lucozade

What if Kenny Dalglish and Brendan Rodgers are both good men. Who have both contributed to Suarez's development but not as much as Suarez, who at 26 is getting closer and closer to his peak, has himself through his own efforts. What if they both deserve credit and both give all that they have to doing their best for LFC and the only people who don't deserve any credit are the kind of cunts who get into these kindergarten discussions? I mean the factors that go into the rate at which players settle and at what rate they develop, improve and when they hit their peak and when they are in form, are long and many. We aren't even privvy to quite a few of them. This is such a shit discussion. Christ sometimes I wonder why we have so many fans who, no matter how well LFC is doing will always find some stupid shit to squabble over and a way to suck the fucking joy out of it.

Disregarding excuses and the whole "or bust" connotaion. Truthfully this is a really interesting league. It's very open and 6 teams do have a mixture of factors for and against them this season, that mean, it is more evenly matched than before. Lady luck and where the injuries fall could decide a lot. Man Utd are only a longer term injury to Van Persie away from not climbing out of the hole they are in. The focus is on the departure of Fergie but not replacing a player as crucial as Scholes & having a past his use by date Giggs, and an older defence, is equally important. They haven't done enough to refresh their squad and I wouldn't assume they will stay in the top 4. Perhaps Fergie was canny to retire when he did. Arsenal don't have that much strike power, They are dining out on a great run of form from Ramsey, there goals are coming out of midfield. They wanted Suarez for a reason and Ozil is a quality player but he's not a Suarez. Is Ramsey going to stay this prolific all season? I won't bore you all by going through the various issues and achilles heels of our opponents. Mourinho, who I hate to agree with, has said this league could be won by 6 sides and Jose didn't include us in the numbers to be nice. Long story short. We really have a shot here. I think it's understandable that many of Rodgers most ardent supporters want to manage expectations down because they want the perception to be that if he does well he's over-performed and if he doesn't they don't want him under too much pressure and I can relate to where they are coming from as he deserves support & time. However, we have a shot this year let's not adopt some defeatist attitude, let's not build our opps up into unassailable bastions of invincibility. We are in a fight, and to be one of the four best when the fight is finished is indeed very possible, more so than previously, so let's back ourselves, let's believe in ourselves and let's believe in Brendan. We're a contender, a genuine contender.

He's doing a great job. Brace yourselves. I feel a massive outbreak of cautious optimism coming on.

I think his main strength is he's a cunning shithouse rat. A clever political animal, arselicker, and super salesman. I don't think very much is his fault though, he is the master of the 'let me tell you what you want to hear' self-promoting spin that weak 'stakeholders' love and that has been earning the obsequious promotions since the dawn of time. He is a survivalist, he would sell his grandma, and his soul not far behind. He does the bidding of those above him - he has 'no spine' to go along with 'no conscience'. He is a flexible, adaptable, ingratiating corporate animal. He greets everything those above him say with "positive enthusiasm" and questions nothing. He is a conduit not a decision maker. He is a consummate relationship manager with an approval seeking disposition. He is an FSG facade, there is no substance there. He's just a front man. Well, that's what I think... and you did ask.

Let's take stock when the window closes before we hand out credit, criticism or anything in between.

Comes off the bench, carrying an injury and takes the piss big time [YOUTUBE] [/YOUTUBE] The ultimate piss-taker la pulga And who can forget this memorable piss-taking goal [YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blsCccZxU_M[/YOUTUBE]

Homeward bound

Oldies but goodies. In the treatment room In the bootroom

There is a direct quote: "I didn't say that, maybe someone else did and the main thing is that I am here now with the national team," citing Japan's Kyodo News Kyodo is one of Japan's biggest and oldest press services. It's the equivalent of PA - The Press Association in the UK. It's a wire service with over 1000 journo's working for it. Guess we just wait for something official as there may be a few more swings left in this roundabout.

