It is a great feeling to actually win! Yesterday we beat Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park. We all know we have been going through a really tough patch over the last couple of weeks but hopefully yesterdays win will spur the team on to more success as the season goes on.

They say you need a bit of luck in football to be successful and we certainly had lady luck smiling on us at Goodison Park as Mascherano took a long range shot which was deflected into the Everton goal. I am still not sure if Mascherano has been given the goal or it goes down as an own goal, but for the way Mascherano celebrated that goal, I think they should credit it to him.

The turning point of the game must have come when we were one nil up and Everton were putting on the pressure and then Pepe Reina came up with two amazing saves! For me, those saves won us the game. If Everton had leveled it up at 1-1 we may have been in trouble.

Many people do not give Reina the credit he deserves. Yes he has made some mistakes in the past but he has made more telling saves than mistakes during his time at Liverpool. He literally won us the game yesterday but most of the plaudits will go out to the goal scorers, Mascherano and Kuyt.

It is a pity that Reina is only the second choice keeper for Spain. I believe he should be their number as Reina is the best in the business. Not only is his shot stopping brilliant but he can start off an attack with his quick awareness in releasing the ball. I would pick Reina ahead of any other keeper in the game today.

After Reina’s amazing saves yesterday we then went on to seal the game with a goal from Dirk Kuyt. 2-0 and the game was in the bag. I crossed my fingers that the scoreline could remain that way as I was desperate for us to keep a clean sheet.

We have been leaking goals this season and we have conceded the most number of goals in the Premier League from set pieces. What is wrong with our defence?

A lot of people are bringing up the Zonal marking issue again saying that it does not work. But if you recall a ‘goal’ from a corner yesterday that Everton thought they had scored but their player was offside: that showed the benefit of Zonal marking as we do not have players on the posts during corners.

But even as this season has gone, we have not changed tactics in defence as we still play Zonal marking so what has changed from being the best defensive team to being one of the worst if the tactics are the same? The simple answer has to be the personnel we have now. What has changed then? Glen Johnson has come in for Arbeloa, Carra is still there, Agger and / or Skrtel are still there and Insua has now come in ahead of Aurelio and Dossena. So where is the weak link?

Glen Johnson is not the best right back when it comes to defending so could he be the cause? Maybe, he is new to this whole system and as a player he is not too strong defensively. But then again, not too many goals we have conceded have been through his mistakes. On the other hand take a look at Insua. I have been keeping a close eye on him this season and he has made quite a number of costly mistakes. Yes he is still young but he is a full Argentina international now so he has to be the part. My biggest concern with him is that he is just too short. When it comes to defending set pieces he is of not much use to use if the ball is put high in the box (but then again he almost scored with a header yesterday against Everton). His positioning at times has also been questionable. So is Insua the weak link in our defence? I think so.

But with all the problems our back four may have, we still have what I think is the best goalkeeper in the world in Pepe Reina. So if you get past our faulty back four, you still have Reina to deal with.

The last time Glen Johnson got a taste of exactly the kind of fanaticism that awaits travelling football players in Bangkok, he was wearing distinctly different colours. The blue of Chelsea, to be precise.

At Tuesday’s press conference in the ballroom of the Grand Erawan hotel, the Englishman was all smiles, all ready to answer questions, and as Rafa put it, all ready to play. And he looked just right in the red of Liverpool FC. “It’s been fantastic. Everybody’s been great to me, helped me settle in. It’s brilliant here in Bangkok, all those fans in the Liverpool shirts, it’s a great sight to see,” he said, and added a hope that he could come up with the kind of consistent display he had last season with Portsmouth.

Today was a busy day for the squad, with the division of duties all too evident to anyone who happened to be out on a cloudy day in the Thai capital. When I was returning home, a cavalcade of policemen on bikes furiously signalled for our car to stop so a string of minivans could pass by, and yes, they contained Liverpool FC”s finest, eager for a bit of sightseeing. A few went to the Grand Palace, while others were packed off to do their various promotional commitments and football clinics. They probably did squeeze in a few hours rest before the nearly two-hour long training session that was to take place at the Rajamangala Stadum in the evening, passes to which were very kindly handed out to me by Steve McMahon, who is very nice to talk to, even if you are tongue-tied and star-struck.

