Liverpool Football Club - The Real Reds

Match Review and Download Free Video Highlights: FK Rabotnici 0 - 2 LIVERPOOL

2010-07-30T11:25:00.002+01:00

0 - 2

FK Rabotnicki v Liverpool

29 Jul 2010 19:45

David Ngog got the Roy Hodgson era off to the perfect start as Liverpool secured a 2-0 win over FK Rabotnicki in the Europa League third qualifying round on Thursday night.

The French star netted a clinical brace as the Reds produced a mature performance to ensure they will head into next week's second-leg in the driving seat.

His first arrived inside 15 minutes as he danced his way through the home defence after collecting Lucas Leiva's quickly taken free-kick before dinking beyond the goalkeeper.

And Ngog secured the win with a fine volleyed finish from Martin Kelly's cross just before the hour mark.

Ahead of the game Hodgson had challenged his young team to step up to the challenge of facing a well-drilled side with extensive experience of playing European football at this time of the year.

The boss had been pleased with the efforts of some of his rising starlets in the pre-season encounter preceding the clash and gave a competitive debut to David Amoo as well as new signing Milan Jovanovic.

A hostile crowd greeted the new-look Liverpool onto the pitch, but with the likes of Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel and Sotirios Kyrgiakos at the back, they comfortably dealt with the hosts' vibrant start.

The first moment of any quality took a while to arrive, but when it did it was no surprise to see that it was Alberto Aquilani who provided it, when he picked out Lucas's run from the deep with an incisive pass. The Brazilian raced towards the penalty area but was denied a goalscoring opportunity by some alert goalkeeping from Martin Bogatinov.

However, it served only as warning of what was to come from the Reds and three minutes later the skipper turned provider, as Ngog capitalised on some indecisive play to collect his searching pass, round the 'keeper and coolly slot into an empty net.

Rabotnicki had offered little to suggest they could produce an upset and they were restricted to just two long range efforts throughout the first 45.

In fact, Liverpool could have capped a solid showing with a second prior to the interval. Kyrgiakos was the unlikely man to burst down the right flank and provide a cultured, clipped pass that Aquilani was within a whisker of collecting in front of goal.

The Reds boss had made no secret of his disappointment at having to cope without the majority of his World Cup stars, but he would have been a satisfied man at the break.

A similar display of composure and discipline was required in the second period and they began in dominant fashion.

Ngog put the result beyond doubt on 58 minutes when he fired a well-taken volley home from close-range, with Kelly claiming an assist.

It meant Liverpool were able to see out the final stages in relative comfort as Hodgson marked his first competitive game in charge with a richly deserved win.

Author: Paul Hassall in Macedonia

Liverpool Football Club announce season 2010 - 2011 ticket hike

2010-06-08T19:30:00.002+01:00

Liverpool risk another PR blunder by announcing hike in season ticket prices

Liverpool's embattled American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have risked further damage to their relationship with fans by announcing a seven per cent rise in season ticket prices.

Fan fury: Liverpool fans, already angry with club co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, face price hikes next season Photo: GETTY IMAGES

A seat in the Kop will cost fans £680 if they apply online and £732 in the main stand and the Merseyside club insist that remains ''extraordinarily competitive'' compared to most of the top Premier League clubs.

Liverpool insisted the increase is solely due to inflation and the change in the VAT rate. The club said last year's prices were based on a 15 per cent VAT rate which has now risen to 17.5 per cent, while the retail price index is now running at 5.3 per cent.

A Liverpool spokesman said: ''Inflation and the VAT change are the reasons for the rise - in real terms there's no difference.

''Our season ticket prices remain extraordinarily competitive particularly compared with other clubs in the top half of the table.''

Even so, the increase is unlikely to go down well with fans opposed to Hicks and Gillett.

Fans group Spirit of Shankly have said supporters will consider giving up season tickets to the games next season if Hicks and Gillett have failed to sell the club.

By comparison, Manchester United season ticket holders are currently paying up to £931 for a season.

author : telegraph

Liverpool FC New Away Kit Season 2010 - 2011

2010-06-08T18:49:00.003+01:00

This is the kit your favourite LFC stars will wear on their travels next term on 2010 - 2011 season..

The club will officially launch the shirt on Thursday and today the web is buzzing with photos showing Liverpool players wearing the shirt. The one below shows Liverpool’s Dutch Master Dirk Kuyt wearing the new away jersey. The popular site www.footballshirtculture.com is showing off the pictures of Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Dirk Kuyt in the new shirt. I must admit I do like the shirt, the stripes remind me of the classic shirt from 1984.

1984 Liverpool Champions Cup Final Shirt

The new away shirt launch comes as many Liverpool supporters are calling for a boycott of the club’s official merchandise. Quite honestly I really do not know how I feel about the whole boycott thing but there is a lot of chatter that Adidas and Standard Chartered are getting nervous. They would really get nervous if Stevie leaves us, last year the club was showing Xabi Alonso in the black away shirt and then he left us after many fans bought the shirt with his name and number on it.

author : lfc.tv & EoTK

Interview - Liverpool's Damien Plessis

2010-06-05T17:18:00.001+01:00

Every home match Liverpool FC's official matchday programme ponders the question: 'What does a player's name say about their personality?'

It offers a quirky insight into life on and off the pitch with a whole host of random questions that inspire answers you won't find in your average football interview.

Here Damien Plessis talks holidays, music and shirt swapping.

D is for DESTINATIONS

Where's your favourite place for a holiday?

I like to go to the Reunion Island (a French island in the Indian ocean). My family is originally from there and my brother and I grew up and had a good education there, so I always enjoy going back for holidays.

A is for ARSENAL

Was it a good experience going back to the venue of your senior debut in this season's Carling Cup?

I think it was a good game for the team and it was good for me because I don't play in every game, but it was disappointing to lose as it meant we went out of the Carling Cup early.

M is for MUSIC

What type do you enjoy?

I like R'n'B and rap, particularly French rap. There aren't any particular artists I listen to all the time, I like French rap in general.

I is for IDOL

Who was your favourite player growing up?

When I was young, I liked Ronaldinho when he was playing in France with PSG. I liked lots of players, not just one. Nowadays, my favourite midfield player is Steven Gerrard.

E is for EVENTS

You were 21 back in March. How did you celebrate?

A 21st birthday isn't as big a thing in France as it is in England. It was just another birthday. I didn't do anything special.

N is for NEUVILLE-AUX-BAIS

What is the place of your birth like?

It is a very small city not too far from Paris. I lived there for 12 years before I left to play football. I still have some friends who are there now. It is a good city, although not a particularly lively one.

P is for PLAYSTATION

Are you a fan of gaming?

Yes (laughs). In my home I have a PlayStation and a Wii and I like to play on both of them! My favourite games are FIFA and Call of Duty on the PlayStation and I like playing tennis on the Wii!

L is for LIVERPOOL

What is your favourite thing about the city?

I enjoy the restaurants. I think there are some really good ones around the city. There is not a big difference between the ones here and in France, just a little bit. I enjoy trying different types of food.

E is for ENTERTAINING

Are you a good cook?

No (laughs). My girlfriend looks after me! Is there a dish I try to cook occasionally? No!

S is for SIBLINGS

Your older brother Guillaume had a spell at Everton a few years ago. What did he tell you about that and who is he playing for now?

He came over to Everton at the same age as I came to Liverpool. He knew the city and made some mistakes when he came over, so every time he calls me, he tells me to be careful and make sure I don't do the same.

He enjoyed his time at Everton. He is now playing with FC Martigues in the French Fourth Division.

S is for SECOND STRING

What is John McMahon like to work for?

He is good and he likes the job - he works us all hard and keeps us going. We were unlucky not to win the Reserve league.

I is for INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL

How do you think France will fare in the finals?

It will be difficult because I don't think they have played well for a while. They have good players and a lot of stars but haven't really played well as a team.

S is for SHIRT SWAPS

Do you swap and, if so, whose is the best you have so far?

Sometimes I do. I swapped my first Liverpool shirt with Emmanuel Adebayor after my debut at the Emirates. I also keep my Liverpool shirts but I don't have any of them at home as I always send them back for my family.

Transfer Gossip 2010 - Liverpool FC deal for Serbian international Milan Jovanovic is still on

2010-06-05T17:05:00.000+01:00

LIVERPOOL are committed to wrapping up a deal for Milan Jovanovic as they begin the process of rebuilding after the Rafa Benitez era.

The Serbian international has long been on the Reds’ radar and Benitez had laid the groundwork for bringing the versatile striker – he can also play on the left side of midfield – to Anfield on a Bosman this summer.

Terms on a three-year deal were initially agreed with Jovanovic in February and he also passed a stringent medical in London in April – now all that remains for him to become a Liverpool player is the formality of completing a work permit.

Liverpool officials are “confident” that will be wrapped up shortly but the fact that no deal has yet been signed means there is still a possibility that the player could yet decide not to pursue a move to Anfield.

Jovanovic is understood to have expressed some concerns about Benitez’s departure from the Anfield hot seat as one of the reasons he indicated his desire to leave Standard Liege was to work with Benitez.

It must also be stressed, however, that he is overwhelmed by the idea of playing for Liverpool and, on a number of occasions, the 29-year-old has said how he is looking forward to the fact he “will now never walk alone”.

Inevitably, he will have questions to ask regarding what the future holds for the club but Liverpool remain optimistic that they will be in a position to officially announce his arrival in the near future, possibly before the World Cup starts.

As someone who scored 69 times in 146 appearances for Standard Liege – one was a penalty that knocked Everton out of the Europa League in October 2008 – Jovanovic will be an important addition to a squad that lacked striking options last season.

The hunt for Benitez’s successor, meanwhile, will not have a time scale, despite speculation intensifying and the odds plummeting around a number of names in the betting market.

Mark Hughes and Martin O’Neill, for instance, have been heavily linked in different areas, as has Fulham manager Roy Hodgson; the latter remains the early favourite at this stage, as he ticks a number of the boxes that the board are looking for.

No formal approach has been made to Fulham for Hodgson as yet and the Europa League finalists would not welcome a move for their manager, who has a £2.5m release clause in his 12-month rolling contract at Craven Cottage.

author : Dominic King @echo

Rafael Benitez Saga - to quit or not to quit Liverpool

2010-06-02T21:30:00.006+01:00

Rafael Benitez offered lucrative pay-off by Liverpool FC to quit

Liverpool have reportedly offered manager Rafael Benitez a substantial pay-off to leave the club this summer.

A proposal to give the Spaniard a 'golden handshake' has been approved by the Anfield board with £3million paid up front.

Last year Benitez, 50, penned a new deal worth an estimated £20million across five years but the club cannot afford to pay off the remainder of his contract owing to its crippling debts, in excess of £351million, which has prompted the financial compromise.

Should the former Valencia coach reject the offer, Liverpool will have no option other than to allow him to remain as manager but club officials are hopeful that the early pay-off will underline his position in the eyes of the board.

He would also be unable to splash the cash in the summer transfer window, with the club's budget currently standing at a restrictive £15million, and no guarantees that any funds from players sold will be reinvested in the squad rather than paying the club's debts.

Reports of renewed interest from Inter Milan are set to intenstify after Fabio Capello snubbed a return to his homeland in favour of an improved contract as head of the England team.

Inter president Massimo Moratti made his admiration of Benitez public earlier this week by saying: “I have always thought Benitez is a good coach, but he is linked with Liverpool."

But Benitez's agent, Manuel Garcia Quillon, has claimed that he has no knowledge of interest from the Serie A champions.

“I don’t know anything about Inter,” he insisted. “No one has contacted me, it’s just transfer speculation.”

Any successor to Benitez at Anfield is expected to only be temporary so as not to deter potential buyers for the club.

author : Richard Buxton @clickliverpool

Rafael Benitez in pay-off negotiations ahead of £15 million Liverpool exit

Liverpool have entered final negotiations with manager Rafael Benítez over a multi-million pound pay-off that will see the Spaniard leave the club this summer after six years.

Telegraph Sport can disclose that the club board, led by new chairman Martin Broughton, has concluded that Benítez is no longer the man to deliver progress at Anfield.

Broughton and managing director Christian Purslow are understood to have held a series of meetings with Benítez to discuss his future in the last month and, following consultation with co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, have authorised discussions over the terms of Spaniard’s exit.

Benítez has four years remaining on his £5 million a-year contract, potentially entitling him to £20 million, but Liverpool hope to agree a reduced compromise figure of no more than £15 million.

Club sources confirmed to Telegraph Sport on Wednesday that negotiations with Benítez have reached a “sensitive” stage, but a Liverpool spokesman declined to make any formal comment.

Interest in him from Inter Milan, seeking a successor to Jose Mourinho but rebuffed by Fabio Capello this week, may play a part as discussions reach a conclusion in the coming days.

The Spaniard’s departure, which could be finalised by the weekend, will compound the sense of uncertainty at Anfield in the wake of a poor season.

Liverpool finished only seventh in the Premier League and failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage, ensuring that they will not play in Europe’s elite competition next season for the first time since 2003.

Broughton is also leading the search for new owners to replace Hicks and Gillett and, while the British Airways chairman expressed confidence on taking up his post at Anfield that a deal could be done by the end of the year, there remain numerous barriers to a quick sale.

