cheers, gerry. refreshing to read.

I love Liverpool, Gerry and all the bloggers.

Big group hug!!!

Take a bow Gerry I couldn’t agree with you more. FS you old fart it was a pure pleasure to read your post.

Super stuff there Gerry,exellent blog.

I should print loads of sheets with that blog and give them to any “supporter” who thinks he knows it all.

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING THANK YOU GERRY
what gets me is how these fans all of a sudden think sack rafa when we are exceeding every season. who else do you want, i think we have one of the brightest and best young managers out there who can give us that number 19 we so badly want.

in rafa we trust
ynwa

I must admit, at half time of the CL final in 2005 I was at home in my living room deflated, gutted and fearing a 6-0! I thought aboht the stick I was gonna get at work the following day. I wondered if it was worth watching the 2nd half. I’m glad I did.

I think the team get better support when we’re playing against a better side. Had we been 3-0 down to Marseille at Anfield would the fans be singing “you’ll never walk alone”?

Regarding the increase in hits to blogs and phone ins after a defeat. For me its a natural reaction. You’re either angry or frustrated and you’d like to kick the cat but instead go online to give a no holding back opinion. Get things off the chest. Things you wouldn’t say to mates who support other clubs but things you feel comfortable discussing amongst your own.

The injuries to Gerrard and Torres has definitely hindered our season. Their absence has increased my frustration as to the lack of quality in some of the other players.

A team of Reina, Alves, Vidic, Carra, Evre, Simao, Gerrard, Alonso/Masch, Barry, Torres and Villa would be fantastic. I’m sure a lot of managers could point to players that got away. Saying that I don’t doubt Rick Parry has hindered Rafa in a number of transfers.

I emailed Tony Barrett from the echo the other day. Eventually he replied saying he thought Rafa deserves another season where the board room is settled and he has power over transfers. I agree with that.

PS. What is the purpose of a blog? Is to support the team or share opinions and debate the goings on of the football club?

PPS. How come the TIA server keeps crashing?

Hiya Gerry…

Long time lurker of the blog and well done on yer recent award.

Web hits do increase when things go bad. It’s easier for these people to find their misery kick than looking for car crashes to rubberneck at, which is how they usually spend their free time.

Fat Scouser, superb on the last blog. The blogs loss is yer grandchildrens gain…

bout time Gerry – not enough voices of reason here some days…cant wiat for Digger, etc to read and chime in with their two bobs worth..

Well said Gerry.
That’s exactly how I feel.
I didn’t turn away from the club in the ’90′s when we became shit, and I’m not going to turn away now.

As much as certain fans don’t like this, Rafa is our manager, he can be criticised, but not abused.
Some of the comments on the main forum are disgusting, albeit from a certain section of posters (we don’t know if they’re trolls, but I’d suspect so). I’ve also commented in the past at my disgust of articals appearing on the main TIA site, which if journos visited, may think this was the view of the majority of our fans.

The poll on the forums at present shows 40% for Rafa, 28% against.

The articals on the main site are now starting to balance up thanks to Tettah’s excellant work.

First off thank you Gerry i’ve been waiting for a blog like this for a while,
was going to mention Paul Tomkins article but you beat me to it .
Also glad i’m not the only one who noticed some of the negative articles by
some of the TIA journalists who only write in bad times.
As for Istanbul at half-time a true example of what can happen when supporters
get behind a team. “Faith can move mountains”
Its like YNWA was written for that game and at half time i said “I dont know how
but we will win this game our name is on the trophy “.
F.S good to hear from you we need some “Auld Arses “in here especially when
things aint going so well. And if we get new owners / money in the summer and
World Class signings i will expect an influx of new fans, who will need educating.

YNWA

Thank you Gerry for articulating my feelings in finer prose than I can manage

I find it so hard to understand the inability to tell the difference between a Sky sports news story and reality.
The “Rafa’s rant” is a good example
At no point was there a “rant” of any description and yet the phrase finds itself appearing on Liverpool boards time and time again.
Man utd boards fine, they will buy into it because its what they want to hear.
But its appearance on so many post’s on liverpool boards suggests that we are unable to think for ourselves.

The negativity in here at times can be astounding and for myself a 30 odd year supporter it is worse, it is genuinaly heartbreaking.

We were known as the best supporters in the world, and it was a title we earned, at match after match, now we boo our players.

Fat scouser came onto the blog and let fly with a verbal attack of some magnitude.
Well done to you FS , you reminded me of how proud I was to be a liverpool supporter, it wasn’t just the titles and the trophy’s it was being part of something unique, even here a couple of hundred miles away from the epicentre you were proud to say I support Liverpool.

So In finishing can I just say to Gerry thank you for a fine blog and please dont ban FS despite his request, there are those of us who would rather you left the door open for him to instill hs unique brand of wisdom

thank you gerry. you have the knack of putting what i have in my brain into a well thought out blog. like timmyT said it would be great to copy that and show it to certain supporters.

YNWA

Digger I sometimes go on RAWK when this site is down and agree that a lot
of it is kneejerk with the Rafa bashing but to say FS is a hypocrite.
I may be wrong but i’ve never read FS say anything of which you were
implying on the previous blog.
PS Not that i’m taking sides in the LB/FS/Digger debate as all your
contributions are worth reading whether i agree with them or not.

YNWA

Nice one Gerry. I think a movie blog would be a wicked idea, as I’m a big movie buff myself.
I remember that Istanbul match vividly. I was with some “friends” at a bar and they were enjoying themselves immensely watching us getting our asses kicked. At half time one idiot with this fake sympathetic look on his face asked me if I thought it was over. I said, “There’s still hope”, although I was quite down at that point. It was so delicious watching their faces when we got back into it.
I must admit there have been times I have turned away from a match here and there season due to just sheer frustration but I’ll always support the boys in red and am still a supporter of Benitez and am hopeful he is given a chance at least once before he leaves to spend close to the amount fergie or moronhio could spend in a summer, then we could really see how he does.
Otherwise, he or any other manager who runs the club will always have an uphill battle, trying to keep one of the greatest clubs competitive while clubs above and below spend more money than we do. Arsene Wenger of course is the exception but we don’t see them winning anything so we know for a fact that you do need to spend money big time to even contemplate challenging the big four over the course of a season.
Do the movie blog!!!

I think Digger is saying that FS is a hypocrite because he says he’s stopped coming into this blog because of the Rafa bashing but the Rafa bashing on the RAWK is twice as worse yet he hasn’t stopped going in to post on that site.

Movie blog would be a good idea. I love em. Certain tv series as well… Has anyone seen The Wire? I recently watched series 1 andam half way through series 2. It’s wicked!

I agree rome77, I find all of the contributions on this site are worth reading because even when I don’t agree with them at least the people make an effort to back up what they are saying.
As I said in the blog I wasn’t specifically referring to this site but it’s all of the other crap I’m sure we’ve all seen out there in forums, articles, phone-ins and the TV etc, particularly after a defeat. It’s almost as if some people relish the thought of us being beaten just so they can spout some of their poisonous shite. Often they just repeat some of the misinformed rubbish that they hear on Sly or Shitanta Sports as it were the Holy Gospel and apply no thought of their own.
Fortunately we don’t get too many of that type in here which I think is mainly due to the fact that the blogs and the comments can sometimes be quite long and these idiots minds cannot absorb anything larger than a paragraph.

I fully agree with what Gerry has said over the “Rafa Rant”. As if that has made a difference. I for one am glad he has stood up to fungus face the whiskey drinking tramp. I only wish our team had had the quality to rub their noses in it.

Incidently the movies I watched over the weekend were Fateless, Cold Prey and 20th Century Boys all of which are non-English so I wathced them with subs. The other one was Splinter a type of low budget horror B-movie. All of them were very good in their own way and I would recommend them.

Good blog Ger, genuinely thought provoking, great read. Er, dont quite know what you were expecting out of me debruin but i hope that sufficed! Rome, see post 15 mate, Kenny got it in one. Lb I think the purpose of the blog is as you and Ger point out; the airing of opinions and thrashing out possible theories and solutions. And of course celebrating the good times! I firmly believe this blog thrives and benefits the collective because of our diversified opinions. I know I’m a wiser man for it!

Kenny thanks for putting me straight on the Digger/FS thing, i totally got the
wrong end of stick,and i’m glad you did before Digger got in here .
Digger sorry for the misunderstanding
YNWA

Bit late the guys already here.

YNWA

Great blog Gerry.
We are in trouble Gerry. We have now stopped commenting on footballing matters and are commenting on crowd behavior, supporters’ knee-jerk reaction, bad press etc. Last season it was f**king owners, threat to manager’s position by a nobody, internal power struggle etc. I must say, since the time we have been getting better and are on the verge of mounting a convincing assault on the premier league, this stupid, unwanted yet not ignorable problems are cropping up. Too many parties to blame.

Welcome back FS. Missed your comments.

I have had a marathon session now. Had not been online for a few days and had to read 350 comments in one go from the previous blog .

FS, i am less half your age. I was too young to understand success and victory when we last won the league. Most of our success is before my time. It is from people like Gerry, you and some others that i have understood the true Liverpool spirit. Isolating yourself from this kind of medium where you can share your experience with youngsters like me is not good for us. I think i speak on behalf of a lot of people like me when i say we need you and NOW more than ever.

No worries Rome. Btw Ger I think a movie blog is a great idea. Dont know if you remember but a couple of months back Myself Aitch and a few others had our own mini-movie blog going here one night! We covered everything from favourite war movies, westerns and rainy day guilty pleasures! So I think you’ll have a few willing recruits when your new project is afloat.

Not much to disagree with so far, so I’ll just wade into the love in in the same manner as michaelthomasmademecry (fuckin great user name, he made me cry too!) by saying, “big group hug for everyone.”

One more thing, a bit off topic, but G&H issued a statement that said Rick Parry was “fired for not finding an investoru/buyer for the club.”

Is it just me or did he not bring 3 parties to the negotiating table (one of whom offered 400 million quid) only for G&H who bought for 270, refinanced for 350 and then slapped a price tag of 500 million on the club, to turn down their offer coz they didn’t like negotiating with a woman and… well I won’t use the slur you just know a Texan used to describe the potential buyers!

Oh… and in the movie vein…
I reiterate my earlier plea to a certain dirty stopout….

“Come back Shane, come back!”

Well, I had to look at the comments after the Fatty “Rant,” and I always read the blog. So, I how couldn’t I comment on that… Well said Gerry, sir. As for the rant… Well, not said LB, sir.

When I answered you and said I wasn’t some crumbly auld fella and could look after meself, what I meant was you didn’t have to hold back and you were perfectly entitled to tell me to “Fuck off.” So, credit to you for that, as I know I would have ripped right into you if the boot was on the other foot. So, fair play to you.

And in all truth, I have to admit me powers must be on the wane. I got back from Madrid looking like Kung Foo Panda – Two huge black eyes and a broken nose. Don’t ask. But fuck, I’m getting too old for this malarkey.

Anyway, adding to Gerry’s blog, here’s something to consider… You know when Rafa gets called a “Control freak” for wanting control of the academy? Well, have a guess who runs it… Our good friend Rick Parry’s son. (Bet you didn’t know that eh, Digger). But yep. A bit of nepotism going on there. And with fuck all coming through the ranks or on transfers what is Rafa supposed to do? Say fuck all and let it carry on?

That’s why I say, do a bit of research before just shooting off half cocked, blaming Rafa for everything wrong at LFC plus global warming, and just ending up looking like a Sky pundit.

Nowadays, every little thing is disected by the media and every cunt and his dog has a view on it. But do they have any knowledge?

Well, they reckon 79% of the population now support football. Apparently the Queen is an Arsenal fan and Prince What’s he’s name, Charlie’s lad, supports Villa. Can you imagine the depth of knowledge in the arguments in that house after a few decanters of Sherry and Match of the day?

So, there you have it. “Opinions” well, you know how the old the cliche goes. But at least arseholes are useful and probably know more about Villa and Arsenal than them 2 in Buck House.

