Topic: Expectations, Knee Jerkism, Bitterness – It’s all got to stop

[Roslagen]

Hes defending our players,manager and our club...Its a new start,,,,for EVERYONE,,,try it

As for Kenny I will reserve my judgement til after the next four games. But of CP I've already seen enough. Kenny should've done that too, having watched from the stands all autumn. Now he'll know how good the Dane is on the ball, though.'

The risk now is that we look at it all with rose-tinted glasses and think, 'hey, nothing can go wrong now when we've got our Messiah back'. Ah, well, that attitude could lead us straight to hell. Contrary to your belief I won't start any sack Kenny-threads, but whenever a selection is wrong IMO I will still point it out. I did it under Houllier, under Benítez and lots of times under Wow Wrongson. Free speech on the Internet anyone 

[LiverpoolForever]

This problem isn't going to go away in a hurry. And there's not much Kenny can do about it in the next 6 months. We need a LONG term managerial appointment who can build a team and squad that plays in his style. And we need to get youngsters to be playing the same style so they can slot in to the first team when they're ready. These are long-term problems with long-term solutions.

That being said, Kenny is still, BY FAR, the best man for this moment in the clubs history. We have to recognise the problems we have and work with what we've got. And as supporters, we have to play our part too as the 12th, 13th and 14th players if needs be. Kenny has united the supporters, so that's the first job done. He's playing more attacking and adventurous football which will get the supporters even more fired up, so that's the 2nd job done. He's building up Torres's confidence, so that's the 3rd job underway. But now he needs to instil in the players a pride for the shirt.Gerrard gets it , Torres gets it , so does Carra and Reina , but nobody else.The players need more heart , and Kenny needs more time.

[foreverred1983]

I trust the King, but if we lose a few more on the trot now - he may have to step aside, and we have to purchase another manager in the middle of the season. If we are relegated, this could be the end of our ambitions to win any title the next 100 years.

No offence like but that has to be the single biggest pile of shite i have ever read on here.

We have played two matches under Kenny. Fucking two. Lets sack every manager within 5 games if we are not performing like champions.

[planet-terror]

As for Kenny I will reserve my judgement til after the next four games. But of CP I've already seen enough. Kenny should've done that too, having watched from the stands all autumn. Now he'll know how good the Dane is on the ball, though.'

The risk now is that we look at it all with rose-tinted glasses and think, 'hey, nothing can go wrong now when we've got our Messiah back'. Ah, well, that attitude could lead us straight to hell. Contrary to your belief I won't start any sack Kenny-threads, but whenever a selection is wrong IMO I will still point it out. I did it under Houllier, under Benítez and lots of times under Wow Wrongson. Free speech on the Internet anyone 

Go do it in a relevant thread then.Dont think this one was meeant to  slate players managers.

[thekop0071]

Hi, I’ve been lurking about Rawk for a few years now but as yet have never made a post.  I've been wanting to make this point for a while now. I don't have any rights at the moment as a new poster to start a new thread so I thought this was the most relevant recent thread to make the point. I hope the OP doesn't mind!


The team that Rafa built.

One of the biggest points being made by pundits and by some of our own fans during Hodgson’s reign was that Roy was left with a depleted squad and a group of poor Bentez signings. Rafa constantly came in for criticism as those with an axe to grind sought to get the boot in at every opportunity. It was an argument that annoyed me greatly being a huge Rafa fan and I was disappointed that there were not more voices out there putting forward an objective version of the situation. 

As time went on through Roy’s tenure and unbelievably poor results became more frequent I tried to analyse the situation, without any bias towards Rafa, to see if I could find points in favour of Roy. Without doubt some of the players and certainly the team as a whole looked (looks) a shadow of its former self, we seem to have almost zero options from the bench and we were being dominated all over the field by teams we should be considering inferior to us.

Could it be that maybe Rafa did leave Roy with a poor squad?

I quickly realised that some of the media barrage had burrowed its way into my subconscious and I would need to fight against it.

So what was the answer then?  There’s no doubt that Roy made some poor decisions as manager and certainly took the team backwards. Off the field also he never once conducted himself like a Liverpool manager and simply put, he just was not the man for the job and never would be. But our frustration (and hatred in some cases) towards Roy had given us a focal point, a reason for the demise, someone to blame and it caused us to forget something much more significant and destructive. Perhaps we wanted to forget.

It seems so long ago now that we were all hanging on every word of the Guardian blog waiting to see how the fate of Liverpool Football Club would be decided by non football men in the High Court in London. It was an incredibly painful and uncertain time for the club, a time we can be forgiven for wanting to forget. Perhaps when we rejoiced at the arrival of new responsible owners we believed it was now over, we had seen the back of Hicks and Gillett. Unfortunately their legacy lives on and could be seen as recently as last night in the 2-1 defeat to Blackpool. Even though we now have a man in charge who has, united the fans, created a great atmosphere around the club and is a man worthy of calling our manager we need to know and remember exactly how we got to this point so that we can begin to rebuild and move forward.

The most important point that we need to remember is that, due to their inherently disastrous business plan, the final 18-24 months of Hicks’ and Gillett’s reign saw the team and squad unashamedly and systematically stripped of value.

During the 08/09 season this was what we and many in the football world considered to be the best team in the Premier League and one of the best in Europe:


                                  Reina

Arbeloa      Carragher        Skrtel          Aurelio

                         
                        Alonso       Mascherano

                               
                                 Gerard
Kuyt                                                         Riera/Benayoun

                                  Torres


That United would go on to just pip this team to the title was down to their greater squad depth and it could be argued one or two naïve mistakes on our part.

Rafa had spent four seasons carefully constructing this team from a modest budget (modest in terms of competing with the top clubs in Europe) with a view to delivering number 19. I believe, as I’m sure many of you do also, that he would have eventually delivered it had someone like John Henry been in charge back then rather than the parasites we were inflicted with instead.

During the 09/10 season, when defending the quality of Rafa’s team, the argument was put forward by myself and many others that ‘we had only lost one player’ and the title challenging team still remained. This argument was similarly used at the start of this season as a stick to beat Roy Hodgson with only this time it had increased to there being only two players missing from the title challenging side. Unfortunately that is far from accurate. Since we finished second in the league in 2009 with our highest ever Premier League points total the team has fallen in quality sharply. This is not just due to the team having been largely stripped of value but, equally criminal, the lack of investment in up and coming players able to challenge the places of those now on the other side of their best playing days. Let’s look at Rafa’s team individually compared to what we have now.

