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Re: Liverpool Fc Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings
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Physically, they're about the same ... style-wise, they're about the same ... mental strength, it's heaven & earth!!! I now tend to believe Rafa has seen through Speedy's fear for the rowdy full-backs in the English game ... that's the reason why he's letting him go, someone he's gone through 2 seasons' of patience (first, injury ... then, work permit) to bring into this team. Well, if nothing else, Ronaldo's rough & tough upbringing is what gave him the strength to become Player of the Season, straight after his theatrics at the World Cup brought about so much hatred throughout England. In comparison, Tevez also made it at West Ham becoz of his rough & tough upbringing ... while Mascherano can only perform in a more homely (spanish) environment in LFC. In that sense, I think he'd leave only if there's a big offer from the Primera Liga. |
Re: Liverpool Fc Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings
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And winners get bragging rights. Its the same in EPL... So it really a painful 17years that we last have such rights in the EPL(& old Division 1) Hopefully Rafa can change that next season... |
Re: Liverpool Fc Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings
TOMKINS: IT'S A GREAT TIME TO BE A RED
Paul Tomkins 25 May 2007 Football is full of baffling paradoxes and grand ironies. Or in other words, sometimes it just plain sucks. In 2005 Milan gave the Reds a first half footballing lesson, and had the better of the later stages, but ended up humiliated. Two years later they were easily second best for the first 44 minutes, and barely created any chances all night, but clearly their luck had changed. Had Dirk Kuyt's goal-bound first half shot not been deflected away by the kind of interception Liverpool relied on two years ago then things could have been so different. An inch or two and the game swings Liverpool's way. Instead it was Pirlo's average free kick that deflected off Inzaghi's upper arm that made all the difference. An inch or two to the left and it misses the striker for an easy save. The ball never ran the Reds' way. Take Dida's parry from Pennant's shot as just one example. Then there was the ref's refusal to give Gattuso the second yellow he deserved. It clearly wasn't going to be Liverpool's night. However, over the two finals one win each strikes me as pretty fair. And while Milan banished their memories of two years ago, they cannot damage ours; the songs are just one reminder. The cup on permanent display is another. Five times is still the third best tally in European history. Maybe too much history was made that glorious Turkish night; my fear before this game was that Milan would fluke a victory now that Liverpool have improved, and so it proved. That's an unwritten football rule. It's known as Sod's Law. That's not to say Milan's quality wasn't apparent with some of their possession, but the game hinged on the jammiest deflection. It allowed them to dictate the tempo of the second half but still they rarely troubled Reina. It's times like these that I'm most proud to be a Liverpool fan. Being adjacent to the travelling Kop I was reminded yet again of the power it possesses and the bond that exists between the crowd, the players and the manager. Anyone would have thought Liverpool had won, such was the noise even 30 minutes after the game had ended. No other club has fans this gracious in defeat or inspiring in adversity. After the final whistle, when another miraculous comeback had been denied by the referee's premature whistle, the masses of Reds stayed to applaud Milan and show their appreciation to Rafa and the boys. Milan's players were shocked much later in the night when, having milked the applause of their fans, and finally ready to head in, they realised the remaining few thousand Liverpool fans were still applauding them. They came over for more appreciation, and will have left aware of how special our fans can be. It was a great moment. While losing is a tough feeling to accept, this didn't come close to the sickening emptiness I felt at half time in Istanbul. There is no shame whatsoever in losing this 're-match', nor in this fashion. If 2005 proved our players had amazing guts, this showed that we now have a superior football team. Play better, but lose. That's football. Another paradox is that the club, in defeat, is better placed to push on this summer than it was two years ago as European Champions, when it was a case of having a clearout without the funds to make all the telling purchases necessary. New owners mean a fresh injection of talent on the pitch, to add to the exciting core that did everyone so proud in Europe this season. It will be a great summer. No one outplayed us beyond a few minutes here and there, and the consistency across all Champions League games was excellent. Now that needs to be applied to the Premiership. Last season showed what was possible, with a remarkable percentage of domestic games won, and I'd expect Liverpool to be back above the 80 point mark again. I think back to Valencia, and how Rafa had impressive league seasons in alternate years. And also how he took a team that had just finished runners-up in the Champions League and, within a year, had ended their three-decade wait for a league title. It's easy to say first is first and second is nowhere, but that Valencia side proved losing in club football's biggest final can be a stepping stone in progressing to greatness. Like Liverpool, they made it to two finals in quick succession, and only top teams can do that. Some Liverpool players came of age on Wednesday night. Pennant, Agger, Kuyt, Mascherano and Crouch all experienced the biggest night of their careers and all had some great moments. All will have learned much in the process, and gained belief in their own abilities. Pennant in particular deserves special praise. Again it's paradoxical but the hurt of a defeat can motivate. Success breeds confidence, but defeat on such a big stage creates hunger. The crucial thing was that the players will be able to sense the improvement since Istanbul. After all, there was no sign of the mauling that humiliated Manchester United in the semi-final. So there are positives to take from a disappointing result. But my abiding memories will centre around the amazing support, from Syntagma Square to the Olympic Stadium. If a new Anfield can house more of these passionate Reds and recreate the Kop - perhaps even increase its size and power - then the sky will be the limit. I'm in awe of them all, and consider myself lucky to be part of this large family. It's a great time to be a Liverpool fan. New investment, world class stadium being built, and a manager who is as good as they come. There is the nucleus of top class players, and the team can only improve with time. So, congratulations to Milan, but well done to the Reds for a performance to make us proud. Well, the above should be good reasons to be proud that WE NEVER WALK ALONE. ;) |
