Posts Tagged ‘Liverpool FC’

1FITG mid-season review: Liverpool

Posted: February 12, 2013 by onefootinthegame in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

With less than a third of the season left to run, we’re reaching a key period for a number of clubs that still harbour some sort of ambition for the end of the season. In the first of a series of pieces where we’ve asked some of our writers for their thoughts on their team’s season so far, Trebor A gives us his reaction to Brendan Rodgers’s first season at Anfield.

1. So what are your thoughts on Liverpool’s season so far?

The season has been ok so far, in truth. An unconvincing tricky start in the league set off some alarm bells. The team looked unsure, of how to play under Rodgers. That has now changed, and the players are playing with greater fluidity, and composure. You can see that the team is evolving. The cup performances could have been better. I still can’t believe we lost to Oldham. However, doing well in cup competitions didn’t exactly help Kenny much last season.

2. How are you feeling about your chances in the Europa League this season – is it a cup Liverpool should be actively trying to win and will Rodgers prioritise it?

I’m feeling fairly optimistic about the Europa League. We have progressed well, whilst managing to give young players like Suso, Wisdom and Sterling some much-needed European experience. Liverpool have never won the Europa League – so I would like to see us make history this season. There are some big clubs still left in it i.e. Ajax, Tottenham, Napoli, Chelsea and Benfica. Which will certainly make winning it tough. Will Rodgers prioritise it? I don’t think he has much choice – put simply, this is the only competition Liverpool can now win this season.

3. Would you agree that Gerrard has been below par this season?

English: Steven Gerrard, Liverpool F.C. footballer

Steven Gerrard – still got it. Or, used to have it, but has replaced it in his aged state with something else also useful

No, I couldn’t disagree more. Gerrard, like the whole team, started the season slowly. He looked a bit lethargic. This was understandable, considering his involvement in last summer Euros. He has been excellent for a couple of months now though. What people do not seem to understand is that Gerrard is 32 years of age. He can’t run for 90 minutes from box to box anymore. Gerrard is a different player now – more reserved, but still able to produce moments of brilliance. 7 goals and 9 assists in the Premier League testifies to that. He’s the only premier league midfielder to have played every minute of every game this season as well. That is a remarkable feat, taking his age, and past injury record, into consideration.

4. Has Rodgers fundamentally changed the style of play at Liverpool. Do you feel you can progress into the top 4 in the future playing the brand of football that Rodgers is trying to play?

Rodgers and his love of buzz words, calls his football ideals a ‘philosophy’. When in truth it is fundamentally ‘passing football’. Not exactly re-inventing the wheel, is it? However, in fairness to Rodgers, there has been some change. A lot this has been off the pitch i.e. backroom staff, training methods, scouting network etc. Even the formation has changed from last season. Due to this, the teams results have somewhat fluctuated. The football hasn’t always been sparkling or scintillating, and I still can’t help but fret every time the ball is passed around in our own defence. Rodgers is militant about the constant need to keep possession and controlling the game. It can appear to be counter-productive at times. Yet I can sense the players are starting to become more and more comfortable with this. Overall, the style of play has been progressive. Will this brand of football get Liverpool back into the top 4? Hopefully the results will start to match the quality of football. Only then can progress be achieved. I know it might seem a bit cliché, but I can’t help thinking of this team as a ‘work in progress’.

5. Predicted finish in the Premier League this season?

Last summer, before the season started, I said finishing 5th in the Premier League and winning the Europa League should be Liverpool’s target. Nothing in that regard has changed. Obviously, I would love to see Liverpool finish 4th. While that is not improbable, it is possibly a tad unrealistic. So, 5th and winning a European competition – that’ll do for me.

Why does everyone hate Michael Owen?

Posted: August 17, 2012 by onefootinthegame in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
6

Owen: the man we love to loathe

You’re a former European Footballer of the Year. You’re one of your country’s greatest ever goal scorers. You’ve led a trouble and scandal free life. You’re even nice to animals and children. So why do so many people hate Michael Owen?

