[Dirk]

Chelsea again - MK II. Revenge. Liverpool spending the season in turmoil. Liverpool seen as the underdog, the vastly superior Chelsea expected to win. All familiar descriptions of a Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Chelsea, many of them nonsensical, some of them unfortunately true.
The focus of turmoil this season has largely been on the present difficulties between Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Their timing couldn't have been any more impeccable had they tried. We are Liverpool Football Club. Gillett and Hicks are a pair of chancers.

Tuesday and the 2nd leg at Stamford Bridge is about Liverpool, it's about the players, the manager and the fans. It's about their dreams and our dreams. It's about sticking two fingers up at the those that threatened to sack the man that has led us this far. In a typically Liverpudlian fashion, it's about overcoming turmoil against the odds to triumph. After the defeat to Arsenal, I found it quite ironic that we were being criticised by some quarters for having played with the resolute determination of a Tommy during war. As much as many distance themselves from Englishness, we are the team that probably characterises the archetypal British never say die spirit more than any other team. We are often castigated in the press for the amount of foreigners we have but this collection of foreigners and Englishman display a stoical strength of character unmatched by any other team in this country and possibly anywhere in Europe. We are a team that has so much more than spirit this time round.

However, if we are to win, we will need to find this unity of spirit once again. Destiny is shaped by the hands of the able. We are more than capable of beating Chelsea. Though nothing is certain and as fans we have little direct influence of the players we do have some influence. I look back to last year's final with AC Milan and prior to it, like many other Reds, I felt a bit disillusioned. Prior to Parry's monumental fuck up, I expected us to triumph and I was excitedly expectant but after his arrogant display it all felt, for want of a better description, a bit wrong. I didn't go to Athens but some people I spoke to that went said the mood wasn't the most relaxed; they described an air of tension, of discomfort that was exacerbated by the farce leading into the stadium.

This time, as a club, I hope the supporters can focus on the team and each other. We need unity. Gillett, Hicks, Parry and Moores will still be a collection of prize twats at the end of the season. Our spirit is bigger than the collective ineptitude of our "custodians". Forget about them for now and focus on those that matter, the players, the manager, the fans, the game. We are Liverpool.