Liverpool F.c.

[MSingh]

I bow to your superior knowledge,so how about ngog,dossena,two i can think of straight away,and are they understrenght?I think so they need a decent striker that can work with torres,and a couple of decent wing backs

torres already has the best available strike partner in steven gerrard. what's needed is an alternative lone front man to torres since we play best in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

top class fullbacks are hard to find. bosingwa cost 18.5m GBP and has hardly set the world on fire.

I do rate that Bosingwa to be honest Stevie, top drawer imo..

But you're right, top full backs are hard to find, i recently read Mr B was sniffing around our African one Ilunga, you could do a lot worse, he'd certainly be a loss for us ..

Sergio Ramos would be a fantastci signing for your mob, can't imagine he'd be cheap thouhg..

[mrtoad]

Yes, seven wins out of eight like back in September to November before the Fulham draw started this bad stretch would be welcomed.

As for bad Rafa purchases, how about Fernando Torres? Horrible buy, that was. Also, Alonso and Masch, how stupid can Rafa get? They are <deleted> midfielders. And what a fuc_king horrible Rafa buy we have in goal! Fact is the squad is much stronger than before he got here so how can he have such poor transfers? Just shows how little all those popping in know about Liverpool.

I don't think there is any doubting that Rafa has bought some great players, the list you have given there is fair. Torres is a great player, but ROI so far is not so great, but that's mainly due to unfortunate injuries. Mascherano has improved vastly and of course Reina has been a consistent performer. The big problem is, that Liverpool still rely to heavily on Gerrard, and in a way it's not unlike United in the mid 80's with Bryan Robson. Some of Rafa's other transfers have been strange; Bellamy, Pennant, Crouch,Carson, Sissoko for example have all been bought in, and subsequently sold.

Benitez has so far spent 171,425,000 and recouped 90,980,000. Not unlike a lot of clubs, turnover though is high; Over 70 players in, and 60 out.

The squad is undoubtlebly stronger, but have to say how much longer can he be given? Liverpool haven't won a league title in 20 years now, and although they are still in with a chance of this one, they seem to be doing their very best to cock it up.

I'm just not convinced that he has got what it takes to deliver the success that clubs like Liverpool expect. A lot of kudos to the fans who have stuck by him, but I can't see him being there next season if he doesn't win a big trophy, and I mean either the Premier League, or Champions league. His recent rantings have hardly been proven to have had a postive effect, and it's nof for United or Chelsea to slip up.

[samuibeachcomber]

What's wrong with Ngog? He's a project, a youngster, could be good or bad in the future. Too soon to tell. Dossena has not been good, but his last performance was solid, but the point is every manager makes good and bad buys and when everyone talks about Rafa's "poor" buys they conveniently ignore all the fantastic buys he has made. We have the best striker in the world now, but yes, Rafa's buys have been <deleted>!

Oh, and decent wingbacks? Aurelio and Arbeloa are decent wingbacks, thanks.

these two are not wing backs.wingback examples are ashley cole wayne bridges boswinga ezra to name a few.

[StevieH]

these two are not wing backs.wingback examples are ashley cole wayne bridges boswinga ezra to name a few.

not one of whom plays in a 3-5-2 formation in which they are wingbacks. they are fullbacks, albeit attacking ones. if you're going to have a pop at rafa at least try to know what you're talking about eh?

[StevieH]

I do rate that Bosingwa to be honest Stevie, top drawer imo..

But you're right, top full backs are hard to find, i recently read Mr B was sniffing around our African one Ilunga, you could do a lot worse, he'd certainly be a loss for us ..

