marcus50bucks

Not a chance we'll pull this off.

Dave Prentice: Liverpool won’t ask Rafa Benitez to Play it Again, but they’ll always have Istanbul Dec 24 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo IT’S that Casablanca time of year again folks, (tomorrow, five past one, Film4, movie pickers). So Roy Hodgson could be forgiven for putting on his best Bogey impersonation this morning and drawling: “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, he has to walk into mine.” In case you missed it, Rafael Benitez was relieved of his duties as Inter Milan manager yesterday. And he received the news at the place he now calls home, here on Merseyside. Rafa’s return to his spiritual home – at a time when he’s suddenly on the jobs market again – has sent the conspiracy theorists into overtime. A collection of banners were pinned to the railings at Anfield this week – (looking suspiciously like the work of one fan) calling for his reappointment. Letters pages, message boards and phone ins have given healthy backing to the idea. While one supporter has even launched a petition calling for “the reinstatement of Rafael Benitez as Liverpool FC manager.” It’s a well meaning, but ultimately futile gesture. Rafa has returned to Merseyside, but he will not be returning to Anfield any time soon. Rafa has divided opinion amongst Reds fans in his absence almost as much as he did during his reign. But while the faces in the Anfield boardroom have changed, boardroom policy towards the former Reds boss remains unchanged. He won’t be coming back. Unlike the movie masterpiece which spawned one of the greatest misquotations in movie history. Rick Blaine never actually asked Sam to “Play it again.” And the Anfield power brokers will not be asking Benitez to play it again either. But there’s one final Casablanca link. Bogart and Bergman were finally prised apart at the airport in one of the most poignant partings in movie history. “We’ll always have Paris,” declared Bogart, recalling the euphoric zenith of their ultimately doomed love affair Likewise, the Reds and Rafa “will always have Istanbul.” And perhaps it’s best to leave it that way. ECHO Looks like we'll have to nip this one in the bud, unfortunately. It was never gonna happen to be fair.

SSN Breaking News: Blackpool to hold pitch inspection at midday on Boxing Day ahead of Liverpool Game.

Mate, go in the Rafa thread and look up the number of times you said Rafa is not coming back. Each time you mentione it, you came across as though it was fact, whereas it would've been easier to say "in my opinion" or "I don't think Rafa will return".

Interesting all the same. Notice how he mentions dof? 8)

Roy Hodgson will bide time to sign right men for Liverpool Tony Barrett, Chris Brereton, Ian Edwards, Darren Witcoop, George Caulkin December 24 2010 12:00AM Roy Hodgson will resist making any panic buys during next month’s transfer window to try to save his job. The Liverpool manager has been under pressure since the opening weeks of his tenure when defeats to Blackpool in the Barclays Premier League and Northampton Town in the Carling Cup featured in the club’s worst start to a season in 57 years. The situation has hardly improved since then with Liverpool only winning once away from home so far this season and losing more games than they have won in the league, giving rise to speculation that Rafael Benítez, his predecessor, could be brought back as Hodgson’s replacement. The Times, though, understands that New England Sports Ventures, the club’s owners, have no intention of offering the recently deposed Inter Milan manager an unlikely homecoming even if a vacancy were to arise. Hodgson is aware of both his plight and his standing in the eyes of the Liverpool supporters who are yet to take to him, but he insists that he will not attempt to buy his way out of trouble, maintaining that the interests of the club must come before his own. Asked whether he could cement his own position with a series of short-term buys, Hodgson acknowledged that he could, but made it clear that such a course of action would be injudicious. “I think you’re probably right, I could do, but that begs the question of when you get a job like this at Liverpool, should you be working for the long-term good of Liverpool or trying to get an extra result or two for Roy Hodgson?,” he said. “I’d like to think I am big enough and confident enough to take the long-term view even though it might work against me. I might even prefer that in some ways because I would be very disappointed if I went out in January and spent a lot of money on the wrong players and then, come the summer, we are no better off. All we would be doing is adding a few more players who we don’t think are good enough to the roster. I would be disappointed if I did that. I can’t guarantee it won’t happen but it is not my intention.” Hodgson continues to work with Damien Comolli, Liverpool’s director of football strategy, on potential targets and the pair are in regular contact with NESV principals John W Henry and Tom Werner. Ashley Young, the Aston Villa winger, is a player who has caught Hodgson’s eye and whose availability has been keenly tracked by the club. Hodgson, though, maintains that deal will be pursued only if it is in Liverpool’s best interests in the long-term while Villa insist that he is not for sale. “I accept I may make a rod for my own back by not bringing in people but there’s no doubt I and Damien are pushing the owners to back us if we come up with the right people,” he said. “I think they probably will. The big question is will those players become available? Quite frankly we are targeting players that other clubs don’t want to lose. We are not targeting players who are on the market and everyone is trying to find a club for. We are targeting players who clubs don’t want to let go even if we offer them good money.” Having seen his squad trimmed back as a result of cash constraints imposed during the reign of Tom Hicks and George Gillett and a decision to reduce the size of the squad, Hodgson has concluded that Liverpool cannot afford to return to the kind of situation he inherited.“A total of 19 have left since I’ve been here and haven’t been replaced,” he said. “We’ve gone down the route of 40, 50 professionals before, of saying ‘this one will do it, or, if not, this one will do’. We’ve been down that route and it’s very important we don’t do that again and just bring in the players we really need.”

