International Friendlies [Football]

Lets have a preview at a few of the friendlies being played tonight...

ENGLAND v SPAIN
Venue: Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, Seville
Date: Wed, 11 February
Kick-off: 2100 GMT
Coverage: Live on BBC Radio Five Live & showing live on ITV1



Tonight England take on the European Champions Spain in what promises to be a very interesting friendly game. England are without key players for this game including Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard. Rio Ferdinand returns in defense and if played, David Beckham will equal the record number of caps for an outfield player, which currently stands at 108.

This match could see appearances from James Milner and Carlton Cole, both of whom are enjoying a fabulous run of form for their respective clubs, Aston Villa and West Ham United.

With Gerrard and Rooney out, it is likely we will see Gareth Barry partner up with Frank Lampard in the center of midfield and tonight could see a start for Villa's Gabriel Agbonlahor who could partner either Cole or even his Villa team mate Emile Heskey.

For Spain, head coach Vicente del Bosque has uncapped Barcelona pair Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets at his disposal, but experienced centre-back Carles Puyol misses out with a leg complaint.

Del Bosque has also called up five Liverpool players for the match, with goalkeeper Jose Reina, full-back Alvaro Arbeloa, midfielders Albert Riera and Xabi Alonso, and striker Fernando Torres all included.

Star Reds attacker Torres could be set to form a deadly strike partnership with Valencia's David Villa, with the pair particularly effective alongside one another at Euro 2008.

Just to have it on record, I am predicting a 2-1 win for England in this one. Feel free to insult me in the comments after the game (if I get it wrong of course)!

Other international games being played tonight:

FIFA World Cup European Qualifying
Malta v Albania, Gp 1, 18:30
Rep of Ireland v Georgia, Gp 8, 19:45
San Marino v Northern Ireland, Gp 3, 19:30
International Match
Andorra v Lithuania, 17:15
Angola v Mali, 14:00
Austria v Sweden, 19:30
Belgium v Slovenia, 19:45
Cameroon v Guinea, 18:00
Cyprus v Serbia
Cyprus v Slovakia, 19:00
Egypt v Ghana, 17:00
Estonia v Kazakhstan, 17:00
France v Argentina, 20:00
FYR Macedonia v Moldova, 14:00
Germany v Norway, 19:30
Greece v Denmark, 19:15
Iceland v Liechtenstein, 16:00
Israel v Hungary, 17:00
Latvia v Armenia, 13:00
Libya v Uruguay, 14:30
Malta OFF Albania, 18:30
Morocco v Czech Republic, 19:00
Nigeria v Jamaica, 19:45
Portugal v Finland, 20:45
Romania v Croatia, 18:45
Serbia v Ukraine, 19:00
South Africa v Chile, 18:30
Spain v England, 21:00
Switzerland v Bulgaria, 19:30
Tunisia v Holland, 19:30
Wales v Poland, 17:15

Everton 1 Liverpool 0 [A.E.T.]

Goodison Park is an old decrepit mess. It's wooden flooring and almost endless obstructed seats are an embarrassment to a Premier League club. However, on nights like Wednesday 4th February 2008, it is also the best place on planet earth.

Dan Gosling inscribed his name into Everton folklore by scoring the winning goal in a tense FA Cup 4th round replay against Liverpool in the last minute of extra time. That sentence alone brings the goosebumps back.

After one tight and tense league clash and one tight and tense Cup match at Anfield, Everton and Liverpool slugged it out at the Old Lady in a tight and tense Cup replay. Everton remained unchanged from the side that were downed at Old Trafford on Saturday. However Rafael Benitez just could not resist the urge to rotate his side from Sunday's convincing win at Anfield against Chelsea. Rafa the Gaffer, or to use his full name "Fat Spanish Waiter", dropped Javier Mascherano and Fabio Aurelio for Andrea Dossena and Lucas Leiva, both of whom were absolute cack.

