Once again Man Utd have shown us what you are meant to do when you travel to apparantly inferior sides in the EPL if you want to be crowned as champions at the end of the season. To be the honest the difference between the two sides at the minute is that no one expected anything less from ManU last night whilst there is always a doubt in what Liverpool team will turn up from one match to the next. Will it be the Liverpool that thrashed Newcastle away or will be the other side of the coin and the Liverpool that couldn’t score on a night out With Hugh in the Playboy Mansion.

Basically anything less that 3 points tonight against Wigan is poor. It’s time to stand up and be counted or else just forget about it for another season. Several posts back I stated that by the end of January we would know where our season was going to end up. So far it hasn’t be good. 2 out of 6 points in the EPL and a replay with Everton in the FA Cup at Goodison. It could still swing in our favour however with a win tonight but that leaves the difficult task of beating Chelsea on Sunday. (Main Stand Section M if anybody wants to say Hi by the way - lol).

Once again on paper Liverpool are odds on to win tonights game but we all know by now how that bit of paper is often so wrong. We all remember how difficult our home game against Wigan was when we were 1-2 down after a Zaki brace until 2 goals in the last ten secured the win. Wigan are looking for a 6th win on the trot at home but in order to secure that they need to make history by beating one of the so called ‘big four’ for the first time. Liverpool however travel to the JJB Stadium keen to maintain their unbeaten Premier League record against the Latics and the 100% return to date at the JJB Stadium of three wins out of three, and not one goal conceded.

Liverpool have no injury worries ahead of tonights game. On the other hand Wigan have lost several players such as Heskey in the transfer market. On top of that new signing Ben Watson is injured and current players Kirkland and Valencia are doubts. Robbie Keane will return to the Liverpool squad after being dropped for Sunday’s FA Cup clash with Everton. If he does make it however Liverpool will have to stick some goals past ex-Red Chris Kirkland. The 27 year old keeper made 45 appearances (25 in the league) for Liverpool between August 2001 before his move to Wigan in July 2006. If selected for Liverpool Javier Mascherano will be making his 50th career Premier League appearance (West Ham and Liverpool) whilst ever present Jamie Carragher will be playing on his 31st birthday. Lets hope he has one to remember.

Player Quote of The Week

I’ve had 14 bookings this season - 8 of which were my fault but 7 of which were disputable…

A classic from the lips of ex-Geordie Paul Gascoigne showing off his mathmatical skills that must also come in handy when trying to remember of the pints spilled last night how many was actually his fault….

Tonka out -YNWA..

After Robbie Keane’s no show at Sunday nights F.A. Cup tie against Everton, many of us had thought that this signaled the end of Keane’s time at Anfield. But for now it looks like he will still be around as Rafa has said Keane is in the squad for the match against Wigan on Wednesday. It is said that Keane was upset with being left out of the squad to face Everton on Sunday as Rafa had opted to go with Ngog on the bench. I am not a fan of Ngog and would rather see Keane picked ahead of him any day but Keane has not done enough for me during his time at Liverpool to warrant him a regular place in the match day squad.
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Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks in talks with Kuwait billionaire, Nasser Al-Kharafi over a possible takeover.

It is understood meetings have taken place in London between aides of the tycoon, who has an estimated £9bn fortune, and Hicks’ representatives. Hicks and his co-owner George Gillet are valuing the club at around £550m. The American duo’s reign has been dogged by controversy since their £218m takeover in February 2007 and it appears they are now willing to sell.

Reports suggest talks with Al-Kharafi initially took place as part of attempts to finance Liverpool’s proposed new stadium in Stanley Park, but turned to a buy-out. Liverpool’s commercial director Ian Ayre and finance director Philip Nash have been in the Middle East to continue the discussions. BBC Sport understands that even though the relationship between Hicks and Gillett has been troubled, they may be united in their desire to sell at the right price.

It has also been suggested that the Al-Kharafi family would take a 50% stake in the club with Hicks and Gillett then retaining 25% each - but Anfield sources suggest this is unlikely.

The Al-Kharafi family have made their fortune from a variety of enterprises, including construction, banking, engineering, telecommunications and fast food. They were originally approached by Liverpool last year. The talks broke down but have now been revived, with Hicks - a supporter of Benitez amid the recent boardroom turmoil at Anfield - seemingly the driving force.

Ding, ding round two and Liverpool FC comes out swinging in an attempt to knock Everton out of the FA Cup. Sounds good but is it actually going to happen if the rumblings about Rafa fielding a weakened side due to his pursuit of the EPL title are true. I cannot believe he will risk the wrath of the Kop in letting Everton put us out of the FA Cup on our own patch. Does he not understand by now what this would mean in Liverpool City, workplaces, streets and in some cases households - it’s totally unthinkable.

Sunday sees the next installment of the most frequently played fixture in FA Cup history. This will be the 21st time that we have faced The Toffees. The last time we played eachother was in 1991 and that took three matches until Everton finally came out 1-0 winners at home after an amazing 4-4 draw at Anfield in the first replay. Liverpool have not lost in any competition at Anfield since Barnsley knocked them out of the FA Cup in last season’s fifth round on 16 February whilst Everton are seeking a place in the last 16 for the first time in four years.

Of course we all know that this is the second meeting of the sides in a week after Liverpool threw away 2 points on Monday night when Cahill equalised with 3 minutes remaining. We are all waiting hopefully to see Liverpool learn from Monday night that when we score against teams we cannot afford to drop the performance level and let teams back into the match. We all hope that if played the Skrtel, Hyppia combo performs better than the dodgy 90mins we witnessed on Monday.

