FanHouse Liverpool

It's hard for me to imagine Robbie Keane wearing something other than a Tottenham Hotspur kit. He's been the heart and soul of that team for the last six years. When he did that little dance after Spurs won the Carling Cup Final, he looked like he would be at White Hart Lane for life.

Yet there he was at Liverpool's training ground, completing his physical and coming to terms with another club. Like every other big-name Premier League player, Keane wanted Champions League action, and he wasn't going to get it with Spurs. So the club has granted him his wish today and sold his contract to Liverpool for £19 million.

Keane's move breaks up one of the best strike partnerships in the league, and chances are Dimitar Berbatov could leave, too, if another club meets Spurs' hefty asking price. It's kind of amazing to see this club sell off its two best forwards just as Juande Ramos finally addresses the club's midfield and back line issues, but it seems this sort of thing is standard practice at White Hart Lane. Without Keane and Berbatov, Ramos will likely face a huge struggle to win anything more than another bid to the UEFA Cup next year.

So much for that whole "He's big, he's red, his feet stick out the bed!" chant.

England striker Peter Crouch is leaving Liverpool and will join FA Cup champions Portsmouth on Monday for a reported transfer fee of £10 million. Pompey apparently outbid Tottenham Hotspur for the 6'7" forward, who had fallen out of favor with Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez last season.

The transfers of Crouch and (eventually) midfielder Xabi Alonso are expected to pay for the acquisition of Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry, though the drama surrounding Barry's transfer is getting ridiculous. Villa rejected a £15 million offer from Liverpool for Barry, who was disciplined by manager Martin O'Neill after his recent outburst over wanting to move to Anfield. The asking price for Barry is reportedly £18 million.

As for Crouch, he'll be having his nachos with a pretty solid strike force that includes Nwankwo Kanu, Jermain Defoe, John Utaka and David Nugent. That should serve Pompey pretty well for its first ever season playing in the UEFA Cup. All that's left is for the supporters to find a second line to follow, "He's big, he's blue..."

With all the excitement surrounding EURO 2008, it might have been easy to overlook the 2008-09 Premier League schedule, which was announced on Monday. You can see the full schedule here.

The most interesting thing about the coming season's schedule is that there are no "Super Sundays" that feature the Premier League's Big Four -- Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United -- playing against each other on the same day. Those marquee matches are spread fairly evenly throughout the schedule. Perhaps the Premier League is trying to distance itself from the notion that it's a top-heavy league where only four clubs have a legitimate shot at the title. I wish them lots of luck trying to convince people otherwise.

Our pals at The Guardian also note that Manchester United's September schedule is a little rough. The Red Devils face Liverpool at Anfield on September 13, then play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on September 20. In between those two games is their first Champions League group stage match. We should hear Sir Alex Ferguson whining about this any day now. "Waaaah! Defending two major championships shouldn't be this hard! Waaaaah!"

Of course, that assumes Ferguson doesn't follow through on his threat to bail on Man United if the club sells Cristiano Ronaldo. The offseason at Old Trafford gets more interesting every day, doesn't it?

Liverpool hasn't won a league title since 1990, and the club's fervent supporters are eager to see a Premier League trophy in Anfield next year. To that end, Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is already reminding those fans that this probably won't happen.

"Yes, clearly it's more difficult [to win the league] here than in Spain because the top sides spend big, big money. ... We will try to do our best and the key for me is to not talk about the title. The key is to be near the top, to be contenders. If we stay close then I think we are capable of doing it. It is an option, for sure."

Yes, the Premier League crown is an option, not a priority. After all, who needs a domestic league title as long as you can finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League? Those are the 13 games that really matter, right?

Of course, Rafa is just looking for more money for the summer transfer window, which the owners can't give him because they're too busy paying down the loan they took out to buy the club. So Rafa is expected to sell off a bunch of underused players -- including Peter Crouch, Xabi Alonso and, shockingly, John Arne Riise -- to raise the money. No matter what happens, though, you can expect Rafa to view fourth place as first place in the Premier League. Apparently, he doesn't think he can afford any more than that.

Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan would like you to know something very important about the Premier League. It's getting a little stale.

"Maybe (Newcastle) owner (Mike Ashey) thinks we can bridge that gap - but we can't. This league is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world.

"The top four next year will be the same top four as this year. What I can say to the Newcastle fans is that we will be trying to get fifth and we will be trying to win the other league that's going on within the Premier League."

