Liverpool FC

[kinboshi]

Also, back four weren't rubbish yesterday.

[The Baron]

So Roy inherits a crap squad, and that's why they lost so many games including against Wolves a few weeks back.

The team were terrible, performance abject and disinterested. Not Roy's fault though.

Fast-forward to today, and the same players are on the pitch. Kenny has inherited a crap squad apparently. Funny though, they looked very interested today and the performance was good to see.

But please remember, it wasn't Roy's fault the team were so bad before. Obviously something else must have changed...

One swallow does not a summer make.

I agree, it might just be an anomaly. We'll know more after a few more games.

BUT, with the emphasis on the players to just go out and play and to do their jobs well I expect to see the team continue to improve.

Cases in point - Pepe's distribution. Was sublime yesterday. Also, the 'pass and move' ethic that Kenny wants them to play was also evident, highlighted by the last goal.

Of course, Wolves were poor, and you'd expect Liverpool to beat them. But before yesterday how many expected Liverpool to win?

Before yesterday how many expected Liverpool to win? In answer to that question I would ask why expectations were so low? If Hodgson was the root cause of Liverpool's woes why wouldn't expectations be much higher before yesterday's game now he's gone? Dalglish has come in with all the right tactics and everyone is super motivated cos the king is back and the squad is very good yet you don't expect mighty Liverpool FC to go and get a result at relegation favourites Wolverhampton Wanderers. Too much results orientated analysis here. The back four are still as rubbish as last week. Only yesterday they faced zero pressure from an ultra negative and very poor Wolves side. My mates at the game said Liverpool were scrappy and poor before the goal opened the game up and then Wolves allowed Liverpool to play as they chased the game. If Hodgson didn't inherit a poor squad I don't know why Liverpool are currently chasing numerous high profile players.

Hodgson isn't the root cause, and he did inhert a squad descimated by a need to make money in transfer windows, but he did help to accelerate the decline by making the squad worse than it was before he arrived. Out: Mascherano, Aquilani, Riera, Insua. In: Konchesky, Poulsen, Meireles, Cole - it's pretty obvious the man played his part.

He also played awful formations, tactics and made shocking substitions, two of three of which didn't occur very often before he arrived.

I still think he's a decent EPL manager but his time at Liverpool was atrocious.

[The Baron]

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN:


Sky Sports was under pressure last night to discipline its top football presenting team, Richard Keys and Andy Gray, after they were recorded making sexist remarks about two female match officials and a leading female football executive.

Keys and Gray were recorded during transmission of Saturday's Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool complaining that the assistant referee, Sian Massey, probably didn't know the offside rule and that someone "********** up big" by appointing a female match official. "The game's gone mad," said Keys, the channel's football anchor. The recording was not broadcast, but was passed to the Mail on Sunday by an anonymous source.

Massey, 25, was running the line in a Premier League game for only the second time and made a crucial, finely judged offside decision when Fernando Torres scored the first goal for Liverpool. She is one of three assistant referees selected for promotion by the Premier League and has been earmarked as a potential official in for the biggest matches. There are 853 female referees in England and the number is rising.

In the 50-second exchange, Gray also attacked Wendy Toms, who in the late 90s became the first female assistant referee in the Premier League, saying: "She was ******* hopeless as well." Keys turned his fire on Karren Brady, the deputy chair of West Ham, who on Saturday wrote a newspaper column saying she had been the victim of sex discrimination from the football media. "See charming Karren Brady this morning complaining about sexism?" Keys said. "Yeah. Do me a favour, love."

The remarks drew criticism from across the game. "It is absolutely abhorrent that gender is the only consideration when talking about female officials," Brady told the Guardian. "I am very interested to see what the bosses at Sky Sports think of this and then we will know whether sexism goes to the top of the game or not."

The comments were branded "medieval" by Fare, a Europe-wide campaign group opposed to discrimination in football. "They reveal the appalling and damaging sexist attitudes that exist across football," said Piara Powar, its executive director. "If they had made the same comments about a black or Asian linesman we would be looking at what happened to Ron Atkinson [who was urged to resign as a pundit by ITV in 2004 after he made a racist remark live on air about the black Chelsea player Marcel Desailly when he thought the microphone was off]."

Sky said last night: "The comments are not acceptable. They were not made on air but we have spoken to Richard and Andy and told them our views and they have apologised and expressed their regret."

The FA issued a statement which offered "wholehearted and continuing support" for female match officials.

Mike Riley, general manager of the referees' body said: "All referees and assistant referees are appointed on merit and ability. They are assessed on their performances only."


A slap on the wrist then - sigh! Wouldn't have minded some fresh blood instead of 1980's views every weekend.

[kinboshi]

As Aaron said, Hodgson wasn't the cause of what is/was wrong at Liverpool. Unfortunately, he wasn't the solution either.

Some of the decisions Purslow made were very detrimental to the club, and he ensured that the Hicks & Gillet legacy would live on longer than we all would have liked.

