Kindred

Sammy Interview ...... Your departure came as a big surprise to many Liverpudlians; can you explain your reasons for leaving? I had been invited to stay and I fully appreciated that. What I also appreciated though was that Rafa had to bring his own staff in. This was perfectly understandable. I've got nothing but the utmost respect for Rafael Benitez and the club. But having been a major part of what Gerard Houllier was trying to implement and achieve, during the bad times and the good, I just felt that it was best I also went, just as he and Phil had gone. To have stayed after they'd left maybe I'd have lost some credibility. Given your love of the Reds how difficult a decision was it? It was a massively difficult decision. All my family and friends are from Liverpool and I'd been there such a long time. I absolutely loved the place but I had to do what I had to. I had a couple of options on the table and I chose to work with the FA for two reasons. One because it is a great association and two, I thought it would be wrong of me to stay in club football after being invited to stay at Anfield. It was a tremendous wrench but I'd been through it before as a player. Would you say it was one of the hardest decisions you've ever had to make? Yes, for sure. I've had two – one when I left as a player in 1986 and this as a coach in 2004. They weren't easy decisions to make at all, I can guarantee you that. offal

Yeah he looks a lot older. I thought he was 23 but Gerrard said he was 22!

Player of the season - Carra Most improved player of the season - Steve Finnan Young player of the season - toss up between Momo & Reina courtesy of eseason interview. Also looking forward to Gonzales' arrival - a good lad with quality & the right attitude

May I refer the honourable gentleman to the answers given yesterday!

Just been emailed this. ENGLAND Under-20 keeper and World Cup hopeful Scott Carson is being hailed as a key man in the Owls' escape from relegation. His seven-week loan stay with Wednesday co-incided with a haul of 18 points and five clean sheets in nine games. It culminated in the win at Derby which saw the team climb two places to end in 19th position. When the Liverpool keeper arrived in early March, Wednesday had suffered four consecutive defeats and were still to make survival certain. Assistant manager Kevin Summerfield - in charge while Paul Sturrock is away on a scouting mission - praised all the players for their efforts in the push for safety, including loan signings. But he added: "Scott has possibly been the key one, ahead of everybody. He has given us an awful lot of confidence. "I don't think he's had that many saves to make, take away Wolves where he single-handedly kept us in the game. The confidence he has given everybody who plays in front of him has been great." Summerfield said that the fervour of the fans - seen again at Derby where 5,100 roared the team to a 2-0 victory - had been an asset. "Our supporters have also been a big factor in us staying up.," he said. "They have been really patient; they have been knowledgeable about what's been going on at the club. They have been nothing but positive." We are also in talks with you about a season long loan for him next year! Looks like we might need some quality back up then.

# Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez: "We will see if we can appeal because both players apologised to each other and the referee. "I think that the referee understands the situation. He will watch the video again and if he sees something different he will put it in his report. "In this case, with the two teams playing in the final maybe someone can be sensible." Beeb

Guess it will come down whats considered racist, whats considered to be a 'chant' and as to how many fans it takes for it to become 'fans' i.e. will one fan shouting 'you french t**t' be considered a racist chant by fans?

I remember thinking that at the time and I do wonder if all his histrionics in front of the camera are an act in order to 'protect' his players and himself. Not more than 15 minutes after being so gracious in defeat he started spouting off about how the best team lost and how it was never a goal etc. and later how the crowd was good but nothing special! I can't see how his own players would continually fall for that kind of stuff behind closed doors week after week. Mind you , they are chavs!

Some great pics

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Offal Well worth it I think! An example.... "I always say the same thing. What is the difference between 4-3-3 and 4-5-1? Only whether you play the wingers deep or high. Then if you press the other team they will play deep, 4-5-1. And if you cannot press them because they are stronger than you, they'll play 4-3-3. People talk about systems, but maybe they don't know a lot about systems. "At Valencia we played 4-2-3-1. And here, when we play our best football, we play 4-2-3-1. When we control the game, when we score goals, we play 4-2-3-1. What's the difference? It depends on the second striker. If he goes back to defend, it's 4-2-3-1. If he stays up, it's 4-4-2. It's the same. The system is only designed around numbers. The most important thing is what the players do."

he was asked what he thought about the constant rumours of Spurs & Cisse. At first he missunderstood the questioner but then quickly said what has been reported in the same manner as the rest of the news conference. The way he repeated the fact that they were desperate to sell him does suggest there was a point to saying what he did though.

5-0 Riise!

343 or 4411?

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Offal still reading it all myself. so far on stadium It is pressing and it is something we've wanted to get on with for a number of years, particularly since we've had planning permission. Having said that, we've been here for nearly a hundred years and survived. on morgans comments at agm what was overlooked was that we have a corresponding asset on the balance sheet as well. on his own future after investment I have made it clear that my position now and in the future is not the issue on rafa What Rafa wants to do is win trophies and be sure that the club matches his ambition, which we do. on investment Clearly we are working to raise the investment and we are confident that will be in place. We're confident we can demonstrate to Rafa that our ambition matches his own. on funds Clearly the distance you go in the Champions League does have a bearing on how much is available and it's silly to pretend otherwise. We're confident we can give Rafa the backing he needs. on past transfers There are one or two who, in hindsight, we might have wished to pay a little bit less for. on new transfers You don't tend to scout the World Cup for players. Often the odd one comes through who surprises people but by and large you know who the top players are before the competition starts and clearly you always want to get deals done as soon as possible to give you some certainty.

Collins John got a yellow card after the final whistle.

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cLINK Bascombe. LIVERPOOL are planning a summer swoop for Valencia left-back Fabio Aurelio. The Brazilian international is available on a Bosman transfer and Reds boss Rafa Benitez is keen on discussing a move with his former player. Aurelio is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with any club. He would be the first Brazilian to sign at Anfield. The 26-year-old was part of the Valencia squad which won two La Liga titles and a UEFA Cup under Benitez. Benitez's interest in Aurelio underlines his ongoing commitment to strengthening Liverpool's playing staff ahead of next season. The attacking defender, who is a set-piece expert, is likely to become the third recruit of the coming close season, with Chilean winger Mark Gonzales and Argentinian defender Gabriel Paletta already signed. Last month wing-back Aurelio said he could not be certain that he would still be playing his football at the Mestalla next season, after contract negotiations failed to progress.

I think it was either them or Wycombe. Have a vague recollection of them being in blue, but might have made that up!

Seem to remeber fowler doing something similar a few years back. Might have been a cup game. He came back to help out, robbed a player of the ball and played a beautiful through ball for their forward to run onto and score! Even god can make mistakes!

Im inclined to agree. Im not certain if the balance is quite right with Gerrard & Alonso in the centre. Maybe at home against lesser sides, but we seem to have a better balance througout the team with Momo or Hamann in there with Gerrard provisionally on the right. The question that leads to is whether we need a new number 1 right midfielder and also is Gerrard happy to play there on a more permanent basis. I think the comparison has been made before but maybe Gerrard should start to mould himself more as a Nedved type player than a box to box central midfielder.