The Only Way Is Up

Well it’s been another difficult week for Reds fans but I’m not really down in the dumps about things, in fact for some strange reason I’m feeling slightly upbeat. There are times when you take so many hits that you just become numb to them and there’s no doubt we’ve put up with more than our fair over the last few weeks but I honestly think that we are starting to come out at the other side of our troubles now and the only way is up for us from here on in.

Obviously I was disappointed with our result in Lyon in midweek but there were some positives for us in the display and if you ignore all the media bullshit, as I do, and judge the game on its own merits then I think you would have to say a big well done to Rafa Benitez. I have no doubts that if we played Lyon with a full strength side, or even a nearly full strength side, we would make mince meat of them but when you travel to the home of the French Champions with half your side missing and a number of your available players not fully fit, they become a much trickier proposition.

That said, I think it was pretty clear that Rafa and Sammy Lee etc did a great job preparing the team, such as it was. We were the better side on night by a long way in my opinion and had at least several great opportunities to get the goals our performance deserved. Perhaps it should also be said that if we used the same simplistic logic that was used to criticise the gaffer’s substitutions at Fulham, then surely he also deserves some praise for making what should have been a match-winning change when Babel came on and scored a thunderbolt.

We should definitely have won the game from there but a straightforward ball into our box managed to turn our defence into the Keystone cops and Lyon once again got another late goal and a result they must certainly didn’t deserve. It was extremely frustrating to say the least but in fairness to the boss I think you would have to say his game plan was spot on and he sent the team on to the pitch well prepared but he can’t score the goals for them nor can he do the defending.

Had we been played off the park by Lyon even with half a team, then I might have been inclined to take a different view but as things turned out I find it difficult to find much fault with the boss. That said, no-one is above criticism and as a football supporter I can usually find something to moan about and there were a couple of things that bothered me about our team last Wednesday.

As I see it we’ve got two big problems when it comes to our current injury list. Firstly half of our team is injured and secondly Voronin isn’t! I just couldn’t understand what in the name of Shanks this bloke was doing in our starting line-up? Many years I gave up on my dream of playing for The Reds but when I see this clown on the pitch it makes me think that maybe I’m still in with a shout! The guy is about as much use as a glass hammer and he should be dropped, preferably from a very large building, but if not that then certainly from the squad.

I can understand why Rafa took a chance on him initially because when you don’t have much cash and an experienced international player with a decent record becomes available on a free transfer, it’s worth the risk. However it didn’t work out and the boss recognises that which is why he sent him out on loan last season and tried to offload him in the summer but even with the injuries we have at the moment I can’t see a reason to play him.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure that technically the boss had a good look at the situation ahead of the game and obviously thought that Voronin was the best one suited to the game plan he had in mind but as I don’t have gaffers information at my disposal, I tend to look at things a bit more simplistically and for me Eggnog should certainly have been the one to start the game.

Voronin has no future as a Liverpool player and will certainly be offloaded in January or as soon as we can find some team desperate enough to take him, but Eggnog is a young lad who certainly does have a future at the club and surely it would be more beneficial to us in the long run to give him a start whenever possible. Unfortunately our best chance of the game against Lyon fell to Voronin and he failed to stick it in the net when it seemed harder to miss.

Some people may say this was due to him being low on confidence but I think it was simply down to the fact that he is complete shite. Compare his miserable effort to the cool composure Eggnog showed when he scored against the mancs a couple of weeks ago and it’s clear to see why I would much rather have the Egg man in the team ahead of the Davy Crockett wannabe.

The other thing that bothered me a bit on the night was that Aquilani wasn’t given some time on the pitch. If he was fit enough to be on the bench then he must have been fit enough to play and I was surprised he wasn’t brought on for 10 or 15 minutes. That said, I thought Masch and Lucas had very solid games for us in the centre of midfield and I wouldn’t have been keen to see either of them brought off, so I’m not sure where he would have slotted in.

