FANTASY FOOTBALL TIPS

Last night we witnessed what I can only describe as a horror
story.  A story that needs pulling apart
until everything has been gone over with an extremely fine toothcomb.

Why?

Because last night Liverpool were playing Queens Park
Rangers in the Premier League and sensationally let the game slip from their
grasp in the last 10 minutes.

It had been billed as a must win for QPR who had only won
one game in the last sixteen and were expected to return to the first division
at the end of this season.  Liverpool of
course were still on the hunt for that hallowed fourth spot that would see them
take part in the Champions League once again and on paper it was down as a win
for them.

But as we know Liverpool has a terrible habit of resorting
to the “I can’t be bothered, it’s only an ordinary game” syndrome
very quickly and last night was no exception.

The game itself had started very brightly and Queens Park
Rangers looked as though they were there for the taking.  Liverpool’s passing was superb and how they
never scored, is one of those questions that still need to be answered.  There were certainly enough chances and the
score line by the time Howard Webb blew for half time, should have been at
least 5-0.

It was not and there were already signs that Queens Park
Rangers were beginning to find their feet in the game.  Suddenly our defence was beginning to open up
a little and they were getting more and more of the play.  This led to Charlie Adam and Armad Traore
going in for a nasty tackle,  that saw
both of them being substituted at the beginning of the second half.

Now Charlie Adam is an enigma to himself. He was one of the
players that joined the club last summer and his form to start with was very
good, as was his love of picking up yellow cards.  Lately though he appears to be suffering a
crisis of confidence and has been left on the bench, rightly so of course going
by what we witnessed last night and although a yellow card was not issued, it
was not that far away, as he had been spoken too several times by Howard Webb.

The second half began with Sebastian Coates (Martin Kelly
had been taken off due his injury flaring up once again) and Jordan Henderson
as part of the team set up.  Would they
help in our quest for goals was the question on many supporter’s lips.  

It took a while but again with Liverpool playing some
wonderful passing play, Sebastian Coates picked up a ball and after a short
period of acrobatics, his first goal for the club had found the back of the
net.  A goal that should have been last
night and this morning’s talking point across all spectrums of the media and us
the supporters, but of course it was not.

Why that was, is what is bothering us all this morning
because Liverpool continued to play well and it was not long before Dirk
ensured that the game was well on the way to being won.  Liverpool were now 2 up and should have
ensured that twenty minutes later a further three points was added to their
total.

But they did not and why they decided to yet again rest on
their laurels only they can answer? 

Within minutes of Queens Park Rangers, Joey Barton being
taken off they looked a different team. Suddenly their twelfth man was behind
them and their style of play began to get better.  So much so that the threat of them scoring
became very evident, so evident in fact that our defence decided it was time to
go home.  This of course led to their
first goal and an extremely strange substitution by Kenny.

Now, I have nothing against Kenny and whilst he is the
Manager of Liverpool Football Club, I will back him to the hilt but I cannot
understand why he took off Luis Suarez and replaced him with Andy Carroll. Yes
Andy is tall and is expected to stop the high balls going into the goal, but unfortunately
Andy is another of those players, who simply refuses to do what he is capable
off and it is a gamble that misfired very quickly.

Queens Park Rangers seized their moment and with two further
forays into our defence they found the back of the net a further two times to
everyone’s amazement.

Our defence which appears to work so well in cup games let
us down once again and quite frankly it simply is not good enough.  Yes I know that Daniel Agger is missing, but
that should not have made an iota of difference.  The players in the squad are trained (and I
use that word loosely) to ensure that they can simply slot in when someone is
missing.  It has worked in the midfield
with Jay Spearing replacing the missing Lucas, and last night he was in fact
man of the match.

The sudden change and the lack of concentration has now cost
the club the treasured fourth spot – there will be no Champions League Football
next season and yet again we may need to rely on the cup competitions.

Those competitions are the Carling Cup and the FA Cup and
they are what the players seem to be concentrating solely on at the
moment. 

e have already seen what playing well can do by winning the
Carling Cup.  Although saying that it was
won on penalties against a team that we should have walked over.  It was one of those games that under a
premier league setting we could possibly have lost. Why, because the “I
can’t be bothered” would have surfaced once again.  This was a cup game though and suddenly
several players found the form that they should have had all season.  You see they wanted a medal to show off to
their friends.

That also happened last Sunday when we played Stoke in the
quarter finals of the FA Cup.  We had
eleven players on the pitch, eleven players that ensured the game was won.  Everyone played their hearts out because
another medal was at stake and could be added to their collection.  That medal if won and the Carling cup one can
quite frankly be thrown away because they do not deserve them.

I have never seen a Liverpool team with such duel
personalities and it has to stop.  The
players have to realize that every game must be played with the will to
win.  It is no good winning some and then
deciding that they cannot be bothered.  The Premier League is as important, if not
more so than any competition and I include the Champions League in that. 

Have the players realized I wonder that Liverpool are now on
a downward spiral because of their total disregard for Kenny and whatever they
are taught in training.  If they haven’t,
then when we hit the relegation zone (and it will happen if things do not
change), they had better have some very good excuses ready.

They are at this present time, letting Kenny and everyone at
the club down as well as us the supporters. 
They are not playing as Liverpool should play and it sets a further set
of questions in motion. Questions that surround the scouting staff and in
particular Damien Comolli, because if by doing his job, he keeps recommending players
that are not suited to Liverpool Football Club. Then there are major problems
ahead.

It is also becoming very apparent that there is something
very wrong with the way the team is prepared for each game.  Now I have no idea where the blame lies here,
because from what we have been led to believe it is a collective effort from
several members of staff.

Kenny has always said that each game is different, and as
much as I admire and respect Kenny perhaps that is part of the problem.
Football is a game and each match needs to be treated the same with a few tweaks
here and there according to who the opponents are.

Several people have said to me over the last 24 hours that
perhaps it is now time to introduce some of the youngsters.  I would have agreed with that several weeks
ago, but having watched the Next Gen game against Ajax, they are not as ready
as we believed them to be.  Which of
course is a shame because, if their introduction meant that several of the
senior players wake up, then it would be worth the risk?

Because if they do not Liverpool Football Club will find
itself facing a crisis situation once again and quite frankly that is something
that it does not need or want.

Picture © MirrorFootball – Trinity Mirror Newspaper Group.

Last week I asked I asked if the players still wanted to
play for Liverpool Football Club. 
Yesterday was the day that two of them proved to me that they do not.

The first of course is Andy Carroll who was returning to
Newcastle for the first time, since the events of the 31st January 2011.  Events that most of us know should never have
taken place because as yesterday finally proved; to buy a player in panic is a total
waste of time and money.

Andy as we know has never really settled in and there have
been a plethora of questions hanging over his head from the moment everyone
learnt of the extortionate fee that was paid for him.  £35 million for a player that is only worth
around £8 – £10 million (if that) was very good business move by Mike Ashley.

Andy had only played in the Premiership for six months
before his move from Tyneside to Liverpool and that alone should have set the
alarm bells ringing. He was also bought whilst injured, which should never have
happened.  It also now transpires that he
had no say in the matter and found himself in a city where if the truth be
known. He did not want to be.

