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liverpool continue their fa cup run after a 2-0 win over preston north end. the reds played a mostly full strength squad, taking no risks in their third round clash.

reira opened the scoring with a solid drive after 25 minutes. reira, after a shaky start to life at anfield, has become a solid performer, chipping in with numerous goals. liverpool’s second goal came just before full time, scored by fernando torres. torres is returning from injury and subbed on for keane in the 78th minute.

liverpool now await the draw for their fourth round opponents, and look ahead to next saturday’s game against stoke city.

wow … 2008 was a hell of a year. for me, it was probably the busiest and craziest year of my life.

the year started with a bang. first came the big d, followed by quitting my university job and starting work at an adult education school. i really missed my university position. it was such a fun, cruisy job. moving to the adult school was hell on earth. i spent the entire year waking up at 5.40 am, having to be at school by 6.20 am. i began classes every day at 6.30 am.  the school had its ups and downs. the schedule was terrible, but my students were always fantastic. the management was moronic, but the actual classes were fairly easy … overall, however, i’ll be very glad to leave that school … worst. job. ever.

i’ve saved a lot of money this year … a bi-products of working like a dog. that’s definitely been the biggest highlight of the year, since it has opened up a lot of doors in terms of future options. it’s hard to believe that i worked four jobs this year. i had money coming in from everywhere. just when i thought i couldn’t get busier, i’d pick up a job editing a thousand page textbook, or some other assignment which would keep me up late at night, make me tired and grumpy, but keep the bank account ticking along nicely. i have to be honest and i can definitely say that i know now how it feels to be korean - working long hours, getting very little sleep, having no social life, and focusing on the money … it’s a terrible way to live, and i definitely couldn’t do it forever.

this has also been a good year for photography. i picked up a few odd jobs, made a little bit of money, bought some lenses and gear, started a photography club, published columns in korea’s english newspaper, made a bunch of friends and taken heaps of photos. i’ve learned a lot and had a lot of fun with photography this year. i think i’ve improved and i can take away a lot more skills. but i’ve still got a lot to learn, especially with editing, but there’s plenty of time to work on that.

i bought my first leica this year. my film camera was so much fun … and just what i needed to mix things up a bit. i got to play with film, as well as do some printing and developing. the leica is going with craig back to australia. hopefully he’ll get some use out of it for the next few years.

my website has done well. i’ve started getting traffic and making a few friends. the site has been through a few redesigns as i try and find my style. the design that i’ve got now is hopefully the design that i will keep for a while. it’s fantastically minimal. i bought a few domains and played around with internet stuff.

i don’t usually talk about my relationships on my blog, but i did have a good relationship this year. i know i have not always been a perfect guy, but i’ve learned a lot from my mistakes.

i started reading books again, which was nice. i tried to learn the ukulele, but gave up. i tried to learn korean and spanish, but gave up. i tried to spend more time learning php and css, but gave up too. i attribute my failures to a lack of sleep and lack of time, rather than a lack of willpower!

liverpool had a good year. despite the lack of trophies, they fought hard and played well. the signings of torres and keane have been huge for the club. liverpool finish the year on top of the table, for the first time in 12 years. here’s hoping that they can hold on until may and take home the league title.

rubberchicken winging his way to korea in december was the cherry on the cake. i hadn’t seen my little buddy in three years, so it was good to hang out with him. happy new years mate!

the year will finish tonight and now i have to look forward to 2009.

my resolutions are to travel, take more photos, learn spanish, work as little as possible. i’m not a big ‘resolutions’ person, and 2009 is a difficult year to make promises, but i’m hoping that it’ll be a good year with much more fun and much more freedom.

to all my friends and family, happy new year. i wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009.

liverpool handed newcastle a 5-1 thumping last night when the reds traveled to st james park last night. liverpool were in fine form, despite having neither torres or keane on the pitch, and proceeded to dismantle newcastle’s defense from the opening kickoff.

liverpool dominated the magpies and gave them very little ball or opportunities to attack. the reds pushed forward and liverpool’s defensive line was playing very high. it was only thanks to the efforts by newcastle keeper shay given that the score line wasn’t more embarassing for the toons.

it didn’t take long for the floodgates to open. steven gerrard angled a shot off the post and into the net after the 30th minute. moments later veteran sami hyypia doubled liverpool’s lead. hyypia’s powerful header found the net after a great corner kick by gerrard.

liverpool had more chances but were unable to capitalise. the half time whistle was a welcome relief for newcastle’s ailing defenses.

