Javier Mascherano is hoping Liverpool can bolster their title challenge with what he believes would be an all-important victory against Chelsea on Sunday.
The Argentina international feels three points against one of their nearest rivals would provide the squad with a huge lift following a run of four straight draws.

The Blues leapfrogged Liverpool into second-spot on Wednesday night but the midfielder is adamant that victory over Luiz Felipe Scolari's men would ensure the Reds can still a have a big say in the title race.

He said: "If we start to win from Sunday and go on a good run until the end of the season then we will have a good chance of winning the title.

"It is all about building momentum and also building a belief that we can win it, and the only way you can do that is by winning games so we all know just how important the game against Chelsea is.

"It no longer depends just on us and what we do because Manchester United are in the lead and this means it also depends on their results, but if we can win on Sunday it will give us a chance to capitalise if they drop any points.

"All we can do is concentrate on our own games and not worry about anyone else because if we get our own game right then it will give us a better chance of taking advantage if United or anyone else slips up.

"We can still fight for the title. It is definitely not finished."

Rafael Benitez's men are currently two points behind leaders Manchester United following Wednesday night's 1-1 draw at Wigan, with the Reds having played a game more.

Mascherano admits it was a frustrating night at the JJB Stadium but feels his teammates must focus on the next match against the Londoners and not dwell on dropped points.

"We were all massively disappointed because it was a really bad result for us," admitted the Argentina captain.

"We know that we have a lot of games still to come, but we felt it was really important to win against Wigan and the fact that we failed to do so is a big disappointment.

"I think we did everything to win the game and I cannot remember Wigan having any shots on our goal.

"I think we did okay for 80 minutes, but in the last 10 minutes we allowed them to score and it felt like the world was against us.

"But now we must prepare for a really big game against Chelsea and we need to look forward to this game and not look back to what happened against Wigan.

"It is difficult, but we are professional players and we need to focus on the next game and also to remember that there are a lot of games still to come."

Despite losing just once in the league this season, the Reds have often struggled to strike a killer blow, notching up nine draws from 23 games played.

Mascherano admits that they have had trouble breaking sides down but insists there is nothing to be gained from claiming opposition teams are stopping the Reds from playing their normal game.

"We can't use how teams play at Anfield as an excuse," he said.

"We know a lot of sides come to defend, but we need to find spaces and a way that we can beat them.

"It is not their fault that they play like that, so I don't like to talk about excuses.

"If a team defends more when they play against us then we need to find a way around that.

"But like the Wigan game, those games that we have drawn are in the past and now we must focus only on Chelsea because we know that we need to win."

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12:50 PM
Categories: EPL, Javier Mascherano, Liverpool. Chelsea, Luis Fellipe Scolari, Rafa Benitez. Author: nik

Ian Rush believes Liverpool's double header with Everton will provide two hugely contrasting spectacles.

The Reds legend is relishing the prospect of two Merseyside derbies within the same week and feels the outcome of each game will have a significant bearing on both the title race and the eventual winner of the FA Cup.




"It's a long time since we played them in the cup so we were probably due another clash," he told Liverpoolfc.tv.

"It's amazing that we will have to play them twice in one week, but I do think the league and the cup will be two completely different games.

"Everton will want to win the cup game as it represents their only chance of silverware and I think Liverpool would probably prefer three points in the league.

"But that's not to say they won't want to go out there and win the cup game too.

"I think all the players on show will want to win the FA Cup and it would be nice to do it having beaten Everton along the way.

"I have to say that I feel whoever wins the match has a great chance of lifting the cup and if Liverpool win the league match it will give them a huge boost and put them back on top.

"Both sides are in good form, so they promise to be two intriguing encounters and I can't wait for them to start now."

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10:42 AM
Categories: EPL 08-09, Everton, Liverpool. Author: nik

Like most things, my association with the Malaysian independent supporters' club started with a few beers. After meeting on the fans' forum Red and White Kop (RAWK), we decided that as there were a fair number of us Reds in the same corner of the world, the least we could do was watch a game together in a bar.

Liverpool ran home 3-0 winners over Everton at Goodison Park that day in August 2003, with Michael Owen scoring a brace and Harry Kewell getting the third goal just before the final whistle.

