The Liverpool FC Thread

rafa needs to go, lets be real about the CL win, thats only rafa picking the best 11

who's the one playing out of his skin for liverpool week in and week out? steven gerrard

the guy is still the best footballer on the planet, but the thing is, that's a lot of desire and will, he LOVES liverpool, i dunno if you'd see the same from him in another shirt i don't think you would, his heart is with the reds

lets remember

"n the 54th minute, a succession of quick Liverpool passes eventually reached John Arne Riise, who had two chances to cross the ball, his second attempt found Gerrard who headed the ball into the far corner of the net. The goal gave Liverpool much-needed confidence and hope, and Gerrard was seen urging his team-mates to make a game of it. At this point the Liverpool supporters in the crowd began to get behind the team even more so than they already had.

Two minutes later Hamann slipped the ball to Vladimír Šmicer, who was 20 yards (18 m) from goal and struck a shot with power and precision, which Baros did extremely well to avoid, past Dida. Milan's lead was now down to 3–2. The legality of this goal was disputed by Milan, as immediately prior to Hamann receiving the ball the linesman had been flagging for an earlier Liverpool offside. However, the referee decided against giving a free kick as Milan had - initially - come away with the ball. The sense of injustice felt by Milan supporters mirrored that of the Liverpool fans after the first half's second goal, as in both cases the goalscorers had benefited from an unawarded free kick.

Liverpool continued to press Milan. A clever back-heel pass from Milan Baroš found Steven Gerrard running through on goal where he went down in the penalty box. Liverpool were awarded a penalty which was taken by Xabi Alonso. He struck it hard towards the bottom left corner but Dida at full stretch was able to palm the ball away. However, the rebound allowed Alonso to hammer the ball into the roof of the net with his left foot and brought Liverpool level at 3–3."


if liverpool doesn't have steven gerrard, it's not the same team, not even close, i don't think any of you fans see it the way i do from the outside looking in, he's your team, he's the heart, when he beats, liverpool beats

rafa needs to go, the owners are winning owners, the montreal canadians are the most successful team in ice hockey history, and the dallas stars are always in the playoffs

you need to get rid of rafa, he's the fattest managers in the EPL is he not? that says volumes IMO about him and how involved he really is with the teams training

this is from gerrard himself

"I'm pretty gutted every time I look at the table and see the gap between us and Arsenal at the top," the 27-year-old told LFC magazine.

"I'm getting tired of saying the same thing over and over again."

"We believed we had the players to challenge for the title, and we wanted that one more than any other trophy available to us," said Gerrard.

"I still believe we have the squad to be a hell of a lot more competitive than we are right now."

"In the position we find ourselves now, fourth is the least that is acceptable," said midfielder Gerrard. "But we have bigger ambitions than that.

"The only way we can fulfil those ambitions is in the Champions League.

"And I am not going to pretend that even winning that trophy - and we are a long way away from it at the moment - will make up for the disappointment of the league campaign."

He added: "We can't keep talking about next season all the time. There are only so many times you can say it and believe it.

"Sooner or later we have to make one season the season we make it happen and do the talking on the pitch.

"We need to make people believe it. I'm 27 now, I don't want to be talking about 'next season' for Liverpool when I'm 32.

"We've got the stadium, the fans, the manager and the players to compete for the Premier League.

"But we have no chance of doing that if we are always well out of it by the first week in January."


gerrard isn't happy, and you will never hear him talk bad about rafa because he has TOO MUCH CLASS way way too much

you guys are in some serious trouble though, but i do wish you well, i think the premier league is much more interesting and world football in general is with liverpool winning or at least truely fighting for titles

good luck against inter tomorrow i know you will win

Originally posted by OSSkyWatcher
rafa needs to go

Stopped reading at that point

How long did Alex Ferguson go at United before he won anything?

5/6 years?

Rafa won the CL in his first season, got to the CL final again the year after and also won the FA Cup.

Yeah...so United should have sacked Fergie.....

reply to post by OSSkyWatcher


I belong to a couple of liverpool fan forums, and this is something I see a lot of on the boards there.

