ottawa_lfc

Yes, I love those man-eating mountains

Ottawa has the most amazing series of festivals all summer. Best is the BluesFest - spread out over a month, 5-6 concerts in the parks and streets every night, fucking awesome it is. Doesn't make you forget winter though. Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest - Welcome

Do you think he was wrong to get into a slagging match with Allardyce? Jabba would never have started with Shanks because Shanks was British. And Jabba would have been about 11 when Shanks was managing, and so quite rightly have had his botty smacked. I seem to remember Dalglish getting into a slagging match with Ferguson.

Best striker in the league has played about a third/half of the games this season; gets himself injured playing for his country. Nando is a fucking god - but he should have buried one of those two chances today -- if not both of them. The most complete player in the world? Who's this, Lucas? Because he has been more of a contributor this season than Gerrard has. I think Gerrard is a superb player, but he has been way off form this season. Court case? World Cup? Whatever it is, it hasn't been happening in a Liverpool shirt. The best defensive midfielder? Mascherano? Have you watched him this season? Very hot and cold. More often cold than hot. The best keeper. Absolutely. No doubt about it. The best player at the club for my money. The best right back? Johnson is sometimes a poor defender - he got beaten inside and out today by Nani... by fucking Nani. Going forward he contributes a lot, but defensively he has been poor. He's been injured, so maybe that is the problem. All of these are Rafa signings (except for Gerrard) - and when it clicks, all of them are world class. But it hasn't been clicking. And there are a huge number of contributing factors for this; NOT just Benitez. Yes, he has fucked up in some selections. Yes, his tactics are negative too often. But he didn't make Gerrard hang out with his England buddies and miss treatment at Anfield; he didn't make Torres go to play for Spain when injured; he wasn't reponsible for JOhnson's injury. This has been an abomination of a season--from the moment we lost at Spurs because Carra and Skrtel made a basic fuck up, to today. I doubt if we'll make 4th - and I doubt if we'll win the Europa League. But I still rate Benitez, I really do. I'm still in his camp - I've not forgotten last season or the progress we'd made until this season started. It's a blip. It happened to Shanks, it happened to Paisley, it's pretty much happened to everyone. You don't go from being a fucking brilliant manager to a fucking shite one in a single season. Ant: either grow a pair or change your user name.