gerrard’s shot beats the keeper, finding the net after deflecting off the inside of the post

hyypia’s powerful header gave liverpool a two goal lead

a close range punt by babel found the net, thanks to some terrible defense

stevie g gets his brace, chipping the keeper, for liverpool’s fourth goal

alonso cooly slotted home a penalty

after the break, newcastle showed an improved performance, earning a few corners, and were able to make the most of it by scoring a soft goal. newcastle were back in the game, only one goal down, but liverpool immediately retaliated with an easy goal thanks to some terrible defense. newcastle were unable to clear the ball, leaving babel to punt home from close range.

the third goal broke newcastle’s resiliance and gerrard took full advantage. a fantastic pass by lucas found gerrard up front. the liverpool skipper held off the defender and chipped the ball over the onrushing keeper. liverpool then finished off with a penalty. babel made a good run but was brought down in the box. alonso did the honours from the spot.

the result has shown what liverpool is capable of when they’re in form. playing with kuyt as the lone striker (keane was benched and torres is still recovering) the reds completely demolished newcastle. liverpool go three points clear at the top of the table, after fulham held chelsea to a draw.

the anfield squad will be feeling full of confidence as they return to merseyside to take a much needed break. benitez, watching from the stands, praised liverpool’s performance without two of their big gun strikers.

liverpool now prepare for their fa cup match against preston north end, followed by stoke, everton and wigan. the reds should be able to make the most of an easy january run, including the all important home game derby against everton, before facing chelsea on february 1st.

if liverpool are still leading the league after the chelsea match, there’s a good chance that they can hang on to take the title.

both liverpool and chelsea have blown their chances to take the outright lead over the premier league. liverpool hosted fulham and chelsea hosted newcastle. both home teams were favourites to win their respective matches, however they were frustrated by strong defending and poor finishing.

the reds started without playmakers gerrard (injured) and alonso (benched). torres started but is still getting back to match fitness after an injury.

liverpool didn’t make much of a start in the first half. the players looked tired from midweek international games. liverpool’s passing was sloppy and they allowed fulham too much time on the ball. the reds were forced to defend and gave the visitors a few chances to score.

at the other end keane rarely looked like troubling the defense, but torres made some good runs. however it was keane who had the best chance of the half, his shot heroically blocked by fulham’s aussie keeper mark schwarzer.

the second half was a better affair for the home team. liverpool started to get forward more and alonso’s introduction saw a marked improvement in liverpool’s passing. kuyt had a terrific shot which was also parried away by schwarzer.

the liverpool fans were howling for lucas levia to be substituted off. the young brazilian wasn’t having a good game and gave away too many balls in the midfield. however, he played the full match, with kuyt and riera coming off for babel and el zhar. a better substitution would have been to bring off levia for benayoun, who has been complaining about his lack of games for liverpool. tonight would have been a perfect chance to give him some decent time on the pitch.

as the game headed towards full time, liverpool’s intensity increased. however, the reds couldn’t break down fulham’s defense and find a goal that would give them all three points.

at stanford bridge, chelsea racked up 33 shots on goal to newcastle’s 2 shots. the blues pitched tents in newcastle’s half and spent the game taking pot shots at goal. considering the talent in chelsea’s squad, it’s a huge victory to newcastle to hold them out.

in other games, manchester city are proving their rise to power with a solid 3-0 victory over arsenal. the gunners are having a bad season (by their own standards) and wenger is under enormous pressure to get results … and poor old sheffield wednesday still can’t get a win, going down 0-1 to coventry. the owls have only won 1 of their last 7 matches. their next three games are against lowly ranked blackpool, norwich and southampton. here’s hoping sheffield wednesday find some form.

manchester united, with two games to play, now have a chance to cut back the gap between themselves and liverpool/cheslea.

the reds, meanwhile, turn their attention to the midweek game against marseille. a win or draw will guarantee progress to the champions league knockout stages. next sunday liveprool travel to west ham to begin their all important run through christmas.

update: manchester united also drew, missing a golden opportunity to catch the liverpool and chelsea.

liverpool have continued their fine run with a solid 2-0 win over bolton wanderers at reebok stadium last night. the reds completely dominated the first half with fantastic passing. dirk kuyt opened the scoring for a liverpool with a superb header after 30 minutes. the lead should have been doubled when robbie keane missed an absolute sitter in front of goal. all he had to do was connect with the ball and it was in. bolton were also unlucky to be denied a goal in injury time. wanderers scored a header from a corner, but the goal was disallowed after the attackers were adjudged to have interfered with the keeper.

