Excellent blog Gerry. The United fans still aren’t talking to me at work. Granted I wave at them with only 4 fingers held up but for some reason they just don’t see the funny side.

Nice one Gerry, L.F.C. make us dream!!!!!!!!!!

Funny blog again Gerry. Its also nice that Rafa has said that it doesnt matter who is in charge of United as they are a rich club. That will get under Fergusons skin for sure!

Nice Pampers joke Gerry and your MOM Pepe was outstanding .
Scouse I’ve heard Scum fans talking about who’ll replace Ferguscum a lot more
since Rafa said that. Might give the c*nt something else to worry about.
Even the media are talking about who will get his job. That really would annoy
some aggressive type pissed on whisky.
YNWA

Just watched documentary on Cloughie. Remember the tabloids full of him when I was a boy. Great manager and character.
Johnny Giles is a prick tho.

Scolari has come out and said that Liverpool have no chance beating Chelsea in the CL, is that a challenge to Rafa? I hope so!

When the CL draw was made I was loitering around the scanner at work and a secretary from out front ran past and headed straight for the Office Chavs, (they didn’t know that I was there!), when she told them whom Chelsea had been drawn against, I heard them say “thats us out then!”.

But when I returned to my seat 5 mins later they were laying it on thick how Scolari was unbeatable!

He was certainly a character, but I remember Clough blaming the Liverpool fans for Hillsborough as if it was comming to them or they bought it upon themselves?

Aye SBB, just looked it up and he said it was caused by drunk Liverpool fans…although he did apologise…

It took him years to do so though.

He had his own demons to contend with, which did him in in the end.

Sorry, in post 6 I meant Guus Hiddink!

Gerry you are right that everyone needs to remember we aren’t going to batter every team on the run-in. I think we may lose a bit of momentum in the int’l break but the most important thing is that we take the 3 points at Fulham – a 1-0 in the last minute will do just fine. Fulham are in decent form climbing the table and will have quite a bit of confidence after their last result.

It’s also important that the team fight to the very end of the season. Yes, we probably need to win every single game, but if we happen to drop a couple of points it STILL isn’t over. United have to play Arsenal in the penultimate game which they could very well lose… and if Hull are scrapping for survival on the last day of the season then who knows what could happen. It’s been a funny season.

With regards to playing the chavs, I think the big unknown is how it will go in the battle of Rafa vs Hiddink, which is what I think the media will pick up on closer to the tie. Hiddink is a master tactician with a very good track record in tournament football; so is Rafa. I think the tie will be as tight as ever and only separated by a single goal. There’s no denying that Chelsea still have a quality squad so I don’t want to see a scrap of complacency… Hiddink can work wonders with even an average squad, so don’t doubt what he could do with the chavs. Rafa is of course a master too, but he’ll have less material to work with in analysing how Hiddink has the chavs playing since he hasn’t been in charge there for long.

I know you were just having a larf Ged, but I have to say your characterization of Aston Villa being piss up front and shite at the back (while hilarious) is not entirely acurate!

They were well in our match in the first 25 minutes. In deference to my discussion with FS at the end of the last blog, it has to be said that where it not for some absolutely STELLAR goalkeeping from Pepe “the #1 goalkeeper in the world” Reina (sorry FS couldn’t resist) it would have been an entirely differrent game.

There’s many a slip twixt the cup and the lip, as they say, and unlike our drubbings of Real and Scum, the Villa game was a perfect example.

How many players did that Kuyt shot go through en-route to goal? (let’s not even get into the likelihood that 2 months ago, he’d have likely hit the post or stuck it into the stands :-0 )

I’m not about to suggest that the 1st pen wasn’t a pen, but seriously how many times have we seen such things waved away?

And then Pepe makes 3 wonderful saves.

Compare to the Spurs game, where we hit the woodwork more times than a psychotic Woodpecker before going on to lose the game.

My point to that little diatribe is that I think Villa are much better than their recent results would indicate and they’ll be looking for some serious payback when they go to the Toilet!
And instead of facing Pepe, they’ll be facing Van Der Sar… so you know… you’d have to fancy their chances.

I think Scum are seriously rocked. They are a squad full of arrogant fuckwits who take the huff if a team even TRIES to play them, let alone have the audacity to beat them, so I like what I’ve been seeing from them in the last couple of games… Lots of petulence and pissing and moaning.

Scum fans won’t be at all understanding if they lose their grip on either the Title or the CL run, and I truly believe that they will do both… and that crowd of prawn sandwich eating, fair weather fans will get on their backs!

How they perfrom against Villa will be determined by how well the individuals perform in the Internationals. Rooney and Rio usually do well for England, so let’s hope they both have mares coz their heads are in the wrong place… as that will be a self-fulfilling prophecy!

The world and his dog are still suggesting that Scum “have the experience” to bounce back from these results, because “they’ve been here before.”

Really???? Just when was the last time someone seriously challenged them for the title?
Chelsea did to some extent last season, but Scum didn’t have confidence draining results to deal with at the end of the season.

They have NOT been here before. Not where they are now. A 4-1 demoralization by us. A 2-0 humiliation by Fulham. and Us… their fiercest rivals… breathing down the backs of their necks.
I think this has Fungus very genuinely flustered because he knows that if he does lose the title run to us, he has to win 3 to overtake us…. and that, more than anything, is what he wants before he retires. He blows the quintuple and it just might be over for him.

Sorry guys…. that was a really long winded way of saying…
“Hey Gerry, lads, I fancy our chances.”

Now you’ve gone and got me all excited again. Stupid international break!

Gerry, do you think there is a danger that all this newfound hope is going to increase the pressure, and the level of expectation on the team? Potentially to their detriment?

Reds fans are suddenly full of hope again, enjoying the good times, and entertaining the possibility (to put it mildly) that we could nick the title from under United’s whiskey-trodden noses. I feel that we should most definitely continute to throw our full support behind the team, and tell them we believe they can do it… but I also feel like it needs to be somehow tempered with a bit of reality… the reality being that the chances are, it won’t happen, and that we aren’t going to be upset at the team if it doesn’t. In other words, give our full and most vocal support, but without the high expectations. Get what I mean?

Aitch – Clearly I was just taking the piss about Villa but its two weeks to our next game and that gag just couldn’t wait. So it was just a joke as was my reference to baboon-faced Rooney as the two clearly bear no relationship to each other. One is a mindless animal that spends its days picking flea’s out of its ass and eating them, and the other one is a monkey!
As for you calling Pepe the best keeper in the world, your only a blow-in, mate. I made that assertion in my blog “Pepe Reina The Safest Feet In Soccer” back in November 2007. I’m not sure if it’s available in the archive here because the sites been changed around since then but if anyone wants to read it let me know and I’ll post it up in here. Don’t mind FS, he’s a Tommy Lawrence man, in more ways than one!

Andy, yes I agree that this new found hope may well increase pressure and expectations but you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. The force is with us at the moment and if we are going to seriously challenge than we just have to deal with pressure and if we can’t do that we might as well hand the title to the mancs right now.

Fair enough Gerry… basically let’s try and ride the wave all the way into the shore. If it’s still alive in mid-April, it will probably come down to which team handles their Champions League commitments better. On that front we have the tougher opposition, but at least we don’t have to travel far.

Ahh, the flying pig – some great memories there, Gerry. No doubt he would be reported to health and safety now, but he never got that name for nothing. And Aitch, seeing you’ve came to your senses you are accordingly pardoned, young man! Now write 500 times Hey Hey Pepe Reina! Or go and watch that youtube video. It’s hilarious.

Well lads, after a mad twisty turny season, it seems as simple as this to me now… win all games, we win the double. Can we do it? Yeah. Why not?
Obviously, there’s a bacon faced, drunken tramp who would argue that. But I think they will slip somewhere along the line, and, as it stands, they don’t even have to lose. A couple of draws will be enough. As for the champion’s league, I think too much has been made of their draw. There’s 3 decent teams that can still screw that up on them, and make no mistake, they will have all studied there last 2 games and will already be working out how to set about them.

And I know winning 14 straight games is a big ask of our lads, but it’s not fantasy. It’s very much do-able. The momentum is with us. The lads have the belief. We always finish strongly. We could well have a fully fit squad, rearing to go. And when fit and on form our team can beat anyone. So, why not believe?

And Andy, I don’t think there’s any reason to worry about the crowd. I know they had they’re mid-season wobble. But did you hear them against Villa? I’d put my house on this… even if we lose out on both fronts, the lads will get great support from now until the end. The Kop’s a sentimental old beast, and now that the lad’s have given it a real attempt to support, they will be the 12th man until the end – even if that’s just to show a bit of defiance to the Mancs.

As for Chelsea and Hidink, I think there’s a good chance we will beat Chelsea on the away goal. I think we will take a narrow lead to their gaff. They will have to try to wipe it out and we will hit them on the break. And no matter what Hiddink has up his sleeve, he still only has the same players to work with and Rafa’s got their number.

On top of that, their squad/team is getting on a bit now. They had 9 players of 30 and over playing against Tottenham. Will the legs stand up to challenging for the league, FA Cup and CL? I don’t know. But I know it will be hard on them.

Last thought… don’t want to go searching for a link. But lads please read Roy Hodgson’s latest comments and compare them to his ones before both Man U games. It really should be looked at by the Premiere. I know they’ve done us a favour, but remember the fucker laid down before both Manc games. (He must have been shocked after last Saturday). And look at what he’s saying now. Here’s a wee snippet….
“I assure my good friend Sir Alex we will be doing our absolute best to take points of Liverpool and Chelsea.”

I could go on, but go take a look at it. It worries me how much/hard Fergie’s old boys Hughes and Bruce, and his ther arse kissers, Redknapp, will try. But I just hope other managers, especially Wenger, won’t turn up just to kiss the drunken aul tramp’s arse.

Gerry one of your best blogs this year, I don’t know if I enjoy the piss take more because we are on a roll but it certainly put a smile on my face. It’s also good to get back to football matters as the Travel Channel of the last blog didn’t have quite the same impact as talking about LFC although FS belly instead of jelly was amusing.

Spot on with everything and another advantage this break gives us is that the smaller squads like Villa get to have a rest (I know Fulham are in the same position) and hopefully will be that much fresher to tear into the Mancs, know that they have been shown up by Rafa as having a weakness. We on the other hand seem to be able to change our style, formation to suite the occasions hence everybody saying that it is so difficult to know what Rafa will do. It will also give Alonso, Arbeloa a chance to recover from their knocks as they will not start as well as Reira to get some more rest. I take it that Babbel was injured hence his absence from the bench, so it will give him a chance to get fit as well.

I also think that will be our advantage over Chelsea. Yes Hiddink is a good manager but not better than Rafa. Cheslea also do not have the personnel to change it around as much so Rafa will pretty much know what to expect and they will be left guessing as to how we will approach the game, will it be the Real approach or the Manc approach. With the rest we can go for the high tempo, pressing and very attacking game plan, hopefully catching them cold.

Lastly, the Manc will drop points before the end of the season and the pressure and mind games will start to tell and take its toll on them. The trick is that we cannot afford to slip up in the last 8 games, yes a big ask, but not impossible.

Mmmm my prediction of within 5 points and at least a top two finish is looking good, but I WANT IT ALL (LB I have switch the oven on)

Just checked me post, fuck me I made a mess of that. The old eyes aren’t what they were. We have 13 games tops, not 14.

And what I meant about the support is, now that they’ve seen a real challenge and a proper fight from the lads, even if we are out of both competitions in the next few games, they will back them to the very end. Scousers love showing a bit of defiance especially when they are underdogs or have gone down fighting.

As for the manager’s facing the Mancs… What I meant is, well, I just hope they put the interests of fairness and football before their own. I never trust ex-Manc players who are managers against them. And I have no faith in Redknapp. That’s a fucking spiv cunt that. I think Brown at Hull and Wenger could be our best hopes in making a fight out of it. Some of the others I’m sure will just do what they have all season – lay down before the all conquering Galactico’s, write off the points and save their players for easier battles.

Oh well, we’ll see.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1164929/The-good-bad-dud-Brazil-Sportsmails-experts-tackle-Premier-League-seasons-burning-issues.html?ITO=1490

It really is going to be ever sweeter if we win it this year…

Oh how I hate the Daily Manc

A wee question michaelthomasmademecry,
the documentary you watched on Cloughie, was it based on the book that the new film is based on?

The only reason I ask is, Johnny Giles sued the author of that book last year for defamation.

Apparently he was shown to have tried to get Cloughy the sack. Cloughy’s own family want nothing to do with the book/film either, and Giles has been in constant contact with Clough’s family.
It doesn’t sound like he would stay in contact if he was what the book Say’s he was…. if you know what I mean.

Is Diego Capel (Seville) any good?.Can’t see agent Hekey doing damage V anyone but Villa-thank Allah we didn’t sign him.When will we get a natural right sided player-Markus Babel mark 2.

Funny blog, Gerry. Just about the only thing that keeps me company with this boring break.

>Andy, what you should be more concerned about is not whether the players will bottle it with all the pressure, but the inevitable backlash some of our so-called “fans” will unleash if we slip up or the mancs carry on winning. Many of them will turn their disappointment into anger again and start getting on Rafa’s back– not that it is going to change anything now that he has secured his deal.

BTW Gerry, what is the status of the awards now? Have you already submitted your 3 blogs??

Danman, it wasn’t based on the book. They were talking to Clough’s sons and wife. Wasn’t just about Leeds, it was Derby, Forest and missing out on the England job. His inauguration into Euro Hall of Fame and his statue in Nottingham.
Was the odd clip of a right grumpy looking Giles, although even he admitted Clough was a genius at the end.

Well some of you lads will be very pleased with this news. It’s only from the papers but it is Tony Barret at The Echo, so a bit more believable than most….
Rafa is trying to get David Silva from Valencia.

Apparently Eduardo Macia has been there inquiring about Silva and Raul Abiol, and he has came back with encouraging news.

I’ve been watching the Abiol thing with a bit of interest, as that could be a good indicator as to whether Agger will stay or go.

I could summise all sorts but what I know is… Macia brought them both to Valencia and Rafa is trying to practically steal them because of Valencia’s money troubles.

As for anything else, I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.

PS… I loved Brian Clough, but after what he said about Hillsborough I lost all respect for him. He knew he was wrong and eventually said so, but it took the drunken old git 12 years to admit it.

I still respect his achievements and record but that’s it. It’s the 20th aniversary of Hillsborough in a matter of weeks. I know where my thoughts, regards, loyalty, respect and condolensces lay. It’s not with him.

Keith, what’s baking in the oven then? Some suculent humble pie? I hope some veg, mash potatoes and gravy will be accompanying it.

If we win the league I won’t know what to do with myself. Maybe take up break dancing again.

I don’t think this break gives us any advantages – mainly because it’s not really a break for our players. Our Spaniards have 2 tough competitive games, will return to training on Friday and then have to go to Fulham the following day. Our record after an international break is terrible. My main worry is Torres – he’ll be knackered. Whatever condition our players come back in I just hope we can get 3 points at the cottage by any means. Last minute Hangeland own goal 0-1 would suit me fine. Not sure my arse could handle that during the game though. It was going big time when Gerrard stepped up to take the pen at Old Trafford.

Are you guys sure that your respective tickers will be able to handle this run in? I must say Rafa’s words recently have been a reassuring and calming influence. “We have confidence, we know we can beat anyone, we must win every game, every game is a cup final”.

I knew it, I knew it Rafa reads the blog. David Silva is just what the doctor ordered, versatile, can play both left and right as well as in the hole, young and with the prospect of becoming and even better player. I hope Abiol is being looked at to take Sami’s place and not Agger’s, however he is also versatile can play in the midfield as well as on the right, so he could be also cover for Arbeloa.

There goes the entire summer budget, but would be well spent in my opinion.

Thats would be money well spent indeed!

Well, I don’t think Rafa needs help from us mugs to pick his players. And I wouldn’t get too excited just yet. As I say, it’s only paper talk but I give it a bit of creedence because it’s Barrett and the Echo.

But if Silva does become available, every top club will be after him and he’s said a few times he doesn’t want to leave Spain. Can’t say I blame the lad. But I suppose if anyone can convince him to Rafa and Macia can.

I think it will come down to money and how much Rafa can tweak out of H&G and get Valencia down.

As for Agger, he’s been making some strange noises again and he’s also closed his restaurants in Liverpool. I’m afraid it is starting to look like he just isn’t interested and we know how much importance Rafa puts in a player’s mentality.

I would be sorry to see him go. But when you stop and really think about it, he’s hardly played in 2 season’s and if he’s going to carry on like that, and with a bad attitude, shouldn’t we cash in before he runs his contract down and we get nothing for him?

I know one thing, the lad should show a bit more loyalty to the man that gave him the chance and the club that’s paid him good wages for sitting on his arse all this time.

Let’s face it, he’s got a bit of a nerve not playing for all that time and still demanding a contract that puts him on the same wages as our top players.

Bad mentality… hate to say it, but it sadly seems so.

Top blog gerry. you managed to touch on all bases i wanted to hear about. thank you. Though since its an int. break you may get another one up before next sat(which i’m sure your planning)
Great to hear all the positive feedback in here lads, i’ve been having simular thoughts to most, the number one being how much damage is this break gonna do us or the mancs.

well when its all said and done i wouldn’t like to be sitting here waiting for liverpool to sort out back to back defeats so if anything else atleast we know the manc’s are stewing and that’ll do me for now!!

lets see us fight tooth and nail for this title i really dont care about the champions leauge because i confident in the next five years rafa’s gonna give us plenty of european glory. Right now time for 19 to come home.

FS: Did you listen to Adrian Durham+Ian wright on talksport yesterday? I don’t know why I listen it drives me mad but Durham was saying Gerard needs to move, get out of his comfort zone to be consiered as a great. Made chortle. I wish he’d have took up Carra’s offer to go down to melwood and get the boxing gloves on. They spout some nonsense.

silva and albiol? it’s a shame about Agger. He said only earlier on he wanted to fight for his place. Maybe his fighting is a bit different to what i call fighting.

TB said nothing about Albiol, just Silva, it’s other papers that have mentioned his name. However I think an attacking RB is a priority for us next year as I have seen stronger candy floss than Deggan and we are not the same team without Arbeloa, we loose our shape and balance.

No Keith. It’s in there and the Abiol story seems to be about the most open secret in Liverpool. Got to go now, but I’ll be back in awhile

Enjoyable reading,both your blog and the comments.
From afar and with age I will not be at the games BUT FS hit the nail on the head when he said the crowd could be the 12th man,(both at home and away).Keep up the good work lads.
Some of the team’s play has been breathtaking and after the International break I hope that Rafa can keep them going!
Keep up the good work everyone.

I like the way Rafa is talking right now. He’s praising Stevie G saying he’d get his vote for player of the year if he maintains his current form. I like it Rafa praising him while saying he can still improve. he’s also saying we have to win every game, we have to go out looking to attack. makes the hairs on my neck stand up. Makes me think of the Kop in full voice screaming Attack Attack Attack Attack Attack. Arbeloa is the best form of his time here at Liverpool. Both him and Aurelio have been awesome.

FS: I agree with everything you say about Pepe Reina he’s second to none Aitch. As good as at least than anyone, not worse than anyone, better than everyone. lol

What is going on with Hicks and Gillett? Both seem to be having there assets assessed? Are they ready to reduce the debt and back Rafa with a decent budget?

An interesting article in the Daily Mail about how the international break may affect certain teams.

“The training grounds at Carrington, London Colney and Cobham might be virtually deserted bar a few limping players hanging about, but in Cottingham, East Yorkshire, it will be business as usual during the international break.

Hull City are the Barclays Premier League club with the most fit first-team players (11) who are not required to represent their countries.

Just six of Phil Brown’s players – Caleb Folan, Kevin Kilbane, Richard Garcia, Boaz Myhill, Peter Halmosi and Sam Ricketts – will train with their international team-mates this week.

The backroom staff at Sunderland, Newcastle, Stoke and Aston Villa will also have plenty of players to work with during the reprieve from Premier League action, whereas Chelsea have no first-team players training at the club.

It’s a good job, really, because even the manager, Guus Hiddink, has gone abroad as part of his commitment to Russia.

But what role will this enforced rest from league duty have on the relegation battle?

As Portsmouth players trot over the globe and Blackburn’s squad leave Ewood Park for warmer climes, Phil Brown, Ricky Sbragia, Chris Hughton and Tony Pulis might just be relishing the fact their squads aren’t littered with international stars.

Clubs with the most non-injured players not on international duty:

Hull (11)

Duke, Dawson, Turner, Mendy, Ashbee, Geovanni, Cousin, Barmby, Fagan, Doyle, Marney

Sunderland (9)

Bardsley, Nosworthy, Collins, Ferdinand, Whitehead, Read, Malbranque, Richardson, Cisse

Newcastle (9)

Harper, Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Nolan, Butt, Owen, Smith, Ameobi, Lovenkrands

Stoke (8)

Amdy Faye, Wilkinson, Lawrence, Delap, Etherington, Fuller, Beattie, Sidibe

Aston Villa (7)

Friedel, L Young, Sidwell, A Young, Davis, Knight, Reo-Coker, Cuellar”

FS, you sure it isn’t David Villa your talking about when you say he’s said a few times that he doesn’t want to leave Spain? I ask because I know you get the 2 (David Silva and David Villa) mixed up some times. I’ve read many times that Villa doesn’t want to leave Spain but never read such comments about Silva. You’re right though a lot of teams would want him. He’ll cost over £20m as well.

If Agger doesn’t sign a contract before the transfer window opens we have got to sell him.

If we were to sign Albiol and Silva we’d have 7 Spanish players in our first XI.

LB I’m getting on a bit but not quite suffering the dementia yet. Go back and look at the comment on the blog you are on about. I’ve never mixed the two up. You and Andy said I had. But what I’d done was commented on an earlier comment about Villa when you had moved onto Silva. But I just let it slide and put it down to me not seeing it properly, as I’m fed up having to defend everything I say. And I’m sure you can’t be arsed with all that either, but if you want to check back you’ll see that’s the case.

I don’t just pull things out me arse either. When I say I have seen something, I’ve seen it. So go have a check round on that an all if you like, and you will see Villa has said he doesn’t want to leave Spain on many occasions. Of course that can always change. How many footballers ever stick to their guns? But he has said it many times when other clubs where sniffing about.

