By LFC Vancouver member Ste Speed, 03 April 07.

As we all gathered at the G Sport to enjoy the game I had one of those good feelings we would win today. I was a little concerned to see a starting lineup with Crouch as the lone striker but the bright weather on Merseyside gave me a positive outlook. Has anybody else ever noticed how we always seem to win when the sun is shining at Anfield?

At times during the game when I would look at the score it felt a bit like a dream. It was up there with my favourite wins & match’s of the season. The two victories against Chelsea (in the Charity Shield and league) were great and so was the victory at the Nou Camp. But this win against Arsenal gave me a warm feeling of excitement just as good as after any other great victories, in part because of the revenge factor for the previous three losses to them this season. What a game for George Gillette to witness as his first as official co-owner of the club.

LFC Vancouver member Lance angrily proclaimed in some choice language that Peter Crouch is not good enough and even went as far as to say “I hate Peter Crouch”. Literally seconds after that comment who pops up to score? Yes it was Crouchinio. It took me about five seconds to actually react to the goal because on the TV angle it looked like the ball had hit the side netting. Others around me had the same delayed reaction. It was a great piece of skill from Arbeloa and Pennant which led to the goal. Pennant and Arbeloa played a one-two with a pair of back heels before Arbeloa provided great cross for Crouch. Arbeloa looks like a tidy player and he’s looked good in all the games he’s played so far, including a cracker against Barcelona. Pennant has improved a lot recently, he was awesome in the reserves last week, he doesn’t seem to waste the ball as much and his runs look dangerous at times.

Crouch was clearly relishing his first start in a while and he was everywhere in the first half. He came close with an acrobatic effort before putting us two up with a very uncharacteristic header. There was no doubt or delayed reactions for this goal as we leapt into the air in unison finding it hard to believe what we were watching. One of the main criticisms of Crouch is his lack of aggression, particularly when attacking the ball in the air. This time though, there could be no insults as he attacked the ball brilliantly and smashed it into the net. Now in the pub the conversation changed from “whether we would win” to “will Crouch get a hat-trick?” He still had an hour to go so it was looking very promising. By this stage we were all over them and Arsenal were lucky to only be two goals down at half time.

In the second half it was more of the same as Arsenal’s kids, who seemed so dangerous here in the league cup, looked completely out of their depth. It took just fifteen minutes to add a third goal, this time from a lovely header by Agger. Proving he’s not just replacing Hyppia in defensive duties but in set piece’s too. After this Wenger brought on a few more experienced players and Arsenal got a bit more involved. Adebayor came close and was only kept out by a world class save from Reina. Gallas scored a consolation goal in the 72nd minute but by then the game was as good as over.

Crouch saved the best for last with the best moment of the day in the 81st minute. He turned Toure with sublime skill before belting the ball past Lehman to complete a memorable hat-trick in front of the Kop. No matter what happens in the summer, no Liverpool fan will ever forget today and his hat-trick against Arsenal will go down as a great moment in history.

Crouch rightly received all the plaudits afterwards but if he hadn’t scored a hat-trick my man of the match would have been Mascherano who once again was immense.

Crouch had a fantastic game and gave Rafa something to think about ahead of the PSV game. Would he drop a man in form? Rafa did this to Crouch earlier in the season when he was in cracking form so it was certainly a possibility. Rafa seems to favour a Kuyt and Bellamy combination but after this game he had a nice selection headache up front. It was certainly the main topic of conversation in the pub after the game ended. Up next was PSV Eindhoven and I left the pub thinking ‘if we play like this we’ll murder them.’

It may be 13 – 8 on aggregate to Arsenal this season but after this victory we may still have the last laugh by pipping them to third spot.

Just three days later we were all in dreamland as Rafa proved again that he is a genius in European games. We were magnificent in Eindhoven as we cruised to a three – nil victory. PSV were a load of crap but as the old saying goes, you can only beat what’s put in front of you.

There was a fantastic atmosphere at the G Sport as over 90 of us turned up on a sunny lunchtime.

Once again Mascherano was superb. I think Sissoko is going to be in serious trouble now and unless Mascherano or Alonso get injured I can’t see him getting his place back. Mascherano is so cool under pressure, he rarely gives the ball away and his commitment is first class. He is only 22 so he is just going to keep improving and it’s clear why he was rated so highly during the World Cup.

Steve Finnan was also terrific as usual. I said a few weeks ago he is my pick for player of the season and I stand by that. He just does everything simple in defence and going forward he is unbelievable. Both of his crosses for Gerrard and Crouch’s goals were absolutely perfect. Is he the best crosser in our team? I think he just might be.

All three of our goals were fantastic and Peter Crouch looks like he may have been practising his headers because the two he has buried this week were top drawer.

