Liverpool

So, the end of January is in sight; just seven more days until the transfer window is closed until summer. The vast majority of transfer activity has happened in the Scottish League, some in Europe, but mostly in the Championship and lower. There have been some notable moves in top flight English football, but nothing to crow about.

Blackburn defender Lucas Neill, long thought to be on his way to Liverpool wound up at West Ham. Ashley Young, aka the only really good player on Watford, is now in a pond with some much bigger fish at Aston Villa. Warnock has left Liverpool for the greener pastures of Blackburn, presumably to fill Lucas Neill's medium sized shoes. This, of course, begs the question: Stephen Warnock was still playing for Liverpool?

And what of our favorite Merseysiders? They've brought on three young players from abroad. Daniele Padelli, goal keeper, presumably to replace the pitiable but useless Jerzy Dudek. Defender Emiliano Insua has been brought on because Liverpool feel a little odd not having Warnock's spot on the bench filled, and by on the bench I mean metaphorically, I know he hasn't been on the subs bench all season. And, most recently, Ajax youth striker Jordy BrouwerI don't know a thing about him, but the LFC top brass say they've been watching him for qite a while. I know it's something that scouts and sports teams say all the time, but it never fails to sound disturbing and stalkerey to me. Anyway, I'm torn between hoping that these guys work out, and desperately wanting to not have to try and spell their names again. Seriously, I was back and forth between the article and the LFC website and this blog three or four times for each person. The good news is unless the BBC has totally screwed up, no one's going to get mad at me for misspelling the newest Reds' names.

LFC has also done some more house cleaning, not in the Fabio Aurelio, Bolo Zenden way I was hoping, but, as those wacky cats in Ligue 1 say, cest la vie.

For some reason I wasn't able to insert links the way I wanted, but all my information comes from BBC Sport, ESPN Soccernet, Liverpool FC TV, and Sky Sports.

The only thing I would have liked more would have been beating a full strength Chelsea. However, I am more than happy having seen my beloved Reds expose the gaping holes in Chelsea's make-shift defence. In the 4th minute Dirk Kuyt easily beat both Essien and Ferriera for a beautifully placed first goal. Just ten minutes later Jermaine Pennant found himself entirely undefended, and shot a volley right over the out-stretched arm of Petr Czech.

The rest of the game wasn't quite as thrilling as the first 20 minutes, but Liverpool was clearly the dominant force. Chelsea made a little bit of a run in the early part of the 2nd half, but the Reds' defence was too much for the hapless Blues. Reina barely had to work at all, as most of Chelsea's attacks were shut down well in front of Liverpool's goal.

This game coupled with Manchester United's defeat at the hands of Arsenal make Liverpool's title dreams seem much more a reality. We're currently just 5 points behind the current champs and 11 behind Man United. It'll be a hard road, but right now it seems doable.

I want to start by saying that I like Rafa. Really, I do. I think that as a coach he is second to none. He treats his players fairly, and, with the exception of the regrettable squad selections during the FA and Carling Cups, he makes good decisions during games. All this changes, however, when it comes to actually MANAGING the team. This is evidenced by his newly acquired interest in Javier Mascherano, a player who can't even get game time at West Ham. While he has a number of international caps for Argentina, he is unprooven in the EPL.

Now, he could turn out to be an excellent addition to the team, we wouldn't even be able to find out until NEXT SEASON. That's right, he has already played at two clubs since July, and, consequently, is not allowed to play for another until June 30th under current FIFA rules. I know that Bolo Zenden has turned out to be a huge disappointment, and Momo Sissoko is still out injured, but for the love of all that is holy, don't saddle us with yet another useless player!

It is now looking as though the DIC takeover will not be completed until the end of January at the earliest. This means that Rafa's purse strings will be tighened until this summer at earliest. With a new stadium part of the takeover deal, he may not have the limitless funds he'd like for purchasing players. Either way, in this fan's opinion, it would be wise to wait on making any more January additions, and use the summer to both get rid of the chaff and bring in more grain.

So, I'm looking through this site, and the most recent post I'm finding is from October. I ask myself, "can this be right? So much has happened this year, and the most recent post is about Sol Campbell heading to Portsmouth? How can the most recent post NOT be about Liverpool? Just how?" Well, I have embarked on a mission to right that. Immediately.

Liverpools 3-nil trouncing of Watford was just what the doctor ordered for loyal supporters disheartened by the carnage of recent FA and Carling Cup games against Arsenal. Beating Watford, of course, can't really MAKE UP for those humiliating losses (we had an Arsenal fan over for the FA Cup game, and believe me, there was humiliation), but it does engender hope for the remainder of the season.

Rafa made the very bold decision to alter not only the line up (which needed altering with Garcia and, to a lesser extent, Gonzalez out of the running), but the entire formation. Running with a 3-4-3 was, in this fan's opinion, exceedingly brave coming after the cries for blood that followed his contraversial line up for the Carling Cup debacle. Against a top-tier team, I would never condone playing with only 3 defenders, but against Watford who are running the largest scoring deficit in the league, it was a fantastic idea. Working heavily on the attack, Liverpool kept the play securely in Watford's half for the vast majority of the game. While their passing in the first half left something to be desired, they still clearly out-classed their opponents coming away with two first half goals, one directly after another. Bellamy scoring the first, and lending an assist to Peter Crouch for the second. Bellamy also got an assist for the second Peter Crouch goal early in the second half. The second half also saw much crisper passing and control from the Reds, but they still lacked finishing prowess. The chances they had in the second half should have put them up by at least two more goals.

Next week: Chelsea. At Anfield. This is the big one, folks. It sounds like Petr Czech will return to goal for the game, and John Terry will be back, as well. Rafa says that he has some tactical hoo-ha ready for the Blues, but will it be enough? We will find out soon...

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has rejected reports linking him with a move for Real Madrid ace Jonathan Woodgate.

Reports on Friday suggested Liverpool were lining up a loan move for the former Leeds and Newcastle defender.

Real are thought to be willing to listen to offers for Woodgate as he does not figure in Fabio Capello's long-term plans.

Speculation had suggested that Benitez may move for Woodgate after Jamie Carragher, Gabriel Paletta, John Arne Riise and Stephen Warnock all picked up knocks

"We are not talking with Woodgate," said Benitez. "It is a rumour and the first I heard of it was in the newspapers. There is no interest in this player.

"It is true we have injuries to defenders. Carra is injured and can't play for England. It's not a serious injury and he could be back for the Merseyside derby.

"Riise and Warnock are out for 10 to 15 days and Gabriel Paletta is injured after he had a kick on his knee."

Turning his attentions to the UEFA Champions League draw, Benitez was fairly satisfied after Liverpool were pitted against PSV Eindhoven, Galatasaray and Bordeaux

"This isn't the worst group for us to be in but it isn't the best group either," added Benitez.

"It's never easy against Galatasaray; PSV have quality and European tradition and Bordeaux are a team with good players.

"But it will be better to have qualified before going to Galatasaray."