Reina. An absolute Godsend and the only player I would argue that we still have at the same ability as the 08/09 season. It’s all downhill from here.

Arbeloa – SOLD. Arguably replaced at the time with a much better player. Johnson would add a greater attacking threat to the team and was bought to help breakdown those teams which would ‘park the bus’ at Anfield so that we could gather those extra few points which would eventually take us over the line. Unfortunately for Glen he came in at least one season too late and the overall demise of the team has only served to highlight some of his defensive frailties, frailties we rarely saw from Arbeloa. I’m sure Arbeloa did not want to sit on the bench but you could certainly have argued that had we been in a better financial position we would have been able to hang onto Arbeloa.

Carragher. He was on top of his game in 08/09 but unfortunately time is beginning to catch up with the 32 year old legend and so far this season we have not seen enough to suggest he can be easily replaced from within the squad.

Skrtel. Was another of many who had a great season in 08/09, he was a defensive rock but he has not been the same player since that clash of heads with Carragher away to Spurs at the start of last season. Maybe it knocked his confidence but he has been at the centre of some terrible goals we’ve conceded this year. This is not necessarily down to Hicks and Gillett, sometimes players fall out of form, it may just be bad luck.

Aurelio. Due to countless frustrating injuries he is a shadow of the player that kept Ronaldo so quiet in the 4-1 demolishing of United at Old Trafford, though he is of course still technically excellent. Again a sign of the lack of investment when he was replaced by a youngster in Insua who although a promising prospect was not totally equipped yet to step up and be relied upon at that level. Insua was then replaced by… well I’ll leave it there.

Alonso – SOLD. So much has been said and written about the sale of Alonso and perhaps some would argue too much significance was given to it as a reason for our decline. It was however certainly a sign of things to come, he has never been replaced.

Mascherano – SOLD. A very similar situation to Alonso. Although Lucas has definitely grown as a player this year and has been one of the few shining lights there is no doubt that the little general (or an adequate replacement) is sorely missed in midfield.

Kuyt. Another player who’s best playing days are unfortunately behind him. In the 08/09 season Dirk would score 12 league goals along with 9 assists. No wide player outside of Ronaldo would match that. The 30 year old’s touch has let him down on numerous occasions this season and he has been much less of an attacking threat. In his position we should have been in investing in two or three young players who would challenge him and eventually take over.

Gerard. The best player in the country by miles in 08/09, he was instrumental in everything we did that year and he was on top of his game. I can’t criticise him as much as others, I still believe he gives 100% every time he pulls on the jersey but he has seen the quality around him disintegrate from a top European team to a mid-table Premier League team.

Riera/Benayoun – SOLD. I included both here as I could never decid which was best in that position, both offered something different. Both were sold in bemusing circumstances. After a great season Riera went backwards where an attitude problem surprisingly crept in, perhaps Rafa should be praised for getting so much out of possibly an average player in his first season before moving him on. I was aghast when I found out Benayoun was being sold to Chelsea. He was an absolute gem who, although may not have had the consistency to start every game, could be relied on to find that little extra or provide that spark to create a goal. Unfortunately Babel has not materialised into the all-round player who may now have made this position his own. Again, investment was needed.

Torres. What can I say, 08/09 he was the best striker in the world and he was at our club. Many are now quick to jump on the Sky bandwagon and throw about those hollow platitudes that we all too often hear. But they don’t make players like Torres anymore; loyal, determined, respectful, passionate and most of all he is world class.  His injuries have set him back and he too has had to watch as his quality of teammate has gone drastically downhill. If rumours are to be believed his injury plagued lack of form may even be partly the fault of the club, again due to the stress of being on the verge of financial ruin. He also has the pressure of being the only top class striker at the club due to a lack of investment in a back-up.


So this is where we are at. This is Hicks’ and Gillett’s legacy and there is no easy fix. We have a mid-table squad dotted with bits of quality. It is in desperate need of overhaul and investment. Hopefully we will be able to hold onto the little quality we have and can build around that.

As I watched us succumb to a second 2-1 defeat of the season to newly promoted Blackpool I sharply realised that Kenny did not have a magic wand as some of us had hoped. We need to accept and come to terms with this and with the state of the squad so that we have the patience to give Kenny, John Henry, Comolli and whoever is given the job as permenant manager in the summer the time to rebuild this great club. Until then, be prepared, it may get worse before it gets better but always remember we have our club back.

Well Written great assessment - i for one wish that if you have been lurking around these boards,may i suggest you post more !" I enjoyed your read.......

YNWA

JFT96

 

[Torpedo Tommy]

I suggest you do the same.

I meant what I said. We are where we are. Owners and manager changed.We are better off than we were before. Time to get on with it.

With quoting like that I've little doubt you did!

Seriously, is it not just a case of us having shite owners for over 3 years, a decent manager who had one poor season and been hoofed followed by an average manager that inherited a disillusioned squad and implied average tactics?

Now we have owners who have shown patience to their manager and a new manager who needs more than 4 days to change things around?

We might all not be able to see the wood for the trees you know?

[MagicB8all]

Hi, I’ve been lurking about Rawk for a few years now but as yet have never made a post.  I've been wanting to make this point for a while now. I don't have any rights at the moment as a new poster to start a new thread so I thought this was the most relevant recent thread to make the point. I hope the OP doesn't mind!


The team that Rafa built.

One of the biggest points being made by pundits and by some of our own fans during Hodgson’s reign was that Roy was left with a depleted squad and a group of poor Bentez signings. Rafa constantly came in for criticism as those with an axe to grind sought to get the boot in at every opportunity. It was an argument that annoyed me greatly being a huge Rafa fan and I was disappointed that there were not more voices out there putting forward an objective version of the situation. 

As time went on through Roy’s tenure and unbelievably poor results became more frequent I tried to analyse the situation, without any bias towards Rafa, to see if I could find points in favour of Roy. Without doubt some of the players and certainly the team as a whole looked (looks) a shadow of its former self, we seem to have almost zero options from the bench and we were being dominated all over the field by teams we should be considering inferior to us.

Could it be that maybe Rafa did leave Roy with a poor squad?

I quickly realised that some of the media barrage had burrowed its way into my subconscious and I would need to fight against it.

So what was the answer then?  There’s no doubt that Roy made some poor decisions as manager and certainly took the team backwards. Off the field also he never once conducted himself like a Liverpool manager and simply put, he just was not the man for the job and never would be. But our frustration (and hatred in some cases) towards Roy had given us a focal point, a reason for the demise, someone to blame and it caused us to forget something much more significant and destructive. Perhaps we wanted to forget.

