Yes, it's widely known that Carra was in fact a boyhood Evertonian, attending games with his dad back in the day. His early affiliation to the bitters, and his preference for long sleeved kits sparked rumours that he was conceiling an Everton tattoo which he promptly dismissed. His switch of allegiance occurred over time as he saw how much joy Evertonians derived from any misfortune befalling Liverpool. He felt that fans should be more focused on their teams success and concern themselves so much over the shortcomings of their rivals. He was also disgusted by the way Everton fans would take it a step above banter, taunting not only the players, but in some cases, their familites. Fortunately for him, his dad who is a hardcore Evertonian, didn't give him much stick when he signed for Liverpool as a schoolboy. In his early days, he was still an Evertonian at heart and would look out for their results. In time however, he began to fall more and more in love with Liverpool. The rest as they say, is history.

From what I noted, both Everton and Liverpool supporters share a common demographic. In the past, a lot of the economy centred around the docks (hence your reference to "labourers") but currently, there is an even split between white and blue collared folk.

Yes, it's also common knowledge that both clubs are from the same area i.e. Merseyside, hence the rivalry. It isn't uncommon for families to have split loyalties. Both stadiums are indeed a stone's throw away from one another. I reckon one of the reasons we have to move from Anfield and not expand is because some Evertonians live around it and are unwilling to move.

Correction. Everton isn't his 2nd club due to the reasons I provided earlier. He is now Liverpool through and through and hates Everton. If you've read about him, you'll note that he relishes playing in the Merseyside derby because of all the reasons I cited. There is no team he'd love to beat more than the bitters. Don't confuse yourself. The headlines read that he realised him boyhood dream of scoring for Everton. In no way does this suggest that he now supports them.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Sep 6 2010, 11:58 AM

This is true. Scousers are a proud bunch and despite the rivalry on the pitch, band together when it comes to defending the Scouse honour or way of life. You may or may not have seen a banner with the caption, "We are not English, We are Scouse" (attachment) but it speaks for itself. You'll note that former players like Jason McAteer and John Aldridge are Scouse, not English. In his autobiography, Jamie Carragher talks of his preference to choose club over country at any time. It is ever so common to find fans of Liverpool and Everton within families and friends.

Despite the on-field rivalry, fans of both clubs do come together in times of need like Hillsbrough or more recently when 11 year old Everton fan Rhys Jones was killed. Prior to playing "You'll Never Walk Alone" during our game against Toulouse in the Champions League, Liverpool played the beginning of a song that traditionally greets the arrival of the Everton team at Goodison Park - the Z Cars theme tune.


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Hey, welcome back buddy! Won't join you for futsal but I'll see you at SOMO for the game.

If anyone else wants to watch the game with other Liverpool fans, here's a link to SOMO so you know where it is. I'll be furnishing further details by early next week when we've worked out the promo. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=28911860242

Like everyone else, I cannot believe that Reina is getting stick. One bad game and he's over the hill? He is a 3 time EPL Golden Gloves winner and one of the best keepers we've had in over 2 decades.

Mate, you really need to learn to pick up on sarcasm.

Lil Red, I feel you. Some days, this discussion thread resembles a twitter wall what with all the obvious one liners. I call Shebby Mr. Obvious because of the generic statements he makes. Maybe he's a closet fan posting here ?

It wasn't too long ago that we had good insightful posts but a few have left and I think it is because of the lack in substance. I must say that posters here should read the .tv or RAWK forums to get a better idea of what they discuss and to learn from posters like Wooltonian. Wishful thinking perhaps.

Back to Fowler. I read his autobiography as well and it was brilliant. Not many who have played under him have nice things to say about Souness. Aside from being a natural footballer he is a smart one as well, investment wise. While you read about celebrity footballers splurging on wild parties and living it up, Fowler invested his money and he is one of the richest footballers around. I do somehow think it has to do with his Scouse roots, avoiding the spotlight and all. Yes he gets his mug in the papers every now and then but very seldom for the wrong reasons. Carra is the same. Stevie's only incident that I can recall involves Mark McGhee and was fairly recent but by and large, his image is spotless.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Sep 10 2010, 10:22 AM

"can be" or "could have been"? Nemeth is contracted to Olympiacos.

It's naive to think that Birmingham will look to sit back at St Andrews. I reckon a draw is on the cards. They will come at us.

Positives:

1) Reina in fantastic form. Martin Tyler compared it to Gordon Bank's save from Pele. FYI that save is still until today touted by many to be the best save ever.

2) Jovanovic working hard.

Negatives:

1) Carra, Skrtel and Johnson are playing like crap.

2) 2 penalties denied

3) Birmingham only lost 2 games at home last season

I said not too long ago that every signing was welcomed with a great degree of exuberance. I'm not sure how many had actually seen them play before signing but they are not world beaters to please manage your expectations. Poulsen was never going to be a Mascherano. Konchesky isn't going to be a Patrice Evra. These are stop gap signings.