But no matter what Silva’s said, the fact is, Valencia want to sell players to clear their debt. Problem with that is, all the top clubs in Europe will be in for their top players. So I’d put Real or Barca as favourites to get Villa if he wants to stay at home.

There’s the pull of Macia/Rafa to consider. But even if he does want to play for them, we will have to get Valencia to come way down on their valuation.

That’s one more of the reasons I think they’d try and take the Villa/Arbiol package option… sort of buy one get one free, but all hands saving face by spreading the value over both players.

As for the Agger situation… don’t any of you think it’s rather strange that he has chosen this time to make less than flattering remarks about Rafa, especially when you consider how highly the other players have praised Rafa lately – even to the point that Gerrard admitted he had acted like a bit of a twat and that Rafa had been right all along.

Apparently Xabi and Rafa don’t get on. But when do you ever see Xabi say anything negative about him or the club? Like in any other job some people don’t get on with their bosses, but they respect them and still work hard for them. I’d like to see DAniel do the same… shut up and get on with what he’s supposed to do – get fully fit and fight for his place.

But when I add everything up – Agger’s amount of time injured, Agger’s comments about his own contract, Agger’s remarks about Rafa’s contract, Agger’s contract demands, The closure of his restaurants, the rumours – it doesn’t look good.

And as I said before, when you consider everything, does it make better sense to just off-load him while we can at least make some money?

Kenny mate, I often listen to Wright an Durham. I take no notice of either. Durham is just a knob who sucks up to Wrighty desperately trying to look coooool. They also just play it for effect – good cop, bad cop, playing everything from opposite ends trying to get a reaction. And I lost all respect/liking of/for Wrighty when he played the race card against Schmiechel and it was proved to be bollacks. They kissed and made up, but that’s just not on.

Great blog Gerry. Hilarious. witty. Inspiring.
keeps me coming back for more…

PS… you’re right about the amount of Spanish players though LB. If we buy anymore we might aswell just go and play in La Liga.

No worries FS, I just wanted to be clear that you were sure it was Silva that said he wouldn’t want to leave Spain. I don;t feel the need to trawl the internet looking for evidence to confirm or prove otherwise. It’s a shame if he wants to remain in Spain because I could see either Barca or Real making a bid for him. Well we’ll see what happens.

As for Agger, it doesn’t look good at all. My question is though – has the club actually offered him a contract? According to the player himself, he was told by the club that negotiations would start in November and thus far he’s heard nothing from the club. So maybe he thinks Rafa or the club wants rid of him. Bit like Gerrard thought in 2005? If the club actually offer him a contract and he rejects it then we’re all more clear as to what the situation is.

Arsenal had alot of French players in the team, when France were World & European champions.

We have alot of spanish players now, Spain are European champions.

I suppose this reflects the shift in the power base over the last five years and the fact Rafa is spanish is a help!

On Agger, he has played so little over the past two seasons, it could be argued he would hardly be missed, no doubting his talent though. This is where Parry fucked so much in the past, not dealing with contract situations in time. No choice but to sell him in the summer if a contract is not signed.
It shows how good Skrtel has been also

LB: I wouldn’t have a problem with that mate + stevie g, carra, monster, kuyt. Hello world domination

Jan 26 2009 Agger said:

“I haven’t heard anything from the club since the beginning of November. We have only had one meeting with Liverpool.

“At that meeting at the start of November, I was told that the club would come back to me quickly, but that hasn’t happened.

“Now there have been 12 weeks since we spoke together.

“I don’t have a clue if they want to extend this contract. It is an annoying situation and, in principle, it is a little bit frustrating not to get any messages, especially when it has almost been three months and they were the ones who told me they wanted to come back quickly.”

March 24th 2009:

When commenting to Danish news agency Ritzau about Benitez’s new deal, Agger said, “Congratulations to him. He has done it well. But I will not sign with Benitez but with the club. That is something that I have to keep in mind.”

When pressed on whether the Spaniard’s decision to stay on would have a direct bearing on his own future pertaining to a prospective new deal, the ex-Brondby standout responded, “I don’t want to get involved in that discussion. But he was the one that brought me to the club.”

FS, you’re right, I can’t be arsed checking back to the other blog to see if you really did get Villa and Silva mixed up… but I do recall you getting them mixed up, just don’t take it as a criticism that you have to defend. And it’s easier to believe you might’ve mixed them up when you seem to have just interchanged their names again in your last comment. Don’t take that to heart, I know you don’t have dememtia, but I’m now genuinely confused as to whether Rafa is chasing Villa or Silva and whether Silva or Villa has said he wants to stay in Spain.

Either way… if Agger is shutting down his L’pool restaurants and sitting outside the first XI, you’d have to thing he’s on his way out. Let’s just hope we get a good price for him. And will it mean another 12 month contract for Sami?

Andy, I read Sami is getting another 12 months in any case. He deserves it mind.

LB, I’m all for Sami getting another 12 months too. He can walk into the team at the drop of a hat and be counted upon to do the job.

I should add that I’ve written my last 2 comments hammered after a big night drinking after day 1 of the Australian F1 GP so if it is actually me who has gotten Silva and Villa mixed up then I apologise. At the end of the day I hope we are after Silva and haven’t heard him say he wants to stay in Spain, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t said it. On the other hand I have heard Villa say he wants to stay in Spain. I have also heard the barman say tonight “I think you and your friends have had enough tonight, and can you please ask your friend there to keep his eyes open”. Tatty bye lads.

Well as long as its not David Batty we’re alright.

About Agger, if his head is right I’d love him to stay but if not then let him go asap. AC Milan were sniffing around lets do business with them.

I would imagine the the reason Dagger hasnt been offered a new contract yet is because the timeline he presents coincides with that of Rafas own contract battle. I doubt very much Hicks and Gillette were to concerned about the contract extension of an injured centre back when they were busy persuading Parry to step aside and thrashing out Rafas deal etc. Was anyone elses contracts renewed or restructured during this time? Doubt it. Nothing will happen til the summer and rightly so. Focus, focus & more focus

in fact the more I think about Agger it might be a good deal to sell him. We’d make a profit and there are good reviews about some of the younger defenders coming through ie; What’s the the Spanish lad called Miki san jose I can’t remember his name made myself look like a right plonker.

Super stuff yet again Gerry.Despite the international break we`ll have confidence and momentum going into the fulham game.Lets hop we`ve enough to take the points there.

I hope Dagger sorts himself out but if you can`t be motivated to try and win a place and play for a club like Liverpool then i`m afriad he dosen`t stand a chance anywhere.

He`s an absolutley class centre back but Rafa won`t tolerate a shite attitude and rightly so.

Hearing his restraunts have closed probably means he`s on his way.

Watch this space i suppose.

The package of Silva/Albiol looks exciting but i wouldn`t hold my breath on that one just yet.

If we lose Agger I’ll be gutted. I won’t pretend its a good deal unless we get someone better as a replacement. That’s unlikely. We paid £5.6m for him and come the summer he’ll have only one more year left on his contract. He can exercise the Webster rule and buy out his own contract meaning we get no transfer fee. Obviously other clubs will be aware of this so I can’t see anyone making a substantial bid. I’ve seen some of the centre backs in the reserves and they are no where near the player Agger is.

Andy mate, answering #48, here’s what I meant happened last time round…
you and LB was having a conversation about players you’d like to see at LFC. You’d been speaking of Villa but I didn’t bother to read all the comments. I just jumped in and started going on about not playing fantasy football, the club having no money, and trusting Rafa to come up with the players we need. But you’d already moved onto Silva, and told me you wasn’t even speaking about Villa. And realising I’d been a bit of a prick about it all, I left it at that, made a joke about not having me glasses on (Even though I don’t wear them, but starting to think I probably should) and I just said my mistake – but I hadn’t mixed up the 2 players. Give me a bit more credit than that.

But I can see what you mean about me last post (#41), when I’m on about Valencia having to sell their top players. But I haven’t mixed the two players up in that either. What I meant to say is, I can see Real being favourite to get Villa aswell if he also wants to stay at home – meaning Barca or Real will/could probably end up with both of them.

So, seeing I’ve now made it as clear as pea soup, we’ll call it dementia and move on…

The only reason I mentioned Villa was the story’s came from the Echo and Tony Barrett. If it had been in any other paper, I’d have took it as speculation and wouldn’t have even mentioned it. But I just can’t see Barrett writing (or being allowed to write) this sort of stuff if there wasn’t some substance in it.

In fact, I’d go as far as to say, he may well have been given the go ahead to write it from inside Anfield.

Think Bascombe and think what happened to him once he crossed Rafa. Better job for him at the NOTW but not another story from inside Anfield. And I can’t see the Echo risking Rafa’s wratch again, or Barrett risking his standing with the boss/club.

That’s not to say I believe it’s going to happen and the Echo always get’s it right – it most definetely doesn’t. But I’d say there’s definetely something behind it – even if it’s just a smokescreen to hoodwink the opposition.

It does seem a little early to be leaking transfer targets to the press, doesn’t it?

As for Agger, I won’t be heartbroken if he goes. Yes. I rate him. Yes. I’d like to keep him and see our money getting spent on other positions. But he’s a bit of a crock. (How often has he played in the last 2 seasons?) So – ignoring rumours and speculation – mightn’t it make sense to let him go while we can get some decent money for him?

But if we do sell, we’ll have to use that money to bring in a decent fit young center half. Sami won’t last forever.

As for him being being offered a 12 month contract Andy, I’ve heard a rumour he won’t. But that rumour is one of them… my Nan is Sami’s gardner’s, barber’s mate, and she says he won’t get a new contract. So, I took no notice.

But I’d like him to get another one. He’s been more than useful this season. I think he could still do a job next season, and I’d also like to see him stay on in some sort of coaching role.
On top of that, I’d love to see the big fella with a title winners medal before he retires.

LB #51. The way we are playing I wouldn’t care if it was Nora Batty. I just want all the lads home fit and rearing to go

I wouldn’t be so quick to write off Dagger, I think he’ll stay. I have no evidence to support that, it’s just a feeling.
I think Dagger like so many other players before him has been messed about by Parry over his contract and he’s also been frustrated by injury recently. So it would be understandable if was a little pissed off recently.
Rafa has said he had a positive meeting with last week and now that he is more involved with the players contracts, I think this will be sorted out.

FS: Who are you talking about Villa or Silva? heh heh heh just messing.

Agger is a class player but what is the point of a class player if he never plays. That’s like a flash car that you can’t drive because the engine is knackered.

I hate internationals, I sit there praying our players don’t get injured and that the manc ones do.

FS about Villa/Silva… no worries.. fuck it, doesn’t really matter does it. We might get one of them, we might not, we’re all just shooting shit aren’t we.

About Sami – I hadn’t heard either way about a 12 month extension, apart from LB saying he’d heard he’ll get it. Totally agree that he deserves a winners medal, probably more than anyone in the squad.

About Agger… I really rate him too and don’t want him to leave, but it doesn’t seem like a sustainable situation as he sees himself as a first-team player and seems unlikely to dislodge Skrtel at any stage, and unlikely to dislodge Carra for another few years, so can’t see it happening. I see him as a first-team player too but it’s not a position that gets chopped and changed much… so perhaps we do have to cash in. Hope it isn’t Parry’s last act before he goes, or we’ll get a bloody packet of crisps and an Oyster card for him.

Bed time really this time, hooroo.

Kenny #60 would that be Aston or Long John?

Hyde – The three blogs I submitted for the footy blog award thingy were;

Keep Cracking Up, Rafa!
When Good Kops Turn Bad
Too Many Cups Spoil The Shot

Fingers crossed!

All the three you’ve sent are top stuff Gerry. All the best. We are behind you Sir.

LB, i don’t know in which post but you mentioned about our bad form after International breaks. Just check the latest post on this blog.

ohyoubeauty.blogspot.com

FS, i sincerely hope you are wrong this time and Agger stays. We should NOT go searching for a CB in the summer. We have more pressing things to do like finding a good winger/striker. Silva will be a tough nut to crack. We will have to fight with a lot of teams like Man City, Real and Barca. He’ll be very costly.

Yeah in regards the Silva/Agger debates.
Here is what he wrote about Silva:
“RAFA BENITEZ is weighing up a summer swoop for Spanish star David Silva. The Reds boss has identified the Valencia man as one of his top transfer targets.
The 23-year-old certainly fits that bill and Liverpool have already made tentative enquiries about his availability. They will only follow up their initial interest if Valencia are realistic about their valuation of a player who has won 21 caps for Spain.”

Here is what Barrett wrote about Albiol:
“RAFAEL BENITEZ is contemplating a summer move for Valencia defender Raul Albiol – should Daniel Agger refuse to sign a new contract at Liverpool.
The Anfield manager has been assessing his centre-back options with Agger yet to commit his long-term future at the club.”

Just take a look at this Jessie,

ttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1164992/Fergie-left-fuming-injury-scare-United-superstar-Ronaldo.html?ITO=1490

Portugal bosses have moved to assure the manager and fans that Ronaldo only cut himself while shaving his legs, the tart!

And it is worth mentioning that Rafa been quoted at least a half-dozen times in the last 3 months, when questioned about his own contract negotiations, that he wants to see contract negotiations for Agger, Kuyt and Arbeloa tied up soon.

So why is Agger talking as though the manager doesn’t want him?

I think you’d have to be blind not to rate the lad, but if his head isn’t right…. well then… John Lennon Airport is fairly easy to find mate. Enjoy watching us lift trophys on TV!

I don’t begrudge them their millions, but I do not want to see a team full of petulent millionaire dickheads, all out for personal glory, who spit their dummies the minute things don’t go their way… you know, like they have at the Toilet.
I want a team of players who know they are working for the Kop… for us!

a quote from Phil Thompson in a speech given at a Hillsborough Remembrance event yesterday…
“… and what these people who aren’t from Liverpool need to realize is that this place is special. Liverpool Football club is special, its different than at other places. Its a family.”

Danny lad…. get on board, or away you go son!

Sorry I opened this can of worms now, but all meant to do was tell you lads the little that I knew, the little I’d heard from a very good source, and what I thought about it.

But to be honest, fuck Daniel. I just want to get back to work meself. I’m spending far too much time on this tinternet melarkey. But to clear up what I said about Agger…

I don’t want the lad to go. We’d have a hard time finding another ball playing Centre-Back like him and even if we did, they’d cost a fortune.

And even though it seems he hasn’t played since the ark set sail, he’s clearly done enough to show us all how good he is. And we all want him to stay and know what we’d be missing if he went.

To me personally, his style seems idealy suited to playing alongside Skrtel and I’ve always made it clear that I’d love them to be our central defence for many years to come. The best thing I’ve seen since Hansen and Lawrenson is what I’ve said about them from the first time I seen them play together. I still think that.

But since Dan’s first game against Birmingham, even though he was out injured for quite awhile after his first few games, I’ve harped on about what a find he was – an absolute steal at the price, 5 million.

Even when I talked about his off field problems, I stuck up for the lad – making it plain any problems I’d heard aren’t drugs related (as the most malicious rumours have said).

And that is what I have heard from a very good source… the lad just isn’t really bothered whether he stays or not, or, indeed, if he even plays again.

Apparently, he’s just not that bothered about football in general and has many other interests outside the game. That’s hard to believe for chumps like us who would give our right arms to play. But it’s really not that uncommon in footballers. And I wouldn’t be shocked if it turned out to be true about Daniel.

I must say though, I watched him in the pre match warm against Villa and he was beaming, really looking happy to be on the pitch. But I think it’s hard to deny that there’s things to be worried about.

He owns 2 restaurants in Liverpool. He’s closed 1, is in the process of closing the other down and is apparently selling both. But that could mean anything… he wants to concentrate on football. He’s fed up playing Gordon Ramsey. He’s turned to crack from pot and just can’t be arsed eating. Who knows?

I know this though…
Rafa asked all the lad’s to delay all contract negotitations until he’d cleared his own up. He promised the first thing he would do when his own was sorted was get everyone elses sorted out – players and staff. We know he’s already set about this. And you can see the players are all happy about it and getting rises – Gerrard, Nando and Kuyt have all spoke about this recently. But all the players have been praising Rafa lately and saying how happy they are to be playing for him and LFC.
But all Agger has said is… “I don’t play for Benitez. I play for the club.”

Again this doesn’t mean he’s said I’m fucking off to AC Milan, but it still doesn’t sound right.

On top of that, there’s a huge question mark against the lad’s fitness. Is he a crock? Will his body take the rigours of premiereship football? I don’t know. But the record doesn’t look good.

Also he has just 18 months left on his contract. And like LB said, he’ll soon be able to buy it out and walk away – meaning the club loses out on what could be a very decent transfer fee.

So, considering all these things, I asked would we be better off selling him?

But not once have I said he will go or that I want him to.

In fact, I’d love him to stay, but only if that suits the club and he gets himself fit and fights for his place.
I think he owes that to us and the club. We’ve all supported him to the hilt. And as for the club… he’s been with us since January 2006, getting very well paid since he arrived and has played in just 72 games. So, bit of loyalty returned would be a nice thing, eh?

I too would love Dagger to stay but I think that it would start a bad precedence if you start to take special exceptions for certain players.

Also, as FS has pointed out, he has hardly played in the last two seasons. All-in-all if his heart is not in it, then we should cut our losses/gains and sell to the highest bidder, outside of the PL.

From what I read above it does not look good and it would be a sorry loss. That being said we haven’t done to badly without him!

agger could be a great player for us but i agree with you guys if his heart aint in the club get some good money for him, and replace him but he would be hard shoes to fill is a good ball player,i aslo think FS as a good point about loyalty, with some players not necessary Lfc ones play for the highest bidder and would change clubs at the drop of a hat,we seem to build loyalty into our plyers and that come from the way our fans respond to them when they play, we dont leave the ground early cause we are getting beat tlike the light weight manc fans if you can call them fans

I agree with the sentiments expressed above.

Maybe I’m just too old school and think that ALL LFC players owe it to the poor schlobs on the Kop to repay them for their lavish lifestyles with determination on the field and respect & faith off it.

Perhaps they ought to be reminded that when they squeeze the club for more money, they are in point of fact, squeezing all of us who buy the tics and merch!

Oh and Rafa, while you’re getting those contracts sorted… can we please make it mandatory that they all touch the sign as they descend the stairs please?

If they don’t understand why they are doing it at first, repeating it week in week out, would shurely give them some sense of that “special” place that Thomo was talking about! And maybe, just maybe helpo us create a dynasty again!

Here you go lads. This is a spanish article taken from the Valencia website and ran through Google translator. So, be warned it’s not the best translation and reads a bit weirdly…..

://translate.google.com.sg/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvalenciacf.lasprovincias.es%2Fnoticias%2F2009-03-26%2Fapuesta-juve-cassano-tapona-20090326.html&sl=es&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Just stick the http on the front. A mate of mine just sent it to me, and we both made different things of it. But what we agreed on is… Macia has obviously been there and started negotitations. Juventus have also approached but seem to have dropped out. It also seems Liverpool are trying to offer players plus cash, while Valencia want straight cash.

Does anyone speak Spanish? Are they after both Villa and Silva? Seems to me they’ve inquired about both.

Anyway, make of it what you will.

excellent blog as usual gerry. i have heard all sorts of crap from united and chelsea fans recently, and im choosing to not react to their tabloid driven comments. all we need to do is stay behind the team, whatever the outcome of the remaining games, and pray the scum slip up along the way. come may, we might just have a new song or two to sing at the games.

he’s cracking up, he’s cracking up, he’s cracking fergie’s cracking up!

Keep the faith.

As I was reading that FS, I kept hearing that old cartoon sound effect,
…”yaggedyyaggedyyaggedy-boiyoing” …in my head.

Its a tough read, but seems to indicate we went in for Villa rather then Silva??
But then again, maybe the translation software is experiencing the same senility as you FS?

One thing is for certain… either (or both, he says, getting a bit greedy) of these players would strengthen us considerably.

I would be concerned who the players are that would be going the other way, if part exchange is involved… coz I rate most of our squadies a bit higher than some in here.
I’d then want us to concentrate on bringing in a player or two that would meet the proposed UEFA quota… just in case.

FS I have just translated the same article from Spanish to English using Babel Fish, even though it goes on about open pies, canaries and whistles, (Honestly, these translation tools are weird), it seems that Macia/Liverpool are interested in both players. They discussed reducing the cost of the transfer fee by offering players, but the negotiations could not go any further as Valencia didn’t know whom they would be dealing with as Benitez had not signed his contract at that time.

Both translations indicate that the Valencia president could not negotiate as his authority to do so is limited.

This is the article translated using Babel Fish! Its amazing how different the two translating tools can be?

ttp://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvalenciacf.lasprovincias.es%2Fnoticias%2F2009-03-26%2Fapuesta-juve-cassano-tapona-20090326.html&lp=es_en&btnTrUrl=Translate

FS & Scouse by blood, I couldn’t get those links to work (even with the http) but I’ve just gone on the Valencia website to read that article, and another new one too. My Spanish isn’t perfect but it’s reasonable. The article you guys are referring to says that Liverpool is in for both Villa and Silva, and you are right that it says we haven’t offered any specific sum of money yet. I think what is confusing you is that it refers to Silva as “el canario” (ie the canary) which I hadn’t heard him called before but would refer to the fact he was born on the Canary Islands.

However there is a new article on their site today in which Silva denies knowing anything about the interest from Juve (which the first article does state), and that he is just concentrating on training with Valencia and being selected for Spain. Liverpool aren’t mentioned in that article… which either means we aren’t seriously in for him OR he is being clever and saying “I don’t know anything about Juve” when he DOES know something about LFC.

It will be hard to stop this one turning into a bidding war, as the first article points out, there are many interested clubs. The likes of Man City could blow us out of the water. Hopefully working with Rafa, and our other Spanish contingent, will mean Silva asks to be sold to Liverpool though… can only hope.

Morning Lads.

Those are good blogs,Gerry– I am hoping for the best.

Wow, David Silva speculation from Barett!! That really is exciting. Definitely should be our prime target. If we can get him, it would bring a whole new dimension to our game. People say they are worried that his slight figure will work against him in the EPL, and I was worried about that too before the Euro’s last summer. But having watched the tournament, I have no doubt in my mind that he is strong enough, and more importantly, too good a ball player and too intelligent not to cut it over here. Plus he will be supported by top players as well, so no worries about him being isolated. i really hope this happens– will be just as excited as when Nando signed.

