Another week, another two clean sheets. Yes it’s becoming really repetitive saying that, but as I asked last week, is anybody complaining? This week’s two results are even more significant and memorable than last week’s as it not only set a new club record, but also took place on opposite sides of the world. The total run of clean sheets is also a significant achievement in that it now covers three of the world’s highest competitions: The Premier League (7), The UEFA Champions League (3), and now the FIFA Club World Championship (1). What’s even more impressive is that only two of these (Chel$ki and Real Betis in the Champions League) were draws, with all of the others being wins. Without further ado, congratulations to the lads for equalling the club clean sheet record against Middlesbrough on Saturday and then setting a new record against Deportivo Saprissa. And, as if that’s not enough, congratulations Rafa on being named Premier League manager of the month for November. It’s been a few good weeks to be a Red, which is an amazing turnaround from those two consecutive losses some time in the distant past.

(right) Pepe the clean sheet king

We could be forgiven for thinking that Saturday’s match at home to Middlesbrough was just an annoyance in the way of getting on with the more glamorous FIFA Club World Championship. The talk before and during the play often drifted to that subject with talk of how the lads had been adjusting their schedules for eating and sleeping in preparation for the time change in Japan. To hear the talk, it was wouldn’t have been surprising to see a baggage cart full of equipment bags beside the dugout, ready to be loaded onto the plane. Of course, the players were focused on the task at hand. Rafa had stated the previous week that he considered three points against Middlesbrough to be more important than finishing first in the group ahead of Chel$ki. This was not idle chatter intended to downplay the match or to ease the building tension between the two clubs. Would it have really mattered if we finished second in the group? It didn’t hurt us last year!

(left) Gerrard vs Viduka

The commentators were once again watching a different match with David Pleat commenting on the slow, plodding pace of the game with neither side able to create any chances. The match I was watching had Liverpool firmly in control, defending well and preventing any Middlesbrough chances to move forward, while patiently waiting for the opportunity to launch an attack. It wasn’t just me seeing this; according to the match reports Gerrard had three shots on goal in the first five minutes. Do you wonder why Mr. Pleat is in the broadcast booth instead of managing a club? There were a few opportunities for the Reds, but I was surprised or disappointed with the scoreless first half. The second half started in a similar style for Middlesbrough but a little pacier. This is becoming a familiar pattern where such a tough midfield as theirs is going to be gradually broken down over the 90 minutes. It doesn’t really matter what the score is until the end of the match so why go hell for leather in the first half, only to be outrun in the second half? It looked like the breakthrough would come, but it was going to require a good deal of patience against yet another stubborn side.

Middlesbrough had a couple of golden opportunities to score in the second half but both were stopped by a couple of excellent saves by Reina. The first one of these had me thinking for a split second that the clean sheet streak was over. Viduka got into the clear on the left hand edge of the box and took his shot quickly. Somehow, with the expected play being a ball to the opposite side, the space opened up on the left. Fortunately, Reina didn’t move very far from where he was standing and so had left little of the target to shoot for. With his lightning quick reflexes, he got his right leg in the way and the ball deflected out for a corner. It must be hard to stay sharp when there is so little to do game after game, but we were left in no doubt that he’ll be there ready to make the saves when needed. The moment of the match for me was following Sami Hyppia’s return to the field with a bandaged head. A few minutes earlier he had clashed heads while defending a Middlesbrough corner. The collision left Sami with a cut that required treatment to stop the bleeding. Rafa decided to play a man short while the treatment took place in the dressing room; a gamble that can sometimes result in conceding a goal. Meanwhile, Middlesbrough pushed forward and won a corner, just as Sami was ready to come back on. Perfect timing! The crowd roared as Sami ran on, bandaged head and all, to take up his defensive position for the corner. The ball comes in and who should rise up above them all but our man Sami, using his bandaged head to power the ball away to safety. To think that his commitment to the cause was questioned not too long ago!

(left) El Moro runs riot

Last week, we were able to talk about two metre Peter’s two goals in one game to get him on the score sheet at last. This week, we can be pleased to talk about Morientes scoring two, and getting himself back in front of Crouch in the scoring race. Strangely enough, the second goal in each case was a well taken lob over the ‘keeper. I said a while back that I was willing to be patient with both of these players in spite of their lack of scoring. The comments from several “experts” agreed that it might take a while but the goals would come in bunches when they did. By the way, a quick Premier League update: the dubious experts have officially credited Crouch with the first goal against Wigan, so he really does have two to his name. Also, a quick Champions League update: Essien has been given a two match ban by UEFA for “gross unsporting conduct” for his tackle on Didi Hamann. Essien will have to miss both legs of the second round.

