TaksimRakiClub

That'll put the cat amongst the pigeons

You could well be right - its all a little murky in the old memory bank now - I think it may be my sub-concious trying to erase it. What is beyond question though is the loss of the club chairman (Smith), manager (Kenny) and captain (Jockey) in quick succession was a series of body blows from which the club has never recovered. Hand on heart I can admit to being pleased when Souness was appointed but as you say it very quickly became apparent that he wasn't the man for the job.

The 70s didn't go wrong they got even better as the 80s team just about edges it in my book. But I've got to agree with the majority of posters 95% - if not all -of the issues facing the club at the moment can be laid squarely at Moores' door. It was the appointment of Souness that was the turning point and the indecent haste with which he broke up our last championship winning team. Beardsley out and in came Paul Fucking Stewart - I could cry when I think about it, I really could.

Took my sister-in-law 2 and a half hours to drive from Hamilton Square in Birkenhead to Upton (about 4 miles) and my Mrs has left her car in work and got the train home so I've jibbed the trip to Anglesey tomorrow. Still on the Christmas holiday which is good but as I'm self employed I'm not getting paid which is bad. The reaction on the news to snow in January - not exactly unheard of - is comical. The way they're going on about it you'd think Elvis and John Lennon had both been found alive.

Yeah - sorry about that mate. Family trait I'm afraid and not a lot I can do about it. Not even going to attempt Merseyrail tomorrow morning but Arriva looks ok out of Chester and the Mrs has offered to drive me there first thing so it looks like I'm in work after all. Fuck knows how the Yanks and Canucks manage to run trains over the Rockies all year round yet Merseyrail goes to fucking pieces when we get 4 inches of snow. Any of the more technically minded care to explain?

Snowing again here on the Costa Del Wirral (Wallasey). Luckily after recently watching Ray Mears (nutter) in the Canadian wilderness I have just completed making snowshoes from branches of Ash (very flexible) and caribou sinew so will be able to make it down to the Co-Op for soup and muffins. Not working today but got to get down to the company head office on Anglesey first thing tomorrow and as I don't drive I'm at the mercy of Miseryrail and Arriva. From the details posted on the thread Wallasey to Chester on the train looks like a bit of a lottery - especially at 6.00am. Anybody got any info on weather conditions down the Welsh coast and Arriva's Chester to Bangor/Holyhead service? And on a separate but related topic you don't half see some whoppers getting on that train in the Flint/Prestatyn/Rhyl area. Apologies if you are one of said whoppers but any intelligence gratefully received. Diolch yn fawr.

Me and 3 mates hired a Winnebago in LA back in the day, filled it with ale and set off up the Pacific Coast Highway to SF. Spent a month doing Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Vegas, Grand Canyon, Phoenix, Tijuana and San Diego. As has been mentioned LA is a fucking shithole and I found SF much better. The Pacific Coast Highway is a brilliant drive - especially if you're riding shotgun with a cold one in your mitt. Tahoe and Yosemite - in fact the whole of the Sierra Nevada - are jaw droppingly beautiful and the Grand Canyon is the most awe inspiring sight I've ever seen. Always wanted to go back and do the "real" west - Wyoming, Montana and Idaho etc. There's a town in Idaho called Blackfoot - home to the Idaho Potato Museum which I'm particularly keen to visit.

the issue will be whether sufficient staff turn in to run the service or whether the lazy bastards'll use the snow as an excuse to stay in bed. Deffo cancellations and a reduced service first thing I reckon

Please Andriy post some more - "the WILDE THING (sex)" Fucking hell I'm in bits here - tears streaming down my face laughing

The tv advertisements for the above are normally one of THE highlights of the festive period in the TRC household. However, I must protest in the strongest possible terms about Iceland's decision to drop Ms. K Katona from the said advertisements. No doubt the decision was taken by some "holier than thou" executive in the wake of Ms Katona's recent attack on her accountant. Well who hasn't, at some stage, wanted to batter (geddit?) a jumped-up bean counter in a pinstripe suit for having the audacity to explain the implications of impending bankruptcy? Political correctness gone mad I call it! I'm afraid Colleen Nolan and Jason Donovan do not have the depth of artistic talent nor charisma to convey to the audience the sheer joy of finding that 75 pieces of party food can be had for the sum of £2.99 and I for one will be "voting with my wallet". Shame on you Iceland but its off to Farmfoods for me!

