Hope he plays as well as he tastes.

In the beginning there was only 1 i.e. the LSCM. Since then several disgruntled members have broken away to start their own initiatives i.e. MyRAWK, Liverbird Supporters Club & the Malaysian branch of the SOS. Far as I know, the LSCM are the only official supporters club. When we last spoke to staff at Liverpool, we were told that the new policy was to recognise only 1 official club per country but then you now have the SOS, though it's called a "union" and not a "club" (http://www.spiritofshankly.com/news/spirit-of-shankly-opens-malaysia-branch) . I'm a little confused here.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Jul 28 2011, 01:46 PM

Well the SOS seems to be official.

Also the "many others" are united under the same belief. There was a futsal tournament involving all other splinter groups nationwide prior to the Liverpool - Malaysia XI friendly.

Good to know, thanks for the tip. I'll go get a copy as well. It's really heart warming to know that some of you are investing in reading material to get closer to the club.

Always good to have a reliable no.2. Although keepers seldom suffer from match fatigue and injuries (if any) come mostly from training sessions, quality no 2's are important especially when you consider that all it takes is for one error to lose a match. It's been awhile since we've had a reliable backup. Kirkland, Carson, Warner and Arphexad weren't exactly reliable and consistent. Not since Mike Hooper who played deputy to Bruce Grobbelar have we had a reliable stopper on the bench me thinks. Pity we aren't in the Europa or Doni would have more opportunities to stretch his legs.

Years on and yet, the memories are still fresh. There is no better illustration of how Hillsborough has affected the lives of our brethren. It is crucial that Liverpool fans in Malaysia read and know about what happened.

Skrtel is anything but injury prone. My critique of him is that he's a tad slow. Also he had a tendency to mistime his tackles and it's nerve wracking to watch him mark a player in and about the box. Also, he may be tall but he doesn't have any leap. Like I said before, he looks like he has lead in his boots. Having said all that, he is a reliable squad player who will come up tops against most forwards of Premiership sides.

Exactly. He's dominant in the air. Kevin Davies didn't get a sniff in when we put Kyrgiakos on him. Suspect on the ground though.

Like you, I hate both Neville sisters as they are uber Mancs. However, he did say he wasn't sure if we'd challenge for the title this season which is a fair enough comment given the number of false dawns we've had. Anyone remember the prank a couple of Scouse builders played on Gary when the latter installed a swimming pool in his house? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics...ayers-pool.html

who gives a crap about the mancs? if we get results, it won't matter what they do.

I'll take anything we can get at the moment. The first goal was fortuitous but we're due some good fortune aren't we?

Not the most convincing display but much better that the 2nd half against Sunderland, who lost at home to Newcastle incidentally. Sheds some perspective at least.

Arsenal were there for the taking, we knew it before the game kicked off. I'm just glad we did the job we were expected to do unlike last week. That being said, Arsenal did boast a forward line of Walcott, Nasri, Arshavin and Van Persie. Some credit needs to be given to the likes of Enrique who had Walcott in his back pocket and Lucas for pressing to win the ball each time it crossed into our half. Sure he made mistakes in possession but it was his defensive game that came to the fore against Arsenal. Arsenal also had Vermaelen, Sagna and Ramsey in the side. Sure they were understaffed but they didn't exactly field a team of reserves. Note also that we fielded a bewildered looking Carroll and clueless Henderson in our side. The fact that Meireles and Suarez made such a different upon coming on shows that we didn't exactly field our strongest side either. I'm not wearing rose tinted glasses, I'm just calling it like it is.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Aug 22 2011, 02:38 PM

I can't comment on Henderson. I've not seen him play prior to joining Liverpool. I think $20 million was a lot to pay for a player most of us never paid any attention to. I do hope he comes good as has Lucas but from what I can see, he lacks confidence at the moment and his large price tag is doing him no favours. He seems impatient on the ball when he need to be more composed. It's as though he's so afraid of making mistakes that he wants to get rid of if soon as he receives it. I'm still a fan of Carroll. I think he'll come good in time. For some reason I can't comprehend, he looks a little soft at the moment, going down under nothing challenges. Where's the robust, no-nonsense player I saw at Newcastle? Looks a little sluggish as well since pre-season and I hope he shakes it off soon.

It isn't just his selling price. I believe we're trying to trim our wage bill. Not sure how much he's on but Fiorentina were unwilling to match his demands which leads me to believe, it's quite a fair bit.

Like most, I'm against selling him as well but I don't know what's going on behind the scenes. From what I saw during pre-season, he's in amazing form and we could use his creativity to open up the game. We were drab against Sunderland and I reckon his introduction would have created opportunities. It seems to me that Carroll in particular needs someone to play right behind him to take some of the heat away. He isn't like Suarez who can work in tight spaces and create opportunities for himself. With Stevie out, and Meireles seemingly out of favour, it seems to me that Aquilani is the best candidate. I can't for the life of me understand why he isn't getting a game but if you look at King Kenny's signings, he seems to prefer English steel.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Aug 23 2011, 11:44 AM

For those that haven't seen this, it's a touching tribute to Hillsborough. You'll see Liverpool legends like King Kenny, Thommo, Aldo and Brucie unite with musicians to belt out this touching rendition of "Fields of Anfield Road".