It seems so long ago now that we were all hanging on every word of the Guardian blog waiting to see how the fate of Liverpool Football Club would be decided by non football men in the High Court in London. It was an incredibly painful and uncertain time for the club, a time we can be forgiven for wanting to forget. Perhaps when we rejoiced at the arrival of new responsible owners we believed it was now over, we had seen the back of Hicks and Gillett. Unfortunately their legacy lives on and could be seen as recently as last night in the 2-1 defeat to Blackpool. Even though we now have a man in charge who has, united the fans, created a great atmosphere around the club and is a man worthy of calling our manager we need to know and remember exactly how we got to this point so that we can begin to rebuild and move forward.

The most important point that we need to remember is that, due to their inherently disastrous business plan, the final 18-24 months of Hicks’ and Gillett’s reign saw the team and squad unashamedly and systematically stripped of value.

During the 08/09 season this was what we and many in the football world considered to be the best team in the Premier League and one of the best in Europe:


                                  Reina

Arbeloa      Carragher        Skrtel          Aurelio

                         
                        Alonso       Mascherano

                               
                                 Gerard
Kuyt                                                         Riera/Benayoun

                                  Torres


That United would go on to just pip this team to the title was down to their greater squad depth and it could be argued one or two naïve mistakes on our part.

Rafa had spent four seasons carefully constructing this team from a modest budget (modest in terms of competing with the top clubs in Europe) with a view to delivering number 19. I believe, as I’m sure many of you do also, that he would have eventually delivered it had someone like John Henry been in charge back then rather than the parasites we were inflicted with instead.

During the 09/10 season, when defending the quality of Rafa’s team, the argument was put forward by myself and many others that ‘we had only lost one player’ and the title challenging team still remained. This argument was similarly used at the start of this season as a stick to beat Roy Hodgson with only this time it had increased to there being only two players missing from the title challenging side. Unfortunately that is far from accurate. Since we finished second in the league in 2009 with our highest ever Premier League points total the team has fallen in quality sharply. This is not just due to the team having been largely stripped of value but, equally criminal, the lack of investment in up and coming players able to challenge the places of those now on the other side of their best playing days. Let’s look at Rafa’s team individually compared to what we have now.

Reina. An absolute Godsend and the only player I would argue that we still have at the same ability as the 08/09 season. It’s all downhill from here.

Arbeloa – SOLD. Arguably replaced at the time with a much better player. Johnson would add a greater attacking threat to the team and was bought to help breakdown those teams which would ‘park the bus’ at Anfield so that we could gather those extra few points which would eventually take us over the line. Unfortunately for Glen he came in at least one season too late and the overall demise of the team has only served to highlight some of his defensive frailties, frailties we rarely saw from Arbeloa. I’m sure Arbeloa did not want to sit on the bench but you could certainly have argued that had we been in a better financial position we would have been able to hang onto Arbeloa.

Carragher. He was on top of his game in 08/09 but unfortunately time is beginning to catch up with the 32 year old legend and so far this season we have not seen enough to suggest he can be easily replaced from within the squad.

Skrtel. Was another of many who had a great season in 08/09, he was a defensive rock but he has not been the same player since that clash of heads with Carragher away to Spurs at the start of last season. Maybe it knocked his confidence but he has been at the centre of some terrible goals we’ve conceded this year. This is not necessarily down to Hicks and Gillett, sometimes players fall out of form, it may just be bad luck.

Aurelio. Due to countless frustrating injuries he is a shadow of the player that kept Ronaldo so quiet in the 4-1 demolishing of United at Old Trafford, though he is of course still technically excellent. Again a sign of the lack of investment when he was replaced by a youngster in Insua who although a promising prospect was not totally equipped yet to step up and be relied upon at that level. Insua was then replaced by… well I’ll leave it there.

Alonso – SOLD. So much has been said and written about the sale of Alonso and perhaps some would argue too much significance was given to it as a reason for our decline. It was however certainly a sign of things to come, he has never been replaced.

Mascherano – SOLD. A very similar situation to Alonso. Although Lucas has definitely grown as a player this year and has been one of the few shining lights there is no doubt that the little general (or an adequate replacement) is sorely missed in midfield.

Kuyt. Another player who’s best playing days are unfortunately behind him. In the 08/09 season Dirk would score 12 league goals along with 9 assists. No wide player outside of Ronaldo would match that. The 30 year old’s touch has let him down on numerous occasions this season and he has been much less of an attacking threat. In his position we should have been in investing in two or three young players who would challenge him and eventually take over.

Gerard. The best player in the country by miles in 08/09, he was instrumental in everything we did that year and he was on top of his game. I can’t criticise him as much as others, I still believe he gives 100% every time he pulls on the jersey but he has seen the quality around him disintegrate from a top European team to a mid-table Premier League team.

Riera/Benayoun – SOLD. I included both here as I could never decid which was best in that position, both offered something different. Both were sold in bemusing circumstances. After a great season Riera went backwards where an attitude problem surprisingly crept in, perhaps Rafa should be praised for getting so much out of possibly an average player in his first season before moving him on. I was aghast when I found out Benayoun was being sold to Chelsea. He was an absolute gem who, although may not have had the consistency to start every game, could be relied on to find that little extra or provide that spark to create a goal. Unfortunately Babel has not materialised into the all-round player who may now have made this position his own. Again, investment was needed.

Torres. What can I say, 08/09 he was the best striker in the world and he was at our club. Many are now quick to jump on the Sky bandwagon and throw about those hollow platitudes that we all too often hear. But they don’t make players like Torres anymore; loyal, determined, respectful, passionate and most of all he is world class.  His injuries have set him back and he too has had to watch as his quality of teammate has gone drastically downhill. If rumours are to be believed his injury plagued lack of form may even be partly the fault of the club, again due to the stress of being on the verge of financial ruin. He also has the pressure of being the only top class striker at the club due to a lack of investment in a back-up.


So this is where we are at. This is Hicks’ and Gillett’s legacy and there is no easy fix. We have a mid-table squad dotted with bits of quality. It is in desperate need of overhaul and investment. Hopefully we will be able to hold onto the little quality we have and can build around that.

As I watched us succumb to a second 2-1 defeat of the season to newly promoted Blackpool I sharply realised that Kenny did not have a magic wand as some of us had hoped. We need to accept and come to terms with this and with the state of the squad so that we have the patience to give Kenny, John Henry, Comolli and whoever is given the job as permenant manager in the summer the time to rebuild this great club. Until then, be prepared, it may get worse before it gets better but always remember we have our club back.