Re: Liverpool Fc Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings
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Sigh... These ppl are really short-sighted on "perspective", though... ;) |
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Re: Liverpool Fc Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings
The Guardian
Rafael Benítez has issued a stark warning to Liverpool's American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, that the club must spend lavishly in the transfer market this summer if they are to mount any kind of concerted Premiership challenge next season, suggesting that failure to do so would have serious implications on his own long-term future at Anfield. The Spaniard, his temper still simmering following Wednesday's European Cup final defeat by Milan, launched a thinly veiled attack on senior management at the club, principally the chief executive Rick Parry who undertakes transfer negotiations, by voicing long-held concerns that Liverpool "talk and talk but never finish" when it comes to the prospective signings of players. Benítez claimed to know of two "top-class targets" he could sign now for around £13m each, while a failure to act swiftly would see Liverpool finishing well adrift in the title race again next term. "If we don't change things right now and understand how crucial this moment is, we will waste another one or two months on two or three targets and we'll start having to sign third-choice players," said Benítez, who signed a new contract last summer, extending to 2010, but whose patience has clearly been wearing thin. "That would leave us contenders to be in the top four. Nothing else. After three years working really hard, we've not progressed enough. I have confidence in the Americans because they say they will back me, but I want to see things happening right now. I'm tired of talking, talking. We talk and talk but we never finish." Most worryingly for Liverpool's supporters, Benítez drew comparisons with events at his previous club, Valencia, where frustration that he was not given carte blanche to reshape his squad eventually prompted his resignation. "At Valencia we won the league for the first time in 31 years, but the club thought we were winners already and decided they didn't need to sign any more players, and we finished fifth the next season," he said. "It is the situation I've been watching here in the last few years. They say we are close, but we are not close. We are 21 points behind and we cannot work harder. I cannot work more than 20 hours a day. "We have improved every year, but Chelsea, Arsenal and United have done the same. The team that won the Premier League this year have just spent £20m after winning the title on one midfielder [Owen Hargreaves]. I want things to be done. We have some targets, top-class players, but if you spend two or three weeks waiting, then talking and talking, you either cannot sign the player or have to pay more money. "We can sign two top-class targets for €20m each right now. Maybe we didn't have enough money in the past, but now we have new owners who can invest £400m in the club. If we don't do the right things right now, we'll miss the opportunity and next season we'll be talking about third or fourth and 20 points behind again." Benitez had substantial backing under David Moores' regime, and 11 of the 18-man squad for the Athens final were his signings. Indeed, Hicks and Gillett have commissioned Deloitte & Touche to conduct an independent report on the Spaniard's spending to date. Yet he has consistently argued that the entire Liverpool squad required revamping upon his arrival in the summer of 2004. Since then he has been infuriated to miss out on targets, such as Daniel Alves at Sevilla, Simao Sabrosa of Benfica, Nemanja Vidic at Spartak Moscow and Real Zaragoza's Gabriel Milito. He also felt Liverpool should have secured Theo Walcott, Abou Diaby and Denilson, all of whom joined Arsenal. That reflects directly upon Parry, whose position could come under closer scrutiny this summer when Foster Gillett, the joint-owner's son, takes up a permanent position. Benítez is also perplexed that contract renegotiations with Xabi Alonso and José Reina have moved sluggishly. Our manager is really frustrated now & chose to talk thru the media,I am afraid it's make or break for him next season. |
Re: Liverpool Fc Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings
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IMHO, what you dun like is anything to do with officialdom ... just like you'd rather place your bets with the bookies than with Pools & you'd rather engage/bonk the streetwalkers than the housegirls. ;) However, just to understand your complex better ... can I ask for a link to one such article about LFC which does not make you nauseous but orgass instead?? :rolleyes: |
Re: Liverpool Fc Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings
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One thing I will admit, but I have said this before, the official site is crap in terms of its content (look at its history page) and its analytical quality (or lack of). There are debatable issues about Rafa's management and the senior management but you will never find it on the official site. The site is a business venture, simply put. I don't follow writers, I follow good arguments. |
Re: Liverpool Fc Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings
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Re: Liverpool Fc Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings
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I reckon another one is a defender. |
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We do need defensive coverage for Agger and Carra. |
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