Important Announcement: Keep Up To Date With MyRAWK

Kindly point all your browsers to http://www.my-rawk.com for all our latest match reports and articles. Keep up to date with all our latest gatherings and activities also through our new home. This blog will not be updated often and will serve as our archives for our older entries. Please take note.

Thanks for all your support and understanding. We will continue to strive hard to improve our online presence and to better serve the Malaysian LFC supporting community.

The MyRAWK Team.

MyRAWK's Got A New Home!

The MyRAWK Committee is pleased to announce that we've launched our very own brand spanking new website. Point your browsers to http://www.my-rawk.com to check it out. There will be new features to be added to our new home. Stay tuned while we improve our home further.

www.my-rawk.com - Home to the loudest and most passionate independent LFC supporting community in Malaysia!

MyRAWK Futsal Gathering @ Pan Global Club @ Jln Tandang, Petaling Jaya

Every once in a while to save our sanity from just watching the games, we all indulge in pretending that we're Liverpool FC on the pitch...Well close.

With that in mind, we invite you to the regular MyRAWK Futsal outing @ Pan Global Club @ Jln Tandang, Petaling Jaya on Saturday, Jan 26th between 3-5pm.

For those that are coming, please be advised to wear your LFC jersey or something LFC related to play or something RED but not Man Utd RED!!

For those coming, please confirm with:
Tony Q: +6012 257 7075
Will Tan: +6012 296 2680

MyRAWK Exclusive: Head to Head Discussions.

With the turmoil and uncertainty surrounding the club increasing by the day, MyRAWK thinks it high time for the local LFC supporting community to have a proper discussion and exchange of view on the subject matter most concerning to all of us.

In the coming weeks, 2 MyRAWK committee members or guests will pit their wills and wits against each other in a Head to Head discussion through their article on this blog. One will take on the roll of an optimist / loyalist while the other, a realist (pessimist or devil's advocate) .

First up this week, will be the discussion on Rafa: Should He Stay & Given More Time Or Should He Go? Jonno is the optimists / loyalist while Mark takes on the role of the devil's advocate.

Please leave your feedback and thoughts on the articles through the comments section and stay tuned for more MyRAWK Exclusive: Head to Head Discussions.

Head to Head - Jonno "El Presidente," The Loyalist / Optimist

Rafa Stays - Give Him Time

“Football fans are a fickle bunch” - this is the ultimate understatement of all time when it comes to football and supporting the club. When things are going great, winning games, getting to a final or wining a cup or two, the team is the best in the world, the manager is a master tactician and all other accolades one can think of.

However, lose a few games and suddenly it’s the manager’s fault - he has lost the plot, doesn’t understand English football or even doesn’t respect the competition. This is especially true this season, when expectations were running high all around. This was justified as Liverpool spent big in acquiring Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel, Yossi Benayoun, Lucas Leiva, Sebastian Leto as well as other youngsters.

The media labeled Liverpool as a genuine title challenger, just like in the previous 18 seasons. When Liverpool thumped Derby 6 – 0 at home everyone sang praises of the team, the manager and went on about how great this season will be for the Reds. Liverpool was said to break the tripoly of Chelsea, Arsenal and Man U and make it a truly exciting four-horse race. However, things went a little awry in October / November and the wheels seemed to fall off, all fingers pointed at Benitez, calling for his head. Should Rafa really be sacked for the display this season? The answer is no.

Why? Simply because he is in the middle of his rebuilding exercise in putting together an exciting team to genuinely challenge for top honours for years to come. He is modeling the Valencia approach where the play is tight while not allowing opponents time on the ball and how the team attacks and defends as a unit while overwhelming opponents on the pitch, leaving them in awe of what just hit them. When you are rebuilding there will be times when things don’t go your way, when players are unsure of what they are supposed to do, of who should be making the run or taking the shots.

It’s just like when zonal marking was first introduced, it was ridiculed in the media, as well as everyone with half a brain, but today it is one of the most successful methods of defending used by nearly every football team. With Zonal marking, which took two years for the players to get comfortable with, we have conceded the least goals in the league for years to come now. This is a far cry from the Roy Evans era when we were scoring for fun but could not defend to save our dear life, resulting in spectacular clashes that were high scoring yet not good for the heart.