Moan, no problem. I have a mate called Davo, covered in so many Liverbird tattoos he looks like a walking aviary. He’s a couple of years older than me. I’ve known him all me life. I gave up going the match with him years ago. I can’t even watch games on the telly with him now. We go 1 down… “their shite. He’s shite. He needs the sack. He needs shooting. That c**t needs boiling in his own piss.”
We end up winning 2 – 1… “Fucking brilliant. I love them lads. What did I tell you. What did I tell you, eh, eh? He’s great him. I love that lad. We’ll win it this year.”

It’s quite funny actually, but at the end of the day, moan, whinge, flip flop like a fish out of water… He’s a proper supporter. Probably more so than me. He’d die for the club. He’d kill anyone booing the team, an individual player or the manager.

Bitching and moaning is what supporters do. Believe me, I have been round long enough to have done my fair share. But to move the goal posts constantly and run an agenda/witch-hunt with no factual basis just isn’t on.

People in this age we live in want everything immeadiately. But building a football club from scratch – which when you look at it, is what Rafa is doing – takes time. It took Shankly time. It took Ferguson time. It’s like fighting a battle when the heavily armed enemy is entrenched on the highest hill on the island and you are in the landing craft armed with a P45 – the hardest battle known to man. You need strong allies, not fifth coloumnists.
And if I’m proved wrong, so be it. I’ll hold me hands up and appologise. But I’m telling you know, be careful what you wish for, you might just get it. And if a Rafa-less LFC is what you get next season, be prepared for many years in the doledrums – managed by a Hick’s yes man (Or a clueless Klinsman enstalled by the next manager, playing to a soul-less stadium full of the prawn sandwich brigade.

And Digger my little stalking friend, I’ve been going into RAWK for years. It’s where I keep in contact with old Scouse Red friends – some of them are lads I’ve known all my life and I still go to the games with a few of them. Kop Blog, is where I talk to Reds from all the world. What’s the word for that then?

PS, Gerry… Eat The Rich… Best movie ever.

I was let down for a match ticket for tuesday today.gutted.

Got offered one for 130 sterling afterwards and i`m going to take it.I don`t like supporting touts,there cheating bastards,but i`ve me accomodation and flight paid for so shag it i`ll shake hands with the devil.

Don`t let me down redmen!

Top o the evening to ya all
Great blog Gerry I think it’ll be the one to bring you a 3 in a row next year!!
I just want to say (as someone else said) at half time in 2005 I was with me best mate watching it, and both of us said at half time “Fuck it bro, it’s only half time and there’s always hope”
And for me thats the Liverpool way it’s never over till the Fat lady sings (Forgive the pun and welcome back Fatty) The reason I have supported Liverpool religiously since I was a kid is for that reason.
We’re a working man’s club with balls, character,and shit loads of pride. I recently saw that too on my recent travels to Malaysia where for no reason other than we were Liverpool fans we got treated like family, that’s the Liverpool way.Even me missus wants to watch every game now wondering where this ‘family spirit’ even amongst strangers comes from.
Keep the love in going lads and to quote a movie like Aitch did ‘get up champ (fatty)’ and get back in there lad.
For the record I think LB has well constructed, thought provoking arguments too
But for now ‘YNWA’
By the way there are rumors of Liverpool playing in Korea this summer so to all you faithful Kopbloggers in the area give me a buzz and I’ll show you the meaning of family and the Liverpool way thousands of miles from Anfield!!
Btw Knight already has front row tickets and me spare room should he come!
Walk on lads and Fatty stop being so melodramatic shur the place is only half the craic without you!!
Over and out

The movie blog is a great idea Gerry, and on that topic the new Clint Eastwood film is excellent – Gran Torino. His character is so racist everyone in the cinema was laughing, because the world has gone so politically correct, not because we’re all racists I hasten to add.
In the last blog I mentioned that only one of the teams who took points off us won their next game. I wasn’t implying that if Boro beat us, Spurs beat Boro then we’re worse than both of them. I know enough not to think that. My point was just that it’s been annoying this season that the points we have lost haven’t been against the top sides. It would be more understandable if we lost points against the other big 3, if you see what I mean.
And just a thought, ultimate feel good movie…Truman Show. Makes me cry like a baby…every time.

Gran Torino was class but the Truman show!
Michael Thomas had an easy job making you cry hahaha
(only bustin your chops bro!
Do a movie blog Gerry

If there’s a section on movies that make you cry I’ll be wearing away my keyboard letters Donal!

I’m a big softie.

Rock N Rolla baby yeah!!

Fair enough bro BUT the Truman show! co’mon
you must of being bawling like a baby for éternal sunshine’!
over and out

Great blog Gerry, just want to make a couple of points.

You said that the handbags stuff should be left until the end of the season, I totally agree with that. But in Rafa’s well thought out dig at slur Alex, he said “Maybe they are worried because they didn’t expect us to still be top of the leauge in January”

To me this was a big mistake, and too good an opportunity for sod’s law not to come back and kick Rafa in the teeth, which is exactly what has happened.

I don’t think what he has said has affected our players, and I thought alot of what he said was spot on, but taunting Fergie about where we are(sorry, were) in the leauge was I feel, very foolish and tempting fate.

We won’t win the Prem this season but I think we will win the CL in Rome, I really believe that.

As far as Istanbul is concerned, I did think at half time that we would end up losing 5-0 in the end, but I knew as well that I would always love LFC.

What happened in Istanbul, should, I believe, be a lesson to everyone everywhere in every walk of life. If you never give up, you can achieve your dream, no matter how high the odds are seemingly stacked against you. LFC proved that in Istanbul, and I sense another glory night on 27th May in the eternal city.

Steve maybe thats why YNWA was sung at the Obama inauguration
On films to watch did anyone watch Red Riding last night ,really good stuff
dealing with corruption in the police force and dodgy journalists .
YNWA

No FS I’m not a stalker, merely observant. I just found it an amusing apparent contradiction that you would censor yourself from the intelligent articulate(!) debate in here and expose yourself to the very thing you abhor on RAWK. You must admit it’s an interesting paradox no? Anyway, hypocrisy and stalking aside, its good to have you back, the blog is better for it. This is fact, jes?! So no more self-imposed exile eh? Get in and get stuck in!

Fatty welcome back you big lump of soft sided LFC lard. I often scroll the RAWK boards and seek out your jovial tongue in cheek posts.
.
Alas though I thought I’d comment on some of your “Fatty Rant.” Calling it that for sensationalism.
.
I am intrigued by the supporter phrase, I find supporters are very much a cross section of political and social beliefs.
.
Where as you have some left wing, right wing and middle of the road politics in your country, your still at the end of the day English.
.
It’s the same with sport, some fans are fanatical, while others reserved, and some just middle of the road.
.
It could be said some of our more radical type cost us a few more Euro spots during the earlier, heady days of seatless football. Alas though they created a colourful fabric for all football watchers.
.
Well this blog and all blogs should truely represent such cross sections. Otherwise it’s no longer a community, more a dictatorship/cult.
.
I have always admired LFC and it’s fans, regardless of their views, thoughts, opinions, why because they have one common bond, my team and colours.
.
So just like people protest against government decisions, they still stand by their countrymen when the time is required.
.
I like all peoples thoughts in here, it would be a fucking boring as bat shit blog, if every one wrote agree with above.
.
Don’t they say if your not part of the solution your part of the problem. We all see problems and together we can all find solutions. No one person has all the answers, as not everyone has a question.
.
I’ve been saying in here for a long time, I can’t understand why Rafa is staying (because of all the shit going on in the club). And why are we constantly talking about players who we can’t afford and I can’t see Rafa getting funding for.
.
If I could give the guy the money myself I would.
.
Anyway good to see you back, the more the merry, the brighter it gets. As I said before, opinions change depending on the score.

Funniest movie I’ve seen for a while; Tropic Thunder, ‘Im a lead-farmer motherfucker!!’

Also while I’m at it, whats the story with the Arabic consortium buying Liverpool, fell through at 500 million. Obviously the legal representatives of Fleecum and Scarper, just couldn’t manage to convince the Arabs to add another couple of hundred million to the bill.
.
Will this nightmare ever end, I think this is effecting the players more than any other issue.

Good post Gaz,i agree with all of the above

Good post Gaz!

The nerve of G&H. Do they really think they can get £500m for the club? That stuff about them sacking Parry coz he couldn’t find buyers for the club. Surely they couldn’t have put out a statement saying that?

For the record I don’t think anyone on this blog has said Rafa was wrong to want more control over the academy and transfers.

Another good blog Gerry!

We have got to keep this positive support for the team and Rafa going as anything can happen from now until the end of the season.

One of my favourite films, (when growing up), was Stand by Me (1986), with River Phoenix and narrated in part by Richard Dreyfus. It a story about your first set of friends and how important they are, and how they can shape the rest of your life.

One of the funniest/sickest film associated moment was when my brother-in-law went to see The Crying Game, with his girlfriend (my sister) now his wife , and told her that he fancied the main character, before he knew there was a “Plat Twist”. Ha Ha!

I meant “Plot Twist”!

Hi gang,

Another brilliant blog Gerry.

Posted a marvellous monologue last night and it got zapped by the server/god knows what ? .. it never appeared. So here we go .. part 2 !

Delighted to see you on the boards FS.

One of the things I wanted to say you also mentioned in your post today. From what I can see a lot of the contributors to this blog are not even from England let alone scousers. I myself am from Cork (Ireland) and as well as Gerry and a host of my own countrymen there are South African, Malaysian, Indian, Japanese, Aussies, New Zealanders, Yanks and a whole bunch more (it would be interesting to see where people are and are from too). The point being not all of us can go to Liverpool, Anfield. Not all of us are at the coalface and have the real story .. You (amongst others) do FS and apart from all the really funny, witty, passionate, intelligent and coherent posts you have “the dope”. That’s why it’s so interesting and informative for me (us) who can’t and don’t get to go there.
So it’s your civic duty to the mass of us “estrangeiros” out there in ether-world ok !

What do you think it’s like dealing with smug manc sky bullshit supporters out here? This ain’t Liverpool buddy, It’s fuc*ing ridiculous at the moment. It’s known I like football and can hold a conversation so it’s like I’m a bloody magnet for these cretins. I need my reality check and I get it principally on this blog-site (cheers Gerry).

So don’t please fu*k off back to wherever FS. And in case you think I’m buying the hard man number , I’m not ‘cos you ain’t. You and LB have a lot more in common then ye are maybe willing to admit. It’s written there that there will come a day when ye’ll be side by side talking trash together … I bet you!

Anyway it ain’ about FS, it’s about what many posters, even the “villans” so-called, have said and say. It’s about learning, getting the real story, debating tactics, formations, possibilities, understanding the game, the club, the context. It’s about getting where people are coming from as well. People who put time and thought into what they say… true?

Starting to ramble now .. so over & out.

Hard man Dougle… I couldn’t fight sleep. In fact, I’m off there now, hoping me shiners are completely disappeared by the time I get home for the Madrid game, or I will really be getting it from me old mates.

And that was me point before – I go to as many games as I can. I see me auld mates all the time. I go into RAWK to talk with them. The only reason, I never mentioned that before is because I don’t mention other fan sites on the blog. I think that’s a bit disrespectful.

I often put up links to things I think people will find interesting and I’ve also mentioned this site loads of times….
lfchistory.net

I’ve done that cos I know quite well Gerry wouldn’t mind, and I also think people would find it very interesting and helpful.

But Digger don’t be bollacking me or calling me a hypocrite for talking to old friends. Or do you really think I say nothing to the anti-Rafa brigade on RAWK?

FFS man, I’ve been barred off there twice – and deservingly so – for the shit I’ve said to people.

I don’t know how many times I have to explain meself. That’s another reason I got fed up in here. How many times did we go through that – well, he said this, and you said that, and I said – schoolyard stuff?

So, for the last time… the reason why I stayed in this blog years ago when I first came in, was because I enjoyed speaking to Reds from all over the world. I enjoy their views and, yes, I do think it’s handy that someone like me can come in here and give out little snippets that people won’t necessarily know such as… it’s Rick Parry’s son who is running the academy.

