End of the season, not the end of the world
One of the worst seasons in Liverpool’s history off the field has now ended in pretty awful circumstances on it.
Liverpool’s last two league games make no difference to their position, which is stuck in fourth place as the team not quite up there with the top three, pretty much how it’s been for too long now.
One way or another the ownership situation needs to be resolved and Liverpool need to stop being in the headlines because of stupid spats and spin.
Liverpool went into this game knowing one goal from them would give them the confidence and sap Chelsea’s. Chelsea scored first in a first half that they’d dominated. But when Liverpool took over the second half and got an equaliser it looked like Liverpool could do it, could get a second goal and get through.
But it was Liverpool’s stuffing that got knocked out of them. Extra time came along and a Chelsea goal was disallowed, fairly, for offside. But seconds later Chelsea were in front. Hyypia brought down Ballack in the box, and with Frank Lampard on the field there weren’t going to be arguments between the German and Didier Drogba over who was going to take it. Lampard, still mourning his mother’s death sent Reina the wrong way.
Hyypia himself should have got a penalty. Replays showed him clearly brought down in the box, with the referee raising the whistle to mouth as if to award the penalty, before fulfilling Rafa’s prophecy about him being something of a homer.
When Drogba got his second it was all over. 3-1 on the night, 4-2 on aggregate, Liverpool couldn’t come back.
Ryan Babel’s goal three-and-a-half minutes from time raised faint hopes - at 4-3 a single goal from Liverpool would see them through - but Fernando Torres, scorer of Liverpool’s first, top scorer at the club in his first season, was on the bench.
The five minutes of stoppage time in the first game had ended with an own goal from Riise that made this tie have a different complexion to what it would have had, but there was no such length of time to be added onto any of the four halves played tonight.
A lot of fans were worried about trouble in Moscow had Liverpool got through to play there against their bitter rivals Manchester United, but none of those fans actually wanted their team not to get through. To picture “big ears” in the hands of Didier Drogba or Christiano Ronaldo isn’t something that sits easy in the mind in any way shape or form. Chelsea v Barcelona would have been far easier to watch.
Replays showed a player offside for Drogba’s opener, Sami Hyypia should have been given a penalty to make up for the one he gave away, but Liverpool know these things happen, they know they’ve got to find something to make up for nights where the referee and his officials make mistakes.
Bad luck played a part too in other ways. Martin Skrtel put a brilliant tackle in on Didier Drogba early in the game and didn’t recover. He was replaced by Hyypia, who wouldn’t have been on the pitch to give the penalty away otherwise. And using a sub early in the game limited Rafa’s options for tactical changes.
But Rafa’s choices with the options he had seemed strange to say the least.
With two subs left to make, and a need to score, Ryan Babel would have expected to be next on, but instead it was Jermaine Pennant, on for Yossi Benayoun who was one of Liverpool’s brightest players, and the provider of the Fernando Torres goal that finally broke that duck for Rafa’s sides at this ground.
It went to extra time, 1-1 the only score that could have made that happen, and Liverpool just needed one goal to surely put Chelsea out. At 2-1 to Liverpool Chelsea would have needed to score twice to knock the Reds out. Surely it was a good time to go for the jugular. But Rafa waited until Chelsea scored before making the change that everyone expected him to make well before the end of normal time. Or at least half of the change everyone expected.
Babel has pace, skill, and with 99 minutes less playing time on the night energy. Give him the ball, he causes chaos, and if he doesn’t score himself Torres is there to do it for him. Not from the bench he’s not.
Rafa may have a good reason for it, but injuries aside it’s difficult to work out what it was. None of the players tonight needed to worry about playing again for three weeks; they could give it their all and push themselves to the limits, anything to get us through. Instead none of our players now need worry about playing again - in a Liverpool shirt at least - until August.
The players worked hard and in the main played well. Carra had one of those European moments we love him for where he just throws everything into stopping an opponent score. Skrtel was doing well until that injury, and Hyypia, penalty apart, couldn’t be faulted. Arbeloa did as much as anyone could expect of him and Riise took a step or two towards making up for that gaffe last week.
Mascherano was immense as ever, and whether it was his outstanding display that made Alonso seem below par or not isn’t easy to see, not without looking back at the game again without the emotional mental blocks to seeing what really happened. And who wants to look back at the game again?
Dirk Kuyt worked hard, it would be cruel to fault him, and Yossi had a very good game, as he generally does for about half of the games he’s selected for. Torres kept going and going all night (until he was hooked off) and deserved that goal. Gerrard seemed to drift out of the game for long periods, but Gerrard drifting out of a game is still a very good player. Jermaine Pennant didn’t have the impact he’d had on Saturday; Babel’s time on the field was far too short to be enough. He was given 21 minutes out of 120 minutes, and scored after eighteen minutes of being on.
But to throw the book at Rafa now for some strange substitutions isn’t on. A summer of recriminations over why he did what he did isn’t fair. This man got us to the semi-finals and this man will get us to many more if he’s given the almost unconditional support from the fans and the board that he deserves.
Forget the ownership mess - for now, you’ll soon be hearing little else again - and think about what Rafa has done this season with the players he had.
They are good players. The best goalkeeper in league, arguably. Three central midfielders that most other top flight clubs would fight hard to get. A forward who turns the rest of Europe green.
Failure to find top-class out-and-out wide players means Rafa’s 4-2-3-1 formation could be described as a forced decision as much as a masterstroke. But it’s worked, on the whole, and unless Rafa wants to vary the tactics over the course of next season maybe there’s no need to go looking for elusive wingers any more.
And varying the tactics is something Rafa needs to think carefully about. The rotation policy is often criticised far more than it should be, but Rafa seemed to admit to himself after the FA Cup exit that it wasn’t needed quite as much as he’d always thought.
Rumours of key players falling out with Rafa have surfaced over and over again through the course of the season, but as with most of the rumours that have plagued this season may well have been exaggerated. If Rafa’s staying, as seems certain, those players need to think about their futures. If they can’t work under Rafa, they need to find new clubs, however much of a wrench it might be. We do not want to go into a new season with any more backstabbing underhanded double-dealing at our club. We’re better off with the money their sales would attract, and a chance to build a strong squad that’s in unison with each other and with the coaches.
And after struggling to get his own way for four years Rafa has to decide if he’s got the control he wants as we go into the new season. He deserves far more control than he’s had, in terms of how his budget is handled.
Up until now, Rafa has never really had a budget as such. He’s not had a net spending figure thrown at him, leaving him to decide who to hire or fire.
