Premiership Preview--2. Liverpool

For Liverpool FC, it's all about the Premiership this season. Another deep run in the Champions League would be nice, don't misunderstand, but the primary focus for Rafa Benitez and his team is the domestic league. Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, the two leaders of the club, have said as much since the middle of last year. Liverpool has won the most top flight titles in English history (18) but haven't added to their total since the 1989-1990 campaign. That's not good enough, no matter how much success they have in Europe.

The Reds have taken a major step towards their ultimate goal with the signing of Robbie Keane from Tottenham. It's no coincidence that Keane put up his best numbers in his last two seasons in North London (45 goals combined in all competitions; he benefited from playing alongside Dimitar Berbatov, who took a lot of the defensive pressure and focus off Keane. With that said, though, Keane was a solid striker before Berbatov's arrival for the 2006-2007 season -- the Irish national team captain scored 13, 16, 17, and 16 goals, respectively, in all competitions in the four years prior to linking up with Berbatov. He goes from strength to strength anyway, because his new strike partner, Fernando Torres, is even better than his last one and so is the cast of characters behind him. Keane gives Benitez some versatility up front; he can play in the middle behind Torres in the 4-2-3-1 that worked wonders for Liverpool in the second half of last season, or he can play right next to Torres in a traditional 4-4-2.

Liverpool also added two fullbacks -- Andrea Dossena (left) and Philipp Degen (right). If today's Champions League game is any indication, and I think it is, Dossena will get the lion's share of playing time at left back, allowing Fábio Aurélio to be used off the bench at either left midfield or in the back. Degen has more of a fight on his hands for minutes, as he has to compete with both Steve Finnan, who has been at Liverpool for a while and is liked by the fans, and Alvaro Arbeloa, a favorite of Benitez.

The departures of Harry Kewell and John Arne Riise are really addition by subtraction. Neither had any future with the club and were only hamstringing the wage budget, in Kewell's case, and on-field results, in Riise's case. Peter Crouch is a very good player and will probably be successful for Portsmouth, but he wasn't given the consistent opportunities he needed to be at his most effective by Benitez. Crouch didn't fit into the system, though he was a spark off the bench late in games, so he was sold off and Liverpool made a nice profit on the tall, lanky center forward. He was replaced by David N'Gog, a talented 6'3" striker who has scored at every youth level he's played at for France. Just 19, N'Gog has a real future at Liverpool and don't be surprised if he scores some meaningful goals this season as well.

Like many of the other teams in the Premiership, Liverpool is strongest in midfield, though their defense, anchored by Carragher and Pepe Reina in goal, is also very solid. Gerrard is the club captain and heart and soul of the team. He's a natural box-to-box midfielder and probably his country's best in that role. He played behind Torres in that 4-2-3-1 I mentioned earlier and really caught fire towards the end of the season, but will likely move to the right side this year if Benitez continues to use that formation. If he reverts to a 4-4-2, Gerrard will play in the center with the tough-tackling, hard-nosed Javier Mascherano behind him. Dirk Kuyt is a workhorse on the right wing and will run and run all day, which makes up for his lack of natural talent. Ryan Babel plays opposite his fellow Dutchman, using his pace and dribbling ability to either beat opposing defenders to the endline or cutting inside and launching an effort with his lethal right foot. Neither Kuyt not Babel are natural wide players, but they get the job done. Xabi Alonso is a great passer and plays in the center, as will Lucas and, to a lesser extent, Damien Plessis. Jermaine Pennant is a decent right winger when his head is screwed on right. Yossi Benayoun is extremely versatile and can be plugged in anywhere across the midfield.

Projected Starting Lineup (4-4-2):
GK: Reina

RB: Arbeloa
CB: Carragher
CB: Daniel Agger
LB: Dossena

RMF: Kuyt
*DMF: Mascherano
CMF: Gerrard (captain)
*LMF: Babel

ST: Torres
ST: Keane

*Mascherano and Babel will miss the start of the season due to their participation in the Olympics, but both are sure starters and will reclaim their places upon their returns. Lucas, too, is at the Olympics, but he's only one of a group of players that provide suitable cover in the middle. Benayoun should fill in for Babel on the left, and Alonso will do the same for Mascherano.

Liverpool's season got underway today with a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their Champions League Third Qualifying Round tie against Standard Liege. The game was in Belgium, and Reina bailed Liverpool out with a penalty save in the 11th minute. Benitez would've loved to have an away goal to take back to Anfield in two weeks, obviously, but his team will still get the job done in that return leg and progress to the Group Stage.

Counting that game, four of Liverpool's next six fixtures are at home. The most intersting of those six, though, is away on the last day of August, when they'll pay a visit to Villa Park. The corresponding game last season was very exciting, and Gerrard's terrific curling free kick won it for Liverpool late, just a few minutes after Gareth Barry had converted a penalty to tie the game. Villa will be a European contender this season, so expect this rematch to be another classic.

Liverpool will play their two biggest rivals, Manchester United and Everton, in September, sandwiched around what should be an easy win at home against Stoke City. The Reds host United the week before and contest the first Merseyside derby of the season at Goodison Park to finish up the month.

A six-day span in late November and goes a day into December will be tricky, as Liverpool plays at Chelsea, hosts Portsmouth, and travels back to London to take on Tottenham. After that, though, Liverpool welcomes West Brom to Anfield (win), oes to Bolton (win), and then play Fulham and West Ham at home (both wins).

Visits from Everton and Chelsea highlight Liverpool's January slate, which also includes games at Stoke and Wigan, a feisty little team that went to Anfield and came away with a draw last season.

After playing Arsenal on April 18, by which point Arsenal's title hopes will be no more, Liverpool finishes up their season with five games that should net them 15 points if they bring their best effort -- Hull City, Newcastle, @West Ham, @West Brom, and Tottenham. Liverpool will likely need all of those games to make one last push at the title, but again, they should get them.

Bottom Line: The combination of Gerrard, Keane, and Torres is good for 50 goals. Benitez needs someone else to step up, though, and that player could turn out to be Babel. Agger's return from injury is like another impact signing; he and Carragher are as good as any center back pairing in the Premiership. Reina is great in goal. The midfield is loaded, but could use a true winger. As I said earlier, it's clear that the Premiership is Liverpool's first priority, and with a little bit of luck, this is a team that can compete for the title.

Tomorrow, then, is my preview of Manchester United, who I believe will win their third Premiership trophy in a row. I know -- surprise, surprise, right? It's not an original pick, I'm not going out and taking a risk, I understand all of that. You know what, though? Too bad.

Liverpool Draws Standard Liège, Arsenal Draws FC Twente in Champions League Third Qualifying Round

Just as its junior brother, the UEFA Cup, conducted a qualifying round draw this morning, the Champions League did as well with its Third Qualifying Round. We won't know the full slate of matchups until August 6, when the Second Qualifying Round finishes up, but the opponents for Liverpool and Arsenal have already been determined. While the two Premiership heavyweights should get through to the Group Stage, it's not going to be easy.

The road to another deep run in Europe's top club competition for Liverpool starts in Belgium, where they'll meet the defending Jupiler League champions, Standard Liège. We saw earlier that American defender Danny Califf and his club, FC Midtjylland, will be playing Manchester City in the next couple weeks, and Standard Liège has another American defender on their roster. Oguchi Onyewu, whose tenure at Newcastle in 2007 was uninspiring to say the least, is now back at Standard Liège, where he's appeared in 135 games since 2004 and been named to the Belgian First Division's Best XI twice and been Foreign Player of the Year once.