When Rafa first came in, he had a short month to bring in his players and put his ideas across before the season started. Many would argue that the players are professionals who train together everyday who should be able to forge the understanding and adopt to the coaches’ idea. How can one expect 28 players to know where the other is going to run or what he is going to do with the ball all at high speed mind you, with a leather ball that can react very differently to the touches and strikes. If a simple thing such as baton passing in relay runs take months to develop the understanding, what about 28 players with a ball and different pitch conditions? On top of that, you have different opponents doing different thing trying to keep you out. The first season is always going to be a clearing of deadwood, bringing in players and at the same time getting his ideas across. Then the next would be bringing in his own players, getting them to play the way he wants them to and enhance this and challenge for honours. This takes five years, hence the five-year contract.

Rafa overachieved in winning the Champions League in his first season with a squad that was not his own. He was also faced with the possibility of his captain leaving. This has serious repercussions to the planning of the team. The second time around Rafa would’ve identify Gerrard’s replacement as well as other players he can bring in to enhance the squad before the skipper made the mother of all u turns in a move that delighted many supporters but throw the plan into limbo. Suddenly Rafa did not have more money to buy players and change the team around the way he wanted to.

Then he then came the third season where he was trying things, putting his ideas across with the players warming to his way of playing in controlling matches but struggle to score. The general consensus would be if we get a top class striker, we would be able to challenge. How wrong is that, when you take out a player and replace it with another, you are changing the element and the set up of the team.

Of course with the new owners coming in, many were excited that we finally had money to spend to finally bring back the glory days to Anfield. However, after a bright start, the team unexpectedly hit a low and many were calling for Rafa to be replaced. It also emerged that the owners were trying to rid of Rafa by talking to another person in view to take over. This has clearly affected the team with lots of half hearted display and inept performance being dished out, making the owner’s decision to talk to Klinsmann a right one.

Many of the pundits and fans thought that the fact that he had money to spend this season means that we should be challenging as he came out asking for money, the fact is that we spent 56.95M in buying players while bringing in 26.25M in our player sales, making the net spent this season at 30.7M, not even enough to buy Anderson & Nani who are effectively squad players for Man U. bearing in mind, in his 4 years at Liverpool, Rafa had spent a total of 149.1M in which 14 is for Djibril Cisse, a player he didn’t sign, all this while bringing in 65.43M in player sales, making his net spent 83.67M. take away the 14M for Cisse, the net spent would be much higher, at 69.67M at an average of 17.42m per season, not even enough to buy Owen Hargreaves. The total net spent for the top 4 clubs in the 4 years Rafa has been in charged are as follow (in Millions of GBP):

*Click on the picture of the stats for a bigger view*

Also, do bear in mind that the other’s teams were build much earlier than that. Cristiano Ronaldo was acquired in 2003 and Rio Ferdinand acquired in 2002, both for a combined fee of 42.2M. While Arsenge Wenger has spent the last 6 to 7 years rebuilding his young squad and let’s not talk about Chelsea. So this talk about Rafa has money to spend is wide off the mark, he has essentially only spent about 17.5M per season BUILDING his squad while Alex Ferguson spent more than that (19.8M) ADDING on to his already good squad.

Another criticism of Rafa would be the way the team plays. Many are baffled by the set up of the team that is safety first before thinking about attacking. This is actually a pretty good tactic; it allows the team to absorb the play from opposition while looking for rooms to exploit in overwhelming them. Many of the naysayers are referring to the pass & move of the older days, but the thing is that pass & move football has been dead for 16 years now, it was killed by one of our greatest players who donned the Red shirt but an inept manager by buying duds. Rafa’s tactic is to allow the opposition to play, giving them the false sense that we are weak, in the process, tiring them out and take advantage of them towards the end.

The set up is aimed at taking full advantage of the pitch and qualities of the players we have, Gerrard for his tireless running, Alonso for his game reading and switch of play and Mascherano for his shackling of players while helping out the attack. It is the new way of playing football, a more modern way .

Many also didn’t like the deployment of Dirk Kuyt, who is a tireless worker. Most see him as someone who failed to score many a times and is a bit of a passenger to the team. However, it is his running that drags players wide and open up space for others to take advantage of. How many times we see him huffing and puffing closing the opposition down, defending from the top? This is the way that we should play where we constantly pressure the opposition, with subtle pressure that put doubt in opponent’s mind, ensuring we are always on top, even without the ball.

