Why I'm sick of being a Liverpool FC fan

[Coro]

Well Red - a Liverpool FC blog: Why I'm sick of being a LIVERPOOL FC fan

 

I NEVER thought I'd write this, but I'm sick of being a Liverpool fan.

 

Not sick of Liverpool FC: I still find myself staring at my ticket stubs or thumbing through an old programme and enjoying the fond memories of Istanbul, Dortmund, Cardiff, Barcelona; my first derby win or even my first game, a less than glamourous Rumbelows Cup win over Crewe.

 

I still feel the emotions rise when I watch the DVD of that night in the Ataturk and I still get riled when faced with a crowing Manc (although there's not too many of them about right now).

 

So as I say, I still love the club.

 

But the being a fan bit? Well I'm sick of the soap opera, peeved with the politics and right now the whole thing has left me feeling a bit worn out and fatigued; my passion has been sapped.

 

Months ago, I glanced at the fixture list and I'd mentally pencilled in the Hull game as a trip I'd be making.

 

End of season, day in the sun, couple of bevvies, a laugh, and hopefully a comprehensive victory for the Mighty Reds.

 

That's how it went in my head anyway.

 

But who was I kidding? I keep making that mistake – thinking football is still the way it used to be. It's not – not at Liverpool anyway.

 

The Liverpool I know had its heart ripped from it and thrown in the Mersey long ago. Now it's all about being pro-Rafa or anti-Rafa. About belonging to one forum but hating another. About blaming the owners for ruining our club or claiming it's an excuse. About believing the Rafa stories, the Gerrard stories or the Purslow stories – or not believing them.

 

All in all it's a whole lot of in-fighting and that has punched my enthusiasm in the solar plexus and left it rolling on the floor and gasping for air.

 

So I didn't go to the Hull match – didn't even try to get a ticket, and after briefly toying with the idea of tracking down an ale house screening it 'on the foreign', I settled for listening to Aldo and co on Radio City.

 

The match, well you know the score, depressingly familiar – Aldo sounded like he'd had enough, too.

 

It just washed over me, I was barely arsed. In fact, the most excited I got was when Chelsea went 2-0 up and I knew the Mancs wouldn't be lifting number 19. How sad is that?

 

So that was that and it was back to the politics. Rafa Benitez referring to "senior sources" on several occasions in his press conference, a clear reference to the planting of information in the media by those "senior sources". The same senior sources that took it upon themselves to talk about players with other clubs without the manager's knowledge.

 

That was like throwing a piece of meat to the hungry hounds – off we went again: the manager is out of order, Purslow is out of order, Rafa rubbed his hands together once (that really is a rumour going around, well part of it anyway), Gerrard doesn't care, Madrid want him, he's definitely going, it's Lucas's fault...and on and on and on until your left rocking yourself in the darkness, mumbling and praying for mercy.

 

The thing is, if anyone is rubbing their hands together and thinking about money, it's Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Because while we slug it out amongst ourselves – falling out on forums, arguing in boozers, even scrapping at the match – they continue to rape and pillage our club relatively – in terms of our worldwide (or even match-going) support – unchallenged.

 

The debt is mounting up, the loan from the off-shore company to the club is growing – and what are the majority of our support doing about it? Nothing.

 

Yes, there's Spirit of Shankly – they've done a sterling job. They have sent out the message that Liverpool fans will not just roll over and have their belly tickled by the carpet-bagging American pair.

 

But their ranks contain approximately 5,000 members – a fraction of the people who attend Anfield regularly and a mere spec on the radar when global support for Liverpool is totted up.

 

So why are so many doing so little? Are they burying their head in the sand? Can they not concentrate long enough to get their head around what Hicks and Gillett are doing to the club? Or are they just buying the spin and waiting for Sky Sports to tell them about it?

 

There's so many messages flying around the world about Liverpool FC that perhaps they are just not hearing the right one – the one that says Hicks and Gillett are ruining our club, dragging it down from its perch with barely a kick or a scream and pointing it in the direction of the road Leeds and Newcastle took after financial mismanagement – the road to nowhere.

 

It's a road the club is on now, despite what new chairman Martin Broughton tells us. Something will happen in months, people are interested, he says. Exactly what managing director Christian Purslow told us when he arrived.