He is as we all known a Geordie boy, and like Liverpudlians,
their heart never leaves the city of their birth.  It has not and I know I will get slated for
this, but no matter how much the lad has tried; his heart has never really been
in it, hence his diabolical form.

Yesterday was the game that according to Kenny and several
sports commentators where Andy could have proved that he had finally made the
transition and his confidence was on the way back.  Sadly his immaturity got in the way and we
watched a horror story unfold.

Andy had picked up a lovely ball and with an open goal in
front of him, the obvious move to any well-seasoned striker would have been to
score – but not to Andy who due to his hesitation found himself embroiled in a
tackle that he simply was not going to win. 
What does he do, he dives and was immediately given a yellow card. 

Now you would have thought, this would have indicated to
Andy that he needed to rise above his stupidity and get the goals that
Liverpool needed and to prove to the Newcastle supporters, that the amount of
abuse being directed at him, did make an iota of difference.

But it did not and as we watched the afternoon unfold, it
became clear that Kenny needed to substitute the player to try and rescue the
game. This happened a lot later than it should have done in my opinion, but I
am not the manager and Kenny knows best. 

It was what followed that proved to me; Andy does not want
too and indeed should never wear the red shirt again.

He was taken off with eleven minutes to play and not only
did he storm down the tunnel, he throw a tirade of abuse at Kenny as well as
Alan Pardew whilst taking off and throwing his shirt to the ground.

The dive of course set the pattern for the game and seemed
to signal to the Liverpool players that there was no point in playing for the
points.  Their attitude and style of play
immediately dropped and the inevitable happened with Newcastle finding the net
through Cisse. 

Now Cisse is a player that has been brought for next to
nothing and yet his goal tally since January already surpasses that of Andy
Carroll.  It also proves that last summer;
the scouting department led by Damien Comolli made some massive mistakes -
primarily because they do not have a clue about what they are supposed to be
doing.  Newcastle on the other hand, have
a network of good old fashioned football scouts who have found cheap and
wonderful players.

Players who proved yesterday that they were determined to
try and get into the Champions League, whereas those bought by Damien Comolli
seemed to think that because they have one medal, the league does not matter.  It does and something radical now needs to be
done on both the playing and the scouting side – Players and staff need to be
replaced and if it is not done this summer then Liverpool will find themselves
in the wilderness for many seasons to come.

The referee of course did not help matters, by making
several mistakes but the Liverpool players should have responded to this by
fighting to win the game. They did not and in the end frustration (I use that
word very loosely) got to one of the senior players that should have known
better.  That senior player of course is
Pepe Reina, who has actually acted as the team’s captain when Stevie or Jamie has
not been available.

Liverpool by that time had already lost the game and
although the Newcastle player has to take the blame for his part in the
altercation, what Pepe did was totally in-excusable.

Why he decided to head butt the Newcastle player only he
will know of course, but it led quite rightly to a red card – and yes I know
that replays of the incident have shown that there was no contact, but the
intent was quite clear. 

This moment of sheer madness means that Pepe will miss the
FA Cup semi-final because Liverpool has said that they have accepted the
card.  A semi-final that unfortunately,
is all but lost because we will need to use a goalkeeper who is unproven in the
Premiership and we have a group of players, who simply do not seem to care
about the club and what it stands for.

It has also led me to think about Pepe and his attitude this
season.  There is definitely something
missing from his style of play.  He does
not seem to be putting the effort into saving as many of the balls that he used
too.  Time and time again this season we
are seeing goals scored by the opposition that would have been saved by him two
seasons ago.

Is this just down to the general malaise that surrounds the
team, or is it indeed down to the fact that perhaps in the back of his mind, he
is thinking about moving on.  He is or
was a goalkeeper that needed Champions League football and without that, his
standing in his national team will be damaged and that is something that I
suspect he will not tolerate.

The next thing we saw of course was Kenny going onto the
pitch, I suspect to try and calm down the ensuing situation.  He was stopped by Stevie G and told to go
back to his seat. In my heart of hearts I really hope that this was to ensure
Kenny did not add the clubs woes by getting a ‘Bringing the game into
Disrepute’ charge thrown at him. 
Anything else would confirm my fears that all is not well within the
dressing room.

There have of course been the usual calls from the
uneducated for Kenny’s head over the last 24 hours and of course the media are
having a field day.  Unfortunately the
blame for that lies fairly and squarely at the players feet and quite frankly,
if they cannot step up  to the challenge
of playing for a great football club, then they need to be shown the door. 

Kenny has Liverpool Football Club etched on his heart and I
dread to think what he really feels because he is protecting his players.  A protection that must now be dropped because
quite frankly they do not deserve it and Kenny is suffering because of it.  

His reputation has taken a battering because of mistakes
made by the club’s PR department as well as the players.  Now we all know that massive mistakes have
been made, but Kenny must be given the chance to rectify these.

A lot of you will say, but the club is now in a precarious
position.  That may be so, but if we all
pull together that can be changed.  Yes
our league position is not looking good and yes a lot of you want instant
success which of course was never going to happen.  If you cannot accept that ask yourselves
this, do you want to become a club like Chelsea who changes its manager on a
whim.  A whim, which will ensure that,
the Champions League and the Premiership may be some years away yet.  Because if you do, it will quite possibly be
another 20 years before Liverpool get back to where they belong.

In the life of Liverpool Football Club, this season has been
one of those that will be consigned to the history books for several different
reasons.  We have watched as our beloved
king, Kenny Dalglish has taken the brunt for things that many people believed
he and he alone could have prevented. 
That of course is totally untrue, as sometimes things can go out of
control and in a perfect world, those above him should have stepped in and put
a damage limitation exercise in place. 
They did not, and ultimately it sent the club and the team into a
backward spiral.

That backward spiral was brought to a head during last week
when John Henry and Tom Werner flew into Liverpool, having decided between them
that something had to be done about the failings of the team in the
Premiership. A series of meetings were then set up at the Hilton Hotel and
Kenny Dalglish along with Damien Comolli was asked to attend.  They were, it transpired both asked to
explain why the signings that had cost so much money, had performed so badly on
the pitch.

Now nobody apart from those within the hierarchy at
Liverpool Football Club, were aware that John and Tom were already in the
country – most of us believed that they would attend the FA Cup Semi Final -
let alone that a series of meetings were taking place.  Meetings that if the media was to believed
would take place once the current season had finished.

But take place they did and around 10.15 a.m. on Thursday
morning the story broke that Damien Comolli had left the club by mutual consent
- in layman’s terms this means, he has been sacked but an agreement has been
put into place to ensure he stays quiet and a compensation package has been
agreed. 

Now I have never been a fan of his – he always seemed like
an imposter to me and having listened to Arsene Wenger and Harry Rednapp over
the last few days, he certainly was not the man he claimed to be and it appears
his C.V. contained rather a lot of fabricated statements. 

Why he was sacked, everyone has said that he has taken the
blame for the massive prices paid for the players since his tenure began.  There are also several other factors involved
which I suspect we will not know anything about for many years to come, but one
that does come to mind is that during the Louis Suarez debacle, he changed his
statements and also spoke to the referee, when it would have been better for
him to literally have kept his mouth shut.

He is gone now thank goodness and Kenny can get on with his
job without any interference.  He will
hopefully be able to set up his own scouting network and find the same sort of
gems that Newcastle have managed to do for a portion of the funds that Damien
Comolli parted with during his tenure.