Liverpool actually started the match in the box seat, Everton were chasing red shadows for the first 15 minutes. Xabi Alonso almost made the reds early dominance count with a rasping volley which drifted past Tim Howard's right hand post. We weren't to know at the time, but that was as close as Liverpool would get to scoring all night. Not long after that, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was forced to withdraw from proceedings after straining his hamstring. It appeared that Fernando Torres was going to be brought off after taking a knock to his ankle from a full blooded, but fair, challenge from Joleon Lescott. But to the crowds delight, it was Liverpool's heartbeat who trudged off. The rapturous reception to Gerrard's withdrawal was a sure sign of the crowds fear of Gerrard and his departure signalled Everton's arrival to the game. Suddenly, royal blue shirts were winning more second ball's and having more prolonged spells of possession.

Everton then went close to opening the scoring, after Tim Cahill's flick on was met on the volley by Leon Osman. But Osman, whilst getting a lot of power, couldn't find a lot of accuracy and could only lift his volley in the Glwadys Street end. Both sides traded spells of possession but not a lot was created from them as we headed into the break even stevens again.

Liverpool almost drew first blood in the second half as the impressive Alonso seemed to play in Albert"Quagmire" Riera one on one with Howard, however the American's speed was enough to make sure that Quagmire's effort was blocked. Everton then almost, and should have, taken the lead with the best move of the match. By now, Gosling had replaced the ineffective and possibly injured Marouane Fellaini and Jack Rodwell was brought on for the ineffective and definitely injured Steven Pienaar. And it was Rodwell's ferocious challenge in midfield which set the awesome Mikel Arteta on his way. His sublime ball to Cahill was cutely played into the path of the oncoming Osman. From 8 yards out, Osman beat Pepe Reina, but could only see his shot smack the post.

At that point, we all thought and knew that this one was going the distance. However we hadn't counted on Liverpool being reduced to 10 men. The awful Lucas, after harshly being booked in the first half, only went and scythed down Lescott in full flow and right in the eyeline of Alan Wiley, who did not hesitate in dismissing the Brazilian. At that point, Benitez decided that penalties was Liverpool's best chance of reaching the 5th round and Liverpool went straight to safe mode as Everton played out the rest of the half in front of Liverpool's defence.

So after yet another deadlock, we were then forced to endure extra time and it was a case now of who's nerve would break first. Everton immediately set about making sure it was Liverpool's. First a deflected Osman shot was saved by the fingertips of Reina who then utilised his excellent agility to make sure the surging Gosling couldn't capitalize on the loose ball. Cahill then went agonisingly close after seeing his near post header from a corner flash agonisingly past the unprotected far post.

Benitez was then forced to end Torres' participation after his stint up front on his own finally took it's toll as he tired in extra time. His efforts were also undermined by the world class defending of Phil Jagielka, who had Torres in his arse pocket for the entire match. Everton then made a wacky substitution of their own by bringing on forgetten Dutch wizard Andy Van der Meyde. He spent much of his rare appearance on a football field by pretty much chasing his own tail. However he would have a big part to play in one of the greatest single moments ever witnessed at Goodison.

The flying Dutchman finally got the better of Dossena and whipped in a curling cross which landed at Gosling's feet. Gosling then seemed to take an age to get the ball out of his feet, but once he did, aided by a slight deflection of the toe of Martin Skrtel, he curled the ball past the helpless Reina, off the post and into the Park End net as Goodison went ballistic. The scenes of pure joy and ecstasy by the Evertonians were in stark contrast to those in the Liverpool end, who had presumably run out of socks to throw onto the pitch.

Everton then had to endure 2 minutes of injury time, but were never troubled and when Wiley blew to end the game, the roar that greeted it still echoes in my ears even 24 hours on. The celebrations that followed could only be repeated if Everton do go on to win the Cup itself. At last Evertonians could rejoice at securing a last gasp win over the dear neighbours. And it felt fucking brilliant.