I know that strange things can happen in football but I don’t see any way that we can lose this tie now. I’ve already booked the dates off work for the semi finals. Rafa is right to say we need to be cautious at Anfield but on this evidence there is no way we will concede four goals at Anfield, no way Jose! PSV manager Ronald Koeman has already conceded the tie. He was quoted on the BBC website as saying; "The result is bad. It is impossible now to go to Anfield and make out a case for reaching the next round. If I tried to find a reason to believe that, I would be from another planet”.

The only negative is the injury to Fabio Aurelio who will now be out for around four months when he snapped his achilles tendon. It’s a terrible shame for the lad as he’s been terrific recently and really looked to be settling into the side. I’ve really been enjoying the combination on the left he has had with Riisse, so he will be missed.

What a fantastic week this has been, somebody pinch me and tell me I’m not dreaming.

What do you think? Give Ste your comments at steSpeed [at] lfcvancouver.com.

By LFC Vancouver member Ste Speed, 02 April 07.

For Liverpool supporters of my age who grew up in the 1980’s, curly haired Australian, Craig Johnston is a bit of an icon. He was one of the most popular players during the mid 80’s for his colourful personality, his flowing locks and flamboyant dress sense. We also loved him for his 100% commitment on the pitch at all times. His nickname on the Kop was Skippy after the popular Australian kids show from the 1970’s about a Bush Kangaroo.

Craig Johnston was born in South Africa to Australian parents and grew up in Sydney, Australia. As a young teenager he played for local sides, Lake Maquarie and Sydney City. Unfortunately football wasn’t a popular sport in Australia and there was no way for him to develop his promising skills as a player. So when Craig was 15 he wrote letters to a long list of English teams asking for a trial. His only response came from Middlesbrough who was managed at the time by Jack Charlton. His parents were right behind Craig’s ambition to become a successful footballer and actually sold their house to pay for his ticket to England.

Despite being described by Jack Charlton as “the worst footballer I have ever seen”, Craig was offered a youth team contract and went on to make his first team debut in 1978. After playing sixty-four games for Middlesbrough his career in England was about to take off and all his boyhood dreams were about to come true when he was signed for Liverpool by Bob Paisley in 1981.

Craig made his debut in August 1981 coming on as a substitute in the 1-0 league defeat away to Wolverhampton Wanderers. An interesting fact is that also making their debuts in this same match were Mark Lawrenson and Bruce Grobbelaar. I believe it was a Brucie error that cost us the game. Johnston's first start came in the World Club Championships with a 3-0 defeat against Flamengo from Brazil.

He had quite an explosive start to his first season as a first team Liverpool player. He scored in his first derby and then he scored the winner against Man Utd at Old Trafford.

Despite his popularity with the fans and his pace and skills on the pitch, Craig never held down a regular starting place during his six seasons at Anfield. He made fun of this situation in the 1988 FA Cup Final song ‘The Anfield Rap’. Craig not only performed the following lines in the song he also wrote the whole track too.

Despite playing a lot of games as a substitute he was still an effective member of a side that dominated in the First Division. He played in the 1984 European Cup Final victory against Roma and two League Cup final victories in 1983 and 1984.

Craig’s finest moment in a Liverpool shirt came in the 1986 FA Cup final against Everton. He was one of the best players on the pitch that day as we secured our first ever league and cup double in Kenny Dalglish’s first season as player manager. He almost stole Ian Rush’s first goal as he slid in and touched the ball at the very second it was crossing the line. I must have watched that goal a thousand times over the years and still to this day I cannot say for sure if he touched the ball before it crossed the line. I’ve even watched it on zoom and slow motion now I have the goal on DVD. However whether he touched it or not it doesn’t matter because it’s Rush’s goal and that’s that! Craig had a goal himself anyway just six minutes later and this time there was no doubt as he put us two - one up. Rush later added his second and Liverpool’s hird and the trophy was ours in what I still consider the best FA Cup final I’ve ever seen. Yes I know last year’s game was terrific and a classic but as good as it was, it cannot compare emotionally with the first ever all Merseyside FA Cup final. As I’ve discussed previously in past articles, this occasion was massive in the city and as an eight year old kid at the time it was simply amazing.

It was another FA Cup final two years later that marked another milestone in Craig’s Liverpool career. Unfortunately the 1988 final against Wimbledon was his final ever game for the Reds as Craig decided before the match that he was going to retire afterwards. It was a big shock at the time as he was only 28 and still in his prime. He wasn’t getting many starts due to the brilliance of Barnes and Houghton on the wings and Beardsley playing off Aldridge, but he still had plenty left to offer the game and he was still a young man. It was later explained that the reason for his sudden departure was because his sister had become seriously ill and needed round the clock care. So he needed to go back to Australia and take care of her. It was a great shame at the time and there was sadness at seeing him go because he was very popular and a cult figure at Anfield.

