Liverpool's Benitez Defends Decision To Bench Robbie Keane

Following his decision to leave his Irish striker on the bench for the entirety of Saturday's game with Hull City, the Liverpool manager today explained his reasoning.

Despite failing to find a decisive third goal against Hull City on Saturday, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez refused to bring on his prize summer signing Robbie Keane, who was left on the bench for the whole match.

The Kop were left in disarray after their team's third successive home draw came after The Reds had had to overcome a two goal deficit against the high-flying Tigers.

Liverpool have now drawn at home to Hull, Fulham and West Ham United, and back in September were held to a 0-0 draw by newly promoted Stoke City.

Having clawed their way back to 2-2 yesterday against Hull, Liverpool needed an extra goal that never came, but might have done had Keane been introduced. Benitez has subsequently been criticised for his failure to bring on the £20 million man.

The Liverpool manager instead preferred to bring on Nabil El Zhar, Ryan Babel and Lucas as his three substitutes, leaving Republic of Ireland international Keane on the bench.

However, the Spaniard has defended his decision by telling The Irish Times, "We wanted wingers with pace and ability. Babel and (Nabil) El Zhar were both very good.

"We wanted to get to the line and pulled the ball back, we do not want to play long balls, we are not that sort of team."

Liverpool were saved by their captain on Saturday, as Steven Gerrard scored both goals to bring The Reds back into the match after Paul McShane and a Jamie Carragher own goal put the away side 2-0 to the good.

However, Benitez has rubbished claims that without the Liverpool captain, Liverpool would struggle, saying, "Today it was Gerrard who scored the goals, in the last game it was (David) Ngog, (Ryan) Babel and (Albert) Riera. The previous game it was (Yossi) Benayoun, we have players who can also score goals.

Liverpool Owner In Financial Strife

According to the News of the World this morning, George Gillett must raise 50 million pounds within the next six weeks if he is to retain co-ownership of the Merseyside giants.

Gillett must pay back a massive loan he took out by using the club as collateral, by January 25. The Sunday newspaper speculates that co-owner Tom Hicks may revive his attempts to buy out Gillett.

There is also thought to be hope that investors from Dubai, who have made clear in recent weeks that they won’t be buying the Premier League club, will return to the negotiating table.

Gillett agreed a £50m loan with Mill Financial last January, but his debt has been put up for sale by the bank with a repayment deadline set for the end of January. If an investor buys the debt and Gillett fails to repay it, he’ll be forced to give up his 50 per cent stake in Liverpool.

Liverpool’s American owners could have further financial issues to solve by July 2009, when they have to find new investment ahead of a 350 million pound financing deal next July.

Liverpool Boss Benitez Wants Support For Gerrard

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has urged the forwards to contribute goals so as to take the weight off the shoulders of captain Steven Gerrard.

The England midfielder staged a great rescue act to pull the Reds out of trouble as he got a brace from his attacking midfield position after the hosts had fallen behind 0-2 to Phil Brown’s side.

The Reds could only manage a 2-2 draw at Anfield that also came at the back of stalemates with Fulham and West Ham United.

Liverpool are currently without injured Spanish star striker Fernando Torres, while £20m summer-signing Robbie Keane has failed to establish himself as first-choice and was an unused substitute against the Tigers yesterday. Dirk Kuyt has also failed to score regularly of late after being amongst the goals earlier in the season.

Benitez said: "Gerrard is always a threat playing in that attacking midfield role, but we need more people to score goals. We need to see more, especially the players up front, to score more goals."

Liverpool's Lucas Believes That Confidence Is The Key

Liverpool's Lucas believes that he can make his mark on the club if he can find the confidence to be able to play well consistently in the Premier League.

Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has stated that he just needs confidence in order to play well for The Reds, and the recent criticism he has received has not helped his cause.

The former Brazilian Under-20 captain has recently been criticised for his lack of contribution to Liverpool's title challenge, and despite receiving support from his manager, he has admitted that his game does suffer when he is lacking in confidence.

He is potentially a big player for Liverpool and is hoping to become a major part of the team in years to come.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Lucas claimed that, "all players need confidence. If you have that it can help you play better.

"Maybe you will try a pass that you may not normally do. If you miss, you try again. You have to try to make something different happen.

"But if you don't have confidence everything becomes more difficult for you as a player.

"I've had more time to go forward this year. Rafa says it's up to me to get forward to make more chances and that is what I am trying to do for the club."