The clause which Gordon Taylor has been widely quoted on, referencing 40 million and Champions League qualification, did not drop from the sky into Suarez’s contract. There were talks, there has to have been, so Suarez is telling the truth about that much. As the 40 million sum would have been negotiated, so talks were held and an agreement would have been reached about the clause that was to be added to the contract. Suarez and/or his agent would have intended the clause be a release clause. They would not have held talks in the hope of having an essentially meaningless clause added to his contract. We can’t say anything else with any certainty but we can deduce that much. So it is clear that the following has to have happened. 1. There has to have been talks 2. Suarez has to have let the club know he wanted a release clause 3. He has to have been on the level with LFC and given a full season’s notice that he required something written into his contract to let him leave for CL football this Summer if we didn’t qualify. If the above at an absolute minimum didn’t happen, there would be no clause for Gordon Taylor to talk about. So, it is probable on balance that Suarez believes a verbal agreement was reached between all parties and that his contract reflected that. He and his agent have acted in a way that is 100% consistent with a total belief that, that was the case. He now finds it is not. That the contract which would have been drafted by LFC and its lawyers does not contain a release clause that reflects what he believes was verbally agreed. Yes, he’ll be angry at anyone on his side responsible (the clause will be in english and so he would have needed to rely upon expert advice) for the failure to pick this up but his anger will be strongest towards LFC because he will genuinely feel they’ve breached his trust & good faith and it is possible that we have. Why should Suarez be so slated by so many in the fan base, looking at this objectively there is a reasonable likelihood that Suarez has some genuine grounds for grievance. None of you can say with any certainty that the club didn’t give certain assurances during talks and hasn’t conveniently distanced themselves from them now. So as I said, Brendan is insisting Suarez must apologise, well I don’t think we should hold our breath and I’m not even sure an apology is owed One other thing, Suarez did not lie when he said he would like to leave England and the English media specifically behind him. He would. It’s the truth. He also wants to play CL football, he told the club of this over a year ago. These are not mutually exclusive concepts. The one statement doesn’t make the other a lie. He wants to leave England, he hates the English media and he wants to play CL on the continent preferably. However, he hasn’t been able to get that. If he must remain in England because he has zero option then he still wants the second part of his wish list, he wants CL. It’s really fucking simple. He admitted he said Negro. He admitted he dived. His honesty has been problematic. However, we are now meant to believe he has turned into a machiavellian style man giving interviews to the Telegraph & Guardian consisting entirely of a web of lies? Hmmm, yeah, right. Why would a bloke from Uruguay who was loved by the Ajax fans but left there, why would he have any special loyalty to us? Even Carra says we aren’t a good enough side for a guy of Suarez’s ability. CL is his dream and he wants to improve as a player. He has a finite career. And the obvious irony is he is being called selfish and some kind of childish cunt for wanting the very thing, that we want him to stay and help us to get. How fucking ironic. I don’t think Suarez is blameless but I won’t call him all kinds of names either as I think this matter isn’t as simple as many make out. I don’t think a formal apology should be requested.

Indeed. A Player and his agent would never have intentionally agreed to a clause to effectively say "hey you can go to dinner and look at the food you just can't actually eat anything". We have the legal high ground. Suarez and his agent don't have an enforceable clause under contract law but that was certainly there intent. The legal high ground and the moral high ground are separate things. I have yet to meet anyone who, believing genuinely that an agreement has been negotiated, upon realising the legal wording, the small print or some other factor of drafting, renders that understanding null and void, isn't incredibly upset, angry and frustrated. I've yet to see a single client respond "oh well, my mistake, my lawyer and I got it wrong, I'll go apologise". Nope to a man and without exception, the anger at feeling 'had' would peel the paint off the walls. So personally, I'm not holding my breath for an actual apology here. There are 2 sides to every story or 4 actually once you go legal

It may be fake but no leaving the signature including the phone number in tact would not be identity theft it could mean if the person who leaked it was found they could be prosecuted under UK privacy laws. I practice in Australia and am not that up on Australian privacy laws so have no clue as to the UK legislation. However, the fact that the person who circulated this may have covered up certain info to avoid the risk of legal action doesn't actually mean this is fake. It may well be, but at the same time it could equally be they were concerned about the legal implications because it is legit. Who knows.

The e-mail was forwarded, so it's the person who it was forwarded too and who took the screenshots computer you're seeing so we don't know what Internet Browser, email programme, Windows Operating System etc it was originally created on. The I.E, Windows ME or 95 - is that of the person who took the screen shot not of Ayre. It may be fake but it's a pretty good effort if it is. The language, corporate speak - from the 'Prestige Partners' to the disclaimer and several other details such as discussion of parapgraph 1 - are very good simulations, if it is fake.

I am a OOT hell I'm in another hemisphere and I think the opinions of the fans who go to the matches is most important - but my 5 cents - If we are a responsible, self-sustaining business and therefore are in the top half of the table but not in the top 4 then I wanted the clubs traditions, history, legends, mythology kept in tact. If we are a win at any costs, whatever it takes to be at the top table, make the big bucks, play with the big boys club and we are prepared to make 'supposedly' cut-throat ruthless decisions, because there's no room for sentiment - then I want money chucked at it if needs be - I want results. I've said it before and I'll say it again, regardless of how many deaf ears it falls upon. Kenny did not identify Carroll as a target, he did not negotiate the deal and he did not decide how much was spent, he did not veto it or argue against Carroll's signing but he wasn't an active participant in that deal. The other signings are his in as much as he approved them he wanted them, but again he had no part in the commercial negotiations or in deciding what the club would pay for them. FSG hired a DoF to do that. Still he was fired and of course it was in no way shape or form because of the Suarez affair or the sponsors who demanded an apology earlier in the season that read 'conduct unbefitting a Liverpool Manager'. No it was because Kenny wasted all that money. I think as a club, in a lot of meaningful ways we've already sold our soul. Our pants are already around our ankles so now there better be some good sex some great pay-off, some sweet success, to convince us we're not the ones being fucked. So yeah, show me the money, show me it was worth tainting who we are what we mean, what family is, what loyalty is, YNWA. Hmmmm. Yeah FSG have upped the anti now they better show us it was all worth it. Live by the sword die by the sword.