Hicks and Gillett committed to a full sale of the club in April as a condition of a refinancing deal with bankers Royal Bank of Scotland. The club is £351 million in debt, with interest payments last year of £41 million contributing to a pre-tax loss of £55 million.

Broughton was appointed to work with investment bank Barclays Capital to find a buyer, and it was thought that the potential change of ownership might enhance Benítez’s chances of being retained in the short term, but the board’s view has changed.

His departure will also increase concern that Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres could follow him this summer. Spanish paper Marca reported on Wednesday that new Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho intends to bid for Gerrard, a move Liverpool may struggle to resist given the uncertainty in the dugout and boardroom.

The club’s vulnerability may also prompt offers for Torres, perhaps the most prized striker in world football, though his injury-ridden season was a factor in the club’s underperformance. Chelsea and Manchester City have expressed interest in the Spaniard.

Liverpool’s declining performance, combined with Benítez’s unwillingness to acknowledge failings on his part, is at the heart of the board’s loss of faith.

Having guided the club to second in the league in 2008-09, expectations grew that Benítez could end a 20-year wait for the league title in 2010, but those hopes faded after a poor start. In fact the event the club regressed, and his exit will end a volatile six-year tenure notable for European success and political intrigue, but not the title the Kop craved.

Liverpool won the European Cup, the FA Cup and also reached a second Champions League final. But Benítez failed to challenge Chelsea and Manchester United’s dominance of the league and appeared increasingly distracted by Anfield’s politics.

He took advantage of the rift between Hicks and Gillett to oust chief executive Rick Parry, and secured unprecedented control of the club’s academy and football operations, as well as an enhanced contract in 2009.

Benítez also repeatedly complained of a lack of financial backing, but analysis of his spending reveals that of the 'Big Four’, only Chelsea exceeded Liverpool’s net spending of £122m in those six years.

Ultimately his accretion of power may have made him unmanageable, and without on-field success to bolster his credentials the board has sought a fresh start. They will be banking on Liverpool’s stature and potential to attract a successor, with Kenny Dalglish a potential interim coach.

author : Paul Kelso @telegraph

Liverpool offer Rafael Benítez £3m to quit with immediate effect

• Club desperate to avoid paying £16m compensation
• Board seeks quick exit after transfer funds impasse

Liverpool have given the clearest indication yet that Rafael Benítez's six-year spell in charge is drawing to a close by offering their manager £3m to leave Anfield. It is believed the Spaniard, entitled to £16m if sacked this summer, has been offered the lesser sum to quit with immediate effect.

Benítez's position has been in serious doubt since January when Juventus targeted the 50-year-old to replace Ciro Ferrara. The Liverpool manager allowed that opportunity to pass in the hope of staying at Anfield, providing he obtained assurances over the club's transfer budget and search for new investment. However, with the club unable or unwilling to provide Benítez with those guarantees, the Liverpool board has presented Benítez with a shock exit route.

The former Valencia coach has held several rounds of talks with the Liverpool chairman, Martin Broughton, in recent weeks, where he outlined his strategy for restoring the club's fortunes following a dispiriting campaign involving an early exit from the Champions League and a seventh-place finish in the Premier League.

He is understood to have stressed that Liverpool cannot recover without an end to Tom Hicks's and George Gillett's calamitous ownership or without a commitment to reinvest in the squad should Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard decide to leave this summer. Liverpool's best two players have both said they will consider their futures after the World Cup and Marca, the Spanish sports paper with close ties to Real Madrid, yesterday announced that Gerrard is the principal target of Real Madrid's new manager, José Mourinho.

With no takeover imminent, and Hicks revealing last week that it could take until next year to find an investor willing to meet his £600m-£800m price for Liverpool, Anfield officials have reacted to Benítez's demands with a counter-offer that suggests they accept the impasse cannot continue and renders his position untenable. The Liverpool manager was unavailable for comment on the club's move last night.

Under the terms of the lucrative contract signed last year, Benítez is entitled to a full payout if the deal is terminated by the club. With four years remaining on the deal, Liverpool would have to find £16m to sack the man who has won a European Cup and FA Cup since his arrival in 2004. Their offer of less than a quarter of that sum is a further indication of the financial constraints at a club that, for the year to 30 July 2009, was £350m in debt and posted the biggest annual loss in its history, £55m.

Liverpool's compromise package could be a means to encourage a takeover by removing a manager whom a potential new investor does not want for a reduced fee. However, with Hicks and Gillett holding out for a substantial profit on a club that has yet to begin work on a proposed stadium on Stanley Park, and no offer for a total sale on the table, it is more likely a sign that Benítez's conditions cannot be met. The manager has had to sell players before he could buy during recent transfer windows and, in the absence of a new investor or monies from the possible sales of Gerrard and Torres, will be in a similar position this summer.

Should Benítez accept the payoff, and there are no indications at present that he will do so, he is unlikely to struggle to find employment despite Juventus, having lost patience in their pursuit of the Liverpool manager, appointing Luigi Del Neri as coach and Real Madrid, another former suitor, replacing Manuel Pellegrini with Mourinho. The president of the reigning European champions Internazionale, Massimo Moratti, is a confirmed admirer of the Spaniard and has seen his hopes of enticing the England manager, Fabio Capello, back to Italy after the World Cup dashed.

Where Benítez's departure would leave Liverpool, meanwhile, is open to conjecture. Two potential candidates, Roy Hodgson and Martin O'Neill, have reiterated their commitment to Fulham and Aston Villa respectively since the end of last season and, as the circumstances behind Liverpool's offer to Benítez suggest, substantial funds are unlikely to be available at Anfield this summer.

The Liverpool careers of Gerrard and Torres are not intrinsically linked to the presence or departure of Benítez. Both players, along with their manager, have been awaiting evidence from the Anfield hierarchy that the club can strengthen the squad and compete for honours next season before making a decision on their futures.

author : Andy Hunter @guardian

The gag went along the lines of Rafa Benitez being asked to draw up his transfer wishlist for the summer, on which he eagerly pencilled in a £50million bid for a certain Mr Messi.

Yet, so the punchline goes, Liverpool were unable to come up with the necessary finance to close the deal, so Benitez signed Mr Tickle and Mr Bump instead. Boom, boom indeed.

Forget the chuckles, however, and the analogy goes some way to explaining the breakdown in relations that seems certain to see him take his leave of Liverpool after six turbulent years on Merseyside.

While Benitez cites a lack of muscle in the transfer market as one of the reasons he feels he has taken the club as far as he can, so owners George Gillett, Tom Hicks and the rest of the Anfield board would point to the wasted millions spent on players who did not fit the bill.

There is merit to both arguments, but the fact each party is entrenched in the view that they are in the right illustrates why a clean break is the only sensible course of action at a club who have done little that is logical in recent times.

For the Benitez era – which started with the unforgettable, gut-wrenching glory of Istanbul in 2005 at the end of his first season – to end with Liverpool further away from the elite both in England and Europe is an ill-fitting conclusion.

Liverpool are losing one of the Continent’s best coaches but one who, in recent seasons, appeared to lose sight of the fact that his strengths were most evident when he was out on the training pitch and not picking fights in the boardroom.

It is all remarkably similar to his exit from Valencia, when spats followed a glut of silverware and peace and harmony gave way to bitter acrimony.

For the fallout with Jesus Garcia Pitarch at the Mestalla, read the rows with former chief executive Rick Parry and current managing director Christian Purslow.

Given that his side finished second to Manchester United the previous season and apparently ended that campaign with real momentum, it is easy to trace the unravelling of Benitez’s tenure to the sale of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid for £30m last summer.

There is little doubt that Alonso’s departure, which was inevitable the moment Benitez and Liverpool botched an attempt to sell him in the summer of 2008 off the back of a poor personal campaign, had a bearing on the demise of those he left behind.

Yet it is too convenient to pin the slide towards mediocrity purely on that single factor, when key players were badly out of form last term, injuries undermined the quest for consistency and the money Benitez reinvested from Alonso’s sale on winger Alberto Aquilani and right-back Glen Johnson blew up in his face.

Delve further back and the departure of one-time trusted assistant Pako Ayest aran in acrimonious circumstances at the start of the 2007 season stands out as a landmark event, because it led to Benitez taking on too much responsibility himself. The replacement of chief scout Paco Herrera, who left to go back to Spain with Eduardo Macia, also led to the sort of mistakes in the transfer market – the £20.2m lavished on Fernando Torres being the exception – that undermined Benitez and ensured this term’s seventh-place finish was to be deemed not good enough.

Robbie Keane’s £20m switch from Tottenham was ill-advised and his days were numbered, given that he was only second choice after Benitez missed out on his No1 target Gareth Barry.

Still, Benitez can justifiably feel aggrieved that when new owners arrived at Anfield amid much fanfare, their finances ran out as quickly as their enthusiasm.

It serves as an illustration of Liverpool’s decline that they never stood a chance of recruiting a manager such as Jose Mourinho, who recently took the reins at Spanish club Real Madrid.

It is also misguided to think Benitez’s looming exit will be akin to waving a magic wand over all of Liverpool’s problems, with chairman Martin Broughton suggesting as much when he recently indiscreetly claimed it will take “three years” to turn around the club’s fortunes .

Liverpool need a benevolent billionaire to step out of the shadows, buy the club from Hicks and Gillett, fund the much-delayed new stadium and make about £100m available for team strengthening.

That only Chelsea and now Manchester City have benefited from such deep-pocketed owners in the entire history of the Premier League shows why an answer to the prayers of a once-proud institution is unlikely to arrive any time soon.

There will be an outcry at the developments by a hardcore of Liverpool supporters who believe Benitez to be the victim of unique circumstances.

But in the cold light of day, it feels that divorce will be best for everyone.FOOTBALL: LIVERPOOL MELTDOWNFOOTBALL: LIVERPOOL MELTDOWN‘He wanted Mr Messi but got Mr Tickle and Mr Bump’PAUL JOYCE assesses the breakdown of Liverpool’s relationship with Rafa Benitez

author :Paul Joyce @dailyexpress

Liverpool offer Rafael Benitez a way out of Anfield

Liverpool have attempted to pave the way for Rafael Benítez’s departure by offering their manager a compromise deal to quit the club.

In what amounts to a vote of no confidence in the man who guided them to Champions League victory in 2005 on that unforgettable night in Istanbul, the Liverpool board approved a proposal to the Spaniard that would allow him to leave Anfield with a payoff worth about £3 million up front.

According to the terms of the five-year contract he signed in March 2009, Benítez is entitled to a £16 million severance package. However, given their financial predicament, Liverpool cannot come up with that kind of money, regardless of their desire to bring about a change of manager.

As such, the club’s hierarchy is hoping that Benítez will stand aside without demanding the windfall he would be due. Otherwise it will have no option but to allow him to continue in the role he has had since the summer of 2004 in the knowledge that he is no longer wanted.

Although Benítez has yet to accept the offer, the chances of a compromise were raised by indications from the 50-year-old that he would not be able to take the club any farther if, as expected, restrictions on transfer spending are extended into another summer.

Despite claims by Tom Hicks, the co-owner, last week that Liverpool are set to spend big in the coming months, the reality is that their transfer budget is limited to £15 million and there have yet to be any assurances that they will be able to reinvest the proceeds from player sales to any great extent.

Had Benítez received the guarantees he had been looking for during talks with Martin Broughton, the Liverpool chairman, in recent weeks, yesterday’s shock developments — broken exclusively on thetimes.co.uk — would not have arisen.

But with both parties unable to envisage a way of working together for the good of the club, a parting of the ways looks inevitable.

Such is Liverpool’s fiscal state — they recently posted record annual losses of £55 million and are saddled with debts totalling £351 million — Broughton was unable to offer Benítez the guarantees he was looking for.

After a desperately disappointing campaign, in which Liverpool finished seventh in the Barclays Premier League and failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League, the club’s hierarchy would not have been keen to extend the manager’s tenure anyway.

Inter Milan are ready to offer Benítez an escape route to Italy should he show any willingness to follow in the footsteps of José Mourinho, although Benítez’s agent, Manuel García Quillón, has insisted that the European champions have not made contact with his client. “I don’t know anything about Inter,” Quillón said. “No one has contacted me, it’s just speculation.”

Massimo Moratti, the Inter president, is monitoring Benítez’s position. On Monday he made his interest public when he told reporters that “I have always thought Benítez is a good coach, but he is linked with Liverpool”. Moratti will be encouraged by the fact that those ties appear to be loosening.

It would be difficult for Liverpool to find a top-class replacement for Benítez given that they cannot offer candidates a squad that is equipped for a title challenge or a substantial transfer budget to tempt them.

The situation is further complicated by the club being for sale and the Liverpool board may not be able to offer Benítez’s successor a long-term contract in case potential investors are not impressed by their choice. That could mean a temporary manger is the only viable solution.

It is against this backdrop that Real Madrid have raised the stakes in their bid to sign Steven Gerrard. The front page of Marca, the Madrid newspaper most associated with Real, carried a picture of the Liverpool captain yesterday and a story revealing that he is the No 1 transfer target of Mourinho, the new coach.

