I really dont think that Konchesky is any better than Aurelio and injuries aside, i dont really see the poiny in this signing. Insua and Aurelio are still officially Liverpool players and the latter is the best crosser of the three, and he's also a useful deadball specialist.

Unless I'm mistaken, Mario Gomes is the most expensive player in the Bundesliga

To an extent, I see where you're coming from. The reason I've never mentioned Pacheco is because I've not seen enough of him to make a judgement call. I've read about him but that's all and I can only assume that those who see him day in and day out, are qualified to decide if he plays or not.

Though I may be critical of our tactics at times, I do trust the management when it comes to determining if young players are ready for first team action. I've seen posters raving about Pacheco, Ayala, El-Zhar (who isn't even all that young), Nemeth and co but in my opinion, none of them look like first team material. Again, this is my opinion and I won't lay claim to it being the gospel truth. If they've impressed it's only because expectations are lower due to their age. Having said that they will still develop.

He has played for the team during pre-season. From the look of things, Kelly looks the most likely to feature this season.

So the transfer window has shut and overall, I must say that though we should welcome anyone putting on a red shirt, there is little excitement in our new signings. Too often, I see posters kid themselves into thinking we've un-earthed a world beater in the making. Here's my take on things. We've signed players who are already at the peak of their careers and who can only get worse and not better. We had to do this so stabilise the ship. Hodgson does not have the luxury of signing young hopefuls, and certainly doesn't have a "5 year plan". To me, the signings of Jovanovich, Konchesky, Poulsen and Meireles spark little excitement. Make no mistake about it, these are players we wouldn't have considered signing 2-3 seasons ago. These are players who if you ask me should be sought after by midtable sides which is a matter of concern, because I can't help asking myself if we are now a midtable side. On a more positive note, the arrivals have been greeted by a lot more optimism than I anticipated by a good number of posters. On a more negative note, I suspect that they will come under criticism by the very same posters halfway through the season. I'm not trying to be overly pessimistic, I'm trying to be realistic and manage not just mine, but your expectations as well.

On the issue of Mascherano, I've said that there are always two sides to a coin and we should give him the benefit of the doubt. We cannot treat our own like the MACC treats the people; guilty until proven innocent. Do what you will, but here's what he has to say so far.

No more knee-jerk reactions please.

Mmm which Hazry might this be? I know a couple.

In regards to the WBA game, we really should be winning these games comfortably. The result could have been really different had WBA scored just minutes before we did. Also, Skrtel's compulsion to flirt with danger kept me on the edge the whole time. I've seen penalties given for less. I was a little disappointed that we looked scared to lose, and were hesitant to throw players forward whenever we got the ball. Whilst it isn't uncommon to see the likes of Johnson or even Agger get up, I would like to see more darting runs in the centre of the park. Instead we keep spraying the ball out wide but Johnson aside, we don't really have players who can outpace their markers. Hence, we keep having to hold the ball up, eventually having to pass it back.

Ah yes, he plays futsal with us. Jon C knows him better since I hardly join them for a game.

I hope not. His reputation preceeds him.

Not everyone mate. I for one wish him well and hope he flourishes at Barcelona. If you want to be angry at him, then it's your right. I on the other hand, empathise with him and can only hope that the majority of Liverpool fans display the traits that once made us the most patient fans around.

They aren't star players by any stretch of the imagination. We wouldn't have thought of signing Poulsen 2 seasons ago. We have been out hunting for bargains and he is exactly just that. Jovanovich is arguably the better player but I'm not convinced he has the pace and skill to beat defenders on the flank, especially if we are playing 4-4-2.

On the contrary I think he'll do well. I rate him above Basquets but to be fair, it's probably because I've seen Masch more often. With Marquez gone, he makes a good fit for the team as the Mexican occasionally filled the defensive midfield role. With all their attacking prowess, I see Masch playing an important role.

Let's wait and see what happens then.

You say you want to move away from the Masherano issue and yet you guys keep attacking him. I find it really disheartening that Liverpool fans adopt the guilty until proven innocent mentality. Makes us no different from other fans so please stop gloating and claiming that we are better or different. Masch is being crucified despite the real story not being known to us. He took a pay cut to join Barcelona so the situation obviously isn't as clear cut. Amidst all that has been said, he did say 1 poignant point, that Liverpool will always be in his heart. This tells me that it isn't the club he has an issue with, it's the management/board/new owners and if this is so who can blame him? We complan about the same thing each day, no? Purslow, Gillet, Hicks?

If it's true he refused to play and moved for selfish reasons, then fairplay but is there any? You may ask me if there is proof to prove otherwise but I ask you again, is this how we should treat a player that gave no less than 100% whenever he was played? That we should assume the worst of him and not the best?