I don't know that he can, that any one can protect themselves entirely in life against slander, assumption and mistruth but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a right to speak his truth. We as a club sign players but we don't buy souls. He has a right to speak, a right to a voice, we don't own that. Don't let the media agenda or the insanity of political correctness influence you. Suarez is a human being and entitled to speak his truth. No contract he could have with any club, could ever undermine that fundamental right and we should respect it. They can say what they like about the club, if the price of our 'image' is to deny a man the right to his own truth, then the price is too high and we must stand stoically, no matter what name calling and slander our club is subjected too. When we kneel before such pressure and buy their acceptance with the sacrifice of our principles, then we've damaged something far more important than brand.

Kenny is writing a colum which means he is writing as a freelancer and they are publishing. Trinity Mirror Group have less dubious ownership than most but there are simply no good newspaper publishers remaining in the UK. Anyone care to list the papers, that treat us well or reported the Suarez Evra affair fairly, that would purchase content like a Dalglish column and give him a platform to write? Kenny's Column used to be picked up and published by the Daily Mail. He will write on whatever he wants that's topical. I guess with just beinng sacked and having half of the fanbase of a club he served so well turn on him over the last six months - he hardly got strong unified support, he got constant criticism - he probably now knows what being thought 'well of' at LFC is worth. Precisely fuck all. So he can write what he likes, publish wherever and not a single fuck about LFC and the fans should be given. It's not owed.

Maybe yes, maybe no but it's how it worked in the past, Kenny left the business to the businessmen (he said that in the book too but I didn't want to copy another page) I never became involved in the finances And John Henry said ‘I don't think it was a gamble (to appoint him - Comolli) at all. I believe not having a Director of Football is a gamble and Kenny agrees with that perception. The manager's job is huge in football throughout the world for large clubs. No one person can be responsible for every aspect of the operation and ‘I was speaking with Kenny about it this week and he doesn't see that much difference between our model and the model of Liverpool when he was managing before,’ Henry said. Now I'm not claiming there isn't discussion around the water-cooler. And that everyone wasn't supportive of each others work and role. But negotiating is kind of like driving a car, everyone else might like the driver and think the driver knows where he is going and is a good driver - but there's still only one person driving the car. I have more quotes and I'll post them later I have to work now but suffice it to say - you can criticize Kenny for his part in the players we bought in, tactics, and many other things but not the financial side of it. The person who said he couldn't believe that Kenny would have less input than FSG given their newness to foootball - think of it this way. It was their 'the businesses' money. You'd let a 60 year old Glaswegian with zero business knowledge, who was a great player, and as a manager last time left everything on that side to PBR and then left everything to Jack at Rovers - you would let him have more say over spending your money than you would? You wouldn't have your own people analysing stats, crunching player resale values, preparing financial models based on several scenarios to dertmine your risk profile against every dollar? ok. I would to be honest. Anyway, the overall point I was trying to make is the 'kenny wasted the money -poor FSG' thing doesn't sit right with me. That's all. I think we are well off base.

in all honesty, it's petty accurate. Comolli as Director of Football, handles all the commercial aspects of transfers, he looks after the financial aspects and he is our transfer fee negotiator. He agrees terms with the players, signs the contracts etc.

For certain things sure, but Dalglish isn't to blame for the amount of money spent, FSG had more direct influence over the negotiation of transfer fees than Dalglish. As for what the netspend has actually been to date, well that wasn't the point I was making. I was simply illustrating that we would be probably be more critical of them, had a better job have been done with respect to our transfer finance.

So just out of interest what would your position be if he hadn't? What if, as John Henry and Comolli have both stated on the record, Comolli is responsible for all transfer fee negotiations? I mean it's kinda ironic to read so many on here saying they woluldn't blame FSG if they won't put their hand in their pocket after 'their' money was wasted - but who appointed Comolli? who made him DoF and who sanctioned the levels Comolli went to with his offers? You think, their man, spent their money and they knew nothing about it? Dalglish doesn't do finance, fees, negotiations. Never has. Ok so let's get that bit clear. Comolli had been in the job a few months when the 57 million dollars was spent in January, Henry came out and publicly attested to his involvement and the logic behind the Carroll purchase and how they 'viewed' that spending i.e a replacement for Torres + 15 million. But sure, we are the great Liverpool fans, we are knowledgeable so we are going to blame the one guy who had nothing to do with the money. And feel sympathy for owners who appointed our negotiator and would have - along with various bean counters and Comolli sanctioned these deals and the staistics behind them - well ok good to know. Question: If Kenny had said ok to Carroll and then we bought him for 15 million and he'd said ok when presented with Downing as the best of the short-listed options and we'd gone and got him for 10 million. Would we be less pissed off? to be honest the irony is that if that had happened we'd all be able to see that the net spend had been about 0 and we'd probably be bleating about our owners not putting in any money. So Kenny had no control, over whether Comolli and FSG chose to pay 35 mill and 20 mill versus 15 mill and 10 mill but because of the job others did, he's getting it in the neck and if Comolli and FSG had actually done a better job - they'd be getting it in the neck - life is a funny old thing, isn't it.