Liverpool Fc @ Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings

[chairman-mao]

Originally Posted by Frankiestine

I think we have yet to play Portsmouth away and this could prove to be a tricky tie as Portsmouth siao siao one..against top team they tend to turn up the heat..and we are only a couple points ahead of Arsenal so really cannot afford to slip up let alone draw...

Totally agreed with you. But that is the problem with Liverpool this season blowing hot and cold. If they are going to carry on like this next season , guess we will still have to long way to wait before we are crown champion of England.

[Frankiestine]

Originally Posted by chairman-mao

Totally agreed with you. But that is the problem with Liverpool this season blowing hot and cold. If they are going to carry on like this next season , guess we will still have to long way to wait before we are crown champion of England.

i guess to be a championship winning team...you got to have 90% skill and 10% luck and looks like Chelski is having it nowadays with all the last minute goals..

[chairman-mao]

Originally Posted by Frankiestine

i guess to be a championship winning team...you got to have 90% skill and 10% luck and looks like Chelski is having it nowadays with all the last minute goals..

Yup luck does play a factor. I do hope that chelsea lift the title again this season for the fact that i just don't want Man U to win. It will be a dream come true if Man U end up wininng nothing at the end of the season.

[Frankiestine]

Originally Posted by chairman-mao

Yup luck does play a factor. I do hope that chelsea lift the title again this season for the fact that i just don't want Man U to win. It will be a dream come true if Man U end up wininng nothing at the end of the season.

Actually would prefer neither to win but strongly hope not chelsea again cos they already won it twice in succession and winning it a third time would mean that their head will swear even bigger and their bragging and boasting will be a real pain...

[chairman-mao]

Originally Posted by Frankiestine

Actually would prefer neither to win but strongly hope not chelsea again cos they already won it twice in succession and winning it a third time would mean that their head will swear even bigger and their bragging and boasting will be a real pain...

Let's just keep our fingers cross and hope we will bring back the EPL title next season.

[rahl]

Originally Posted by KLKOOL

Yeah.... I agree, and the difference is to be made up in Away Games. We have drawn two more and lost 4 more than Manure and Chelski. And our GD is +/- zero. So we have lots of work to do for next season to grab full points away to close the gap.

Our GD not +/- zero lah

[Cum_Luver]

well i think it is time, the title returns to Anfield, where it belongs....
it is long overdue.

[KLKOOL]

Originally Posted by rahl

Our GD not +/- zero lah

For away games lah... sorry forgot to mention that.

[LSB_Fan]

Originally Posted by Frankiestine

Actually would prefer neither to win but strongly hope not chelsea again cos they already won it twice in succession and winning it a third time would mean that their head will swear even bigger and their bragging and boasting will be a real pain...

Aiyah... I dun care who wins. If not us, anyone else also have no interest. espcially if tossup between Manure and Chelski....

[eeemen]

Some interesting stuff on Kewell >>


Kewell still in the money at Liverpool
tribalfooball.com - April 16, 2007

Sometimes Liverpool midfielder Harry Kewell is set for a huge windfall - even if he is dumped by manager Rafa Benitez this summer.

The People says despite his injury problems, Kewell is still collecting his £2million a year ... and taking advantage of the six business class flights to Australia that Liverpool kindly fund.

Not only that - if another club is of a mind to bid more than £6million for the injury-prone Aussie, he gets 50 per cent of everything over that mark.

Kewell is also the only player on Liverpool's books to have his own image rights deal.


Not a bad deal eh, looks pretty sweet to me!

[eeemen]

Here is another article from The Sunday Times [UK edition]



From The Sunday Times
April 15, 2007
Grand master Benitez has right moves
The Liverpool manager believes he has the edge over his Chelsea rival - and recent results seem to prove him right
Jonathan Northcroft

IGOR BISCAN, Djimi Traore, Antonio Nunez. Rafael Benitez is known to love chess; in 2005 he defeated Chelsea using pawns. Now he faces Jose Mourinho in a Champions League semi-final again and history makes the Kop crow. “If you’re going to win trophies, you have to beat the top teams. And Chelsea, too,” said a posting on a Liverpool message board.

The confidence is not necessarily backed up by figures, yet there is a feeling Benitez has Mourinho’s number. Since arriving at their clubs in 2004 the pair have gone head to head 13 times and Mourinho has won six, but he has enjoyed the greater resources and began with the better players. Over time, through squad-building and shrewd tactics, Benitez has chipped away at those advantages and shifted the power balance. Of the sides’ past four meetings, Liverpool won three. Benitez’s total of victories against The Special One is four - twice that of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger combined - and he defeated Mourinho in two of their three biggest contests to date: last year’s FA Cup semi-final and that Champions League semi-final in 2005. “We were good friends until we started winning, then he started changing his mind,” Benitez said. “It’s the same with managers of the top sides. He has good relationships with managers of the teams he beats.”

Were Benitez not so mild-mannered such a remark would be incendiary, for it disparages Ferguson as well as the Chelsea manager. Benitez normally avoids stirring the pot, but he has found it useful in his contests against Chelsea. Before the 2005 semi-final he began a campaign of getting under Mourinho’s skin when his then assistant, Paco Herrera, sent a message to the Chelsea manager through a mutual friend: “Let him know they are better than us. They’ve proved themselves in the league and if they played five matches they would win four. But also tell him they are going to win 1-0 in the first game but we’ll win 2-0 at Anfield.” Mourinho sent a reply — that Liverpool would win 1-0 at Stamford Bridge but Chelsea would triumph 2-0 at Anfield. It was supposed to be cheeky, but the Benitez camp believed a flaw in Mourinho’s approach had been exposed — he would be content to play safe at home, believing the tie could be won in the second leg. Benitez, who sent out a cautious side at Stamford Bridge, was happy to accommodate him. Bringing the semi-final down to one match at home suited Liverpool too.

