- SUNDAY TELEGRAPH/Clive White - QPR unsettle neighbours Chelsea So in the end all that separated the haves and the have-soons was an own goal. Rangers' new billionaire owners could be excused for thinking that success in this football business could come wonderfully cheaply, if the laboured efforts of their supposedly upper class West London neighbours was anything to go by here. Make no mistake, the FA Cup holders were hanging on at the finish against the lowly Championship side. They even had to bring on three of their biggest players, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack and Joe Cole, to ensure that they were not subjected to the dubious pleasure of a replay at Loftus Road.  read more »

Liverpool at the crossroads: will it be greatness or disaster?  read more »

2:45pm on espn2 1-1 on aggregate. Liverpool leads on the away goals rule.  read more »

8:30am EST, live in the US on Setanta Last 4 head-to-head: 0-0 (a) 11.03.07 1-0 Blackburn (a) 12.26.06 1-1 (h) 10.14.06 1-0 Liverpool (h) 04.16.06 Last 3 matches: Liverpool: 4-2 Arse (h); 1-1 Arse (a); 1-1 Arse (a) Blackburn: 1-1 Spurs (h); 0-0 Reading (a); 3-1 Wigan (h) Goalscorers (league): Liverpool: Torres 21; Gerrard 10; Babel 4; Benayoun, Crouch, Kuyt, Voronin 3; Alonso 2; Aurelio, Hyypia, Mascherano, Pennant, Sissoko 1 Blackburn: Santa Cruz 14; McCarthy 8; Bentley 6; Derbyshire, Gamst 3; Roberts, Samba, Tugay 2; Dunn, Emerton, Warnock 1 Referee: Alan Wiley Guess at a squad: Reina Finnan Carragher Skrtel Riise Alonso Lucas Kuyt Gerrard Babel Torres Was the formation on Tuesday a sign of things to come, including a possible partnership between Crouch and Torres, or just the tactics fo  read more »

3pm EST, live in the US on Setanta Last 4 head-to-head: 2-1 Liverpool (a) 08.11.07 0-0 (a) 03.18.07 3-1 Liverpool (h) 10.28.06 3-1 Liverpool (h) 04.29.06 Last 3 matches: Liverpool: 5-0 Luton (h); 1-1 Boro (a); 1-1 Luton (a) Villa: 3-1 Reading (h); 0-2 United (h); 2-1 Tottenham (a) Goalscorers (league): Liverpool: Torres 11; Gerrard 7; Babel, Kuyt, Voronin 3; Alonso, Benayoun 2; Hyypia, Sissoko 1 Villa: Agbonlahor 7; Carew, Laursen 6; Barry, Maloney 4; Gardner 3; Mellberg, Young 2; Davies, Harewood, Knight, Moore 1 Referee: Mark Clattenberg Is it just me, or do referees who give a team a contentious decision always give their next opponent all the 50/50 decisions (coughSteveBennettcough)?  read more »

So, I got in from work last night at about 9.00 and switched on the television to watch some of the League Cup semi-final. Spurs were winning 1-0 and were completely outplaying Arsenal in every area of the pitch. "Aha", I thought to myself, "I know exactly how this is going to finish up", and so it came to pass. I watched about twenty minutes of it, and wandered off to potter about, doing other things, and when I checked back for the full time score, there it was, as predictable as the changing seasons: Arsenal 1-1 Spurs. Spurs had missed a mountain of chances, and then Theo Walcott had fluked an equalizer in off the outside of his ankle.  read more »

Ursusarctos - Since the '80s, I believe only First Division/ PL teams have won the FA Cup, even though several finals in that time featured one lower division team. In the '70s (most recently), several teams from the old Second Division won it by beating First Division opposition. But I have no idea whether two lower division sides have ever met in the final. When were the last FA Cup finals featuring two lower division teams (if ever)? And (to pull a craigy!) what FA Cup finals do you remember as the most exciting, and why? What was the worst (by any measure)? What two teams would you like to see meet in a "dream" Cup final (from any division)?  read more »

2:45pm on espn2 Round of 16: Liverpool: 1-0 Inter (a); 2-0 Inter (h) Arsenal: 0-2 Milan (a); 0-0 Milan (h) Group Stage: Liverpool: 4-0 Marseille (a); 4-1 Porto (h); 8-0 Besiktas (h); 1-2 Besiktas (a); 0-1 Marseille (h); 1-1 Porto (a) Arsenal: 2-1 Steaua (h); 1-3 Sevilla (a); 0-0 Slavia (a); 7-0 Slavia (h); 1-0 Steaua (h); 3-0 Sevilla (h) Last 3 matches: Liverpool: 1-0 Everton (h); 0-3 United (a); 2-1 Reading (h) Arsenal: 3-2 Bolton (a); 1-2 Chelsea (a); 1-1 Boro (h) Goalscorers (Europe): Liverpool: Gerrard, Kuyt 5; Crouch, Torres 4; Babel, Benayoun 3; Hyypia, Voronin 1 Arsenal: Fabregas 6; Eduardo 3; Bendtner, Hleb, van Persie, Walcott 2; Adebayor, Diaby, Rosicky 1 Referee: Pieter Vink (NED).  read more »

This made me laugh (thanks to Ger on ThePeople'sForum for posting it): Everton are just unlucky THERE are times in my life when I'm incredibly grateful to my dad for taking me to see Southend United on my 11th birthday. It was freezing cold, everything smelt of fried onions, someone urinated on my trainers and Huddersfield won 1-0. But somehow it felt so right. It was the start of an unlikely love affair with a football team that is doomed forever to wander the lower leagues like a mournful wraith. Southend will never win anything of note, we will never field England internationals and we are unlikely to launch our own TV station, but my God, it must be more fun than being an Everton fan.  read more »