Absolutely cracking post.

LIVERPOOL'S JOE COLE MUST FIGHT TO KEEP UP APPEARANCES Thursday December 23,2010 By Paul Joyce JOE COLE was sitting in a media tent in the build-up to England’s opening match at the World Cup when he was asked if Fabio Capello’s disciplinarian outlook, and the sparse and isolated surroundings of the team’s Rustenburg base, might take away some of the enjoyment of being involved in the biggest show on the planet. “You can’t suck the fun out of football,” Cole shot back, his response instantaneous. With his own personal annus horribilis now weighing heavily on his shoulders, his attitude may have changed in the months since. From Chelsea cast-off to England reject to bit-part player at Liverpool, Cole is facing arguably the biggest test of his career as he attempts to coax the smile back on to his face and force himself back into someone’s – anyone’s – starting line-up. One thing is certain: the new year represents a new start. “Joe has to come to terms with the fact that he has come here after an unsuccessful period at Chelsea with high hopes of taking Liverpool by storm and unfortunately it’s not happened. That’s life,” said Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson yesterday. “He should have great confidence in his ability as he is a very good footballer. As far as I am concerned, everything he has to say should be said on that patch of green grass. “He should be convincing me and everyone watching that this is a player who can help Liverpool win things. And you couldn’t say that has been the case so far. “I don’t care how many things are written or said, you can’t make black into white. “What I’m saying could be transformed into ‘Hodgson criticises Cole’, but it’s not that. I’m just analysing the situation.” Having only recently returned from a hamstring injury, the postponement of the Fulham game and the threat which hangs over the Boxing Day fixture with Blackpool fits neatly with a year of frustration for Cole. He made as many substitute appearances for Chelsea in the second half of last season, 11, as starts and was restricted to two cameos lasting just 44 minutes in total at the World Cup, despite John Terry’s very public lobbying for him to be shoe-horned into Capello’s starting line-up. Therein lies part of the problem for Cole, whose sole goal for Liverpool against Steaua Bucharest after just 27 seconds has at least earned him a place in the record books as the club’s fastest goalscorer in Europe. Cole believes he is best deployed just off the striker. Yet after a handful of appearances in that role, stymied by his opening-weekend red card against Arsenal, Hodgson quickly moved him to the left of midfield. Hodgson currently favours Maxi Rodriguez there and Dirk Kuyt on the right and, with Steven Gerrard also ready to return from injury, the competition for places will only become fiercer. “Joe is a midfield player and what’s the right position for a midfield player?” said Hodgson. “Gerrard has played all over midfield for as long as I can remember because he’s a good player. “I hope Joe remembers this from the conversation we had in the summer when I made it clear I could not promise him a certain position. “I made it clear Steven Gerrard was staying and the competition for the one spot, if it was the one spot he wanted, was going to be tough.” It is interesting to note the way Hodgson speaks about Cole’s situation compared, for example, to the newly found warmth for someone like Lucas. Liverpool’s interest in acquiring Cole after his Chelsea contract expired had been plotted long before Hodgson was appointed, but the club maintains that the manager approved, rather than simply inherited, the signing. “It’s a difficult one for me to answer,” said Hodgson. “I was involved in the discussions with him, but the initiative and the desire to take Joe did come from Christian [Purslow, then managing director] perhaps more so than myself because I wasn’t in the position to say these are the players we should be targeting as I hadn’t been offered the job at that point. “He’s not so much a player I can take responsibility for. I’d have to share the responsibility for Joe, less so than people like Poulsen, Meireles and Konchesky, who are players I was happy to bring to the club. “Our competition for places is getting stronger, so the only thing I can say to him is, ‘We’re happy to have you here, Joe, but I can’t offer you anything more than a chance and you have to take it when it comes along’.” Cole will be anxious to do just that.‘Joe has to take his chance when it comes along’ Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | Sport | Football Words fail me. To publically come out and make those comments is quite astonishing. I am fairly certain Joe won't like reading that. The article is a total shambles from top to bottom but the bit highlighted really did it for me.

