Some More Thoughts Ahead of the Scouse Trip

Aaah! My head hurts! But it’s good to be back, nonetheless.

Ahmed shared some thoughts on how to beat Liverpool. Of course, it attracted some hyper-active scouse bastards on here to spew their venom. We didn’t find any of those comments remotely courteous/balanced enough to be approved. So needless to say, we duly banned them.

On second thoughts, we should have approved those comments for their sheer entertainment value — sometimes cretinous comments add value, you see!

On third thoughts, hoping for sensible comments from their lot was always going to be one of those false dawns — not too different from their title hopes for the last million years.

Oh yes, I have been in a rather upbeat — or let’s say, in a wind-up — mood. This, of course, masks a certain degree of nervousness that accompanies such big games. To be honest, I would gladly take a draw. I assume that the Blues would do us a good turn by drawing with the Arse (or even beating them?).

A win would be perfect, which goes without saying.

So let’s cut to the things we could do from our side if we want to beat them.

A certain fear even accompanies players of either side when they meet, which is the fear of losing. Which is why, many of the encounters have been drab draws. Of course, we have some of those John O’Shea moments and the Rio Ferdinand goal that make these games memorable. But they are usually uninspiring, thanks to the hatred. So here are some of my (more than) 2 pennies’ worth.

Tactics and Midfield
To win at Anfield, Fergie needs to do what he did at Arsenal, or what Arsenal did to Liverpool; which is to attack. We played a 4-4-2 against Arsenal. And he would be better off doing that rather than crowding the midfield with three midfielders. Anderson and Hargreaves must start and that should give us enough bite.

The presence of Anderson, a young midfielder, who would be uninhibited by the occasion simply because he hasn’t been in England long enough to get a handle on the rivalry as say, Ronaldo; and this youthful exuberance and fearlessness could perhaps work to our advantage.

Liverpool’s Rather Gentle Defence
While Liverpool’s defence under Benitez has been dependable, the ageing Hyppia, the absent Agger and the increasingly error prone Carragher will be their weakest link. And if the Rooney-Tevez-Ronaldo axis works, then their defence would be stretched to the limits, make no mistake.

The Torres Factor
He is the only player that can cause us problems. And I wouldn’t mind if he runs at Rio, because he has the pace to track him down. Vidic would be better off roughing him up rather than letting Torres turn him.

I am hoping that we’ll win this. I feel more upbeat about this game than I have in the past. I really don’t know why. Maybe it’s just one of my moods. But I think we’ll beat them 2-1.

I am sticking my neck out on this one.

So come on you Reds! And by that I meant the reds of Manchester.