Update on this issue for anyone interested - may be of particular interest to Kemlyn season ticket holders who are moved for European games: Anyway - I wrote a long letter of complaint to the club which was (eventually) passed on to a Rachel O'Connell who administers the Auto Cup Scheme. To cut a long story short she was apologetic in the extreme (apparently UEFA request specific seats due to their proximity to lounges etc and can return them unused 24 hours prior to kick off) and I have been relocated - along with my 2 mates - for Fiorentina and subsequent Europa League games. Will be in the Spion Kop for the first time on a european night since one of the CSKA Sofia games in the early 80s and I'm actually looking forward to it and to whatever follows in the Europa League come February. Got to pick the seats myself and all. Thank you Rachel. Apologies if I've inadvertantly taken your place in the Kop and for the general upbeat tone of the post but I am fucking fed up to the back teeth with the shite on this site about Rafa. So here's to getting Fernando and Aquilani onto the pitch on Wednesday, a dramatic improvement in the second half of the season and a trip to Hamburg in May. Come on you Mighty Can't Do Nothing Wrong Reds!

Found it a difficult read to be honest - a lack of clarity and wasn't sure were the article was heading. Also thought the author was a bit up his own arse. Nice house in Islington and a couple of Old Etonians in the family - yeah nice one mate. Honest question but which bit were you unhappy with?

Was with you all the way until the last 2 paragraphs and even then I'm not saying you're wrong. My own view is that what was a 37 point gap to Chelsea in 2004/05 - at least when we played them in the CL semi - was effectively wiped out by 2008/09. For both 2007/08 and 2008/09 - when we lost a combined 6 league games in 2 whole seasons - it felt like some real progress was being made. In my opinion this has earned Benitez the right to correct what's gone wrong this season. This season for me has been the most frustrating in recent memory and there are urgent issues which need addressing. I agree with the posters that are stating that the problems defensively are mainly down to Skrtl and Insua. Hyypia is now looking a catastrophic loss to the squad and although there were probably issues between Sami and Benitez over the CL squad -his departure cannot wholly be blamed on Benitez. Likewise Alonso - who despite a superb 2008/09 I thought was very average for the two seasons preceding the Barry debacle. For those people stating that Benitez hasn't got the bottle to manage Liverpool I would refer you to him calling out Ferguson before the Stoke game in January. In addition the purchase of Acquilani - as a direct replacement for Xabi - represents a massive gamble on Benitez's part. At the moment its looking like the gamble hasn't paid off but either way these are not the actions of a moral coward. As for the accusations that Benitez is too defensively minded I cannot disagree that he comes over that way sometimes. However, we were the top scorers in the Premier last season and a man over pre-occupied with defence would not sanction the spending of £17m on the best attacking right back in the country. As far as yesterday's sunstitutions are concerned the first two were obviosly forced. It is too simplistic to state that an additional attacker should have been Yossi's replacement - after all the addition of a defensive midfielder at half time in Istanbul helped claw back a 3 goal deficit. Glen Johnson comes back into the team. Fabio starts at left back. One of the youngsters gets a chance in place of Skrtl pending Danny's recovery. Albert, Yossi, Stevie and Alberto get some game time under their belts and we pray to all the saints for the fitness of Fernando Torres. I think we'll see a different Liverpool second half of the season but unfortunately it will come too late for the two trophies that matter.

Decent post mate and point well made regarding the way the match panned out. I wouldn't bother though to be honest. Apparently Rafa is losing his already tenuous grip on reality / has lost the plot completely (delete as appropriate) and nobody in the dressing room really likes him anyway. All is not lost though as somewhere in northern Italy Jose Mourinho is currently mounting his white charger and will come galloping to our rescue.

Hey good comeback - you got me there.

Who's patronising now? Get off your high horse professor. Nobody is comparing anyone to anyone. The issue is that the team regressed for a period under Shanks just as it has regressed under Benitez. The question is do you allow a manager to correct his mistakes or do you knee-jerk and bring in a replacement? As far as I'm aware the Club has never dispensed with the services of a manager mid-season and I hope we don't start down that road now. I'm sorry I fucking started on this one now. I'm off to Hungary first thing Monday to support an under-performing team of highly paid professionals - why don't you pop along to the local garden centre or B & Q to sort out your christmas decorations? Then, after you've watched another abject performance on the box logon to TLW where you can point out to us lesser mortals the errors a European Cup winning manager is making on a match by match basis.

Don't remember either to be honest mate. Some people are never fucking happy are they - how many medals have those two got between them? And King Emlyn answer me this one. Shanks won the League in 66 and then let the team get old. It was 6 years until we challenged and 7 until we won it again. Was it a good thing he was given the time to rectify his mistakes and would he survive that scenario in this day and age?