Lucas has made a total of 25 Premier League appearances for Liverpool since his £6 million move from Brazilian Serie A side Gremio, but has failed to score in any of those games.

Keane Sets Key Riddle For Benitez

You don't get to win the Champions League, FA Cup and a brace of La Liga titles outside of Madrid and Barcelona while cloaked in football ignorance. However, you can still have bad days, and bad seasons and maybe you can even lose, if not the entire dressing room, the odd hugely expensive signing.

If Rafa Benitez had lost Robbie Keane to any greater degree on Saturday the £20m Dubliner might not have been scowling on the bench but inhabiting some unlogged South Pacific island. Suddenly Benitez's huge and apparently failed investment in a striker whose performances for Tottenham often pushed back the limits of overachievement seemed not so much misadventure as an indication of a potentially fatal weakness.

Certainly, the Liverpool manager's obscure reaction to a tough post-match grilling over his refusal to inject Keane into an increasingly futile attempt to find a winning goal in the second half – while sending on the midfielder Lucas and wingers Ryan Babel and Nabil El Zahr – could only add to the pressure facing him after a third straight failure to win at home.

Benitez said: "You have to think about winning. For me, the best thing was to use wingers and an offensive midfielder that can pass the ball better, because in the last minutes of the game you need someone calm who can pass the ball. To put more people into the box and start playing long balls is not the solution."

Perhaps not but Benitez's choice of options begged a question that is bound to gain ground as Liverpool's promise of ending their title drought slips back towards its old fantasy status.

Why spend £20m on a striker deemed not fit for purpose when the overwhelming priority is to find the net?

Was it because you thought you could build on the impressive levels of efficiency Keane had displayed in partnership with a restive Dimitar Berbatov at White Hart Lane?

That certainly is the only rational explanation, but what does it say of your judgement, and powers of nurturing, if the exercise is declared moribund inside half a season and at a time of desperate need?

Keane's poor form and yield of goals, no doubt made him less than odds-on to apply a sword stroke to a brilliantly organised Hull team but his idleness on the bench still carved a huge hole into any confidence in Benitez's long-term strategy.

For some it may also have highlighted the long-held suspicion that ultimately the man from Madrid will always put more faith in the strength of his own thinking than the potential of key players to adapt and succeed in the most difficult of circumstances.
For those arguing the point, the day Hull, extraordinary and wholly admirable Hull, came to visit surely provided a van load of supporting evidence.

Benitez was asked how he imagined his decision-making had affected an already demoralised Keane. The manager said: "All the players want to play. He will be thinking the same as [David] Ngog, another striker who played really well the other day. He scored a goal and will be thinking, 'Why not me?' But this is normal. They have to understand that we need to work within the squad." The manager was no more willing to accept the point that Ngog was a youngster who had cost the club only slightly more than a twentieth of the veteran Keane's asking price than he was the idea that Liverpool's financially embattled owners might wonder about the point of having a £20m asset wiling away his time on the bench.

Lots of expensive players sit on the bench, suggested Benitez. It's true enough, of course, but then sooner or later a lot of managers also walk the plank. The fact that Benitez retains great credit for past achievements, and is reportedly close to signing a new four-year contract, maybe does little to intensify his need for self-analysis, but then his own expression didn't do much to dispel the feeling that this was more than a bad day at the office. Indeed, that it was close to catastrophic was hardly mitigated by the fact that Hull were so splendid both in their coherence and their spirit.

They played with wit and backbone and would have carried away all three points but for two classic eruptions of scoring certainty from Steven Gerrard, which rescued a result if not a performance that was as troubling in its lack of creativity as it was in a creaking defence. Just to deepen Liverpool's embarrassment, the Hull manager, Phil Brown, did not lack photographic evidence when he claimed that both the Gerrard strikes had been accompanied by off-the-ball fouls on defender Michael Turner.

Brown accused the referee, Alan Wiley, of an ultimate offence against a football professional – ball-watching. He said the crime was at least as deplorable in a referee as it would be in a defender. Another terrible defensive fault is a lack of speed, one Liverpool's left-back Andrea Dossena displayed throughout a draining examination by Bernard Mendy.

Benitez pointed out that his £7m signing from Udinese had looked good going forward, a point which might have carried more weight if Mendy had not appeared, conservatively speaking, at least three times better going in any direction – and also standing still.

It was Mendy's complete ownership of the left flank of Liverpool's defence that gave his team immediate momentum, which brought a fine headed goal from Paul McShane and forced an untypically rattled Jamie Carragher to nudge the ball into his own net. Mendy's bite and authority were both unflagging and compelling. Indeed, an impeccably legal tackle that levelled Albert Riera also brought a skip of exhilaration from Brown in the technical area.

