oxtailsoup

Absolutely gutted. Train fares to London (non refundable) Flights from London City to Madrid £250 non refundable. Hotel... should be refundable Match ticket 90 euros. Should be refundable. Bloody hell, have been looking forward to this for weeks. I wonder if they can lay on complimentary travel from Madrid to the new venue or something? Quite happy to travel 300kms by coach there and back if need be. Agree they should be punished but a decision should have been made well before now.

World Cup qual. - Gerrard: Fans have a right to boo Eurosport - Mon, 13 Oct 15:00:00 2008 Steven Gerrard has insisted England fans reserved the right to boo Ashley Cole following his mistake against Kazakhstan on Saturday. More StoriesTerry and Cole to miss Belarus It's good to boo Ashley Cole The Chelsea defender's errant pass allowed the visitors to score at Wembley, and he was then loudly jeered by supporters whenever he touched the ball. When asked if fans were entitled to boo players, Gerrard said: "Of course. "Any supporter, when you pay money, you deserve to voice your opinion. But we need their support. If we're going to be successful in the future, we need them with us. "It's not going to help Ashley and it's not going to help the team but the support we got was fantastic. They stayed with us throughout the game. "He is disappointed and the players are disappointed." Cole will not have an immediate chance to make amends for his error against Belarus on Wednesday because of a hamstring injury. But Gerrard is confident the left-back's confidence will not be adversely affected by the fans' reaction. "You've got to get on with it," Gerrard continued. "You've got to take it as a man. Ashley's a big character and the players are here to support him." England defender Matthew Upson believes the booing of Cole drew the team together. "It can be positive, it makes us pull together," he said. "We all encouraged Ash, it's unfortunate that it happened and everyone is going to make a mistake for England at some stage, you move on, put it behind you and look forward to the next opportunity. "It's one of those things and the team will be strong with it." The West Ham man defended the right of the fans to do as they wish and said: "It's their right. No-one is asking them to come and clap for 90 minutes, we just ask for a bit of leniency when it happens. "It's important for us to look after each other. They have their right to have a say and think what they want. "It can affect a player's confidence if they don't react in the right way. Ash knows that, he will cope with it mentally and look forward to the next performance he can make." Upson accepted the booing was a by-product of the heightened level of expectation around the side following last month's stunning 4-1 success away to Croatia. "It's natural for the fans to expect a lot from their team, we are one of the strongest groups of players in the world, the stadium we play in is fantastic so there is going to be pressure and expectation. "We would ask people not to get too carried away, but we are on the right track, we just need to keep plugging away." Gerrard believes Belarus will prove tough opposition when the sides clash in Minsk on Wednesday. "They've had some big results, I remember them beating Holland recently," he said. "They were very unfortunate to lose in Ukraine, and that's a tough place to go. "We realise it'll be tough over there but confidence is high and we're ready." Victory would maintain England's 100% start to their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, but Gerrard insisted: "We're not getting carried away, there are still a lot of hurdles to get over. "We've had a fantastic start. It's a difficult test but we're confident we can make it four out of four and go into the new year top of the group." As well as Cole, captain John Terry will also be absent after failing to recover from a back injury. "They're two big players, and we're stronger with them in the team, but we are a squad and we've got good replacements, and I'm sure whoever comes in will do a good job," Gerrard added. The Liverpool captain also welcomed the Football Association's insistence a forthcoming friendly with Spain not be played at the Bernabeu, where England players were racially abused during a match in 2004. "Hopefully the game does go ahead but it's the right idea to have it in a different venue," Gerrard said. Sporting Life / Eurosport

1. Torres 2. Pepe 3. Monster Mash

Tried to buy the book in the LFC shop but they had run out. Got it from Costco for £12.98 yesterday. Seemed to have plenty in.

I've got flight booked and hotel booked for this away game but no eligibility for a ticket when they eventually come on sale. So if anyone has eligibility that they are not using then please PM me with details. Long shot I know!! Also happy to return the favour with a home PL ticket or something. Just desparate for an away ticket for this one (can you tell?), may even have to look at the robbing bastards on Gumtree of something. Worse case is I'll be watching this in a tapas bar in Madrid. Actually that's not true... I suppose worse case is that a couple of Atletico supporters see me in a tapas bar and drag me into the bogs for some man love......