I reckon most people would find that sort of interesting. I know it shocked the fuck out of me when I first found out.

As for people moaning about performances/state of football. That’s opinion. Everyone is entitled to that. But remember something, I was at Istanbull. I was at Anfield when we smashed Spurs 7 – 0… A Spurs team that contained Perryman, Hoddle, Ardilles and Villa. So don’t you think I might just get a tad upset when we can’t break down fucking Stoke at home?

The thing is, I don’t come on here or anywhere else seconds later calling for the manager’s head and saying how shite our players are.

If there’s one thing age does give you it’s a bit of patience. Thank fuck for that cos it doesn’t give much else. It also means I got to see LFC before the glory years. Mr. Jack Hill must have seen us in the second division. And if back then would have been like today – Shankly would have been sacked by now.

But one thing that hasn’t changed since then is the amount of time it takes to build a successfull football team/club from scratch. And that is what Rafa is doing, despite being hamstrung by the boardroom and ridiculed by the media. He has/is single handedly transformed this club from the roots up.

And that is exactly why Mr. ferguson is bothered by Liverpool. He knows we are onto him. And he knows we aren’t building a club that wins one or two trophies and fades away. We are building proper foundations that will last for years.

Facilities, Scouting, Training, Transfers, Personel – it’s all being sorted out and dragged into the 21st century. A magnificent history is just that – it means fuck all in the present or future. In fact, it meant for many years LFC wobbled along thinking it was it’s divine right to win everything in sight. Doesn’t work like that though. If it did, Man U wouldn’t have went 25 years without winning a title.

And did anybody see Mr. Ferguson’s answers retort to Rafa’s rant? Think about it?

But honestly lads, you just have to take a leap of faith sometimes. Think about the things people knee-jerk on… Gerrard getting subbed off against Stoke when Torres was already off the pitch. That was a huge one. Rafa is still being critised for it now – nevermind that Gerrard done his hamstring 16 minutes into the very next game.

Man U haven’t ran away from us. For all their fire power and billions, they’ve tweaked 1 nil wins when we’ve only managed draws. They also have teams like Fulham throwing in the towel before a ball is even kicked, while the same teams fight tooth and claw against us for a draw.
They also get a helping hand from weak ref’s, the inept FA and our biased media.

That’s not sour grapes. That’s just what happens when you are champion’s.

So, keep the faith cos we are next.

Heh heh! Alrighty then FS, bollacking over. But to be fair FS your glorious return was a volley fired at myself and LB, with both barrells I might add! So surely you cant be too miffed at a little friendly fire being returned? Afterall, ‘I’m a lead-farmer motherfucker!!’ Lol! Sorry FS, couldent resist using that line considering all my ballistics terminology! Anyway, as I said earlier, welcome back our very own prodigal son. I look forward to many verbal jousts ahead my corpulent comrade!

Good to hear from you again FS, surely you will find it too difficult to stay away again, you know you love it in here!

I think if the lads could pull off a win next Saturday, it would really give us supporters a lift, but would mean a certain irony would have happened.

To beat Chelsea and Man.U home and away and still miss out on the title would be hard to swallow but it would show how important it is to beat the teams that have come to Anfield and parked the bus. Stoke, Fulham, West Ham, Everton. Eight points thrown away. How many points are we away from Mabn.U?

Makes you feel sick, doesen’t it?

Lads I notice our Spanish friend who own Villa and Silva are in dire straits. They own 15 million Euro’s in wages and 450 million Euro’s in debt.
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Can anyone of your knowledgeable lads tell me what 350 million pounds equates to in Euro’s.
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I also saw somewhere our current interest payments on our loan is around 87,000 pounds a week, sorry this might have been a day. Just figured it out it’s a day.
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No wonder we need the CL each year.

Greetings everyone and a special welcome back, Old Fatty One. Certainly missed your rants and groans. And from your musings, your pen is not yet rusty, despite the break. heh heh.

Sir Gerry, great blog. Up there with the best of yours. Keep it up.

Donal old cap, LFC is also coming to Singapore and Bangkok in July as well. Helen Koh is already thinking of doing a double and spend big by putting up at whatever classy hotel they may be staying in. That way we will get to have a drink or two with them and have a few shots with them taken as well. So might skip Seoul this time and see you and Tracy later.

Gaz, Villa would be good for our front end now that Keane has gone. Hopefully we can get the Champions League money to splash on Villa. The Spanish duo of Torres abd Villa otherwise nicknamed Torrilla, would be terrific!

To all of the bloggers here from Liverpool I have a question.
In a few weeks I’m going to Liverpool for the first time for a few days (not a big fan of boats or planes) so apart from Anfield what else is there to see in the city. Not being flippant, just want a few tips.
And do you have to pre-arrange tours of Anfield.

Cheers.

I have a bit of time for a decent post. Gaz your comment I wonder why Rafa stays is interesting. Don’t you think he has said it enough? I love this club, city and supporters.

This is just a general comment and not aim at anybody in particular, but for supposedly being the best and most knowledgeable supporters in the world, I think that mantle is slipping alarmingly.

Destructive criticism, complaining, bitching and moaning, having all the answers in hindsight and never having to prove your theories is one of the easiest jobs in the world. To be constructive, to understand the reason behind the decision or even take the time to find out all the facts, to compare realistically, to understand and except the limitations we find ourselves in, to applaud the progress under difficult and trying circumstances, to accept mistakes will be made along the way and not have knee jerk reaction to everyone that is made, to support the youngsters and allow them to express then selves despite the mistakes they will make in their development and not judge them in their fist five minutes of the careers is far more difficult, but if we want the mantle of the best and most knowledgeable supporters we at least should try live up to that.

How many people hear lambasted Rafa’s decision to play Skertal at right back? See how easy it was to be destructive without taking the time to understand that all three right backs where injured, Carra refused (rightly so because Downing would have skinned him) and Skertal put his hand up. There was not one post saying I got it wrong or what I said was out of order.

There is one thing all of us should remember, as much as we all want us to win, Rafa and his staff wants is as badly as we do if not more so as that is their job and they eat, sleep and think about it every second of the day. He has a History of success far greater than any of us, at the very top and while he might not get everything right all of the time, he gets the majority of it spot on under difficult and trying and even incredibly frustrating circumstances. The proof is in our steady progression and improvement year in and year out, from the academy right up to the first team squad.

Some of you begrudgingly say give him another year, he deserves another year but if he doesn’t deliver he should go. By what criteria are you judging him? He spent zero in the last transfer window with the Keane reversal, putting us last amongst the Prem clubs on monies spent, yet we are joint second. If he gets the same or less next time round while our rivals spend anywhere from 50 to 100 mill is it realistic to expect us to win the Prem? Yes we might and I would not bet against it, but would it be fair to call for his head if he doesn’t or falls short? All I am saying is be honest and realistic with your assessment on what has been achieved, instead of thinking we have a divine right because of our history to win.

Talking of films, I am a Alan Parker fan (Director), Midnight express, Birdy, Mississippi Burning ect The line form the film about the Irish musicians, cant remember the title but they are standing in the dole line and one shout out to a friend” I would rather be an unemployed musician than an unemployed electrician.” Ridley Scot another great director, Gladiator, Thelma and Louis, Kingdom of Heaven

Another favorite was “Wag the Dog” and Cohen brothers, Blood Simple, Fargo etc.

TimmyTorres

You were offered a ticket for £130. The seat must be in the directors’ box.

the commitments keith. classic p.s like your choice in shows.

Great blog Gerry and agree 100% with your thoughts on being a Liverpool supporter.

FS, great info about who heads the academy. That was done very much on the Q T!

Do you know if this is now the stumbling block for Rafa to sign the contract extension?

On the movie front, first ones that come to mind would be ‘Miller’s Crossing’ and ‘The Usual Suspects’. Both top notch imho.

Boy I hope you got a good excuse for your Busted nose and 2 black eyes FS .. I look like I’ve got the plague after last night with a 10 month old baby girl who bashed us around in the bed in the wee small hours. Scrawled and cut face plus a swollen lip ! Mind you you should see her …. just joking !

For me I reckon Rafa can see just what he could achieve at Liverpool. It’s got the support, worldwide. It’s got the history. It is an english and worldwide institution. Because it’s english there is also the (fast disappearing) culture of manager control and time given. Bad and all as things are becoming now in England it’s still a place where a man can make a mark when you compare to many other football cultures. I’d like to think he “gets it”, being heir to the bootroom lineage, even given his style is autocratic or singleminded .. perhaps you have to be.

I mean this is also not talking about the romantic in any football lover, those moments when there is complete sync and acknowledgement, love between fans, team and manager and Benitez has already had a taste of it with Istanbull. Benitez loves football. We are a perfect match, liverpool supporters have it, (had it ??).

If you see what he did at Valencia .. a provincial team that smacked the big 2 in Spain with a wet fish .. well I think he figures he could do the same in England and tho’ he’s never made a big deal of it, I’m sure he’d love to topple Manure PLC, and Chavki Bobski to boot. It’s a great challange, the ultimate challange really cos we were going backwards with Ged after 10 years of going backwards with Souness and Roy, in my opinion of course.

(Personally speaking I think Mourinho also sees this with Liverpool, and added his need for gratification and adulation to Liverpool’s dynastic potential, I think he has fancied coming here)

However as has been pointed out repeatedly and demonstrated continuously he’s had obstacles both in the boardroom, pop press, and the terraces (I have never heard Anfield so quiet as last Tuesday v Sunderland). Expectation and frustration and “the need for instant gratification” is a volaitile mix.
If you add that to the “fact” that Manure are the best organised footballing PLC, biggest money spinners and Fergie is on his 172nd year in sole charge of their dynasty. They are arguably the best club side in the world, Chelsea until recently the richest club in the world and Arsenal with also the dynastic Wenger, complete harmony (until recently) with board, CEO, vision etc.. for the last 10 years… Well if you look at that and you see where Rafa has hauled Liverpool already … Bring on the next 5 years I say. He could really not have a more difficult scenario … he has to battle on all fronts not just on the pitch.

Ok , 10 month old terrorist is awake … gotta go battle !!!!

Dougle your right. Nowhere else in the world does a manager/coach have the level of control they have in England. I’d love to know who the longest serving club manager in continental Europe is and how long he’s been in the job. 5 years on the continent seems to be the max any manager gets regardless of how successful they are.

So although some of you guys wonder why Rafa wouldn’t walk considering the shit he’s had to put up with. Consider this: Where would he go? I understand he loves the city, the club and supporters, his wife and children are settled. But from a career standpoint. I can’t see many alternative jobs offering the type of control he’d like.

well said dougle,it is a long road ahead but just imagine how much longer it will be without rafa!!!
I like you have to deal with the most ignorant man u chelsea even arsenal supporters.
just yesterday i was doing a quick session in the gym and having to do my usual defence of my team when i realised it doesn’t matter if your right or not or weather you prove them wrong backing up your statements with facts they will always think we’re shit and undeserved of success.
so fuck them because its not worth tying yourself in knots over.
i just hope rafa will be giving the time to carry out his plans and bring us to a more promising future.

Win our last 10 games-finish on 88 points and that should be enough to win the Prem.We should sell Lucas, Dossena and Voronin for 15 mill and get 2 attacking wide players.A good run in the CL plus the Keane money will bring in another 25 mill for transfers.Have 2 play 2 strikers @ Grayskull-their defence is as good as the Arse of 1991.

Keith I don’t think I said or meant interested as in enjoying it. I meant staying in general. I don’t know your version of managers and coaches but mime is they want to achieve. If their hindered in the pursuit of their piece of excellence by lack of resources, then why would’t they leave.
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Keith if i offered you more money to do the same job would you consider that. What about if I offered you the opportunity to achieve the ultimate level of your chosen proffession, would you take that.
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If Rafa doesn’t have ambitions then why are we begging him to stay. If he does why shouldn’t he look at his options. Ferguson would have been gone years ago if it wasn’t for the winning.
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Managers need to win just as much as players.
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Rafa needs cash just like all the rest, if he doesn’t get it, his dreams may fade. That’s why I wonder why he’s still here because he seems further away from cash than ever.

go ahead burgerman thats what i like to see,personally i think its outta reach though i love that you can still see it.
for me i’ve just had my heart broken… make that ripped out set alight then pissed on far to many times to feel we are still there.