This was probably the most revealing moment of all. It showed a coach exulting in the commitment and the confidence of one of his team. In similar circumstances the suspicion would have to be that Rafa would make a note. Unfortunately for Liverpool, what it would say at the moment is anybody's guess.

Jermaine Pennant Has Rafa Benitez Fuming After Refusing Move To Stoke Or Blackburn

Liverpool face taking a £7million hit on Jermaine Pennant as the winger refuses to swap Anfield for a relegation battle.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is furious after being told that the former Arsenal and Birmingham winger is not interested in a New Year move to Stoke or Blackburn.

Benitez was hoping to raise about £4m by selling Pennant to help fund his own plans for the transfer market.

Under the terms of the contract Pennant signed when he arrived at Anfield from Birmingham two years ago, he will become a free agent at the end of the season unless he makes 15 first-team appearances.

If Pennant reaches that number, Liverpool have the option of extending his contract by a further year.

But so far the 25-year-old has played in only four games and has been told by Benitez that he is surplus to requirements.

Both Stoke and Blackburn failed with attempts to buy Pennant in the summer.

That was despite Benitez warning the player that his first-team chances would be limited.

And the clubs' respective managers Tony Pulis and Paul Ince have been told not to bother trying to persuade the former Arsenal winger to change his mind in January.

Why Rafa Benitez Won't Be Joining Real Madrid

Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has effectively ruled out any move for Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez following the appointment of former Tottenham boss Juande Ramos on an initial six-month contract.

Madrid-born Benitez is reportedly on the brink of signing a new four-year contract with Liverpool which is worth an estimated £16million to the Spaniard.

It will keep Benitez at the club until 2013 and Real, one of the clubs linked with an interest in the Reds boss, put an end to further speculation about his future when Calderon insisted they would prefer to keep Ramos.

Ramos has replaced Bernd Schuster until the end of the season and Calderon, speaking on BBC Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek programme, said: “We want to see what happens with Ramos and at the end of the season, if everything is okay, and I hope so as he is a good coach, we will see what happens in May or June.

“We had to take this decision very quickly. I had a meeting with Bernd Schuster and he was very disappointed and not excited about keeping his job, so we got in touch with two or three coaches who could come and one of those was Ramos. That is why we did it so quickly.

“Benitez is a very good coach and he was with us as everyone knows. He was training the youth team at Real Madrid. But he is the coach of Liverpool and I am sure he is going to be there for a long time and so he is not an alternative for us.

“We know him very well, he is Spanish and worked with Real Madrid a long time ago. He is a very good coach but I would like to have Juande for longer than six months. So let’s hope everything is going to be okay and if it is like that, he will continue with us.

“Ramos won the Carling Cup with Spurs and the UEFA Cup two years in a row with Sevilla. In England, with the problem of the language and different habits, maybe it affected him. But we trust him very much.”

Match Report: LiverpooL 2 - 2 Hull City

Liverpool struggled to their third successive home league draw as Premier League new boys Hull produced another stunning away performance.

Hull had already won at Arsenal and Spurs and scored three in defeat at Manchester United.

And if not for Steven Gerrard they would have ended Liverpool's season-long unbeaten home record.

Hull were two ahead through Paul McShane and a Jamie Carragher own goal before Gerrard scored twice in eight minutes, taking his tally for the season to 11.

Gerrard was among the players returning after being rested from the Champions League win over Eindhoven in midweek, along with Jose Reina, Dirk Kuyt and Xabi Alonso.

Manager Rafael Benitez reverted to the same side which won at Blackburn last weekend, which meant Robbie Keane was on the bench and Sami Hyypia preferred to Daniel Agger.

Hull made just one change from the side which beat Middlesbrough last Saturday, Bernard Mendy taking over from Dean Marney, who was on the bench.

And although Hull were put under instant pressure, they soon started to confront Liverpool all over the pitch, working out that Andrea Dossena has limited pace and Reina does not take kindly to being pressured.

Hull could have been ahead after five minutes when full-back Sam Ricketts burst down the line, brushing Yossi Benayoun aside, and fed Nicky Barmby on the Hull left.

There were loud appeals for a penalty when the former Liverpool man's cross looked to have struck the arm of Javier Mascherano as he slid in to clear for a corner.

The appeals were waved away but it was no surprise when Hull took the lead after 12 minutes.