It's pretty certain that out of the two players Stevie looks the most likely to be available against the Mancs. But that aside, if you had the choice of either Nando or Stevie being fit for this match, who would you choose? I'd choose Stevie as I think he can do more to influence the game.

LIVE Champions League draw - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

I was sitting in the Rangers end with some friends from Glasgow and the booing was for their own goalie not Pepe. And from what they were saying around me it was because he was shit... not because of any anti catholic shit. And he was shit. Also how bizarre was the music that was played for about 10 minutes leading up to kick off? All the Rangers songs. It went on and on.

Looks good. Only complaint is the ads on the left hand side are squashing the page a bit. But other than that its great.

Seen a few 'stories' over the last week linking SWP with an £8m move to Pompey. I would have thought that SWP would be a target for us to buy and seems to be great value if that price is near the truth. But maybe Chelski wouldn't sell him to us? I think he'd be a great addition to the squad.

Great thanks. Will have to watch the Setanta games in the pub this year.

I work up there and the Gers don't do 'jovial'. :whoops: Should be interesting. I'm going with some Scottish work colleagues and they have got a package with a free bar included :drool:

Just spoke to the Ticket Office about this new scheme and I am happy to confirm the following replies to my questions so now we are all much clearer on the situation:- Q. I have been on the season ticket waiting list since 1999... will I now be forced into paying the £29 a year to stay on the list? A. Er.. hmmm... sorry I'm not sure. We don't know yet. Q. I already have a Fancard. If I join this scheme will I be sent a new card? A. Er.. hmmmm, not sure about that. Sorry So there you go. We are now all much clearer about what is going on. Or at least we are as informed as the ticket office staff themselves anyway. In return for carrying out this vital piece of research can someone please rep me because I'm feeling left out with only one green square. ; )

Bloody typical. Just rang the ticket office and got a recorded message to say they close at 5pm. Yet the website says:- Contact Us Please use the online contact form to contact the Membership Department » Postal Address: Membership Office, Liverpool Football Club, Anfield Road, Liverpool, L4 OTH. Telephone (Phone lines are open from 9.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday): 0844 499 3000.

I'm just hoping to get one when the new ground is complete... I'm hoping they will allocate more season tickets. So if I'm on the list from 1999 I should get one then. Fingers crossed .

Firstly I apologise for asking this question again as it it only 6 months since I asked a similar question! Now that I've managed to sort out my 'missing' season ticket application with the ticket office (I'm back on the list for 1999) can someone tell me what year they are up to now? I seem to remember someone said 1996 was at the top of the waiting list (6 months ago)?

Thanks Captain.... correct number. Ok... have to send a letter to them to cancel giving them 30 days notice. Unfortunately as I have just paid £9.99 the next £9.99 will also come out at the start of July even though they will cut the service off mid July (after 30 days notice period). I pointed out that this means I will be paying them £9.99 for half a month. She said that this is in their terms and conditions blah blah. She also said that we would have to pay a reconnect fee. I said is it any wonder why customers are leaving with customer service like this? I feel sorry for the phone reps... it aint their fault. For anyone else thinking of leaving you have to send a cancellation letter giving them 30 days notice (with your reference number) to:- Setanta Sports Department 8544 Sunderland SR9 9XZ.

How the hell are you supposed to cancel Setanta? Can't see a link anywhere on their website. Have emailed their customer services but no reply yet. Have called their service desk every day this week and simply get a recorded message saying they are busy and to try and call back at another time. Aaaargh :notamused:

Agreed. Best this season. Slightly embarassing as we were so quiet especially in the first half... suppose it was a hangover for us but still very very quiet.

Like most supporters I didn't get a lot of sleep last night... turning loads of thoughts over in my mind like you do. If Manure beat Barca (and I hope they don't) it almost seems like Liverpool are being given the ultimate test. What I mean is that we are pretty hopeless against the our main rivals in the domestic league (Arse, Manure and Chelski). No real belief of conviction. Yet to win this years Champions League may mean that we have to face all three of our domestic rivals. It's almost like a pre-arranged test. And when we succeed in lifting that cup next month hopefully next season we won't have such a mental barrier about beating our main rivals for the PL.