bolton looked much better after half time and took control of the opening minutes. the home side missed another good chance after reina was beaten, but the striker lost his footing and couldn’t direct the ball home. liverpool worked their way back into the game and gerrard became the second red player to miss a gilt-edged chance. torres’ cross fell into the path of gerrard who couldn’t make contact. again, the slightest touch would have been enough for the ball to find its mark.

however, gerrard made up for his miss with liverpool’s second goal. another torres cross fell into the path of the charging gerrard. he nodded it into the corner. lucas leiva, a late substitute, also missed a sitter when his header glanced outside the post.

liverpool were comfortable winners, despite a few scares. the reds had numerous chances, which i’m sure benitez will talk about in training this week. liverpool now look ahead to their game against fulham.

chelsea and manchester united both won their matches. arsenal were defeated by aston villa. that means liverpool and chelsea are tied for the lead, again, with manchester united 8 points behind. man united have a game in hand and could reduce that deficit to 5 points. arsenal are now 9 points behind.

liverpool exit the carling cup after being defeated by cup holders tottenham on wednesday. the reds came into the match having already lost to spurs in the premier league, the loss was their first of the season in all competitions. tottenham scored 3 first half goals, but liverpool scored twice to put themselves back in the game. liverpool’s goals came on either side of the break with reserve player damien plessis heading in the first and sami hyypia heading in the second after half time. however the spurs’ fourth goal put the game out of liverpool’s reach.

the reds will not be too disappointed about the loss. with the exception of torres and agger, the entire liverpool side was made up of reserve and bench players. tottenham, still trying to claw their way out of a terrible start to the season, played a strong team.

having exited the carling cup, liverpool can now focus on maintaining their strong start in the league. liverpool travel to bolton this weekend and are at home to fulham next weekend. both games are ‘must win’ matches for the reds.

liverpool have returned to the top of the table after a clinical 3-0 win over visiting side west brom. robbie keane scored a brace, his first premier league goals for liverpool.

west bromwich albion traveled to anfield with a record of having never beaten the reds for 41 years, and it was clear from the outset that the visitors were going to be totally outclassed. however, to west brom’s credit, they didn’t park the bus in front of goal. the baggies came with a mind to do some attacking.

keane had an early shot and benayoun was also unlucky not to score in the opening minutes. former red keeper scott carson got his body in the way and blocked benayoun’s shot. a goal looked inevitable as liverpool pressed forward. gerrard pushed a clever ball through to keane who finished with a clean strike. minutes later keane got his brace, doubling liverpool’s lead, after he rounded the keeper and shot into an empty net.

the reds enjoyed a comfortable lead and went into the break without being threatened at all by west brom. however after the break liverpool seemed to be playing in second gear and the visitors tried to work their way back into the game. a chance by west brom went begging and that was all it took for liverpool to regain composure and retake control of the game.

keane came off to give torres a run. the spaniard has been out injured and is making his return. although he didn’t play much of a part in the game, but it was a valuable chance for the striker to regain match fitness.

in the pouring rain, arbeloa’s curling shot gave liverpool their 3rd goal

second before the full time whistle, arbeloa fired a left footed curling shot, giving liverpool their third unanswered goal.

liverpool retake control at the top of the premier league table. arsenal, who are under fire for their recent poor form beat manchester united. that gives the reds some breathing room via a six point buffer between 1st and 3rd. however chelsea are likely to take the number one position tonight when they face blackburn rovers.

liverpool should have a good run for november and up to christmas. the reds face spurs in the carling cup this week, followed by league games to bolton and fulham. liverpool then have a champions league game against marseille, before facing west ham and blackburn.

in past years, liverpool’s season has been completely destroyed by christmas. this year the reds look good enough to continue their good form and run of wins, maintaining pressure on their challenge for the league title.

liverpool have missed their opportunity to guarantee progress to the champions league knockout stage after a lacklustre draw with athletico madrid overnight. the reds were without star striker fernando torres who was unable to recover from his hamstring injury in time.

liverpool were not at their best and allowed the visitors too much space to move. however the reds did have chances and were denied two penalties after fouls by the same madrid player; the first time he dragged agger down, and the second he handled the ball in the box.

the reds were warned of madrid’s intentions to attack after the spanish team fired a threatening shot off target. liverpool’s defenses were undone before the break when a good passage of play opened up liverpool’s back four and allowed madrid the chance to score.