As for Albiol, that has been going on since Februrary as far as I remember. It has just become more and more definitive as time has gone by, and we will probably be in for a fight with the gooners. Regardless of whether Agger stays, I think it is good to have him; Hyypia and Carra are getting on now, so it is apparent that we will be needing back-up in the next 2 years or so, even earlier– why not buy a real good prospect when we can get him relatively cheap with Valencia in a bit of hussle. In addition, I think Albiol can play as a defensive midfielder (who can actually pass), so his versatility will definitely be something that fits Rafa’s criteria.

And I agree with what everyone says about demanding players to want to play for the club. At the end of the day, we can have players like ladyboy, but if he is affected by mood swings, then we won’t get the best out of that player– the best thing is to let him go. Besides, under Rafa’s policy, unless you have a real committed mentality, you will find it hard going. Whether or not DAgger has lost his plot I do not know, but that will soon become apparent. If he is going to stay, it’s like FS says; he should just shut his gob, and get on with it. It is quite embarrassing for a player to come out public when he is actually not playing due to injuries.

That translation is hilarious – The future of Villa and Silva one feels like far from the Valencia. The club needs to remove money from where it is. – Brilliant! At 23, David Silva would be a great signing, and just the kind of impish link-up player that would be the cherry on top. But I have to say, I don’t know how David Villa(27) would fit into things despite his obvious talent – it could be a more expensive Keane. I don’t think he has the strength of character either, as he seems to need geeing up if things are not going his way.

aiyic I don’t think we’ll actually go in for Villa. I think you are right in that he could be something of a more-expensive Keane. The speculation is probably just that, speculation, that since they know we are sniffing around things at Valencia they assume it must be for Villa or Silva or both. The reality may be that it is just Silva we are after.

However, wheelings and dealings might not work on this one – ie trying to offload a few players onto them to make up for cash probably won’t cut it, you’d think Valencia would be looking for big lump sum of cash. And a player’s preference may not come into it either – it may simply go to the highest bidder, since the club needs to keep their head above water.

Here’s a small thing working in our favour (which I hope doesn’t jinx us)… I’m pretty sure Mark Schwarzer is flying to Australia for our WC qualifier next week, hence will be straight back on a plane for the 22 hour flight home for our Saturday game at Fulham. He kept Fulham in the game against Man U, and whilst he will probably still get back in time and start against us, here’s hoping he could at least be a little bleary eyed!

Testing, testing. Again, my posts are being held up for some strange reason. I shall try again.

(Second try)

Great blog as usual Gerry, never tires me to say that.

Anyway, was fishing through Rafa’s mate Guillem Balague’s blog, and once again, he has something very interesting written about how twisted the media hacks these days have become in running their agenda, dictating when someone should be praised to the heavens or condemned to hell, regardless of their results:

ttp://www.guillembalague.com/blog_desp.php?titulo=How%20do%20we%20judge%20Avram,%20Jose,%20Ferguson%20and%20Benitez?&id=263

Especially the paragraph concerning Rafa’s “rant”

“In our recent discussion in the blog, it seems that we have allowed others to decide for us that one particular team is `boring` – despite scoring more goals than any other team in the league this season. We have also decided that one man`s `rant` is the sign of another man`s mastery of mind games. When one storms off refusing to talk to the press, or flies in to a rage, it is a carefully controlled psychological tool and an indicator of the man`s intellectual dominance over the rest of us; when another man betrays the slightest emotion, well he`s cracking up ain`t he.”

(Third try, might have something to do with the html link, which I’ve adjusted a bit)

Great blog as usual Gerry, never tires me to say that.

Anyway, was fishing through Rafa’s mate Guillem Balague’s blog, and once again, he has something very interesting written about how twisted the media hacks these days have become in running their agenda, dictating when someone should be praised to the heavens or condemned to hell, regardless of their results:

guillembalague.com/blog_desp.php?titulo=How%20do%20we%20judge%20Avram,%20Jose,%20Ferguson%20and%20Benitez?&id=263

Especially the paragraph concerning Rafa’s “rant”

“In our recent discussion in the blog, it seems that we have allowed others to decide for us that one particular team is `boring` – despite scoring more goals than any other team in the league this season. We have also decided that one man`s `rant` is the sign of another man`s mastery of mind games. When one storms off refusing to talk to the press, or flies in to a rage, it is a carefully controlled psychological tool and an indicator of the man`s intellectual dominance over the rest of us; when another man betrays the slightest emotion, well he`s cracking up ain`t he.”

Kinny, they get delayed if you put a link in your post.

Hey Fatty post the original link and I’ll get the missus to translate it as she’s fluent in spanish
Great blog Gerry and I think this would of went down well at the awards
No doubt you’ll take home the prize anyways
good comments too lads
over and out

Andy, I was already aware of that, thus I always remove the first h in http, which I have been doing, but it seems even that gets my posts held up. I don’t know why.

Great blog Gerry, good to see the positive out weighing the negative at the moment. I just hope the pressure of expectation doesn’t somehow wangle it’s way back to our lads.
.
I think it was impacting heavily just after christmas. I hope other teams put up an effort with Man U. Portsmouth are a team that’s desperate enough at the moment, they need points badly and can do the business.
.
Hopefully Chelsea won’t just be playing for pride when they turn up. They’ll be putting all their eggs in one basket now.
.
Ah the old Villa and Silva debate, we don’t stand a chance of both. Villa will not come as a back up striker, suffice to say Nando would not expect a bit part game either. Rafa prefers his 1 up front system at all costs.
.
Silva may happen as that’s where we need a quality player. I think a backup striker such as the Kerrison lad is what the team can afford and needs. I’m not saying he’s the one but we need someone who’s prepared to bide his time and cover for injuries.
.
Hell we need a 2nd goalkeeper who can score.

Just trying to help Kinny. Your delayed posts got slotted in before my last comment after I made it, so I couldn’t see whether you were dropping the h/ttp or not.

Well FS if you did have dementia you would not know if you mixed up Villa for Silva, personally I just think its old age and to much glue sniffing from all the wall papering you have done.

The Silva links are coming thick and fast by all and sundry and I would be very chuffed if we land him. I also see the Kierrison link has come back stating that we almost signed him in Jan as a replacement for Keane but ran out of time. I like the sound of this lad as well.

If we do sign Silva and Kierrison, especially the former I can see Benny going because he will get even less playing time and we might just cash in on him, especially if he comes back injured from the qualifiers, Rafa will be really pissed off.

Albiol will only come if Agger is sold and like Gerry I believe Agger will stay. Reading all the comments I don’t think there is anything sinister in them and I think people are reading to much into it, however time will tell.

I see my held up posts popping up again, but thanks anyway Andy.

Morning Lads. Gaz I recently read an article by Bruce Grobbelar, and get this… he expects Pepe to score soon.

Nice one Keith, put a smile on me face that. But I’ll keep you informed on how it’s going on the dementia front… you aren’t that far behind me you old bugger!

Anyway, I’ve come to this conclusion… Rafa is probably just putting up a smoke screen and we won’t be going for Silva or Villa.

Reasons… It’s a bit early for all this. Plus Rafa likes to keep his targets hidden and then act quickly. Even Rick Parry learned that!

Or we could be after both…
Reasons: Rafa is trying to rape Valencia while their skint. Jokes aside, Macia wouldn’t have gone to talk in person. There’d have just been a few phone calls that nobody would know about.

So, in other words… I haven’t got a fucking clue.

A fit Silva would be a great addition. He’s still only 23 so maybe that’s not a concern. But he has spent most of this season crocked.

Villa, can’t see it. Price would probably be beyond us anyway. But like I said back when the name confusion started, if we bought him we’d probably have to change the shape of the side and play as Spain do… Villa up front, Torres practically being a second striker. I know they could play differently and I’m sure Rafa would make them fit to suit the club somehow. but I just can’t see it.

Fuck. I’m cutting this short. I just heard on Talk Shite that Alex Ferguson has said he will stand down if they equalise our title record this season.

I didn’t hear it properly, so I don’t know exactly what was said. (Doing 2 things, writing and listening, is beyond me nowadays). And it was only on Talk Shite news. But I’ll get back as soon as I hear anything else.

Now there’s a proper cans of worms to send the blog into meltdown.

Note the IF in “IF they equalise our title record this season”, which probably means Ferguscum will still be around for at least another hundred years or so, lol.

Flap over. As usual just a nothing story from Talk Shite. Fuck. I’ve just wasted another half hour of me life listening to that bollacks.

Apparently Demento’s son has said, the tramp “Could” retire if next season if they pass our title haul by then.

No shit Sherlock. I swear the British media is a pox on the arse of humanity

://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/mar/27/sir-alex-ferguson-retirement-manchester-united

http needed. I haven’t even botherd reading it. The tramp knows Rafa has his number. He’s shitting himself. Does he retire short of knocking us off our perch or take the gamble, stay on for one more shot and risk watching us go off into the sunset again.

Don’t really care. But he’ll retire soon so he can blame whoever comes in for allowing Liverpool to catch and pas them.

FS, what’s this about Bascombe crossing Rafa? Care to elaborate?

I think Rafa really wants Silva and is trying to get in there early like he did with Gareth Barry last season. He’s sent his chief scout over to sweet talk representatives at Valencia and get a feel for Silva’s availability.

According to Tony Barrett Valencia want £25m. I can’t see how offering them players is going to help their financial situation. They need cash!

Defining factors will be:

1) How much money are we able or willing to pay?
2) What other clubs will come in with serious bids? (I think Real Madrid)
3) How much the player wants to stay in Spain or come to the EPL and/or LFC?

Maybe our players in the Spain squad can sweet talk him.

FS She who must be obeyed has not told me if I am senile or have dementia or both, when the all knowing one tells me I will let you know. As for the old age thing, that Kevin Bloody Wilson song (probably the best thing to come out of Oz) I’ve got cobwebs on me arse (amazing grass song) springs to mind.

FS can you find out if we did try to sign Silva in Jan as was reported? I agree very unlike Rafa to let things leak, but this could be because we tried to sign him in Jan and ran out of time, it’s a long time to keep the lid on things.

LB if we can get him for anything under the 25mill it would be a bargain, in today’s climate I can see him going for 18 to 22 odd mill. Real have plenty of wide midfielders, already van de Vaart is unhappy and the same would go for Barca. Out of the big clubs Liverpool would be a good destination for him.

I was reading some of the posts the name Keirrison kept coming up. Who? What did I miss, and I don’t miss much when it comes to unfounded rumours. I’m not sure how he’d do against defenders in England, but this is how he did against Brazilian defenders.

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxb9C0eeyXY

“Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has today ruled out a summer swoop for Valencia midfielder David Silva.
Speculation has been growing that the 23-year-old Spaniard is Benitez’s top target at the end of the season, but the manager today insisted Silva will not be Anfield bound.

“We will not be signing him,” was Benitez’s reply when asked at Melwood earlier today.

Despite ruling an approach for Silva out of his summer plans, the boss insisted work is gathering pace behind the scenes to identify targets ahead of next season.

“We are working hard, talking with the scouting department and looking at names and options for next season,” he added.

“It’s still too soon, but we are working hard.”

While beginning to formulate his plans for the new campaign, Benitez is well aware of what could still lie ahead this term – and of the sense of excitement among Liverpool supporters after the gap at the top of the table was closed to just one point.

“Football can change very quickly and that is why we say it is important to just take one game at a time,” he added.

“Everything can change each week and maybe next week we can be at the top again. My message to the fans is to keep calm. I can see the people have a lot of confidence at the moment and that is good. We have to stay positive and see what happens.”

Liverpool FC

“LIVERPOOL today pulled out of the race to sign Spanish midifeld ace David Silva – just 24 hours after entering it.

The Reds announced they wll not be pursuing any further interest in the Euro 2008 star – primarily because Valencia are seeking far more than the Anfield Club are willing to pay.

Liverpool were considering a formal bid for the 23-year-old who has been capped 21 times by Spain – but following indications from Valencia on the fee, manager Rafa Benitez’s interest has this afternoon apidly and dramatically cooled.

It had been suggested Valencia could be seeking as much as £25m for the player, though as well as the inflated the fee, there were said to be other stumbling blocks in the way of any deal being pursued.

Only yesterday it was revealed Benitez’s firm interest in Silva, one of the stars of Spain’s European Championship winning side last summer and a player whose talents are admired by Benitez and his coaching staff.

However Liverpool will now turn their attention to other targets – unless Valencia substantially drop their demands.”

Tony Barrett Liverpool Daily Post

“Key members of Rafa Benitez’s backroom team have today agreed new contracts with the club.
Assistant Manager Sammy Lee, First Team Coach Mauricio Pellegrino, Goalkeeping Coach Xavi Valero, Fitness Coach Paco de Miguel and Chief Scout Eduardo Macia have all been given extensions of at least two years on their current deals.

The move is part of a phased approach to address the future of the club’s backroom staff.

Liverpool Manager Rafa Benitez commented: “I said when I signed my own deal recently that it was a priority to sort out the future of the technical staff.

“We work extremely well as a team and continuity is essential if we are to build on the progress we have made this season and move the club further forward. I’m delighted we have been able to sort out the contracts.”

Liverpool FC

Yep. It’s international break time as usual… hack journo’s scrambling round for none stories to hype up.
2 of today’s headlines…
Fergie to retire at the end of the season.
Xabi Alonso: Liverpool will win the league.

Read the stories. No such things have been said. But then a journalist’s job is to sell papers, not tell the truth.

Here’s a bit of truth though…
Rafa has extended all the staff’s contracts by 2 years.
He has brought in Frank McParland to do a study of the Academy.

Both great news. Both believable. Both stories can be read on the official site. So, at least someone’s do something positive while the break’s on.

Lurgan mate, Bascombe burnt his bridges a long time ago. He’s probaly media enemy number 1 amongst most LFC fans nowadays and he gets nothing from inside the club. That’s why he comes up with screaming headlines like… Rafa will be gone within a week.
Don’t you remember Rafa threatening to sue his employers, The News Of The World (Or as it’s known in Liverpool… The Sunday Sun).

As I’ve said many times, I take no notice. In most newspapers, I don’t even believe the date on the top of the page until I check it at least twice with a more reliable source.

But now and again you do get some you have to heed. That’s why I posted the Silva story yesterday. Obviously someone within the club had leaked that to Barrett, and you can usually tell when the club is going through the media to let us know something. But even then you don’t know the reasons behind it.

Bloody international breaks, eh. Roll on the proper footy.

FS, I know that Bascombe’s name is mud now since he joined the Sunday Sun.

However, I thought, or rather assumed, that you were saying that he had a run-in with Rafa when he was working for the Echo.

Also, what’s this Tony Barrett lad like? I like reading his take on the game in his match reports but don’t know much about him.

Benitez says Liverpool won’t be signing Silva
By Soccernet staff

March 27, 2009

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has dismissed speculation linking him with a summer move for Spain star David Silva.

Reports this week have suggested the Premier League title hopefuls are preparing a bid for the highly-rated playmaker, whose current employers, Valencia, are struggling under the weight of their massive debt.

Silva, 23, who can operate as a winger, attacking midfielder or second striker appears certain to depart the Spanish club this summer.

But it will not be to join the Reds, according to Benitez, who revealed he is not among the list of close-season targets being prepared by the Anfield hierarchy.

“We will not be signing him,” he said. “We are working hard, talking with the scouting department and looking at names and options for next season. It’s still too soon (to identify definite targets), but we are working hard.”

Following a miraculous fortnight for the Merseysiders, Liverpool could go top of the Premier League in eight days’ time if they manage to avoid defeat at Fulham.

But Benitez has called for focus from players and supporters, who would be forgiven for dreaming of a first title in 19 years after the recent thrashings of Manchester United and Aston Villa, plus the Champions League annihilation of Real Madrid.

“Football can change very quickly and that is why we say it is important to just take one game at a time,” he told the club website.

“Everything can change each week and maybe next week we can be at the top again.

“My message to the fans is to keep calm. I can see the people have a lot of confidence at the moment and that is good. We have to stay positive and see what happens.”

Meanwhile, five members of Liverpool’s backroom staff have followed Benitez in committing their long-term futures to the club.

Nine days ago, Benitez signed until 2014 following weeks of speculation over his demands and vision for the best way forward after a couple of turbulent seasons on Merseyside.

The Spaniard’s lead has now been followed by assistant manager Sammy Lee, first-team coach Mauricio Pellegrino, goalkeeping coach Xavi Valero, fitness coach Paco de Miguel and chief scout Eduardo Macia – all of whom have agreed contract extensions of at least two years.

“I said when I signed my own deal recently that it was a priority to sort out the future of the technical staff,” said Benitez. “We work extremely well as a team, and continuity is essential if we are to build on the progress we have made this season and move the club further forward.

“I’m delighted we have been able to sort out the contracts.”

A centre back (to replace Agger)…+ another right back for Arbeloa’s backup will do nicely.

Leftovers should be enough for buying Barry

It’s apt that the only team left to stop the Mancs equalling Liverpool’s record title haul of 18 is……………. Liverpool!

As much as I can’t stand the special needs one or Chelsea FC, we should be pleased that by them winning their back2back titles they stopped the Mancs overtaking our record, as we were in no position to challenge for it at that time.

Times have changed, and now we have the chance of double satisfaction in bringing number 19 home and stopping them from equalling our record.

Whatever Fugus face’s retirement plans are, seeing his face as we pull 2 titles ahead of them will be as sweet as the unbridled joy of winning it will be.

I hate the internationals too, every day I wake up all I can think of is LFC’s next game.

Fulham 0 Reds 2

Kinny thanks for the link to the Ballague blog in #83.
A really good read.

If you haven’t done so already, get in there and read it. Its one of his best in a long time.

Also, take the time to click the link to the Avram Grant article when you’re done with the Ballague blog. Its a bit long, but its really good. Some of Avram’s “plan” was exactly what Rafa has been doing at Liverpool.

Both good reads and highly recommended.

“England and Chelsea captain John Terry’s mother and mother-in-law have been arrested by police for shoplifting, after being accused of stealing food and clothing worth £800 from Tesco and Marks and Spencer.”

Just goes to show you he the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, but at least he married into a good family.
Seems 135K/Week doesnt buy what it used to

totally off point (i guess just bored with the international break) but i’m watching the 2005 CL Final. What a game!

What about Podolski he can play down the left or up front down the middle he looks like a premiership player plus he was unsettled not so long ago.do all are targets have to be spanish.also does anyone no what Nemeth is doing is he still on loan at blackpool or is he injured i would like to see him get a runout in the last 15 mins of games he sound like the real deal .viva the Rafalution

I must say that is extremely disappointing news on our bid for Silva. I was really hoping he would be the final piece in the puzzle this summer. But fuck it, if we cant afford him we cant afford him. We’ll move on. I think a cheeky bid for van der vaart could prove fruitful. A superb player who it seems is on the outs at Madrid. And ya never know, a champions league win could very well make Silva affordable in May so all is not lost yet. At least we know Rafa has identified RM as priority no.1.

I reckon the next couple of weeks could determine the outcome of our summer business dealings.
The last couple of weeks has really turned turned heads in our direction… and for once, in a good way!

I can’t help but think that despite how important our next two games are …. they are indescribably CRUCIAL to Scum.

Provided we beat Fulham, a dodgy result against Villa will put more pressure than you can imagine onto the Scum management and players… and their fans will be out for blood for the Porto tie. A dodgy result in that and there’ll be so much pressure ont hem, they’ll melt like snowmen in Texas. (that’s my bold prediction anyway!)

Such a scenario would see us riding high, with all the paudits, and a good run in the CL would make us instantly more attractive to top talent.

And I know some will accuse me of getting carried away there, but its not the last few results… for both us and Scum… its the manner in which we won our and they liost theirs… that has me thinking positive.

I think Scum’s recent results are indicative of results they should have been getting all season.

In the same way, I believe (and have all season) this is what our current squad is more than capable of achieviing!

Speaking of International breaks and boredom, I have this scenario. Our Stevie boy will have a nice chat with his buddy Barry quietly sometime during their International break on coach him how to nail the Mancs at Old Toilet. That way we can be certain the Mancs will drop points, Giggs and Scholes to lose more hair and Fergie his head.

I think Rafa is right. It is difficult to beat Man United even if Fergie is not the manager there. That is telling Fergie is only good because of the tonnes of money he had spent all these years.

I am glad Rafa said adios to Owen. What a forlorn figure he has become. Interested more to staying at his Cheshire home than in Newcastle, more into horses than football. Just read what has become of him here.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1164499/ASH-WEDNESDAY-Magnificent-Michael-retire-Ordinary-Owen-free-transfer-flight-fancy.html

And how about this from Des Kelly of the Daily Mail:

“United fear as US get shirty

A Warning for all Manchester United fans: If you happen to be flying across to America in the near future it might be an idea to leave the football shirt at home.

Those who feel compelled to wear the jersey should try to distract the attention of locals away from it with something that causes less offence, like an Osama bin Laden mask.

The American Insurance Group (AIG), not-so-proud sponsors of the Old Trafford club, are now firmly established as the country’s No 1 pariahs.

The US public are so hostile to multi-million-dollar bonuses paid to executives, AIG have issued the following directives:

? Do not wear anything with AIG insignia -shirts, bags, umbrellas.
? Hide anything with an AIG logo on it.
? Travel in pairs and well-lit places.
? Avoid public conversations.
? Phone the police if you think you are being followed.

It sounds like a walk back through Stanley Park after a night game.

AIG are so hated they are changing their name, leaving United with redundant sponsors on their shirts until 2010.

Unless they decide to call themselves IOU, that is. That would cover both AIG and the Glazer family.”

Well that Silva saga was the shortest saga ever! Just kidding, you can bet that’s not the last you’ll hear on that one. Barrett is doing a good job of being a mouthpiece for the club, telling Valencia that they need to drop their valuation, and telling Silva “hey we’re interested but Valencia are pricing you out of the move”. The problem is, other clubs CAN afford that price and could easily gazump us – Man City can afford it but he may refuse to go there; however I really won’t be surprised to see whiskey-nose try and steal him from under our noses, just because Rafa wants him.

Could ending the Silva saga swiftly before it develops into an unintended farce be a sign that Rafa is indeed in control of transfer dealings?

If Parry were in charge, he would’ve allowed the rumour to simmer and “weigh his options” and see if there are other deals available.

But we’ll see.

That’s a very good point Kinny. Is this what ‘moving quickly’ is all about?

I heard alonso saying yester day that we`re the best team in england and we could win our last 8 games.