Now everyone wondered if the timing of this was perhaps a
little odd, but as it transpired twenty four later it was to ensure that John
and Tom were back in Boston for a baseball game.  A game, that quite frankly only needed one of
them to be in attendance, the other could and should have been at Wembley on
Saturday and at the Remembrance Service for Hillsborough victims on the Sunday.

The other thing that everyone seemed to be worried about
was, if Damien’s departure would affect the player’s preparation for the FA Cup
Semi Final.  Now, if what we had known
about the job specification for the Director of Football was in fact correct,
there was no reason for it to do so.  But
like a lot of things surrounding Damien, I had my suspicions about his actual
involvement around team matters and I get the feeling that the players felt
intimidated by him.   I may be wrong on
this of course but the upturn in the form of Andy Carroll tells me I am not.

Andy as we all know has been struggling for form since his
arrival from Newcastle in January 2011 and I get the feeling that he was
constantly being reminded about his price tag from within the club. Whether it
was Damien Comolli doing this or not, I will never know for sure, but I am
pretty certain the players were made aware that something that something was
afoot and that an announcement was imminent. 
This could well have been music to Andy’s ears and with the shackles
off, we saw an absolutely fantastic performance from him on the Tuesday when we
went to Ewood Park.

The Andy Carroll that had a regular in the Newcastle team,
suddenly appeared in the Liverpool team and being a massive critic of Andy, I
have to say, I was extremely pleased by what I saw.  Everyone I spoke to in the media felt the
same and the next question on everyone’s lips was, will his performance in the
semi-final be just as good if he is picked to play.

Now that semi-final was due to take place at Wembley on the
day before the anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy and the FA had asked the
Hillsborough families if they would like a minutes silence to take place before
kick-off.  They said yes and with our
opponents being Everton Football Club, everyone hoped that it would be observed
without trouble.

It had also been arranged that Stevie G and Phil Neville
would present two of the Hillsborough families with a bouquet of flowers on
behalf of the Football Association.  This
was done with the dignity it deserved and with the players of both teams as
well as the match officials around the centre circle, referee Howard Webb blew
his whistle to signal that the one minutes silence had begun. 

There is not much you can say here, except thank you to all
concerned as it was observed with the upmost dignity by both sets of supporters
and if someone had dropped a pin, you would have heard it.

The match itself started with the same hesitancy that always
appears to be present when the Merseyside Derby’s take place and for the first
20 or so minutes, the passing from either team was not as good as it should
have been. This led to a mistake by Jamie Carragher and Jelavic being the
prolific poacher and striker that he, picked up the ball and it was straight
into the back of the net.

Now there was nothing that stand-in goalkeeper Brad Jones
could have done to prevent the shot and on the day when fate and little Luca
decreed his dad should be in goal, it looked as though Liverpool were on their
way out of the FA Cup.

The Liverpool team that we were watching appeared to be the
Liverpool team that could not give a damn and rather than try and pull one
back, they just played with the ball until the half time whistle came.

Now I have no idea what Kenny said to the players during the
half time team talk but within minutes it looked as though the teams had gone
through a role-reversal situation. 
Liverpool suddenly took the game by the scruff of its neck, whilst
Everton believing that they had the game in the bag, sat back and hoped that
the clock would tick down quickly.

This attitude of course leads to mistakes and Syvain Distin
was the first Everton player to suffer the consequences.  Luis Suarez picked up one of his short passes
and with had a clear run towards the goal. A run, that culminated in the ball
going straight passed goalie Tim Howard, to bring Liverpool back on level
terms.

This seem to fire Liverpool up and with Kenny making several
changes – Jordan Henderson who seemed to have lost his way once again, appeared
to be doing everything he could to get sent off – was taken off along with
Stewart Downing.  They were replaced by
Craig Bellamy and Maxi Rodrigeux in that hope that the second goal would
arrive.

It did off course and the scorer was Andy Carroll.  Everton had foolishly given away a free kick
and Craig Bellamy time his shot to ensure it met with Andy’s head.  With three minutes to go Liverpool were now
in the lead and it was simply a matter of either trying to score another or to
ensure that Brad was not bothered at the other end of the pitch. 

Now Andy who in the second half proved again that the
shackles had come off, was doing all he could to either help his team mates or
indeed score another goal. It did not happen of course and the only other change
fell to Maxi Rodrigeux who somehow managed to miss a fantastic goal
opportunity.

It did not matter though, and Liverpool Football Club will
be back to play at Anfield South in three weeks’ time on the 5th May 2012.

We still have a couple of games to play before then and
hopefully with the players now on a high we can look forward to reaching a
better position in the league.

If not, it will not matter that Andy, Luis, Stevie and the
rest of the team have found their form, because the day of the long knives may
well happen once again.

Off the pitch matters also as I have said above take place
in April and the most important one is the Hillsborough Memorial Service on the
15th.  This year it was as always
attended by the relatives of the Hillsborough Victims, Liverpool Football Clubs
first team and reserves, along with manager Kenny Dalglish, his wife Marina and
Assistant Manager Steve Clarke, as well as the club’s supporters.

It was a wonderful service and included readings from Ian
Ayre and Dirk Kuyt.  The Hillsborough
Anthem was sung as was You’ll Never Walk Alone. 
Margaret Aspinall gave a wonderful speech and I hope the young man in
question actually takes note of what was said as he needs to learn several
lessons.

This time next year hopefully the service will be in part a
celebration as the results of the Hillsborough Panel should be known.  Results that will ultimately give the 96
victims, the peace and the justice that they deserve.

Yesterday
was one of those days that will remain in the memory not only of Liverpool
supporters for many years to come.  It was of course the day that Luis
Suarez announced to the watching football world that he is back to his best.

The day weather-wise was not one of the best and as
the team arrived in Norwich they were greeted by a good old fashioned East
Anglian down pour?  A down pour, that could quite possibly change the how
the game was played in terms of speed and the players chosen.

Unbeknown to us at this point in time Kenny had
already done that and the resulting team sheet led to the usual questions being
asked about the omission of two players.  These players were Martin Skrtel
and Andy Carroll.  Now Martin I suspect was being rested with the view
that he will be needed not only for the midweek game against Fulham but also
the FA Cup Final on Saturday.  Andy, we were told has a slight groin
strain, but I get the feeling there is a lot more to that than we are being
told.

The
players of course brought into replace them were Jamie Carragher and Craig
Bellamy.  Jamie of course has become the butt of abuse for the simple
reason in football terms he is getting old and his pace has slowed down.  
 He is still a Liverpool player though, and we the supporters must get
behind him until the day he hangs up his boots.  Craig I suspect, was
brought in because he understands and links up with Luis Suarez well.

Earlier in the season Norwich had come to Anfield and
due to the heroics of goalkeeper John Ruddy and striker Grant Holt, ensured
that they left not only with the points tally but also the headlines that
day. 

There was no way Kenny would allow that to happen
again, which I guess had something also to do with his team selection and
formation. He was also I am sure aware that Everton are not only going through
a goal fest at the moment, but that they are above us in the Premiership table.
As every Liverpool supporter will tell you, this must not be allowed to happen.

What he did not know of course as the team made their
way out onto a rain-sodden pitch was that the afternoon would end with his main
striker possibly now in the running for a goal of the season award.

