Archangel

No. Its been a poor season in terms of winning trophies (and that, as we are told by Rick Parry is what we are here for), I dont accept our performances have been affected by troubles off pitch. We rode our luck in the champions league and when that ran out we couldnt respond. The players showed a complete lack of belief in the key premiership matches against the top three. We threw away points in the first half of the season against opposition we should have crucified. There were some erratic tactical and squad selections. Benitez himself nearly brought us into disrepute with his (less than professional) behaviour. I predict that we'll spend money in the summer on a new batch of players and still be in the same position at the end of next season. I see no appreciable change in approach, I hate the controlled way we play, his attention to detail and the constant rotation We could have alot lot worse, I realise that, and we've picked up form over the last couple of months, I realise that too. But we fall down on consistency, we fall down in self belief and these are criticisms you lay directly at the door of the manager. Its not a question of what we have acheived under Benitez, but more what we haven't

A very sad story, very hard to understand why sometimes, RIP Liam

I'd run against the grain here and put out a strong line up against Birmingham Main reason why? I think some of the players might just appreciate the chance to get Tuesday out of their system before the Wednesday match I know thats I used to feel all those years ago

No, quite the reverse I've tried to be fair, tried to see all arguments, but this interview was unnecessary and ill timed Hicks is not a c***, not an idiot but he has absolutely no clue how to manage as his previous track record depressingly shows. Reminds me of Mourinho actually, everything revolves around him Alot of slagging off of Moores here, funny really given what we've experienced from our current chairmen this last 18 months. Moores stayed in the background and gave managers like Evans Houllier and Benitez the scope to manage in a stable environment. Moores reputation should not hang on one crap decision and judging by his demeanour recently I dont think he's getting a kick out of life at the moment

I enjoyed that, it was almost Nureyev - esque in execution, lovely graceful movement. Stevie's obviously a bit of a fan of the ballet. Swan Lake awaits if he fancies a career change The Samba 'challenge' was a definite penalty, crude , messy and blatant and a red card to boot as was Skrtels attempted assault on Roberts So in summary a shed load of really crap incompetent refereeing, interspersed with a bit of play acting lots of suspect male goal celebrations, followed up with a whole load of blinkered post match b****** punditry. Standard premiership match then eh?

Thats one leap of faith many people seem to have of DIC but to be honest no one really knows how it would translate in real terms for Liverpool FC. The only thing that really reassures me about that investment company (for that is what they are) is that they have doggedly pursued ownership of this club when arguably they could have bought elsewhere. It probably indicates that they would be a committed owner but what sort of regieme that would entail has not been established. Would it see groundshare, higher ticket prices, a continous turnover of management in the pursuit of success, eventual sell out to another investor? These are all potential downsides that might or might not occur. After the experience of the last 18 months DIC could hardly be a worse option but this wide eyed optimism of how we'd benefit under their control is something I couldnt share unless they came forward with some indication of how they'd run us and no I dont believe that some of the principles like ruling out sharing with Everton would be impossible before such a takeover happened as some have suggested

CTR has called it wrong before, from his posts he seems to insinuate that Benitez is in some sort of iminent danger which plainly makes no sense at all and he gives absolutely no reason to substantiate his comments. Hicks is not insane and wouldnt replace Benitez now. There's some very heavy s*** stirring going on and attempts to destabilise the club. This is getting very dirty. I dont know what to believe but neither would I jump to any conclusions - Hicks could react badly I suppose if he felt Benitez had sided with Gillet

I have no sympathy whatsoever for Parry, hoisted by his own petard He is in part responsible for this whole disaster as well as a few others along the way. What would concern me more is who hicks would replace him with, Ayre was it? sheesh what a real mess

Thanks for that - and for the lack of childish sarcasm I knew he had been interested for sometime but forgot he'd bought a slice

He is paranoid and a complete hypocrit

Just wild speculation but Stan Kroenke was at the Emirates last week and he's known to be keen to invest in the premier league. I know Arsenal is his chosen target but that door seems to be shut. If there has been developments he might possibly be a source I say this on the strength of the facts that he is a) an american b) trying to invest in the premier league and c) was at the emirates feel free to poo poo