Although they are adamant that Gerrard is not for sale, Liverpool are bracing themselves for an offer, probably in the region of €30 million (about £25 million).

author : Tony Barrett @times

Liverpool fans plan protest against owners

Liverpool fans are planning a protest at Anfield on Thursday evening following the news that the club are attempting to force Rafa Benitez out of Anfield with a £3m pay off.

While supporters may be divided on their thoughts on Benitez himself, what they are united in is their hatred for owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Supporters are now left with little confidence that the two Americans, who recently put the club up for sale, along with new chairman Martin Broughton, a lifelong Chelsea supporter and banker, will make the right decision.

There is also anger at the way the club have conducted themselves during the process, one again proving that Hicks and Gillett do NOT understand the Liverpool Way. Leaking stories to journalists when the manager is on holiday is not the way to conduct business.

There is also anger at the fee of £3m – less than what former chief executive Rick Parry, who was instrumental in selling to the Americans, received.

The protest will take place at 6pm at Anfield.

The message is clear, Gillett and Hicks are ruining OUR Football Club.

author : TIA

Liverpool FC Boss Interested in £17.5m Manchester City Bench Warmer: Rafael Benitez Interested in Santa Cruz

2010-06-02T02:54:00.002+01:00

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is apparently considering a move for Manchester City’s forgotten man Roque Santa Cruz. The Anfield manager is desperately trying to bring in more new additions to his failing squad but is having to do so on a shoestring budget but hopes that he could convince Roberto Mancini to sell by offering Eastlands target Yossi Benayoun as bait.

The Daily Mirror reported back in December that Benitez was considering a move for the Paraguayan but nothing came of their interest but having seen the former Blackburn Rovers man consigned to a season of bench warming the Merseyside club believe they could lure the £17.5m man to the club.

Roque Santa Cruz managed just six Premier League starts last term and it seems increasingly likely to be another season of despair at the club unless he can manage to cement an exit. Manchester City are not likely to accept offers for the 28 year old that are not on or around the fee they paid Rovers last summer and that kind of bid just isn’t likely to come from debt laden Liverpool.

However Roberto Mancini is known to be a fan of Israeli international Yossi Benayoun and given that Rafa Benitez doesn’t appear to see the attacking midfielder as part of his first team plans he may be wisely used as a bargaining chip in any potential deal.

Liverpool urgently need new attacking options to help carry the burden so heavily placed on Fernando Torres and even though the club has signed Milan Jovanovic on a free transfer the club could well do with yet more firepower and the potential partnership of Santa Cruz and the Spanish goal machine would surely be one that could work well.

Liverpool Football Club legends urge Tom Hicks and George Gillett to sell up and leave Anfield immediately

2010-06-02T02:29:00.006+01:00

A HOST of Liverpool FC legends today slammed the Anfield reign of co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett and urged the Americans to sell the club.

The former players, including ex-captains Phil Thompson and Tommy Smith, admitted they are devastated by what has happened to the Reds since Hicks and Gillett took over in 2007.

They fear for Liverpool’s future unless the club is sold quickly.

Hicks and Gillett plunged the club into £351m of debt, with annual interest repayments of £40m.

Broken promises included their vow to build a new stadium in Stanley Park and invest heavily in the playing squad.

Previous owner David Moores admitted last week he “hugely regrets” selling to them and pleaded with Hicks and Gillett to stop “punishing” supporters.

Hicks’ response infuriated fans because he claimed the club is in better shape than three years ago.

Liverpool went up for sale last month but Hicks has admitted it could be more than a year before a deal is complete.

Potential investors were put off by the sky-high asking price of £600m-£800m, three times what they paid to take control in February 2007.

The Americans have ignored calls from the ECHO, previous owner Mr Moores and fans’ groups like Spirit Of Shankly to bring their disastrous Anfield tenure to a swift conclusion.

But supporters hope they might listen to some of the greatest names in the club's illustrious history.

PHIL THOMPSON made 477 appearances for Liverpool between 1972 and 1983.

He captained the club to European Cup glory in 1981 and later served the club as assistant manager.

He said: “I am an ex-player and an ex-assistant manager but overall I am a fan and I hate seeing the club in the mess it is in at the moment.

“As a club, we always did things well in the past but the way things have gone under the current ownership is shameful.

“A top-level club needs strong leadership but it is not there. Our owners handle the club from far away and only seem to agree to disagree.

“Until the club is sold, we are going nowhere. I heard they want between £600m and £800m and it could take over a year to happen.

“It is like a dagger through the heart reading that because we want them gone.

“Chairman Martin Broughton has to tell the owners what is a proper price for the club and convince them to get the deal done quickly.

“These are worrying times and I am dreading a transfer window where we have to settle for free transfers and cheap buys. We need owners who are going to invest.”

TOMMY SMITH is sixth in Liverpool’s all-time appearance list. The “Anfield Iron” played 638 games between 1963 and 1978.

He said: “Hicks and Gillett have picked on the wrong people in Liverpool fans. We will not stop until they have gone and the quicker they go, the better.

“The amount of money they are asking for is ridiculous. They should be glad to just get their money back.

“If it is not sorted out before the start of next season, we are going to be right in the mire. The squad is not good enough and we desperately need money for new players.

“I am afraid the likes of Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano might decide they have had enough and leave.

“Over the past three years, Liverpool have gone from being one of the best-run clubs in the world to one of the worst. We have not won anything under their ownership.

“We need owners who will not only invest money but provide leadership. We cannot go forward with these two in charge.”

JIMMY CASE won three European Cups and four league titles during a stunning career with the Reds. He played 269 games between 1975 and 1981.

He said: “The Americans made promises about what they were going to do in terms of investment in players and building the new stadium but not kept them.

“The two of them do not even get on with each other so it was never going to work.

“We finished seventh this season so it is obvious something needs to happen.

“The problem is they are businessmen rather than football people.

“Players and managers come and go, but the club is always there.”

ALAN KENNEDY scored the winning goal in the 1981 European Cup final and netted the deciding penalty in the final three years later. He made 359 appearances for the club between 1978 and 1985.

He said: “I am saddened by what has happened at the club over the past three years.

“I have no doubt Rick Parry and David Moores honestly believed the offer from the Americans would be best for the club.

“George Gillett addressed the former players association a few years back to outline their plans.

“It all sounded so positive but it just has not happened.

“Now we are all worried about the future. What happens now? Is there a billionaire out there?

“At the moment there is so much instability and it was the worst 12 months for the club for a long time.

“As ex-players, we want to see the club moving in the right direction. We are not happy and I am sure the manager and the players are not happy either.

“We need new owners to make a new start with some new players to get us back up there.”

JOHN ALDRIDGE was a boyhood Liverpool fan who signed for the club in 1987. During his two and a half years at Anfield, he scored an impressive 63 goals in 104 games.

He said: “It is ridiculous for Hicks to say we are in a good situation – we are in a massive mess.

“They must realise Liverpool has bottomed out during their ownership. They should be prepared to accept whatever the realistic figure for the club is and leave.

“The only way the club can move forward is if the current owners sell up. They have to go for the good of the club. You just hope there is someone out there who is prepared to come in and bail us out.

“It can be turned around but we want somebody with our long-term interests at heart.”

IAN ST JOHN was one of the most significant signings in Liverpool history. Bought by boss Bill Shankly for a club record £37,500 from Motherwell in 1961, “The Saint” stayed for a decade and scored 118 goals in 425 games.

He said: “I do not understand finance and I do not understand how we ended up in so much debt.

“How can a successful club like Liverpool, who fill their ground week in, week out, get into the trouble they are in now? I am baffled by it.

“There was one disappointment after another in the last few years. We were promised a new stadium but it has not happened. It is easy to pass the buck and say it is all the Americans’ fault. We cannot blame them for all the problems on the pitch. After all, we have had some good players leave and new players come in who are not good enough.

“But the fact is that for the first time in 50 years the club is in turmoil.

“Everyone had respect for Liverpool because we did things in the right way. We kept our house in order, but now our house is in disarray.

“The club was a model for how things should be done but we have certainly lost that image now.”

TERRY McDERMOTT played in three European Cup winning sides for Liverpool. The Kirkby-born midfielder made 329 appearances from 1974-1982.

He said: “The situation with the owners needs sorting as soon as possible.

“It cannot be allowed to fester because things can only get worse if that happens.

“Liverpool cannot afford another season like the one they have just had. They need to decide the big issues one way or another now.

“It is not for me to say whether Rafa Benitez has done a good job or not, but they have to either back the manager or not. They cannot leave things undecided like they have.

“As an ex-player, and someone who remains a fan, it is heartbreaking to see the way the club has gone over the past few years. It really is.

“Hicks and Gillett have said they are going to sell, which is good. But they have got to try and make it as easy as possible for anyone coming in, and make sure the deal is done.

“If they have proper hearts, as they say they do, they must make it a quick and painless sale, so Liverpool can get back to where they belong – at the top.”

Liverpool's Kenny Dalglish and his role in Rooney’s career

2010-06-01T20:34:00.001+01:00

In a sensational book about Wayne Rooneys meteoric rise up the ladder of English football, former Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is reported to have played a key role in persuading the Manchester United super striker to leave his agent several months before the then Everton player’s contract had been due to expire and sign with the Proactive agency where Dalglish had 2 million shares which at one stage were worth £860,000.

Investigative journalist John Sweeney, author of the unofficial biography Rooney’s Gold, provides a detailed explanation of such events in a new book which was only published after Rooneys agent Paul Stretford tried to have it banned.

It tells the story of a boy from the mean streets of broken Britain where few are meaner than those of Croxteth in Liverpool. He was lifted out of poverty by his football genius to play for Manchester United and become an England hero on the football pitch.

Rooney was rough, working class and surrounded by hangers on including a questionable agent, a crooked lawyer and a few gangsters thrown into the mix. Rooney was a young media darling who became a villain overnight when it was alleged that he had been having sex with a granny hooker called the Auld Slapper even though there was no credible evidence that any of it was true.

In the world of Rooney and tabloid media anything goes. He ignored the gossip and carried on scoring goals, lots of them. He can be bad tempered and often uses bad language but overall nobody has ever doubted his passion for the game.

Rooney’s Gold looks at the characters who have been attracted to the fabulous money the Liverpool lad gets for kicking a ball. Some have tainted his gold and some will not enjoy reading this book which is a warts and all biography of England’s most famous sportsman but above all, it’s the story of a boy who despite all the forces pulling him down rose up to become a nation’s hero.

There can be little doubt that many Scousers would love to disown him but the fact remains that Rooney is one of Liverpool’s most famous sons. The boy who was born in Fazakerley Hospital and brought up in Croxteth could even, should Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard get injured, and England actually play to their potential for a change, end up lifting the World Cup on July 11.

Author John Sweeney would love to see it because Rooney’s Gold is colourful, controversial and entertaining. It’s described as the uncensored life of the nation’s greatest footballer and the people who sought to exploit him. In an interview he gave to Liverpool Echo journalist Paddy Shennan, Sweeney does not hesitate to tell it as it is not least when he’s writing about Croxteth.

“You only go to Crocky if you turn off the East Lancs Road by mistake” he says and of its Western Approaches pub comments “Drinkers in the Wezzy treat strangers to their pub with a circumspection that can be chilling”. He then says while praising Rooney “Anyone who can get out of Crocky, fair play to them.”

Although his dismissive descriptions will wind up a lot of people other parts of the book, including the passages about former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie, will provoke cheers and applause. Sweeney says that “If you look at what happened at Hillsborough, the victims were blamed by MacKenzie and those responsible were essentially given a free pass, it was entirely the wrong way round and entirely unjust. With Hillsborough it is simple and straightforward. The Liverpool fans were wronged and MacKenzie has never seriously apologised for it”

Well said, though he knows that he will lose brownie points elsewhere when admitting “No, I haven’t dressed up Crocky in flattering terms and I don’t expect to receive an invitation from the Croxteth Tourist Board” But the Tranmere Rovers supporting author, who although born in Jersey comes from good Mersey stock, the son of Birkenhead born Leonard and Liverpool born Barbara stresses “What is great about Liverpool culture is its wit, its toughness, its sense of fair play and its excitement. Liverpool has got some beautiful buildings but when I think of Liverpool I think of somewhere that is full of life, wit and humour.”

Of his book which, among others, won’t please Rooney’s agent Paul Stretford he says “It’s a general attempt to tell the story of Rooney and to say that he’s a lion. A rough one, not a smooth one. It’s also an attack on Britain’s moronic celebrity culture, which I hate. The book has had a complicated history, it was pulled by the first publishers in 2007, then I went away and rewrote a lot of it”

“As I rewrote it” he continues “it became obvious that Rooney had changed. Although he had made a series of mistakes, the worst of which was being his deal with The Sun, my view is that it was a mistake made more by his agent than by himself. Wayne has changed and my understanding of him has changed. I do think he’s a genius, but for a genius to deliver he still has to work hard. He has shown tremendous application and discipline and for that you’ve got to give him credit.”

Then again, as Rooney’s Gold examines, his worst of times as well as his best of times, the footballer is unlikely to welcome it “I think Wayne would say ‘It’s my bloody life and I can write a book about it but I don’t bloody want anyone else to write one.’ But I’d say ‘This is a democracy!’ There are obviously stories out there he wouldn’t want to be in but in general, I think it’s fair to him. I have dealt with the devastating prostitute stories, which was a ghastly time for Wayne and Coleen but they got through it and fair play to them for that.”