The game itself was slow to begin with as both teams
struggled to find their feet, but it was Liverpool that soon showed who was
going to be in charge of the proceedings that afternoon.  Whether it was
because those in the team knew that their FA Cup Final places were at stake or
whether it was because the good Liverpool team had turned up, but we were
witnessing some fantastic football being played. The passing and the speed of
the ball was fantastic, even though the conditions were dire, and it did not
take long for Liverpool and Luis Suarez to let the watching crowd know that
they were there to win the game.

The match had barely reached the twenty fourth minute
mark when David Fox dithered over the ball long enough to allow Stevie G to
dispossess him and sent the ball with a reverse kick thundering towards Luis
Suarez, who then sent a thundering shot with his left foot, towards John Ruddy.
The goalkeeper did not stand a chance of stopping the ball and goal number one
was in the back of the net.

Liverpool
was now in total control of the game and four minutes later, Norwich were made
to pay for yet another mistake.  Kyle
Naughton who had moved into to the left back position after Adam Drury had been
injured and miss-kicked a back pass to Elliott Ward.  Luis Suarez, who had been lurking on the
flanks ran in, dispossessed him and with an fantastic angle sent the ball goal
bound towards John Ruddy, who again just looked on in awe as the ball found the
back of the net. Liverpool was now two goals to the good and with Norwich
crumbling it was not a case of if they would score again but when.

Paul Lambert who had worked miracles with the team
since his arrival at Norwich was not going to give up that easy and after half
time and a couple of changes in personnel, his team did all they could to try
and turn the game around.

Pepe Reina, who had literally watched from the side-lines
as the drama unfolded in front of him, was called into action for the first
time, when a ball from Elliot Bennett had to be tipped away from the goal.

With both teams now in the thick of the action it was
the turn of young Jonjo Shelvey to do, what Liverpool know how to do best.
 He picked up a ball and at close range shot towards the goal, only to see
it hit the post.  Having recovered from this, seconds later, he was in
thick of the action once again.  This time though, with an open goalmouth,
he picked up a ball and it was sent wide.

Now I don’t know whether this is to do possibly with
him suffering from nerves or just inexperience. But having watched him closely
since his return from Blackpool, given the time and the experience he will
hopefully gain from being around the senior players, he will evolve into one of
Liverpool’s great players.

This seemed to signal to Norwich once again that
perhaps they could still quite possibly turn the game around.  With
fifteen minutes left on the clock, James Vaughan sent a header towards Pepe
only to see it saved but Paul Lambert then introduced local hero Grant Holt
from the substitutes bench hoping that he would do the damage required to
ensure a home win.

What nobody realised at that point in time was that
Luis Suarez was about to ensure his name went into the Liverpool Football Club
history books.

Elliott Ward had picked up the ball, but then
carelessly let it go only for Luis Suarez, who had already noted that John
Ruddy was off his line, to pick up and send a fantastic shot 50 yards into the
back of the net.

Liverpool went into the dressing room worthy winners
and with Luis Suarez now back to his best, have issued a warning to Chelsea
that next Saturday’s FA Cup Final at Anfield South, is not going to be the walk
over they believe it will be.  In fact Liverpool I am sure will do
everything to ensure the cup is taken back to the North West rather than to
South East London.

Having just watched the Sunderland versus Liverpool game, I
think I can speak for everyone when I say that what we all witnessed was a
horror story.  The players performances
today were diabolical and it about time someone starting asking some very
serious questions.  Those questions must
also be directed at the Director of Football as well as the Manager and his
coaching staff. 

I have to admit that I was worried about the result; the
moment that the team was announced and it lead me to wonder, just as I did last
week if Kenny has any input in the team selection.  There appear to me, to be too many hap hazard
changes each week for them to be down to Kenny. 
His knowledge of the game should guarantee that the right players are
chosen each week. But within minutes of them being on the pitch, my fears were
well-found because it became clear that the wrong eleven were on the pitch. I
also do not agree with the captain being the goalkeeper, because it means that
there is no leadership in the middle of field and that is the place where it
should always be.

The game of course was always going to be a difficult one as
Sunderland have improved since Martin O’Neill took over as manager, but I
suspect even they did not know, they were going to face eleven men who simply
gave the impression that today’s game was just something that had popped up in
their diary and they needed to get it out of the way.  It was as though the clock had been turned
back to last year during Roy Hodgson’s reign because the standard of football
was diabolical.  I don’t think I saw one
complete pass the whole of the first half and I think in the second half they
only happened once Stevie had come onto the pitch, if then.  I have to admit I started to concentrate on
my knitting rather than watch the game to ensure I calmed down.

But then again why should I calm down.  The season is three quarters of the way
through and I along with the rest of you should be celebrating our steady climb
up the league towards that treasured Champions League Spot.  A spot that is now absolutely and totally out
of our reach because let’s all face the fact now, with the rubbish we have in
the team it is simply not going to happen.

That rubbish of course was brought into the club by Damien
Comolli, who religiously goes by that stupid money ball system.  A system, that apparently dictates that you
buy in young players so that you get your monies worth in around 5 years’ time,
when they reach their true potential.  It
is about time someone opened his eyes and made him realize in the English game,
you buy players of quality no matter what their age is to ensure you reach the
goals that are set by your owners.  Now
as far as I am concerned, Damien Comolli is nothing more than a scout and
certainly should be doing the job he is doing, because he simply does not have
a clue.  I would have thought that having
been sacked by Tottenham and Arsenal guaranteed that he never got a job in the
Premier League again, but then when you are new to the game and he is
recommended by Arsenal’s owner I guess John Henry took him on after listening
to some very well-rehearsed speeches.

In total since last January eight new players have joined
Liverpool’s ranks and three of them are simply not good enough to wear the
Liverpool shirt.  They are Charlie Adam,
Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson.  Three
players, who were overpriced and quite frankly should never, have been looked
at by Liverpool. Yes they played well for their old clubs, but in those clubs
the standards set were different.  Charlie was supposed to help bolster our
midfield and it is not happening and I think one of the youngsters would do so
much better. Andy was brought in to score goals – please tell me how he can do
that, when he appears to have forgotten what a ball looks like. Jordan, I think
finds the big games too much at the moment and his nerves take over.

Sebastian Coates, is another example of a young expensive
player which still does not understand what playing for Liverpool means, today
his nerves took over and quite frankly we were lucky to escape with just the
one goal against us.  Why Jamie was not
on the pitch is another of life’s mysteries.

Of the others, Stewart Downing is slowly beginning to find
his feet and if he can begin to understand that you must play well every week,
then yes, he may at some point in the future be able to stake his place every
week in the team. 

Luis Suarez of course is suffering I believe from a lack of
confidence at the moment, hence his lack of action in front of the goal.  I have my doubts as to whether it will
recover by the end of the season or if indeed he will be a Liverpool player at
the beginning of next season.

Craig Bellamy is the signing of the season and what did he
cost nothing.  Here is a lad who is now
in his thirties but his thirst for the game is second to none.  His energy and his enthusiasm is fantastic as
is his love of the game.  This of course
is the one example that throws that stupid money ball system straight out of
the window.  Today he was let down by his
team mates and simply could not get into the game.

