Whilst surfing the net, I noticed reports stating we are on the verge of a takeover. It seems all the rumours were true. The financiers in London called it right and the Yank owners were playing a long game, waiting for a bigger deal offered.
Well, reportedly its £450 million. The deal is expected to be completed mid March, and the yanks walk away with double what they had.
They also report that the club is left with 105million pounds worth of debt after the Yanks' refinancing, something we all know. However, DIC who are the reported new investors would surely wipe this deficit out, preventing long interest payments.
Furthermore, it seems Rafa will not be at the club if this happens as DIC aren't too keen on him after the public outbursts.
Now, the transfer romours. I see that we're linked with Diarra of Real Madrid. If Benitez plans to buy this guy, he should be sacked on the spot. We are paying about 17 million for Mascherano - a world class defensive midfielder. Our team is now DESPERATE for goals and creative players with skill.
And Benitez is supposedly wanting another defensive midfielder who will cost millions? Is "negative" the only language Benitez can speak? Also I heard that Newcastle want Kuyt and Crouch. Kuyt YES, but I would keep Crouch. Somehow whatever happens next season, I hope there will be a clearout. And we need a quality winger and a striker to accompany Torres.
Remember this statement, as I will be touching on this again in a bit.
We move on to the league now. Our next Four League games are Middlesborough (H), Bolton (A), West Ham (H), and Newcastle (H).
To my clear thinking, we should be getting 12 points with no excuses from The Tinkerman, providing he doesn't mess around with the side again. These 12 points will be crucial in our efforts to cement the all important 4th spot.
Still cant believe we're only fighting and struggling for THIS spot!! It should also give us the confidence to get two more crucial results from Man Utd (A) and Everton (H) as 12 points certainly are crucial to those two teams' fortunes too, for next season, and they will be giving their all against us.
Middlesborough nicked a point off us last time. Or rather we fortunately did from them. Bolton could be tricky though we hammered them at home so I'm hoping we can do the same again.
The West Ham game was a shambles and they won so I'm hoping we have a win there. We hammered Newcastle the last time we played them but i think they might prove to be the banana skin this time.
I think that will be a close game but all in all, 12 points, no excuses how we controlled the whole game but didn't take our chances!
Moving on the the Champions League now. As for Inter, a two goal lead would surely get us through. Not sure how good they really are as Serie A is a different type of football though they do have quality like most Italian teams.
I just think the atmopshere of Anfield and the tempo of the English game might rattle them. Rafa is certainly reliable in Europe, but not in the Premiership. He won't ever change though, as the fans have come to realise.
Ferguson never learned to crack Europe except for the last minute fluke in 99' and since then always failed. Rafa won't ever crack the Premiership so his final days are on a countdown.
Now finally, where I left off and promised to touch on again, the squad! The Reserves went 5 points clear at the top of the reserve league last night against Sunderland.
Our youngsters have won the Youth Cup Two seasons in a row. Benitez has spent close to 20m on players learning their trade there.
YET we still haven't had anyone break through our First Team (Jack Hobbs exempted, and Sebastian Leto, once or twice as well).
We have Guthrie (Bolton), Anderson (Swansea), Carson (Villa) and Hobbs (Scunthorpe) out on loan.
The four players I like are Insua, Spearing, Nemeth and Anderson. I have been following our reserves and Insua IS THE BEST LEFT BACK AT THE CLUB!
I'm suprised he hasn't been given a chance already! Spearing is a very competative player, Nemeth has a real eye for goal (6 goals in 4 reserve games) and Anderson has done really well at Swansea scoring 10 goals FROM THE WING!! They all could save us money in the summer.
Also, Guthrie has done well at Bolton, He has proved that he has what it takes to play Premiership football. He has played 24 games and is only 21 years of age.
Though I think its best for him that he stays there wehre he gets games every week. He may never make it here as the midfield is oozing with class, though they aren't really performing.
But for the young ones, there is an old saying: IF YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH, YOU ARE OLD ENOUGH. You only have to take one look at the Arsenal side to see that that is true.
So just why is it that none of these talented players are being given a chance?
We play Barnsley on Saturday, so why not give Insua his debut and put Nemeth on the bench? He could come on for Kuyt after 10 minutes? :p I like the look of Anderson and Rafa should have him back ASAP as he could save us some money on the wing but then again thats Rafa all over for u, isn't it? Stubborn and crap at his job!
