I need to begin this by stating that I love The Tomkins Times. I’ve been a subscriber since the start of last season and, as well as the excellent articles by Tomkins and guest writers, I find the comments by other members well worth a read and occasionally worth engaging in debate. The best thing about the site for me is the way it holds a mirror up to you and forces you to modify the way you think about the game. If you are irrational in your views, the holes in your arguments will be brought to your attention. If your opinions are not evidence-based or stem from hearsay, they will be exposed as lacking substance. I find myself constantly learning from others who help me form far more balanced opinions than I could without them.
That being the case, I have been really surprised by the ferocity in some of the posts on there over the last 48 hours. Over the last two seasons, TTT has been a place of reason and rational debate. Once news of Torres’ transfer request broke, it became a place of craziness – temporarily at least.
For the first 24 hours, it seemed a lynch mob were ready to march on the Torres residence with pitch forks and torches in hand.
At that stage, the known facts were:
> Chelsea had bid £35m for Torres
> Liverpool rejected the bid and stated that the player was not for sale
> Torres urged Liverpool to negotiate with Chelsea
> Torres submitted a written transfer request
> Liverpool rejected the transfer request and told Torres he would be expected to honour his commitment to the club and the fans
> Liverpool publically broke the news of Torres’ transfer request
At that stage, no one knew Torres’ motives in submitting the transfer request. No one knew the club’s motivation for publically announcing Torres’ transfer request. No one knew how the scenario would play out.
Despite that, people on TTT were labelling him a ‘Judas’, telling him to ‘fuck off’ and saying the club should ‘get rid ASAP’. People were speculating that Gerrard and Carragher were to blame for bullying him out of the club even though not a single scrap of evidence existed to corroborate such a claim. People also claimed that through his transfer request, Torres had irreparably broken his relationship with the supporters and his fellow players.
However this story ends, at that stage such claims were premature and unwarranted while the personal criticism and insults were completely out of order.
This Premiership season has already seen Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez submit transfer requests at Man United and City respectively. Both are still with their clubs. The Rooney saga was one I followed particularly closely due to my friendships with a couple of people who are regrettably Man U fans. At one point, they were labelling Rooney ‘Judas’ – and that was probably the nicest thing they were saying about him – but now they have welcomed him back into their fold. They say they’ll never fully trust him again but they’re glad their club kept him because he is a quality player.
Torres is also a quality player and for that reason, my reaction to hearing about the transfer request was to hope the club could convince him to stay. I would rather have Torres stay despite handing in a transfer request than sold because of it. Quite frankly, I don’t need to believe that Torres is 100% committed to the club, a top guy and a die-hard Liverpool fan; I just want him to play well and score goals galore for us.
I look back at the summer of 2005 when Steven Gerrard submitted a transfer request. His exit seemed inevitable. At that time, people said he had burned his bridges irreparably. One idiot was even burning an effigy of him on SKY Sports News. After his U-turn, people said he should be stripped of the captaincy and before our first game of the season at home to TNS, all the talk was about how the fans would respond to him. Some fans booed him initially but then he scored a hat-trick and never looked back. By the end of that campaign, he was PFA Player of the Year, had an FA Cup Final named after him and to most fans was our ‘Captain Fantastic’ once again.
Until Torres signs for another club, he is still our player and there is every possibility that history could repeat itself so I just don’t see the point in slating him yet.
People seemed to take the transfer request very personally, interpreting it as him wanting to leave Liverpool. Until I’m presented with evidence to the contrary, I can’t accept that his motivation is simply to leave Liverpool. If that were the case, why didn’t he put in a transfer request before Chelsea bid for him? As I see it, a rival club made a bid for him and, faced with a very specific opportunity, he thought it would be a good move for him. If West Ham or Birmingham had bid for him, I doubt he would have implored the club to negotiate with them. This is about Torres wanting to join Chelsea; not him wanting to leave Liverpool at all costs. Of course, to join Chelsea he has to leave Liverpool but it’s not as though he would join any club just to get away from Anfield.
We can dispute whether the grass will turn out to be greener at Stamford Bridge but clearly he thinks it would be. We don’t know what his personal experience is and has been like at Anfield so we’re not in a position to judge. If, for example, he is/was not getting on with certain dominant characters in the dressing room, it might make sense to him to take the opportunity not to be in the presence of those same characters anymore. There is no suggestion whatsoever that he wants to leave because of the supporters whom he has always spoken about in complimentary terms yet some supporters seem to think he is giving big ‘V’s to them.
People are asking “Why Chelsea of all clubs?” Well, firstly Chelsea are the only team that have bid for him but I would ask why not Chelsea? It’s not like he wanted to join the Mancs. Our rivalry with Chelsea is nowhere near as bitter as our rivalry with them and in truth it only really began when (a) they became good on the back of Abramovich’s wealth and (b) Jose Mourinho kicked things into overdrive.