Others would argue that we are too defensive. It is not defensive, it is controlling the game. If you’re not building from behind, how are you to win matches? Building the team from the front will not ensure you score plenty of goals, but it sure would ensure you concede. This is why, most coaches not just Rafa, build the play from the back. In controlling the game, we could really hurt them where it hurts most, but this would require patience and slow build up, incurring most fan’s wrath for not being attacking minded enough.

Another favourite topic would be his rotation system. Rafa is not the only who rotates, but yet he gets the most flak, other managers rotates just as much if not more than Rafa but manages to get away with it. The idea of rotating is to rest players and at the same time give the others the much needed match fitness and understanding with one another. Rafa wants to mould the team like a well-oiled machine. On top of that, it will also ensure the players are fresh towards the end of the season where the games are coming thick and fast. Especially if we are to get to another final, the little extra bit is often the difference between winning and losing.

This season, there’s certainly more off field saga than before and it has also affected the performance of the team. How can players be expected to ignore the talk that goes on off the pitch? The uncertainty of their futures? With the possibility of a refinancing of 350M put to the club, it will certainly put more pressure to the players and at the same time, cause them to under perform. There are many instances where the team put out by Rafa should’ve beaten the opposition comfortably and the players did not step up to the mark when given the chances. Blaming the manager is just an easy way out when it is the players who are on the pitch battling it out.

If one is to call for Rafa’s head, who would replace him? How long would it be before the team gets up to mark again? Another four years? Wouldn’t that be unfair to Rafa who is half way there? Rather than sack him, why not give him the backing he clearly deserves and see what happens next season, when he’d be on his final year of the contract. The thing is that Man U almost made that mistake in 1990 in deciding Alex Ferguson’s future. The FA Cup win saved his job and look where he is now?

Another good example to is Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, he was given the time and more importantly, the faith to build his squad, with the management interfering, not less in thinking of sacking Rafa, it would only makes matters worse and make our beloved club a laughing stock in the footballing world.

Jonno "El Presidente" Jan 2008 ©

Head to Head - Mark Lee, The Realist aka Devil's Advocate

In Rafa We Trust, Or Do We?

It has been near two long decades since the city of Liverpool has turned up in the thousands to see the league title being paraded around the streets. Gerard Houllier ignited what must have been merely a flickering ray of hope in the hearts of all Liverpool fans when he won 5 trophies in just one season. He however failed to deliver what all Liverpool fans must be longing for, the Premiership title. Under his tenure we came close at one point, finishing 2^nd, just 7 points behind eventual Champions Arsenal. Expectations were high but we went on a free fall thereafter, finishing 19 and then 30 points behind the champions. It was the opinion of all involved with Liverpool Football Club and it’s fans that the gaffer had lost the plot. His negative brand of football became a bore to watch and, we became predictable.

Enter Rafa Benitez,

Progress in the Premier League

In his first season, we finished 5^th accumulating 58 points, a whopping 37 points behind eventual winners Chelsea, which was worse than we fared the season before under Houllier when we finished 4^th with 60 points, 30 behind winners, Arsenal. Fair play, it was only his first season in charge and he had to clear up the mess left behind by Houllier.

In his second season at the helm, we were much improved and finished 3^rd with 82 points. We had closed the gap to eventual winners Chelsea, to just 9 points and finally, we looked as though we were moving in the right direction. Surely we were going to mount a serious challenge next season?

In his third season however, the adverse happened and although we still finished 3^rd, we only managed to accumulate 68 points and finished 21 points behind Manchester United. This was masked of course by the fact that once again, The Mighty Reds had progressed to yet another European Final only to fall at the last hurdle to AC Milan, whom we had vanquished just 2 seasons prior. The irony is that although we played better this time round, we lost, after having been outplayed by AC Milan back in 2005 only to prevail after outstanding heroics from individuals such as Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Didi Hamann and Jerzy Dudek.

This season, we find ourselves currently lying 5^th with 50 points, 14 behind current leaders Manchester United albeit with 1 game in hand. We have 16 games left in the season and it is unlikely that we will see number 19 being paraded around Liverpool this season, given the kind of football we have been playing, and the situation regarding ownership. I will patiently wait until the end of the season to see where we finish but based on current form, we may again find ourselves finishing 20 points behind the eventual winners.

Statistically speaking anyway, we haven’t made any progress in the league.