Sergio Ramos would be a fantastci signing for your mob, can't imagine he'd be cheap thouhg..

not sure about top drawer, he's veyr useful going forward but suspect defensively.

ilunga? isn't he the one who handballs it about six times a game?

someone like ramos would be great yeah, but this is what a lot of liverpool fans struggle to get their heads around these days - rafa benitez has taken us from being a fairly crap to average premier league team to being one of the most feared in europe. as a result, and on the back of regularly hitting the quarter-finals of the european cup, we are no longer shopping at aldis, tescos, sainsburys or even waitrose. we're queueing up with united, chelsea, madrid, barca and all the other big spenders at the posh bespoke french delicatessen in islington. trouble is we're not doing it on an equal financial footing to those lot and the manager is having to fight ongoing wars of attrition with the club owners and the CEO who is supposed to be there to assist and support him. gods help rafa if the fans really turn on him.

incidentally rafa had a deal in place to sign dani alves from sevilla a year before he moved to barca but the club would not stump up the required money, 14m at the time. he'd have been perfect.

Edited January 30, 2009 by StevieH

[StevieH]

I don't think there is any doubting that Rafa has bought some great players, the list you have given there is fair. Torres is a great player, but ROI so far is not so great, but that's mainly due to unfortunate injuries. Mascherano has improved vastly and of course Reina has been a consistent performer. The big problem is, that Liverpool still rely to heavily on Gerrard, and in a way it's not unlike United in the mid 80's with Bryan Robson. Some of Rafa's other transfers have been strange; Bellamy, Pennant, Crouch,Carson, Sissoko for example have all been bought in, and subsequently sold.

Benitez has so far spent 171,425,000 and recouped 90,980,000. Not unlike a lot of clubs, turnover though is high; Over 70 players in, and 60 out.

The squad is undoubtlebly stronger, but have to say how much longer can he be given? Liverpool haven't won a league title in 20 years now, and although they are still in with a chance of this one, they seem to be doing their very best to cock it up.

I'm just not convinced that he has got what it takes to deliver the success that clubs like Liverpool expect. A lot of kudos to the fans who have stuck by him, but I can't see him being there next season if he doesn't win a big trophy, and I mean either the Premier League, or Champions league. His recent rantings have hardly been proven to have had a postive effect, and it's nof for United or Chelsea to slip up.

most of rafa's signings have been gambles or means to an end. bellamy, sissoko, pennant and the like were signed because the club couldn't afford the players he really wanted to sign, the really top level ones. so he got players in, some worked some didn't, if they didn't they were moved on and he tried again. you quote money but that equates to 80m net over five years, which is frankly fuc_k all for a top club. since pretty much day one he's had to operate with one hand tied behind his back so i think that for him to have got us to where he has in the space of five years is at least admirable, if not pretty remarkable.

edit: oh and i won't have that crouch was a strange or bad signing. good player for us, wish we still had him but understand that he wanted to move on to play first team football.

Edited January 30, 2009 by StevieH

[rixalex]

well you'd be wrong. we've achieved more under him than most liverpool fans ever expected we would,

You had low expectations then?

two european cup finals, consistent improvement in the league and an fa cup in his tenure. not bad at all. considerably better than wenger in that time for example. you're a poor fisherman.

How many seasons is it Rafa has been at the helm? About 5 right? And you are telling me that two Euro Cups, reasonable league performance and one FA Cup has in fact exceeded fans expectations? So just exactly what expectations did the fans have and did they not involve winning the league in five years? If you take away the Euro Cups you're not really left with much.

I can appreciate though that having spent the last few decades in the shade of some other bigs clubs might have made fans set their bar a little lower, but don't you think that's all part of the problem. The moment the fans start accepting mediocrity or something quite like it, that's all the club will be able to achieve. Clubs need a fan base that constantly demands more and puts the manager, the players and the board under pressure to be more ambitious, and not just to achieve within themselves surely.

Anyway it's your club - set the bar wherever you like and if you want to aim low that's just fine by the rest of us.

[samuibeachcomber]

ok so you tell me whats going wrong at liverpool,if its not rafa,ownership problems,contract problems,alex ferguson must be having a good laugh right now.

as someone that obviously has no idea what he's talking about,you tell me why he appears to bring on and take off players at the wrong time,and perhaps you can tell me why liverpool cannot score goals at present and why they draw so many times if they have such a good team.

[StevieH]

How many seasons is it Rafa has been at the helm? About 5 right? And you are telling me that two Euro Cups, reasonable league performance and one FA Cup has in fact exceeded fans expectations? So just exactly what expectations did the fans have and did they not involve winning the league in five years? If you take away the Euro Cups you're not really left with much.