In your opinion he's not.

Roy Hodgson wants opportunity to rebuild Liverpool squad Tony Barrett December 20 2010 12:01AM Roy Hodgson has insisted that the Liverpool squad cannot yet be described as his own because of the short period of time that he has managed the club and his desire to utilise the transfer market to remodel it. Since taking over from Rafael Benítez as manager on July 1, Hodgson has come under mounting scrutiny as a result of Liverpool’s poor form, which has resulted in the Merseyside club losing more Barclays Premier League games than they have won this season. Hodgson’s defence is built on an assertion that he is yet to make his mark on the playing squad, claiming that he is having to work with a group of players that he “basically inherited”. There have been 15 transfers since Hodgson’s arrival, seven in and eight out, but he maintains that the changes have not been fundamental enough to constitute the squad being his own. Christian Poulsen, Brad Jones, Raul Meireles, Paul Konchesky and the re-signed Fábio Aurélio were Hodgson’s main acquisitions last summer and he accepted the signing of Joe Cole on a free transfer in the wake of his arrival after the deal had been set up by Christian Purslow, the former Liverpool managing director. He also inherited Danny Wilson, Jonjo Shelvey and Milan Jovanovic — the final player could be sold next month after failing to impress since joining on a free transfer from Standard Liège in July — after deals to sign all three were concluded during Benítez’s tenure. Before accepting the manager’s job at Anfield, Hodgson had informed Martin Broughton, the former Liverpool chairman, of his belief that he could coax enough out of the squad he inherited to challenge for a place in the top four of the Premier League. “He wanted to focus on how he could get more out of the existing players,” Broughton said at the time. “His focus wasn’t on ‘how much money can I have?’ or ‘I want to bring this person in or that person in’. He was really focused on ‘I believe, and I’ve got a track record that demonstrates it, that I can take the existing players, get much better performances out of them and buy constructively to build for a better future.’ ” Having been unable to arrest Liverpool’s decline, though, Hodgson is keen to make an even bigger impression on his squad and has cited the work that Harry Redknapp has undertaken in the transfer market to revitalise the fortunes of Tottenham Hotspur as the kind of blueprint that he would like to follow. “It is still a team that I have not put together, I want to make that clear,” Hodgson said. “I came here and took the team over and I have not made that many changes. I brought in Paul Konchesky to play left back, Raul Meireles to replace Javier Mascherano and Joe Cole came in at the same time as me and Christian Poulsen. The other players I have basically inherited. “I think I would be a good comparison with Tottenham because Harry came in just as I came into Fulham, so he will just be completing three years and he has brought in a lot of players. When you look at the bench, you have Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane; three players he brought in. Roman Pavlyuchenko might have been there, Gareth Bale might have been there, but Niko Kranjcar, Luka Modric and Wilson Palacios are players he brought in. “So to call it my team, I would have had to make a slightly bigger impact on those who have been brought in, but I’m more than happy to take responsibility for this squad as well. I make that rider that it still takes a coach more than five or six months to make his stamp on a club or a team, especially one of this stature. “I’m hoping that we will do some good business in transfer windows to come and then I will be able to put my hand up and say, ‘If you don’t like it, I’ve got no one to blame but myself.’ ”