Gerrard faces three-weeks on the sidelines

Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard will be out for three weeks with a torn hamstring, the club has confirmed.

Gerrard was substituted in the 16th minute of the FA Cup clash with Everton, which ended in a 1-0 win for the blue half of Merseyside.

This now means Gerrard will miss the game against Portsmouth on Saturday, England's friendly match against European Champions Spain and the clash against Manchester City at Anfield.

This comes a blow for Liverpool who have relied heavily on Gerrard this season with the midfielder scoring 11 goals. Rafael Benitez did not add to the squad in January and sold striker Robbie Keane to Tottenham so this injury leaves Liverpool short of attacking options, especially with Fernando Torres not yet back to full sharpness.

Sky win Premier League Rights, pays a lot for them [Football]

The Premier League has announced that BSkyB has won four of the six live TV packages paying an estimated £1bn. Each package contains 23 games so this will entitle Sky to show 92 games per year. The Premier League has refused to discuss the actual ammount paid and what packages Sky has won.

This follows on from the news that the BBC payed £173m over three years to renew their rights to show Premiership highlights on Match Of The Day. This figure is slightly higher than what they paid last time around but the new package includes extra internet rights.

The remaining two packages are to go to a second round of bidding with the two bidders involved believed to be Setanta and ESPN.

Podcast: Episode 2 [03/02/09]

In this weeks show we discuss the weekend action in the premier league, including Bosingwa's newly acquired Judo skills and we have a look back at the Austrailian open final.

We also preview the sport ahead in the coming week and run through some of the confirmed transfers from Monday.

Hosted by Chris McDonnell and co-hosted by Andrew Ryan.

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Transfer Day News

Check back here for the latest news from Transfer Deadline Day...


PREMIER LEAGUE TRANSFER TRACKER:
In: Everton (Jo), Fulham (Gray), Newcastle (Taylor), Portsmouth (Basinas), Stoke (Camara), Wigan (N'Zogbia)

Out: Fulham (Leijer,Teymourian), Liverpool (Gulacsi, Hamill), Man City (Jo), Man Utd (Chester), Newcastle (N'Zogbia), Portsmouth (Hyland), Wigan (Camara, Taylor)

SPL TRANSFER TRACKER:
In: Hamilton (Quinn)

Out: Hearts (Berra), Rangers (Adam, Gow), Hibernian (Shiels)

Premiership Weekend Roundup [Football]

Now that the games have been played and things are starting to shape up in the table, lets look at the games this weekend...

Manchester United 1 - 0 Everton

United cemented their place atop the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over Everton. David Moyes' record against United is rather poor and Everton went into this game relying on a rock solid defense to keep the score respectable and considering United's only goal came from a penalty, which came about when Arteta fouled Carrick in the Everton box, this is probably a good result. Ronaldo was the penalty taker and his cool stroke into the Everton net sealed the win for United.

Liverpool 2 - 0 Chelsea

Thanks to two late goals from Fernando Torres, Liverpool move into second place in the league three points ahead of Chelsea. The game was a typical high tempo affair with very little for the neutral to enjoy and referee Mike Riley had to keep his cool and make sure the game did not boil over, which for the most part he did. Chelsea fans will be disappointed with his decision to send off Frank Lampard in the 60th minute after a challenge on Xabi Alonso but in truth this did not change the game too much for Chelsea as Liverpool had most of the play and Chelsea were poor going forward. Scolari would have probably taken a draw after the sending off but it wasn't to be.

Torres scored his first goal, a header, with 90 seconds left of normal time which came from a cross from Fabio Aurelio. Torres then netted his second deep in to injury time when he took advantage of an Ashley Cole error.

Bolton 3 - 2 Tottenham

Kevin Davies is having a good season for Bolton and this continued with his late winner against Spurs on Saturday. Wanderers fans might have been forgiven for thinking Deja Vu after seeing their side go two goals up before letting Spurs back in to bring the scpre to 2-2.

