Bye! The Year 2005

2005 could be one of the most important year during my entire life. I've changed a lot since the 2005 summer. I've found out what I can do, and what I want to do, and most importantly, what I want for myself which I've never thought about before.

I won't be afraid what may come next. I'll do my 200% to get where I want to be. So, Just bring it on 2006!

Derby Win - Nine Wins Out Of Nine

28 Dec 2005 Everton 1-3 Liverpool - EPL

BBC - Peter Crouch's clever finish and Steven Gerrard's deflected 25-yard drive put Liverpool two up inside 17 minutes. James Beattie, who had a header controversially ruled out, pulled one back four minutes before half-time. But Djibril Cisse fired in Liverpool's third after 47 minutes and Everton were reduced to nine men when Phil Neville and Mikel Arteta were sent off.

See What You've Missed, Michael?

26 Dec 2005 Liverpool 2-0 Newcastle - EPL

Summarised from liverpoolfc.tv - A cross from the right by Garcia was played into Gerrard's path by a deft touch from Crouch and the captain did the rest, finding the top corner with a rasping right-foot drive. Two minutes before the break Kewell picked out Crouch with a pinpoint delivery from the left and the big man's towering header squirmed past Given and over the line.
Bowyer's late tackle on Alonso saw the game explode into fury and a mass brawl threatened to break out as players from either side squared up to each other before Bowyer was sent off after 66 minutes.
Predictably, all the pre-match hype had surrounded former Red Owen's first appearance at Anfield since his move to Real Madrid in August 2004 but it was the current Liverpool stars whose praises were being sung loud and proud by the Kop at the end of this memorable festive fare.
It's a result that extends Liverpool's winning run in the Premiership to eight games and maintains their unrelenting pursuit of the league leaders, showing no ill-effects from their recent grueling jaunt to Japan.

Rafa: "I am happy with the performance of the team but we should have scored more goals and their goalkeeper played very well."
"We did a sound job at the back. Sami Hyypia and Jamie Carragher were excellent and they did not allow Shearer or Owen any chances."
"We know he (Owen) is a dangerous player but we were able to control him."

Souness: "In the first half Liverpool were magnificent and we were poor. They had some outstanding performers especially the two in central midfield of Alonso and Gerrard.
"We were totally overrun in the first half and I have no complaints about the result. In the second half we started to chip away without creating and we didn't get any service to Michael Owen which was disappointing."

Owen's Anfield reception
Gerrard: "I am disappointed. He should be a legend here for all the goals he has scored for us in the past." "He got a mixed reception. I do not think they were booing him much but he deserves a standing ovation."

Bowyer's sent off
Gerrard: "It was a bit of a dangerous tackle and maybe a yellow would have been more sensible."

Souness: "I'm not fudging the issue but I didn't see it. But I'm told by those sitting alongside me there should have been more than one red card dished out."

Shane, Emily, Chelsea

Okay, it's a little late. Emily is the beautiful girl in the picture, and next to her is ugly fiance Shane. lol And the baby, yes, 'she' is Chelsea! Chelsea was born on Thursday morning, 15th Dec 2005, at 1.40 AM. Best Christmas present for them, isn't it. Shane is one of the administrators of forum.football.co.uk. We met through Skype this summer when Emily was still pregnant. Unbelievable, now I'm posting little chelsea's picture! I'm really happy for the young and happy couple! (Emily is only 19 but a mother!! And believe me, Shane is just 23, though it's hard to tell from the picture.)

Chelsea? A bad name!! I don't know what was he thinking.. He's a God damn Man Utd fan!! lol (Emily is not a football fan though.) What if Chelsea becomes a Liverpool fan after she grows up? Erm...she would hate her parents then.

Are there many names like Chelsea? Can Liverpool be a name as well? Arsenal? Spurs? Newcastle??

This Is Our Captain

Steven Gerrard on... the burden of expectation before the Champions League final

"It was do or die. It meant everything. I was watching the fans gathered in the main square on television, taking in the build-up in the papers, the manager's team talks: everything was different. Being a player at this football club is all about winning trophies. You hear ex-players going on about winning all those European Cups, everyone goes on about the successful sides of the past and if you are a player here and not winning things it seems like you are failing. So to get an opportunity to play AC Milan in a European Cup final, all I could think about in the days before was that it is impossible to come away as a loser. It can be a burden as a Liverpool player. Pressure builds up as the years go by. We won the treble in 2001 but the big trophies are the Premier League and the European Cup and now there is definitely a weight off my shoulders. I wouldn't say the burden is too heavy - there is a responsibility on every player, and especially on the captain - but I love it. It is what I have dreamt of and when the pressure is on and things aren't going well I like that challenge."