I can appreciate though that having spent the last few decades in the shade of some other bigs clubs might have made fans set their bar a little lower, but don't you think that's all part of the problem. The moment the fans start accepting mediocrity or something quite like it, that's all the club will be able to achieve. Clubs need a fan base that constantly demands more and puts the manager, the players and the board under pressure to be more ambitious, and not just to achieve within themselves surely.

Anyway it's your club - set the bar wherever you like and if you want to aim low that's just fine by the rest of us.

you can only achieve what you can achieve on an unlevel playing field. and given the squad he inherited from houllier he's done a very good job.

couple of points that sound daft in your post - two european cup finals in five years is outstanding going. alex ferguson has two european cup finals in twenty-two years.

and it's not the 'last few decades' thanks.

[StevieH]

ok so you tell me whats going wrong at liverpool,if its not rafa,ownership problems,contract problems,alex ferguson must be having a good laugh right now.

as someone that obviously has no idea what he's talking about,you tell me why he appears to bring on and take off players at the wrong time,and perhaps you can tell me why liverpool cannot score goals at present and why they draw so many times if they have such a good team.

i never said i had a silver bullet, but nor do i think it is as bad as many liverpool fans are making out. we're not out of it, we're going through a rut where we can't kill games off, but we've still only lost one league game all season.

and i pointed out that you were calling evra, cole, bosingwa etc wingbacks, which you are wrong about. didn't say anything about 'no idea what he's talking about' in general.

[rixalex]

you can only achieve what you can achieve on an unlevel playing field. and given the squad he inherited from houllier he's done a very good job.

and it's not the 'last few decades' thanks.

For my records, can you tell me how long it has been then?

[StevieH]

look it up.

[mrtoad]

I don't think there is any doubting that Rafa has bought some great players, the list you have given there is fair. Torres is a great player, but ROI so far is not so great, but that's mainly due to unfortunate injuries. Mascherano has improved vastly and of course Reina has been a consistent performer. The big problem is, that Liverpool still rely to heavily on Gerrard, and in a way it's not unlike United in the mid 80's with Bryan Robson. Some of Rafa's other transfers have been strange; Bellamy, Pennant, Crouch,Carson, Sissoko for example have all been bought in, and subsequently sold.

Benitez has so far spent 171,425,000 and recouped 90,980,000. Not unlike a lot of clubs, turnover though is high; Over 70 players in, and 60 out.

The squad is undoubtlebly stronger, but have to say how much longer can he be given? Liverpool haven't won a league title in 20 years now, and although they are still in with a chance of this one, they seem to be doing their very best to cock it up.

I'm just not convinced that he has got what it takes to deliver the success that clubs like Liverpool expect. A lot of kudos to the fans who have stuck by him, but I can't see him being there next season if he doesn't win a big trophy, and I mean either the Premier League, or Champions league. His recent rantings have hardly been proven to have had a postive effect, and it's nof for United or Chelsea to slip up.

most of rafa's signings have been gambles or means to an end. bellamy, sissoko, pennant and the like were signed because the club couldn't afford the players he really wanted to sign, the really top level ones. so he got players in, some worked some didn't, if they didn't they were moved on and he tried again. you quote money but that equates to 80m net over five years, which is frankly fuc_k all for a top club. since pretty much day one he's had to operate with one hand tied behind his back so i think that for him to have got us to where he has in the space of five years is at least admirable, if not pretty remarkable.

edit: oh and i won't have that crouch was a strange or bad signing. good player for us, wish we still had him but understand that he wanted to move on to play first team football.

Ah, I qouted the money Steve, but only to show that he hasn't spent massive. There wasn't anything sinister in that, although I did think the turnover was pretty high.

In respect of Crouch, maybe if the manager had used him a bit more regular then maybe he wouldn't of moved on, I agree he was a good player for you and I'm sure at the moment you'd love to have him back.

