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Wednesday, November 07, 2007 , 2:41 AM

Pre-match thoughts...

It's a step closer to Europe or the locker room for our Liverpool lads. Keeping my fingers crossed. Rafa says he might play Torres if his fitness's given the green. I have mixed feelings about this. Hmm we'll see. This is Rafa's reply when the reporter asked if he's gonna make any changes tonight "We'll see. I might make some changes that may surprise them (the players)" with a beaming smile on his bearded face. Lol. Does he even know what kinda predicament he's landed himself in? Even though he's been given lotsa slack about his very...how should I put it...unconventional management principles (even from home fans), I like him. Theoretically, his rotation principle is sound, the problem is results will only surface in the long run. And the thing is (sad to say) football's not so much like in the past, there's a lot more commericalism in it now (y'know with all the sports betting, jersey sales, merchandise and stuff etc), and I certainly doubt the owners Gillette and Hicks are gonna give Rafa 10 years just to prove his point.

*Just saw Ronaldo on tele* He's growing his hair!! Haha I'm not keen on the Serie A but for Ronaldo, I might consider having some Italian action. ;) I like him, I like his pace, I like his finishing, I like how he's always on his toes, even when the ball's not in his area of play, I like his cheeky smile even when his shots don't find their way into the net, I like the gap between his 2 front teeth (have you noticed many top-notch Brazilian players have that same characteristic??), I like the passion in his eyes. While I can only see frustration more often in my Liver lads, fight on you guys! YNWA~ And for one LAST time, Ronaldo's NOT FAT period.

I really hope Rafa's right today. If he's gonna set things right, it's gonna be right now. I'm really sick of us underperforming, I'm really sick of us looking like the pushover kid round the block with a problem in self-esteem, I've had enough watching sports analysts/reports/commentaries talking about our recent (under)performance. And the reason for my frustration? They are right about us and it hurts. We kicked off the season on a high note, then things fell apart along the way, will it be too late to salvage the situation? I sure hope not. Even Man City's sitting on no. 3 in the table now, Thaksin (the current owner of Man City) describes Man City as a "sleeping giant" and "he's good at waking up sleeping giants". I think that's a really cool description, very apt too. Can he drive by Anfield some time and wake Rafa up too? I love Rafa, he looks wise and amiable, I really believe he's got loads of tactical knowledge up there but he's getting a liiiiitle (very) carried away right now. Player rotation's a risky concept (Rafa's really got guts to execute something so uncoventional), especially for an English side where the football's more physical, players need to constantly drill themselves to keep up with the pace and rhythm, so when he starts rotating them, it kinda interrupts their momentum, no?

Football's changed a lot over the the decade, the commentating style's changed, players' fitness levels changed/improved, soccer's seeing A LOT more fluidity (more globalised), more money's involved, heck even the sponsorship boards lining the pitch have changed from the old fashioned wooden ones to today's conveyor belt and even LED display ones. Some things never change, and it's these things that really matter.

Back to my life. Exams are coming soon and I shall not start counting down to it, since it isn't something you'd count down to with anticipation. So yeah. Been in the bl**dy examination system for close to 14 years now (excl. kindergarten and nursery years), and we all still dread it. I guess there are some things in life we NEVER get used to huh? Lol.

update: Kuyt's on the bench, Voronin's played. Re-match analyst Shebby Singh commented that Voronin shouldn't be called a striker since he usually plays outside the penalty box (assists) and don't bag goals consistently. Judging from his recent matches, I gotta agree he doesn't bag as many goals, but I can't really blame him, with Rafa's rotation policy, it's a lil' difficult to get the hang/feel of play y'know?

UPDATE: Liverpool 8-0 Besiktas

Crouch 19", 89"

Benayoun 32", 53", 56"

Gerrard 69"

Babel 78", 81"

:)))))))))) I'M DELIRIOUS NOW! I'M GONNA SMILE MYSELF TO

SLEEP TONIGHT BABY! THE CHAMPIONS~~~ YNWA~ WE

CAME BACK A LA 2005 ISTANBUL STYLE!!!