What bothers me is that Man City were rubbish against Spurs last week.

Even if it is, family comes first. I'm sure there is a great deal of pressure on him to leave the country as his wife can't get settled and enduring another 6 months or year in an environment you are uncomfortable in is tough. I'm sure it's on his mind all the time and I for one don't blame him for being unsettled. I hope that the club reaches an agreement with Barcelona and we both get what we want.

Must have been watching a different game then because I remember Joe Hart giving a man-of-the-match performance with at least 2 world class saves.

Well like us, he's only human. I won't pretend to understand what was going through his head but from what I know of him, he wouldn't do willingly do anything detrimental to the club.

It means the result could easily have been different because you allowed these chances to materialise despite playing what some call, a defensive game. Let's agree to disagree then. For the sake of argument, let me be more politically correct and say, they played below my expectations.

How is one the same as the other? I've no idea what they mean when they say he wasn't in the right frame of mind so no point guessing. I didn't say I assumed he wouldn't do anything detrimental to the club. I said that he wouldn't based on what I know and read about him, suggesting I'm basing my opinion on what I know as facts. I don't believe in lynching our own players until it's proven without a shadow of doubt that he was indeed being nothing but selfish. It's a known fact that the media often sensationalises things.

So we have different expectations.

I doubt some sports journalist wrote the autobiographies of players like Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. I think accounts from teammates are somewhat accurate. I also think that articles from a magazine like FourFourTwo is credible. In any case, what's wrong with adopting an "innocent until proven guilty" approach? If you lot want to lynch your own players for leaving e.g. Heinze, go ahead. Till this moment, I can't believe that some Liverpool fans blame Xabi Alonso for leaving.

Just to add, let's assume all literature has no credibility. The commitment I see from him on the pitch suggests to me that he has always played his heart out for the club whenever he's been given the chance. Actions speak louder than words? I have had nothing but good things to say about Mascherano and I'm not about to turn on him after one press report.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Aug 24 2010, 10:09 PM

Did the two of you go to the same school?

I didn't say they were 100% accurate but given a choice, I think they are much more credible that whatever you read in the media. In terms of being honest, I've no doubt that Carragher doesn't mince his words. To say he didn't have many nice things say about the likes of Collymore, Anelka, Diouf, Diao and Josemi would be an understatement. Carra is never one to sugar coat his opinions.

Gerrard made the former quote but I don't remember Carragher making such a comment ever. All he's ever said is that he got sick of being looked over whenever the likes of Woodgate, King and Upson were fit, despite having a superb season in 2005. While Gerrard may be guilty of being a hypocrite, I don't even remember Carragher going down the same road.

If your take is that there is no absolute truth in written literature, then there wouldn't be a point in reading anything except for entertainment. We select the most credible source we know and we base our opinions on it, isn't that the way it's always worked? We either look at the author or the source in the case of online material. Paul Tomkins for example, has often been criticised for writing with rose tinted glasses. Wooltonian is a regular poster on RAWK as has vast amounts of knowledge, constantly reminiscing about the 70's and 80's. My point is they all have a reputation of sorts unlike most writers in the newspapers who are journalists, and no columnist. The latter I believe gives you a more accurate description of a player or a scenario e.g. Hillsbrough. 100% accurate? Maybe not but we can only rely on what we believe is the most credible source.

As I said earlier, take all written material away and you're left with a man who plays his heart out each and every game. I don't think it's unreasonable therefore to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Faith is everpresent. If it weren't, many would have changed their faiths, and indeed many probably have already. I don't have great expectations for this season and I certainly don't expect us to challenge for the title. Embracing reality however, doesn't make losing any easier to swallow.

Sadly I think that while money may not guarantee you the title, it certainly gives you a huge advantage over the rest so yeah, to a large degree, money does buy you titles. Mancs may argue that they can still challenge albeit not splurging in recent seasons but if you look at how fast Chelsea have closed the gap over the past 5 seasons, or how fast Man City have/are done so, money does help a great deal.

Our recent defeat to Man City was the worst we've had in what? 40 over years? Is it some coincidence it came at a time when their bench cost as much as our first team?

I'm sure you've done some research to come to your conclusion as have I. I do think that we need a lot of optimism but that's when you are watching the team and cheering them on. In discussions, I find it more productive to be realistic and look at what we need to improve on. My outlook is that of a pessimist especially since we are in the same situation we were last season, with regards to ownership. The longer this issue is dragged on, the more the club, it's management and players will be unsettled. Imagine working in a corporation about to be taken over. You know for a fact that when new owners come in, chances are top management will be reshuffled. When that happens, other employees will be uncertain of their positions. You won't have peace of mind unless and until you know your position is secure. \

Whilst we are busy replacing outgoing players with incoming ones, our opponents are bolstering their squads. We are still reliant on Gerrard and Torres. The only other match winner we had last season was Benayoun and he's left. Maybe Cole will fill the void, maybe not. Who else? Jovanovic is a decent player but he isn't going to change the face of the game for you.

Our away form was poor last season and it doesn't look like it's going to get any better under Roy Hodgson who has similar difficulties last season. I admire that he went with two up front against Man City, but he should have made adjustments when it became clear N'Gog and Torres were isolated as City cut off supply lines to them. We created more chances towards the end of the game and had more room but that was because City had already gone 3 up. Before some posters go, "aiyah play negative football also you complain, play attacking football also complain", please note it isn't black & white here. You don't choose either strategy and stick with it the whole game, you adapt. You can start off on an attacking note, but drop back when you find you're getting overrun.

