Chewie

On hols..listening to talksport (I know) on radio app...they're saying they think Borini done, Dempsey close and west ham in for Carroll..possibly to buy not just loan...any truth to any of these..

The only thing I want to hear from our manager about New signings is this... "Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Let me introduce you to ...insert name of new player here..." The only thing I want to hear from him about current players is this... " " Unless its to convince them that they are part of the greatest team in the history of the game. Ten feet tall...that's how Shankly made his fit and available players feel.... Feel free to be friendly with the media all you like...but stop talking about your 7 phase zone tactics so that everyone else knows how to stop it and start building the men in front of you into an unstoppable force. Then, if you have to sell them, sell them. And when you're asked say this ... "We would like to announce the sale of x to y and wish the player every success in the future" (second part optional) " Managers who play their cards close to their chests don't need to say they do. I do like him. Honest. But, right now, when NOTHING is proven, head down, mouth shut and get the job done.

Finally...Lizarazu ...BB was right after all...

Great news.. has become compulsory listening !! Well done all ...

Then genuinely fair enough. Good move. We just are in a new era that has yet to prove anything that warrants our unmitigated trust. Like I said, I genuinely really like Brendan. I think he speaks well. In 6 months time it'll not count for much though if spurs and others are ripping up trees and we are justifying our consolidation as perennial Europa league qualifiers with...at least its not Purslow.. we have all got very defensive in defending what are now reduced and managed expectations...from ground move, to managerial and background staff appointments, to player signings..Gylfi..he's come and gone and genuinely, time to move on. Let's hope we're all saying this was a good move come 31 August (and I'm genuine with that..not making any point..). If we get there and are satisfied then let's hope the season goes amazingly well..

Ha..lol.that was basically it :-) wish I could be so succinct! Anyways..jury is out with FSG but I like Rodgers, his patter and I hope he can excell here...just don't think we should get into habits of explaining everything away. Places like this should, and do, hold the ownership and direction to account..

I'm yet to be super cool with it. When a signing happens it gets bigged up by everyone and I'm sure Brendan would have said how Gylfi was a real coup. When it doesn't happen we all brush it off as if it was good business by us...not that important etc. We practically justify everything on here just cos we want to believe. I genuinely like Rodgers but after he's signed a few successful players for LFC I'll start believing that calls like this one..based on knowing market value etc ... are good ones. Right now it seems we wanted to sign a Swansea player and acted like Swansea offering Swansea terms. If this is right we should never have been in for him. If that was his level then it is not our level. Based on our need to rationalize everything we then must assume we were in for a squad filling player. Otherwise pursuing him on those terms makes no sense, yet if he was just a squad filler using 8million of our coins right now makes no sense. We need every penny directed at improvement. So this one I don't understand. We are not Swansea and should not act like Swansea. Similarly we are not City and should not act as such. When we've made a few signings that improve us then we can back the manager's judgment in the market. Until then its just very persuasive rhetoric (and I like how persuasive he is). I guess I'm in a place right now where I think everything about how we do business is to be weighed and measured very closely. There is a lot of under promising AND under delivering right now. When the reign of FSG reverses the latter we can start to rest easy when genuine targets do not materialize..until then... I'd say the word is cold, not cool...

Neighbors?