Building a team

Though Rafa has had managerial experience prior to taking the helm at Valencia, he attained little success, notably in helping Segunda Divison side CF Extramadura gain promotion to the Primera Division only for them to be relegated after just 1 season at the top. Although he did win the Primera Division in his first attempt with the club, one has to note that he inherited a team brimming with potential from Hector Cuper. In the side were established internationals like Santiago Canizares, Roberto Ayala, Ruben Baraja, David Abelda and Pablo Aimar. He also made good use of Mista who went on to become top goalscorer for Valencia with 19 goals in the 2003 – 2004 campaign, and Curro Torres who became an established international. Rafa did also achieve European success when he guided Valencia to a 2-0 victory over Marseille in 2004, but this was a team that had in the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons, reached not one but two Champions League finals. So the question is, do the runners-up in the Champions League have the caliber to take it “up a notch” and win Europe’s 2^nd tier competition, the UEFA Cup? I’ll let you be the judge.

After having signed for Liverpool, Benitez found himself in a very similar position, inheriting an underperforming team featuring the likes of Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Dietmar Hamann, Harry Kewell, Steve Finnan and Sami Hyypia. Rafa had barely arrived when Owen was sold to Madrid but Gerrard, Carragher, Finann and Hyypia are still very much a part of his setup. He however also inherited fringe players like Salif Diao and Bruno Cheyrou that were simply, not up to mark.

Since becoming manager, Rafa has made 36 signings and sold 56 players (not including loan deals), with only Xabi Alonso, Daniel Agger, Momo Sissoko, Luis Garcia, Peter Crouch, Jermaine Pennant, Pepe Reina, and Alvaro Arbeloa being regulars at some point. It is a sure thing that more will come and more will go with John Arne Riise, Dirk Kuyt and Momo Sissoko being likely casualties. Is the fact that so many players have come and gone a sign that Rafa doesn’t yet know what he’s looking for? Is it a sign that he isn’t good at spotting talent? Even I can spot a superstar like Fernando Torres and my managerial experience is limited only to the Championship Manager and Football Manager series. What makes us different is that he and his team should be able to spot talent and not just the end product after years of nurturing and development. Benitez was once famously quoted for saying, “I asked for a coffee table and they gave me a lampshade” at his time in Valencia, referring to the fact that the club was not signing the players he requested for. Is he now out buying coffee tables when we need lampshades? Just like how switching managers too often will be counterproductive as it takes time to build winning team, will switching players too often result in the same? It does affect a teams harmony and balance, does it not? Should players be given time, just like managers? If we are willing to give Rafa another few years at the helm, why not players like Momo Sissoko?

Tactical Genius?

If there is one thing that most Liverpool fans agree on Rafa, is that he is a tactical genius. I mean this was the man who arguably inspired the comeback in Istanbul, or was it the fans singing away at halftime? Recognising the threat from Kaka, Rafa called on the defensive minded Dietmar Hamann in place of Steve Finnan. It worked! Hamann neutralized the threat from the Brazilian, allowing Steven Gerrard to wreak havoc in the AC Milan half. It must be said though the Steve Finnan did sustain an injury, which is the main reason he was taken off. The decision was forced upon Rafa and he only had to decide whom to bring on in his place; the hapless Josemi, Antonio Nunez, Djibril Cisse, Vladimir Smicer, Scott Carson or Didi Hamann. Then there was the selection of Harry Kewell that baffled Liverpool fans. This was the first of two European Cup finals that Kewell coincidentally recovered in time to be a part off. Some may question his methods domestically but it would seem that he has what it takes to beat Europe’s finest.

In the Premiership, Rafa seems to be struggling to find the right formula. We have yet to beat Man Utd in the league over 7 games. Not only that, we are still struggling to beat mid-table sides. This is where I raise questions over some baffling decisions that he has made. While I have nothing against rotating players, why is it Rafa seems intent on rotating tactics every time? We may moan about being a player or two away from being able to compete (isn’t this what we have been saying for some time now?), but in the likes of Sami Hyypia, Steven Gerrard, Daniel Agger, Steve Finnan, John Arne Riise, Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, Yossi Benayoun, Ryan Babel, Harry Kewell, Dirk Kuyt, Peter Crouch, Fernando Torres and Andriy Voronin, we have 14 internationals, not to mention Jamie Carragher or Pepe Reina which will walk into the first teams of many clubs. Should we not be expected to at least beat the likes of Wigan, Birmingham and Reading? Instead, we almost lost to Luton Town despite fielding 9 internationals? While fans may argue that some of these players may not be all that good, surely they aren’t as poor as a vast majority of the players from mid-table sides??? Why do we need to adapt our tactics to our opposition? Why can’t we develop a solid system of play and have smaller clubs adapt to ours? As it is, our players look like strangers on the pitch and every pass made seems to take a lot of effort. How many times have we seen passes go astray, long balls played up into now man’s land, and players passing the ball in front of the opposition defence, clueless as to how to break them down? How much variation in team tactics do you see the other big sides adopt especially when playing smaller clubs? We should impose our brand of football on them and not have it the other way.