“We know he’s not perfect but he’s not a bad man” he adds “he has done some great things and, should there be injuries to others, I would love to see him lifting the World Cup as the captain of England.”

And what are his hopes for the book? “I’d like people who have dismissed Rooney as a gum chewing yob to come away and think ‘He’s a bigger man than that.” He’s a complicated man with lots of demons and flaws but someone who has given us an enormous amount of entertainment and some laughs, including some terrible laughs at his own expense.”

In February I wrote a piece for the Echo asking whether it was time for Evertonians to forgive Rooney for his past sins and quoted the rapidly maturing man as saying “Everton is still a big part of my life and my family’s life . . .”

With regards to his former manager David Moyes he said “Things haven’t been good between us. I’ve said a few bad things in the past about him, but when I look back I see what he did for me. He helped make me the player I am today.”

Looking ahead Sweeney says “I think he could well end up going back to Everton” and he adds “I also think he would be a thumping good manager. Wayne really understands the game and he’s got that belief and aggression you need. We are uncomfortable with that but when you go into battle you don’t want your sergeant major running away at the sound of the enemy.”

Liverpool Football Club: Five years, Five times

2010-05-29T01:26:00.001+01:00

FIVE years ago this week, we were celebrating winning our fifth European Cup after an amazing night at the Ataturk.

IT STARTED with a miss...

When the ball dropped to Eidur Gudjohnsen at the far post it was like someone had pressed the mute button. It was the loudest night on the Kop in my lifetime (I swear the actual stand was moving) yet in that split second you could here a pin drop (or perhaps a fart or two squeak out of the thousands of twitching Red arses...).

Breath was held, hands went to faces – with Jerzy Dudek flailing on the floor it looked a cert the net would ripple as the Chelsea striker took aim...but it didn't.

In that moment, I knew it – we were going to a European Cup final. We, Liverpool, a team featuring Djimi Traore, Igor Biscan and Milan Baros. A team that had finished 37 points behind title-winning Chelsea, in fifth place, behind Everton, and on the same points as Bolton with 14 league defeats to our name. We were going to Istanbul with number five in our sights.

Talk of getting to Turkey began in town, when we eventually got there. That was after what seemed like hours of embracing people I'd never met, and barking 'Get in' at everyone who crossed my path wearing Red.

No-one wanted to leave the Kop that night. And no wonder. Our last European Cup final had come 20 years earlier. This was the taste of the big time another generation had been waiting for – me included. I was eight in May 1985 and can just about remember watching Liverpool and Juventus go through the motions after the horror of what had happened before - a black day which I barely understood at such a tender age.

I watched that final, like many a Reds game, in the back room of my ma's on a crap Pye black and white portable telly. This time though, I'd be there - in the same country, the same city, the same ground as the Reds. And this time I'd win it with them.

It was the usual score on getting abroad – fans were shafted left, right and centre by travel operators, hotel owners and the rest.

After being fortunate enough to qualify for a ticket – a miracle in itself – it was decided to swerve the fleapit hotels that were charging Hilton prices. As much as I wanted to fly over and get on the ale, money was talking.

Without the time, or the inclination to be fair, of some other Reds who trekked all over Europe by road, sea and air to reach Istanbul, we opted for the flight there and back option. It was a bit of a bank-breaker (or should I say credit card), but so what? This was a once in a lifetime chance, the opportunity to be part of history – to experience a European Cup win first-hand and not just have to watch videos, read books and listen to old fellas grin their way through their tales of 77, 78, 81 and 84. Now I'd have my own story to tell.

John Lennon Airport was a buzz of anticipation, even the taxi driver had seemed bang up for it and he wasn't going. And Lennon himself (well the statue) was kitted out in a fez (right) for the occasion.

But from the moment we touched down in Turkey (after a delayed flight), things didn't go quite to plan. Omens looked bad. While the early embarkers were living it up in Taksim Square, we were told on arrival that our coach, under police advice, would be heading for the harbour. Sound.

And so we arrived. Deffo a harbour. We wandered aimlessly about for a bit before turning up a side street. There were a few Reds here and there but there were more AC Milan fans in this end of Istanbul.

The sun was shining, the ale was calling but this wasn't where the party was at. We had hours to kill before we had to return to the coach and this was about as exciting as Widnes on a wet Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the texts continued to drop into my phone's inbox. "It's boss here, you know. Loads of Reds. Get down here."

I could picture the songs, the banter, the laughs. And here I was stuck on a Saga holiday.

Time to go. So we did - how far could it be? A couple of other Reds had the same idea and a taxi was shared. But it seemed that, in this part of the world, driving schools are run by The Stig. Swerving in and out of while sporting a 'I don't give a f*** grin' isn't the best combination for a taxi driver. I could picture the compo claim already - if I lived to put on the neck brace.

While snarled up in traffic on route to Taksim, a couple of local kids shouted to us. "Liverpool," said one. "3-3" said the other, holding up the right amount of fingers (using two hands, obviously - it was Istanbul, not Wigan).

At the time, we thought nothing of it. Looking back, well it's a bit weird, isn't it?

After what seemed like a lifetime, we reached Taksim. After the ride we'd had, I didn't know whether to open the door or jump out of the window Dukes of Hazzard style.

Taksim Square (above) was just a sea of red. Banners, flags, Reds on a roof, Reds in a tree, Reds up a lampost, songs, ale, sunshine...now we're talking.

We met up with a couple of mates who'd blagged their way to Turkey on the pretence of working - one for the Daily Post, the other for the Echo (colour piece my arse).

After filling us in with tales from the night before, we headed for the bar and bumped into another couple of journalists, one who greeted me with the matter of fact: "Thought you'd be here." It was liked I'd bumped into him in the Asda rather than in a foreign country thousands of miles from home.

Istanbul, what we saw of it in our short time there, was a cracking city and if I've got one regret from that trip it's that I didn't get to see more of it. The people, too, were spot on. They seemed genuinely amazed, or perhaps bemused, by just how many Reds had made the trip. Loads of locals turned up with cameras and video cameras to film the loony Englismen with faces as red as their shirts filling up on Efe.

Even the waiter at the restaurant didn't seem to mind too much at a poor attempt by Nick Peet to get a free scran. He was totally on to the attempt to clean the plate and pretend he hadn't helped himself buffet-style to a big plate of spag bol...

The fella on the market stall didn't bat an eyelid either, when the same Mr Peet ordered six cigars as we searched for a taxi: "It's for when we win, mate."

News had filtered through that the ground was in fact a good way out of the city - 20 minutes to half an hour was the grossly inaccurate estimate that was bandied about.

Straightforward enough then, or so you'd think. We split into two groups and jumped into a yellow cab each. But we were barely around the corner when our cab turned to reveal Tony Barrett's (above, right, with Jon Jones) cab parked up with a worrying plume of steam heading skywards from the bonnet. Another cab rolled over the cobbles....containing John Aldridge, who clearly found the sight hilarious.

Not sure Tony did though, and he was even more unhappy when the plan to decorate the cab in red backfired when a local kid whipped his scarf en route to the ground!

Back in our cab, things took a turn for the strange when the driver - on a motorway - began craning his neck out of the window to shout to some suited up Turks in a Mercedes.

A full-on conversation took place at about 80 miles an hour. Next thing, we're pulling over. "Eye, eye, mate, f*** these off, carry on, we've got to get to the ground here."

"They'll take you," said the cab driver. "They want to go near the ground - they need people with tickets with them to get past the police."

Now in any other circumstances alarm bells would be going off. They could have been anyone, it could have been a scam, we might have been getting kidknapped...

"Tell them we'll go if they pay for the cab," said Nick.

And they did. Next minute we're all getting into a Merc with a pair of complete strangers.

Despite the suggestions coming through on the text, their intentions were not sexual and we eventually arrived at the ground, a modern - if odd-looking - bowl-type stadium in the middle of nowhere. It looked like Mars. Mind you, there's probably more ale on Mars.

There wasn't a can to be had by the time we arrived, so we had to make do with the tail-end of a fans' festival which at this point consisted of Pete Wylie knocking out Liverpool songs on stage.

That stage was soon full of Reds and the Turks got jittery with one organiser hilariously trying to warn about health and safety as fans bounced around him singing 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.

One fan grabbed the mic and shouted: "Jose Mourinho, I hope you're enjoying Emmerdale Farm, lad!".

In the ground it struck home just how many Reds had made the pilgramage, a good three-quarters of the Ataturk was Liverpool - some feat considering the location.

Before the match got going there was an opening ceremony. Pretty pointless, but when you're there you watch it, don't you? So as everyone stood on seats to get a look, I followed suit, only to feel a prod in the back. "Get down will you, I can't see."

"Neither can I, that's why I've stood up here like everyone else has."

"Just get down."

"You get up - then you'll be able to see."

"Get down."

And so it went on with the Victor Meldrew of Liverpool fans until his mate joined in as well.

"Get down."

"Oh f**k off, will yer." And on that note, I turned back to the pomp of ceremony only to feel an attempted shove from behind.

There's only so much a man can take, and at that point I was going to swing for the pair of them. My mate Jon had clearly spotted the red mist and pointed out that a Turkish jug wasn't the best place to try and watch a European Cup final. So I left it... still got back up on my seat though.

Handbags out the way, it was on to the game itself. At 3-0 down, all of a sudden we seemed a long way from home. The bravado, the adrenaline that had been surging through thousands of Reds all day, had gone.

We were outclassed in that first half. As we trudged into the bowels of the stand, no-one said a word, there were just a few shakes of the head, puffs of the cheeks and wipes of the brow. We were f***ed.

"We've just got to keep a clean sheet second half," someone eventually piped up. "Otherwise, this could be about 7-0. We could be on the end of the worst result in a European Cup final ever."

As some lads left for the hills, unable to take anymore, I thought of the Bluenoses, the Mancs, Andy Gray, all those Soccer AM beauts. They'll all be loving it.

And my dad. "All that money to watch a bunch of fellas kicking a ball? You must be mad..."

Now you know why I was watching the '85 final on the portable...

Everyone talks about the rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone just before the second half but I barely remember it to be honest. I have vague recollections of singing it, but it was more out of duty than hope. I didn't for a minute think we'd get back into it.

The rest, as they say, is history, you all know what happened next...

When Andriy Shevchenko missed we just went nuts, absolutely nuts - I've got some phone footage somewhere of me letting out this primal scream (see videos below) I remember falling over seats, rolling on people, bear-hugging strangers. I even fell on my old mate Victor Meldrew from earlier - we held each other in a special moment and then just laughed, there's no time for fighting when you've just won the European Cup!

As I struggled to take it in, I remember Carragher diving into the crowd, Riise running around aimlessly (no change there, then).

Then out came the cup. It was miles away from us yet it looked massive. It was massive. It is massive. And it's ours. For keeps.

After more bear-hugging, dancing and handshakes, me and Jon (below right) had to leave for our plane. Not that we knew where our coach was parked as we of course hadn't arrived at the Ataturk in it.

We wandered about for a bit amongst rows and rows of identical coaches before eventually spying a fella we recognised smoking outside the coach. "Alright lads," he said, nodding, with a dirty smirk on his face like he'd just done the deed. But it was that good...

On the coach, it was quiet. Nobody had anything left. Everyone was shattered. The players will tell you they put everything into the match. Well so did the fans.

"Who missed that last pen, lad?" piped up this fella.

"Shevchenko"

"Nah, I'm not having that."

It was funny because I'd said the same in the ground. As he was walking up, I'd tapped Jon and said: "There's no way he'll miss, he's quality."

But it was meant to be. At the airport it was chaos. People everywhere, no-one knew what was going on - but no-one cared. Even the bizarre token system to get a pint was ignored and laughed off. There was no spoiling this.

Arrving back at Liverpool, I had a spring in my step despite having no kip for God knows how long. I was there when we lifted No.5. I was there for the greatest comeback in football history. I was there when a lad who grew up a stone's throw from my mum's lifted Old Big Ears as captain of Liverpool Football Club.

That's put us on the map, that's made them sit up and take notice. I even got a text off a Bluenose - and a fairly bitter one at that.

"Were you there?" it asked. I couldn't type fast enough. "Fair enough lad, youse deserved it." I nearly fell off the train seat.

Train? Yep, train. I'd got my head down for a couple of hours and now I was on the train to town - totally done in, but walking on air with a permanent smile. It was time for the victory parade...

Straight after the penalty shoot-out.

Boss cheesy by Tony Barrett...

author : wellred

Jamie Redknapp: Guilty of crimes against punditry and Liverpool FC

2010-05-19T02:51:00.002+01:00

THE THOMAS Cook advert was bad enough.

You know the one, where Jamie Redknapp prances round the beach with no top on, playing golf shots into the sea.

He might not play for us anymore but he’s a former Liverpool captain – we’re guilty by association.

Opposing fans across the land, once they’ve taken their fingers out of their throats, must chuckle every time they see it – I know I would if it was an ex-Manc.

So that’s Jamie Redknapp the sell-out – what about Jamie Redknapp the pundit?

Well, he’s not one is he?