We will all wait however the see the 11 players than run out in front of a packed Anfield on Sunday and hope that Rafa supports and respects the FA Cup and does not follow Spurs down the road of fielding a weakened side due to the pressures and importance of the EPL.  Are we going to start seeing the FA Cups historic importance lowered and trod on in the same manner as the reserve team Carling Cup Competition? I hope not…

Tonka out - YNWA…

There is suggestion that Rafa will rest key players for this weekends F.A. Cup tie against Everton at Anfield. I am not too sure if this is a good idea. Yes, our priority is the league and then the Champions League but surely we can not take the F.A. Cup lightly especially since it is against Everton of all teams. We have to win not matter what against Everton. We can not afford to give them the bragging rights for the city until next season. Right now they are glowing after the draw on Monday night so we can not give them any further joy.

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Yesterday I said we needed to win this game, but guess what… we did not!! I was left fuming last night in my lounge after seeing Everton grabbing a late equaliser. Somehow I do not see this season ending the way we would like it to. We have just dropped too many points because of draws and this could just cost us come the end of the season. We are level on points now with United but have played a game more than them. Do not get me wrong, all hope is not lost and if you asked me at the beginning of the season that would I take us being level on points at the top, I would have said YES! We just need to start playing much better than we are. Rafa has been saying that we have not reached our best yet but time is running out Rafa. You can not be saying that for the rest of the season, we have to start peaking soon and I think Rafa got in wrong last night from the start.
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Tonight we HAVE to win. There are no negotiations about that. We somehow need to get three points and I do not care if it is a scrappy 1-0 win. We are now getting to the stage where results mean more than performances. I was hurt over the weekend when both Man Utd and Chelsea got last minute wins. Draws for both teams would have been excellent for us. But that is how football goes, they won so we HAVE to win. A draw or a loss tonight is unthinkable.
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Brian Clough once famously said “it only takes a second to score a goal“. Never a truer word has been spoken that sums up the final minute of the ManU and Chelsea matches on Saturday. With practically only injury time left the red majority of Liverpool were celebrating or like me waiting for the final whistle to pronounce the awesome news that ManU had drawn and Chelsea were beat. A sickly feeling came over me several minutes later and it was nothing to do with the several pints of Carling I had comsumed that afternoon. My sudden illness was brought about by the site of Manu leap-frogging us into top spot of the EPL.

We now need to give an instant reply to Fergie and his men and this means going out tonight and playing Everton off the pitch, right out of Anfield and back to Goodison with nothing to show from the match apart from a few bruises. No more time for settling for 1 point draws. No more time Rafa for Kuyt up front on his own with near £50mill of striking talent sitting get splinters in their asses on the bench. No more time for trying to beat Fergie with stupid press statements. It’s time to do the talking on the pitch and show the Manc scum that this aint over by a long shot. The next 4 matches are crucial in LFC’s season. By the 2nd of Feb we will know exactly were we stand in both the EPL and the FA Cup or else we will know that it could be another year of wishful thinking.

Good news is Alonso and Torres have pronounced thenselves fit.  Bye, bye Lucas please - (lightweight). Better still Everton will be without the ever improving member of the Hair Bear Bunch Fellaini. Everton will also start without any out and out striker as their great manager thought it would be a good idea to sell A.Johnston.

The 209th Derby see Liverpool on a 10 match unbeaten streak against Everton. However Everton come to Anfield searching for a fourth consecutive away win which would set a EPL club record. It makes you ask the question why they ever played with strikers at all as they have not managed to achieve this in 23years. Everton however have only one two of the last 18 Derbies and have not took 3 points away from Anfield since 1999. We are hoping to do the double over their local rivals for the second successive season and the fourth time in the Premier League. Prepare for some fireworks as Merseyside Premier League derbies have become notorious for red cards; 17 have been issued in total (11 to Everton players, six to Liverpool).

Player Quote Of The Week.

I couldn’t settle in Italy - it was like living in a foreign country.

Thanks goes to our legend Ian Rush for this one who must have forgot about the international flight that got him to Turin and also never noticed that everybody was talking a different language…

I know this has nothing to do with Liverpool but it has been making the footballing headlines the whole week and if Kaka does move to Manchester City for £100m then in a way it is going to affect Liverpool. In the sense that, the whole transfer market of football players could potential ‘blow up’ with teams starting to demand crazy fees to sell their players. And it is reported that Kaka could earn in the region of £250 000 a week if he joins Manchester City. What would this mean for other players? Surely they would also start demanding crazy salaries.

I am not too concerned about the success Kaka may bring to Manchester City. I do not see Manchester City breaking into the top 4 within the next two seasons as Kaka is demanding. I can see where Kaka is coming from with his demands that Manchester City have to be playing in the Champions League in the next two seasons or else he will leave. Kaka deserves to be playing in the Champions League but going to City, he will not achieve this. No matter how many world class players City bring in, I feel Mark Hughes is not the right man to mold them into a world class team. Kaka is also demanding that Robhino not be sold, so I take it that Robhino is playing a critical part in Kaka potentially coming to City. Kaka is also demanding that the current owners of City remain in place during his time there. These demands are another thing worrying me; now we are going to see players think they are bigger than the team.
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I was quick to come out and support Rafa for the stance he took last week Friday against Sir Alex Ferguson. I thought that was a once off and the last we would hear from Rafa but he has continued further now and I think he is loosing it now! The Spaniard questioned whether Manchester United chief executive David Gill should be allowed to hold his position as a board member at the Football Association. Benitez said: “They were saying we are a threat. Now they know we are, they are playing mind games. But when you have control of everything and your chief executive is powerful in the FA and things like this, then that is not mind games.
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