Haven’t read it yet… just wanted to be first.. I know childish

Back to your award winning witty best Gerry, certainly put a smile on my face, pretty much spot on with the predictions as well, but it could be closer.

I can say with absolute certainty, categorically, that Rafa Benitez will not be sacked as manager of Liverpool this evening and that these rumours are not true.

Quote from Guillem Balague

The Hicks camp has comfirmed this as well

You didn’t refer to their horse face striker, as Van Nostril Hair, in the interview, did you. You know no shame Gerry.

Great interview. They have a right to be positive, considering their current form and ours. Hopefully they will get knocked right down again.

This has probably been discussed already, but, does any one think Spurs made a big mistake getting rid of Ramos? Some teams manage themselves, according to some, but he’s deffinatly done something right at Real.

I read that Keith, but he did not say that Rafa wouldn’t leave.

God, I hope this isn’t true.

I think these Rafa rumours are absolute bollocks but the timing of them are very curious. Could this have been an attempt to de-stabilise us ahead of our game tonight? It wouldn’t surprise me at all.

Great comments Gerry!

One post crossed my mind

http://www.lfchistory.net/redcorner_articles_view.asp?article_id=2410

This was much before my time. How can we do this to the best manager we ever had?

Can any of you elderly people cast some light on this?

Good interview Ger, getting pretty excited myself at this stage. Id forgotten how antsy I get before these big games. I think the ante has been upped on this one though as a lot of things seem to be coming to head to a head; our season, Rafas future, plus the game is only against the biggest fucken club in Europe!
Keith I hope that is true. I just fail to see the benefit of dismissing him in the middle of the season. Ridiculous would be an understatement. And I agree with Lb, it makes no sense for him to walk either. If that were to transpire I think its fair to say it would be a shock on a par with King Kennys departure in 91.
Btw I read your response and will reply later mate. Just too many more important things going on today with the game and all this Rafa speculation. But cheers for responding and not perpetuating the eternal enemies thing!! Btw what the hell are we gonna debate if this speculation is true?!
Anyway I’m out for now lads, think I’m gonna head to the bar earlier than normal today, get a good seat and a few extra beers into me to calm the nerves. Ger I liked your line up, hope thats the one. YNWA LADS!!!

Tony Barrett is reporting on the Echo website that though Rafa refused comment in his pre-game press conference about the rumor, he HAS categorically denied that it has any validity and stated that he won’t be leaving anytime soon.

Another interesting tidbit. On SLySports they were talking about “players to watch” and stated that we had actually been negotiating with Higuan, that Rafa really wanted him and that we fell 2 mill short of his valuation…. so he went to Real instead!

Now I hadn’t even heard about that one?

we were dominated..Come on u reds..

Good half field lob from Alonso…Would be great if we scored from there

We seriously have been dominating…. We should take this opportunity and score goals.

Worried about the Torres’ ankle though. Hope he’s fine. Touch wood.

Gerrard and Torres have been alternating with injuries or niggles through out the season. A Gerrard sub in the second half will spice things up.

Defensively we’ve been ok but I’ll like the boys to pass the ball better. We’ve given the ball away too cheaply for my liking. Torres’ limping is a bit worrying.

Come on boys.

too many misplaced passes from Alonso tonight

for both yellow cards… our players got the ball and the cards as well..

I dunno.. can someone explain the tackle from behind thing to me

We are playing as if we are Stoke City and they are Liverpool FC now..

Benny!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG…..Benny!! 1-0

Yahoo…!!! a win and an away goal… job well done… me going to sleep, with sweet sweet dreams…

Good night reds

Excellent result! Probably just what the doctor ordered. Liverpool controlled the match well, and got a deserved and famous win. That’s two out of the Big Two in Spain for Rafa and Liverpool.

Hope Torres and Riera are alright and back in action soon.

Rather than applauding a famous victory, Sly Sports has to carp on and on (throughout the commentary as well) and on about the baseless rumours of Rafa leaving simply because he’s not signed his contract when it’s still being ironed out. Why are they so eager to see him go?

So, Sir Roger Hunt, I would like to know your views on tonight’s match.

BTW, I did watch the second half from my armchair!

BBC FIVE LIVE’S introduction to Real Madrid v Liverpool

“The news that all Liverpool fans didnt want to hear, Liverpools season has gone from bad to worse, Steven Gerrard is not in the starting 11, but, he is on the substitution bench. Rafael Benitez has made two changes from the side that started in the debacle that occured during the weekend”

Alan Green

2145: “That was the most ordinary Real Madrid team I have seen for a very long time and it was a fantastic result for Liverpool.”
BBC Radio 5 Live’s Mark Lawrenson

latest pearls of wisdom from WL.

sorry should have been ML. No spellchecker

BTW, Gerry, in case no one has mentioned in the last blog, you mentioned Liverpool are at risk of missing out on direct Champions League qualification should they slip to third.

But they’ve changed the format since, starting from next season onwards, first, second AND third in the Premier League will qualify automatically for the CL, while 4th will have to enter a much tougher qualification phase which includes teams from higher ranked nations (though they’ll avoid Spanish, Italian and German sides), since Michel Platini has set aside six slots for the lower ranked nations, meaning the higher ranked will have to compete for the remaining.

I thought quite a few players were pretty poor today, but lucky for us our organization made Real look even poorer.

So does masterminding a 1-0 win away to Real Madrid constitute sheer blind luck, or tactical genius?

Does taking Torres off indicate a serious error in judgement, or simply that the man has big, free hanging, Cajones of Steel?

As always, reality lies somewhere in between.

Just in case no one gets Aitch’s sarcasm, Torres had a slight knock in the first half, and I’ll bet that he’s taken off as a precaution, considering it’s only the first leg away with all to play for at Anfield.

I purposely stayed away after the dreadful Man City match because I don’t think I can take all the bile and vitriol from OUR OWN FANS.

I won’t be commenting on that, what’s past is past. If the Footballing Gods are against us, then fuck them and so be it. I’m going to enjoy this famous victory tonight and get some sleep.

somewhere else in facebook..

lots of idiots hounded for Rafa’s head for not playing Gerrard from the start. substituted Torres for Babel and replacing Kuyt with Lucas.

The very same idiot who cries out “we are the best, we are the champion” at the end of the game.

Pure pure classy example of a typical Rafa bashers

Good win at a difficult place, just makes me wonder how we can muster up a win there with 44% of the possession, but we can’t beat Man City with 72%. Does my head in.
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What’s going on in Rafa’s world, I’ve never seen him strike out at something, like he did after Xabi’s first half free kick. Somethings not right in his world at the moment. He usually just sits there writing stuff on paper.
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Benny had a very good game, shows you how good the guy my be playing on the continent. More space less tackles.
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Babel looked ordinary once again, and Torres looked pissed of the whole time. Time for Nando to stop running on his bottom lip. He looks anything but the player he was last year.
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I thought Riera, Mash, Aurelio, back 4 in general all had great games. Kuyt ran his tits of once again. A lot can be said about the bloke, and I’ve said plenty over the time. Alas though in the present market he’s probably the most value for money effort player anywhere. A shiney penny I think.
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I think Reina’s form has dropped, maybe not getting enough touches during the season.
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Anyway back to the season, if we can’t thump Sunderland after that result, I think I’ll give up drinking beer. Maybe I’ll drown my sorrows and make the decision later.

happy days. amazing result just the tonic we needed. I thought the whole team played well with the exception of riera i dont no what is up with the fella at the minute. he should have bombed into the box so many times,also some really sloppy passing and movement. well he’s out for the return leg so hope he goes and gives his head a shake!!
Also great it was an inform real side we beat cant wait to see how the media talk them down in the morning.(unlike man scum who cant beat as piss inter side) fuck it not gonna go into it,we won im happy……… oh except for that half time bullshit what was that all about,if there was 12fouls and torres coming on and off how did we not get to take that corner!!!!!!!!(last gripe sorry)

COME ON THE POOL

Roarin, is Riera out injured or suspended. Also how the fuck did Mash get a card on Gago. He nearly won the ball twice.

Riera is suspended.

Did anyone else catch the commentators say that we have scored in our last 16 champions league games? Not bad for a team that is apparently always set up for a draw.

Great win! Maybe, just maybe the tide turning? Scums for all their good football yesterday not being able to score. Just a blip or start of a trend? Who knows.

Come on you REDS! YNWA!!

roarin, agree with you on Riera as he was the poorest today. really do not know what has gone into him recently…
i thought that xabi was excellent pulling the strings in the middle of the park and that allowed masch to do all the dirty work… and the back 4 was well organized.
i was all excited towards to the end to celebrate the great win until lucas was brought in with 2-3 minutes left…..oh no!!! may stuck out a leg and a last minute penalty fo real….was really hard to imagine but all was well eventually.