Inter Milan coach Rafael Benitez looked ever closer to the exit door today after his president Massimo Moratti blasted the Spaniard for an outburst about the club. Having seen his side beat Congolese TP Mazembe 3-0 to win the FIFA Club World Cup, Benitez launched into a tirade against the powers that be at the Italian club. The former Liverpool and Valencia boss accused his bosses of failing to support him in the transfer market and accused the players of taking their own decisions. But Moratti, who had been ambiguous in his support of Benitez leading up to the FIFA Club World Cup, said his coach had erred. Asked if Benitez's quotes had ruined the party, Moratti replied: "No, for the moment no. They weren't suitable for the situation but for the moment the Inter fan is happy." And pressed on the Spaniard's future, Moratti added: "I'm not going to talk about Benitez for the moment." However, the speculation in Italy is that Benitez's time is up and his attack on the Inter hierarchy may just have made their minds up. What was unprecedented is that Benitez had always towed the party line before yesterday's victory and had never spoken out against his bosses. "Now we will have a calmer period but to go forward we need total support, if we get that we can improve," said Benitez. "By support I mean first and foremost in the transfer market. I've spoken to Moratti and he knows what about. "I've always done my job, right from the beginning and I need to have control of the players and what they do. If I have this support, which you should always have and should be total, otherwise you're always blaming someone and the team doesn't improve." And Benitez suggested that if he didn't get that support, then he would even be prepared to walk away from the club. "I deserve respect. I've shouldered all the blows and all the responsabilities but in August the club promised me three players but no-one arrived," fumed Benitez. "Now there are three roads: either the club starts a project and buys four players right now in January or we continue like this with the coach who is the only person to blame or otherwise the president speaks to my agent and we find a solution. "Last year Moratti spent €80m on five players, all first choice, but this year with a new coach he's spent nothing. I don't know why, maybe there was something projected and then it didn't happen or to balance the books or for some other reason. After the summer I was 100 per cent disappointed with the transfer market." Players not cooperating Benitez also hit out at the players and suggested he did not control their training routines. "I want to know what the players are doing. These lads have done no gym work for two years and to compensate for this athletic work they go (to the gym without my knowing), and they hide problems and injuries." Benitez has been under fire this season after a series of poor results, exacerbated by the fact this same squad of players won the treble last season under Jose Mourinho. They dropped to seventh in Serie A last weekend while they were away on FIFA Club World Cup duty and they also failed to win their UEFA Champions League group, and the second round draw has left them with a challenging tie, pairing them with Bayern Munich. FIFA.com - Moratti slams Benitez insubordination

I don't think it does. Our next game is away to Blackpool. Lose that and Hodgson's gone.imo. Having said that there is a possibility that game could be called off too. If thats the case it may even hasten hodgson's departure. If the teams below us manage to play their games in our absence it will mean that by the time we play Wolves we could be right in the relegation mix, thus putting more pressure on Roy to get a result against Wolves. Which ever way you look at it, it doesn't look good for Roy.

Good posts lads. Not entirely sold on Deschamps but he's definitely got potential to be a top class manager.

I agree with him too. I think as fans and I include myself, we automatically assume that we can still attract the very best due to our name and our history. In some cases that is true. However, we have to be realistic especially given our current state. The top draw players will inevitably want to join teams who are competing in the CL or the top spots in their own league.

I agree with comments made by Tony Barrett on LFC Now when he said that even if we have money to spend in January, he doesn't believe we'll be able to attract the top tier players as we're not in the CL and it's unlikely we'll be there next season either. He said we'll need to pitch the level of players we're going to get. Sad but true.imo.

lol. I know how you feel mate. I initially decided not to read it because it looked too long, but having read peoples comments, I plucked up the courage and decided to have a read.