However i truly admire your fighting spirit.i have pinned all my remain hopes on the CL like i’ve said before just have a great feeling this time out.

jesus just win 10 on the bounce and get 88points fuck it then, i’ll offer a glimmer…..

Tell me about it Bayo man,fuckin rip off i know but i`m going over anyway so i might as well take it.
I wonder now since parry is leaving will his son remain in control of the academy?It`s looking doubtful.

If Rafa gets full control of the academy then i`d assume he`d introduce the same training techniques and coaching philosiphies as the first team so that any player taking the step up to the first team knows the score.Unless this happens already i don`t really know.
The youth team are doing quite well and are in the semi-final of the youth cup.They have a couple of youngsters we should keep an eye out for such as nathan ellington,steve irwin,laurie dalle valle,tom ince (pauls son),david amu and adam pepper to name a few.

Well, I’m back on decorating duties. Mrs FS wants a new bathroom (ARRRRGGGHHH!). So, I have to skive in somewhere… Digger, I did blast you. I’m like that. What do you think I do if someone is booing or critising the team and manager within my range?
But don’t think I don’t moan when I’m fed up about something. I’ve said many times in here, I was one of the people that (To my shame) booed Kewell in Istanbul. He thoroughly deserved it, but we shouldn’t have shown any dissent in the ranks. Luckily the fans soon made up for that, and, as they say, the rest is history.

Excuse me for repeating meself, but I’m going to tell a story I’ve told in here before…
I was actually a few rows behind the lad that started YNWA at half time. An old Scouse fella, roaring and bollacking everyone to stand up and be proud. And we all know what that helped achieve. I bought my ticket outside the ground for face value off a few Scouse lads. It belonged to one of their mates. He was still there though. I was sat next to him – his ashes were in an urn on the seat next to me. The poor bugger had died just before the game. As I say, I’ve told that story a few times in here. It shows us at our best. It’s what in my opinion we are all about. It’s what we should always strive for.

I still remember going into the Boys Pen for the first time, I was 39 years old. Nah. I was an 8 year old kid, living in shite poverty, so the colour, the noise the movement and the laughter of The Kop was what attracted me to LFC. I can’t remember the game. Except for singing along to the players name’s, I can’t remember anything about it. But I will remember my first sight of The Kop until they nail the lid down on me.

But, like I’ve said, we all have a moan when fed up. It’s normal. Everyone’s entitled. Critisise players and managment as you see fit. I do, and I’m not telling anyone what to say or how to think. But I’d advise people not to fall into the trap of thinking nothing is being achieved and wanting to change the management. If that is allowed to spread through the ranks, I fear the consequences could do us irepreable damage. Here’s why…

When Shankly arrived he found a pile of rubble – I mean that literally. Anfield was an utter shithouse, barely fit to be condemned. Melwood was so strewn with bricks and rubbish that the players jogged around the outside of Anfield and played 5 a sides in the car park. Problem… We was in the hands of custodians who didn’t care. They knew 50 to 60 thousand supporters would still turn up and buy beer (They owned the brewery in Liverpool) no matter how badly they got treated.

Rafa arrived to even less – sounds daft that, but…
when Rafa arrived at the ground, no one was even there to meet him – and nobody even knew who he was. He was about to make his way back to the airport (Where nobody had even met him and he’d had to take a taxi to Anfield) but some lady secretary at the club located Rick Parry.
Only after a heated discussion on the phone, did Parry finally drop his golf clubs and return to the club! Bloody shambles. But they knew they could get away with it as every week 40 odd thousand would turn up and pay for their champagne lifestyles.

Do you know the great research that went into finding a new manager to replace Ged? Parry asked the players who they’d like. Unbelievable, but true. And the players said Rafa because they were so impressed with his Valencia side that had recently taken them apart.

Well, we all know what has happened since the arrival of H&G. But this is the sort of shambolic chaos Rafa has been battling since day one. And he has slowly but surely cleared the rubble and put some proper practices and personel in place. Now, if only he can get some backing, let’s see what happens. If when he has had a proper chance of concentrating on nothing but football and he still falls short fine, start again.

But in my opinion, it would be absolute madness to come this far, and get this close, only to throw it all away…
If we won the title this year, it would have meant Mr. ferguson would have had to win another 3 to knock us off our “F***ing perch” as he so eloquently put it.
I that would have been enough to see the drunken old bastard off, and with a bit of luck left them in chaos. But if they draw level this year,(which I won’t admit yet) it would mean only one more is needed for him to ride off into the sunset of myth and legend of the lying media – mission accomplished.

Well, I for one don’t want to aid that whiskey stained tramp in that mission. We must circle the wagons, stand firm and do our best to make sure they do not pass. So, is throwing away our general the best way to achieve that? I honestly just can’t see how it is. And believe me, there is nobody who wants to stop the Mancs more than me.

In me last comment I asked did anyone see Mr. ferguson’s reaction to Rafa’s “rant.” No, because there wasn’t one. After United’s next game, the after match reporter on Sky asked Mr. ferguson one question about it. Did any of you see it?

I assure you, Mr. ferguson went the colour of boiled vomit and was absolutely tongue tied. He managed to slur/stutter something about Rafa being a mental case and then said I don’t want to talk about it. And so be it. The great Lord Tramp had spoken and the bold british media never said anything again.

Meanwhile Rafa is still being quizzed and ridiculed over his “rant,” which we all know was a factual barrage released at the perfect time. It took all the pressure off our players – especially Gerrard and his court case. Cara, Dirk, Bennayoun, Reina, Torres even said how proud they was of Rafa for saying it. But sadly, nobody – our players, the media, referees, the FA or other manager’s – had the bollacks to back him. So, it was business as usual – Mr. ferguson threatening refs in the tunnel. The transvestite throwing himself all over the pitch. United winning dubious penalties for it. And other teams being denied blatant ones.

Can’t stand thinking about it anymore. Back to work for me and thank you lads for welcoming me back – LB and Digger included.

Missed new comments while writing my drivel. Nice one Dougle, and mate… It’s a battle you’ll never win. Best leave it to Missus Dougle and just be the daft one. That’s been my best strategy anyway.

Doing me best to avoid work, but got to go. I can’t stand this fella, but hats off to him for this and I think it suits what’s being discussed…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9rw5G_zUA

LB – just wrote a response to your post, and I feckin well deleted it by mistake ! 2-0 to the child and a sleepless night.

The jist of what I was pontificating about was this;

Do you think Rafa is gonna ever put the same energy and committment into any other club ? He’s made the ground the hard way here. I don’t think he’ll do it. That’s why I reckon he’ll fight to stay here. It’s not about money, there’s too much invested here now to walk away.

Rafa has said on many occasions that he wants to stay at Anfield for many, many years. I don’t think that has changed.

If we ever did get new owners, the question would be will they back Rafa or will they want to bring their own manager in?

The way those greedy American fuckers are behaving, I guess we’ll never know.

Looks like another potential buyer has been frightened off by their endless greed.

Steve – I’m not a businessman and there are many more here better qualified to comment about the “takeover” etc… But, from the point of view of the Bank to whom the yanks owe the money, they have been thrashed financially this last year. There was nothing they could do about the option THicks & Gillette had ‘tll July ’09.

But then they yanks will have to stump up and I think they won’t be able to come up with the cash.

Then the bank will take the club because they know they can sell, even make a few bob on, this asset. THicks & Co will be out of pocket, beautiful! … and then we’ll be someone else’s property. That’s my best case scenario.

I’ve got a feeling there may be other less palatable possibilities out there … Corkie, KeithSA, what about it ?

PS Fat Scouser, “Mrs Dougle” is cool with the program as long as she is not called “Mrs Fat Scouser”!

You’ve hit the right note Gerry!

cheers mate….

You’ll Never Walk Alone..
Keeping the Faith

Following the Sly sports theme, top top blog Gerry. I think the blog is an excellent forum for debate, but questioning Rafa´s EVERY decision with no knowledge of the situation AND with benefit of hindsight just gets boring in the end.

LB, didnt get time for much research, but found this very quickly to your question:

ancelloti at AC milan since 2001.
Manuel Pellegrini at Villareal since 2004
Spalleti in Roma and Rossi in Lazio since 2005

Cryuff was coach of Barcelona for 8 years from 1988-1996.

YNWA

FS, not sure if you know this because unsurprisingly it has been little publicised, but because they had the nerve to broadcast Rafa’s “rant” and the cheek to ask him for his reaction to it, Fungushead banned Sly Sports from attending any of his press conferences as punishment for their transgression, just as he refused to do any interviews with the BBC after they dared to tell the truth about his corrupt football agent son.
So Sky have been trying to get back in his good books ever since, which probably explains a lot.
Considering the money involved between Sky and the Premiership, can you imagine any other manager being allowed to get away with this? It sometimes seems like we are taking on the mafia!

Welcome back Fat Scouser, this blog is richer with you contributing. I don’t post much comments these days, since I’m so depressed with the comments of fellow Reds. I am fighting my own battles over here in Malta. I come to Liverpool every year with a good friend of mine, but since he started slagging Rafa and he’s adamant that Rafa is the root of all evil that is happening at our great club, we’re barely on speaking terms.
I support Rafa 100 per cent and in my mind he’s the only reason we’re still in the top 4 let alone win the league. We used to watch all matches together, but lately all we do is argue during matches, so its better that he goes his way and I go mine.
He loves the club, but he gets swayed easily by the bastards at Sky Sports!! So FS I know how it feels when you can’t make a friend or colleague see sense.
I’m fearing the worst at the moment… that Rafa walks away. If he asks himself is it worth it being here and being attacked from within?
And forget the myth, most of our supporters are like those of Chelsea, Manure and other teams. They are only glory hunters, and the lyrics of You Never Walk Alone don’t mean anything to them.
As far as I am concerned, Rafa is walking alone… even some of our players are not backing him.
Is it true that Cara did not want to play full back at Middlesbrough? If its true, then what chance those Rafa have? If Cara cannot make a sacrifice for the shirt and the supporters who pay his wages, who would?!?
Yes, there’s one, Ninja Skrtel, and my next Liverpool top would have his name on my back.

Welcome back FS, it’s great to see you all guns blazing and telling it as it is to these naysayers.

Gerry, you could not have said it any better. I just took the trouble of translating Tomkins’ excellent article so the naysaying goons in my city will see the media for the lying cunts that they are. It’s not just in the English-speaking world that these negative people exist, you know?

I would now like to seek permission from you to translate this superbly written blog post of yours into my language and spread it around the forums I frequent. You will be duly credited of course.

No problem Kinny, work away.

how on earth did we manage to draw fulham…they look dreadful. utd might as well be the only team on the pitch

Ged… ARE YOU TONY BARRETT IN DISGUISE?

Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo, March 7

ON several occasions in recent years, non-patriotic Liverpool fans have used various platforms to point out the differences between themselves and followers of the England national team. One of the big contrasts, it is argued, is that England supporters are often guilty of booing their own players which is something Liverpool fans would never do.

Well there must have been quite a few of the England “faithful” present at Anfield on Tuesday night given the reception Lucas was given when introduced as a second half substitute. It may only have been a smattering of boos from the overwhelming minority but it was loud enough to be heard at pitch side and to be picked up on by those on Liverpool’s bench and perhaps even on the pitch.

Whether Lucas heard it is not known but for a Liverpool player to be treated so badly by those who claim to “support” them is something which shames all involved.

The Brazilian may not have set the world alight since moving to Anfield and he may even have been partly responsible for the loss of a couple of vital points at Wigan and for Liverpool playing with only ten men in latter stages of their FA Cup defeat to Everton. But he is a Liverpool player who is trying to make his way in a style of football which is still comparatively new to him and at just 22 years of age the very least he deserves is to be provided with the kind of environment in which he can progress – and against Sunderland he certainly didn’t get that.