In terms of having a good team this season, I don't think our team is much different from last season. Here's why:-

1) Jovanovic effectively replaces Benayoun who started on the left for much of last season. I still think Benayoun has better ability.
2) Cole looks to play in the hole, a place occupied by Gerrard last season. I don't think many would disagree that Stevie is the better player.
3) Our attacking options from midfield look better with Gerrard dropping back there but losing Mascherano means our skipper will be spending a lot of time tracking back. We all know him as a box-to-box player or as Martin Tyler once quoted, "a one-man-task-force", but he is getting on a little and who knows if his legs will hold out over the course of the season? Our only hope is that Poulsen can replicated that Mascherano has been doing but I haven't seen enough of him to know this.

In summary, I'm not sure if we've improved especially if/when Mascherano leaves.

Newcastle?

Possibly but on the flipside of the coin, you also have a loyal bunch of supporters who will be behind you all the way if you are taking the club in the right direction. Also, you have fans who are relatively patient, resulting in less pressure to pull a rabbit out of the hat. The supporters want but one thing, to ensure that club traditions are preserved and respected. Anything else can be done in the name of progress including moving away from Anfield, our home. From what I can see on forums like RAWK, more and more fans are also warming to OOTs, to the extent that they can even bring themselves to respect them to some degree.

In summary, Liverpool fans may be vocal and want to have a say but only when there is no respect shown by the owners to out history. Monetary wise, there is still a huge fan base to tap on despite relative quiet 2 decades.

Here's another indication that our short term goal is to halt the decline and not challenge for the title.

The players we've signed or are looking at signing are well into their late 20's. Two reasons for this I believe .

a) They are already at the peak of their careers i.e. the finished article.
b) They come cheaper, and from what I saw least season, we need squad depth. We need to bring players in without losing any in the meantime. As it is, Masherano looks to be leaving and there's talk about Kuyt going now.

We aren't looking to the future at this point. Hodgson has clearly been told that has to stabilise the club and keep us where we are until we find new owners and there is a substantial kitty made available.

There is something about the number 29 isn't there?

None taken. I mentioned much earlier I think we'll finish 6th. It's just I see some posters are a little more optimistic.

I can understand why we're bringing in players around that age in. The point to consider is that if we bring in too many, we'll need time to revamp the squad again once our climate has stabilised. We'll need to bring in another round of players and I don't see it happening all at once unless we strike the jackpot. It means our rebuilding will take even more time so we shouldn't expect too much, too soon.

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Added on August 26, 2010, 4:34 pmNope I'm referring to the number of player we have signed or who we are being linked to who are 29.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Aug 26 2010, 04:34 PM

Yo guys, can someone so me a favor and PM me instructions on how to view games that are streamed live online? Technically naive here. Just applied for unifi so I don't want to rely on astro anymore. Thanks.

Awesome.

To be honest, I'm a little disappointed that some of you have turned against Masch so suddenly without even trying to understand his predicament. His personal life always comes first, as it should with any player. He has shown so much commitment and passion whenever he's played but it's no secret his wife has had a hard time settling. The problem already surfaced last season but she probably thought shed give it a go. Have you lived in Liverpool? It's not exactly a paradise. Clearly she still hasn't settled and now that he's got a chance to move and make her happy, he's taking it. We know he didn't feel that he was in the right frame of mind to play but it isn't as though he's suddenly taken a swing at the team criticizing us for forcing him to stay. I urge fans today not to have short memories and not be so fickle. He is a red and soon he will be a former red. He has played with all his heart each time and I thank him for his service. The time has come for us to part and I wish him well. Have some class and show him some gratitude.

YNWA

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Aug 27 2010, 02:04 PM

My belief system is a little different from yours. If I lost my girl to someone else, the first person I'd blame is me. I've been in enough relationships to note that if a girl leaves it's often because you've pushed her to another guy but his is a discussion for cupids corner.

Choose to remember him how you want. I've said my peace. Your opinion is based on your assumption that it isn't because of his wife that he wants to leave even though she had already cited her happiness as far back as last season. If you base arguments on theory and guesswork, then there isn't a point to debate anymore.

Let's assume it's to do with the state of the club. If this is so, Masch leaving is the effect. The cause is the owners so blame them.



This post has been edited by Duke Red: Aug 27 2010, 03:29 PM

Gerrard may score more goals when he's played behind the front man but given that we don't have a solid midfielder to protect the back four anymore, I feel that Gerrard can best serve the team when he's in the centre of the park what more when we have Cole to play in the hole now.

Mascherano has been pining for a move since last season but you'd not know that seeing how committed he was. Like someone said, we had him on borrowed time. He never gave anything less than his best last season even when he was having these problems. That's testament to his character. If you ask me, being so vindictive against a player who gave so much makes us no different from any other fickle fan we have criticized in the past, especially since Masch had hinted that he wanted to leave since last year.

I'll bet my last dollar that language wasnt Rafa's failing and it certainly won't be the reason for Hodgson's success if he achieves anything. It's the second time you've mentioned this.

Fact: our team is so cosmopolitan, not everyone speaks good English anyway.

Fact: Rafa spoke better English than half our team. Think Aurelio, Insua, Arbeloa, Skrtel, Mascherano, Lucas, etc. Language is a problem in any cosmopolitan side today even if it's English.

Fact: even if all the players spoke perfect English, Rafa had Sammy Lee who speaks fluently in both English and Spanish to interpret on his behalf.

In conclusion, your argument that Hodgson will be a success just because he is English is weak at best, especially since English isn't the first language of most of the players.

Put more thought in for the sake of all Liverpool fans please.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Aug 30 2010, 04:00 PM