IN A NUTSHELL, BORO WERE AWFUL
the fans up here in boro are worried. they've only really brought yakubu (who is a gamble at £7m) and an austrian defender called pogatetz who is subsequently facing a 6 month ban. they are also an ageing team with the likes of hasselbaink, mendieta, ehiogu and southgate all likely to start against us next week. hell, i thought we had a lack of pace in our side but they seem even worse, especially at the back.
fernando torres tore them to shreds, especially in the first half. hell they even made kezman look world class at times

i also kept a close eye on pablo ibanez, a defender who we have been linked with in the past. it was hard to judge him on last night's display, but he looked solid enough.
make no mistake about it, boro is always a hard game. as a matter of fact our record at the riverside is dire (last season's display was embarassing). however with pretty much our full strength side back and raring to go, i don't see too many problems if our attitude is right. hell the boro fans are already worried about zenden coming back to haunt them for god's sake, never mind alonso, gerrard, cisse etc.

this was exactly the sort of fixture last season that we would lose about a whimper. it's vital to get off to a good start, as a bad one and our impending involvement in the super cup could mean we find ourselves well adrift from the top by the beginning of september.
bring it on, i can't wait.

....................................................................................
Liverpool have announced ticket details and selling arrangements for our first Premiership clash of the season at Middlesbrough on August 13.
We have received a reduced allocation of 2436 tickets due to persistent standing for this ALL ticket fixture priced as follows;-
Adult: £31
Child: £18 (under 16)
Over 65s: £18
Ticket Allocation
Tickets will be available to Season Ticket holders based on attendance at Premier League away fixtures during Season 2004-2005 on the following days:
Attendance at 10 or more games: Friday 5 August - 8.15am-5.30pm and
Saturday 6 August - 9.15am-1.00pm
Attendance at 9 or more games: Sunday 7 August - 9.15am - 1.00pm
Attendance at 8 or more games: Monday 8 August - 8.15am- 5.30pm
The allocation of tickets will be subject to availability and while stocks last.
Tickets will be available for personal application at the Ticket Office, by postal application and credit card bookings on Telephone Number 0870 787 2000. The Fan Card must be presented when applying at the Ticket Office and in the case of postal applications or telephone applications the number must be quoted, telephone bookings will require the applicants address to be confirmed and are subject to a booking fee.
Please do not apply if you do not meet the required criteria, any queries regarding the Fan Card please telephone 0870 220 2345.
We would emphasise to all eligible applicants that no guarantee can be given that tickets will be available to all who apply.
Executive Box holders, Centenary, Premier and Executive members should contact the Corporate Sales Department.
We apologise for the lateness of this notice, this is due to us awaiting a decision from Middlesbrough Council on the number of tickets we would be allocated.