WTF?

More amazingly,

4) having Gerrard return to the side.

In terms of new signings, I was never a fan of Charlie Adam and it does look like he's out of his depth. He should reach the peak of his prowess very soon at his age. It remains to be seen if the likes of Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll will live up to expectations or are they already the finished article? I personally think they will get better but what's clear is that they aren't prepared to shoulder the burden of a first team player at the club. In Downing, we have one of the only left footed English players in England and we were crying out for some width, bearing in mind our policy of buying English players, and please do not fault KK for this. Not his call.

KK is on a 3 year contract and for all he's done I think we can at least afford him the time to right his wrong. Not all managers get it right the first time round. Rafa brought in a lot of youth players who didn't cut it, he just never played them while KK has given them the opportunities they so craved for in the past. Hell you get fans asking that youth players be given a shot at the first team all the time and lest we forget, Jordan Henderson is 21, John Flanagan is 19, Martin Kelly is 20 as is Jonjo Shelvey. The more senior "youngsters", Andy Carroll and Jay Spearing are both still 23. It's obvious to me that we are building a squad for the future which is what the new owners have always been saying despite fans expecting to challenge for the title this year. Since we are building for the future, is it not possible to wait for that future to arrive? Like i keep repeating, KK is here for 3 years, not a whole lot of time in the bigger scheme of things, at least for me. What's another 3 years when I've been waiting for over 20?

Some of the senior players aren't performing, bar Martin Skrtel, Luis Suarez (who for all his guile really should be scoring more often), Dagger, and maybe even Enrique. The rest have been disappointing though to be fair to Dirk Kuyt, he hasn't seen much playing time. This makes us ever more reliant on the young lads to deliver. Now which one of them stands out? If you ask me only Martin Kelly has shown the consistency to be a first team regular so far but with young players, it's always going to be a gamble. Look how many Fergie has shipped put over the years. Florent Sinama Pongolle and Anthony Le Tallec were joint top scores at the youth World Cup when we signed them and where are they now? Neil Mellor scored a wonder goal against Arsenal, ended up at Preston and had disappeared altogether now. Mark Gonzalez was tipped to be the next big thing for Chile but has anyone heard from him since? Leto? Paletta? The likes of Carroll, Henderson, Shelvey, Spearing, Kelly, Flanagan are a gamble and the only way we'll know if they will make the cut is by thrusting them into the first team and giving them competitive matches. It's why I keep saying that I want to play in the Europa Cup so we can play them there and not use the league as a training ground for them. There is a huge gap between the reserve league and th Premier League which is why foreign managers in particular have mooted the idea of having a B team play in the lower divisions with no possibility of promotion like the Barca and Real Madrid B sides. It's no secret that KK is a fan on the young lads having worked with the academy and I for one appreciate his willingness to give them first team opportunities. He's obviously hoping they'll flourish and blossom before his contract is up.

Forgive me for saying this but I feel those who don't appreciate was KK is trying to do are short sighted. I'm not saying he's made all the right decisions but I can at least see he has a vision. He will and has made mistakes and he has 2 more years to right them. I hate it when fans demand the team wins for them. The team owes us nothing. We owe it to the team to get behind them especially when they are trying to move in the right direction, a far cry from when we were under the previous owners who werent willing to spend a cent of their own money, fulfilled none of their promises and almost led to club into administration. How anyone can not appreciate the work that is being put into the club not just by KK but by the entire management team, is beyond me. In a time where we've been getting a huge amount of flak from the media and the team are being painted in a negative light, I'd expect each and everyone of us to give a good showing of solidarity, and show support to the club and those who are trying their best to wake a sleeping giant from its slumber, and laud the positive strides they've made, not criticse every mistake. The glass is either half empty or half full. Which is completely up to you.

I say we should give King Kenny his 3 years to see if the young lads will come good and if we can keep playing good, consistent attacking football which he favours. You cant judge him in the same way as you judge a manager who buys players he hopes will keep him in a job and takes little risk by purchasing players in or already passing their prime. KK has largely bought players who haven't yet reached their peak with the exception of Stewart Downing. Big difference if you ask me.

Cheers,
Mark Lee

I for one still believe in King Kenny. In just over a year he has got us playing some fantastic football and he's made us hard to beat again. Anfield is becoming a fortress once again. Our defeat against Arsenal was our first at home this season. No secret we haven't been finding the back of the next but it isn't like Dalglish has a PS3 controller in his hands is it? All he can do is to devise tactics which enables us to create opportunities and we have been doing so. I see people blaming him for not buying and accomplished finisher but are you telling me you didn't expect Suarez to be that finisher? Price aside, did Andy Carroll seem like such a bad buy at the time? He was scoring goals for Newcastle was he not? Did we expect to see one of our main contributors when it comes to goals i.e. Steven Gerrard to be crocked for much of the season?