Steven Gerrard on... why he reacted last to Dudek's penalty save in Istanbul

"I was last to react because I had to grasp the fact that I didn't have to take the penalty. I had prepared myself so much for that penalty - I knew exactly where it was going, so it was just relief. As Shevchenko walked up to take the pen, Carra shouted across, 'It's all going to be down to you, son!' I thought, 'I know that, cheers'. I knew I was going to have to step forward and take the last penalty, because Shevchenko is not going to miss from 12 yards, it's impossible. But I don't think he was fully focused. He was still thinking back to the chance when he could have won it for them in extra time and Jerzy pulled off a world-class save. For the best striker in the world, on current form the best finisherin the world, to miss from six yards and then from 12 yards, well, it's your night. Simple as that. If he was to get those two chances now he would take them 10 times out of 10, but that night he missed both. That's why we play the beautiful game! A penalty shoot-out is a horrible way to lose a final and I am just glad it was our night because I don't know how it would have affected us this season. It would still be on my mind now."

Stven Gerrard on... the day he almost left Liverpool

"I always knew what I had and what I would be leaving behind if the move did go through. When it came to the crunch though, I couldn't let go. Sometimes in football you can take what you've got for granted until you are put in a situation like I was put in. I didn't realise how hard I have worked to get to where I am. And it took some of my family to remind me of that, make me realise how proud I am to be here. Everything went through my mind at the time. I looked at players who had moved on and been successful and players who had stayed at the one club and been successful. I was thinking about my future non-stop through Euro 2004 and then it happened again the following summer. But it wasn't a case of thinking that I had to move on to be successful. I always knew that, if I was to stay, I could be successful here... It was down to miscommunication.

"Everyone is entitled to their opinion but no one on the planet knows what was going through my mind and no one knows what I was put through. I respect everyone's opinion but what I want to do with my life is up to me. It has moved on now, but I never had anything to prove anyway. When I decided to stay I knew that. This football club got me for nothing. I have given 100 per cent from day one and I will continue to do that. It wasn't as though the club paid £15m or £20m for me and then I wanted to leave after a few seasons. I knew there was a small percentage of fans who were not happy when I stayed but I never felt as though I owed them anything. I just had to get back to giving everything for the shirt again."

Steven Gerrard... on the hunger inside the Liverpool dressing room

"People might look at this Liverpool team and say we have delivered but what I've noticed in the dressing-room is that winning the European Cup has made the lads even hungrier. It has made us all want to improve. We believe we have the squad to challenge for the Premier League now. Most of the lads in this squad have won every trophy except the Premier League so that is the aim this year. If not, improve again and do it next year, but we feel a title challenge is around the corner."

Steven Gerrard... on why England must win the World Cup next year

"When you beat Argentina like that and play so well, you start to think you can beat anyone. It is probably the most exciting team there has been at that level for a while. I think it will be such a waste if we go there and fail. It all depends on what England side turns up. We've got world-class players in Lampard, Rooney and Owen. We've got so many top centre-halves, the best left-back in the world, the experience of Gary Neville. The 2010 World Cup will be really difficult in South Africa but this one in Germany will really suit us. We've got to make the most of it."

And finally, Steven Gerrard on... his favourite bedroom

"I've just moved into a new house, and, to be honest, there was a bit of friction with my girlfriend over what to do with certain rooms. One of the ideas behind the move was to have a special room to record everything I have done so far. I managed to get the whole top floor, to turn it into a memorabilia room so you can imagine where that medal is, right in the middle, hanging on a mannequin. It is pride of place. When I go into the house that is my favourite room because all of my football memories are in there, shirts of the top players I've played against, all my medals and individual awards. In that respect the last year has been very special; it has helped top the room off."

Merry Christmas!

