One reason is players would sometimes display political messages. Also, I reckon that with very strict sponsorship guidelines, certain companies may try to get away by branding the underlying T-Shirt of players. Lastly, there is an element of time wasting involved. No one seemed to get my Diego Forlan reference. Maybe I should post a youtube video to refresh everyone's memory.



This post has been edited by Duke Red: Feb 13 2014, 11:38 AM

I don't think provocation is the main reason. I mean it isn't as provocative as say, putting your hand to your ear and running in front of the opposition fans, or giving them a five finger salute.

Correct.

Think Toure needs glasses. Fortunately for us, it wasn't an opposing player he clattered into. Can't imagine having a molester and a steam roller in the heart of our defence.

I'm guessing looks in the mirror a lot

Too right. Always came across as a stern bloke with no sense of humour.

On the issue of Clive Owen being a Liverpool fan, he did narrate Being Liverpool.

On the issue of still having to play the top sides I think it's a good thing because it means our fortunes rest in our own hands.

Alan Hansen was made to eat his words on that occasion. To be fair, the class of 92 were supplemented by some experienced players. I think we've a good mix in the current team. We do have seasoned pros in Toure, Gerrard, Lucas, Skrtel, Agger, Johnson and even Suarez. We have young players on the top of their games in Coutinho, Sturridge and I would even say Henderson. Then we have less experienced young lads who have forced their way into the first team with some standout performances in Sterling and Flanagan. I didn't mention Mignolet because he is still error prone and I hope John Achterberg can suss out his glaring weakness at dealing with crosses. Fortunately, we got off to an amazing start against Arsenal because Mignolet made an error when he punched what looked like a routine catch if he had showed a little more bravery against Flanagan but fortunately, we weren't punished.

"I protect my team", Brendan Rodgers.

http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2014/02/brend...r-news.html?m=1

Yes I'd say out boss can hold his own against much more seasoned managers. He's confident, intelligent and witty. Most managers these days tend to be a little cynical and issue statements devoid of humour and class.

Good to see we're tying down one of our better signings.

http://metro.co.uk/2014/02/14/liverpool-se...ntract-4304062/

And I'd say so far we're performing and so is he gaffer.

Indeed. If we fail to lock him down and he leaves we'll be building from scratch again. I find it perplexing that there are still people like Dillion's mate who at this juncture are still calling for BR to be sacked. I can only deduce that such people really have no clue, there can be no other reason. I think Rodgers deserves a pat on the back even from his harshest critics for his work so far.

I don't some realise the significance of vastly improving the performances of a team comprising of the same players we've had last season. To compound matters he's lost key players injury for large parts of the season and it's credit to him that he's managed to extract the best out of the players who have come in to fill those vacancies.

In terms of managing expectations, I would only expect lalangs to change their opinions of the team, manager and players after every game. In my opinion, 3-5 years is how long you should give a manager to make an impact. Some can't wait 6 months so go figure.

We were so focused on the transfer of players during January, I missed Howard Webb's move from Man Utd to Arsenal.

In all seriousness, I'm pleased with our performance. We were a constant threat and not only did we dominate possession, we had more shots on target. Sturridge himself could have bagged a brace in the first 10 minutes. Arsenal hit us in the same fashion we hit them at Anfield, on the counter. You'd expect Arsenal to create chances at the Emirates which they did and it's credit to the team that we created more opportunities and we were not overrun. On any other given day, the result could be very different. Not much more we could have done tactically IMO. All you can do is create chances and hope you take them but we failed to do the latter. Sturridge was visible upset with himself at the end of the game.

Bad enough Howard Webb was refereeing but it's unforgivable that he missed a stonewall penalty. Suarez was theatrical but there is no rule in the game that states the severity of your reaction to a challenge will determine if it's a foul. It doesn't matter if Suarez decided to feign death after Chamberlain's challenge, it still was a foul. I've read comments that Suarez's reaction influenced Webb and if this is so, it was poor, poor refereeing, what more when the incident took place not 10 yards from him in plain sight.

We take this on the chin and move on. So should the lads.

What is an "AST"?

Sadly, the FA Cup has lost it's prestige. It got so bad that a certain red nosed manager decided to pull his team out of the tournament to focus on European competition. Personally I felt this was a Kop out as Gerard Houllier's side once competed in 5 competitions in a single season, playing more games that almost any club in the world and he didn't complain. The FA Cup competition is a far cry from what it was when I would tune in to "Road to Wembley" in the days before ASTRO.


On a side note, good to see that there may be a Sheffield Derby on the cards. Been awhile since I've seen either club in the top flight. If there's one thing I'd like to see as a neutral is for clubs from the lower divisions to make a deep run in the competition. It's part of the FA Cup's allure.

It's always disheartening when the first reaction to a loss is to assign blame and thankfully, I haven't seen much of this after this morning's loss. In my opinion, no one had a bad day at the office. Even though Sturridge was guilty of missing some really good opportunities, he was still a constant threat. The much maligned Joe Allen was tidy in possession, aggressive defensively and positive going forward, often making runs into the Arsenal box. Over all, I'd say the team played well and I'm not just saying this because we were playing away. Had this been a home performance, it would still be considered a good one. In fact, I expected this tough a time at Anfield when we played them last week. The result just didn't go our way and we only have ourselves to blame for not converting. Fabianski was playing like a first choice keeper and both Suarez and Agger had efforts that sailed just wide as the keeper was beaten. If we continue to play this way, we'll win more games than we'll lose.

I agree. Webb didn't look pleased. It was a borderline shove on his chest and he was fortunate to not get booked for it. It is possibly the only moment in the match Webb displayed some intelligence and decided to call Gerrard over to get a grip on his teammate. Credit to Sterling for staying on his feet at he rounded Jenkins who kept snapping at his heals. Sterling could easily have gone down and earned us a potential penalty.

There was a time when playing for pride was a valued prize. Seems an age ago. The UEFA Cup used to be a serious competition as well. Now it's a game for the reserves to stretch their legs.

On a related note, it was good to see Rodgers keep his composure after Webb switched his brain off for a moment as the Ox poll axed Suarez. I was incensed but Rodgers remained placid and composed. If I were the gaffer, I'd likely have been sent to the stands.

Howard Webb is a police constable and could have arrested Sterling for assault

Webb must believe he's untouchable, so to speak. Arrogance.