Igors Uncle Dave

Great signing this one!!!!!

Heighway

Heard from an ex-player who said that a deal is in place and agreed - Announcement on 5th August - Is this a Romario as I've not read the whole thread? If so sorry

I got a reply today too

The important thing here is that we all must realise that we want the same thing. We are each trying to decide what WE THINK, is the best solution to rid ourselves of H&G and we must pull together in this. It is them that are the cause of the dismay and heartache that we are all feeling and not each other. Each of the groups that draw on numbers to make a stance against them are doing what they feel is right, trying to make a statement that will have an impact. Again, it is viatal that we stick together here and draw strength from each other and not allow them to divide us. Our history is stronger than those two and we must not allow thoem to tarnish our name any more that we can. I agree that our hands are tied to an extent, but we must continue to fight against them in every way we can.

Interesting reply there and exactly the kind of reply I expect from some. What would your suggestion be? Perhaps you could enlighten us on your thoughts? What will it take for things to happen, what will it take for us to finally get the picture that these clowns are not sapping the final sinews of life from the club. The manager has gone, benny is the first bigger name to be on the verge of a maove away. Torres is now being heavily linked with a move to City or Chelsea. Even Steve (God forbid) is heavy linked with Real Madrid. What will it take now?

Its been a long time since I put pen to paper with any real direction so to speak so excuse the rustiness. Events over the last couple of years seem to be coming to a head bigger than that of our very own Stanley Victor Collimore and the whirlwind romance that one hoped for with Hicks and Gillette, has ended up being more akin to a Stephen King novel. Hicks and Gillette (H&G) have harmed the club more that one could have foreseen when they took over but it is their brazen disregard for the feelings of the Liverpool fans that really cuts to the quick. Their lies or misinterpretations of the quotes are there for all to be seen, the debt saddled on the club and the inner turmoil that continues to stir has made the club the laughing stock of the English league. Many have penned, as I do now, their thoughts, feelings and appeals for the future of the club. Each of us trying implore H&G to leave and allow us to regain some kind of dignity and respect. We all have ideas of what is needed and all, in our own way, are right, each of us going about it in our own way but all ultimately with the same goal. The unequivocal removal of Hicks and Gillette! Our needs and desires are one thing, the outcome is another. Hicks and Gillette have pulled the wool over eyes of the RBS. The person granting the latest extension must be kicking himself seeing their unacceptable demands for the club. I just hope that they will not act so foolishly the next time around, in fact, latest media reports indicate that RBS might be calling them in! One can but hope. In the mean time what do we as fans do? SOS have decided that marches before the games are their course of action. Others find that burning the stars and stripes is the way forward. What many of us fail to see is that H&G are business men, they are professionals at what they do, they have years of experience behind them in that field. Whether we like what they are doing or not, they do what they do for their gain, not ours. They couldn’t give a damn whether you or I are upset at their actions and I bet you what you want, they will have paid no heed to the flag burning incident. They will have seen the likes before, and probably much worse. Being business men their drive is for the Dollar, it is all that they are interested in. Buying and selling businesses are what they are all about and their greed, emphasised by their demands a year or so ago when they wanted £500m and turned down the advances of Sheikh Mohammed, shows them for what they are. Greedy! It is through their pocket that the only real way they can be hurt. So how could this be done? With a massive amount of difficulty but, Liverpool Football Club have the following and fans that can achieve anything. Istanbul shows what can be achieved. By boycotting the game, just one game, will generate such a noise that the whole World will take notice. I appreciate that it will be extremely difficult to get the kind of support for this and a logistical nightmare but the sound and shockwave it would produce would be massive. No merchandise bought in the shops, not attendance at the game albeit away fans and a few thousand that “don’t care, I paid my ticket and I will go anyway” types. There are many websites, with thousands of readers, many of whom are far better than I at drumming up support and directing operations such as this. The recent marches show that and so far, thousands have shown support. If only, for one game, we could draw together the fans. For one game, we could unite all Liverpool fans in the same desire and direction, perhaps then we could make the ultimate statement and finally hit H&G where they WILL take notice. We can dream, cant we?