The recent volley of abuse fired at him when he attempted to engage in a live Q&A on twitter demonstrated that his current public stock has hit rock bottom. With the latter part of his career marked more by jeering than cheering. How did he turn from a teenage sensation to a figure of derision and ridicule?

The prevailing perception of Owen is of a fading force. Yet despite this, he continues to score goals. Owen’s career record remains just shy of 1-in-2 – despite the injuries and the increasing role as a substitute. Clearly, this negative public view of the former England international can’t be about what he delivers on the pitch.

Intriguingly, Owen is little loved even at the clubs he’s served. At Liverpool, he had the misfortune to displace club legend Robbie Fowler. Never considered a true scouser, Owen burnt his bridges on the Kop by later signing for arch-rivals Manchester United.

At Newcastle he was hailed as the second coming – or possibly fourth, after Keegan and Shearer – but the initial fervour quickly fizzled out. Opinion amongst the St James Park faithful being blighted by unfortunate injuries, but also by the self-inflicted wounds of a contract clause which left Owen free to jump ship for ‘bigger’ clubs.

Had Owen fired in the goals that kept Newcastle in the Premiership in his final season, his reputation may have survived his refusal to sign a new contract. Unfortunately, Newcastle were relegated.

But this only explains the feelings of football fans in Tyneside and Merseyside and not how he became an orphan of the nation’s affections.

Part of the answer lies in his international career. After announcing himself on the international stage by hurtling through the Argentinian defence in 1998, we see again a similar pattern of promise followed by lingering disappointment. Here, Owen was unlucky in that his international career coincided with the rise of the much derided ‘golden generation’.

Whether they were really good enough or not, fans and certainly the players themselves believed the hype. Successive tournament ‘failures’ have subsequently tainted a goal scoring and tournament record which compares favourably with any England international – with the exception of the Class of ’66.

Then there’s the man himself. When Owen broke through as an 18 year old, he earned just as much praise for his composure off the pitch as he did on it. Confident and fluent, his interviews seemed to come from a relaxed media veteran not a footballing ingénue.

But what was at first charming, quickly become dull. Yes, he spoke coherently and didn’t ‘um’ and ‘ah’, but nothing he said was ever really that interesting. A perception heightened by an off-the-field life which failed to provide any fuel for the tabloids.

Perhaps just a private man, the end result was that Michael Owen was, well, just a little bit boring. No crime in itself, but far lesser players have been elevated to footballing legend status on the basis of an ability to deliver a pithy one-liner whilst stumbling out of Stringfellows with a former Miss World on their arms.

During Owen’s time at Manchester United all these views seem to have crystalized and become the prism through which we view events. Did he really meekly accept a bit-part substitute role in exchange for trophies – or did he just keep his frustration to himself?

When he announced this summer that he was unprepared to drop down a division, he was hardly the first player to make such a comment. Yet the vitriol which met the statement showed that different standards apply to Owen. A point echoed again in

Pointless twitter spats with journalists about his record and ambition haven’t helped. Touchy and arrogant? Or just tired and irritated at trying to defend himself from unfair accusations?

So with the new football season cranking into gear, Michael Owen is football’s lonely man. Without a club and without anyone seeming to care that the career of one of Britain’s most talented footballers is about to limp to an end.

Will this be how he’s ultimately written into our football history? I fancy that, given a bit of time and distance from his football career, the public’s attitude will soften and he’ll end up a respected and popular figure. In which case that transformation will make as much sense as the current jaundiced view towards him.

Written by James Albion

2012/13 predictions from 1FITG

Posted: August 6, 2012 by onefootinthegame in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
3

It’s barely been three months since Martin Tyler’s spine-chilling Aguero climax, or from the historic moment John Terry appeared in full Chelsea kit in Munich, commencing a lucrative Photoshopping career.