Spot on roarin-red.
Riera for me was ok with the ball but defensively wise he just melted. Robben (?) just blew past him time & again.
Well my tuppence worth, I watched this in a barn of a bar with no other L’pool supporters and the disgruntled silence as I danced a jig when Benny knocked it in was a joy to behold, fu*k the begrudgers. Bloody beautiful.
I thought we started with a ball allergy tho’ … christ it drove me mad but as soon as we started to put a few passes together they were crapping it for me.
They were made to look very very ordinary. It was a brilliant defensive peformance.
All the back 4, Xabi and Masher (best game for a long time), kuyt and Benny were brilliant. Total focus and concentration. Going forward I also thought Kuyt and Benny had great games. Kuyt won so much hard ball, in the air all the time fighting and scrapping and making more good use of it. What can you say about Benny? Best game I’ve seen from him in a red shirt, class and intelligence. I still would like to see him play behind/off Torres, particularly when Gerrard is out but hey… what do I know.
Even the much maligned (that’s “abused”, Sir Rodger) Babel really tried and did ok once he got into the game.
So there you have it. Madrid done in their own backyard by a team minus Gerrard and effectively minus Torres as well. There are some journo’s I could name who have some humble pie heading their way.
To boot, would Aurelio/Arbie/Riera/kuyt/Benny get into any of the other “top 4″ teams? By common consent,(many of us included) no way. So how did they manage it?
Any takers ? Anybody got any possible ideas how such a poor team made up of average players managed it… I can’t figure it out at all. But I’m sure they’ll be a few of us who know and I’d love to hear them tell me.

Beautiful !

FAR CANAL!! What a result! im abso-fucken-lutley plastered but what a result! I just dont know what to say….bar-tender!….

Dougle the vast majority of excuse regarding the weekend was what do you expect when we are playing a vastly improving Man City with our two most influential players missing.
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Well whats the difference with only one back and a largely anonymous Torres. Yet we still manage to stun RM at their house.
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It has to be a mental aptitude issue, I can’t think of any think else. Like I said, it does my head in at times.
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Ps I also gave out an Oh-No when Lucas came on, glad I wasn’t at the ground, poor bugger, but did anyone notice SG face when the board went up. I wasn’t the only one thinking Oh-No.

gaz, another difference was the inclusion of aurelio & xabi for the RM game in the expense of dosser & lucas.

SG’s face….priceless!

I haven’t seen the game yet, away from Home ..
But what a Great result for the Reds..
Couldn’t be happier for Benny Onion.

Lads im sat here in a bar in queens n.y loaded an i hit the juk box 4 a few tunes stuck on gerry an pace makers ya gotta lnve it whole place singing ynwa brilliant

Its quite simple really lads, the fact that Real were playing in the same stadium where Rafa was on the touchline, basically made them all poorer players.
He stifles them, you see… prevents their natural ability from surfacing!

And Digger… you don’t know what to say?
How about… “sorry Rafa, la, you’re a gem, mate, Cheers”
… then a big chugalug!

The two things that struck me… not evidenced by anything, I should preface, just feelings I got.

1. The way everyone mobbed Benny when he scored. Nice to see.
Said to me that they’ve all been feeling the pressure of some of the recent criticisms (and fairly so, in my opinion.)

2. The way Rafa went fuckin ballistic everytime someone misplaced a pass!
Hardly says “stifling creativity and forward movement” to me?

Agree with ykleong on post 39. We definitely need both of them for the passing and set pieces (though Alonso’s was bad during the game).

I guess we’re all watching the Rafa leaving hype/rumour. Apparently he said he was going nowhere, that’s good, he also said the same about Robbie Keane.
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I just read the Belague story. He wrote I can categorically state Rafa will not be sacked by Liverpool. Although negotiations are at a very delicate stage, he will not be sacked.
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Good news, except no one every mentioned Rafa being sacked, the rumour is he’s going to resign. If the negotiations are that delicate, afterall he’s rejected 5 drafts, maybe he has put an ultimatum to the club.
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Guillem never mentioned the words he’s not leaving only that he wasn’t getting the sack.
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How about this who can make up the biggest media rumour before our home match with RM.

I think the Scum and London based journalists are fearful Liverpool is going to become the cream of Europe again, which is why they’re trying their best to undermine the team by attacking the coach, with headlines like ‘Rafa to get the sack by Sunday’.

Check out this link to see how far we’ve improved from struggling to qualify for Champions League to where we are now.

http://www.anfield-online.co.uk/lfc-news/2009/liverpool-back-to-number-one-in-uefa-ranking/

Rafa’s the best manager we’ve had for a long time, judging from the media campaign against him thus far.

So guys: Please support him!

That’s pretty impressive..thanks for putting that up.axchoice

What a great win!

My feeling that we will win the CL is getting stronger.

I love the interview. Candid but humorous. Watched the whole match and must say I had a (tense) ball. We looked very comfy on the ball, but allowed Madrid to play their game in the first half especially. They have lots of pace in their side and their ball hogging is impressive. No doubt they possess the best keeper in the world at the moment, but our Reina’s isn’t that far behind. The CB combo, Skrtel-Carra is just fabulous. Aurelio is understatedly something else!

Again, like the Man U game (and others this season), we basically won without Torres and Gerrard. Amazing for a two-man team. Tactically, I don’t see who compares to Rafa and his team. Man, the Reds had done their homework in this one, hadn’t they?

Madrid impressed and Arsenaled the game, but there was one side that consistently looked dangerous, and that team wasn’t the hosts! Robben was lively but his usual selfishly wasteful self. He had a good game though. One could also see why Raul is Real Madrid. What a fighter!

I keep asking that our ‘fringe’ players be given the chance they deserve. Do our sometimes critical section see internationals as Benayoun, Babel, Dossena, Lucas and Arbeloa as fringe players? Teams look for such industrious team players to no avail, and their very established national teams deem them good enough to play. Yet at Anfield they are vilified. We have a good team, period. We have a fabulous spine. We have a tremendous coach with his bench. I won’t even mention our history, supporters, tradition and heritage.

Of course as Macca observed it isn’t over. Madrid beat Man U at Old Trafford when they were expected to lose to advance in this championship. Anything can happen, but we also can’t take away a real team performance if there was ever one.

Once more I say, we’re the Reds and no one else ever will be. We’re not five-time winners of this tourney, we’re the real McCoy; the bonafide thing; European kings.

Hi all !

I watched the match last night(1 15 am to 3 30 am IST)and i am delighted with the result. If this RealMadrid turns up at Anfield then i guess the tie is over and we are already thru. I expect us to go thru anyway.

When Torres was taken off i thought we are in for a 0-0 draw. I was a bit frustrated as i clearly felt that we can win by atleast 2 goals. Someone talked Torres earlier, I feel he gets affected by defenders and their tackles way too frequently particularly at away matches. We need another striker who has a good holding ability. Then i feel torres will be able to concentrate on goal scoring.

Next up is Boro and again its a must win. By the time ManU plays we can be within 1 point of their total. Lets just hope they drop points at NewCastle.

Rafa will stay. We need a silverware.

I woke up at 5 in the morning to watch the match and after a nail biting 82 minutes the tension was immediately vanquished by Yossi’s header.
I was particularly impressed by Kuyt,Benayoun, Aurelio and the defensive back line in general. Alonso and Mascherano were also decent but I felt there were a few too many misplaced passes when we were trying to raise the tempo which had Rafa uncharacteristically high strung as well.

I think the pressure is at boiling point this time of the year and I really hope something is resolved at Board level with regards to Rafa’s contract and Agger’s contract.

The sooner Parry leaves as well the better. I read rumours somewhere that a 28 million deal for David Villa before the Euros was almost a done deal before Coco the clown decided that he had enough of Rafa’s meddling and undermined him by convincing the owner’s that Keane was the more reasonable option. The media were all claiming Barry was the no.1 target but perhaps he was more of a smokescreen to keep Villa’s price down.

If this can be validated we should start a protest to get that useless git out. He has undermined us in what could have been potentially incredible, bargain signings such as Vidic, Evra, Simao, Daneil Alves, Villa and God know’s who else. Apparently even Ronaldo was a target before somebody decided he was a million or 2 million too much. The brilliance of our scouts as well as Rafa’s management has been undermined by Rick Parry who has gotten away with murder up to this point and has been counterproductive to a degree where Rafa finds any working relation with him untenable and as a result has rejected 4 contract proposals. Gillete and Parry have formed an alliance that has slown everything down and of course the media get on Rafa’s back and not these clowns.

Returning to what will be an ideal season, I just really hope Man U will go through a timely slump and that we can stuff some humble pie down the throats of these arrogant, unknowledgeable, bandwagon Scum fans who have been spewing bile all over different internet sites. The same goes to the media who have been nothing short of disgraceful in their Scum bias and Liverpool bashing and even some of our own doubters….

Again the media were having a field day with the Rafa to quit nonesense. It is amazing how the timing of these rumours come about and how they seem to have a vendetta this season more so than previous seasons. We must be doing something right.

I’m still uncertain as to whether I would like Mourinho’s Inter to knock them out of CL in 2 week’s time just to knock the stuffing out of them or if it would be in our favour if they went onto the semi-finals to congest their fixtures….and then get knocked out by Barcelona, us or whoever else is left in the competition. It would be poetic if Chelsea knock them out and the Scum out and then we knock the chavs out in the final. This is assuming that there will be at least 3 PL teams in the semi final with the exception of say Bayern or Barca.

Back to yesterday’s game, I thought it was very unfortunate that Riera got a yellow card for a nothing “ball to hand” incident and Mascherano was carded as well for what appears to be a fair challenge. I winced whenever I saw theatrics and grown men roll around whenever they got clipped ever so slightly as if they had been shot with a two barrel rifle through the shins.

