Manchester City 0 Liverpool 0

No year end cheers from Liverpool! Anyway, it will not be a great year for Liverpool even if this game was won. Despite the game ended goalless, it was rather an open game which saw Liverpool squandering heaps of chances.

In a hectic Christmas period, Benitez has got it right that the top teams will drop points. With the last game of the year, Liverpool too dropped 2 points as they failed to finish off their chances. Going into the new year with Arsenal leading, followed by M*n U*d, Chelsea and Liverpool, I don’t expect the standing to stay the same throughout the season till May. Being realistic, Liverpool will find it hard to win the title or even breaking into the top two. However, it will also be as realistic to say that the others including Liverpool will still drop some points as the season progresses. With the Nation Cup coming, Arsenal and Chelsea will be the most affected out of the top four. Not only will they lose the most players, they will be missing key players. Thus, I expect more twist and turn next year although it may not be much.

"El Nino Un-Dunne"

In the first half, Liverpool rode their luck a bit as Man City probed Liverpool’s makeshift defence. Before the game, I was prepared this to be a very hard game for Liverpool to win and it was so. However, it has to be said Liverpool could have easily snatched the win if not for some tremendous defending by the Man City defence especially by their captain, Dunne. On the night, Dunne was rightly MOTM with a performance which reminded me of Jamie Carragher of 2005. Despite much effort from both sides, no goals resulted from the first half.

"Didi Hamann: absolute professional!"

During the second period, it was mostly about Liverpool. With the game going on and on, Liverpool pushed harder and harder. Man City never looked like scoring or even getting near Reina’s goal while Liverpool looked certain to eventually grab a winner. However, it was not so. Shots came all over the field from the Reds. Time and time, the Man City defence played the game of their lives to prevent a late goal from Liverpool. Also worth a mention, Liverpool’s ex-player, Didi Hamann, showed why he is so treasured by Sven as he broke down Liverpool’s attack throughout the night. Rafa might have regretted letting the loyal servant go.

"Hart saved Kuyt's header!"

"Cleared off the line by Dunne!"

It was a good display from Liverpool but in football, the points are the ones that counts and Liverpool have failed to capitalize on the leaders’ dropped points. However, I expect Liverpool to stay in the hunt. The year might not be as good as the Reds have hoped so but it is a year they can take confidence into 2008. All they need is a little bit more consistency in front of goal. Bitter than the fact that Liverpool might not win the league title this time, it is the lost to AC Milan in the Champions League final.

I do not expect Liverpool to win the league title but I do hope for some silverware. For one, I do not mind a third Champions League final in four years. However, common sense tells me it is so unlikely. Winning the league will take some time like it or not. Although Liverpool progressed under Rafa Benitez year by year, it is also true that the others on top have also progressed much. We must also take note that teams below such as Man City, Everton, Portsmouth and Tottenham are teams that has made the league so much more exciting, competitive and harder for the top four. Sooner or later, we might not be so fond of talking about the top four but maybe about the overall performances of the London clubs, Northern clubs and Southern clubs against each other.

As Liverpool fans, let’s give the team every chance they deserve and support them like every year we have done. Let’s hope together, we can make 2008 another memorable year. At the end of every year, we can rightly say so that no other fans have come close to the support shown by the Red Army. Let’s continue that and bring that into 2008. Let’s cheer on the Reds! Come On, Reds!

“You’ll Never Walk Alone”

Year 2007 Review – It’s gotta be M!

For this year, it has got to be M. With it being ‘Visit Malaysia Year’ corresponding to Malaysia’s 50th Independence Anniversary, I have to dedicate the year to all those M’s in relation with Malaysia. Despite supposedly a glorious, celebratory year for fellow Malaysians, it has been a roller coaster ride which saw people practiced their rights more than ever. It is truly a year worth remembering but sadly more for the wrong reasons.

"Keeping an Eye On Malaysia!"

Malaysia ‘07 can well be summarized that the Government screwed up what was suppose to be a wonderful year. Reaching the big five zero, Malaysia should have a year to be remembered for fond memories. However, it has been an ugly birthday for the nation. In a year which saw people fought for their rights as citizens of a democratic country, the Government chose to stop people from voicing out instead of celebrate the growth in Malaysians towards first world mentality. It is clear after the BERSIH, Bar Council and Hindraf rallies, the Government wants people to maintain in the third world mentality bracket. That’s the only way for them to continue their biasness and so-called ‘Democracy – Malaysian Way’, a way which can only be achieved by the Malaysian Government very much due to perceived unity and harmony throughout the generations. When people are more educated and see something wrong and choose to voice out, they are being shut down in the most unreasonable way.

