redpool

My comment was actually mocking the press for the way they try to twist Rafa's words and create controversy. If I read your words correctly, "You don't care if we win the Premier League or the Champios League whilst G&H are owners and Parry is still employed?" I dislike our American owners and think Parry has done a poor job in his position, but I will never waiver in support of my club, nor will I ever believe that any positive to do with my club is "irrelevant."

Don't know why anyone would think Rafa is upset, frustrated or angry! Seems to me he is just explaining the delineation of authority at the Liverpool Football Club to a rather ill informed press!

Yes! Xabi is the new "Margaret Thatcher?"

If Rafa has those four, why not just play a 4-4-2 and have all of them on the pitch at the same time?

I know. I was just trying to deflect that and give the local clubs a boost. My family is from that area and it is a great area to raise a family. Crime is low, there are some great schools in the area and it is also only thirty minutes or so from the Lakes.

You obviously haven't seen the Barrow FC or the Barrow Raiders Rugby Club play this year! Barrow FC hasn't lost a match in like 18 games. They even have a chance for promotion! Emlyn would have been proud!

Chased a player forty yards, then tackled him. He scores a goal and assists on a goal, says it all for me. Glad Rafa took them both off. Not only did it protect them for Tuesday, but it also gave the Supporters a chance to show their appreciation. Believe Torres got the bigger ovation!

This is a bad idea but nothing when you compare it to the International Friendlies that take place every two months right before important league games. This week our England players had two training sessions both Monday and Tuesday. They won,t be worn down at Chelsea, will they? Feckin money grabbers!

My answer is to pick a game and buy nothing inside or outside of Anfield. No programs, no Pies, no nothing. That would hit the pocketbook and still support our players!

Liked what I saw from Jack Hobbs today. Maybe they can spot him more for Sami and Carra when they need a rest. I'm concerned about the wear and tear on Jamie and Sami causing one, or both, an injury.

I do believe he is a quality player and will come good again but we have enough quality midfield players that we can now afford to let him go, get a smashing price for him, and spend it on Mascherano, or some other need.

It is always concerning when there is a rift, perceived or otherwise, between a manager and his owners. I am not sure G&H understand that some signings have a "window of opportunity" and must be addressed immediately, or that Rafa is feeling the pressure of winning the EPL and is demanding more and more. My next biggest fear is that with all of the money being outlayed (and leveraged), there may be little money left for the lifeblood of a successful team; that is the proper amount of the right talented players a winning club must possess. Having watched Hicks Rangers and Stars teams fall apart, and seeing Gillett's Canadiens continue to be below the top echelon clubs, I am worried.

With Rafa's rotation he will never play three games in a row. Might take him a month to play three games. Give the man credit when he play well and when he doesn't, I'm sure you will think of something to write!

Chelsea and Maureen. May you both rest in peace! Forget that. Ramos gets the job, Jol takes Ramos job, and Josie goes to Tottenham. Roman and Maureen fight with each other for the next ten years! Tabloids would make a daily meal of it and we can quietly win Championships.

Thought Kuyt took his goal well and worked his boots off; after that I can't think of anyone worth mentioning. Oh, I will mention Pennant because his lack of discipline and constant bickering at the offials needs to be addressed.

10 of the 11 players on the pitch for Liverpool against Portsmouth were International players and the eleventh (pennant), arguably should be! If that side isn't good enough to beat Portsmouth home, or away, then Portsmouth must have become a very good side. I don't know why Rafa rested Steve and Torres but I do know Gerrard just came back from two tough International games where most of our fans (and the Gaffer), didn't want him to play because of injury. Torres also did International duty. The two most rested strikers were Crouch (an England International) and Voronin (a Ukrainian International) who had a bust up with his coach. Alonso was rested, Finnan was rested and so was Arbeloa. The players may want to ask themselves why they were so poor. If these players aren't good enough, and Crouch may be no longer a good fit for this squad (except in a certain limited role), then it is time to move them on and sign players who can help this team. I am disappointed we didn't gain three points but the players were on the pitch and not Rafa. To blame him because he made a decision that may be better in the long term for his club, and possibly the right deceision based on the fitness of certain players, is ludicrous! It is time to make accountable the players who are earning such a grand sum of money. I'd also like to ask Crouch and Benayoun, why they complain about a lack of playing time when they put in performances that were baffling at best? Players are fighting for places and if they don't want to work hard enough to keep them then move them out. The effort of the plaers over the first 74 minutes was not acceptable. Our club is now in a position to push for a league champioship. We were screwed in the Chelsea game, and played poorly at Portsmouth. Chelsea has played poorly at least twice this season and Manchester United is a different team without Rooney and Ronaldo. Our squad is deep and when we missed both Carra and Stevie at the same time we still won. That would not have happened in the past, and it didn't happen for ManU with Ronaldo out. Let's give Rafa and our team at least a month to see how they and the league shake out before we revert to the old, doom, gloom, and who to blame game.

