The banner was a huge joke. Little did the "copy & paste" fan know that the fancy little design below Torres' head, is in fact the Shankly Gates.

Oh and Torres would never join Real since they are Atletico's biggest rivals. If he did, it will take treachery to another level.

Precisely. I would like to think that we are not a bitter lot. I just think that some posters are more interested in bad mouthing him than trying to understand where he's coming from. I mean if you truly loved Torres, you'd do all you can to understand his predicament. This is merely my opinion. Like I said, I feel hurt but the club remains and we move on. In the end, everyone has his own opinion on what he did and we can at least expected to be consistent, and not fickle. Are the same guys who burned Gerrard's kit still angry at him or do they sing his name now when he scores? Do the same fans who insulted Rooney for wanting to leave the mancs still insult him, or did they cream in their pants when he scored that overhead against City?

Fans have short memories these days. I choose to remember the man who brushed Ben Haim aside before side footing the ball past an oncoming Petr Cech. I choose to remember a man whose goals meant we only lost 2 games the whole season, giving us our highest points total in Premiership history. Although we finished a disappointing 7th the season after, he still scored 22 goals in 32 games. Where would we have finished if not for this goals one wonders? He's also the fastest guy in our history to reach the 50 goal mark. I'll always appreciate what he's done in his time here. I'll remember the bloke in red who made the whole of Anfield bounce and sing his name even if he was just warming up. The guy at Chelsea now, I don't know who that is.

We didn't lose Torres merely because he wanted more medals. We lost him also because Chelsea just about doubled his salary (http://sportsxplorer.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=252:chelsea-close-to-signing-liverpool-start-striker-fernando-torres&catid=45:international-news#) so if you want to lambast him, do it because of this. Obviously we couldn't afford to match their offer or we would have. Didn't read anywhere that we tried. It wasn't that we weren't going through a revival under King Kenny as much as it is about mulah if you ask me.

My 2 cents.

I too have little respect for anyone who gives up on the team no matte how bad we are. I have friends who have claimed to want to stop watching our games especially towards the end of Houllier's tenure but they could not keep themselves from turning the Telly on. I'd think nothing of this comment if not for him calling someone else a kid. Sometimes I think people either don't understand terms or they apply them wrongly.

Oh and with all due respect, Man Utd have not had a downturn please. You can't classify winning the most Premiership titles over the past 2 decades, reaching the Champions League knockout stage each time and winning the occasional League and FA Cup a "downturn". What happened to Leeds Utd, now that's a downturn.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Feb 16 2011, 11:39 PM

Ah best not to get into another "real fan" discussion. Like it or not, we do judge one another. I bet you've heard colleagues going, "I'm better than him, how come he earns to much more?", "fella does nothing and he can drive BMW ah?!!?". It is the same with fans sadly. It is like I said much earlier on another post, it is your choice if you want to say you support the club but watch maybe only 10% of games, and not bother about club information, past or present. Do not however then insist that you are as ardent a fan as someone who watches every game he can and reads any book he can get his hands on to. Instead, look up to him. I always remember a phrase that a Liverpool fan once used, "I'm not just a fan of LFC, I'm a fan of Liverpool fans". I completely understand what it means. Remember the half-time rendition of YNWA at Istanbul? Remember how the red half of Merseyside stood by the side of their blue counterparts after Rhys Jones was killed? Remember how the whole of Anfield applauded Barcelona after they beat us 3-1 at Anfield? Xavi does (http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/xavi-anfield-blew-me-away).

I personally think it's stupid to go up against a fellow red of the calibre I described above and claim that I am just as big a fan as he is.

I do believe however that we can learn to respect the club's traditions and history. Sure, none of us were at Hillsborough but it doesn't mean we cannot come to empathise with those closer to the tragedy. When I attend a funeral, do I need to know the deceased to feel sorry for the family? I don't have to taste crap to know it tastes bad.

In summary, I believe that fans have a duty to help one another, and not talk down to another. If you meet someone who knows more, learn from him. If you meet someone who knows less, enlighten him, unless he doesn't want to be enlightened.

Anfield is filled with so much history, it would be a shame to have to move. I've not seen blueprints or anything and hence like you, I've no idea how they plan to squeeze in another 20,000 seats or so. The streets around the stadium are already so narrow, I could spit on one of the houses from Anfield.

There are other considerations when increasing capacity dramatically.

i) Access - As I remember it, there is hardly any and most commute via public transport and walk, like I did. The traffic leading in and out of Anfield is chock-a-block due to the narrow access roads. Parking is virtually non-existent.
ii) Toilets - A bunch of large, beered up English men can churn up a lot of pee.
iii) Not enough F&B outlets - As it is people actually bother queueing up outside of bars like the Albert or Arkles after games just to get in a pint or two. With 30% more fans? O_o
iv) The merchandise store will be raped after games and Anfield will need a much larger one.

