Liverpool Season 10/11

[elephanto]

Might as well be me to start this thread for this season....

My greatest wish: fuck off you Yanks, may you be forced to sell the great club at a loss .... a glorious club that Hicks & Gillete were never fit to be owners int he first place....

Roy, new manager, good luck....

Torres, Stevie G, Reina, Carra .... continue your good work as long as you wear that Liverbird jersey ....

Prediction for end of season ..... the journey is the reward ...

The history of the club can NEVER be wiped off, even though they may still not be EPL champs in the next few seasons ........ but true bravehearts will always cheer them on !

 

[Dodomeki]

Lay off Torres, fumes Liverpool boss Hodgson


Lay off Torres, fumes Liverpool boss Hodgson

13 September 2010

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Liverpool coach Roy Hodgson made an impassioned defence of Spanish striker Fernando Torres after the Spanish World Cup star came under fire in the 0-0 draw against Birmingham.

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BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom (AFP) - Roy Hodgson made an impassioned defence of striker Fernando Torres after the Spanish World Cup star came under fire in the drab 0-0 draw at Birmingham. Hodgson was furious at criticism levelled by former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp, now working as a TV pundit, who said that the striker's opening 45 minutes was so poor it suggested he didn't want to be at the club.

Redknapp accused Torres of a "lack of effort" and said "for 45 minutes he has been diabolical". But Hodgson leapt to the defence of his World Cup winner, despite the fact the striker cut such a forlorn figure for virtually the entire game, giving added credence to rumours that he wants a return to Spanish football. "I would not share other people's opinion of Torres' performance. He has worked hard for the team. And he was a constant thorn in the side of their defenders," said Hodgson.

"You have to give their back-four some credit. He lacks match training. He missed games at the end of last season and he missed games in the World Cup. I am not at all concerned about Fernando Torres. "He will get better and better as the season goes on. He was not a peripheral figure. He came into central areas and he created havoc." Hodgson has also been forced to explain suggestions that he has admitted Liverpool are unable to challenge for the league title this season as it is not a realistic target.

"I do not set targets, so I did not say that. I have never said that we cannot win the league and that is not a target for us. I don't set targets. So I don't know where I am supposed to have said what I have been quoted as saying," he said. "If you ask me the question can this team win the league I would say I don't know. We will work hard each game and see where that takes us in May. I find it faintly amusing that after four games people are discussing who is going to win the league. We play 38 games.

"I give all other people's opinions credence, but I don't set targets. I am not prepared to make a statement that this team can or cannot win the league. Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish saw his side extend their unbeaten home league run to 17 games, but it was the performance of Scotland international James McFadden, just days after his work ethic was questioned by Scotland manager Craig Levein, that pleased him as much as anything.

"James McFadden has answered some of his critics with that performance. He put a shift in for the team and helped out in midfield. He got some criticism in the Scottish press for his performances up there. He has been the talisman for the national team for a long time. "It did not go well for him in the last couple of games, but to suggest he is lazy that is nonsense. He is one of the best trainers at the club."

McLeish was unable to give Alexander Hleb, on loan for the season from Barcelona his debut because of an injury sustained on international duty with Belarus. But the Birmingham manager anticipates he will be available next weekend for the trip to face neighbours West Bromwich Albion. "Alexander Hleb did some running on Saturday and it was still too tender. He was still sore on the morning of the game. Hopefully he will be able to train this week and be available for the game against WBA," he added.

 

[elephanto]

tks bro for yr cut-&-paste, still gd update for those of us who have no time to keep up-2-date...

0-0 with Birmingham, what's new :-)

Typically Liverpool ....

I am used to the occasional let-down like this game,
Also tired of analysing why ....

But no matter what we are ALWAYS still behind our club, warts & all....

Jamie Rednap rapped Torres, awshucks, being a TV pundit, got to say something ....

As an injury-plagued ex-club captain, he is merely voicing his opinion & of course, others can disagree & rebut his view.....

 

[Dodomeki]

tks bro for yr cut-&-paste, still gd update for those of us who have no time to keep up-2-date...

