JohnBull

But over the last ten years ....? What about Henchoz, Hyppia and Dudek? Or Carra, Sami and Pepe?

......unadulterated journo hype....? .....Hansen on bbc.co.uk

As bad as Mascherano is, Lucas is worse. I wouldn't back him to put it into an empty net from the edge of the box. He scuffs and mis-hits more shots that anyone on the team, I think. He is really poor andf needs to be kept after practice to work on his shooting. He's had several chances to score goals from around and just outside the box this season and missed them all.

Nice web site this! Thanks, bri!

ok, since you put it that way ..... :smile: When will we see him in the first XI?

Why waste words ...? The question is in the subject line with a clear notation that there is nothing to read in the body. If you need a written proclamation, I suggest you join the House of Commons.

And quarter to his balls .......!

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Is this all because Xabi Alonso canceled his subscription ....?

67 responses yet I am still no closer to an answer to my original question. I certainly didn't expect so many responses. And to be honest, since I have been a member here for several years, I was pretty sure that Dave wouldn't reveal his sources. He's obviously better connected than the average fan but usually keeps his cards really close to his chest (which is probably why he is able to maintain such good connections) I can understand his reluctance to say what he knows/has heard, i just wish he wouldn't give us these little teasers when he cannot reveal the whole story. Anyway, I am still mystified as to why Rafa wants Xabi gone or vice versa, whichever the case may be. It seems nore plausible that it is the former however, as he is under contract and cannot leave unless Rafa approves. So again, the question is why?? Is Rafa holding a grudge from when Xabi's baby was born and he left the team? Does he need the cash to buy other players? I just cannot understand why he would want to sell a player of Xabi's calibre when a replacement would cost more than the club can afford. It cannot be that he thinks that Gareth Barry can adequately fill Xabi's shoes and keep our football flowing as well as he does ... surely he, Rafa, cannot be that daft? Xabi has just finished his best season for us where it was clearly btwn him and Stevie for best player. He is a brilliant player, with a footballing brain and vision that has very few equals in the world. When he is on the field we play a much more fluid game and we keep the ball much better than when he is not. Even though our team needs improving, we could easily have won the League this year. In fact, had we played like we did in the last third of the season for the first two thirds, we would definitely have won. And Xabi was a big part of that. So it just makes no sense to me that Rafa would want to sell him without bringing in someone of equal or better ability and the names mentioned thus far do not even come close. I know that no one player is bigger than a club ... Keegan left for Hamburg, Rushie went to Italy though he returned, Figo left Barca for Madrid, Zidane was sold by Juventus to Madrid, and the world did not end. And it will be the same if we sell Alonso ... life will definitely go on. I'd just like to know why.

No joke at all. He was one of our best players this season and we play markedly better with than without him. So again, why the fcuk is he leaving?

I've just read your report on the Spurs match where you say with almost complete certainty that Xabi is leaving. But you didn't say why ...????? I simply cannot believe that Rafa would let him go unless he was getting Iniesta or Xavi to replace him. he is our best passer, he makes our football flow so much better when he is on the pitch. He is simply too valuable to our club to be sold unless we have lined up someone better to replace him. Why is he leaving? Surely not just so Rafa can get the necessary cash to buy Barry, Downing or any of the other sub-standard players whose names have been bandied about in the press as potential summer signings? This would be complete and utter rubbish! Please say what you've heard regarding his exit from Anfield. And if anyone else knows anything, please chip in as well. Thanks.

Agree 100% mate. Fuck the Mancs. I back Rafa to beat fucking Brazil over 2 legs! And how sweet would it be to send them home with their fingers up their arse? Bring em on I say. The hotter the battle the sweeter the victory!

I agree Daved. As soon as Gerrard scored we shut up shop and concentrated on holding the 1-nil lead and it cost us the full points. We should have kept on playing as we had been to that point as we pretty much had Everton on the backfoot and were playing mostly in their half. This is the biggest difference btwn us and Man U, even a bigger difference than the personnel in the squad. Alex Ferguson plays to win and Rafa plays not to lose. This conservative mindset, and all the actions/tactics that stem from it, will be the biggest reason if we do not win the title this year.

I would swap Berbatov for Keane in a heart beat! We already have a striker who works his balls off but needs 8 chances to score one goal but we haven't had a striker that could play in the hole with any level of brilliance since Jari left. And Berbatov definitely has the requisite level of brilliance.

And Riise for Fabio if he isn't fit. Save Babbel for the 2nd half, he seems to do much better as a sub anyway. Everything else remains the same and we are going to rip them a new arsehole in London next week. We will not be denied!!

or Torres right now. Who's the better striker?

Are we Liverpool Football Club or are we phucking Middlesborough??? I don't want to sneak quietly into the finals like a bunch of school girls ..... I want to kick off the front door, march boldly in and piss all over everyone in the living room!!! ManU are the best team left and I want them next. If we cannot beat them over two legs then we dont deserve to win #6 anyway. Let's send them packing and then on to Barca, Arsenal or Chelsea in the semis and final. We are Liverpool FC ... we dont come to bow, we come to conqueror!!

What the phack is wrong with the word phacking? Phacking bloody hell ...! :tease:

Never said he was perfect .... just that he was our best! Our offense has no real flow to it, if you compare the way we knock the ball around and get forward to Arsenal or ManU, we are positively pedestrian. Whenever I watch us play I get the distinct impression that we don't really know what we are going to do next, that it's all just hit or miss and we are only a moment away from just hoofing it forward and giving chase. Maybe I am exaggerating a bit but I am sure that every fan here, if he is honest, can relate to what I am saying. When Xabi is on the field however, and playing well, that purposeful flow to our game is markedly improved. We still don't quite attain the level of ManU and Arsenal but we are much closer. That is why I say he is our best midfielder.

Is Gerrard really a midfielder? ... or is he a winger/striker hiding in a midfielders body? Maschersano is a ball winner/bulldog/5th defender of class but he couldnt pass gas if he ate a whole tin of beans by himself. When it comes to passing the ball and keeping the attacking flow of the game going, which btw has been our weakest area this season, Xabi is our best midfielder by miles!

I am dead phacking serious! To you and the other poster above who scoffed at the thought that he is our best midfielder tell me who the fack is better?

Family first before anything else!! But if he can get there well in time for the game what is the big phacking deal?? What the phack is Rafa going to tell the team on Monday/Tuesday that Xabi does not already know? What is the disruption if someone joins the team a day late? ... will some type of alarm go off or something?? Rafa is being a bit anal over this, really!! Xabi is still our best midfielder by miles ....anyone here think that our return to form and Xabi's return to the team is coincidental? It's not like he's late from internationals or anything frivolous ... it's the birth of his child for ffs. You have to know when to bend and when to stand firm. This is a bender ... Rafa should have let him play after helping out with his girl and child.

A year or so ago all and sundry on here were saying Momo was the best defensive mid-fielder in Europe ..... the next Veira many said!! Now all of a sudden he's not wortha bag of chips? How much did Carrick and Hargreaves cost United again? I'd take the Momo of last season over both of those any day of the week. If he can go to Juve and be half the ball-winning, defensive powerhouse he was for us, 11 mill will be a phacking steal for them!! I hope he goes. Rafa obviously has no further use for him and he is too young to be a bench sitter. Good luck Momo ... well done while you were here!

..... is a fucking monster. He is exactly what we all hope Momo will turn out to be. I'd have him at Anfield in a New York facting minute!!