A Geovanni free-kick on the right sailed right across the box and was knocked back into the danger area by Marlon King, where McShane rose to head into the top corner.

Hull were full of pace, drive and desire and after 22 minutes they scored again.

After switching the play from left to right, via King's long ball, Mendy went past Dossena once more and pulled the ball back into the six-yard box, where Carragher turned it high into his own net.

Just a minute later however, Liverpool pulled one back. Kuyt surged down the right and fired in a low cross which fell for Gerrard to clip home from six yards.

McShane was booked for body-checking Gerrard and never seemed to recover from the blow, being replaced two minutes later by Marney.

And in what was now a tremendous match, Liverpool were level after 32 minutes, again through Gerrard.

Carragher's cross was headed down by Kuyt for Benayoun to hook on, giving Gerrard a 10-yarder for the equaliser.

Marney was booked for a foul on Hyypia two minutes after the break, the game continuing at the same rip-roaring pace.

Liverpool almost took the lead after 59 minutes when Hyypia's downward header from Gerrard's corner hit the foot of a post.

Then Albert Riera saw a swerving effort punched away by Boaz Myhill.

Hull were more content to defend and hit on the break, with Geovanni seeing one run end with a low drive that went wide of the far post.

Alonso curled a 20-yarder just over the bar, with Liverpool sending on Moroccan winger Nabil El Zhar for Benayoun after 74 minutes. Three minutes later Dean Windass came on for Barmby in only his fourth league appearance of the season.

Myhill then saved well from El Zhar, diving on the ball to halt Gerrard in the six-yard box. After 82 minutes Liverpool sent on Ryan Babel for Riera, before El Zhar was booked for a foul on Kamil Zayatte.

Lucas came on for Mascherano with four minutes left, the Argentinian having failed to stamp his usual authority on the match but Liverpool were unable to find a winner.

Rafa: The Game Was Too Open

Rafa Benitez believes that the frenetic nature of today's 2-2 draw with Hull City could be to blame for Liverpool's failure to take all three points.

Steven Gerrard scored a brace to help the Reds come back from 2-0 down in the first half, but Benitez couldn't hide his frustrations and admitted his team made too many mistakes.

"We showed character to come back and scored some good goals," he said. "But we couldn't play the final pass properly and the game was too open.

"The game was a little bit too frenetic and you have to be able to control things a lot more in these games.

"I was really pleased with the first few minutes. But we conceded two goals and everybody was a little bit nervous after that.

"It can make a massive difference when you score first, but the reaction of the team was very good when we went two goals down.

"They were a threat playing on the counter-attack. We know that teams like this will try to be organised and play in this way.

"We made too many mistakes. These are the kind of games that you have to win. We are disappointed, but we cannot change anything."

Liverpool Are Struggling At Anfield, Admits Benitez

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has conceded his side are finding it difficult playing at home as they were held to yet another draw by Hull City at Anfield yesterday.

In actual fact it could have been much worse for the Reds, who went 0-2 down in the game before a Steven Gerrard double rescued a point for Benitez’s men.

Speaking to the press after the game, Benitez admitted his side had made too many errors at the start of the game.

“We started well, but then we started to make too many mistakes,” confessed the Spaniard, “We conceded one, and then another and everyone was getting very nervy.”

However, the Liverpool boss also took time to praise his side for their response to going two goals down. He said: “But the reaction from the team when we were two down was excellent. They showed character to get back into it.”

Despite the comeback, the result is very much a case of two points dropped for the league leaders and Benitez admitted he side expected to win such fixtures.

“But we have to win this sort of game. We know that. I am very disappointed, everyone is disappointed,” revealed the Reds’ boss, “The game was too open, we could not find the killer final pass and the match became very frenetic.”

The result means that Liverpool have now been held by Stoke City, Fulham, West Ham United and Hull at Anfield this season.

This led to Benitez to confess that his side are struggling at Anfield. He said: “It is becoming difficult at home, where we do not have as much space to play because teams defend deep. In away matches it is different and we are able to exploit space on the counter-attack.”

However, the point gained leaves Liverpool two points clear at the top of the table, ahead of Chelsea’s game against West Ham United tomorrow, and Benitez was clear who his team had to thank. He concluded: “Steven Gerrard is very dangerous in that offensive role behind the striker, and we have to thank him.”

Youngsters Crash To United Defeat

Liverpool Under-18s saw their hopes of extending their unbeaten run to five matches end in disappointment after slipping to a 3-1 defeat at home to Man United.