[samuibeachcomber]

ok so you tell me whats going wrong at liverpool,if its not rafa,ownership problems,contract problems,alex ferguson must be having a good laugh right now.

as someone that obviously has no idea what he's talking about,you tell me why he appears to bring on and take off players at the wrong time,and perhaps you can tell me why liverpool cannot score goals at present and why they draw so many times if they have such a good team.

i never said i had a silver bullet, but nor do i think it is as bad as many liverpool fans are making out. we're not out of it, we're going through a rut where we can't kill games off, but we've still only lost one league game all season.

and i pointed out that you were calling evra, cole, bosingwa etc wingbacks, which you are wrong about. didn't say anything about 'no idea what he's talking about' in general.

but liverpool are doing(at present)exactly what they did last year,that is not scoring enough goals,and letting in late equalisers.so i am asking you what would you do to correct this before its too late?

My answer is get another striker to go upfront with torres,still play gerrard behind them(that was a good move by rafa).liverpool do have a good mid field,but they need some good players to play wide.sell keane cos it is n't working out.

[StevieH]

Ah, I qouted the money Steve, but only to show that he hasn't spent massive. There wasn't anything sinister in that, although I did think the turnover was pretty high.

In respect of Crouch, maybe if the manager had used him a bit more regular then maybe he wouldn't of moved on, I agree he was a good player for you and I'm sure at the moment you'd love to have him back.

i don't think it is massive in relative terms, toady. 14m or 15m each summer doesn't let you do the kind of top-level tweaking to an already good squad that alex ferguson's been able to do for years nor does it allow chelsea-esque 100m overhauls.

agree about crouch. he would be a perfect lone front man alternative to torres but he didn't want to sit on the bench playing second fiddle. can't blame the man, loved him when he played for us and wish him well.

[StevieH]

but liverpool are doing(at present)exactly what they did last year,that is not scoring enough goals,and letting in late equalisers.so i am asking you what would you do to correct this before its too late?

My answer is get another striker to go upfront with torres,still play gerrard behind them(that was a good move by rafa).liverpool do have a good mid field,but they need some good players to play wide.sell keane cos it is n't working out.

what we're doing this year which we were not doing last year is being up at the top of the table at the start of february. this time last season we were well out of it.

don't agree about a partner for torres, it's been shown that it just doesn't work, whether it's crouch, voronin or keane. only kuyt has looked at all like an effective foil for nando. gerrard in behind him is his best partner.

we lack massively out wide, primarily in terms of pace and ball-carrying. if we're going to finish teams off or break them down when they're defending in numbers, we need more of a ball-carrying threat, which we just don't have. trouble is there are so, so few of them around.

my honest view is that rafa is too conservative to win the league in england without united and chelsea really fuc_king up. he won't really go at teams, won't let the players off the leash enough to beat teams and kill them off the way that united have done for years. which is why he's more successful in the tighter games of the european cup than he is in the league and why he was able to win the league in spain twice.

[rixalex]

look it up.

More interested in your opinion but if it's too much trouble to give it, nevermind.

[StevieH]

look it up.

More interested in your opinion but if it's too much trouble to give it, nevermind.

it wouldn't be my opinion. it'd be a fact.

[MSingh]

but liverpool are doing(at present)exactly what they did last year,that is not scoring enough goals,and letting in late equalisers.so i am asking you what would you do to correct this before its too late?

My answer is get another striker to go upfront with torres,still play gerrard behind them(that was a good move by rafa).liverpool do have a good mid field,but they need some good players to play wide.sell keane cos it is n't working out.

what we're doing this year which we were not doing last year is being up at the top of the table at the start of february. this time last season we were well out of it.

don't agree about a partner for torres, it's been shown that it just doesn't work, whether it's crouch, voronin or keane. only kuyt has looked at all like an effective foil for nando. gerrard in behind him is his best partner.

we lack massively out wide, primarily in terms of pace and ball-carrying. if we're going to finish teams off or break them down when they're defending in numbers, we need more of a ball-carrying threat, which we just don't have. trouble is there are so, so few of them around.

my honest view is that rafa is too conservative to win the league in england without united and chelsea really fuc_king up. he won't really go at teams, won't let the players off the leash enough to beat teams and kill them off the way that united have done for years. which is why he's more successful in the tighter games of the european cup than he is in the league and why he was able to win the league in spain twice.

