Anfield Red

When Liverpool signed David N’Gog from PSG in 2008, most people were probably thinking he was going to be ‘another for the future’ that would never really make the step up from the reserves; but it seems this time Rafa has a real gem on his books for the bargain price of £1.5 million.

We’ve seen Rafa bring in a few young strikers in the past; like Ramon Calliste who was touted as a decent striker but was eventually released; Vitor Flora who  no one has seen much of apart from the odd reserve appearance, Dani Pacheco who shone in pre-season but has since been back in the ressies, and Krisztian Nemeth who has been sent out on loan to Greece.

David N’gog has been around the first team for a year, and most people would hardly say he was adequate back up for Torres; but if you watch some of his finishes these comments are clearly unfounded.

Liverpool are a team for the special occasion. That, as Rafa Benitez may say, is a fact. Few sides discover their zest as readily as the Reds when the pressure is piled on. Today’s victory over Manchester United is yet more evidence of this.

Benitez, if certain Sunday tabloids were to be believed (and they are not), was under serious pressure before kick off at Anfield today. Chief executive Christian Purslow may have issued a heartening defence of the under-fire boss this weekend, but recent results – Liverpool’s worst sequence for 22 years – and performances have cranked up the pressure on the Spaniard, and United’s visit had the “do or die” feel usually reserved for European ties.

How Benitez’s side responded. The crowd may have groaned predictably at the first careless errors by Emiliano Insua and Lucas Leiva, but their passion certainly worked its way onto the pitch, and Liverpool were soon well on top. It was where they would stay for the bulk of the game.

Insua aside, the Argentine was given a torrid time by a half-firing Luis Valencia – imagine the scenes had Cristiano Ronaldo still been at United – every player won their individual battle. Be it Jamie Carragher & Daniel Agger, who got tight enough to nullify the sizeable threat of Wayne Rooney & Dimitar Berbatov, Glen Johnson who kept Ryan Giggs relatively quiet, or Javier Mascherano & Lucas, who bossed a midfield containing excellent footballers in Michael Carrick & Paul Scholes. Wherever you looked, it was the Red man who was on top.

I got what I wanted on Sunday: a team display, that made us all proud; Fergie’s rants, his face redder than our shirts his team outclassed; even Lucas performed admirably in the victory. The mancs now have a bogey team, and that team’s name is Liverpool.

Every player played his part and if I were to moan a little, it would be with Kuyt’s finishing. He is no striker no matter how hard he works. Torres was only 70% fit, yet he looked to be playing all out in his first proper match since coming back from the physio table.

We are still short up front in the striking dept, no matter how you look at it. Yes, N’Gog took his goal well, but he still has a lot to learn. And if we don’t have Torres in the fold, then who do we turn to? Kuyt just isn’t the answer. But we played with so much passion — the team and fans togther as one, as it should be.

Let’s hope we move on from here back to the top where we belong. And the boys from the East Lancs went crying all the way home…

Brilliant stuff, huh? That was beyond brilliant. It was sublime. I’ll be back tomorrow to recap the match, but for now, let’s just enjoy our third straight victory against the mancs. The players and Rafa should be proud of their performance. I know I am.

YNWA

Rafa Benitez has named his team to face Man Utd at Anfield today, with Stevie Gerrard not even making the bench!

The team in full is : Reina, Johnson, Insua, Carragher, Agger, Mascherano, Lucas, Aurelio, Benayoun, Kuyt, Torres. Subs: Cavalieri, Voronin, Babel, Ngog, Spearing, Degen, Skrtel.

Today is a day I hope we are altogether; a day when we are united to beat united. The team needs us as much as we need them, whoever plays needs our support we all know Hicks and Gillett are a virus to the club.; and they not RAFA should take most of the blame, Rafa needs our support too so as we all do most of the time lets stand together and beat the mancs. Then we go on to reach our goal which for so long has been out of our reach, today could be a day when we start to get back to were we belong, I will be there shouting my head off and hoping to see the tears in the mancs eyes, and most of all fergies….

It’s time to put up or shut up. That’s it, there’s really isn’t much more to be said than that. Rafa needs the match to keep the detractors off his back for another week — as well keep as his team in the title race. United need the match to wash the taste of last year’s beating at Old Trafford out of their mouth and move 10 points ahead of Liverpool in the race for the league.

Will Gerrard, Torres and Johnson be healthy? What about Rooney? Those are just a few of the storylines we’ll be following in the buildup to Sunday afternoon.

Follow along as we Live Blog Liverpool v Manchester United. Kickoff is at 13.00 GMT, but I’ll be here 10-15 minutes prior to give you a primer with any news and notes I can find to get you ready for the always hotly contested battle between two of England’s premier football clubs.

Live Blog follows, after the jump.

In times like these when there seems to be a black cloud hanging over our beloved club, I like to take a moment and watch highlights of this match. Sure, it’s probably not right to keep looking into the past every time something in the present is going wrong, but for a moment, just one moment, I’m able to relive these glorious moments at Old Trafford last year when we took it to the mancs on their own pitch.

Sunday’s match, like the one back in March, is one where a season could be revived or lost in a mere 90 minutes. Last year, we needed those three points to stay within striking distance of United. On Sunday, we’ll need those three points again for the very same reason: to stay within striking distance.

With the big match only days away, Liverpool supporters everywhere seem to be wondering the same exact thing: what’s the status of Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, and Glen Johnson for Sunday’s match against United?

Whilst Benitez doesn’t know for sure — or at least he’s not giving anything away — he did give all three players a ray of hope for the match. Torres, who returned to practice recently, has been going through a specific programme with the chance of playing on Sunday. Gerrard and Johnson have yet to see the pitch, but both are still being worked on at the moment.

It’ll be a race against time for all three players, so let’s all say a little prayer tonight that they’ll be rested and ready for what is surely the biggest match so far in this season.

Benítez said: “We will speak with the physios over the weekend before making a decision about Steven.

We all know the likes of Gerrard and Torres are absolutely vital to the squad every time Rafa sends a squad onto the pitch. Like many of you, I’ve been waiting for Rafa to add a third piece to the puzzle in an effort to take some of the pressure off both of the players.

It’s impossible to compare Alberto Aquilani to either at this time, but I’m hoping he brings something to the table. The Italian midfielder has been given clearance to play in his first match tonight, when the reserve squad takes on Sunderland.

Let’s all hope things go according to plan. Goodness knows we needs player of his calibre on the pitch right now given how stagnant the offense has been of late.