But following the entertainingly predictable Team GB failure in the mens football, the new season is now rapidly approaching, and here at 1FITG towers, we love a good prediction. So we’ve been asking some of our contributors to tell us what they think is in store for season 2012/13, with five simple questions – a few of the usual, with some of the unexpected thrown in there.

1. The Champions question: who will win the Premiership, Championship, League 1 and League 2

James Albion: Manchester City, Charlton, Sheffield United, Southend United.
@josephclift: Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End, Rotherham United.
@giraffefarmer: Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Sheffield United, Southend United.
Trebor A: Chelsea, Blackpool, Coventry City, Gillingham.
Dan Northcote-Smith (@dnsandnick): Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield United, Fleetwood Town.
Nick Moss (@dnsandnick): Manchester United, Bolton Wanderers, MK Dons, Rotherham United.
@Miller179: Manchester United, Leicester City, Sheffield United, Rotherham United.

2. The Ron Atkinson question: who will be the first manager to be sacked in the top four divisions?

James Albion: Neil Warnock (Leeds). Conventional wisdom says that Neil Warnock just needed time to mould Leeds in his image. However, sometimes it just doesn’t work for you at a club, and there were signs last year that Warnock may be struggling to work his alchemy at Elland Road. A slow start this year, could see Ken Bates try and salvage the season with an early managerial change.

Who’s up for the chop?

@josephclift: Andy Thorn (Coventry). I’m amazed he’s still in his job to be honest – Coventry look as though they’re a club that could have a Preston-esque year of transition in League 1, and a poor start to the season will probably see him sacked in September.

@giraffefarmer: Sean O’Driscoll (Nottingham Forest). High expectations coupled with a mediocre squad means that Forest could struggle at the start of the season. If that happens expect the patience of the new owners to wear thin very quickly, especially if they feel that a higher profile name could be attracted to the City Ground.

Trebor A: Steve Kean (Blackburn Rovers). How on earth has he managed to last this long? Could be sacked before the end of August.

Dan Northcote-Smith (@dnsandnick): Nigel Pearson (Leicester City). Continued investment at the King Power Stadium will demand results which on recent form seem unlikely to come.

Nick Moss (@dnsandnick): Steve Kean (Blackburn Rovers). Even though it seems he has actually improved the team, the owners aren’t going to understand the difficulty the Championship poses.

@Miller179: Chris Wilder (Oxford United). Oxford are a big club (in terms of the division0 who could be looked upon to have underachieved over the last few seasons.  If they don’t get off to a good start, the trap door could be beckoning for Wilder.

3. The Guy Whittingham question: who will be the top scorer out of the top four divisions?

James Albion: Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield Town). Too good for League 1 last year, I fancy him to carrying on from where he left off in the Championship.

@josephclift: Stuart Beavon (Wycombe). Beavon did extremely well in League 1 last year, really impressed me when I saw him. I’m amazed that he hasn’t been snapped up by either a League 1 or Championship team. Assuming he stays, I can’t see League 2 defences coping with him, and provided Wycombe don’t implode I can see him having a great season for them.

Who’s going to score a shedload?

@giraffefarmer: Freddy Eastwood (Southend United). Back at the club where he made his name in the Football League, he’s far too good for this level and will supply the goals for a Southend United side that is likely to dominate the league.

Trebor A: Sergio Agüero (Manchester City). What a debut season from the diminutive Argentinean. I fully expect him to avoid the dreaded second season syndrome.

Dan Northcote-Smith (@dnsandnick): Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield Town). Proven finisher – think Huddersfield will do well this year under Simon Grayson.

Nick Moss (@dnsandnick): Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield Town). Great finisher, now working under a manager that made Beckford look Prem quality. More of the same.

@Miller179: Sergio Agüero (Manchester City). The complete striker/poacher.  He has everything - pace, agility, strength, and finishing.  With the service that he will get I’m sure it will be goals galore this season.