Jose Enrique is another player, who has slotted straight in
and has saved us on quite a few occasions. Again he is closer to the older
rather than the younger player and understands what playing for a big club means.
He did his best today but with his team mates not knowing whether to chase or
pick up the ball, he was on a hiding to nowhere.

Now to the Manager and his coaching staff.  I have nothing against Kenny and I honestly do
not believe the dire performances that we have witnessed lately are down to
him.  Although he joins in the training
sessions, they are mainly mapped out by his colleagues Steve Clarke and Kevin
Keen.  Now we all know Kenny has a
fantastic pedigree and at this moment in time it is probably like a noose
around his neck.  As soon as the players
do as they did today and play badly, he gets pulled apart. That has to stop
because the buck lies with the eleven players on the pitch.

His assistants though, need to look at themselves and ask if
they are training the players in the right way. 
Steven Clarke came with a massive pedigree after being at Chelsea with
Jose Mouriniho and knows all about winning, so why can he not get this into the
heads of the players.  Kevin Keen came
from West Ham and that should set some questions in motion, after all they have
become a team that goes up and down between the premiership and the
championship every other season.

I said last season before the changes were made that I had a
feeling the training sessions were not as they should be and was proved right
time and time again.  These season,
although we see them doing some ball work and running, I would really love to
know what the rest of the sessions are composed off, because they are not
working

Something needs to be done and done quickly and I certainly
don’t advocate changing the manager. The club is as we all know in a period of transition
and Kenny needs to complete the job. 
What he does not need are players that have no intention of ensuring the
club moves forward. These players are only there for the massive pay check at
the end of the month and need to be moved on urgently once the window opens in
the summer.

Until they are the club will continue to go backwards and to
be honest I dread to think where we will be at the end of May.

Saying that though, there is a young man out there with
Liverpool etched very deeply in his heart and not only is he a free agent, he
is looking for a new club.  Who is this
young man you may ask.  His name of
course is Robbie Fowler and if anyone can solve our goal drought, he can.  He may also be able to join Stevie, Jamie and
Craig in trying to get the message across to the players that playing for
Liverpool Football Club is a privilege and not a drudgery that they need to get
out of the way.

Today will I hope go down in the history of
Liverpool Football Club as the day when everyone, suddenly and finally came to
their senses. We have as you all know been embroiled in a situation that from
the moment it happened has turned football supporter against football supporter
because of our differing views about the original incident.

It has also caused the media to be vilified for
simply doing what they do and that is of course to report things as they
happen.  Yes they have sometimes got
things wrong, yes they have sometimes used the wrong headlines and the wrong
pictures but that is part and parcel of the job and it will happen no matter
what the subject or what the story is. 

What you have to remember is that without the media
whether it be online or in the case of the newspapers in their paper editions,
without them we would not get the news as fast as we do.  Today was a prime example of how everyone
works together and gets the news that we have been waiting for since October
into the public domain as soon as possible.

What brought the sudden turn of events into our
lives started last Wednesday, when it was made known that Luis Suarez would
shake Patrice Evra’s hand during the obligatory handshake that marks the beginning
of every game in the Premiership.  It was
also due to take place at Old Trafford and would be Luis Suarez’s second game
after the completion of his eight match ban for racially abusing Evra.  Everything had been done to ensure that any
pressure that had been building up between the two rivals was stopped before it
happened and everyone from both clubs, the media and the two sets of supporters
hoped to watch yet another great match in the on-going saga that is Liverpool v
Manchester United.

But as always happens, these things never go to plan
and with everyone watching him, Luis Suarez made his way down the line of
Manchester United players.  He reached
Patrice Evra and completely ignored him, and went onto shake David De Gea’s
hand.  A can of worms had now been opened
and ruined what could have been a wonderful afternoon.

The match suddenly lost its importance and with the
spotlight now on Luis Suarez once again, the recriminations and the hatred that
was turning supporter against supporter began again.  It also led his manager Kenny Dalglish making
a fool of himself on television because he was aware of the true facts.  Now I don’t know what the sensible ones
amongst you felt, but I was sitting there in tears.  I could not believe how low the club had fallen
because of one man, a man who Kenny trusted and who now ensured that he looked
as absolute idiot.

I myself was sent more than fifty different
photographs and video clips of what happened, by people trying to ensure that
the blame fell on Evra.  A blame that I
was unsure about until I watched the BBC clips this morning.  It was there as plain as day that Suarez had
refused his hand and something needed to be done and done fast.

What I did not know was that an article had been
printed overnight in the New York Times regarding the issue and I am very
grateful to the lads at the Mirror for passing it onto me.  That article though and once I have yet read
in the Boston Globe indicated that John Henry was showing any of his leadership
qualities where Liverpool Football Club are concerned and people were starting
to ask questions about the damage to the brand which is Liverpool Football Club.  This would have irked any major company owner
and I suspect suddenly realisation took hold and John Henry felt that something
had to be done. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/sports/soccer/liverpools-luis-suarez-refuses-to-shake-the-hand-of-uniteds-patrice-evra.html?_r=2

The situation here overnight had not improved and
the usual idiots were having a field day on twitter.  It did not matter how many times you tried to
reason with them, they were not having it. 
Evra was wrong, their hero was right – even though by now the evidence
from the BBC was there for everyone to view, they were having none it.

Little did everyone know, that things were happening
behind the scenes and shortly after 2 p.m. this afternoon, a statement from
Luis Suarez appeared on the LFC TV website. 
These are his only words and I really hope that they are heartfelt and
meant after all he has let not only his club down, but his manager and us the
supporters as well.

“I have spoken with the manager since the game
at Old Trafford and I realise I got things wrong.

“I’ve not only let him down, but also the Club
and what it stands for and I’m sorry. I made a mistake and I regret what
happened.

“I should have shaken Patrice Evra’s hand
before the game and I want to apologise for my actions.

“I would like to put this whole issue behind me
and concentrate on playing football.”

Two further statements followed, one from Managing
Director Ian Ayre and one from Kenny himself.

Ian:

“We are extremely disappointed Luis Suarez did
not shake hands with Patrice Evra before yesterday’s game. The player had told
us beforehand that he would, but then chose not to do so.

“He was wrong to mislead us and wrong not to
offer his hand to Patrice Evra. He has not only let himself down, but also
Kenny Dalglish, his teammates and the Club. It has been made absolutely clear
to Luis Suarez that his behaviour was not acceptable.

“Luis Suarez has now apologised for his actions
which was the right thing to do. However, all of us have a duty to behave in a
responsible manner and we hope that he now understands what is expected of
anyone representing Liverpool Football Club

Kenny:

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish today insisted Luis
Suarez is right to apologise for failing to shake Patrice Evra’s hand at Old
Trafford.

“Ian Ayre has made the Club’s position
absolutely clear and it is right that Luis Suarez has now apologised for what
happened at Old Trafford,” said Dalglish.

“To be honest, I was shocked to hear that the
player had not shaken hands having been told earlier in the week that he would
do.

“But as Ian said earlier, all of us have a
responsibility to represent this Club in a fit and proper manner and that
applies equally to me as Liverpool manager. 

“When I went on TV after yesterday’s game I
hadn’t seen what had happened, but I did not conduct myself in a way befitting
of a Liverpool manager during that interview and I’d like to apologise for
that.”