Stats?

Seems like the team if Sami can go.

Luis: YNWA!

I agree a bit about what you are saying, but Chelsea scored one goal with the help of the Referee. What would you say they have to do to improve their scoring? They had possession of the ball 56% of the time according to the stat report and the only shot they had on goal was the penalty goal. They ran time off the clock by passing the ball around in their half of midfield, yet we had the better scoring chances. I believe, just as you do, that it would help if we got more midfielders up to support our runs, but seeing how we try to keep our two wings wide and play one defensive midfielder, it makes it kind of difficult. I have yet to figure out how we can improve offense without sacrificing our stellar defense (unless we just improve on shooting accuracy). Also, with all of our new players not yet settled, I have hope that they will upgrade our offense. Because of the new players settling in, Benitez got his lineup right today. Maybe Babel (who shows signs of exceptional talent), Benni, Voronin, and the other new players, will be more offensive minded and be better than the players we are playing at this time. For today, I am pleased with our effort in the two games, and am truly excited about this season. Most important, watching the game, I also saw it in our players actions. Next will be to see if we can continue this spirit, on a consistant basis, as the season progresses.

How can you not include the cost of the stadium? You are going to have to consider that cost each year there is a mortgage to be paid! You must especially include the years the stadium are being built because you do not get any benefit from that stadium until people put their arses in the stands. In the long run, the stadium, with increased attendance, should pay for itself and provide extra transfer money. At this stage it is only the outlaying of cash to get the stadium up and running. If it takes three years to build, that is three years we outlay money without increased revenue. That money must come from somewhere! Having said that, I believe in the past, the previous owner knew he couldn't afford the outlay for the stadium and the cost of spending heavily in the transfer market, hence new owners. I thank our previous owner for making that decision. This summer I believe we were fortunate that Rafa had "excess" players on the team that had some worth and he could sell. It is also fortunate that when it was time to go after Torres we went with the intent of getting our man and negotiated our cost to pay what we thought was a fair price. We have spent a fair amount of money on youth, and a good amount of money on new first team players. We were more aggressive this time and the only way you can be that is if you are confident you have money. Future transfer windows will prove if we can keep up with Chelsea and United, but you have to admit that this summer is an encouraging start. Our new owners have made a positive start, but each transfer window will bring a new challenge, and as all owners, they will be judged over time.

I am a huge Crouch fan (poor pun intended)! I believe he will be a continued contributor to our success, but because of Ryan Babel he may be expendable. At his age and with only two years left on his contract, I believe Crouch will hold off signing another contract with us( at least until he determines if he is a major figure in our plans). With Torres, Babel, and Kuyt, I don't see that happening. Throw Voronin into the mix and add Benayoun as a second striker, I believe (although next summer would be better from a football standpoint), this summer may be his highest value on the transfer market. Babel is scheduled to play a great deal of left wing this year but would move to a striker position if Crouch leaves. If Liverpool could get 20 million pound for him and then acguire a Micah Richards and a quality left winger, I believe, in the long run, we would be a stronger team. My concerns are that Crouch is a proven Premiership scorer, (at this point only Kuyt resembles this), and it is also apparent that Crouch is an excellent "mate' to many of our more talented players. I also believe that Rafa rates him and believes that having Crouch, this season, gives us our best chance of competing for the EPL title. I have no insight to how often Rafa will play him and whether he moves on next summer at a lesser price. But I do believe the two are hugely related.

Does it matter?

At this moment he is training with us.

So why don't we just play it to his feet?