Heading into a weekend off for Liverpool with some random news pieces...
The first of which is injury news. Hooray!
Glen Johnson is on his way back to full fitness, but it's still going to be at least three weeks. He mentions the struggle he's had with being unable to participate, and despite some dips in form prior to the injury, he's been sorely missed. I think you have to consider him one of Liverpool's most positive attacking players, fullback or not. It'll be interesting to see what shape the squad takes when he's back, and if he's able to get forward the way he likes after a long-term layoff. As for his replacement...
Carra will apparently be a game-time decision come Thursday. Thinking about the fixture list, I don't see him playing a full 90 regardless. The game at the Eastlands is clearly going to be the priority, and Unirea's visit to Anfield has become somewhat of an afterthought. I fully expect Rafa to field a weaker side against Unirea, and I'm not in complete disagreement anymore. Liverpool can't continue to piss away points in league, and City has the pace up front to shred Liverpool's defense. I'm a big fan of Martin Kelly and Stephen Darby as future talents, but the thought of them trying to lock down Tevez or Bellamy doesn't inspire confidence.
That above link also mentions Fernando Torres' path to recovery, which is expounded upon here. I had no idea it was even a possibility for him to be back by Sunday's match with City, so I'm not exactly crestfallen that he won't be available. Long-term concerns are always a bit trickier, and I think Rafa has usually erred on the side of caution, which I feel is a good thing. As for how Liverpool continue to make up for Torres' absence, I'm not so sure that the solution has been discovered. Granted, it's impossible to replace Torres, but outside of Dirk Kuyt we haven't seen much inspiration up top.
On the topic of finding inspiration in attack, the Milan Jovanovic saga gets juuuust a bit more drawn out, now with Rafa denying completion of a deal. Doesn't mean it won't happen, but it's going to take some time. This comes with increasing talk about importing Milos Krasic from CSKA Moscow, who is a good friend of Jovanovic, noted by commenter Axis.Ov.Advance in the thread here. If the News of the World is to be believed, it's going to cost Liverpool big money, and it's just something they don't have right now, and might not have in the summer.
Although now they might, since Athletic Bilbao are interested in making Mikel San Jose's loan move a permanent gig. As I've mentioned before, these situations are always conflicting---the money is great short term, particularly given the lack of stability behind the scenes. On the other hand, it's another young talent offloaded before he has a chance to prove himself. In the case of San Jose, it doesn't look like a ton of first-team opportunities were going to present themselves any time soon, but there's always the what-if's.
And as should always be the case, today's news is rounded off with a heaping helping of Greek testosterone. No descriptions needed---just read in admiration and imagine his post-match ritual of letting his hair down, sitting in his throne made of dinosaur bones, and drinking meade from a goblet made of a sheep's skull. The Greek. Two words, a sentence full of meaning.