Arbeloa can`t wait to play Barca in the CL semi final to take them down a peg or two.Did the chavs game pass us by that quick?If it did i missed it.

I wish the players would just say little or nothing to the press.Keep it modist and simple.Take an example from our assistant manager when he was asked about liverpool`s title chances:

“We have to take one game at a time.I know its a cliche but cliches are sayings that held true over time.It`s simple,all you do is look at the next game.

Wise words from Sammy.I think he ought to teach some of his players to keep doing there talking ON the pitch.

Indeed Timmy! When the trophies are on the table the players can do all the tough talking they like. As it stands they can still finish 3rd/4th and win nothing so they should keep the mouths shut.

I totally agree with that LB.

We keep hearing stories about “Arbeloa said, Reina said, Alonso said ….etc,etc

Of course it might all be media spin, but I really would like to see our players’s keep their mouths shut and let the football do the talking.

I actually heard Stevie G saying on the radio that we shouldn’t get carried away as Man.U are quite capable of winning all their games.

That is a good thing for our captain to say publicly, as it puts the presssure on them and not us. Our public stance should be “We have got nothing to lose, everyone expects Man.U to win the Prem, so we’ll see what happens”

Within our own club however, we have never been in such a good position to win the Prem since it begun. Our desire to win it is enormous.

Can’t wait for our next game!

Think you’re being a bit harsh there lads. I used to think the same thing… “Do your talking on the pitch.”

But the fact is, if they don’t talk to them, the press will just make something up anyway.
So, what are they supposed to do? Damned if you, damned if you don’t. So, they’re fucked if they don’t say anything and whatever they say is twisted to suit the journos agenda.

Just read a headline, any headline, in any red top arse wipe and then read the story. They never have anything to do with each other, or bear the slightest resemblance to truth and fact. LFC fans should know that more than most.

So, although I don’t like it either, I think the only thing they can do is say yes, we can win it. Alonso didn’t actually say we are the best. He said we have thumped the other top teams. He still say’s it’s Man U’s to lose but we will be there to pounce if they slip up.

What’s the lad supposed to say… “Nah. We’re shite. We haven’t got a snowball’s.”

So, yes, you’re right they should say fuck all. But bear in mind, they can’t do that in this day and age, and no matter what they say is going to get twisted anyway.

Like I’ve said a million times, I ignore the arse wipes now have done since… “The Truth! Scouser’s pissed on their own dying fans and stole their wallets!”

Brian “Drunken Liverpool fans were to blame for Hillsborough” Clough is the flavour of the month. In fact, he’s that flavoursome, he’s been called the only British manager to win back to back European Cups. You can check that in any paper. It’s in all of them, despite the fact that Paisley done it years before him!

Thnik twice before blaming your own player’s for the moral-less English media lads.

As for the Silva saga. Why did Rafa let the press know about? Try to remember, things go behind closed doors that we’ll never know.

Again anyone know whats happening with NEMETH

FS,i do understand where you are coming from regarding the media.

I know they twist and make things up and they are try to make it out like it is us with the lead and game in hand.

Most people even some mancs i talk to are talking like its ours to throw away now but i play down our chances whoever i talk to,reds or not.Although i`m quietly confident myself that we can give it one hell of a fight.

It certainly is “one game at a time” from now on just wish the players played it down a little so the pressure is on the mancs.

I know they won`t say that we haven`t a chance,i wouldn`t want or expect to hear that.It`s good to hear they are confident once they don`t get complacent.I`m confident Rafa and Sammy won`t let them.

Timmy mate, read what the players have actually said. Not one of them has said we are going to win it. They’ve all said more or less the same thing… It’s Man U’s to lose. But we will try to keep the pressure on them in case they slip up.

Words or words to that effect, is all they have said. I know the healines and twisted stories are maddening but you can’t blame the players for that.

Remember we are talking about the English media here lads, so maybe there’s a slight chance your annoyance is aimed in the wrong direction?

Nemeth played a couple of weeks ago for the reserves. He was taken off early in the second half – absolutely knackered. He’d been injured for a long time with a broken cheek bone he got while on loan at Blackpool.

We’ve been been talking about him and the other reserves in just about every blog I can recall. The information is also easy to find out for yourself. But is there anything else you would like us to do for you? Maybe ask Rafa to play him despite the fact that he’s just 20, only weighs 11 stone, has been injured for most of the season and isn’t quite up to first team football yet?
FFS.

Nemeth has lost a seasons progress due to injury no doubt.

I hate the way people say “just stick him in and give him a chance” well he just ain`t ready yet.I think by know Rafa benitez know

Something that really gets up my nose Timmy… People not even knowing what is going on, but saying Rafa should do this that and the other. Mindboggling!

Sorry about that i blame the toddler.What i was going to say was;

I think rafa knows who is ready and who isn`t.People say stick him in just for the sake of playing him because he`s a young talent.They must think if you keep trying the youngsters sooner or later we`ll unearth another robbie fowler or micheal owen.

It just dosen`t work that way.

Given he has good luck on the injry front next season i think we`ll only see him in carling cup or the odd cameo in the PL when games are more or less won.

The jump from reserve team level to PL level is massive just ask Damien Plessis.He had to learn the hard way but his chance will come again.

The reserves isn`t what it used to be.Nowadays its the grade between the youth team and the first team provided your good enough to progress.

Re-Knighty’s #115-I agree with you about Owen but not the Daily Wail article. I remember the pleasure that he gave me (and many others) and let’s face,we have all made mistakes and the prime one of his was the ‘leaving of Liverpool’. He has embraced the “Sport of Kings” and I hope his horses win many races. I rate him as a Liverpudlian, like Rushie.
Sorry matey,but that is how I feel.

Well, I’m off now but before I go… you’re entirely correct Mr. Hill Sir. Micheal was a great servant to the club. He bought joy to lots of people. And I really think we should remember him that way.

I was in America when he won us the cup against Arsenal. I was surrounded by Arsenal fans and Mancs. There was 3 of us supporting Liverpool. You can imagine what we had to put up with until Micheal silenced them.

Thank you Micheal.

See you lads later…. Roll on the footy. I hate these weekends without it.

Micheal owen was some player.We definately got the best of him.

A fellow red here in cork used to call him “Baby Jesus”….classic.

Michael Owen was a joy too watch.
Seeing him running away after scoring a goal and rubbing his hands with glee, was a memory I will always cherish.
We were truly blessed to have seen him play for Liverpool.

I have just seen Benny Onion getting stretched off
in the Israel v Greece game.
Let’s hope it’s nothing serious.
I hate these International breaks, especially at this time of the Season.

If Bennyaoun’s been stretchered off, he’s in the shite with Rafa.

Torres off after 87 mins. Doesn’t seem to be carrying any injury.

Now it’s time for him to take it nice and easy.

BTW, Xabi played well for Spain this evening.

Gerrard only played a half for engerland which is pleasing also.

Spain must go to turkey on wednesday(I think,i`m open to correction) and that will be a physical battle for some of our players.

“LIVERPOOL are pursuing a record sponsorship deal with Carlsberg which could net them £60million.

The Merseysiders hope to conclude negotiations as early as this summer on an agreement which would eclipse those of Manchester United and Chelsea.

Liverpool’s current three-year contract with the Danish brewers is worth around £10m a year – including Champions League bonuses – and ends after the 2009-10 season.

But co-owners Tom Hicks (below) and George Gillett want to shatter previous records with a new four-year deal.

They are out to top the four-year £56m arrangement United signed with AIG in 2006 and Chelsea’s five-year £50m contract with Samsung, which runs to 2010.

Previous deals with Carlsberg, Liverpool sponsors since 1992, were thought to be worth a lot less than those of rival clubs.

A swift deal would give boss Rafa Benitez a transfer kitty and could help protect Reds’ value if either owner is forced to sell his share.”

The Daily Mail

About time if this article is true?

Seeing is beliving scouse….hopefully it is true.

Don`t think this is any coincidence but since Parry announced he was leaving the club has stepped up in all aspects off the pitch regarding contracts and sponsorships etc.

Anyone know who1s inline to replace parry?

You do start to wonder, What on Earth was Parry doing?

FS: sorry, gotta disagree with comment 123 in some respect, The media will say what they want whether you talk to them or not so dont dignify anything by talking to them……yeah I know thats not practical in this day and age but the least we can expect is that players talk to the papers that are more likely to not twist the words to suit their own agenda. Also have you noticed that players when they talk to TV are increasingly reserved and reply in cliches? If they distrust the TV cameras then they should distrust the papers also…I think what I am trying to say is I just wish all concerned, wouldnt put themselves into the position to be misunderstood/manipulated…..have a healthy mistrust of the media, like King Kenny did. The Tramp has made quite a success of manipulating the media in his career, providing them with stories on a “you scratch my back…..” basis but over time those who didnt want to toe the party line were frozen out, ala Sly sports etc. Those immoral bastards will yet come back to bite him when they sense blood (and a good story) that could happen very soon, hopefully (Fergies crackin up, anyone?)

There was also the line in “the Truth” about how we supposedly abused the bodies of dead females…..20 years on and those words still make me feel sick and so, so angry……RIP 96

YNWA

Jack,
Michael Owen was a gret servant for the Club. But I just could not take the way he went off to Madrid, leaving LFC with a paltry fraction of his worth. As much as the fans loved him, he did not love the Club enough. In the end, for me it was natural justice that he has been what he is at Newcastle. I also think Newcastle has been short-changed. He lives in Cheshire, not Newcastle, even though the fans love him. He does not care at all for them. It is just not at Liverpool that Owen did not care for the Club. It is also at Newcastle. No wonder he was left on the bench. He is a nice guy but his attitude is another matter.
Sorry to differ, mate.

Michael Owen gave us lots of wonderful memories… until he decided to do a mcmanaman on us… well.. Halkf a mcmanaman as we still be able to recoup 8million from his sales to RM, unlike Macca which we got nothing.

His attitude is nothing like Fowler, and thats the fact.

Would not want him back at Liverpool, unless he lower his wage demands.. then, perhps we could use him as a backup for Torres, Kuyt, Eggnog, Nemeth……………

Fowler didn’t want to leave in the first place and when he was given the second chance, I think he mentioned that he would play for Liverpool even it is for free…

Thats the love of Fowler for his beloved club

Skeat, neither would I have Owen back at LFC.

The man’s career is virtually over. Maybe his injury problems are a result of him being overplayed when he was a youngster at LFC but you can never know for sure.

However he did have the chance to come back but choose those serial cup/league winners Newcastle. I think that says something about the man himself.

As you say MO thanks for memories but it is time to move on and not back.

I don’t see how it’s Michael Owen’s fault that the club only got £8m for him? What’s he supposed to do, demand Real pay more!? He spent 8 years in the first team, the manager had just got sacked and he clearly thought the team was not going in a direction to match his ambitions. Real Madrid came in for him and, the clubs agreed a fee and he left. What’s the problem? The club should have ensured he signed a contract extension when he had 2 years to run. Same with Mcmanaman. It is the executives of the club who are responsible for getting the best value out of the players. I don’t blame the players for trying to get the best out of their careers. Both gave the club great service and both gave me some of the best memories I’ve had as an LFC supporter.

At the moment Owen can’t remain fit for a season so he’s no good for any club looking to challenge for honours. I’m not even sure why his named is mentioned as an option for us. You don’t hear the mancs talking about bringing Beckham back.

I think Rafa might have had something to do with Owen’s departure to Madrid. I don’t think he considered Michael as part of the team he wanted to build, I think Rafa thought that with Owen in the side we would be limited to how we play.

I’m sure that if he really wanted Owen to stay he could of persuaded him. If this was the case, you would have to say Rafa got it right.

I thought Owen was great for LFC, and like you other guys I have great memories of his time at Anfield. The 2001 FA Cup Final was Roy of the Rovers stuff, and if Robbie Fowler had squared the ball to him in the dying minutes, he would have had a hat-trick that day.

Thanks for the memories MO, you were brilliant for LFC. His regret at missing out on Istanbul must have been agonising though.

Redboyslim: look at any paper. They will all have the same story. It doesn’t matter what anyone says. They just seem to make this shit up and then circulate it amongst themselves.

Don’t you remember the recent legal threats over the stories about the kids committing suicide in Wales?

English press… vile parasites of the worst.

Lads MO gave us some of the most memorable moments in his career. Yes he walked out to greener pastures but put up your hand if you wouldn’t quit your job for something that pays better.
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Put your hand up if you only had 10 or so years to make all the money your going to live on and you got offered more.
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It’s easy to critise the guy for what he did, hell I even stopped watching him play, but I still love what he did at LFC.
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MO needs Liverpool like they need him, they don’t he knows that. He just needs a team where he can get a run on Saturday.
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Owen wouldn’t dislodge Torres and he doesn’t fancy the bench, it will not happen, he may end up north of the border with another team who claim you’ll never walk alone.

Don`t think he`ll end up at Parkhaed Gaz.With him being a hero for “engerland” i wouldn`t think the faithful would accept him.You don`t survive up there unless the fans are on your side.

This is maybe a bit off-topic but I meant to post this a few weeks back.

However, since it’s international week and I have just found it whilst cleaning my hard-drive, I thought why not.

It’s quite long so take 10 minutes aside and take a beer in-hand. For me it was one of the best posts I have read in recent times and seems to make even more sense now. It was posted by a much respected member of another LFC forum. FS will probably know him.

Anyway here it is. If you have not already read it, enjoy!

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I’ve tried to stay out of this thread as much as I can as I didn’t want to have to keep responding to some of the drivel that seems to creeping into every other post since Rafa’s press conference last week. It’s not that easy when you see things repeated 30 seconds after SSN have said it and another myth is perpetuated ad infinitum and ad nauseum.

So I’m going to give an honest opinion based on fact. People can take it or leave it but those that know will understand. Those that want to just use any platform of perceived negativity to have a crack at Benítez will continue to do so because its been festering in their heads for too long to change. Those that only have an opinion dependant on what they see in the media will only change their opinion when they are told what it is by the same.

I’ve worked with Rick Parry and as you say Alan there is far more to this man than just being an accountant. His commitment to Liverpool F.C is undoubted and his workload would make most of us buckle after a week.
The job he inherited from Peter Robinson was one of if not THE biggest challenge to anyones abilities in recent football history.
The lack of foresight from his illustrious predecessors over many years has probably got more to do with our current plight than people care to see. Simply because it’s easier to blame the ‘clown’ than anyone else. There is no smoke without fire though and therein lies part of the story.
Behind the scenes, he has worked tirelessly to haul our club back to where we once were. Both in terms of financial muscle and administrative excellence.

His ability to do this has been questioned many times within the club and some of the methods employed have actually left us further behind and not even close to be drawing level with our competitors. Part of the blame for this has been the remnants of Liverpools administrative past. How things had to be done ‘The Liverpool Way’, while still dragging the club into the modern day. Liverpool as a footballing business model would be the team equivalent of the 2nd Division when Parry arrived while our main competitors were swanning around The Champions League, such was the ground we had to make up.

The problem with Parry is that his role and responsibilities have changed dramatically at the same time as we tried and failed to play catch up. So no sooner did we look as though we were getting there, then he was loaded with further responsibilities. This created difficulties, compounded by the changes in the managerial structure of the club and the rapid responses needed in the modern game. He was in effect doing 3 jobs.
One he was qualified for as an accountant. One he had experience of, effectively, as a senior administrator with the Premier League and one he was never going to manage effectively alongside the other two. That was as C.E.O of Liverpool F.C.

How a club like Liverpool F.C could be the only one who didn’t employ a marketting executive until Ayres was appointed is testament to the reliance of keeping things done a certain way so as not to rock the boat. They didn’t learn by past mistakes. See the farcical ‘joint manager’ roles of Evans & Houllier as further evidence of that type of reasoning.

The job was too big for Parry but nobody within the club was prepared to change the situation. Instead more responsibility and therefore more power was given to Parry.

Once Benítez arrived at the club, things started to change almost immediately. Benítez realised that from a footballing aspect the club was not geared up to the needs of the modern game and certainly not to the needs of Liverpool F.C. Some of the things Benítez was informed were in place when he was offered the managers position were clouded in half truths. Many of those things were paramount to Benítez in his decision to come to the club. They represented many of the things he saw as being vital for the club’s long and short term future.

Benítez came to the club believing there was a platform for him to put his ideas in place and take the club to where they told him they wanted to be. The reality of what he found was so far removed from the initial promises. Initially this was put down to clashes of personality, which in some cases it was. However Benítez found himself running down blind alleys at almost every turn. He was continually meeting Parry down there. The main stumbling blocks being cash, the buying and selling of players and the youth structure. All things that a footballing man needed to run smoothly and effectively. Benítez was renowned for being one of the widely respected youth coaches during his time in Spain and this was a major part of his CV. Yet he was told to keep his nose out at Liverpool. The fragmentation of the senior and junior set ups at the club was beyond his comprehension. As was the fact that he, as manager was being prevented from having any effective input in to it’s running or effectiveness.
Benítez decided to restructure those areas he was ‘allowed’ to and that started some major problems.
He effectively bypassed the youth system and brought his own players in, to train with the senior squad. Once Steve Heighway left,many of the successful youth team were promoted to the reserves and therefore came under his overall control.

He still didn’t have any real input into the youth set up which was being overseen and run by Rick Parry. Parry’s reluctance to sanction or back the overhaul of the youth system has been a major problem for Benítez. A none footballing man effectively preventing a football man from doing what he was brought in to do in the first place. It is well known within the club that Benítez wants to develop our own players. He is extremely passionate about it, yet feels this won’t happen quickly enough under the present structure.Even though that long term the club will benefit both financially and in terms of having a local heart to the club. Something that he spoke of only today.

On top of all of this is the farcical situation regarding protracted transfers we are all aware of. This all came to a head, just before the Gerrard fiasco made the headlines. Parry’s reticence to get the Gerrard’s contract sorted out was seen within the club and by Rafa in particular as an indication of how much power Parry thought he had. This was a further indication of his lack of footballing mentality. He was actually prompted to get this sorted from within the club but still dragged his heels.This caused major problems internally and is the catalyst for many of today’s difficulties. The almost catastrophic outcome was seen as a watershed. It wasn’t!

On top of that Benítez had the unfortunate misfortune of having to go through Parry for every transfer.
I’m not going into who they were, but certain players at home and abroad had approached Liverpool F.C and had agreed to come after speaking with Benítez only for the deal to fall through after Parry became involved. Some were high profile, some were not. The biggest deals having been well documented. Some equally as big which have not been.were already agreed with players without massive wage demands or contract terms only to fall away yet again. This caused severe professional embarrassment for Benítez and restricted the progress of the team.

Once the takeover came about and the club was restructured once again, Benítez was once again made promises regarding transfers.Certain operating procedures were put into place by Hicks & Gillette to try and smooth things along. Without going into too much detail about what they were here, they failed when the H & G relationship started to wobble. The operating procedures fell by the wayside, which Benítez wasn’t happy about as they appeared to be working. Once H & G lost the day to day ‘hands on ‘ contact with club matters,apart from Ayres ‘input’, things reverted to type and Parry just went about things The Parry Way.

As I said initially, Parry works tirelessly for the club. However he is not the man for the job. Certainly not working with Benítez, or any other forward thinking manager, who knows the buck stops with him under the current structure.

As the public face of Liverpool Football Club, you couldn’t meet a more insipid, grey, uninspiring man. He is the archetypal accountant, who’s lack of personality and charisma is exactly what you would imagine it to be by his public image.

If I’m not mistaken, this is the 3rd draught of Benítez’s contract. The obvious sticking point being the clarification of his responsibilities.
The contracts have been altered each time, but have obviously failed to meet with Rafa’s expectations. These contracts have been drawn up under the instructions laid down by H & G, but it’s not clear if Parry has had any say in the structuring of responsibilities. I’d be very surprised if he did officially, but unofficially is a different matter.
However it wouldn’t be a surprise if the final draughts had been presented to him at the same time as Benítez‘s advisers.

H & G know full well what Benítez is after, as does Rick Parry. Dragging this out and not ascending to his demands through 3 draught contracts is being seen two ways. Firstly that H & G have already decided what course of action to take but are adopting a softly softly approach to it all in order to buy themselves some time until they can sit down with all concerned at the end of January and iron things out in person. . This would have the added bonus of keeping a lid on a potential powder keg.

Secondly that they have no clear idea of how this will be resolved and again, need to gauge the depth of feeling in person. This is the more worrying for obvious reasons. The role Rick Parry has was defined by H & G initially and the concern is that they should be able to take away what they gave in the first place. The reality is somewhat more complicated. Parry is a professional man of high standing in the game. Any changes to his remit are going to be met with reticence . Losing credibility and having his power reduced would be seen as a direct criticism and not be accepted lightly.

However, Benítez is in that exact position now. His position as manager is under constant scrutiny and he feels unable to work to his full capacity and fulfill the demands placed upon him under the current work practices. This is seen as a slight on his professional ability.

All Benítez demands are to do with ensuring the success of Liverpool F.C and are in no way seen as him trying to wrestle power for powers sake. Parry would argue the same case, but with less credibility as football matters are still seen within the club as taking precedence.

Parry and Benítez have tried to work together. They know that a great many of the problems have been caused by H & G. However both know that allies are needed, given the ’voting structure’ being used at the club.
There is still a certain degree of mistrust about however.This plagued the early years of H & G reign and was compounded when it became apparent to Moores and Parry that debt was going to be levied on the club. The first cut is the deepest as they say.

Either way there has to be compromise for this to be resolved. Whether that compromise is to be voluntary or enforced is unknown.

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Thank you very much for the insight into the almost present situation.I was a great read and my only other comment Lurgankop is that I hope that Parry is enough of a “Red supporter” to not hate Rafa for what has happened and enjoys the future success that Rafa will bring.
Thanks again and YNWA.

Interesting Read Lurg, thanks.
This is gonna be a long response, so I apologize, but I have to get this out… so here goes.

I think its always difficult for us as fans, to temper our opinions of what we are seeing, with the possible extenuating circumstances of the comings and goings-on behind the scenes.

What is important to consider when assessing Rafa’s reign, is that LFC was, and to some extent, still is, a holdover from the old days.

I doubt there’s anyone on here that would like to see the demise of “the Liverpool Way” but it was a way for the 60s, 70s and 80s and for good or bad, the entire face of football in the modern age has changed. The challenge is to maintain everything that was good about “TLW” but move it forward into a modern age.

Our Euro ban somewhat restricted our ability to change with the times… if in no other way than allowing Scum to take advantage of the changing financial face of football that came about during that ban.

