Recently by Jimmy Pilnick

I was planning to write a blog previewing tonight's game against Portsmouth; about how much I was looking forward to going to Anfield tonight following Sunday's amazing win at Stamford Bridge; about the feel-good factor of being a Red at the present moment; about how much I was looking forward to seeing Peter Crouch given a standing ovation by the Kop; about how much I hoped Liverpool would grab the bull be the horns after going top of the Premier League. Sadly though, an old enemy of our club and city has reared his ugly head yet again.

With the Atletico Madrid furor finally put to bed, and common sense having prevailed, Liverpool fans can once again concentrate on football and today's visit of Wigan Athletic. Three points today are every bit as important as the thrilling wins over Man Utd, Everton and Man City we've witnessed so far this season.

If there was a prize for the most bizarre ticket-selling arrangements of the season, then Liverpool would win hands-down for the way the club are selling tickets for the forthcoming Champions League tie at Atletico Madrid.

Our end was barely one-third full in Porto for the last season's opening Champions League group game despite being officially "sold out." It's obvious what had happened here - many fans took a £36 hit to guarantee themselves future away tickets, and to combat this the club introduced a system where, from Besiktas onwards, supporters would have to provide proof of travel to qualify for subsequent games.

When the final whistle blew at the Velodrome on Tuesday night, Rafa Benitez could have been forgiven for thinking qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League might just be a bit more straightforward than it was 12 months ago when the Reds visited the same venue knowing only a win would take us through, not to mention save his job. It also signalled a satisfactory end to a trip that had threatened to throw up one catastrophe after another for me and my 3 fellow reds Dan, Ste and Mark who had made the trip to Southern France.

A quick look back at some of our home results emphasises why a title challenge failed to materialise last season. Birmingham City, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Wigan all came away from Anfield with a draw - that's eight points dropped in what many would consider "home bankers" in a season that saw us finish 11 points off the top. Therefore, it was absolutely vital we got our home campaign off to a winning start against a Boro side who will surprise a few people this season, and what a way to clinch it!