Why should we "move on" from this issue anyway? It's current news no?

What I'd like to see is the team become less reliant on Torres. He's not had the best support and too often, we give him the ball, expecting him to conjure something out of nothing. Since he's raided Fulham, I really wish we could have pried Clint Dempsey away. Our attacking options are so limited and too often, we look blunt as we did against West Brom.

On a more meaningful note, today would have been the 97th birthday of one of the greatest football managers in history. William "Bill" Shankly was a working class hero who was responsible for the clubs great history.

Here is a quote of his:-



I was asked recently, what the club has given back to me for my support. I never once asked myself that question. Instead, I've always asked what more I could give. My commitment is to pass on as many stories as possible, to ensure that younger fans hear of it, and older ones never forget. Some will listen and some won't but if it makes a difference to just one fan, it's worth it.

Upon his appointment as manager, Shankly has determined to turn Liverpool from a mediocre second division side to a force to be reckoned with. He and Bob Paisley had great respect for the club's supporters and did not want the people who paid their wages, and those of the players, to have to put up with a shabby ground and poor facilities. If the club could not afford the cost of outside help, such was his and Bob's devotion to the club and its cause that they were willing to paint toilet blocks themselves and maintain the plumbing of the loos and sinks so that they were functioning normally come matchday.

Here is a passage I extracted from the autobiography of Tommy Smith, better known as the "Anfield Iron", testifying to what I had just typed out above.



Reckon we'll see that today? I bet not. The Shanks was a great man and it's no wonder the fans love him and the players respect him. His devotion to the club and it's fans transformed us from a midtable 2nd division side with shambolic facilities to one of the most feared sides in Europe boasting a stadium whose name is now known by all.

Happy Birthday Bill. Gone but not forgotten.

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Added on September 2, 2010, 7:40 pmForget it mate. He's already guilty as far as some are concerned. He can no longer do right. YNWA indeed.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Sep 2 2010, 07:58 PM


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Shankly was a fantastic motivator and loved playing mind games to give his side an edge. Here's an account from Man Utd legend, George Best.

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Added on September 2, 2010, 8:12 pmHere's a funny incident

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Added on September 2, 2010, 8:30 pmHere is a brief account from a poster on RAWK. Such was Shankly's devotion to Liverpool and his disdain for our 'enemies'.

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Added on September 2, 2010, 8:35 pmI think it's safe to say that there isn't and there never will be a manager who valued the fans as much. It's because of him that until today, you hear the clubs players and managers acknowledge the fans and their support at each given opportunity. He always made time for the fans and would even invite strangers in if they wanted to talk about football.



Here is just how much he cared for the fans.



Yet again another example of how warm and approcheable he was.



This post has been edited by Duke Red: Sep 2 2010, 08:49 PM

Here's another hilarous account from the Anfield Iron.

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Added on September 2, 2010, 9:00 pmHe had a heart of gold did Shanks.

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Added on September 2, 2010, 9:04 pmAnother from George Best. Talk about mind games. Would have loved to see how Mourinho or Fergie would have stacked up against the Shanks.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Sep 2 2010, 09:04 PM

More on the Shanks and how much he means to us Liverpool fans.

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Added on September 2, 2010, 10:17 pmThere are a lot more stories on Shankly including numerous accounts from players, managers, journalists and regular folk like you and I. This is testament to what a great man he was. Has any other player or manager been so revered? Has any other player or manager had so many stories told of him? Do take some time out to read about the man who made us what we are today. Read about the man who took us from being a struggling down and out side to being champions of England and eventually Europe.

It's been years since his death but his name is still uttered by every Liverpool fans. To cap off what he felt about the club and it's fans, here's a short tale.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Sep 2 2010, 10:17 PM

Thanks for that. You are right, they were good friends and it just goes to show that rivals can have a great sense of respect for one another. Err dude, you meant Brian Clough and not Nigel eh?

Yeah the stories are truly heart warming and inspiring. Why do you think Rafa's trip to the bar, to watch a European game with the fans drew so much attention? Liverpool fans have deep appreciation for managers who are committed to the club and they didn't come more committed than the Shanks.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Sep 2 2010, 10:53 PM

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

Without a doubt. He released players like Ray Houghton and Peter Beardsley prematurely while they were still in their prime. Some of his signings were questionable to say the least. I'm still wondering how a championship winning team ended up with players like David Speedie, Paul Stewart, Mark Walters and Julian Dicks in our first team.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Sep 5 2010, 02:33 PM

I love Luis as much as anyone else but for all the brilliant moments, there were more frustrating ones. He wasn't a brilliant "striker", a you put it though. I think the fact that he's been shipped off to Greece says a lot. Can be brilliant in spurts but by and large, frustrating to watch.