Standard Liège's captain is Steven Defour, a 20-year-old future star whose playmaking skills have earned him a starting role in the center of Belgium's midfield. He is probably his club's best player, but his teammate Milan Jovanović has scored 36 goals in 73 league games and is the domestic league's reigning Player of the Year. Alongside Defour in the midfield is Axel Witsel, the reigning Young Player of the Year in Belgium at the age of 19, who scored in his first senior international appearance for Belgium on March 26. You'll also find three Brazilians on Standard Liège's roster, including both starting full-backs and the vice-captain, who can play as a striker or on a wing.

Rafa Benitez has added some pieces to his team in an effort to seriously contend for the Premiership title this season. He'll be without Ryan Babel, Javier Mascherano, and Lucas for this tie as they are all taking part in the upcoming Olympics, but there is more than enough depth in the squad to adequately replace them for a short-term period. Benitez is well-known for tinkering with his lineup anyway, so it's no guarantee that those three would've played in both legs even if they were available.

Arsenal's opponent is also from a Benelux country; FC Twente finished second in the Dutch Eredivisie last year and is now managed by a familiar face to English soccer fans, Steve McLaren. The former Middlesbrough manager and England head coach had been rumored to take over at Twente since early May but was only formally hired on June 20. After the disgrace at Wembley against Croatia, confirming England's non-participation in Euro 2008, McLaren was fired. You can bet he has something to prove to the English media and to the country's fans, but his squad simply isn't good enough to beat Arsenal over two legs.

McLaren has a young Serbian center back, Slobodan Rajković, on loan from Chelsea, and Nikolay Mihaylov on loan from Liverpool. The former will likely start in this tie and have a large role for Twente this year, the latter sits behind 37-year-old club stalwart Sander Boschker on the goalkeeping depth chart but could compete for some playing time. Australian international Luke Wilkshire plays as a center midfielder for Twente, and former Everton youngster Bjarni Viðarsson will factor into the mix in that area as well.

Arsenal should overpower McLaren's team in this tie but because young players typically don't play their best on the road, you could see the Gunners struggle in the first leg. I have no doubt they'll win back at the Emirates, so it's just a matter of what the scoreline reads after the first game.

The following is the complete draw for this round. First legs will be played August 12 and 13, with second legs 14 days later on the 26th and 27th. As always, home teams are listed first, and the score in parentheses is the aggregate heading into the second leg of the Second Qualifying Round:

Anorthosis Famagusta/Rapid Wien (3-0) vs. Olympiacos
Vitória Guimarães vs. IFK Göteborg/Basel (1-1)
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Domžale/Dinamo Zagreb (0-3)
Schalke 04 vs. Atlético Madrid
Aalborg BK/Modriča (5-0) vs. Rangers/FBK Kaunas (0-0)
Barcelona vs. Beitar Jerusalem/Wisła Kraków (2-1)
Levski Sofia vs. Anderlecht/BATE (1-2)
Standard Liège vs. Liverpool
Inter Baku/Partizan (1-1) vs. Fenerbahçe/MTK Hungária (2-0)
FC Twente vs. Arsenal
Spartak Moscow vs. Drogheda United/Dynamo Kyiv (1-2)
Juventus vs. Tampere United/Artmedia Petržalka (1-3)
SK Brann/Ventspils (1-0) vs. Marseille
Fiorentina vs. Slavia Prague
Galatasaray vs. Steaua Bucureşti
Panathinaikos/Dinamo Tbilisi (3-0) vs. Sheriff Tiraspol/Sparta Prague (0-1)

Winners in this round move on to the Group Stage, in which 16 teams have already booked places through their final league positions last season, including champions Manchester United, Lyon, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven, FC Porto, Zenit St. Petersburg, Celtic, and CFR Cluj. The draw for the Group Stage will take place on August 28, and once again, you can find full coverage and increased analysis here. Once the draw is made, I'll post my predictions to advance to the knockout stages.

Sour Grapes From Daniel Levy

After the gutless manner in which former manager Martin Jol was fired last October, only learning of his sacking through a text message sent to his nephew, I knew never to expect anything of significance handled with class by club chairman Daniel Levy. Levy had also repeatedly denied in public that he was going to replace Jol with Juande Ramos, and guess what, he did just that. During his tenure at White Hart Lane, Levy has developed an unflattering reputation with a significant contingent of Tottenham supporters and other higher-ups across the Premiership for relying on politics rather than doing what makes soccer sense.

Levy demonstrated his own stupidity once again in the past couple days with his comments regarding Robbie Keane's $40 million move to Liverpool. He would have the public believe that Tottenham was a helpless victim in the matter, and big, bad Liverpool bullied his club around and railroaded him into selling the Irish striker:

"I have already made my opinion clear on the nature of this transaction. I don't regard it as a transfer deal - that is something which happens between two clubs when they both agree to trade - this is very much an enforced sale, for which we have agreed a sum of £19 million as compensation plus a potential further £1.3 million in additional compensation."

He also effectively accused Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez of tapping-up after Benitez had praised Keane's abilities in the media, although to be fair, he didn't pursue his claims any further than that. Liverpool made a donation to Tottenham's primary charity in acknowledgement that Benitez's comments were inappropriate, but that was unnecessary.

I don't see where Levy gets off saying any of what he said. He didn't have to sell Keane, who was under contract with the North London club until 2010. He had a choice in the matter, and he agreed to the move. Tottenham are in better financial shape than Liverpool as it is, so Spurs didn't exactly need the money. Liverpool didn't force Levy into anything. How can he not call it a "transfer deal", which, according to his own words, has to be agreed upon, when clearly it was. If it wasn't, Keane wouldn't be allowed to go anywhere.

To say that a potential $40.6 million is just "compensation" is insulting to those who work far harder than Levy for exponentially smaller salaries. It also implies that Keane was stolen from Tottenham without consent, and Liverpool just threw some money out of the rear window while escaping with the player to make everything better.

As for his comments aimed at Benitez, give me a break. What exactly is the definition of tapping-up? Robbie Keane is many things, some positive and some negative, but ignorant isn't one of them. He knows other clubs would love to benefit from his services. The guy is good for at least 15 goals per season, so of course he's in demand. His agent, Struan Marshall, also represents Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, and Keane is good friends with both of the Liverpool stalwarts, who surely talked to Keane about coming to Anfield at some point or another. Keane supported Liverpool as a boy like many other Irishmen, and it was his lifelong dream to play for the club.

Levy is nothing more than a spoiled sore loser who whines and moans when he doesn't get his way. As he showed during the Jol situation and now with Keane, Levy is as fickle as they come. He possesses the wrong personal traits to succeed as an executive in professional sports, and Tottenham's accomplishments over the last three seasons (Carling Cup, two 5th-place finishes, and appearances in the UEFA Cup Round of 16 and Quarterfinals) have come in spite of him, not because of him.

Martin O'Neill Would Be Wise To Play Barry This Weekend

In one of my recent poll questions, which you can find on the left-hand side of the homepage underneath the blog archive, I asked which story you believed to be the biggest so far this summer. One of the choices was Gareth Barry and his desire to leave Aston Villa for Liverpool, and although I can't remember the exact number, it got its fair share of votes.