Now I will look forward to the Sunderland game and hope that our ex player Cisse does not enjoy the same fortune as Bellamy. It is absolutely typical that Torres could be out with an ankle injury as soon as Gerrard returns.

Lady Luck is certainly meddling with our slim hopes at a title challenge.

Sorry for the long post…it has been a while since I posted and a very quiet day in the office!

Great performance from the lads last night. Snuffed the life of out them and looked dangerous on the counter.

On top of this, we scored from a set-piece. Surely now Aurelio has to be included in the 1st team more than not (if he can stay fit for more than 5 games), if only for the quality delivery he can bring at set-pieces, especially from our right side. This would also allow SG to get in the box.

What do you all think?

That should be it would be poetic if the Chavs knock the Scum out as revenge for the final and we in turn knock them out for allowing to progress via an own goal.

Following the knife point robbery at Manchester United’s Darren Fletchers £1.5 million mansion in Bowdon, Greater Manchester, on Monday night, Sir Whisky nose Alex Ferguscum has announced that he will now implementing a Rafa-like rotation policy in order to keep the would be burglars in a state of confusion as to who will be playing and when.
Could this have been the cause of our loss of form in the Premiership?

Lurgankop I too thought Aurelio was excellent and deserves to be the number one left back for now at least. He was very composed and influential down the left hand side, the free kick delivery was class and his distribution and all around ability was as good as any in our team. I am really happy for Kuyt and Bellamy that they had a great game as well especially after been criticised by some over the past couple of months.

This was a good proffesional european away leg performance. We defended well and broke away when we could getting a deserved away goal.

What makes me laugh is before the tie all we hear is how Real Madrid are resurgent and that they are fave’s to knock us out, err hello! Has anyone of these so called experts been watching European footy in the last 5 yrs. Now we beat them in their own back yard the pundits are full of “that’s the poorest Real Madrid team for a long time.” That’d be the Real Madrid team who are 7 points off the best Barca team in history and challenging for the league title, the Real Madrid team who view the Champions league as all important and who are desperate to make it number 10.

Carra was immense last night, made Raul look very ordinary.

Torres was getting fouled every 5 mins.

Pepe Reina – looked more assured than Casillas did to me.

Benny – Defo his best position off the front striker.

Kuyt – outstanding, work rate and kept the ball well.

Monster – Great tackling

Alonso – We all think about his passing ability but he works so hard as well, he must glide over the pitch. 10 km impressive.

Aurelio – Had a cracking game.

was any of the Irish lad’s on here, watching Setanta Ireland after the game?

Pat Dolan, who I’ve rarely had time for in the past, was fantastic. He said “If the owners let Rafa go, it will be a disgrace”, “He’s too good for them”

He went on a rip against the media in general, and how they are hounding Rafa. The presenter was trying to turn the subject round in the usual direction, but Pat wouldn’t let him away with it.

I was so refreshing to watch.

Not a bad read this from PT.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/NG163347090223-1321.htm

That was a typical away performance in the CL from us under Rafa. Stifle the opposition and nick a vital away goal. Tactically it was perfect and we made Real Madrid look quite ordinary. As a result it was a bit of a bore fest but we won. Its funny how all of the pundits and media were saying how much Real were in form and how great they were playing. After the game they are the worst Real team ever. The Andy Gray commentary was typical as well. It took the guy about 2 mins to say something positive after we scored. Cunt.

We are very good at stopping teams play. We knew that before the game. Last night just proved that the players and manager are still focused. The tie isn’t over yet however and I worry about how we’ll approach the 2nd leg being 1-0 up. Will we sit back and soak up pressure? I hope not. We nearly lost to Barca at Anfield a couple years ago with that strategy.

I knew those Rafa rumours were bullshit. If he leaves it would be at the end of the season not with 3 months remaining and him still having a chance to win the CL or league title.

Reading between the lines it seems he doesn’t want to have to answer to Rick Parry at all regarding transfers. I don’t blame him. He’s got over a year on his contract and big changes could be taking place at board level before July so why rush signing the contract? I just wished he’d tell the media from the outset that he isn’t discussing anything to do with the contract until the end of the season.

The owners have 5 months to pay back this loan. Just what the hell is going to happen??

Soon as Gerrard is fit Torres gets injured for fuck sake. How many games have they played together this season? Rafa said he might miss some games. That’s awful news.

LB: I remember that Barca game and we had plenty of chances in the first half but just couldn’t put them away and then barca started playing some sublime footy and put us on the back foot. I don’t think we started with a backs to the wall strategy. As for Rafa, everything I’ve read him say on the matter is exactly that “I want to focus on the games in hand, I am in contact with the owners and I’m going no where I’m sure we will agree on the finer points.” it’s the media who are stirring things up. We’ve always played that way in Europe, even in the 70′s that’s a perfect away leg performance, stifle the team, silence the opposition fans and score a vital away goal. Real Madrid have some dangerous players but I would fancy us in this position in a 2nd leg at Anfield against any team in the world.

Kenny, Rafa is saying that now. He wasn’t saying that weeks ago.

You’re right about the Barca game. I remember us penned back in our half for almost the entire 2nd half. I was shitting it.

I also don’t blame him for not wanting to answer to coco the clown. As far as I understand it, Rafa wants to know what his transfer budget is for example £30 million and then he wants to decide how it should be spent not have Rick parry say no we’re not getting Barry he’s not worth £18 million quid choose someone else. That sounds perfectly reasonable to me. I’m a depot manager, the owner gives me a salary budget and I choose who and what we need it’s the same principle in my book.

Maybe we could play the next match at Goodison, that way we propably won’t draw. All jokes aside, I read somewhere that Liverpool has led on 28 occasions in Europe on the first leg and progessed from that point on. Here comes 29. Further more the above figure is all the occasions we’ve been in front.
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Wonderful result.

LB, I think we’ll go with almost exactly the same tactics in the 2nd leg as we did last night – it’s not like we just sat back and soaked the pressure up last night, we did do a fair share of attacking. What was missing was a willingness to commit more men forward on the counter attack – instead we went with a few too many high balls for my liking, just hoping for something to spill free for Torres (which it did do on one occasion and nearly led to a goal).

Basically we only need to score once at Anfield and the tie is almost over, that’s why I think we will go with our usual compact setup, but counter-attack with a bit more vigour (which should include SG too, which makes a big difference).

It’s good to see Aurelio getting more and more credit. I’ve always liked him, he just hasn’t been able to string games together due to injuries. But he’s been instrumental in our last few games – a key role (and goal) at P’mouth, a good impact sub against Citeh (helped set up the equaliser), and obviously the free kick delivery last night. He really does have a sweet left boot.

The player I’m most disappointed with at the moment is Riera. He hasn’t delivered at all in the new year and barely deserves his starting role – if Babel was showing anything like his form of last year, he should have taken that spot back by now. Instead I think we might find Benayoun spending some time out there with SG returning.

I shat myself when Lucas came on as a late substitute, and prayed he wasn’t called on to make too many tackles in Real’s attacking half. Harsh I know… but fair enough given his record.

Final call goes to the disgusting diving we have to see in Europe. Manure brought it as a clear gameplan against Inter, hitting the deck with gusto around the box to give Ronaldo pot shots all day… and Real last night really were frustrating with their theatrics – anyone know if/when the yellow cards are cleared during the competition now? From memory we’ve got Torres and Masch carrying them now.

here you go, Rafa has come out and said it (BBC)-

“I can assure you that I have not been considering such a move, and it was a shock to hear such suggestions,” said Benitez.

“It needs to be clear that I was not thinking of resigning. My aim is to keep working and winning and to tell the owners that on the pitch.”

It is amazing to see the reaction after a game of footy. Opinion is so polarized it’s quite laughable. In Europe we are excellent no doubt about it but normally we are playing big teams who play football not come to park the bus so as to speak. Can you imagine Barca, Real, Inter, Juve, AC all with 11 men behind the ball? so we get a bit of space to work our magic. In the league we are not poor or defensive or ultra cautious we are not gung ho either but we make more than enough chances it’s our finishing that let’s us down.

Oh one last thing about how poor I thought the refereeing was… apart from the bullshit yellow cards and getting sucked into theatrics… watching the replay now, and Alonso’s shot from halfway (what a fucking legend by the way) was tipped over the bar at 44:40 on the clock. We were set up and ready to take the corner at 44:55. There is not a footballer in the world doesn’t think that means we should get to take the corner. What a fucking muppet.

Kenny you could hardly say the team who played Man U were adventurous. Some of them appeared to be waiting for an undergroud train. 11 of them stood by a ticketing machine.
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Anyone monitoring the takeover rumour. Surely there can’t be a light at the end of the tunnel, Hicks staying on as a minority shareholder. Another mindless 1000 pages of nothing. Or is this the rumour before we play Man U and RM.

No wonder the last blog comments were all quiet, there’s a new blog. And there’s me refreshing the fuckin thing like a thick all morning./

Lads here’s a rumour thats fact, the RBS has posted the largest loss in English history, 24 billion. They are forthwith cutting banks in 36 countries. FFS are’nt they are saviours. I might stand with Inter players and catch a train.