It may just be me but from what I’ve seen, our players look restricted when they are on the pitch. Being the tactician that he is, I fear Rafa looks at his players as pieces on a chessboard. I sense that the players are playing to very specific instructions and have little opportunity to fully express themselves on the pitch and therefore, impose themselves on the game.

What now?

I have been a supporter of Liverpool Football Club for the last 20 years of my life and I will continue to be one till the day of my demise. I will not however in blind faith, hope for happy days when I know something is amiss. Is it something that time will solve? Does the manger need more time? If so, how much time? Some fans suggest he be given until the end of next year but I have to ask these same fans if they honestly believe that our fortunes will change over just one season? If the trend of bringing in new players one season only to shaft them the next continues, how are the players going to be able to familiarise themselves with one another? Is he really a tactical genius or do we keep repeating it out of hope alone?

If anything, we Liverpool fans are somewhat guilty of living in the past. Sure, our past is what enriches our mighty club but we have to live in the present to secure a bright future, do we not? When problems arise, we need to address them with urgency and not hope that just because things turned out positively in the past, it will do so again. Fans today utter the words, “In Rafa we trust”. Most I’ve encountered however actually mean, “ In Rafa we hope”. To trust somebody, we need to know that the person in question can be counted on. We have both logical and emotional reasons to do so. So far, it would seem to be that many Liverpool supporters have strong emotional reason to do so, but very few I’ve encountered have logical ones. When asked what makes them think Rafa will bring us forward, they refer to Istanbul, the 2006 FA Cup Final, Athens, his record at Valencia, his tactical approach to the game but nothing on the present and nothing to justify why they call him a tactical genius. Sure there was Istanbul but what about the other 38 league games?

I do hope I am proven wrong this season. I do hope Rafa will wave his magical wand to bring our team out of its slump. I do hope he will deliver but I simply cannot blindly accept that he will without any evidence or justification.

To the more optimistic supporter, I ask you this, "What about Rafa makes you think that he is the man to bring home the elusive number 19?" "what makes you think you can trust him?"

Mark Lee, Jan 2008 ©

FA CUP 3rd ROUND: REPLAY

FA CUP 3rd Round: Liverpool VS Luton Town

Kick Off: 3:55AM

Date: January 16, 2008 (Wednesday)

Channel: ESPN - 812

Letters to Liverpool Football Club

According to www.liverpoolfc.tv, there are two write in events to Liverpool Football Club:

1) We want your questions for Rick Parry by Paul Eaton 10 January 2008
- Rick Parry will be interviewed in an episode of "60 Minutes" at the LFC TV studios.
- Here's a chance for all of you Liverpool FC fans out there to ask the chief executive of Liverpool Football Club.
- Please email your question(s) to: admin@liverpoolfc.tv with 'Rick Parry questions' as the subject header.

2) Every now and then there is a GUEST COLUMN : AN LFC LETTER FROM (any LFC fan worldwide)that talks about a story of supporting Liverpool from any part of the world, which will be published you online.
- Simply send your article (plus pictures if possible) to admin@liverpoolfc.tv with 'GUEST COLUMN : AN LFC LETTER FROM' as the subject header.

Let's send Liverpool Football Club a sense of how we feel about the club from all of us at MALAYSIAN RED and WHITE KOP (MyRAWK)

FA CUP 3rd ROUND: Information

FA CUP 3rd Round:

Luton Town VS Liverpool

Kick Off: 12:00AM

Date: January 7, 2008 (MONDAY)

Channel: StarSports - 813

Pics From The LFC - ManUtd Gathering, By Chris Yap

A big thank you must be forwarded to our sponsors and friends; Audra (Bacardi Martini Malaysia), Cynthia and Sunny (Chanel Malaysia) for the great prizes. Eric from M Bar and our very own Mark for helping to source for the Carlsberg premiums. Also not forgetting our great photographer Chris for helping us capture the great moments from our gatherings.