Villa is a club on the rise, with young but underappreciated stars in Ashley Young (I can't emphasize enough just how high I am on him), and Gabriel Agbonlahor, and some very useful players like John Carew, Nigel Reo-Coker, Martin Laursen, and Wilfred Bouma. They had the smallest senior roster in the Premiership last season, but the quality of their young players and middle-aged veterans was enough to surprise many outsiders.

Losing Scott Carson and Olof Mellberg is a tough blow for manager Martin O'Neill, who led this team to a 7th-place finish last year and a place in the Intertoto Cup this summer, but he's already been working the transfer market, bringing in Steve Sidwell from Chelsea and Brad Guzan from Chivas USA. O'Neill is also actively shopping for a right back, and is close to acquiring Brad Friedel from Blackburn if you choose to believe various reports.

Barry is Villa's captain and has spent just over a decade at the club. He has established himself as one of the top central midfielders in the Premiership, catapulting into England's starting lineup alongside Owen Hargreaves in the process. He's also capable of playing left back and on the left in a diamond-shaped midfield, and that kind of versatility is always a plus.

As I'm sure all of you read or heard about a couple weeks ago, Barry was banned from training and club premises by his manager and fined $120,000 (two weeks' salary) basically in response to Barry's public comments regarding his desire to move to Liverpool. Barry has made it fairly clear that he'd like to go to Anfield and play in the Champions League with his good friend, Steven Gerrard, and questioned O'Neill's commitment to bringing in more firepower.

Barry also called O'Neill out right after Euro 2008, saying the manager had time to be a television pundit but not to reach out and communicate with his captain. Liverpool and Villa have been discussing a transfer all summer long, but the two clubs haven't been able to agree on cash valuations or player swaps combined with cash to get the deal done. O'Neill has admitted that although he would like Barry to stay, for the right price, he could leave.

On July 16, though, Barry returned to training, three days before Villa went to Denmark and picked up two critical away goals in a 2-2 draw against Odense BK in the third round of the Intertoto Cup. An obviously unfit Barry didn't play in that game -- Stiliyan Petrov got the start in the holding role behind Steve Sidwell -- but did appear in Villa's friendly victory against Walsall two days ago. He was booed, and maybe rightfully so, by his club's supporters, but played an hour in his effort to work towards full match fitness.

The second leg of the Villa-Odense tie will be played this Saturday in England, with the hosts needing either a victory or a 0-0 or 1-1 draw to advance to the UEFA Cup second qualifying round. O'Neill said today that he was considering playing Barry in the upcoming game:

"I think that in terms of fitness the game on Tuesday will have brought Gareth on, so if he's mentally tuned in and he wants to go and play, why not?

'He will be in contention for Saturday. He's a quality player and that's what we're looking for. I have never not been impressed with him in two years as to his attitude on the football pitch.

'In fairness the Intertoto gives us that chance to get into the UEFA Cup, which we set out to get into by one way or another, and Gareth was a major part of that last year."

He then added:

"Deep down we would all love him to stay at the football club. We haven't heard back from Liverpool for some time and we're not exactly sure where we all stand.

'When people say people are in limbo, I don't think that applies to anybody more than ourselves. We don't know whether to move forward or not with it. It's a long-running saga and I wouldn't mind it ending one way or another.

'My preference - and hopefully I'm speaking for a lot of Villa fans, if not all of them - is that we would like Gareth to stay at the football club. That would be great because it will be hard to replace him."

So, where does that leave us?

O'Neill should insert Barry into the starting eleven for Saturday's match. As the manager, his responsibility is to field the lineup he believes gives the team the best possible chance to get the result. There is no question that Gareth Barry is one of Villa's best players and would immediately bring that cool, savvy demeanor into an otherwise young and inexperienced -- at least in European competition -- team. He links up very well with his wide players, Young and some combination of Nigel Reo-Coker, Shaun Maloney, and even Agbonlahor on occasion, but also takes corner kicks and free kicks from the right side. Villa is deadly off the set piece with Laursen, Carew, and Zat Knight in the air, and Barry's in-swinging balls are always dangerous.

By playing Barry, O'Neill is also forcing Liverpool's hand, saying that unless Rafa Benitez comes up with a satisfactory offer to meet the valuation, Villa simply won't sell and will retain the services of their captain. Liverpool seems to want Barry desperately for some reason (if you go back to early May in the blog archive, you'll see why I don't believe he's a necessary piece to Liverpool's puzzle), so they're going to have make a decision sooner rather than later. The closer we get to the start of the Premiership season, the more Villa can dictate the situation and the more they can raise the desired price.

I think you'll find that as we move forward, the mutual hard feelings between Barry and O'Neill, which seem to be more of disappointment than anything else, will begin to evaporate. If Barry stays at Villa, the fans will eventually welcome back one of their club's most loyal players. They don't seem to understand or appreciate that when players want to change teams, it's usually business more than it is personal. Liverpool would be able to pay Barry more and give him a chance to compete in the Champions League, but that doesn't mean Barry has lost his love for Villa and his respect for their fans.

Martin O'Neill should bring Gareth Barry back into the fold this weekend. The Birmingham-based club have the ability to break into the top four with just a couple more impact signings, definitely at right back and possibly at right wing, and need a bit more depth. They have the talent right now to be a serious contender in the UEFA Cup. I believe Barry will get his wish to play in the Champions League at some point, and possibly next season for Villa if he stays where he is now.

It all starts on Saturday, though, and I'm extremely interested to see whether or not the skipper is leading the team out of the tunnel.

Update (07/26 -- Noon): Barry is amongst the substitutes named by Martin O'Neill. He's opted to use the same starting lineup that drew 2-2 last week.

Update #2 (12:30 PM): Barry is coming on after a horrific-looking ankle injury to Wilfred Bouma. Barry presumably will go to left back, showing the versatility I mentioned earlier in this post.

Scott Carson’s Questionable Move to West Bromwich Albion

After yesterday’s posts, I’m sure you all know how much I hate the “silly season” and how I can’t stand to hear the constant gossip and rumor mill concerning player transfers during the summer. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean I don’t hear or read any of it; it’s everywhere and practically impossible to avoid.

Out of all the goalkeepers I’ve heard being bandied around thus far and/or ones that have already made moves — Brad Friedel, Gomes, Mark Schwarzer, Paul Robinson, Robert Green, etc. — Scott Carson is undoubtedly the best of the bunch. He’s also only 22 years old, and with the widely accepted notion that goalies don’t hit their peaks until their late 20’s/early 30’s, the sky could be the limit for Carson. He’s shown a lot of ability early in his career, and the potential to improve even more is clearly there.

That’s why I was surprised when I, to steal a line from U2 in “Sunday, Bloody Sunday”, heard the news today. Carson signed a four-year contract with West Brom, a newly-promoted team who paid Liverpool $6.5 million for his services, a fee that could rise to $7.5 million based on performance-related criteria.

Carson spent time on loan at Premiership bottom-feeders Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic before joining Aston Villa for the entirety of last season. As someone who watched Martin O’Neill’s club very often last year, I can tell you with 100% certainty that if it wasn’t for Scott Carson in goal, Villa wouldn’t have finished seventh in the league and be playing in European competitions in ‘08-’09. No one is as high on Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor, among others, as I am, but if all things were equal and Villa played exactly the same way last year with Stuart Taylor or Thomas Sorensen between the sticks instead of Carson, they’re not even a top-10 team, simple as that.

