The Liver Bird  

Ngog converts his first effort...
David Ngog led Liverpool to a secure 2-0 victory last night in Macedonia as Roy's first competitive game gets him off to a great start. The new manager perhaps took a big risk in leaving the likes of Reina, Carragher, Gerrard, Kuyt and many others at home to sit this one out, but it's safe to say the risk paid off and an unfamiliar Liverpool side were more than comfortable against the team from Skopje.
Hodgson fielded a very mixed XI, Cavalieri started in goal with Agger, Skrtel, Kyrgiakos and Kelly making up the back four. Aquilani, Lucas, Spearing and new signing Jovanovic made up the midfield with Ngog and Amoo up front. Darby, Dalla Valle and Eccleston also made sub appearances.
It took just under 20minutes for Liverpool to make their mark on the game. An ever aware Ngog was on the chase after a defensive and goalkeeping misjudgement meant he was able to easily send the ball home and make it 1-0.
Liverpool could now lay off the pace a bit afte…

Can Roy go all the way to the final again this time with the Reds?...
Liverpool face Macedonian side FK Rabotnicki tonight in their first competitive game of the season. To get out the starting blocks in the Europa League it is still guesswork as to who Roy Hodgson will be fielding tonight in his XI.
Expect a lot of the big names to still be missing but perhaps players like Aquilani and David N'Gog who he has already utilised to start. Lucas Leiva is also strongly rumoured to be starting the game as captain which again indicates the likes of Reina, Carra, Gerrard, Torres, Kuyt etc etc will probably not feature. Some haven't even travelled over to Eastern Europe for the game.
It will be interesting to see how Roy sets up the side because although a win should be achievable comfortably, this is no match to be mixing and matching formations. However he sees it and whoever he plays i can't see this being a thriller though. Punt for a simple 1-0.
So who are FK Rabotnicki?
Well they …

No-one's gonna miss that chin...
Liverpool's second pre season friendly ended in a 1-0 loss on Saturday. It was another typical pre season display for another unfamilar Liverpool set up but again, many positives from players such as Amoo, Kelly and David N'Gog could be taken from the match in Germany.
Milan Jovanovic also got his chance to shine after he was selected to feature by Roy Hodgson, his first minutes in a Liverpool shirt were somewhat promising and we can expect to see much more from the Serbian in the coming games i should imagine.
Kaiserslautern fought a hard game and it was Tobias Sippel who got them thier perhaps deserved winner. With our first competitive game up next against FC Rabotnicki in the Europa League, the lads fielded will look to add some improvement to fine tweak their encouraging display.
In other news, camp unsettler and lover of talking Mr. Albert Riera has sealed a move from Liverpool to Olympiakos. I was a big fan of Riera when he showed up at …

Is it not risky to parade your new signings at such heights?...
Liverpool's first friendly of the season after the game against Al Hilal was cancelled ended in a 0-0 draw. Hodgson's first game against old employers - Grasshopper was an average display, typical of a pre season friendly filled with youngsters and untested players.
By no means though was this a reason to raise fault at the unfamiliar looking Liverpool side, with academy starlets such as Eccleston and Amoo shining and also causing problems for Grasshopper, the fielded XI have nothing to be ashamed of.
The team was captained by Lucas and it was fellow regular Alberto Aquilani who had one of the most promising chances for the Red's who were showing off the latest third strip for the shop window. (Might i add the best option of a black strip for Liverpool FC this year is the alternative one, don't line their pockets! www.ourclubourshirt.com).
So a hard fought and promising 0-0 if ever there was one, shall look fo…

I knew he was pacey but jeez...
Liverpool today confirmed the signing of Joe Cole. Believed to be a four year deal the ex Chelsea player has agreed personal terms and will be having a medical within the next two days or so.
A skillful player and a respected one by many football fans. Personally as somebody who rarely respects/appreciates many footballers from other clubs... Joe Cole has always been a player I have liked, right from his West Ham days, I've watched him mature and improve and I'm delighted he has chosen a move to Anfield.
A minor concern which i can totally understand from some fans though is the fact he is rather injury prone, depending on how much we are forking out for his wages and how well he holds his fitness, of course this could have been a gamble, but in my eyes, a gamble well worth the risk. I just hope it pays off for whoever signed him, was it Roy? Roy had talks... but hang on isn't Purslow controlling transfers these days? Or did he have a day off?
A…

