coachpotato

We're damned if we do finish 5th (or worse) and damned if we don't really. Top 4 means Twit & Twat will hang around and continue to let things slip until we do finish 5th or worse. 5th or worse means they'll either throw money at the problem (can't see that somehow) which'll be a mega dangerous gamble a la Leeds. Or they won't throw money at it, which means we'll have to settle for mid table mediocrity and the Europa League until someone takes the club off the pair of greedy gets and tries to get it back up into the "elite". Either way there's likely to be massive upheaval in the playing squad and management team. The only way out of things is for RBS/Wachovia to bomb them out and offer us to the highest bidder or for them to find some mug willing to let them both ride off into the sunset with their £100M profit each. Sadly, the future is that you'll finish as high as your financial position allows. Never a dull moment is there?

Steven Kelly was the editor of TTWAR. Unless it was another Steven Kelly.

Talksport? Do they really?

I think many journo's, and especially those who enjoy favouritism from down the east lancs, have really had it in for Benitez since his criticism of Ferguson last year. Not many teams are setting the world alight (except maybe for Chelsea) but our loss of form and injury situation has proven to be a godsend to them, to paraphrase, Good News is no News, especially where LFC is concerned. There are too many sounding like callers to 606 at the moment though, the title might well have gone and I can understand the disappointment after last season's performance, but when the rest of the football world is going for our Manager then it's time for us to put our feelings to one side. I can take criticism of our manager from us, he made wrong decisions on Saturday for instance, but outsiders can do one.

Cancel that, the links been moved!!

Lad's a Boro fan apparently.

Is correct. I don't like the idea of discussing replacements for Benitez, even though he has me shaking my head at times with some of his tactics and substitutions, because he deserves 100% backing from us for what he's done for us and what he's had to put up with since he joined us. If anyone saw Carra's "60 minutes with..." on LFCTV then his answer to the question "Ferguson or Mourinho?" might give an insight about the coated one. He said Ferguson.

Owen is an irrelevance compared to the more important issues at stake. Primarily there's the need to get behind the team, which at this moment is probably at it's lowest ebb, confidence wise, since Rafa came here. Secondly, if Dumb and Dummer are at the game they need to be told, again, they're not welcome. Any concentration on Owen will detract from those two goals and give the media the chance to criticise us and not the Yanks.

Enough. Please. I'm going into a darkened room after tonight's game and all this investment double speak. My head is cabbaged.

The manager can't be blamed for poor communication when, for instance, Insua goes 2 yards further back than the other 3 of the back 4 and therefore allows Jovavic (?) a free run on goal. Or when simple control of a ball is too much for one of our players and the ball runs away to the opposition and they start another attack, as happened too many times. Similarly, when a player gets a free header 6 yards out and puts the ball over. Benitez can't do much about that during a game, and no doubt he'll let the players know about it after. It was a bad performance tonight, we have them occasionally, the real test is how well and quickly we get over it and Chelsea on Sunday would be a good start.

We are crap at corners full stop. Either defending them or attacking them (and i'm not trying to start another zonal marking argument!). Why everyone has to come back into our penalty area to defend opponents corners and yet we don't have all of our best headers of the ball (i.e. Gerrard) in the area when attacking corners is just plain daft. Don't know the stats for our success at corners but i'd say at a guess we're pretty low down on any list.

I feel uneasy of anyone Waldorf or Statdler might approve of. It's just how it's got me now. And yet for us to move on from these two, they've got to agree with someone to sell the Club and therefore give their approval. Catch 22?

Arguably the most influential single character in the history of the Club. Maybe not even arguably. Always there.

"....between £200 and £350 million pounds...." what sort of exchange rate are they using there? I mean, you'd think the figures would be a bit more, shall we say, exact? If it's a serious bid.

Sounds like he's a bluenose to me.

About fucking time too.

As the saying goes, "Keep your friends close........"

Agree about Kyrgiakos, I quite like Davies, even though he's a pain in the arse to us, but SK handled him relatively well yesterday from what I saw, he's strong in the air and could be a threat for us from corners (a la Sami), it is one game though, so we'll have to give it time I suppose to see how he copes against teams better than Bolton.

Can't argue with most of that, the comment about Torres looking tired will be said every time he has an off day or until we sign a second, top class, striker which is something I think most Reds have recognised since the start of last season. We now have full backs who push on and we'll run the risk of being caught out every time we concede possession, especially as our centre backs aren't naturally quick players and we can't expect Masch to cover all the time. Perhaps playing 3-5-2 in some matches could help that particular problem out? I hope we do continue attacking though, as long as we turn those draws into more wins than defeats we'll be challenging. I'll be disappointed if we don't sign someone to help Torres out before the transfer window shuts.

Certainly says all the right things. Hope he can walk the walk........

Wenger alluded earlier in the week to the possibility of a European League being formed, something i've felt will happen for some time now, and I believe these two charlatans are hanging on until that happens because if/when it does the money floating around will be astronomical. The problem is, the way they are steadily screwing the club up, we might not be in a position to be in any European League. I know it's frustrating having these two in charge due to bare faced lies being fed to us all from day 1, but I fear that we'll have to put up with them for some time now, unless they are seriously hurt, financially, somehow and have to sell up. Unfortunately I don't see that happening and as the economic situation globally recovers, so will their grip on the club. Sorry if that sounds defeatist, but it really is going to take someone to come out of left field and buy us out if they are to go.

I don't think it's just Dowd, most referees probably wouldn't award a second pen to the away team with the scoreline as it was. I spoke to a pro ref several years ago and their unofficial general rule of thumb is first 10 minutes and last 10 minutes give 50/50's to the away team, rest of the time the home team gets them, and never award a second pen to the away team unless it won't make any difference to the scoreline. Although it shouldn't make any difference in theory, referees don't like to rock the boat and so they apply "common sense" when it comes to some decisions. Dowd was never going to give us that pen in a million years, no matter how much it was nailed on, which was why Sammy Lee got walked. And we were shite.

There's still a couple of weeks for all teams to further strengthen existing squads, but based on now, i'd say we have as good a chance as Chelsea of winning the League. ManU will have to go some to replace Ronaldo and Tevez's goals. Arsenal have some great players but are still suspect at the back. Traditionally someone comes out of the pack and challenges on odd years, but as money has taken over as the defining factor, only City might force their way in. The great unknowns are Injuries and Luck, whoever has the least of the former and most of the latter between us and Chelsea will win the League.

MUFC = LFC without the trophies (just!), wit or the class,(in other words they play in Red too). MCFC = EFC with money.

Sometimes you can tell whether a player might be the real deal by looking at basic things in their game. Can they head a ball? How do they control a ball? etc. Babel has the potential (that word again) to be a beast of a player, but I don't think that it's his attitude that's the problem, that he can or can't be arsed. He isn't brave. Babel hardly ever wins headers despite being over 6ft tall and a physical presence. He's like the Lion in the Wizard of Oz, he needs to get some courage into his game. Unfortunately, I don't believe you can coach bravery into a player, they're either brave or they're not. If they aren't then they won't cut it in the Premier League, as defenders will always know they can scare the shit out of them and make them go missing in games.