Carson was very impressive for the Birmingham-based club, probably the best English goalkeeper last season after Portsmouth’s David James, who revived his club and international career with his performances in goal. Carson thrust himself into the senior national team discussion after racking up 29 appearances at the U-21 level, second-most in England’s history.

Everyone remembers his competitive debut for England, when his horrible start allowed Croatia to jump out to a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in do-or-die Euro 2008 qualifier for the Three Lions at Wembley, but I’m not sure why people would expect much more out of a young man being thrust into a high-pressure situation like that for the first time in his life. The truth of the matter is after those early mistakes, he actually played reasonably well for the rest of the game and gave England a chance to overcome the deficit.

West Brom is going to struggle to stay up next year, to say the least. I don’t want to give too much away now regarding my Premiership picks, but suffice it to say that I believe the three teams who got promoted from the Championship last season are going to have a very short stay in England’s top division. Out of those three, West Brom has the best chance to survive, but let’s be honest. Take a look at their squad right now, even with the summer signings that have cost the club $27.5 million, and tell me who, besides Stoke City and Hull City, they can finish ahead of. Fulham? Maybe, but I don’t think so. Wigan? Nope. Sunderland? Not with Roy Keane at the helm.

Look, I understand that Carson had to leave Liverpool. He was never going to be their first-choice keeper, at least not as long as Pepe Reina was there. I get it. But West Brom is not good enough for someone who played basically every game for a European contender (Carson played 35 league games, he was ineligible for the two against Liverpool and missed another due to a red card, I believe) and at 22, established himself as, at the very least, a genuine candidate to be England’s next goalie after James calls it quits. If he would’ve waited just a couple more weeks, a possible player/cash swap involving him and Gareth Barry might’ve been on the cards between Liverpool and Villa.

He’s going to get peppered this year. No longer will he have stalwarts in Martin Laursen and Olof Mellberg ahead of him to win almost every ball in the air. Instead, he’ll have to rely on the likes of Pelé (no, not that one, the one from Cape Verde), Leon Barnett, and Marek Čech to clean up the mess in the back. Please. Give me a break.

I can’t see how this is going to be a good season for Carson and his development, but at least he’ll have plenty of work. I can’t see him staying at West Brom after this season and certainly not if they’re relegated. At that point, I’d expect him to head back to a bigger Premiership club, one that has more to work with.

Yossi Benayoun's Beautiful Goal Against Tranmere Rovers

Another day, another video clip.

Take a look at Yossi Benayoun's superb curling effort in Liverpool's 1-0 victory over Tranmere yesterday. The Israeli international will be making a push for more playing time in midfield with the likely departure of Xabi Alonso, Ryan Babel's recovery from injury, and Javier Mascherano's absence to play for Argentina in the upcoming Olympics. Goals like this help make a claim for more run-outs.

Liverpool Wants Gareth Barry--Why?

Numerous reports today have confirmed what has basically been common knowledge over the past couple of weeks: Liverpool is interested in signing Aston Villa's captain, Gareth Barry. Villa manager Martin O'Neill came out today criticizing Liverpool for publicizing this interest; a part exchange offer has been made for sure, with Peter Crouch, John Arne Riise, and/or even possibly Scott Carson as the likely candidates to go the other way. O'Neill, for his part, refused to confirm specifically what the offer entailed, but did obviously say that one was on the table.

My question? Why does Liverpool want Barry?

Make no mistake, this isn't meant to slam or to disparage Barry whatsoever. He's a terrific player and is Villa's heart and soul. He is good friends with Liverpool's captain, Steven Gerrard, from their days breaking into the England squad at a young age. He is very versatile, capable of playing left back and on the left side of midfield, although he is more comfortable right in the center of the park where he's starred for Villa this year. He's approaching his 400th career appearance for the club and has already qualified for a testimonial recognizing a decade spent at Villa Park. At 27 years old, Barry is in the prime of his career.

No, Gareth Barry has had an outstanding season and I can see why a big club would be interested in him.

Not Liverpool, though. Rafa Benitez's team has a plethora of center midfielders in Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Lucas, Xabi Alonso (who may leave in the summer), the young Damien Plessis, and even Yossi Benayoun, who is natural in the middle but has been used on the wing by Benitez this season.

Would Barry play at Liverpool? He's a very, very good player, but this move seems like Steve Sidwell to Chelsea last summer all over again. If Alonso doesn't go, Barry would probably be no better than the fourth choice in the center and be rotated constantly. He doesn't need that in his prime; he needs to be starting every game and wearing Villa's armband for years to come. Moving to Liverpool may hamstring his recently reignited England career under Fabio Capello, who has made it clear that if you don't play regularly for your club, you won't be playing for the Three Lions.

Liverpool should be interested in a player from Aston Villa, but Gareth Barry isn't the one, and Barry shouldn't want to go to Liverpool either.

So, who do I think Liverpool should go after?

None other than my man Ashley Young, who is probably my favorite player in the league. He can play on both wings, though he's mostly played on the left this season before being given a free role recently by O'Neill. He is a great set-piece taker, arguably better than Gerrard. He has great pace and technical ability and at 22, is still developing. He's got seven goals and 17 assists this season and was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

Think about it, it makes sense. Where are Liverpool's holes? At the full-back position, of course, but really on the wings. Sure, Ryan Babel is fine on the left, but he's more of a striker. Jermaine Pennant is rubbish, Dirk Kuyt has very little natural ability even though he's a workhorse, Benayoun isn't dynamic enough to beat anyone on the flank and cause much trouble, and Harry Kewell will be leaving.

Everything runs through Alonso, Mascherano, and Gerrard for Liverpool, and then up through the center to Torres. They're an extremely one-dimensional team and signing Barry would just reinforce that notion. Young, on the other hand, would give them a real threat on the left side and would allow Babel to move to the right, which would be helpful for a guy who's predominantly right-footed anyway. I guarantee you that would be no faster combination of flank players in the Premiership than Babel and Young, and they would be absolutely deadly out wide. Young would walk straight into that starting XI and provide something for Liverpool that they haven't had in recent seasons -- a true winger.

With that said, I just don't see any way that O'Neill would let Ashley Young leave right now after the season he's had. I think his performance this year has driven his price up in the neighborhood of 20 million pounds, and that's no joke. Liverpool probably doesn't have that type of money to spend, although he is worth it, and Villa would be reluctant to let him walk for any less than that. Barry would be a cheaper alternative, but I don't see why Liverpool believe they need another center midfielder.

In the end, I believe Barry will remain at Villa and I can't see Young going anywhere, although both of them certainly have the ability to play for a "Big Four" club. Villa is a club on the rise and, mark my words, WILL be challenging for fourth place in the Premiership next season if Barry does stay. If you're a Liverpool fan, you have to hope your club goes after some wide players, both in the back and on the wing, and you certainly don't need another guy clogging up the middle.

Chelsea-3, Liverpool-2; Blues Heading to Moscow

Wow.

That’s just all there is to say.

That was how a Champions League semifinal should be played. That was a terrific, terrific two hours of soccer.