I agree with all that..

Another thing & i just wrote it in an email to my Scouse Pal, you will make progress this year imo, you will finish 3rd quite comfortably as opposed to 4th like last year & the year before...

With regards to that wide Player you talk about, i thought over the first 12 or so Games, Riera made a massive difference to your Team & brang a nice bit of balance too, making you more dangerous..

Has he gone off the boil recently or got injured or still playing just not as well as he was ( sorry, i don't honestly know ) ??

& with regards to a second Striker with Torres who isn't Gerrard & i know that you don't think it would work Stevie but i don't really think it's been tested enough, i think you've got one of the best Men in the League to be that Player, & he regulary sits on your Bench & is very difficult to understand when he speaks...

Liverpool with 2 up front that consistently played & worked well together & with Gerrard at the top of a Daimond in the Midfield, would be a different cuttle of fish & would regulary rip Teams to shreds in Games like West Ham at Home, Stoke at Home, Stoke Away, Hull at Home & Fulham at Home, i'm quite sure of that...

[rixalex]

look it up.

More interested in your opinion but if it's too much trouble to give it, nevermind.

it wouldn't be my opinion. it'd be a fact.

Is it time of the month or are you usually this difficult?

My comment that you questioned was concerning the number of years you've been in the shade of some other big clubs. Had i been talking number of years since you won the title then your pedantic reply might have been justified.

One person's shade might be another person's light. Just give me a figure fcol!

Edited January 30, 2009 by rixalex

[StevieH]

Is it time of the month or are you usually this difficult?

My comment that you questioned was concerning the number of years you've been in the shadow of some other big clubs. Had i been talking number of years since you won the title then your pedantic reply might have been justified.

One person's shade might be another person's light. Just give me a figure fcol!

i'm always difficult towards mancs wherever possible, yeah.

we've not been the preeminent club in english football for 19 years. which isn't 'a few decades'. the 80s saw us waltz away with trophy after trophy.

[bkkjames]

Is it time of the month or are you usually this difficult?

My comment that you questioned was concerning the number of years you've been in the shadow of some other big clubs. Had i been talking number of years since you won the title then your pedantic reply might have been justified.

One person's shade might be another person's light. Just give me a figure fcol!

i'm always difficult towards mancs wherever possible, yeah.

we've not been the preeminent club in english football for 19 years. which isn't 'a few decades'. the 80s saw us waltz away with trophy after trophy.

ah the 80's - boy george, madonna and LP

[rixalex]

Is it time of the month or are you usually this difficult?

My comment that you questioned was concerning the number of years you've been in the shadow of some other big clubs. Had i been talking number of years since you won the title then your pedantic reply might have been justified.

One person's shade might be another person's light. Just give me a figure fcol!

i'm always difficult towards mancs wherever possible, yeah.

we've not been the preeminent club in english football for 19 years. which isn't 'a few decades'. the 80s saw us waltz away with trophy after trophy.

few (fy) adj. few·er, few·est 1. Amounting to or consisting of a small number: one of my few bad habits.2. Being more than one but indefinitely small in number:

So you were successful in the 80s. Now it's 2009. And you are saying it isn't a few decades??? OK, fair enough...

Edited January 30, 2009 by rixalex

[StevieH]

few (fy) adj. few·er, few·est 1. Amounting to or consisting of a small number: one of my few bad habits.2. Being more than one but indefinitely small in number:

So you were successful in the 80s. Now it's 2009. And you are saying it isn't a few decades??? OK, fair enough...

if we're going to continue with the pedantics, it's not even two decades.

[rixalex]

few (fy) adj. few·er, few·est 1. Amounting to or consisting of a small number: one of my few bad habits.2. Being more than one but indefinitely small in number:

So you were successful in the 80s. Now it's 2009. And you are saying it isn't a few decades??? OK, fair enough...

if we're going to continue with the pedantics, it's not even two decades.