On Monday night, in a positive move, John W Henry and Tom Werner sat down at the club’s TV station to answer questions from fans on how they plan to run the club. Despite this bold decision, it may take a while for Liverpool’s new owners to speak the same language as the club’s fans. We may share English as a mother tongue, but there are cultural differences that may lead to a few misunderstandings along the way. Supporters must not see a lack of major action so far as a sign of satisfaction or complacency. The majority of fans (if polls are anything to go by) may have valid reasons for wanting Roy Hodgson replaced, some of which I will list; but crucially – and the point of this piece – is that the owners may have valid reasons for biding their time. NESV understand the balance between listening to fans and not bowing to their every whim. In some cases, I’ve seen fans turning their anger about Hodgson on the new owners, and that’s not right. ‘Internet terrorism’ – a phrase coined by Tom Hicks in relation to the justifiable online revolt that ended with NESV in control – was a great way to get rid of the Reds’ former owners. But it’s not the appropriate way to get rid of Roy Hodgson. (Whereas that was an organised protest, with lofty aims, this is more like the standard, random internet ranting – but perhaps a selection of fans think that they can influence everything at the club, now that a precedent of supporter power has been set.) John Henry is only too aware of fans’ feelings on the manager, having been inundated with suggestions as to what to do with him on Twitter, even before the phone-in. You only have to search Henry’s timeline to see calm but negative opinion mixed with rabid ranting aimed at his account. If people want to make their feelings known about the manager, then that’s fair enough; that’s the right of being a supporter. But as with anything on the internet, it can often go too far. (Having said that, the minutes immediately after bad result can lead to saying some daft things, and I’m not exempt here. While on the subject of Twitter, for the record – as I keep getting asked – John Henry unfollowed me because he only followed me originally in order to get in touch, after I ignored his message on Facebook for days, assuming it to be fake. I had also pointed out to him that I was being inundated with messages imploring me to make sure he was aware of those individuals’ feelings, and I felt like a rather overwhelmed piggy in the middle.) Criticism My criticisms of Roy Hodgson are well known. I feel less unhappy with him now than I did a couple of months ago, when not only were performances and results consistently awful, he just did not cut the figure of a Liverpool manager, with some bizarre press conferences and an apparently defeatist attitude. At one point I could not believe what I was seeing and hearing. Back then I wanted him gone immediately, because, like the captain of a ship shooting himself in the foot, he was simultaneously putting holes through the hull of the vessel. But things improved, albeit not yet to an acceptable level. And with every shoot of green comes the spray of weed-killer. (See this Anfield Road article, which shows that, contrary to Hodgson’s view that only Arsenal and perhaps Manchester United have a better record in the past six games, the Reds sit 11th in the form table.) The latest setback was seeing a Liverpool side with nothing to lose (but hearts and minds to win) fail to go and hunt their Dutch opponents, who seemed intent on keeping the ball at the back. Hodgson complained about the way Utrecht kept the ball, as if it was almost unsporting; well, if you manage Liverpool and you send out a side (including four of your own signings) that fails to even try and win the ball back from their defence because it doesn’t fit the ‘keep shape at all times’ ethic, then you will struggle to find any sympathy amongst fans; even those who got in for free. Unfortunately, while league results have picked up slightly for the Reds to the point where we now sit mid-table rather than in the bottom three, other teams have also improved, and the top four have been pulling away; it’s now a 9-point gap to 4th place, and even Liverpool at their very best will struggle to whittle that down with a fraction over half the season left; especially as Spurs are better placed to capitalise on any slips. (Having said that, the Reds’ next eight fixtures look ‘relatively’ easy on paper; then again, so did a trip to face Newcastle in chaos, and missing their two first-choice centre-backs, and the home game with Blackpool.) My sense is that the season will peter out with Liverpool well adrift of the top four, but in no real danger of befalling the most shocking relegation since Manchester United’s in the early ‘70s. Even changing managers isn’t likely to get Liverpool into the top four after the start the Reds have had. I need a hell of a lot of convincing that Hodgson can take the club forward in the long-term, but while I can see the pros of sacking him now (such as the chance for a new man to bed in ahead of next season), I also see the pros of keeping him until at least the summer. NESV are fully aware of the perils of sacking managers; despite what people think, you can always make things worse. I don’t think we should criticise them for not rushing to make changes, because above all else they must be certain of finding the right replacement (and while some bosses could be lured out of their current jobs, there’s likely to be greater choice in the summer). No doubt they want to avoid the trap of becoming a hire-’em-fire-’em club; otherwise, when you get the next man in, if he has a fallow period, the same calls will arise. They must also want to fully assess the man they’re currently employing, and what percentage of the blame lies with him and what percentage with the players. But something happened this summer that is putting extra pressure on NESV. Credibility and Precedents A big problem in terms of Hodgson’s perceived job security relates to what is or is not now acceptable for Liverpool, given that a precedent was set by former executives in the dismissal of Rafa Benítez. As soon as a manager stops meeting that minimum target, fans – and not just the previous manager’s supporters – will say “but that is now the ‘firing’ line”. We can’t easily get away from that perception. If you sack a manager who, since 2002, has won two La Liga titles, a European Cup, a Uefa Cup and an FA Cup, and who just 12 months before his dismissal had overseen the best title challenge by the Reds in 19 years, on account of finishing a disappointing 7th with 1.66 points per game, what do you do when the current incumbent – who, despite some achievements in the game, has no such major successes to fall back on – is performing more poorly, with the side lower in the table and winning points a rate of just 1.29 per game? (For the record, Graeme Souness – the last sole manager to be replaced mid-season – left at a time when the Reds had 37 points from 24 games, or 1.54 per game. Of course, that was in his third uninspiring season, and embarrassing cup failures also played a part. Equally, that