Give Rafa an annual budget to spend on all the staff he needs to do his job. One big figure that covers all of his staff - playing or coaching. If he wants a winger and a full-back, and he can’t get the winger’s price down low enough to help him afford the full-back he has in mind then it should be up to him to decide what to do. Find a different winger, or a different full-back. Or sell a squad player to help him get both.
If he wants to sack a coach, but pay him gardening leave so he doesn’t go elsewhere, that should be his choice. It’s his budget and his decision on whether stopping the coach going to a rival is more important than spending that bit of the wage bill on a replacement.
And talking of budgets, Rafa needs to be clear that he’s happy with what he’s given. He needs to ensure whoever is in charge is giving him as much of what he needs as they can. And then he needs to be sure he’s not going to be grumbling in November about a lack of funds.
We start the season with a manager who has clear targets, targets clear to the fans too, and a manager who feels he has no excuse not to reach them.
At first glance we’ve not made progress at all this season. We will finish one place lower in the league, and we finished one stage further back in Europe. But in fact we’ve got two points more than we finished last season with, and with two games to go. We’re currently eleven points from the top compared to a gap of 21 points last season. And in the Champions League going out 4-3 on aggregate in extra time at the semi-final stage is as close as it gets to going into the final after a penalty shoot-out.
There can be no complaints about the Champions League run. The frustration comes from looking at the league table. Eleven points off the top, and some of the stupid points we dropped. In fact take Saturday’s draw into consideration with us using a low-strength side and we could argue we would be nine points off the top had it mattered.
We have drawn 13 games out of the 36 played so far. Manchester United have actually lost one game more than we have. Chelsea and Arsenal have only lost one game less than us.
We dropped three points at Reading because with George Gillett planning to wait in Marseille ready to give Rafa the push the manager sacrificed the points. Gillett went to Marseille, but we won, and the owners’ plan went on permanent hold. That was the first league defeat of the season, and to give Reading some credit they may still have won even if Rafa hadn’t been distracted, but it has to be seen as points dropped. The next league game was at home to Manchester United and a lacklustre side lost a lacklustre game, two league defeats in a row.
A good win over Portsmouth was soon forgotten as Liverpool scraped a 2-1 win over Derby. Derby have been so bad this season that they might break Premier League records for it, and we nearly dropped two points, a 90th minute goal sparing our blushes. But how we blushed after that. We drew, in successive games, against Manchester City, Wigan, Middlesbrough and Villa. Then we lost against West Ham. That run of four draws and a defeat alone cost us 11 points - the gap from us to the top. (In the middle of all of this was the revelation in the Echo from Tom Hicks about Jurgen Klinsmann.)
The next game saw us go 57 minutes at 0-0 against a team in the relegation zone at that time, before three goals flattered us and disappointed Sunderland.
The next game was a draw, but for once it was at least acceptable, 0-0 against Chelsea. It was just after this we went out of the FA Cup and Rafa pretty much ended his rotation for the season. Seven wins in a row in the League and Champions League followed, broken only by that 3-0 defeat to Steve Bennett.
The results from mid-December to mid-February were awful, and ended our chances of challenging for the league. It’s only now that we can see how close we could have been.
Rather than point the blame in one direction, everyone needs to look back and think what part they played in the slump.
Whether it’s new owners learning from other people’s mistakes or new owners learning from their own mistakes we can’t have another situation like the one that burst out in November. If you want to sack the manager, make sure it’s for the right reasons. If you can’t be honest with supporters about your reasons for sacking him then you probably shouldn’t be sacking him. If you can be honest, and you feel it’s justified - just get it done.
Don’t allow factions to develop at the club at any level. It isn’t just the playing squad that needs to work well together as a team. Everyone’s entitled to an opinion and it’s healthier for the club if some opinions do differ, but disagreeing shouldn’t mean major fall-outs. If you aren’t acting for the good of the club then you probably should leave, and that applies from top to bottom. We shouldn’t have a situation where the two halves of the one vote don’t get along at all, to the point of not speaking, ever again. 50:50 ownership has to be an experiment consigned to the club museum’s “failure” display, next to joint managers and a long list of players that aren’t worth mentioning in an article about the current squad.
Rafa isn’t immune from criticism, but it should be constructive. People certainly shouldn’t be suggesting in mid-March that the December to February run was a deliberate ploy on Rafa’s part to somehow get what he wanted from the ownership mess. He’s not as innocent as we’d like to think, but he’s not that bad.
Season 2008-09 should be subtitled “No excuses”. There better not be any, or a need for any.
Whoever is in control of the club better be there because they want silverware as well as pieces of silver. Whoever is managing the club should be doing so because they believe they have given us realistic expectations, expectations they endeavour to smash. All the players should be behind their manager 100% - if not they shouldn’t be there.
As close as we got to a having a memorable season for the right reasons, as much as we managed to make a slight improvement in the league, as close as we came to another Champions League final, we have to remember that those ahead of us won’t be standing still this summer. Get the ownership mess fixed now and make sure we’re not left to fall behind.
As bad as it feels tonight we’ve got a hell of a lot to look forward to, or at least a hell of a lot to try and look forward to.
Thanks to Rafa and his men for giving us some good times in amongst the depressingly bad. And here’s to more good times to come.
I thought Rafa almost got it tactically right today.
He had three impact players on the bench - but the loss of Skrtel so early meant he couldn’t use them all.
Pennant got the nod early because he has shown he can get the better of A.Cole and had a wonderful game on Saturday.
Babel came on - instead of Crouch - because his pace was thought it could make a difference. It did and he scored.
Crounch would have been the icing on the cake but we’re only allowed 3 subs.
By the way, Torres had to go off, whether he was injured or not, because he was absolutely shattered. To me an understandable position.
For next season Rafa clearly has a few questions to resolve. One of which is where to play Stevie G. He’s built a great relationship with Torres but is this really his best position? Another is who is going and for how much……then who are we going to buy. I thought Xabi was a bit below par and that Riise, while he did reasonably ok, could have done more to shut down the cross for goal three (trying to call for offside was not enough).
In the meantime, there’s the real ‘Shit on a stick’ (forgive the language, btw) our Club’s ownership issue. What are we going to do about that? What is Hicks going to accept? Let’s hope this is resolved quickly as the club needs stability and soon.
Roll on next season.
Perfect mate, sums it all up
Well said my friend…..especially the part that other clubs are not gonna stand still….I think we need a quality wide player……who can score goals and dribble past people…….and we need to make these moves faster
Great summary Jim - Well done.