Roy's first game in charge...
It's back! The football season is back! Praise the lord. The minute the World Cup ended all i wanted to see was Reina back in that goal! Of course tomorrow's team probably won't feature many of the regular faces, some are still on holiday/injuries etc but it will give us a chance to see Roy Hodgson's style and i am hoping to catch a bit of Milan Jovanovic too.
Al Hilal are a Saudi Arabian side, relatively unknown to the footballing world. So what do we know about them?...
Well they hold the most trophies out of all the Saudi Arabian teams. Their captain "Deayea" holds the world record for most international appearances. The team was formally known as Olympic Club but received a name change in 1958.
Eric Gerets middle name "Maria" (don't laugh!) was their manager. The former Belgian defender however has very recently taken a move to Morocco leaving Al Hilal in an awkward situation.
So with those few rather useless pie…

Yes that's right folks, there is no better way to describe it, Liverpool FC's standards have been corrupted. Why? By whom you say? Well look no further than Mr George Gillett and Mr Tom Hicks, wherever they may be at this moment in time, point is, they just don't care.
The financial abyss that these two supposedly "trustworthy" custodians of our club have got us into is now beyond descriptive paragraphs. I shan't sit here and try to spurt out facts and figures because we've all read the articles, the paperwork, the lies.
I for one for these reasons, along with many others am finding it extremely difficult to justify why i should fork out nearly £50 from money i haven't really even got to get me a nice brand spanking new Liverpool shirt this season.
Firstly, it makes me sick to the stomach knowing i am funding the parasites rampage. Secondly, when we all have a long hard think about it, doesn't it make you realise how bloody expensive football shirts …

I wonder how he'll celebrate his first goal? ...
Liverpool today made the signing of the Serbian official after paperwork was finished at the clubs training ground Melwood.
Jovanovic has already had a claim to fame this summer after scoring the winner against a fantastic Germany side in the World Cup.
He was quoted today saying: "It is an honour for me to sign for one of the biggest clubs in football."
Jovanovic has had only four previous clubs, the 29 year old started his career at FK Vojvodina who are the second oldest club in Serbia. He then moved on to Shaktar Donetsk for one year before again moving on to Russia.
He spent 2 years at Lokomotiv Moscow and made just three appearances. It is his period at Standard Liege though that reignited interest in the striker. After signing in 2006 he scored 52 goals in 116 appearances... Not bad going even in the Belgian league.
His international career reads 10 goals to 29 appearances. From what he put on display in the World Cup i th…

Best of luck Roy YNWA...
Bit slow with keeping up with the latest news it may seem but fear not, i was aware Roy Hodgson was unveiled last week as manager, just couldn't find time to do a post so here it is.
Hodgson has left behind a Fulham side who have believed to have been paid a compensation fee in the region of £2million and stepped into as he called it "The biggest job in club football..."
Of course he's right, Liverpool pushing aside the enormous parasite sucking on the club at the moment which is the case of the ownership, is still, and always has been a very lucrative job in club football, and as Roy also highlighted we are still "Britain's most successful football club."
Unfortunately under normal circumstances a new manager would be met with extreme excitement and the fans would be filled with hope. However, this time out through no fault of the manager, the fan base simply cannot get excited, firstly because they know the harsh reality that unti…

WE ARE THE CLUB...
The 4th of July is a massive holiday across the pond but yesterday was not a day to celebrate the Independence Day with fireworks and over the top celebrations, no, it was a day to celebrate the independence wanted from the two Americans who are in control of our beloved football club.
With guests on the list such as Karen Gill (Bill Shankly's Granddaughter), John Aldridge, John Bishop and Peter Hooton, it was a fantastic event put on by the supporters union.




Opportunities to listen to influential speeches and the chance to learn and stand and fight against the owners made the day universal, it didn't matter whether you were already a member of Spirit Of Shankly, the rally was set to help educate the unaware and hopefully encourage more people to become members and help save Liverpool FC.
With some of the stars on the guest list also joining the union and the rally having clips on Sky Sports News along with many news articles, it is sure to have spun up some goo…