It's usually put forth by the people who really have no idea of what football is about.

Let's get a couple of things straight;
Rafa's net spend is WAY below that of the other big 4, and has been covered by revenue streams already in place - gillett and hicks have not given any money for players - and yet on a much more limited budget he has worked wonders.

If any of the other top teams got to 2 champs league finals in 3 years, winning one, the media would be calling them the best team ever - so why not rafa?

It's pretty simple - the media outlets have interests (shares) on a small scale in the other 3 clubs, they have none in liverpool, so it's in their interest to stir things up for LFC and keep quiet about teams they have a stake in.

Rafa is not at his best in the premiership - yet - but shows his tactical acumen in europe on a consistent basis.
MUCH more consistent than any of the other top teams.

To call for rafa's departure shows a profound lack of understanding of LFC of Gerrard, of Rafa and of football in general.


[edit on 5/3/2008 by budski]

blah blah blah rafa isn't sir alex ferguson

man utd weren't the team liverpool were when rafa took over either, oh you didn't mention what sir alex did at aberdeen, which was what rafa did at valencia, those clubs are in 2 totally different leagues btw (literally and the level of football they play)

rafa needs to go, you said yourself you "stopped reading"

well you clearly didn't real the part where steven gerrard says he's not going to be at liverpool at 32 saying "next year"

He was appointed manager at Old Trafford on November 6, 1986,

1989-90 season he won the FA cup

90-91 season They also reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, beating that season's Spanish champions Barcelona in the final

again you need to check your facts, 5 or 6 years? seems like 3 or 4

cause ferguson and rafa aren't the same, and didn't walk into the same situation, rafa needs to go

liverpool need to win domestically, and rafa won't win you the league, and that's all that really matters right now for steven gerrard

who is a huge reason you have had any recent success

i dunno why you think finishing 4th is alright, but when you say keep rafa that's what you are saying, that it's ok to not win the league

Hmmm fergie,
went to man Ure in 86,
won the FA cup in 90
won the league in 92-93
won the cup winners cup in 91
won the champs league in 99, no other finals before or since.

Rafa,
went to LFC in 04
won the champs league in 05
won FA cup in 06
champs league final 07
Plus the euro super cup, the charity shield and runner up in the world club final

Now lets have a look at net spending since 04
Liverpool
04 - 1,750,000
05 - 16,150,000
06 - 18,320,000
07 - 20,700,000

Total - 56,900,000

Man Ure
04- 51,720,000
05 - 150,000
06 - 10,600,000
07 - 25,800,000

Total - 88,270,000

These are for net spending - the difference between players sold and players bought.
So fergie has spent nearly 32 million more but can't even get to the euro final hmmmm

I see a bit of disparity here - it took fergie 4 years to win his first trophy, in 3 years rafa has won 4 and been to 3 finals, including the champs league twice.

I say that you haven't got a clue what you're talking about.

Or you're a man Ure fan trying to derail a liverpool thread by talking nonsense.

Come back when you know what you're talking about and we can have a discussion - until then please try and at least think before typing as you're just making a fool of yourself.

BTW, you might want to cite sources for your commentary of the game in order to stay within the T&C

[edit on 5/3/2008 by budski]

reply to post by budski


I agree, Fergie was given a lot of time at Man U to change things around and he was certainly lucky that he had a good blend of seasoned pro's with a crop of youngsters who were exceptionally talented.

However, the one thing you didn't mention is the number of Premiership Titles won:

2006-2007 Manchester United
2005-2006 Chelsea
2004-2005 Chelsea
2003-2004 Arsenal
2002-2003 Manchester United
2001-2002 Arsenal
2000-2001 Manchester United
1999-2000 Manchester United
1998-99 Manchester United
1997-98 Arsenal
1996-97 Manchester United
1995-96 Manchester United
1994-95 Blackburn Rovers
1993-94 Manchester United
1992-93 Manchester United

I think you'll agree, there is one very noticable absence and I think it's that which is beginning to really annoy Gerrard.
He passionately wants to see, and be part of, Liverpool winning a Premiership.
It looks no more likely today than it did when Rafa took over.