0-0 with Birmingham, what's new :-)

I gotta tell you though that Liverpool owed the draw to Pepe Reina's splendid saves (at least three) against Birmingham unlike his poor performance which saw Spain's 4 - 1 defeat to Argentina. Still Pepe is way better than West Ham's Robert Green whom we saw another goal keeping blunder when facing Chelsea.

http://www.singsupplies.com/showthread.php?t=73500

 

[jw5]

I'm not sure if Liverpool are a better team than last season, but I'm pretty sure they have a better manager.
Roy Hodgson plans carefully, is always dignified in his dealings with his players, staff and the media, balances well between attacking and defensive options, and is a credit to a club with as rich a tradition as Liverpool FC. Most of all, his long term plan to give chances to the youngsters coming through the ranks, is obviously what the club needs to do.
We'll see how Inter Milan does this season. I'm confident it won't be better than last season. According to Benitez, he claims that some things from last season needs to be changed. Perhaps he wants to finish runners up in serie A and champions league.

 

[elephanto]

I'm not sure if Liverpool are a better team than last season, but I'm pretty sure they have a better manager.

fully agree, jw5.

Just on one score, Rafa for all is tactical talents etc, is a lousy motivator & cold fish.

Good manager good man very important.... show some humanity...
CB just won CL in dramatic fashion in 2005, 1st thing he speak to Stevie G is how hre should have done this in this previous situation etc.... & the technicalities go on ...... seow ah! robot not human!

 

[elephanto]

give Rafa his due credits.

fair comment, red amoeba.

criticism of his cold personality IN NO WAY detract his amazing 1st season triumph - for that Pool Fans are forever grateful. Remember how fans stuck by him in spite of Klinsmann threat & the HUGE RAFALUTION Banners?

One thing is one thing & another is another...

Modern managers need to go beyond tactical acumen to inspire player loyalty, rapport etc.

This clinical area of Rafa will be his achellis tendon (whatever it is spelled).....

Of course no one is perfect.... alas

 

[Dodomeki]

Liverpool 4-1 Steaua Bucharest

Thu 16th September 2010 at 8:05 pm

Liverpool cruised past Steaua Bucharest in the reds first Europa League group game in a real tale of two halves at Anfield. Many fans stayed away from Anfield in a continued cup match protest at Liverpool’s owners efforts at refinancing, and Roy also gave some of the reds bigger names a night off. Torres and Gerrard were amongst the players who spent the game in their suits, as opposed to their tracksuits.

Joe Cole, who has now also completed his Premier League suspension, took the game by the scruff of the neck when he latched on to some sloppy Romanian defending to send Liverpool into a 1-0 lead after just 27 seconds – his first, of hopefully many, Liverpool goals. But despite this promising start the reds were lacklustre in the first half, with Steaua having the better of the play.

The reds defence was cleverly unpicked in the 13th minute when a slide through-ball found Tanase who flicked over Reina, the Captain for the evening. Roy’s frustration was clear to see on the touchline, but the second half was an entirely different affair. Heading towards the Kop, the reds regained a sense of vigour, and when Kyrgiakos was fouled David N’gog cooly dispatched the penalty to put the reds back in the driving seat.

Ryan Babel made way for Lucas Leiva, and three minutes after arriving on the pitch the Brazilian unleashed a brilliant shot and the goal of the night. The match was won. The reds had time to add a fourth in injury time when N’gog grabbed his 2nd of the game, and his 6th goal in 7 starts for the reds this season. Liverpool can play much better but it will be of some comfort that even without the players the press tells us we can’t live without, we actually can.

Team: Reina, Konchesky, Kelly, Agger, Kyrgiakos, Spearing, Meireles, Babel (Leiva 78), Rodriguez (Pacheco 85), Cole (Eccleston 88), Ngog
Subs unused: Jones, Carragher, Johnson, Shelvey

Ref: Muniz Fernandez

Att: 25,605

 

[Wayne Piew]

Where is that Elephant man?
Hibernating again or
too busy wanking off when that DJ bully
kissed the TV screen at 2-2.
OMG!!
Only one point from the relegation zone.
Unbelievable!!