The latter part of this time period also coincided with a massive rise in player power… multi-million pound contracts, Bosman ruling, etc.

The Liverpool Way meant that while Scum were going out and buying big money players, we were reluctant to do so (just take a look at the players Evans wanted but was denied) and when we did acquiesce to such high-flying dealings, we got seriously burned. Collymore, and Diouf, being the highest profile, abject failures in the Veron mold!

As the post in 151 suggests, I don’t think Parry was incompetent… as some would like to suggest… but rather he was a man just not best equiped to deal with these things… and perhaps, not of the “right mentality” to push for the big changes that were required. But remember also, that those big changes always meet with resistance… not just inside the club, but from us fans as well!

The Owen situation a perfect example. Owen let his contract run down. Parry offered him one and he declined it. You can’t force a player to sign a contract… maybe you could in 1970, but not in the 2000s.
When Rafa arrived he was faced with a dodgy squad, containing several serious purchase mistakes fromt he previous summer, and one of the club’s two big name players who had only 1 year left to run on his contract.
Bare in miond, that Owen was also part of an axis of player power that had put a stranglehold on GH and PT’s management reign. (selecting GH’s teams for some games???)
I think Rafa would have liked to keep Owen, but circumstances practically forced his hand. He had little choice but to sell him (and Murphy.)

Returning to the main point, I’ve always liked the fact that so many former players hold positions within the club, whether behind the scenes like Brian Hall, Ron Yeats, Steve Highway, or in the limelight like Phil Thompson and Sammi Lee.
These were fellas steeped in the boot room tradition… but what was required was a forward thinking mentality, coupled to that tradition.

To his credit Ged Houllier began the work, but from what I’ve read about what Rafa has been doing (and we still don’t know the half of it) backstage, we are well on the road to a bright future.

Rafa talks a pretty good game about recognizing and respecting the traditions of the club. Is it genuine, or just good PR on his part?
I’d like to believe its genuine… I guess only time will tell… but in my opinion, its looking good so far!

the lurgankop comments very imformative, it a shame when somone who is devoted to the reds as it suggest in the article. but its the same in real life we have all proberbly been put into situations that we are not ready for, or when doing well get even more or larger work loads given, or more of some elses job loads to look after, but if you are not cable of doing justice to all of them you should be man enogh to let the owners know that. i agree that we should look to keep what was good from the past but we should also move forward the way thigs work now are different, and hopefully rafa will drag us steadly in to the future as a world force which given the restraints he as work under until now as do a great job, a

and as previously stated role on the raflution

keep the faith its coming.

Sometimes I wonder I really do. Is Bascombe a hack or did he just have nothing else to write about this wk? ‘Barry to Anfield for a cut price 8mil’. I just dont understand this kind of journalism or the purported move. Does Bascombe think Rafa and Barry are morons? Where’s Barry gonna play? Tell me Chris, is he gonna sit on the bench, in a world cup yr mind, as back up to Xabi and Masch? Or back up for Insua and the sparkling Aurelio? Not to mention a great debut yr by Riera. Yeah thats it. Dear oh dear…

Just for the record i was not suggesting that rafa should play NEMETH.since he seems like our best prospect i was just keeping up with his progress.I have 1 million % confidence in rafa and his decisions after just about surviving the souness years i know a brilliant manager when i see one.finally i would like to add i remember when Giggs scored that goal against arsenal in the fa cup years ago and a lot of people were saying that it was the best goal ever scored anywhere.i remember someone saying at the time that in the future all these people would look back and be ashamed of there comments.i mean ffs at 1 stage he lost complete control of the ball.anyway i think the people who have been calling Gerrard the best player in the world have been caught up in the hype and will feel foolish when they look back on there comments.for the record Gerrard is my favourite player.but he is taking advantage of the fact that defenders are scared Shitless of torres and his pace and movement and Gerrard is exploiting this.

Lurgonkop, the comment you directed us to was very informative, although, it does nothing to change my view that Prick Parry was incompetent and a hindrance. Like someone said, if you can’t cut it, then admit it. Hell, even Souness probably had the best of intentions as a Liverpool manager, but we all know he was a total disaster. The fact that he worked hard even with the operation does not change the way we look at him in any whatsoever. Same with Parry.

Digger, I think the fact that Barry can buy out a good portion of his transfer fee is where the 8 Million price tag came out. Also, I don’t really buy the “back-up” issue. It is apparent that Rafa rotates and “tinkers.” There is no such thing as a back-up in our squad except in relation to perhaps Stevie and Torres. Other than that, I feel every player gets an equal opportunity, I believe you get a good chance of playing than in any other of the top 4 clubs. If barry can’t see that, then he belongs in the right place– a big fish in a small pond. Let’s see how the story develops. I still feel there is a position for him if he does sign.

As for our players talking to the press, I have to side with FS on this. It is a damned-if-you-do and damned-if-you-don’t kind of thing nowadays. Some say the best option would be to shut up, but just imagine, if a reporter came up to you and you declined to comment, then either they will just hate you for not being cooperative (and as a result get negative reporing anyway) or they will say that you refused to comment because you are too nervous or are bottling it. The vital issue is for people like us on the other side to second-guess what is being reported. There used to be useful player called Nakata (who had a final stint at bolton) and he refused to give any kind of comments at all to japanese journalists he did not know or trust. The only option he took was to speak at live shows where the media could not play with what he was saying. He also was the first foootball player to start his own media, i.e., his personal website, where he could control his own words and speak to the fans directly. Other players around the world have followed that road. But this is just a very rare proceeding, and it is impossible to keep away from the hogging journalists. So then you have no option but to at least give a comment or two or else…. It is a lose-lose situation.

Of course theres such a thing as a back up Hyde. Lucas is our back up for Xabi and Masch. Cavillieri is back up for Pepe. Ngog is back up for Torress. So on so forth, pretty simple concept bro! My point remains the same; where do we play him? No way an England regular is gonna be happy in a world cup yr warming the bench in between Lucas and Ngog and given the cautionary tale that is Robbie Keane I think Gareth will be well aware he’s taking his chances. 8mil for a 30yr old back up? Next please….

Digger, in some ways I agree with you about Barry – I can’t see him “risking” joining us in a World Cup year, as his position in our first 11 isn’t really clear. But that side of the equation is his decision and not for us to worry about – if he decides to join us, it will undoubtedly increase the depth of our squad, which is something we are lacking at the moment (especially when Alonso & SG are out). If he is happy to come here (which we don’t know either way now), why wouldn’t we take him? Because we don’t want to ruin his World Cup chances?

On the media thing – guys something to remember is the way the sly-dog “journalists” ask loaded questions. Our players may think they are giving very even-handed, non-controversial answers, but the “journalists” will twist their words. Let me give you a classic (but made-up) example, which you can watch happening in the making in many press conferences and post-match interviews…

Journo hack: “Xabi, does this latest string of Liverpool victories send a message to Sir Alex Ferguson and Man Utd that you are coming to take the title from them?”

Alonso: “I am sure they have been seeing our results and perhaps we have the momentum now. We will fight to the end to try and win the title.”

Newspaper headline: “Alonso warns Fergie: We’re coming to take the title”

Supposed “quote” from Alonso used in the “story”: “The string of victories we have put together sends a message to Sir Alex Ferguson that we have the momentum now, and we will fight to the end to win the title.”

I made all of that up because I couldn’t be bothered looking up a specific example – but we’ve all seen it before. The “journalist” plants a message in the question and the player almost can’t win either way, no matter what his answer is. Then we all read his “quote” and it sounds like he is mouthing off, even when all he really did was just give a simple cliche answer.

No Andy I’m not concerned about his world cup chances. I’m trying to illuminate the hackery of the article! It just dosent make any sense from whatever angle you look at it from. Clearly Bascombe needed to fill a few column inches. As for us, sure he’d give us more depth but at 8mil? Dont we have Lucas at 6mil for depth? Clearly we dont have much money, already Rafa has declared we’ve been priced out of the race for Silva. Wasting 8mil on a back up instead of putting it toward a right winger….distressing.

Rafamuffin: Are you sure about Steven Gerrard? Zidane reckons he’s probably the best in the world in terms of all round ability and what he adds to the team in terms of influence. I’ve got to agree with FS he is the best footballer I’ve ever seen in the flesh. My head tells me he’s better than King Kenny but my heart says different.

A good point well made Andy. It is very difficult for players with the Media, more so these days than ever before.

Our players could just answer “We’ll see” or “Time will tell” but these Journo’s will keep banging away until they get a line they can twist. But do many of them actually wait for any words from players? It’s not unheard of for stories to have been made up without even speaking to players!

We probably all know how cunning the hacks are, and that they would do anything to get a story. Complete fabrication, I would suggest, is not beyond them. Very difficult situation because we can’t go around gagging all our players. It’s just the way the world is these days. Seeing or hearing is believing.

Digger, that’s not what I meant. Lucas is a back-up and played as one because he is still in that level. If Barry does come, then we can keep on rotating Masch, Alonso and Barry without really worrying about a drop in level. Just a difference in the type of play. That means he will not always play 90 minutes of every game, but it does mean that he will be an integral part which means there should be no concept of a back-up between these three. That’s what I meant. If that doesn’t satisfy him, then we don’t need him. Every player becomes a spoke in the wheel if you come to liverpool unless you are a super player. Rafa hinted that Keano could not cut it in a top team because Keano could not take not being played 90 minutes for every game.

But regardless, you are right that there are other areas we need to prioritise.

Yep. Ultimately we dont need him Hyde. I could see the argument for taking him last year before we bought Riera and Aurelio found both fitness and the form of his life. Add to that our superstar-in-the-making left full, Insua, and its a case of your shit outta luck Gareth. Last year we squandered (my opinion) 8mil on Dossena. We’re so close now. We cant, simply cant be spending money on ‘back ups’ or ‘squad’ players this time round. Go get that right winger Rafa, the final piece. Leave the rumours to Chris!

I haven’t read Lurgan’s novel yet but will do in a min.

Andy that was a brilliant example of journalists twisting things! You’re dead right. It’s more the headline that annoys me so I shouldn’t really blame the players.

As for Gerrard being the best in the world. I’m not so sure. I think he’s in the top 5 but I probably put Messi at number one and when Kaka is fit and in form he’s up there as well. The way he destroyed Man Utd a couple of seasons ago will live long in my memory. Check this link to remind yourselves: youtube.com/watch?v=EqNYrffEd5Q

Gerrard is probably the most influential player I’ve ever seen in a Liverpool shirt. In fact he’s probably the best player we’ve ever had. I didn’t get to see Kenny live. Sounds strange but I think I’ll rate Gerrard even higher after he’s retired and I look back and reflect on his performances and achievements. That 2006 cup final will live with me forever. Could have given him a cape in that game.

FS and Kenny, how do you think Gerrard compares to Thierry Henry of 2001-2004? I remember a game at Anfield where Henry tore us apart and my mouth was hanging open at his magnificence. Even the Kop gave him a standing ovation that night. A remember a run down the left wing that took Anfield’s breath away. I’ve never seen a visiting player do that to us before or since.

Losing Agger for 3 million is a disaster.His contract should of been sorted out b4 Chrmas.Is 2days team as good as 2001-’02?.Silva is injury prone and a bit lightweight for the Prem.We gotta hit Fulham hard right from the start.Benayoun shoud not of played on Saturday- disgraceful.

I’m in the camp that doesn’t see the point of signing Barry now. But I also don’t dismiss Bascombe’s article. We all know how much Rafa likes his utility players and we know he likes Barry. It wouldn’t surprise me if he sold Dossena and bought Barry. Wouldn’t surprise me if Lucas moved on either.

I’d like to see a winger in the Silva mold being number one priority. Any change left over in the kitty from that purchase can go elsewhere.

I was rather disappointed when Rafa confirmed Silva is no longer a target for us. It was no surprise that Valencia would ask for £30m. But at the end of the day if we can’t afford him we can’t afford him. Move onto next target. Oh and get Gerrard, Agger and Kuyt signed to new deals asap.

Yeah, Henry in his prime at Arsenal was magical, can’t argue with that. I also think that he was very inspirational to them as well.

I think it’s very hard to say this player or that player is the best in the world. When Pele was around he was clearly the best because he stood out head and shoulders above everyone else, much the same as Maradonna when he had his time.

These days players like Stevie G and Messi are extremely important to their respective clubs because they are so good at what they do.

I would say both are in the top 5 along with Kaka, but putting them in order would be very difficult. Torres could make the top 5 and so could Ronaldo, although he wouldn’t get my vote because he lacks professionalism, and I think that should be part of the criteria for being called the “Best player in the world”

Pele had class and skill. Maradonna had skill.

Stevie as an inspiration will come out on top, Messi for ball control and dribbling, Torres for finishing, Ronaldo for trickery. whose the best in the world at the moment? It’s a tough call.

Benny is a patriotic Israeli, captain of his team and is their talisman. If there is any possible chance of him being able to play I’m afraid he is going to play by hook or by crook. We’re going to have to accept that leading his country out in a World Cup is more important to him than playing for LFC. He said himself that the game against Greece is the most important of his career. I don’t see the point moaning about it.

Benny:

“I had a little problem with Liverpool,” he explained.
“They didn’t really want me to come to Israel. But as long as I know I will be able to give 100% I will play, even if it means risking my health.
“I’ve been going through intensive treatment in the last couple of weeks and I’m almost fully fit, but sometimes it’s still painful.”
“Missing out on Saturday’s game would be the biggest disappointment of my career. I’m feeling much better now and I hope that in a day or two I will be able to train with the team. If that happens, I will be able to play. Two weeks’ absence isn’t that significant.”

LB your not too sure about Stevie but you have to look back 2 seasons to reassure yourself about Kaka?! I only have to look back 2 weeks to reassure myself about Gerrard!! That performance against Madrid, sublime. Messi may be more individually gifted but I dont think I’ve ever seen a more complete footballer than Stevie. I’m with Zizou on this one. Digger will always be my favourite player, childhood hero and all that, but I’m of the ever increasing opinion that Gerrard is our greatest player of all time.

Tierry Henry in his pomp is the only player I’ve seen give Carra the runaround and Carra is probably the best out and out defender there is in the prem (I’m talking about just defending) very rarely do you see him skinned and certainly not more than once in a game. Graceful, strong and great balance with just the right amount of arrogance that a top class player needs.

LB: I think Zidane was talking about what Gerrard brings to table not just ability wise but his ability to influence, to grab the game by the scruff of the neck by sheer will. Messi is more skilfull and a great player.

that was Henry I was talking about, the graceful, balance, arrogance etc.

I agree digger, there’s a first time for everything. My all time hero in case nobody was aware is a certain King kenny but I think Gerrard if he isn’t already will be our greatest ever player to don a red shirt. That’s how good he is.

Digger, I’m not sure that Gerrard is the best player on the planet. That’s a bit different than saying I’m not sure about Stevie. Don’t be putting that journo spin on it mate. HEADLINE: “LB says he’s not sure about Steven Gerrard!!!”

Regarding the Kaka link. It’s an example of a player making a good team look like mugs on their own match on a big stage. Kaka and Messi are by far the best players on the pitch when they play for their country as well.

I have no problem with what Zidane said because I think Gerrard is up there amongst the elite of the sport, (top 5) I just don’t think he’s number one. That’s my personal opinion.

Like you say Digger, John Barnes is my favourite player – childhood hero etc. But from what I’ve seen Gerrard is our greatest ever player.

The above should say “on their own patch” not “on their own match”. Plus I thought you guys would enjoy seeing the mancs get skinned.

Lol! I knew you’d like that LB! Just yanking your chain mate, I knew what you meant, couldent help myself! And yes that clip brings back fond memories, Kaka schooled the mancs that night and he scored a freakin cracker in the pissing rain in the return leg at the San Siro too. But those 2 goals at o.t were special. He dosent seem to be as prominent for them now, dip in form plus the city thing in January. Pato is the man for the Milanese at the minute.

I still think Benayoun needs to be very careful.
Despite his patriotic stance, is he going to win anything with Israel? Highly unlikely.

Rafa (as we all know) can be extremely stubborn and if Benny has risked his fitness for LFC by playing too soon (for Israel) then rafa will not be best pleased and may decide not to play Benny even when he is 100% fit. We do have other options.

Benny should think that he may just win silverware this season with LFC, but is unlikely to be standing on the winners rostrun wuth Israel in South Africa next Summer.

He has played for Racing Santander and West Ham before joining the Reds. His house is not exactly overflowing with winners medals. I know what I would have done, and it wouldn’t have been putting my country ahead of my club.

Still, it was Benny’s choice, so let’s see what happens.

Digger, unfortunately Kaka has had a few injuries which has stalled his greatness. A shame that as he was about to step into the stratosphere I think. Pato is great but I don’t know why the hell Dunga won’t play him for Brasil. I watched Equador v Brasil last night and Brasil were awful. They miss Kaka badly and could do with Pato. Instead they are playing Fabiano (or is it Fabio?) Robinho, Ronaldinho and brought Baptista from the bench. I tell you what though Equador has some tasty players. They are a bit raw but the skill levels are crazy!

Yeah! Thats why I always love watching the Copa America when it comes aroundLB. We’re all familiar with the Brazil and Argentina squads but some of these other South American teams have sick players! I remember years ago watching Columbia in the Copa America RIPPING teams apart at will. They had a fantastic team that year and played some of the best football I’d ever seen. Valderrama, Asprilla, Freddy Rincon, a guy called Valencia, these guys were amazing together, I’m talking dream sequence football!

Kaka has fallen away a bit like Ronaldinho who had probably 2 seasons as the player who was head and shoulders above the others. Gerrard however is getting better and better and if he stays clear of injury so will Messi. For me they will be in terms of consistency the best players in the world although Messi has another couple of seasons of consistency to do first. Ronaldo should be in that bracket as well but this season has not reached anywhere near the heights of last season.

Steve, if Benny is saying that missing a World Cup qualifer would be the biggest disappointment of his career it makes it clear that leading them out in a World Cup finals match is more important to him than winning medals with any club.

Digger, that Colombia team were wicked!! In world cup 94 I thought they’d go far but they lost to the USA and Romania I think. The defence were all over the place unfortunately. This Equador side is something else. Antonio Vanelcia plays in midfield, that’s how good their right winger is. For their goal he went past 4 players with ease. They have a left winger who’s name escapes me but he gave Maicon a nightmare. Maicon came off injured, Alves came on in his place and got equally skinned time and time again by the winger. I’ll look up the name of this player because he’s different gravy.

Kenny, I think Kaka’s dip is more fitness related whereas Ronaldinho enjoys the night clubs and pretty women a bit too much. He’s also put on a bit of timber in the last few years. I reckon he’s lost motivation. Ever since Barca won the CL in 2006 he’s had the cigar out.

Lurgan mate, I’d read that comment before and I do know the fella that posted it. Well, sort of know him internet wise. But here’s me own take on Parry… yes. He is a Liverpool fan. Yes. He did do what he thought was right for the club. But, and it’s a very big but, he didn’t/doesn’t give a toss about ordinary Liverpool fans. The man is an accountant by trade. And, truth be known, a very good one. He was behind the repackaging of the Premiereship and the world wide exposure of the game. And, let’s face it, he made a fantastic job of it. But does he give a toss about ordinary match going fans… does he fuck.

The ticketing debacles that man has overseen are legendary. And I won’t even bother to comment on the transfer cock ups he has commited.

But here’s something to think over… Our club was actually born in The Sandon. It’s about a five minute walk from the Kop. When Everton walked away and left the stadium, it’s where the few faithfull met to decide what they was going to do. And so, it’s where Liverpool FC was born. Try getting in there on a match day now.

I am saying this as a sort of a metaphor (If that’s the right word) of Parry’s times and his aims. But the pub is now a corporate hospitality gaff where the likes of me and you aren’t allowed. Fat cunts in 2 grand suits entertain in there and the likes of us are no longer required or wanted. Does a few fat cats and their freebee mates bring in more money than a few hundred of us unwashed? I don’t know. But I know who I prefer to drink with.

South American football is second to none with regards to technique but my missus is from Peru so I’ve watched quite a bit and for what it’s worth I’ll tell you boys my thoughts.

Peru: Poor due to bad infrasructure

chile: Fighters

Paraguay: see above

Ecuador: Excellent skill levels but naive against the european times at the moment due to lack of experience against the big boys. Their players won’t get the space to work their magic that they get when playing South American teams.

Columbia: No bottle as soon as they go a goal behind their heads go down although again they have great technique.

Paraguay/Ecuador/Peru all looked down upon by the likes of Brazil/Argentina/Columbia.

PS… don’t score an oggie for Comlumbia.

Lads the “best player” debate is a little pointless, but since it’s international week I guess that’s understandable. But if you must debate it, surely you have to define what “best” means. Most skilful? Most complete? Most effective/influential? All of the above? The most skilful is probably Messi, though Ronaldo is close. The most complete could be Gerrard. The most effective/influential could be Gerrard, Ronaldo, Kaka or Messi…

I guess I would define it this way: imagine you were picking teams like in your old schoolyard days, and you were one of 5 or 6 “captains” who got to pick the players for your team for an upcoming season. And you were picking from every player in the world, and you had first pick. Who would you choose?

Perhaps you’re already answering that question, ie LB would pick Messi, Digger would pick Gerrard, etc… it’s just if it’s put that way as I did above, I’m not sure I would pick Messi. He’s a brilliant dribbler and creator, but he does not offer a lot else. Those who think his dribbling & creating (and hence the goals he scores/creates) outweighs the fact that he doesn’t have certain other attributes would pick him first. I’d probably go for a more complete player though. I think it is more difficult to be a more complete player, as it means mastering many different skills (dribbling, short passing, long passing, shooting, tackling, tactical positioning, etc), hence I am of the opinion that a more complete player is probably “better”.

So after calling it a pointless debate, in the words of one Forrest Gump… “that’s about all I have to say about that”!

and so it has started…

Sami Hyypiä injured his knee collateral ligaments during Finland’s win over Wales on saturday. According to Finnish media he will definately miss international friendly game against Norway on wednesday but hopefully it’s nothing serious.

hate internationals!

FS to answer your question:

Does a few fat cats and their freebee mates bring in more money than a few hundred of us unwashed?

Sadly, the answer is yes! A few bottles of champers at 500 quid; easy money.

FS: Maybe that’s why Columbia have no bottle. They go a goal behind and start worrying about if they’ll make it back to the changing rooms.