A pundit, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is ‘an expert in a particular subject or field who is frequently called upon to give their opinion to the public’.

Tune into La Liga coverage and watch Guillem Balague – there’s a pundit, right there. He knows his onions, he’s done his research - he even pronounces the players’ names right and can throw the odd witty comment into the mix. All in his second language, too.

Then there’s Jamie Redknapp. Comparing the tight-kecked pretty boy to Balague is like comparing Fernando Torres and Victor Anichebe.

They might do the same job but the gap in ability is easier to see than Alex Ferguson’s nose on a winter’s day.

Redknapp, Harry’s son of course, has been sticking the boot in on the club he played hundreds of sideway passes for on a regular basis this last season.

Fair enough, you might say, it was a disappointing campaign after all.

No argument, but if you’re going to dish out stick - and get paid well for the privilege – you’ve got to get your facts right.

Get them wrong and your arguments look thinner than one of Jamie’s ties. Angrily perched on the couch during Sky’s coverage of Liverpool’s league defeat at Old Trafford in March, Redknapp told the millions that Liverpool have missed Xabi Alonso.

Nothing new there then, just the repeating of an over-stated viewpoint that has been doing the rounds all season.

But he went on to say that the Reds would particularly miss him at Old Trafford – because he had been so influential the year before in the 4-1 routing of Slur Alex’s side.

“Xabi Alonso was sensational spreading the ball to Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard that day,” he told viewers in a gaffe Garth Crooks would be proud of.

Of course Alonso didn’t play that day due to injury.

To use the clichéd commentary, Jamie is so fond of – it’s a schoolboy error. Maybe he should leave the Wii-playing to his old fella and the missus and do a bit of research once in a while?

To close the case against Redknapp, we must look at his favourite word. Literally.

Gems include: "He's LITERALLY left Ben Haim for dead there" and “Gerrard has been amazing. He’s literally covered every blade of grass on the pitch”

And who can forget: “Alonso and Sissoko have been picked to literally sit in front of the back four.”

Like ‘loyalty’, Jamie clearly doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘literally’. There’s even a Facebook petition to have him taught its correct use.

So for crimes against Liverpool Football Club and football punditry, we find Redknapp guilty. And for his punishment we propose a month of eating McDonalds three times a day.

That way his arse wouldn’t fit into those spray on kecks, the women will turn off, and there’ll be even less of a point to him being on the couch at Sky.

author : wellred

Rafael Benitez could swap Liverpool for Inter Milan

2010-05-18T18:04:00.003+01:00

Rafa's out of Anfield and Inter Italy

Inter Milan are preparing an official approach for Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez.

The Italian champions have already accepted that boss Jose Mourinho will quit the San Siro – for Real Madrid – after Saturday’s Champions League final, with their president Massimo Moratti admitting: “It will be a surprise now if he stays.”

Inter’s first choice was England coach Fabio Capello, but the FA have slammed the door shut on that particular avenue.

So now Moratti and his top brass are preparing for formal talks with the Anfield board to prise Benitez away.

Informal contact is already underway between the Spaniard’s agent, Manuel Garcia Quilon, and Inter – and an approach could follow as swiftly as next week.

The request is likely to become official after Inter have played their European final against Bayern Munich at the Bernabeu in Madrid, in what most now accept will be Mourinho’s last game with the Nerazzurri.

The Milan giants are not the first Italian club Benitez has spoken to this season.

He has spent much of the time since the January transfer window in talks with Juventus, and came close to moving to Turin at the end of the season.

Benitez has been disillusioned with life on Merseyside for some time, and he has made clear his frustration at what he perceives to be a lack of backing in the transfer market.

He has constantly complained about having to balance the books at the club, a move which saw him replace Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa last summer with Alberto Aquilani and Glen Johnson, generating personal criticism that he bitterly resents.

Benitez welcomed the attentions of Juventus in January, and had refused point blank to rule out a move to the Italians since then, while Quilon frequently admitted to talks.

And at the end of the campaign, he launched an astonishing attack on Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow, when he appeared to accuse the senior boardroom member of briefing against him.

The relationship between manager and MD is non-existent.

Coming so soon on the back of a similarly fractious partnership with previous chief executive Rick Parry – who was eventually forced to leave Liverpool – it suggests that he finds the working conditions at Anfield difficult, if not untenable.

Those close to Benitez assumed he would accept the Juventus offer of almost £6million a year, but that escape route has been closed off to him.

Juve’s new president Andrea Agnelli decided he had waited long enough for an answer, and instead appointed Sampdoria coach Luigi Del Neri yesterday.

But Benitez could still find a way out of Anfield, to put his misery under the current American owners and Purslow behind him, with Inter interested in his services.

Moratti said: “You never know with a volcanic character like Mourinho, because with him what you think will happen doesn’t always happen, but it would be a surprise now if he stayed.

“We have to enjoy the fact that we are in the Champions League final, wait until after that before it is all concluded – but then we will address the situation.”

Inter also have the Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli on their short-list, along with the Bayern coach Louis van Gaal.

Benitez knows that his long- term rival Mourinho will make life hard for him in Italy – even from Spain with Real.

Mourinho has stuck the knife in, stating: “Liverpool is an incredible phenomenon. From 2004 to 2010 it looks like the team instead of improving is getting worse.” Those years constitute the precise period Benitez has been at Anfield.

Liverpool risk losing Gerrard, Torres and Mascherano after Anfield row

Liverpool will lose their top stars this summer – unless they resolve their civil war.

A bitter row between boss Rafa Benitez and managing director Christian Purslow has caused a power vacuum. And it has left the likes of Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Javier Mascherano all considering their futures.

Mascherano is the latest to reveal his discontent at Anfield. He is wanted by Barcelona, but has been told his contract negotiations with Liverpool have been put on hold until after the World Cup.

Barca have also been pursuing Torres quietly in recent weeks, and discussions have taken place with the striker’s advisors as they offer a route out of war-torn Anfield. And Gerrard is a target for Real Madrid if Jose Mourinho takes over.

author : David Maddock @mirrorfootbal

Liverpool prepare to pounce for Ajax star

2010-05-18T17:50:00.002+01:00

Everton told to up £8.5m bid for Jan Vertonghen as Liverpool prepare to pounce for Ajax star

Big shoes: Vertonghen has impressed after Vermaelen's departure

Everton have been knocked back in an £8.5million bid for Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen.

The Dutch giants are holding out for at least £10m for the 23-year-old, who has stepped up for Ajax since Thomas Vermaelen left for Arsenal last summer.

Liverpool have also monitored the versatile Belgium international, who can also play in midfield, but Everton have made the first move as David Moyes looks to strengthen his defensive options.

The Toffees have struggled to adequately replace Joleon Lescott, who quit Goodison Park for Manchester City last summer, and Moyes has also tracked Torino's Angelo Ogbonna.

author : dailymail

Gary Neville questions Glen Johnson and Jamie Carragher in World Cup 2010 squad

2010-05-18T15:04:00.006+01:00

Gary Neville has questioned England manager Fabio Capello's decision to pick Liverpool's Glen Johnson as his sole right-back for the World Cup.

Neville (r) is not convinced Carragher is the man to cover the right-back position

Johnson has established himself as England's first-choice right-back under Capello, but suffered an injury-interrupted second half of the season.

And Neville said: "I'm surprised there is only one right-back in the squad."

Neville also labelled attempts to lure Paul Scholes out of international retirement "a bit desperate".

Despite failing in his attempt to bring Scholes back into the England fold, Capello did persuade Liverpool's Jamie Carragher to return to the squad three years after his own international retirement.

"I wouldn't say I'm overly disappointed not to be named in the initial 30-man squad, although I did think there was maybe a chance I could get in," added Neville, who made 15 Premier League starts last season but failed to add to his 85 England caps.

"I'm probably more surprised Wes Brown isn't in the 30, to be honest."

Scholes, who retired from international football in 2004, appeared set for a return of his own before eventually rejecting Capello's overtures.

And Neville admitted that courting Scholes made sense, even if it was unlikely to succeed.

"I'm not surprised Capello tried to get him out of retirement because if there's one player I would try to pull out of retirement it's Scholes," Neville said of his team-mate and fellow 35-year-old.

"Capello maybe got a bit desperate at the last minute and wanted Scholes because he's still probably the best midfielder in England, but Scholes decided to stick to his guns."

author : bbc
debates here

Football transfer rumours: Carlton Cole to Liverpool Football Club

2010-05-17T16:47:00.002+01:00

Carlton Cole battle hots up as Liverpool and Villa join race for striker

Carlton Cole: heading to Anfield? Photograph: Gerry Penny/EPA

Misplaced optimism comes in myriad forms. It might be a commissioning editor – a self-styled maverick, perhaps, who insists on being called The Big Easy –announcing that Eldorado is "the future of television, peeps". It might be the Mill splashing on industrial quantities of Joop and a challengingly tight floral shirt before heading off to Chassers for student night. Or it might be Rafael Benítez and Sir Alex Ferguson, managers of clubs with approximately no pots to do a No1 in, eyeing up expensive players.

This morning's grapevine juice – freshly squeezed and chilled at precisely 1.2 degrees – is that Benítez has pulled himself away from the Coinstar machine at his local Aldi in Liverpool for long enough to leer lovingly in the direction of Sampdoria striker Giampaolo Pazzini, Sevilla winger Jesús Navas and Carlton Cole.

Cole is also wanted by Aston Villa and Birmingham. Indeed, Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is so keen to ward off second-season syndrome that he has bid for 247 different players – including £8m for Wigan winger Charles Insomnia – and employed a crack team of researchers to assess whether it's worth Birmingham bothering to turn up next season, given the crushing inevitability of said syndrome.

West Ham United will replace Cole with Everton unit Yakubu. They may bring in Lyon's Sidney Govou, too, just because they can.

As for Lord Ferg, he is living, youseing, empurpled proof that obsession need not be narrow-minded. Having spent years sniffing like an unfeasibly zesty dog around one Lyon starlet, Karim Benzema, he is now pursuing another: Benzema's old chum Hatem Ben Arfa.

Ferguson has also made enquiries about Benfica's magisterial left-winger Angel di Maria, apparently ignoring the fact that, whatever he bids, Real Madrid/Manchester City will double, and then treble, and then multiply by £4.7m.

In an unrelated and essentially hilarious development, Neil Lennon plans to make Crystal Palace's Darren Ambrose his first big signing if he gets the Celtic job.

Finally, there is a rumour going round that England won the World Cup yesterday: deservedly, emphatically, brilliantly, humbly. We've heard some nonsense in our time, but this takes the biscuit.

Mourinho: Liverpool is an incredible phenomenon

2010-05-17T11:14:00.003+01:00

Mourinho: Liverpool is an incredible phenomenon

Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho has taken a veiled swipe at the current standard of the Premier League as he ran the rule over the achievements of Carlo Ancelotti in his first season in charge of Chelsea. The Italian coach saw his Stamford Bridge outfit secure their first Double when they beat Portsmouth on Saturday at Wembley; a feat that not even the ‘Special One’ achieved despite his considerable success in England. However, speaking ahead of this weekend’s Champions League final the Portuguese coach stressed that while he was pleased for the Blues, it was the lack of consistency amongst their rivals which opened the door for more silverware in west London. Pinpointing the struggles faced by Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool, Mourinho also took time to dismiss championship challenge from the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Manchester City.

Mourinho won the Premier League title twice while coach at Chelsea, beating off competition from Arsene Wenger’s ‘invincible’ Arsenal side to win the title by 12 points in 2004-05 before retaining their crown by holding off the likes of Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool and Sir Alex Ferguson’s previously dominant Manchester United.

Quitting the following season to be replaced by Avram Grant, Mourinho’s former side reached the Champions League final in Moscow, only to be beaten by Manchester United on penalties. Having also surrendered their Premier League title to the men from Old Trafford and subsequently seen Liverpool overtake them in the league in 2008-09 it has been a resurgent Chelsea side who have confidently taken the field under Ancelotti in the last nine months. Speaking to the Sunday Times about the competition he faced in England, Mourinho started by targeting Arsene Wenger's shift in philosophy at Arsenal before hammering Liverpool for their gradual decline:

“Arsenal won it in an incredible way [2003-04] and after that they thought they could win in a different way.

“They cannot win it in a different way. Either they go back to where they were or they don’t do it.

“Man United lost Ronaldo. Okay, the coach is a tremendous coach, the team is full of great players, but Ronaldo is Ronaldo, and he scores 30 goals a season. Ronaldo wins points and points and points. When a club and the league loses a player like Ronaldo it loses a lot.

“Liverpool is an incredible phenomenon. From 2004 to 2010 it looks like the team instead of improving is getting worse. Tottenham is coming, Aston Villa is coming, Man City is coming, but I think that magic of a fight of titans, all of them very, very strong in the top of the League, I don’t see this season was like this.

“Chelsea were out of Champions League very, very soon. They could concentrate on the championship — and they did it very well. Carlo is very experienced, he kept the team calm and focused, and he didn’t let them lose focus and confidence. They concentrate very, very well in the championship, and they deserve to win it in the end.”

author: Andrew Allen @sport.co.uk

Liverpool FC's Javier Mascherano doesn't want to live on Merseyside

2010-05-17T05:38:00.004+01:00

BARCELONA have been alerted to midfielder Javier Mascherano giving the strongest indication yet his future lies away from Liverpool FC.

