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Today was not a good day to be a Liverpool supporter. We were beaten (thrashed?) 4-1 by the dreaded Chel$ki on our home turf. This was not supposed to happen; they were supposed to be nervous and a little bit frightened after we held them scoreless in the Champions League match last Wednesday, the first time they did not win so far this season. Does this mean, to quote the arrogant one, that our season is over? Let’s think about this later in more detail, but first let’s go back to that special night in May.

It was only a matter of hours after the famous victory that the rumours and questions started popping up. Will Gerrard stay? Who will Rafa unload from his squad and who will he bring in? Will Michael Owen really leave Madrid, and if so will he be back at Anfield? It was widely known that several players including Smicer, Baros, Biscan, and others were considered to be surplus to requirements and/or not part of Rafa’s future plans. Luis Figo was named as a possible acquisition, along with almost every player in Europe with a contract in the negotiation stages. It was no surprise that Jose Reina signed after it was widely publicised in the press that he wanted to leave Villareal and come to Liverpool. Rafa named Peter Crouch as his ideal striker, which really did surprise many of us. Then along came Zenden from Middlesbrough and Sissoko taken from under the noses of Everton. Then the madness started.

First it was announced by Madrid that Michael Owen would be well down the list at the Bernabeu, which started the inevitable rumours. Owen himself then added fuel to the fire by stating that he wanted to return to England for regular first team football or he would risk losing his place in the England squad. Newcastle, Liverpool, Chel$ki and the Mancs were all said to be intent on signing him, with Liverpool the preferred and most likely option. It came down to either Newcastle or Liverpool, with the reds saying we’re interested but not for double what we sold him for. Newcastle jumped in and paid the price, taking the prodigal son to St. James’s to play alongside the legendary Shearer.

My own opinion was that we could certainly use a player with his virtual guarantee of twenty plus goals for the season but what does Rafa want? With Crouch replacing Baros, Le Tallec out on loan, Mellor injured and Cisse and Morientes yet to show consistent form, it seemed like a good idea at the time. But, at what price? We simply couldn’t afford Owen (or any player) without having a huge sale to bring in the funds. The transfer window was closing rapidly with no more movement to or from the reds so that was that. Owen will miss out on Champions League football and will probably regret his decision before the end of the season. We now have a squad that is undoubtedly stronger than last season, and so we have lots to look forward to. Of course, I haven’t mentioned the Steven Gerrard saga, that looked like he was all set to leave (most likely for Chel$ki) but a last minute change of heart made him decide to stay where his heart (and soul) belongs.

Finishing fifth in the league last season was no mean feat for Benitez when you consider the problems he faced. Winning the European Champions League was a stunning achievement, although it meant that EUFA would be forced to make special consideration to let us back in as defending champions, even though we didn’t finish in the top four at home. The compromise came as no surprise when we were allowed to enter the first of the three qualifying rounds, meaning that it would take us a total of six matches to reach the group stages and were subsequently drawn against Total Network Solutions.

So our new season as defending Euro Campiones gets underway on July 13th in Wrexham, with the new Premiership campaign starting August 13th at Middlesbrough. It’s always a time of hope and expectation as a new season begins. How will our new players perform? What tactical changes, if any, will Rafa make to improve our league form (especially away)? Nothing matters from last season; we start with a clean slate and are all set to make our mark on the new one.

We are naturally disappointed with the Chel$ki result, but we must not let it get us down. As Liverpool supporters we have had lots of success and have had to suffer quite a few upsets. Just think back to last season's away matches! We unfortunately gave up the first goal, but responded well with an equalizer a few minutes later. I thought we were doing just fine until late in the first half when we gave up the second. That's always a killer, but knowing Rafa and the lads, we should be able to come on strong in the second half. We did, but not enough to break them down. As the game went on, it became more and more likely that we were going to lose this one. Our difficulty in scoring was not going to improve on this day. Two more conceded on the counterattack made it look like a rout, even though it was actually a lot closer between the two sides.

So where do we go from here? Chelsea tops the table with 24 points; 8 wins out of 8. We sit in 13th spot with 7 points from 6 games. Does this mean that the season is effectively over? No chance! Look at it this way: we have 3 more points now than from the same matches played last season, including today's loss (which we also lost last season). The 3 undefeated away matches is a definite improvement.

I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking that we look better defensively than we have for a long time (not including today's aberration). New players such as Crouch, Zenden, Sissoko and Reina look like smart signings, if only we can find the scoring touch. Cisse and Morientes should start to show their finishing skills any time now. Rafa is still working on the best game plan and will undoubtedly experiment with different formations. I have absolute faith that he'll get it right. We also have those two games in hand to consider, which should lift us well up the table, assuming we can win both of them. That's not too much to ask when you look at the schedule and see that we have an upcoming run of matches against lower half teams.

All I can say is let's put this one behind us and move on. There are 32 more matches for us to get through, so why not be positive for the future? We can be sure that the teams above us for now will falter as the season progresses. The fixture list starts to become crowded once the domestic cup competitions get underway. Along with that will come the fatigue and injuries that let the stronger teams prevail. That should include us. Surely we won't have the same injury problems that we faced last season; at least we should hope not. So far, nobody has looked like being able to catch Chel$ki. Arsenal and Man Ure have yet to impress anybody other than their own fans; both of them are in a transition/rebuilding phase. Middlesbrough, Bolton, Man City and Tottenham have all been predicted as chasing the top four spots, but have not been too impressive either. All of this leads me to believe that we will finish in the top four, even in the top three if all goes well. Last year we lost so many and still finished only 3 points out of 4th place. Surely we will be better than that this season.

What do you think? Fire us a reply and we'll get it to Keith, and try to put it in next week's newsletter