Puygrenier put a header past Cudicini to make it 1-0 to Bolton and then Bolton went further ahead on 64 minutes with a lovely goal from Kevin Davies slotting the ball in the top-right corner. Darren Bent then got two goals for Spurs and the striker showed no lack of confidence with his simple finishes to bring it level. The game looked to be heading towards a draw but Kevin Davies powered a header past Cudicini to seal all three points for Bolton.

Middlesbrough 0 - 0 Blackburn

Yet another draw for Big Sam leaves Blackburn in the bottom three as Rovers failed to capitalise on a poor Middlesbrough performance. Chances were kept to a minimum as both sides lacked a killer instinct and an injury time miss by Jason Roberts pretty much summed up the game.

Stoke City 1 - 0 Manchester City

Mark Hughes was disappointed with his side after failing to score against a resolute 10-man Stoke City. The only talking points of the game was the sending off of Rory Delap and the goal from James Beattie. Delap took umbrage at Wright-Phillips' lunging tackle on Danny Pugh and tripped the former Chelsea wide man from behind before kicking the ball into Wright-Phillips' torso.

Wright-Phillips was lucky not to be sent off himself after appearing to retaliate to Delap's outburst but instead of City capatalising on the advantage of an extra man they let James Beattie power a header from the back post giving Joe Hart no hope at all. Let's hope Shay Given knows what task he is letting himself in for.

Aston Villa 0 - 0 Wigan

Villa missed the chance to go level on points with United with a goalless draw against a strong Wigan side. Villa hammered the Wigan goal in the second half hitting the post on one occasion and having two shots cleared off the line by Wigan's Paul Scharner. This was a very good game with the scoreline perhaps not doing the game justice. Steve Bruce will be happy with the point, which his side worked incredibly hard for.

Arsenal 0 - 0 West Ham United

Arsenal see this as two points dropped as they failed to close the 5 point gap between themselves and Aston Villa with the goaless draw at the Emirates. Arsenal dominated the game from start to finish with West Ham's efforts severely restricted and thus bringing an end to Carlton Cole's run of goals. Arsenal did not create many clear-cut chances and their worries were added to by the injuries to Abou Diaby and Emmanuel Eboue. The focus now seems to be on signing Andrei Arshavin before the 5pm deadline on Monday.

Fulham 3 - 1 Portsmouth

This was a nightmare game for Tony Adams who will have to start turning things around very soon if he is to keep Portsmouth in the Premier League. Fulham were very good in this game and their 3-0 lead after 80 minutes reflected this. Goals from Johnson and Nevland were enough to end this as a contest with David Nugent's goal a mere consolation to what was a bad day at the office for Tony Adams.

Hull City 2 - 2 West Brom

One of these teams is in a relegation fight. Arguably the other will be if they keep struggling to close out games. Hull twice gave away the lead to allow West Brom to snatch a point from an entertaining game at the KC Stadium. Bernard Mendy put the Tigers ahead after latching on to Ian Ashbee's long ball and rounding keeper Scott Carson. On-loan striker Jay Simpson leveled the game for Albion after being set up by James Morrison in the penalty area. Craig Fagan then put Hull back in the lead but the Tigers hearts were broken when Chris Brunt scored a vital penalty to make it honours even.

Newcastle 1 - 1 Sunderland

Three points in this game will have been vital for both teams so its perhaps fate that meant this one ended with the spoils shared. In typical North East derby fashion the game started with a quick tempo and the action was end to end with both teams carving out small chances. It was Sunderland who opened their account with Cisse scoring a cool rebound finish after seeing his first effort deflected by Harper.

Cisse and Jones made life difficult for the Newcastle defense but the visitors managed to step up a gear and create opportunities for themselves. It was in the 68th minute that Newcastle equalised with a controversial penalty decision. Malbranque was controversially adjudged to have felled Taylor inside the box and it was Shola Ameobi who stepped up and blasted the ball past Fullop to make it 1-1. Sunderland then upped their tempo and put Newcastle under pressure but in the end a poor effort from Michael Chopra meant the game ended with both sets of supporters applauding what was a terrific contest.