16 Loserpool 5 1 2 2 4 7 −3 5
17 Stoke City 5 1 1 3 5 8 −3 4
18 Wigan Athletic 5 1 1 3 2 13 −11 4
19 Everton 5 0 2 3 4 7 −3 2
20 West Ham United 5 0 1 4 3 13 −10 1

 

[Ramseth]

Where is that Elephant man?
Hibernating again or
too busy wanking off when that DJ bully
kissed the TV screen at 2-2.
OMG!!
Only one point from the relegation zone.
Unbelievable!!

16 Loserpool 5 1 2 2 4 7 −3 5
17 Stoke City 5 1 1 3 5 8 −3 4
18 Wigan Athletic 5 1 1 3 2 13 −11 4
19 Everton 5 0 2 3 4 7 −3 2
20 West Ham United 5 0 1 4 3 13 −10 1

Oh my god you're right. Only one point above relegation after five games. If they go on like that, this time next year they'd be where Newcastle was this time last year.

 

[BlueCat]

i am prepared for next season without Europe's football for us.
those two yankees must go else we are surely doomed.

 

[Dodomeki]

Liverpool in crisis: who is to blame for the current crisis at Anfield?


Liverpool in crisis: who is to blame for the current crisis at Anfield?

From the boardroom to the boot room, from the sales pitch to the training ground, Liverpool’s gloom is unremitting.

By Rory Smith
Published: 7:45AM BST 05 Oct 2010

Problems: Liverpool lie in the relegation zone after a dismal start to the new season, made worse by Sunday's home defeat to newly-promoted Blackpool Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Marooned in the relegation zone and swamped with debt, Liverpool are enduring their worst start to a campaign for more than 50 years. A season which was supposed to herald a new dawn has only served to deepen Anfield’s long, dark night. Even the club’s manager, Roy Hodgson, cannot explain it.

“There will be lots of theories,” he said, when asked to explain why his team cannot perform. “My theory is only as good as anyone else’s.” From the man who must not only bear the brunt of the blame but rectify the situation, such a statement smacks of despair. Perhaps, though, Anfield’s problems are too great for one man to solve. Perhaps Liverpool are a club in the grip of complete, systemic failure.

Owners
Few doubt that Liverpool’s troubles start at the top. Tom Hicks and George Gillett were informed by the Royal Bank of Scotland in April that they must sell their stakes in Anfield, but no buyer has materialised. The Americans now face an Oct 15 deadline to refinance their £282 million loans. It is hardly the secure foundation on which success can be built.

“Roy is a fantastic manager,” Blackpool manager Ian Holloway said. “The club has to sort itself out above him to give him any sort of chance. You have to direct the club together and until that takes place it will really tough for any manager. Jose Mourinho would not take the job because he would understand the state of things.”

Board
According to Jay McKenna, spokesman for supporters‘ union Spirit of Shankly: “Questions have to be asked over what chairman Martin Broughton and managing director Christian Purslow are doing in the boardroom. Both have stated they were brought to the club to secure investment. Neither has done that and both are making decisions on player recruitment and managerial appointments.”

Broughton suggested he hoped new owners would be secured by the end of the August transfer window upon Hodgson’s appointment and a similar message was expressed to a number of senior players. There is a growing sense of disillusionment among players convinced to stay at Anfield this summer with promises of new investment that the future remains as bleak as ever.

Manager
Hodgson has been criticised for his style of play, his tactics, his inability to motivate his players and, the complaint the Liverpool manager rejects most stridently, that the methods which brought him such success at Fulham may not translate to a squad packed with seasoned internationals and superstar names.

“Big-name players will not faze him, because he has worked with plenty before, in England, with national teams and at Inter Milan,” said Jason Wilcox, who worked with the Liverpool manager at Blackburn. “His training is very regimented, but once the players buy into it, results will improve.”

System
After initially appearing to retain faith with the 4-2-3-1 which served Rafael Benítez well and with which most of his players are familiar, Hodgson has now adopted a 4-4-2, with Dirk Kuyt playing alongside Fernando Torres and Joe Cole and Raul Meireles, the £10 million central midfielder, occupying the wide roles.