“One of the worst seasons in Liverpool’s history off the field” - totally agree. Only the owners can be blamed for that.
“Liverpool need to stop being in the headlines because of stupid spats and spin” - totally agree. Only the owners can be blamed for that.
Time for us fans to come together.
Jim you put the following point across - ‘Whoever is in control of the club better be there because they want silverware as well as pieces of silver’.
I can tell you now Dubai want silverware - Hicks wants silver pieces. We know in our hearts who is better for this club.
Spring clean time - Yanks out. Its the only way we can progress. You know it and I know it.
Rough times ahead (protests will intensify now i suspect) but we will come out of it a stronger club - of that I have no doubt.
YNWA
Just bloody get David Villa and Quaresma as we need top players now
Too drained to do much with it now but thought you might find this an interesting read.
http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/30/valuable-soccer-teams-biz-soccer08-cx_jg_pm_0430soccer_land.html
It’s the Forbes list of “The Most Valuable Soccer Teams” and has LFC in fourth, behind Man U, Real Madrid and Arsenal. That’s “value without debt”, ours being $1050m dollars in their eyes.
Says the values were converted to dollars using June 30th 2007 exchange rates whatever they were.
Our value has risen the most out of the top 25 (131% in 12 months). We’ve got the second highest ratio of debt/value (65%), slightly above both Manchester teams, but way behind Valencia on 159%. They’ve clearly borrowed a lot of money for lampshades and sofas.
I counted 10 English team in that top 25, the most of any nation, showing why the Premier League is attracting so many investors.
There’s loads more info on there I think, so plenty to chew on instead of looking at photos of Stamford Bridge.
I may have got some of the above figures wrong btw - E&OE!
Jim, so of the top teams in Europe we have the 2nd highest debt to value ratio before we even borrow for the stadium - that is a shocking position to be in. We are only in that position because we are paying for our own take over.
Once we borrow for the stadium we will be in £700m in debt. (estimate). Our value will rise to the level of Arsenal - £600m? Arsenal have the highest stadium revenue in the world so fair comparison I feel. (My assumption is that we will match their revenue on match day - Plus higher capacity minus lower prices equals even) Is that fair??
Therefore, if we say our value post stadium rises to that we have a debt to value ratio of £700m/£600m (debt/value) or 116%.
Hardly progress and a very precarious position for us to be in. In fact we are on a knife edge.
We all know. Our only hope is to rid the club of the lying bastard Yanks.
Share Liverpool FC - No.1
Dubai No. 2
Gillett/Hicks - Nowhere
Now that the seasons over we can all look back at the shambles that happend. A season that promised so much but you could say delivered very little, the Champions League once again glossing over the cracks in Liverpool FC. We may have made it to the Semi’s again but we should not look at this season as being a success. The people who divvy up the money will see it as a success, but as fans we are left eating the dust kicked up by the Mancs title challenge. I agree with you Jim during the summer whoever is in charge should get their house in order, and if we can put all the energy that we have wasted on the stupid nonsense that has been in the press over the last few months and channel it into events on the pitch, then next season would be a very fruitfull season.
COME ON CHAVSKI!
CHAVSKI CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE!
Well said mate…I hope the sheikh has sole control of the takeover…get the yank(s) out…They don’t know about the tradition & history of LFC or English football…I still think Jermaine Pennant can do the biz as he is a Liverpool fan, but it all boil’s down to who doe’s well in training..Rafa’s policy is whoever doe’s well in training then they’re in the squad for the next game..What’s happening with our reserve’s…we’ve all seen a handfull playing in the first team so are they just there for fun or are they worthy of even a place on the first team bench…? I’m sure there must be a decent winger in our reserve’s or are we just wasting good money after bad..?? Michael Owen was in the first team at the age of 17 so if we have experienced people looking out for young talent for our beloved team then why the hell are they bringing them in just to be in the reserve’s…? Surely there must be A winger in the reserve’s…? Do we really have to spend MILLIONS just to replenish our first team for the sake of A winger…? Come on Rafa…I thought you may have been as shrewd & clever as Arsene Wenger….This is a bit like Jackonory…Get’s a bit boring season in season out…Make’s you wonder whether LFC really want the premiership…Dont forget..it’s fan’s like you & I that get the crap not the player’s or the people that run the club…..kind regard’s people… LET’S HOPE CHELSEA DO THE DOUBLE OVER THE SCUM…THEN WE CAN HAVE A GREAT SUMMER……YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE…..BILL SHANKLY…THEY THREW THE MOULD AWAY….
It was such a relief to be thinking just about football
tonight, even if the result didn’t go our way.
You’re right about the off-field stuff Jim, it’s corrosive,
negative and distracts from the little things that aren’t
quite right with the team.
As far as I know, Rafa didn’t elaborate on what he
thought the difference was tonight, although he ruled out
blaming the ref..
Rafa made mistakes. Why cant we point that out, why cant we highlight that. Another season of winning nothing.
Babel should have replaced Yossi not Pennant. And when its a goal or nothing situation to take Torres off is just beyond belief. And Crouch for the last 15 would have made sense.
Risse was responsible for another goal, at least this time he didnt score it.
What was he doing, keeping Torres fresh for our next league game. His decisions again were crazy. Torres scores goals. Its simple.
If he was injured fair enough, he cant be tired, heshad long enough to rest and hes still young.
Madness Mr Benitez, madness. I will no doubt get slated for this negative take on things but its time for some honesty. Were his decisions the right ones? Are we going to Moscow? I think you’ll find the answers NO to both.
Torres had a hamstring problem according to Rafa, which would explain the otherwise hard to explain decision, alongside MR’s comment he was tired.
Riise should never play for our club again, his positionig for the first goal was shite, he is useless going forward, A tired torres is more of a goal threat than a fully refreshed kuyt anyday, who cares if he is tired he jogged off he wasnt completely shattered and did have to play again for 3 weeks. I think this unwavering support for rafa needs to come to an end. he has done great things with this club but his decisions have made us lose out on a lot too. including what would have been the greatest ever of vistories over the scum in moscow. the off the field shit didnt help of course but it cant be used as an excuse, if frank lampard can play the week his mother died and have the balls to take that pen and have a decent game then our lads can play through the boardroom shite.
Changes need to be made and we need stevie G in the middle to dictate what happens, alonso has not played well in a long time and needs to go too
Jim you wrote:
It’s the Forbes list of “The Most Valuable Soccer Teams” and has LFC in fourth, behind Man U, Real Madrid and Arsenal. That’s “value without debt”, ours being $1050m dollars in their eyes.