So as you can see, while I will always claim my right as a football supporter to have a moan from time to time, I can’t promise that my moans will always be logical! All I know is I would have liked to see Aquaman on the pitch but hopefully we’ll get a chance to see him in action tomorrow.

In terms of our future in the CL, we now have to hope that Lyon can do us a favour against Ford Cortina. Despite the fact that they have already qualified for the next stage, I actually think that Lyon will give it a go because they will now want to ensure they win the group. If they can get at least a draw and we beat the goulash munchers it will set up one hell of a final game so we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed. Obviously it will be very disappointing if we end up in the Europa League but if that turns out to be the case it might at least give us the chance to blood some of our youngsters in European competition and we’ll make the most of it.

Which brings me to our game against Birmingham at Anfield tomorrow evening. I’m not normally a big fan of us playing our “weekend” game on Monday evening but given our current situation the extra time we’ve had has turned to be a bit of a bonus and it looks like we’ll have a few more players available. I’m also not a big fan of international breaks but I’m very happy that we’ve now got one coming up that should allow us to get most of our players back to fitness before the league resumes again in two weeks time.

This game is extremely important. We’ve had such a miserable time recently but if we can go into this break on the back of a win, it will give everyone a much needed boost and put a much different complexion on things. Maybe I should know better after all of the crap we’ve had to endure over the last two decades but I’m still an optimist and I still think we’re in with a shout this season. I know a lot of pundits have already written us off but most of those guys are complete morons who know as much about the game as a hedgehog knows about crossing the road!

While it’s true that we’ve had a very bad run recently, people should remember that we’ve also been hit by the worse injury crisis I’ve ever seen at the club and while it’s not for the want of trying on the managers part, we just don’t have a strong enough squad to cope with so many absences. Given our recent run of results our position is obviously far from ideal but while we may be down, we are by no means out of things.

Ironically, the injuries we’ve had mean that some of our main players such as Gerrard, Aquaman, Johnson and Dagger etc, have had little or no football and will be coming back into our side reasonably fresh while some of our rivals may now be having some fitness and injury doubts surrounding some of their main men. It looks likely that by the time this international break is over we should finally have our best 15 or 16 players available and fresh enough for us to make a strong push between now and the end of the year.

So it’s obviously vital that we keep ourselves in touch by taking three points against Birmingham tomorrow. It won’t be easy, they have been a bit of a bogey side for us in the past and they’ve made a decent start to the season but we should have a stronger side available and I’m always confident about our chances at Anfield.

There are still some question marks about the fitness of Torres and to be honest if he’s not 100% I wouldn’t mind us starting with him on the bench. Let’s see how we get on for an hour without him and if we need him bring him on for the last 30 minutes when their defence is tiring or if we happen to be winning by a couple of goals don’t bring him on at all and let him put his feet up. Whatever the case may be, I’m predicting a moral boosting 2-0 win for The Reds and hopefully the media vultures will get off Rafa’s back for a little while and turn their attentions elsewhere.

Keep the Faith

328 comments

  2. donalfromthegap

    Rivetin readin lads

    chelsea have lost droba lampard and terry throuh injury

    thems the breaks

    over and out and co’mon Ireland

    are those letters real ? if so that Bill lad is a legend

  3. steve the red

    Lads, I’ve just read that LFC have been linked with a January loan deal for Tottenham striker Roman Pavyl…… Pavyle. The Russian striker, whose name I evidently can’t spell (should have written it down while I was reading the article!)

    What do you guys think? Could be a goer?

    Prem experience, playing for a World cup place with the Russians. Could be good news us.

  4. jim

    No real footie today so watched the rugby what a waste of time that was, roll on next week. see how many we have to pick from, rafa probly have to leave it late before picking team.If we can scrape a win would be good, 1-0 do then we can face the blue noses with something of a fighting team. hears hoping.

    @Steve the red

    Yea hes not a bad player but evey time a striker is wanting away from a club we will be linked to them.
    But he wants to leave because he cant get into the spurs side and it is the world cup next year so he will be looking for regular lineup. but when torres is fit his ops will be limited maybe,but could be good back up.