And now I haven’t got the energy to catch-up to 67 comments. (apply Krusty the Klown voice) Eeeooouuuugh! So of it’s been said earlier, apologies. Stand out player for me were Aurelio, Skrtel, Benny. Disappointed with Riera. Now that we’ve beaten Madrid, all of a sudden, they’re in major decline (they are in truth, but not majorly). Having said that, imagine being a RM fan. Not so long ago, Ronaldo (fat) Zidane, Owen, Figo, Raul, Beckham, R Carlos and Morientes out on loan. You’d being fuckin miserable after losing all them, only for Guti to stay so he can…eh..’grow’…a moustache.

ok Gaz you can have that one. pedantic or what.

Great result and a job well done against an inform Madrid side that have scored 10 goals in the last two and won 9 on the trot, now they are the worst Madrid side ever after playing us, funny old game. Of course it had nothing to do with us, why would it. That we are ranked number 1 in Europe, ranking over the last 5 years, results wise or since Rafa took over, has also nothing to do with it, apparently he should still go at the end of the season according to some Liverpool fans.

Scored in the last 17 CL games, scored 3 less than the all inspiring free flowing attack at the drop of a hat ManU, but still labeled too defensive and charged with stifling the natural attacking instincts of players. I see there was a comment about miss placed passes, well it was Lucas’s fault even though he was on the bench because no other player other than Lucas miss places passes.

Funny old game we played better against City, dominated with more possession, created more chances, scored the same 1 goal but let in 1 goal, yet we are too defensive and Rafa’s selection was wrong and it was Lucas’s fault. The fine line on how supporters evaluate performances sometimes boggles the mind.

I picked up the Villa story as well, if it is true Parry should be shot with immediate effect. Huiguan( cant be bothered to check spelling) as well apparently, Cocco with his vast managerial experience decided he was not worth it, but what the hell blame Rafa that we lack options up front.

With regards to the rejected (Rafa’s) contract, for the 5th time, was because everything was agreed verbally but when the contract came back it had once again been changed. This smacks of Cocco’s involvement, certainly the how to fuck up negotiation for dummies part anyway. As CEO he has to be involved with the legal part. This man needs to go just as quickly as the other two clowns, the only thing holding us back are the 3 stooges.

Another worrying tidbit is that rumor going around is that several senior Liverpool players are holding back on contract extensions until Rafa has sign a new long term deal. Reading between the lines I would say if Rafa walks several key players might consider walking as well. So people be careful what you wish for.

My prediction is Rafa will stay with an extension, we will get new owners, with Parry following them as quickly out the door and for once we will have a happy stable club where we can concentrate on winning titles for a long time to come. With tears in my eyes I am signing off.

Gerry, great interview and comments.

I woke up twice last night 2am, and then 3.45am Malaysian time. Bloody Graveyard shift.
Nice to see Benny head it in. What a inswinger from Aurelio. He should take over from SG from now on to take free kicks and corners. And boy do I love Alonso and his couple of long shots. Stylish and great judgement too. Very entertaining to watch. There should be aU Tube on all his long shots taken to date. How many footballers can do that regularly? Would be good to watch.
Cheers, guys. Gotta go to bed early tonight to make up for my beauty sleep. Heh heh

a good read, specially for Rafa lovers – http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=622404&sec=england&root=england&cc=5739

I thought this line summed up my feelings well –

“That marks the final year of Benitez’s current deal. If the level of his power is an issue, it is hard to identify anyone else at Anfield – albeit by default – who would exert it better. There are times when Liverpool are dangerously close to being a club in chaos. It is only results that prevent that and, in his own way, Benitez, unlike Hicks, Gillett and Parry, has produced plenty.”

just got a chance to watch the match…great performance all around. you have to say that the turnaround benayoun has made in recent matches has been incredible. not to mention the turnaround of alonso after the past 2 average seasons. i have no doubt in my mind that alonso is now a 20 million pound midfielder, no doubt at all. in my mind, one of the best match-controlling midfielders there are. he can dictate the pace of a game and switch the point of a attack on a dime at any moment.

refereeing was shocking…well, really it was the yellow cards. giving a dodgy foul is one thing, but to give out so many bogus yellow cards is ridiculous.

YNWA

I watched the game on cable TV live from Canada using Setanta(Ireland,as it turns out) and I saw Pat Nolan and heard his comments.I normally like the guy for his football savvy,but this time he waxed lyrical about the Chelski game and their win at home, but not the Red’s game and their super win away. He talked about Rafa and the raw deal he was getting.That was all well and good but if he said anything about the Red’s game and win at the Bernabeu,then I must have missed it. The presenter (I forget his name) tried to steer Pat back to the game, but he wanted to talk about Rafa only,not the game itself. I must admit that he cheesed me off because I got the impression he was very fond of all things Chelsea, and NOT Liverpool. I shall now see and read lowbrow Pat Nolan with a jaundiced eye in future.
Loved Benny’s goal,Rafa’s instructions and looking forward to the return game.
………….JackHill, a Red since 1938 as a 10-year old from Fazakerley.

Oh,I meant to add that Manager’s are not given enough credit for teams NOT playing as usual,Rafa in particular. Perhaps this is why some of his decisions appear strange ones.

Jack, I think you got the wrong end of the stick as far as Pat Dolan was concerned. Setanta Ireland were showing the Chelsea game live, so it would be natural enough for them to discuss this game more.

But to Pat’s credit, He pointed out a lot of things being said on these boards lately regarding the media. How they stick to the same arguments and are generally trying to hound Rafa out of the club.

I didn’t think anything he said could interperated as anti-Liverpool, infact, quite the opposite.

He has written a few newspaper article recently with the same views, so it’s not a view he jumped on after last nights result.

As you said, the presenter tried several times to get him off this subject, but he wanted to be heard on this issue.

I’ve never really been a big fan of his, especially his views on RoI manager, Trapp. but he seems to be the only journalist recently the isn’t towing the general media party line.

I don’t subscribe to the notion that if Rafa goes several key players will automatically follow him out the door. In fact I think that’s nonesense. I believe the club has been slow in offering certain players new contracts rather than certain players not wanting to sign because the manager’s future is unsure. It’s amazing how things can be spun one way or the other to back up a point of view. At the end of the day the only way to shut up critics is to win matches and win trophies. Win, draw, draw, win, win, draw, draw, draw, win, draw won’t stop fans or members of the media criticising. The victory over Real won’t change anyones opinion of Rafa, just reafirmed his strengths. Strengths even his most harshest critics will admit he has in abundance.

REdman, I thought the reffing was ok. He gave us the deffo free-kick that led to our goal. But he got it right all night, and there were no howlers. Even blowing the whistle exactly on 45min. He was dead right too, because there was no extra time added by the fourth official. And Rafa pointed to his watch when the Ref was walking off. He should be very careful, after his comments about Fergie. And Torres was talking to the Linesman while walking across the pitch. No, well reffed.

LB maybe you are right. However dont you reckon Rafa will manage a top club in Europe if he leaves Liverpool? In which case you think its far fetched to imagine he might ask his new club to make a bid for Torres/Mascha/Reina etc. And given these players respect for Rafa and the financial mess we are in, surely a possibilty that they might move? Either ask for a transfer or sold at a price Coco thinks is correct. Possible, no?

YNWA

That whole situation doesn’t bear thinking about.

LB there was nothing automatic stated but rather a possibility that it could happen, which I think is a fair call. It also stated that while he does not have complete change room backing, he does have more than 80% of the players firmly in his camp. It was an article from the Times and how they come by these statements is anyone’s guess the statement could be a total fabrication but close to the mark if one think about it realistically. Putting two and the together, players loyal to a manager would consider leaving if they thought he was shafted and in turbulent times not everybody will be 100% behind the Manager, yes all will make the right noises, but 80% is a good safe guess.

When it comes to Liverpool I have never seen so much fabrication (shit stirring) than what we have seen this season and its seems everyone and his dog (I trying to make Digger feel wanted) is making up stories and blowing every little thing out of proportion. Rafa sneezes and suddenly he is dying of double Pneumonia syndrome.

One last thing about the game, it’s a pity the Oscars where earlier in the week because Robbin should have won an Oscar for all his diving. I would really like to see them review the game afterwards and award cards and suspension for deliberate cheating, it’s the only way to stamp this shit out. Yes some of Liverpool players are guilty as well, but not to that extent.

Keith, 5 year plan, Aitch, FS wherever you are you’ll like this….

Pat Dolan on Rafa Benitez.