The Reds struggled to keep pace with the creativity and flair of the visitors' attack throughout the contest and although Lauri Dalla Valle grabbed a late consolation they were ultimately punished for a shaky defensive display.

Ahead of the match Academy manager John Owens had described the previous meeting between the two sides as "as pure a game of football as you are likely to see", and once again it proved to be the case as both teams looked to play open, attacking football.

The visitors were first to show and a marvellous dummy from David Petrucci provided Ryan Tunncliffe with a sight of goal, but the midfielder guided his effort well over the top from the edge of the area.

United were in the ascendancy and should have taken the lead on seven minutes but Petrucci's tame header was easily gathered by Dean Bouzanis after Frederico Macheda's left-wing cross had found him unmarked in the penalty area.

With both sides looking to attack at every opportunity it was only matter of time until the deadlock was broken, and it was United who got the opener on 22 minutes courtesy of a sublime dipping effort from Oliver Norwood.

Reds winger Kacaniklic then flashed a fierce strike just wide of the upright as Liverpool looked to hit back immediately.

Hugh McAuley's men always looked a threat in possession of the ball, but were continually exposed by United's invention and they were lucky not find themselves even further behind when Ravel Morrison's angled drive cannoned back off the inside of the post.

In keeping with the pattern of play, it was Liverpool who had the next effort of note when David Amoo struck a snap shot straight at United keeper Conor Devlin after a firm header down from Joe Kennedy.

It was the hosts' best effort of the half and it would prove to be a costly miss too, as the visitors broke forward and doubled their advantage on 40 minutes.

Bouzanis' miss-hit clearance landed straight at the feet of Petrucci, who surged at the last defender before slipping the ball to Macheda to prod an effort beyond the Reds stopper.

The goal seemed to knock the confidence out of Liverpool and the Red Devils could have added a third soon after the interval when Bouzanis dived full stretch to deny Morrison following a mazy run and shot.

It was all United at this point and Macheda wasted another glorious opportunity when he crashed his shot well wide following good approach play down the right flank.

The Reds needed to get a foothold in the game and after Thomas Ince blazed a good chance way over the top, they were given a lifeline when Dalla Valle reacted with typically predatory instinct to reduce the arrears on 65 minutes.

The Finn then escaped the attentions of ex-Red Scott Wooton to race to the right by-line but his cut back was superbly cleared by Tom Thorpe.

As Liverpool pressed for the equaliser they continued to take chances at the back, and on 80 minutes United broke clear and restored their two goal cushion when Morrison rounded Bouzanis and coolly fired the ball into an empty net.

Liverpool U18s: Dean Bouzanis, Michael Scott, Shane O'Connor, Conor Coady, Joe Kennedy, Christopher Buchtmann, David Amoo, Adam Pepper, Lauri Dalla Valle, Thomas Ince (James Ellison 73), Alex Kacaniklic.

Man United U18s: Conor Devlin, Kenny Strickland, Joe Dudgeon, Tom Thorpe, Scott Wooton, Oliver Norwood, Ravel Morrison, Ryan Tunncliffe, Frederico Mecheda, Davide Petrucci, Robbie Brady (Nicky Ajose 73).

Bullish Benitez Insists Current Crop Of Anfield Heroes Can Emulate Class Of 1990

Rafa Benitez has boldly predicted he can take the title back to Liverpool for the first time since 1990.

In a rare show of optimism and confidence, the manager of the Barclays Premier League leaders insists he has the team to topple Manchester United and Chelsea.

Liverpool are only one point clear of Chelsea going into Saturday's home game with Hull but Benitez was in no mood to dampen mounting optimism on Merseyside after being angered by claims he had written off his side as genuine challengers.

Benitez said: ‘Of course we can win the title. I want to put across a positive message about our chances because we have every right to be positive.

'We are top of the table, playing really well away and have made just two mistakes in our last two home games.

‘We have players of real quality who are full of confidence. Why shouldn’t we be positive?

'If we are top at the end of the Christmas programme, we will have an 80 per cent chance of going all the way.

'Usually, teams who are top after Christmas go on to be champions, and we can do the same.

‘Everybody criticises the team at the top. Beforehand it was Manchester United or Chelsea.

'But now it is Liverpool top, and it is our turn.

'That is why we are being criticised, because we are the leaders. A month ago, we still had something to prove but not any more.

'A month on, we have proved to people that we can do it. We can win the title, but —and this applies to any team who become champions — you must do everything almost perfectly.’