If Rafa Benitez picks him that is because he thinks he is good enough and when it comes to team selection the buck has to stop with the manager, not the player.

Lucas is a popular figure at Melwood because he puts a shift in at every single training session and mixes well with all his team mates. He is hard working, polite, totally inoffensive and always approachable for autograph hunters and fans. In short, he is a good professional who deserves to be treated as such.

In the last couple of decades Liverpool have had more than a handful of players who have let themselves and their club down because of their attitude, but it is hard to recall anyone else in a red shirt being booed by their own fans. Not El Hadji Diouf, not Neil “win or lose, it’s on the booze” Ruddock, not even Sean Dundee.

Of course, anyone who pays good money to set foot inside Anfield has the right to support the team in whichever way they choose – or not – and players are rewarded handsomely enough to be able to cope with not being given unconditional backing. But when so much success has been built on the union between supporters and team it is surely ridiculous for such unity to be placed in jeopardy by the unhelpful targeting of a single player.

In the warm afterglow of Istanbul, Johan Cruyff no less underlined the synergy between the supporters and their team by arguing that “there’s not one club in the world so united with the fans.”
The Dutch legend’s words were backed up by Diego Maradona who believed that Liverpool’s miraculous fifth European Cup win was partly due to the supporters who “showed their unconditional support at half-time when they were losing 3-0 and still didn’t stop singing.”

It is on the back of such stories and tributes that the reputation of Liverpool’s fans as the 12th man has been built. On Tuesday night that image was dented. Lucas was in need of support but did not get it.

Those who booed him may think they were doing their bit for the club. In actual fact those people were just persecuting a young player and dragging the reputation of some of Liverpool’s fans down to the level of those England followers so many of them claim to be so different to.

That’s a great clip of Stan Boardman, FS.. is that from the History or the Team of the Decade?

That bit about the sea of bodies moving forward for corners brought back my first memory of Anfield. I was 12 or 13 the first time my Dad took me to game… on the Kop.

Forgive me the little wakk down memory lane, but…
I was always a small, skinny kid and weighed about the same as a fuckin mars bar until I was about 21.
My Dad had me sitting on the end of one of those barriers and everytime the Kop would sway forward, he’d grab me and off we’d go. He only marginally had hold of me really, I was mostly surfing on the shoulders of all the other blokes, but we’d always manage to surf back to the exact same spot.
There was one time, when the play went down into the corner and everyone swayed forward and my dad lost his grip on me,.. before I knew it he was gone from sight… then I felt myself slipping and down I went.
It would have been so easy to get trampled that day, but out of nowhere, this big hand reached down, grabbed me by the collar and yanked me back up.
I swear this fella was the biggest ugliest scouser I’d ever seen… the kinda fella if you saw him walking towards you, you’d wet yourself, shit yourself, then turn and run as fast as your soggy shoes could take you… a pissed off Martin Skrtel with scars and tatoos!

But that fella practically carried me until the crowd swayed back, deposited me back on my perch and waited with me until my ashen-faced Dad came pushing through the crowd. He was white as a ghost and I never saw him look that scared before or after.
The big fella saw his face an knew he was my dad, he just said “that your dad then, mate?” and I said “yeah.”
He tugged on me scarf and said “come the reds,” and disappeared into the crowd, back to wherever his spot was.
Me dad held on to me so tight for the rest of the match I was bruised the next day.

I was tearing up remembering it and again as I typed it…
Now THAT, michaelthomasmademecry, is something to bring a tear to the eye… not all that soppy movie shit like in Titanic, where Kate Winslet whimpers “I’ll never let you go Jack, I’ll never let you go” … then proceeds to actually let him go and sink to a watery grave…
What’s that about?
Fuckin women, eh?
… but I digress…

That clip of stan boardman was from a video released around the time of the end of the standing kop,titled “the kop” (i think).
I remember going into town to buy it.It was a vid about the history of the famous terrace from its origin in 1928!

It`s good to have the Fat one back,i love hearing stories from the old days,makes me proud to be a liverpool supporter.

Meantioning films,i`m far from a movie buff but my favourites were Analyse this/that.Pissed myself laughing through those films.De Niro does comedy good.

No, I didn’t know that Gerry, but it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. The man is an out and out bully.
But in all honesty, if he was our manager, no doubt we’d all love him. I know I would. I can’t stand the fella, but you have to admire his results/record.

What I can’t understand is – why is nobody prepared to stand up to him?

You’d think after Rafa made a stand someone would have grabbed the baton. Well, a few better journalists did, but that was hidden away in some better quality newspapers while every idiot and his dog was busy gobbling up what the red tops force fed them. Rafa’s cracking up. Fergie master of mind games, blah, blah, blah. But I suppose that’s the great unwashed for you, eh.

Here’s something to think about an all…
Not long after Rafa’s “rant,” Fulham went to Old Trafford. Before kick off Roy Hodgson practically said “We aren’t even going to try tonight. We we will give up on this one, come through with no injuries or cards, concentrate on picking up points after that and that should see us get to mid-table safety.”

Well, they weren’t his exact words, but it’s pretty much what he said. Why wasn’t he pulled up on it?

Oh well, that’s what we are up against. But the sad thing is, look at the teams who actually try. I don’t see many of them getting walloped.
Another media myth… United’s great attacking play and players is why they win games.
Bollacks.
It’s their defence that’s been the difference this season – a quick look at the goal difference between us proves that. The all conquering swashbuckling all out attacking Galacticos have actually score just 3 goals more than us all season. But they have let in 8 less…. Evra, Vidic, well we all know what happened there.

But fuck them anyway. It just sounds like sour grapes. It isn’t. I honestly don’t care what they do. I just want us to do better – starting on Tuesday and then at Castle Grey Skull.

But I admit, this is clutching at straws… Inter do them Wednesday. We do them Saturday. Doubt starts to creep in. Villa & Arsenal grab points against them. Nerves start to fray. Lower teams start to really fight for important points – and to preserve their premiership money. Rafa has another “Rant.” Referees grow some bollacks, or more likey are shamed into making proper decisions. Teams in mid-table safety don’t just lay down and roll over.

Wishful thinking, Pie In The Sky, A Load Of Bollacks – probably, but I’ve seen stranger things happen. And I will give them fuck all until it’s beyond any doubt.

Real Madrid 1 – 1 Atletico Madrid, Does anyone know wether Real played a weakened side?

ITV thinks that Mourinho has no chance after ManU beat the mighty Fulham.

FS Dont foget Happy Harrys “If S*R Alex is watching I’ll be sending
a real mish mash of players” which is against FA rules and gives Scum
a chance to rest players and collect 3 points .
I thought the “FACTS “would shame the FA into stopping the “favours”
the Scum rely on. “pigs might fly “springs to mind.
It seems to me that Liverpool ,the Club ,the City, the people, have always
been ignored/ f*cked over by the powers that be .
Sir Roger Hunt ( the real one ) became Sir more than 30 years after winning
the World Cup, the last player i think.
Joe Fagan (a nice man by all accounts) got nothing for winning Euro Trebble
Ferguscum (A horrible c*nt by all accounts) gets Knigted.
PS Before anyone starts with the Scouse victim mentality bullshit
I’m not Scouse nor am i from Liverpool
YNWA

Knight, what makes you think that if we bought
Villa , Benitez would play him and Torres together?

FS, really good to see you back. Am in barcelona for the weekend and got talking to a taxi driver and the level of respect the spanish have for Benitez is unbelievable. Nobody expects him to walk on water, but I agree with you when you said that we can show a little bit more appreciation for a man who seems to be the only person with the best interest of LIVERPOOL FC at heart.

You’ll Never Walk Alone!

FS I heard the press conference your talking about, Hodgson was blatanly stating they were throwing the game. It’s basically a form of fixing a result. However just like us resting players for bigger matches, however we call it rotating the squad. They call it maximising their league position.
.
It shits me to tears but I can understand them wanting to stay in the Prem. And lets face it even if they battled their hearts out, they would probably get a dodgy decison go Man U way anyway.
.
Steve Bruce did have a dig at the powers that be after the Wigan Chelsea match. He said it’s amazing how the smaller teams always have results go against them.

I see Voronin scored a hat-trick for Hertha this weekend, bringing his tally to six goals in the last four games.

If he keeps on like this we should be able to get a reasonable price for him this summer.

How come the blog keeps crashing, Gerry? Error connecting to databases…..

Bet ya it’s Rafa’s fault!

Gerry got your email,i mailed you back did you get it?

Looks like the Kuwait deal is back on which can only be a good thing
lets hope G&H come to their senses and sell.Maybe then we’ll have
some money for the summer and finally get Stanley Park built.
I was hoping for a 75,000 seat stadium but as long as the ground
has room for expasion i’ll be happy.
Lurgan In my opinion Vorinin should have been brought back after
the Keane thing in Jan, as we still pay some of his wages and he
wanted to come back.
YNWA

Just about to watch the Everton/Middlesboro’ FA Cup game live. Good Luck to the Blues now that the Reds are out.
Jack-the-Expat.

Gaz once you get to a certain level money is not the overriding factor. If you have played sport at the highest level, not saying you haven’t, you will understand that achievements, results, medals and trophies tend to be more of a motivating factor than money. I would hazed a guess that earning 4.5 mill a year or 5 mill a year is irrelevant to Rafa as he has consistently said that money has never been the issue, control of his own and Liverpool’s playing destiny is.

Yes Rafa could probably earn more money at say Real, Inter even Chelsea or Man City, but what Liverpool have offered him is immortality along the same lines as a Shankly, Paisley, Busby and even and as much as I hate to say it, Fungus.

Will Maureen go down in History as one of the greats? Yes he won a CL at Porto but he inherited a strong side at Chelsea spent a shitload of money and won a couple of Prem titles, so have a lot of other Managers across Europe. It is building dynasties that make you a legend.

Liverpool where in shambles both on and off the field when he took over. He has dragged us kicking and screaming forward inch by inch with people undermining him every step of the way. He has rebuilt Liverpool from the Academy upwards, bringing in over 55 players across the board, laid the foundations for future success in the same mould as Shankly. All this he has done on a shoestring budget in comparative terms, keeping us in the CL spot while winning the CL, FA and Super cup. Think about the emotional investment he has made in Liverpool FC, forget his family being settled and his love affair with the city and fans all though I think the support of the fans has been a major influence on all the emotional effort and all the extra effort he has put in.

Anybody with half the intelligence and Rafa is by no means a stupid man will understand what he has done and is trying to achieve. These types of opportunities come around once in a lifetime and you do not walk away from that very easily and not without a tremendous push. To achieve at the highest level you have to be extremely stubborn and thick skinned, because, to use Diggers famous saying, every man and his dog thinks he knows better and is ever so quick to point out every little mistake while glossing over every achievement and every positive improvement as things move forward. Our instant society demands instant success whether the means are there to achieve it or not.

That he has only been here for 5 years compared to the time it took Fungus and Shankly to deliver, that he has no backing from the board a CEO that thinks he can spot talent better than he can, a transfer budget that is laughable and so far behind our main rivals is quite remarkable that we are even in contention.

Hey why let a little thing like the truth get in the way of our bitching, moaning and unrealistic expectations. We should sign him up for another 5 years with total control of all football matters and thank our lucky stars we have someone like Rafa prepared to go to war on our behalf, success will come it is only a matter of time with everything that has been put into place. Money is the only thing in modern football that can speed up the process and that is one thing Rafa does not have.
However if the fans get on his back, pull their support and demand that he goes and he walks or is forced out Liverpool FC will be the ultimate losers, that I will put money on.

Everton 2-1 Middlesboro’ FT.

Hooray for the City of Liverpool!!

Alright Jack,

I understand you come from an era when reds and blues were never bitter towards one another but in this day and age,sadly,it`s not like that any longer.I just couldn`t see many reds hoping everton win the cup for the city unless it was at the mancs expense of course.