When it comes to Rafa Benitez, my message is simple –
“Sack the Bored”.
I’m not talking about those clueless Yanks who cling on to power along with Rick Parry at the expense of the club’s ambition.
No, I’m talking about those nasty Rafa bashers who are just so plain boring, boring, boring
There have been a lot of comments around this weekend after Liverpool staged their remarkable comeback against Portsmouth.
Incredibly it put Liverpool top of the Premier League on Saturday evening. If you have the privilege of analysing football and potentially influencing opinion, you have a moral responsibility to be fair.
When I picked up one of the Sunday papers, when it came to reporting Liverpool’s fight back at Pompey, everything continued along the lines of ‘Liverpool in Crisis’ theme. It was a fairytale – a disgusting manipulation of the truth
HEADLINES
If this is a crisis for a football club that hasn’t won the league title for nearly 20 years, then my name is Hans Christian Andersen. Recent headlines have included lots of ‘Rafas lost the plot’ rants, with words and phrases such as meltdown, crazy days, Reds are a Joke featuring prominently.
These are all agendas driven and they were all exposed as a myth by the character of Benitez’s team on Saturday evening.
This is a manager who doesn’t even have full control of who he brings in and out of Anfield.
He works for people who sometimes don’t even go to the games and who promised the fans a new stadium which would provide the revenue to compete with Manchester United and develop Liverpool and their brand in a global sense.
They have failed spectacularly and Rafa continually cops it for their sins.
Just take the Robbie Keane situation. The headlines told us how on Keanes return to Tottenham he ‘stuck the boot in’. The strongest term he used was that it was ‘baffling’. Another cheap headline to grab attention, and another distortion of the truth.
Ian Rush was a legend when he played for Liverpool but exactly what does he know about management? Fans can be gullible and when they hear an ex-favourite such as Rushie speak they are going to listen – even when he is talking tripe. So let’s analyse what Rushie told us. When it came to team selection he told us that when he was in Italy he played in a game where he scored four goals. He was then taken off when he felt if he had stayed on he would have scored a couple more.
The next game Juve lost 1-0 and Rushie’s conclusion was that they lost the game and he didn’t score because he had lost confidence having only scored four in the previous game and not six. You couldn’t make it up!
Some of the ex player brigade at Liverpool make a good living out of criticising Rafa but they do a disservice to the fans and it’s a slur and stain on the great service they gave the club on the pitch.
Robbie Keane showed immense dignity in dealing with questions from journalists looking for the next Benitez attack. The sale of Keane will not define Liverpool’s season because even the player admitted that the move did not work out.
Keane made 21 starts for Liverpool and the bottom line is he didn’t score enough goals. Keane is a good player but he wasn’t good enough for Liverpool. His goal return is irrefutable evidence of that. In the last two matches at home to Chelsea and away to Portsmouth post-Keane, Liverpool have got six precious points.
Yet if you picked up the paper during this period, Rafa Benitez selling the striker was the football equivalent of shooting Bambi. Keane was sold for economic reasons – that’s the way life is at Anfield. And the reason that Liverpool cashed in was because the Americans needed the money. Come the next window, Keane’s price would have come down. That’s why he had to go when he did.
One thing not reported in the thousands of column inches devoted to the Keane sale is one undeniable fact – it was Keane’s choice to go. Keane was protected by his contract. He could have stayed, fought for his place, looked to have improved form and score some goals that would have seen his boyhood heroes miraculously xxx the title.
He chose to leave and go back to Spurs. In the modern game, every transfer is the player’s choice. That truth does not suit the agenda of the football pundits.
Benitez is the prince of Anfield and whilst Alex Ferguson concentrates on one thing – nurturing the empire he has been given so much support to build – Benitez has been fighting on so many different levels.
Undermined from within, attached by the British press who hate the idea of a little Spaniard putting manners on them, he has sorted out a dressing room that was in disarray after the Gerard Houllier implosion.
And yet they crank up the pressure, Benitez just goes into overdrive. He has the courage of a lion and Liverpool fans who want to bring the club that Shankly built back to the glory days should get down on their hands and knees and thank him for being prepared to Walk Alone for the cause.
It is an abomination that pundits try and tell the football public that Liverpool should win the league. Manchester United are far stronger. Each season Benitez has made Liverpool stronger. That’s called building. It’s called management.
He has two top players because of the clubs transfer policy, a club history that has suffocated some of his predecessors and yet they are still in there fighting. Anyone can listen to the pundits who categorise Liverpool as a team in crisis. But the truth is that as long as the Reds have the great man at the helm, they have hope.
Benitez, take a bow. And shame on you who run from the truth of his greatness.

Amen to that!

Re#76 and ‘danman’. Perhaps the RM game did not originate via Setanta Ireland.My cable company uses Setanta Canada,the latter can differ from Setanta USA and no-doubt from Setanta Ireland as well.Maybe they switched during the adverts after the game – whatever,the main thing is that the Reds won and we supporters are happy.
I must admit that Pat talks a lot of sense IMHO. He also has a lot of hair so perhaps I’m jealous.

LB

Execellent piece, can you provide the link to that article?

That should be “excellent”. I think it’s time for me to go home.

Well I’m one of Benitez’ critics (although I’m not on any bandwagon) and have said so in the past, but I do see the ridiculous witch-hunt for what it is. And Pat Dolan is spot-on in this one. People don’t like is demeanour much, but he not afraid to go against the grain. He has even criticized (shock and quiver) the great Waynella Rooney, and has said that Rooney hasn’t really set the world on fire since his first or second season with the Shite. Now who else has the balls to say that?

No problem Jack.

That article appeared in the Irish Daily Star last monday week LB.

Pat has pissed me off no end in the past, with some of his views on football, but he deffinatly seems pished off with the current madia line.

He claims to have insider knowledge of a few Prem clubs, which I’d doubt, as he has only really worked here in the League of Ireland as player and manager.
I have a friend who has worked with him on occasion, I might ask him if he knows more than I’d think he does.

Thanks LB, I did in fact find that quite interesting.

I’ve always found Pat Dolen to be a bit of a dickweed, myself. He certainly knows his football and frequently likes to analyze things in an objective way, but then he’ll also go off on tangents and have a bit of a not-so objective rant if he feels like it.

When I first started watching Setanta, it seemed to me like he was firmly in the anti-Rafa/Liverpool camp, but it does seem like lately he has taken to being a bit more even handed and calling some of the bullshit for what it is.
The fuckin presenter he works with on the other hand is so anti-LFC it isn’t even funny and he makes no bones about it, doesn’t try to hide it for a second. He really gets on my tit!

Anyway… great win, and I don’t mean to piss on anyone’s parade, but it’d be good if a lot of people were a bit more objective about analyzing the performance!

There were just as many stray passes in this game as we saaw against Citeh. There was as big a lack of movement too. The difference was we got the goal.

Someone even said that Rafa’s touchline antics, in response to some of this, were a bit of a refreshing change. Are you kidding me… the man is always bitching at people when they misplace a pass, or indicating to players where and when they should run or who they should mark.
The players don’t always necessarily do it…

Maybe that’s why we’ve drawn too many games, as opposed to him “stifling their ability”??
Just a thought.

Looks like Riera took a bad knock to the knee as well as the yellow, so how about Insua back in at the LB slot, with Aurellio in at left wing? (with instructions to tell SG to fuck off away from all dead ball situations except 20 yard pile drivers.)
Seems a better option than Babel at this point?

Arbeloa looked to be limping and wincing towards the end too, so ‘Boro could see a real shake-up.

great post in #85 LB.

YNWA

Thanks for the article LB
A good read
It has to be said that the attacks on Rafa and the seemingly deliberate attempts to unsettle the club have reached fever pitch, as of late, but I sense a sea change in the media at the moment and the article you point to is not the only one making the point that if we lose Rafa we may find ourselves in terminal decline.
Lets put aside the Rafa debate for the second and concentrate on what could have happened if the press street rumours were true.
While many of you argue that Rafa is stubborn,negative and at times baffling, the problem we have at the moment is that if Rafa was to resign or be sacked, as a club we are not an inviting prospect.
We have a board that is at war with itself, a massive debt, and an uncertain future.
The chances of any manager of decent reputation wanting to take the reins under these circumstances are small.
Some argue that a lot of players will leave if Rafa goes, and I think this is partially true, but the real worry is how many will want to stay at a club with no money, limited ambition and in all likelyhood a substandard manager.
The boardroom antics alone will serve to cross a lot of candidates of the list, and the fact that Rafa can’t get control of the transfer policy suggests that anybody who takes the job won’t be able to either, cross off a few more candidates .
I know that some of you feel that Rafa is the wrong man to bring us number 19, but he is the best we have got and he is by far the best we are likely to get under the present circumstances.
I guess what I am trying to say is that, love him or loathe him, now is the time to support him, because even the biggest doubters amongst you must see that the alternatives could land us in the wilderness for a long time to come.

One point I have been trying to make in my, sometimes, unsubtle way is that we have to put away this idea of Liverpool FC as all conquering and all powerful.
I am and will always be a supporter, regardless of what the future holds, but some of us believe in a divine right to winning the league, and it is a belief we have to temper with the reality.
Liverpool have not won the league for an awful long time, and this makes some of us impatient, this is entirely understandable, but it also leads to a desire for quick solutions.
We are not in a position to win the league financially or in terms of squad depth, at least on paper, and yet it is still a possibility.
We may win the league this year, but in all probability we will finish somewhere in the top 3.
This idea that Rafa should be winning the league is a crock, and a media invention.
As a club,in my opinion we have over achieved but the glorious past and the media hype has led us to believe the opposite is true.
We are Liverpool FC and we have a glorious past, but it in no way entitles us to a glorious present.
If we are to have a glorious future, we must get behind the team and the manager that we have, let them do the jobs they are paid for and live up to our role as supporters.
Whether as individuals we think that the manager or any of the players are not up to the job, it is still our job to support them.
I dont suggest unconditional support, you are entitled to your critisism’s but make no mistake, our club is at a crossroads and we as supporters have as big a role to play in the future of that club, as the players and the Manager.
Before the season started this is a position we would have taken, lets hope for more, but lets also try to accept the fact that we have some distance to travel before we become a dominant force again, and changing managers when we seem to be progressing is not going to help us at all.
We have to be patient and see this season for what it is – another step forward, maybe only a small one but a step forward none the less .