FS: How dare you call me unwashed. I like a bucks fiz as much as the next man.

Yeah life is like a box a chocolates Andy except Ronaldinho ate them all!! That Columbia team were dreadful defending LB but fuck me going forward they were different class. I loved Valderrama. Still one of the greatest passers I’ve ever seen and as for his brain, fucken hell, different level. He could see what he was gonna do 3 or 4 passes before he did it, the guys vision and passing was just sensational. Cant wait to see this Ecuador winger LB, hope he’s in Rafas database!

Andy is right about it being a pointless discussion, but I would have to say is that the most “complete” player has to be Gerrard.

Look at it this way, you can imagine making a proper team out of 11 Stevies. But you just can’t with Maradona, Pele, Kaka or Messi. Or Cruyff. Stevie can excel in every single position, and I bet you that he would make a nice goal keeper as well. I know I haven’t seen Kenny at his prime either, or Billy Liddell, but at least with the former, I know he is not good a defender or header as Stevie. Kenny was pretty good at defending in his own right, but I could not imagine him playing brillantly as a centre-back. I can’t say anything about Billy, but I hear that he was excellent at anything he did, tall and strong as well. Could be the same thing as Gerrard.

Digger, his name is Joffre Guerron Mendez and plays for Getafe. Look him up.

I tell you what Hyde, I would pay a feckin shitload of money to see a team that contained 11 Maradonas.

That man was the definition of world-class!

Digger, watch this: youtube.com/watch?v=dx0q6jkyQ0o&feature=related

particularly the Equador equaliser on 5:10 check out the wing play

Looks tasty LB. What a name, Joffre! Is he Joffre jaffur, ruler of zamunda?! Btw if he plays for Getafe I’d bet Rafa knows all about him.

Digger, I’ve just discovered he’s on Getafe’s bench most weeks. He’s not had a great start to his career in Europe and was apparently being booed by his own fans at the beginning of the season. He’s had some monkey chanting racist abuse from the “faithful” as well.

Ah well suppose I’ll have to stick to the turps

Just thought you lot would like to know. This is an article from the official website:

Rafael Benitez is the best coach in the world but don’t take our word for it, that’s the verdict of three of the continent’s best known newspapers.

Spain’s AS and Marca, plus Italian broadsheet La Gazzetta dello Sport conducted online polls asking their readers to vote for the best coach in world football.

Liverpool’s manager was an overwhelmingly popular figure and came out on top, winning more votes than the likes of Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, Fabio Capello, Marcello Lippi, Vicente Del Bosque and Barcelona’s Josep Guardiola.

In Marca, Rafa got 44 per cent of the vote to finish ahead of Guardiola (28 per cent) and Wenger (7 per cent).

Meanwhile, in AS, Benitez took 34 per cent with Guardiola in second place (19 per cent) and Spain’s Head Coach Del Bosque third (15 per cent).

Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport had Rafa out in front with 24.6 per cent, ahead of Ferguson (17.2 per cent) and Mourinho (15 per cent).

Hyde mate, you’re dashing me dreams… I like to think only a few of us know it.

As much as i rate Benitez I think you should not be considered as the best coach/manager in the world until you have won the league title.i think where all in danger of getting carried away with all this talk of best managers & best players. one game at a time please calm down calm down!!!!

Headline in this evening’s Echo: “Steven Gerrard hails Pepe Reina as best in world”

WORLDS BEST PLAYERS 1 MESSI 2 RONALDO 3 KAKA 4 VILLA 5 TORRES IN MY OPINION

Hey guys,

with the talk about parry upthread do any of you have any thoughts/suggestions as to who may be his replacement? I have next to no relevant knowledge but was hoping some of you may be able to shed some light on it

I read that Agger played 90 mins for Denmark.
Anyone have any info if that’s true?

Spain against Turkey on Wednesday looks like a very tough game.
Let’s hope Alonso and Torres come through it
unscathed.
Are these the last Internationals of the Season?

Redscouse, next internationals are on June 6th, so yeah season over.

So we’ve got the best keeper in the world, the best player in the world, the best striker in the world, the best manager in the world and the best fans in the world. As Puchong red would say ‘fook me!’, I just hope we’re as good as we all think we are, lotta backslapping going on in recent wks. Not that I disagree with any of it, I just hope we can translate all these ‘bests’ into something tangible and shiny in May or its all a little redundant eh? Ok, concerned mother rant over!

Rafamuffin you have Ronaldo at 2 ? maybe 10 years ago but he’s nowhere
near as good now and has put a lot of weight on.
Unless you mean Ladyboy who can’t tackle,cant track back and defend .
Cant score unless he has 10 yards and a stationary ball,can’t stop diving
hence the phrase “doing a Ronaldo” A term every child in britain knows
and trying his best to get fellow professional’s sent off hence the term
“W*nker”or “That f*cking cheat”.Cant play when playing against top players
Bad temperament with her Elton John hissy fits and kicking out tantrums,
hardly indicative of a top ten rank .
BASICALLY HE IS A DISCRACE TO HIS PROFESSION AND EPITOMISES
EVERYTHING BAD ABOUT THE GAME.
And to top it off you don’t even have Gerrard in the list even though some
of the Worlds greatest players ever,have said he’s the best .

YNWA

Digger i see you have been converted to Rafas camp,but are you a
member of @gagonrafastackle.com yet ?

PS As you say in Liberty City i’m been a messer.
YNWA

Heh heh! I hope you are messing Rome! He’s good alright, but the best manager in the world? No. Not yet. I was just quoting the newspapers in Hydes post 198. He’s certainly on the right path but he’s a ways to go yet. Obviously a league title will push him closer to that particular coronation (although some fans have crowned him already!). I tell you what though Rome if he starts chasing Barry again this summer in lieu of a right winger I cant be responsible for what Diggerno.10′s evil twin will say!

I dunno wot raffamuffin or digger are on about. Rafa’s already won the title in Spain….

Last I checked Liverpool dont play in Spain. And I dont support Valencia. Surely I dont have to specify ‘Premier League Title’ Hyde do I? Sheeeesh….

So Digger, to qualify as the best manager in the world, that manager must win the English Premier League title and preferably as manager of Liverpool?

Fat bastard just awarded the Nationwide England player of the year 2008

Andy,

i think this is what he meant… but I don’t blame him as Premier league is now supposedly called the best league in the world..

Yeah. Pretty much Andy. I mean I was just taking issue with the 3 papers in Hydes post but if you wanna break it down, then yeah, to be considered the greatest manager in the world then that means you’ve got to win the the championship in the greatest (read toughest) league in the world. If our potential candidate for that title, Rafa, does it with us then yee-fucken-haaa! So much the better! And theres a very good chance he could claim that title this year.

I don’t totally disagree Digger, but I don’t agree either. The EPL isn’t the toughest league in the world due to it being full of the highest quality managers in the world, hence it shouldn’t be the measuring stick for whether a manager is worth his salt. It’s the toughest mainly because it’s the richest and hogs the most resources, hence it is toughest to win because you basically really need to be the richest to win. That doesn’t mean the manager is irrelevant, but it does mean that you can be the best manager in the world but if you don’t have the resources, you may not win the EPL.

To take it to the extreme to prove my point – if Rafa (or any other manager for that matter) took over Derby with their current squad of players, got them promoted to the Premiership again, then took them to finish 4th in that year… would their manager be a candidate for the best manager in the world?

… and before anyone says our squad is better than Derby’s, I know that, I was just trying to prove a point. Man U have got a better squad than us, that is pretty much a fact (our first team is just very competitive compared to their’s, who knows maybe even better, that’s why we beat them twice this year). So the best manager doesn’t always win the title, in recent times in England it’s usually the best squad with an adequate manager.

Re: your Derby example; of course he wouldent be a candidate for the best manager in the world. A candidate for being the second coming perhaps! But the best manager? No. Waaay too simplistic an analogy Andy. And btw theres nobody disputing whether Rafas ‘worth his salt’, just the contentious claims in those newspapers Hyde cited. And surely your not suggesting that taggart and maureen are merely ‘adequate’ managers?!

It’s great to read the debate going on with you guys, great stuff keep it up.

Digger, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that both you and your evil twin will both be estatically happy come May, as that means all the rest of us will be as well.

I’m really starting to believe it will happen now, I can just see us pulling it off.

Evil twin indeed, nice one Digger. I’ll use that one myself sometime in the future.

Digger, I think you’ve done very well at still managing to miss my point, which was that winning the EPL doesn’t make you the best manager in the world, nor does NOT winning it stop you from being the best manager in the world. I think YOU were the one being simplistic by basically saying you can’t be the best manager in the world until you’ve won the EPL title… and anyway as I said, it was a deliberately extreme analogy in order to try and make the point… which unfortunately you still missed!

This is probably as pointless as the “best player in the world” debate but I’ll continue anyway.

Let me make the same point another way.

Which EPL club had the best squad in 2008? Most probably Man United, with Chelsea’s still pretty good. Who finished 1st and 2nd? Man U, closely followed by Chelsea.

Same question, 2007 & 2006? Chelsea had the best squad, purchased expensively.

Just using those last 3 years as an example, which I think are a sign of the modern times, if Man U & Chelsea had lesser squads, do you think they still would have won the title because they had such great managers? Well, it’s hard to say isn’t it, but I’d suggest the best squad would probably still have won, as long as they didn’t have a muppet manager.

Would Man U & Chelsea have won those titles if they had Rafa in charge instead of Maureen & Fergie? Again it’s hard to say, but I’m suggesting it’s pretty bloody likely they would have, with an extra Champions League or two in to boot.

Maureen and Fergie are obviously decent managers, I’m not sure where they rank in world terms, but I’m saying that winning the EPL was more to do with the quality of their squads – which came largely from big spending – than it was to do with them being great managers. It doesn’t mean they aren’t great managers, it’s just not what won them the titles, in my opinion.

Lads, I have just read that BBC Sport are claiming that Rafa is lining up an £18m bid for Barcelona Striker Samuel Eto’o.

Not sure what to make of that, even if it happens, is he the type of player we need?

Andy it wouldent be the first thing I’ve missed in my life! Look, I’m not saying you cant be the best manager in the world unless you’ve won the EPL, I’m just saying that given the EPL’s bitchslapping of Europe over the last couple of years that to be considered for that title, (bmtw) its probably a ticket you need to get punched before that coronation. Winning the EPL being said ticket. And of course I’m saying those polls in those newspapers are laughable. And so, I guess, are the voters!

P.s: Andy I think taggart and maureen are a little more than ‘adequate’ or ‘decent’ managers no?! Sure they had money but they assembled the squads, managed the egos, got the results, won the trophies etc etc. I seem to remember a Liverpool manager getting some money and proceeding to buy some of the worst players ever to wear a Liverbird. Its not all about the money bro though we like to think it is sometimes. 10 EPL’s, 2 c.l’s. 2 EPL’s, 2 with porto + c.l, 1 with inter. Decent? These guys are great bro.

In fairness though
When Rafa won the league twice in Spain the Spanish teams were bitchslapping all of Europe too
So I suppose the Spanish league was the best league in the world at that time.
Theres a point and a half eh?
Over and out

As much as it pains me to say it, Fergie is much more than a decent manager. He is a great manager!

You don’t get to stay at a top club for the past 22 years by being just a decent manager, you have to be one of the best, and unfortunately he is.

In his case, Man.U also showed some gumption and belief in him when he won fuck all in his first few years. That loyalty wouldn’t happen these days.

It’s been a long time since Wenger presented the Arsenal board with any silverware, but you get the impresssion if he comes up empty handed again this season, he will still keep his job.

Wenger and Fergie have the safest jobs in the Prem. Rafa has just signed a new 5 tear contract and if he delivers silverware this season you would feel his job would be fairly safe as well. Rafa will get the chance to become a great manager at Liverpool.

No not really Donal. Madrid won the c.l in 02 alright, Rafas first season in charge at Valencia, but it wasnt won again by a Spanish team until Barca in 06. And as far as I know Madrid havent progressed past the quarters since that win in 02. Hardly bitchslapping Europe the way the Prem is last couple of years.

in post #225 that should read “Rafa has just signed a new 5 YEAR contract, not a new 5 “tear” contract.

It made me laugh when I saw my error. I can’t imagine Rafa crying over it.

Sorry lads, I opened the Pandora box again without intending to. My thoughts about rafa and fungus face I have already written down in the comments section to a previous blog and to which Keith was kind enough to direct, so I did not in any way mean to start that again. Apologies.

I just wanted to point out that I really do not get how someone could not be happy that our manager is getting the recognition he deserves. There’s been too many criticism of him all throughout the years based on absolutely outdated and ridiculous philosophy– he rotates too much, zonal marking on set-plays is wrong and other similar crap, and then on top of that, he gets bitch-slapped that he is cracking up or that he is “ranting” against ferguson when speaking the truth. I do not intend to get into the other big argument of what “supporting” should mean, but I just do not understand how people cannot for once just enjoy the fact that we do have the best striker in the world, the most complete midfielder in the world, and at least apparently, one of best managers in the world, and finally, the media in and out of the country have bothered to mention it.

Why do liverpool supporters themselves have to tone things down at such a moment?? Let the supporters of other teams do that.
We all know that it is quite miraculous that we are in this position right now and some “supporters” may cause a massive backlash if united run away with the title, but trying to tone things down with that in mind at this stage is a bit strange if you ask me.
We’re not saying that we can beat the crap out of any team and we will definitely win the premiership or CL beause of the last couple of results. I most certainly am not saying that Rafa is the best manager just because of the last 2 weeks. I am not saying that stevie is the most complete footballer I have ever seen just because of his performance against Real.

All I wanted was a bit of an “innocent” celebration for all of us, yes all of us, that had to bear all those irritating bias down the years, but have now at least been recognised properly for once.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Some of you have just been so used to being bitch-slapped and being on the sore end of things that you have forgotten to enjoy something that is right, and are always constantly worried that that feeling is going to be taken away from you if you enjoy it. Of course, it will. We sometimes win, we sometimes lose.

I’m not getting carried away. I sometimes just want the plain truth to be acknowledged at times, and when it does, and I thought all of us could enjoy and be happy for that moment.

Digger, and Steve, I wasn’t trying to say that Fergie and Maureen are ‘only decent managers’, I was making the point that I believe they only NEEDED to be decent managers to win the EPL titles they won in recent years, due to the fact that they had the best squads in the league at the time. I believe there is so much money in the English game at the moment that the best squad is almost always going to be one of incredible quality and depth, and hence an almost irresistable force towards winning the title.

Other achievements Maureen and Fungus have made (eg Maureen’s CL with Porto, Fergie’s consistency) can of course be due to them being more than decent managers however, that just wasn’t my point.

Point taken Andy, but if they were not great managers they wouldn’t have been given the funds to assemble those great squads in the first place. I

Fair enough Andy, understood mate. I would say again though and I’m guessing you would agree, that it takes more than being a decent manager with a bankroll to be successful: see spurs! You’ve gotta have a little more, that x factor that makes you more than a decent leader and manager, that intangible that makes you a truly great manager. And those 2 cunts have it! Luckily for us though and unluckily for them (heh heh!) I’m wagering our mans got it too.

I fully understand your point, but I feel that being a great manager (or the board believing you are a great manager) and being given the funds to build a great squad tend to go in tandem.

Did Grant get the chavs to the CL final beacuse he is a top class manager or because there was already an excellent squad in place?

what strikes me as the moment is the profile we have in Europe, we are the no 1 rated team and the according to the polls the no 1 rated manager.

That is real progress over the past 5 years, where previously we were on the outside looking in.

We’re all very happy Hyde! And nobodies denying Rafa his well deserved recognition. All I was saying was maybe we should beware of hubris and polls compiled by kids probably the week after our Madrid result! How do I know they’re kids? Because they voted Pep Guardiola 2nd in 2 of them ffs!! Hyde mate I’m not knocking you, just the ludicrous poll results and the club site for trying to pass it off as evidence for something thats not true.

steve the red, agree with most of #225 except the first two lines.

Like you said, Ferguscum won fuck all in his first six years, compared to Rafa. He was one FA Cup final from getting sacked had the Scum not equalized against Crystal Palace, and history, as we know it, would have been very different.

But thanks to that stroke of luck, he was allowed to continue his slow consolidation of his squad, and he basically capitalized by King Kenny’s departure and the mess Souness created, as well as the rise of Sly Sports and all the TV money that came with it.

Bar the blip against Blackburn (1995), and the near scare but unfortunate capitulation of Newcastle (1996) and us (1997), this meant he was more or less unchallenged from 1993-1997.

Wenger’s arrival meant he was given a run for his money, so his solution? Outspend Wenger. Of course, it still didn’t stop Wenger from managing to halt his dominance in 2002 and 2004.

Then came the Russian Roubles, which outbid him in every department, meaning he’ll have to resort to second best until the Russian got bored in 2007 and did away with the Special Needs One.

Two decades of dominance meant the old fart has become pretty much infallible and shielded from media criticism. The same luxury cannot be granted to Rafa, though, as they savaged him for doing exactly what Ferguscum has been doing in his early years, and much better to boot.

Rafa has to make do with what he’s got AND put up with the politicking with the Yanks, and yet he’s managed to weather it all and come out even stronger.

Finally, the 4-1 win in Old Crapford exposed Ferguscum’s lack of any tactical awareness whatsoever for the whole world to see, when faced with an opponent with the right tactics, players and mentality.

Rafa has simply bided his time while Ferguscum feeds on his ego for the past two years (especially with the quintuple bullshit), and he’s probably beginning to reap the efforts that he’s sowed at last.

Only time will tell who is really “cracking up”, even if it’s not this season, then almost certainly the next. For that match will haunt the old fungus for a long time to come.

Hi all, been looking for a decent reds blog for a while. Gerry’s stories have me laughing aloud. I’m an Australian living in Liverpool for a while and a mad red fan.
Anyway what do others make of the Eto’o story reporting us and 18million pound being interested in him?
IMO we are in desperate need of another striker. I love seeing Kuyt in that attacking wing role where he runs as far as an ethiopian on crack. I think he suits that spot rather than having to move him into a striking role if torres is off the field. Ngog is coming along slower than a snail on valium.
Who else could we target as a second striker/reserve. The other guy I think is pretty decent is carew. Any idea whether him having played for valencia puts him in a more or less likely postiion for rafa to want him?

No worries Digger and Steve, point taken about funds only being given to great managers (strictly not always true though you would agree, eg Sounness and the example you gave yourselves in Spurs. An interesting test case will be Hughes at City this summer, will they keep him or get someone else in to spend the money…?)

Anyway sick of that debate, but it was good while it lasted

Now everyone spend the rest of the week praying that our key players come back fit from the internationals!!

I assume the Israeli FA will be paying Benayoun’s while he is sidelined?.Why was an injured player allowed to leave Melwood in the 1st instance?.I f he loves Israel so much-then they can pay him.Fergie wouldn’t stand for this nonsense.Why is Hyypia still playing for Finland?.Time to bin him and bring Jack Hobbs back.Is there any chance of redeveloping the Main Stand and Anfield Road ends?.He who pays the piper etc.

Burgerman mate, the only way I to get out of releasing players for internationals is to not sign them in the first place. Buy players that have no chance of playing for their country. Of course we’d probably get relegated but we wouldn’t have to worry about internationals.

If Ronaldo and Rooney get injured on Wednesday I bet we’ll be smiling.

Best manager in the world debate was good lads. Digger made an excellent point about the polls being nonesense. Pep Guadiola 2nd best manager in the world on 2 of the polls. That imediately rules out it’s credibility.

I think its the consistency that defines best manager in the world status. You don’t get to manage one of the biggest clubs in the world for 22 years without being great. Maureen took over Porto and had them dominate Portugal, win a CL then went to Chelsea and dominated immediately. Fair enoug the money helped but what did Ranieri do with the money? What did Avram win with a strong squad? Scolari? Rafa showed his greatness winning 2 league titles in La Liga with a club who had less resources than the power houses Real and Barca. He then won a CL with a weak squad of players.

Rafa’s been a manager for 13 years (not including this season) and won 2 La Liga titles. 1 UEFA Cup. 1 CL, 1 FA cup.

Maureen has been a manager for 8 years and has won 2 Portugese titles, 1 Portugese cup, 1 CL, 1 UEFA cup, 2 Premiere league titles, 1 FA cup, 2 League cups.

Taggart has been a manager for 34 years and has won 3 Scottish titles, 4 Scottish cups, 1 Scottish league cup, 2 Cup winners cups (1 with Aberdeen, 1 with Mancs), 10 Premiere League titles, 5 FA cups, 3 League cups, 2 CLs.

Those are the tangibles. I didn’t include charity shields, super cups and the like for any of the managers.

First off Bennyonion wasn’t injured when he left Melwood
Ferguscum does stand for this nonsense look how many of their players are on international duty.
Hyypia is the best defender Finland have,with years of experience
Hyypia is better than Jack Hobbs so no we shouldn’t bin him
As far as re-developing google Stanley Park then you’ll realise what a daft
question that is.
Paying the Piper etc i haven’t a clue

YNWA

Boring with out the footy eh. I haven’t got a clue what has happened in the international games. I lost all interest in them a few years back and just can’t be bothered watching them or reading about them.

The only bit of Liverpool news I have is not good, and I don’t really want to open the can of worms again. But there’s not much to talk about, so….
things aren’t looking good on the Agger front. A few of the younger lads have had their contracts sorted Spearing, Darby and a couple of others that were running down. So, I hope the senior pros are just waiting for the season to end before sorting there’s. Kuyt, Agger, Aurelio and Arbeloa only have about 12/18 months left on theirs. But I’m still hearing the same worrying rumours about Agger. And did anyone see his latest comments?

I hate to say, and I hope I’m entirely wrong. But it’s not very encouraging.

More managers that should be amongst the best in the world?

Carlo Ancelotti
7 years in senior management.
1 Serie A title, 1 Italian Cup, 2 CLs.

Marcelo Lippi
23 years in senior management.
5 Serie A titles, 1 Italian cup, 1 CL, 1 World cup with Italy.

Fabio Capello
17 years in senior management
7 Serie A titles (although 2 of those were revoked due to the referee match fixing scandal), 2 La Liga titles, 1 CL.

Oh dear. What were Agger’s latest comments FS?

That dosent sound promising, what did he say FS?

I just found this:

In The Mail on Sunday at the weekend, Benitez said: “Agger knows what I think of him.