Now I hope that I never have to read another
statement from Kenny like the one above. 
The interview was horrible to watch as I have said and it is totally
unacceptable for a player to cause his manager so much grief.

Now because of what has happened since October Luis
Suarez has added to the baggage that he brought with him to Liverpool and the
Premier League.  Baggage, that in my mind
makes him a liability to the club.  A
liability I am sure that they are aware off and I honestly wonder what will
happen as the season draws to its end.

If he can steer clear of trouble and believe me it
is a big IF, then yes let him continue his career in the premiership, if not,
then as much as it hurts me to say it, it may be better for all the parties
concerned to sell him on.  He may also
feel that, a life away from England is better for him and his family.

For the time being though, it is now time to draw a
line under the whole horrible episode and get back to what we all love – the football.  We have after all two very big cup games
coming up, one of which could see our first trophy in the cabinet for several
years.

As the day began yesterday, Anfield was bathed in Sunshine
and it signalled the beginning of what would turn out to be a day to remember
not only for the football on the pitch but also for the behaviour from both
sets of supporters.

It was of course the first meeting of Liverpool and
Manchester United since the Suarez/Evra Racism situation came to light and with
the world’s media watching, all parties concerned did their best to ensure that
the powder keg which was waiting to combust, was dampened before it had a
chance to do so. 

Managing Director, Ian Ayre gave an interview during the
previous week stating how important it was for the clubs supporters and players
to be behave.  This was followed by Kenny
and Stevie stating the same in their programme notes.  Sir Alex also played his part by ensuring
that Manchester United’s match going supporters were aware that no abuse would
be tolerated.  It was repeated by stadium
announcer George Sephton before the game started.

There were reports of a couple of incidents, one of which
has led to the arrest of a 59 year old man which is being dealt with by
Merseyside Police and I am sure if it is proved to be true, then he will never
see Liverpool play at Anfield again – quite rightly so of course.  The other incident was I suspect just started
by supporters who wanted to cause trouble by spreading a rumour. That rumour
was quickly discounted by Merseyside police and although I don’t hold out much
hope, should be ignored.

The game itself was billed as the tie of the round.  That round of course was part of the annual
F.A Cup competition and could see Liverpool progress further in their quest for
Silverware.  Silverware, that, would
certainly signal that Kenny is on the road to ensuring that the club would be
successful once again.

Anfield was as expected a sell-out and as the teams arrived
on the pitch, the atmosphere was a good as it was on Wednesday night and as
anyone will tell you, when the twelfth man is in evidence, it sends a shiver up
the spines of the opposition.

It did this to a certain degree to Manchester United the
first half, who apart from old-timers Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, seemed to be
unsure of how to play.  Liverpool who had
made four changes to line-up after our cup winning display on Wednesday appeared
to settle very quickly and the football although cagey at times was a pleasure
to watch. 

They were constantly trying to get the ball towards
Manchester United’s haphazard goalie, David De Gea with Maxi getting an early
strike at the goal.  It was saved by De
Gea and I suspect will go into the record books as the only one he saved
properly that afternoon. 

At the other end Ryan Giggs had a ball saved by Pepe Reina
and Valencia found that the disease called hitting the bar actually happens to
the opposition as well. 

With clock ticking towards the 25 minute mark, it was
Liverpool who finally let the supporters know, that the game was there for
winning.    Daniel Agger picked up a
Stevie G Corner and headed it straight towards the hapless De-Gea and Anfield
was alight.  The noise from the
supporters was amazing as it signalled that we were perhaps heading towards
Wembley once more.

As often happens, these things never go to plan and
Manchester United equalised 6 minutes later with Ji Sung Park equalising after
picking up a ball from Raphael De silva. 
It also showed that perhaps our defence was going to have another bad
day.

But with fingernails bitten down and nerves standing on end
the supporters both at the game and watching on television were not going to be
disappointed as the second half quickly which was the better team on the pitch.

With both teams doing virtually the same as they were doing
in the first half, there were several shots at the goal but to no avail.  Then in a match that appeared to be going
along without any major incidents for referee Mark Halsey to make a decision
on, Liverpool had a penalty appeal turned down. It appeared that Chris Smalling
had caught a ball on the hand as he tried to intercept a pass from Enrique to
Andy Carroll.  Mark Halsey signalled for
play to continue and I have to admit I have not seen a replay so whether it is
was the right decision or not, will remain to be seen.

It was shortly after this that Liverpool appeared to be
getting rather sloppy and if it had not been for Martin Sktel being alert and
stopping a ball from Danny Welbeck, then Manchester United would have been in
the lead.  

Then came the time for the changes that would in effect
change the game,  Dirk and Charlie came
on for Jamie and Maxi.  This livened up
Liverpool’s play and with a slight change of shape things began to happen.  Liverpool suddenly became the team that was
most likely to score once again.  Dirk
was doing what Dirk does best and picked up several good balls but the elusive
goal still at this point in time did not appear.

 Kenny then made his
final substitution and if I am honest, it was not the one that people were
expecting.  Stevie G was replaced by the
new hero of Anfield, Craig Bellamy who had an immediate impact on the game.

His speed and the way in which he closes down the
opposition, as well as his bright yellow boots certainly made the difference to
game that was very close to becoming a replay. 

The final drama though was not so far away and it came via
Andy Carroll who having picked up a ball sent it towards Dirk who was running
towards the box. Dirk met the ball and sent a wonderful volley past De-Gea.  Liverpool was now in the lead and the last
five minutes felt like an eternity.

But they passed and Liverpool will enter the draw this
afternoon to learn who they face in the next round.

It was the perfect end to a perfect afternoon that saw me in
tears for the second time in seven days because of my love for Liverpool
Football Club

On
the stroke of midnight on Wednesday the media released details of what would be
their lead story in the following morning’s newspapers.  Luis Suarez, it appeared had finally
apologised for the racist remark that
he ‘uttered’ towards Patrice Evra.

The
apology itself took the form of a public relations exercise rather than a
heartfelt one, directly aimed at Patrice Evra. Now I have no intention of
adding any further fuel to the fire but the circumstances surrounding the
situation surely should have deemed that it was televised, that way the player
would be witnessed saying the words below The most telling sentence of course
was this particular one.

“I
never, ever used the word in a derogatory way and if it offends anyone then I
want to apologise for that.”

This
was followed by:

“I
admitted to the commission that I said a word in Spanish once, and only once,
and I told the panel members that I will not use it again on a football pitch
in England”.

It
is hoped of course that those two sentences will begin to restore the
reputation of not only Luis Suarez, but that of Liverpool Football Club. Inwardly
I suspect, both know that there is a massive mountain to climb and it is going
to a lot of time and effort on the part of both.

Luis
of course will serve the remainder of his ban – he has a further 7 matches to
sit out and then he must begin the task of rebuilding his career – that is of
course, if he decides to stay in this country. 
Over the last week there have been murmurings indicating that he may
consider going abroad because of the treatment dished out to him by the
Football Association and the media.  It
would be a great loss to the Premier League and indeed Liverpool Football Club
if he chose to do this, but it would also be fully understandable. 

Whatever
he decides to do or indeed wherever he goes, he must immerse himself completely
into fighting the bigotry that surrounds racism, be it through the community
schemes that he is already part off or indeed setting up a foundation that
would see him lecturing to people from all parts of the world.