was at a time when everyone felt Liverpool should be winning the title, because the club had won so many so recently, which made the 8th position in which they sat in January 1994 seem all the worse. What Souness’ tenure shows, though, is that if you give the wrong manager time, it won’t get any better.) But of course, the new owners did not sack Benítez. And in fairness to the new manager, for all his own shortcomings and errors, he did inherit an imperfect situation, due to the overall sense of chaos created by Gillett and Hicks. He can’t carry the can for everything, even if he is too quick to shift blame elsewhere when things go wrong. The current owners cannot be blamed for the decision – made before they arrived – to give the job to a man who has a career-high of just 63 points in a season (when adjusting to three points for a win), a full nine lower than the Liverpool average of the man he has replaced. In fairness to Hodgson, all but one of his best seasons involved only 22 or 26 games (the other successful one was 33 games with Copenhagen in 2001 – his last collection of silverware), and therefore the amount of points he could win was limited; extrapolate to 38 games and in his 35-year career he can boast seven seasons that exceed 72 points. But a 22 or 26 game season (which involves no real stamina issues) doesn’t really translate to the demands of the English league. Bar that one year with Copenhagen, all of these good seasons pre-date 1989, and all were in Scandinavia. So when Hodgson speaks of his record, then for all its relative merits, it remains hard to find reassuring evidence that he is cut out for this particular job. He is a good manager. He is not an idiot. It’s just that there’s little proof that he is suited to Liverpool, and the different kind of approach that’s needed, and pressure that’s experienced. Whatever the problems he has faced, he was brought in to improve things after a disappointing campaign, not make them worse; and if the squad wasn’t perfect, his own summer transfer work added to the problems by recruiting poorly – Meireles aside (and Cole, possibly, in theory at least) – and releasing good players who, until they were made to feel unwelcome, had wanted to stay. He has also had the benefit of those awful owners having slung their hooks, taking their pollution with them, to finally leave some clean air. An instant fix was unrealistic, but as the main problem last year was the away record (just a year after the club’s best-ever on the road), then appointing a man with a universally poor away record doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s gone from bad to worse, for both him and Liverpool FC. Although it shows a wealth of experience, his CV just doesn’t inspire confidence; there’s a lack of credibility in terms of highest-level credentials. Liverpool have players who have won the World Cup, European Championship, Champions League and FA Cup during their time at the club, and others, like Joe Cole and Glen Johnson, who won the Premier League and other trophies before arriving. By comparison, Hodgson – for all his successful work in less-pressurised environments – looks under-qualified for a role such as this. To make matters worse, Manchester United look poised to win their 19th title, and that will only make Liverpool fans increasingly scatty. Now, if United do achieve that it’s not Hodgson’s fault – the pattern of their ascent and our decline dates back to Souness’ watch, the last time when the clubs were on an equal financial footing – but it will only add to the dissatisfaction over a man seen as unlikely to even challenge Ferguson, let alone stop him, either now or in the future. Liverpool fans can’t even cling to a progressive style of football as their mental life raft. It’s also interesting to note (as well as adding to the sense amongst fans that Hodgson has to go) that Newcastle and Blackburn both sacked their managers in the past week-or-so based on similar performance levels to Liverpool; and in terms of their expectations, expenditure and the overall quality of players in their ranks, far better performance, relatively speaking. This baffles some Liverpool fans; if clubs relegated in the past few years, and who now have inexpensive squads, can sack a manager when mid-table (their realistic position?), why can’t Liverpool, when far below their ‘rightful’ place? But if we have to start using Mike Ashley and some chicken farmers as the yardstick we’re in trouble. As I’ve noted in recent months, the style issue is much more problematic, but I won’t go over that ground too much here. What I will say is that Owen Coyle has quickly changed Bolton’s style from one similar to Hodgson under Gary Megson to a far more positive, attractive and successful approach. It also shows how the same players – in that case, a very modest collection – quickly responded very differently to a new stimulus. (And so potentially pours scorn on Hodgson’s notion that no other manager could get better results with this group of players. If all managers achieve exactly the same thing, then why even have them?) Of course, there will also be examples of changing managers only leading to worse results and performances; indeed, you could cite Hodgson as an example. Chelsea are also struggling by their standards, and yet they have a proven world-class manager. Sometimes, for all our efforts, football doesn’t make a lot of sense. Act in Haste, Repent at Leisure I guess the point of this piece is to show both sides of the argument: how many fans are feeling, after another testing week of lacklustre football, but also how the new owners cannot just quickly cave in to pressure. With a Director of Football and the cultural differences in the way American sports teams are organised, it may be that the owners see the manager in slightly less vital terms than we’re used to. Damien Comolli’s role dilutes a manager’s traditionally all-powerful influence on transfers, even if Hodgson or any successor retains a say, and it seems that Peter Brukner is affecting team selections by insisting (sensibly, in this case) that Torres and Reina not be risked in a dead rubber against Utrecht. But the mentality of the team comes from the manager, and his instructions to his charges. For all the expert organisation off the field, managers are still largely responsible for results because of their direct influence over the players and how they approach the game. They pick the XI, select the tactics and administer the team talks. They are at the coal face. Long-term vision from the owners is vital, but unhelpful short-term performance can delay the process. Based on performances and results, fans are right to be unhappy. And although painted into a corner, John Henry was also right to describe results as “unacceptable” live on LFC TV. But personally speaking, I’m happy to let NESV take the time to get it right. After all, it’s not in their interests to let things remain at an unacceptable level for too long, is it? Bridging The Divide: Fans and Owners | The Tomkins Times | Paul Tomkins' blog about Liverpool Football Club (LFC) Spot on by Tomkins. Good read even though it's a bit long. ;)