 

We've gained another suit, but as a club we're still shivering in the cold, stark naked, looking in at the Premier League and Champions League parties knowing we've got no chance of an invite.

 

Meanwhile, the banks have extended deadlines, the interest – at £110,000 A DAY – continues to mount and Hicks and Gillett sit thousands of miles away, sitting and waiting for the buyer that never comes.

 

But for some all that doesn't matter. They want Benitez out and Jose Mourinho in. It doesn't matter if we haven't got money, he's got to go and Jose? Well, he'll happily kiss goodbye to Inter Milan, ignore a possible offer from Real Madrid and walk into a club on its knees who will pay him less than he can get elsewhere. It would be career suicide. It makes no sense at all. But still people say it.

 

That kind of debate suits the Americans just fine. It's another distraction and another step away from what would really get them thinking – mass, organised protest. Boycotts. Pressure. More of the same from Spirit of Shankly only with more bodies behind them, more money in the coffers, more helping hands to get the wheels turning.

 

But for many of the tactics that would truly make them sit up and notice to work it needs the whole of the Liverpool support on board – and as it stands that support is so factious, that doesn't look like happening anytime soon.

 

Hicks and Gillett can turn to their PR firms (or those "senior sources") to keep the pot bubbling with distractions about players, managers and rubbing hands. It's divide and conquer - the oldest trick in the book. And it's working a treat.

 

But who needs PR firms when you've got rumours (a speciality of the City of Liverpool), forum 'insiders' and journalists happy to be spoon-fed information and reproduce it as 'fact' without questioning its validity?

 

It all keeps fans from coming together and fighting the cancer that is eating away at our loved one. And that's exactly what the profit-obsessed charlatans want.

[Franny DelMucho]

vicky cristina barcelona

[Guest LFD]

You are totally right about the owners, I think everyone agrees.

 

However I do think it is totally understandable why some people want to see a change of manager as well.

[Guest PurpleNose]

vicky cristina barcelona

 

Keep seeing that advertised.

 

Do we get to see gash?

[Coro]

 

However I do think it is totally understandable why some people want to see a change of manager as well.

 

The article doesn't say otherwise.

[Arl arse]

Its because we're not allowed to protest during the match, a time when the whole world would hear our disgust in the two greedy cunts who are killing our club.

 

Yet the PC brigade shout us down because it might have an adverse effect on those poor sensitive players who have to concentrate really hard on playing, or they might get knocked out of all major cup competitions in the early rounds and only finish 7th in the league if the fans dare show any hate for the twats that have ripped the heart out of our club while they are on the field.

 

So we have been reduced to a few of us staying behind singing to no one, while the TV cameras have moved on and the stadium manager has turned the lights off.

 

But its all good as long as we dont upset those poor sensitive multi millionaire's out there on the pitch.

[keniget]

The Liverpool I know had its heart ripped from it and thrown in the Mersey long ago. Now it's all about being pro-Rafa or anti-Rafa. About belonging to one forum but hating another. About blaming the owners for ruining our club or claiming it's an excuse

 

Says that and then goes on a long tirade about the owners. Brilliant.

 

Shit article.

[cmuller]

Articles that try to cover both the footballing (mis) management side of the club and the financial mismanagement side of things are always rubbish.

 

There's a link obviously but not as absolutely direct as portrayed in these type of pieces.

[Delmar]

Articles that try to cover both the footballing (mis) management side of the club and the financial mismanagement side of things are always rubbish.

 

There's a link obviously but not as absolutely direct as portrayed in these type of pieces.

 

How much more direct should the link be? Portsmouth, Southampton, Leeds, Newcastle, you name it, financial mismanagement has always resulted in poorer and poorer performances on the field. And we are in the middle of it now.

 

I thought that the article covered quite well what supporters feel. And LFD's response was a perfect example of what the author of the article was trying to say.

[JohnnyH]

Says that and then goes on a long tirade about the owners. Brilliant.

 

Shit article.

 

Huh? Did you read the article?

 

He references the many different arguments, such as the one you mention, and is then saying that the owners are the main issue and the one thing the fans as a whole should agree about and get together and help in the removing of.