Cant really see any of the reserve team players coming through as Rafa is too blind to see their potential though he signed some of them.
He's never been seen at a reserve game having a look at the players to see what they can offer to the first team. He's blind and couldn't see talent even if it jumped up and hit him in the the face!
He'd rather stick with the under-achievers like Kuyt, for instance, who would never make it into any other of the Big 3 or 4's team.
I would like to see a couple of the reserve lads given a run against Barnsley. Keep the big guns on too, just to make sure we get a result. And if we're sailing then throw a couple more of the young lads on.
I believe we could play at least three youngsters in the starting line up and one or two on the bench. If Wenger was our boss I could see five or six of our youngsters in the first team.
Benitez hasnt got a clue when it comes to dealing with young players as his negative approach hinders rather than encourage them. Any young player signing for Liverpool is gambling his future on a manager who very rarely gives youth any chance to show their worth.
Thats all for now! Wasn't much, was it? :p Now we look forward to the Barnsley game! Cheers!
by Julez not walking alone.
Friday, February 15, 2008
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4 comments:
Personally, I'd be happy to see the backsides of those two American Brokeback Mountain Cowboys back to Texas where they belong and never for them to ever, ever set their foot on Liverpool. Next, I'll also be happy to show Parry the same door that those two loonies used. With Parry at helm, we've successfully jumped from the frying pan into the fire consecutively and without fail. Moores, as a director would probably not be able to do much as he is no longer the shareholder. I reckon both Parry and Moores should write a memoir of their time in Liverpool to apologise to the masses for their follies in dealing with disaster after disaster ......
If only DIC would really come in, there is a hefty price that Liverpool Football Club will have to pay i.e. the removal of Mr. Rafa Benitez. It is widely known that DIC have not been impressed with Benetiz but to be honest, who would have considering the Klinsmann-gate fiasco in the background. In my humble opinion, we should retain Rafa at least for another season even after DIC have come in - at least to finish off the 5 year project. After all, Rafa's fourth year in charge has been characterised by Klinsmann-gate. Let us also not forget, that since Benitez were made manager, we have been to a cup final every year i.e. 2004/05 - the League Cup and the memorable Champions League final, 2005/06 - the memorable come-back win at the FA Cup and in 2005/06 - the Champions League Final in Athens. Which manager in the modern game comes with that track record? Hence, Rafa should be given at least next season to complete his 5 year plan although technically, this season is a write-off due to Klinsmann-gate. When looked upon the achievements of Rafa, it is, for the lack of a better word, disrespectful to even call Rafa the Tinkerman. We all know the real Tinkerman did not win anything in his time in charge at Chelski. If only our supporters read Paul Tomkins' articles, they would know that last season both SAF and JM also rotated his players too. Shouldn't they also be called Tinkerman? No? Alas, most have been brain-washed by the media and pundits ...... please go read www.paultomkins.com to get a fairer perspective - one which is research properly and not just spewed out from the blue like the recent outburst by Jamie Redknapp. Unfortunately, Jamie has only won the League CUp and has not even managed a team yet. How much does Jamie really know what goes round behind the manager's day-to-day operations to enable him to make such a sweeping statement?
Some of you may think I harp too much on Klinsmann-gate but if King Kenny, our most successful ex-player and ex-manager could not cope with the Hillsborough disaster and resigned in mid-season, and that King Kenny has openly said that these issues have an impact on the club from the manager to his players and consequently to the supporters, then Klinsmann-gate HAS AN IMPACT. King Kenny knows - he's been there and he's seen it all. Who are those pundits to disagree? Especially those who have never managed a big club with the Liverpool's base? I know who I would believe - King Kenny. I don't think and sane human being who prefer to believe pundits who have not even been into management, let alone experiencing shareholder turmoil in the background. These disrurptions have a snow-balling effect - most of us have experienced it at work anyway to a certain degree. Oh! By the way, our next successful ex-player who became manager (probably) is Keegan who has managed Newcastle (twice including the current stint), Man City, Fulham, England and even then, Keegan buckled under pressure when leading Man Utd by 13 points (or was it 12? It doesn't matter now anyway), he crumbled under pressure and lost the plot the chance to be a legend by winning the EPL for Newcastle and Keegan did not have the pressure in the background from the shareholders or the board. Oh! Just remembered, Souness is the next most successful ex-player who became a manager after Keegan as the former have won some titles with Rangers in the Scotish League! So my apologies for the mistake that it wasn't Mr. Kevin 'Messiah' Keegan.