    We could do with someone as i it is obvious that you need four strikers when in the champions league and the other cups to compete and allow some guys to have a rest.

    I know we used to do it with only 13 players but them days are well gone times have changed.

  5. steve the red

    Good to hear from you Jim, I was beginning to think that everyone had gone to the moon!

    Pava would relish the chance of joining LFC I reckon, and would be busting his balls to impress not only because of the World cup but also in the hope of securing a permanant move. Could be interesting.

  6. jim

    Yea Steve i think veryones gone on vacation.

    I think it would possibly help the caus, we all know it would have to on loan,and if he is a sucess then Haarie would up the fee.

    It could be just paper talk as you know the media like to wind us up.Then theres the two wank owners,who seem to be magicians could they make money disserpear beeter than me misses can and see can get through some i tell you.

  7. Yokohama Liverpool Fan

    This international break is boring the hell out of me not to mention the long wait for a new blog. All I read in the sh*tty tabloids is Craig Johnston thinks Rafa has lost the dressing room, Mascherano has agreed personal terms with Barcelona e.t.c…. Is there any basis of truth for the latter? Given that it is looking likely that Lucas will eventually supplant Mascher as our regular DMF if this happens or maybe a deal incl. Yaya Toure even…?? It seems like our club want the cash seemingly as the 36 million is being bandied about.

    Then we have more speculation on the exit rumours of Dossena and Babel to raise what little money we will get for the Jan. transfer even though Rafa had supposedly been promised a budget.

    Anyway hopefully the internaional break will give the injured enough time to recuperate and a portion of our decimated squad will be fit for the Citeh game. We can only hope!

  8. ykleong

    The international break is killing me!!!!! Have been resorting to other blogs most notably Liverpool-Kop by Jamie Kanwar which I find it amusing and full of crap. Anyone out there know who this guy is? I’ve the impression he’s a fan in disguise and to top it all, he’s the king in “goal posts moving”. Just try reading his replies……Gerry, new blog please!

  9. gazmaninaus

    Jamie Kanwar is an up himself cockhead who shouldn’t be mentioned on this blog. He hates all things Rafa.
    .
    Now apparently Mr B has come out stating Torres is not for sale and he would quit if Torres was sold. Why would he bother commenting on this non event unless there is some fucking truth in the sale part. What the fuck are our owners up to now.
    .
    No Manager would say he was going to quit if there was never a possibility of a sale in the first place. Just my take on things. What do you lads think.

  10. SonOfAKhan

    And now we wait for the reaction from Dumb&Dumber. Will they come out and give a statement of assurance that Torres will not be sold OR see Rafa’s ‘I will quit’ statement as a challenge and say something that will blow the whole thing out and make things worse than it is.

    Dumb&Dumber: Of course we will not sell our biggest asset in Torres. Moreover Rafa is in charge and he should make the decision.
    OR
    Dumb&Dumber: Rafa is just the manager and should just concentrate on the pitch! We will decide, and the club finances is the best in the world but sometimes our credit crunch gets worse, not as bad as Chelsea’s, and we might not have a choice sometimes to sell our assets to stay afloat. We will buy back Torres in 2013.

  11. steve the red

    Gaz, this is the first I have heard about this story, but I have to say it worries me. No smoke without fire springs to mind.

    Is this the Yanks way of getting Rafa to walk the plank? Who knows? I suppose we will have to wait and see and hope this is just Media generated. If there’s any truth in it then we should all be very worried indeed.

  14. Fat Scouser

    Knight, Lads… The article is from an interview with Tony Evans, sports editor of The Times and a massive, and I mean massive LFC fan. And after reading it, I think it’s just Rafa manipulating the media, like he has in the past, to warn us supporters of what is truly going on at the club. I think it’s also Rafa sticking a couple of fingers up to the rest of the English media – telling it how it is, hoping people, mainly our shite fans, will see it how it is and stop taking notice of the bullshit they are force fed by the likes of Talk Shite, Sly Sports News, The Daily Manc, etc.