As the German dwarf said, all isn't healed yet, but hopefully the first corner has been turned with the eventual return of Dalglish, shame it wasn't 6 months earlier.

[TightEnd]

Babel apparently staying at Liverpool.

Happy Mondays.....?

[kinboshi]

Babel apparently staying at Liverpool.

Happy Mondays.....?

Bez would probably do better....

In what capacity is he staying, the Official Tweeter? 

[kinboshi]

Just been reading up on what was said about Babel.  It looks like the Hoffenheim deal is indeed off, but that Babel might be part of a deal with Ajax - which would make sense (for Liverpool).

[TheChipPrince]

Rumour mill saying that Ajax demand 35mil euros for Suarez so deal off, but 7mil fee agreed for Adam.

[kinboshi]

Rumour mill saying that Ajax demand 35mil euros for Suarez so deal off, but 7mil fee agreed for Adam.

I saw them as well.  No source or quotes attributed to them - but possibly true.  The Adam one sounded like someone making something up (that if Liverpool bid enough, Blackpool might have to accept)... 

I'm sure 99% of these 'rumours' are just guesses.  The ones that fail to materialise are quickly forgotten, but they can claim to be an 'insider' when they get one of their 100 predictions correct.

[TheChipPrince]

Rumour mill saying that Ajax demand 35mil euros for Suarez so deal off, but 7mil fee agreed for Adam.

I saw them as well.  No source or quotes attributed to them - but possibly true.  The Adam one sounded like someone making something up (that if Liverpool bid enough, Blackpool might have to accept)... 

I'm sure 99% of these 'rumours' are just guesses.  The ones that fail to materialise are quickly forgotten, but they can claim to be an 'insider' when they get one of their 100 predictions correct.

Adam handed in transfer request.

[boldie]

Rumour mill saying that Ajax demand 35mil euros for Suarez so deal off, but 7mil fee agreed for Adam.

I saw them as well.  No source or quotes attributed to them - but possibly true.  The Adam one sounded like someone making something up (that if Liverpool bid enough, Blackpool might have to accept)... 

I'm sure 99% of these 'rumours' are just guesses.  The ones that fail to materialise are quickly forgotten, but they can claim to be an 'insider' when they get one of their 100 predictions correct.

Suarez asking price is 20mill euros according to the Dutch press. Ajax is not in a position to turn down an offer of 20mill

[kinboshi]

Rumour mill saying that Ajax demand 35mil euros for Suarez so deal off, but 7mil fee agreed for Adam.

I saw them as well.  No source or quotes attributed to them - but possibly true.  The Adam one sounded like someone making something up (that if Liverpool bid enough, Blackpool might have to accept)... 

I'm sure 99% of these 'rumours' are just guesses.  The ones that fail to materialise are quickly forgotten, but they can claim to be an 'insider' when they get one of their 100 predictions correct.

Suarez asking price is 20mill euros according to the Dutch press. Ajax is not in a position to turn down an offer of 20mill

Was it €20M straight deal, or €25M including Babel?

[kinboshi]

Rumour mill saying that Ajax demand 35mil euros for Suarez so deal off, but 7mil fee agreed for Adam.

I saw them as well.  No source or quotes attributed to them - but possibly true.  The Adam one sounded like someone making something up (that if Liverpool bid enough, Blackpool might have to accept)... 

I'm sure 99% of these 'rumours' are just guesses.  The ones that fail to materialise are quickly forgotten, but they can claim to be an 'insider' when they get one of their 100 predictions correct.

Adam handed in transfer request.

Good stuff.  Definitely to Liverpool?

Is he really what Liverpool needs most at the moment though?  He's a good player, definitely - but there are other more pressing positions where we need players.  Will he be playing regularly?

[boldie]

Rumour mill saying that Ajax demand 35mil euros for Suarez so deal off, but 7mil fee agreed for Adam.

I saw them as well.  No source or quotes attributed to them - but possibly true.  The Adam one sounded like someone making something up (that if Liverpool bid enough, Blackpool might have to accept)... 

I'm sure 99% of these 'rumours' are just guesses.  The ones that fail to materialise are quickly forgotten, but they can claim to be an 'insider' when they get one of their 100 predictions correct.

Adam handed in transfer request.

If you were Adam, would you wait until the end of the season? Or at least until someone comes in with a proper offer for you so that your club also makes some money out of it? Just asking as I probably would consider that to be the decent thing to do. Adam is a £30mill player for Blackpool, he'll be on the bench most of the time at Liverpool and Blackpool would get relegated without him (IMO). ~even if Blackpool were to get relegated this season with Adam he'd still be worth the money they're offering now.

What incentive does Blackpool have to sell him?

Also whatabout Adam kissing the badge when he scored the other day and the day after that he hands in a transfer request? WTF?

[TightEnd]

Keys and Gray suspended


Meanwhile, from 1998