5 year, I don’t think the issue is really changing Managers. In fact it appears he’s the reluctant party in any deal. I haven’t heard any rumblings from the club regarding Rafa, it’s Rafa grumbling about the club.
.
If reports are correct, he’s on his 5th version of contract talks. Rafa’s the one who needs to commit and stop all this titter tatter from the media once and for all.
.
Rafa has been doing a wonderful job under extreme stress but hell that’s life at LFC for everyone, it won’t get any better at RM or Barca, ect.
.
Keith in regard to the Parry rumour, one sites running with the Parry, David Villa rumour, while the another is running with the takeover in 72 hours rumour. Alas though niether is running both, that to me bangs of bullshit.
.
Do we as current supporters honestly believe David Villa, who has claimed publicly on numerous occasions, I do not want to leave Spain, would have come to Anfield. How the fuck were we ever, ever going to afford him. We couldn’t even afford Gareth Barry.
.
If Parry did truely stop the Alonso sale then in my eyes thats a star on his chart, because he’s been a sensation this term. Maybe he did maybe he didn’t, but can you see David Villa sitting on his arse in the stand at Anfield, earining more than SG, I can’t.
.
Also harsh call Keith on the man and his dog claim. Maybe it didn’t come out as you wanted it too. Good start to the test from both teams.

Well said 5year.

Look I’m at the front of the line with the rest of you believing it is our divine right to once again fulfill our destiny to once again dominate the league like we did in the 80s…

We are Liverpool Football Club and the rest are just cannon fodder for our ambitions!

…but as 5year suggests… we need to temper that with reality.

Our position was seriously dented by our exclusion from Euro footy for a decade.

Scum took best advantage of that situation and dominated the 90s primarily by virtue of taking advantage of the early influx of Prem and CL cash.

Arsenal were always a there-or-therabouts club and built slowly and steadily to where they are now and the Chavs would be Spurs were it not for the billions in ill-gotten gains of their Russian Sugar-Daddy!

There’s little piont in listing the myriad missed opportunities or failed signings between 1990 and now, but suffice to say there have been many.
The Liverpool Board believed their own myth, I think, like the rest of us, thinking every season would be our year, and that we were simply missing one “final piece of the jigsaw” when the reality was that we required a major overhaul.

It is a widely held belief among today’s footy fans and pundits alike, that today’s players are fitter and more skillful than in the past…
… and yet so, so many modern players are embarrassingly one-footed, seem incapable at times of controlling and simply passing a ball, and can’t take decent crosses/corners.
All things that they get paid obscenely to be able to do, in an environment where they are pampered beyond anything players of 2 decades ago experienced.

They train an average of 4 hours a day and play an average of 180 minutes a week… get paid between 40k and 100k per week and can’t put 8 out of 10 corners, between the penalty spot and 6 yard line, approximately 7 foot high.
I CAN DO THAT… AND I’M CRAP!

But I digress… In my opinion, Rafa has rebuilt this Club, not just the 1st team, but the squad, the reserves, the youth system/academy and the job isn’t but half done… he’s currenlty working on revamping the way we do contracts… and maybe we need to take a breath and realize what an uphill battle that has been… while winning the CL, getting to another final and then so narrowly losing in another semi, and winning an FA cup… and keeping us in the top 4.

Excellent article, LB, and 5year, excellent post.

Besides our glorious past, I also think that the galling possibility of the Scum finally equalling Liverpool’s league record has clouded our judgment of the reality that Rafa has indeed improved the squad.

I read this encouraging article in TIA that even if the worst happens and we finish second, it’ll be a very valuable learning experience, and we’ll end up in a stronger position to finally win No19 next season. (Unlike some narrow-minded idiots out there who simply declare if we can’t win it this year, we’ll never win it. )

And gaz, Rafa only wants assertion that the board will not interfere in his transfer dealings, how hard a request can that be? Once they agree to that simple request, Rafa will sign the contract right away. Otherwise, things will continue the way they are, and when the time comes for Rafa to desire a Barry, he gets another Keane instead. (No disrespect to Keane, who I know showed heart while he was here. But I reckon he was hardly in Rafa’s primary plans. )

The fault lies with Dumb and Dumberer for being such short-sighted fools, not Rafa. They are the ones dragging the whole saga.

#54 Yokohama liverpool fan

err…bellamy? I assume that you meant Benayoun instead

RE: Real Madrid
Great result but let’s not get carried away. Long way to go yet . . .

RE: Rafa
Does anyone really believe the rumours he will leave us fer Real? That’s the one club where he’d be subject to inteference from so many sources. Rafa has already fallen out with Jorge Valdano & would be answerable to technical directors as well as chairmen who BUY plyers not fer the team but to WIN elections. It’d be madness fer Rafa to join em.

If Rafa does leave Anfield, it’ll be bacuse he can no longer stomach the Yanks & Rick Parry. Not becuase he can no lonege resist the siren call of Real Madrid.

Despite many here who think the media reports are just anti-LFC sentiment, me thinks there’s no smoke without fire. Quite possible the Yanks & Parry are ready to force him out. Probably thought a defeat to madrid coupled with a poor result v Boro would be a good time to wield the axe.

Is Rafa a dead man walking ala Claudio Ranieri at Chelsea?

Great article LB, it’s about time people in the press started to pull the colleges up for the lack of objectivity. Our own supporters need to swallow a huge dose of realism tablets and wake up.

Even better post 5year and my sentiments exactly, reality gets thrown out the window far to easily and far to much by the supporters.

Gaz it was a tongue in cheek dig at Digger, excuse the pun. We have come to a mutual understanding to disagree politely (to a point) and debate the issues however we see them and if we cannot take the piss this site will be come sterile. He used that line extensively to make his point I was just repaying the compliment. It was not meant to be anything else but a joke.

Latest from the Liverpool Echo: RICK PARRY TO LEAVE!

(Since Gerry’s blog needs his consent for posts containing links, which could take a long time, I’ve purposely removed the letter “h” in front of the link to save time. So simply add back the letter “h” in front when copying and pasting the link below. )

ttp://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2009/02/27/rick-parry-set-to-leave-liverpool-football-club-100252-23025675/

If this is true, then Rafa’s signature is imminent, as the biggest obstacle that’s in his way concerning how transfer dealings are handled will finally be removed.

Round one to Rafa

On the flip-side, does this now mean that dumb and dumber can now load all the debt onto the club, since, I think, coco was one of the blocking votes when they last tried to do this?

Also does this not strengthen the position of Hicks in the boardroom?

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!
Sky news just announced that Prick Parry leaving at the end of the season,,,,,,yippppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Anybody fancy Brian Barwick as replacement or has he too got a rather chequered past?

It’s confirmed by the club website.

ttp://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N163401090227-1010.htm

5yearplan, well said my friend. And you can include me in the group who aren’t Rafa-men, but support him as one of us when all are knocking him without reason. Siege mentality! I disapprove of a lot of Rafa’s ways, but I don’t like it when pseudo criticism surrounds him, in a bid to put ink on paper. Fuck off hounds!

Parry going certainly puts a new spin on things. Even as a critic of Rafa, I’d be prepared to give him another season.

Lurgan, I don’t think none of us really know what Parry’s departure will mean in the power struggle of the board room. All I know is that’s it is great news on the football side of things. In terms of loading all of the debt on to the club. In the current financial climate I don’t think it’s easy to get loans like that any more. Banks are not lending money, not even to each other. Come July £350m will have to be repaid, thats when the 18 month loan expires. How are they going to pay? Either getting another loan or selling the club. Any financial expert will say getting a loan now is virtually impossible. So Rick Parry may not be the only one leaving at the end of the season. We just might get rid of all 3 of them.

Another scenario I could envisage is Gillett selling all of his shares and Hicks selling some of his and becoming a minority shareholder. Only time will tell I guess.

I think Rafa will be penning his signature as soon as its legally confirmed that Rick Parry on his way out!

Well finally Rick Parry is leaving, thank God! For years now we have been so far behind United commercially it is unbelieveable. We are the most famous club in Britain and i feel that we can exploit some un-tapped markets. It does seem Benitez will get his wish of having control of the club however i’m not sure total control would be a good idea. Benitez can work directly with the owners on transfers I think that is an excellent idea and will work. If Benitez wants a sofa he can have a sofa! However I still feel that there has to be a middle man. Owners will give Benitez the transfer budget he will value players and tell the middle man to put that bid in. Benitez can then get on with pursuing other targets, instead of sending faxes here there and everywhere. Who will be in charge of stadium? who can work on the commercial side of the game? We need someone to come in who doesn’t bullshit and can work alongside Rafa, no real names spring to mind, it may be someone from a financial background, ideally a Red. Just needed to get that off my chest. Seems Torres will miss the match on sat and the game against slumberland. Just get him ready for the 2nd leg against real. Arby is out till the game at castle grey skull. Every now and then i refresh my mind with the upcoming fixtures. When looking this morning I saw something filled with optimisim. with the scum not having a prem game till next wed (got a mickey mouse final on sun), we play twice. if we get 6 points then we will be 1 point behind them. if they lose or draw at st james’s park then we can go ahead if we beat them on the 14th March. they then go away to fulham who will give them a tough game, they beat them at the start of the season. This is purely hypothetical but I think all is not lost. We have to keep going, if they slip up then we can pounce, but if they don’t then we can maintain confidence which should help champs league games. Will also provide a solid basis for next season. finishing 2nd will be an outstanding achievement and teams have gone on to win it in there next year. Giving the chavs and the scums financial clout you have to hand it to Rafa. He is the best man for the job and long may he continue at the realm. we have a valuable squad and with a couple more 20+ mill players we can really wipe the floor with europe next year. This season is till up for grabs, thet’s just take one game at a time and see what happens.

