Dani Agger has admitted that he considered the possibility of retiring from football following his pre-season back troubles.
Agger told Jyllandsposten: “My back was hurting so badly that I considered stopping playing,”
“I asked myself if it was worth continuing playing. When you can’t even lift your own child out of bed, then something is terribly wrong.”
Good to see Dani back fit. His ability not only as a defender, but also as a game breaker will be welcomed.
Defensive rock Martin Skrtel thinks we should have been awarded a penalty for a foul against him at Stamford Bridge yesterday. I tend to agree.
“A cross was flying to the near post where I was and I was jumping to make a header,” said Skrtel
“At that moment Drogba clearly pulled me down with his hands. I think it should have been a penalty-kick for us.”
Gutted!! Just when I thought we had put our slow start to the season behind us we suffer back-to-back 0-2 results to put us on the back foot again.
After our great results against our main rivals last season I was expecting more from the lads at Stamford Bridge but it wasn’t to be.
Question. Was I the only one who was screaming at Mascherano to release the ball?? Not sure what he was doing there but I’m hoping he picks up his performances soon. He has been well below par so far this season for me and I am getting frustrated.
It seems to me that since he was linked to Barcelona in the summer he has an attitude. He looks a little stroppy and disinterested…. Anyone agree?
I really hope this is not the case cause we all know how good he can be when he is on song. The least he can do is put it in for Rafa. He saved his career and put him on track again.
I agree with Rafa, teams will drop more points than last season. Heads up guys, long way to go yet.
CMON YOU REDS YNWA
Boss Rafa is still optimistic of achieving title glory this season despite our loss to rivals Chelsea today.
Rafa said: “We have to focus on the next game, get three points and see what happens.
“This year the top sides will lose points against other teams, so we just have to try to win every week.
“We will try to win against Sunderland and see. It’s a long race and we have to think about the next game, that’s it.”
“The performance wasn’t bad against a good team. We worked hard and had some good play,” he said.
“I was really pleased for 90 per cent of the game but you have to do almost everything perfectly to win here.
“Defensively we were good enough. We defended much better. They didn’t have many chances, which means we were defending better, and we didn’t have many chances, which means they are a good team.
“When you make a mistake against a good team, you pay for it. We lost the ball and they scored.
“The game was open after the goal. We had some chances but you have to take your chances if you want to change the situation.
“I cannot blame any one of the players because they were working really hard. You have to be pleased with the team effort and disappointed with the result.”
“We played against Chelsea. Do you expect any team to play here and have 20 attempts? I don’t think so.
“We had some chances but we couldn’t score because their defenders are good defenders.”
Fit again wing back Fabio Aurelio is confident we will bounce back following our disappointing Champions League outing in Florence.
He said: “We would have hoped for a better result but we can’t think about that now and must think about the future.
“We have an important game in the Premier League against Chelsea on Sunday and we must try to make things right.
“Hopefully it will be a different game and we can go there and get a result.”
I’m backing us to get up by one against that Blue Scum.
Jamie Carragher has told former Anfield team-mate Michael Owen that the fans that once adored him will not welcome him back to the club now that he has joined the Manc scum.
“Our fans are usually brilliant with former players but he might get a cool reception,” Carragher said.
“I can understand the fans’ point of view. He used to play for us and now he is at our big rivals. At the same time, Michael has got his own career to think about. He wants to play in the Champions League and get back into the World Cup squad. The move gives him that opportunity.
“It will upset some fans but that’s football.”
Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt thinks Reds team-mate Glen Johnson has become one of the pivotal players in our team. I completely agree Dirk. He is a quick, has great movement and is a constant threat going forward. Plus he has made me a fortune in my Fantasy League team 
Dirk said: “I think Glen has done really well,”
“He was a big signing for us but he has shown straight from the start that he is very important - both defensively and in attack.
“He has scored some very good goals and provided some assists. He is probably one of the best players in the team so far this season.
“He is still young and I think he will only get better and better.”
Carling Cup hero David Ngog has received praise by boss Rafa Benitez following his performance against Leeds.
“He is a young player, but he has quality,” said Benitez.
“That is something we knew. He showed character.
“He was trying to keep the ball and get into positions. He was really tired at the end but he did a fantastic job.
“He knows the Premier League is very difficult but here he showed he can do it.
“Cup competitions are always very difficult. You have to win, everyone is working so hard.
“He is still a young player, he has quality.”
Ok so it was not the most polished Carling Cup performance you have ever seen but we did enough to get through against a tough Leeds United side who were always going to be tough at Elland Road.
Good to see the fringe players get a run and I thought goalscorer David Ngog did well on the night.
Following the match Rafa the Gafa said: “We worked hard and I feel we had our chances. We won with a lot of players not playing and I am really pleased with my team, with the squad. These kind of games are very important to keep the quality of character. I think it was a fantastic win for us,”
“I think we showed today we can manage with different players and for the rest of the season it is important to know you have players who can come in.”
Starting XI: Cavalieri, Degen, Kyrgiakos, Carragher, Dossena, Aurelio, Mascherano, Spearing, Riera, Babel, Ngog.
Subs: Reina, Johnson, Gerrard, Torres, Voronin, Plessis, Skrtel.
Captain fantastic Steven Gerrard says the confidence is coming back into the team following our recent run of victories.
He said: “We got a really good win at West Ham last season, we were well organised and very dangerous on the counter-attack, and I am sure that will be the plan again at the weekend.
“The title race seems to be becoming a big six, and at the weekend we have the Manchester derby while Chelsea play Tottenham.
“So something will have to give.
“So hopefully we can get a good win at West Ham, concentrate on our own performance and pray the results will fall in our favour by the end of the weekend.
“We are slowly getting back to where we want to be with three wins on the spin and hopefully another at West Ham.”
He added: “The confidence is starting to come back into the squad now, losing those two early games close together was not good but we are building slowly back to the form we want.
“It takes a while to get back to your best, but we are happy with the reaction from everybody so now we aim to go and get a good win at West Ham on Saturday.
“It is still very early, but it was important that we recovered from that poor start. This is only the beginning for us.
“We have seen Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea start well, and some of the big teams without important players, so it is going to be an interesting fight this season.
Recent Comments