The Liverpool manager flatly denied saying all three of their main rivals, Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal, would have to ‘mess up’ for the Anfield side to be champions for the first time since 1990.

Shedding his usual caution, Benitez hammered out the most upbeat forecast of his four-and-a-half-year reign as he brushed aside any worrying signs from successive 0-0 home draws with Fulham and West Ham, and being rated only third favourites by some bookies.

He said: ‘The other thing in our favour is that generally we are better and stronger in the second half of the season. We have important players coming back and there is no doubt we can kick on and improve on what we have already done.

'That is why I believe we can win the title.’

Benitez warned he would not tolerate any agitating by disaffected players, after recent complaints from Yossi Benayoun, Ryan Babel and Daniel Agger about limited opportunities.

Benayoun hinted he was ready to leave, Babel tried to engineer a loan move to Ajax earlier in the week and Agger has been linked with AC Milan.

All have been put in their place by Benitez, who underlined his determination to prevent Liverpool’s title charge being derailed by any unrest.

‘The players all know they will get chances and it could be in important games,’ he said.


‘Just look at what happened with Vladimir Smicer. He was hardly getting a look-in, then suddenly he was playing in the Champions League Final and scoring one of the goals that helped us win it.

Some might not make as many appearances as they would like but they can play a crucial part towards the end of the season.

'We will have a lot of games and injuries are bound to kick in, so everyone will be involved.

'You can be sure of that.

‘Harmony in the squad is vital, but I can guarantee that the atmosphere in the camp is very good and very positive.

'It isn’t always easy keeping a large squad happy all the time, but all I would say to the players is that they must respect the rules.

‘They have to accept there is a right way of doing things, and that means having respect for your team-mates and for what we are trying to do.

'It is one thing to say you want to play, but you have to think about the others.

'Who do you think you should be playing instead of?

'Don’t show disrespect to your colleagues. That is a very important principle.

‘The only way to react is by working harder than ever in training and hoping you have done enough to persuade the manager to pick you.

'I have had conversations with others in the squad, apart from Babel and Benayoun, and the message is the same for all of them.

'They all understand the rules and how things have to be done, and I can assure you everyone is pulling in the same direction.

'That is clear.’

As a further boost to Liverpool’s title aspirations, Benitez revealed that Fernando Torres and Martin Skrtel are both close to full fitness.

John Aldridge: Strong Minds A Key Weapon For Liverpool In Premier League Points Battle

If you were to pinpoint a single reason why Liverpool are top of the league and have just won their Champions League group it would have to be mental strength.

All good teams need it to stand any chance of being successful and Rafa Benitez’s side have it in abundance.

They have needed it as well because they have not yet found their fluency and they can sometimes be frustrating to watch.

But they are still grinding out results which can only happen if you have a really strong team mentality.

It’s fair to say we are still waiting for this Liverpool team to really click but that hasn’t stopped them from picking up enough points to top the league which says an awful lot about their character.

The win at Blackburn was fairly typical of what we have seen for much of this season. The performance wasn’t outstanding but they got the job done when it would have been so easy to slip up.

Ewood Park is never an easy place to win as Liverpool have discovered to their cost a couple of times but they scored three good goals and claimed maximum points and you can’t ask for much more than that.

It seems they are a bit better away from home at the moment, probably because they are afforded more space.

Meanwhile, it was great to see Liverpool top their Champions League group, but what pleased me most about the win against PSV was seeing three young local lads get on as substitutes.

Jay Spearing, Stephen Darby and Martin Kelly all did well after coming on, and I was really pleased for them.

Hopefully this wasn’t a token gesture by Rafa and he wasn’t just trying to pacify those of us who want to see more local lads promoted to the first team ranks.

You can’t dangle a carrot if there isn’t a hope in hell of young local players getting into the squad on a more regular basis.

Seeing them on the pitch in a Champions League game will have been a massive boost to the young players in the reserves and the academy because it’s important to know that there is a route into the first team if they are good enough.

I’m sure the majority of Liverpool fans would love to see more local lads getting their chance, so hopefully this was a sign of things to come.

*ONE thing that disappointed me this week was the news that Ryan Babel had asked to go out on loan.

The only reason you could possibly be looking for a move away from a team that’s top of the league would be if your confidence was so low that it needed boosting elsewhere.

Babel comes across as being quite a confident lad and it gave the impression that he was waving the white flag and wasn’t prepared to fight for his place.

He has to knuckle down and prove he is good enough to play for Liverpool because he is at one of the world’s greatest clubs and you don’t walk away from Anfield, even temporarily, without a fight.