(This cute photo is from louster, and it's his dog April.)
I'm going to begin my part-time job in the cinema, which I've been looking forward to. There are just three weeks to go before the term ends, and I think there will be a lot of things to do, the final exam, term papers, etc. Hopefully I can still have time to update my blog.
Merry Christmas to all, and hope you have a happy new year! Enjoy the holiday!

Trophy Belong To Reds

18 Dec 2005 Sao Paulo 1-0 Liverpool - Club World Championship

BBC - Liverpool slipped to defeat in the Club World Championship final against Sao Paulo in a game dominated by the Reds - Liverpool created numerous chances and had three efforts ruled out for offside but were thwarted by hurried finishing and in-form goalkeeper.

Offside, goal disallowed, not scoring, being unlucky.....blah blah blah..

Anyone noticed that Liverpool did really well during the whole match? Their attack, passing, tackle, defense, conner, free-kick.... 11 players on the pitch were in their best form, even Kewell!! There were some great crosses came from him, which i haven't seen for ages!! Morientes' overhead kick was brilliant, as well as Gerrard's free kick and crosses.

Though Liverpool were forced to use 4-5-1 formation to dominate the midfield when meeting a skillful brazillian team, that didn't affact their attack! Just see how many chances Garcia or Gerrard got? And about their backline, yes, after this match, i still think it's the most solid one! Plus Sissoko and Alonso's hard effort in the central midfield. Everyone was aware of his position, and the offside trap was set effectively.

You may say all of those are useless without a goal. That's true. I feel extremely disappointed about not winning a trophy, but at the same time, feel happy about that performance! It's the best I've ever seen apart from last season's CL final! It gave me more confidence that they can be competitive in Premiership title race back home. At least we're now going back with a perfect form, aren't we.

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Rafa: "The first thing I can say is congratulations to my players and we deserved to win. We had 21 shots and 17 corners and we hit the bar twice, we scored three goals but what can you do? We couldn't have done anymore to win."
"I am not happy with a lot of things from the game but I am very happy with my players and we did everything possible for winning."
"I have tried to show respect for Sao Paulo because it is a good team but we deserved to win and we controlled the game. You don't normally see a team from Brazil defending like they did."

Xabi: "We're bitterly disappointed but we've got to accept it and get on with things. There's no point in moaning about it now. It's a shame we couldn't lift the trophy, but we've got to pick ourselves up and keep on working."

Riise: "We've proved we can play some great football out here but now we've got to go home, get used to English time again and start thinking about the match against Newcastle on Boxing Day."

Reina: "I'm angry at the way it's ended because we were the better side. We've let a title slip out of our hands and it's the kind of competition you only ever get one chance at. I wasn't that bothered about the record. It had to end some time. I'm just annoyed that it had to happen in the final with a title at stake."

Garcia: "We feel cheated. They tell me it wasn't a goal, but what can you do now? We can't do anything. We have lost out on the trophy but we know we've played well. They had one chance, and nothing else after that. At least I think we showed everyone that we can compete with the best teams in the world, and I believe we can kick on from this now."

The Last 16 Draw

What a draw!! It will be an exciting knock out stage! Can Chelsea beat Barcelona again? Well..I doubt it!! C'MON Barce, time to revenge!! Arsenal have chance to beat Real Madrid I think for their good form in Europe recently. Bayern and Milan will have a great match to watch. I'm glad that we have avoided those big teams, and hopefully we could get through easily.

Record-breaking Pool Into Final

15 Dec 2005 Deportivo Saprissa 0-3 Liverpool - Club World Championship

Liverpool dominated the semi-final against Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa, taking an early lead as Cisse knocked the ball down for Crouch who steered in a first-time shot. Gerrard made it 2-0 with a glorious volley after Riise placed a perfect cross right onto his boot. A defensive mistake from the Costa Rican side allowed Crouch to slot his second beyond Saprissa 'keeper Jose Porras.

'Liverpool's 11th consecutive clean sheet means the class of 2005 have now replaced Kenny Dalglish's 1987 side in the club's record books as the meanest defence ever.'
Liverpool will play South American champions Sao Paulo in the final this Sunday.

Gerrard: "We feel unbeatable at the moment. The whole team is proud to have broken a record. The whole back four and the goalkeeper have been superb and everyone has worked hard all over the pitch. It's always nice to break records but the most important thing is to win and keep on improving. We don't want to break records, we want to win trophies and we really believe we can beat Sao Paolo in the final on Sunday."