The Argentina captain admits life in the city has left him longing to be back amongst his countrymen and that his family find being cut off difficult.

Mascherano has also revealed he was keen to leave Anfield for Catalan giants Barca in the summer but with manager Rafa Benitez refusing to sell him, the situation impacted on his early season form.

Now trying to focus on World Cup preparations with his national side, Mascherano has candidly opened up about his desire to leave the Premier League behind for life in La Liga with the Spaniards believed to be huge admirers.

Mascherano said: “The situation with Barcelona really affected me. It was a shame it didn’t happen as it was the city I wanted to live in.

“There were many discussions and problems during that month and a half. They were difficult times for me. One day I was off to Barcelona, the next I wasn’t.

“And Liverpool said I was non-transferable. Psychologically, it affected me as I couldn’t think in Liverpool and I was focused on other stuff and not on my work, my training and playing.

“Also we were having problems with Argentina as our qualification to the World Cup was in danger.

“There was a lot of complicated stuff at that time. I don’t do much stuff in my free time, that’s the truth.

“I could go to London with my wife to do some shopping but I have already been to London 1,000 times and if I want to go to another city I would have to take a plane.

“What kills me about living in Liverpool is that there are only two Argentinians here with me, Emiliano Insua and Maxi Rodriguez.

“Insua and I live in a private neighbourhood. He lives in one tower and I live in the other. There are 15 metres between us and we used to look at each other through the window.

“Sometimes Zabaleta comes from Manchester but there is no way Carlos Tevez comes here. If I want to see him, I have to go to his place and knock on his door.

“He doesn’t like to leave his home. So during the winter, during those four or five months, I have to stay at home all day with my family.

“I have no problem living in Liverpool, but I think my wife and daughters deserve to enjoy every day to the full and live their lives – but they have to be at home all day.

“My wife doesn’t speak a word of English, so she depends 100% on me.

“I live here with them. That’s my world, that’s my life.”

Meanwhile, Aston Villa chairman Randy Lerner has warned off any potential advances from Liverpool for the Midlanders’ manager Martin O’Neill.

With speculation over Benitez’s future at the Anfield helm, Irishman O’Neill has seen his name repeatedly linked with replacing the Spaniard, should he leave.

However American Lerner was quick to assure Villa supporters their manager was going nowhere.

“I don’t want a manager who nobody else wants. But, as far as I’m concerned, Liverpool are not taking Martin O’Neill away from Aston Villa.”

author : Rob Brady, Daily Post

Why I'm sick of being a LIVERPOOL FC fan

2010-05-16T03:06:00.001+01:00

I NEVER thought I'd write this, but I'm sick of being a Liverpool fan.

Not sick of Liverpool FC: I still find myself staring at my ticket stubs or thumbing through an old programme and enjoying the fond memories of Istanbul, Dortmund, Cardiff, Barcelona; my first derby win or even my first game, a less than glamourous Rumbelows Cup win over Crewe.

I still feel the emotions rise when I watch the DVD of that night in the Ataturk and I still get riled when faced with a crowing Manc (although there's not too many of them about right now).

So as I say, I still love the club.

But the being a fan bit? Well I'm sick of the soap opera, peeved with the politics and right now the whole thing has left me feeling a bit worn out and fatigued; my passion has been sapped.

Months ago, I glanced at the fixture list and I'd mentally pencilled in the Hull game as a trip I'd be making.

End of season, day in the sun, couple of bevvies, a laugh, and hopefully a comprehensive victory for the Mighty Reds.

That's how it went in my head anyway.

But who was I kidding? I keep making that mistake – thinking football is still the way it used to be. It's not – not at Liverpool anyway.

The Liverpool I know had its heart ripped from it and thrown in the Mersey long ago. Now it's all about being pro-Rafa or anti-Rafa. About belonging to one forum but hating another. About blaming the owners for ruining our club or claiming it's an excuse. About believing the Rafa stories, the Gerrard stories or the Purslow stories – or not believing them.

All in all it's a whole lot of in-fighting and that has punched my enthusiasm in the solar plexus and left it rolling on the floor and gasping for air.

So I didn't go to the Hull match – didn't even try to get a ticket, and after briefly toying with the idea of tracking down an ale house screening it 'on the foreign', I settled for listening to Aldo and co on Radio City.

The match, well you know the score, depressingly familiar – Aldo sounded like he'd had enough, too.

It just washed over me, I was barely arsed. In fact, the most excited I got was when Chelsea went 2-0 up and I knew the Mancs wouldn't be lifting number 19. How sad is that?

So that was that and it was back to the politics. Rafa Benitez referring to "senior sources" on several occasions in his press conference, a clear reference to the planting of information in the media by those "senior sources". The same senior sources that took it upon themselves to talk about players with other clubs without the manager's knowledge.

That was like throwing a piece of meat to the hungry hounds – off we went again: the manager is out of order, Purslow is out of order, Rafa rubbed his hands together once (that really is a rumour going around, well part of it anyway), Gerrard doesn't care, Madrid want him, he's definitely going, it's Lucas's fault...and on and on and on until you're left rocking yourself in the darkness, mumbling and praying for mercy.

The thing is, if anyone is rubbing their hands together and thinking about money, it's Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Because while we slug it out amongst ourselves – falling out on forums, arguing in boozers, even scrapping at the match – they continue to rape and pillage our club relatively – in terms of our worldwide (or even match-going) support – unchallenged.

The debt is mounting up, the loan from the off-shore company to the club is growing – and what are the majority of our support doing about it? Nothing.

Yes, there's Spirit of Shankly – they've done a sterling job. They have sent out the message that Liverpool fans will not just roll over and have their belly tickled by the carpet-bagging American pair.

But their ranks contain approximately 5,000 members – a fraction of the people who attend Anfield regularly and a mere spec on the radar when global support for Liverpool is totted up.

So why are so many doing so little? Are they burying their head in the sand? Can they not concentrate long enough to get their head around what Hicks and Gillett are doing to the club? Or are they just buying the spin and waiting for Sky Sports to tell them about it?

There's so many messages flying around the world about Liverpool FC that perhaps they are just not hearing the right one – the one that says Hicks and Gillett are ruining our club, dragging it down from its perch with barely a kick or a scream and pointing it in the direction of the road Leeds and Newcastle took after financial mismanagement – the road to nowhere.

It's a road the club is on now, despite what new chairman Martin Broughton tells us. Something will happen in months, people are interested, he says. Exactly what managing director Christian Purslow told us when he arrived.

We've gained another suit, but as a club we're still shivering in the cold, stark naked, looking in at the Premier League and Champions League parties knowing we've got no chance of an invite.

Meanwhile, the banks have extended deadlines, the interest – at £110,000 A DAY – continues to mount and Hicks and Gillett sit thousands of miles away, sitting and waiting for the buyer that never comes.

But for some all that doesn't matter. They want Benitez out and Jose Mourinho in. It doesn't matter if we haven't got money, he's got to go and Jose? Well, he'll happily kiss goodbye to Inter Milan, ignore a possible offer from Real Madrid and walk into a club on its knees who will pay him less than he can get elsewhere. It would be career suicide. It makes no sense at all. But still people say it.

That kind of debate suits the Americans just fine. It's another distraction and another step away from what would really get them thinking – mass, organised protest. Boycotts. Pressure. More of the same from Spirit of Shankly only with more bodies behind them, more money in the coffers, more helping hands to get the wheels turning.

But for many of the tactics that would truly make them sit up and notice to work it needs the whole of the Liverpool support on board – and as it stands that support is so factious, that doesn't look like happening anytime soon.

Hicks and Gillett can turn to their PR firms (or those "senior sources") to keep the pot bubbling with distractions about players, managers and rubbing hands. It's divide and conquer - the oldest trick in the book. And it's working a treat.

But who needs PR firms when you've got rumours (a speciality of the City of Liverpool), forum 'insiders' and journalists happy to be spoon-fed information and reproduce it as 'fact' without questioning its validity?

It all keeps fans from coming together and fighting the cancer that is eating away at our loved one. And that's exactly what the profit-obsessed charlatans want.

author : wellred

Ex-Liverpool FC striker Besian Idrizaj dies of a heart attack - A Memories and Tribute Video

2010-05-15T04:49:00.001+01:00

Liverpool are mourning the loss of former striker Besian Idrizaj, who died of a heart attack this morning.

The 22-year-old spent three years at Anfield after signing from LASK Linz in the summer of 2005 but failed to make a senior appearance for the Reds and joined German side FC Eilenburg, following loan spells with Luton Town, Crystal Palace and Wacker Innsbruck.

Reports in the attacker's native Austria claim that he died in the early hours of Saturday morning at the family home.

Hailed as one of his nation's most promising players, Idrizaj arrived on Merseyside on the back of a glittering U17 European Championships in 2004 but a series of health problems led him to collapse on a number of occasions and restricted his short-lived career.

Following his move to Innsbruck, the Albanian-born hitman moved to Blackburn Rovers before penning a two-year deal with Championship outfit Swansea City, making just three appearances last season.

Whilst he never made a lasting impression on Kopites, some supporters will have fond memories of his 23-minute hattrick in a pre-season friendly against Wrexham in July 2007.

official from lfc.tv :

Liverpool Football Club have been shocked and saddened by the death of former striker Besian Idrizaj.

The 22-year-old Austrian is thought to have died in his sleep at his family home on Friday evening.

Idrizaj joined the Reds from LASK Linz in the summer of 2005 but despite spending three years at Anfield, he did not make a competitive appearance for the club.

His best moment in a Liverpool shirt came in a 2007 pre-season clash at Wrexham, in which he netted a first-half hat-trick to secure a 3-2 victory.

Everyone at Liverpool Football Club would like to pass on their condolences to Besian's family and friends at this very sad time.

Liverpool's Jamie Carragher Named in England's Three Lions 2010 30-man Squad

2010-05-14T05:14:00.001+01:00

Jamie Carragher looks set to feature in this summer's World Cup after being named in England's 30-man provisional squad.

Fabio Capello has tempted the 32-year-old out of international retirement amid doubts over the fitness of Ledley King and Rio Ferdinand.

Carragher hasn't featured for his country since 2007 but now appears likely to add to his 34 caps in South Africa.

Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson are also among the party that will travel to Austria in six days' time to begin training preparations for the tournament.

The final 23-man squad will be announced on June 1.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, David James, Robert Green

Defenders: Leighton Baines, Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Michael Dawson, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips

Forwards: Darren Bent, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney

Jamie Carragher Explanation :

Jamie Carragher has explained his decision to come out of international retirement.

Our No.23 has been named in Fabio Capello's provisional 30-man squad for the World Cup three years after retiring from international duty.

Carragher is almost certain to make the final 23-man selection for the trip to South Africa.

"The FA got in touch and asked if I would have a rethink, due to injury problems. I said I would make myself available," said the 32-year-old.

"The World Cup and Champions League are the highest levels of football.

"I'm not getting any younger, we have no Champions League football next season and I am keen to work under Fabio Capello."

England have two friendlies to play against Mexico and Japan before Capello submits his final 23 to FIFA on June 1.

"He (Carragher) is one of the 30 players," said the Italian. "During the training camp I will evaluate the performance of each player.

"We started (talking to Carragher) two months ago. We spoke with him. Franco Baldini met him two weeks ago and he was happy to stay with us. We decided to select him. I selected him because he is a really, really good player."

Supports for Jamie Carragher :

Jamie Redknapp supports the expected recall of Jamie Carragher to the England fold.

Carragher is thought to have been tempted out of international retirement by Fabio Capello ahead of this summer's World Cup.

It follows a string of injuries to the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Ledley King.

Former Liverpool teammate Redknapp said: "He's pumped up for this unexpected chance and won't let England down.

"He's a warrior of a footballer, but also a good tourist to have around. I say it's a good pick by Capello."

Carragher has never played under Capello having retired from the international scene in the summer of 2007.

Redknapp thinks working with the Italian will be good for our No.23.

"Don't bet against Jamie becoming a manager one day, he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the game," said the one-time Reds captain.
"He'll be eager to learn from Capello with this recall."

John Aldridge is confident Jamie Carragher will feature heavily in England's bid for World Cup success following the defender's international U-turn.

The Reds' vice-captain has been named in Fabio Capello's provisional squad of 30 but Aldo is convinced he will make the cut and be on the plane to South Africa.

"I'll be having a close look at England, Spain and Argentina with the likes of Gerrard, Carragher, Torres and Mascherano involved," said Aldridge.

"I believe Carra will make the final 23. I also expect him to play quite a bit because Fabio Capello knows he can trust him.

"His change of heart has probably come due to Liverpool's poor season. I know after I missed that penalty at Wembley in 1988 I went away to the European Championships and enjoyed every minute of it."
Peter Crouch has backed Fabio Capello's decision to entice Jamie Carragher out of international retirement.

The former Liverpool striker knows all about his old teammate's qualities from his time at Anfield and believes he could be an invaluable addition to the England squad ahead of the World Cup finals next month.

"Carragher has been a top-class centre-half for years," said Crouch.