Says the values were converted to dollars using June 30th 2007 exchange rates whatever they were.
Our value has risen the most out of the top 25 (131% in 12 months). We’ve got the second highest ratio of debt/value (65%), slightly above both Manchester teams, but way behind Valencia on 159%. They’ve clearly borrowed a lot of money for lampshades and sofas.”
Does this point to whether Rick Parry’s time as CEO has been a success or failure?
Given that LFC’s ‘value has risen the most’ - is that down to Mr. Parry or someone else?
Given that we’ve got the ’second highest ratio of debt/value slightly above both Manchester teams’ - is that down to Mr. Parry or someone else?
I haven’t read your whole article yet Jim but I disagree with your criticism of Rafa’s tactics. I’m happy to say why but its irrelevant really. Because the reason we are not in the final is because we conceded 3 goals. That’s it. You can’t really expect to concede 3 goals at Stamford Bridge and still go through.
Time and again this season it has been our inability to defend adequately that’s cost us. All those draws when with better defence we might have won. The Mancs nicking a goal against us and us tearing our hair out in hatred and frustration. Yeah the defensive record is pretty good overall when you look at the stats, but if we’re going to bridge the gap with the other three, its in defence we’ve got to improve. And with all due respect to the lad, somehow I don’t think Philipp Degen is going to be the answer either.
Top quality full backs are required, at least one. Riise hasn’t had a good season, and unless there’s a sharp upturn, he’s just not good enough to be first 11 any more. Finnan is getting a bit old. I think Aurelio has improved a lot this season, but he’s hardly what you’d call a world class full back. Arbeloa, again, does a job but not world class.
We also need a winger too of course. We tried to go through the middle far too often I thought, especially in the first half (when we tended to promptly give the ball away). But what was the score when Skrtel went off? 0-0? What was it when Aurelio went off in the first leg? 1-0 to us? Lack of depth with quality defenders ultimately cost us the tie, not bad luck, bad decisions or any of that rubbish.
By the way, I’m not having a go at Sami here, he’s come on and done a great job for us, and has all season when he’s been called upon. Respect to the guy, he’s a legend.
So right now I’m less interested in these glamour signings like Aguero, Villa, Rodriguez etc. I want to hear about the likes of Rafinha, Lahm, Richards. Let’s break the bank for Alves. I’ve no idea who’s available but if we don’t get a world class full back in this summer, I reckon we’ll be whinging as usual about being out the title race by Christmas.
Bitterly disappointed as we all are, and a bit of a hangover as well following last night’s binge drinking to try and wipe out memories of, among other things, John Arne’s own-goal which made all the difference at the end of the day. Disagree with some of the friends (including Jim) who criticize Rafa’s changes yesterday night. Crouch would have been no good in a match like that where speed is everything, Pennant was a good replacement because he has been on fire recently, and Rafa apparently implies that Torries was slightly injured. Also disagree with the view that a lot of money needn’t be splashed over the summer to contend for the title. We are still dwarfs transfer-wise when we compare our in-depth strength to the Mancs’ or Chelski’s. Sorry, but Crouch is no adequate substitute for Fernando, nor is ageing Hyppia for magnificent Skrtel nor, say, Lucas for Mascherano (when the latter is unavailable, though Lucas is no doubt a player for the future). A fellow in The Times suggested yesterday that even the kitman would do ok instead of this clown Grant as Chelsea coach. Were Rafa given just one fourth of the amounts lavished by Abramovich on Fulham Road, we’d be well-nigh unbeatable. C’mon, my friends, the future is bright, I can hear the lark singing already. When the Yanks have gone, only the (Dubai) sky will be the limit. And hail to the kitman who’s going to take Chelsea to the double!
Jim good article and agree with most of the points you make.
I would add that for most of the season we have not had been able to field our first choice back-four.
Daniel Agger has been out most of the season (and he is the player we have missed most out of anyone else). Aurelio has been unlucky with injury whenever he has just about hit top form.
I hate to say it but Carragher’s performances are in decline. He is always playing catch up and therefore appears to have positional defect in performances. The last ditch tackles make him look good but such a situation should not arise in the first place. Does not mean to say he should go!! (God forbid for thinking such thought). He will have to settle for Right Back when we have both Skertl and Agger fit and playing.
The players that I think need to go are (in no particular order): Riise, Alonso (if we sign Barry), Kuyt (as opposed to Crouch), Pennant, Finnan, Carson, Voronin, etc.
We do need a more creative Midfielder if Gerrard is going to be kept in his existing position. Otherwise a second striker to complement Torres.
I don’t want to dwell on last night’s match but over the 215mins we were the better team but the goal tally did not match our endeavours. Sometimes a team is just destined to win however way possible (which we only know so well).
Better it is Avram Grant than Maureen winning. I don’t we should have any shame in losing to Chelsea. Whatever they achieve, it will always be down to the money they have spent buying all the mercenaries. Compare the transfer fees paid for the starting teams yesterday.
The final will between two teams who have bought success recently. Man U are just as bad as Chelsea in the expensively assembled squads they both have.
Also, much as I would have liked to have had Liverpool in the final, can you imagine the torment that have been heaped upon us if (big if) Man Utd beat us?
On to the positives!
We have progressed regardless of last night. The core of the team has strengthened and developed over the season and they will get better next season.
One or two of the reserve players will be ready to joing the first team squad…Insua, Plessis, Anderson….Nemeth!!!! So its not all doom and gloom.
We have not been that far off to where we need to be and as many have identified..if more of those draws were turned to 3 pointers then we would be singing a different song (metaphorically speaking of course)!
Finally, at least the resolution of the ownership issue will now be the main agenda. The sooner this is resolved the better and if it is going to be Hicks alone…then so be it…better than the two ugly sisters fighting over for the next 12 months or so.
As if to emphasise my points….just read Paul Tomkin’s article.
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N159780080430-2309.htm
Honestly - I was not copying his ideas!
@midlands-red: “Does this point to whether Rick Parry’s time as CEO has been a success or failure?
Given that LFC’s ‘value has risen the most’ - is that down to Mr. Parry or someone else?
Given that we’ve got the ’second highest ratio of debt/value slightly above both Manchester teams’ - is that down to Mr. Parry or someone else?”
I don’t think the value of the club rising in 12 months points to anything really as far as Rick Parry’s concerned. I wasn’t commenting at all if any of the figures were good or bad, worrying or encouraging, just saying “here they are”!