"Mat Rempit"

Despite being a proud nation which has reached a milestone in independence, Malaysia is only as beautiful as the rose-tinted glass put on by the people in-charged. We have endless murder cases, robberies, corruption, negligence of children, Mat Rempits, and shameful acts of Ministers and Members of Parliament.

"Nak Rempit? Okay, but go to school!"

Mat Rempits or illegal motorcycle road racers made headlines in the mass media since last year and they are still menacing the streets. Not only being illegal road racers, they are highly infamous for their acts of doing stunts on their bikes, terrorizing the streets at night, bullying and damaging cars on the road, pelting stones at police stations, beat up policemen, trading girlfriends and taking drugs. Ridiculously, these Mat Rempits gained the support of the Prime Minister’s son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin. And until today, the father-in-law has yet to speak a word about his views on the Mat Rempits. I will not forget what I heard from the news in a local television channel through KJ’s own words. He said it is fine to be Mat Rempits as long as they go to school! What a piece of Bull Shit! These people are menace to the public and yet we have the deputy chief of UMNO Youth supporting these road bullies just to gain political mileage. 50,000 Mat Rempits, 50,000 extra UMNO votes eh, KJ?

"Big ears, but refused to listen!"

Moving on to the next M’s, they don’t need any introduction. They are none other than the infamous Ministers and Members of Parliament. The biggest Minister, the Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, was handed a big test on his leadership. However, the test only came because of his lack of leadership and capability of bringing the nation forward. With lots of promises when he took over as PM, particularly the daring promise of wiping out corruption, he has failed to attain many of them.

"Nasi Kandar? I'm lovin' it!"

Besides the PM, the Minister of Health Datuk Dr. Chua Soi Lek deserves some mentioning. To promote healthier lifestyle and cut down the increasing obese population in the country, this man has blamed it on fast food only. The unhealthy but simply delicious local food such as nasi lemak, nasi goring, char koay teow, roti canai and so on was not mentioned as food to avoid. To add on the pain on fast food chains, they are not allowed to air their advertisements during cartoon hours. Now, there are only junk food advertisements during those hours; how healthy for the children!

"Putting the 'Toll' on you is my job!"

Not to be missed out, the Works Minister, Dato’ Seri Samy Vellu. He is in everybody’s lips more than the PM at times. With more toll increase, he is getting to the nerves of a lot of people. Each time something happens in relation to his department, he will be on the television giving some comedic excuses. This year with the Hindraf issue, not only did he not voice out for the marginalized Indians, he even when further to support the PM’s decision of using the ISA against those people. When some 31 Hindraf members were released after being arrested for allegations which are just meant to be scare tactics, Samy Vellu was equally fast to say how satisfied and pleased he is with the dropping of the charges. What is his sta

nd really? Is it his priority to keep the PM happy and jumping on any opportunity for some good news which he has no part in and make to look as if he has done his part for the public? Hmmm….

"Bocor otak 1: MP Jasin"

"Bocor otak 2: MP Kinabatangan"

Worst than the ministers, I welcome to you our Members of Parliament. Voted by the people, to serve the people, only for the people to find out they serve for the party and the party only. In the Parliament, name callings and sexist remarks are more often voiced out by the ruling party MPs to the Oppositions more than the issues faced by the people who elected them. Whatever the ruling party brings up, they must support as it is part of the party’s policy. When opposed aloud, they face sanctions and so on. Voted by people, to serve the people? Apparently not. More shamefully, most of these people don’t even have a standpoint on the country’s politics. All they care for is the pension. Ah…sometimes I do feel like living in a country led by the Simpsons; a very, very dysfunctional Government.

"Local newspapers' focus: Traffic Jam!"

In a year filled with several mass rallies for a better system to manage the country, mass media was made apparent to be governed by the ruling party. Being a democratic country, yet people have to apply for permit to rally. People just wanted to walk as a group to show their concerns and to be noticed, the Government sees these people as rebels and used maximum police force to wash them off the roads. The difference of the news regarding the rallies reported by local media and international media is so vast. It annoyed me so much that there’s not only no freedom of speech but also press freedom. Not only did the local media gave these events minimum coverage, they tried to speak for the silent majority.