liverpool pushed forward more after the break but didn’t look to be in control of the game. the reprieve came when yet another penalty offense was committed, but this time awarded by the referee. gerrard slotted the shot home during injury time to secure a point for the reds.

liverpool will feel unlucky not to have taken all three points after two other penalty calls were denied, but the reds didn’t play well enough to earn the win. a draw is definitely justified. it was a night of upsets across europe as chelsea lost to as roma, inter milan and barcelona both drew against weaker teams, and bremen lost to panathanaikos.

in group d’s other match marseille beat eindhoven , which is good for liverpool. the reds now need only a single point from their last two games to ensure progress to the knockout stages. it’s likely that liverpool and athletico madrid will both progress.

rafa benitez’s men now look towards two premier league games, which the reds must win to maintain pressure on chelsea at the top of the table.

liverpool have defeated chelsea for the first time under rafal benitez. the result puts liverpool on top of the league, outright, with 23 points.

the reds have traveled to london with a record of never scoring against chelsea during rafa benitez’s reign as manager. rafa’s men started with a defensive setup, just a single striker in robbie keane. liverpool’s star striker torres is still injured. however chelsea too were missing drogba and ballack.

after a cagey start by both teams, chelsea started to press a little bit and liverpool found themselves playing deep. but 10 minutes into the game, liverpool got a break and alonso opened the scoring after a fluke deflection off a chelsea defender.

liverpool celebrate alonso’s lucky goal, their first against chelsea at stanford bridge

that put chelsea behind and they went on the attack. liverpool responded with good possession and shutting down chelsea plays. liverpool were looking a lot more attacking and confident than many would have guessed, considering their poor record against chelsea in the premier league.

both teams engaged in some good end to end football. reira and gerrard both came close, as did deco down the other end. reira and gerrard were also yellow carded for tackles. gerrard’s card was unlucky, considering he won the ball and liverpool would have been able to counter attack. as the half wore on chelsea started to dominate again. liverpool gave away too many balls and a lot of room on their left wing. chelsea had most of the possession and were unlucky not to score after gerrard was depossessed and deco fired a shot just outside the left post.

the second half opened at a lively pace. liverpool started well and a few whistles were in liverpool’s favour. chelsea picked up 4 yellow cards (plus one to mascherano for dissent) and alonso’s fantastic free kick hit the post. keane came off and was replaced by babel. for chelsea, deco and cole had very good chances to score.

despite chelsea’s urgency, clear chances didn’t materialise. liverpool’s defense was resilient and they made the most of every touch. the reds frustrated chelsea, especially in defense. but most importantly, the anfield team didn’t wait for chelsea to attack, liverpool also attacked, creating chances and keeping possession away from the home team.

liverpool won’t have much time for rest, hosting portsmouth midweek and then traveling to beliguered hotspurs next saturday. four days after that, liverpool also play host to athletico madrid.

in what was a stunning and dramatic game, the reds’ visit to manchester city looked to be a thumping at the hands of the revamped city side. the new owners have poured cash into the club and signed some big name players, including real madrid’s robhino. city got off to a great start and liverpool looked out of sorts after their midweek champions league win. the home team put two goals past liverpool in the first half. the half time break came as a relief to the reds, who were being completely dominated on the pitch.

after half time, however, the anfield team were a different squad. passes were much sharper and they started to take possession away from man city. torres got himself into the game and scored two goals, bringing the teams level on 2-2. liverpool continued to push forward and torres was denied a 3rd goal from close range when he mistimed a shot that was virtually an open net.

a minute before full time skrtel was stretchered off with a knee injury and it looked as though the game would end in a draw. 6 minutes of injury time were awarded. immediately after play got underway, benayoun (coming on as a sub) made a great run down the left. he found space and passed back to torres in the box. torres’ shot was mistimed, but deflected off a city defender and into the path of kuyt. his shot passed the keeper, finding the back of the net.

liverpool wound down the clock and held off city’s last gasp attacks to claim all three points. the reds made a battling comeback to see of a strong manchester city side. benitez was duly satisfied with the result and at liverpool’s ability to battle their way back from 2 down to win 3-2.

the reds remain on top of the table, equal on points with chelsea (17) but behind on goal difference. all teams have played 7 games and we have a nice 3 point buffer on 3rd place hull (arsenal are in 4th on 13 points). chelsea’s goal difference is 11 to liverpool’s 6, which is going to be a bit of a concern when we play them in a few weeks. they’re scoring freely, but not conceding.