Is it good or bad that our value has risen? The rise surely must be because of the money that has gone into the club (courtesy of RBS before anyone assumes I mean anything else). Parry was CEO when the takover was sanctioned, so I suppose he can be blamed/praised for his part in letting Hicks and Gillett use nearly £300m of borrowed money to buy the club. If we’re $700m in debt, does that make us worth $300m when you take the debt into account?
@Hop: I know what you mean about the defence. But even the best defences in the world (bites lip) are going to struggle against a fired-up Drogba and one of the most expensive sides in the world. So I think it’s maybe a bit harsh to go overboard on it for last night.
But overall we have lacked discipline and organisation at the back all season. As someone else says we’ve not had a settled back four, after it being for three years just about the only part of Rafa’s team that was rarely rotated. I wasn’t impressed at the idea of Martin Skrtel when I read about his performance against Everton, or his first appearance for us, but he’s gone on to prove Rafa right. But £6m or so buys you more quality than a freebie, even if you take into account that there’s no such thing in life as a free Bosman.
The full-backs you mention are now at a level of being good squad players, stand-ins for the main full backs. Finnan’s been an unsung hero for years but he’s not quite there any more. The other three are players we should be calling up because of injuries and the odd bit of rotation.
We don’t know what kind of money, if any, we’ll have to spend, or if the money will come along too late for the targets it would have got us, so let’s hope Rafa’s trying to prioritise what he’s got.
@Pierre: I wrote that without listening to any post-match quotes. If Torres wasn’t injured I didn’t see a reason to bring him off. But he was injured, and as MR pointed out perhaps tiredness would have been a factor anyway.
As far as money’s concerned we don’t know what we’ll get, and I think we’re far closer than we give ourselves credit for. Yes, $100m in one summer would be a great boost, but if we’ve not got that kind of money it still doesn’t write us off in my view. The problem comes in getting players of the level of Torres who a) we can afford and b) would be happy to spend at best half a season on the pitch.
We might not get anything like $100m to spend this summer, even if Dubai do take over. If they’ve got that kind of money to spare in their budget then they could decide to give most of it to Hicks to persuade him to leave. So let’s try and be prepared for a “normal” summer budget, just in case!
@raju: Pretty much agree with all that!
Hi Jim
‘Going overboard’ on the defence wasn’t my intention. My point is you don’t often come out on top when you concede 3 goals (Istanbul excepted), whatever other explanations or excuses are offered for why we went out.
I enjoyed the game, I haven’t got any particular criticism of the team or the manager. But I do think we’ll improve most by signing a top class full back over the summer!
@Hop: I didn’t think you were overboard about the defence, but I do think it’s been a bit of an issue this season.
Yossi was a surprise last night, but otherwise we all now know what Rafa considers his first choice side to be in most positions except the back four. At centre-back we can hazard a guess at Skrtel and Agger, although Carra may still have something to say about that. But at full back he’s not really got anyone he can say would be an automatic starter.
The priority has to be getting a first-choice 11 that we’d be glad to put in front of anyone.
But of course we still need quality on hand to step in should any of the 11 not be available.
Look at the goalkeeping situation - Pepe will start every game, but I’ve had nightmares about him getting an injury or a suspension and for us to have to use Itandje. We need a good-quality experienced keeper who can step in despite having little match practice.
You know what? We might have a lot of squad players but a serious injury to any one of several of our first 11 would really hurt us a lot. It’s terrifying.
Anyway, don’t know if you’ve seen this. Just a little snippet I came across that suggests our friend Tom has no plans to say cheerio any time soon.
http://www.prweek.com/uk/sectors/voluntary/article/806303/front-page-liverpool-owner-brings-freud/
@Hop: I’ve always been critical personally when I’ve seen other sides blow their budgets on one player, when that one player could get a serious injury five minutes into his debut. But I see the merits now of why that might be the better risk compared to getting two players obviously of much lower quality just so you’ve got cover. I saw Man United do it with the likes of Rooney and Ferdinand but it paid off for them. It turns out Cisse wasn’t the £14m player we thought he was, but even so he was missing for most of his first season here.
It’s a tough choice, a risk, but unless there is stupid money coming our way then it’s one we might have to take.
In terms of the PR Week article, this was being spoken about a couple of weeks back, and in fact also made it into the Daily Mail - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/columnists/columnists.html?in_article_id=560381&in_page_id=1951&in_author_id=345
A lot can change in two weeks!
I think the critisism of Carra is a low blow, Carra played a blinder last night did nothing wrong. I thought that Liverpool looked sound in midfield with Alonso, Mascherano and Stevie G. Where I think we lacked was in the places where Yossi and Pennant played. You can see the difference in quality between Yossi and Stevie. There was a few situations where Yossi could have played through some lovely balls into dangerous areas to put players into good attacking positions, but Yossi’s football brain and his skill are the equivalent to a Spectrum 48K to Stevies modern Super Computer, the same can also be said for Pennant. To support my claims I will point out the lack of work that Chec had to do at certain points and also the amount of time we gave the ball away. Liverpool have got to many second rate squad members who are unable to win a game for Liverpool. We only have Torres, Stevie,Carra and Babel will also be at some future point. Manc U have Rooney, Ronald, Teves, Ferdinand, Scholes and Giggs, we simlpy have to stop buying second choice squad players.
The Champion league run has once again glossed over the cracks that we did not challenge for the title and once again we are eating the dust kicked up by the Mancs campaign.
After watching that, i am so proud of what we have achieved.
Over the two legs things just didn’t go our way, which you have to take in football.
It’s hard to admit but i want Chelsea to do the double now.
I see Cantos felt he should criticise Rafa, well…hindsight is a wonderful thing isn’t it? Rafa got his tactics right over the two legs i thought, we just didn’t get that luck.
It’s a point aswell to say that not many teams score twice at Chelsea, and at least we won’t have to hear that ridiculous stat of us not scoring at Stamford Bridge under Rafa (until last night we never needed to).
11 points off the top is not bad considering the terrible events off the field this season. Remember that the worst results all came around ‘Klinsmanngate’, which is no coincidence.
We’ve scored more goals than anyone this season in all competitions, but obviously United are still the ‘goal machines’, that always bemuses me. So, feel we need to address the fullback situation. Aurelio has done well, but he’s lightweight at times and lacks the killer touch, Arbeloa and Finnan are excellent, reliable defenders that will run all day, but we need fullbacks who are going to chip in with some assists.