Got this from a Manc friend. It's not the usual bile - an interesting read. Certainly gives a different perspective on things. the andersred blog “We are ownership neutral” – Is this Liverpool’s 2005 moment? Monday, 15 March 2010 The quote in the title of this post is something repeated several times (with some perverse pride) by Dan Johnson, the Premier League Head of Communications at the BBC’s “Football in the Red” debate in Manchester two weeks ago. His statement was met with derision by the audience because it summed up the football authorities’ blasé approach to one of the key problems in the national sport. I may have lost my temper with him and accused him of ludicrous complacency. I do have some sympathy for Dan (who I can only imagine was desperate for a challenge when he accepted the role), after all the man has to clean up after Richard “£866,000 and no clouds in the sky” Scudamore. Dan tried to fob the BBC audience off with the Premier League’s souped up “Fit and Proper Person Test” and the laughable new “early warning system” (relying on auditors to spot problems, just like they did so brilliantly at Enron, Lehman Brothers or Portsmouth FC). The Premier League can tinker with processes and procedures, but the overall philosophy hasn’t changed, if it’s legal the Premier League are in favour of it, if Pompey have four owners in 12 months, that’s fine. This weekend, news has emerged that a private equity firm, Rhone Group has offered to invest £110-120m (reports differ) in Liverpool FC in exchange for a 40% stake. The club’s current owners, Hicks and Gillett would have to accept this 40% dilution, but with the deadline for their Kop Football (Holdings) Ltd acquisition vehicle to reduce its debt rapidly approaching, not accepting such an offer could lead to the owners forfeiting their shares in the club. The financial structure at Liverpool is not dissimilar to that at United, with over-stretched owners desperate to solve a debt crisis that was entirely of their own making. Neither club has gained anything from the leveraged buyouts that were used to acquire them. In United’s case, the main consequence has been the pricing out of traditional supporters, whilst at Liverpool Hicks and Gillett’s stewardship has further delayed the building of a new stadium that everyone agrees is needed. Although (according to figures from Transfer League) Benitez’s net transfer spending since he took over at Liverpool is actually £1m higher than Sir Alex Ferguson’s over the same period (and that is ignoring the proceeds from the sale of Ronaldo destined for the PIKs), the amount of revenue generated from matches at Anfield is far too small vs. other comparable clubs. Hicks and Gillett haven’t produced accounts for last season yet, but looking at the 2007/08 numbers, Liverpool only generated revenue of £1.3m per home game vs. £2.3m at Chelsea (who have other sources of cash of course) and more than £3m per game at Old Trafford and the Emirates (these other clubs’ figures are for 2008/09). Club Arsenal Liverpool Chelsea United Last season reported 08/09 07/08 08/09 08/09 Competitive home games 32 30 28 30 Capacity 60,355 45,362 42,055 76,500 Average attendance 59,453 42,940 41,488 74,371 Average attendance/capacity 98.5% 94.7% 98.7% 97.2% Revenue per game (£m) 3.1 1.3 2.3 3.6 Revenue per available seat/game (£) 52 29 55 47 Revenue per occupied seat/game (£) 53 30 56 49 The reporting in the weekend papers suggests that Rhone Group would pay down Kop Football (Holdings) Ltd’s debt with its equity injection. This would greatly improve the chances of raising capital for a new ground. So far, so altruistic (“Scouse Knights” perhaps?). But of course the arrival of a business like Rhone Group on the scene marks a new, sad twist in the pawning of the English game. The Glazers made a half-hearted and wholly unconvincing attempt to paint themselves (or at least Joel) as United fans. Hicks and Gillett launched their takeover talking of their intention to be “custodians” of the club which they would hold as a “family asset”. Whilst many Liverpool supporters had been hoping Dubai International Capital would acquire the club, the acquisition by Hicks and Gillett was initially generally viewed positively by fans and it took eleven months before organised supporter opposition began in earnest. Rhone Group will not of course claim to be staffed entirely by Liverpool supporters, they are transparently in it for the money. For many Liverpool supporters, the temptation may well be to welcome any new owners, especially one who could pay down almost half the club and parent company’s debts. I think welcoming such attention would be a terrible mistake, private equity firms can’t spell altruism let alone practice it. Look again at the table of matchday income above again. Liverpool bring in around £30 per occupied seat per game. The two London clubs bring in more than £50. United is now far closer to Arsenal than its traditional north western rivals. In 2004/05, the last year of the plc, the equivalent number for United was £33, revenue per seat has risen 45% since the takeover, a small amount of the change is “mix” (relatively more corporate facilities when the quadrants opened) but the vast majority of the change is from higher ticket prices. Rhone Group (and no doubt other similar organisations) see the opportunity to get into Liverpool at an enterprise value of just over £400m. They no doubt see a famous club with a global brand, charging ticket prices 30% below those at United. They see desperate current owners. They smell a money making opportunity. For the Premier League, a deal along the lines Rhone Group are proposing will no doubt be seen as a triumph. At least £100m can be knocked off the Premier League’s debt total, a shiny new stadium may well appear, the appeal of the league to global capital will be confirmed. Best. League. In. The. World. Fact. As Dan from the Premier League said, they are “ownership neutral”, they care nothing for the motivation of people who buy into our top clubs, they care nothing about the consequences that flow from allowing financial buyers to acquire clubs, and if in five years time aggressive pricing policies have stopped thousands of Liverpool FC’s traditional, working class support from being able to see their club, well, that’s business...... Of course next weekend we play Liverpool at Old Trafford, just over 100 years after we first played them there. I understand how controversial the idea is of United and Liverpool supporters coming together in some way to protest at what has been done to our clubs, but I’d ask people to think who the real enemy are before dismissing all such ideas out of hand.