At the beginning of the evening’s practice, the players confined themselves to two small circles in the centre of the field, but the stadium had been taken over by roaring, screaming, flag-waving supporters who were well-versed in all the Liverpool anthems. ‘We all dream of a team of Carraghers’ was repeated again and again as the man himself knocked a few balls around, along with emphatic cries of ‘Xabi don’t go’, ‘Mascherano don’t leave for Barca’, and requests to Fernando Torres to convey the same message to his countrymate: ‘Tell Xabi no go to Real, tell Xabi to stay, Fernando!’

Torres, meanwhile, contented himself with running laps around the athletics track at the stadium, checking his watch every now and then, and was soon joined by Yossi Benayoun, Alvaro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso. They deigned to raise their hands to the crowd now and then, every time bringing up a fresh wave of cheers. In the kickabout that followed, the following were moments worthy of some noise: Johnson’s excellent backheel flick of a pass in the middle, Pepe’s quick recovery for a save that was nearly a lost cause, Carra getting stuck into the opposition, and so what if it happened to be his own clubmate, he was on a different team for the moment.

Torres and Alonso went off early back to the locker room to thunderous applause, and it’s pretty certain that the Spanish contingent will play a role only in the end credits of Wednesday’s match. Johnson is likely to be in the first XI, and after less than impressive results in their last two friendlies, Liverpool will look to get in a win on their pre-season tour of Asia. But regardless of the result, their visit here will be referred to time and again amongst the hordes of fanatics who have been thronging the hotel and stadium the last two days for a glimpse of a world they only see on television between August and May each season. They lined the path inside and outside the stadium gates once it was time for the players to leave the stadium after their practice on Tuesday night, and waited excitedly in the hope of getting another chance to get close to their heroes. There was no sign of that happening anytime soon, but they were happy to bide time discussing all things Liverpool, and it’ll stay in their minds as a happy memory forever.

I know I’ll never forget it.

Now this deal can not happen! I would be gutted if Reina decides to leave Liverpool and join Barcelona. For some strange reason, it seems like all our Spanish players, besides Torres, are being linked with moves away from Liverpool this summer so that they go back to Spain. I believe that Pepe is one of the best goalkeepers in the world and it would be a disaster if we loose him to Barcelona. Even if we get the 17 million pounds they are suggesting, who could we possibly go and buy to replace him?

Pepe forms the ’spine’ of our team and on many occasions he has been the one to start off our attacks with his lightning quick distribution. Yes he has made some blunders whilst in goal for us but which keeper does not do that? This past season, the major blunder he did was against Chelsea in the second leg of the Champions League when he was beaten on his near post to allow Chelsea back into the game.

It is understandable why this transfer speculation is taking place: Pepe once played for Barcelona so a return to his old club is possible. He is Spanish after all so moving back home is always a possibility considering that is father lives in Barcelona.

I am sure Rafa will turn down any bids from Barcelona for Pepe and I hope Pepe himself will turn down Barcelona!

You may call me biased but I think we have the best goalkeeper in the world with Pepe Reina. Some may say that it is Buffon or Casillas but for my Pepe takes the cup. What is interesting to note is that even with all of Pepe’s brilliant performances in the Red shirt over the last couple of seasons, he is still Spain’s second choice goalkeeper behind Casillas. Now I am not taking anything away from Casillas, especially after his heroics against us on Tuesday night but surely the Spanish selectors should give Pepe a chance to be Spain’s number one. It is more difficult for Pepe now that Casillas is Spain’s captain. But I also believe that Pepe is a better leader than Casillas. Reina is always talking to the players on the field and is full of energy whereas Casillas is rather reserved and does not say much.

If Pepe were to stay at Anfield for the rest of his career he would be the Liverpool captain one day without a doubt. Another reason I think Pepe may not be getting the vote for the Spanish national team is because he is playing for Liverpool. If Pepe was the goalkeeper for Barcelona, I believe he may stand a better chance of displacing Casillas.

In my eyes, we have the best goalkeeper in the world!