Also, has anyone noticed that when Lampard scored the penalty, the commentator on Sky (i forget his name) ‘celebrated’ and said something along the lines of “Lampard sends Chelsea through to Moscow! How he deserves it!” which was a bit premature considering there was still 24 minutes to go, but if you watch the replays on Sky and the highlights….they’ve edited that out. Haha.
Another thing, it amazes me how Andy Gray is still allowed to cover Liverpool games, he’s terribly biased. I can’t stand that man, he was devastated when Essien’s goal was disallowed.
It will make me sick if United win the league OR Champions League.
My comment is really mashed but i’ve got too many things i want to say!
Very good article Jim. Next season I want to see us in the title hunt with 2 games to go!
Jim/Hop - By the sounds of it we are going to be in for a long summer of all talk and very little action. This may very well affect our summer spending.
Anthony,
i am not the first to criticise Carragher and will not be the last. He is afforded extra leeway purely for being a local lad. He did not play a blinder. Yossi has an excellent football brain. Rafa bought becuase of his ability to make a difference in these sorts of games. Lest we forget how well he carried his previous teams in past seasons. Pennant was asked to play in an unfamilar formation. My view is that these players do not become second rate players overnight.
Re: Steven Gerrard. He has not played well in the last three CL ties imho. But i suppose we will continue to disagree (as we have previously done so on other issues).
St. Chris. I agree with you on the Sky/Gray issue. But it helps if they are on mute…BBC Radio Five live commentary is much more tolerable.
@ST. Chris: Don’t get me started on Sky! This morning the Sky magazine arrived through the post, impeccable timing, with Mancs on the cover of the Sky Sports bit, and Mancs on the back of the letter it gets sent with, all talking about Moscow and “Finals month”, and on its extremely swift journey to somewhere out of sight I didn’t see anything to suggest any other teams might be involved! They didn’t even know if the Mancs would be in the final when that was printed.
We’ve learned - or I hope we’ve learned - a hell of a lot this season in so many different ways. As long as Rafa is in charge next season I’ve got high hopes.
Regards criticism…
Criticism is ok, if it’s constructive, if it’s trying to be helpful. I can’t stand the critics of Rafa that come out of the woodwork with venom at every dropped point only to hide when we’re on a winning run. My worry about criticism of Rafa is that those particular individuals will spend the whole summer having a go at Rafa, getting stronger and stronger in their condemnation if anyone disagrees.
Nobody’s perfect, and I genuinely think Rafa is capable of taking constructive criticism on board. I don’t think he’s too arrogant to assume everyone else must be wrong, and if he does listen to phone-ins or read websites I’m sure he’ll ignore the rants, but listen carefully to the more considered criticism. I don’t mean he’d be swayed by what he reads on a forum, but that anything he heard that made sense to him, that maybe just hadn’t occured to him before, would go into that cunning mind of his for processing.
@Anthony Fakir / raju: As with Rafa, there’s no harm in constructive criticism of Carra. We can debate if it’s happened yet or not, but there will one day be a time when Carra can’t play at this level. I won’t hear a bad word said against Kenny Dalglish, but I will say he’d not be good enough to play for us now at his age. (I think I’ve just set someone up for a Voronin quip there!)
If Carra heard it, he’d have a long hard look at himself and a good think about whether or not he agreed, and whether he thought he could put things right. I actually think that Skrtel and Agger will be our best two centre-backs going into next season, if fit, but I wouldn’t put money on it ending that way. And I’d really hate to see Carra playing for anyone else.
Raju- If Rafa had the same budget as Fergie then do you believe that Rafa would have bought Yossi. I do like Yossi but he is a little light weight. If someone of the calibre of Stevie was in his position he would not have kept hold for of the ball for so long and passed it in a negative direction for the ball to be lost, he would have played a nice little through ball. Liverpool never done anything in the last third of the pitch last night. Pennant only came to Liverpool because Rafa couldn’t get Alves. Liverpool where only prepared to pay 10 million for him and the Sevilla said that you can have him for 12 million, so the deal never went through. 12 months later if you want buy Alves you are looking at 20 million plus. Drogba is a very fast player so it possibly clouded your judgement of Carra, practically all of the defenders if the Premier league would have been done by Drogba. At the Anfield game Carra had Drogba in his back pocket. Last night Carra kept Drogba on a leash it was the other defenders where the leaks where. Sorry Raju but its not a local thing he is top draw. By the way Andy Grey is a Gobshite, I listen to the match on the Radio with Aldo commentating while watching the game on TV so I don’t have to put up with the arse hole who calls himself Andy Grey.
Well done lads. I’m proud of the effort you’ve given through a turbulent season mainly down to the FAT TEXAN! But competing amongst the best teams in Europe is what its all about. HOWEVER under the rule of the arguing yanks we’re in for a quiet summer in the market with a little tinkering but nothing thats going to push us closer to the title. Until they are gone and the cancer cut from our club, we will fester challenging only for 3rd and 4th. Liverpool Football Club has a unique spirit that has been severely damaged this year. Now the seasons over and we’ve given the lads 100% support over the past weeks, its time for somekind of show of unity of the fans against Hicks at the Man City game.
Lets Get them out before they fleece the club of every cent they can.
Jim - You are all calling Cara but I do not see where your complaints are with him. He’s not over the hill yet next season maybe, he did not put a foot wrong last night. He stood firm to Drogba who had a fire in his belly whilste the other defenders crumbled.
How can anyone say that carra is not good enough to be in our team, he is liverpool through and through, the heart he plays with is not anything you can buy, he may not be the fastes but he takes charge of situations and his constant talking and shouting is a welcome change to the emotional emptiness a lot of other playes show such a babel who looks like he couldnt care less who he is playing one they pay him. carra has at least, very least on more season left at the top level, and even after that i would just move him to right full, he is defo a better right full than anyone at the club now. he played very well last night and if not for that shite bag riise drogba wouldnt have got those goals, he was nowhere for the first one and tried to defend the second one by putting his hand in the air, thi steam needs more jamie carraghers
Anthony,
Just briefly, my judgement was not based on just last night’s game, so it is not so clouded like an English summer.
I think it is local based…there is no shame in this as we all want/have a natural afinity to local based players as opposed to those purchased from another club. But anyway, I think its best not dwell on this issue as it will morph itself into a totally inappropriate debate because JC has been just a magnificient servant to the club and God knows where we would be without him in our team.
I suppose it boils down to whether you want your defending to be seen to be good or just be good without the last mini-second tackles.
Given the choice…I know who my first choice centre backs are for next season and unfortunately they do not include JC or SH. Call it a changing of the guard…a bit like when JC replaced Henchoz.