liverpool now have a week’s break to refresh and prepare for their match against wigan athletic.

liverpool’s title hopes are being taken seriously after the reds won a comfortable derby against mersey rivals everton. liverpool traveled to goodison for what is usually one of the most torrid derby matches in england, however from the outset the reds completely dominated everton with slick passing and clean movements. the first half was all liverpool, despite few chances at scoring.

the second half started in the same fashion, with liverpool dominating possession and the controling the ball. however liverpool were starting to put a lot of pressure on the toffees’ back line. howard, everton’s keeper, made a few saves from gerrard and kuyt, but was completely undone when keane and torres combined to open the scoring. keen flicked a good lobbed cross into the box, kuyt ran an angle and took everton’s defense with him, leaving torres wide open to smash the ball past the keeper.

strike sensation fernando torres celebrates his second goal against everton

a minute later, torres claimed the rebound after kuyt’s shot. he doubled the score with a volley that ricocheted in off the top post. liverpool were on fire and everton had no answers. kuyt found the net, but his shot was ruled off side, and torres also hit the net again but was denied too after an ufair foul ruling against kuyt.

everton’s aussie player tim cahill had a good game, until he was red carded for a foul on alonso. it seemed not to be a serious foul, but he walked away from the referee, which is why i think the red was given. and in other news, arsenal were defeated by promoted team hull. hull are celebrating a shock 2-1 win over the gunners, which for them will be just as good as winning the league.

aside from a draw at stoke, liverpool have beaten two important teams in the league, and now look forward to their midweek game against psv eindhoven. a win in their champions league group will put liverpool in a great position. after that, the reds have a good run of games. liverpool face manchester city and wigan athletic, before they face athletico madrid. at the end of october, liverpool face the all important crunch match against co-league leaders chelsea.

liverpool are currently 2nd in the league, behind chelsea. we’re equal on points, but behind on goal difference.

despite more than 20 shots on goal by liverpool, the reds couldn’t put away lowly stoke at anfield last night. liverpool set up tents and camped in stoke’s half. gerrard found the net early, but his celebrations were cut short when kuyt was unfairly ruled offside, despite not being involved in the play. gerrard had numerous attempts and came close again, but couldn’t convert his chances.

alonso, babel, torres all had shots on goal. alonso blazed a few shots wide, but his shot from the edge of the box was a certain goal and miraculously saved by the stoke keeper.

for stoke, a draw at anfield is as good as a win, so the away fans were celebrating the result. however, for liverpool to have beaten manchester united and marseille this week, the result is sorely disappointing. worse is the fact that chelsea and manchester united clash this week, which was the perfect opportunity for liverpool to gain some valuable points in their battle for the league title.

liverpool look to get themselves in order for a midweek match against crewe alexander in the carling cup, folllowed by the all important derby next weekend against mersey side rivals everton.

liverpool have returned from their away trip to aston villa with a dour nil all draw. after the summer hostilities surrounding the failed garreth barry transfer, both teams were cagey and were reluctant to give too much ground.

keane had the best chance for the reds, finding some space but dragging his shot wide. reina again came to  liverpool’s rescue, saving two great attempts by villa. however, the big disappointment of the night was torres coming off the pitch with an injury.

liverpool remain in second place, equal on points with chelsea but behind in goal difference. so far liverpool are undefeated and, despte the draw, are making a good start to the season.

liverpool’s preseason went well and they’ve carried their form over into the beginning of the premier league season with a 1-0 win over sunderland. the reds didn’t make themost of their chances and sunderland were still in the game until torres opened his goal scoring account. liverpool claimed all three points and look forward to next week’s match; their first season home game against middlesbro.

this win comes after a very mediocre result against standard liege, the belgian league champions, who held liverpool to a draw in europe. the belgians will travel to anfield with the hope of knocking the reds out of champions league.

liverpool’s preseason continues to show promise. after a few disappointing draws, especially against villareal, the reds handed rangers a thumping last night 4-shit. torres opened the scoring and keane looked dangerous around the box but wasn’t lucky enough to find the net. after the break, new youngster ngog, from paris st germaine, opened his scoring account. benayoun also scored and alonso smashed home a late penalty.

liverpool are looking very strong, with torres and keane up front. gerrard and kuyt are in support with benayoun and alonso controling the midfield. barry could still join the squad. babel, mascherano and leto are all away on olympic duties. the anfield team is starting to look very impressive indeed.