Pennant Insists He's Staying But Liverpool Want £4m To Move Him On

Jermaine Pennant is on a collision course with Liverpool because he is refusing to join Stoke, Blackburn or Newcastle in a £4million January deal.

Liverpool are keen to cash in on the 25-year-old but Pennant would only be tempted to move in the New Year to a club still in Europe.

Although the winger has been frozen out of the team by Rafa Benitez, he is prepared to stay at Anfield until he is a free agent in the summer.

Aston Villa have put £4m striker Marlon Harewood up for sale, paving the way for a January swoop for Michael Owen or Emile Heskey.

Liverpool Eyeing Ukrainian International Dmytro Chygrynskiy

Liverpool have been linked with Shakhtar Donetsk defender Dmytro Chygrynskiy in the Januray transfer window. Here's your at-a-glance guide to the Ukrainian dynamo:

1) He was born on November 7th, 1986 in the Ukrainian city of Iziaslav.

2) He joined Shakhtar Donetsk at the age of 14 and made his was up through their youth set-up.

3) A towering 6'3" centre back, he made his debut in the Ukrainian Premier League in 2004, aged just 17, and has gone on to make 84 appearances and score six goals.

4) A natural born leader, he'd already captained Shakhtar in the Ukrainian Cup final by the time he was 20, and is currently the team's full-time vice-captain.

5) He was was voted man of the match in his second Ukrainain Cup final - a thumping 2-0 victory over rivals Dynamo Kiev.

6) He made his Champions League debut aged just 18 when he came on as a substitute against the mighty Barcelona.

7) He was selected for the 2006 UEFA U-21 Championship team of the tournament and called up to the senior side sonn after. Injury cruelly forced him to sit out the 2006 World Cup, but he has since gone on to earn 15 caps.

8) He's attracted a lot of interest from European clubs, but the good news for Liverpool is that he's keen on a move to the Premier League:

“A move to a big club in England would be a dream for me," Chygrynskiy told the Ukrainian press, recently.

"I cannot say the names, but two big Premier League clubs want me, and my agent has been talking to them for some time."

19) If he does come to England then journslits will be dreading spelling the youngster's full name: Dmytro Anatoliyovych Chyhrynskyi. Spell checks at the ready, lads.

Why Did Rafa Benitez Take Robbie Keane To Liverpool?

If Rafa Benitez was picking a team for the Champions League final tomorrow, then Robbie Keane would not be in it.

That’s the fact of the matter and that’s why Keane’s £20million move to Anfield in the summer is looking an increasingly bad bit of business.

I don’t put that down to Robbie Keane or his ability as a striker. Keane is a top-class striker who, on his day, is a terrific goal scorer, has a tremendous work rate and is a skilful and clever player with great vision.

But to bring that out now you need the Robbie Keane who is playing week-in and week-out and with that familiar swagger and style he shows when he’s on his game and full of confidence.

If the team gets chopped and changed every week and Keane keeps going into games knowing he will get subbed after 65 or 70 minutes then you will get a player low on confidence who is not playing to his potential.

Furthermore, Benitez knew what his favoured formation was when he bought Keane and that doesn’t accommodate him. Fernando Torres is the main man up front and Steven Gerrard is Mr. Liverpool in midfield.

That leaves little room for Keane and he is not a player who plays wide or just behind. His best position is playing alongside another striker and that brought the very best out of him at Tottenham last season.

Liverpool signed Keane on the basis off his performances for Tottenham last season when he was outstanding. But then they don’t play him, continually sub him and play him out of position. Which begs the question: Why sign him in the first place?

Michael Owen To Liverpool And Robbie Keane To Chelsea?

Michael Owen is an Abu Hasan's fart of a player. By which we mean, obviously, that his story will be passed down through the ages, making generation after generation snort and blub like redundant stockbrokers. Of course, even though the player's career, like a faulty linesman, seems to be flagging badly, his tale has yet to conclude. Technically, a happy ending is still possible.

But you've got to fear the worst when your hear that Rafa Benitez is prepared to forget about how Owen snubbed him years ago by choosing money, Newcastle and ridicule over Liverpool. With talk of a January return to Anfield, it looks like the striker who defected from Liverpool just before they won the Champions League is about to return there just in time to be blamed for them blowing their best ever chance of winning the Premier League.

And oh how that will make Robbie Keane laugh. Yes, loud and lusty will be the cackling from the Irishman's new home in Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile, Joe Kinnear will use the paltry sum generated by Owen's departure to build a stupidly small car into which clever Mathew Upson will not be able to resist climbing, with inevitably hilarious consequences.