Last but not least, this will never be successful without the support of all those who came, watched and chanted together with us. Yes, thats each and every one of you 180 fans that turned out to make this gathering our biggest and best yet.

Even though the the final result was disappointing, we do hope that the camaraderie and friendships formed through this gathering will bring the LFC supporting community closer and show everyone that we truly will not walk alone. For now, enjoy the pics from Chris's camera.




Click on the thumbnail for bigger picture. Also more are available from our Facebook profile.

CARLING CUP QUARTERFINAL: CHELSEA FC VS LIVERPOOL FC

NOTICE TO ALL MyRAWKITES:

CARLING CUP QUARTERFINAL:

CHANNEL: ASTRO SUPERPSPORT CHANNEL 811

DATE: 20 DECEMBER 2007 (THURSDAY)

TIME: 3:40AM

VS

COME ON YOU REDS, WALK ON WITH HOPE IN YOUR HEART!

Teaser Pictures From LFC v MU Gathering!

Pictures by JonC of our Ian Rush signed "Fantastico" banner and the view of the crowd at the bar area from the DJ console. More pictures to follow!

Special Guest - Jan from East of Anfield (EOA), Singapore

We had the honor to play hosts to a good friend of MyRAWK from East of Anfield last week. He is no other than the Vice-Chairman of EOA, Jan. A few of the MyRAWK committee members had got to know him through RAWK forum and subsequently had the pleasure to meet up with him and a few of his fellow EOA members during the match against Bolton in 05/06 season. EOA also took good care of our committee members that had visited their home, The Cavern in Boat Quay, Singapore earlier this year.

In conjunction with his visit to our home; M Bar, we felt it was right to give him the honor of putting Sir Bob's picture back up to the wall after it was damaged earlier. Below are the 2 pictures from the simple ceremony:

UCL: Olympique de Marseille Vs Liverpool FC

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Olympique de Marseille Vs Liverpool FC at the Stade Velodrome, Marseille , FRANCE.

Every once in a while the defining moment in a football team beckons. It was 2005 in Istanbul and 2006 in Cardiff City for us. And now, it beckons again for the greatest team ever assembled!

Oh Campioni, the one and only, we're LIVERPOOL!

VS

Date: 12th December, 2007
Day: Wednesday
Time: 3:45AM
Channel: 812 ESPN

of course, look out for our post match report and goal highlights at this site!

DO NOT FORGET OUR BIG GAME THIS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2007 AT 8:30PM AT THE M BAR.

THE GAME OF THE SEASON.

Liverpool FC VS Manchester United FC

there can only be ONE RED!

WINES, CAPS, BAGS, LFC LIGHTERS AND T-SHIRTS...FOR ALL TO GIVE...AND FOR ALL TO KEEP!

KNOW YOUR LFC HISTORY!

ViVA RAFALUTION! LONG LIVE RAFAEL BENITEZ!

VIVA RAFALUTION!

Despite the currrent rumours of the icy and rocky relationship between the gaffer Rafael Benitez and Tom Hicks and George Gillett, we as all Liverpool FC fans pray that Rafael Benitez stays at Anfield. We are all with you RAFAEL! Bring us back No.19!

Rafa! Rafael! Rafa! Rafael!Rafa! Rafael!

RAFAEL BENITEZ!

1 European Champions League

1 FA CUP Champions

1 European Super Cup

1 FA Community Sheild

There is an online petition showing for the full support to Rafael Benitez. If anyone is reading this, please go to http://www.petitiononline.com/amg83ds/petition.html

This is the body of the letter to the LFC stakeholders, George Gillett and Tom Hicks:

To: Liverpool FC Stakeholders
George Gillet and Tom Hicks, This petition is on behalf of all those who feel that Rafael Benitez must continue as Liverpool manager will full backing of the board. Rafael Benitez is Liverpool’s best manager since Paisley, and is irreplaceable no matter how much money you are willing to invest in another party’s wage.

In three seasons Rafael Benitez has brought Liverpool to two champion’s league finals, a league cup final, and an FA Cup final, and is now beginning to challenge for a premiership title, something Liverpool has longed for a long time.

