BG

You'll have to account for yorselves once Stresseric arrives.

No, Gomez rightly pointed out that you conflated a very bad season with a very bad managerial performance. That's clear from your post saying he he achieved it whereas you're now softening that to he was associated with it. (Sometimes seems like you're prepared to die in a ditch over the validity of your every utterance.) On your no indication he would turn it round point: Rafa has shown, at Valencia, the ability to turn round a very poor season. So in fact, on the one occasion a very poor season has followed a brilliant one before in his career, the evidence shows he turned it round. Other managers, even other Liverpool managers, have had poor seasons and followed them with brilliant ones. Doubtless there were no indications during those seasons they could turn it round either. False achievement? Personally I thought 86 points with these owners and working conditions was an astonishing and certainly positive over achievement. Find it bizarre to see that minimized as a false achievement by a Liverpool fan. Particularly in the context of Rafa's other achievements both here and in Spain. To be honest this kind of false achievement stuff is more the kind of thing I expect from Redknapp Jr/Whelan.

It's interesting you raise denial. Personally I'd say feeling excited (even mixed with anxiety) about what's about to happen may indicate a state of denial about the current state of affairs at the club. One other thing. Wasn't it you who (sorry if not) who was arguing (repeatedly) a few months ago that the supporters' and owners' interests had now basically converged? Is that still your view?

That's what's sooo great about owning a sports franchise, or as Hicks put it "you don't even have to win a championship every year to draw the fans. You just have to show you're really trying". And what's really good about soccer, and why people like Hicks got interested in it, is that: 1) The market's expanding and is already huge 2) The fans are so loyal that you don't even need to do the "really trying" bit

To be fair the author's done well to get it down to five challenges. (Guardian)

(Was suggested seriously last time round by someone IIRC). Edit: just noticed Cobs was already on this.

Sven? Guess he must know the secretaries at most clubs.

f*** off.

I think if he doesn't turn up at the current European and Italian champions within days (great to see we've sacked a man a club like that are after) he'll not work for a little while, stick around here and wait for Mancini to be sacked.

Ah, good. I saw most of he last world cup from another country so no. That's a relief. Carew it is then..plus big Emile.

O'Neill is one of the better scenarios I see at present - which is saying something. He'll probably swap Torres for Ibra too.

Harry likes a player.

And make the owners richer at the expense of the future of the club while playing the superfan. Congratulations.

Managers' contracts are on entirely different terms to executives': one is fixed term, one isn't. Parry wasn't having his contract paid off, he was getting a golden handshake.

"When I was in the leverage buy-out business we bought Weetabix and we leveraged it up to make our return. You could say that anyone who was eating Weetabix was paying for our purchase of Weetabix. It was just business. It is the same for Liverpool." Tom Hicks.

It's not a clause. It's just paying up his contract as is normal practice in football. That said it's probably written such that we only pay while he's not working - which might not be for that long given that the current European champions clearly want to appoint him.

Don't worry, it's "no blow" apparently.

He also dragged Luca Toni around by the ear last season because Luca Toni wasn't sitting upright at table when the players were eating... To learn German last Summer he just went into a German monastery for a month IIRC. Interesting character alright.

Nice typo on his name - sounds like he's from Asterix. I'm a big fan of Luis. However in the, I think, very unlikely case he arrives there will be people pissed off with him within weeks. He's massive on systems and tactics, unbelievably stubborn and has an ego comparable with Mourinho. And he falls out with players - publicly - a lot.

No there were people on here who were saying that he would come for the challenge/it would appeal to his ego/we'd be such a big draw etc etc There was also quite a lot of certainty that investment was definitely about to happen/money would be found/the owners' interests were converging with the supporters' in terms of needing a quick sale etc All of these things were repeated ad infinitum by various posters.

Numerous people said Mourinho was a realistic proposition this Summer.

The single bright spot should that happen is that they already have a very good goalkeeper.

Some bloke on the Guardian's live sport blog reckons it's odd that Xavi's talking up the move as it might mean he plays fewer games...Can't really see how Fabregas' arrival would impact the number of games Xavi plays unless Fabregas forgets to clean Xavi's boots adequately before games.

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