Good first post Dermaroy but there are a few key issues you fail to add;

Arbeloa sold - But Johnson brought in at £17m + the emergance of a certain young fellow by the name of Martin Kelly, who has performed amicably within a team who are......well, not performing amicably, has sort of counteracted that loss.

Riera / Benayoun sold - but Joe Cole brought in.  You could argue that Cole was not a first teamer for Chelsea and hasn't performed well.  But the counter argument would be that Riera and Benayoun were in an 'either or' situation and lets face it, with the exception of Lucas who has played consistantly well for us this season?

Masch / Alonso sold - this is were the main problems lie but, we have brought in Acquilani and Meireles.  Not exactly like for like in style or ability. The former was subject to all sorts of irregularities, claims and rumours.  The latter has been good until the last two games - both of which I don't think he has been fully fit for.


You are right to point out that we haven't got the squad from 2008-09.  We haven't.  We have lost a few valuable players that have been replaced but whose replacements haven't worked out.  We do need a few players - very true.

But one thing that we have lost is belief and confidence.

In the last 16 months alone we must have been leading or equalised and got the momentum / initiative of the game only to freeze on at least 15-20 occassions.  We simply do not know how / have the confidence to play with the initiative.

Having taken the initiative in games, I'm pretty convinced that we are good enough - if we weren't, surely we would not have been able to take the lead?!?

When Kenny has had adequate time to work and our confidence is restored then we will see an improvement.  The squad isn't top four anymore - neither is it bottom half either!

The Hick and Gillette period ultimately robbed the club of it's immediate bright future. They forced a depletion in the quality of the squad. Just as the squad was ready to mount a serious sustained title challenge. But more diabolically, they robbed the club of it's confidence (on and off the field), created a power vacuum that was filled by people with feeble minds who didn't have liver pools best interests in mind. Finally, as a parting gift they robbed the club of the best manager it's had in recent history. Kenny or who ever will need a season and a half, with lots of cash to fix this problem. All of which goes against the money ball approach.

[Torpedo Tommy]

I know I sound like a broken record, but it needs to be repeated again and again... 

Those of us from America know how great these owners are. The Red Sox were chosen in polls by their 29 peers as having THE best owners in baseball. FSG are good people, smart people, caring people, and people who absolutely are driven to win. I don't know them personally and can only guess, but if they concentrate on Liverpool as they have the Red Sox, the glory days will return here in a few years.

We have Kenny in a big role, an excellent academy, excellent owners, a new/renovated stadium coming in a few years....This year may be ugly, but there are much happier days to come. Let's pull together, stop complaining about every little thing, and throw our support behind the club and the good people leading the charge. They deserve it. 

The general feeling is that FSG are good people Soxfan. Think a number of people are just a little frustrated at not being at the CL part of the table.......which is understandable, I'm one.

Most people realise that we are now at the bottom of the pit and, with a bit of funding, a lot of support and a wee bit of patience we'll restart the climb together.

[gregorio]

Sweet Jesus - read the topic and have a rethink on your post.

This time last week Kenny was on a boat getting lashed.  This is his fifth day back.  5 days!  He's had the Mancs away in which we were robbed by a bent referee and played 60 minutes with 10 men and Blackpool away, which, with injuries and suspensions was far from easy.

Imagine the world if every employer viewed its employees after 5 days and said "Few! He's sh!te"

In a roundabout way you are being both positive and negative in one post.  "Roy wasn't bad.  Kenny is a bit better but is rusty. Does offer us hope though".

Check the realities out

I just think he's voicing what we all secretly fear and what was always the huge risk of having Dalglish back. No harm in expressing your fears. As for the OP,agree with most of it but I think that United's players have been vastly underestimated this season. Hernandez is settling in well,  Vidic / Ferdinand are incredibly solid, Berbatov and Nani are starting to settle, Giggs is having a remarkable swansong. Which of these players wouldn't walk into our best 11?

[Stussy]

The way I see it, we're going through a period now when in the future, in just a year onwards, people will look back and ask, what did you do then to get us through, did you show some spine or did you just jerk your knee like an electrode was stuck on it when we had a collapse of confidence so bad it seemed things would never get better?

This is OUR test now lads. We finally have good, serious owners who have a long term strategy and vision for the club which chimes with us, who have gone out of their way to listen to our counsel. We have no leveraged debt payments strangling us to death. We have a great manager, one of our own, the King himself, who will get us playing pass and move attacking football as we want to see it played. We've already got a class assistant appointed in Steve Clarke. We have a chance to bring back and shape The Liverpool Way ourselves in time and with sensitive, classy owners and our King leading us. This for me, is a dream come true.

The players who need to be moved on will be moved on and replaced in the immediate and long term but that can only happen in the summer for the proper re-sculpting to take place and we don't have a time machine to fast forward to May. So until then, we have EVERYTHING that we wanted. So now its down to us.

What was every Redman and Redwoman doing when we couldn't get a win, when our players were caught in the headlights, when 18 months of accumulated negativity and slide was difficult to shake off, when we struggled to find our form. What did you do to support us, to look to the positive and raise us up? We've been in depression for so long now its still lingering, like a residual nightmare creeping you out after you've woken up.

Time to shake it off, stand up and be counted. WE have got no excuse. Kenny is in there for us, he'll suffer the slings and arrows of naysayers and opponents, take it all on his back for us. Trust him, show spine and belief for him. Our club needs that now, don't look back and be ashamed of how you knee jerked and didn't believe. Rise to the occasion lads.

[helmboy_nige]

Good thread.  I've also not been around on here for long and have been pretty surprised by the melodrama.  I was angry and upset when we lost to Blackpool.  I also questioned the line up and positioning, but I also realised that Kenny has to try the players at his disposal and he will have learnt a lot from Wednesday.  He's also been around for 5 minutes.  I trust in the manager and am already cautiously optimistic because of the hiring of Clarke and some of the football that was played on Sat (and a little on Weds).

The expectations people have are so ludicrously high that it's no wonder there's so much depression around.  Managers need time to settle and am sure Kenny will do fine but I dread to think what will happen if we lose to Everton... it will be like WW3 on here.  Of course if we win it will be "we're gonna win the title next season".  Let's get some perspective.  And lets also remember that Rafa did worse in his first full season domestically than Houllier did in his last (by two points).  It takes time to settle.

As for the bitterness, what's done is done.  I wish Rafa had been given the real money to spend in those last two seasons.  I wish he hadn't fallen out with Alonso and been so unfriendly with the press.  But it's done and dusted now.  As is the G&H saga.  I remember the last title win in 1990 and I genuinely did not see the fall coming.  But it did and we have got on with it.  LFC will survive the turmoil of this past season.  And we will emerge the stronger for it.