Congratulations to Chelsea, obviously, for winning 3-2 and advancing to Moscow to play Manchester United on May 21, in what will be the first all-English final in Champions League history.

Full credit to Didier Drogba, who has been slated by me and nearly everyone else in the blogs, newspapers, and on TV for not giving his all on the field. He shut all the critics up with his performance today, beating Pepe Reina to the near post on both of his goals.

Full credit to Frank Lampard for stepping up and nailing that PK in extra time. All the pressure in the world was on a man who just lost his mother and for him to even be playing is a testament to his mental strength. It was a precious moment to see him kiss the black armband, worn in memory of his mom, during his celebration in the corner.

For Liverpool, you also have to credit them for never giving up. Ryan Babel’s 40-yard strike in the 117th minute should’ve been saved, I understand that, but Liverpool deserved some consolation after the way they came back from 1-0 down in regular time and for the way they played in extra time. I do have to say that Steven Gerrard was largely invisible today; he had a disappointing game, and I don’t understand why Fernando Torres was taken off. If anything, Kuyt should’ve been replaced by Peter Crouch, not Babel on for the best out-and-out striker in the league this season even though Babel did end up scoring.

I thought the referee and his assistants had solid games as well. Kalou looked to have been just offside on Chelsea’s first goal, but it was a matter of inches either way and when in doubt, you give the attacker the benefit of the call. Chelsea’s penalty was justly awarded, and Hyypia’s shout for one late on was justly not given. Essien’s potential second goal was correctly disallowed as four Chelsea players were offside and Didier Drogba was impeding Reina by standing right in front of him.

That was just a mind-blowing game. As I was telling a friend, I don’t support either team but I was even feeling nervous for the majority of the game. That’s the type of action you want to see from a match of this magnitude, and it’s great that both teams delivered.

Halftime Thoughts--Chelsea vs. Liverpool (Second Leg)

• Great atmosphere at Stamford Bridge tonight. This is a proper, proper European occasion. It wouldn’t be complete without pouring rain either; the drearier, the better.

• Terrific long, diagonal ball from Ballack to Ashley Cole in the 8th minute. The German captain has been a man on a mission recently.

• Why did Torres take that shot with his left foot in the 10th minute?? He had a perfect cut-back opportunity on his right foot to bend it to the far post; instead, he cut down his own angle by dribbling further to the byline and getting it on his weaker foot. Great one-touch ball from Gerrard to spring the Spaniard, though.

• Carragher was commanding in the air on Chelsea’s corner kick nearly a quarter of an hour in, with two headers to clear the area.

• If you ever want someone to blast a free kick into the wall or smash it into Row Z, John Arne Riise is your guy.

• Drogba really, really should’ve done better in the 19th minute…you have to score from there. He had Reina dead to rights and only came up with a weak left-footed dribbler.

• Solid strike by Essien, good save by Reina to smother that ball on the wet pitch in the 21st minute.

• Hmm, Hyypia for Skrtel was necessary due to the knock taken by the Slovakian, but it takes away one of Benitez’s changes for later in the game. That could really come back to bite Liverpool.

• Dour period between the 20th-30th minute. One speculative effort from the Kaiser, easily fisted away by Reina.

• Liverpool hasn’t showed nearly enough going forward at this point to make me think they can steal a goal today. You’d have to think Crouch will be on by the 70th minute if things stay the same.

• Wow, a lot of emotion there from Drogba after slamming home the rebound in the 33rd minute. Reina, once again, showed that he is very vulnerable at the near post.

• Drogba seems very motivated by Rafa’s scathing comments earlier in the week. Memo to any professional, either player or coach: NEVER, EVER criticize or insult your opposition before a game. Bulletin board material is exactly what you don’t want to give the other team, and I would’ve thought Benitez would’ve known better than to say what he said. The Ivorian has had multiple chances today and has definitely shown up to play, something that can’t be said about him in recent weeks.

• Drogba should’ve been booked for that clumsy sliding challenge on Gerrard in the 38th or 39th minute. Late, no ball, right on the ankle. Has to be a yellow card and I’m shocked that it wasn’t.

• Was that Avram Grant who slipped and fell backwards into the bench area just before halftime??? That was hilarious!! I hope he’s OK though, you know what they say…the bigger they are, the harder they fall…

• Liverpool has just had a woeful 45 minutes going forward…they have no chance to get back in this tie if they play like that next half. Avram Grant's side is one goal up at the break.

Benitez Is Right To Rotate Lineup

Despite former Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock’s furious claims to the contrary last season and more whining this week, Rafa Benitez has every right to rotate his squad for a game against a relegation-threatened team.

This issue has come up in recent days because Liverpool will make the trip to St. Andrew’s and play 18th place Birmingham City tomorrow. The Reds are in the middle of their Champions League semifinal tie against Chelsea, and they’ll need to be as close to full-strength as possible heading into next Wednesday’s second leg at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool has to score there, something that has literally been impossible under Benitez’s tenure, to advance to their third CL final in four years.

Mathematically, Liverpool needs three points in their final three Premiership games to clinch 4th spot and the last Champions League berth that comes with it. Realistically, though, they already have a stranglehold on it and could probably not even earn another point for the rest of the season and still be ok.

Benitez sent out a second-string lineup at Craven Cottage and still managed to dominate a desperate Fulham team, coming out of West London with a 2-0 victory. The term “second-string” is relative, though, because Liverpool’s backups are still good enough to start for the majority of teams in the league.

This is part of the reason I don’t want to hear guys like Neil Warnock and more recently, Steve Bruce, slam Benitez for resting his stars. It’s not just Warnock and Bruce either; Benitez has had his share of critics in the media for what he’s going to do.

“It undermines the competition and integrity of the game”, they’ll say, or “It gives other teams unfair advantages”. You know what I’m talking about, the typical moaning and groaning from people with a vested interest while trying to make it sound like they have the game’s best intentions at heart.

Let me tell you something right now. That’s rubbish. It just is. It’s BS of the highest order.

Rafa Benitez doesn’t owe anyone other than Liverpool FC anything. It’s that simple. As the manager of that club, he is responsible for their best interests, whatever they may be. He is entitled to do whatever he needs to do, as long as it’s legal, obviously, to make sure that those goals are met. He doesn’t owe Steve Bruce or Neil Warnock anything. He doesn’t owe the Premier League and sentiment anything.

Benitez can play whoever he wants against Birmingham. There is strong talk that the only regular player Benitez will put out there is Jamie Carragher, and even that is no guarantee as far as from what I can tell. It seems like a fair bet that Gerrard, Torres, Alonso, Reina, Babel, Riise, Kuyt, and Mascherano all won’t play, or at least won’t start. Relatively inexperienced players like Charles Itanjie, Emiliano Insua, and Damien Plessis could all get a run-out.

You know what? Good for them. Liverpool has to come up with the goods next Wednesday, and it makes no sense for Benitez to risk his best players in a meaningless game, at least from Liverpool’s point of view. Birmingham needs points and will come out playing a physical, in-your-face style, and Benitez can’t afford for any of his players to get injured.

To his credit, Bolton boss Gary Megson has come out and said that he doesn’t care who Benitez plays against Birmingham. Bolton is in the thick of the relegation fight, and it would be understandable if Megson lashed out and urged Benitez to pick his strongest team.