Liverpool
Football Club has now conceded that they handled the situation wrong from the
moment, the complaint being made by Patrice Evra and Sir Alex Ferguson was
overheard by Mr.Haughan.   Now I am no
public relations expert or indeed someone who is versed in the laws that
surround sport in this country, but it would have been better for all
concerned, once Liverpool had been informed of the situation by Mr Marriner, to
wait for a copy of his report before rushing in to defend their player.  As we all know, in most situations, it is
better to think first, rather than rush in and get the wrong result.

And
get the wrong result they did, because Luis and his good name has been dragged
through the mud, due to his lack of understanding about the use of a word in
this country, a word it is understood, he uses daily at home, whilst talking
affectionately to his wife. 

They
also showed their support for Luis by wearing t-shirts with his picture on the
front – whoever thought up that idea, was in my opinion not thinking
straight.  That sort of act is better
left to the supporters.  The players
should have just left it alone after making their feelings clear either on the
club’s official website or indeed through the different social network sites
that they use.  It certainly would have
stopped a lot of the adverse comments that became part of the media’s match
reports the following day.

The
statements issued could have said essentially the same thing, but worded quite
differently. They should also have had a signature a bottom, to ensure that the
watching world knew they had come from the top. 
This did not happen and has unfortunately opened up a further can of
worms. The media is quite rightly beginning to ask questions about the club’s
ownership and they need to be nipped in the bud and very quickly.  I know we have for all intents and purposes
returned the club to ‘The Liverpool Way’ of doing things, but sometimes the old
adage ‘rules are made to be broken’ comes into play and this is one of them.

The
Media have not come have also made some very bad mistakes since the ‘verdict’
was announced.  Headlines have been
written badly and articles have seemed to favour the Manchester United
viewpoint.  I agree with the point about
the headlines, for the simple reason, I have made several complaints about them
myself.  I did this of course through the
right channels, I did not go onto Twitter or Facebook and abuse those who may
or may not have written them. I got the responses I wanted and have accepted
their reasons.  The articles have been
deemed as abusive and libellous because they have not been read properly -
people have seen the headline and not read or digested the article properly.ONE
THING I MUST POINT OUT IS, THE WRITER OF THE ARTICLE DOES NOT CHOSE THE
HEADLINE – THAT IS DONE BY THE HEADLINE EDITOR. 
He chooses the one that he feels will sell the paper because they rely
on sensationalism and it has backfired spectacularly. 

The
abuse aimed at journalists on Twitter has been unwarranted and needs to
stop.  They write what information they
are given either by their contacts, from press releases by the club’s press
department or indeed the weekly press conferences that they attend.  They also write their own opinion pieces in
their respective papers.  A lot of these
have been taken out of context.  They are
after all, doing what we do, and that is putting their own feelings into print.  There is nothing wrong with that, we live in
a country where free speech is allowed. They may not have felt the same way as
we do, but that is just the way it is. 
It is just a great pity that those who feel they have a right to defend
their club, do it is such a way that any contact, we have with the media through
the social networking system, will soon be gone, because all they did was let’s
face it, do what we all wanted to do and discuss the ongoing situation.

I
am sure that if the lines of communication between the club and the media had
been a lot more open than they have been, the situation would have been
reported and dealt with in a much better manner.

Now
to the Football Association, we all know that their investigation was flawed
from the moment it was set in motion but, at the moment, there is nothing, we
the supporters can do. We have to take a back seat here and wait for things to
happen.  Because happen they will, they
will not come out of this as well as they believe they have.  Questions will be asked by any club or player
ordered to go before a disciplinary committee. 
No verdict will be seen as the correct one from now on.  At some point in the future , the 115 page
report that was issued on New Years Eve, will be dismantled and the fallout
will be massive not only for them but for all those, who decided to ensure that
a grave miscarriage of justice would take place.  They may not realise it now, but several
careers will be in ruins and quite rightly so of course.

The
government called for the FA to be dismantled last year and set up again with
people who have no allegiance to football at the helm. This now needs to happen
because until it does, even though they believe by reaching the verdict they
have, they have shown FIFA that they can run the game.  Unfortunately they have done the exact
opposite.  They have shown FIFA what an
inept organisation they are by not having the courage to do the right thing.

So
in a nutshell I have highlighted above what I feel to be major mistakes by the
agencies concerned.  Mistakes that were
highlighted again this morning when the transcript of Sir Alex Fergusons Friday
press conference were released.

His
words were and I quote

“It’s
nice of them to do it through the press”

“You
would have thought they would have come to Manchester United first”

“I
don’t see why there is any need for that (peace talks) to be honest”.

Liverpool
did indeed do it through the media last night to ensure it appeared in this
morning’s papers, although I am sure and I sincerely hope that Liverpool’s
press officer let Manchester United’s press officer know what was being done.  If not then serious questions need to be
asked.

Questions
that may ultimately lead to staff changes, because this whole affair has been
handled very badly, not only by them but also by their PR department. Better
lines of communication need to be opened up with the press – it is far better
to have friends in the media rather than enemies who desperate for a story will
print what snippets of information they get hold off, be it right or wrong.

A
statement needs to be issued by the owners. 
This is quite possibly the only thing that will stop the alienation that
is growing between the media and certain sections of the supporters.  It will also I hope stop the bridge the gap
that is beginning to appear between the club’s supporters because of their
differing viewpoint.

Most
importantly, it may be the one thing that throws water onto the dying embers
that are still out there.  If it does
not, then that fire is going to be re-ignited for the simple reason, this story
may well have a long way to go yet.

Racism
has been brought to the fore once more and we all need to ensure that it is
dealt with and discussed properly.  The
one thing we must not do is ensure that the strides made to eradicate it over
the last fifty years have wasted.

Whilst
I was growing up, Racism in America was on the television news most evening’s
and although it was happening in this country, I don’t recall it being in the
news.  I suspect it was one of those
things that the BBC and the ITV felt was best kept from our screens. I
certainly never came up against it in my own life until I married.  My late ex-father-in-law was a racist and it
got to the point where I would simply leave the room, when he started insulting
those around him, who had a different colour skin, spoke a different language
or indeed followed a different religion. I was brought up properly and it never
occurred to me to insult a fellow human being.

Many
years have passed since then and with the introduction of world travel,
multicultural societies became the norm. 
Everyone was equal, not only in the workplace, but in the sporting world
as well. Or so we thought.

In
October 2011, the sporting world was rocked by not one, but two race related
cases.  Luis Suarez was accused of using
a word in a racial manner.  That word
also had several meanings, depending on the company you were in.  He was of course found guilty in late
December and will now sit out an eight match ban and pay a fine of 40,000.  

We
were also made aware of an incident involving John Terry and Anton
Ferdinard.  Again this case has been
built around the use of a word or words that have insulted the person they were
aimed.  The big difference here of
course, is that this case will be dealt with by the courts and the sentence
will be different.  Once the decision is
made, it is believed that it will then be passed to the Football Association to
ensure it is dealt with by a sporting body.

The
fall-out from both of these cases has highlighted once again that racism has
been bubbling under the surface all the time. 
I guess it was one of those things that can be classed under the title -
It was only a matter of time.  There has
been a massive groundswell of opinion from the media, from highly regarded
people in football and from the supporters as well.  In today’s modern society where we are all
thought to think for ourselves, you would have thought that is exactly what
would happen.  It did to a certain extent
but then the idiots decide it’s their turn to show people how clever they
believe they are. The amount of vitriol and foul mouthed insults that have been
thrown around the social networking sites, Facebook and Twitter has been
disgraceful. 