4. The Marco Boogers question: which new signing will completely flop?

James Albion: Nuno Gomes (Blackburn). The Portugal international has a fine pedigree, but if I were a Blackburn fan I’d prepare to be underwhelmed – very underwhelmed. Having spent the bulk of his career challenging for honours at Portugese giants Benfica, the move reeks of a player whose only remaining interest is in bolstering his pension. Now 36, does Gomes really have the mettle for the rigours of a long Championship season in a cold, half-empty, Ewood Park? Well, you can guess what I think.

Who is this season’s Marco Boogers?

@josephclift: Steven Naismith (Everton). David Moyes simply doesn’t have a good overall record with strikers. He’s done well with some, but terrible with most – for every Jelavić he’s signed there’s a James Beattie or Jermaine Beckford blotting that record. Naismith was always the lesser of the pairing at Rangers, and coming off the back of a cruciate ligament injury I can’t see him doing well in his first year. Particularly if he’s stuck somewhere in midfield, which he may have to expect given Moyes’s bizarre allergy to selecting two strikers.

@giraffefarmer: Ben Burgess (Tranmere Rovers). This question was answered early this year, Ben signed for Tranmere Rovers in June 2012 and then retired from football in July 2012. A sad end for a solid pro, but definitely a flop.

Trebor A: Eden Hazard (Chelsea). The football prostitute, cavorted himself to a plethora of potential suitors. Fluttering his eyelids, and continually pursing his lips. Before announcing his decision on twitter. In a ridiculously over-hyped fashion. You would think Chelsea have signed Leo Messi. Well they haven’t. Hazard is just another player, whose 5 minute YouTube videos precede him.

Dan Northcote-Smith (@dnsandnick): Olivier Giroud (Arsenal). Can’t see him dominating Premier League centre-backs like he did in France. Plus, will Arsenal start chucking crosses into the box?

Nick Moss (@dnsandnick): Edin Hazard (Chelsea). Tough call this as his talent isn’t in question. His adaptability, especially in the first season, is though. A hefty price tag, and most likely having to find space on the left wing won’t help.

@Miller179: I wouldn’t say flop signing because this player has great potential,  but Edin Hazard (Chelsea).  I’m not sure if his style is suited to Chelsea - for me the way they play is too rigid and unexpressive.  I think he will have a very tough first season.  He should have gone to Man United.

5. The Titanic question: which club is going to have a nightmarish disaster of a season?

James Albion: Portsmouth. Given Pompey may not even exist at the start the season, this may actually be a poor choice. At the time of writing the club had just 3 first team players on its books. Assuming they satisfy the administrators on the 10th August, it’s hard to see how the remaining players – along with any last minute additions – will do anything other than struggle. It raises the humbling prospect of the 2008 FA Cup winners starting the 2013 season in the bottom division.

Who’s entering troubled waters?

@josephclift: It would be easy to say Portsmouth. I’m instead going for Nottingham Forest. A new manager once again, and while Sean O’Driscoll was raved about prior to 2011 it’s difficult to forget that it all ultimately went very wrong for him at Doncaster. His style of football was generally pleasing on the eye for a team with zero expectations – with the rich new owners and heightened expectations, I’m not convinced O’Driscoll’s up to the task. They’ll be looking at a top 6 finish – I reckon they’ll be midtable or worse, with potential upheaval in the new year from jittery owners concerned about their investment.

@giraffefarmer: Swansea City. Swansea lost their talented manager Brendan Rodgers over the post-season and look set to lose star players such as Joe Allen. With little clout to bring in new players or the time needed to integrate any newcomers into their (slightly overrated) sub-tiki-taka style of play, the team is likely to be weaker than last season. Couple this with second-season syndrome and Swansea will seriously struggle. If that wasn’t bad enough, potential success for rivals Cardiff this season after their cash injection means Swansea could be relegated while being leapfrogged into the Premier league by their biggest competitors – which would definitely be a nightmarish disaster of a season.