After the Hillsbourough disaster in 1989, Craig raised a fortune in Australia for the HSG fund and returned to Merseyside to attend numerous funerals and memorial services. This is a testament to what a great bloke he is and how much Liverpool and the fans mean to him. He later dedicated his autobiography ‘Walk On’ to the victims of Hilsborough and Heysel.

Since retiring from playing Craig has become best known for designing the Predator football boot for Adidas. When he was coaching kids in Australia he realised that it was difficult to control the ball with the boots available at the time. He took the rubber of a table tennis bat and stuck it on his boots with super glue. He went outside and kicked a ball and immediately noticed a difference. It took him five years to get the boot off the ground and eventually landed the deal with Adidas after filming Franz Beckenbauer using the bots in snowy conditions. Over time he was able to develop and improve on the original design and the boot has gone on to become the most successful of all time and is worn by such superstars as David Beckham and our own Steven Gerrard.

Craig now lives in Florida, USA after some bad business deals unfortunately left him bankrupt in the late 1990’s. He has since bounced back from that with other successful inventions such as the Pig football boot and the Traxion sole for boots. He also invented a software programme called The Butler, which is a device to show what has been removed from hotel room minibars. He intends to move back to Sydney, Australia soon in order to live nearer to his daughters and return to his home.

Craig Johnston’s greatest achievement is possibly the fact that he may have been a major reason for football becoming extremely popular with Australian kids in the 1980’s. He proved to kids that if you worked hard and had the right attitude you could play for one of the biggest teams in the world and be a success in a sport that wasn’t popular in Australia twenty years ago. Some great Aussie players of today such as Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka grew up inspired by Craig to take up football. He deserves some credit for so many talented Australian players making their national side something to be proud of with their recent exploits in the last World Cup.

Craig will always be remembered with a fondness by Liverpool fans and his affection is definitely reciprocated. Whenever he was asked about playing for other clubs after he retired he always said that he could never return to playing because he couldn’t play for any club other than Liverpool.

Thanks for the memories Skippy and good on ya mate!

Video Clip:
59 - Craig Johnston

What do you think? Give Ste your comments at steSpeed [at] lfcvancouver.com.

GEORGE GILLETT - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW - Liverpool FC

George Gillett speaks exclusively to Liverpoolfc.tv in the aftermath of his momentous first game as co-chairman of the Reds...

More here.

Liverpool hope to move to their new Stanley Park stadium by the end of next year after the threat of 'significant delays' scuppered any remaining possibility of a groundshare with Everton.

More here.

Liverpool FC co-owner George Gillett shuffled across the swiftly-emptying front row of the directors’ box to share a quiet word with Gunners vice-chairman David Dein.

More here.

We keep hearing how the Premiership is the most exciting league in the world but the only way you can argue it is the best is if our teams are regularly in the final of the Champions League.

More here.

More here.

The four goal demolition of Arsenal could hardly have been better timed and, with the future very much in mind, goal hero Peter Crouch managed to deliver a perfect hat-trick reminder to Rafa.

More here.

POET Dave Kirby talks to Tony Barrett about his tribute to football tragedy fans

More here.

More here.

Liverpool Under-18s will face Manchester United in the final of this year's FA Youth Cup sponsored by E.ON.

More here.

HE never had the opportunity to transform Liverpool into European champions but John Barnes doubts whether the title-winning team he graced in the late 1980s and early 90s would have been as well-equipped to conquer the continent in the same way as they did on home soil.

More here.

More here.

Brazilian full-back Fabio Aurelio's season is over.

More here.

NEW Liverpool co-owner George Gillett has refused to speculate on the transfer kitty available to manager Rafael Benitez in the summer but he has promised to back his Spanish coach.

More here.

YNWA/JFT 96,
Andy Neumann

Standings as of 05 April 07.

Rank	Member	Points
1	Ste	38
1	Kevin	38
3	Lance	34
4	Dennis	33
5	Mark Aston	30
6	Andy	26
7	Keith	22
8	Glenn Whyte	10
9	Chris Cole	6
10	Quentin	5
11	Glenn Whitt.	3

To enter the members contest see the rules below.

RULES:

• Only open to paid LFC Vancouver Members.
• You list the names of the players you think will start the next LFC match.
• You must submit your list to lfcvancouver [at] gmail.com at least 12 hours before kick-off.
• This contest will include every match that LFC plays this season. Starting with Blackburn.
• The member(s) that correctly guess the starting XI will be awarded 5 points.
• At the end of the season the player with the most points will win the prize.
• What is the prize? It is a surprise!
• The standings will be included in each week’s newsletter.

Scoring System:

• 11 Correct picks = 5 points.
• 10 Correct picks = 3 points.
• 9 Correct picks = 1 point.
• 0-8 Correct picks = 0 points.

YNWA/JFT 96,

Andy Neumann