Is the glass empty or is it half full? Hitting the post 20 times is to me frustrating but it also reflects how we're creating much more chances than we ever have in recent years. It also shows just how dominant we have been in the majority of games this season. We have also been playing some really good football. It's been a long time since I've seen pass and move football from a Liverpool side. Yes, we could do better in the final third and perhaps we need to look for a finisher at the end of the season but considering the positives I've listed above, I'm amazed to see people calling for King Kenny's head. Is he beyond criticism? No but asking to sack him at this point is in my opinion ludicrous. In fact, it's baffling. Once again, he's only been at the helm for just over a year. What are we? Chelsea? Were you lot also calling for Rafa's head after he finished tth in his first season, behind even Everton? If we didn't win the Champions League, we wouldn't even have qualified for it the following season. That season we finished a massive 37 points behind Chelsea. We are currently 27 points off the mark with a game in hand. If you want to see if we're closing the gap, forget where we fnish in the league and look at how many points we finish off the top. The league has become more competitive with Spurs, City and even Newcastle muscling into the top 6. During Rafa's 1st year it was all Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd. In his last year we finished 7th. Yes, I dare say it's harder to finish near the top this season.

If we still love Rafa because of his love for Liverpool, and being a massive supporter of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign, surely we can afford King Kenny the same amount of respect. Some of you weren't around when he was last boss but it shouldn't mean that what he has done should go unnoticed. Sorry but it's really frustrating to see our support blow hot and cold. I think some people need to gain a little more perspective. One year is apparently longer to some than it is to others. Considering Rafa was here for 5 years and Houllier 6, I don't see why we can't look at the positive impact King Kenny has had and afford him more time. Are you guys in it for the long haul because I am even if we don't win the Premiership for another 20 years which is how long I've waited since supporting the club as a wee little lad.

It's your choice but I'm with the folk who still chant "Dalglish", "Dalglish" every game and sing especially loud when the following lyrics from "Fields of Anfield Road" are belted out. "All round the Fields of Anfield Road, where once we watched the King Keny play.

Since arriving from Newcastle, much has been expected of Andy Carroll. By shelling out $35 million pounds for him, Liverpool effectively made him the most expensive British footballer of all time, and the 8th most expensive signing in the world. Comparisons with Alan Shearer were already rife on Tyneside and expectations were soaring high after Carroll was handed the famous no.9, worn by Anfield legends such as Robbie Fowler, Ian Rush and Ian St. John. A lot of pressure to dump on a budding 22 year old footballer indeed, especially since he was seen by some to be a direct replacement for one Fernando Torres who packed his bags to look for greener pastures at Stamford Bridge. Comparisons were drawn and unfairly so. While Fernando Torres was already an accomplished international who had just won the World Cup with Spain, Andy Carroll had very little experience in top flight football.

Just a few games into his Anfield career, fans grew restless. Carroll often looked sluggish, displayed poor touches and rarely displayed the aerial prowess he has become to be known for. Some attributed this to the fact that he had just retured from injury and wasn't fully fit, whilst others saw a player short of confidence, unable to deal with the pressures that came along with his price tag. Some quarters were going impatient, labelling him a flop and a panic buy to replace Torres who let despite pledging his future to the club just 3 weeks earlier. Indeed, he still has some ways to go but it is really too soon to label him a failure in my books. As Paul Tomkins noted, players who aren't blessed with raw physical abilities like blistering pace or sublime coordination need experience to hone their abilities. How many front men in his mould attained success as his age? Whilst he may be a huge physical presence, one needs to note that unlike in other leagues where you get smaller centrebacks like Cannavaro and Cardoba, Premier League defenders like Robert Huth, John Terry, Nemanja Vidic and Christopher Samba are all at least 6'1" with fair bit of Premiership experience under their belt. Carroll is blessed neither with pace nor lightning feet and therefore needs to work on maturing his game to get the better off savvy, seasoned defenders.

His performances against Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers suggests to me that all he needed was an injection of confidence. After creating the winning goal for Dirk Kuyt against Man Utd, he followed it up with a goal against Wolves. He showed great desire to win balls, held up play really well, got those around him involved and scored a poachers goal. Sure it was against a club in relegation trouble but it's during games like these that he needs to step up and continue to build his confidence.

Amidst all the complaining and criticism after the draw against Stoke, many fans seemed to have failed to note the significance of that match. In the middle of the doom and gloom, a legend had returned to Anfield. I remember the exact moment I first heard we had signed little known Finnish defender, and boyhood Liverpool, Sami Hyypia from Dutch minnows, Willem II. As I was reading the news, I remember going, "who?". Little did I know that for a paltry sum of $2.6 million, we had just signed who would go on to be one of the best bargain buys in the club's history. What he lacked in pace, he made up for by reading the game immaculately. He was an inspiration to those around him on and off the pitch. A model professional and the only blemish in his career must surely be that red card he picked u against Man Utd back in 2003, the only sending off in his career.

He has been a loyal servant to the club and will always be welcomed back to Anfield where he had the most successful time of his career. In 464 appearances for the club spanning over 10 years he scored 35 goals and won 10 trophies.

He made an appearance during half-time against Stoke as a guest of Carlsberg and when asked on the pitch if he had a message for Liverpool fans, the giant Finn replied, "You'll Never Walk Alone". Well Sami, neither will you.

