Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

Get in there Stoke,take that fatty :pac:

Dub13 wrote: »

Yea it was a super night,I left the residents bar around 05:00 and Jan & Phil were still going strong.It was some turn out and Barry the MC was a super addition to these nights.

"On the first day of Christmas, Trapatoni said to me.
Fu€k off Andy Reid!"

Just picked this up from IK.
Thought it was a great touch.
A nice friendship developing between the two clubs.

Atletico fans sing "You'll Never Walk Alone" for Hillsborough.

http://www.clubatleticodemadrid.com/en//atleticoaldia/noticias.asp?id=3727

(Even if they did get the words a bit wrong.;))

astrofool wrote: »

Do you not see how this little comment renders your entire post as a biased rant?

Yes obviously I'm probably biased I'm a Liverpool fan I won't deny that I will tend to be looking at these things from a pro-Liverpool perspective, as every fan of every club would. However I consider myself a realist and try and look at things objectively - if there isn't grounds for an argument I won't argue it.


So, logically and objectively, whether Liverpool fan, United fan or Scunthorpe fan, what makes more sense for the Rafa shuffle? The explanation that I posted from the Irish Times (can't remember what their source was but I can find it if you want) or Fergy's explanation? Even coming from a bias United standpoint Fergy's explanation dosn't hold much ground. (I'm willing to be argued against on this but I can't see how it can be argued really, unless I'm missing something).

As for my comment on Rafa's rant - United conceded more penalties than usual after his comments, and received some pretty big decisions at Old Trafford against them that might not usually have gone against them (Vidic red against Liverpool for example.)

Now of course correlation is by no means the same as causation (that's why you will note I used the term 'might have'), and you are perfectly entitled to bring whatever supporter bias you may have to claim that this is a load of rubbish and that Rafa's rant had no bearing on these decisions. Much in the same way I claim it had nothing to do with our blip in form. And (in spite of my bias) much in the same way I will not claim that Ferguson's rant has anything to do with United losing the League if they happen to go on a bad run after this, although I'm sure many Liverpool fans will bring their bias towards the situation and gleefully say it did. As I said I think the 'mind games' thing is largely a media creation used to raise the stakes and make a good story, and that Ferguson calling Benitez 'arrogant', or Benitez saying that Ferguson intimidates referees is not going to effect what Kuyt might do in a one-on-one or how Ronaldo might strike a freekick, or whether Reina comes for a corner and misses the ball etc...

Therefore, yes my comment on Rafa's rant may be bias and can be argued against, but to suggest it renders the rest of my post a 'biased rant' is wrong. In my own bias opinion of course

kinaldo wrote: »

Anyone hear the story about Kenny Dalglish returning to Liverpool as Rafa's right hand man? If true I think this is a very good move.

How will Rafa be able to understand the Scottish accent though???

Kenny and Rafa are fairly close.
Supposedly Rafa suggested it to Kenny in a private meeting.
It's mainly as an advisor on youth development from what I hear.

Still amazing news however.

I think he should get a squad number.
No 7 is available!:P

~Rebel~ wrote: »

I really like what Rafa is doing with the club, a very nice blend of new and old developing. The new Spanish influence with the likes of Pellegrino and Xavi Valero coupled with the strong liverpudlian tradition of Sammy and Kenny.

I completely concur with this

Whatever happens this season, hasn't it been great? I can't stop laughing my man boobs off in the last couple of days. My Man Utd supporter mates even reckon Fergies fit for the nursing home. I reckon if we do win the league, a big ask at that, it may force old Fergie to call it a day.

Long life this Rafalution!

No, it's onions. definitely pay him in onions.

In follow up to Rebel's excellent observation about Rafa blending the past with the present to fulfill a hopefully successfuly future, i'd like to add my worth to the debate about Rafa.

As i have stated on previous occasions, i am completely 100% pro-Rafa. Yes, he makes mistakes, yes he makes decisions that i don't always agree with. But i will defend to the hilt his right to do that and to prove me wrong! Why?? Because like Loreal, he's worth it!!

When has Fergie ever been more obsessed with a Liverpool manager before Rafa came along?? I don't remember press conferences at Utd headquarters that were taken up by Fergie having a go at Souness, Evans and Houllier!! In fact, there have been times when he's quoted Liverpool as being dangerous towards his ambitions, but you know that when he makes statements of respect towards your club, he does not see you as a threat. Hence, the respect towards Moyes and Allardyce right now.

It's noticable that in the last four or five years, the Ferguson/Wenger feud has been non existent! That is because Arsenal haven't been a threat towards Utd, but just you wait for the headlines and the laughable 'mind games' in the run up to the Champions League semi final.

I'm now going to say something that i know some people will mock, but just like Clark Gable in Gone With The Wind, quite frankly, i don't give a damn. Here it comes..............i genuinely believe that Rafa is our version of Bill Shankly and in years to come, will be seen as just as important and vital!!

When Shankly took over, we were a run down club in the middle of the second division, going nowhere. He took the club from there to the pinnacle of the Football league, leading then to European success. His right hand man, Bob Paisley, who learned so much from Shanks went on to become our most successful manager ever!!

