(Please correct me on this) As I recalled, Shankly wanted to retire early.. Board reluctant but accepted. The board got it wrong not to give Shanks a chair on the boardroom but did made the right decision to appoint Sir Bob as successor eventhough Shanks want someone else.

I'm sorry if I'm wrong

will carra's testimonial match be shown on astro?haha..thx for the reply....cheers

Carragher urges Liverpool fans to lay off Owen



Soccernet Source

Houllier interviewed for Villa job



Soccernet Source

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Still finding it hard to forgive Owen despite the years gone, but nevertheless it is a charity game - I don't think people should be booing in such events.

There, I was wondering why some people are so forgiving when it comes to Masch yet they cant do the same for Owen.Yes, no doubt Owen left us when we needed him and he had joined manu to make things worse but he did contribute a lot to the club, no? Masch left us when we need him too.He badmouthed the club after he left.What makes him better than Owen?I cant find an answer why a certain group of people can forgive masch and not Owen.

Why Owen left Liverpool for Real Madrid ? I'm an Owen supporter myself but I was still young back in the days when Owen is still playing for us. Not so good in digging news that time Anyone mind to tell me ?

safe to say that, owen was bred from youth was promoted n became star for the team, he what the team n fans relied on, scoring goals,,when houliier departed, n came benitez, we hav arguebly, promising forwards,,cisse, baros, n owen,,everybody expected a good season, the fans was eager for the season to starts,,n guess what, out of nowhere, owen left the club n went to madrid..

mascherano really a nobody to be honest, he came to bpl as a sub player during his days wit west ham,,mayb rafa did him a huge favor by signing him n make him a regular,,but his desired to leave wasnt a secret at all, he said it several times that his family wasnt happy plus he earn arguably the lowest paycheck for his talent n u know with all his problem, he's bound to leave the club, n he did..

Me and frens particularly dislike Michael Owen since he moved to ManU. We started off our craze for football during Michael Owen's days , when he still has the nick of wonderkid, let's just say that he's basically our childhood hero.

It took a lot of time accept the fact that someone like Michael Owen ( which we take him for a rational and humble person ) to join ManU, it's like ur watching ur childhood hero turning into ur enemy.

TBH, I don't really hate any players except C Ronaldo. Not because he is a ManU, but because of his disgusting arrogance and trickery. Although I support Liverpool, but I do like some players in ManU like Rooney and Berbatov. I actually only hates some bunch of pathetic fans who never stops to boast and insult others, and tat's why I love Liverpool. The fans are very passionate but yet never loses themselves and shows respect to others (majority).

for me in general, i kind of very upset seen him left for madrid,,but on contrary, i didnt mind seeing him playing for man u , there wasnt much left in him, so he wants to end his career with a league or 2 plus we also been given chance to sign him back which we declined, so option for him to choose club after that really shouldnt be our concern anymore..

guys,

can sumone enlighten me about carra's testimonial match?what is it about anyway??

Liverpool personified

1) owen leave for $8,
masc for $18...$10 million difference

2) i still remember clearly, owen say he will stay and sign new contract...next i know, he left us for RM.
we all already know masc wanted to leave since last yr

3) owen leave us because of what again, oh i remember...to win more trophy. what he do next, join newscastle
masc deny it was family reason, i hugely doubt it. how can one seperate from their own family for so long. he shouldn't badmouth liverpool now that he achieve what he wanted now.

4) the last thing liverpool fans want, is him to join MU. well, he certainly cemented a place in liverpool fans heart now..as a judas
for masc, i think most fans still 50-50. we wont know what happen in the future, but for sure now i wont respect masc as what it used to be

Owen left us no bargaining chip (as he's running out of contract). He left for RM at such dirt cheap disgraced price (8 million?? Yuck, it's disgusting).
We did not expect him to leave. We thought he was Liverpool man (like Carragher & Gerrard). Fans saw him like "Torres".
The worst part is, he went to RM as a bench-warmer. What an insult??!! A Liverpool home grown "Torres" joined RM as bench-warmer???
The worst NIAMAH insult is, there was no place for him in RM.
The "Phenomenon" Ronaldo (39 million) and the "evergreen" Raul were always in the starting lineup.
They were much better in terms of ball control & finishing skills (than the traitor).
He couldn't play as 2nd striker as well, as RM had Z.Zidane (world record transfer, 75 million) and L.Figo (world record transfer, 37 million).
He obviously didn't have the skills like Zidane and Figo.
So, what was he doing in RM? Licking bench? Typical "Judas".

