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**pondus** · 08-03-09, 10:48 PM

Some links to articles:

http://www.setanta.com//uk/Articles/...ng/gnid-43463/

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drill...90308-0918.htm

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,195...019185,00.html

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport-new...5578-23084931/

**the rev leeroy brown** · 08-03-09, 10:50 PM

what with our defense a bit bare and needing to play masher in midfield, i'd be tempted to go:

-------------reina------------
----carra---hyypia---skrtel---
--------masher---alonso----
kyut-------gerard-------aurelio
------ngog-------babel------

sort of a 3-5-2 with aurelio and kyut as wing backs.

**pondus** · 08-03-09, 10:59 PM

Hoping that Arbeloa and Torres are fit:

_____________Reina

Arbeloa___Carra___Skrtel___Insua

Kuyt____Mascher__Alonso__Aurelio

___________Gerrard

______________Torres

**BrianF80** · 08-03-09, 11:05 PM

Originally posted by pondus View Post

Hoping that Arbeloa and Torres are fit:

_____________Reina

Arbeloa___Carra___Skrtel___Insua

Kuyt____Mascher__Alonso__Aurelio

___________Gerrard

______________Torres

Insua is not registered so I reckon Babel will get the call. As a member of his fan club I would have thought you would have been making the case for him

**pondus** · 08-03-09, 11:12 PM

Originally posted by BrianF80 View Post

Insua is not registered so I reckon Babel will get the call. As a member of his fan club I would have thought you would have been making the case for him

Of course he isn't....

As for the fan club membership, well........ If he can produce some of the form he showed at the end of last season he would be in my team.

Wonder if we'll see El Zhar in the left wing position. Assuming he is registered of course

Or maybe Aurelio in front of Dossena.

**squaddie** · 08-03-09, 11:17 PM

Tbf its a sad state of affairs if your relying on Babel to win a game for you. Sayin that, i have full faith in the red men to **** em.

**Craig_H** · 08-03-09, 11:37 PM

We have to play to win, you cant think of playing to draw.

**Le Chef** · 08-03-09, 11:37 PM

Who's out for Madrid ?

**Craig_H** · 08-03-09, 11:50 PM

Real Madrid's Raul ready for Liverpool
Guillem Balague
Fernando Morientes struggled to adapt to life at Liverpool during his 18-month spell on Merseyside. Yet the striker’s quiet time there made an indelible imprint on one of the greatest players in the history of Spanish football, a powerful memory that will surge again through Raúl’s mind like a bolt of electricity when Real Madrid arrive at Anfield this week for the second leg of their Champions League first knockout round tie.

The Real captain went to see his former teammate at Anfield – the only time he has travelled to England to watch a game from the stands – and the experience left him awe-struck and eagerly anticipating the opportunity to play at the famous stadium crammed in between those tiny terraced streets.

“I’m stuck for words,” Raúl said. “It’s so different: the singing in the ground and the approach to the stadium. You walk through the area with all the houses and suddenly there it is, the stadium, you can’t see it until it’s on top of you . . . crowded with all the fans, the noise, the passion. The atmosphere was incredible. It was a league game. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like for a Champions League match . . . crazy.”

Real’s 1-0 defeat at the Bernabéu in the first leg a fortnight ago was a disappointment to the Spanish champions. The team were flat and players were self-critical in the dressing-room afterwards, but there is a belief that the deficit can be overcome. “We have a clear idea of what we have to do – score twice,” Raúl said. “The other day we were hit strongly by the defeat, but we know we are going to have our chances and we are not going to give up.

“We are capable of beating Liverpool at Anfield. Since the arrival of Juande Ramos [the head coach], we are more disciplined. At the beginning of the season we had a lot of problems – we were scoring goals, but letting them in as well and that cost us a lot of points. We are now in good shape, above all physically and mentally. The league is a real possibility now Barcelona seem to have hit a wall, but we will be 100 per cent focused on the Champions League and winning this tie.”