Shame the way things are Timmy.
FA Cup SEMI’s Man.U v. Everton
Arsenal v. Chelsea

Ffs the mancs are for all intents in another final. Surely all of Merseyside will be united that day Jack. Heres a Hypothetical question for everyone but Im particularly interested in FS and Keiths answer. And I’m not being facetious here, genuinely curious. I believe Rafa will sign his new deal, deserves another year, and we’ll have new owners and hopefully money in the summer. Given that, if at the end of his new deal we (god forbid) still have not won the league, would you renew his contract? Thoughts?

Not so fast Jack, it’s Arsenal OR Hull City v Chelsea. I really hope the Tigers can pull it off against the Arse, as Phil Browne is now the only English manager left in the competition!

As for Everton against the Mancs, I would much prefer Everton to go through, then we can finally put an end to this talk of five trophies for the Mancs.

On another subject, Yossi Benayoun will miss the games against Real Madrid and the Mancs with a hamstring strain.

Well Digger, I think that isn’t as simple a quaestion as a lot of people make it out to be.

Are you talking 4th place 12 points off the lead and never closer throughout the season with early exits int he FA. CC and CL?
…or…
A PL 2nd place finish by 1 point, loss in the Final of the Fa Cup by 1 late goal, loss in the CL final by 1 goal and loss in the Carling Cup by 1 goal.
…or… any myriad of combinations in-between. (I think its highly unlikely we’d be languishing in 12th and out of cup contention early next season, so I won’t even go there?)

I don’t consider our current situation a failure… others do.
Regardless of the opposition, you could say the first scenario is a failure, but the latter??
Gven close finishes/good runs in all four competitions, does the situation warrant a new manager?

I would say no… but then again, I’ve never been an “I want it all and I want it now” type of person.

Its easy to point a finger at the manager but our current situation is more a result of…
Players like Riera and Kuyt starting really well and then regressing.
A supposedly big signing only scoring a handful of goals.
Players like Torres and SG, and Aurelio, Agger being injured, and struggling to regain fitness for long periods.
Players like Benny taking until January to find form. Players like Babel not finding it until last week.

Every player I just mentioned (and I know some will disagree) when on form, are good enough to take us to the PL.
If they’d all had good seasons, we’d be free and clear now, but they didn’t and that’s why we are where we are… not coz …as some people would suggest… they were all playing majestically creative footy that was being stifled by the manager’s tactics!

That’s bad news for benny,he`s been in the best form of his liverpool career and this is typical of our bad luck with injuries this season.

I said at the start of the season that in order fr us to sustain a title challenge to the end we`d need to have some good luck with injuries due to the depth of our squad in comparison to our rivals.

Unfrotunatley it hasn`t panned out that way,thus our position.Gerry pointed out that Gerrard and torres have only started 3 of the last 20 games together and this has coincided with our indifferent form.

No Aitch Im talking if in 4 or 5 years we still havent won the league would you offer a new contract to Rafa? What I would consider a failure is not winning the league in the next 4 or 5 years. Nothing matters more.

Timmytorres

I’ve just sent you an e-mail.

To answer your hypothetical question Digger(which i don`t think is a fair question btw) If rafa did get another five years and didn`t win it then that would be 10 years of failing to win it.Then he probably wouldn`t get another contract.
All if`s,but`s and maybe`s though.

If me uncle had a fanny he`d be my aunt!

Whats not fair about it Tim? You agree that if in 5 yrs we still havent won the league that qualifies as failure. So whats not fair? Do we go on handing out 5 yr contracts when a 10 yr body of evidence indicates thats an unwise policy? Obviously, as stated, this is hypothetical. Of course I want us to win the league every year. I’m just interested in what the broader opinion is on whats the cut-off point, if any, what is the definition of success for us in the next few yrs. For me its winning the league.

Bad news for benny.

Do you know what, it seems that every time this season that someone runs into a bit of form, they are either injured or have another bit-part competition to go to and fuck up pre-season. Off the top of my head:
- Insua
- Skrtel
- Aurelio
- Arbeloa
- Torres
- Gerrard
- Benny Onion
- Dagger
- Masch
- Lucas

Not a bad team that. Moan over!

Digger,

In my eyes if a manager is progressing every season then yes i`d say keep him on.If in four years we still haven`t won it but were getting closer every year (eg.8pts,6pts,4pts,1 pt) then i`d persist with him.I wouldn`t say there`s a cut off point it has to be judged at the end of each season.I said he probably wouldn`t get another contract with the way the game is today and how people demand success immediatley.I for one would keep backing him as lond as he`s taking us forward.When a manager starts to take us backwards then he`s obviously taken us as far as he possibly can.

At the moment we are progressing under Rafa.Maybe not as fast as some would like but its progression all the same.

Rome wasn`t built in a day.

Digger Given the correct backing ie Boardroom/ Financial i am sure Rafa
will win the prem in the next 5 years but if he doesn’t i wouldn’t offer him
another contract . However if he won say 5 more European Cups then i
wouldn’t know what to do.
Timmy your right Rome wasn’t built in a day it took
18 years
1 Shankly
1 Paisley
YNWA

I agree Rome. And I think he may finally get it. Whether its the Kuwaitis or whoever lets just hope they splash the cash and back him. If he gets those 2 key elements and still hasnt delivered the title then there is something else amiss and it would be time to move on. Tim your being very evasive! Theres only so far you can progress before you hit first, its kinda the ceiling! If we finished 2nd for 5yrs wheres the progression from yr to yr? Thats called plateauing, or finding a level and maintaining it.

Well said, Timmy! People just don’t understand the meaning of progress.
(1) From struggling to qualify for Champions League (which brings in much needed $$$) to progressing well beyond the group stages, except one ‘bad’ season when we were knocked out by Benfica in last 16 since Rafa came in. Remember that Scum couldn’t even qualify for UEFA Cup after the group stages in one of those seasons, and Rafa in 5 years has qualified for as many Champions League finals as FerguScum in more than 20 (minus those years English clubs were banned under his charge) years
(2) We have improved from losing many away matches in the beginning under Rafa to being one of the hardest teams to beat both in Europe and in the EPL. Our record in European Competitions already show we’ve the best record, and we have only lost 2 league games. Yes, we’re drawing too many at Anfield this and last season, but we’re at least winning against the top 4 now, something we’ve not done in the EPL in the 4 previous seasons. Is this not progress? The league draw converted to wins will come, once we have Torres and Gerrard (our 2 best attacking players BTW) fully fit and playing together more often.

Rafa is moving Liverpool forward IN SPITE OF boardroom tensions. Look at Scum Utd’s league position when the Glaziers first took over. Even the ‘best ever manager in the English game’ had to suffer being 3rd in the League!! What about the ‘Special Needs One’? Once his freedom to buy players and control the on-the-field matters have been restricted, his Chelski immediately lost the league title to Scum (and I’d add: rather easily), thus losing the air of invincibility.

Rafa had 2 clowns above him (plus 1 who he cannot work with) who first wanted to replace him with a certain Klinnsman (just look at his record at Bayern), and he had to fight tooth and nail to get the control of football matters that FerguScum and Arsene Whiner certainly enjoyed, (which was craved by the ‘Special Needs One’ in his last seasons).

All I can say is that he’s inching towards the title showing good progress, even with all these external forces (the FerguScum, Special Needs and Whiner-worship press) and internal forces (the 3 now minus 1 clowns, plus some of our fans who expect winning the league title to be instant like taking viagra) acting against him.

And my answer to Digger No 10 is the same as Timmy. If we’ve stopped progressing under Rafa, it’s time for him to go, (here’s my own part) not judging by how many years it takes, something akin to seeing results the viagra way.

My apologies Digger, I misinterpreted your question.

There’s been quite a bit of discussion about Rafa getting his “current extension,” lately with LB going so far as to suggest holding out to see what he does next season before offering him the extension. (mind you, rafa told the players they were playing for the CL positions v. Sunderland and it worked a treat, so maybe telling Rafa that next season he was managing for his contract extention might work too???

Anyway… yes, I think in theory, if Rafa were given another 5 years and given adequate financial backing (and by that I don’t mean 100 million per season, but a reasonable amount to buy decent players, not contingent on selling) and had still not won us the PL title by 2014, then I think you’d have to say, that’d be 10 seasons and he’s been given enough time.

Of course, in any theroetical discussion, you have to look at all the possible scenarios and I think timmy has a point.

What if, between now and 2014, we win the CL 3 more times (maybe with an FA cup double, or two, and only narrowly miss out on the PL each season by 1 point (a result of the usual favors down to Scum by the FA and refs) with 3rd place considerably behind us, then it might be a bit harsh to judge Rafa as a failure, since how could anyone expect to win with the decks stacked against him?

…but yes, in principal, we better fuckin win it by 2014, fellas like Jack Hill, FS and myself (though I’m a bit younger) no longer have the fuckin luxury of youth on our side!

Keith I think you got the wrong end of the stick my friend, the money I’m alluding to is to buy players not put in his bank account.
.
That’s why I keep mentioning Rafa wants as far as achievments. if he wants to win big things he needs to find a team where he can spend to fund the big things.
.
He may go on to be a legend at Liverpool but deep down he would crave to be a world wide legend, every manager just like players wants to be the best. Alas though if the club is the one holding him back what choice would he make.
.
Would anyone here really critise the guy for moving on considering what he’s had to put up with. I think the answer would be a resounding No.
.
I don’t give a shit about his wages it’s who he can buy and when.
.
I think you read my post wrong.

I guess we’re all watching the Kuwait takeover progress. What I can’t understand is how we can be worth 214 million, buy maybe 150 million in players, then be worth 500 million.
.
Correct me if I’m wrong but living in the simplistic world are we not going in the wrong direction, up in debt.
.
Also taking into account we still need a new stadium. Possibly another 500 million. Thats a big debt to have on 1 football club.
.
If the Kuwait people get the club for 400 million which would be the deal of a lifetime from dumb and dumber, they still need to spend on players and ground. The numbers just don’t seem to be getting better.
.
I do understand however that they will get a better interest rate through the bank of Kuwait which deals in Islamic law transactions. Very minimal interest.

Sorry Gaz, I don’t think Rafa would care too much about the mega bucks in terms of the Man City, Chelsea, ManU transfer budgets, but decent support, not a 20mill plus sell first policy. When he takes us back to the top, note not if but when, he will get world wide acclaim for what he has accomplished and under what circumstances he has achieved it in.

Rafa knows as does every man and his dog (starting to love that phrase) that the H&G regime is over and he will wait to see who takes over and what their direction would be. It has to better (already Parry is history a massive boost, he will have contol over the foot balling side another massive boost, just transfer budgets to be sorted and realised) how it could be worse or the same is beyond consideration. So I expect him to stay and no I would not blame him if he had to continue working under the conditions he has for walking but that does not seem possible

His youth policy will bear fruit (is already bearing fruit, Insua, Ngog ect) over the next 3 to 4 years so I do expect success, relatively speaking, during the next few years. To answer Digger’s question as well, I cannot not see us staying stagnant under Rafa, we will always improve and challenge on all fronts, however if City and Chelsea and ManU for that matter have triple or even quadruple the financial muscle that we do, we have to realise that winning the league is going to be a very tough ask because squad depth plays such an important role. I still feel that Rafa is the one person that can do it against the odds as he has proved in the past, but having said that we will always be competing in the cup competition, where the best 11 is more important and tactics count for a lot.

I also feel that if Rafa feels that he cannot compete properly over the next 3 to 5 years and have a realistic chance he will walk rather than be pushed. Saying that I feel that is the most unlikeliest of scenarios and think it is only a matter of time, given the right, not excessive, level of support form the board.

Again as a few people have said as long as we are progressing I will be happy, any success is relative to your opposition as well as their capacity.

Gerry, fantastic blog. Fat Scouser, welcome back, I love reading your posts.

Can I just say that I think it is a disgrace, especially given the theme of Gerry’s fantastic blog, that people are in here still questioning/debating on Rafa’s future. Digger, I don’t often get personal in here but for fuck’s sake mate – we are coming up to our biggest week of the season… a huge match against Real Madrid in trying to progress to the CL quarter finals, and of course the critical match against the Mancs on the weekend… and you are in here again questioning Rafa’s future and throwing up these “what if he doesn’t win the league in the next 4 years” hypotheticals. It’s not an unfair question, at the end of the season perhaps, but not now mate. Do you want to see what a club all pulling in one direction can achieve, or just enjoy the debates about it’s shortcomings?