Damn It!

I suddenly find out that I can't do anything without Photoshop!! I just re-installed my computer the other day, including all the programs, software... But something wrong happens to my new Photoshop, and I can't use it at the moment. It's really inconvenient! I can't change the Premiership table and the Next Match feature here, and also edit pictures to upload! Damn it!

And another annoyinig thing...I forgot my password for Skype, a chat program. I don't use it often, but I'll miss my long contact list. I've tried many possible passwords for it, but just couldn't find the right one. Also I've tried the password reminder, but strangely, it says: 'The username you entered is not valid or you did not specify an email address when you registered for Skype.' Damn it!

Now I have to log in again on every sites I've been visiting around, and I start to feel that I should make a list for those passwords. Or maybe a table, showing Website, Username, Password.

'Nando Double Nails Boro'

10 Dec 2005 Liverpool 2-0 Middlesbrough - EPL

Liverpool made a great start. Gerrard tested Boro's keeper Schwarzer with three shots on goal in the first five minutes. The best chance came after 23 minutes as Morientes' header forced Schwarzer into a finger tip save. Five minutes before the half time, Sissoko almost had his first Liverpool goal but headed Crouch's knock down straight into the arms of Schwarzer.

Crouch was replaced by Garcia on the 67th minute, allowing Gerrard moved from the right to a more central position, when they soon combined to set up for Morientes' first goal! Shortly after, Carragher's long-ball was deflected by Frank Queudrue, and Morientes beat the offside trap before calmly lobbing Schwarzer to make it 2-0. Boro ended up with just 10 men when Riggott was sent off for two yellow cards with 6 minutes to go.

The 7th successive league win moved us into second in the Premiership table, ahead of Man Utd and 12 points behind Chelsea. The Reds have now gone 925 minutes without conceding a goal, which equalled a club record of 10 straight clean sheets! I really feel that we have the most solid backline in the world at the moment! Hyypia's short absence to deal with his head injury in the match just showed how much he's needed for Liverpool! He soon had a great clearance when he came back with bandage! I think he's one of the reasons Liverpool can still keep the clean sheet!

2006 World Cup Finals Draw

GROUP A Germany, Costa Rica, Poland, Ecuador
GROUP B England, Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago, Sweden
GROUP C Argentina, Ivory Coast, Serbia & Montenegro, Holland
GROUP D Mexico, Iran, Angola, Portugal
GROUP E Italy, Ghana, USA, Czech Republic
GROUP F Brazil, Croatia, Australia, Japan
GROUP G France, Switzerland, South Korea, Togo
GROUP H Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia

Want To Be A Drunk Asshole?

Top 5 Rules of asshole drunkenness

1. It's always your turn to talk
2. You are always right
3. You are the most intelligent person in the room
4. Nothing you do is stupid.
5. Know when to get the fuck out of there because you've offended too many people and they outnumber your drunken ass.

Read more..How to be a Drunk Asshole

Fuck Off Essien

6 Dec 2005 Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool - CL MatchDay 6

The best chance came in 30th minute when Gerrard put Riise through while his drive was blocked by the legs of Petr Cech, and Robben also wasted a good second-half opportunity for Chelsea as he volleyed Drogba's chest down into the side-netting.
Chelsea got the majority of the possession but failed to find a way to trouble a well drilled Liverpool backline.
Essien was lucky to get away with a straight red card in the 23rd minute for an appalling high challenge on Liverpool's Hamann.
Despite the goalless draw, Liverpool got the position as group winners and means they'll go into next week's draw for the first knockout round as one of eight seeded teams.

Mourinho: "I didn't see Michael's tackle so I cannot give my version." "I was telling the Liverpool bench that they were crying all the game. They needed to sit down a little bit and relax. With me referees are always very strong and quick to put me in my place. But other managers can do what they want. For example if Jose Mourinho had done what Stuart Pearce did against Blackburn, it would have been a three-month ban for me."
"They defend very well, everybody behind the ball, they press they close spaces. They defended a lot and we were not able to break the wall. In matches against Liverpool, when you get chances you have to score."
"Our disappointment is not at finishing second in the group, it is at not winning the game because I want to win every match."