The all-time leading scorer for Real, Spain and in the Champions League has been on the bench fewer than half a dozen times since he made his first-team debut as a 17-year-old. Still only 31, still burning with ambition despite all his accomplishments, Raúl seems to have found the secret of eternal youth.

“Football is a game,” he said. “We played it as children. But it is also a job. The key is to strike a balance. I try to find short-term objectives at every step in order to keep motivated. I would never have imagined scoring as many as Alfredo di Stefano [the previous leading goalscorer for Real]. But it was put to me at the start of the season that I was around 15 goals short and it stayed in my mind.”

Was he tempted to play for an English club? “If had you asked me what football would I love to experience, I’d say England,” Raúl said. “But I feel so well here, at home. A few years ago, Chelsea spoke to my representatives, but at that time all I wanted was to stay here.

“I love the Premier League, it is very dynamic, very passionate. It’s more interesting now with all of the Spanish players that have gone there and enjoyed such great success.”

One Iberian star who has been widely tipped to make the reverse journey is Cristiano Ronaldo. Raúl thinks that he would have no trouble fitting in at the Bernabéu. “I believe that if Cristiano Ronaldo came here, he’d be accepted. People who have played with him say he’s a good lad. Those who I’ve spoken to who know him say he’s a really hard worker and a good person. In theory there’s no reason why he’d break the harmony in the dressing-room.

“We’ve had lots of the biggest names in the game here, Ronaldo, Zidane, Beckham, yet they all integrated, they won over their teammates, the fans, the media,” Raúl said. “I don’t know Cristiano, but I trust the people who know him well.”

If the Portuguese does join Real, he need look no farther than their captain to find an ideal role model.

**Scratch** · 09-03-09, 10:04 AM

Think with Benni being injured, we'll see Auerlio and Dossena on the left...

-------------Reina-------------
Carra---Skrtel---Sami---Aurelio
----------Mash--Xabi---------
Kuyt--------Gerrard-------Doss
------------Torres-------------

And if Arbeloa is fit, Carra in the middle with Skrtel and Arbeloa at right back.

**Matt** · 09-03-09, 10:33 AM

Originally posted by the rev leeroy brown View Post

what with our defense a bit bare and needing to play masher in midfield, i'd be tempted to go:

-------------reina------------
----carra---hyypia---skrtel---
--------masher---alonso----
kyut-------gerard-------aurelio
------ngog-------babel------

sort of a 3-5-2 with aurelio and kyut as wing backs.

Think that looks decent on paper but it's probably a gamble too far. If Arbeloa and Torres don't make it I think it'd be something like:

Reina

Mascherano Carra Skrtel Dossena

Kuyt Alonso Lucas Aurelio
Gerrard
Babel

Although I'd happily switch Carra to right back and bring in Hyypia.

**Kenneth** · 09-03-09, 10:50 AM

Originally posted by Matt View Post

Think that looks decent on paper but it's probably a gamble too far. If Arbeloa and Torres don't make it I think it'd be something like:

Reina

Mascherano Carra Skrtel Dossena

Kuyt Alonso Lucas Aurelio
Gerrard
Babel

Although I'd happily switch Carra to right back and bring in Hyypia.

God I hope not, that is a **** team in anyone's book.

**Vermilion** · 09-03-09, 11:00 AM

Originally posted by Operation View Post

God I hope not, that is a **** team in anyone's book.

We'll, it say's nothing about it being a **** team in 'Mr. Funny's Red Nose Day' by Roger Hargreaves.

although i must admit i've not finished it yet.

**Matt** · 09-03-09, 11:05 AM

Originally posted by Operation View Post

God I hope not, that is a **** team in anyone's book.

I tend to agree but I think it's the kind of side we'd put out.

Carra Hyypia Skrtel Dossena

Kuyt Alonso Mascherano Aurelio

Gerrard
Babel

would be an alternative...

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