Astonishing to me was how statistical studies about the citizens’ perception on the country were reported in newspapers right after those rallies. When ten of thousands of people walk to show their discontentment, surveys involving just a thousand to two thousand people supposedly are the silent majority and taken so seriously when the former are branded as the minorities and negligible lot. These surveys showed extremely strong support to the Government and strongly believed that Malaysia is a very democratic country, so much more than what Singaporeans thought of their Government. Our dear PM said this is the voice of the silent majority and this showed how well the country is run. He must have forgotten these are surveys on people’s perception. When Malaysians think positively about the Government and the democracy, it does not mean the Malaysian Government is better than Singaporean counterpart. It also does not show our country is more democratic than them. These are just perceptions. If there’s any conclusion, it has got to be that our Government is better at making people perceive that all is good and well when things may not be so!

"I can outlive cat's 9 lives!"

In another relation to Malaysia as well, we have the evergreen Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. This year, he had to operation on his heart, first a bypass and second for an infection. At the age of 82 (Happy belated Birthday Tun!), after undergoing two heart bypass, this ex-Prime Minister is still going strong. It is definitely worth mentioning and celebrating. No joke this fellow has outlived and is still outliving a lot of people!!! Good for you, Tun!

"You don't see me; magic!"

Last but not least, the final M I am to mention is none other than magician David Copperfield. Is he not worth mentioning? He is definitely the best magician ever and a magician who never fail his fans. Who else would claim he found the ‘Fountain of Youth’ in an island in Bermuda and expect people to believe him? It’s only when he says I would believe it. Also, who else has done a disappearing act better than him? He was scheduled for an Asia tour which included coming to Malaysia but he did his disappearing act even before he came! Only his stuffs made it to Thailand but not the man because he was detained for an allegation that he molested a woman in the United States. Forget about Chris Angel or David Blaine, there’s only one magician worth mentioning and that’s David Copperfield. Just for laughs!

"Altantuya"

Oh also not forgetting, still to be solved, twisted and turned, filled with more drama than a Hong Kong drama series and at times more illogical and funny than an episode of Mr. Bean’s comedy; the high-profile court case of the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu. I believe it is the biggest murder case in Malaysia in their history let alone this year. With the case going all angles and directions, I for one am lost and lost interest in the case already. Well, it surely is an eventful 2007 for fellow Malaysians. With all the drama and happenings, there might be even a more eventful 2008 installed for us.

Congrats and Happy 50th Independence dear beloved Malaysia!

Derby 1 Liverpool 2

Lucky, lucky Liverpool! After the 6-0 trashing Liverpool handed Derby at Anfield earlier in the season, this was supposed to be an easy game for the Reds. However, it was left till very late for Stevie G to give Liverpool a hard-fought win. With Arsenal only managed to draw with Portsmouth, M*n U*d currently lead the table 9 points ahead of Liverpool who are standing forth with a game in hand.

After winning with a huge margin against an opponent, it showed that one is a class above the other. However, it is very wrong to presume that the second tie will be easy. More often than not, it is rather hard to go up against an opponent which was trashed. For one, the opponents will one to avoid another trashing thus defending in numbers and giving all out. Secondly, the winning team may be overconfident and complacent. Yesterday, Liverpool were almost made to pay for it. Derby showed great fighting spirit and strong attitude particularly in the second half. Derby look doomed to be relegated but in Paul Jewell, they have a good manager who can bring back some respect to the team.

"Scoring for fun!"

In this match, Liverpool got the first and early goal again. It has been the recipe to Liverpool’s winning ways this season – first and early goal. In the 12th minute, none other than Fernando Torres danced his way through the Derby defence to score the opener. Torres’ preferred foot is the right. From his first league goal against Chelsea, he was put through on the left and despite being in a position better placed for the left foot to have a shot, he opted for his right but he did it wonderfully to score. However in this match and the last goal against Portsmouth, he has shown he has the ability and can use his left foot now. Time and again it was said Liverpool were missing a 20+ goal scorer to push Liverpool toward the title. This season, Liverpool may have found it in Torres who now has 15 with the season only half way through.

Liverpool dominated a lot in the first half and should have killed the game off. Just like a few occasions this season, a lot of players on the day left their shooting boots at home. Chances after chances were missed. When that happens, with a one goal lead only, it can be very dangerous. Liverpool were made to pay for it in the second half when Derby came out fighting and got their goal through a defensive error by Liverpool. Liverpool failed to clear a free kick from Lewis and the ball fell to McEveley who shot the ball past Reina from six-yard out.