To all the contributors in here – and silent readers – I know this is a forum for debating all things about the club. But at the same time you should understand that it’s not all harmless banter in here. Negativity can be like a virus, so easy to spread. Consider the Lucas situation – some might slag him off in here and then we hear boos for him at Anfield. We all agree (I hope) that the booing is a disgrace, but where does the attitude of those booing start? It is not a far stretch to say that some it may start in the forums, such as this one (and others).

I know I’m not perfect, I’ve had the odd criticism of Rafa and probably of Lucas too. But I’m also not ridiculously supercilious enough – as others sometimes seem to be – to think I know better than Rafa on tactics, selections, and player’s abilities. That’s not to say we can’t and shouldn’t debate those things – but let’s leave the slaughtering of Rafa / Lucas / anyone in hindsight for the Sly Sports muppets and in the meantime try and regain the mantle of “best supporters in the world”.

The team 4 2moro should be :Reina, Carra,Skrt, Agger, Alonso,SG,Masch,Aurelio,Torr,Kuyt,Insua (if avail).Pace, power,precision-we could beat anyone with the above.Winning our last 10 prem games is doable if we avoid 2 many injuries.Winning the title with 80 points went out a decade ago.

Hi all!

Good blog Gerry.

I agree with Andy(Above post) and share his views regarding the proximity of the most important week in our season.

There are two ways of looking at this coming week:

1)We think of this coming week as the most crucial one and failure is simply not an option. We need to beat RealMadrid and then ManchesterUnited.

2)Yes very important week for us. But hang on, what we have achieved so far? We are joint second in the league(Torres didnt play half of the games,Gerrard injured for most of 2009 so far).What if we loose at OT? What if we get knocked out by Real?

Andy,the supporters who are looking at the 1st option is more often going for Rafa’s head. The moment we loose they start to think about his sack.Let me tell you ,i belong to this group but not all the time.

I started following liverpool since 1999(my age is 22 now). I started supporting liverpool for Micheal Owen. Slowly i came to know more about the club and LFC became more important then Owen.

In my almost 10years of supporting Liverpool, i have seen them grow leaps and bounds trying to reach the glorious heights of their past.

I must admit, this season we looked the closest to win the English League title. In many earlier posts learned people have stated facts such as Rafa’s overhauling of the squad, his youth program etc etc. Compiled with the troubled boardroom, i think he has done a great job.

One reason why i feel that a lot of knee jerk reaction has come this season coz everyone expected that ManchesterUnited will be somehow stopped from equalling the total tally.

I hope all these people(including me) will be able to comprehend the bigger picture and will appreciate the work Rafa has done.

I hope he stays(irrespective of what we win) and bring us the title next season. I feel that we were real close this season. We messed it up rather than ManU playing better then us.

i’m so frustrated with the off-field shenanigans…its been going on forever!!!

in a season when we have a chance to win the league title for the first time in forever, we constantly have to deal with bogus nonfootball-related news stories concerning ownership, contract stalls, etc.

we have two matches this week that are going to be the biggest of the year, and we have to hear more about how a new takeover “might happen.” its so depressing.

the thing that worries me most is that with all this dallying, players contracts (let alone rafa’s) is running down, so the power is in the hands of the players, and we all know how that goes. i think losing daniel agger would be a huge mistake that we would rue. there are very few center backs in the world that can play the ball with the quality he can. we all know his skill…his ability to bring the ball out of defense and drag the oppositions midfield line out of position, his ability in the air (threat on set-pieces), defensive ability (handling of drogba-CL last year), etc…

i’m sure its a non-entity in the boardroom right now cause they’re busy worrying about getting a big payout from the oil barrons – they could not care less about the future of our club. i have no doubt that under the right circumstances, and given the chance, daniel agger could easily be in the top 5 center halves in the world for the next 10 years. why are all the top clubs looking at him?

especially as he is hesitant to stay because of playing chances…i think it could be a big mistake to lose him.

YNWA

Yes Daniel Agger is someone we cannot loose.

haha – of course i bemoan the nonfootball-related stuff and then i go on and blabber about a contract issue…

i’m about as contradictory as a hicks and gillett business model/business actions.

FS: What’s the full story behind the Robbie Keane issue? I read the Tony Barret article in the echo and it seems to make sense. On the face of things it looks like a mistake maybe rafa cutting off his nose to spite his face but on one of your posts you infer Rafa had to do it for the good of the club.

There are rumours Daniel Agger is lets not as dedicated to his football career as he should be so maybe that’s why talks are stalling on his contract.

I hate Taggart with a vengance and he hates us so the feeling is mutual. I was made up when Rafa had his say at the press conference, it told me he was no one’s mug.

Oh Andy would ya dry your eyes, Jesus christ…. Yeah its disgraceful to debate all things Liverpool on a Liverpool blog, who’d have thunk it?! Like I said dry your eyes mate. Its been the biggest week of our season every week since christmas in case you hadent noticed. Anyway, thanks for your answer Keith and everyone else, appreciate ye’re thoughts. But we’ll stop talking bout Rafa now before Andy has a canary!

“All things Liverpool” Digger? 90% of your debating is soemthing about Rafa and I’m getting kinda sick of it – so yes, I know I don’t have to read your comments from now on, so I’ll try not to. The fact that it is even a topic some Liverpool “supporters” want to debate at this stage of a season is in my opinion a sad sign of the times.

If Torres does his hamstring again in November this year, will we start debating whether to sell him in January? If we start next premier league season in the same form as Man U started this season, is it time to start debating Rafa’s future again? They’d both be valid topics, right?

Whoa there boys!!! Surely theres no question of another contract if we dont win the league within the next 2-3 years? I agree with some of the posts above that Rafa has shown the capacity and actual progress annually to date. But that continuing improvement MUST be in the league. Winning another CL/FA cup will be icing on the cake but even Rafa now knows its all about the league for the fans now. IF we finish 2nd this year then we need to win next year – if we finish 3rd then 2nd next year is progress and winning in 2010-2011 MUST be the goal and more importantly the yardstick we measure Rafa by. I dont think he would expect anything else himself? (I’m assuming Rafa doesnt read this forum or he might be tempted to throw 2nd place this year to buy himself another year!!)

Easy up lads,we all like constructive debabte in here so Andy,don`t stop reading dig`s comments mate if you disagree then say your bit.I do agree though the Rafa contract issue should be shelved until the end of the season by the club,media and mostly the fans.It is a important topic but we have on field issues to talk about.

So,anybody here any news on Torres?Reports say he only trained lightly yesterday so he could never be 100% but a 70% torres would be better than any alternative IMHO.

On another note lads,Kudos to Bayo.He fixed me up with a ticket for the game tomorrow when he found out i was about to pay through my teeth for a ticket from a tout.He can`t make it due to work commitments whick is a downer for him,so he`s pledged his ticket to me.

Another example of what our club and fans are all about,cheers Bayo you`ll never walk alone.

Thats top drawer Tim, nice gesture Bayo. Sorry to hear you wont be reading my comments anymore Andy, and yes mate nothing is out of bounds when it comes to Liverpool. If its relevant and involves our club, regardless of whether individuals delicate sensibilities are offended, yes its up for debate. Isnt that what we do in here?

Just a thought
Is it possible that Parry being sacked may have had something to do with the takeover bid

I for one, hope we don’t see any sight of Torres tomorrow.
We don’t need him.
We are not desperately in search of a goal only he can provide… (as Scum will be in their match v Inter)
…we are 1-0 up and in a position to protect that while relying on someone else to nick a goal… so why risk him.

Where we NEED Torres is on Saturday against the enemy… so rest the lad… and release him on the Scum.

Aitch,this tie is no forgone conclusion.Were in a great position but there`s still some work to be done.This Real side are nowhere near as good as the Barca side who came to Anfield two years ago,but there not that bad.That said if we sit back and try to protect what we have then we will make them look good and possibly will be punished.It was different against Barca they needed at least two goals that night,real only need one,then their back in it.
We need to go and win the game,simple as.If torres is fit give him an hour or so it will benifit him for saturday.I`m confident rafa will set his team out the correct way to win the tie.

After all who could argue with his CL record?

Hi Timmy, lead by example tomorrow night. As you said, it is not all over by any stretch!

for someone who checks this site about 6 times a day, i said it before but i’ll say it again. why does the site keep crashing? or is it just me?

A Torres who is fit enough to contribute, fair enough. Otherwise no for me. For my money we played better when he went off the last night in Madrid. When he is on song he is out there on his own, a class player, but, as we have seen way too often this season, he’s not been fit enough, it does not work in my opinion.
It is an issue I believe. As others have said Torres came to Liverpool having carried Atletico for years, played all season (sensationally) and then went to the Euros, no real rest and back into the CL Qualifiers and the EPL. Result = injury, constant niggling injury and an inability to get match fit which will result in more niggling injuries.
Just to paint this post a darker shade, Spain play in the Confederations Cup in South Africa this summer and obviously will be there for the World Cup the following summer. Both competions they would expect to win. So when is Tores gonna get rest and proper pre-season ?
Arbeloa’s had a few niggles this year and Mascher has not played to his own very high standards for a version of the same reason (in my opinion) burnout.
I believe Rafa must be/should be, trying to make some sort of deal with the Spanish FA for friendlies

Michael, Re-site crashing you are not on your own.

To tomorrow night, first goal is vital for me.
No Benny, let’s say no Torres… Is Agger fit ? What about Arbeloa ? What way is Rafa gonna play it ? Well he can go for cagey or control no ?
Any news on injuries ?

Dougle. good comments in #130.
I think these players are showing the affects of no rest through the previous summer.
But what Can any club manager do?
FIFA makes the rules when it comes to Internationals, the clubs are forced to release players for meaningless Internationals , or in the case of Insua a meaningless U-20 tournament.

It’s time for the clubs to revolt and refuse to allow players who they are paying enormous wages
to go away for these Games.
I think most of us on this Blog, are more concerned in what happens to Liverpool F.C. than what any National Team does.
I personally would not cross the street to watch the present England team play.

Aitch you bring up a good point, should we play
Torres tomorrow night or should we hold him back for the game against the Scum?

Which would you rather have?
Torres scores the winner against Real Madrid
or the WInner against the Scum..

You could use the argument that if he is fit to play Tomorrow night , then he should be fit to face the Scum..
Who plays at RB Tomorrow night, if Arbeloa isn’t fit?

Digger, your response in #124 kinda says it all – the answer I was looking for to those hypotheticals I gave is that in both examples we should show our support and encouragement, not turn on them. We’ve more important things to talk about now so I’ll drop it, but please mate, have a think about it. I’m not attacking your RIGHT to say negative things, I’m attacking your CHOICE to do so.

I disagree that we don’t need Torres tomorrow night. That’s not to say I don’t think we can do it without him, but if he’s close to fit, he could have quite a bit of space to operate in as Real search for a goal, and that’s where he’s at his best. And if Real sneak one, I’d rather have Torres out there to find the winner than not.

For the record I wasn’t suggesting we sit back and defend a 1-0 lead.

but the fact is, we are 1-0 up and Real must score or they are out. This means they’ll be coming at us for the duration, leving themselves vulnerable at the back!

Regardless of the personnel on offer, (and we have a lot of key injuries) we’ll be playing 4-5-1, protecting the lead and looking to catch them on the break.

I can’t honestly see Torres being fully fit enough to play against Real Tuesday, and then manage 90 minutes against Sum on Saturday… so given that, I wouldn’t risk him against Real.

Rest him and release the hounds against the Scum, where we will really need his magic.

A fully fit and in-form Torres is a different kettle of fish, but right now, we don’t have a fully fit Torres!

No problem Andy. I understand your stance mate, hope you understand mine. For me it was just a hypothetical scenario, for you it was the end of the world! No biggie bro. I think Nando will come off the bench at 60th or 70th min mark. I dont think theres any point in risking him. And Rafa should tell him to forget about the poxy fucken confederations cup. Ffs, this shit has gone beyond a joke. The lads body needs a break this summer. End of. Personally I’d be disappointed with him if he cant see that.