Trebor A: Aston Villa. Yeah, I know last season wasn’t exactly a vintage one, for Villa fans. The McLeish era wasn’t something to regale you about. However, I fear that everything is about to get a lot worse. A meagre budget, coupled with average players means one thing. Relegation is clearly on the horizon. England’s 2nd city will soon have no football clubs in the top-flight.

Dan Northcote-Smith (@dnsandnick): QPR. Low caibre signings and they will be without the delivery of errant midfielder and social media expert Joey Barton.

Nick Moss (@dnsandnick): Coventry City. A couple of demoralising results early on – that slip can turn into a slide.

@Miller179: Liverpool. For me the Brendan Rodgers era is going to get off to a very slow start. Everyone talks about the style of play that Rodgers employs, but what people don’t realise is that this takes time – a lot of time  to get to that level. It doesn’t happen overnight. Remember Rodgers at Reading??? People won’t see the full fruits of this until next season. The first few months could be a tough slog for the Reds.

Rodgers at Liverpool – club at the crossroads

Posted: June 10, 2012 by onefootinthegame in Liverpool, Premier League, Steven Gerrard
Tags: , , , , , , ,
6

Dynasty: A rich history of success or a soap opera that beggars belief?

Following his unveiling at Anfield, Brendan Rodgers described Liverpool Football Club as “a dynasty”. Which begs the question did he mean the club had with an established, rich history of class and success, or was he likening it to a preposterous soap opera with storylines that beggar belief.

Liverpool’s current predicament is the result of two decades of mismanagement, neglect and short sightedness, leaving the scale of Rodgers’ task much greater than the seventeen points that the team finished off the coveted fourth Champions League place.

On the footballing side, Rodgers has inherited a squad that, despite the truck load of cash thrown at it over the last eighteen months, will need a great deal of work before it can emulate the high tempo possession game that has already become his hallmark.

The midfield in particular, is staffed by players who either lack the technical ability (Spearing, Shelvey), favour the ‘Hollywood Ball’ (Gerrard, Adam) or have simply been non-descript in their Anfield careers so far (Downing, Henderson). The only players who seem ready-made for the ‘tiki taka’ keep-ball style are Lucas and Bellamy, the latter at the wrong end of his career.

There’s then the Andy Carroll conundrum. Given how he was used, or misused, last season, his critics have been overly harsh as he has shown the potential to be an intimidating force in attack. Yet you don’t need Andy Townsend’s tactic truck to tell you that Carroll is not a player suited to a short passing game. Rodgers will either need time to work with him to refine his game (he is still only 23), find a tactical style that suits him or employ him in some other creative option (scarecrow, coat stand, hired goon – answers on a postcard please).

Lastly, there’s the ‘Gerrard problem’. Those who criticise Gerrard are usually labelled as heretics and madmen. Yet, dare I say it, some Liverpool fans have been whispering for awhile that for all his heroics and swashbuckling drive, he has never developed the all round technique and tactical discipline required to dominate a midfield, and the tempo of a game. Whilst others would just come straight out and say that the team plays better, more incisive football without him.

These might seem harsh criticisms given the years when, at his peak, Gerrard seemingly dragged Liverpool to heights that seemed beyond them. That was in the past though – and a past that heavily relied on Xabi Alonso. One-man Roy Race midfields are not a viable long-term plan in the Premier League or Europe, and it is now undeniable, even for fanatics, that Gerrard is way past his best.

Trouble is, as the club captain, local hero, living legend, and crucially, the top-earner in the squad, he poses a big challenge for Rodgers. One possible option is to gradually deploy him as a centre-back, thus adding some technique and passing ability in defence.

All of the above, however, requires time and patience – two virtues that Liverpool are, with some justification, short of. On the cusp of a fourth season without Champions League football, conservative estimates of the revenue lost over this period fall somewhere around the £100m mark.