That Rafa needs more time is undeniable, wether he get's it or not remains to be seen.

reply to post by Freeborn


I'm not denying we need to win it soon, but it took fergie 6 years, with massive amounts of money spent, in a less competetive league.

What I am saying is that in comparisn to fergies first few years, rafa is way ahead of him.

it's not about fergie, you reds compare yourself to man utd all the time

basically the english european giants, vs the domestic ones

my point was that rafa needs to win the English Premier League trophy

and steven gerrard thinks so too

liverpool could probably attract any manager they wanted, mourinho would go there and we all know how highly he thinks of himself

why settle? it's not a knock agaist the football club, the fans, the players, its the manager

i was on bbc today, and the liverpool sale stuff is front page, sky sports, i can't find it unless i start digging around

gerrard would die happy if he raised the EPL trophy with liverpool, he could be struck by lightning and as long as he's playing for liverpool and wins in england he's happier than a pig in #

do you want me to post his quotes again?

i have already said he has way too much class to ever talk bad about the clubs manager, but read between the lines, he's not happy at all finishing 3rd, 4th, and 5th

don't bring fergie and man utd into this thread, clearly nobody here cares enough about man utd to even start a thread

but you pool fans expose yourselfs when you are so quick to bring up man utd, and ferguson

what's wrong with me saying rafa needs to go?

you guys love your european football, and i am going to personally do everything i can as a football fan to watch a european game while sitting in the kop

but when you are struggling to even qualify domestically for european football....come on now...

torres scored 3 today

the only thing rafa has that liverpool need is the fact that he is going to sign the big la liga players before the other teams in england do almost all of the time

don't you guys want to be able to sing "who the # is man united who the # is man united who the # is man united and the reds go marching on on on"?

during the last game of the premier league campaign as you are crowned champions?

you won the champions league and finished 5th....

there is something very very very wrong with that

the owners get # on too much, they are winning owners overseas, they want to win, they realize you have to win

but the liverpool fans are undermining them all the time when it's rafas rotation policy that is the problem

and eventually you will hear it from cara or gerrard and realize that

nobody said a damn thing about me posting the 14-20th placed teams and mentioning how rafa will play a weak 11 against teams full of international players

the english premier league is the best and most competitive in the world, players say it all the time, players in spain, players in italy, players all over the place talk about the quality of competition, players will sign for struggling relegation sides just to play with the best

why does ruud van horseface score 20 goals in la liga his first year, but shevchenko is 1/2 the player he was at milan?

because the football in england is fast paced, and just quality and class

rafa can't see that he can't field a weak team against derby, wigan, bolton ect. ect. week in and week out

there is too much quality to have a rotation policy like he does

like i said before, world football in general is much better with liverpool actually having a chance to win in england, the club and the fans are 1st class all the way

anfield is a special place in footballing history

but you must realize that rafa isn't the guy, and he's probably gone after this season if they don't with the CL


how dirk kuyt starts over crouch is beyond me, and i think we all know that it should be him and torres up front, crouch is a big scarecrow, but he plays for the team, he wins balls in the air, and he's got a bit of skill

come on guys, seriously.....you are happy finishing 4th each year and hoping to reach the champions league finals?

once you get that domestic title you are the kings of english football, and to an extent basically world football

i know you can all hear the kop singing "who the # is man uniiiiited who the # is man uniiiited who the # is man uniiiited AND THE REDS GO MARCHING ON! ON! ON!"

but that will never happen with rafa and that's just the truth

no matter what he spends, no matter what other teams spend

he has the best midfielder and footballer on the planet! on the entire planet in steven gerrard

he's 27, in the prime of his career, the directors at the club aren't blind to that either

but you fans sure are, there has never been a better time to win domestically than right now for liverpool with gerrard in his prime

you beat west ham 4-0 today, big whoop, torres scored 3 on his own, and a goal from gerrard, but without torrres is dirk kuyt scoring 3? are you beating west ham 4-0?