    But watch what happens now… The other papers and the rest of the media will twist it inside out until it becomes… TORRES SOLD, RAFA QUITS.

    Man City have already thrown come to bed eyes at Nando on a few occasions. There’s been rumours of them making sly bids from 80 up to 150 million. Of course the pair of twats in America will listen to anything like that and I’m sure it’s been discussed in the boardromm. So I think it’s Rafa just getting in his retaliation first and, at this moment, I’m not really bothered about either leaving.

    I think it was more about Rafa warning people what is going on and what could happen. But sadly, the wonderful knowledgable “Support” we attract nowadays will miss the whole fucking point and the phone ins and forums will be full of the usual shit… Rafa out!

    And that might seem like small beer amongst everything else that is going on, but it’s something I really do see as a great danger to our club. We all know Rafa has more than enough to deal with. In fact, I don’t think there is another manager – including Wenger – who could deal with all the pressure he is under and keep the club where we are.

    The facts are, Rafa’s record both on the field, and on the business side of things are fantastic. FFS the man has brought us trophies and finals and constant top four finishes. He has turned LFC from a loss making club into a profit making club (Last season’s profits were are biggest ever). HE has turned us from a club that leaked money on transfers like a sieve to a club that actually makes a profit on transfers. On top of that, he has completely revamped and modernised our youth development, academy and scouting departments. And he’s done all this while being hamstrung by the owners.

    Sadly though, I see the warnings falling on deaf ears – you’ll get proof of that in here shortly. But I don’t think it’s time to panic just yet.

  15. Fat Scouser

    PS… To all Johnny Come Lately post Istanbull/Rafa Out support…
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/3765515.stm

    Does that seem familiar?
    No. bit before your time I suppose.

    But if anyone wants to see what life is like after Rafa, read that article and look at Valencia now.

    And if that doesn’t get through your thick fucking heads, have a quick look at Newcastle or even closer to our situation – Leeds.

    PS.. to the proper lads. Have a look at Rafa in that old link. You can see what the pressure is doing to the lad. It only makes me admire him all the more. As I said, I can’t think of any other man who could or would go through all this shit when he could walk into Europe’s top job – Real Madrid – tomorrow morning.

    When are these fucking idiots who have attached themselves to LFC ever going to wake up, see the real situation how it really is, and realise the damage they are creating.

  16. McrRed

    I think recent judgements have shown that he could have a case for constructive dismissal if key players are sold without the manager’s ‘permission’.
    I’m hoping that the financial implications of this will be enough to stay Dumb&Dumbers’ hands and not sack the best manager we’ve had since teh good old days (pre-2004!)

  17. Fat Scouser

    There is a precedent Mc, Keegan had to be compensated by Newcastle after they done the same thing… bought/sold players without the manager’s go ahead.

    I think the same thing happened with Curbishley. I can’t remember it exactly, but I think he had to be compensated after walking over the same issue.

    Don’t think it’s come to that though yet mate. I don’t even think there’s anything new in the article/interview. The knives are out, so it’s just Rafa using Evans to get some Fact stated instead of the usual shite we are served up. But like I said, you watch this get magically twisted by the vultures in the rest of the media.

    Crying shame some of our fans not only fall for it but actually aid the bastards in their witch hunt.

  18. Fat Scouser

    Fuck I always do it… come into say one thing, read a comment and forget what I meant to say, but…
    If you click on the article, there’s a few links in a box at the left hand side. You should read them. Looks to me like Rafa has had enough of the media agenda and the “fans” falling for all the bollacks so he’s had a word with Evans and is putting things right.

    But as I said, it will fall on deaf ears and the media/phone ins and forums will turn it on it’s head and just use it as another weapon in the witch hunt.

  19. Lurgankop

    Jaysus, apart from the photo FS, just the mention of Alan Curbishley being in contention with Rafa for the LFC job brought a chill to my spine.

