Monday 8/24 v. Aston Villa
Liverpool host Aston Villa at 14:55 ET on Monday. The Villans come to Anfield looking for their first win of the season, having lost to Wigan in their only EPL match and Rapid Vienna in the UEFA Cu-I mean, Europa League.
Agger (back surgery) and Skrtel (beaten mercilessly for 75 minutes at White Hart Lane) are not expected to play, and Curtis Davies is doubtful for AV. I’m hoping we’ll see The Greek make his Liverpool debut Monday. His medical exam is today and I don’t believe any problems are expected to arise.
We’ll be watching the match as it happens at McCarthy’s on ESPN2. Also, I’ve spoken to the bar manager and he has agreed to add Fox Soccer Channel to their lineup. This will make McCarthy’s the only spot in town to have a complete channel lineup AND ideal viewing conditions (big tv, game audio, seats facing tv). Not to mention, it’s usually deserted during the times the EPL is playing. Understandably, I’m plenty excited about finally having a pub we can call our own. Hope to see everyone Monday. YNWA.
The 2009-10 Season is Nigh
It has been a long summer: Xabi, Arbeloa and Pennant gone, as are Sebastian Leto and Adam Hammill. Glen Johnson and Alberto Aquilani are solid pickups, though the latter won’t be seeing any action for several weeks following ankle surgery. Who else will end up at Anfield before the first kick on Sunday? The rumor mill would have you believe that Rafa is trying to buy half the EPL, so we’ll be waiting for official confirmations before speculating on any new players.
This summer’s preseason schedule wasn’t impressive (2-2-2), but it did provide us with a good look at some of the lesser-known Liverpool talent. Kristian Nemeth, in particular, piqued my interest. The 20 year-old started versus Thailand and came in as a sub versus Singapore and showed great confidence and assertiveness, even scoring two goals against the Singapore team.
Join us this Sunday as the Reds take on Tottenham Hotspur in the season opener at White Hart Lane. Location information to follow later this week.
25/04 @ Hull City
A win tomorrow and Liverpool are back atop the table again. A win tomorrow and hope lives. Of course, a win tomorrow means we’ll all become Spurs fans for a short while. Don’t forget to send all your prayers and Chakra energies to Tottenham as they visit the OT. They may well need them, as Pavlyuchenko (back injury), Michael Dawson (ankle injury) and Fraizer Campbell (contractual ineligibility) are all out and United should have a full clip save for Gary Neville (foot injury).
We’ll be sneaking into The Pub before opening tomorrow to catch this match, so it would be to your benefit to let someone know if you’ll be there. Or you can just pound on the window and hold up a Reds scarf or summat. There’ll be no food, but I’m sure the taps will be working. Maybe even be game audio this time? We’ll have to wait and see.
Even without Steven Gerrard this match should be an easy win, but we’ve seen time and again how well Liverpool do at playing down to the level of inferior opposition. Let’s hope they can remember how to play like champions.
Hope to see you there.
Cheers.
21/04 v. Arsenal (tape delay meeting)
After a weekend off for FA Cup happenings, Liverpool get back into things versus Arsenal today at Anfield. The Reds have been a virtual firing squad as of late (4 or more goals in 5 of the previous 7 matches) and certainly hope to continue the assault against a team suffering with injuries. Keeper Manuel Almunia is sidelined with an ankle problem and recent news of injuries to both Adebayour (hamstring) and Van Persie (groin) means Arsenal will also be without their main offensive power.
The live match kicks off around 15:00 ET on Setanta Sports, however we will be meeting for the replay at 20:15 ET. Stay tuned to our Twitter here or at the main page Twidget for forthcoming viewing location info.
11/04 v. Blackburn
There will be no gathering this weekend. Half of us seem to be working and the other half are out of town or otherwise unavailable. Aside from that, it’s starting at 7:45AM here; who wants to be up and dressed that early on a Saturday? Plan to be at McCarthy’s this Tuesday for the second leg of our UEFA CL quarter against Chelsea. Bring tissues– bar napkins are too coarse for the wiping of tears.
Alas and alack!
Disaster strikes at Anfield. Have all Rafa’s men acquired a terrible illness? Is someone holding them under duress? What could cause such a blatant lack of passion? And why does Ivanovic go entirely unnoticed by the Reds defense? All these questions and more are what will be racking my poor brain until the second leg is played next Tuesday. I fear the worst, unless Liverpool can realize how great they can be if they’re paying bloody attention and putting some effort behind the ball.
05/04 v. Chelsea (UEFA CL)
Liverpool face Chelsea at Anfield in the first leg of their Champions League this Wednesday. If recent history is any count, it should be a close match with a slight advantage to the Reds (provided JAR doesn’t show up). Join us at Molly Brooke’s for the 14:45 first kick. There may also be at least one lonely supporter watching from The Pub, if you’d prefer to sacrifice match audio for something to eat.
Yossi WINayoun!
Just when it seemed Liverpool had played themselves into yet another draw this season, in comes Benayoun with a stoppage time blast deep into Fulham’s goal. In a game where the victor should have left with 3, 4, or 5 goals, one must ask themselves: “How on Earth was a miracle, last-second boot by a slightly injured sub the difference-maker? I lost count of the number of clear chances Liverpool had, what was the problem? Were the cosmos somehow involved? Did Fulham sneak a smaller goal in when no one was looking?”
If the supernatural is somehow involved in football, I hope it’s an Aston Villa fan tomorrow. Maybe I should burn some incense or draw a pentangle on the pavement. Nah, I’d rather not have the neighbors thinking I’m a Satanist.
Saturday 03/04 v. Fulham
Pepe, Arbeloa, Carra, Skrtel, Aurelio, Masch, Xabi, Stevie, Kuyt, Riera, Torres
These eleven likely starters could put Liverpool at the TOP OF THE TABLE (for at least 22 hours) if they leave Craven Cottage with a victory tomorrow. There’s enough pressure on Man Utd now, and jumping past them in the standings could send the Red Devils into a debilitating panic. (OK, more debilitating) Even a draw against FFC would give the Reds a short lead, but you and I know they need more than that if there’s any hope of a BPL trophy in Merseyside.
Yossi Benayoun and his recent display of goalscoring heroics may be unavailable until he properly deals with his injury, but there’s no fear as Stevie G and Fernando T are scheduled to start and Liverpool have been quite successful when those two take the pitch together.
Join us at the Pub around half noon for what should be an exciting match.
Wed. 1/4 Internationals Recap
Xabi and Riera scored the two goals in Spain’s 2-1 defeat of Turkey; Torres saw 85 minutes, while Arbeloa and Pepe Reina sat this one out.
Kuyt scored a pair of goals and Babel played the second half in the Dutchmen’s 4-0 win over Macedonia.
Stevie (England), Voronin (Ukraine), Dossena (Italy), Agger (Denmark) and Benayoun (Israel) all saw the pitch for some or all of their games.
Epic failure struck Masch and the Argentinians as they went down 6-1 to Bolivia. The same could be said for Martin Skrtel, who directed the ball past his own keeper– lucky for him the Slovaks still managed a 2-1 win over the Czechs.
Stay tuned for a match preview v. Fulham and info on where to watch the match round here.