Personally, I was glad they won the League last season as it stopped the Mancs from getting to 19 before us and I would be glad if they won it again this season (not that they have a cat in hell’s chance) for the same reason.
I would be far more concerned if Torres wanted to ditch us for Spurs because that, to me, would not make sense but I think that most neutral supporters would see Chelsea as a more attractive option to a player than Liverpool at this time – despite Chelsea’s poor campaign which is, by the way, far less poor than ours.
One poster wrote: “He has made it clear he does not wish to wear the LFC shirt again.” No, he hasn’t! As far as I am aware, he has not told the club: “Sell me or I won’t play for you again”. He thinks a move to Chelsea would be better for him but that doesn’t automatically mean he thinks staying with us would be a bad alternative.
The same poster wrote: “Torres has shown his true personality as a fickle, glory hunter”. Well I disagree.
For over a year I’ve been reading that we had to get rid of Gillett and Hicks and find an owner who will spend some serious money on improving our squad or Torres and Reina will leave; that Hodgson had to be sacked ASAP or Torres and Reina will leave; we must get back into the Champions League or Torres and Reina will leave, etc. We’ve spent the last year justifying the player wanting to leave and yet as soon as he hands in a transfer request we start labelling him a “glory hunter” or suggesting his move is purely motivated by money.
OK, Gillett and Hicks have gone, as has Hodgson but we are still not going to qualify for the Champions League this season and who knows what the situation will be next year. Right now, no one even knows who will be manager next year. It’s clear the squad is thin and there are probably [at least] five other Premiership teams with stronger first XIs than ours. Signing Suarez is a good start but not proof in itself that FSG will invest the sort of money that it will take to get this team back to the levels we reached under Rafa between 2007 and 2009.
Bearing in mind Torres will be close to 29 by the time we’re back in the Champions League IF we qualify next season, I can see why Chelsea might appear a better prospect than Liverpool to a player in his peak years. Chelsea are in the Champions League this season. They are the defending Premiership champions and FA Cup holders. During Torres’ time at the club, Chelsea have won 2 FA Cups, a Premiership title and reached a Champions League Final. Liverpool have won nothing.
That last sentence is important to note. If anyone thinks our chances of silverware will be harmed by losing Torres, while I understand the logic behind the thought, the fact is Liverpool have won nothing with Fernando Torres at the club.
You may argue that our failure to win honours with him at the club was because the team around him wasn’t good enough. Well it was good enough to finish second in 2009 with him playing only half a season and it was good enough to be minutes away from reaching a Europa League Final last season without him. Without criticising or blaming him for his injury problems, a tiny bit more of a contribution from him might just have seen the team lifting silverware.
After all, similar fears were aired when Owen left us in 2004. 9 months later we were European Champions. In the 7 full seasons Owen was our player, we won 4 major honours (if you consider the League Cup a major honour) and suffered 5 trophyless seasons. In the 2 seasons after he left we won a major honour in each. That was despite receiving a fraction of Owen’s real transfer value to reinvest in the squad which wouldn’t be the case if Torres goes.
If reinvested effectively, £50m would buy an adequate replacement and enable other areas of the team to be strengthened. If someone could guarantee the signings would be successful, I would rather have two £25m players the right side of 26 than keep Torres. I’m sure FSG are looking at the situation and considering what outcome better suits the long-term interests of our club.
The worst case scenario is that we have a few trophyless years and no Champions League football without Torres instead of having trophyless years and no Champions League football with him but there is every chance this could be beneficial to our long term rival. We could end up with a good young team that comes into its own in a few years as Torres’ natural abilities are on the wane.
I don’t buy into this ‘Judas’ crap. Michael Owen is a ‘Judas’; Torres is not. What Owen did was deliberately run down his contract so he could move to Real on the cheap. He left the club without a quality striker and without adequate funds to buy a replacement. He directly harmed the club. If Torres is sold it will be for his full value and a significant profit on what we paid for him even taking inflation into account. Owen could still have been forgiven but then he signed for our bitterest rivals knowing it would be regarded as the ultimate act of treachery by the fans that once adored him. That was the ultimate dishonour. Signing for Chelsea is not the same as signing for them.
If it was, Yossi Benayoun would have been slated in the summer when he left us for Stamford Bridge. As it was, people just accepted it and got on with it. What’s the difference between Yossi going there and Fernando going there? As I see it, Yossi wasn’t as good or as key to us as Fernando (a factor reflected in the two players’ transfer values). If Torres is disloyal for wanting to swap us for them, why wasn’t Yossi?
And what about other players who have moved on at the time of their choosing? Why does Peter Crouch receive a rousing reception from the Kop when he returns despite turning down a decent contract and forcing us to sell him to Portsmouth? Why isn’t he a ‘Judas’ or a ‘traitor’?