Fields of Anfield Road
Fields of Anfield Road
Outside the Shankly Gates
I heard a Kopite calling
Shankly they have taken you away
But you left a great eleven
Before you went to heaven
Now it's glory round the Fields of Anfield Road.

All round the Fields of Anfield Road
Where once we watched the King Kenny play (and he could play)
We had Heighway on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
Of the glory round the Fields of Anfield Road

Outside the Paisley Gates
I heard a Kopite calling
Paisley they have taken you away
You led the great 11
Back in Rome in 77
And the Redmen they are still playing the same way
All round the Fields of Anfield Road
Where once we watched the King Kenny play (and he could play)
We had Heighway on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
Of the glory round the Fields of Anfield Road

I agree. Seems as foolish as selling Arbeloa for $2 million. I understand that his contract was going to end the following season but selling a Spanish international for just $2 million?

Stevie and Carra are Scouse first and English second, hence their commitment and passion for our cause. I would therefore say that it's important for us to have more local lads come through the academy like Flanno, Robinson, and Spearing.

Sadly however, hard running alone only takes you so far. England may be in FIFAs top 10 list but only because their qualifying groups usually consist of minnows like Macedonia and Andorra. The FA realised that English football was on the decline and I imagine it's what led them to appoint a foreigner as manager for the very first time. Heart and flair aren't mutually exclusive and if you can infuse some European influence into old English steel, you can potentially forge a very strong weapon. These days (and I use this term loosely - over the past 10 - 15 years or so) , you don't see very many old English type centreforwards in the mold of Les Ferdinand make the national team, neither do you see one dimensional workmanlike midfielders like David Batty or Paul Ince who were preferred to creative type players like Matthew Le Tissier.

I don't think that English players necessarily make better leaders and provide more inspiration than foreign ones, unless they're Scouse of course. Over the years, I've found players like Reina, Alonso, Mascherano, Suarez, Hyypia, Hamann, Riise and Kuyt just to name a few who are either committed (Erik Meijer anyone?), inspirational, good leaders or all of the above. It says something that many foreign players leave as fans and still follow the club, and speak about the fans.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Aug 23 2011, 04:27 PM

Since stumbling across the rendition of "Fields of Anfield Road" in honour of the 96 I posted earlier, I've started looking up versions from the Kop and found the perfect one. Now, we all know YNWA is a song we adopted as our own but "Fields of Anfield Road" is an original and one of the better songs in English football at least. Here's the Kop in full voice against Chelsea back in 2007.

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Added on August 23, 2011, 2:43 pmHere's the Hillsborough version and a clip of it being sang at its 20th anniversary.



Outside the Shankly Gates
I heard a Kopite calling :
Shankly they have taken you away
But you left a great eleven
Before you went to heaven
Now it's glory round the Fields of Anfield Road.

All round the Fields of Anfield Road
Where once we watched the King Kenny play (and he could play)
Stevie Heighway on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
Of the glory round the Fields of Anfield Road

Outside the Paisley Gates
I heard a Kopite calling
Paisley they have taken you away..
But You led the great eleven
Back in Rome in seventy seven
And the redmen they are still playing the same way

All round the Fields of Anfield Road
Where once we watched the King Kenny play (and he could play)
Stevie Heighway on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
Of the glory round the Fields of Anfield Road

Beside the hills were flames
I heard a Kopite moaning
Why so many taken on that day
Justice has never been done
But their memory will carry on
There'll be glory round the fields of Anfield road

All round the Fields of Anfield Road
Where once we watched the King Kenny play (and he could play)
Stevie Heighway on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
About the glory round the Fields of Anfield Road

All round the Fields of Anfield Road
Where once we watched the King Kenny play (and he could play)
Stevie Heighway on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
About the glory round the Fields of Anfield Road

The glory round the fields of Anfield road…

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Added on August 23, 2011, 2:58 pmNow Man City fans have taken some stick on this thread but here's a link of proper Mancunians observing the minutes silence earlier this yr in honour of Hillsborough. You can clearly hear them shushing one another. Class.



This post has been edited by Duke Red: Aug 23 2011, 02:58 PM

Kyrgiakos will be remembered as a cult hero for sure. He's been getting some unfair flak from some fans. I mean, can you find a better 4th choice centreback? He's virtually unplayable in the air though a bit suspect on the ground. I'll remember him fondly.

YNWA.

We've not been having a good run in the Carling Cup. We last won it in 2003 and since then, we've been sent packing by lower opposition. We aren't in Europe at all this season much to my dismay despite the delight of some of you, and I see no reason we can't give the first team more opportunities to gel given the number of new players we brought in this season. That being said, we did start with Robinson, Wilson, Flanaghan and Spearing, our young uns. Also, Skrtel has just returned from injury and this game was to be a workout for him. I'd also consider neither Maxi nor Henderson solid first teamers as I feel we've better players in Meireles, Aquilani, Downing and Kuyt who should/could/have been start(ing) in their stead. If anything, I felt Doni should have been given a run-in.

I don't think we should take this cup competition for granted. It's still worth a spot in Europe.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Aug 25 2011, 12:02 PM