don't worry Hass... I'm abstaining as a form of affirmative action

Hey mods, this isn't particularly tied to speculation on the battle between ourselves and Spurs for Gylfi, but it's not unrelated, so if you want to move it into a thread fine by me... My points are more directed towards the need for calm heads and cool thinking towards FSG. Up until now the nature of heated debate has been to equate 'calm heads and cool thinking' with allaying concerns with FSG. I'm not so sure. I think it's an entirely appropriate time to be asking some key questions about the direction we are going in. It has become, worryingly, perceived wisdom, to explain or rationalise away a lot of things that hitherto were considered actually quite important. There was a time when Champions league football was critical to our off field financial prowess. Upon failing to get into the CL Ayre tried to pretend that our financial model is not dependent on it, but obviously we would not want to be out of it for too long... There was a time when getting in a genuine CEO was important, but then we very quickly reasoned (yes we did however much we want to think differently now), that Ayre had done well and deserved his promotion There was a time when a new stadium was going to be critical to our medium and long term future... now it seems it's not as important as we once thought.. There was a time when a Director of Football was to be the pivotal role in the club, now it seems we have dispensed with the idea, as it's not needed because... (insert excuse or reason) There was a time when appointing a top and proven manager was deemed important, but that's now not as important as a hungry and unproven manager because... (that's the way the Spanish clubs do it / it could be the start of something / insert excuse or reason here) There was a time when other highly respected football people were coming into the club, but that's not as important now because.... Then there is the contestation over the signing of Gylfi. Hardly groundbreaking it would seem and it's not as if the guy is Messi, but when we want him, he's going to be a great part of Brendan's team, when he doesn't want us the tired old mantras come out (we only want players who want to play for the club etc etc... the truth is i want to play for the club but it doesn't mean you would want me). Xabi came because he believed in the manager and where the club was going. Masch was persuaded over a tactics talk with Rafa using a couple of pepper pots. What we want are players who are of genuine quality to improve us who are persuaded by the manager that this is the only club to play for... We have become both kings of wishful thinking and masters of appeasement at the same time. FSG said their approach was to under promise and over deliver. Well, they've met one half of their targets. Don't get me wrong on this. I like Brendan Rogers. The pre-season fan in me always lapses into optimistic mode when I think of how if only all the 'if onlys' come together this could be a great year. By March the hard cold facts have usually set in. For now though I believe in the guy, but the bottom line is that he has had one good season and communicates very well. It is the latter that currently differentiates him from other one-season premier league wonder managers in the mould of Holloway, Brown, etc etc. I want him to be oh so much better, I hope he is...but it is 'want' and 'hope' right now. Many people have left the club. In fact, where they have over-delivered has been on culling. It would be churlish to ignore that they took some very expensive hits with the sums they paid last summer compared to the returns on the pitch. But right now the thought ruminating in my head is that they are putting this club into a holding pattern. We heard a lot about how they were speaking with some very important people in the game about who to appoint and what to do next. Who are these people? They may have been talking to them, yes - but the purpose of those conversations is another matter entirely. These are, I have no doubt, genuinely smart businessmen. what if their conversations have led them to believe that actually the financial risk is too great for substantial investment in the team or ground? What if they have calculated that they have purchased a global brand in a distressed sale, and if they can hold tight and have a financially viable and lean football club at their disposal then disposal is what they will do once the credit lines open up again or a benefactor steps in? What if they are holding us long enough to get us organised for moving us on? I'm not saying this would be a bad thing in itself. I am saying though that thus far everything about how our expectations have been managed has been to suggest that they want to get us justifying to ourselves why it is not all that important that our expectations are not met. This summer will be a real test in my mind of whether FSG are going to back themselves to be owners of a competitive football club, or whether they simply want to have a very attractive and lean global brand on their hands to move on. As for Gylfi - who knows, maybe he's just a manc who can't bring himself to play for Liverpool. Would you go to Old Toilet if you had the choice? Maybe yes, maybe no. Maybe Rodgers has a price he thinks is worth paying and he thinks he can get better elsewhere for the money. Perhaps. Perhaps these are the things we tell ourselves to explain away why our very first target might end up playing elsewhere... and then we'll say - so what... not good enough anyway... we can get better elsewhere... we only want him playing for the shirt... and on we will continue to natter... explaining away the previously and seemingly inexplicable, on the grounds that we shouldn't panic... FSG have a plan... now is the time for cool heads... well, in my opinion its a time for very cool heads to be as objective as they possibly can be on whether this lot are setting us up for success or for benign globally marketable existence for at least the forseeable future... FSG watch... get on it (and I hope Gylfi signs...)

Sorry for Stevie, glad he looked good. Took his pen. Glen played well. Carroll was strong. Downing was played in his best position Jordan comes home with no blame... Rest up lads...

Ha ha... Woy just said maybe Italy would have been better to score when on top as it would have been less cruel than losing on pens ...

Deserved...

Too good scapegoats

Ha ha good scapegoat..

England have been oh so poor. My only hope is that if Jordan gets one he scores it...last thing we need is for our young lad being the scapegoat..apart from that...whatever..

All of those players mean nothing to me All of those clubs mean nothing to me All of those supporters mean nothing to me... Too many people for too many years defining supporting this club by who or what we are supposed to be against and pouring their fake fan ire on anyone who thinks otherwise...my only care and concern is the captain of our football club who deserves every success and recognition he gets...

I don't give a monkeys bout him...come on Stevie..our captain wants his hands on that trophy...get in there lad... Support our own rather than shouting against someone who means nothing to us..

Btw...of course they way they keep the ball is v impressive, but unless the opposition actually challenges them matches involving Spain are pretty dull... Greece failed to challenge Germany but I enjoyed watching it...

Xabi...come home. Sign him brendy...just sign 'im...

Will never forget his pot match interview after getting the draw at Wembley to go to Mexico 86... Sad news..

Shinned it eh :-o !!

In the current downturn the disgrace is stealing a living coming out with lines like that...

IIRC the latter said something about only getting the opportunity to sell the family silver right once... with hindsight it was one of his very few perceptive moments, bit of shame about the execution really.. funny how those were the days when people like Roman were wondering what to do with their billions but we couldn't find anyone...

Stevie needs to stop deferring to Young when it comes to indirect frees. Carra mentioned that Stevie's personality would give way to Lampard etc in the past...he deffo should knock all those pretenders out of the way... Think Carroll should start but can see a system change perhaps... I don't give a rats about Woy and knighthoods... I want our captain to have that moment of a lifetime when as captain of his country he lifts the European cup and on present form becomes the player of the tournament...go on Stevie lad !