Do what I do. Sleep by 11pm and get in just in time for the game. Then take another short nap until about 7.30am before getting up and going to work.

On the issue of rival fans coming in to post, let us now be so sensitive and territorial. Open discussions are always welcome and although I don't moderate the thread or forum, I'm certain most would agree.

Really? I must have missed this then. What are the details and is it confirmed? Any realiable source?

This is for the Masters and there is already a thread on that. I think the guys are referring to the current team but other than th mention in The Star, I've not come across anything official. Would he great though, and a landmark moment. Never before.

Good story, thanks for posting it. Aside from his obvious contributions on the field, King Kenny is also highly revered because of his contributions off it, especially during Hillsborough, where he made the effort to attend the funerals of as many of the victims as he could, along with several other players. He is Liverpool through and through and this makes it hard for fans not to like him. My initial fear was that younger fans would turn on him if he failed to revive the club but if you ask me, all that he's done for us in the past, makes him untouchable.

I often get asked why I support LFC. I even get questioned and accused of doing so purely because we are a big club. Each time I'm asked, I let out a sigh, not because I do not know why but because I know my answer will be long and few will be able to relate. Stories like this only further cements my love for the club.

Spearing has been on the brink of the first team for awhile now but some are late bloomers. Stephen Warnock only made the first team with us at about the same age and although he didn't cut it at Anfield, he now plays regular football for Villa and has even been called up for England.

Coming back to Spearing. He may be a diminutive lad but he exemplifies the saying, "it isn't about the size of the dog in the fight, it is about the size of the fight in the dog". Anyone remember Stig Tofting? He was amongst the world's leading soccer bad boys. My point is that Spearing's main strength unfortunately, does not lie in his ability. It is his attidude and passion that are his biggest assets, much like Carra. When you have this, you are capable of playing better than you actually are, just like Carra. Which Europa game was it again? We were down and he shouted at the lads to pick it up. You don't come across very many players with the hunger and fight he has.

Having said all that, I doubt he'll be anything more than a squad player at Anfield. He is tenacious and that makes him a useful tool. If you are playing against a midfield maestro who takes his time on the ball, having someone like Spearing around you looking to knock you off the ball can be unnerving. Whilst it is nice to have skillfull players who can break down defences and make it look good for television at the same time, it is equally important to have someone who is willing to do the dirty work behind, in the less glamorous end of the pitch.

The fella was picked off the streets man. Prior to being a footballer, he was a thug and ran with gangs. He's even been in the joint a couple of times. Badass man.



Thing is intimidation is a big part of any sport, even poker but in the latter you intimidate someone with a call. Its psychology like you have just mentioned. I've picked up on a few biographies and players have admitted to intentionally going in hard on someone early to throw him off his game. I don't agree either but it is more common than some my think and like it or not, we all have used intimidation at some point or other. I personally like it when someone tries to intimidate me physically in sport because I like the contact. Being a physical player doesn't necessarily mean you have to be a dirty player. De Jong's tackles aren't hard, they're poorly timed and some may think, intentional.

A big reason of why I have a soft spot for Spearing is that he's the only local lad in the first team other than Carra and Gerrard. I think it is imperative to have some degree of local influence in this ever globalised sport. Arsenal for example have fielded teams not only with no Londoners, but no Englishmen as well. Given a choice, I would always want there to be some Scouse presence in the team because they know how much it means to pull on the kit. Another reason I'm delighted to see King Kenny and Sammy Lee in the dugout.

Big blokes are always a handful whether or not they are good. Remember how well Heskey once played on a friendly against Argentina? The Argies couldn't get the ball off him and he proved to be a real handful. Big guys are tiring to mark man. I often guard big guys in basketball and pushing back saps to much energy out of me, I have little strength left to go on the offence.

With all due respect to Maxi, he had already lost his starting place at Atletico so my expectations were not at all high.

I do agree that N'Gog has to make improvements to his game but to be fair, it is hard for someone used sparingly to achieve any consistency in form. Early this season we used him because Torres was unavailable and we were rewarded with his richest form thus far, mostly evident in the Europa League. When Torress returned, he was shelved once again. I find it difficult to be too hard on the lad simply because the expectations on his shoulders are really heavy especially since we relied to much on Torres to get us the goals.

Physically, he has what it takes. He's tall, strong and quick. I'm hoping that in the near future he develops this technical ability and blossoms into a decent forward at least. He got more goals for us this season than Torres and yet he gets lambasted more than the Spaniard who didnt even bother to pretend he was interested.