And why was there no animosity towards Ryan Babel who moved to Hoffenheim this week? Babel arrived with a relatively large price tag and bags of potential but left for a loss having ultimately flopped. After continually letting down the club and its fans with performances that could be described as average at best, most supporters were glad to see him go. Had Torres flopped, the only animosity would have been aimed at the man who signed him and no one would care that he was leaving. Basically his offence was to be a fantastic player who gave excellent service to the club and who enhanced his transfer value. Torres improved while with us; Babel regressed. Torres worked hard for us; Babel was more concerned about his twitter account and his rapping skills. Torres gave full value for his transfer fee and wages; Babel ripped us off. Who deserves the most criticism: Torres or Babel?
If Torres does go, it’s not the end of the world. A shame, yes, but far from the death of Liverpool FC.
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Wolves v Liverpool: Preview
On the surface, there are few reasons to be optimistic ahead of this one. We have an awful record away from home; we have an awful record against teams that take the physical approach to playing us; we have an awful record away against Wolves; we have awful form full-stop going into this game; we have been awful defensively for some time having conceded roughly double the number of League goals than was the norm in the Benitez years...
I’m looking for reasons to be optimistic and I have come up two...
1) Dalglish
We have undoubtedly received a boost from the Return of the King, even if results haven’t obviously improved as yet. Performances have been markedly better and the tactics appear infinitely more suited to the personnel at our disposal. Having to play at high intensity for 60 minutes with 10 men at Old Trafford against Howard Webb’s team left us visibly tired. That and Gerrard’s suspension, contributed to the weakened team fielded at Bloomfield Road just 3 days later which, despite starting well, lost out to a much, much fresher team – Blackpool had rested their entire XI on the weekend in preparation. We then faced the blood and thunder test of a Merseyside derby just 4 days later and were fantastic in the first half but lost our best centre-half at half-time to illness and gifted two soft goals in the immediate aftermath before composure was regained. Despite the set-back, we battled our way back into the game but had nothing left in the tank to push for a winner that wouldn’t have been undeserved. We have undoubtedly been unlucky in the way events unfolded in these games but I firmly believe that if we keep playing as we have, with the benefit of more freshness (and this time Wolves played in mid-week while we had the week to rest and prepare), we’ll start getting some positive results.
2) Torres
Against the Blueshite there was something noticeably different about Torres. He had this look in his eyes that has been missing for some time. Rather than looking like a pissed off player anxiously anticipating the next cynical blow to the back of his head to be tolerated by the referee who will immediately book him the second he protests, Torres had a steely look of focused anger. There was something about him that said he was in the mood to torment Everton’s backline and that is exactly what he did. He was strong and menacing and Everton’s defenders were terrified of him. Maybe this was a one-off inspired by the derby atmosphere but I hope this was actually a case of Dalglish getting inside the man’s head and convincing him that defenders should be scared of him; not the other way round. The best attacking players tease and torture defenders before finally putting them out of their misery. That is what Torres did throughout the 2007-08 season but it has rarely been seen since despite his impressive goal stats continuing. If Torres is in the right frame of mind, Wolves beware!
So would I take a draw before the game? My head says ‘yes’, my heart says “Fuck off, we’re Liverpool!”. Come on Red men!!!!
I’m looking for reasons to be optimistic and I have come up two...
1) Dalglish
We have undoubtedly received a boost from the Return of the King, even if results haven’t obviously improved as yet. Performances have been markedly better and the tactics appear infinitely more suited to the personnel at our disposal. Having to play at high intensity for 60 minutes with 10 men at Old Trafford against Howard Webb’s team left us visibly tired. That and Gerrard’s suspension, contributed to the weakened team fielded at Bloomfield Road just 3 days later which, despite starting well, lost out to a much, much fresher team – Blackpool had rested their entire XI on the weekend in preparation. We then faced the blood and thunder test of a Merseyside derby just 4 days later and were fantastic in the first half but lost our best centre-half at half-time to illness and gifted two soft goals in the immediate aftermath before composure was regained. Despite the set-back, we battled our way back into the game but had nothing left in the tank to push for a winner that wouldn’t have been undeserved. We have undoubtedly been unlucky in the way events unfolded in these games but I firmly believe that if we keep playing as we have, with the benefit of more freshness (and this time Wolves played in mid-week while we had the week to rest and prepare), we’ll start getting some positive results.
2) Torres
Against the Blueshite there was something noticeably different about Torres. He had this look in his eyes that has been missing for some time. Rather than looking like a pissed off player anxiously anticipating the next cynical blow to the back of his head to be tolerated by the referee who will immediately book him the second he protests, Torres had a steely look of focused anger. There was something about him that said he was in the mood to torment Everton’s backline and that is exactly what he did. He was strong and menacing and Everton’s defenders were terrified of him. Maybe this was a one-off inspired by the derby atmosphere but I hope this was actually a case of Dalglish getting inside the man’s head and convincing him that defenders should be scared of him; not the other way round. The best attacking players tease and torture defenders before finally putting them out of their misery. That is what Torres did throughout the 2007-08 season but it has rarely been seen since despite his impressive goal stats continuing. If Torres is in the right frame of mind, Wolves beware!