That's exactly the issue. These days we are playing not to lose when we should be playing to win especially against sides like WBA which we barely deserved to beat at home no less and no disrespect to them, but Birmingham as well. Against the latter we should have at least looked like we deserved a draw.

6 is a very generous rating for Johnson. I thought he deserved only a 4. We all know he's a little suspect at defending which he was but even his attacking game deserted him last night. His passes often went astray and he gave the ball away constantly. The only player that had worse eyesight was Lucas who at times appeared to be colour blind.

It would be a miracle to come out of old Trafford with anything less than a beating at this rate.

Just to reiterate, for an experience commentator like Martin Tyler to suggest that Reina's saved was reminiscent of the one made my Gordon Banks from Pele, speaks volumes of just how good it was. Banks was one of the finest keepers in the world and that save is still said to be the best ever made. No idea what I mean? Well let me make it easy for you.

Here we go again with all the talk about money and players. Did Birmingham have a large transfer kitty? How many internationals do you see in their squad? We almost got held by West Brom at home, a side with an even smaller kitty.

Funny you should say that Birmingham had a tight defense given that they had the best chances of the night. They did defend in swarms but only because we le them get back. It's frustrating to see long balls punted up for Torres to hold on to when he has no support. By the time they arrive, the Birmingham defenders had got back. Do note that we weren't exactly up against your Maldinis or Nestas.

Birmingham may not be the worst side at home but we made them look better than they are last night.

The Anfield hotseat isn't as desireable as it once was on Hodgson was all we could afford. It is not fault of his really. I mean, he isn't top of the list when it comes to managers who win away is he? It's a reality check really, when we have to go into games afraid and apprehensive.

I'll leave being positive to you. I'm pessimistic by nature I base my views on what I see and not how I feel and sadly, I don't see a bright season ahead but I hope to be proven wrong.

In terms of Europe, fairplay but the fact that we've played teams I can hardly pronounce doesn't do much for me.

If the mancs get no.19 this season, I'll probably reluctantly slip into a coma.

Here are some of my general observations. I'm really stumped because for some reason, we can't seem to do what some midtable sides are capable of doing and I don't think it's down to having crappy players.

1) We can't seem to pass the ball accurately, even when it's a 10 yard pass. How often have we seen passes go astray? It's frustrating that our opponents always seem to be able to find their man with a pass even if he's surrounded by 3 players when we sometimes fail to make an open 10 yard pass.
2) Our players don't see the need to support the attack with any real urgency. Each time Torres or Gerrard pick the ball up, it's as though they are on a deserted island. We often end up passing the ball back or giving it away.
3) We lack creativity and imagination going forward. Players often stand around looking somewhat bewildered when given the ball.
4) We are poor at dealing with crosses. I don't know what it is but each time a cross gets pumped in, you get the sinking feeling it's going to lead to a goal.
5) Gerrard's corners are pretty ineffective. How many times do we score from corners? If I were to be critical, we often don't even manage to find a player, let alone score.

Don't mind me, I'm just venting my frustration.

No offence but I try to draw a line between being optimistic and delusional. We've almost always played well against the mancs and have on a few occasions conceeded late in the game despite having the better chances. We have been guilty of not being ruthless enough in front of goal which is suicidal if you're up against quality opposition. Do I truly believe we can turn them over as we did 2 seasons ago at Old Trafford? No I don't, not with the ease in which we've been relinquishing possession, and how static we look going forward. It may be too soon to tell but I can only call it like I see it and from what I've seen we're no better than we were last season despite our new signings.

It's often been said that players who aren't blessed with blistering pace need to make the ball do the running for them and Alonso epitomizes this. Not since Jan Molby have we had a player with such vision and accuracy.

When the big names underperform, it takes a big man to drop them in place of players who may not have as much ability or experience but have the heart and desire. If there is one thing I admire about Jose Mourinho, it's that he has no qualms dropping players who moan, complain or have a bad attitude despite of reputation. Would anyone dare drop Steven Gerrard? Anyway, the reason I brought this up is because of this sentence :-



It's why I keep saying we need local lads in the team because no one will play harder than them. We need to find the next Jamie Carragher and Spearing has been earning accolades for some time now. A box-to-box midfielder himself, I see no reason he cannot displace Poulsen.

One win may serve to be a more booster but nothing more. I think fans these days are a little short sighted. There are bigger issues to consider than getting one over the mancs. Means nothing to beat them but lose to everyone else. Think long term, that is if you're in it for the long haul.

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Added on September 18, 2010, 12:43 pmPraise Hodgson after just one game? Dude I won't praise him nor will I condemn him after just a few games. That trait is reserved for fair-weather fans who have little understanding of the game, and I'm not referring to the boys kicking the ball on the pitch, I'm referring to the fan who looks beyond what they see on the tv. If anything Liverpool fans are amongst the most patient and easy to please. You don't have to be great, you just need to show that you work your socks off. Too many of today's fans forget that. Too many sing praises of a player only to criticize him when he's had one bad game. Too many just as quickly turn around and praise him again after a good game. These are self serving fans who wants everyone to play well each game just so he feels good.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Sep 18 2010, 12:43 PM