 

He is not saying the current manager is not an issue, and he is not saying the current manager should not be sacked. He is just speaking about a bit of reality as to where we are as a club and where we are going.

 

He's spot on.

[coachpotato]

Says that and then goes on a long tirade about the owners. Brilliant.

 

Shit article.

 

I think more will think the article is appropriate than will think it's shit.

 

But, hey, vive la difference.

[cmuller]

How much more direct should the link be? Portsmouth, Southampton, Leeds, Newcastle, you name it, financial mismanagement has always resulted in poorer and poorer performances on the field. And we are in the middle of it now.

 

 

You're right but what I was getting at is this type of stuff often just glosses over the pure football decisions that resulted in us ending up 7th this year. It's not just about money.

 

Articles sort of start of saying the manager must share some blame for the current state of the team, then have a go at the owners then end on a "is it any wonder Rafa has struggled" note.

 

Do you think there would be the level of despondancy there is if there was a true belief in the current manager making the correct key decisions in the future - whatever resources he's given?

[Woo]

How much more direct should the link be? Portsmouth, Southampton, Leeds, Newcastle, you name it, financial mismanagement has always resulted in poorer and poorer performances on the field. And we are in the middle of it now.

 

I thought that the article covered quite well what supporters feel. And LFD's response was a perfect example of what the author of the article was trying to say.

 

What! That people are not allowed to want the manager out? (Believe me, I don't want to turn this into ANOTHER Rafa thread, but what you're suggesting is proposterous (not the part about finances)). There was nothing wrong with LFD's response.

 

I very much doubt that's what the author of the article was trying to say. It seems the message he's trying to get accross is that the club is up shit creek without a paddle, and whilst all this civil infighting is going on between fans, the owners will be happy enough as the attention is off them. Which is spot on, and I fully agree. Nowhere does it say that people wanting the manager gone is problem.

 

However, what it does say, and it's the only part of the article I don't agree with is where he's said;

 

'But to some that doesn't matter'.

 

Of course it fucking matters! Regardless of your stance of the manager, to suggest that Liverpool fans don't care about the financial jeopardy we're in is just plain stupid.

[Original202]

It's fine saying tha fans should pull together to get the owners out, but what the hell can we do?

 

There's nothing we can do that will help, it's totally out of our hands. It's the same down the road with the Mancs, they've had a high profile campaign aganist the Glazers for longer than we have and they're no closer to a result.

 

Other than raising the money ourselves and then paying a massively inflated price there is nothing we can do to force them out.

[JohnnyH]

 

However, what it does say, and it's the only part of the article I don't agree with is where he's said;

 

'But to some that doesn't matter'.

 

Of course it fucking matters! Regardless of your stance of the manager, to suggest that Liverpool fans don't care about the financial jeopardy we're in is just plain stupid.

 

I know what you are saying woo, but maybe it depends on how you read that line. I meet Liverpool "fans" who have no real idea about the financial mess we are in and still say that it's madness we are not in for David Villa, etc. They can't have missed out on all the reports of our plight, so I can only assume they are not taking it on board or just don't put the 1 and 1 together to realise we are in total shite.

 

I think you are right that any fan who takes more then a passing interest cares deeply about the mess we are in, regardless of their views on the manager.

[Woo]

I know what you are saying woo, but maybe it depends on how you read that line. I meet Liverpool "fans" who have no real idea about the financial mess we are in and still say that it's madness we are not in for David Villa, etc. They can't have missed out on all the reports of our plight, so I can only assume they are not taking it on board or just don't put the 1 and 1 together to realise we are in total shite.

I think you are right that any fan who takes more then a passing interest cares deeply about the mess we are in, regardless of their views on the manager.

 

Yeah, that's what I meant and should have said. Cheers, mate.

[Ted]

I'm not sick of being a Liverpool fan; I'm sick of 99% of the people involved with it, though.

[Guest The Chimp]

I'm not sick of being a Liverpool fan; I'm sick of 99% of the people involved with it, though.

 

Amen.