After the equalizer, Liverpool huffed and puffed endlessly for the winner. With shots by Alonso, Torres, Aurelio, Kuyt and Gerrard from all over the field, none went in until the 89th minute. Derby was defending in numbers and counter-attacking nicely. In few occasions, they could have scored the winner as well especially with a diving header from Barnes. At the other end, Derby’s ‘keeper, Price, who took Bywater’s place did excellently all night to save Derby from any humiliation. He made tremendous saves in the second half.

"You can count on me!"

The game seemed to end with a draw but a shot from Torres which was parried by Price and then clumsily cleared by McEveley fell to the onrushing Gerrard who bundles the ball into the net for Liverpool’s winner. Make no mistake when I said ‘bundles’. To bundle a ball into the net with players in front of you needs more accuracy than a shot. It is not an easy goal for Gerrard to score but he did it. Time and again, Captain Fantastic came to the rescue. Besides Torres, Steven Gerrard could as well be Liverpool’s 20-goal player this season.

On the night, Liverpool should have won it in the first half only for their shooting for fail them. However, credits have to be given to Derby for fighting endlessly to gain something from the match. With their recent performance against Newcastle and then last night, they can take confidence from there and go on to fight for their survival. Nothing is impossible at this stage and that applies to Liverpool’s title hopes as well.

“You’ll Never Walk Alone”

Portsmouth 1 Liverpool 4

Liverpool back to winning ways! After losing two consecutive matches to M*n U*d and Chelsea, Liverpool made sure they are still in with a bang when they thumped Portsmouth with a 4-1 score line. The results kept Liverpool’s gap with the leaders, Arsenal, constant at 10 points with a game in hand.

With the second half of the season starting, Liverpool can’t afford to lose too many points now if they wish to keep any hopes alive of coming out top in the table in the end. Against Portsmouth in the first of many hectic fixtures around the Christmas period, Liverpool made their intentions loud and clear. Liverpool attacked from the beginning and looked comfortable on the night. Benayoun opened the scoring with a superb volley. Harry Kewell found Benayoun unmarked and crossed perfectly to him to blast the ball past David James.

"Yossiiii Benayooouun!!!"

Torres kept the Pompey’s defence very busy with his pace. Around 16 minutes into the game, Campbell tried to get the ball off Torres inside the penalty area only for the onrushing Distin to rebound the ball into his own net. With 2-0 up so early on, Liverpool got to control the game. The score stuck there comfortably for Liverpool until the second half.

"Terror Torres"

When Kanu was substituted in for Portsmouth, he immediately made an impact by assisting Benjani to pull back the deficit to a goal. However, any hope for Portsmouth was short-lived as Liverpool’s super-sub Babel came in and helped Torres to score his 13th goal of the season. Mascherano found a gap between the defence and tried to make a through ball for Babel. However, the outstretched leg of Hreidarsson caught the ball and it made a mess of James’ attempt to rush for the ball which he only managed to get a slight kick on it. Torres was at the right place at the right time and easily shot the ball into the net.

"Deadly combination"

As so often this season, even when winning Liverpool have shown they will go the extra mile of putting as many balls past the opposing ‘keeper. At the 85th minute, a great combination of the Liverpool spine saw Torres score his second on the night. Carragher passed a high ball into Pompey’s penalty area which was reached by Gerrard. Gerrard headed it back to Torres who then made a beautiful left-footed volley which saw James stranded on the spot.

After the weekend, Liverpool showed they are not too far off Arsenal, Chelsea and M*n U*d, if they are not on par with them. Having conceded only 11 goals which was bettered by M*n U*d and Chelsea and scored 31 goals which is only topped by Arsenal, Liverpool surely showed they are among them as well. The title is still to play for and it shouldn’t be mentioned about their chance of winning it after every game as it’s too far to foresee anything yet. If any “accurate” prediction is to come off it, it is nothing more than by chance. I don’t remember when Liverpool played defensively and attackingly together that well. So as stated in my previous postings, I am content about the season so far and I am anticipating more to come from them.

“You’ll Never Walk Alone”

Chelsea 2 Liverpool 0

Liverpool out of the League Cup! After beaten by M*n U*d in the league, Liverpool came up against another heavy weight, Chelsea, in the League Cup. Rafa made 9 changes to the team which was defeated by M*n U*d. In this game, Itandje started in goal, Hobbs got another chance alongside Carragher, Lucas played alongside Alonso in midfield and Voronin started up front with Crouch. The others who started include Arbeloa, Aurelio, Sissoko and Babel.