The Day Today and the Day After [Football]

David Moyes takes his "Moyes Boyes" to Old Trafford, just outside Manchester, to take on the reigning Champions of the Universe Manchester United in what some have described as "a game on the telly tomorrow."

Setanta have very generously decided to move the match from Monday to Saturday, bearing in mind that Everton have the small matter of the Merseyside Derby to worry about on Wednesday. Obviously Setanta's decision had nothing at all to do with them trying to get back into both clubs good books after ludicrously trying to move last year's clash to an 8pm kick-off on Christmas Eve.

Naturally Everton have injury worries ahead of the game, their only fit forward is now Victor Anichebe after Tim Cahill limped off against Arsenal with a foot injury. Which is just magnificent, Moyes' squad is getting smaller and smaller by the minute. Cahill is expected to be rested tomorrow to make sure he is ready for Wednesday night.

United meanwhile will still be without W**** R****y who is still injured and will miss the opportunity to kiss the corner flag right in front on the travelling support. So Gary Neville will have to fill in for him on that front. It is also not known who United have selected to be referee for tomorrow's match, an official announcement is expected closer to kick off. Maybe.

Also, Liverpool's match with Chelsea is expected to go ahead, despite the obvious mental health problems of Rafael Benitez. Benitez is reportedly refusing treatment for his condition on the grounds that it is "Not his fault, it's Mr. Ferguson's, that is fact."

Manchester City v Newcastle United Preview [Football]

Its been an interesting week so far for Man City. They have new signings to put out tonight in Craig Bellamy and Nigel de Jong and they also welcome back Robinho who has been the subject of many news headlines today! City will be without Richard Dunne who begins his four match ban so Nedum Onuoha is expected to partner Micah Richards in defense.

Newcastle are a team in crisis I think its fair to say. They are without keeper Shay Given but do have new signing Peter Lovenkrands available for selection. Geremi is out with a groin injury and big players for the club are still a few weeks away from starting.

City should be strong favourites for this game tonight. Playing at home is a big boost for them and having new signings is always a boost to team spirit. I am sure Robinho will take center stage one way or another.

Newcastle are a shambolic at the moment! Going forward they can look pretty good but defensively they are all over the place and Joe Kinnear is running out of time to put that right. The big taking point for them is the Shay Given saga. He could be a City player by the end of the week and what a huge loss that would be to Newcastle. If City turn on the style they will struggle tonight!

POSSIBLE STARTING XI:

Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Onuoha, Richards, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, De Jong, Kompany, Ireland, Robinho, Bellamy.

Newcastle: Harper, Taylor, Bassong, Coloccini, N'Zogbia, Gutierrez, Guthrie, Barton, Geremi, Lovenkrands, Owen.

Wigan v Liverpool Preview [Football]

Wigan may be mourning the departure of Emile Heskey to Villa but their success in capturing Mido should give them a boost of confidence (providing they can get the best from the wayward striker). Mido is available for selection tonight but a player still in doubt is Hugo Rodallega who is waiting on international clearance. The Latics are also without new signing Ben Watson who has a calf strain and its doubtful whether Antonio Valencia and Chris Kirkland will be fit either.

Liverpool on the other hand have no injury worries ahead of this clash and they welcome back Robbie Keane to the side, with Rafael Benitez having dropped the striker in the previous match.

Steve Bruce is a very good manager and not someone who will let himself be phased by the task ahead of him. At home Wigan should fancy getting a point from this game and if they had key players available (such as Valencia) then a win surely would have been possible.

