At the risk of being boring, I’ll have to sum up the last two matches again as: another week, another two clean sheets. No, this isn’t the article from newsletter #8 reprinted by mistake, this really is newsletter #9. It’s strange to be able to say that two clean sheets per week is getting to be boring and predictable; but does anyone have any reason to complain? Certainly not me.

Saturday was a work day for me and so I had to wait until about 6pm to watch my tape of the Wigan match (more déjà vu?). Wigan had got off to a flying start to their debut Premier League season, and were probably hoping to meet a reduced strength team with a chance to end their two game losing streak. No such luck for the Latics! The Reds came out flying from the opening kick off and never looked like giving them much of a look-in.

(left) Crouch scores his second against Wigan

There could only be one headline from this match and that was Peter Crouch finally scored his first Premier League goal. It was never going to be a simple matter for him to find that first one; there were lots of predictions that it would eventually come from some goal mouth scramble or deflected shot that would find its way into the net. At the 19 minute mark, the script was played out as Crouch found himself alone, with the ball at his feet and a chance to make a run at goal. As he took the ball forward the crowd rose in anticipation, could this be the moment that we had all been waiting for for so long? (I’ve lost count of how many games in total but the commentators had dutifully reminded us that is was now over 24 hours of playing time without a goal). A quick look up at the target, a look around to see if a pass was on, and then the shot. The ball was deflected off of Wigan defender Baines’s outstretched legs, looped up in the air goalwards and fell behind the back-pedalling keeper Pollitt, who made a total mess of it and mishandled the ball as it dropped into the net.

(right) Gerrard rushes to congratulate Crouch

Crouch, the players, and the crowd went wild. The looks on the faces of every Red said it all: finally, this is it, the wait is over! The celebrations were finished with quickly and the Reds started attacking again looking for a second. That came just a couple of minutes before the break, seriously denting the Latics’ spirits. Once again, it was Crouch who was in the right place at the right time as he ran onto a bouncing ball knocked forward from Steve Finnan and deftly lobbed the ball over Pollitt. Crouch 2 Wigan 0. The image of the day for me was seeing Steven Gerrard chasing Crouch as he celebrated his second goal and then jumping up on his back for a piggy back ride. If the first was somehow cheapened owing to a lucky deflection and a mishandled save, then the second was priceless and was as good as any goal you are likely to see for the rest of the season. From the ridiculous to the sublime you might say. Again, the crowd went nuts, now willing him on to go for the hat trick.

At half-time, with the score a comfortable 2-0, the commentators gave us the bad news that the first goal was being charged as an own goal against Pollitt, rather than being credited to Crouch. Even the most neutral observer would disagree. Since when does a mishandled save count as an own goal? That would seriously change the scoring statistics for everyone. A panel of “experts” will apparently decide whether it will be given to Crouch or not. Failure to confirm his first goal will surely be one of the greatest injustices so far this season.

Full credit to Wigan for not giving up, it made the match so much more entertaining than it might have been. As I said last week, the boring, tightly controlled, low scoring away matches are acceptable if it means points gained rather than missed; we’ll save the entertainment for our home games. In this case the entertainment was superb with lots of quick passing, good movement, and lots of chances for both sides. Kavanagh’s shot went just over the top, Morientes hit the bar, Bullard’s shot was blocked, Gerrard and Morientes had shots well saved by Pollitt. The inevitable third goal came from a corner that found Morientes alone at the near post, whose header then found Garcia at the far post to divert the ball in with his chest. 3-0 and surely the game was beyond reach. The Reds eased their way to their sixth successive Premier League victory, eighth clean sheet and jumped into second place for a couple of hours, pending the outcome of the rest of the day’s results.

With Crouch taking all of the headlines and the discussions over his first two goals (yes, it was two) the other major talking point was almost missed. Reina made a few saves! Yes, he actually went down low to stop a couple of shots, gathered in the ball confidently, and showed that he is definitely a well-rounded keeper. The defence looked as solid as ever, the new dimension to this match was how the midfield and the forwards opened up the game to more attacking options.