So would I take a draw before the game? My head says ‘yes’, my heart says “Fuck off, we’re Liverpool!”. Come on Red men!!!!
Saturday, 15 January 2011
Liverpool versus Everton: Preview
As always, it’s impossible to predict how this one is going to turn out. Looking at the form guide, Liverpool are unbeaten in this fixture in the last 11 seasons and have lost just 2 out of the last 18 at home to Everton. However, we have only won 8 out of 18 and only once beaten the Shite in two consecutive seasons. When we have played and lost at Goodison before playing the Bitters at home, we have drawn on 3 out of the last 4 occasions.
On that basis, we’re hardly nailed on favourites but at least the stats suggest were unlikely to lose. Given our proximity to the relegation zone and, indeed, to the Blueshite themselves (separated only by goal difference) the thought of them crowing about a League double over us and mocking us with chants of “Going down” is not something I’d like to become a reality.
We’re missing Steven Gerrard who has 5 career goals against Everton but they are without Tim Cahill who also has 5 goals against us. Cahill aside, Mikel Arteta is the only currently Blues player to have scored against us for the Bitters whereas we will field Kuyt and Torres with 4 and 3 goals respectively against them.
Expect a low scoring game as we have only scored more than 1 goal in this fixture on 5 occasions and more than 2 on just 3 occasions since the Premiership began. They have scored more than 1 on just 2 occasions.
One thing guaranteed is the atmosphere will be electric for King Kenny’s first game back in charge at Anfield. That could swing things our way.
My head says 0-0 or 1-1 but my heart says 1-0 or 2-0 with Torres finding the back of the net.
Full record in the Premiership (Liverpool v Everton at Anfield):
Pld. 18 W 8 D 8 L 2
On that basis, we’re hardly nailed on favourites but at least the stats suggest were unlikely to lose. Given our proximity to the relegation zone and, indeed, to the Blueshite themselves (separated only by goal difference) the thought of them crowing about a League double over us and mocking us with chants of “Going down” is not something I’d like to become a reality.
We’re missing Steven Gerrard who has 5 career goals against Everton but they are without Tim Cahill who also has 5 goals against us. Cahill aside, Mikel Arteta is the only currently Blues player to have scored against us for the Bitters whereas we will field Kuyt and Torres with 4 and 3 goals respectively against them.
Expect a low scoring game as we have only scored more than 1 goal in this fixture on 5 occasions and more than 2 on just 3 occasions since the Premiership began. They have scored more than 1 on just 2 occasions.
One thing guaranteed is the atmosphere will be electric for King Kenny’s first game back in charge at Anfield. That could swing things our way.
My head says 0-0 or 1-1 but my heart says 1-0 or 2-0 with Torres finding the back of the net.
Full record in the Premiership (Liverpool v Everton at Anfield):
Pld. 18 W 8 D 8 L 2
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Manchester and Howard Webb United 1 Liverpool 0: The Return of the King
Well, we didn’t win the match but I was so proud of the team today. We never stopped competing despite being a man down for most of the game and only lost because of a penalty that never should have been awarded. Not for the first time, Howard Webb was the catalyst for a Man United victory.
The penalty he awarded them in the second minute for Dimitar Berbatov’s pathetic dive was a shockingly poor decision. He was too far away from the incident to have a clear view and rather than consider the view of the linesman who was much closer and did not flag for a foul, the crooked official couldn’t point to the spot quick enough.
To compound matters he dismissed Steven Gerrard with an hour of the game still to be played. By the letter of the law, Gerrard’s challenge was made with excessive force and by jumping in with both feet and studs showing it was dangerous and worthy of a red card. However, had Carrick not also lunged for the ball at full stretch, there would have been no contact and no danger. It is clear from replays that Gerrard took the ball first. It seems a one-sided view to dismiss Gerrard but not even caution Carrick. There is also the matter of context to consider. Webb, remember, was the referee in the World Cup Final who refused to issue a red card despite a number of blatant red card offences being committed – the worst being Nigel de Jong’s kung fu kick into the chest of Xabi Alonso. Given the ferocious nature of this fixture, surely there was an argument for the referee applying some discretion in order to keep 22 men on the pitch?
The fact is, had Webb punished the equally dangerous two-footed lunge by Rafael on Meireles earlier in the same passage of play, the Gerrard lunge never would have occurred. I’m not excusing Gerrard. He was stupid and should have known better than to lose his head. However, Webb’s handling of these incidents decided the match and it was clear he showed no consistency and his decisions totally favoured the home team. Before the red card, we looked the stronger team and played some brilliant football.