“If he stays fit, he will have as good a chance of playing as anyone, maybe more.”

However, Agger insists the remarks will not have any effect as he would rather discuss the issue face to face.

“Benitez would like to extend my contract – that is clear,” he said in Bold.

“What he said is probably tactical. I cannot rely on what I read in an English newspaper.

“For me personally, what I can find out from him when we meet is most important.”

Sorry lads I just ducked out for a bit. But LB found what I was refering to. I saw it in another site though. He said it to a Danish reporter.

It seems innocent enough. But when you consider what’s going on in the background, it seems a bit more damaging. If he’d have wanted he could have just said that’s good news or whatever. But every time he gets the opportunity he seems to take a little pop at Benitez…. which is all I’ve ever seen him call Rafa.

I think him and Yossi better start behaving themselves. We all know what a ruthless bastard Rafa can be. Like I said before, I hope it can all be worked out, but I don’t like the look of it. And what with being in such a position at the business end of the season, you’d think all the players would be happy and looking forward to getting a chance in the last few games. But I don’t think Dan and Yossi have done themselves or us any favours during this break.

PS… I forgot to add in that last post that Hyppia got injured against Wales. I don’t know how badly but he won’t be plaing in the next game. I would be much happier with Agger if he just bided his time and tried to prove his worth on the pitch. He’s bound to be needed before the season finishes. He could end up with a league and CL medal. Add that to his wages, and the fact that Rafa has made it plain on many occasions, that he wants him to stay, and also how the club has stood by him through out all his injuries… well, you’d think he’d want to show a bit of loyalty to the club.

Modern day footballers, I just don’t get them.

FS, I’d more forgive Yossi or understand where he is coming from. As far as he was concerned he felt fit enough to play for Israel. It’s clear he is really passionate about representing his country. He moaned a few months ago about not getting enough games. Rafa gave him more games and he responded with some hard work and excellent performances.

Agger on the other hand has been injured a lot and has not found great form. As you said every time he gets an opportunity he has a little pop at Rafa. In fact he is almost disdainful of Rafa. Calling him “Benitez” and pretty much saying “Good for him he signed a contract but I couldn’t give a fuck about it”. And implying that he doesn’t trust Rafa’s word. It’s as if he is looking for an argument so he can walk off nicely into the San Siro.

Agger is a class player but if his hearts not in playing or fighting for a place at LFC then it has to be good business to flog him and that’s what should be done. Look at MO, I don’t knock Michael Owen and he was fantastic for us but he wanted Rafa to go down on bended knees for him to stay and Rafa did want him to stay but said basically it was up to MO. What do you think MO wishes he’d have done now? Same will happen with Agger if he is interested in his football career. If he’s not then AC Milan will suffer and we’ll get a good few million quid to replace him with someone who does want to play for us.

Sadly LB I think you are right about Agger. I heard the whispers a long time ago, but said nothing as I hoped it wasn’t true. But it doesn’t look good. I suppose we’ll just have to see what happens in the summer.

As for Yossi, I can understand that he’s a patriotic lad. But he was advised not to go by the medical staff. I hope he just gets a bollacking and that’s the end of it. But he’s one of the players that I think Rafa will be looking to upgrade in the next couple of seasons anyway. I can see him getting another season, but he’s near 28 now. And I think if Rafa can find another player of his type, but younger for a moderate fee, Yossi will get sold at a decent profit.

Rafa’s good at doing this, cashing in when the time is right and replacing like for like but a bit better. He’s got form for that. Also I’m sure some of the young kids will be ready to take the step up by then.

In fact, I’m hoping to see a few make the break through in cup games next season. Pacheo and Spearing are near there, but they’re both so tiny.

Has anyone seen Pacheo play. The boy is special… proper special. I just hope his size doesn’t hold him back.

Hopefully Nemeth can stay clear of injury and have a solid reserve season and get some cup action as well. Spearing is small but looks quite strong – low centre of gravity and all that. Pacheco looks like a little kid but I agree he does look special. Of what I’ve seen of him he looks the business. I must admit I watched a lot more reserve football last season than I have this season. Last season the following impressed me and in this order: Nemeth, El Zahr, Pacheco, Spearing, Insua.

I think Rafa might be looking to upgrade Benny regardless. Maybe Benny thinks this as well so is willing to risk Rafa’s wrath. Maybe he thought “I might be on the bench anyway so I’m playing for my country”.

I think LB might be on to something here. At worst it appears he’s trying to provoke rafa into selling him, at best he’s very disrespectful of the man who gave him his shot at the bigtime. Normally I’d back the player in a situation like this and suggest theres a cunt of an agent playing fuck in the background but Aggers barely concealing his contempt for Rafa in his comments. If he dosent wanna play for us and refuses a new deal then piss off and jog on danny! Shame….

Another theory is that Agger thinks the club is full of shit regarding it’s promises to discuss a new contract and he feels he is treating further promises with the contempt they deserve. As if saying “yeah right, I’ll believe it when the contract is on the table”.

As I said a while ago if/when we acutally offer him a new deal we’ll know more. At the moment nothing has been offered or rejected. But it’s not looking good.

Nah. I still hope he stays. But then only if it’s what he really wants. But I’m afraid he’s a bit nuts our Daniel. The stories are well known round Liverpool, and it’s what start the drug rumours. His behaviour is that whacky at times. And you have to remember to most of these lads, it’s just a job. They don’t have years of emotion poured into a club like us mugs.

So, if he does go, I think it will be a shame. And I know the sutuation on his contract, but hope there’s someway Rafa can stop him from being practically stolen off us. As I say I know the situation, but it’s Rafa we are talking about and a Rafa in full control of contracts and transfers… He’s just got Hertha Berlin to accept a 4 million euro price on Vronin, (Relying on them making the CL next season). And if he can get that for that donkey, I wouldn’t bet on him not getting a decent price for Agger and a decent replacement on the cheap.

He’s a foxy old dog our Boss.

As for Yossi, I like having him in the squad. I think he’s a nice option to have around when things need changing. But like everyone else, he’s just another cog in the machine to Rafa. So, when it’s time to say goodbye and thank you to him or anyone else, that’s exactly what will happen with no sentimentality attached.

Seems a bit nasty that, but ruthlessness is a good thing in a manager.

I don’t think Rafa would want Agger to go. He waited and waited to get Agger, Remember we needed a centre back we only had Sammi and Carra at the time but Rafa waited so I think it’s defo more Agger and his attitude.

Just saw an article on soccernet. that Rafa wants to get Eto…..but since this source is from the S*n, I rather not believe it..

Liverpool lining up move for £18m striker Eto’o?
By Soccernet staff

March 31, 2009
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Rafael Benitez is ready to launch an £18m bid to bring Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o to Anfield, according to reports in Spain.

GettyImages

Samuel Eto’o has been in great goalscoring form.

The Barcelona striker has been in top form this season, netting 25 goals from 27 games, but his future has been the subject of speculation after it was revealed that his contract only has one year left on it.

Liverpool could swoop for a player whose price tag is increasing by the game, but may face competition from both Milan clubs who have shown an interest in the striker in the past.

A source close to Eto’o said in The Sun: “Benitez likes Samuel a lot. Everything is possible for this summer. It will depend on Barcelona’s results as well if they decide to buy David Villa.

“Eto’o is not a player to sit on the bench.”

Despite impressing in his time at the Nou Camp and landing two La Liga titles as well as a Champions League trophy, Eto’o's time at Barcelona has been chequered and he has faced an uncertain future with new coach Pep Guardiola listening to offers last summer.

Considered to be the source of dressing room discontent, Barcelona may now choose to cash in on Eto’o before the striker can leave for free in 2010, although the player has distanced himself from any transfer talk.

When asked about a potential move to Inter Milan this weekend, he replied: “I do not know anything about Inter.

“I just lost an important match (against Togo) and I am not here to talk about my future, because I’m happy at Barcelona.”

Well at the end of the day, I don’t think we really need benny. The great thing about him was that he seemed a sensible bloke and willing to dedicate himself for our cause. But if he just wants more games for the sake of it, he loses his value. He certainly is not indispensable, so I
have no worries whatsoever about seeing him go.

Agger is a bit more worrying because it is hard to come by a central defender with such an elegance and idea in attack. But I am sure Rafa can pinpoint them from his database. Reading his comments, were it to be the exact words he said, I have gone off him now. I hate players who only look at themselves. Hell, he was out injured most of the time.

Amd of danny boy is really taking drugs, then he should be banned from the game anyway.

The Eto’o rumours seem to be bullshit to me. He’s a centre forward and not a guy to sit on the bench. In fact he’s a guy to call his own press conference and run his mouth if he aint happy. Where would he fit into our team? Unless Rafa wants to change the system it doesn’t make sense.

All good managers have a bit of that in them FS even cuddly uncle Bob Paisley. “A player’s not finished when he leaves Liverpool just finished at Liverpool”. I’ve quoted that a few times but it’s so true and reveals the attitude that sentimentality has no place for a club to remain at the top. Dalglish told Aldo that’s the player not the shoe shop that he had no plans for him. Sadly it has to be done.

Kenny, I think Daglish fucked up on that one. Aldo was at the top of his game!

I’m guessing none of us are addressing the et’o thing cos we all know its surely bullshit right? Does anyone ever ask these journalists, sorry thats an insult to journalists, hacks I mean, where we’re gonna play samuel? Cos the one thing the article does get right is he aint gonna sit on the bench. So wheres he gonna play? Guess we can strike this one too.

I love a boss to be ruthless, and we all know Rafa will be when needed. So, I have worries on that front. And I’m sure you’re all bored with me saying it, but whatever happens with Agger I will trust Rafa’s judgement.

And Hyde there was no truth in the drug rumours. I’ve always said that. They reckon that was started by Evertonian’s. But Agger is a bit nuts. It’s a well known fact in Liverpool.

As for Eto I just can’t see it. Not a Rafa type player to my mind. Big head, disruptive influence. I just can’t see it. I do hope to see some the kids next season though.

There’s a kid in the reserves who’s always injured, Francisco Duran. I haven’t seen him play but my mate insists he’s the most naturally talented footballer of all our kids. Seems he’s made of glass though. But here’s the next batch of kids we should be seeing… Pacheo, Nemeth, Darby, Lauri Dalla Valle and Duran.

I also think a lot will be shipped out over the next couple of seasons and showing a bit of a profit. Things are looking good. And I’ll tell you what confirms it for me… Mr ferguson publically discounting Rafa as a manager and LFC as a team. Sozzled aul duffer.

An interview with Alonso and Jan Molby, awesome 14s for us.

The link:
guillembalague.com/interview_desp.php?titulo=Xabi%20Alonso%20chats%20with%20Jan%20Molby&id=59

Digger whether Dalglish was right or not wasn’t my point. A manager shouldn’t be afraid or be too sentimental to make tough decisions. Aldo or Rush was the choice. In the 1989 cup final Dalglish made a tough decision he started with Aldo with Rush on the bench.

I think #264 is for LB Kenny! Big heads and disruptive influence dident stop Rafa buying Bellamy or Peanut FS.

Didn’t stop him shoving them out pronto either.

yes it was Digger.

Rafa took a chance on Bellamy and Pennant they were peanuts but Eto for 18 million?

Yes Kenny, I know the point you were making. The point I’m making is sometimes managers can be too ruthless and with the wrong player(s). Taggart with Jaap Stam, Dalglish with Aldo, Houllier with Fowler and a whole host of others, Souness with Beardsley, Mourinho with Robben…. If Rafa had his way Alonso would be at Juve. I think we’re now glad that didn’t happen.

As far as the Aldo/Rush debate, I have to say that I think Dalglish did in fact show a bit of sentimentality for that decision. You can hardly blame him like… it was Rushie after all. And he’d played alongside the lad for much of his career!

But Aldo was the fitter and younger of the two. Rush beecame a bit-part supporting role within a season of that decision.
Would we have gotten more out of Aldo? We’ll never know.

And as far as the E’eto article…. here is the telling line:
“…it was revealed that his contract only has one year left on it. Liverpool could swoop for a player whose price tag is increasing by the game, …”

Sorry but a player with 12 months on his contract does NOT go up in value… in fact EXACTLY the opposite.
Its called a Bosman you Dickheads!
How do these fuckers get jobs?

LB: can of worms you’re opening mate.

Jaap Stam – I agree with you. Aldo or Rush hindsight on that one. They were a similar age both good goalscorers but rush added more to the team defending from the front, link up play etc. Fowler or Owen I think Houllier made the right decision even though I love Robbie but he starting to get injured a lot. Souness with Beardsley yes I tend to agree with you but Beardo was a bit inconsistent. Robben injury prone but a very good player. Alonso no way!!

Aitch I don’t think it was sentimentality with King kenny just that he thought Rush was a better all round player, he would know as you said he’d played with him for years.

Don’t get me wrong Kenny, I was fuckin exstatic when Rushie returned (especially considering the business side of it. It was a real coup) but given the season Aldo had just had, I think he’s every right to feel aggrieved. (if he does I dunno?)
I think most if not all of us would have been clouded by a bit of sentimentality, and made the decision KK made at the time.
But I also can’t help think, in retrospect, was it the right long term decision??

You are certainly right in that Rushie was perhaps a better all-round player, with Aldo maybe a bit more of that “traditional center forward” type player.

Re;Best manager in the world poll.

Thats all it is.A poll.Dosen`t have any credence.

I will say although weather Rafa isn`t statisticly the most successful manager around if i had the choice to swap him with any manager on earth tomorrow,then i wouldn`t.

Re; Eto.

Great player,big ego.Wouldn`t fit in our team in the current system.So i`d say its a no no.Hope it is to be frank.Rafa wouldn`t have him and before anyone mentions bellamy and peanut,i think eto is on another level and has a much larger ego and would probably think he is bigger than LFC.

Re;Rush/aldo

I`m on the fence on this one.The first season i really took and interest in watching the reds on match of the day was the 87/88 season.I fell in love with Aldo,barnes,beardo,houghtan…all of them really.
When rush came back the following season me being a naive 10 year old thought Rush was going to take aldo`s place and i must admit was some bit bitter towards him.But all was forgiven on that sunny saturday afternoon in may 1989 when rushy scored two to beat the blues at wembley.I fell in love with rushy then and with aldo scoring that day also i thought they were all going to be one happy family.Unfortunatley liverpool FC wasn`t big enough for the both of them.Sad.

Aldo was a lethal finisher in his pomp but rushy was the greatest striker the reds ever had with his best form being pre-Aldo i might add.

I gotta admit I was an Aldo fan having fallen in love with the 1987-88 side. So was gutted when he was sold. And I was absolutely vexed when Beardo ended up at fucking Everton!!! I still get angry when I think back to that.

That was the most baffling of souness` decisions LB.

It wasn`t like he was past his best.He went on to perform at a very high level until 1997.With his best season since leaving the reds was 95/96 with the barcodes,5 years after he was sold from LFC.

I don’t think anyone could or will ever make sense of that one timmy… other than Souness!

Oxford English Dictionary:
Stupidity: see Souness Beardsley transfer

Also, I think some people are being a bit harsh on BennyOnion. He’s supposed to NOT go represent his country and save himself for a position on our bench? Bit unreasonable that one I think.
How many games has he started this season?
Of course representing his country has a slightly higher priority.

I don’t think anyone should have a higher priority than playing for LFC… but I’m born and bred and 4 decades into them!
But I don’t let that cloud my understanding of his decision.

Yes Timmy, I remember Beardsley and Andy Cole striking up a wonderful partnership at Newcastle.

Aitch I agree with you 100% regarding Benny. He’s their captain, best player and national hero as well. Never mind all that though he should stay at Melwood with Carra and Rafa, and look forward to the bench at Craven Cottage.

I just found this from Wiki: Maybe Rafa should have read it before signing him

“Just prior to the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers, Benayoun was given the captaincy of the Israeli national team. In eight appearances in the qualifiers, Benayoun has scored two goals. Benayoun’s motivation and dedication to the Israeli national team is well documented. He puts his body on the line for his country, with one such example occurring in a Euro 2008 qualifier against the Croatian national team. Benayoun received several injections in order to be available for the match despite knowing the effects it could have in the following weeks. After the match, the injury worsened and he had to miss over three weeks of football for his team at the time, West Ham United.”

I don’t agree. The decision wasn’t his to make. The medical staff had made it for him. As well, as going when instructed not to, he stuck two fingers up to the medical staff and Rafa. No matter how much you can understand it, or even agree with it, there has to be consequences.

As I said earlier, I just hope it’s a bollacking and a warning. But he can’t be allowed to just do what the fuck he wants and not get pulled up for it. And that just doesn’t go for Yossi though. One law for them all. And only one boss. I know there’s other instances of… Carra refusing to play right back, Gerrard refusing to play on the right. Gerrard going on the piss etc. But in my book, they all have to toe the line. It’s the only way it works.

Ahh well, I’m off and all I can say is… roll on Saturday and just hope all the lads get back unscathed.

We’ve already lost Sami and Yossi due to these stupid fucking games. Torres is another one who shouldn’t have gone in my opinion. He’s only just getting back to himself after the last inuries he picked up with Spain, and he’s got quite a bit of travelling to do. Which is practically a stroll round the back garden when compared to Mascher’s Philleas Fogg impersonations. And remember what happened to him and Babbel at the beginning of the season after them stupid bleeding Olympics. In fact the two of them are only just starting to show their true form after having a pretty shitty season by their own standards.

Sorry lads, but for me there is just no justifying these shite games – especially meaningless bloody friendlies.

I don’t disagree really FS.

I think the minute that final whistle went against Villa, every LFC player should have done an Italian job and dropped to their knees like they woz all pole-axed!
Done a bit of Ronaldoing around on the ground, grabbing various bits of their bodies and making sub-signs! …Only for all the subs to stumble from the dugout, all limping and clutching their legs!

Then Rafa reports them all injured to their various national teams!

Unfortunately, the real world is that these games are scheduled at the MOST inopportune moments, and while I’m pretty sure I’d be in the Carragher camp, and fuck them off for what was really important, if I were a player… I get why playing for their country is so important to these guys.
(and without getting into a politico/religeous discussion…can we discount the perhaps extra added significance for Benny, of representing Israel?)

To restrict Benny from appearing for his country, because we MIGHT need him as a sub, while I think we as die-hard Reds fans might suggest is “fair enough” since we pay his wages, is perhaps a bit unfair.
I think its a stronger argument for Torres or Xabi or Stevie, coz you know they are first ont he teamsheet, but Benny is a bit part player. I think I can completely understand his decision, and not really feel too much animosity towards him for making it.

Oh… and in addition to that. Are Israel’s chances better with Benny in the side. Or more to the point, are their chances damaged if he is not available?

Whereas.. Spain are likely to fair just fine if Xabs and Torres miss a game.

These games aren’t meaningless, they are world cup qualifiers. For a lot of these players its the pinnacle of their careers to play in a world cup. Look at it this way, when Alonso or Torres are 60 years old and retired in Spain what memories will they reflect on with the most fondness and emotion? Playing for Liverpool or playing for Spain in a world cup?

Aitch Benny to Israel is like Gerrard to us.

I’m with FS about Benny, he was told by his employers not to go, on medical reasons, and went anyway. You can’t say there are different rules for him just because he is especially passionate about playing for his country and has done it in the past. It sets a precedent. What happens when Torres says he is desperate to play in the Confed Cup this summer but our medical staff say his body needs the rest?

I’ll bet my house we aren’t in for Eto’o. Wrong mentality, doesn’t fit our system. Definitely not Rafa’s type of “mentality”.

I also have to side with fs and andy on the benny thing.
I have absolutely nothing against a player being passionate about representing his country.
The problem with Benny was that he was not fit enough to play a competitive game. It was apparent that he would risk a lot when wearing the national jersey; you are bound to get injured even when 100% fit, let alone when you are recovering. For me, that’s just unprofessional and irresponsible. I could take it if he was in an actual tournament.

It is not about forcing him to be fit to be a sub at craven cottage by requesting him to ditch being captain for his country. It is actually about looking to stay fit so he could do both in the long run.

On a different light, it is as FS says; something has gone terribly wrong with international footy these days. The last time I actually enjoyed any tournament was USA ’94. Since then, it has become a total farce.

Looks like Voronin actually wants have a re-try at liverpool. I thought he said he hated the weather there!? Would he be held on to, or would Rafa see him leave by making a profit of 3.5 million? The choice is yours.

I wouldn’t be suicidal if Voronin was given a 2nd chance… okay his first stint was far from anything resembling a success, but he’s banging them in in Germany after all, and if he was willing to play 2nd fiddle to Torres?
….but then again…. 3.5 mill is one tenth of the way to what we need for Silva, …so that just leaves us with 8 more players to sell……

These clowns at FIFA are to blame for all this mess. Why can’t they just schedule all the fucking qualifiers in the summer and get it over and done with? Is that too hard to do?

That way, fans won’t be bored like hell with no football to watch during the break, and clubs won’t have to worry about injuries in meaningless games wrecking their season.

Instead, they had to interrupt everybody’s season three to four times.

Kinny, I agree, but I think our players will be dead tired for 2 years running if they do not get a summer’s break for 2 consecutive years (the second year being the actual finals).

But I do agree. They should just lump it into one. It really is piss-taking of the highest quality especially so far into the season.

If three of the internation Weeks were taken out of the season, it would enable domestic seasons to finish earlier, and therefor give time to play qualifers and give players a break, it would work out with the same number of games which ever way you do it.

When I was a kid, I used to love intrnational football. There wasn’t the hype like to day. So you actually had to wait for The Echo to come out to see the squad. It used to give me a feeling of pride to look at the squads and see our players filling them. And of course you got to brag to blue family and friends because they never had as many players representing their countries.

I still loved it as I got a bit older. There was some great tournaments and games that still stick in my mind. Then of course there was all the great players that you’d never get to see if it wasn’t for internationals. When I was in me early 20′s, me and 3 fo me mates hitch hiked to London, absolutely skint, and bunked into Wembley just to see Maradonna play. And that was in a friendly. Mind you, he didn’t let us down. What a player and a what a show he put on.

But then as I got a little older, I noticed players of ours were going off to England, Ireland, Scotland camps and coming back fucked, leaving us short at many crucial times. Well, I’d noticed that for a long time, but I took the view of some of you lads…. It’s a great honour for them. They have to do it.

Now I can’t fucking stand them. I know exactly what you mean in 286 LB. I’m not daft. I know what the games mean to the players themselves. But as I said… there’s no justifying these ridiculous games to me. The scheduling is absolutely ridiculous. They can’t even get kick off times right. Well, they can…. when it makes most money. That’s all the FA’s care about.