(you probably are beating west ham 4-0 they are #e and without tevez would have been playing against the great preston north end twice this season )


[edit on 5-3-2008 by OSSkyWatcher]

[edit on 5-3-2008 by OSSkyWatcher]

also as for sources

news.bbc.co.uk...

and you talk about the 04 seasons, when man utd spent 50 mill, 1/2 of that was on juan seba veron was it not?

05, 06 and 07 liverpool spent more than man utd

but so what? all that proves is they have money, look at what wenger has done at arsenal with not a lot, it's not about money, its about scouting and recognizing talent

rooney was a liverpool fan btw your scouts missed him, along with a few others who ended up playing for everton who aren't bad players now


[edit on 5-3-2008 by OSSkyWatcher]

[edit on 5-3-2008 by OSSkyWatcher]

News is out that DIC have bought out gillett, but that hicks has a controlling interest.

Shares are DIC 49%
Hicks 51%
www.anfieldroad.com...

If this is indeed true, then perhaps these people can stop bickering in public and give us what they said they would.

New stadium,
back the manager
strengthen the squad

And get some bloody stability by keeping this sort of infighting rubbish away from the players and press.

Torres. Making scousers gay since 2007.

W00t!

What a player! To think some manc bookie was offering £100,000 bet on Tevez beating El Nino in the goal stakes for 2007-08.

His armband proved he was a red. Torres! Torres!
You'll never walk alone it said. Torres! Torres!
We bought the lad from sunny Spain
He'll get the ball, he'll score again
Fernando Torres, Liverpool's number 9!

[edit on 11-3-2008 by melatonin]

reply to post by melatonin


Have you been drinking Mel?

If not, you should have been.
Congrats to all you scousers,

Liverpool played very well and it was reasonably comfortable in the end.

Let's hope all the English teams miss each other in the next round.

Originally posted by Freeborn
Have you been drinking Mel?

If not, you should have been.
Congrats to all you scousers,

Like Liverpool, I went for the spanish influence - a nice rioja.

Great game. A few hairy moments, but great stuff. Onwards and upwards - bring on Barca again!

reply to post by melatonin


Missed the bloody game - listened to it though.

Roll on the QF's - I don't really care who we get, but wouldn't be surprised to see crooked uefa pitching all the english teams against each other.

I predict....

Chelsea v Liverpool (again!)
Arsenal v Man U
Barcelona v Schalke 04
Roma vs Fenerbache

The four English clubs will be drawn together to prevent an all-English final, using the old hot/cold ball technique favoured by UEFA

I predict....

Chelsea v Liverpool (again!)
Arsenal v Man U
Barcelona v Schalke 04
Roma vs Fenerbache

The four English clubs will be drawn together to prevent an all-English final, using the old hot/cold ball technique favoured by UEFA

I predict....

Chelsea v Liverpool (again!)
Arsenal v Man U
Barcelona v Schalke 04
Roma vs Fenerbache

The four English clubs will be drawn together to prevent an all-English final, using the old hot/cold ball technique favoured by UEFA

reply to post by neformore


Tell me more about the hot/cold technique please nef - I've heard it said before, but I don't know how they do it.

Also, do you have any links regarding this?
I'd be most grateful.

Its simple.

The balls of the teams you want drawn together are heated.

The others are chilled.

Then you put them all in the same bag, and do a "fair" draw. The person picking them out picks all the hot ones together, and all the cold ones together, usually alternating between two hot and two cold to make it appear less rigged.

Can't find any links to it All we can all do is wait for the draw. I'd put a fiver on the four english clubs being drawn together though

reply to post by neformore


Hell, I'd put £6.37 on it

I wonder why people don't believe that UEFA is a corrupt organisation.

I also wonder why they dislike english teams so much...

Originally posted by budski
I also wonder why they dislike english teams so much...

Apparently its because we insist on having four seperate football associations, each with a vote on the main UEFA committe. They say that because the country is called the "United Kingdom" we should only have one.

Daft thing is that if we'd have had a United Kingdom team I think we'd have been a match for anyone over the years, but as we insist on seperate associations, theres always missing parts to teams and the talent pool is diluted.

So in effect they dislike us because we've prevented ourselves from becoming a major footballing power.....