"With Jamie, you get an experienced player who has played at a top level for a number of years and he is never going to let anyone down."
Fabio Capello has urged England supporters to get behind Jamie Carragher following the defender's return to international football.

The Reds defender has not featured for his country since 2007 but Capello insists the Three Lions must all pull together if they are to succeed in South Africa.

"The spirit will not be damaged," said Capello.

"We have time for players who have not been with us to understand what to do in every moment. What I will ask them in meetings is to understand this.

"The fans also have to remember they must support England, not only one player. I hope they won't boo him.

"During the World Cup I want the fans to help us.

"Carragher had to think about it because when we started he said 'no'. We tried to convince him four or five times because he is a leader on the pitch."

Ian Rush Visits Jakarta, Indonesia 2010

2010-05-13T10:15:00.004+01:00

DON'T MISS OUT! LIVERPOOL LEGEND 'IAN RUSH' IN JAKARTA - 15 MAY 2010

Football legend and former top striker for English Premier League side Liverpool, Ian Rush, who was recently appointed the club’s ambassador for soccer schools development, will make a brief visit to Jakarta on May 14-17.

Rush, who was Liverpool’s forward between 1980 and 1987, will appear in a meet-and-greet session with fans and share his soccer expertise in a coaching clinic at the Soemantri Brodjonegoro Sports Stadium in Jakarta to 1,500 students from 112 elementary schools from rural and impoverished areas of West Java.

The visit is organized by Indonesia’s British Chamber of Commerce (Britcham) and Bank Permata.

The 112 elementary schools are participants of the soccer league initiated by Britcham three years ago. The league, which starts in October and ends in May, began with 12 participating schools, grew to 20 schools in the second year and 54 schools in the third year.

Rush’s visit to Jakarta will coincide with the final of the English FA Cup on May 15 in London, the world’s oldest soccer competition.

“He is ready to get involved in helping develop kids after his professional period. He is logically suited by virtue of the fact he has been appointed as soccer schools ambassador by Liverpool FC. It underlines his personal passion to give back,” Britcham executive director Chris P. Wren said Tuesday.

In April, 48-year-old Rush was appointed as both Liverpool’s commercial director and the club’s ambassador for soccer schools development, with activities spread globally, not only in the UK.

“Liverpool has the vision of having sports and education together in a real academy. The program started in Spain and South America, where they link football to learning English language,” Wren said.

The English striker, who after a brief spell at Italian side Juventus, rejoined Liverpool in 1988 to 1996, will also briefly coach 100 students from state elementary school SD I Karet Tengsin as part of Permata’s social corporate responsibility program.

Rush, who hung up his boots in 2000, is Liverpool’s all-time leading goal-scorer with 346 goals during his time at Anfield, as well as the leading 20th-century goal-scorer in the FA Cup and all-time record FA Cup Final goal-scorer.

Although Indonesia is traditionally seen as the stronghold of fans of rival English side Manchester United, Liverpool also has a considerable fan base here.

Rush’s visit to Jakarta will coincide with the final of the English FA Cup on May 15 in London.

Liverpool's Young Player of the Season - Lucas Leiva Video Compilation

2010-05-12T16:16:00.001+01:00

Lucas Leiva was today crowned Liverpool's Young Player of the Season following a fans' vote on Liverpoolfc.tv.

After revealing Pepe Reina as the winner of our main award yesterdat, we can today confirm Lucas has won your vote as our best young star.

Thousands of votes were cast - but it was our Brazilian midfielder who clinched the accolade with 48 per cent of the vote.

Lucas was a virtual ever-present in Rafael Benitez's starting XI during the course of 2009-10 as he figured in all but three of Liverpool's Barclays Premier League fixtures.

In total, the 23-year-old made 50 appearances for the Reds after heading into the campaign on the back of a glowing endorsement from the boss, who hailed him as our best player of pre-season.

In fact, only Dirk Kuyt, Pepe Reina and Jamie Carragher turned out for the first team more than Lucas during the term.

Arguably the highlight of a season of real progression for our No.21 came during Liverpool's 4-1 Europa League quarter-final, second-leg victory over Benfica at Anfield in April.

Lucas capped a man of the match performance with a superbly taken goal, in which he coolly rounded the goalkeeper and slotted into an empty net after collecting Steven Gerrard's through pass.

Emiliano Insua was runner-up in our poll with 20 per cent of the vote, while David Ngog and Ryan Babel were joint third with 11 per cent each.

Rafael Benitez believes the mental strength and character displayed by Lucas Leiva throughout 2009-10 makes the Brazilian a deserved recipient of Liverpool fans' Young Player of the Season award.

The Brazilian, who was a virtual ever-present for the Reds, scooped the accolade after collecting a 48 per cent of the supporters' vote in our online poll.

It signals a turnaround in fortunes for the 23-year-old, who overcame some early-season media criticism to establish himself as one of Liverpool's most consistent performers.

"Lucas is still a young player. He has been working very hard and doing a very good job this year for us," Benitez told Liverpoolfc.tv.

"I don't see too many players in the situation of Lucas, who have been criticised so hard, especially in the media and sometimes in the stadium.

"But still he was working hard, with confidence in games and trying to improve. He has shown his character and improved a lot."

Lucas missed just three of Liverpool's Barclays Premier League fixtures in 2009-10, and made 50 appearances overall - with only Dirk Kuyt, Jamie Carragher and Pepe Reina turning out more times for the Reds.

However, Benitez is convinced there is much more to come from the No.21.

"He is very good mentally and he likes to improve and compete," added the boss. "He likes a challenge and he has proved this over the season.

"I think he can still improve. He is a young player, knows what the tempo of the Premier League is like and is improving every day."

"He doesn't get the accolades he deserves from enough people within the game, but certainly our supporters know.

"They've seen the progress he's made, the determination, commitment and work rate in each and every game, and I think he's come on in leaps and bounds this season.

"I think he's improved most on the ball - he's got great skill on the ball. He's affecting the play more now with switching of play and penetrating passes. I think overall his possession and use of the ball has been superb this season."

He added: "I don't want to put pressure on anybody, certainly not youngsters, but the good thing about him is that it has been a season of progression, and that's all we ever ask of any of the players here - to look to improve and progress with each and every day's training session."

watch free Liverpool's Lucas Leiva compilation video here :

Pepe Reina Video Clip Best Saves - Liverpool's Player of the Season for 2009-10

2010-05-11T21:32:00.005+01:00

Pepe Reina was today crowned Liverpool's Player of the Season

Thousands of supporters took part in the poll - and a whopping 75 per cent chose our man between the sticks.

This was the season that Reina claimed his fourth Golden Gloves award, though he had to share the accolade with Chelsea's Petr Cech, who also kept 17 Barclays Premier League clean sheets.

The Spanish custodian proved himself a hero throughout 2009-10, from his stunning opening day save to deny Robbie Keane to a clutch of stops in our final home game against Chelsea.

Reina will perhaps remember October's trip to Sunderland as the time he was duped by a beach ball, but there was also a brilliant intervention to thwart Darren Bent.

An outstanding double save in front of Sky's cameras at Goodison Park in November was another highlight as the 27-year-old stumped both Tim Cahill and Marouane Fellaini.

While Reina was the runaway winner, Fernando Torres came second with nine per cent of the vote, followed by Javier Mascherano on four per cent.

Pepe Reina has thanked supporters who voted him as Liverpool's Player of the Season for 2009-10 – but then revealed why he hopes he doesn't retain the award next year.

The goalkeeper enhanced his reputation as one of the world's best after a season in which he was an ever-present for the Reds in the Barclays Premier League, making 52 appearances overall, and claimed his fourth Golden Glove, jointly winning the accolade with Chelsea's Petr Cech.

Reina was your clear winner in our poll, collecting 75 per cent of the vote to see off competition from the likes of Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano.

However, the Spaniard admits it is with mixed emotions that he accepts the honour.

"I feel a bit mixed because when a goalkeeper wins this kind of award, it's never a good thing," he explained to Liverpoolfc.tv.

"Thanks to the fans, and of course I am really proud to win, but let's hope next season a striker or midfielder will get the award.

"People recognise my job and it's always good to hear that, but as I say we have to try to turn the attention on the outfield players and make my job a bit easier next season."

Reina admits he's satisfied with the high standard of his form over the course of the season.

However, the custodian accepts Liverpool underperformed at times in a campaign that was littered by injuries to key players.

"I am happy with the things I have done, but not one of us can be happy because of the season we've had," he said.

"No matter what you do, it's about the team. All of us are really disappointed.

"It's been a hell of a year with injuries. Fernando, Stevie, Glen, the centre-backs - we've been in a lot of trouble with injuries, so it's always difficult to prepare for a season like that.

"But it's no excuse - we should have done better and we didn't."

Reina produced a number of memorable - and seemingly improbable - stops in 09-10, but it is an outstanding double save at Goodison Park in November he is most pleased with.

With the scoreline delicately poised at 1-0, the 27-year-old displayed remarkable agility to keep out a Tim Cahill header before getting back to his feet in the blink of an eye to thwart Marouane Fellaini's follow-up at point-blank range.

"Maybe it wasn't the best or the nicest, but it was an important moment and it is always nice to produce it in these kinds of games," he said.

Despite now being firmly established as one of the leading 'keepers in world football, Reina insists he is not prepared to rest on his laurels.

Asked which areas of his game he'd like to improve, the No.25 replied: "All. I have to try to be as complete as possible.

"That is why we work and try to improve every single day on the training ground. I am only 27 and there is still plenty of room to improve, so let's see if I can do it."

watch free video of Pepe Reina saves compilation 2005-2010 :

Liverpool's Gerrard Push Rival Fans

2010-05-11T08:45:00.000+01:00

FA to investigate incidents at Hull and Burton

Gerrard was surrounded by fans at the end of the game

The Football Association says it is looking into incidents of crowd disturbance and pitch invasions at two weekend matches.

Hull's Premier League match at home to Liverpool saw hundreds of fans rush on to the field at the final whistle.

A number surrounded Reds captain Steven Gerrard, who was seen to angrily push one away, while there were also minor skirmishes between the rival fans.

There was also a pitch invasion at the end of Burton's win over Grimsby.

The 3-0 victory relegated the Mariners to the Blue Square Premier.

The FA is in the process of studying reports from officials and match delegates at both games and will also request information from the clubs involved before deciding on their next course of action.

Crowd problems have marred the final week of the football season.

Riot police were forced to separate fans at Hillsborough last Sunday when a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace relegated Sheffield Wednesday to League One.

And there were violent clashes at Kenilworth Road after York's 1-0 win over Luton in the Blue Square Premier play-off semi-final.

Steven Gerrard has every reason to be an angry man. The England international has been a shadow of his former self this term and his distinctly average performances have been as uncharacteristic as they have been frequent. Can anyone guess what the Hull City fan said? Answers both amusing or accurate can be placed in the comment section for maximum effect. Thanks to the excellent Unprofessional Foul for bringing this to our attention.

At the end of Hull City’s nil-nil game against Liverpool Sunday, supporters ran on to the pitch but unfortunately there were no stewards to escort the players off the field. As a result, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was encircled by supporters and demonstrated his frustration by pushing one teen away (see above video).

Liverpool's Spirit of Shankly

2010-05-10T12:24:00.001+01:00

The Spirit Of Shankly was set up in January 2008, when 350 like-minded fans got together to discuss what we, as fans, can do to have a say in the matters that influence us all. Their primary and continual objective remains to rid this club of its two American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who since arriving at the club have placed unmanagable debts upon the club and made false promise after false promise.

Recently, I asked for you to put forward your questions and beneath are the answers that have been provided.

Veinticinco de Mayo - We'll start with what many people see as the most fundamental question. Why should I join SoS? You cannot get rid of the Americans and I don't see any benefits in it for me. What is the point of me giving you my ten quid?

Do SoS have any plans to meet with anyone else from the club in the near future? Is there any arrangement to meet up with Purslow again? I would be interested in the stories we are hearing about the Ticket Office moving into a town centre location wonder what implications that has for match day ticket collections etc.

Spirit Of Shankly - Firstly Kev, thanks for the opportunity to respond to the questions and also the support the Union receives from RAWK’s posters including the constructive criticism and ideas that emanate from it.

The question of why someone should join SOS requires an individual to jump back and consider a couple of questions themselves first. Do I consider that the supporter should have a greater say in our Club? And if so, what is the best way for fans to get a say?

Our answer to these questions is a resounding “yes” to the first, and the answer to the second is based upon the fact that SOS is currently best chance that fans have to join an organised group campaigning on the major issues that affect them – proper ownership, investment in the playing side, ticketing and the stadium redevelopment.

People marvel at the idea of the 12th Man, if we can turn the atmosphere of the 12th Man on the Kop to keep on moving forward together we can achieve so much more. As Shankly said “The socialism I believe in is everyone working for each other, everyone having a share of the rewards. It’s the way I see football, the way I see life.” If people look at what we have achieved with 4,500, then imagine what we could achieve with 10,000 members or even a whole lot more.