Relieving him of his duties will cause a major backlash in proceedings. We shall have to get a new manager, who will need time to adapt, he will need to recruit new players that suit his style, and so it may take even more years to do so. And of course, despite all this, he still won't be as tactically sound as the likes of Benitez.

The European transfer market is different to the USA, and proceedings must be adhered too months beforehand in order to secure a signing. Doing it a few weeks before is not good enough and could lose us a player who could be difference between first and second.

Rafael Benitez is a huge asset to Liverpool, more than any player, and any club in the world would be delighted to have him under the same contract we do. If you truly are behind this club, and you want to bring us as much as you said you did, then you will understand how important it is.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Ian Rush in Malaysia: Chronicles of MyRAWKites' Trip Up Genting!

Having never been on a European away trip before (living a few thousand miles from Liverpool & Europe has it’s disadvantages), we were determined to make the most of it when we heard about Ian Rush in Genting for a match viewing party and meet the fans session.
After some quick planning, and of course the customary arguments about how to get there, which bus to take, which station to stop at as well as where to stay and how much booze to bring, we were on our way to Genting.

The plan was to meet at Taman Paramount LRT station, then proceed to KL Sentral to take the bus up, but due to the peace march in central KL, the plan was hurriedly changed to Terminal Putra LRT station which was on the other end of the line. The peace march also threw a wrench in our plans.

JonC, our Finnan was a victim of the massive traffic crawl at every toll. The first thing he told me when I called him to check his location was “Damn this is just like Istanbul man!” I wasn’t there - in Istanbul or caught in the jam, but I sort of know what he meant. You’re excited about the trip to meet the legend that is Ian Rush, and this had to happen.

Anyway, when we finally boarded the LRT, it was 1520 hrs. With the planned 1600 hrs departure to Genting looking very tight, the plan was to get to the station and plan again. With the discussion in the LRT ranging from politics to football to plain nonsense, we got some funny looks from the other commuters. A hot chick was complaining to her friends that there was no traffic jam where we were, until she saw the huge march in the city centre, in which we had a bit of a giggle about. In hindsight I think that was the effects of the beer more than anything else.

We arrived at the station at about 1555 hrs. We darted across the station and got Monstar who was waiting for us there to get the tickets while Sunny and I chased after the bus to get them to wait. The bus drove off just as I had my hand on the door. Damn it, missed by THAT much, and a one hour’s wait ensued.

At this moment, we went and bought some paper cups, to “drink” from as we might need it later. Cue - very dodgy mixture of coke and err, “special tea” in a weird looking bottle. After some food and chatter, we boarded the bus to Genting. It was a quick trip, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying our “special tea” & coke. Once up there we boarded the cable car to start the nervy 20- minute ride up to the resort. The cable car ride was ok, the songs never stopped, until one person, let rip of the longest, most revolting “biological weapon of mass destruction” in recent times, leaving the rest of us gasping for air. It didn’t help that it happened when the cable car stopped in the middle of the mountain with a stunning view of the valley beneath us. Whenever the cable car stopped, we were chatting loudly to avoid from looking down, as though it would not be there by chatting loudly.

We then went to check out the venue and tried to negotiate to put our banner up. It was initially not allowed, but after some sweet talking and negotiation, we managed to convince them that it was a good idea to put the banner up. We checked in and drank some more, this time, in an apartment. By now, we were hungry. After a last minute check on the memento to Rushie, we headed back to the venue anticipating Rushie’s arrival.

As we walked in, there are already plenty of other reds there, waiting for him. When we saw the staff of the bar running around, we just knew he was about a minute away. Rushie walked in to a thunderous applause, and as he walked passed us, he acknowledged us and said hi. Cue the Rushie song to come on, presented by MyRAWK, with him having the surprised look while touching his neck, perhaps trying to sooth the hairs standing on the back of his neck as mentioned by him in a recent interview. Rushie sat down to watched the Tynecastle Derby with us.