YNWA

Rick parry is as we all agree very poor at his job. He’s not a fool because look what he did for the premier league, however I think he’s more interested in his golf now so rather than working his nuts off on the commercial side of things for LFC he’s enjoying his over paid salary. I mean given our fame and global fan base how can Chavski be ahead of us commercially? That is a disgrace. One thing about Yanks is that commercially they know what they are doing and if they ge bought out it will be by the arabs and they have so much money it won’t matter.

“It is difficult to go into too much detail, but I think much of what will happen speaks for itself. For example, I can tell you that Rafa Benitez did not insist upon Parry leaving the club, nor was this a reason for the latest contract delay. However, ask yourselves the following questions: if you were Rafa Benitez right now and were being told that there could be either a change in ownership, or a continuation of the current ownership alongside new investors, would you not want to wait until you had confirmation of what the future structure at the club would be?

Furthermore, if you were a manager concerned with the implementation of a framework that will bring about the long term and continued success of Liverpool Football Club, would you not wait until you had assurances that any potential buyers, or investors, were not about to spend their entire finances on a takeover – effectively meaning that investment in playing personnel would be severely restricted over the coming seasons and effectively limited to promoting players from the youth ranks.

The immediate future is uncertain, and until the situation becomes clearer, we can only expect that there will be further developments and delays. There is at least one ray of hope: the American owners are scheduled to fly in to Liverpool for talks with Benitez` representatives next week.”

by Guillem Balague

We’ll only know if Parry’s departure has been a good thing for LFC or not in about 12 months from now. I hope it turns out well for the club, it certainly should do.

On the field, we wont see Torres or Gerrard again until the Real Madrid return, and I think this is how it should be. We scored the winner in the Bernabeau (I think that’s how you spell it!) without either of them on the pitch, so why can’t we score the winner at the Riverside (I know that’s how you spell it) and against Sunderland without Gerrard and Torres? Answer is we can. Boro 0 Reds 1

Well Keith it seems we’ll be debating the merits of Rafa for some time to come mate! Now that he’s won his battle I guess we now know what the contract hold-out was really over. Should be a really interesting summer now, no more excuses Rafa. How longs Torres out for lads?

Steve, remember we beat Chelsea and United but failed to beat Stoke and Hull.

I am sure he is a hard working honest and decent man, but his 12 years in charge of Liverpool have been a complete disaster in every sense. Life long Liverpool fan or not it is fantastic for the club that he will no longer be in charge. If Hicks and Gillette follow him out of the door at the end of the season even better and maybe we can gets some of the dignity and stability we need to concentrate on footballing matters.

His legacy, along with Moors will be overseeing the demise of Liverpool’s financial and commercial might, his dithering and over inflated opinion of his own sense of judgment in the transfer market, to the determent of Liverpool. However by far his biggest and most disastrous mistake was to bring in the clowns.

I for one will not be sad to see him leave.

Digger – great quote from F365 article: “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”…I agree with you that now there can be no more excuses if indeed Rafa has total control as he wished. I also think he will welcome the challenge. Bring it on!!!! This could be the seed of a new golden era for our club – Debruin (formerly ihaveacunningplan (lost my damn password!)

Parry’s demise was not down to Rafa Digger and he did not make it a condition of his contract, yes he wanted complete control of the transfers and not have to bow to Parry’s final approval. The reason for Parry walking was solely down to him being unable to work with Hicks.

Rafa’s contract delays have been because every thing that was agreed verbally, somehow was changed when it came down to the legal document. Apparently the last sticking point was that he wanted an out clause without financial penalties if the club was sold and the new owners did not want or could not supply a decent transfer budget for him to complete with the top teams. I think that is fair enough.

Digger I look forward to the battle commencing, I feel there can be only one winner (getting in the first shots) as we notch up number 19 sooner rather than later. Viva the Rafalution long may it continue.

Great news about Parry. Next up is for Rafa to sign a new contract as well as Agger then we can start to focus on the last part of the season. Myteam for tomorrow would be…

Reina
Arbeloa-Carra-Skertel-Insua
Alonso-Mascherano
Kuyt – Benayoun – Aurelio
Babel

With Gerrard coming of the bench for the last 20min or so. Not sure about the rest.

One other question that comes to my mind is if GG (and the board) would have had to agree to Parry being sacked before the ‘mutual agreement’ was announced. Can anyone clarify?

If so, this would place GG in a weaker position, unless he has already something else in place. Going to get very interesting me thinks.

Arbeloa is injured

We’ll agree to disagree I think Keith. Rafa wanted rid of Parry and he got his wish. Its pretty black and white to me. Whilst Hicks having a similar wish is not inconsequential, once it was made clear either he goes or I go a victor had to be declared. Thats my take anyway mate. And I dearly hope your right about 19. We’ll see what the summer brings. Certainly there are now no more excuses. Or will Rafa and his apologists create some new ones if we falter again? (oooh! a retaliatory strike!)

Digger there will always be new excuses.

I just hope we can buy some classy players. Like the Simaos or Dani Alvez of this world rather than the Riera, Lucas and Pennant type. Fed up with getting players who don’t improve the team. Last summers signings have been pants! I’ll be looking out for better transfer activity in the summer.

There might always be new reasons LB. Boy am I in for a bollocking from Mr. Roger Hunt for this.

ex·cuse : a: to make apology for b: to try to remove blame from

rea·son : a: a statement offered in explanation or justification b: a rational ground or motive

Reina
Darby-Carra-Skrtel-Insua
Alonso-Mascherano
Kuyt – Benayoun – Babel
Eggnog

Digger: Have a read of the Liverpool Echo with regard to why Rick parry has gone and then see if you still think the same way.

As regards no more excuses, well it all depends on what transfer budget he is given doesn’t it? If it’s zero then won’t that be a bit of an excuse?

There is a thin line between the 2 Bhav. And its always open to interpretation.

If Rafa only has revenue from player sales to get new players this summer it will be a reason for non progression next season. If however after signing a new contract he gets £20m plus player sales revenue I expect to see at least one class player added to the team and an improvement in openning up park the bus teams. If we bring in a load of mediocrity as we did in the summer of 2008 I won’t be accepting any reasons or excuses.

Who do you think we should clear out this summer?

We have 3 left backs – we don’t need 3 do we? One should be sold.
Kuyt has one more year on his contract. Do we sell him or offer him a new contract?
Keep Babel or get rid?
Sell El Zahr? He’s 22 now. Will he ever get regular games?
Sell and upgrade Riera?
Sell Torres? Er.. no.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2009/02/27/liverpool-make-a-special-request-for-jose-mourinho-if-rafa-benitez-goes-115875-21156008/

Jose Mourinho is being lined up as the next manager of Liverpool if Rafa Benitez refuses to sign his new contract.

The former Chelsea manager, now at Inter Milan, is top of an Anfield shortlist in case Benitez’s dispute with the club leads to him walking out.

Liverpool’s American owners are increasingly alarmed at the refusal of the Spaniard to sign a new deal after months of negotiations.

And associates of co-owner Tom Hicks have made contact, through a third party, with Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes to explore the possibility of a summer move. Frank Rijkaard, AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti and former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson are also being checked out.

Benitez has consistently moved the goalposts during negotiations even though the Americans have met most of his demands.

That has led to a frenzy of speculation which reached its peak this week, with bookies making him favourite to be the next boss to leave a Premier League club.

It is thought that Benitez is keen to see chief executive Rick Parry moved aside, and the manager has also indicated that he finds it difficult working with co-owner George Gillett.

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He also wants assurances in the event of the club being sold.

Hicks is a staunch supporter of the Spaniard but Gillett is less committed and questioned if Benitez should be offered a deal that runs until 2013.

Both men are standing by their offer but they also realise they could be left in a desperate position if Benitez stalls until the end of the season and then decides not to renew – paving the way for his departure.

That is a position that becomes more likely with each day that passes without agreement.

And the owners have acted in the past, interviewing Jurgen Klinsmann for the manager’s job a year ago.

Mourinho clearly fits the bill if a replacement is needed. He has repeatedly stated in recent weeks that, despite success in taking Inter Milan to the top of the Italian League, he would love a return to England.

And he makes no secret of his admiration for Liverpool and the history of the club.

Sell Torres? Er.. no.

LOL..priceless..