The change has failed to provide Liverpool with the natural width they have lacked for so long. A dramatic shift from pressing the ball high up the pitch to a deep defensive line has also attracted doubts, as Northampton, Sunderland and Blackpool have all revelled in the extra space afforded to opponents.

Signings
Hodgson surprisingly spent £2.5 million on Brad Jones, though the signings of Paul Konchesky and Christian Poulsen, neither of whom has convinced since moving to Anfield, appear more high-profile misjudgments. It is Meireles, though, whose case is the strangest. Hodgson has stated his intention to employ the Portuguese international – used to occupying a central role for both former club Porto and his national team – on the right, insisting his system does not require orthodox wingers. To sign a player specifically to fill a position he is unfamiliar with, especially given Liverpool’s relative lack of resources, hardly inspires confidence.

Relationship with players
Hodgson’s appointment was recommended by a number of senior figures at Liverpool on the grounds that he would provide welcome respite from the Benítez regime, noted for the Spaniard’s apparent coldness to his players. Yet, according to Wilcox, Hodgson is not so different from his predecessor. “He is not the type to put an arm around players,” he said. “He does not suffer fools and he will not massage players’ egos. Some temperamental individuals will not react well to that. He will get rid of them gradually.”

Fans
Hodgson has admitted that the mood of militancy among the club’s supporters – highlighted by demonstrations before and after the Blackpool game – towards Hicks and Gillett “does not help” performances, though he later suggested he understood the supporters’ frustration. It is a belief rejected by Spirit of Shankly. “The players know why we are protesting,” McKenna says. “And what is more detrimental to the team - fans chanting for the owners to be removed or an under-strength squad with millions going to service debt?”

 

[Dodomeki]

Singapore tycoon makes £360m bid for Liverpool


Singapore tycoon makes £360m bid for Liverpool

12 October 2010

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This photo made available on October 12 by the Straits Times newspaper shows billionaire Peter Lim at his condominium in Singapore. Lim on Tuesday announced an offer of 360 million pounds (574 million US dollars) in cash for troubled English football club Liverpool.

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SINGAPORE (AFP) - Peter Lim, a sports-loving Singaporean billionaire, on Tuesday announced an increased offer of 360 million pounds (574 million US dollars) in cash for troubled English football club Liverpool. "I respect and admire Liverpool Football Club, which is steeped in tradition and history," said Lim, 57, a self-made fishmonger's son whose fortune is estimated by US business magazine Forbes at 1.6 billion dollars. "I am committed to rebuild the club so that it can soon regain its position at the pinnacle of English and European football, where it truly belongs. This is why I have stepped forward with this offer," he added in a statement.

Lim's offer values the club at 320 million pounds. A further 40 million pounds will be made available to purchase new players. The package is 20 percent higher than a US rival's proposal of 300 million pounds accepted by the club's management over a similar offer by Lim during an auction that ended last week. Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton's decision to sell to New England Sports Ventures (NESV), owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, is now being contested by Liverpool's current American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

A High Court hearing on the case started Tuesday in London shortly after Lim made his bid public. The new offer is in cash and will remove the entire acquisition debt of 200 million pounds taken on by the existing owners that has cast uncertainty over the club's future, the statement said. "My offer provides a firm financial platform from which the club can rebuild. Given the manner in which the sale process has been handled, I feel Martin and the Board owe it to me, to the club and to the supporters to consider my offer."

The case being heard in London will hinge on whether Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton had the authority to sell the troubled English giants to NESV against the wishes of its owners. The boardroom battle has coincided with Liverpool's worst start to a season for nearly 50 years, with the club languishing in the relegation zone and eliminated from the League Cup. Lim, described by his publicists as a passionate football fan, currently holds the franchise for Manchester United theme restaurants in Asia.

A source close to the tycoon told AFP that if his offer for Liverpool succeeds, Lim will give up the Red Devils restaurant franchise. Andy Ho, president of the Official Liverpool FC Fan Club which claims 5,000 members, said he was happy with the prospective Singapore link to the team. "Forty million (pounds) is a lot of money no matter how you look at it. You could get a few good quality payers with the money," he told AFP. Lim studied commerce, accountancy and finance at the University of Western Australia in Perth, supporting himself as a cabbie, waiter and cook.