So
much so, that with the New Year barely a week in, a supporter who attended the
Live, rpool v Oldham FA cup game decided he would ruin what turned into a
fantastic match. The player in question was Tom Adeyemi, who became visibly
upset towards the game, so much so that the referee decided to stop play for
several minutes.  During this time Steven
Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt proved to the world that Liverpool Football Club is a
very caring organisation.  At this point
nobody had realised that Tom had become the victim of racial abuse and it was
only once the game had finished that we were aware of the full story.  It appears a twenty year old man, and I use
the word man, very loosely decided to let his ignorance rule his head.  After a weekend of co-operation from
Liverpool Football Club, he was identified and is now on police bail, whilst
inquiries continue.  Liverpool Football
Club will ensure that he never enters Anfield again. So several minutes of
ignorance has cost him a lifetime of following his team in their spiritual home
- a lesson learnt, in the current climate, I really do wonder if that is the case.

Yesterday
it transpired that Everton player, Louis Saha had been the victim of abuse via
Twitter.  A young man had without
thinking, left his phone on his desk and yes, you have guessed a colleague
decided to send a racist text to Louis. 
He has since found out and lost his job – A very harsh lesson learnt, I
believe.

Ex-Liverpool
Footballer, Stan Colleymore has also been the victim of racial abuse via
twitter, so much so, that he has made several complaints to his local police
force and a young man has again been arrested and it now out on police bail.

There
were calls over the weekend for the government to look into racism in sport and
thankfully it was announced earlier this afternoon that the Culture, Media and
Sports Committee will begin this task on 6^th March 2012.  Liverpool Walton MP, Steve Rotherham will be
one of those sitting to hear the evidence and it is believed that Kenny
Dalglish, Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra will be amongst those called to give
evidence.

I
dread to think when the next occurrence of ignorance or indeed pure stupidity
will happen.  It seems to be something
that has been gathering pace over the last four months and needs to be stopped
in its tracks before it damages someone’s life so much so that it is beyond
repair. So how can we do that, by thinking about what is written below:-

We
are all members of the human race.

It
does not Matter what Colour our skin is

It
Does Not Matter What Language we speak

It
Does Not Matter What Religion we Worship

Everyone
is entitled to the same opportunities in life and nobody should ever question
that.

Everyone
is also entitled to be treated with the same respect.

We
need to start the healing process by ensuring that people understand why it is
no longer tolerated. Those of us with children need to educate them to ensure
that they realise that everyone is equal.

If
you work within the teaching profession ensure that lessons are immediately
slotted into the curriculum. It is one of those situations at the moment that
can be dealt with while the iron is hot – so to speak.

Those
of you that are members of a large multicultural workforce ensure that your
colleagues are made to feel extra special for a while – I dread to think what
some of them are thinking right now.

So
let’s all see it as a challenge and ensure that it one challenge that we can
and we will win.  We are after all part
of a very famous footballing family and that family is Liverpool Football Club,
who has supporters spread throughout the globe.

And quite frankly it should not be, but having just
witnessed what I can only describe as a horror story, is the impression I got.

That horror story began three minutes and twenty eight
seconds into our game against Bolton when Mark Davies ran through what I can
only describe as our hapless defence and the ball was in the back of the
net. 

Now don’t get me wrong, but is that the same defence that
people are saying is 100% better without Jamie as part of it.  They appeared to be all over the place, there
was no reading of each other’s movements and it seemed as though nobody seemed
to realize what position or indeed what formation the team were playing.  Jamie I believe would not have allowed that
to happen and with the score still at nil – nil, the team may well have found
their feet and gone on to get the result they wanted.

That of course is wishful thinking on my part, because for
the next twenty six minutes, Liverpool looked as though they were the team that
was struggling to get out of the relegation zone rather than Bolton who looked
as though they were the team who had fourth place in their sights.  Our midfield was as appalling as our defence
and Reo-Coker slotted home Bolton’s second. 

Our players seemed to have forgotten how to pass or indeed
control the ball at their feet.  There
were far too many instances of “oh dear, what is that round thing, coming
towards me, I had better move out of the way” 

Except for one of course and that man was Craig
Bellamy.  Now here we have a player that
cost nothing and yet his passion and his pride in wearing the red shirt was
shining through.  If he felt he could
make something out of a run, he tried and indeed succeeded on the 37th minute
when he picked up a header from Andy Carroll and kicked it into the net.

Would this be the wake-up call the team needed I wondered as
the game headed towards the half time mark. The next ten minutes though were as
bad as the earlier thirty seven and it was a relief to all concerned when Kevin
Friend blew the half time whistle.

There was I suspect a misconception around that Kenny would
give the team a rollicking during the half time break because if he did they
certainly were not listening.  Apart from
Craig Bellamy they came out with the same could not give a damn attitude.

An attitude, which led to Bolton scoring their third goal within
ten minutes of the game restarting. There appeared to be no way back now for
Liverpool who despite Stevie G trying to do what he does best when the chips
are down, could not find the enthusiasm or the concentration to turn the game
around.

Kenny who was by now looking rather exasperated made two
changes, replacing Maxi with Dirk and Charlie with Stewart and although the
team seemed to suddenly fall into a better formation it was too late.  There was not even the late foray in the
penalty area that we have become used too and quite frankly it was a relief
when Kevin Friend blew the whistle to end the game.

Now Kevin Friend, is not really a friend of Liverpool
Football Club as you all know and today he proved that once again.  Craig got a telling off for yelling at
Reo-Coker – oh wait; the world’s television audience saw it the other way
around.  Stevie got caught by a Bolton
player, but the free kick went to Bolton rather than Stevie and the fourth
official wonders why Kenny was having a go at him.

If today proved anything, it proved that several players
need to be moved on urgently and Kenny has only ten days left to do that.  We all have our own ideas of who they should
be and I don’t care to be quite honest about what the rest of you think, but if
necessary I will take Andy Carroll back to the North East myself.  He is not a Liverpool player and never will
be.  His laziness stuck out like a sore
thumb tonight and I certainly don’t buy the theory that he is not getting the
service he needs.  The players do try to
get it to him, but if the ball is on the ground he jumps out of the way, if its
in the air he does not jump high enough and he certainly can’t run.  Charlie Adam is another one, who after a fine
start now seems to be saying – you know the premiership really is not for
me.  He makes too many mistakes and is
now giving too many free kicks away, as well as being unable to realize that
sometimes you have to give the ball to someone else closer to the goal.  If he had done that this evening Maxi could
well have scored.

Some of the other players need to look at themselves as well
and hopefully after hearing Kenny this evening they will:  If the following quote does not hit home
nothing will.

“Some of those players won’t be in a red shirt much
longer if they carry on playing that way. It was disrespectful”.

That red shirt stands for a club that can do a lot better
than it did today.  A club that must
succeed and to do that it must win trophies and get to the top of the
Premiership.  If the team plays again
like it did today, then not only will once more be a one man team, it will
ensure that Liverpool Football Club will be classed as failure and that is
totally unacceptable.