Give it time

[StevieH]

Give it time

that's exactly what i have given it man.

me and a mate were talking the other day about the very real possibility that we might never win the league ever again. at some point it will change format and become a european super league and the english league will be no more, so it's not out of the question.

[samuibeachcomber]

but liverpool are doing(at present)exactly what they did last year,that is not scoring enough goals,and letting in late equalisers.so i am asking you what would you do to correct this before its too late?

My answer is get another striker to go upfront with torres,still play gerrard behind them(that was a good move by rafa).liverpool do have a good mid field,but they need some good players to play wide.sell keane cos it is n't working out.

what we're doing this year which we were not doing last year is being up at the top of the table at the start of february. this time last season we were well out of it.

don't agree about a partner for torres, it's been shown that it just doesn't work, whether it's crouch, voronin or keane. only kuyt has looked at all like an effective foil for nando. gerrard in behind him is his best partner.

we lack massively out wide, primarily in terms of pace and ball-carrying. if we're going to finish teams off or break them down when they're defending in numbers, we need more of a ball-carrying threat, which we just don't have. trouble is there are so, so few of them around.

my honest view is that rafa is too conservative to win the league in england without united and chelsea really fuc_king up. he won't really go at teams, won't let the players off the leash enough to beat teams and kill them off the way that united have done for years. which is why he's more successful in the tighter games of the european cup than he is in the league and why he was able to win the league in spain twice.

ok yes good point.why do you like just having torres up front?from what ive seen if you only have one up front goals are harder to come by,better in my opinion to have two strikers.play a 4-4-2 system.i think you only play one up front if you are afraid of losing rather than going out to win.but as you say rafa maybe too cautious.agree his tactics have been brilliant in europe,and europe's not the EPL.but he's not doing liverpool any favours at the moment.good luck anyway.

[Devil]

but liverpool are doing(at present)exactly what they did last year,that is not scoring enough goals,and letting in late equalisers.so i am asking you what would you do to correct this before its too late?

My answer is get another striker to go upfront with torres,still play gerrard behind them(that was a good move by rafa).liverpool do have a good mid field,but they need some good players to play wide.sell keane cos it is n't working out.

what we're doing this year which we were not doing last year is being up at the top of the table at the start of february. this time last season we were well out of it.

don't agree about a partner for torres, it's been shown that it just doesn't work, whether it's crouch, voronin or keane. only kuyt has looked at all like an effective foil for nando. gerrard in behind him is his best partner.

we lack massively out wide, primarily in terms of pace and ball-carrying. if we're going to finish teams off or break them down when they're defending in numbers, we need more of a ball-carrying threat, which we just don't have. trouble is there are so, so few of them around.

my honest view is that rafa is too conservative to win the league in england without united and chelsea really fuc_king up. he won't really go at teams, won't let the players off the leash enough to beat teams and kill them off the way that united have done for years. which is why he's more successful in the tighter games of the european cup than he is in the league and why he was able to win the league in spain twice.

ok yes good point.why do you like just having torres up front?from what ive seen if you only have one up front goals are harder to come by,better in my opinion to have two strikers.play a 4-4-2 system.i think you only play one up front if you are afraid of losing rather than going out to win.but as you say rafa maybe too cautious.agree his tactics have been brilliant in europe,and europe's not the EPL.but he's not doing liverpool any favours at the moment.good luck anyway.

Maybe... but I still have a sneaky feeling we will see the Torres, Keane partnership come into affect this season in many games and that can only work in a 4-4-2 formation from what I have seen so far. Currently we have resorted to 4-5-1 as this was excellent at the end of last season and most importantly we won games with it! Its the only formation to use away in Europe and the way Raffa sets up 4-5-1 against lessor sides can be as attacking as 4-4-2 anyway.