Hamann: "It was the worst tackle I've ever been on the receiving end of, and he didn't even apologise afterwards." "I really feared I had broken my leg."
"The referee didn't see it and you have to get on with it. When things like that happen, what you must not do is allow yourself to be distracted, we were playing well and controlling the game and getting the result to win the group was crucial."

Benitez: "I could see the tackle, it was in front of the bench and I could also see the leg of Didi Hamann. You can see on the video that it is clear." "I think that he (Mourinho) talks a lot. He said the things he needed to say but I prefer not to talk about it. I don't want to talk about things that are so clear."
"We deserved to finish top because we have more points than the other teams. We done a good job, kept another clean-sheet and created some chances on the counter-attack."

Grand English Cup 2005

So! About the basketball games! Overall we did really well compared to the previous years. This was probably my last time to join the tournament as I would be in England next year. I've been in the team since my first year in university, and really enjoy playing basketball with people who have the same passion. It's hard to imagine but I started to follow basketball since I was a kid, dreaming about marrying to a professional...

Yes, I'm the one in the picture with No.12 on my back. Traveling with a group of girls is an......exhausted thing for me. I think I've just mentioned the other day that I hate girls taking pictures ALL THE TIME! They're crazy! And they'll be stuck in a store, and never know when to leave! Oh my God... Is that traveling all about for girls? Taking pictures, shopping, taking pictures, and shopping....(oh, no, I would call that 'walking around'...as they're not buying anything!) Awwww......

I finally found one with me in the picture from a girl's camera, though only my back... Anyway, I'll post some pictures from my own camera later. Don't worry, it won't be just smiling faces...

'Crouch Drought Over As Reds Go 2nd'

3 Dec 2005 Liverpool 3-0 Wigan - EPL

BBC - Crouch thought he had opened the scoring but his deflected shot, which was helped in by Mike Pollitt, was later credited to the Wigan keeper. But there were no doubts about the giant hitman's next effort, when he superbly lifted the ball over the advancing Pollitt to double the lead. Luis Garcia chested in from Fernando Morientes' header to seal the victory.

The win extended the Reds winning run in the Premiership to an impressive six games, saw them keep yet another clean sheet and moved them up into second place in the table.

Crouch: "I had a big slice of luck with the first one obviously. It was on target but went a bit higher than I planned. If it goes to the dubious goals committee I'll be telling them that it's definitely mine.

I am a buoyant person by nature but if I'm honest this goal drought as been getting me down at times. I've been getting a bit of stick lately but it's great to get the goals today and hopefully I can go on from here and score more."

5 Dec 2005 Liverpool.tv - Crouch Dedicates His Goals To The Fans

"The team-mates, manager and fans have been top class. It is much easier when the people who matter believe in you. But I also believe in myself and I believe I can go on a little run now. (While teeing up the first goal) I thought Carra and the rest of the lads were willing me to score. The manager has never had any problems. He has always said just keep doing what you are doing."

"I am lucky because there are an awful lot of people who have believed in me. When I have gone through a barren spell they have buoyed me up and I am sure that over the next few days people will be texting me and phoning me and I need to thank those people for keeping me going."

4th Place In The Table

30 Nov 2005 Sunderland 0-2 Liverpool - EPL

Garcia gave Liverpool the lead after he latched on to Alonso's pass and finished low passed Sunderland's goalkeeper, Alnwick. Just before the half time, Alonso produced another even better pass for Gerrard, who rounded hopeless Alnwick and then prodded the ball into the empty net.

We now leap frog Bolton, Tottenham and Wigan moving up to the 4th place in the table after extending their impressive unbeaten run to 7 games and they haven't conceded a goal in 630 minutes!

Rafa: "The team is playing well. We are controlling games and showing consistency, scoring goals and keeping clean sheets. We need to keep this run going now and to do that we have continue doing the same things."

"Xabi is a player who can pass and keep possession. He is probably one of the best passers in the world and played very well for us tonight."

It's reported that striker Cisse was left out of squad bacause of his petulant reaction at being substituted at Manchester City on Saturday.
However, Rafa explained: "He has been in the squad for a lot games and on this occasion I opted to use some of the other players. He was not left out for disciplinary reasons. He was rested. There was no other reason."