Article Tony Barrett

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TONY BARRETT ON CHELSEA V LIVERPOOL
Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo 29 April 2008

According to French statisticians, Liverpool only have a 23 per cent of making it through to the Champions League final in Moscow.
But then, when did anyone at Anfield take any notice of what French statisticians have to say?

Those experts at L'Equipe may be able to rate Liverpool's chances by going through every single European Cup semi-final since 1971.

And they may even be justified in making Chelsea statistical favourites to go through on Wednesday night.

But one thing they could never factor into their complicated equations is that mythical factor that Liverpool are at their best in Europe when their backs are against the wall.

Is a club which has come back from the dead in Istanbul, which has won twice at the Nou Camp, which has defied logic against the likes of St Etienne, Olympiakos and, more recently, Arsenal really going to be cowed at the prospect of "only" having 90 minutes to score a single goal away at Chelsea?

Will a club that once won a European Cup against AS Roma in their own backyard with all its hostility be afraid of the blue and white chequered flags which will be unfurled at Stamford Bridge?

Not a chance.

This is Liverpool's stage, not Chelsea's. Had those French statisticians also bothered to look at European Cup finals since 1971 they would have discovered that Chelsea have not appeared in a single one of them.

In the same period of time, Liverpool have appeared in seven and, in my book at least, that makes them favourites.

Forget that 95th minute equaliser at Anfield last week and focus on almost every single one of the 94 minutes that preceded it.

Liverpool were comfortably the better side and had it not been for the excellence of Petr Cech would be heading into the second leg with the kind of lead that even miracles cannot overcome.

Pepe Reina, by contrast, was hardly tested and there were times when the Spanish keeper must have been tempted to join in with the Kop as they did the Torres bounce just to keep himself warm.

Yes, John Arne Riise's own goal did shift the balance of the tie because it gave Chelsea that crucial away strike and yes, Liverpool could have done without conceding.

But all they have to do to cancel it out is score a single goal at Stamford Bridge and the tie will be back in their hands.

A legend will be created tomorrow. Someone will carve his name on Liverpool's unique European history alongside the likes of Dalglish, Smith, Rush, McDermott, Keegan, Fairclough, Garcia and Gerrard.

One player dressed in red will seize the moment and give the travelling Kop a moment they will treasure until their dying day.

The stage is set for a hero to emerge and open up a path to Moscow. No one will care if it's Torres, Gerrard, Kuyt, Carragher or Skrtel, just as long as someone does it.

Liverpool have nothing to fear from Chelsea. What is their to fear from the functional or the perfunctory?

This is not the Real Madrid of Figo and Zidane, the Milan of Van Basten, Baresi and Gullit, the Barcelona of Stoichkov, Romario and Koeman or even the Man United of Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez.

It is the Chelsea of the eternally balance-challenged Didier Drogba, the vastly over rated Ashley Cole and the perennially weak Paulo Ferreira. And what's more, they're even fighting among themselves if Saturday's embarrassing squabble over whether Drogba or Michael Ballack took a free kick is anything to go by. !

Throw into the mix the fact that Avram Grant is totally untested at this level and is no doubt currently fretting about whether he should stick or twist and all of a sudden all those doubts and fears which followed Riise's unfortunate intervention are rendered almost meaningless.

If roles could be reversed and it was Liverpool who had the away draw with a second leg to come at Anfield but you had to have Grant in charge rather than Rafa Benitez, would you take it?

I didn't think so.

Benitez is an arch alchemist in the rarified atmosphere of the Champions League and he will be heading to Stamford Bridge with the kind of battle plan Napoleon would have been proud of.

Every eventuality will have been considered, all strengths and weaknesses assessed and a tactical masterplan will be implemented which will give Liverpool every chance of getting the result they need.

We know this is the case because we have seen it so many times over the last four years. We have seen it against Arsenal, Inter Milan and Juventus. And we have seen it against Chelsea. Twice.

The Spaniard will be relishing the opportunity of going into the Londoners' own backyard and making it a hat-trick. He won't see his team as the underdogs and he certainly won't be afraid.

As is the case for his team, this is Benitez's stage, a place where he is rarely found wanting.

Chelsea, by contrast, have been to the Champions League semi-finals on three separate occasions and are still to make it to a single final. To borrow a phrase from bookmaking parlance, the Londoners do not have course and distance.