Before the game, I felt it will be interesting for Liverpool to go against Chelsea that is without Mourinho. In the past whenever these two meet, it’s always about Benitez against Mourinho and Gerrard against Lampard. In this match, it was nothing about them. Mourinho has been replaced by the unknown Avram Grant while Gerrard was absent due to a stomach sickness.

Liverpool and Chelsea were on 0-0 for almost an hour until Lampard scored for Chelsea. Lampard whose shot was deflected into the net by Jamie Carragher left Itandje with no chance of catching it. A minute later, a moment of madness got Crouch sent off. Due to earlier tackles by Obi Mikel on him which went unpunished, Crouch lunged on him from behind when Obi Mikel was trying to control the ball. Despite such a wild tackle, Crouch did not catch Obi Mikel’s leg as much as Obi Mikel acted out. However, there’s no excuse for such a tackle and Crouch was rightly sent off.

The incident happened right after Liverpool went 1-0 down and it must have totally washed everyone’s hope away (of course except for Chelsea). It made Liverpool job so much harder and nothing came out of it in the end. Before the final whistle went, Shevchenko added glitters to Chelsea’s win by scoring an absolutely wonderful goal. That goal wrapped up the game for Chelsea and sent Liverpool out of the League Cup.

After this game, Benitez’s team has yet to beat any of the other top four teams this season. Although, it must be noted that Liverpool got Arsenal at the wrong time and was robbed a victory against Chelsea in the league. I must note that despite not having a desired record against them, none was matches which showed Liverpool were inferior to them. All were tight matches which could have gone either way.

Getting the boot from League Cup ended any chance of Liverpool playing Everton in the final this season. However, Liverpool still have plenty to play for in the league and Champions League and also the FA Cup. Thus, the effort must continue because the season doesn’t end here. Liverpool may not in the best position they could wish for but it has never been as good as now. Come on, Reds!

“You’ll Never Walk Alone”

Liverpool 0 M*n U*d 1

Liverpool outplayed and outwitted. Simple as that. Enough said too! On a weekend termed ‘Grand Slam’ of the EPL, Benitez’s team was inferior to the Devils while as expected, Arsenal gunned down Chelsea. Now, Arsenal are ten points ahead of Liverpool.

"Gloomy days"

After this defeat, almost everyone (even some in Red) will write Liverpool’s chance of winning the title off. At this point and time, Liverpool is out of the title contention. ‘One down, three left’ is the message about the ‘top four’. For one, I am pretty happy to have Liverpool’s chance written off. Winning the number 19 has been easier said than done for more than a decade already. My gut feeling was wrong last season as I thought they would win it, I truly felt it. That’s until the season kicked off with a string of ugly away results. This season, I did not think for once the title is for the taking. Prove me wrong.

"Tension all over the field"

Against Arsenal, Chelsea and M*n U*d, the results are more like away games than home. When the away games come, Liverpool will have to take the points and balance it out. That’s the only way to reignite any hope. For me, the table will show if Liverpool have a chance or not when the Christmas schedule is over. It all depends on how the players are to pick themselves up and believe in their own chances.

"Tevez scores"

On the night, Kewell was the weakest player. In Ferguson’s words, he was a lamb when the game needed men. He was worried about his legs. Kuyt was a man but a lost man. He needs to prioritize his role as a striker. Seriously, I appreciate his effort hogging players down. However when he does that, and when he does that over 30 yards, other players who are better than hogging players down need to give way to him to continue. Also, that leaves Torres alone up front.

It was a night M*n U*d deserved the win. At the very least, they don’t deserve to lose. To me, it’s like seeing Liverpool playing few years back against a big team where they need to defend throughout the match, counter attack and hope for a set piece to score which they worked on very hard. This time around, it was just M*n U*d doing that instead of Liverpool. Credits to M*n U*d, they did it well.

"Battle lost but not the war"

Liverpool need to pick themselves up, stop looking at the EPL table and just concentrate on the next game. To all M*n U*d fans, laugh now while you can because come May, the last laugh might not be yours. Everytime after such a game, I am just happy that I am supporting the Mighty Reds instead of the Devils. I know even if Liverpool had won any of such matches, I won’t be one calling names and go around M*n U*d fans laughing them shit. That’s the difference between the majority of the Liverpool fans and the M*n U*d fans. Thankfully, I have some tremendous friends who supports M*n U*d but are no egoist. Come on, Reds! Keep on fighting! The end is not now!