I think it was spitting at someone and in my book that is vulgar and many "DO" take offense at it, especially if it happens between players in a football match. Anyway, I think in general this has stirred up a discussion and shows that we all have different feelings about things. We all care and consider things to be of different value and thats what makes us who nd what we are but the one thing that brings us together is the love of the club. One or two people are of the mid that, if something like this upset you then feck off, or, ffs youve only supported the club since istanbul. Does that really matter? I mean, at this moment in time , we need all o0f the support and money we can. Yes, we need shut of Hicks and Gillette but wecan see that this is not going to happen in the near future, so we need to get revenue from elsewhere. Others would say that we dont need to bring in more money to line their pockets. Well this is true and is the ONLY real way to get rid of them and something I said a long time ago. The only way that they "will" take notice is by non attendance of games. Yes I know, the liklihood is almost non-existant but burning of flags and marching before the game will make no impression at all. I bet they dont know half of the efforts made thus far, because they hardly ever attend! In time, and as tensions and anger builds, there may be enough people ready to boycot a game. The organisation would need to be massive and would certainly unite many of the websites and it is through these, that we would have to draw on the numbers. I know, it is unlikely to happen.

Sion, Im not sad to see Rafa go. I think its time for a change mate, I would not say dancing a jig but then we are all different. The club needs changes and until we are rid of Hicks and Gillette we can not move on. Im glad the club experienced the times with Rafa and that final will be remembered for a long time. You know this as fact? - Anything to back up your statement?

Sion, what you dont see mate is that those from other countries, who have started to follow the sport and Liverpool, do not have the unbrringing that you and I have. I was born a Liverpool fan and for 48 years have followed them through thick and thin. As I have said, our newer followers, those from all parts of the globe, support the club and bring in vital revenue to us. The last thing we need to be doing is, doing something that makes them go elsewhere.

Interesting first post there my old mate. The burning of the flag didnt do much for me to be honest and it just reminded me of events in the middle east, not Liverpool. As you rightly said, there will be those from the states who do not like this and will feel alienated. This is the last thing we want to be doing, its not america we need to target, its Hicks and Gillette. Anyway Ed, (Dfadd) - good to see you posting mate

Perhaps something went on at the club today?

Lets hope you are right my friend

Burning flags? Middle east in Liverpool? Sorry guys and I have respect for all Liverpool fans but if we are turning to this then, personally, I think this is going in the wrong direction. By the way, what the direction is I cant say. Sorry to be negative here as we all want the same thing and what the answer is I dont know. A sad day for the club, whether you like or dislike Rafa, losing a manager is a downer. The only way forward will be when the Americans going and nothing will speed the process up, especially burning a flag outside the ground. They wont even find out about this and if they did the subject will change as they dont give a damn.

In the blink of an eye YES!!!!!!!!!

This is where we agree, I liver just south of Wrexham and for the past few seasons we have had our reserves there. Anyway, I watched Insua when he first arrived and wrote a piece on the forum about him as he really impressed me. He is a good player, lacks a little pace but given the right coachng and guudance could overcome this with good positioning and match reading. Lucas is another I like and rate. For a long time he was the whipping boy of many and I feel that his position is best suited in a more advanced role and NOT as a defensive midfielder. His tackling could be better and with experience and time this can improve. As for Rafa, I feel we have given him pergaps one or two seasons too many already. last season was a jump up the table but I feel that his handling of Alonso/Barry has cost us dear.