Even after the dismissal, I thought we battled hard and ran ourselves into the ground. We showed more attacking intent and better passing of the ball with 10 men at Old Trafford than we did in most games under the Rectified Mistake [I don’t want to say his name anymore]. I thought Martin Kelly was superb today and was our man of the match. Reina was also awesome and Agger and Skrtel looked a very effective partnership. Agger in particular impressed while Aurelio was very welcome back and unlucky not to score with his free-kick. Kuyt, Lucas, Meireles and Maxi all worked hard though perhaps lacked a sprinkle of star quality between them. Torres had a thankless task playing as a lone front man which became tougher following Gerrard’s dismissal but he stuck to the task and deserved his rest when replaced by Ngog.
Overall, this was easily our best performance of the season and there were so many positives to take from it. United may have cheated their way into the next round but we have got our club back. Ours is by far the greater victory.
Welcome back King Kenny!
The penalty he awarded them in the second minute for Dimitar Berbatov’s pathetic dive was a shockingly poor decision. He was too far away from the incident to have a clear view and rather than consider the view of the linesman who was much closer and did not flag for a foul, the crooked official couldn’t point to the spot quick enough.
To compound matters he dismissed Steven Gerrard with an hour of the game still to be played. By the letter of the law, Gerrard’s challenge was made with excessive force and by jumping in with both feet and studs showing it was dangerous and worthy of a red card. However, had Carrick not also lunged for the ball at full stretch, there would have been no contact and no danger. It is clear from replays that Gerrard took the ball first. It seems a one-sided view to dismiss Gerrard but not even caution Carrick. There is also the matter of context to consider. Webb, remember, was the referee in the World Cup Final who refused to issue a red card despite a number of blatant red card offences being committed – the worst being Nigel de Jong’s kung fu kick into the chest of Xabi Alonso. Given the ferocious nature of this fixture, surely there was an argument for the referee applying some discretion in order to keep 22 men on the pitch?
The fact is, had Webb punished the equally dangerous two-footed lunge by Rafael on Meireles earlier in the same passage of play, the Gerrard lunge never would have occurred. I’m not excusing Gerrard. He was stupid and should have known better than to lose his head. However, Webb’s handling of these incidents decided the match and it was clear he showed no consistency and his decisions totally favoured the home team. Before the red card, we looked the stronger team and played some brilliant football.
Even after the dismissal, I thought we battled hard and ran ourselves into the ground. We showed more attacking intent and better passing of the ball with 10 men at Old Trafford than we did in most games under the Rectified Mistake [I don’t want to say his name anymore]. I thought Martin Kelly was superb today and was our man of the match. Reina was also awesome and Agger and Skrtel looked a very effective partnership. Agger in particular impressed while Aurelio was very welcome back and unlucky not to score with his free-kick. Kuyt, Lucas, Meireles and Maxi all worked hard though perhaps lacked a sprinkle of star quality between them. Torres had a thankless task playing as a lone front man which became tougher following Gerrard’s dismissal but he stuck to the task and deserved his rest when replaced by Ngog.
Overall, this was easily our best performance of the season and there were so many positives to take from it. United may have cheated their way into the next round but we have got our club back. Ours is by far the greater victory.
Welcome back King Kenny!
Manchester United v Liverpool: Preview
"The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it for the first time with a sense of hope..." - Sarah Connor, Terminator II: Judgement Day
Yesterday morning, I had absolutely certainty that today's game would involve an excrutiatingly inept performance and comprehensive defeat at Old Trafford resulting in an FA Cup exit at the first hurdle. Now, after The Return of the King, who knows what might happen?
Are we still underdogs? Absolutely. But suddenly the result is an uncertainty rather than a foregone conclusion.
Kenny was not in post in time to affect training so what we see today may very well be unchanged from the sacrificial lambs Hodgson had prepared to lay down on the alter of his close friend Alex. The difference will be in the minds of those players. They are no longer playing for a patsy whose removal was inevitable. They are now playing for a bone fide Liverpool legend and need to impress him if they are to keep their places for what promises to be an electric home game against Everton next week.
Perhaps Dalglish will even have intervened in team selection and tactics. Perhaps we will see Agger and Aurelio in for Kyrgiakos and PFK (Paul Fucking Konchesky). Perhaps we will see Gerrard in the hole supporting a revitalised Torres whom the manager has reminded that United's back four are sh*t-scared of him. Perhaps just the simplistic message "Go out and express yourselves" rather than "Maintain solid banks of four at all costs" will be liberating enough to reignite the fire in the bellies of these players.
Who knows? And that is the wonderful, wonderful thing about today's game. We no longer know what will happen. Ferguson who knew exactly what players and tactics his team would need to overcome, suddenly doesn't know what to expect. A seed of doubt and fear will have been sown in his mind and in the minds of his players and that gives us an opportunity.