Having thought about it a bit more, I don’t think Torres will start. I reckon Rafa will send them out there to lock down the fort for as long as possible and give Torres a run-out at some stage in the 2nd half. If it is still 0-0 on 60 mins then Torres could have a field day as Real get desperate. So basically that means… yep I agree with you Digger

If Arbie passes his late fitness test I think the team is gonna be: pepe, arbie, jc, skrtel, dossena, dirk, masch,xabi, aurelio, stevie, babel. I think it’ll be 4-4-1-1. What a pity insua is not in our c.l squad. I want to give dossena the benefit of the doubt but…lets just hope he has a good game. I think he gets the nod cos we need aurelio for LM, who else have we got? I think its clear at this stage babels not a left winger. So ryan goes up top and dirk plays on the right I think. Lets go reds!!

Interesting lineup Digger.

It’s not a bad lineup.Stevie G able to get forward
and maybe snatch us a goal.
Like has been said Real has to come forward and try to get a goal, so let’s hope that leaves
spaces for us to exploit.
I would use Torres in the second half if we need him.
If we get a second goal, maybe leave him out for Saturday.

Well,all I can say is, too, top blog Gerry.
Best this season by a mile.
And a film blog sounds fine, although I miss the classics and their class (Citizen Kane is still my No.1, although I would not have understood it if I was an 8 year old). Nowadays, I tend to think movies cannot compete against the best TV dramas.

And

a massive warm welcome back to you, Fatty! If people like yourself still come back to this blog, Kopblog must be doing something good.

Good luck to our boys against real. Hopefully, the Kop is in full voice.

Guys, I havnt read all the comments but I did read yours fatty, good to see you back as I enjoy reading your knowledgable insight into the club.

One little story for you all – my brother is off to the UK in a couple of weeks time and is off to anfield for the villa game (his first time), he was told to ring the club for tickets at a certain time and did so only to be told that all operators were busy and instead of being put into a que the phone hung up. After trying this for a few times eventually the machine said the villa game was sold out. Eventually he got a couple of tickets off the net but has paid 175 quid a pop.

Surely we can afford a better phone system at the club??

Anyhow, heres to a good performance tonight and another memorable anfield night (well my loungeroom in perth but you know what I mean)

I think that if Torres is fit then he should start the match tonight. His presence on the pitch would give Madrid something else to think about, something to worry them. Kuyt will almost certainly get Benny’s right sided place with Babel filling in for the suspended Riera on the left.

That leaves us two strikers in Torres and Ngog, so who do you think RM will be more worried about?

If Torres is not fit to go, of course that will leave us with no option, so we will have to see.

At right back, I feel we must let Aurelio play here (assuming Arbeloa is not fit) with Insua at left back and Dossena on the bench as cover. Xabi and Masch will be working their nuts off in front of our back four and Stevie G will be able to spring the odd attack for us.

my only concern is that we don’t get caught between two stalls tonight, we must come out with a clear plan as to how we are going to approach this game. In Europe Rafa comes into his own though, and I’m sure our team will have very precise instructions of how to deal with tonight’s match.

An early goal for us would be what we need to settle us down, and I wouldn’t rule this out for a minute.

Reds 2 Real Madrid 0

there’s no reason for fear tonight. We are masters at closing out a european tie at Anfield. I would play Babel up front and let his pace off the leash. A bit like against the Arse last season. he’ll get a bit more space than against the usual teams who come to Anfield. I’m not sure I’d play torres madrid will be out to kick him to bits.

As regards Movies; The Godfather for me, all 3 of them excellent. Sorry I know that’s not very original but they are class. So I think Real after tonight are going to be sleeping with the fishes and anyone who moans about Rafa will wake up with a horses head in his bed.

Talking about Valencia’s situation at the moment, who would you go after? I’m sure Rafa must be monitoring the situation closely. If it was between Silva and Villa I’d have to go for Villa. I think Torres and Villa would be exquisite up front and they can also play up front on their own in case of any injuries. Villa is a player who would give us what the mancs have up front, an abundance of options. I like Silva and in theory he’d be the player we most need the player I’ve mentioned before a sort of Deco, Peter Bearsdley type player but I’m not sure he would be able to hack it in the premiership.

I would not match up Ramos against Dossena, Ramos will skin him. We need to go to the matresses.

Lads, been busy with work but have kept up to date with mose comments. Gerry super blog mate. Good to have you back FS.

Question, Is agger fit? if so could he play at left back for that added security?

Kenny, I’m sure Rafa is monitoring the Valencia situation closely, however unfortunately freeing up money for transfers is probably pretty low on the owners’ list of priorities at the moment. Sad, because the likes of Villa or Silva would suit us nicely. Don’t be surprised to see the dirty Mancs snap up someone like Silva to replace the largely over-rated and under-performing Nani.

Akka I don’t think Agger is likely to be fit. I think Aurelio did a good job in the first game and is likely to hold the same spot. The danger is if Arbeloa isn’t up to scratch then we are thrown out a bit… pushing Carra out there is an option (he wouldn’t have to run too much, just be told to defend) but bringing Hyypia into the middle is a bit of a worry – Higuain, Raul, Robben et al may be a bit quick & tricky for old Sami. Hopefully with Masch annoying the fuck out of them he can still do the job though.

Up front, if Benayoun isn’t fit to take the left (with Kuyt on the right and Babel up front) I won’t be surprised to see Ngog asked to do a job up there. If nothing else, he will give us some energy up there until Torres is ready to give us 30-40 minutes in the 2nd half.

With the potential of this match going to extra-time, I can see Rafa not starting any of the injury doubts. That might even see someone like Lucas starting on the left of midfield… Rafa is known for his little surprises in these kind of games.

Dougle………….Monster’s Inc.

Away for a cry …..

Redscouse, sorry i have been busy and did not read the comments and your question (No 84) why I think Rafa will pair David Villa and Torres. It is just that they click together so well in Euro 2008. Their play is almost telepathic. Don’t you agree?

An LFC writer ( can’t recall who) did say he prefers David Silva to David Villa as he is better at controlling a game like SG.

Tonight, the Malaysian Red fans are up at 4am, meeting at Cobra Club to cheer the team on. up at 3.30am to go to Cobra by 4am. The Club will stay open for us. Would you believe it? And tomorrow is a working day!

Wow Knight
Sounds like its gonna be a cracking good time.
Dunno how much work will get done in PJ tomorrow though.
I’ll see if I can make the Bangkok game.
good luck to the lads in the Cobra and Anfield tonight
Over and out

Kenny if Dossena plays, which I think he will, he’ll have Aurelio in front of him. Thats good protection from Ramos. We’ve no-one to play LM other than Aurelio thats why Dossena has to play I think. Steve, Insuas not in the c.l squad as far as I know, hence Dossena at LB tonight methinks.

Actually digger that’s not too bad a left hand side. I’m a bit worried about right back. If Arbeloa is injured who would you play Carra and tell him not worry in the least about getting forward? or monster and play Lucas in CM I know you’re a big fan of his (heh heh heh).

If Arbie cant go yeah I’d play Carra at right back, tell him not to worry too much bout pushing forward, unless, ya know, a blatant opportunity arises. Other than that sit tight. No Lucas, no way, no how, Kenny! Just to important a game to risk a player whos too risky to begin with. We’re stronger than they are in the middle, no need to weaken it. And oh yeah, Sami jumps in beside Skrtel if JC moves out right. Im predicting 1-1 on the night with, who else?, stevie getting the goal. See ye in the quarters!

I think we’ll go through as well diggerno.10 but I do feel we’ll need to keep the ball well. Last thing we want is a back’s to the wall jobbie but I think we’ll score at least 1 maybe 2. My money’s on a 2-1 win with a goal from Kuyt and Babel. Actually I’d be mad to put money on those two scoring but you know what I mean.

Alright all,

first time post after reading for some time, good well thought out comments on here. My first post was gonna be about my disgust at some so called fans booing at Anfield and my sheer disbelief at so called fans calling for Rafas head, as this has what has got me angry enough to speak up, but it has pretty much all been said in here. Just like to add though that as a fan for 30+ years (first time at Anfield in 1972) Most fans know that for years the media have had no love for us. We have never played their game, providing crap stories on slow news days like Ferguson (aka “father Jack”) does in return for biased coverage and not being bullied or frozen out at media events. Or the despicable collusion Chelsea have with the southern media (witness the attempts to prise Stevie G from us a few yrs ago) King Kenny, in his time as manager had a healthy paranoia of the press, which soured them further. This plus the gutter press xenophobia is IMO, the background to the shameful treatment of Benitez by the press, Added to by the FEAR that perhaps he just might be the man who will put us back on our F**kin perch, and put them out in the cold again………..just a thought……anyways, gotta go, got a match to attend! anyone in the Anny rd upper considering booing the players or manager tonight, be ready for a row! Come on you redmen!

viva the Rafalution!!

Hi Knight, I am not sure about the pairing of Villa and Torres. What I remember from the European championships was that Torres played in a withdrawn role, behind Villa, and did not look at all like the player that we saw during his first season at LFC.

In fact it was only after Villa was injured and Torres played up front by himself that he again look, more accomplished let’s say.

I am not saying that they cannot play together but based on the limited time that I seen them together I am not sure. Also, I think that there is also a question mark of Torres being able to play with a partner. He seems to do his best work as a lone striker. Again this is only based on what I have seen to date

One of your Best Blogs ever…

In this blog, you’ve totally won your Red heart on your sleeve Gerry, and spoken for a great deal many of us.

I’ve not wanted to contribute at the TIA forums because of our ‘bad’ recent run, where we only lost once actually, after a very tiring trip to Spain!

I try to imagine what people need to be happy and I do get lost. I’m not saying we can’t moan. God only knows there’s too much around to make even the Deity sick, but it doesn’t mean we collapse predictably at the first available challenge!

I’ve maintained that no team has the prerogative of winning and no losing team sets out to lose. There’s no point gained in deliberately losing. It’s competitive and clearly showed in the passion in English matches.

About being a Kopite (or fan generally), you either are or aren’t. There are NO two ways about it. You can’t be a fair weather fan, coz that’s not a fan. You also don’t deserve to be a fan if you spend time roasting other people. I still prefer Rafa’s way, which is to talk about your team – not even individual players – and refrain from highlighting what rivals do or don’t. He might have recently spoken out, but he didn’t once rant (I can personally attest to that), and even though it may not have come out very nicely, there was a method to his so-called madness. From knowing and observing him, RB doesn’t engage in such “rant’s” lightly.

All in all, it’s my heartfelt thanks Gerry for speaking about a subject close to my heart. We need to stop and ask very many Qs, not least any of the following: 1) While RB is clearly not infallible, where would this club be without him? 2) With our present stupidity emanating from our ‘owners’ do we really deserve a tactician of RB’s caliber? 3) Why is it that it’s only in England where RB is unappreciated (mostly my the media and fair weather fans)? 4) Why do world class players like Reina, Torres, Masch, Alonso, Gerrard, Carra, etc. want to keep playing for such a bad manager? 5) Related to #4, is it that players of such talent cannot distinguish between a good manager and a bad one? 6)According to the legendary Arabian author, Lokman, if you hate the bad, then why not hate the good? Why love RB for inspiring our European adventures but vilify him for ‘not doing enough to win the PL’? If you have to rubbish his work, then include our recent CL record too! Remember that we weren’t playing much CL soccer before the Spaniard came. DON’T REMEMBER SELECTIVELY PLEASE. 7) What makes anyone think – I’m only talking to the sober, objective types – that we’ve enjoyed anything close to the financial support our chief rivals, MUFC and Chelsea have? Why doesn’t anyone ask how many ‘world class’ managers would have hang around a club with more issues than war torn Somalia!? 9) Does anyone realize the extent of overachievement (punching above our weight) this club’s enjoyed since the Rafalution? 10) Etc etc etc

This is indeed one of your best blogs ever, Gerry. My heart’s with you always. YNWA!