The final whistle gave us a well earned 2-0 result, making it seven Premier League wins in a row, and our tenth consecutive clean sheet to equal King Kenny’s Championship side of ’88. Also the three points was enough to put us in second place with one point up on Man Ure. Our good friends from across the park gave us an early Christmas present on Sunday before our send off to Japan by holding the mancs to a draw. That result kept us in second place on goal difference. Our seven consecutive wins have now taken us from thirteenth back in mid-October to second place now.

(right) Crouch scores on Saprissa...twice!

Our opening match in the FIFA Club World Championship against Deportivo Saprissa should have been a formality before going on to meet Sao Paolo in the final next Sunday. The Costa Rican side were described as “technical”, and reached the finals after beating the Kansas City Wizards of the MLS and the Mexican clubs Monterrey and Pumas. They were something of an unknown quantity before now, but some videos of their recent matches helped out, as well as watching their opening round win against Sydney FC. Their comments were that they knew about the “power” of Liverpool’s play and expected them to be very difficult opposition. There’s always a danger of an unpleasant surprise when playing such lesser known clubs, but in this case the surprise was all ours with a goal from Peter Crouch in the first three minutes. A second from Stevie G gave us a comfort zone and allowed the boys to cruise through the rest of the match. Saprissa made a few attempts to go forward, which then gave the opportunity for the counter-attack, resulting in a second goal for Crouch with less than a quarter of the match remaining. The lad has found his scoring touch as expected, now having scored four goals in three games in less than two weeks. 3-0 for the reds, and the only question left is can they hold on to the clean sheet to set a new club record? The end of the match came after a couple of minutes of added time, putting the reds through to the final with a new club record. This trip is already a success. The win against Saprissa doesn’t surprise me but it’s always a relief to actually get it over with. Sao Paolo will be in a different class from Saprissa, but from what I’ve seen they should not give us too many problems. They look like the classic Brazilian side, running all over the place to get men forward but not worrying too much about defending. In their semi-final against Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia, they looked weak on set pieces as well as poorly organised defensively. It should have been a one sided match for the Brazilians, with three goals conceded from awful defensive play. But, Sao Paolo looked undisciplined at the back, allowing a loose ball to be kicked into the net after being fumbled by the ‘keeper. Two players were unmarked, allowing the chance to be taken. The Saudis scored a second from a corner, with the Brazilians once again not picking up their men in the box. A ball to the centre of the area was flicked on to a player running in toward the far post. He was allowed a free header and scored to make the game interesting at 3-2.

So we wait for Saturday night / Sunday morning’s match for the FIFA World Club Championship. This is one trophy that we don’t have that we want desperately. Needless to say I’m looking forward to it, and I’m feeling as confident of victory as I’ve felt in a long time. Also, this weekend’s Premier League fixtures include Chel$ki vs. Arse-nil on Sunday (live on The Score, pre game at 7:30AM). I hope they kick lumps out of each other, with Arse-nil coming out on top by a goal or two. What is the world coming to when I find myself cheering for Everton last week and Arsenal this week?

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.

Transfer Talk: Looks like we're certs to get Birmingham City's Jermaine Pennant. The boy's a diehard Red by all accounts, though he's a loose screw with his troubles with the law. Was also unimpressed to hear he turned up drunk for training! We're apparently going for him in the 5 million quid range and I'll trust Rafa to sort him out.

Keep an eye on Diego Lugano from Sao Paolo, we're apparently interested in him as well. Quite a few other names thrown around so we'll have to wait and see, but Pennant seems as close to certain as one can be from "sources".

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
- Walk On: the greatest LFC teams of the century

$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.

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

Thanks to David for this week's submission. Send us yours and we'll put it in soon.

name: Dave Curtis

age (optional!): No it wasn't I was born with it.

how long have you supported Liverpool for?: 45 years

why Liverpool?: Because my Dad was Everton

best memory of being a Red: Istanbul..... and generally being on the Kop when you could get fit just running up and down the steps

worst memory/moment as a Red: Hillsborough

fave LFC players (all-time): Hunt, the saint ,Smith, Kegan,Rush,Hansen Dalglish etc

current LFC faves: Gerrard, Carragher Alonso

most hated team(s): none. Waste of breath

best LFC game: Istanbul

fave non-LFC player: Owen

all-time best non LFC player: Pele

how's Rafa doing?: Alright, but go easy on buying too many Spanish players. Ever seen a scouse bull fighter. Rest my case.

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

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

LFC dream starting 11 (and 5 for the bench): Take me all week and then some. In fact I would never be happy with the result.

International footy...yay or nay?: Yay

Which country's team does it for you (if yay): England and Brazil

Opinion on the state of football right now: Slowly drifting away from the working man and woman. If a person is not in their seat by kick off let the kids in to take the seat. And piss on the prawn sarnie brigade.

Anything else?: Keep up the good work.

See you all next week!