As for Mascherano, we know he can fetch reasonable price .
We know he has a high possibility of leaving Liverpool. We see it coming since last season.
Situation got worst since Rafa left. And our team becomes "mid-table" team.
We see that (our stars leaving) coming too. We expected it. So, no surprise.
Mascherano expressed explicitly that he is leaving (unlike the "Judas").
Secondly, who with the right mind would turn down the offer from Barcelona? Especially after "Barcelona" won the World Cup 2010.
He's leaving for Barcelona. A dream come true. Fully understandable & acceptable.
With his ability, he can be an anchor in Barcelona's defense.
He knows he is going to be starting lineup. Barcelona know he will greatly strengthen the team's midfield/defense.
Last but not least, Mascherano should adapt well in Barcelona - as he speaks spanish.

You can't find the answer?
I believe you are well aware of above points.
Try open your eyes and you'll see it.

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Added on September 4, 2010, 2:58 amI find it interesting.
Glad to see Gerard Houllier back to managing EPL team.

This post has been edited by ALeUNe: Sep 4 2010, 02:58 AM

My point is quite simple, why people tend to forget what Owen contributed to the club.Yet, they paid tribute to what Masch had contributed. Quite simply, the former contributed more than Masch did, no?

I cant accept what you said that Masch move was a dream come true, thus acceptable.It could be the same for Owen.It was a dream move for him.So, what was so wrong with that? Owen went there to sit on bench, who can be sure that Masch isn't going to? With Xavi, Iniesta, Busquet, I seriously wonder where and how the hell Masch going to be regular starting 11.

What I am asking now is that, if you can treat Masch like Hero, why not Owen? He joined manu to save his chances to the world cup, acceptable, no?For his age, for his injury record, a club of manu caliber came knocking, I would be surprised if he rejected it.

Owen contributed as much as(if not more) Masch did.If Masch should not get bashing, same goes to Owen.

Torres scored yo...
Hope he'll continue the form..
Oh and huppia red carded..
Dats rare

torres is on fire!!
New boy meireles also scored!!
Cant wait for his liv debut... Woot!!

This post has been edited by mamet: Sep 4 2010, 04:34 AM

No one forgets what Owen contributed.

Why I can accept the reason Mascherano left for Barcelona? I have told you. Open your eyes and read again.
Why I see Owen as a traitor joining RM? I have told you too. Read again.

I just want to touch on "dream comes true".
It is Barcelona we are dealing with. I rate them as the top football club in the world.
Look at the Barcelona boys played during World Cup and you know how good they are.
Remember the captain of Arsenal, Fabregas, wore the Barcelona jersey? You know how reputable they are after world cup '10.
With Mascherano's ability, we know Mascherano has alot to give at Barcelona. There are rooms for his contribution.
What the heck Owen was doing in Real Madrid? Ronaldo, Raul, Zidane and Figo are all ahead of him in terms of skills and names at the time.
These big names were the lethal attacking force at RM & RM paid world-record transfer fees for these big names. How much RM paid for Owen?
What dream did he want to achieve at RM? There were no rooms for his contribution at RM.
Still no convinced? See how Owen fled RM after 1 season and you'll know he contributed nothing there.
Open your eyes and see.

P/S I don't feel bad Owen joined both Newcastle & ManU 'cos I see him like "traitor" since he joined RM.
He could have joined Liverpool after RM & Newcastle.
Again and again, he's showed to us all that he is NOT Liverpool man afterall.
No one forgets his contribution but his past contribution is not relevant any more.

P/S RM sold Owen to Newcastle for 12 million. 50% more than RM paid to Liverpool. A bench-warmer that worth 12 million.
Liverpool was forced to sell her home-grown "Torres" for 8 million. Yuck, this is disgusting.

This post has been edited by ALeUNe: Sep 4 2010, 10:03 AM

For whatever reasons, it's an insult.. what Michael did. Masch did the same horrible thing, forcing the club to sell him, refused to play a game, using his family as an excuse (making people to feel sympathized for him) and making the club looks bad with his latest statement. Unless we start winning trophies, we'll see more of this in the future.. it's important for every player and more importantly for a very highly rated player to retire with lot of medals and trophies... it's hard to find another Carra nowadays.

Do you see Roy Hodgson joining Liverpool as something horrible?
You know, he dumped Fullham for Liverpool.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/...oy-Hodgson.html
http://www.clickliverpool.com/sport/liverp...d-al-fayed.html

"The supporters of Fulham, the players and the staff understood my decision because they understood that when you get an offer to come to Liverpool, it's not an offer you turn down lightly. - RH

it explains everything... he did not leave fulham in a bad way IMO, yes maybe a little harsh... but it was NO disgrace. Liverpool VS Fulham. more often than not a person would choose liverpool over fulham.