He first made a fortune as Singapore's hottest share trader in the 1990s, and made even more money as a private investor who now has interests in agribusiness, fashion, logistics, hood and beverages and healthcare. Lim funds scholarships for bright but needy Singapore schoolchildren and recently gave a 7.7 million dollar grant to the Singapore Olympics Foundation to help promising young athletes, particularly those from poor families, realise their sporting dreams.

 

[Wayne Piew]

Elephant man still in hibernation?!:p

Oh there he is!!

 

[Dodomeki]

Liverpool closer to being sold to Red Sox owners


Liverpool closer to being sold to Red Sox owners

Liverpool supporters sing as they protest outside the High Court in London where a hearing to rule on the legality of the sale of Liverpool Football Club to New England Sports Ventures took place, Tuesday.​

A British judge ruled against Liverpool's owners Wednesday in a decision that brings the debt-ridden Premier League club a step closer to being sold to the owners of the Boston Red Sox. High Court Judge Christopher Floyd ruled that American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. do not have the power to oust the boardroom rivals who sanctioned the sale.

The board agreed last week, against the wishes of Hicks and Gillett, to sell the club to New England Sports Ventures for 300 million pounds. "This will pave the way to a sale," club chairman Broughton said outside the court after Wednesday's ruling. "We will have a board meeting this evening and proceed with the sale process."

The current owners claim the price undervalues the club and Liverpool should consider other offers. The judge, who heard five hours of court arguments in the case Tuesday, ruled that Hicks and Gillett have "no absolute right to veto a sale." "In these circumstances, it would be entirely wrong to grant the owners" an injunction to stop the sale, he said.

The judge said the board should meet later Wednesday to approve the sale to the Boston group, headed by financier John Henry, ahead of Friday's deadline to repay the club's debts to the Royal Bank of Scotland. The judge said it would be "inappropriate" for Hicks and Gillett to appeal. Keith Oliver, a lawyer representing the duo, said he was consulting with Hicks and Gillett on their next steps.

The ruling is a victory for Broughton, managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre. "Well done Martin, Christian & Ian," Henry posted on his Twitter account after the announcement. "Well done RBS. Well done supporters!" Inside the court, after the ruling was announced, Purslow turned to a Liverpool fan behind him and said, "We've won."

Outside the court, dozens of Liverpool fans - many wearing team shirts and waving banners and club scarves - cheered, chanted slogans against Hicks and Gillett and serenaded the three board members with the Liverpool anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone." Had the sale been blocked, Liverpool could have fallen into financial administration, a form of bankruptcy protection that would have incurred a nine-point penalty for the club from the Premier League.

Liverpool, which won the last of its 18 English league titles in 1990, is off to its worst start to a season since 1953 and is mired in the relegation zone. Lawyers for Hicks and Gillett told the court on Tuesday the duo were excluded from parts of the sale process and there were other more lucrative offers for the 18-time English champions that should be considered.

Singapore businessman Peter Lim, whose first bid was turned down last week in favor of the Boston offer, announced Tuesday he was raising his offer to 320 million pounds, with an additional 40 million pounds to buy new players. It was also revealed Tuesday that American hedge fund Mill Financial has put in a bid that also pledges to wipe out the club's debts and would provide up to 100 million pounds to fund a new stadium.

Mill Financial technically controls Gillett's 50 percent stake after he defaulted on the loan used by Gillett to fund his part of the leveraged takeover in 2007. It is the owners' inability to repay around 285 million pounds of debt that led RBS to instigate a sale process in April and revamp the board to ensure the two no longer had a majority. - AP

Published Oct 13 2010

 

[Dodomeki]

Liverpool takeover complete as NESV finally seize control


Liverpool takeover complete as NESV finally seize control

Liverpool finally have new owners this afternoon, after New England Sports Ventures brought an end to an extraordinary week by completing their £300 million takeover of the club.