Whether today ends with us still in the cup or not, it's just wonderful to be approaching a big game with a sense of hope once more.
Yesterday morning, I had absolutely certainty that today's game would involve an excrutiatingly inept performance and comprehensive defeat at Old Trafford resulting in an FA Cup exit at the first hurdle. Now, after The Return of the King, who knows what might happen?
Are we still underdogs? Absolutely. But suddenly the result is an uncertainty rather than a foregone conclusion.
Kenny was not in post in time to affect training so what we see today may very well be unchanged from the sacrificial lambs Hodgson had prepared to lay down on the alter of his close friend Alex. The difference will be in the minds of those players. They are no longer playing for a patsy whose removal was inevitable. They are now playing for a bone fide Liverpool legend and need to impress him if they are to keep their places for what promises to be an electric home game against Everton next week.
Perhaps Dalglish will even have intervened in team selection and tactics. Perhaps we will see Agger and Aurelio in for Kyrgiakos and PFK (Paul Fucking Konchesky). Perhaps we will see Gerrard in the hole supporting a revitalised Torres whom the manager has reminded that United's back four are sh*t-scared of him. Perhaps just the simplistic message "Go out and express yourselves" rather than "Maintain solid banks of four at all costs" will be liberating enough to reignite the fire in the bellies of these players.
Who knows? And that is the wonderful, wonderful thing about today's game. We no longer know what will happen. Ferguson who knew exactly what players and tactics his team would need to overcome, suddenly doesn't know what to expect. A seed of doubt and fear will have been sown in his mind and in the minds of his players and that gives us an opportunity.
Whether today ends with us still in the cup or not, it's just wonderful to be approaching a big game with a sense of hope once more.
Saturday, 8 January 2011
At long last, the mistake is rectified!
I take no pleasure in saying this but I predicted back when Hodgson was appointed that he would become the first Liverpool manager since Phil Taylor to fail to win a trophy in his tenure and I was absolutely spot on. I would have been delighted had he proved me wrong but it was clear as soon as he set out with his 4-4-2 formation at Man City in only our second league game of the season that that was never going to happen.
That Hodgson has finally been given the boot today is fantastic news for everyone with the best interests of Liverpool Football Club at heart but the truth is he should never have been appointed into the post in the first place. He was appointed by people who shouldn’t have been at the club in the first place and who collectively dragged the club out of the top four and into mediocrity.
Gillett, Hicks and Christian Purslow were the main culprits. Hodgson was merely one of their mistakes. Gillett and Hicks got their comeuppance when the courts humiliatingly stripped the club off them resulting in massive financial losses. Purslow got the sack when the new owners took up office although the feeling remains he deserves a heavier punishment for his roles in ousting Rafa Benitez, in appointing Hodgson and in the farcical transfer dealings of the summer.
After these three had departed, we found ourselves still stuck with Hodgson as our new owners with no knowledge of English soccer attempted to sort the truth from Hodgson’s lies, excuses and other bizarre utterances.
Now the way has been cleared for a golden future but, to paraphrase the famous song, we have a little more storm to weather before we will see the golden sky and hear the sweet silver song of the lark. Depending on how you see things, Kenny Dalglish has a massive job on his hands to turn around the fortunes of this club.
I have every confidence that he can coax an instant positive response from a bunch of disillusioned players who are far better than results this season have suggested. I no longer fear relegation but neither do I expect us to challenge for the Champions League places. From where Hodgson has left us (12th) I would accept us finishing in the top 7 or 8 and therefore maintaining our record of having never finished below 8th in the Premiership. Finishing 6th would be a real achievement and higher nothing short of miraculous.
The hope is that he can restore a feel-good factor that gives the longer-term successor something to build on when he takes over in the summer. However, even if under Dalglish the team just goes through the motions and finishes in the top 10, at least we will have avoided the ultimate humiliation of relegation that had looked such a frightening possibility under Hodgson.
Hodgson should never have been Liverpool manager but then Gillett and Hicks should never have been the club’s ‘custodians’. Let us hope the future features no more villains from within the club and we can focus on taking on those we love to hate amongst our rivals.
That Hodgson has finally been given the boot today is fantastic news for everyone with the best interests of Liverpool Football Club at heart but the truth is he should never have been appointed into the post in the first place. He was appointed by people who shouldn’t have been at the club in the first place and who collectively dragged the club out of the top four and into mediocrity.
Gillett, Hicks and Christian Purslow were the main culprits. Hodgson was merely one of their mistakes. Gillett and Hicks got their comeuppance when the courts humiliatingly stripped the club off them resulting in massive financial losses. Purslow got the sack when the new owners took up office although the feeling remains he deserves a heavier punishment for his roles in ousting Rafa Benitez, in appointing Hodgson and in the farcical transfer dealings of the summer.
After these three had departed, we found ourselves still stuck with Hodgson as our new owners with no knowledge of English soccer attempted to sort the truth from Hodgson’s lies, excuses and other bizarre utterances.
