back because there's no decent left wingers in the Premier League (according to Paul Merson).

On the other hand, it's a stroke of genius to sell arguably the world's best player in Cristiano Ronaldo (in his peak) and replace him with Michael Owen (definitely not in his).

Sometimes I despair, I really do.

But then I remember I've got some boxer shorts to dust.

Anyone got any Aqualani songs?!

Read my season preview at LFC Bet

ALONSO: NOW THE SHEEP WANT A SCAPEGOAT

SO Xabi Alonso's seemingly inevitable move to Real Madrid creeps ever closer with the news that the player has put in an official transfer request

The development appears to have been leaked by the club as it was reported in the Echo - and Alonso isn't speaking to English journalists right now.

He is speaking to Spanish journos though, and Guillem Balague is reporting on his site that the Alonso camp is denying the transfer request.

So the pantomime continues...

Either way, it's by the by - the situation hasn't changed. Either Real Madrid cough up the asking price, or Xabi will kick off the season in red.

If he does go, it looks like the vultures are already circling, desperate to apportion blame. But why does there need to be a scapegoat?

Benitez and Alonso hate each other. Have done for some time. Their relationship, at best, is a 'working' one.

Both have undoubtedly benefitted from the other though.

Xabi's stock as a footballer has obviously risen thanks to his five years at Anfield, while Benitez, certainly last season, can partly thank Alonso for the purring engine that was Liverpool's central midfield.

The club looks likely to benefit to the tune of £30million while the fans, of course, will never forget his goal in Istanbul.

But for two seasons previous to the last one, let's not forget Alonso wasn't tearing down trees.

And yet some say Benitez is the villain for looking for a replacement to improve the side, courting Gareth Barry and offering Xabi to Juventus.

Others say now that Alonso is out of order, for wanting to return to his homeland - to arguably the biggest club in Spain - and for, if true, putting in a transfer request to make it happen (even though Benitez asked him to).

I'm not happy that he is likely to go, particularly so close to the start of the season but I can understand why he wants to leave and why Rafa wants him to go.

And if it happens, it happens. Life goes on. Liverpool Football Club will still be there.

Yes, Alonso was good last season. Outstanding, in fact. But he is one player - he didn't finish second on his own.

While I agree with many comments I have seen that it is a very difficult task to replace Xabi, I don't believe it's an impossible one.

Because I think the point everyone is missing is that Benitez clearly has a new plan in mind.

Replacing Xabi like-for-like, is difficult. There's no-one that jumps out that is a similar type of player.

But maybe Rafa doesn't want a similar player. The 4-2-3-1 set up has served us well. But last season we lost the league because we drew too many games.

So maybe Rafa has new tactics in mind? Maybe two holding midfielders is a luxury we can't afford anymore - particularly at home.

Rafa certainly seemed to be hinting at a tactical shift earlier this month.

He said: "We want to improve our power in attack, this is our idea.

“There have been games in the past we have played with three centre backs and two offensive full backs, it depends on the game.

“But normally we play with a line of four in defence because this suits the way we play on both occasions.

“We were talking last season about the draws we had at home and when teams play really deep against you you need quality in the full back and central defensive positions.

“When we talk about Daniel Agger scoring goals and using the ball well it is because we know these qualities are necessary if you want to turn the draws into wins.”

So ignoring the rigidity of us definitely playing the same formation and needing 'another Xabi', things don't look so bad.

And much as I liked Alonso, and his wonderful passing, let's not forget the flaws in his game.

He didn't score enough goals. He wasn't great in the tackle.

So while it's unfortunate, it's not the end of the world if he leaves. And as for whose fault it is? Who cares!

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.

CHECK OUT THIS LITTLE RIB TICKLER!

JUST when you thought it was safe to open your laptop...

It seemed the most-unlikely-summer-transfer-story award had already been wrapped up by The Express when they printed the back-page gem that Fernando Torres was joining Manchester United.

But now we have it: Franck Ribery is on his way to Anfield.

A glance at the image above will give you a tip (ahem) to the source of this nonsense...bookies, SkyBet, to be precise.

The very same SkyBet that, according to its spokesman, took a big hit on Michael Owen joining Manchester United, with betting on that particular scenario starting out at 20-1.

Far be it from me to cast aspersions on the good ole' honest profession of bookmaking, but perhaps this story could help them win some money back?

I mean, Liverpool fans would of course love to see Ribery sign, particularly after the scar-faced wing man was so publicly courted by United.

And what better icing on the cake than winning a few quid at the same time?

Me, I'll keep my money in my wallet and my shotgun handy.

And when Ribery signs, I'll throw open the front door and shoot some of the flying pigs out of the sky. After all, you can't beat a bacon butty.

Seriously though, any Red must see through this one - particurlarly after a similar furore over betting being supsended on Rafa Benitez getting sacked earlier this year.

And yet there was Rafa giving a press conference yesterday - five months later. And, ironically, he was talking about how the transfer market is "crazy".

Everything about this Ribery link is also crazy.

Bayern Munich say they want £69million for Ribery - money we clearly haven't got.

So either Rafa's given the nod for Xabi Alonso to head for Real Madrid AND for Javier Mascherano to pack his bags for Barcelona - or it's a huge pack of lies.

I know what my money's on.

SCAR TREKKING: But Ribery's destination is still unknown.

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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