Newcastle will also try to lure Amr Zaki from Wigan, an utterly pointless pursuit given that Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City and Arsenal intend making far more attractive and lucrative offers to the Egyptian. Possibly involving a pyramid scheme.

Elsewhere, Juande Ramos's campaign to discredit those who say he knows nothing about English football was given a boost today by reports that he's to invest perfectly good Real Madrid money in Adam Johnson. You know, Adam Johnson, the guy with the ears and the nose and mouth. Yes, yes, the one with the knees. The player who, um, plays. And stuff. Oh yes, he's well worth £15m.

Ramos also reckons he can get Pompey's Lassana Diarra for £5m, which would make him, like a man who's just been savaged by small mammal from the family Soricidae, uncharacteristically shrew(e)d.

Match Preview: LiverpooL vs. Hull City

Surprise package Hull City travel to Anfield on Saturday aiming to shock league leaders Liverpool.

The game is the first league meeting in 48 years between the two clubs as Liverpool play host to sixth-placed City.

The Tigers have already beaten Arsenal at Emirates Stadium and they ran Manchester United close at Old Trafford, and they will be aiming to put a dent in Liverpool's title aspirations.

The Reds have drawn their last two league games at Anfield and they will be determined to pick up all three points to cement their position at the top of the table.

The hosts are still without star striker Fernando Torres as he continues his recovery from a hamstring strain.

Robbie Keane will be hoping to get the nod to start after impressing in the midweek UEFA Champions League win over PSV Eindhoven following his omission from the starting line-up in last weekend's victory at Blackburn.

Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Dirk Kuyt and Pepe Reina are all expected to be recalled after being rested for the Champions League tie.

Fabio Aurelio misses out again with a calf problem meaning Andrea Dossena will battle it out with Emiliano Insua for the left-back slot.

Tigers boss Phil Brown has promised to travel to Anfield with a positive approach and he is set to resist the temptation to employ a defensive formation.

Marlon King is expected to lead the attack despite his off-field difficulties this week.

City will be without striker Caleb Folan who is still suffering with a knee injury.

Full-back Andy Dawson is ruled out with an Achilles problem meaning Sam Ricketts will continue at left-back.

Nick Barmby will be hoping to get the chance to face his former club, while Dean Windass will again be restricted to a role on the bench.

Long-term absentees Anthony Gardner and Craig Fagan are still a way off a return but both are expected to resume full-time training next week.


Possible starting XIs

Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Agger, Dossena, Kuyt, Alonso, Mascherano, Reira, Gerrard, Keane.

Hull: Myhill, McShane, Turner, Zayatte, Ricketts, Marney, Boateng, Ashbee, Barmby, Geovanni, King.

Torres Nearing Liverpool Return

Liverpool have been performing solidly in the absence of Spanish international Fernando Torres, as they have climbed the league ladder to the loftiest of positions.

However, the return of their superstar hitman could give the team a much-needed lift and freshness over the hectic Christmas schedule.

Torres has been kept at bay due to a problematic thigh injury, and reports suggest a meeting with specialist Ramon Cugat has been pencilled in, but the verdict for full training is expected to be green-lighted.

"I have been talking to Fernando today, and he is much better. But how long before he returns, I don't know," Rafa Benitez is reported to have said.

"He is in light training. It could be one or two weeks, but I don't want to put pressure on him."

Liverpool face a potential banana-skin of an opponent this weekend in Hull City, a side who have already beaten Arsenal away from home this term, and managed to knock three past Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Hull Boss Brown Feels Liverpool Are League's Best

Hull City manager Phil Brown says Liverpool have been the best team in the country up until this point.

Speaking ahead of his club's trip to Anfield on Saturday, the Tigers boss revealed that he rates Rafa Benitez's team as the best of the big four currently.

"They are a great side, no doubt about it," Brown was quoted as saying by Liverpool's official website.

"To be so many points ahead of Manchester United and be ahead of Chelsea and Arsenal is a great achievement at this stage of the season.

"The fact that there were boos after a 0-0 draw shows you how much Liverpool have progressed in the last four or five years under Rafa Benitez.

"They have to be the best team in England at this moment in time, the league table doesn't lie.

"The fact that they're not playing particularly well but winning is the sign of a very good side – that was the case at Blackburn last week and they won 3-1."

Despite the esteem in which he hold Liverpool, Brown has vowed to deploy an attacking formation at Anfield this weekend.