1) The emergency lane isn't a motorcycle lane either. Just as I don't honk you when you are using it, please do not fucking honk me when you are behind me. 2 solid entities cannot occupy the same space so when there's a car next to me in traffic, it's highly unlikely that honking me will change the laws of physics.

2) I know I've been told to look out for you but do you see a big black dish on my fucking roof? I don't have AWACS and when you and your mates are hovering around me like flies to shit, I can't keep track of all of you. Do you think poppa whale tells baby well to watch out for plankton?

3) My tyre isn't a substitute for a foot rest. If it were intended for you to rest on, I'd have set up a mattress next to it and offered you a massage with a happy ending. Cheers,
Mark Lee

a) We played with a lot of energy and pressed Chelsea whenever they were on the ball. It's the reason we managed to win the ball off them so many times. Each time one of our lads pressed, another would come to provide support making it difficult for them to keep the ball. Chelsea switched formation in the 2nd half with the introduction of Sturridge and I was wondering why it was taking us so long to change ours as we were being pressed back. Made a whole lot of sense to me introducing Hendo in place of Bellamy was we needed more bodies in the middle. b) Skrtel was in good form. It says something that Drogba's best effort came from a free kick. c) Lucas was both tireless and fearless in closing down the opposition and going in for challenges. d) Kuyt covered well for Johnson whenever the latter went on one of his rampaging runs down the flank. Did someone say it's the first time he's seen the attacking side of Glenn Johnson? Err Johnson is all about attacking and I find this comment a little surprising.In fact I've seen more positive attacking performances from him than defensive ones. Good composed from him nonetheless. Good that he got a goal against his former employers when two other blokes couldn't. e) If you closed your eyes you'd think we were playing at Anfield. All I heard the whole game was chants of, "Dalglish", and numerous renditions of "Fields of Anfield Road", and "Champione", even just after Chelsea had equalized. Yea yea we always talk about our fans but just like people talk about their best players, we talk about our best performers and the away fans were if you ask me, once again contenders for the MOM award. To the 12 Man!

Cheers,
Mark Lee

I have this thrown in my face all the time. Now as a fan of football I embrace the fact that you will get your fair share of stick. Banter will be exchanged and we will take the piss out of one another. However it always pisses me off when our rivals make fun of our anthem. How would you like it if someone lambasted your national anthem? If someone had started making armpit farts during the Kiwi's national anthem at the World Cup yesterday, Richie McCaw and the rest of the All-Blacks would have ensured he'd be drinking food through a straw for the rest of his life. One manc even had the audacity to say to my face, "To hell with You'll Never Walk Alone! We are champions! We will walk alone!". Well guess what mate, last night, your team almost did as thousands of your kind started leaving the stadium way before the final whistle. Before you berate our anthem, first try to understand it. Call it a song for losers but note that because of it, we never abandon our team. I need not bring up the half-time at Istanbul again, need I? If you turned the telly off or left the stadium early, then ask yourself what gives you the right to insult me, my team or our anthem? You know who you are. 

The Good
Happy to see Dirk Kuyt start. It was a wise decision given the threat of Leighton Baines. Can't blame him for the penalty miss as it was a good save from Howard. Good also to see Martin Kelly back. He had a solid game and one reason why Tim Cahill's kangaroo impressions only earned him one clear opportunity off his nut. Less I'm mistaken, Kelly was marking him during corners. I'm a big fan of Kelly and I imagine he'll make the England senior team by the end of the season if he can stay healthy. Carra has a good game as well. He was strong in the air and with exception of the occasion where he and Skrtel backed off Saha to present the Frenchman with too much room, he marshaled the defence pretty well. Jose Enrique had another good game and once again, you have to ask why he hasn't earned an international cap yet? I mean even Arbeloa who is a right sided player gets picked ahead of him. Baffling. Another player worth a mention is non other than Luis Suarez. He's been a revelation since signing for us and was once again a live wire up front. Was gifted a goal in the end by Distin and finished with aplomb. 

The Bad
Well may "bad" is too strong a word but here are players I don't think had a good game. Carroll offered little with the exception of his goal. I think he spent more time out wide than he did in the Everton box. Adam had a quiet game and until he thumped Tim Howard's goal post, I forgot he was on the pitch. Stuart Downing was surprisingly innefective as well. Linked up well with Enrique but his delivery was off the mark on a number of occasions. Stayed out wide was much of the match to my dismay. 

The Ugly
Martin Atkinson has a reputation of being card happy which can sour derbies and it kinda did last night. The Merseyside derby has produced more red cards than any other Premiership fixture and you just knew that Mr. Atkinson was going to flash someone a red. In truth, it was a harsh decision and Suarez made the most of it but you know what? I could care less. It's about time we had the rub of the green after having had several decisions go against us in recent games. There are few sights I like more than the vision of Tim Cahill in misery. 

Not always easy on the eye but it was a derby after all and it had all the ingredients of one - crunching tackles, flared tempers, Tim Cahill being a cunt, and bitters throwing rubbish on their own pitch no less. Always thought that Woodison was a dump.