Instead, he believes that “Rafa Benitez has to do what is best for Liverpool and we all have to do what is best for our own teams…The fact Liverpool can rest players and still put out that kind of side just shows the size of the squad and quality they have got.”

I applaud Megson for saying this, and he’s got it right. He also told Sky Sports News that “Rafa’s team and his selection is nothing to do with me or indeed anybody else other than Rafa and Liverpool”.

Spot-on, Mr. Megson. Spot on.

Full-Time Thoughts--Liverpool vs. Chelsea

• The second half was a much better 45 minutes of soccer to watch. Both teams went after it, particularly early in the half, and the game was played at a faster tempo.

• Didier Drogba is so ridiculously disinterested in playing for Chelsea that it’s a joke. If I was Avram Grant, I would consider suspending him for the rest of the season and just telling him to stay away from the team. Drogba seems to be a cancer to Chelsea FC right now. He is less than half the player he was under Mourinho.

• Kalou in for Joe Cole seemed to have been a bit of a pointless change. I understand that Cole had had a quiet game up until that point, but he is Chelsea’s most creative attacking player and can provide things that no one else on that team can. One moment of brilliance and Cole could’ve equalized for the Blues, and you can’t say the same about Kalou.

• Frank Lampard didn’t seem to fully be into this game. He was there in body, obviously, but he seemed to be a couple steps off the pace and I don’t think his mind was completely focused on playing Liverpool. After being with his sick mother for a while though, you can’t have expected a wonder game from him either.

• Rafa Benitez clearly outmanaged his counterpart, Avram Grant, tonight. Grant was hesitant to pull the trigger on any attacking moves, and Benitez stood pat and didn’t bring on an extra defender, which in turn likely would’ve brought an immediate countermove from Grant and invited more pressure onto the Reds’ back line. Grant brought Anelka on in the 85th minute, way too late. A guy like Anelka typically needs five minutes or more just to get acquainted with the flow of the game, and Grant was asking too much of him to contribute something in that short a period of time. Grant also took off his best player on the night, Michael Ballack, for some unknown reason.

• Liverpool was harshly done by the officials. Chelsea got the benefit of almost every close call; Drogba went down at every chance he got and usually won a free kick, Chelsea clearly was offside on two or three occasions and it wasn’t spotted, and Liverpool had a great shout for a penalty after Michael Ballack appeared to play the ball with his arm in the box midway through the second half.

• Chelsea really lacked that spark of creativity necessary to steal a true goal at Anfield. Ballack was their best player, as I said, but didn’t seriously ever test Reina. I’m still unsure why he was replaced.

• Just how important were Fernando Torres’ two great chances that weren’t finished? The second was only a minute before Riise’s unfortunate own-goal, and going 2-0 up would’ve finished the game for good.

• In the end, 1-1 obviously is a flattering scoreline to Chelsea. The Blues were outplayed virtually all game and only a lucky own-goal at the death rescued them. Chelsea now has the advantage heading back to the Bridge next week, but Liverpool has to be encouraged by their own performance today. Take nothing away from Chelsea though; they had fate on their side tonight, and that can’t be underestimated.

Halftime Thoughts--Liverpool vs. Chelsea

• I miss Tommy Smyth and Derek Rae on the call. I’m assuming they’ll be working the Manchester United-Barcelona game tomorrow, but I’m not sure why they couldn’t do this game as well…

• The first shot on goal came nearly eight minutes in, and it was a relatively slow dribbler from Steven Gerrard. One shot in eight minutes, and a low-quality shot at that, isn’t exactly a good sign of things to come.

• Chelsea dominated possession in the first ten minutes, with Liverpool content to sit back and not waste energy chasing the ball around.

• Dirk Kuyt, of all players, had the best chance in the first quarter of an hour. Chelsea has looked absolutely woeful going forward thus far, relying on set pieces to pump balls into the box.

• Liverpool had the better of the second ten minutes, no question.

• Once again, Drogba just doesn’t look motivated to play, which is inexcusable seeing as this is a Champions League semifinal. Drogba won’t be at the Bridge next season, and has had a poor first half today.

• Good opportunity for Joe Cole right on 18 minutes; that obviously would’ve been an invaluable away goal for the Blues. A few inches taller and he may have connected with that slide.

• A second chance for Cole in the 21st minute went begging…that was a weak, weak stab at the ball. Get up, young man!

• Glad to see Tom Hicks in attendance today. The man shouldn’t be frightened off by the Scousers; he owns the club, he has every right to watch his team play. Surprised he and Gillett haven’t gone at it yet though!

• No penalty on the Drogba/Carragher incident in the 29th minute. Ball first, then man is legal; the referee made the correct decision.

• Lovely through ball from Gerrard to Torres in the 31st minute, good save from Cech, but Torres really should’ve done better and put Liverpool up 1-0. Best chance of the game went wasted.

• Another weak effort from Gerrard two minutes later; he’s certainly capable of pulling one out of the magic hat as we all know, but hasn’t come close yet today.

• Kuyt with the goal?!? Kuyt? We all know he works harder than anyone, but he doesn’t have much in the way of natural talent. Cool, cool finish though; must’ve made a guy like Torres proud.

• They said it would be like watching paint dry or grass grow, and aside from a few brief moments, they were right. Both teams are tactically sound and don’t give much away. Liverpool-1, Chelsea-0 – in all honestly, a fair scoreline.

Stay Tuned...

Make sure you check back here at halftime, and again at full-time, of today's Champions League semifinal first leg at Anfield. As I did in both games of the Liverpool-Arsenal tie, I'll have my halftime and post-match thoughts for you to undoubtedly pick apart.

For those of you want to see attractive, free-flowing soccer, this isn't the game for you. It's going to be a grind-it-out, slow-moving affair, with the winner likely only needing one goal to prevail.

My prediction: Liverpool-1, Chelsea-0, with a late goal from Fernando Torres the only thing separating the two sides. In next Wednesday’s return leg at Stamford Bridge, I’ve got a 1-1 draw, which, of course, would be enough for Liverpool to advance to their third Champions League final in four years.

Tomorrow's Upset Special

Tomorrow's six-game slate certainly isn't the most attractive we've seen this season, especially not before closer inspection. When you really look at it though, there should be a couple of good games and I'm going to go on the record in one of them and say that Fulham will take points against Liverpool.

Part of me wants to take the safe route and predict a draw. You know what, though? Screw that. I'm going to lay it on the line right now; Fulham will BEAT Liverpool at Craven Cottage tomorrow. You heard me correctly. Fulham. Win. Over Liverpool.

Why? For several reasons:

1. The Cottagers have everything to play for -- Premiership survival. Liverpool has..well..nothing to play for. With Everton's loss to Chelsea yesterday, Liverpool is basically assured of 4th place and the final Champions League spot that comes with it. Don't underestimate the motivation of a desperate team against a team just playing out the string in the league.

2. Liverpool has their Champions League semifinal first leg on Tuesday. Make no mistake, that is the one thing driving Liverpool FC. Rafa is already known for his squad rotation system, and I just can't see guys like Torres, Gerrard, and either Mascherano or Alonso playing much tomorrow for fear of injury. Without that opposition spine right down the middle and with their team fully healthy, Fulham may have an advantage.