This and the Torres rumours today in the Guardian... you'd think we were playing the Mancs on Sunday

Very good post. But his role is to try and lift morale. It's the official site, the official spin. He gets on my fucking tits at times, but not as much as some people on here :whistle: The truth is we are in a fucking mess. And as you say, it has started at the top and worked its way down. I'm not sure whether sacking Benitez will do any good - any more than selling Gerrard, buying Messi or having a more balanced critique of things on the offal site. I can't see a way out of it. Part of me thinks 'let's get this season over with and see how the dust settles' - another part thinks it is going to get much, much worse.

top class comment

Two words: Doggy position

No, I'm not English, I'm a scouser. It's a generalisation, as I said.

I think what I meant to say was his attitude is not typically American. They just don't seem to have the petty grudges and hatreds over sports that we do. In that, I meant that Cohen is very English. He's probably trying to be even more English by being outrageous. He's an absolute arsehole. But as I said (or meant to), it's a generalisation. Having said that, there isn't much I don't blame England for :whistle:

I used to work in the State - and Kirklands too (in the 80s). There was this club upstairs from Kirklands whose name I've completely forgotten. It was full of Jamaicans and some very, very tasty women. I used to help out after the Kirklands shifts; first thing they told you was to pull the shutters down on the bar if you saw a knife. Never did mind, but still remember how much I was shitting myself the first few times I was in there

the tags are brilliant by the way...

yes - and it's a strategy for developing the grassroots of the game. Anyway, I don't want this to distract from what an utter, UTTER cunt Cohen is - but he has nothing to do with the States - his particular brand of bigotry is most definitely Made in England. The NY fan club is doing some great work on this. Pity there is no Canadian equivalent worthy of the name.

He also has made no mention about that little cunt Fabregas' challenge from behind in the last seconds of the game. He'd just been fouled about 20 seconds area, and dived in on a Stoke player from behind as he was coming out of his own penalty area. Not a mention of it in the press, nothing. It was a definite yellow (and a possible red) card. I honestly have an irrational hatred for Fabregas - he's a slimy cheating twat. The other thing about this that pissed me off was the huddle at the end. They were fucking celebrating for god's sake. Theo Walcott was jumoing up and down like he'd won the world cup. They were dancing away - not a thought for their own team mate.

As an analogy, how many Liverpool fans still buy the S*n and Sunday S*n? You'd think, with this world wide web thingy, the message would have got across, no? It's because people do what is easiest. I read the Guardian and Independent on line (cos I'm a pseudo-intellectual) - but most English expats over here don't. They watch the tv (where we get pro-Manchester United Setanta or Fox idiots) or go to their club's forums. If you aren't into English "footy culture", it is harder than you would think to get educated about things. The newspapers have nothing in them, there is nothing on the radio, and only the abovementioned stuff on tv. It's not easy. Well, it is, but it's not as easy as you might think.

What a load of bollocks. How much do you know about American soccer? How many levels are there? Who's USL champions? Why do loads of English kids go to US colleges on scholarships? What's the amateur scene like? Most English fans are completely ignorant of North American football - and there is no reason it should be any different. The Premier League and Champions League get a load of air time here - and as a result, people watch what they are shown and listen to what they are told. The more there are comments like "Americans football fans, on the whole are thick as pigshit" and "Americans know fuck all about football" - the more it reinforces the view that football fans in Europe are, on the whole, xenophobic thugs, living in a myopic insular universe. Despite the best recent efforts of tv in North America, people here (and in the States) still hold onto the notion that Europeans know more about the game; therefore, Europeans are asked to provide "expert analysis" that is passed off as such. When scum like Cohen speak, it is therefore in the role of an expert. And people believe it. It's exactly the same in Europe FFS. How many people believe what Tom Cannon says about football finance? Shitloads, that's how many - and that's because he is asked his opinions in the role of an expert. What I would say about 'soccer' here is that people love the game more than they love a particular club. That is obviously a broad generalisation - but it's not unusual to find people that support us, ManU and Arsenal. The game is flourishing in the States (it's still crap in Canada, mind) - and they have excellent coaching and great facilities. With a bit of luck, they'll thrash England in South Africa.

I thought that was a great goal!

and if they used your real name?

So, I take it if someone writes "Code 72 is a cunt" on every thread, you'll be fine with it?

Amazing what having a top class 20M striker instead of a 1.5M near freeby can do!

torressssssssssssssss

Zenden light

I'm in

me too