We have a lot to be optimistic about.  Cautiously optimistic in my mind.  We are making little steps forward, after going backwards for a couple of years.  Rome wasn't built in a day.

[planet-terror]

The way I see it, we're going through a period now when in the future, in just a year onwards, people will look back and ask, what did you do then to get us through, did you show some spine or did you just jerk your knee like an electrode was stuck on it when we had a collapse of confidence so bad it seemed things would never get better?

This is OUR test now lads. We finally have good, serious owners who have a long term strategy and vision for the club which chimes with us, who have gone out of their way to listen to our counsel. We have no leveraged debt payments strangling us to death. We have a great manager, one of our own, the King himself, who will get us playing pass and move attacking football as we want to see it played. We've already got a class assistant appointed in Steve Clarke. We have a chance to bring back and shape The Liverpool Way ourselves in time and with sensitive, classy owners and our King leading us. This for me, is a dream come true.

The players who need to be moved on will be moved on and replaced in the immediate and long term but that can only happen in the summer for the proper re-sculpting to take place and we don't have a time machine to fast forward to May. So until then, we have EVERYTHING that we wanted. So now its down to us.

What was every Redman and Redwoman doing when we couldn't get a win, when our players were caught in the headlights, when 18 months of accumulated negativity and slide was difficult to shake off, when we struggled to find our form. What did you do to support us, to look to the positive and raise us up? We've been in depression for so long now its still lingering, like a residual nightmare creeping you out after you've woken up.

Time to shake it off, stand up and be counted. WE have got no excuse. Kenny is in there for us, he'll suffer the slings and arrows of naysayers and opponents, take it all on his back for us. Trust him, show spine and belief for him. Our club needs that now, don't look back and be ashamed of how you knee jerked and didn't believe. Rise to the occasion lads.

Here Here..Be proud once again

[zuchum]

I'm actually speechless. You're defending Christian Poulsen, the worst signing this century. What next, PFK for England 

Christian Poulsen is a Liverpool player, whether you like it or not. Support the team, no matter who lines out.

[Roslagen]

Christian Poulsen is a Liverpool player, whether you like it or not. Support the team, no matter who lines out.

Unlike those who rooted for the opposition under Hodgson I support all player when they're on the pitch, then bash them off it. That's the way I see it.

[Roslagen]

No offence like but that has to be the single biggest pile of shite i have ever read on here.

We have played two matches under Kenny. Fucking two. Lets sack every manager within 5 games if we are not performing like champions.

Oh, poor sod  Did I say Kenny was to be replaced ASAP? No...

[Roy of the rovers]

As for Kenny I will reserve my judgement til after the next four games.

Four games? Seriously, you think four games is a sensible time period to form a judgement?

Christ on a bike!

[Roy of the rovers]

I fully support Kenny, but just saying that no matter how lovely the man is, we need results soon again. Relegation battles are not about patience.

Maybe. But support is.

What do you think we are going to do with 10 games left if suddenly you run out of patience? Hire Shearer?

[Roy of the rovers]

As for expectations, we should never ever ever, resign to losing x2 to Blackpool in a season. I'm sure Kenny gave them a hairdryer like hell.

I'll bet a huge amount of money that he didn't.

Think about it for a second.

[lobsterboy]

Fuck me, are people seriously whinging about Kenny already? The guys a fucking legend and managed one of the best footballing sides I've ever seen.
Give him a chance he was on fucking holiday 5 days ago, first match a day into the job is the mancs at greyskull with a bent ex southyorkshire cuntstable ref on their team then away at blackpool riddled with injuries and a new coach playing a side not short on confidence and belief, the exact opposite to us.

I'm still buzzing that Hicks, Gillette and Hodgson have been fucked off out of this club. They did the damage. Time to let those that care repair it. No one cares much more than Kenny.
If there are  bellends who can't get behind him and the team until the end of the season then they should fuck off with them!

Good OP though

[Elm0]

Its better than the 4 days most people have decided is a fair time period

I really think it would be difficult to appropriately judge him even by the end of the season - and of course he'll be gone by then.

[GrkStav]

I trust the King, but if we lose a few more on the trot now - he may have to step aside, and we have to purchase another manager in the middle of the season.

You can't be serious.

[Roslagen]

Maybe. But support is.

What do you think we are going to do with 10 games left if suddenly you run out of patience? Hire Shearer?

Keep Kenny. He's got to stand to the end of the season, that's for sure. But if he feels he can't improve the squad I'm sure he'll voluntarily step down if necessary. But I pray it won't happen.

[Vulmea]

No offence like but that has to be the single biggest pile of shite i have ever read on here.

We have played two matches under Kenny. Fucking two. Lets sack every manager within 5 games if we are not performing like champions.

nah some of his other posts are worse

[Roslagen]

I'll bet a huge amount of money that he didn't.

Think about it for a second.

Do you know what, Kenny wants to win football matches. He's properly involved during the match, and has an attitude that ought to inspire player, unlike his predecessor, who just sat there on the bench rubbing his face, even when things not went to plan. Kenny wouldn't have won 4 league titles as a manager had he been unable to express dissatisfaction to his players when losing an early lead, which turned into defeat. As nice as men like Houllier, Rafa and Dalglish may seem, they haven't got that far being nice guys towards the players. You bet. That's what I'm most happy with having Kenny back. He cares for this club 24/7, and he wants it as much as we want.

[Roslagen]

nah some of his other posts are worse

Oh really. Who is that guy? A secret Bluenose  Pile of junk that Mr. Roslagen 

[Walk on, walk on]

nah some of his other posts are worse

I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt but he appears to be even incapable of basic comprehension.

[Mutton Geoff]

Unlike those who rooted for the opposition under Hodgson I support all player when they're on the pitch, then bash them off it. That's the way I see it.

show me a Liverpool fan who cheers when we lose a game then?

For Kenny to assess a player he needs to play him, given the amount of players used on Sunday Poulson was a sensible choice for the Blackpool game to check him out, i reckon now he has he wont feature much but who can tell.

If people put rose coloured glasses in their posts I stop reading just me but it is a very immature and over used label!

As for support them on the pitch slate them off it, well that's big of you, how about you use constructive criticism instead of what appears to be a personalised agenda against one player! Finally you will give Kenny four more games WTF, six games one away at OT and you will judge his worth,  preposterous balderdash of  gigantic scales!

We get some loony tune posters on here, but you deserve an award for appearing to be totally clueless about the manager and the fans!