Now the way has been cleared for a golden future but, to paraphrase the famous song, we have a little more storm to weather before we will see the golden sky and hear the sweet silver song of the lark. Depending on how you see things, Kenny Dalglish has a massive job on his hands to turn around the fortunes of this club.
I have every confidence that he can coax an instant positive response from a bunch of disillusioned players who are far better than results this season have suggested. I no longer fear relegation but neither do I expect us to challenge for the Champions League places. From where Hodgson has left us (12th) I would accept us finishing in the top 7 or 8 and therefore maintaining our record of having never finished below 8th in the Premiership. Finishing 6th would be a real achievement and higher nothing short of miraculous.
The hope is that he can restore a feel-good factor that gives the longer-term successor something to build on when he takes over in the summer. However, even if under Dalglish the team just goes through the motions and finishes in the top 10, at least we will have avoided the ultimate humiliation of relegation that had looked such a frightening possibility under Hodgson.
Hodgson should never have been Liverpool manager but then Gillett and Hicks should never have been the club’s ‘custodians’. Let us hope the future features no more villains from within the club and we can focus on taking on those we love to hate amongst our rivals.
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
More clap-trap from Redknapp
Even though I knew it would be infuriating garbage, I couldn’t resist reading Jamie Redknapp’s half-term report on Liverpool on the SKY Sports website. Here it is...
HALF-TERM REPORT: Back in August when we had just seen them get beaten at Man City, Robbie Fowler - who was working for us on Sky Sports that day - turned to me and said the Leeds team he got relegated with was better than Liverpool. They have picked up since then and it doesn't look like they're going to go down, but they're not going to finish top four either. Roy Hodgson will probably be glad events at other clubs have taken them off the back pages, but he's a top manager who just needs to get his own players.
STAR MAN: Steven Gerrard - It always is isn't it? And the fact that he has had a quiet season by his own standards pretty much sums up Liverpool's season so far really. They need him to get better because Fernando Torres looks like he just doesn't want to be there.
NEW YEAR'S NEED: Hodgson just needs to be able to get his own players in and I hope funds are made available in the window. At the moment, too many are leftovers from Rafa Benitez - and too many of them are just not good enough to be at Liverpool Football Club, I'm afraid.”
This 'report' is so unbelievably stupid, it probably doesn’t need comment but because it will make me feel better, I’m going to anyway.
Firstly, Robbie Fowler didn’t get relegated with Leeds – they’d sold him along with all of their best and most of their decent players before being relegated so it’s therefore hard to see how the Leeds team that eventually went down was better than Liverpool's current team. That Liverpool were as bad as they were at City was not down to personnel but the result of foolhardy and outdated tactics that were so bad, Andy Gray thought they were a good idea. Had the manager tried to win the game instead of trying to avoid a 6-0 defeat by only losing 3-0, we might have seen a very different performance and outcome. If anything, Fowler's alleged comment only further disparages the architect of that performance rather than the team itself.
Secondly, “STAR MAN: Steven Gerrard – It always is isn’t it?” Could there be a better example of lazy punditry? In how many games in the last 2 seasons has Gerrard been the ‘star man’? In how many has he even been above average? In this season, I could pick out his second half performances against Man Ure, Napoli and Bolton the other day as being top quality performances. I would also have picked him out as one of the better players away to Birmingham and Burnley last year. Those aside? His recent performance against Wolves and his performance away at Wigan last season were amongst some of the worst I have ever seen by any player in a Liverpool shirt while his selection in central midfield against City this season was a key reason for the abysmal team performance criticised by Redknapp in the first paragraph. Personally, I feel Gerrard has become a player who undermines the team more often than he inspires it.
In fairness, it’s not easy to find other contenders for the title of ‘Star Man’ but, as someone who, unlike Redknapp, has watched every minute of every Liverpool game this and last season, I would vote for Reina and Lucas without hesitation, and probably Kuyt ahead of Gerrard. This season, I’d even go for Meireles and Ngog before him. Some of those players lack Gerrard’s ability but my observations are that they serve the team better and at least give their all constantly rather than just giving the opposition the ball constantly.
Thirdly, the whole final paragraph is just nonsense. Who are these “leftovers from Rafa Benitez” that are “just not good enough to be at Liverpool Football Club”? Reina? Johnson? Carragher? Agger? Skrtel? Kyrgiakos? Gerrard? Lucas? Maxi? Kuyt? Torres? Ngog? Ryan Babel, I will accept but who else of the established first teamers can be labelled too poor, not just for the first XI but to even be at the club? Bear in mind this is the view of a man who, in his time at the club played alongside Torben Piechnik, Neil Ruddock, Nigel Clough, Julian Dicks, Phil Babb, Bjorn Tore Kvarme, Oyvind Leonhardsen and Erik Meijer to name but a few? Surely, Redknapp can’t be comparing the current crop against the standards of the teams he played in so he must be comparing them with the infinitely higher standards of the Benitez teams from 2005 to 2009 that, as a player, he would have struggled to get a place in.