By the end of the day, Arsenal had done us a huge favour by losing at Bolton, and we found ourselves sitting in third spot, 12 points behind Chel$ki and 1 point above Spurs, with one less game played than each of them. The only downside was hearing several comments in the press belittling our achievements. The consensus seems to be that the current streak is not so impressive considering that we have only been up against lower table sides. Really? Tell that to Arsenal and Man Ure, both of whom have had losses to those “lower” sides. If Rodney Dangerfield was still alive, he would have the ideal comment for us on that!

There wasn’t much time to enjoy the result as Chel$ki would be up next for the final match of the Champions League group stage. Both managers downplayed the importance of this encounter, saying that the result is not important as both sides are already through to the next round. The next Premier League match was considered to be more crucial as it is important to take every opportunity to pick up points over the season. Mourinho also whined about injuries to several of his players, leaving him with only 18 to select for the match. Cry me a river Jose! There were several suggestions that both managers would rest players and put out a weakened side, showing how unimportant the result was. The reality soon became apparent with both sides playing their best available squads, proving that there was a lot of prestige at stake by finishing first in the group. Alonso was rested owing to his earlier knee injury, allowing Sissoko to take his place in the middle. Traore was also given a run out in place of Warnock.

(left) Essien hacks down Hamann

A draw would be enough for us to retain first place, and so it didn’t take a genius to predict that the most likely result for this one was a 0-0 draw. That’s exactly what happened, but not without some incidents along the way. Dietmar Hamann was brutally hacked down by Essien, with the foul going unnoticed by the officials. The replay showed just how brutal it was. Essien was not even close to the ball when he lunged at Hamann from the side, with studs up, making solid contact just below the knee. That’s the type of injury that can be the end of a career, and should have been an early dismissal for Essien. The match also had a penalty against Garcia denied, while there were otherwise few talking points in a very tightly contested match. There were a few taunts of “Boring, boring scousers” at Stamford Bridge, but do we care? As I said earlier, boring is fine if it gets the needed results. I don’t see that Chel$ki were working hard at entertaining the crowd, and the “boring” tag would be more appropriately applied to them as they were the home side.

(right) Hamann lies in agony while Garcia sorts Essien out

The post game comments from Moron-io were almost unbelievable. When he was asked why there had only been one goal in four Champions League matches between the two sides this year, he jumped in saying “zero goals.” A reporter asked for his comments on Essien’s tackle, with the reply that he didn’t see it, but if none of the officials saw anything wrong then what’s the problem? Hmmm! He went on to deflect the conversation, saying that Benitez was crying and moaning too much throughout the match. Another hmmm! to that comment. The fact is that they have been unimpressive against us other than the Premier League 4-1 loss at home. That one still hurts but I’m confident that it will soon be forgotten at our next Premier League meeting in February. No matter what the comments, the group stage is over, with us in first place looking down at Chel$ki. We can take satisfaction in that at least until the second round begins next February.

The final round of the group stage took place today (Wednesday), with a few places still up for grabs. The shock result is that Man Ure not only lost to Benfica but finished last in their group. Their next trip to Europe will be for a vacation, possibly to watch the Reds pick up number six in Paris next May. Lille will at least have the consolation prize of entering the UEFA Cup. Rangers and Inter Milan played to a 1-1 draw, putting both of them through.

Even though there are no more Champions League matches for a couple of months, there will be no time to rest. A busy couple of weeks now lies ahead starting with another early match this Saturday, at home to Middlesbrough (4:30am on Sportsnet). Then it’s off to Tokyo for Wednesday night’s semi final of the World Club Championship, followed by the final on the Saturday night. After that, we return for a very busy period over Christmas and New Year with 4 matches in only 8 days. It doesn’t get a lot quieter as the FA Cup third round follows with an away match at Luton. At least there should be a brief rest with only one game per week for the period from mid January to mid February, when the Champions League starts up again.