We're in the home stretch portion of the season and relegation threatened teams have got to step it up. The term "relegation threatened team" however has a broader definition this season as even one win for bottom club, Wigan could mean them climbing out of the relegation zone. Unlike in seasons past, you don't have one "certainty", one two "hopefuls". Anyone could go down right nwo. Wolves turned up against Blackpool whilst Wigan got turned over by some a little Mexican and what happened? They've swapped places and Wolves are now just above the drop zone.

West Ham did turn up against us and they put on a scintilating display with Scott Parker in particular, standing out. It still surprises me when no one picked up him early in the season as his contract was expiring. I really thought that Newcastle were going to resign him, but there you go. His toe poke into the far corner was deliberate and well executed. I don't think any keeper would have got to that. Pepe throw himself to the right immediately but it swerved beyond his reach into the far corner. Simply sublime finishing. West Ham's second, you could see coming from a mile away. We were outnumbered as West Ham broke and it turned out to be a pretty simple goal in the end as we failed to pick up the trailing man. Good play from Suarez to set up Johnson but you always felt that West Ham were going to put the final nail in the coffin at some point.

Where did it all go wrong?

I do know the 5-4-1/3-5-1 had worked pretty well for us against Chelsea but I think we gave West Ham too much respect. We were passive and we let them dominate us in midfield. We were short going forward and lacked penetration in the middle. Mereiles was virtually invisible the whole game. We needed more bodies in the middle of the park. Suarez was to me our best player by far. His turn must be one of the quickest in the Premiership and he looked the only player interested in trying to salvage the game.

Shelvey and Wilson were only acquired this season.

I do hope King Kenny refrains from playing 3 centrebacks against the mancs at Anfield. What worked against Chelsea, failed miserably against West Ham. We're at home and the mancs have a shortage in defence. Looks like we'll be up against Smalling and Brown. Reckon Suarez and/or Carroll have more than what it takes to unsettle them both. We need to go for broke at this stage of the competition and I would like to see a more positive lineup. With Berbatov and Rooney in smashing form though, there will naturally be a temptation to have them outnumbered at the back but I think we should look at throwing more punches than them.

I won't be surprised if King Kenny decides to throw Jay Spearing into the muck. Dalglish started him against Everton and he impressed with his hard running and tenacious, combatitive spirit. Spearing can fully appreciate the passion behind our rivalry.

As usual the forums are buzzing leading up to not just the biggest game in the English calendar but surely one of the most watched games in the world. Over the years I've watched numerous encounters between us and after the final whistle, the outcome is either euphoric or disastrous, there is no middle ground. In recent times, I think Houllier has had the most success against them, though Rafa stuck a dagger in their hears with a highly motivating win at Old Trafford. Still, I cannot forget the Danny Murphy moments and that orgasmic goal from John Arne Riise which darn near knocked Andy Gray off his seat. Statistically speaking, King Kenny may not have much success against Fergie but his rack of defeats came after he left Liverpool. I can't remember the last time Man Utd lost back to back Premiership games but we've got to get that out of our heads. Afterall, we were the first to beat Chelsea at the bridge in a long time a couple of seasons back.

MyRAWK will be holding a viewing at Library whilst Tiger FC will have their event at Laundry so the Curve will be swamped with Reds and mancs. The last time I watched a game and we were in such close proximity was when we twatted them at Old Trafford. MyRAWK was at Breakers while Hartamas Square was filled mainly with mancs. In the end though, the 300 of us drowned them out as we celebrated a historic win. During the game, it was a competition to see who could make the most noise but it wasn't even close who sang the most songs. The mancs signing "Glory Glory Man Utd", reminds me of Prince's "Purple Rain". No one remembers the rest of the lyrics. Yes, I do believe you should at least know the lyrics to your anthem. Yes, I'm judgemental in this sense but I'm completely convinced.

If any of you attend, we will also be taking orders for the Masters. I'm getting a really good discount for tickets and am dying to see the likes of Patrick Berger, Steve McManaman and God himself. Anyone remember the "Fowler prayer"? Someone made it up after Rafa re-signed him. Makes more sense if you're Christian of course.

None for me but my reasons are more to do with "face" than not contributing to the club. Same reason I won't wear a fake of any other brand. I'd rather wear an ori average brand than a fake top brand.

True and we cannot expect everyone to fork out that amount. When I had just started working, I'd buy outdated kits, like a season old for like RM 80. Either that or I buy the training t's. If I could not afford an original in-season kit, I just didn't buy one but that's just me lah. Until today I still find myself buying dated kits which are cheaper. Yes, I'm a cheapo in this sense.