Re: the second choice transfers - I agree, unfortunately we have had too many of these (either through necessity or not).
Is it not just so refreshing to talking about football matters for once?
Our season, for me, has unfolded into 4 parts.
We started ok - upto and including the Newcastle game, although in Europe we were struggling.
We faltered in the 2nd stage - during/post-Rafa’s knowledge of what was going on behind the scenes, although we got our results together in the Champions League.
We picked up in the 3rd stage - pulling together a signficant league run and progression in the CL.
Now we’re in the 4th stage - out of the CL (with credit), secured 4th spot (taken for granted but had to be achieved) and looking how this season rolls into next season.
Ok - we won nothing but we’ve shown a new dimension to our play with less reliance on Stevie, goals from Torres and invention and something different from Babel. We’ve also got the energy of Mascherano (who’s surges beyond the frontline often go un-noticed. Let’s hope he scores more goals next year!), and the doggedness of Skrtl and Carragher and intuition and instincts of Reina in goal. So what else do we need?
What caught my eye or rather my ears before the game was Drogba’s comment that ‘for sure Liverpool have got more going forward in Torres but defensively we weren’t as strong as before’. He proved to be right - although some of that was down to his excellence.
So defence for me is where the next steps to fulfilling our greatness needs to be tackled. We missed Agger signficantly. He links up play so beautifully. We miss an attacking and dogged full-back or two. I remember Riise digging in and getting us goals by himself or as assists. His game has sunk for me. I do wonder if it all went wrong when he heard Heinze was coming and didn’t! Aurelio is good but has problems with his fitness. I wouldn’t jettison him just yet. Also, I’m liking the looking of Insua. I think Arbeloa is good for us because he covers so much ground - though he could do with concentrating a little more. A top-draw right back would be great. But names I’ve seen mentioned on here are being mentioned by others with stability and cash at boardroom level……..but of course, we don’t have that.
Sort the boardroom then we can dream about Rafa being happy and the club bringing in the players to support his vision.
Apologies for the rant but I so hope the club can pull together this month or two so we can move-on.
@Dave10
I am not saying Carra is not good enough for the team. Far from it, i don’t just think he is as strong and as good as our other two recent purchases, and therefore he may find himself at RB quite alot next season injuries permitting.
No porn links please - Jim.
Raju - Carra playing at right back might save Rafa some money. Also Agger will be back next season so that will be like havaing a new singing. I think that Skrytle is a fantastic player.
Jim will say, ‘Nothing new in this article’, or ‘More PR’ from DIC’. Nevertheless, here it is:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/05/01/sfndic101.xml
‘More PR from DIC’, Jim will say:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/05/01/sfndic101.xml
Tom Hicks is going to need a lot more that a good PR company. Liverpool fans are not fools - we judge people on their actions. Hicks / Gillett have been a disgrace as owners. Words aren’t strong enough to describe what a calamity their reign has been.
If Hicks really wants to win us over he needs to bring a bit of dignity back to the role of owner. Respect the fans, respect the club, respect the employees, respect his colleagues and respect our traditions. All of this has been lacking from Hicks so far. He is horrible person not suited to this great club. And all the PR in the world won’t change that. We want actions and we demand respect.
Third attempt to send the fans this link (nothing new about Dubai, but comforting for believers), hope it goes through this time:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/05/01/sfndic101.xml
@Anthony Fakir / dave10: I’m not saying he’s not good enough for our team - but I think Agger and Skrtel are likely to be our main centre-backs next season. Carra’s had a couple of dodgy moments this season, out of character, and not worth launching any kind of attack on him. Most of these were in the bad run post-Christmas. And he’s had to play alongside Hyypia this season, which again isn’t an attack on Hyypia, but needs Carra to perhaps do more than he would with Agger.
Carra’s been under threat before though remember. He’s always kept his place, even if it’s ended up being a different position.
I would say his career would last longer at centre-back than right-back.
Nobody I know would dispute what he’s done for this club, and if he’s willing to be part of the scenery at Anfield for the long term I could see him move from the playing staff to the coaching staff one day. He’s got a legendary knowledge of the game.
He’ll still play a lot of games for us next season, we might even see the centre-backs swapped in-and-out depending on who we’re playing.
But whether it’s here now or not, one day he will become too old for the first team. And no matter how much he loves the club it won’t be right for us to be sentimental about it. He’d hate it himself if he ever thought he was getting a game based on sentiment rather than on his ability.
To be honest, i think carra at right full might be a good shout, i think with adecent left full and a player like quresma on the wing, i still like the look of pennant on the right, and sum1 to help torres we have a very good starting 11, thing is with the amount of games we need a good 22 to win the title. Rafa is the man to do it for us. does anyone think if we bring barry in he will play left full???????
@Pierre: All your attempts went into the spam folder for some reason. You’re half-right with your prediction - nothing new!
The impression coming from the Dubai side in terms of Rafa is that whether they like him or not they know the fans like him and so want to at the very least start their ownership with him at the helm. They’ve only started saying this quite recently, prior to that they were saying it would be part of a review to be carried out after they took over. They’ve not said anything about offering him a long term contract, or indeed any contract extension at all.
Personally I though the idea of Hicks giving Rafa 12 months extra was acceptable, because that keeps him under contract until 2011. Three years in a new regime with more control over what he does is long enough. But I think a lot of people criticised Hicks for this because they felt Rafa deserved longer than that. Will they criticise DIC if they come in and don’t extend Rafa’s contract for an extra two years or more?
If people can read my next thought without getting hysterical it might be seen as slightly interesting. “While the former Chelsea manager is understood to have informally sounded out DIC about the possibility of taking over from Benitez should their takeover go through, it was never pursued.” It doesn’t mean DIC secretly offered the job to Mourinho, or even replied with much more than a polite “don’t call us we’ll call you” but Henry Winter seems to know that contact was made. Perhaps Mourinho told him! I hope for Dubai’s sake that it was as innocent as this sounds - Maureen called them, they said we’ll keep you in mind, fans showed how much they loved Rafa, DIC scrubbed his name out of their little black book! The time to own up to anything more is now, otherwise it’ll come back to haunt them - and us - when we least need it.
We’ll probably get one of these stories at least once a day now. The Mourinho bit was probably the only new bit, and Winter obviously wanted to get it out, but it’s not much of an article on its own so he’s reminded us of the most recent version of events - or at least DIC’s version. There’s no sign of him having had any information from the Hicks camp in that article, so you have to be a little careful in taking it all as gospel.