With the stadium saga ongoing, the club still playing catch-up with their commercial operations, and Financial Fair Play regulations preventing random cash injections, the longer Liverpool are outside the Champions League the more elusive ever returning there will become.

Rodgers and Fenway Sports Group face big challenges on every front. The club have made a brave and well suited appointment but another period of failure will likely mean that the LFC dynasty may go the same way as the TV programme which disappeared from our screen in 1989 – the same year as Liverpool’s last title triumph.

New role for Raul from Liverpool to Chelsea…

Posted: September 4, 2011 by onefootinthegame in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
1
RaulI suppose Raul Meireles’ last-gasp £12 million move from Liverpool to Chelsea was the stand-out, from a rather underwhelming transfer deadline day.

So, what have Chelsea now got in Raul Meireles? Is he a Modric clone that will link play and pirouette through the midfield? No, Meireles doesn’t have those attributes.He is far more likely to rampage through a midfield than dribble around it.

However at 28 years of age, Chelsea have purchased an experienced International footballer who will give their midfield much needed exuberance and mobility. Meireles is an energetic player who provides versatility, assists and goals.
Some will ask where Raul Meireles will fit in at Chelsea? Cynics suggest he was a panic buy by Villas-Boas, after being thwarted in his efforts to sign Luka Modric. Others think that Meireles and Lampard will struggle to co-exist in an attacking midfield. Both like to readily vacate central positions and get in the box. Both like to hang around the edge of the area and shoot at distance. Surely they’ll make the same runs and get into each others way?
These suggestions couldn’t be further from the truth. What I believe Chelsea have actually done, is finally fill the void left by Michael Ballack last summer. With Lampard and Meireles, Chelsea now have much more of a goal threat from central midfield. There will be less pressure on Didier Drogba to be the clubs principle source of goals. Chelsea do not look the same team when Drogba is unavailable or off-form (as we saw last season). Heck, the additional goal threat might even take the spotlight off the misfiring Fernando Torres.
As a Liverpool fan, I know first-hand how good Meireles can really be. Especially, in a free-flowing team that play with fluidity and pace. He’ll exploit gaps and make a ridiculous amount of runs for the team. One of the reasons he settled so well into life in the Premier League is because he’s an extremely intelligent player. Let’s not forget he won the 2011 PFA Fans’ Player of the Year award in his debut season.
Trust me when I say that the deadline day deal for Raul Meireles, was a clever coup by Andrea Villas-Boas. He now has a player who was one of the few success stories from Liverpool’s dismal 2010/2011 season. Meireles has also played regularly in the Champions League. Something that will come in handy as Abramovich’s Chelsea plot another pursuit of club football’s richest prize.
I would go as far as saying that this transfer may have swung a title challenge back in Chelsea’s favour. With Meireles, Mata and Lukaku added to Chelsea’s already strong but slightly ageing spine, they now have a squad capable of keeping pace with both of Manchester’s early pacesetters. Man City and Man Utd have been playing sparkling football thus far, but weren’t we saying the same thing about Chelsea this time last season? You don’t win anything in September, as the pundits love to say.
It is unfair to make direct comparisons with the man Abramovich eyed (Luka Modric) and the man he ended-up with (Raul Meireles). Modric is a creator who can win you a game single-handedly. Meireles is perpetual motion and makes others around him tick. They are very different players but equally excellent, just in varying ways. This is despite the fact both players created exactly, 66 goal-scoring chances for their respective clubs last season.
This is an interesting tidbit to finish off with. Only two players scored for Liverpool against Chelsea during the whole of last season (Torres and Meireles). Now both ply their trade with the club from Kings Road. The two clubs will clash again this season on November 20th 2011 and 5th May 2012. I wonder what will happen if Steven Gerrard or Luis Suarez score in any of those games? Just a thought.
Related articles

Liverpool United?

Posted: January 4, 2011 by onefootinthegame in Liverpool, Premier League
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
16

Am I the only person who is starting to think that Liverpool are slowly becoming a poor imitation of Newcastle United?