Unfortunately I do not have the cash to visit the ground and get to watch games in the flesh as often as I would like but I do get to watch each and every game via the internet from one site or another. As for Ngog, which is what the initial response was about and NOT Gerrard or any other Liverpool player. Ngog is not up to the standard that we should expect of a Liverpool forward, now you can argue and debate until the cows come home as to whether we have the money to buy a better option but that is not the point either. We are talking about Ngog and whether he is good enough for the club, or whether he will be? So, what have you seen of him to persuade me that he will make the grade? To put you straight this is an honest debate, no alterior motive and Im not looking for a slanging match as there are others here who are far better at that than I. I have watched the lad allseason and one thing I have seen is that he is very lazt. I will explain. He started a number of games up front in the Torres role when Torres was out injured. Garrard, who I will agree has had a poor season but this is another debate, played in the advanced midfield role that Rafa has used him in. During the course of those games his efforts to close the Keeper or defender with the ball was lacking, in a big way. This was emphasised dramatically when Rafa then chose Kuyt to start instead of Ngag and within 5 minute Kuyt had closed the defence down on at least 5 occasions. In the second half of that game, Ngog came on and mirrored that efforts that Kuyt had done, such was his efforts, everyone was calling his name. The point being he CAN do it, he just chooses not to. After that game he reverted to his normal self once he got back into the starting line up. Yesterdays game he came on and had a couple of clear chances to score, these were created and offered to him, the clearest was the one where he was through on goal and hit body form and body movement prevented him from a positive connection with the ball and thus, a weak shot went to the keeper. He also had a chance in front of goal where he failed to hit the target from about 8 yards, something you would expect a striker to do. These points are not a one off and I have seen them in 90% of his games. Dont get me wrong and I will reiterate the point I tried to make earlier, this is a debate and Im not up for a slanging match, I would love, as I do every player who pulls on a Liverpool shirt for the lad to come good. Like so many players before him including my own Igor, some just are not up to the grade. Now, onto another point, Gerrard. He has had an exceptionally poor season by HIS standards. Partly due to injury but mostly to a struggle to find form. A great deal of pressure is on his shoulders as team and club captain and a massive amount of pressure has come from the struggle behind the scenes. Something each and every player and fan alike has had to deal with, in their own ways, this season. Gerrard is a confidence man, a player who will excel when things around him are going well. He looks to be the kind of player who, at times, needs to be taken to one side and be built up and encouraged. There are a few like that but unfortunately, we do not have a manager who can do this. This comes to Rafa. At Liverpool football Club we pride ourselves on being passionate and loyal supporters. Even when the chips are down and our backs are against the proverbial wall, we stick together and work harder to turn things around. This mentality has won us games and trophies and palced us on a pedestal for all to try to emulate, we are admired across the globe. We are Liverpool FC. This support, at times, can be to the detriment of the club and I feel, my opinion here, that this loyalty and support for Rafa now is costing us big time. But, it is the Liverpool way, we do not remove a manager during the course of a season. Rafa is a tactician, but I feel, has taken the club as far as he can. He has had money, but not the support that other clubs like the Mancs, Chelase and City have had. He has however, had money. Looking at Rafas transfers, he has brought some fantastic players to the club, Torres, Reina, Alonso, Mascherano and now Maxi. He has, moreso, brought in some real duffers, players like, dare I say it Ngog, Voronin, Barragan and Nunez to name just a few. It is not so much these names that highlight the problem with both him and his methods, its these names, Crouch, Bellamy, Pennant, Babbel, Keane, Riera and Morrientes. All of these players are of a high standard, all either verging or current internations standard yet Rafa failed to be able to deal or cope with them. Surely, he knew of their personal traits prior to coming to the club and surely he has a scouting network available to bring him the necessary information required to make the correct decisions? If so, then why bring in these players only to see them bomb out of the door within two seasons? Poor decision making, time wasting and potentially throwing money away. For too long now we have lived on "That crazy night in Istanbul", too long have we hoped and dreamed that things would turn around. I agree that most of the problems we face now are the current owners, but the current owners are not the ones who chose to bring in the current team. They are nowhere near the club when Rafa makes his prematch speeches or team talks, they are not there day after day when Rafa sets out the training requirements and continues to use Zonal marking. It is Rafa who makes these decisions and it is he who is to take us forward at present. So then, next season, it appears that we have little in the way of transfer funds. The Americans are playing Russian Roulette with the club, stalling at every turn and ignoring the pleas from the fans to do the honourable things and allow someone to come in and clear the debt. The Americans are raping the club we love but it will not change, barring a miracle and neither will the potential for funding. So, what will we see next season? Probably a player or two who we have never heard of, will Torres or even Gerrard be at the club? I hope so, will Rafa? Personnaly, I feel it is time for the man to do the honourable thing and step down. The club, the players and the fans have stood by him through the wind and the rain and will continue to do so, religoiusly. I do feel however that Rafa, we go now, who will replace him I dont know and that starts another debate.