Keegan makes a legitimate point. A vicious cycle exists in the Premier League right now, where the Big Four -- Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United -- finish in the top four every year, go to the UEFA Champions League, earn as much as £30 million more than all the other clubs, use that money to buy top players to strengthen their roster, finish in the top four again the next year, and so on and so on, until only four clubs have a real shot at the League title and the rest are left to fend for UEFA Cup scraps.

I believe, however, that there's a way to break this cycle.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez just learned what happens when you mock Didier Drogba.

While talking to reporters on Sunday, Benitez laid into the Chelsea striker, insinuating Drogba was a filthy diver who would rather court favor from referees than score actual goals. Judging from Drogba's recent performances, most soccer fans would be inclined to agree with Benitez.

Still, you don't say it. No matter how openly petulant Drogba may have been lately, you don't flat out challenge a player of his caliber in the press. He might just come to play -- and that's exactly what Drogba did, scoring twice on pinpoint rocket shots, including one in the 105th minute, to lead Chelsea to a 3-2 victory over Liverpool in the 2nd leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal in a downpour at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea advance 4-3 on aggregate.

Liverpool had some hope in the second half, as the Blues took their foot off the gas with a 1-0 lead. Fernando Torres slid one past Petr Cech in the 68th minute to tie the game at 1-1 and eventually force extra time. However, Drogba was not only ferocious in attack, but in defense as well, clearing away balls in front of Cech to stymie the Reds' attack.

John Arne Riise might want find a good place to hide for a few days. I hear New Zealand is nice this time of year.

In the last possible second of stoppage time, the Liverpool substitute defender made a complete mess of Solomon Kalou's wicked cross into the box. Instead of just kicking it away, he dove down to head it away, and it ended up in the back of his own net. Cue stunned silence of Reds supporters. Cue amazingly lifelike celebration by Avram Grant.

Just like that, Dirk Kuyt's nutmegging of Petr Cech an hour earlier -- the only shot Cech couldn't stop all day -- became irrelevant. Just like that, Chelsea had a 1-1 draw and a big advantage after the Anfield leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal match. Just like that, John Arne Riise may have become the Scousers' Bill Buckner.

The road to Moscow has officially come up English. With one EPL side guaranteed to make the final, only Barcelona stands in Man United's way of making it an all Premiership title match. Now that all of the quarterfinal action is complete, let's run down all of this week's action.

Spoilers after the jump for the non-informed...

3 of the EPL's Big 4 are featured in today's second-leg action, and at least 2 are going to need some help if they plan on making it through to the semi-finals. Chelsea host Fenerbahce while Arsenal heads to Anfield to take on Liverpool. Here's our brief take on this afternoon's action.

Chelsea - Fenerbahce
The Turkish phenoms take a surprising lead into Stamford Bridge, hoping they can keep their dark horse chances alive in one of England's toughest stadiums. Chelsea is virtually unbeatable in front of their home crowd, and Avram Grant will be sure to feel the pressure mounting to meet the club's championship expectations. Failure to get past Deivid and Co. would be a huge upset for the Blues, but luckily they have an away goal to fall back on if things get tight. Look for Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka to come out swinging in the opening minutes, but they will have to be extremely cautious of the visitors stealing a goal on the counter.

Liverpool - Arsenal
Short of last week's shocking result in Turkey, this match up is the cream of the round. A hard fought draw at the Emirates leaves Arsenal headed to the Merseyside too close for comfort. If the Liverpool defense can stay tough, the Reds will be able to get through with a scoreless draw. Cese Fabregas and the Gunners have their work cut out for them, but the Arsenal attack has never been one to be underestimated. Anfield and the boisterous Kop, on the other hand, have been known to see magic fall out of the sky in the Champions League. The stage is set for another classic thriller, and any predictions are wild guesses at best at this point.

The UEFA Champions League quarterfinals begin today, and all eyes are on the capital of Italy -- not because people want to see what Cristiano Ronaldo will do next or how Roma will fare without Francesco Totti. Sadly, most people will be looking at the stands.

Roma supporters (and police) have a nasty history of clashing with Manchester United fans in Italy, as you can see in photo from last year's Champions League quarterfinals, which was more notable for Italian police beating the crap out of anyone who spoke English. Plus, during the group stage last December, five Manchester United fans were stabbed outside Stadio Olimpico.

UEFA, however, is urging fans to behave themselves tonight -- by threatening to pull the 2009 Champions League final out of Rome if any incidents occur. I have my doubts that this will deter the Ultras, who may very well decide to call UEFA's bluff and go after those Mancunians who just happen to walk down the wrong alley.