The other side is looking on the personal side of things, by looking at the cheap travel we offer, member offers, community coaching and more. People can take up the offer or they can also take part in them as well to help out with the cause and in things like the coaching help with their personal development as well with extra experience. To those who live outside of the city, there is still some of these benefits available to you as well and with the passing of the resolution to allow local branches at the last AGM it allows people

In terms of meeting with the Club we have not turned away from them. We have put questions to him via Ian Ayre (he acts as day to day liaison with us) but are yet to receive a response. The ball is in Purslow’s court to see if he considers it in the supporters’ best interests to have a dialogue with us.

The Ticket Office and Ticketing generally are major issues we have to deal with all the time. It has been announced that the Ticket Office is moving to the city centre but we do not consider that means we will see window sales in L1! Obviously this will have to be looked into further like all other similar issues are dealt with.

JohnBarnesBigToe - I believe it was agreed at the AGM to allow branches to be set up around the country. Are members to do this going to be actively sought out, or are they expected to generate interest in their local area themselves?

What's the SOS official stance on where ShareLFC is going (or not as the case may be) and whether it thinks they are still a viable entity?

Spirit Of Shankly - The opportunity for branches to be set up is now there. Tommy Keiner our Overseas Supporter Officer is making good progress in contacting groups of fans in different countries with a view to putting them in touch with each other. Currently we have had interest from Malta, USA, the Benelux countries and Croatia. We urge overseas members to contact Tommy (overseas@spiritofshankly.com) and UK and Ireland members to contact Peter Hooton (uksupporters@spiritofshankly.com) to liaise more with them about setting up a local branch and how to move forward. Once we have people who are willing to take the lead in their local vicinity then we can pass those details onto those in that area with that person’s permission to be able to take things to the next level.

We aim to facilitate the creation of branches and support them once created but our resources are such that large scale recruitment campaigns aren’t feasible.

On Share Liverpool, it is our ultimate aim to have fan ownership and because of this it is something that we will always be looking at and working on with any necessary groups like we have done previously with Share Liverpool. It is for Share Liverpool to say if they are still a viable entity.

greebo - On a similar theme: would it not be a good idea to use the energy and time expended protesting against the owners to try to find someone interested in buying the club?

Spirit Of Shankly - On the basis that Tom Hicks, George Gillett, David Moores, Rick Parry, Christian Purslow and a significant number of investment banks have failed over the last ten years on this point we are approaching the problem from a different angle.

Fan ownership is the most effective way we can see in terms of changing the ownership of the Club for the benefit of supporters. We do not have the resources to hawk a Club around that we do not own – it isn’t realistic or feasible for us to do so.

A supporters’ ownership scheme with momentum will attract commercial partners allowing the aim you’ve identified to be at least attempted.

Protests have a massive role to play in educating supporters to our predicament and marking the card of future owners that there is a vibrant, intelligent fan base that see any owners as trustees of a tradition rather than as a blatant investment vehicle.

They are also just one part of action that is needed. They enhance media presence and provide a way to keep on informing people of the situation at the club. It’s a way of saying we will not go away and has yielded great results with the management in the club being unable to ignore us. The momentum developed from this can work hand in hand with any other action we are implementing to ensure that the owners are held to account accordingly.

Joe Rogans Chin - Has any potential new owner of LFC been in touch with SOS?

Spirit Of Shankly - Over the time since the Union has existed there have been some approaches made by potential owners. People will remember DIC invited us to a meeting to discuss this issue specifically.

It is something we are continually looking at with the search for new investment ongoing and we will actively pursue these investors and the club to get answers to questions that our members and fans need to know about before they invest money in the club.

Fordy - What has been the overall reaction from the Billboard advertising? Has it got the results so far that you wanted?

Have you got anything lined up to do in the USA?

We have been really pleased with the Billboard advertising. It got national (and international) coverage on TV, radio and in the printed media. Although it was based in Liverpool the aim was to raise profile and to use the billboards to create news and therefore more profile whilst targeting a large local base in another form to be able to reach more people.

The picture of a billboard on a street in Liverpool resonated nationally and bought us more media exposure at a lower cost than a one page advertisement in a national paper.

The results were great exposure far beyond the Liverpool postcodes and in the weeks after it was launched we saw memberships increase by over 10%.
We are looking into the US for an extension of the campaign but we need to balance this against the cost and “billboard weariness”.

Also, this is where overseas members and the possibility of local branches can play a part in Spirit of Shankly’s action against Hicks and Gillett but them looking at these sort of possibilities and then liaising with the Management Committee to see if what they are proposing is feasible and affordable and then if it is we can work with them to drive things forward.

DangerScouse - Has there been any discussion on taking protests to the next level – that is, has there been any discussion about organising a potential boycott?

Spirit Of Shankly - The boycott suggestion is mentioned at least weekly on emails to the Union and on LFC websites.

There are two elements to a boycott of tickets for instance. Firstly, the level of support is not there to make a boycott effective. Non-season tickets will generally always sell out and there will be a queue of people behind a boycotter ready to take his or her ticket. Secondly, the Union would only advocate a boycott if it felt that it would have sufficient support to have an impact. The Union’s cause would be set back months if a boycott failed.

If there is an overwhelming support for a boycott by our membership then obviously we would have to take things further. This is where having more people join the Union would be useful for deciding within our membership about whether this is feasible and would be supported. We are always keen to listen to new ideas though to escalate things.

Any direct action ideas should be e-mailed to Kyle at directaction@spiritofshankly.com.

Shanks1965 - As an SOS member myself why do we think United have been able to galvanish seemingly the whole of their support behind getting rid of their owners in the space of a few days, whereas we by comparsion still seem to be the noisy minority of match going supporters?

Spirit Of Shankly - I’d challenge this idea of their support being “galvanised”. For some it is a passionate belief that their owners should go, for others it a fashion statement and shamefully for the “Red Knights”, it is a chance to use a grassroots campaign top further their own commercial agenda.

We have a membership who have literally bought in to what we are trying to achieve – they have an internet page where you click to support.

We have organised marches with upwards of 5000 matchgoers, they have Norwich City scarves over replica tops (oh, the irony).

What we have to accept is that as the darlings of the media their campaign has received more coverage than ours and more. Whether it is deserving of more is another question.

Its important to note as well that MUST have been going twelve years compared to our two years as well and they had kept quiet for the last 4 years. We have been picking up the column inches in the last 2 years only for their protest to come to the fore after the sale of Ronaldo, the publication of their accounts and now the national media’s coverage of a national issue with debt which wasn’t there at the same level before with more clubs problems also raised. We shouldn’t be spending our time though thinking they are doing this and that. Most importantly we need to concentrate on what we are doing and work together to achieve our aims.

kopite1 - Will the SOS be selling more merchandise around the ground, i.e. scarves, shirts, hats (no jester ones!) to generate added revenue?

Spirit Of Shankly - Yes, we have plans to extend the merchandise we currently have to support the money we need to campaign. A shop opening local to the ground has kindly agreed to stock our merchandise and our website is extending to accommodate online sales. When we are able to take things further the members will be informed.

It is something we have been looking to do for a while, but it is important to stress that we are volunteers doing this around full time jobs. Packaging and posting 100-200 t-shirts takes time, let alone with all the other things we have to work on. This is when if there were more members getting involved with various aspects of our work it would then free up more time to do more things like more merchandise.

BCCC - How does SOS aim to reach a wider audience to gain more members?

Spirit Of Shankly - To paraphrase someone “Education, Education, Education”. The membership will only grow once people recognise the problem, decide to do something about it and see SOS as a good way to get a greater say within their Club.

Leafleting, the billboards and our media campaigns plus the work we do to establish cheaper travel to games, ticketing issues and the work we do in the community hopefully underlines we are the best hope for fans to be heard by the Club.

The internet has been utilised much as well with over 22,000 fans on Facebook for Spirit of Shankly and over 2,000 on Twitter. This is another way of getting the message out to non members to hopefully increase membership.

Garstonite - Along similar lines to the question above, there seems to be an unfortunate perception that the SOS is tailored only towards local fans. Have you got any plans of getting overseas and other fans across the United Kingdom involved?

Have the SOS contemplated getting in touch with Tom Hicks and/or George Gillett in a more softer approach? Keep your friends close and all that? Or are all bridges burnt to a cinder?

Spirit Of Shankly - The recent branches proposal started to identify the problem that some fans fell exists about not being local. Interestingly we are represented in about 30 different countries and the proportion of “out of town” or overseas members is much higher than might be thought.

We continue to encourage membership from anywhere the only prerequisite being a commitment to the ideals of Liverpool Football Club and agreement to our short, medium and longer term objectives.

Its important that everyone knows that wherever they live that they can play a part. Whether its taking part in e-mail campaigns like done against RBS last summer or spreading the word amongst other Liverpool fans, or even possibly arranging a protest against the owners at their local supporters club. A group from Malaysia had printed off versions of our Red Card leaflet from Stoke City Game and held them up for many pictures during a gathering for the Bolton Game and also made some for cars. We have a global fanbase so there is no reason why we can’t take things worldwide with our action, but obviously this needs to be led by overseas members.

We would not turn away from dialogue with the owners – however I suspect that our views and theirs are so diametrically opposed that any dialogue would be futile. They won’t recognise the lies they have told nor the way in which they have considered this Club as a “franchise”.

If they honestly answered the question “What is best for LFC?” and then followed what the correct answer actually is then I could see how a dialogue might have some benefit.

Their lies and disdain mean they don’t consider that they are the worst thing to happen ownership wise to this Club in its history which in turn means we will continue to campaign until they are gone.

majestic_11 - Can you shed any more light on this story - ’Liverpool Fans Threaten RBS Over Loan Refinance’?

Spirit Of Shankly - This was a campaign run independently by a poster on “The Liverpool Way” forum. While the passion behind it was applauded by the Union it was not a Union campaign.

Walshy - Would SOS consider opening up membership rather than keeping it as a Union? Can I ask, what benefits having a being a union would give you/us, in relation to Man Utd's Green and Gold scheme?

Spirit Of Shankly - We consider the benefits and credibility of having a paid for membership outweighs the modern vogue for internet campaigns such as the one you’ve alluded to and upon which I’ve commented above. However, we expect to launch a junior membership (free of charge) during the coming months.

The Union isn’t driven about supplying benefits. It is driven by what YOU can do for your Club. We want people who are committed to our cause and I’m pleased to say we have that evidenced by those out leafleting and marching from all over the city, country and world trying to do what they can to save (and I mean save) our Club.

It’s the power that there is in a union which is key with the say members can have in the running of their union. As with the resolutions at the last AGM as well it shows we are always looking at ways to constantly improve the structure of the union for our members to be truly representative of them. Obviously we want people to join the Union to help us become stronger, but much in the same way as the green and gold campaign people can still support the ‘Not Welcome Here’ campaign by participating in any protests and with reference to this we are asking people to make banners to take into the ground to offer a visual presence using something that Liverpool fans are famous for.

danwms - Could SOS try and get ex players on board to get more of a media presence?

Spirit Of Shankly - This is also a regular matter raised with us. There is hardly a player of note we have not approached. The answer is for supporters to judge for themselves.

Ex-players see what we see.

Ex-players know better than we do the connection between team investment and success.

Ex-players presumably have this Club as their priority and are committed to its protection and success.

Many ex-players have commercial connections to the Club or media careers where boring finance stuff doesn’t sell papers, get listeners or viewers.

You figure it out.

To add to that though, in the same way that we would urge members to spread the word to their friends and family, members can spread the word to any ex-players or ‘celebrities’ they come in contact with either in every day life or getting the message across on phone ins and similar. We shouldn’t just wait for an ex-player to speak out to get more people on board, we have to go out and spread the word ourselves. The Union is only as strong as its members. As a paid up member, when I look around at the members around me at SOS events it makes me feel very proud to be a part of such an organisation and at what we have achieved. But we are Liverpool fans, so we always want more and we always want better, so we need to spread the word and become stronger in passion, ingenuity and numbers and then we will realise, to steal the Adidas tag line, that ‘Impossible is nothing’.

Thanks to the Spirit Of Shankly for taking out their time - as they have continually done so since its inception - to answer these questions. If you didn't have your question answered, or you've thought of something that you would like to bring up, there are plenty of avenues available for you to get your question answered either by the SOS representatives on this very forum, or if you have a questioned tailored towards a more specific area, then you can find the right person to answer it through this link HERE.

Just to add my tuppence worth. I doubt I am the only person that's interest in football has waned while the American owners have taken over this club. It's not that my love of it has gone, it's just that it would feel naive to cheer on a team who, as grim as it sounds, has the potential for such a grim future. As football fans, we should be able to concentrate on the football. But we can't. Because finishing second last year changed nothing. If we qualify for the CL and win the Europa League this season, it will change nothing. Whether such-and-such is fit to wear the shirt changes nothing. Just because we haven't plumetted into the depths of Leeds or Portsmouth doesn't mean we won't. It just means that NOW is the time to act.

Don't just sit back and watch the demise of our club happen without a fight. Don't admire what the Spirit of Shankly are trying to achieve from a distance. Join up, get involved. Because when this becomes a battle between the majority, rather than just the unsilent minority, then it becomes a battle Hicks and Gillett will realise they cannot win.

Quote from: Garstonite on May 6, 2010, 10:43:02 PM

Dunno why, but I felt the need for it say it.

What's stopping you?

http://www.spiritofshankly.com/join.html