They do have an away goal to their name, but it is only one. Liverpool now know exactly what they have to do and every single
Liverpool fan should today be believing that they will do it.

It is they who have history on their side no matter what those French statisticians might say.

And anyway, 23 is a lucky number for Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. Remember Kenny Dalglish's goal to win the league at Chelsea in 1986? It was scored after exactly 23 minutes.

That's fate, history and a beautiful omen. It's going to be Liverpool's night. All we have to do is believe.

Tony Barrett is the Liverpool correspondent for the Liverpool Echo.

je viens de le lire, j'allais en poster quelques extraits !! quel beau texte rempli de passion et de foi inébranlable. Une fois l'article lu, on a l'impression que Liverpool va s'imposer et que toutes les chances sont de notre côtés !!


They do have an away goal to their name, but it is only one.Liverpool now know exactly what they have to do and every single
Liverpool fan should today be believing that they will do it.

J'ai ressenti la même chose c'est pour ça que je l'ai posté

cest clair je venias de le lire et j'ai vu le post sur le forum. mme reaction en le lisant. la tu te dit que tout est possible
vivement demain

Moi ça me fait l'effet inverse, c'est pas du tout du Barret dans le style, ca a un côté d'auto-persuasion ....

Benitez ne fait pas, son équipe a su perdre face à Benfica il y a deux ans ...

C'est du 50 / 50 et ça peut se jouer à très peu .... sauf si on marque vite, alors ce sera le Torres Show ....

Oui mais la on parle de foi que chaque supporteur de Pool doit avoir c'est ce qui a fait qu'on soit revenu de 3-0 en 2005 YNWA.

Ici Anfield wrote:

Moi ça me fait l'effet inverse, c'est pas du tout du Barret dans le style, ca a un côté d'auto-persuasion ....

Benitez ne fait pas, son équipe a su perdre face à Benfica il y a deux ans ...

C'est du 50 / 50 et ça peut se jouer à très peu .... sauf si on marque vite, alors ce sera le Torres Show ....

oui mais benfica c'était en 8eme,le contexte est différent,une place pour la finale de CL,les reds vont s'arracher et tout donner!!

Ici Anfield wrote:

Moi ça me fait l'effet inverse, c'est pas du tout du Barret dans le style, ca a un côté d'auto-persuasion ....

Benitez ne fait pas, son équipe a su perdre face à Benfica il y a deux ans ...

C'est du 50 / 50 et ça peut se jouer à très peu .... sauf si on marque vite, alors ce sera le Torres Show ....

Qu'est ce qui te fait dire ça ?

Théo wrote:

Ici Anfield wrote:

Moi ça me fait l'effet inverse, c'est pas du tout du Barret dans le style, ca a un côté d'auto-persuasion ....

Benitez ne fait pas, son équipe a su perdre face à Benfica il y a deux ans ...

C'est du 50 / 50 et ça peut se jouer à très peu .... sauf si on marque vite, alors ce sera le Torres Show ....

Qu'est ce qui te fait dire ça ?

Dire quoi ?

Théo wrote:

Ici Anfield wrote:

Dire quoi ?

Ici Anfield wrote:

C'est du 50 / 50 et ça peut se jouer à très peu .... sauf si on marque vite, alors ce sera le Torres Show ....

Parce que Chelsea va se découvrir à 0-1, et que je vois mal Torres rater deux matchs de rang, il aura donc alors l'occasion d'être décisif !!!

D'un autre côté, si Torres "rate son match" mardi dernier, ce dont je ne pense pas, tu ne penses pas que Cech y est pour quelque chose ?

Sinon, rien à voir mais je trouve que comparé aux quarts face à Arsenaze, on est exactement dans la même situation sauf que là, il semblerait que nous soyons Arsenal et Chelsea... nous.
Enfin je sais pas si vous m'avez bien compris.

Théo wrote:

D'un autre côté, si Torres "rate son match" mardi dernier, ce dont je ne pense pas, tu ne penses pas que Cech y est pour quelque chose ?

Sinon, rien à voir mais je trouve que comparé aux quarts face à Arsenaze, on est exactement dans la même situation sauf que là, il semblerait que nous soyons Arsenal et Chelsea... nous.
Enfin je sais pas si vous m'avez bien compris.

Il doit en mettre deux, et son contrôle raté m'a fait penser à heskey / Cissé !

C'est le genre de texte qui te donne envie d'y laisser tes couilles sur le terrain


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