“You’ll Never Walk Alone”

BN-led Government a JOKE!

I don’t want to say much! I don’t have to say much! I am disappointed with how my final paper ended an hour or so ago went. However, I was more disappointed and disgusted by our Government and more so with the media!

I thought I would be able to ban myself from newspapers for a week. However, I am utterly baffled when I read Marina Mahathir’s blog on her latest entry “How Dare They Insult Us?” True enough, I do feel being insulted from what I have been observing in the papers since the BERSIH march on November 10. As a part of the silent majority, I am insulted! Please minus me from the list of the silent majority who was wrongfully perceived to support the Prime Minister!!! I do not support the current BN-led Government under Prime Minister Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi!

Please read Marina Mahathir’s blog for SHE has spoken what the SILENT MAJORITY has to speak!

Disclaimer: Adam’s Creek does not attempt to promote prejudices and/or discriminations against any party and all posted materials are just comments and expressions.

Marseille 0 Liverpool 4

Through! Liverpool has made it through to the Champions League knockout stage; defying all odds and surprising everyone with tremendous attacking football. It all started with the 8-0 drubbing of Besiktas, then 4-1 win against Porto and finally Marseille. More impressively, it is the first win for any English side against Marseille in their famous Stade Velodrome and they did it convincingly so.

"Liverpool through!"

Forget about the score line against Reading but how Rafa planned for this game. He took Gerrard off once Liverpool felt 3-1 down to Reading and it has paid off. He hoped it will pay off in the last ten minutes by seeing Gerrard scoring the winning goal in the last ten minutes. Instead, the payoff came within the first ten minutes. When Kuyt released Gerrard nicely through with a lobbed ball, Gerrard was put clear on goal. However, Givet took the risk of sliding down for the ball and caught Gerrard instead. Penalty was awarded for Liverpool. Despite the penalty was saved, Gerrard pounced on it to make amend to put Liverpool 1-0.

Soon after, Liverpool were 2-0 up through a wonderful solo run by none other than Fernando Torres. El Nino dribbled passed a few defenders before putting the ball beyond the ‘keeper. Having the two-goal lead early on, it settled the nerves of the players and surely made it difficult for Marseille. Although Marseille did not give up, Liverpool proved too much for them to handle.

In the second half, the dutch duo, Kuyt and Babel, made it 4-0 for Liverpool. A bad clearance by Marseille’s goalkeeper was caught by Kewell who then crossed the ball into Kuyt’s path. Kuyt took the ball and calmly shot pass the ‘keeper. The win was surely secured then but Liverpool were not done yet. In the last minute of normal time, Aurelio found Babel and made a great pass. Babel shrugged off a defender, coolly tap the ball pass the onrushing ‘keeper before finishing off by putting the ball into the empty net.

"Kuyt scores!"

Having gone through the group stage, now Liverpool are awaiting more mouth watering matches as they may be paired up with either AC Milan, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Sevilla in the next round. Whichever it may be, it is clear at this stage, there won’t be any easy opponent. Whichever team meet Liverpool, it is sure to be a thrilling encounter. It will be a shame if local channels do not plan to show the knockout phase. Now on, it will be only 7 matches towards a major trophy. However, any of those games will not be easy and Liverpool have to clear the first two before thinking ahead.

"Chill, Boss, chill!"

Away from Champions League, what await this Sunday will be an electrifying match between Liverpool and M*n U*d. With a gap of 6 points between them, a win to Liverpool will be a huge boost towards pushing for the title. Playing at Anfield and with the co-owners down to watch the game and have a meeting with Benitez, the atmosphere is guaranteed intense and will blow off the roof. Last season, Liverpool was bitten right at the death after dominating for the whole match. A lot of opportunities were missed in front of goals. This time though, the difference might be Torres!

Liverpool have been more clinical in front of goal and on the current form of Torres and Gerrard, M*n U*d will be sorry if they are to belittle the might of the Mighty Reds. There will be a lot to prove to the co-owners this weekend and the players will be looking forward for another “cup final”. Besides that, a win to show the hunger of the whole Liverpool Football Club will be a motivating factor big enough for the players, the supporters and the manager. Come Sunday, I will be cheering for the Mighty Reds in my lovely home jersey! At last, I will be free enough to watch a full match and what a match to start with!