Owen will forever be a liverpool great. yes, i was gutted when he moved to Real Madrid (as i always am gutted at anyone moving from the EPL to RM). but i understood that he needed that chance for his career, no one would know he would end up as a benchwarmer. Liverpool was'nt going far that time, so owen needed to futher his career, but sadly, it didnt happen. but this is no reason to hate him nor hate RM. the team with money, splashes it.

my views on masch on the other hand, the way he left, i hated it, and i still do. yes, he was a great DM for us. he did wonders. but his achievements and passion while playing for us is NOTHING compared to the likes of Owen. The fans loved Owen. Masch calling his potential-benchwarming move a 'dream' is disgusting. the way he didnt want to play for us was disgusting. i always hated the way he keeps on ranting and ranting. im happy he left. i dont want a passionless player in my club.



on a brighter note:

Torres scored a brace.

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Added on September 4, 2010, 11:50 amand also... Kuyt scored from the spot! YAY!

This post has been edited by Mikeshashimi: Sep 4 2010, 11:50 AM

I've personally never criticized Owen for leaving but I can understand why people do. Fans can sometimes be unreasonable, expecting players to be as loyal as they claim to be without considering the situation from the viewpoint of the player. If Gerrard had left a couple of seasons back, would you have blamed him? I wouldn't have. He is willing to stay provided the club shows ambition and moves in the right direction. Nothing wrong that. If he had left, it wouldn't mean he would have lost all love for the club, it just means he doesn't think we can help him fulfill his ambition. Torres left Atletico Madrid for the same reason and the fans still adore him. Why isn't the same true for Owen?

Well Torres was open and honest with the fans. Being a local lad, there was no doubting his love for the club but he needed to go places the club could not take him at the time and the fans understood. Owen may be a product of the academy but we signed him as a schoolboy from Chester. Not really a local lad in that sense. He was holding out for a move to Real Madrid resulting in us getting peanuts in return plus Nunes. He claims to have been forced out of the club but if this were true, would we have even considered bringing him back?

Mascherano was not a nobody as some may claim. He was already a full international for one of world football's giants. West Ham was never going to be his and Tevez's final destination. It was merely part of the process as there was a dispute over who actually owned the players. Until today, it's still shrouds in mystery but if you've followed the transfer, you'd note that othe Premiership clubs as well as clubs around Europe had wanted them in their side. You think Rafa would really sign an "unknown" player who couldn't get a regular start in a midtable side, especially just after we won the Champions League and was now planning an assault on the Premiership. He was a relative unknown to you and I perhaps. At the time he openly said he'd relish the opportunity of playing for Barcelona or Real Madrid. You might say it would have been a "dream move" for him.

Despite coming out to criticize the club, Masch has always been honest, and we've known of his desire to leave a full season ago. He says the club will have a special place I. His heart and judging from how hard he's played for us, I believe him. If anything I think he is as disillusioned as most of us fans, and players with the ownership and management at the club. Is this really so hard to believe? Wasn't Hick's latest lie publicly stating that we would have money to spend in the recent transfer window? As it stands we made a profit from transfers, meaning we haven't actually spent a cent. The latest of many lies. Is it really inconceivable then to believe that Mascherano was not given what he was promised? If your boss promised you a salary hike and never gave it to you, I'm guessing you'd be pissed off as hell. Make no mistake about it. Mascherano never claimed to be a lifelong fan and this about it, most players from that region do dream of playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona. It's mostly Europeans that at one point may have been Liverpool fans. So Masch was obviously pissed off to the extent he didn't want to play. Now as an employee I understand that, although I think it's unprofessional but I do empathize. We don't always do what's 'right' because we often act on emotion and not logical thought.
I trust that by thinking of these situations a little deeper, analyzing the circumstances as you go along will allow you to arrive at a conclusion for yourself. Masch never criticized the manager, the players or the fans. To me it's Masch vs. The owners/management and I know for a fact that we hate the latter so take your pick. If anything I'd advise everyone to take everything that's reported in the press with a pinch of salt and form their own conclusions taking into account all events. Of course this can only be done if you do some reading in the first place.

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Added on September 4, 2010, 12:23 pmJust to add, you read about fans today talking about boycotting the owners and protesting against them. Is this so different from Masch boycotting them? Don't we have a professional duty to stick by them as fans since they own the club?

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Added on September 4, 2010, 12:43 pmI can't help but be upset at allegations he was greedy for wanting higher wages. At the time he joined and in the next 1-2 seasons that followed, he was amongst the lowest paid, lower than Voronin FFS. He has since become captain of Argentina and as such, do we not think he deserves wages on par with our other top internationals? Get real, not everyone is a Robbie Fowler and would play for free what more if you are a player whose dream club isn't even the one you are currently playing for? Try to put yourself in his shoes. Would you not want your boss to pay you what you deserve? I assume that most here work no? Gerrard never asked for more money?

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Sep 4 2010, 12:43 PM