And Poulsen, Konchesky, Aurelio, Brad Jones and Joke Cole were not Benitez leftovers – they were Hodgson’s 'own' players and apparently his own players are what Hodgson needs. Interestingly, Redknapp doesn’t state what Hodgson needs his own players for? To help Dad keep Spurs in the top four or five, perhaps?
Redknapp may have once captained our club (albeit from the treatment table) but I no longer associate him with our club. To me, he is another Paul Merson and I can think of few things worse to say about someone.
HALF-TERM REPORT: Back in August when we had just seen them get beaten at Man City, Robbie Fowler - who was working for us on Sky Sports that day - turned to me and said the Leeds team he got relegated with was better than Liverpool. They have picked up since then and it doesn't look like they're going to go down, but they're not going to finish top four either. Roy Hodgson will probably be glad events at other clubs have taken them off the back pages, but he's a top manager who just needs to get his own players.
STAR MAN: Steven Gerrard - It always is isn't it? And the fact that he has had a quiet season by his own standards pretty much sums up Liverpool's season so far really. They need him to get better because Fernando Torres looks like he just doesn't want to be there.
NEW YEAR'S NEED: Hodgson just needs to be able to get his own players in and I hope funds are made available in the window. At the moment, too many are leftovers from Rafa Benitez - and too many of them are just not good enough to be at Liverpool Football Club, I'm afraid.”
This 'report' is so unbelievably stupid, it probably doesn’t need comment but because it will make me feel better, I’m going to anyway.
Firstly, Robbie Fowler didn’t get relegated with Leeds – they’d sold him along with all of their best and most of their decent players before being relegated so it’s therefore hard to see how the Leeds team that eventually went down was better than Liverpool's current team. That Liverpool were as bad as they were at City was not down to personnel but the result of foolhardy and outdated tactics that were so bad, Andy Gray thought they were a good idea. Had the manager tried to win the game instead of trying to avoid a 6-0 defeat by only losing 3-0, we might have seen a very different performance and outcome. If anything, Fowler's alleged comment only further disparages the architect of that performance rather than the team itself.
Secondly, “STAR MAN: Steven Gerrard – It always is isn’t it?” Could there be a better example of lazy punditry? In how many games in the last 2 seasons has Gerrard been the ‘star man’? In how many has he even been above average? In this season, I could pick out his second half performances against Man Ure, Napoli and Bolton the other day as being top quality performances. I would also have picked him out as one of the better players away to Birmingham and Burnley last year. Those aside? His recent performance against Wolves and his performance away at Wigan last season were amongst some of the worst I have ever seen by any player in a Liverpool shirt while his selection in central midfield against City this season was a key reason for the abysmal team performance criticised by Redknapp in the first paragraph. Personally, I feel Gerrard has become a player who undermines the team more often than he inspires it.
In fairness, it’s not easy to find other contenders for the title of ‘Star Man’ but, as someone who, unlike Redknapp, has watched every minute of every Liverpool game this and last season, I would vote for Reina and Lucas without hesitation, and probably Kuyt ahead of Gerrard. This season, I’d even go for Meireles and Ngog before him. Some of those players lack Gerrard’s ability but my observations are that they serve the team better and at least give their all constantly rather than just giving the opposition the ball constantly.
Thirdly, the whole final paragraph is just nonsense. Who are these “leftovers from Rafa Benitez” that are “just not good enough to be at Liverpool Football Club”? Reina? Johnson? Carragher? Agger? Skrtel? Kyrgiakos? Gerrard? Lucas? Maxi? Kuyt? Torres? Ngog? Ryan Babel, I will accept but who else of the established first teamers can be labelled too poor, not just for the first XI but to even be at the club? Bear in mind this is the view of a man who, in his time at the club played alongside Torben Piechnik, Neil Ruddock, Nigel Clough, Julian Dicks, Phil Babb, Bjorn Tore Kvarme, Oyvind Leonhardsen and Erik Meijer to name but a few? Surely, Redknapp can’t be comparing the current crop against the standards of the teams he played in so he must be comparing them with the infinitely higher standards of the Benitez teams from 2005 to 2009 that, as a player, he would have struggled to get a place in.
And Poulsen, Konchesky, Aurelio, Brad Jones and Joke Cole were not Benitez leftovers – they were Hodgson’s 'own' players and apparently his own players are what Hodgson needs. Interestingly, Redknapp doesn’t state what Hodgson needs his own players for? To help Dad keep Spurs in the top four or five, perhaps?
Redknapp may have once captained our club (albeit from the treatment table) but I no longer associate him with our club. To me, he is another Paul Merson and I can think of few things worse to say about someone.
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