Starter Egg on Face Seasoned Hash Frogs legs (past their best) Spanish Surprise (well beaten) Main course Humble Pie Chump Chops French (has) Beans Manager's Beef (not rare) Catch of the Day - (gutted) NB: everything is imported, nothing is home grown. Dessert Sour Grapes (may be hard to swallow) Fruitless Tarts Raspberry Fools Hard Cheese Drinks Bitter Little Spirit French Whine Cabernet Empty 2008 Champagne - sorry none ordered STRICTLY NO DOUBLES OR TREBLES NB: drinks should be consumed from glasses as there will be no cups this year. Guests are asked not to get HAMMERED Guest speaker: Steven Gerrard & Rafa Benitez - "What it's like to win the European Cup" Please note that the club’s European Tour for the season 2008-09 is not guaranteed.

Not sure if anyones posted this but the game has been moved to Sunday 4th May 16:00pm kick off. It was still showing at Saturday 15:00 kick off yesterday on the offal so its only just been moved.

She looks all on her own too....

Liverpool and Chelsea are in crisis, Arsenal's season is stalling and Manchester United owe more money than a Societe Generale trader. All the while, Aston Villa, Everton and Tottenham make confident strides towards the top. Are the Big Four doomed? More StoriesArsenal set for Euro woe? Manchester United are up their eyeballs in debt and forking out £60 million a year in interest alone on the £660 million owed, yet still they spend huge sums on players. One bad season, one year without Champions League money, and the whole edifice could come tumbling down. Liverpool have a manager who has no support from his board and is slowly losing the fans and players. They have finally got a world-class striker but face another dogfight just to finish fourth and haven't won the league for 18 years. Their owners face open revolt from the fans, who have put their faith in a Dubai-based company providing no guarantee of better management. Chelsea's vast wealth means they overpay for players, yet the superstars they truly crave - Kaka, Messi, Ronaldinho - do not want to come. Roman Abramovich has ploughed over half a billion into the club but his revolution has stalled. Peter Kenyon may get Chelsea to break even by 2010, but he has brought an end to massive transfer spending - and to on-pitch success for the moment. Arsenal's problem is that they do not spend enough money on players. They could afford to blow £20 million on Karim Benzema but Arsene Wenger will not spend it. Wenger's genius for developing kids means he rarely splashes out on the finished article. His biggest signings are "project" players like Theo Walcott or Jose Antonio Reyes. Senior players leave the Emirates Stadium every summer - Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Sol Campbell were past their best, but experience has a value that reaches beyond the pitch. Alex Ferguson has kept the declining Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, and would never have axed Vieira or Campbell. As a consequence, he does not encounter the dissent shown by William Gallas, Emmanuel Adebayor or Nicklas Bendtner. It is almost miraculous that Arsenal contend for honours so consistently, but can you really hope for prolonged dominance when you are always in transition? And all the time the spectre of a debt-led takeover hangs over the club. So, that's it. The Big Four are all doomed. Right? Well, no. Liverpool's squad is too good, their fans too numerous and their attractiveness to investors too great for any serious decline to occur. Arsenal's present board has 'locked down' against Alisher Usmanov's takeover and in any case the Russian is backed by David Dein, who would make damn sure Wenger stayed. Chelsea will probably muddle through and there is no immediate sign that Abramovich wants to sling his hook, while - for the moment - all is going swimmingly at Old Trafford under the hated Glazers. But certainly, the pretenders are extremely well-equipped. Villa, Everton and Blackburn have the kind of stability and unity that Liverpool and Chelsea can only dream of. Tottenham and Manchester City also have the makings of a bright future but their fans have seen too many false dawns to get too excited. (OK, that's not true - let's put their unquenchable optimism down to the resilience of the human spirit). In the 1990s, the money at the top of the game put success beyond all but the elite - this decade's trend for foreign ownership and massive investment means any club can become a contender almost overnight. It might not be the egalitarian utopia the purists crave, but it means the game is more open now than it has been for a long time. Alex Chick / Eurosport