Also, this Friday (December 9th) has the draw for the 2006 World Cup, with the draw for the Champions League second round next Friday on December 16th. That one is more of a concern for me, with an array of possible opponents awaiting their fate. Our first place finish means that we cannot be drawn against Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Olympique Lyonnais, or Barcelona. We will though be drawn against one of Bayern Munich, Ajax, Werder Bremen, Benfica, PSV Eindhoven, Real Madrid, or Rangers. I would be happy with any of these, which one do you wish for?

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

this is where we'll put little notices and things. Jokes, buy/sell, anything LFC related.

From the RAWK (Red and White Kop) message board, they're looking for contributions and help with a Kop surfer flag. More info is available here if you'd like to donate, or see the banner and find out more here.

For Sale: I'm selling a pile of old PAL VHS tapes I have. My PAL VHS deck died on me and I got these transferred to DVD. I have 8 tapes in total, and they are:
- LFC 1997-98 Season Review
- Never Walk Alone video magazine #9 (this is a short-lived video magazine the club tried out. It has some bits from the 96-97 season, a feature on a very young Michael Owen, Ruddock, Fowler, etc)
- LFC Coca-Cola Cup winners 1995 (against Bolton, got the whole game on here, great for Mcmanaman fans. Also highlights of games leading up to the final)
- LFC Road To Wembley 1996 (nothing from the final on here, thankfully)
- Ian St. John's All-Time LFC 11 (from 1989)
- Robbie: The official Robbie Fowler story (in a 95/96 Season Review case, strangely)
- Kenny Dalglish: Portrait of a Legend
- ...and one more I can't locate, but I think it's a season review from the 90's sometime...I'll find it.

$30 for the lot, $5 each. Email through the site. And this WON'T work on your VCR's out here, bewarned! It'd be a nice gift for any Reds overseas, or if you want to get a DVD transfer.

SPECIAL NOTE: We made it through the newsletter without laughing at the Mancs' European demise. We don't promote pointing and laughing at others, but feel free to take a moment to do so now if you'd like to.

send us an email if you have anything to announce, sell, or would just like a rant/rave.

Way back in 1988, just a few weeks before Christmas, an advertisement in a local newspaper caught my attention. Here was a place that had VHS tapes of interest to any self-respecting football supporter. There were several tapes available for various insignificant British clubs, but fortunately including “The Official History of Liverpool F.C.” Could this be true, or was there some catch? After some quick checking, I found that this was the real thing; the VHS tapes were in NTSC (North American) format and I would be able to play them on my very own video player. No prizes for guessing what went on my Christmas list for that year! When Christmas came, I was pleased to open up my copy of the Official History and was thrilled to find a second tape, “The Mighty Reds”, highlights of the 1987-88 season including the complete 90 minutes of the 5 – 0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest. This was undoubtedly the best Christmas for many years, what more could a red-blooded Liverpudlian want than that?

As time went by, I played my two videos almost to destruction and started hunting for more. There were none to be found locally, the mail order company that provided those first two had vanished, and no others had appeared. This was starting to become a serious problem. In 1992 I found a place in Ontario that could provide several titles by mail and so I placed an order and put a few more on my Christmas list for that year. In spite of my patronage, they were also out of business shortly afterwards. What was most frustrating of all was knowing how many titles were available in the U.K. but not compatible with North American video players. At one point I thought that I had found the solution; a Vancouver electronics store claimed to have a “universal” VHS player/recorder. That idea came to an end when I found out the price was somewhere around $2,000! Another possible solution was to take a PAL tape to a video transfer outfit (who could afford to buy the universal video machines) and have the tape copied from PAL to NTSC. The problem there was that the cost of the original tape plus shipping and handling, plus the cost of re-recording onto the proper format, ended up making the tape itself really expensive.