Not many of us were interested in the match, the focus was more on Rush, so a few of us went and grabbed a quick bite of McDonalds which cost about 50% more than normal. Damn casino pricing! At the end of the match we had a Q & A session, where Rushie shared with us, his favorite strike partner, King Kenny. He also shared funny stories when he was playing, involving none other than the current Steve McMahon, the pundit for ESPN Asia. Apparently Macca went up for a header and got knocked in the head and fell to the ground. At the same time, the referee blew for half time and everyone just walked off the field towards the dressing room, only to realize 5 minutes later that Macca was missing, still lying on the field waiting for the physio to come and treat him. Macca ended up trudging towards the dressing room with a bit of a “tower” on his head. Later, it was autograph & picture time where I had to go up and present him with his memento. We had lots of pictures signed, not to mention a Corinthians’ set where he was looking for the figure of himself to sign on until it was pointed out to him that it was from another season. He wasn’t too happy about signing the Corinthians without him on it.

After the autograph session, he went back to the derby Vs West Ham match while we mingled with fellow reds from Singapore and JB. We quickly struck up a bond that only reds can have and exchanged views and contacts. Rushie left at half time of the match to rush back to KL to prepare for another long day on Sunday, but not before we got him to take a picture in front of our banner and sign it.

It was now time for the match itself. We managed to sit on the VIP seats occupied by Rushie just half an hour before hand, the huge group of red with similar names, MyRAWK and MyREDS sat together for the first time. We in one voice sang and chanted in true MyRAWK fashion. The game ended with a win with goals from El Nino and Gerrard and both groups of supporters went back happy, promising each other to meet up again. As we were taking the banner down, the owner of the pub walked in and thanked us for making the match atmosphere a lively one and invited us to come up as often as we could. We mumbled something to the effect of we’ll try and packed away the banner before making a long walk back to the apartment to finish off some unfinished “business”. A long session of discussion and boozing ensued and before I know it, its 0730 hrs and we went to bed.

The next thing I know was that we had to check out in 20 minutes time, we hurriedly showered (separately) and packed before checking out and making the way down the hill. As with all trips, the trip back seemed to be faster, but when we got to the bus station, again we missed the bus by a whisker. We spent another long hour sitting down and trying to catch a kip or two. When we finally got onto the bus, most of us were ready to hit the sack and the journey back was uneventful bar some small talk about the upcoming trip.

Overall it was a good trip and we genuinely had fun. It was a shame that many others could not join us to make it a truly fun trip, but with many other events coming up and hopefully more legends in town, we hope to organize more of trips like this where we can get to know each other and have some genuine fun. For details of upcoming visits of the legends, bookmark this site and check it so very often as the next legend who visits town is a very exciting one and it is not very far from now.
Trip report by
Jonno

Liverpool FC v Beskitas FC

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: LIVERPOOL V BESIKTAS

MATCH TIME: 3:30AM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2007
CHANNEL 812/ 813

VS

POSSIBLE LINEUP

GAME MATCH REMINDERS:

Dear MyRAWKites,

Please be informed of the game viewing times:

1) UEFA Champions League
Besiktas V Liverpool FC 25th October @ 2:30AM (THURSDAY)
Can be viewed from Channel 812 ESPN

2) BARCLAYS Premier League
Liverpool FC V Arsenal 29th October @ 12:00AM (MONDAY)
Can be viewed from Channel 812 ESPN

We will not be opened for the Arsenal game on the 29th October, however we will be back again in full KOP roar on the 3rd of November 2007 at 12:30AM (SUNDAY)-Come one come all as we still have more prizes and gifts to give away. We will see you again! You'll Never Walk Alone!

Event Special: MyRAWK Merseyside Derby Pictures and Video

Scenes From The Derby Event:




(Click on thumbnails to view bigger pictures)


Video of MyRAWKites singing our anthem after the final whistle.



A big thank you to our sponsors and friends for their help, generous gifts and prizes to make this MyRAWK special event and gathering our best yet:
Mr. Eric & Mr. Lorenzo from M Bar for the free jugs and Carlsberg premiums.
Mr. Lee for sourcing the Carlsberg LFC lighters.
Mr. Tan for the free magnetic bookmark / fridge magnets.
Ms. Arthur for the Bacardi, Torres and Kendall Jackson premiums.

We were also privileged to play host to our new friend, Raul - a respected RAWKite from New Delhi. Last but not least, to our fellow Malaysian REDs and MyRAWKites; 100 of you that turned up to support us, thank you and please give yourselves a big round of applause for making this one heck of a party!

You'll Never Walk Alone.

MyRAWK Team

Merseyside Derby MyRAWK Birthday Celebration!

The birthdays boys - Alfred, JonC & William. What other better way to celebrate except by wining the Derby!