macca1979

I was confident before the game, and I think you've got to be as a player otherwise you'll get slaughtered at places like Old Trafford. The one thing I don't think anyone counted on was Masch getting sent off. I thought he could possibly win us the game if he kept his head. He's a quality player and will be for years to come hopfully, but anyone who believes he was harshly treated should look again at the opening 35 mintes and count how many times he confronts the ref, swearing or not. He's given the ref the perfect opportunity to show him a red, and more importantly, he's let down the fans.

Exactly Hamstrung. Reeling off statistics is very easy, but football is played on the pitch. Seriously, I reckon if you looked hard enough you could prove any point with stats. But it doesn't tell you about the games themselves, how we played etc. Rafa's record is good enough (just about IMO) to get this and next season. This summer is fucking vital though. No more 7 or 8 million players, lots off big money

What good does it do to compare Houllier to Benitez? I reckon they're very similar managers, both created very hard teams to beat first, then tried (In Benitez's case - trying) to create a goal scoring team second. It's what a lot of pundits say is the right way round by the way. Either way, it's pointless comparing them, what do you or anyone else get out of it? I reckon Benitez deserves another season at least. We're not as far away as some people think IMO. A lot of games this season we would have won given better finishing all round.

It's a sad day when you start to doubt someone who you were so sure about.

I'm not saying it just to go against the grain mate. I'm genuinely terrified that Hicks is a stubborn prick who doesn't want to be seen to be hounded out of the club. And however much he's to blame for all this, which is 100%, he wont listen to anything other than money, and lots of it. Not a few extra million he'll make by selling now.

I have a bad feeling that Hicks is going to dig his heels in. Gillett just seems to be a non-event in all this, it's Hick's making most of the noise. The thing is, if Rafa and Hicks both stand firm, who blinks first? The Yanks are in it to make money, nothing else, money. And not just a few more million each by selling now, they're going to stick around till there's a lot more money in their pockets I reckon. G and H are going to be here for a while longer.

If it is true, and the takeover happens, what assurances are there that they will want Rafa as the manager?

I would love to see how Manure would do if they couldnt spend more than 10m on a star player and 6 m for the rest that would be no Rooney Anderson Nani Carrick Hardgreaves Ferdinand Ronaldo Tevez The Man has done wonders with what he has had. Forget about 100m plus that they like to spout he has worked with around 20m a year and had to turn over a club from top to bottom without dropping out the top 4 with that money. These are the facts! He's has nowhere near enough money to play catch up. We scrape around for deals on decent players, but not players who will move us on.

If these two pricks are at the helm of our club for much longer, I fear the absolute worst. They claimed to understand traditions, they claimed to be ready to support us. And in reality, they've done fuck all. Rafa must be dying to win just to throw it down their throats. And Charlie Nicholas' throat too. Cunt.