The problem facing Liverpool fans tonight is guessing what team Benitez is going to put out. He clearly favours the 4-5-1 system but if he wants to incorporate Keane into the side he would have to reshape and opt for a 4-4-2. Liverpool have travelled well this season winning 7, drawing 3 and losing once to Tottenham at White Hart Lane. If they want to stay in the title race this is a must-win game tonight and anything other than a win must be seen as points dropped!

Also, we wish Jamie Carragher a Happy Birthday. He is 31 today.

TEAMS:

Wigan (from): Kirkland, Melchiot, Scharner, Figueroa, Valencia, Cattermole, Taylor, Camara, Kapo, De Ridder, Zaki, Mido, Kingson, Pollitt, Edman, Brown, Boyce, Rodallega.

Liverpool (from): Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio, Dossena, Hyypia, Agger, Babel, Benayoun, Gerrard, Mascherano, Alonso, Kuyt, Torres, Keane, Riera, Lucas, Ngog, Cavalieri.

Everton v Arsenal Preview [Football]

Everton's only injury concern tonight is Spaniard Mikel Arteta who is doubtful for the game because of his rib injury. Louis Saha is battling back to full fitness but is not ready for a full comeback just yet! Fellaini also returns for the blues after serving his two match ban.

Arsenal have William Gallas fit and available for selection and they also welcome back Gael Clichy after serving his one match suspension. Silvestre is out of tonight's game with a thigh problem.

At home Everton should be capable of pulling off a result tonight. Even without a proper strike-force they have proven that they still carry a threat, especially from set-pieces. They will miss Arteta tonight though but their biggest boost could come from the fact Fellaini is back in the side.

Arsenal still have the belief that they can win the Premier League and with Van Persie on the field they are always capable of getting goals. If Everton defend well tonight it might mean Arsenal may have to be a bit more clinical with their chances.

TEAMS:

Everton (from): Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Lescott, Baines, Anichebe, Gosling, Castillo, Rodwell, Neville, Osman, Arteta, Fellaini, Pienaar, Cahill, Nash, Yobo, Van der Meyde, Jacobsen, Jutkiewicz.

Arsenal (from): Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Eboue, Denilson, Song, Nasri, Adebayor, Van Persie, Fabianski, Diaby, Vela, Ramsey, Gibbs, Djourou, Bendtner, Wilshere.

Blackburn v Bolton Preview [Football]

Given the North West element to this blog I think its only fitting I preview tonights North West derby between Blackburn and Bolton.

Blackburn have virtually a full squad for tonight's game at Ewood Park with Jason Roberts and Matt Derbyshire back in contention after missing the game against Sunderland in the FA Cup. David Dunn is also available but Steven Reid is still out with injury.

Bolton have a strong squad of players to choose from including Captain Kevin Nolan, who has served his two match ban (and returns from minor surgery on an ankle problem). New winger Mark Davies, a £1m signing from Wolves, is expected to start from the bench.

This should be a good game as Sam Allardyce will want to get a result aganist his old club. Gary Megson has got Bolton playing as a team that are hard to break down and they performed quite well against Man Utd and Arsenal so I expect this to be a physical game, although maybe not a lot of goals.

TEAMS:

Blackburn (from): Robinson, Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Ooijer, Olsson, Emerton, Tugay, Mokoena, Andrews, Pedersen, Dunn, McCarthy, Santa Cruz, Roberts, Derbyshire, Brown, Grella, Khizanishvili, Vogel, Villanueva, Judge, Simpson, Givet, Bunn, Treacy.

Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, A O'Brien, Samuel, K Davies, Basham, Muamba, Gardner, Nolan, Taylor, Makukula, Puygrenier, Obadeyi, Al Habsi, Bogdan, M Davies, Smolarek, Riga, Shittu.

Robinho denies sexual assault charge [Football]

British Transfer record signing Robinho has denied claims he was involved in a sexual attack in a nightclub in Leeds.

The Manchester City and Brazil star, who recently returned from Brazil after celebrating his 25th birthday, was arrested and questioned by West Yorkshire Police as part of their ongoing enquiry.