I saw the telegraph story and was going to dismiss it out of hand until i realised it had been drafted by Henry Winter. His contacts are usually impeccable. Or at least that’s the impression other journalists and commentators tell us.
Jim - Sorry for the link, will not do it agian. Got it of the radio yesterday by Duncan Barkes who said that the midget who is going to be on big brother is on the site.
All this nonsense that is getting banded around in the papers is beginning to be like a game of tennis, wonder who will win the rally?
I think the game yesterday was a very tight game despite what the final score line might have said. The game was won on errors on the part of LFC.
@midlands-red: Henry Winter co-wrote / helped write the Steven Gerrard autobiogrpahy.
From the Telegraph article Pierre linked:
“DIC have agreed a deal in principle with Gillett to buy his 50 per cent stake but have been told by Hicks that he has no interest in selling.He has pre-emption rights on Gillett’s shares but DIC believe that option runs out at the end of May.”
Good to see the Telegraph finally has the wording correct on this whole May 27 nonsense. And it’s just as Jim has said: May 27 as some deadline is just a DIC rumor.
Dawg - I am begining to not give a mokneys, I would just like it to come to an end, its starting to get on my nerves. But I would much prefer DIC to win.
“Dawg - I am begining to not give a mokneys, I would just like it to come to an end, its starting to get on my nerves. But I would much prefer DIC to win.”
All very understandable, Anthony.
I have just heard on the radio that after the news that LFC is now the fourth richest club in the world Rafa is either expecting a large war chest for the summer of he is getting a large war chest for the summer. I might not of heard the story correctly.
and it starts again, wasnt it great to talk about football for a few hours
Jim, it does not follow from Henry Winter’s having co-written Stevie’s autobiography (have just looked at the small print, and yes he is the co-author!) that he (Winter) is pro-DIC, or worse an agent of DIC’s PR machine
@Pierre: Jim, it does not follow from Henry Winter’s having co-written Stevie’s autobiography (have just looked at the small print, and yes he is the co-author!) that he (Winter) is pro-DIC, or worse an agent of DIC’s PR machine
Who said it did Pierre?
Pierre - Or its all just some govenment conspiracy to see what happens if you bombared a load of football fans with an endless stream of sound bites. Do they all turn on each other or do they go out of their mind or maybe they just stop giving a shit or possibly they stop supporting football and turn to netball instead? Who Knows.
Well, since you sometimes sound a bit paranoid about DIC’s media manoeuvering, Jim, I had just detected a bit of scepticism in your brief reply to midland-red’s appreciation of the Telegraph piece! Anyway, we are all getting paranoid, these days, and the ‘government conspiracy’ imagined by Anthony seems to reflect that too!
Jim, thanks for that - although I should have said I knew that.
I’ve heard Winter a few times and he sounds not much of a bull ….(you know the rest!)
I suspect, with no England in the Euros, and the season about to wind down Hicks, DIC and Gillett will need all the best PR advice they can pay for. So get ready for head-spinning stories into all things Liverpool soon!!
The closed season or silly season is the worst time for leaked storys. Everyone gets linked with everyone. Its all the agents leaking storys to the press to give their players some exposure. But I am in no doubt that we are in for a shit load of the same regarding the ownership front. It’s like the first world war, where thousands of people died just to secure about 100m of territory. Its bloody insane there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.
” Do you reckon it will all be over by Christmas”?
Why all the negativity?
This season we have signed arguably the best striker in the world! And he’s going to get better and better and eventually bring the league back home!
@Kopite999 - i see your point re. negativity. But now the silverware opportunities are out the way, now is the time to be critical. Then when 2008/9 season is about to start you’ll hear all our hopes and optimism aplenty. But now is a time for us to be talking about required improvements to compliment Torres, Gerrard et al. And while we talk, the money men need to get down to business and show us some real action, then some stability and less battles in public. May the best man/syndicate win….though at this moment I can’t see that being/want that to be Hicks.
It’s tempting to play the “if only” mind game today…if only Riise hadn’t headed in the ball in the 95th minute…if only Skrtel hadn’t been injured…if only Sami had kept his feet away from Ballack…if only Rafa had done this or hadn’t done that. It’s an exercise in futility and won’t change a thing – the results are what they are and so we go forward. The team worked so hard on the pitch for both matches, and in an odd sort of way, it’s reassuring that I can’t think of a man-of-the-match for last night’s game – they all worked their socks off.
Comments have been made here about our current defensive frailties, and the loss of Agger all season really underpins this. Strangely, though, if you look at the stats over the last two seasons in Premier League action only, in 2006 we conceded 25 goals, in 2007 we conceded 27 goals, and as of game 36 this season we’ve conceded 28 goals. Not a remarkable difference when it comes down to factoring a goal or two over a 38-game season. Our back four (plus the amazing Jose Reina) has in years past given the impression of a fortress, but this year we’re seeing cracks. Carra (as much as I admire him) isn’t as fast as he used to be (and you need good legs to be a right-back if a shift for him is imminent) and unfortunately Riise’s quality is no longer sufficient to keep up with the rest of the squad (his fear of his own right foot is painful to watch). Sami is getting old but can be counted on for experience and leadership. Skrtel and Agger are the future in the centre and if quality can be improved in left- and right-back (though I still think Finnan has got it in him, but maybe that’s a discussion for another time) then the fortress will truly be impenetrable.
Which leads to the speculation…who can we expect to leave over the summer: Kewell, Riise, Alonso (a real loss, but the pursuit of Barry leads to no other conclusion), Voronin, Crouch (though it really pains me to write that – so underrated) and possibly Pennant (though Rafa seems to be showing new-found faith in him of late). Bringing in a world-class left-back and someone with speed on the left wing to support Babel would redress a serious deficiency. And, of course, a strike partner for Torres. Rafa has given indications that he plans to spend cautiously – surely a restriction imposed on him, because to go forward in a dramatic way gambling on mid-table players is throwing good money after bad.
It’s been a season marred in our memories by the disgraceful displays of arrogance and ineptitudes off the pitch. Our manager has been publicly humiliated…our chief executive has been publicly humiliated…the fans’ faith and trust in new custodians has been publicly betrayed. If the referee’s whistle blowing in the 90th-odd minute of the last match heralds the beginning of a period of stability, honour and genuine constructive change then I can hardly wait for next season to begin.
What’s all this talk about Jamie Carragher?
Maybe it’s a bad example to use but this philosophy
springs to mind:
“Before the first leg of this semi-final, Frank Rijkaard, the Barcelona coach, admitted he could replace Puyol at the heart of the defence but not at the heart of the team.”