[montysmum]

We have Kenny in a big role, an excellent academy, excellent owners, a new/renovated stadium coming in a few years....This year may be ugly, but there are much happier days to come. Let's pull together, stop complaining about every little thing, and throw our support behind the club and the good people leading the charge. They deserve it.     

I feel like this too.

It is weird given our position in the Prem and the number of games we have lost etc, but I feel happier about the club and our future now than I have for years.

It feels like things are starting to move in the right direction, the right decisions are being made and we are in safe hands.

This season is not going to be a successful one for us - we are not going to be relegated though I don't believe - but with Kenny in charge working with the coaches now in place, Comolli looking for good players to bring in, and the owners building for the future too, I just think we have a bright outlook.

All we, as supporters have to do now is what we have been renowned for doing before all the G&H 'Internet terrorism" stuff got in the way and that is supporting the club and the team.

[Rafa_La]

The war is over time to lay down your weapons and get right behind the manager, players and owners.

War is never over. An entity must be constantly vigilant against (potential) foes.

To think there is full peace and all is golden means being unprepared for future carnage.

We should appreciate what we have been given, both with the return of Dalglish & new owners. We should be aware of ensuring the future is what we want and deserve. Of course that does mean getting behing everyone as you suggested. But we should never forget what ills happened to us (imho)

[Dougle]

Spot on Mr Stussy, OP, and new kid post, great analysis.
As for the guy with the 4 game limit .... stop taking the cheap coke, it's badly cut and the red bulls just make it worse. Have a nice bath and a long, long sleep. You'll feel much better and we'll all get along just beautifully. 

[the jesus]

The way I see it, we're going through a period now when in the future, in just a year onwards, people will look back and ask, what did you do then to get us through, did you show some spine or did you just jerk your knee like an electrode was stuck on it when we had a collapse of confidence so bad it seemed things would never get better?

This is OUR test now lads. We finally have good, serious owners who have a long term strategy and vision for the club which chimes with us, who have gone out of their way to listen to our counsel. We have no leveraged debt payments strangling us to death. We have a great manager, one of our own, the King himself, who will get us playing pass and move attacking football as we want to see it played. We've already got a class assistant appointed in Steve Clarke. We have a chance to bring back and shape The Liverpool Way ourselves in time and with sensitive, classy owners and our King leading us. This for me, is a dream come true.

The players who need to be moved on will be moved on and replaced in the immediate and long term but that can only happen in the summer for the proper re-sculpting to take place and we don't have a time machine to fast forward to May. So until then, we have EVERYTHING that we wanted. So now its down to us.

What was every Redman and Redwoman doing when we couldn't get a win, when our players were caught in the headlights, when 18 months of accumulated negativity and slide was difficult to shake off, when we struggled to find our form. What did you do to support us, to look to the positive and raise us up? We've been in depression for so long now its still lingering, like a residual nightmare creeping you out after you've woken up.

Time to shake it off, stand up and be counted. WE have got no excuse. Kenny is in there for us, he'll suffer the slings and arrows of naysayers and opponents, take it all on his back for us. Trust him, show spine and belief for him. Our club needs that now, don't look back and be ashamed of how you knee jerked and didn't believe. Rise to the occasion lads.

Great post nearly lost in some bitter knee jerkism. Ironic given the thread its in really.

[Billy The Kid]

The way I see it, we're going through a period now when in the future, in just a year onwards, people will look back and ask, what did you do then to get us through, did you show some spine or did you just jerk your knee like an electrode was stuck on it when we had a collapse of confidence so bad it seemed things would never get better?

This is OUR test now lads. We finally have good, serious owners who have a long term strategy and vision for the club which chimes with us, who have gone out of their way to listen to our counsel. We have no leveraged debt payments strangling us to death. We have a great manager, one of our own, the King himself, who will get us playing pass and move attacking football as we want to see it played. We've already got a class assistant appointed in Steve Clarke. We have a chance to bring back and shape The Liverpool Way ourselves in time and with sensitive, classy owners and our King leading us. This for me, is a dream come true.

The players who need to be moved on will be moved on and replaced in the immediate and long term but that can only happen in the summer for the proper re-sculpting to take place and we don't have a time machine to fast forward to May. So until then, we have EVERYTHING that we wanted. So now its down to us.

What was every Redman and Redwoman doing when we couldn't get a win, when our players were caught in the headlights, when 18 months of accumulated negativity and slide was difficult to shake off, when we struggled to find our form. What did you do to support us, to look to the positive and raise us up? We've been in depression for so long now its still lingering, like a residual nightmare creeping you out after you've woken up.

Time to shake it off, stand up and be counted. WE have got no excuse. Kenny is in there for us, he'll suffer the slings and arrows of naysayers and opponents, take it all on his back for us. Trust him, show spine and belief for him. Our club needs that now, don't look back and be ashamed of how you knee jerked and didn't believe. Rise to the occasion lads.

As always Stussy, top post squire. Well said.

[B.Red]

As for expectations, we should never ever ever, resign to losing x2 to Blackpool in a season. I'm sure Kenny gave them a hairdryer like hell.

Like fuck he did! Shouting and bawling at the players after an improved performance is not going to help put this right. No manager would be that stupid. I'm not sure you even want to be using that phrase as we're not a big fan of that fella.

[rushyman]

Fucking Hell listen to it

I'll give kenny another 4 games etc etc. What are some of you, on a wind up? Surely youre not that thick

Baconface finished 11th twice and 13th before he got it right when the kids came along and he basically started a new dawn. They gave him YEARS and it kinda worked out OK for them

[horne]

After the Blackpool game’s highlights on TV last night, that legends programme came on with lo and behold, Kenny Dalglish as the legend in question. God he was unbelievable. That goal he creates where he pulls the ball out of the sky with one touch to get it out of his feet, away from the defender and facing the goal, and then with his second touch he releases Rush with a perfectly weighted through ball? Sheer class.
Can you imagine one of our boys trying that now? Kuyt for example? God love him but he could hardly trap a bag of cement 75% of the time let alone have the vision to pull off that move. I can honestly say the closest I’ve come to seeing that type of unplayable instinctive football between Liverpool players was Gerrard and Torres in their pomp. Younger fans only had that for one season, A lot of our 40+ supporters had it for years.