The New England kit goes on sale today…. £75 for the top. FFS 75 nicker for a bit of aul polyester knocked up in some Asian sweatshop by poor exploited people, to sell to poor exploited housewives in England. Wrong! Wrong on all fronts. But another story.

We’ve already lost Yossi and Sami. How many more before this shites over? Will it cost us points aswell as players – as it has done many times in the past.

Think back just a few months. Rafa was fuming with Spain. He reluctantly allowed Torres to go away, but only if he stuck to the specific training schedule our medical staff had worked out for him. They didn’t. He come back injured. We strung a few draws together. Fucking disgrace.

nearly 20 years we’ve waited for this. I don’t know about you, but if Gerrard scores the winner for England at Wembley against the Ukraine and comes back injured and unable to play against Fulham, I won’t be thinking Oh, well at least England got the points.

And Vronin should be offed. He’s not that bad a player really, but he’s a mouthy knobhead, he’s not good enough for LFC, he’s got a bloody ponytail and he wears Leopard print track suits… Fuck him off Rafa.

There are too many qualification games to fit them all into 3 weeks. Take South America for example. They have to play 18 matches for world cup qualification. European nations play 10 games. How will that fit into 3 weeks? If players do not have a proper break during the summer they’ll be knackered and even more vulnerable to injuries.

The problem is that the tournaments have been expanded to include more countries which means even more countries participating in qualifying.

I actually enjoy international tournaments. It’s a nice change up from club football.

Going back to the Benny situation. I’m not saying there should be allowances for him because he happens to be especially passionate about his country. What I’m saying is ALL of your international players will be desperate to play for their country and if they think they are fit enough they are likely to ignore their club’s advice and will play.

Another thing I meant to say about these internationals….
Some people (mainly in the media) have tried to make out they’ve come at a good time for us. Some people at the club and ex-player pundits of ours, have even tried to put a positive spin on it. What a load of bollacks.

They couldn’t have came at any worse time for us, or a better one for Man United. Just think how you are going to feel in a few weeks, if the worst come to the worst, and you have to face all your Manc mates at work and that. And you’ll know that if it hadn’t been for these toss-pot games you might have been celebrating and rubbing in their faces for the first time in near 20 years.

I honestly take absolutely nonotice of them. I won’t be watching England on the telly tonight. But obviously you hear the odd snippet on the radio or telly or whatever. There’s no avoiding all the hype nowadays.

One thing I did just hear, England have had to call up Agbonglahor because they’ve run out of forwards. I’m not going to sling muck for the sake of it, but how many forwards went away with them and how many have got injured? I’m sure LB or someone will know. But think of this… If Agbonglahor comes back fucked, it will be very bad news for us. He could do some real damage at Old Trafford. There again going away with France will probably have done great things for Evra’s confidence and he will put in a great performance.

But had we not had this interuption, do you not think Agbonglahor running at him wouldn’t have scared the shit out of him after his performances against us and Fulham?
And what sort of damage would his crosses to Carew have caused if they’d played last Saturday? The Mancs were in deep trouble there at Center back and Villa were the exact type of team to inflict more damage… fast, direct with height and aggresion.

I hate to be moaning. Well, I’m not really. I’m just having me say, and sorry, but… There’s not one positive thing I can say about this situation.

LB: I feel the same as FS about internationals. I have no interest whatsoever. I think that stems from us being Scousers. It’s not that I don’t care about England I do but the International team doesn’t bother me one jot. I hope they do well but not at the expense of Liverpool FC. The LFC players have always been treated badly, the crowd boos players I remember John Barnes. Why can’t Barnes replicate his club form? they used to whine. Why? because they played Stuart Pearce as the winger and expected Digger to track back. Pearce used to take the free kicks where’s the sense in that? I could go on but you get the point.

As regards International football I think it’s inferior to the European Champions league.

Firstly Internationals are a fact of life, not much we can do about them.

But is a question of restructuring them so they cause the least disruption to the domestic season, at the moment there are 4 or 5 breaks in the season, if those break were reduced or taken out, the domestic season would be finished alot earlier, players wouldn’t be travelling all over the globe and then you could have all the hype around the internationals for the Months of May and June. you could easily play 8/10 games in 5 weeks

Liverpool to win the Premiership or England to win the world cup. Which would you prefer? Me? Liverpool to win the premiership any day of the week!

for the other Chaps who are not English I should have said Liverpool to win the league or your country to win the world cup?

What sort of antiquated training systems do these countries use? There seems to be an awful lot of players who get injured on international duty without even kicking a ball.

Mind you, having Rooney paradre round the front pages in an air boot, and X-ray’s of Beckham’s metatarsel on the front page does make exciting reading for those lahvelly S*n readers.

As for LFC players being booed by fans KDLL… do you remember when the Liverpool players used to have to eat on their own? The other’s would train with them and that was it. They wouldn’t eat with them or socialise in any way with them. That was down to Inguland’s fantastic Lionheart Gary Nipple. But the others, even the staff, allowed it to go on until it got picked up by the media. We had Owen, McMannaman, Fowler and Gerrard as staples in them squads at the time. They should have been banned from going by the club.

Just found this in the Daily mail….

Liverpool fans should prepare themselves for manager Rafael Benitez to be even more grumpy than usual as the team prepare to play Fulham on Saturday night.
The Spaniard barely raised a smile after recent important victories and he is bound to be decidedly downbeat after an international break which Sami Hyypia and Yossi Benayoun are set to return from injured.

What have I got to be happy about? Rafa Benitez looks on the gloomy side as usual
Given his increasing appetite for speaking out it would surely surprise no-one if he starts bleating about the international calendar and the number of games the top players are subjected to in the all-too familiar style of Arsene Wenger.
But his squad should be able to cope with a bit of bad luck (or rebelliousness/patriotism from his players) at this stage of the season and if he says he has his doubts, someone should tell him to look on the bright side of life for once.

Fucking media, already making up stories. Already putting words in Rafa’s mouth that he hasn’t said.

This column is written by some knobhead who doesn’t even know the difference between the Bernabeua and the Nou Camp.

The other week before we played Real away, he had said Rafa was using the game as an excercise to get himself the Real job. He had it under a huge banner headline…
RAFA READY TO DECAMP TO THE CAMP NOU!

I emailed him a few times and I know loads of others did too. They didn’t allow any comments to go up. They didn’t answer anyone. They just changed the headline to suit their agenda.

I might try emailing Rafa instead.

Did any of you lads see that the other week he won an out of court settlement against The News Of The World for shite they’d just made up and printed?
It was great. Rafa made them give him a top jolly van and donated it to a local school in Liverpool in a very deprived area. Of course no one bothered to print that. But I hope he keeps it up, some more skint kids in Liverpool might be getting some very nice transport over the next few months.

Oh and “Grumpy” and such shite, seems to be the new stick to beat him with. They’re getting desperate eh. Slagging the man off because he doesn’t jig up and down the touchline when we score and constantly demands more of his team and players.

Keep it up Rafa lad. You’ve got more than mr ferguson rattled.

“Every international break is always the same and a test for us so we need to be calm and relaxed and keep our fingers crossed that we don’t lose any players.”

“The players won’t be back with us until Thursday evening so we won’t have too much time to prepare.

“In terms of preparation on the pitch it is impossible. We fly to London on Friday so we will try to think about mentally preparing the players and to adjust the small things.”

Rafael Benitez – Liverpool FC

that is quite funny FS, atleast I’ll give the hacks credit for being creative. After Rafa finally cracks a smile – Rafa a wife beater anyone?

YNWA

There’s just too many international games. Especially in Europe and South America.

Why can’t the qualifying structure of Europe follow that of the Champions League or FA Cup? Lower-ranked countries will go into earlier qualifying rounds to earn their right to compete with the higher-ranked ones, that’s what they’re doing in the other four continents, Asia, Africa, CONCACAF and Oceania.

South America can get away with it because they only have 10 countries, but Europe has like 50+.

Another thing that compounds these international fixtures is FIFA’s anal approach to having home and away formats, meaning in a 6 team group, a team will have to play the other 5 teams TWICE, meaning 10 games.

Of course, getting home support is important, but again, teams ought to earn their right, and not take them for granted.

And let’s face it, some countries aren’t even that enthusiastic in football (they call it soccer or whatever), driving up a miniscule home support only to see their team get hammered badly doesn’t make sense logistically and financially, if you ask me.

Home and away formats should only be reserved for the very late rounds with smaller groups (ideally 4 teams or less).

Prior to that, qualifiers should be divided into geographical regions, with designated stadiums serving as neutral ground for each region. That’ll reduce the logistical cost and fatigue of travelling across vast distances significantly for the teams as well as fans that want to come. Isn’t that what they do in the FA Cup qualifiers?

yes FS I do remember that. makes me laugh our players got treated like second class citizens and we are supposed to do cartwheels. Mcmananman bumped for sicknote Anderton, Robbie Fowler could hardly get a game, Jamie Rednapp injured everytime he played for his country. Modern day times have not changed Stevie G shunted out to the left so Fat Frank an inferior player can be accomodated – ridiculous. The team should have built around Mcmananaman but know he didn’t score enough goals as a winger not like that ryan bloke at manure and today it should be built around Gerrard.

Kinny that would be far too sensible.

Ahh but you see Kinny, you’ve got one fatal flaw there…. you’re using common sense.

FA’s only use an abacus. And they will keep on bloating these tournaments with more and more ridiculous games to bring in the mighty schekele.

and make no bones lads, that’s all it’s about… making more and more money.

Which reminds me… my business is going tits up, so I can’t be sitting here on me arse all day. I’ll have to go and try and drum up some more graft. And hopefully come back in a better mood. But as I said, I can’t really see anything positive to be said about international football. Club manager’s like Rafa, Wenger and mr ferguson must put aside animosities, demand a meeting with the FA and FIFA and start to do something about the scheduling of these internationals, or it will just become more and more of a problem for the clubs as it steadily has over the years.

If Owen was aval for 2 mill , would he be worth a shot?.Voronin to score tonight?.Redeveloping part of Anfield is still on the cards.

Burgerman…
No. No. No.

Tatty bye lads

I don’t really care about England or about the results in the internationals. I’m just trying to give an argument from the players’ perspective. They DO care and in many cases they care more about their country than their club. They might play for many clubs during their career but they’ll always be Spanish or Israeli or whatever…. I know the clubs pay their wages but the clubs buy these players knowing the situation.

England to win a world cup or LFC to win the league? Please, that’s a no brainer. I’d rather take 3 points at Craven cottage alone than see England win the world cup! But just because I don’t care doesn’t blind me to the fact that these games are very important to the players.

I’ll be watching international matches tonight for sure simply because I love watching football.

I agree with FS in that this break has been bad for our momentum. I disagree that it’s all bad for us and all rosy for the mancs though. We can get players injured, so can Aston Villa but can’t the mancs as well? Evra might get confidence back but can’t he also get injured? Rooney can get injured just as Gerrard can. Ronaldo could get injured just as Torres can. Didn’t Berbatov get injured in training for Bulgaria? In fact of all the teams the mancs have the most players playing in these international games.

I personally do not give a damn if either Japan or England win the WC, I would rather see my team, and that is liverpool, doing well. Nationality has nothing to do with it.

But national games are part and parcel of life as someone said.

So if we can’t banish them altogether the only compromise is to get the scheduling right. As FS says, someone really needs to knuckle down with FIFA, and UEFA as well for that matter cos the Euros come inbetween the world cups. It is just frightening to think how many qualifiers there are. Pathetic really.

It would be nice if the football association of each country paid some money to “hire” players. At least that would be the least they could do. It goes without saying that we need insurance when players come back injured from friendlies.

Kinny your right about there being too many matches in qualifying. Unfortunately it’s all about the money with FIFA. The spin they put on it is that the smaller nations should be as entitled to play in the tournament as the larger ones.

Going back to amount of games. In South America they used to have 2 groups of 5. The top 2 in each group went through simple. They played 8 matches. Copa America used to be every 4 years. Now it’s every 2 years. Years ago (in the 60s and 70s) there were 16 teams in the World Cup now there are 32.

For FIFA or UEFA to change the format all clubs or leagues across the world as one will have to come up with an argument and a proposal. Otherwise forget it.

Well lads
Hows it going?
Personally Hyde I would go mental for 4 years if Ireland won the World Cup.
I was also very happy when our Liverpool boys won the Euro last summer.
After seeing the passion it brought out in Ireland in 1990 (grown men crying in pubs!)
I know what it would mean for everyone in the country.
There’s more to life than just the PL and a good run in an international tourney really is great to promote the sport to more remote parts of the world.
Its something we and the players have to deal with.
That’s life I hope no more of our lads get injured and we kick the snot out of all others for the rest of the season.
Over and out

Good interview with Alonso on Guillembalague.com.Giovanni Trappatoni has an excellent CV on Wikipedia.Titles in 4 countries plus the 4 euro cups and Wcc.

Donal I don’t care about promoting sport I care about LFC. There isn’t more to sporting life for me than LFC winning the EPL. There is more to life than football of course. Family and Friends being 2 of them. Grown men crying in the pubs in 1990 donal was due to the guiness running out heh heh.

although I do get the point about promoting we need to promote LFC to compete but the more we win the we will be promoted.

“There isn’t more to sporting life for me than LFC winning the EPL. There is more to life than football of course.”

Classic quote Kenny, and my sentiments exactly. I would add that winning the Champions League as just as high, though.

As I said, I don’t mind international tournaments– they give me something to do other than play on my playstation to feel close to professional football during pre-season.
I just wish they wouldn’t interfere with the season on so many occasions.

I suppose players will look back on medals whether they were won with their club or country. Spain won something for the first time in 48 years last summer(or was it 44 years?) but the point is this generation of Spanish players made an enormous contribution to their country’s history, so yes, it will mean alot to them. But I don’t think winning the Prem with LFC will mean any any less to any of them.

FS, I think Agbonlahor was injured up until very recently, and that’s why he didn’t play at Anfield the other Sunday.

Hopefully his inclusion in the England set up could well convince O’neill that he’s ready to rumble against United, so it could yet still work in our favour.

I think Benny has got it wrong, he may not play for us again for a few weeks.

Dagger. We don’t really know what is going on there yet, do we? Let’s just wait and see. All we have so far is newspaper reports, alledged interviews and hearsay. Let’s just wait and see.

Eto’o. I would be very suprised if there was any subsatance to this rumour. He doesen’t seem to be our type of player. Like others have said, I just can’t see Rafa going for him. Still,stranger things have happened!

Yes, you guys are absolutely right. FIFA only cares about money, or you wouldn’t have dodgy figures like Jack Warner hanging around, refusing to step down. Pretty much like the IOC, a monolithic organized “religion” with all sorts of dogma that defies logic.

There’s just too many qualifiers that it cheapens the value of the World Cup itself.

I’m beyond petty stuff like nationalism. Maybe it has something to do with my upbringing. Being in Hong Kong means the “international” team here is too crap to even register on anyone’s radar, while I only have a passing interest in China, though I hardly shed a tear when they went out in the qualifiers last year. The Big Three in Asia-Pacific, Japan, South Korea and Australia interest me more. That’s how “unpatriotic” I am.

Besides, my preferred “international team” has mostly been Germany, mostly because of Klinnsmann’s heroics in Euro 96, though lately I’m also paying attention to Spain because of the abundance of Reds in it. In fact, I’d pay notice to just about any team that had Liverpool players in it.

That said, I only pay attention to these internationals during the really big tournaments. I couldn’t give a fuck about qualifiers. Never did, never will.

Daniel Agger is key to us says Liverpool FC’s Rafael Benitez…

I hope that the olive branch has been well and truly extended to Dagger from Rafa and Danny boy accepts the bloody thing.

Hopefully some light at the end of the storm!

I would also have little interest in international qualifiers and friendly`s.Its the timing of this set of qualifiers that annoy me more than anything.It`s the business end of the season and any injuries could be detrimenal to not only teams trying to win titles but also teams fighting for there premiership survival.

I must admit though i do love watching the tournaments (world cup and european championships) especially if Ireland qualify.There is a real buzz when Ireland qualify for a major finals and i do take an interest in how they`re doing,even during qualifying but if i was to choose between Ireland winning the world cup and LFC winning the prem then its the Reds for me every time.
I didn`t even watch irelands game with bulgaria even though i was in the pub i prefered a gsme of darts and threw the odd eye on the game now and then.
Tonight they play Italy and i`ve to work night shift and it dosen`t bother me in the slightest that i won`t see the game.Its exactly the opposite when the reds are playing.

Not that I care but it now seems that bellamy is out due to injury. Players are dropping down like fleas now. It is insane. “Bloody internationals” is the right phrasing if you ask me.

Kinny Riddle i feel exactly the same way, well not exactly Japan, korea etc don’t interest me. England under 21′s were playing France. I wanted France to win because David Ngog was playing for them.

That’s the whole thing about them…. the injuries. No one is trying to deny a patriotic lad his wish to play for his country. No one is trying to deny patriotic supporters the chance to follow their countries. But could they be anymore badly timed?

Nobody is even trying to say the timing is to the Mancs favour. Well, of course it is. But that’s no conspiracy. It’s just the way it worked out. It could have come to our rescue. It probably has in the past (Not that I can think of any though) and it probably will in the future. But there’s no denying – even if you support and enjoy the international’s – that the timing is ridiculous.

All the governing bodies must sort this out. No other big business would be ran in such a slap stick shoddy manner. Billions of pounds, and players worth billions, are at stake.

Would it be so hard to sort out regional qualifications and get the timing a bit more friendlier?

Of course it wouldn’t. But you know what, this is football – a law onto itself. It doesn’t give a fuck about anyone or anything but money. And this situation will just keep getting worse until they are forced to do something about it.

Make no bones about it, Misters Plattinni and Blater at UEFA would like nothing more than all players tied to Arsenal, Chelsea, Man U and us to come home knackered/injured and exit the CL in the next round.

Please don’t tell me about the other 4 teams all containing top internationals. I’m not a complete idiot. My point is the organising bodies of international football (Including our own national FA’s) will not do anything to solve this mess until forced. The top clubs really do start having to make a stand – or we will soon have the run into the season being disrupted to include The Falkland Islands in the european phase of the knockout world galactico cup.

Again that’s only intended to show how ridiculous this situation is becoming – but tell you what… anyone think perfect preparation for the quarter finals of the European Cup is a trip to the Faroes or some other far flung outpost of “Europe?”

We have signed many a great player on the basis of his performance with his national team…

Phil Babb anyone???

Hyde did you see Bellamys post game interview after the Finland game? It was a scream! He couldent give a fuck if he never played for Wales again! If I were a betting man I’d say ‘ol Craigs about as injured as….as….well you get my drift, he aint injured!

Ya cork we`ve signed a few duds because of decent international performances too.

Dioff/Diao spring to mind.

timmytorres I think that was irony on cork’s part.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t we fly out of the blocks at the beggining of the season… only to then have to take a break for Internationals… then stumble in the few subsequent games?

Something should be done about the scheduling, but it won’t! (er… until it adversely affects France/Germany/Italy)

Forgive me Kenny….i`m in between night shifts….Doh!

There’s no such a thing as a night shift in my work but it is alreayd 2:30 AM over here, and still drafting away. Damn job this.

Digger mate, haven’t seen bellamy’s post-match. But I sort of figured he was over-exaggerating the injury…. and actually have to applaud him for it. The lad is total bonkers in my view, but for once he’s done something right and pulled out by acting. No doubt City will be more than pleased.

Okay, so how about we take our imaginations out for a real stretch and see if there’s a bright side?

BennyOnion is injured, so… IF Rafa was thinking about rotation, Benny no longer factors into that plan, so maybe El Zhar gets another run out, or Babel goes right?

Hyppia is injured, so… any rotation at the back means Agger gets a game, which can only be a good thing given the current “situation”

… straws … clutching … at …

How many Fulham players are away on international duty?

I know Schwarzer’s got a long haul flight, and hopefully he’ll be knackered and jet lagged. But I don’t think many more of them are involved. So, I reckon the lion’s share of the first team squad will be nicely rested and will have had near two weeks to prepare for us.

I’m might well be going on Saturday. Just one little problem to sort out first but I shoud be there. The tickets for this one are 47 quid for LFC fans, unless you wanted to pay from £295 upwards for hospitality tickets. But even they have sold out.

But this is just further proof of what I’m on about. The football authorities don’t give a toss about football supporters. What other business would allow their customers to be treated so shoddilly?

Tickets to Fulham for away fans are usually £29 pound tops. Over 65′s and under 18′s usually pay £19, and junior’s normally pay £9.50.

It’s a disgrace. If we make it, I’m dreading the debacle we’ll see in Rome – especially if we play Man U.

The stadium holds just under 73,000. How many tickets will the 2 clubs share… maybe half?

So, that’s about 36/37,000 tickets to share between 2 clubs that could well bring close to a 100,000 fans between them.

Add the Italian police and the Roma Ultras to that and we could be facing another disaster.

Will they change the venue? Will they fuck. I honestly can’t think of anyother consumer’s that get treated in this way. But they know we will just keep taking it. Something really has to be done.

PS… Steve The Red #321… It’s alright saying we should just wait and see with Agger. But the fact is, he is looking more and more likely to run down his contract and walk away on us like Macmannaman and Owen before him. And we will be left with nothing after giving him his break and standing by him loyally through his last 2 injury wrecked seasons.

He’s now got under 12 months on his contract. Anyone in football will tell you, that’s not even a contract in today’s game.

Rafa has been saying how important he is to us. He has been saying how much he wants him to sign. He has been saying how quickly he wants to get this done.

What does Our Dan say now… “I’ve got plenty of time. I’m in no rush to sign.”

This is what I don’t understand or like about modern day footballers – no loyalty, no morals, no fuck all but greed.

I’ve said this before in here, but it bears saying again…. if it wasn’t for the fact that LFC is ingrained so deeply in me, I would turn me back on the whole disgraceful immoral thing and never look back.

I know FS, but have you actually heard or seen Dagger say anything about his contract?

Rafa does rate him really highly and he will be offered a very good deal. If he doesen’t want to sigb then, sod him but I thinkhe will be offered a new contract sooner rather than later.

I’m with you regarding greed in football, and feel just the same as you do on that one.

Turkey 1 Liverpool 2

hope the lads make it back home safe and sound