“You’ll Never Walk Alone”

Reading 3 Liverpool 1

Yes, that’s right! No typo whatsoever. Liverpool lost their first game in the EPL this season to Reading. To cut the long story short, Liverpool failed to take their chances and had some terrible luck. Hopefully, it is luck saved for the next two matches.

I said about Liverpool scoring goals early and also having the capability to score near the end. This time, they conceded early and failed to make a comeback. When Carragher fouled Gunnarsson outside the box early on, the referee pointed to the spot. A wrongfully given penalty was scored by Hunt to put Reading 1-0 up. Despite that, Gerrard equalized for Liverpool in the 28th minute when Torres squared the ball to him. That was Gerrard’s 50th club goal.

Liverpool dominated the game and had several chances. They even had 3 penalty claims denied by the referee; 2 which are very clear fouls. That says a lot about Liverpool’s luck on the night. The last few games have seen Liverpool gaining penalties, rightful ones, but this time around, the luck was with Reading. Liverpool even hit the crossbar and post by Gerrard and Crouch respectively.

When Reading extended their lead to 3-1, Rafa has seen enough and decided to take Gerrard off due to the importance of the next game against Marseille. Despite losing this game, not too many negative comments have come out about Rafa Benitez or his selection process. Even the substitution of Gerrard this time was well understood.

After this setback, hopefully it will ignite the flame which has been burning in the last few matches when Liverpool meet Marseille and M*n U*d. A win against Marseille will be a huge boost but a lost will be a disaster. By far, this week is Liverpool’s most crucial week and two wins might really fire Liverpool into a very fruitful season!

“You’ll Never Walk Alone”

Crucify them!!!

That’s to Tuan Syed Hood bin Syed Edros & Datuk Haji Mohamad bin Haji Aziz!!! Both MPs must be punished! Why are they not in ISA now? Why Pak Lah? Why?! Shouldn’t they be charged under the Sedition Act? How come no punishment?!!

For those who are in the dark about this, the two MPs from Sri Gading and Parit Sulong respectively, suggested that Crosses and other Christian statues should be taken down from missionary schools!!! That is a racist comment!!!

"So what's your problem with SXI having a BIG Cross in front?"

As a former student of a missionary school, St. Xavier’s Institution, I am proud of the school as it is! I am not a Christian yet I am always welcomed to the chapel whenever I feel like going! I don’t feel insulted at all looking at the Crosses around the school and all those Christian statues! In fact, I am bloody proud of my school! What is all this uneasiness? Both of the MPs must be racists! They have no respect to other religion! Even worse, they don’t even have any tolerance! I say, crucify them!!!

Where’s the transparency and fairness in the Parliament? I wonder what would happen if non-Bumi MPs were the ones who said anything about this. Or if any non-Bumi MPs said about the disgust of seeing Islam-related signs and ask for them to be taken off! What would happen if Oppositions were the ones who said about this?

MPs from BN would have jumped up and down asking for punishment and sanctions! Now that their own breed made some stupid and irresponsible suggestions; why no action taken? Punish them for being racist!!!

Is there any wonder why people think the Government is practising ethnic cleansing? People like these two idiots are responsible and now, they have reinforced the thinking that the Government is practising ethnic cleansing! In Freud’s words, these people’s id would be dying to wipe off any non-Islam from the country and their ego and superego has failed them terribly! Crucify them!!!

I owe RM 250,000!

So do you! According to The Star Newspaper, the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry has warned everyone that enforcement will be made to punish those who made illegal downloads such as songs and videos. Deputy Minister Datuk S. Veerasingam pointed out that Internet download offenders will soon be the ministry’s main priority.

So for anyone who is caught downloading stuffs from the Internet illegally, they will be fined between RM 250,000 to RM 500,000. For people from the Generation Y and the Internet age, I dare say 99% of them who I know, including myself, illegally download material from the Internet. So for you and me, I believe we owe the Government at minimum of RM 250,000 each.

When a music CD such as, James Blunt’s (no offence, just my taste), where probably less than half of it soothe my ears, will I in the right mind buy the original just for the “you’re beautifuuuuul”? Hell NO! When a CD contains 15 songs and I will only listen to 6, I will be paying RM49.90 for 6 songs!!! Why should I? Unless they start selling songs individually, for like RM3 which is the way it is done at Music Canteen, then maybe I will consider buying! Until then, illegal downloading will still rule.