Hear me out:

  • A club overly-romantic about past glory.
  • Fanatical supporters who believe they’re entitled to success.
  • A succession of beleaguered managers that have failed to win the title.
  • Fandom overriding rational logic.
  • Disgruntled players who see their future elsewhere.
  • A belief that a messiah in the form of an ex-player/manager will come and save the day.

You see, not such a far-fetched comparison is it? Some similarities are uncanny. The only thing missing is a fat, meddling, buffoon from London! Hold on, isn’t Roy Hodgson from Croydon? (ok, that was a little harsh).

As a Liverpool fan I’ve been perturbed and a little surprised about all the column inches Liverpool FC have been consuming over the last few days. There seems to be genuine hysteria emanating from the club.

It was embarrassing to hear cries of “Hodgson for England” and “Dalglish” from the fans during the recent home defeat to Wolves. Alright yes, Roy Hodgson hasn’t done a good job as Liverpool manager. Actually in truth, he hasn’t even done an average one but the level of hostility towards the man is becoming unacceptable.

Every interview he has conducted has been brutally assassinated and taken out of context. Even something as banal as Hodgson rubbing his face is now up for discussion on the LFC internet forums. Ex-players who in the summer were praising his appointment have now trickled out of the woodwork to publicly damn him.

Hodgson isn’t the only one to have fallen foul of the Liverpool fans of late. Paul Konchesky, a limited but willing player has become a target of the boo boys in the last few weeks. It would appear that a few disparaging remarks made by Konchesky’s mum about the city of Liverpool and its fans on Facebook (I know…. Facebook???) has done a lot of damage. Didn’t she have anything better to do, like change her profile picture or send a friend request???

Liverpool fans are supposed to be the most knowledge football fans around (truly a self-proclaimed notion). Therefore, can they not see that the club as a whole is going through a rebuilding process and need some patience? A magic wand will not be waved and everything will be rosy again. No plaster or band-aid can cover over the mistakes made in the last 18 months.

The new owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG or formerly known as NESV) will need time to evaluate the structure and long-term planning of the club. Changes will be made, I’m certain. These changes however, need to be the correct ones for the club. No quick-fixes here please! Whilst I admire and greatly respect Kenny Dalglish (affectionately known as ‘the King’ by many). He is a man who has not managed a football club for 11 years!

I watch with baited breath to see how Liverpool football club conducts itself over the next two transfer windows. Most importantly the current one, which is already four days old. New players are a priority and prudence as well as conscientiousness will have to be exhausted. The question is, will the board back Hodgson and give him the money he desperately needs?

It will seem inevitable that there will a parting of the ways between the club and manager at some point in the near future. My only wish is that it’s done at the end of the season in an amicable way. That will allow Hodgson to leave with some dignity instead of with his tail tucked between his legs.

The words “You’ll Never Walk Alone” are paramount to the club. Enough of the witch-hunts and agenda’s.  It’s time to be united.

The Liverpool FC soap opera; Finished or just starting?

Posted: October 18, 2010 by onefootinthegame in England, Liverpool
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

Dragged through the mud and courtroomsFinally the Liverpool Football Club takeover has come to a dramatic end.

The soap opera that saw the club embroiled in court room battles, injunctions, £1 billion lawsuits claims and counter claims, personal accusations, and the very serious the threat of the club going into administration loomed large.

The Hicks and Gillet years will always be remembered as the leadership that had brought one of English Football brightest institutions steeped in success and tradition to its crumbling knees.

A grim outlook that has been replicated on the pitch with the humbling defeats to lowly League 2 outfit Northampton in the Carling Cup, and Premier League new boys Blackpool respectively. It could be easy to remark on what has occurred and pick the bones over the whole sorry episode, but for this article a different direction is going to be taken.