Sell Dossena? We now have Insua, Aurelio..
Sell El Zhar? I don’t think he will get regular games. I would say sell him and keep benny..
Keep babel to play as striker and sell eggnog
Keep Kuyt, he doesn’t want to leave
err…Sell Lucas (there was one time, Olympiakos seemed to be interested in him)
Sell Degen
Keep Agger

Some stats for tomorrow:

Boro have failed to score in eight of their last nine Premier League games.
It is eight hours and 15 minutes since Boro last scored.
Middlesbrough have converted just 8% of their shots into goals – the worst percentage in the top flight.
Liverpool have gone 15 league games without a defeat, the same number as leaders Manchester United. In that period they have taken 29 points to United’s 41.
Liverpool have come from behind to claim 18 points this season, more than any other team, including a 2-1 win over Boro earlier this season. They also won 3-2 at Anfield last season after falling behind.
Liverpool have scored 16 goals in the closing 15 minutes of games, more than any other team.
Boro have scored 44% of their goals in the final 15 minutes – the highest proportion in the top division.
Boro have scored only one goal in the opening 15 minutes of a match – the lowest tally in the Premier League.
Similarly, Liverpool have only netted 5% of their goals in the opening 15 minutes – the lowest proportion in the top flight.
Fernando Torres scored four goals in two games v Boro last season including a hat-trick at Anfield.

Skeat, looking at that line up I’m not confident of 3 points at the Riverside. Eggnog up front. Fucking hell, According to Steve Bruce a team is as good as its strikers.

We need a right back and a creative player/winger who can play wide and deputise for the Gerrard position. David Silva?

Read it Kenny. Damage control mate. You gotta ask yourself one question with regard to Parrys departure: why now? Why not may? It is totally linked to Rafas contract negotiations bro. Bit coincidental that LFC announce Parrys departure the week after Rafa rejects a contract for the 5th time no?! I’d bet my bottom dollar the next draft will be signed now that the major stumbling block has been removed. As for no budget in summer, we’ll have a similar budget to last year. No garbage this yr please Rafa.

Digger you seem to have the inside track on what’s going on at Anfield son. You know the reasons why Parry has gone and you also know the budget for next summer even though Rafa himself doesn’t because no one knows who’s going to be around and for how long. I must get a crystal ball, where did you get yours?

LB,

I put Eggnog in front because apart from Torres, Eggnog is the only one who is a recognized striker.

Though I want to put Babel, but Babel’s form really dipped horribly.

Digger,
similar budget as last year? How much exactly? around 20 million with some players sales I think would be able to get us some world class right winger.

Without Parry around, I hope we will be able to really get a World class player this time.

I hope Dani Pacheco and Kristian Nemeth can be promoted to the first team.

No crystal ball, just good ‘ol elementary logic my dear Watson…er Kenny! Bet you a slice of the now infamous Kopblog humble pie Rafa signs his ‘new’ contract. And lets double the stakes to 2 slices! Betcha our spending this summer will be more or less in the ball park of last summer with a plus or minus of no more than 5mil. No great seer here Kenny, just your fellow kopblogger who connects the dots.

KENNY DALGLISH LFC LEGEND
Diggernos crystal balls are stuffed down the back of his armchair.

“The beginning of a new era.”

“The shackles are off, now we can move forward.”

“This could be the seed of a new golden era for our club”

Not statements made today…. statements made several years ago… anyone remember the circumstances that prompted such statements???

G&H buying the club. Be very very careful how much you revel in Coco’s end of season departure!
He needed to go, but not before G&H.

Perhaps if Rafa hadnt wasted some of his transfer budget he has received over the last two years ie Babel, Dosser, Lucas etc and dont forget the minimum of 40 grand a week they all receive each week,we might have some decent cover for our weakest positions.
I am glad Prick Parry is going but you cant blame him for signing the overpaid shit we still got on the books.

I’d agree Digger, the spending will be the same if G&H are still at the helm.

but its a no brainer that Rafa will now sign his contract. He’s already agreed to and would have signed it last week if some dickweed hadn’t fucked up the wording of his “penalty free escape” clause in the event of new owners who hold a different vision.

As for the “ol elementary logic”… you disagree with what Tony Barrett wrote about the reasons for Coco’s departure…
…okay, but his opinion is based on inside knowledge at the club, interviewing insiders involved in these dealings…
…so no offense, but I’m gonna put a bit more stock in what TB says and a little less in your “ol elementary logic.”

Aitch I’m not dispelling Barretts article, certainly a lot of truth in there but he’s not gonna write that Rafa threw a tantrum and delivered an ultimatum. It makes the man and club look petty and in chaos. Barretts one of us and he’s not gonna paint us in a bad light. Which is fair enough and what I’d expect. But Aitch do you honestly think Rafa played no role in Parrys ouster? Come on bro, we’re reds but we’re not blind, there was a battle and Rafa won. Thank Fowler!

And Aitch I’d place a lot more stock in Barretts articles than my musings too!

I had a quick glance through the comments and for all the second guessing i’m keeping it simple an saying that thank christ parry is away.
weither its a mistake or not reamins to be seen but i’m happy for the change and can only think about tomorrows match. I just feel that as we’ve got a chance to get to one point behind, carra will be screaming it from the roof tops that we gotta take it!!
The only worry i have is that(as skeat pointed out)on paper we should fucking tank them but as we all know thats when us reds should be most worried. anyway im staying on the high i’m going for a three nil win with kyut grabbing the first

COME ON YOU REDMEN.

Has anyone heard if there are any new investors/owners on the horizon?

Digger,
obviously Rafa’s contract negotiations played into Coco’s departure… Rafa wanted control of player transfers and that’s on Coco’s desk, so there’s no doubt they were at odds over that.

I’m sure Parry didn’t want to relinquish control of these things, just as much as Rafa wanted control of them.
But these negotiations have been ongoing for almost a year, so I hardly think Rafa issued an ultimatum insisting Parry go? If so it would have been a part of early negotiations and we’d have heard leaks of it long before today.

And keep in mind that while its down to Moores ad Parry that we are in our current Yank Mess, it was supposedly Coco and Moores that blocked a deal to replace Rafa with Klinssman! I shudder everytime I think about that one!

It’ll be some years before we get to the real truth… when the autobiographies are written… but when I read those articles this morning, I wasn’t overjoyed that Parry was leaving… I was genuinely concerned that a Hicks blocking vote had been lost!

This will hopefully be a victory for fans in the long term, but right now, this is a Hicks victory and any Hicks victory is a kick in the balls to the fans, in my opinion!

Digger without any real inside knowledge you jump to the conclusion it was Rafa having a tantrum and was the sole reason Parry had departed.

Firstly if they were prepared to offer Rafa the option to control transfers it did not mean Parry had to leave, he could have just not been involved in transfers directly.

Secondly i think it was public knowledge that Parry and the owners did not get along. Plus he was always one to block debts etc. These debts are due soon, so having one less board member to vote against you can be valuable if in fact you have to take un-popular action to remain owners of the club.

I know you hate Rafa Digger, but FFS dont blame him for anything. Next thing we will hear the lunch lady has decided to retire at age 98 and the team lose a game and you will come out blaming Rafa for distrupting the team because he didnt like jam on toast in the morning.

Lads, I for one will say thanks Mr Parry for all your effort, you have given all for countless years, best of luck in the future.
.
I read with amazement how since his departure has been announced he is the be all and end all of evil. The last 40 odd comments claiming it’s heralding a new dawn. Well since he’s been here we’ve had numerous FA cups,League cups, Carling cups, Charity Shields, Super Cups, EUFA Cup and CL Cups. We’ve been consistantly in the top 4 and have been the most successful English team in Europe since 2000.
.
Further more prior to the announcement we’re commenting on the desire of LFC fans to win the league, claiming it’s un-realistic. Excuse, excuse, excuse. We can’t have it both ways lads.
.
He may have been unpopular at times but he stuck by the club and made some tough decisions. He didn’t want debt on the club and he didn’t want Klinsman or selling Alonso. In fact he was almost more loyal then the rest of the board.
.
Yes as fans we can alway blame him for the takeover fiasco, but not one of us was complaining when it happened.
.
Like all members of our club all the best Mr Parry. Also who’s to say we’re not getting a new CEO who’s brought in by our current or next owners.
.
Personally I think it’s a dirty little game which is going to get worse. It’s very much like the cold war, however now one side is weaker and we all know what that gives the other side. Lots more to happen than just this, lots of heads will roll.

gazmaninaus, I agree with some of the things you say, Parry deserves credit for making some tough decisions, but he should also be blamed for getting quite a few of the wrong. The failures of Mr Parry certainly didn’t begin with selling the club to those americans. He interfered with Rafa’s team building plans way before that, either by not allowing him certain amounts of, obviously existing, money for players like Dani Alves or by revealing his lack of competence in transfer negotiations. It doesn’t matter if he’s the most dedicated red in the world – it still doesn’t make him a good CEO.

Of course none of us could complain about the takeover when it happened. It was up to Mr Parry and Mr Moores to find suitable investors, and their duty as Liverpool supporters to make sure they didn’t sell the club to a couple of idiots. How were the rest of us supposed to know what the americans were like when the takeover happened? I sure didn’t get a chance to speak to them.

If our relative success on the field is really down to Mr Parry is a complicated matter. I don’t doubt for a second he’s had some part in it, and for that he’s earned our gratitude. It still doesn’t make him a CEO even close to good enough for Liverpool Football Club.