3. Remember last year's game at Craven Cottage between these two teams? It was a very similar situation; Fulham needed points and Liverpool was only competing for the Champions League. Benitez fielded a much-weakened team to rest his stars and Fulham got the victory.

4. Liverpool's fans -- will they travel down to West London? It's a long trip to the other end of England to likely see a less-than-full-strength Reds team. Even if the Scousers do make the journey, Fulham's fans are definitely going to outnumber them in that smaller stadium and Craven Cottage will undoubtedly be sold out.

Prediction: Fulham-2, Liverpool-1

Remembering the Hillsborough Disaster

Nineteen years ago on this date, 94 people, all Liverpool fans, were crushed and died at Hillsbrough Stadium before an FA Cup semifinal match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. Two more people died from their injuries later on and 766 other supporters were injured, with around 300 of those needing to go to the hospital.

If you have a chance today, take a moment and say a prayer for the victims of this tragedy, their families, and everyone affected by what happened in Sheffield.

Full-Time Thoughts--Liverpool vs. Arsenal (Second Leg)

It's over at Anfield, and as predicted here before the quarterfinal round started, Liverpool has advanced after winning 3-2 tonight. Captain Steven Gerrard stepped up and converted the game-winning penalty just minutes after Arsenal had equalized at 2-2 through Adebayor, who was set up nicely after a terrific solo run by Theo Walcott. That scoreline obviously would've sent the Gunners through on the away goals rule, but a justly awarded spot kick quashed any momentum and good feelings that the North London side had earned back.

Ryan Babel coolly finished a breakaway to seal the deal in stoppage time, and full credit has to be given to Liverpool FC for fighting back the way they did.

Arsenal has to be commended as well for overcoming their 2-1 deficit and when the Togolese striker levelled the match, it looked for all the world like his team would progress.

It was not to be for Arsene Wenger's team though. Liverpool will meet Chelsea, a 3-2 aggregate winner over Turkish club Fenerbahçe, in the semifinals for the third time in four years, but I'll have more on that as we get closer to the tie. The first leg is scheduled for Tuesday, April 22.

We were treated to a fabulous game today. In truth, I think Liverpool had the better of things all match long and if either of those teams were going to win, it was going to be the Reds. Arsenal didn't look the same after Mathieu Flamini had to be taken off due to injury right before the first half ended, whereas Liverpool got stronger as time went on.

I’m curious to hear what Monsieur Wenger has to say about the penalty decision so close to full-time. To me, it wasn’t even that close. Babel was hauled down from behind and could’ve fallen several strides before he actually went down, and I respect the fact that he didn’t dive.

Congratulations to Liverpool on the victory and credit to Arsenal for making this such a good game. The Gunners had their chances and didn’t take them. In the end, that will haunt them more than anything.

Halftime Thoughts--Liverpool vs. Arsenal (Second Leg)

I'm typing this as sort of a live blog as the game goes on, so yes, there are a few contradictions but soccer is a game that can change very quickly.

• Clever stuff from Derek Rae right before kickoff...“most anticipated end to a trilogy since Return of the Jedi.” Quality.

• Good to see Peter Crouch rewarded for his great game last weekend with a start today. Yes, it changed the shape that Liverpool has been successful with recently, but Crouch deserved a run-out. Rumors of a slight knock for Babel also played into Benitez’s decision.

• VERY shaky first few minutes for Liverpool; if only Arsenal could’ve stayed onside and shown some composure, the Gunners could’ve had a precious early away goal sooner than they got one.

• Gerrard is playing wide left in name only. He’s roaming a fair bit, which is fine because Alonso and Mascherano are back there to clean everything up.

• Reina should’ve saved Diaby’s goal. Diaby struck it very well, but Reina needed to get more of his body behind the ball, preferably a hand, and at least deflect it somewhere else. No excuse for getting beat at the near post.

• Adebayor is running Hyypia ragged. Can’t understand why Hyypia is even starting; Carragher matches up better against Adebayor physically and Steve Finnan is a natural right back.

• Correct decision in not awarding Liverpool a penalty when Kuyt went down in the box midway through the half. Arsenal didn’t get a close call last week; Liverpool wasn't going to get one this week.

• Hyypia’s goal means he’ll probably be at Liverpool until he’s 57 years old. Might as well hand him a long-term contract right now. Just joking, of course, but he’s been a loyal servant to the club and although he’s lost more than a step defensively, his goal today was hugely significant.

• Losing Flamini is a big blow for Arsenal. Gilberto gives the Gunners basically nothing going forward and has shown his age this season. He’s not nearly as quick as he used to be and while he is certainly experienced, Liverpool can exploit him if they’re patient enough with the ball.

Full-Time Thoughts--Arsenal vs. Liverpool

It’s all over in North London and after the first leg, Arsenal and Liverpool are level 1-1 on aggregate and will settle things at Anfield in six nights’ time. Briefly, here’s what I thought of today’s game:

• First of all, it should be said, and I know I’m stating the obvious, that this was a proper game of soccer. Both teams laid it all on the line and we saw a little bit of everything, from goal-line clearances, good, clean challenges, two well-crafted goals, and solid refereeing.

• Liverpool were extremely fortunate to get out of the Emirates with a 1-1 draw, and now they’ll head home in command of the tie. Arsenal had more chances and dominated possession in the second half, but couldn’t capitalize. They huffed and huffed, but couldn’t blow the Liverpool house down.

• William Gallas and Dirk Kuyt were terrific for their respective sides. Gallas compeletely neutralized the world’s most in-form striker at the moment, Fernando Torres, and was everywhere in the back for Arsenal. You’ll never hear anyone say Kuyt has a lot of natural talent and skill, but he’s the hardest worker on the field whenever he plays and Liverpool needed every ounce of his determination and energy today. Oh yeah, and he scored the Reds’ goal. Not too shabby.

• The Dutch referee, Pieter Vink, made the correct decision in not awarding a penalty for the Kuyt/Hleb incident in the second half. Sure, Kuyt had his arms on Hleb, but the Belorussian went down pretty easily and to be honest, wasn’t looking to score as much as he was looking for a penalty. I will guarantee you that there are Premiership referees who would’ve given a PK, because I’ve certainly seen them give penalties for less, but more so because they tend to give in to home crowds on questionable calls. Vink was looking right at the situation and had a clear view of it; he made the decision, and that’s it, end of story. It’s a talking point, but that’s all it is.

• Bringing Yossi Benayoun on for Ryan Babel was a complete waste of a substitution. Benayoun is a central midfielder; I don’t care that he's played on the wing this season for Liverpool, he’s a natural central midfielder. He doesn’t offer you pace and two-footed ability like Babel does, and Kolo Toure’s job on the right side became that much easier when Benayoun was brought into the game.

• Other than his run to set up Kuyt’s goal, Steven Gerrard really didn’t have much of an impact on the game. He made a couple of nice passes and won a couple of corner kicks, but I just didn’t see the same player who’s made his reputation off thriving on European nights. He’ll have to come up big for Liverpool next Tuesday night.

• On the other hand, Arsenal’s talisman, Cesc Fabregas, didn’t have a particularly good game either. Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso really limited the amount of time Fabregas had on the ball and closed him down very well. His long balls, which he’s known for, were constantly being hit 4-5 yards past where they needed to be to give Adebayor, van Persie, and Bendtner a chance to do what they do best: score goals.