The demos are acheiving nothing except to massage a few egos On the other hand this will be the most important game of the season so far and the team needs total focus Funnily enough the complaints you hear from people when G&H open their mouths before a big game but then there are some who seem to think it a good idea to hold a demo - dont see that logic somehow If i honestly believed hicks would see a demo and say ''fair enough I'm not wanted ...I'm off'' then I'd be for it Unfortunately he's built like a rhino and has the skin of one You fight the battles you know you can win imo

So we are led to believe and maybe this is true but something doesn't quite make sense there considering Benitez's more cautious philosophy towards the game and the galactico spirit of Madrid I'm not saying you are wrong or right but I sometimes wonder whether these things are being manipulated for other reasons

Not quite as high as you might think, was it not their technical director who said that the football of Benitez and Mourinho was like s*** on a stick. I gather he does have respect but there is also a view in Spain that he has been lucky, lucky with Valencia and lucky with Liverpool. I dont subscribe to it but I know that its been mentioned on several occasions. Its only laporta who wants him at Barca, I'm not sure how serious these reports are, what i do know is that there's alot more politics in these decisions when they are taken abroad than considerations of acheivement in simple terms

Its not about hypocracy with Alex, its all about mind games and being a first class t*** One small observation, odd that the ex player seems to be more influenced by Clough rather than Ferguson as a role model Ok Clough was also a t*** but doesnt say much about Taggart does it

I think thats a distinct possibility given the mood of the men in suits at lancaster house The trouble with this is that the whole 'get tough policy' relies on good referees making competent consistent decisions which will never happen and the FA simply dont have the competancy to manage it either. Its all going to get very very messy

Yes, but there's no consistency and I think thats what really gets at people and I dont blame them Clever/devious c**** like ferguson know they can tip the referee into giving them the edge Bennett and Hackett can claim that he doesnt influence them, but he does and its a f***ing disgrace

We don't get any favours at Old Trafford but if anything is ''unlevel'' its as much our mentality as the softness of the referee Having said that I do believe that Ferguson has a poisonous influence in the game

Huge huge fan of the player but he was a total t** today Big game, he was a key part of it, he had to keep a lid on it and didn't You can say maybe Ferguson primed the ref for something like this but all the same, if it was a trap he walked right into it

Lovely sentiments which few could argue with, the difficulty is that is an era which has gone, gone when the money from Sky started rolling in and clubs turned into PLCs, gone in the aftermath of Bosman and the rise of player power We resisted more than others and the Moores regieme was a halfway house but whether we remain with Hicks or end up with DIC neither the Sons of Shankly or Reclaim the Kop will ever be able to rekindle that flame I'm glad they are trying though

and I'll second (or is it third) that Look beyond Kuyt as a goal scorer if you can. I doubt there's another player on the pitch who expends more energy. In some ways he reminds me a little of Mark Hughes, slightly less physical but just as much ''in yer face'' as it were constantly unsettling defenders. If goals are coming from all over the rest of the pitch its something you can live with I can understand why he's not a favourite and in a way he's not a lot different from Heskey in that respect, but I get the impression he's a player who Benitez likes rather than is stuck with, possibly mirrors the terrier like qualities of Valencia Not a clinical finisher though, never will be, once you understand that and appreciate his other qualities watching him becomes less painful

6 wins after benitez stops rotation.....

Yep, precisely and spot on, not that pleasant to read really but thats life Sanity 1 Panto season 0

To be perfectly honest if I started to run my life on the basis of making sure that I was not connected in anyway with companies/organisations/individuals/idealogies that were harmful in anyway, in one capacity or another to other individuals I honestly believe I would have to give up my existence and top myself Now some might not think that to be a particularly bad thing but you catch my drift At some point others must take responsibility for their own actions, you cant keep taking on all the problems that exist in this world I personally subscribe to the view that political correctness is the luxury of the middle classes

Apparently a club spokesmen said Cahill was ''intelligent'' and ''sensitive'' and would have ''weighed up the pros and cons before making the guesture'' Doesn't say much for the rest of the squad then does it