Just read this in The Observer, don't know if someone has already posted it? Liverpool FC could change hands for the second time in a year as their American owners encounter difficulties in refinancing £350million of debt incurred in taking over and running the club. Beset by the steeply rising costs of a new stadium and manager Rafa Benitez's demands for new players, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr have been attempting to transfer the debt, for which they are personally liable, on to the club itself. City sources believe this is an extremely difficult task to complete before the loan's due date at the end of February. Article continues -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is possible that the Americans will meet the deadline, but if not an Arab investment group, Dubai International Capital, is understood to be close to lodging an offer to buy out the American pair, probably for about £500m. Takeover discussions are thought to be due before the end of this month. If successful, DIC, led by Liverpool supporter Sameer Al Ansari, would invest heavily in two areas: the new stadium that Liverpool need if they are to compete with Arsenal and Manchester United for matchday revenue, and an improved playing squad. Were they also to acquire a new management team Jose Mourinho, who is known to be interested in managing Liverpool, would be a prime candidate. DIC were extremely close to buying Liverpool last February, only to lose out to Hicks and Gillett when the club's chief executive, Rick Parry, switched his support from the Arab camp to the American. The latter paid £174.1m for a 100 per cent shareholding, also agreeing to take on the club's then debt of £44.8m. The purchase, however, was funded solely with borrowed money, Hicks and Gillett's loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland swelling to £350m as it was used to fund several high-profile summer transfers, development work and architect's plans for a 60,000-seat stadium in Stanley Park, and to roll up the interest on the debt. The RBS loan is due for repayment next month. The Observer understands that attempts to restructure it have so far failed and the Americans have yet to inject new equity into the refinancing. While RBS have asked Hicks and Gillett to each commit £20m of their own cash to the deal, City sources believe that at least one of the pair is not prepared to do so. Hicks and Gillett declined to comment last night. Meanwhile, work on 'New Anfield' has been held up by the impasse over the acquisition loan, with no chance of funding being put in place for the £400m stadium project until the issue is resolved. A meeting in New York last week at which architects HKS and AFL presented competing stadium designs, was described by Parry merely as 'another big step forward to finding the best possible solution. Everyone is reflecting on what they have heard and a clear decision will be taken soon'. The global credit crunch has made it harder for Hicks and Gillett to raise new revenues elsewhere and also affected the value of their other assets. Should they fail in their efforts to repay the £350m acquisition debt on Liverpool when it comes due in just over six weeks, there would be the possibility of the next owner of the club becoming RBS. The bank, however, are extremelyunlikely to allow the situation to develop that way. Nor are Parry and club honorary life-president David Moores, the former principal shareholder. Parry and Moores are horrified that the Hicks-Gillett deal has not thus far brought long-term financial stability to the club. As a consequence, there are increasing tensions between the Americans and other board members as the refinancing deadline approaches. Parry and Moores are understood to be open to a second takeover. Sources in the Middle East have confirmed that DIC remain as keenly interested in buying Liverpool as they were one year ago. DIC last night refused to comment on the matter, but they appear best placed to resolve the financial problems affecting the club's competitiveness in the Premier League. A mooted valuation of £1billion has been ridiculed, but an enterprise value of around half that figure might prove acceptable, allowing the Americans to exit with a profit of £75m each. Very interesting.

I want anybody who: 1.) Understands what our club is all about. 2.) Backs our manager. 3.) Has the money to do what we need with players and the stadium. And importantly stays out of the public eye and away from press when doing these things.

Rafa knew of him already though, I don't think the scouts can take the credit there.

Voronin quite simply is not good enough to play at an acceptable level for our club. He's was a free transfer when we were skint so I assume the pickings were limited anyway. Our scouts? I don't know, when was the last time we signed a player for a reasonable fee that no-one had a great knowledge of, and he turned out to be a decent player? Hyypia?

The way the 'man' carries himself is my biggest problem. He does not deserve to manage Liverpool. Sadly though, I don't think the Americans would care.

I've been so disappointed at some results this season and have racked my brains trying to decide where the problem lies. It seems clear to me that there are 3 main factors here - the players, the manager, and I think now you'd have to put the owners into the pot as well. The players - Obviously we've got some outstanding talent (the usual names spring to mind). The rest of our squad are simply not good enough to get a run of wins together that would give us the lift we need. They are certainly capable of producing great performances in games, but the consistency from many of them simply isn't there. And then we have the few players who just are not up to stratch. For me, this would include Voronin, Kuyt (sadly), Riise, and I'd have to say Kewell is floating near this group too. The only way this is going to change is if our owners put their hands in their pockets and back Rafa all the way in the market. The manager - Now this is tough because, and I think most people agree who support Liverpool, he's a great person to have at the club. He's won us 2 trophies and the Super Cup, and took us to 2 other finals. He's had us 3rd in the league for the last 2 years. He has undoubtedly won us games on a number of occasions with his tactical knowledge and changes. However, some decisions are now questionable, and people are now looking at every single decision he makes and scrutinising it to the maximum. I feel sorry for him at the moment and am desperate for him to be the man to bring the title back again. The owners - For me this one is easy. They screwed us with their promises. They borrowed the money to but the club - no money spent. They used last seasons money won (Champions league run, players sold) to buy players - no money spent. They can't afford the ground - no money spent. These boys need to start spending and I'm afraid spending big. We can't expect to catch teams who are already streets ahead of us by spending less than them. Wondered what everyones opinions were?