With this post I am going to refer to something I wrote almost four years ago during my Masters studies in a discussion forum over the state of English football, and to a degree the sport as a whole and what it represents in the early 21st Century. Also reviewed was the worrying and increasing dependency of finance within the game.

The reference to the proposed Liverpool takeover at the time in the piece was that of two suitors, Dubai International Capital, and what proved to be the sucessful bid from Tom Hicks and George Gillett. With the consistent talk of Manchester United’s financial situation and visible protests, the literal transformation  of  the Manchester City’s fortunes, and Portsmouth being the first Premier League club to go in to administration  within this four year timeframe, I pose this question once read, has much changed regarding the sport and the highlighted issues mentioned?

Like always enjoy folks….

From my perspective the current trend that seems to be taking place in English football regarding club ownership, is quite a delicate and complicated situation that is not easy to unravel.  Liverpool FC is the most recent club to be the subject of a takeover bid. Arguably this would present an instant short-term resolution and a bright rosy future for the club but I have my reservations.

As a fan of the club without doubt the initial appeal of the proposed takeover would place the club in a stronger position where they could compete with the present market setter’s Chelsea in terms of economic resources off the pitch and naturally on-pitch by attracting the big-name star players. Although this may not guarantee an immediate change of Liverpool’s fortunes on the playing field from possible title-contenders to actual annual champions, without question it would put the club on par if not surpass some of the world’s top clubs. Clearly all this talk of Premiership clubs being taken over is not a coincidence but clearly a direct relation to what has occurred at Chelsea FC, and their resulting dominance.

Despite waning public standing amongst football fans of Chelsea, what cannot be disputed is Roman Abramovich’s commitment to the club, and presenting him as a genuine football fan. Which introduces the question how or what makes a genuine football fan? Is it merely because a person states that they follow a particular team, buy the clubs memorabilia, or regularly attend matches no matter the distance or cost?

Well whatever the basis maybe, Abramovich may forward his case stating he brought the club outright. In doing so he instantly wrote off the club’s pending £80 million debt, and has spent heavily on attaining the best human resources available be it players, management and administrative staff. If that’s not enough we the football viewing public regularly see him on our television screens always watching his prestigious acquisition every time they play.

Aside from Chelsea, recent reports have suggested that Abramovich now plans to commit £20 million to his native Russia and its national football team in developing state-of-the-art facilities in which current players will use and help develop talent in future players. It could be said that this gives evidence to Abramovich’s keen interest in football. Perhaps Chelsea’s benefactor is an isolated case, but this brings me to my initial concern with the sudden interest of such individuals and Premiership clubs. Do these people really have a genuine interest in football and the well being of the clubs they are proposing to buy?

As a Liverpool fan I am not that bothered what nationality is stated in the passport of the owner now or in the future, all that concerns me is are they going to do right by the club. The Premiership has a rich cosmopolitan flavour with many players, managers and their nationalities represented in the league. I feel that this has heightened the playing standard set in England so in theory why can’t the same be said of overseas owners and investors?

My fear is that we might have a situation where such grouped individuals are merely looking to strip the tenuous but prosperous investments some clubs may retain, just to line their own pockets or any other drastic act that is detrimental to the clubs future. I suppose I say this because my worry is that football is our national game and although globally popular I am always concerned do these individuals recognise what these clubs mean to people. Due to the fact they do not live or have not grown following a club and the English football culture.

I understand that the way the game is at present, it is no longer just a game. A statement that which brings me to reference the article ‘Play Element In Contemporary Sport’ by Johann Huizinga. In which he refers to the loss in free spirit play displayed in sport. This sentiment is a suitable description trend appearing in English football. Top-level soccer is no longer about playing the game; it is big-time business on all fronts with mere participation was sidestepped long ago and winning and losing is now taking a back seat. But is the imminent future and success of clubs pending on finding a rich individual, overseas or over wise? Is the league table going to resemble a financial rich list with the wealthiest owner at the top in an ascending order? Time will tell…

Related Articles