Having supported the club from afar for so long, it felt very special to be enjoying a Liverpool victory with a few like-minded people. I had watched the Reds with friends before, but nothing like this. Even the owner of the Boardwalk on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur was a Reds fanatic, so it became known as the closest thing any Malaysian Red could get to the special Anfield atmosphere.

There are so many Liverpool fans in this part of the world, and they all have their own story to tell. Some adopt the Reds because of their history, others simply get drawn in by the miracle of Istanbul in 2005 or the breathtaking 'Gerrard Final' of 2006.The only reason I can offer for following the Reds is probably quite similar to most people's - all of my family are massive Liverpool fans. It goes way back to the seventies and beyond, so it was a no-brainer for me to be the same as them.

My earliest memory is of Michael Thomas and Ian Rush securing the FA Cup for Liverpool with great goals against Sunderland at Wembley in 1992. I can also vividly remember Neil 'Razor' Ruddock holding his head after scoring a late equaliser in the dramatic 3-3 draw with Manchester United in January 1994.

Nigel Clough scored twice that day, but the look on Ruddock's face will remain with me forever - the ball hit him on the top of his head before going in the net and he seemed in quite a lot of pain while celebrating his decisive goal at Anfield. I couldn't stop laughing.

As time went by, my Liverpool obsession grew. We experienced many joyous Saturday and Sunday nights at the Boardwalk over the years and celebrated many great Liverpool victories there. But our friend, Bala, soon told us he had to sell his bar and we were left with nowhere to watch our beloved Reds during the early hours of the morning over here in Malaysia.

And when the new owner of the Boardwalk told us they would not be opening for the 2007 Champions League final clash with AC Milan due to the fact it would be kicking off at 3.30am over here, we knew that we had to act quickly to find a new venue.

After a long and frustrating search, we finally found a small pub that would open for the match. We got in touch with our friends and fellow supporters to join us for the big game, as we knew that whenever Liverpool was involved in a big European game, it was guaranteed to be something special.We only really expected about 50 people to turn up at the most, but the bar ended up being crammed full with about 200 fans, all screaming at the screen, willing on the Reds. We were all disappointed that Rafa's men did not win that night in Athens, but a few of us knew right then that not only did we need a bigger venue, but also a proper fan club to bring all of these Liverpool supporters together.

We called our new supporters' club 'MyRAWK', as most of us had met through RAWK, while the ‘My’ stands for Malaysia and also gives us a sense that a certain part of LFC can belong to us individually.

Things were tough at the beginning, but settling on the M Bar as our exclusive home for watching all the games helped us a lot. The owner agreed to open up at all the unsociable hours involved in supporting a club many miles away and laid on a host of generous drinks offers.

What started as a small MyRAWK blog soon turned into a full website, and before long we had Liverpool fans joining us from all over for our match-viewing parties. From local lawyers to homesick expats, tourists to ex players (Ian Rush once even joined us - that was a very special day), the M Bar is now full of fervent fans week in, week out. I usually take up the microphone at each event and am always proud to be the official master of ceremonies.

We even have our futsal team and are also in the process of setting up a full 11-a side side. Our interim team recently won our first trophy, the Christmas Cup and one day we hope to have a proper team which takes part in the local social league.
But due to the exchange rate and distance, not many of us have been lucky enough to get over to Anfield. I am currently saving up to make the pilgrimage one day next season with a few other fans. I'm sure that once we get up close to Liverpool's hallowed home, there will be many of us who will be close to tears, as this would be nothing short of our visiting our very own Mecca.

One of our newer members, Phil, who now lives in Liverpool, always talks about how unbelievable it is that a bunch of guys who have never seen the Reds play up close can wake up in the middle of the night to support a team who are playing nearly 7,000 miles away, only to go back to bed and rise for work less than two hours later.

But none of us at MyRAWK would have it any other way. Witnessing another Liverpool victory make all the long, sleepy days in the office after a match worth it - and believe you me, there have been a lot of those in recent years.

Jonno was speaking to Joe Curran

Would you like to tell your Liverpool story from wherever you are in the world? Drop us an email at admin@liverpoolfc.tv and we'll get back to you as soon as we can

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9:53 AM
Categories: Malaysia, Reds around the world. Author: nik