I was born in 77, so never really realised or understood just how good Liverpool were. I mean, how knowledgeable can you be at the ages of 10, 11 and 12 about the sheer quality of football you were witness to? From the age of about 15 onwards, I really started to grasp what football was about, by which time the domestic scene was being dominated by the team at OT and we were going through what can only be described as a barren spell. But growing up in that era made you appreciate what you had, it made you realise that success wasn’t a requirement, it was a blessing. You appreciated it all the more because of the failures that went before it. Souness unfortunately didn’t work out, with neither an attractive or highly successful team. Evans played wonderful football, but the team had no substance. Houllier’s team was hard to watch, but it won cups and put Liverpool back on the international scene. Throughout all this time I never actually truly believed that we would win the league. Whether it was the squad, the style of manager, the players or what I don’t know. I just didn’t feel we had the complete package. Then Rafa came in and ultimately committed the greatest success and biggest mistake of his managerial career in one night. He won the European Cup with Jerzy Dudek and Djimi Traore and made us all believe he was the man to with the league! That he nearly did it the season before he left still wasn’t enough for many, many Liverpool fans to give him more time, to have another go, to carry on building. And all this at a time when uncertainty and lack of investment crippled the club when it finally seemed we were on the cusp.

Expectation. 7th not good enough for a club like Liverpool? Well, face facts people, we’re probably going to end up worse off this season and that’s even if Kenny does a great job and gets the team playing again. What dismays me more than anything is the continuous knee jerk reactions by so many. In the last 24 hours I’ve seen posts that say FSG acted too slowly in getting rid of Roy, Kenny’s playing people out of position, last night’s result shows it’s not all Roy’s fault, and the best one – the squad needs 6 – 10 new players to make it competitive again. How people can say this is beyond me? We lose to a Blackpool team formed on teamwork, passion, togetherness and all for about one year of Steven Gerrard’s salary, yet people believe new players are the answer. I continually read how rubbish this Man Utd team is, yet it’s a team that’s sitting miles ahead in the league. And worst of all, this is a Liverpool team that contains over 60% of the players who so nearly won the league two years ago, yet is 6-10 players short of challenging again. Eh?


What has been clearly shown, Kenny himself has said it, is that confidence is a magic thing in football. A good player with confidence can take on the world, a great player lacking it can shrink at the slightest adversity. Right now, this team, this team full of international class players, international captains in some cases, is lacking confidence. Having played under a system where keeping possession of the ball was seen as a crime, amid a period of our history when the fan base has never been stronger and against a turbulent backdrop of ownership, our players have become rigid with fear. Anyone who seriously thinks last night proves that Roy wasn’t to blame is either deluded, or works for the media. My internet dropped out for the last 10 minutes of the game last night so I had the misfortune of having to listen to the radio commentary. Within 3 minutes I must have heard them state that it proved it wasn’t Roy’s fault twice. Let me tell you, 30 minutes of our football last night showed me the difference Kenny has already brought to the team in terms of passing, movement, pressurising and possession, more than Roy managed to do in his entire time at Liverpool. Regardless of the result, there are already signs of improvement, yet for many it’s still not enough. So despite the fact that our away record is shocking, we had 10 men for much of the previous game, Blackpool were fully rested AND we had a number of injuries, it was criminal that we lost this game and is indicative of the severe problems Liverpool have.

I’ll say it again. EH??? If we won this game it would have been fantastic, a real achievement for Kenny and the team given what’s gone before - I even said so myself. However I also sounded a note of caution that there was still a real possibility that we could still get only one or two points from the Blackpool and Bitters games regardless of the undoubted lift Kenny and Clarkey have given to the club. Maybe it’s the expectation thing again? Now that Kenny’s back, I don’t expect us to suddenly go on a 10 match winning streak, but what I do expect is a change in the style and play, and attitude of our players and fans.

I’ve already seen that change from the players, but unfortunately we as fans still seem to be in H + G mode, ready to stick the knife into anyone at the earliest opportunity, even ourselves. Our club is in a HEALTHY position again. Yes, that’s right, HEALTHY. We have little or no debt, which means with or without Champions League football we have a profit margin every year most clubs would kill for. We have a squad blessed with internationals who under the right guidance have shown they can play. We have a manager who believes in this club and knows how it should be run, and will be instrumental in our future whether it’s with him at the helm or someone else, and we have owners who have already gone some way in their six months of ownership to show willingness in not just re-engaging the supporters but running the club privately, quietly and professionally. Yet this still isn’t enough for many of you?

I love this club, and despite the fact I’m back where I was pre-Rafa – not expecting to win the league any time soon, I am still over the moon with how the last 2 weeks have gone. 2010 will go down as an annus horribilis as bad as any in Liverpool’s history, but out of it have come some positives. New owners, new direction and a new stable base from which we can once again build upon. The only thing left is for the supporters to get back to supporting the team, wholeheartedly, passionately and in victory and defeat. More than ever the media feed off the likes of RAWK, (the H + G internet terrorism has guaranteed that)  and just cannot wait to see the types of posts we’ve seen in the last 24 hours, so every single supporter has a responsibility to swallow a reality pill, remember what supporting a football club is all about and realise that we are now back in good and safe hands, and that through those hands, things will progress once more. The Holy Trinity is nearly repaired; unfortunately it’s us, the supporters, who are holding it back.

For most of the sports fans in our country ,they have heard these buzz words mentioned so many times over the years and took on board the seriousness of them when it comes to succeeding,but probably asked themselves 'yeh but how can you get confident and develop self belief?'


from wikipedia....an explanation of self belief and confidence.


Self-confidence does not necessarily imply 'self-belief' or a belief in one's ability to succeed. For instance, one may be inept at a particular sport or activity, but remain 'confident' in one's demeanor, simply because one does not place a great deal of emphasis on the outcome of the activity. The key element to self-confidence is, therefore, an acceptance of the myriad consequences of a particular situation, whether they are good or bad. When one does not dwell on negative consequences one can be more 'self-confident' because one is worrying far less about failure or (more accurately) the disapproval of others following potential failure. One is then more likely to focus on the actual situation which means that enjoyment and success in that situation is also more probable. If there is any 'self-belief' component it is simply a belief in other`s ability to tolerate whatever outcome may arise; a certainty that one will cope irrespective of what happens. Belief in one's abilities to perform an activity comes through successful experience and may add to, or consolidate, a general sense of self-confidence

in a nutshell....

1 stop having a moan at them
2 take the pressure of them and let them play
3 remove the fear of it going wrong....dont let our reaction create that fear

Then they might start to perform,getting the desired results which will then result in returned confidence and self belief,not just as individauls  but as a team/squad as well !

[Austin Powers]

In terms of expectations I feel that with Kenny in charge we will certainly stay in the premiership, no doubt in my mind. I also truly believe that if we can put together a good little run soon that we can challenge for a top 7 spot.