Anyway, back to football stuff - rumours! Diarra - the Chelsea reject. I wouldn't even blink an eye over this rumour as Benitez have clearly come out to say that Mascherano's contract is being discussed and they probably can only conclude it in the next trasnfer window. So, how this Chelsea reject rumour came about is unknown but I know both Mascherano and probably Alonso is miles ahead of him. And Alonso is presently, warming the bench on the road to regaining his fitness. Nuff said.
We all know what happened in Rafa's first year when he fielded a rather young team in the FA Cup that season at an away match against Burnley. Anyone remembered Traore's infamous own goal where we lost by 0-1? No? How about last season's Cup defeat against Arsenal's young guns? No? 3-6 at Anfield - still doesn't ring a bell? Its a cliche that saying 'if you're good enough, you're old enough'. Wenger's current young batch of gunners have been playing together for at least 3-4 years in the youth teams before this season and hence, after last season's 'successful' run in the League Cup where they emerged runner-up, the team upped a notch to be the Arsenal first team this season ....... and we know where they are in the league at the moment.
I know that if I were Rafa and walking on thin ice especially with all the background noise about this party called DIC (hmmm .... ironic isn't it? balls and DIC? No?), I and with a tough champions league games against Inter Milan, it would be rather reckless to risk young players even though it is against Barnsley especially if in Rafa's eyes, these youngsters are not ready to be in the 1st team squad. How else can you explain why our young defenders such as Antwi Goodwin and Jack Hobbs are out on loan at the moment to gain match experience? Its all a call that the manager has to make - the timing of letting young players play and at the same time balance it with the desire to win the match with so much at stake (at least for now!)? Its easy for arm-chair critics like ourselves to say Rafa should do this and do that but at the end of the day, Rafa faces these young players and know their progress much much better. So, Rafa is paid to make these decisions and 'live and die' by the decisions that he makes.
Players like Guthrie and Carson will probably be sold as they may not want to sit back at Anfield and wait for their turn to play. It would be better to sell them and make a profit. Let these players find their way into another club's first team setup. Not many players are like Steve Harper, the Newcastle number 2 who stayed back at Newcastle for upmteen years but only getting a handful of first team games when Shay Givens is injured. At the end of the day, our last successful youth batch who got promoted were Owen, Carragher and Gerrard. Since then, our youth conveyour belt have dried up. Try comparing it with say, Arsenal, West Ham or even Man City - see the difference? No wonder Rafa wanted to revamp when he got here in 2004/05. Even Arsenal is an exception as they buy a lot of young foreign players whilst the young English players have never quite make it into their first team e.g. Upson, Pennant,Bentley, Jeffers and so on. Other young players that Wenger sold include Aliadere, Diara and so on. Its tough but managers such as Rafa, Wenger and Ferguson were paid to make these tough decisions. These players are doing quite well in other team's first team ..... so, Who is to say Wenger have hindered careers of young players which were just mentioned?
Well done Julez for posting and sharing your views.
I agree with some things and disagree on others. However, my main problem with your article is that you're disrespecting Rafa. I've got no problem admitting that Rafa also makes mistakes, but you are DISRESPECTING him:
If Benitez plans to buy this guy, he should be sacked on the spot.
Cant really see any of the reserve team players coming through as Rafa is too blind to see their potential though he signed some of them.
He's blind and couldn't see talent even if it jumped up and hit him in the the face!
Benitez hasnt got a clue when it comes to dealing with young players as his negative approach hinders rather than encourage them.
These are insulting, grave accusations and simplifications. Please show some more respect for a man who has achieved fantastic things with Liverpool Football Club!!
As much as i disagree.... and angered by some of the gaffer's decisions. Even i won't go as far as to put it in such "mild" words. I'll just say his pedigree in the english game is a big suspect. Hehehehe.
Best case/worst case scenario?
DIC comes in, does not spend unnecessary money buying out Mourinho’s gardening leave but rescues Pako Ayesteran from unemployment (heck, aren’t we still paying him anyways) and force him onto Benitez. If things work out we’re back on track. If the two cannot kiss and make up, things cannot get any worse so at the end of the season, we get Mourinho, who if I recall correctly was rumoured to be buddy buddy with Pako anyways!
Oh, btw, when that happens, someone please please shoot me. Put me out of my misery…
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