Course it is mate. You do what you want with your Kemlyn Road Season Ticket of many, many years and I'll do likewise with mine. Also of many, many years and also in the Kemlyn - row 13 seat 178 if you want to come and say hello anytime. Call my post crap, patronising nonsense or wipe your fucking arse with it for all I care. You're entitled to your view just as I am to mine. I'm fucking fed up to the backteeth of not winning football matches but I'm even more fed up with the constant fucking cryng that goes with it - about the manager, Lucas or whatever. I heard something earlier this season I thought I would never live to see. A Liverpool player booed at Anfield. We've got people queing round the block to take a pop at us - its been open season on Benitez all year - and even our own are at it and it makes me sick. Now lets fucking sort these Hungarains out on Tuesday and then the shite next weekend.

Sorry - Haven't read the whole thread because its going into meltdown and some of the posts I have seen are seriously winding me up. Just back from the game and obvioulsy I'm as frustrated as everbody else. With regards to today from the moment we had to make the second substitution on 16 minutes the game was always going to be a struggle. With the lack of resources and some of our better players struggling for form and fitness we just can't put sufficient quality onto the field at the moment. As far as the general situation is concerned then its up to the manager and players to turn it around and the quicker the better. This may be an old fashioned view but Rafael Benitez is the manager of this club. End of. We close ranks, put our house in order and tell the rest of the world to fuck off. I am a Liverpool supporter and as such fully behind the manager and whatever XI take to the field for our club regardless of any issues I may have with selection and substitutions. I do not see this as being conditional - you are either a supporter or you aren't. For us or against us. If you don't want to go to the match because Mourinho would make a better manager than Benitez - or the Mancs have got better players than we have - then take the wife to M&S instead. If you want to fucking cry about the manager, Lucas or the tea lady then go and ring Spooney or some other blert on 606. Or better still go and join that shite across the Park or them cunts at the other end of the Lancs. Off for the relative sanity of a couple of beers, a takeaway curry and X Factor with the wife. Love you all.

Top 5ive Jacksons 1 Jackie 2 Tito 3 Jermaine 4 Marlon 5 Pollock Honourable mention for Thomas J "Stonewall".

My best mate is a season ticket holder in the Upper Bullens and has been for years. His first game was Liverpool vs Stromgodset (11-0) in the ECWC when he was 6 but he subsequently turned to the Darkside. His younger brother is a season ticket holder in the Kem and before shift work threw a spanner in the works was a home and awayer for 15 years. His first game was the shite against Finn Harps at the Stadium of Wood. It can be done provided they're caught early enough. I love them both and can't hold their previous indiscretions against them. Incidentally, their old man, God rest his soul, was a bitter. You can tell that Rent Boy to fuck off though.

All our mob are going so no spares here. You won't have any bother getting sorted over there so I wouldn't worry.

I first went to Dublin in the early 90s and have been back many times since - just the usual touristy shite I'm afraid. The city centre is pretty much the extent of my knowledge but I know it reasonably well. Always been made very welcome - particularly on one epic weekend spent mostly in the Harcourt Hotel - have generally enjoyed the place and have many fond memories of it. So it was with interest I settled down last night to watch the above on Bravo. What a load of fucking shite - I wish I hadn't bothered. The programme basically consisted of MacIntyre wandering around town in his leather looking lost - though as its his home town God knows why; some cctv footage of what looked like the Temple Bar / O' Connell St area featuring two mixed-sex pissed-up groups slapping each other and a bloke "with a military background" blowing up a volvo in the middle of a field in what looked like Wiltshire. An interview with a proper irish investigative journalist and a housewife / drugs activist from Crumlin does not - in my book - an expose make and Veronica Guerin he certainly isn't. I'm not suggesting MacIntyre should get himself shot by some irate ex-terrorist now paying the rent by dealing beak to the party set but if he thinks that programme was fit to air he can kiss my gicker. I haven't been over since the summer of 06 so a question for any of the irish contingent on here: Is the drugs war as bad as was made out?

I think I'd probably go for the Magyars creaming England at Wembley in 53. Must have been a sight to behold and the crowd reaction - flat caps and all - would be priceless.

The paper's constant advertising campaign employing no-mark celebrities with the sickening "we love it" catchphrase irritates far more than any birthday celebrations. Also I hadn't realised the thing was only 40 years old and that fact somehow gives me a feeling of satisfaction - to know that for over half its useless fucking lifetime we have treated it with the utter contempt it warrants. So some brickie in south London gets his jollies having a perv or agrees with the shite they write in the name of journalism. So fucking what? Let the rest of the country fawn over it, buy it, use it for bog roll, wank over page 3 - whatever - its fucking irrelevant to us and has been since they chose to run the story they did in the aftermath. The die was cast then and no apology in 1989, 2009 or in 50 years time will change matters. We need to stay strong and stick together - educating those that come after us to ensure that sales never again pick up on Merseyside. Its a piece of shit - always has been - always will be. End of.