Published: 4:02PM BST 15 Oct 2010
By Paul Kelso

Finally: Liverpool fans have received the news they have been waiting for Photo: PA

Liverpool director Ian Ayre confirmed the deal at 15.55 this afternoon, meaning John W Henry replaces Tom Hicks and George Gillett as the owner of England's most successful football club.

"A cloud has been lifted from this football club," said manager Roy Hodgson. "For this long drawn-out court battle to take place and Liverpool's name to be on the television screens and in the newspapers every day for anything other than positive reasons has been a bad time."

In a statement released at 1.40pm, Hicks appeared to signal defeat, but confirmed he and Gillett will pursue a $1.6 billion damages claim as a result of the "proposed illegal sale". A statement from Hicks' and Gillett's New York representatives announced they were suing over "an extraordinary swindle" but accepted that they had no choice but to relinquish ownership of the club.

Hodgson, meanwhile, said he was optimistic NESV could bring a more stable environment to the club, who are currently 18th in Premier League. "All people and clubs need stability, all managers and players need stability and it is becoming a very hard thing to find," he added. "We live in a world where you are either on top or at the bottom and the middle line is not appreciated by the mass media.

I am hoping the new owners coming in will stabilise the situation and give us a chance to concentrate on the football and, most importantly of all, will wipe out debts." Steve Stodghill, the Texas lawyer representing the Hicks and Gillett, said: "This outcome not only devalues the club but it also will result in long-term uncertainty for the fans, players and everyone who loves this sport because all legal recourses will be pursued.

"Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett pledged to pay the debt to RBS so that the club could avoid administration that was threatened by RBS. That offer was rejected. "It is a tragic development that others will claim as a victory. This means it won't be resolved the way it should be resolved."

 

[elephanto]

Thank you bro dodomeki for continuing to post updated news of our beloved club.

To Wayne Piew u clown, appreciate u put in so much effort to highlight Us in the relegation zone.

Surely u are a fool if u dare stick your neck out to say your slide still applies come end of season.

May I make a fair comment ?

Esteemed clubs like Pool & ManU, their history, legacy & class will not be easily wiped out whether by Munich '55 or never winning EPL thus far.

Glad Hicks & Gillette are history, though the future owners' conduct remains to be seen.

But this much I promise u, should Man U be fucked when Glazers lose control on their debt/interest burden or when Fergie's eventual retirement create instability,

I won't gloat the way you did ....

Still no hard feelings, you are perhaps being playful :-)

 

[Alamaking]

I dun understand, why sold to the Yankees again? zzzzz....

 

[Dodomeki]

New Reds owners visit Anfield


New Reds owners visit Anfield

17 October 2010

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Visits?: Liverpool's new owner John W Henry, seen here, reiterated his intention to repeat the feat of resurrecting the fortunes of the struggling Merseyside club, as they did at the Boston Red Sox.

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(GSM) - Liverpool's new owner John W Henry made a trip to Anfield on Saturday afternoon and then dropped in at Melwood to give the players an insight into his plans to restore the team to one of the greatest in Europe. Henry, along with fellow New England Sports Ventures chief Tom Werner, held their first meeting with Roy Hodgson's squad and said: "We want to make Liverpool a winning club again."

Henry and Werner made it clear that nothing was on the line in Sunday's Merseyside derby against Everton and reiterated their intention to repeat their feat of resurrecting the fortunes of a struggling club, as they did at the Boston Red Sox. Henry said: 'I'm not going to make any promises, but it took us until our third season at Fenway Park. It's hard to win, but we would settle for that here, too.

''The first time we went to Fenway was an incredible day for us and we feel similarly today. ''The first thing I wanted to do when we left London last night was to go to Anfield, and that was what I did this morning. ''I came out here and walked the pitch alone. I just couldn't wait to get here. I had only been here once before and it was too short. I love Fenway, I love Anfield, when the place is empty and the sun is coming out. ''It's a magical feeling to walk on to the pitch and to think that we are the new owners.''

 

[mollusk]

The new owner will regret buying Liverpool.2 nil to Everton