Now, i don't claim Rafa's reign to be the Big Bang, but it may well be the rising of the dead because you can be sure we were going nowhere under the last days of Houllier. I'll never slag off oul Ged because he reminded us what it was to be successful. If you put aside the league triumph of 89/90, the only trophies we won in the 90's was the F.A and League Cups The day we beat Everton in 2001 when MacLegend scored from thirty or so yards was the beginning of a magical period of matches kicking off in still daylight and continuing towards FA cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup glory while at the same time, qualifying for the Champions League in it's new structure for the first time

For whatever reason, we didn't kick on and in Ged's last season were going absolutely nowhere. So much so that i'm sure Steven Gerrard would have left that summer.

But then, Rafa came along!! League wise, in that first season we were awful, to the extent that Everton took our Champions League position (in typical fashion, they were shown up in not even being capable of qualifying for the competition proper!).

We won the Champions League in his first season (just your five times!!), won the F.A Cup in his second, breaking defensive records and since then, we've had Rafa signings breaking club records while also establishing ourselves as one of the elite (or top of the elite if you wanna go by current UEFA rankings) in Europe.

All along, he has shown a knowledge and respect towards the clubs history. Even his wife has been know to take a healthy interest in the club's backstory.

Now we have big bad Sam, who not only was moaning and whinging before the match last week about Rafa moaning and whinging all the time, is now moaning and whinging about a lack of respect by rafa after a gesture Rafa made that Fat Sam, who claims to have been banging Rafa's door down in a heroic bid to extract an explanation from the two time La Liga winner, one time Uefa Cup Winner, one time Champions league winner, One time F.A Cup Winner and one time Super Cup winner, thinks was directed towards himself despite Rafa looking at the players on the pitch.

Fat Sam seems to have a problem with foreign managers. (Maybe because they keep beating him, i don't know?!!!!). He never had a problem with buying foreign players to keep his team in the Premier League, but God forbid a foreign manager should take over a top club!!

Rafa obviously doesn't understand Liverpool Football Club! Only a British man can get to the heart of the club and comprehend what makes it tick, isn't that right Big Sam??!! (Although, when looking at the Hillsborough memorial service when the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, after thanking Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen and John Aldridge and the rest of the squad from 89 also thanked Rafa Benitez, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher from the current squad for doing the club proud and seeing the tears in Rafa's eyes and emotion on his face and that of his wife at the ceremony as well, the same wife who has given birth to Rafa's daughters who go to school on Merseyside and who are developing scouse accents, the meeting of fans in a Leverkusen pub, his statement in later times of those fans being his only judge and the trophies and pride he's brought back to the club and now, seemingly, being on the verge of bringing King Kenny back to the club, pretty much makes me sure he knows what makes the club tick).

Whick brings me nicely onto Fergie. I have to laugh when i look at the Utd thread. If Rafa had come out with what Fergie has come out with, i'd say things would have descended into........well, what happened in January. You know the one, the press conference when Rafa 'cracked up'. So much so that the Liverpool and Utd threads went into meltdown and Rafa cracking up threads had to be formed.

People said it was embarrassing. The fact he was even responding to Ferguson proved the game was up and the season was over. There was 'Mad Rafa' shouts and t-shirts created of the great one in a straight jacket. "He's cracking up" they sang, while also saying the fact he went to the trouble of researching Fergie's record and producing it on a sheet of paper as 'fhact' was embarrassing.

And yet the same people defend Fergie's antics im similar circumstances as being genius. They for some reason think that Rafa researching facts was embarrassing and yet, Fergie ringing Fat Sam to get him to collude in this character assassination of a top manager is acceptable and that the two of them having similar press conferences almost gives Fergie a degree in psychology.

Fergie last week is 'winning' his 'mind games' as he confesses his astonishment that Rafa would be talking about him before a big Champions League game for Liverpool, yet here he is a week later before a big F.A Cup semi final on a weekend when Liverpool aren't even playing talking about Rafa!
I bet Rafa never thought he was that important. :cool:

I'd love to hear the phone call between Whiskey Nose and Fat Sam:

WN: Och Aye, Sammy Boy. It's Alex here!!
FS: Sir Alex!!!! (Licks lips, senses a hard on rising in his pants), how are you?
WN: Nae bad, Sammy Boy. Nae bad ah all!!
FS: Did you get those gift vouchers i sent you, Sir Alex??
WN: I did, Sammy Boy. Much Appreciated!!
FS: Good. Good. So, what else can i do for you, Sir Alex??
WN: Well, yae know de way those scouse c*nts humiliated mae boys at Old Trafford weeks back?? That Rafa c*nt is gehin so much under mae nose, i cannae even smell ma own whiskae, Sammy boy! So i was thinking, did you see that gesture he made after da sicond goal against yer lot! Yae know the one, you conceded from man markin??
FS: Oh yeah, i remember well, Sir Alex. I don't understand how we conceded that one. We had every opposing player marked!! It's almost as if the system wasn't at fault, but the players implementing the system weren't quite doing their jobs at that particular time!!
WN: Christ Sammy boy, you dinnae half go on, Anyway, tell me summae, Wha time is yer press conference at?????????"
FS: Why are asking you that Sir Alex??
WN: Ock, Cos i got a wee plan i wannae put by yay!
FS: Well......anything you say, Sir Alex!! And please don't see this as a mark of disrespect or insubordinance, but have you not got an F.A Cup semi final against Moyesy to prepare for??
WN: Aye, dinnae be worrying boot Moyesy. I told him when i was retiring and i'd put a word in fer im! Anyways, i've no time ta be preperin for semi finals when this Benitez is trying to get the perch back!!