I totally understand the thing about artiste losing out on their earnings when people do it. However, they are still rich and very rich! Unless they become poorer than the average people, am I not right to say the public is being overcharged? I live in a flat older than me and people like Chris Brown, who’s younger than me, probably has a mansion in Miami! For Malaysian singers, don’t blame illegal downloading for the unsuccessful sales. It is near impossible to download local songs from the Internet. Try searching for Hannah Tan’s! A chick THAT HOT might not even have a single track on Ares, BitTorrent, Kazaa, Limewire etc. If I am an artiste, I would be happy to have my songs on the Internet because that shows at least my songs have market!

Unless changes are made to the price, fine all you want because almost 50% of the population in the whole country will owe the Ministry RM 250,000 at the very least! Conclusion: The enforcement is just not feasible! If not, other countries would have done it before us!

Liverpool 4 Bolton 0

The win keeps coming! Barring the 8-0 win against Besiktas, Liverpool still boast 13 goals scored and only one conceded in the last four matches. Continue with the run, there should be no worries when Liverpool go up against the Marseille in the all-important final Champions League group match, Chelsea in the League Cup and M*n U*d in the league.

Despite Liverpool’s excellent form prior to the game, Bolton were in good stride as well as they snatched a 1-0 win against M*n U*d before drawing with Greek side Aris Salonika in the UEFA Cup. Despite both teams playing European games in the midweek, Liverpool clearly has the upper hand with a larger squad, better manager and superior players.

Scoring the first goal and making it early on has been the mantra of success to Benitez. He has always said the importance of it and has used it as a reason to why sometimes Liverpool find it hard to win matches when they don’t score on early. In the recent matches, the importance of it has been magnified as Liverpool have been winning games built from early goals.

"Old ginger is always better!"

Against Bolton, it was widely tipped that Torres or Gerrard will be the first to score as they have been scoring for fun. However, someone who has been trying hard to take his goal tally from negative two to at least zero again, Sami Hyypia, found the net first. Gerrard took a beautifully weighed free kick and the set piece worked wonderfully. With Kewell and Hyypia lining up for it, the ball was a little bit too much for Kewell but Hyypia made no mistake to use his height (length) to tug the ball towards the far post. Am I right that Hyypia has scored for Liverpool in every season since he came?

"Beauty!"

Despite Liverpool controlling the game, Bolton should have equalized if not for Anelka’s soft spot for Liverpool. Anyone even a granny should have scored when Reina and Carragher collided to leave the goal wide open. However, Anelka somehow shot a few yards wide when all he has to do is softly hit the ball towards goal mouth. A minute later, he was made to pay for his dearly mistake. Gerrard was free in the middle and he made an exquisite pass to Torres. Torres took the ball and outpaced a defender before chipping it over Jaaskelainen. It is truly a sight to behold as it is the kind of goal long gone since the departure of Mickey Owen. With that, Torres took his goal tally to 11 in 17 games for Liverpool and his sixth in the league.

"Fear us! That's the message!"

If luck is a factor in becoming a championship winning side, Liverpool have also got it now. Again, Liverpool earned a penalty. Crouch was fouled in the box and Gerrard was the man to take it again. Again, he made no mistake with a wonderfully placed shot away from Jaaskelainen. Scoring early is becoming a habit for Liverpool so is scoring late on. Holding a 3-0 lead, Liverpool continued to attack and it paid off when Gerrard released Kuyt whose shot was parried by the ‘keeper only for Babel to tap in.

"Another for the captain!"

Although still missing the likes of Alonso, Agger, Aurelio and Finnan, Liverpool have done wonderfully well. When the full team is available, it seems scary to think in terms of the depth Liverpool have. However, it doesn’t guarantee better results. With some crucial games coming soon, Liverpool is in great form to be in. With a string of big matches, it is important to win the first of all which is against Marseille. Failing to qualify will be worrying as Liverpool might slump in confidence which is sky high now.

"Gimme more!"

At current stage, it is really important to stay focus, disciplined and on the ground! To mound a serious challenge for the title, Liverpool need to keep winning. It will be a real test for Liverpool when the big games come and when the games keep coming. However, there’s no reason for Liverpool not be able to do so, especially with the way they are playing currently.

It has been one of the best run for Liverpool in recent years, not just about the results but also the way they are attacking. The shouts of “Attack! Attack! Attack! Attack!” from the fans really have pushed the team. It is real shame I have been missing so much action!!! Hopefully, I will be able to watch the game against M*n U*d!!!

“You’ll Never Walk Alone”