• I don’t want to hear any more plugs from ESPN to take part in Derek Rae's chat session on ESPN Soccernet; I like the guy a lot and think the world of him as a play-by-play man, but I have no interest. Thanks anyway.

• As I said, Liverpool now controls their own destiny. A 0-0 draw next week will suit them just fine, and the 12th man that is the crowd at Anfield will be roaring. Can Arsenal’s inexperienced (not young) team, at least on the European stage, cope with it? We’ll see.

It will be very interesting to see the lineups that Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez field for their league game this weekend. Arsenal needs every single point that they can get as they’re trying to hunt down Manchester United for the league title, while Liverpool are seemingly secure in 4th place. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Benitez opts to rest Torres, and possibly Carragher and/or Gerrard, to have them all 100% for the second leg, but Wenger has to go with a full-strength team because Arsenal likely needs to win the rest of their Premiership games.

In today’s other Champions League game, Turkish side Fenerbahçe made me look good on my prediction yesterday by beating Chelsea at home 2-1. I don’t think they’ll be able to hold that lead at Stamford Bridge next week, but I’ve been very impressed with Fenerbahçe’s run in this competition and they’ve given their fans a lot to cheer about. They’ve put Turkish soccer on the map, and in the southeastern Europe/Balkan region, that league is clearly tops.

Halftime Thoughts--Arsenal vs. Liverpool

• It’s been a tale of two halves; Arsenal had the better of things and were in control for the first 20 minutes or so, and Liverpool came alive for the last 20-25 minutes.

• Very impressed with Liverpool’s immediate response to Adebayor’s goal. Once again, Steven Gerrard, the captain, put the team on his back and came up with a nice run and low cross for Kuyt to finish.

• Ryan Babel needs to continue to run at Kolo Toure. I said this in my “keys to the game” yesterday, and when Babel did use his speed on the left wing, he was fairly successful. Toure can’t match him step-for-step, and I’d expect to see Babel wear him down gradually in the second half.

• Pepe Reina is a fine, fine goalkeeper, but his relative lack of height for a goalkeeper puts him at a disadvantage on corners and free kicks. Arsenal needs to keep pumping the ball into the area, where Adebayor is having his way with Hyypia and Skrtel right now.

• Speaking of Hyypia, I have no idea why he is in the lineup. He is 34 years old now and has lost more than a step. He was exploited by Adebayor on the first goal and as I said, Arsenal needs to take advantage of Hyypia through the air and on the ground with pace.

• Jamie Carragher despises playing right back, but he does a good job there and it shows how much he cares about Liverpool FC by playing out of position for the team. With that said, him not being in the center allows Adebayor to win balls more easily in the air and I have a feeling Bendtner will be brought on as well.

• 1-1 clearly favors Liverpool, so Arsenal will have to push for a second goal. That should make for a great second half.

Champions League Quarterfinal Preview--Part 2

Yesterday, we took a brief look at the ties that will start tomorrow afternoon here in the US. Today, we'll look at Wednesday's games. Once again, my picks to advance to the semifinals are highlighted in bold.

1. Arsenal vs. Liverpool: Don't let Arsenal's comeback to beat Bolton this weekend fool you; the Gunners aren't playing well right now and they couldn't have been happy with drawing the European buzzsaw that is Liverpool in this round.

For Arsenal to win this tie, they must hold serve at the Emirates on Wednesday and either come away with a win or a scoreless draw. If they lose to Liverpool at home or concede in a draw, or perhaps even concede in a one-goal loss, the Reds will take that positive result back to Anfield, grind the second leg out, get the job done, and advance. You don't go into the home of England's most successful European club and come away with anything, it's that simple, at least in the Champions League. A European night at Anfield is a special, special sight to behold and the inexperience of Arsenal could be exploited there.

What are the keys for both teams? For Arsenal, as I said, they likely need to win on Wednesday.

"Well duh, but how do they do that?" Liverpool can be beaten on the wings. It's nearly impossible to penetrate through the likes of Gerrard, Alonso, and Mascherano in the middle, but Babel and Kuyt are fairly limited defensively. Unfortunately for Arsenal, those two players have just as much speed, although Kuyt perhaps a little less so, than the players (Walcott/Eboué and Rosicky) Arsene Wenger will play on the flanks. If those guys can whip balls in to Adebayor and/or Bendtner, it could come down to an aerial battle between Carragher and Skrtel and the Arsenal strikers. Personally, I'd take the Liverpool defenders, but that's just me.

For Liverpool, Ryan Babel needs to have a big game. No Bacary Sagna, who is out with an injury, on the right side likely means that either Justin Hoyte (average at best) or Kolo Touré (out of position) will be pressed into action and will have to deal with the Dutch winger. Babel has the strength to beat Hoyte one-on-one and the pace to beat Touré. If he can force his way to the byline and inside the box, that havoc will create chances all day for the most in-form striker in the world right now, Fernando Torres.

Prediction: This tie may have extra time and penalties written all over it, but I can see Liverpool getting it done in 180 minutes. With that said, I can see Arsenal doing the same but based on the Reds' European exploits and the fact that they have a better two-leg manager, I'm going with Liverpool. 0-0 in the first leg, 2-1 in the return leg at Anfield -- 2-1 aggregate

2. Fenerbahçe vs. Chelsea: I'll tell you right now, Fenerbahçe aren't going down without a fight. They will make Chelsea work for the entirety of this tie and it's not as cut-and-dry as one may think.

Usually the team who hosts the second leg has the advantage; in this case, however, I don't agree. No one, and I repeat, no one, wants to travel to Istanbul in front of the rowdy Turkish crowd and play. It's important that Fenerbahçe come out strong on Wednesday and take something positive back to Stamford Bridge. They need to set the tone in this tie and dictate to Chelsea how it is going to be played. Remember, this is a team that beat Inter Milan in this competition already, and say what you want about Milan's recent dip in form, that was still a hugely impressive result and one that shouldn't be discounted.

Chelsea was extremely fortunate to beat Middlesbrough this weekend, and they've been giving up a lot of chances in the past couple of weeks. There are goals to be had for Fenerbahçe, but they must convert their opportunities and that's something Middlesbrough couldn't do. Then again, there is a reason that Fenerbahçe are in the Champions League and Middlesbrough are..well, they're Middlesbrough.

In much the same fashion, Chelsea are going to get their fair share of chances as well against a Fenerbahçe back line that conceded five goals in two games against Sevilla in the Round of 16. The Blues possess a multitude of quality attacking players, and I would expect them to do their job and bury a couple balls into the back of the net.

I have to be honest, I haven't been able to find much information on this but if Roberto Carlos is healthy again, he'll give Fenerbahçe a big boost on the left side. The former Brazilian stalwart was named as one of the 125 best living players by Pelé in 2004 and still possesses a lethal left foot. He missed both games of the Sevilla tie, I believe, and Fenerbahçe could really use him back for this quarterfinal round.

Prediction: Fenerbahçe are a team with nothing to lose, having already exceeded expectations in reaching this stage of the competition. I expect them to play like at home on Wednesday and pull off a 2-1 win to give themselves a chance heading back to London. Chelsea doesn't score a ton of goals, so it could be a little tighter than desired, but the Blues will get it done at the Bridge. 2-1 in the first leg for the Turkish side, 3-1 in the second leg for Avram Grant's men -- 4-3 aggregate