4-5-1 allows Raffa to pick our strongest team as it includes Alonso and Masc in the middle and Gerrard supporting Torres... but in the 4-4-2 one of them has to be dropped to be effective. Having two strikers can crowd the box when teams set up to defend. There are many reasons attacking wise why 4-5-1 works when playing against tight defences and why 4-4-2 can be ineffective

My only criticism of Raffa is his inability to switch during a match when things are not working out and go from a 4-5-1 to a 4-4-2 (something Mourinho was excellent at with Chelsea)

Gerrard seems to be playing his best football again in this role so why change it? 4-5-1 produces very attacking football allowing us to control games and create chances. Just look at our shot ratio compared to a our recent opponents we have played... Yes on occasions 4-5-1 can be negative when midfield/wide players do not support the front man, or the front man doesn't or cant hold, link up play or run behind defenses... something ONLY Torres can do in our squad.

I don't care what formation we use or what is considered attacking.I want the formation that is effective! As long as we create chances and don't concede.

Question - can one of the Raffa haters...at least once! suggest who we should replace Raffa with? because I cant think of anyone available or who could do a better job at the moment the Raffa...

[StevieH]

good piece from brian reade in today's mirror.

Never Walk Alone? Liverpool chiefs are pulling in different directions

By Brian Reade 31/01/2009

The people at the top of Liverpool Football Club never tire of telling the world how special their fans are.

They’re fond of quoting, even miming, those famous Rodgers and Hammerstein lyrics about never walking alone. But behind the sentimental smokescreen lie warring factions so obsessed with personal victory they long ago ceased to care about the misery they’re piling on those same fans.

From the team-sheets to the balance-sheets, from the manager’s head to the owners’ objectives, Kopites no longer have a clue what’s going on at Anfield.

At the very point in history when the club cries out for unity, the blows from above rain down harder.

It’s as though Manchester United being one title away from equalling their own record of 18 has made the management more intent on playing out their civil war.

As though Liverpool’s seven-week presence at the top of the table didn’t just give their fans a chance to rekindle past glories, it gave the men in charge a platform to cement their own futures.

The absentee American cowboys are only united in one goal: To suck as much money out of Anfield and forget they ever heard of the place.

The life president and the chief executive are lame ducks, wallowing in the shame of selling the club so badly and so cheaply. And an increasingly stubborn manager, who refuses to sign a new contract until he’s handed full control of all football matters, seems more intent on all-out attacks on Rick Parry than opposing teams.

There’s schisms and plotting, lying and leaks, inexplicable outbursts and bizarre decisions wholly unbefitting a great club which is now five months away from being repossessed by banks. And in between are a group of players, some awaiting new contracts, others acceptance, many simply bemused at what’s going on around them.

Forget the awful draws, the anti-Fergie rant and the Press leak which forced the Kuwaitis to walk away in anger, what most sums up this unseemly shambles is the treatment of Robbie Keane.

Last summer, Benitez fancied him, but not as much as he fancied Gareth Barry. Parry fancied Keane so badly he paid over the odds, leaving Benitez without sufficient cash for Barry, and fuming.

Almost from day one Keane has felt unwanted, a feeling confirmed by regular substitutions, exclusion from the team and eventually, in a home derby, from the bench. And this week he’s all but been encouraged to leave.

So instead of watching a proven striker winning games, the fans stare dumbfounded at a £20million pawn in a long-running power struggle. Nothing exposes the divisions at the heart of the club more.

I’ve been a staunch supporter of Benitez and I still believe he can make Liverpool great again. I even think he can win a trophy this season.

But right now he seems so hel_l-bent on winning his own personal battles he’s alienating everyone around him. Tomorrow Tom Hicks and George Gillett will sit a dozen seats apart in the directors’ box, in some fake show of love for a club they’re killing. Equally distant will be Benitez and Parry.

No doubt, if Liverpool win, all will try to claim credit, when it will probably be down to a flash of brilliance from the usual suspects and the passion of the fans they claim are so special.

Well here’s a message from one of them: This year sees the 50th anniversary of Bill Shankly’s arrival at Anfield and the creation of modern Liverpool.

Never in his worst nightmare would he have envisaged his precious club being run in such a destructive and undignified manner.

You love Liverpool? Put away your egos and prove it.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/columnists/r...15875-21084536/

[MSingh]

Just saw the Star Sports Ad for the Cup Replay, it said " Can the more Offensive Reds, finally tame the Blues ??

I reckon the Producer's a Manc taking the p*ss...