Not to worry, though, just as I had given up all hope along came the ultimate answer: DVD. This is it, I thought, the quality of a full size laser disc (remember those?) in the size of a compact audio disc. It was widely known that CD’s were universal, just as cassette tapes and vinyl records were. Surely the DVD would also be universal. Well not exactly. The powers that be in the industry decided that DVD’s should also be encoded by region, meaning that many of those “special interest” titles available in the U.K. would not be available in a format that would be compatible with North American DVD players. Here we are then back at square one. In fact, it may even be worse. I could not imagine it being easy to have a disc copied to another format as easily as could be done with tapes. I began to wonder if such a thing as a universal DVD player might be available. Part of the answer presented itself to me in a technical article explaining the various region codes used for DVD’s. It seemed that Region 1 was for North America, Region 2 for Europe, and so on. Then there was a mysterious Region 0 code that did not seem to be for anywhere. The opinions on whether or not such discs counted as “universal” or “region free” varied widely. Some were saying that this was only possible with newer model DVD players that were included with some of the latest computers, which also required the use of the newer monitors. Some claimed that the 0 really did mean no region restriction, but then not necessarily with all players. This was not only not much help in solving the dilemma, if anything it made it even more confused. I was all set to give up and accept that whatever DVD player I bought would be fine for watching movies from the local video rental store, but forget about all of those LFC discs that I keep seeing advertised. Or was that the end of it?

Shortly after that special day in May this year, I met with my good friend Kevin at a neighbourhood pub. As we talked over a couple of pints, I mentioned that I would really love to see the final again but that I didn’t know if the DVD would be available in NTSC/Region 1 format or only in PAL/Region 2 format. Well, he says, I have a player that will take any format of DVD from anywhere in the world. No way, I said, thinking that this was too good to be true. I do, he says, but I won’t tell you how much I paid for it. I started to see the dream drifting away with visions of thousands of dollars changing hands, when he says, about $50 with tax. What? Did you say $50? Where did you get it? Future Shop, he says, I got it some time ago and ordered a few discs from Amazon.co.uk. This must be true, Kev wouldn’t steer me wrong.

Kev advised me of some of the tricks needed to set up the player. His advice was invaluable based on his own experience; It turned out that he had almost the exact same model that I had just gone out and picked up. So, I was soon enjoying some great highlights and reliving some priceless memories. Of course I immediately placed a sizeable order with Amazon.co.uk and waited impatiently for them to arrive.

It turns out that there are quite a few such inexpensive players available at various places, sometimes for even less than what I paid for mine. It also turns out that some people who are obsessed with all things programmable (otherwise known as geeks) have found various ways of re-programming their players to accept discs regardless of region code. A web site for this can be found here; I cannot vouch for the accuracy of any of the information included in this site, so I would advise you to proceed at your own risk.

So is that finally the end of the story? Well no, there is still the inevitable punch line: The “Champions of Europe” and “The Road to Istanbul” are both available through Amazon.com as well as from several soccer web sites in North American/Region 1 format. Several of the discs that I received from Amazon.co.uk are Region 0 format, which are easily playable on my first (Region 1 only) DVD player. After all this, it may be that most DVD’s in the future are going to be released in a universal format, but then that wouldn’t have allowed me to have this wonderful adventure, would it?

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of DVD: The Next Generation, where I find out that a new revolution in digital video technology – High Definition - is making all of my discs obsolete, with the new discs and players offered in a choice of formats that are incompatible with each other. Does anybody remember Beta vs. VHS?

Nobody this week. Send us yours and we'll put it in soon.

name:

age (optional!):

how long have you supported Liverpool for?:

why Liverpool?:

best memory of being a Red:

worst memory/moment as a Red:

fave LFC players (all-time):

current LFC faves:

most hated team(s):

best LFC game:

fave non-LFC player:

all-time best non LFC player:

how's Rafa doing?:

If you were the manager, 3 players you'd sign:

what do we need to do to the side right now?:

LFC dream starting 11 (and 5 for the bench):

International footy...yay or nay?:

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Opinion on the state of football right now:

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See you all next week!