Robinho's spokesman, Chris Nathaniel confirmed that Robinho met West Yorkshire Police "as a pre-arranged part of a criminal investigation" and added "He strenuously denies any allegation of wrongdoing or criminality, and is happy to cooperate with the police if required further."

City will host Newcastle in the Premier League tonight and a club source told one tabloid newspaper that Robinho will train as usual and is expected to play in tonight's game.

Robinho joined City in September 2008 for a record £32.5m from Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments...

Podcast: Episode 1 [27/01/09]

Join me, Chris McDonnell and Barry McHale as we discuss the past weekends sporting events including the FA Cup, Austrailian open and why on earth Khan has taken the Barrera fight!

We look ahead to the games this week and have a right old sound off on the Merseyside Derby.

Want to have your comments read out on next week's show? Post your comments on any of our news items this week and the best will be included in next weeks show.

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People Living In Glass Houses [Football]

So for the second time in a week, the bragging rights of Merseyside were shared at Anfield, which means both Liverpool and Everton must square off one last time this season at Goodison next Wednesday. On prime time telly no less. The prize? A 5th round FA Cup tie at home to Tom Hanks' boys, Aston Villa. But the honours for the most churlish manager of the year yet again goes emphatically to Rafael Benitez.

Over the past few weeks, Benitez has developed a sizeable chip on his shoulder, which after Sunday's outburst has now become a large portion of chips on his shoulder, salt and vinegar included. And once again, Everton were the subject of his ire. Benitez was infuriated that a team with just one fit striker and virtually no midfield, looked to play to their own strength's and not let his Liverpool side have their own way. Everton, having taken a first half lead through Joleon Lescott, decided defence was the best form of attack and did duly allow Liverpool to come onto them. However all Liverpool had to show for their territorial and possession dominance was another Steven Gerrard derby goal which owed a lot to the class of Fernando Torres and the clumsiness of Tim Howard.

So it was only natural that Benitez would ignore his own side's failings, i.e. allowing Tim Cahill a free header in the box for the 2nd game running and his own side just plain not being good enough to break down a resolute Everton side. Benitez chose instead to blame Everton's negative tactics, claiming only one team wanted to win the game and one team wanted to draw it. He also claimed he never would and never has employed such tactics. It was classic Benitez, blaming someone else for his own problems.

David Moyes for his part, refused to bite and shot down these accusations quite majestically by claiming that while Liverpool are "A great club going for the title", Everton were a club that "did things with dignity and style". A great retort from a less childish manager. But if Moyes had wanted to enter into a war of words with Benitez, then he could easily have reminded his Iberian counterpart of Liverpool's glorious Champions League triumph of 2005. Then he could have reminded Benitez of tactics he used at the Stadio Delle Alpi in the 2nd leg of the quarter final against Juventus, in which Liverpool needed a goalless draw to reach the last four of the competition. Or indeed the tactics he used, at Anfield no less, in the 2nd leg of the Semi-Final against Jose Mourinho's Chelsea once Liverpool had taken the lead in the 4th minute. Or maybe he could have reminded the Spaniard of the tactics he employed once Liverpool had completed their remarkable comeback on the hour mark of that famous night in Istanbul. On all three ocassions, Benitez utilized the exact tactics he lambasted Moyes for using on Sunday, and to an extent on Monday too.

Moyes has since refused to discuss Benitez's comments, claiming he is "not interested". And it is Benitez that has once again, made himself look like a petty spoilt child. All this hot on the heels from his now infamous attack on Alex Ferguson. Even then, Benitez managed to accuse Ferguson of things that he himself has complained about in the past, most notably the fixture schedule for his side after Champions League ties.

It is simply quite clear that until Benitez addresses his own short-comings, he may never deliver that coveted 19th League Title to Anfield. Instead he may be in danger of disappearing up his own considerable backside. Which, like next Wednesday's 4th round replay, will make for entertaining viewing for the nation.