[B.Red]

For most of the sports fans in our country ,they have heard these buzz words mentioned so many times over the years and took on board the seriousness of them when it comes to succeeding,but probably asked themselves 'yeh but how can you get confident and develop self belief?'


from wikipedia....an explanation of self belief and confidence.


Self-confidence does not necessarily imply 'self-belief' or a belief in one's ability to succeed. For instance, one may be inept at a particular sport or activity, but remain 'confident' in one's demeanor, simply because one does not place a great deal of emphasis on the outcome of the activity. The key element to self-confidence is, therefore, an acceptance of the myriad consequences of a particular situation, whether they are good or bad. When one does not dwell on negative consequences one can be more 'self-confident' because one is worrying far less about failure or (more accurately) the disapproval of others following potential failure. One is then more likely to focus on the actual situation which means that enjoyment and success in that situation is also more probable. If there is any 'self-belief' component it is simply a belief in other`s ability to tolerate whatever outcome may arise; a certainty that one will cope irrespective of what happens. Belief in one's abilities to perform an activity comes through successful experience and may add to, or consolidate, a general sense of self-confidence

in a nutshell....

1 stop having a moan at them
2 take the pressure of them and let them play
3 remove the fear of it going wrong....dont let our reaction create that fear

Then they might start to perform,getting the desired results which will then result in returned confidence and self belief,not just as individauls  but as a team/squad as well !

That's quite interesting but also a bit heavy on the semantics. I'm not gonna start saying 'self-belief' when I mean confidence! I think the one thing that a manager can do to inspire 'self-belief' though, irrespective of what the fans think, is focus on the positives to create the illusion of a successful experience and to reward players for even minor successes. Kenny hopefully has the respect of the players already and if they are getting the right encouragement then we should improve.

[Red_Isle_Chap]

Fucking Hell listen to it

I'll give kenny another 4 games etc etc. What are some of you, on a wind up? Surely youre not that thick

Baconface finished 11th twice and 13th before he got it right when the kids came along and he basically started a new dawn. They gave him YEARS and it kinda worked out OK for them

And we come to the major fucking crux of the "modern football" problem right there. We've been particularly patient over the last couple of decades, compared to a lot of other teams. But not compared to 2 out of the 3 big winners of the last 20 years. Patience and time is fucking key with management. Personally, right now i'm "willing" to give kenny at least 4years to drag the club out of the mire that we're in. That'll be the start of the re-build and blooding of some of the talented youngsters. And you know what else, if we get relegated, then I still want him in charge.

Look at the Mancs and look at Arsenal and see what patience rewards you with (well that and Mark fucking Robins ) Stability and long term success both on and off the pitch in different measures for each club. I'm not particularly keen on either bloke (putting it mildly as possible concerning baconface) or either club, but they are the standards we should be looking at.

We made a massive rod for our own back when 1 bad season on the pitch and a near death experience for the club off it allowed 1 manager to leave who should have been given a lot more time under far less financial constraints than he was working under to get things right.

Kenny's not going to make everything right overnight, he knew it full well. But if you can sit there and say that your not encouraged by the progress in the team in well under 1 week of him being in as manager then, quite frankly, you're a fool.

Unification behind the full team, the manager and the club is what's needed now. Someone here will only give him 4 games to turn it around? Pardon my french, but fuck off with that attitude. Kenny's lost his first 2 games in charge with a squad that's had all of it's life, soul and confidence drained from it until it's how was at blackburn, a husk of a team.

All of those players need our support to help them get their confidence back. You know, several I think aren't good enough to be here, but i'll still support them to the hilt while their hear and that includes the Roy signings. We are Liverpool and while any player is here so are they.

So go to the fridge, grab a beer or two and settle in for what will probably be a less than smooth ride towards rescuing our season. And it can be rescued. Once this team starts to get what Kenny wants there's 2 ways to rescue it. 6th is still very possible, there's no reason why it isn't if we can get our shit together on the pitch.

The second is the possiblity of winning a European Trophy. Kenny's never lifted one as manager of us before and I truly believe that with him at the helm we can win the Europa. And you know what, if we do, i'll be celebrating like it's 2005!

[horne]

That's quite interesting but also a bit heavy on the semantics. I'm not gonna start saying 'self-belief' when I mean confidence! I think the one thing that a manager can do to inspire 'self-belief' though, irrespective of what the fans think, is focus on the positives to create the illusion of a successful experience and to reward players for even minor successes. Kenny hopefully has the respect of the players already and if they are getting the right encouragement then we should improve.

agree with you but to clarify my point,we can crush our self esteem by having a go at the players .
Ive done it myself on here and then kicked myself a few days later because it wrong and doesnt help at all.
while results are poor,i would suggest to the lads to try and avoid the media like the plague because they are just going to drain any bits of self esteem left.
stay away until results improve.
Then the media should be starting to write about how great we all are again and the esteem grows....onwards and upwards.

[Fanxxxxtastic]

The way I see it, we're going through a period now when in the future, in just a year onwards, people will look back and ask, what did you do then to get us through, did you show some spine or did you just jerk your knee like an electrode was stuck on it when we had a collapse of confidence so bad it seemed things would never get better?

This is OUR test now lads. We finally have good, serious owners who have a long term strategy and vision for the club which chimes with us, who have gone out of their way to listen to our counsel. We have no leveraged debt payments strangling us to death. We have a great manager, one of our own, the King himself, who will get us playing pass and move attacking football as we want to see it played. We've already got a class assistant appointed in Steve Clarke. We have a chance to bring back and shape The Liverpool Way ourselves in time and with sensitive, classy owners and our King leading us. This for me, is a dream come true.

The players who need to be moved on will be moved on and replaced in the immediate and long term but that can only happen in the summer for the proper re-sculpting to take place and we don't have a time machine to fast forward to May. So until then, we have EVERYTHING that we wanted. So now its down to us.

What was every Redman and Redwoman doing when we couldn't get a win, when our players were caught in the headlights, when 18 months of accumulated negativity and slide was difficult to shake off, when we struggled to find our form. What did you do to support us, to look to the positive and raise us up? We've been in depression for so long now its still lingering, like a residual nightmare creeping you out after you've woken up.

Time to shake it off, stand up and be counted. WE have got no excuse. Kenny is in there for us, he'll suffer the slings and arrows of naysayers and opponents, take it all on his back for us. Trust him, show spine and belief for him. Our club needs that now, don't look back and be ashamed of how you knee jerked and didn't believe. Rise to the occasion lads.

Well in Stussy!