Xabi Alonso tweeted the following: Well done Reds!! Good to be back at Anfield... Freezing night in Liverpool. He's following John Henry too.

Mr henry has just tweeted: John_W_Henry John W. Henry 100 clean sheets. A terrific accomplishment. And a great effort by everyone tonight to keep moving up the table.

I agree. He is no better than what we've already got.imo. I look at players like Michael Ngoo and think to myself why waste 10m on Wickham when we have a player with similar physical characteristics as Wickham. Even when fit he's hardly been a regular at Ipswich and not set the Championship alight. At least with Rooney he was doing his stuff at the same age against top quality premiership players. You could see the talent right there. I can't help but feel the media are jumping on the bandwagon due to Wickham physical presence. Technically, there is still alot of work to do. I also think his finishing is pretty average

He's got the height and strength but comparisons to Rooney by the media are silly. He is nowhere near as good as Rooney was at the same age. It's typical of the media in this country. They hype up our own due to their physical presence at a young age more than their actual ability.

He is mate and he's probably been their best player this season. His range of passing is brilliant.

I was thinking that to mate. The fact that he knows him makes me believe that he's worked with him before.

Tell me why it's an excuse. Are you saying I am making this up. Check for yourself. No manager in the world cope with this amount injuries.

Thanks mate. You're got to question whether it is down to the training methods. Maybe the players are finding it difficult to get used but may flourish in the second part of the season which Rafa teams are known to do.