Matchday rituals - part 1

It's 6:30am - kickoff not for another 3 hours but who could sleep anyway?

Rituals: surf, post to forum(s) and shower. Check the DVR settings for the 10th time to make sure the game is captured. Procrastinate between choice of 4 or 5 shirts to wear. T-shirt or replica? Recent or retro? Long or short-sleeve? Home or away? Or no "colors" at all? It's a lot to think about first thing so I usually try to sort it the night before. (But always end up reconsidering regardless.)

Reading material: Metro/Arts/Sports sections from the Times, RAOTL and/or BOSS. And think about an LFC book as well but realize it's too much (and who am I kidding anyway).

Start feeling ill - the intensity of which is in direct proportion to the magnitude of the match. Never quite sure whether it's really nerves, the slightly awful Chock Full O' Nuts coffee I made or a little of both. Hope it passes as it makes me worry about an hour on the train. (It never passes and have managed the trip just fine up to now.)

Get the bag ready and get the hell out of Dodge, invariably a few minutes late. Queue up the tunes on my Liverbird-skinned brick of an mp3 player and walk/run to the subway. Almost always The La's or the Fabs - just makes sense.

And as I make my way through the streets of Brooklyn (and then Manhattan on the other side), I love to let my mind think of the thousands around the globe doing the exact same thing as we all make our way to the establishment of our choice to watch the game, always finishing off with thoughts of those making their way to Anfield or whichever ground is hosting the Redmen today. It's a beautiful thing, those thoughts - we are all indeed on the march in Rafa's army.

Alright - enough of this waxing rhapsodic. And as a result of it, I'm already running late...off to shower.

But one last thing before I go - LET'S BEAT THESE CHELSEA B*ST*RDS!

Have a good one, wherever you may be. Hopefully we'll have a big love-in later.

Be still my beating heart...

Seriously!! Watching Liverpool these last few games has really not been good on my 44-year-old ticker.

Another come-from-behind win left late and while it's been pretty damn enjoyable punching the air with my fist and wearing a grin all weekend long, there are clearly reasons to worry just a little bit.

Left back is still a problem, with Andy Doss having probably the worst game of his nascent Red career. Say what you like about Jamie Carragher (well, don't really because he'd thump you) but I bet he'd tell you the first and foremost thing a defender should be able to do is *defend* - it feels as if all bar him have forgotten that! As many have already said, we do that at the Bridge on Sunday and it's all over, Rover.

I'll give props again to the never-say-die spirit we possess at the moment. But we've got to also acknowledge that we've had our share of breaks (thankfully Xabi's legs not being two of them): this has enabled us to play "catch up" when needed so far. It's provided for excitement to be sure but more than one or two gray hairs and some chawed-off fingernails as well.

This squad is playing some of the most expansive football we've seen in ages with pretty much every player contributing to the attack. Growing pains (and cheap conceded goals) are to be expected while the newer fellows learn to pick and choose their moments better to bomb forward and the veterans get back to their established rhythms now that internationals are over for a while.

Anyway, let me not be too negative - no need to panic as I believe November and December will see us settle down considerably. While part of me will miss the drama, the rest of me - my heart anyway - will be relieved.

Has Rafa got a point about internationals?

Or is it just bitter griping? I don't know - it does sometimes come across a bit Fergie-esque (sorry, gaffer) as the usual arguments of "you knew they were international players with these schedules when you signed them" and "every other top team has the same problem" can be made.

But the man clearly has a reason to be upset as once again, we ship off Torres nicely packaged in bubblewrap, and he's returned to us in a cardbox box with the sides kicked in, and a faint rattle heard when you pick it up.

The timing is unfortunate (though I'm not sure there ever is a good time) as obviously we've been on a flyer. As such, Rafa laid into del Bosque about why Torres needed to play both games in this past round, making the point that bigger players play too many games as is and do they really need to be in the squad when a powerhouse like the European Champions face off against minnows? (The funny part here being which of Estonia or Belgium - the team against whom FT picked up the injury - Rafa is calling a small team. Probably both!)

There's no question that the issue of conforming the international calendar *has* to happen sooner rather than later. Just off the top of my head, why not leave April and May open strictly for qualifiers? If you're talking 48 teams for Europe, what about twelve groups of four, matches to consist of the usual home and away ties (3 each) - group winners automatically go through. A short, sweet, condensed format would heighten interest as well as keep teams from trying to grind out draws to eke their way into qualification.

Anyway, it's worth a thought. Sure players would be tired after the end of a long season but everyone would be in the same boat. But something's gotta give - we shouldn't have to keep slapping duct tape on our players because of international duty, especially at this point in the season.

Thanks, lads...

Sometimes it just needs to be said.

In a week where the "real world" has been completely depressing and utterly demoralizing, the Redmen have injected a timely hit of unbridled joy. Sunday's turnaround against Manchester City was nothing short of uplifting. What made this comeback particularly special - still early in a new season already full of pretty special moments! - is that at halftime two goals down, I genuinely knew in my heart that we weren't done.

It's way too soon for title talk and all that nonsense; we're not even a fifth of the way through the season. But what it most certainly is not too soon for - what it's absolutely vital to laud and praise - is the "belief" that is coursing through this team, our manager and the supporters right now. That feeling that we can - and eventually will - overcome whatever obstacles that might be thrown up in front of us. No promises that every setback will be overturned - hopefully people are more realistic than that? - but what a tremendous comfort that feeling is right here; right now.

As someone on Red and White Kop posted yesterday:

"Liverpool is my light, my escape, my ray of sunshine in these difficult times."

Preach on, my friend - preach on.