    You can bet if Rafa does call it a day we will end of with some clampet like that at the helm. Doesn’t bear thinking about.

  22. Aitch

    Aaron Ramsey for 2 million… then the deal got scuppered… WTF?

    Just goes to show that even with 24 hour news coverage and the internet, there is still a LOT we as fans don’t know about what is going on at the club… but will that cause people to take pause before sharing their “knowledgeable” opinion????

    And what’s up with Arshavin telling Russian fans to be more like the Kop?
    Is he unhappy with his playing time at the Arse?
    Has he realized his mistake?
    (Digger are you soiling your armour at the very notion? )

  24. Fat Scouser

    Hate to say this Aitch, really don’t want to be the smartarse, but I said ages ago about Rafa wanting Ramsey and them refusing him the money. It was the same with Walcott and seeing you mentioned him… the same, well sort of the same, with Arshavin. We made an offer. It got knocked back. Arsenal came in with a better offer. He came to England to discuss terms. Arsenal fucked about, leaving the lad stranded at Heathrow. Rafa tried again. Arsenal jumped in and got him.

    This is the sort of thing that drives me mad. And as if losing out on these players isn’t bad enough, then our Mensa dodging supporters leap in spouting off about all the money Rafa has wasted on shite players.

    And yes, Arshavin has realised a mistake, but it wasn’t that. He went fucking nuts when he realised he had to pay taxes on his wages. Thought he got the whole gross bunce that’s on his contract.

    Oh well, role on Saturday. I’m going up there, and with the way things are going, I might just dust off the old boots. You never know.

  25. Aitch

    FatScouser in Jack Boots???
    I’ve just wet meself and I’ll be sitting in the corner, rocking back and forth, chanting “go to a happy place, go to a happy place” until late Saturday!

    I knew about Walcott and Arshavin FS, but must have missed your post about Ramsey, I’d never heard/read us linked with him before. Pity coz the lad will be a major star if he avoids any early injuries.

    As for wages… the Premier League is a bit like the American Housing market of 2008… riding a wave crest.
    But what happens when all these big names start jumping ship for Euro Leagues where they get to keep more of their dosh?
    (and you can bet Platini is already scheming for ways to make that idea even more attractive to the players… he’d love nothing more than to poach them and see the collapse of the Premier League)

  26. Kiwi_Mark_LFC

    Gaz – Jamie Kanwar is a total cunt…he knows less about football than your average american…but it gets worse – the stupid arse fucking prick actually thinks he knows all there is to know about football (and economicst to boot)…so spends his time writing total and utter shite based on made up figures gleaned from his deluded brain…this is the type of mother fucker that FS goes on about that is destroying the club…he presents his brain dead fantasies in just the right way to seem credible enough to the massed morons…he thinks hes a Tomkins…but he doesnt have a quarter of the IQ or any of the understanding of the game (or economics for that matter)…its dangerous little wankers like this that need to be stopped…

    I personally think hes a puppet for Dumb and Dumber…

  27. Fat Scouser

    Kiwi mate, I’ve never heard of this Kanwar fella, and I’m starting to sound like some deluded conspiracy theorist, but it’s been proven that H&G planted loads of their cronies on the net.

    They were going into fan sites, sticking up for their bosses, planting lies, trying to get support for The Borrowers and generally gauging how fans were taking things. A good few got sussed out and fucked off. I never came across it after that, about the time of the Klinnsman fiasco. But I have no doubt they’ll be back if the forums and phone ins keep getting filled up with the sort of shite you see some “fans” spouting.

    Aitch, with the tax rate here, Arshavin actually earned more money in Russia. It was funny when it all came out and he was actually pissed off that he’d ended up signing.

    As for the boots, I meant I might just dust the old Umbros off and get a game with all the injuries. But you’re probably right… I’d be better off dusting the aul DM’s down and going looking for H&G.

    Oh well, night night. Roll on Saturday. I believe we are playing the tea lady up front rather than Voronin… she’s got a more manly haircut anyway.

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