Anfield Red

Barring a significant setback to this season (read: not making the Champions League next season), it looks like it could be all systems go for a new deal for midfielder Javier Mascherano.

ESPN is reporting that the club is ready to offer the Argentine a new contract to keep Barcelona at bay. We’ll see what happens, but we all know a deal like this would require funds, and funds these days tend to come from finishing high in the table and winning silverware – two things Liverpool have been struggling with this year.

Get out your rosary beads and start making your usual sacrifices to the football gods, because if you’re as mad about Liverpool football as I am, you know how maddening this week can be.

International friendlies. If there’s a football match many of us absolutely cannot stand to watch, it’s this one. Having to sit through a 90 minute match that has no bearing on the international stage is one thing; but having to sit through that very same match whilst also praying your star player makes it through unscathed is something is another thing.

Of course, Fernando Torres is the player we’re reference here, after Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque made a shock decision to call the Spanish striker up for Wednesday’s friendly against France.

The age old theory that 1000 monkeys on 1000 typewriters could recreate the works of William Shakespeare has today been put to bed, as the mob jumped on the bandwagon to try and force Rafa out by printing page after page of drivel ruled this theory out.

I used to believe predicting Liverpool’s home matches was an easy task. You’d give them a great shout to defeat the mid-table and bottom-feeders of the league most nights, and then give them a shout to nick a win or most likely a draw against the top four. Simple as.

We all know things have been changing quite rapidly this season, with Liverpool having only won three out of their last 15 matches this season. Draws against Blackburn, Birmingham and Manchester City have become the norm, whilst second half collapses have also become part of what can only be described as a laughable season to this point.

Wigan step on the pitch for a critical clash (they’re all critical from here on out) against Liverpool at Anfield. Whilst it’d be easy to mark this one down as a three-pointer, I’ve learned to expect the unexpected with this team.

It won’t be easy, but I still expect Liverpool to get some the win tomorrow. I’ll predict a final score of 3-1, with Torres and Gerrard getting on the score sheet in the process.

Leave you score prediction in the comments.

Three wins in 15 matches. If you were to take a good long look at that sentence and make a guess at the club those stats were associated with, I can almost guarantee you there wouldn’t be a soul out there that would pick Liverpool.

Why, you ask? Well for one, Liverpool have built themselves up as a team that could bend but never break under Rafa Benitez. Whilst we’ve never tasted a league title during Rafa’s tenure, I’ve always been proud of the fact that the club has been resilient in even the toughest of times.

Narrowly losing out to Chelsea last season in the Champions League semi-final without the services of Steven Gerrard was just one of the many matches I can recall that made me proud to be a Red in defeat. I’ve never once held my head down and complained about the club. But after another defeat at home, my mood is starting to sour in a hurry.

Rafael Benitez has named his starting line up to face Everton at Goodison Park today, using the same team that faced Debrecen in midweek.

Another week, another glimmer of hope rained on. Liverpool fans are, on the whole, an optimistic bunch, but a second successive 2-2 home draw – this time against potential Champions League rivals Manchester City – left many heading out of Anfield boasting only of apathy and indifference. The optimism was gathering pace ahead of a lunchtime kick off in the November wind and rain. The sight of a substitutes’ bench containing Fabio Aurelio, Yossi Benayoun, Albert Riera and Alberto Aquilani warmed the hearts of many within Anfield, even if the weather threatened to freeze them to their seats.

Liverpool have announced their squad to face Debrecen in their make or break tie in the Champion’s League this week; with Rafa only naming two strikers in his squad – Kuyt & N’Gog. There is no place for Voronin even to warm the bench after his failure to impress in Lyon.

Liverpool face Man City at Anfield today after the break for Internationals, needing nothing less than a win. Rafa is still without Torres but after some treatment in Serbia; Riera, Benayoun, Aurelio and Johnson are fit to play – but who do you think should be in the starting line up when the match kicks off at 12:45?

International breaks can be extremely beneficial when it comes to teams that have massive injury worries. Just ask Liverpool, who currently have their two best players (Gerrard and Torres), plus a host of key first team selections all on the mend. The rest and recuperation is critical — especially when you have quite possibly the most important stretch of the entire season upcoming.

Rafa Benitez knows how important this break is for his club. Currently sitting in seventh in the league and third in Europe, the Spaniard believes his team has the quality to wipe the slate clean and start anew on Saturday against Manchester City. The dearth of quality in the team has forced Rafa’s hand numerous times this year to select a team he, quite honestly, would probably never consider with a normal side. But those are the breaks this year.

If anything, the shameful losses and comical draws have just magnified Liverpool’s lack of depth. Benitez understands the problem better than anyone. But we’re not just talking about any depth here. No, we’re talking about quality depth in the form of players like Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.