[Delmar]

What! That people are not allowed to want the manager out? (Believe me, I don't want to turn this into ANOTHER Rafa thread, but what you're suggesting is proposterous (not the part about finances)). There was nothing wrong with LFD's response.

 

When I read the article, my first thought was that someone's going go "yes but" with a Rafa argument, then someone's going to bang on with the other side, and the whole point of the article will be forgotten. Good example of that was yesterday's Maddock stuff. LFD just provided the "yes but".

 

If you find my posts preposterous here, you really are easily offended, my posts are rather inoffensive as a whole. I simply disagreed, that's all.

[gkmacca]

vicky cristina barcelona

 

The kind of characters Woody mocked in Manhattan as risibly pretentious creeps are depicted in this movie as the good guys. Along with the current state of LFC, it's a clear sign of how crazy the world has become.

[Woo]

When I read the article, my first thought was that someone's going go "yes but" with a Rafa argument, then someone's going to bang on with the other side, and the whole point of the article will be forgotten. Good example of that was yesterday's Maddock stuff. LFD just provided the "yes but".

 

If you find my posts preposterous here, you really are easily offended, my posts are rather inoffensive as a whole. I simply disagreed, that's all.

 

I've no problem with your posts at all, I just tend to disagree with them. But that's football for you, fans have different opinions.

 

What I found preposterous was that it seemed that you were insinuating that LFD's response was the sort of post that leads to arguments about the manager (which is mentioned in the article), and/or that people are not allowed to want the manager out?

 

I may have misinterpreted what you were getting at, and if I have, then I apologise.

[AL66GOLF]

Talking about all the rumours and the blame game "...and on and on and on until your left rocking yourself in the darkness, mumbling and praying for mercy."

 

I agree with that line

[Timão]

Its because we're not allowed to protest during the match, a time when the whole world would hear our disgust in the two greedy cunts who are killing our club.

 

Yet the PC brigade shout us down because it might have an adverse effect on those poor sensitive players who have to concentrate really hard on playing, or they might get knocked out of all major cup competitions in the early rounds and only finish 7th in the league if the fans dare show any hate for the twats that have ripped the heart out of our club while they are on the field.

 

So we have been reduced to a few of us staying behind singing to no one, while the TV cameras have moved on and the stadium manager has turned the lights off.

 

But its all good as long as we dont upset those poor sensitive multi millionaire's out there on the pitch.

 

Isn´t that the truth!

 

I admire SOS, when I have been over I have taken part in the protests and marches myself, BUT it is not enough simply because the great majority of the fans are so passive.

 

I am fascinated by the stance taken by some arguing that the support for the team on a matchday is more important than protesting about the future of the club.

 

There are tons of things wrong about football here in Brazil but the one thing they do have right is that the institution (the club) is far more important than its current incarnation (the team).

 

I have contected with various people to ask if they want to be put in touch with fans organisations at Corinthians, Hicks' previous 'adventure' into football to see if something could be organised, if they had some suugestions etc. I had ONE reply voicing fears that the tactics adopted by Corinthians to get rid of previous management (after relegation in 2007 they stormed the AGM and effectively locked in the board members) would be 'too radical'.

 

Frankly, who gives a toss about the team when the very future of the club is at stake. As a group of fans we are too nice and too tame when it comes to the owners.

 

At the same time, we are, as the article rightly points out, constantly engaged in petty crap about

 

Rafa or the yanks

Rafa or the yanks

Rafa or the yanks blah blah blah

 

As if saying it often enough will somehow make it any less pathetic or any more true.

 

One Corinthians fan told me a few weeks ago that 'the badge is everything, the team are just a temporary representation of that badge. If you don't understand that, you get what you deserve'.

 

A bit strong perhaps, but sadly not that wrong.

[Arl arse]

One Corinthians fan told me a few weeks ago that 'the badge is everything, the team are just a temporary representation of that badge. If you don't understand that, you get what you deserve'.

 

That fan was dead right as well, the club always should come first before anyone, manager, players, board members, etc etc....

 

Sadly many don't see it that way, thats why we are paralyzed in our efforts to rid the club of the two fuckers currently at the helm.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

The article is pretty much spot on but tends to put a lot of blame on the fans and none whatsoever on ex players taking their 30 pieces of silver.