Joppo, never spoken to you before yet you make the statement "I obviously, unlike you, prefer to give most players a chance" - where does that come from? Anyway, in a season of chances he has scored 4 goals and has shown great composure once - thats it? You then compare him with a midfielder? Perhaps you could compare him with the greek who is catching him from a defensive position and having played fewer games - yes another crap statement to rate along side yours. He had a couple of clear cut chances today that he should have scored - its not the first game this season that this has happened and I guarantee it wont be the last. Yes the lad is young, but age has nothing to do with it, how old were Owen and Fowler when they were banging them in for us?

So because he is a kid we have to ignore the fact that he cant hit a barn door with a Banjo? What can you see in him that makes you think that he is going to make top flight football? I remember Rooney and Owen were kids, yet they seem to be able to hit the target. The lad is over his head and I have seen nothing that makes me think he will improve enough to make a name for himself in top flight football. Its not like he has not had a chance or two, FFS Babel would have loved the chance to start up front the number of times he has this season. As for Ngog being my whipping boy today, you are far from wrong. Ngog should not be at the club, that comes down to the manager. As for Torres, how many games this season have you seen him plodding through a game and then bang, he scores? Torres and a number of the players need someone who will talk to them and instil some kind of belief, Rafa cant do that, hence and not for the first time, the suggestion that Rafas days at the club should end. Anyway, thanks for your reply

Rafa, thanks for that and close the door on the way out please. And another woeful performance from Ngog. He can go with him, perhas we can get a couple of mil for sicknote too?

Nothing would make me happier now that to see the special one at Anfield - I hated him with a vengance, but to see the tables turned and him as manager of the club, it would do for me!

Small steps to start? Its been three years already, if it goes on any longer we wont have a club. It was mentioned earlier about staying out of the ground for the first 15 minutes of the game. The police would try to get people in but they could not force them, this could possibly delay the start of the game and would generate media attention. If it was organised and advertised well it could work well.

Spending money has been done, signs, posters, scarfs you name it. This has made no difference, so why spend more money, your money and get even more frustrated. They will NOT give up the club easily and time is being wasted and money is being spent keeping them at the club. Turning your backs during the game is a statement but will not be picked up by the cameras and therefore not transmitted to the owners. They hardly ever make the trip to the ground so when will they see it? More and more effort is being put into getting these idiots out of the club but you can spend thousands and not a single penny will make them move out of the club because they are not interested in protest of that nature. The only way that they will take notice is when their money is being hit and that means to stop buying at the shops and visiting the ground. If only for one game, aye dont go and you will miss it and you will see the score later, at least on TV. And watching years from now would you be willing to trade, all of your days from this to that, for one chance to get rid of those two? They can take our dreams, but we must not let them take our club!

I feel that the only way that the fans could really hit the owners is by non-attendance. I know, I know, many will be against it and I understand the reasons behind it. At the end of the day we all love the club and it is because of that love that we write and debate what is the best for the club. I wish that there was an easy answer but there isnt. The owners know that they are not welcome so telling them is just repeating what they already know. The only sure way that they will listen is when they start to lose money and that means stop attanding and stop buying and putting more money in their pockets. Dont shoot me guys, its just my thoughts as I am at a loss like you all and I just want this nightmare to end. YNWA

The lad is low on confidence and fitness at the moment. What we have to remember is that he came to us from a completely different style of play and league midway through a season. I agree with NYR in that he has not lit us up, but, I feel that we should judge him next season. Remember Maxi cost nothing and is not being shown up by other midfielders who cost millions!!! Let him settle in and then we can make the call. Benny was missed and I am glad that these transfer rumours to Russia did not come to fruition.