Before the second leg, Benitez used the newspapers as his chessboard. “We were playing on Chelsea’s overconfidence by saying in the media, ‘We are not the favourites, they are the favourites’,” he recalled. He also used psychology with his players. Steven Gerrard wrote in his autobiography: “A touch of arrogance accompanied Chelsea and Benitez played brilliantly on it. ‘Chelsea’s players think they are in the final’, he told us. ‘Chelsea think they have beaten you. Now show them how wrong they are’.”

Expect Benitez to try something similar in 2007. He will be happy to just play Mourinho at football, Champions League football, that is, where his win percentages are far superior to those of Mourinho — and Ferguson and Wenger, for that matter. In Europe, Benitez is the master at chiselling out the right score, especially away, where he sets up Liverpool in such opposition-smothering fashion.

Chelsea have not only not beaten Liverpool in four Champions League contests, they haven’t scored, although Mourinho would retort that nor have Liverpool. On the subject of Luis Garcia’s “ghost goal” in the 2005 semi-final second leg, Gerrard wrote: “Chelsea moaned about it. Mourinho still does. I laugh. Chelsea’s complaints are ridiculous. If it wasn’t a goal Petr Cech would have been red-carded for bringing down Milan Baros. What would Chelsea have made of that? Down to 10 men, facing a penalty. Liverpool could have won 4-0. Chelsea got off lightly. They should keep quiet.”

There is no chance of silence from Mourinho or those at Stamford Bridge on April 25.

Rafa’s proud record In 13 matches against Jose Mourinho, Liverpool’s Rafael Benitez has enjoyed four victories - three in the past year - and three draws


Makes my hear warm when I read this, hehe.

[eeemen]

And this is from the Daily Telegraph[Australia] about the imminent return of Kewell >>


Harry's dream return

By David Davutovic

April 17, 2007 12:00
Article from: The Daily Telegraph

LIVERPOOL are considering throwing Harry Kewell into the cut-throat Champions League semi-final against arch nemesis Chelsea.

Instead of bringing him back in a low-key reserves match, Kewell's comeback could be on one of the biggest stages of world football and manager Rafa Benitez is believed to be eyeing off the second leg at Anfield on May 1.

But former Reds manager Roy Evans warned against risking Kewell at this late stage of the season.

"They've had him in cotton wool so far and maybe it's better to sit the whole season out and make a fresh start in August or September, that's what experience will tell you," said Evans, who is holidaying in Australia.

"But when the big games come up like the Champions League, sometimes you take that risk.

"He's fresh, which is sometimes an asset, but it's a big ask because it's mid-April and he hasn't played for so long."

Kewell, who has suffered from septic arthritis, a bacterial infection in the joints of his left foot, has resumed full-scale training and has demonstrated to the coaching staff that he is ready to go, partaking in XI v XI games with the senior squad.

Australia's World Cup physio Les Gelis has worked with Kewell on a daily basis and after wrapping him in cotton wool, they are now ready to set him free. The Reds travel to Stamford Bridge on April 26 but with Kewell's demolition of Chelsea in last year's FA Cup semi fresh in manager Benitez's mind, the Spaniard is toying with the idea of saving his big-game player, albeit short of match fitness, for the biggest of occasions.

Evans, now John Toshack's assistant at Wales, believes Kewell can get back to his blistering best though and said the fact that none of the Reds players could hold down the left wing position had left the door ajar for Kewell's return this season.

"If he can get himself into shape, Rafa will be delighted to use him because he's always going to have an impact," Evans said.

"No one's really made that position his own. John Arne Riise's a fullback but he's been playing more up forward and he's enjoyed that luxury but Harry is an attacking force." Benitez has two opportunities to blood the 28-year-old before the first leg tie against Chelsea, in the upcoming home clashes against Middlesbrough (Thursday morning) and Wigan (Saturday).

Socceroos boss Graham Arnold, who has not put any pressure on Kewell ahead of the Asian Cup, applauded Liverpool's cautious approach.

"It's the right approach because they're making sure he's 100 per cent fit and not back on the field at just 75 per cent," Arnold said.

"He's still so important to both Liverpool and Australia, look at the damage he did at the World Cup at 75 per cent.

"He's ready to start and Liverpool are monitoring his progress right down to smallest detail, but they're making sure he's right so there won't be any recurrences.

"He's got an outstanding physio in Les Gelis working with him all the time and a professional medical and sports science department at Liverpool."

[canthaveenuf]

Originally Posted by _AXL_

bro rahl and bro canthaveenuf, borrowing bro klkool's words, cool down. i m sorry if i played any part in the argument by replying and thus keeping this discussion about cisse alive.

First, to reassure bro AXL, you are not the cause of this little disagreement between me and bro Rahl. So, no worries yah.

Now, to bro Rahl ……

I have been a Pools fan for the past 30 odd years, supporting them through their highs and lows, never wavered in my loyalty and allegiance since then and never will in the future. Regrettably, I still do not know enough of Pools’ history, have never been to Anfield, nor do I own a Liverpool shirt. Neither do I know enough of things like formation, tactics etc despite being a recreational footballer for 30+ years. But I am a true Pools fan nonetheless.

Like what bro AXL said, we have the most knowledgeable and loyal football fans here in SBF. I have learnt a lot from fellow fans here (from senior and extremely knowledgeable ones like KingEros to even newer fans who bring different insights to the table) and would like to continue to be part of this fantastic community. That was why I had refrained from responding to your earlier comment, because I really don’t want to get into an argument with a fellow Pools fan whom I also respect. But if it helps for me to clear the air, then I dun mind doing my fair bit. In my response as follows, I have tried to put things in perspective and in as measured a tone as possible so as not to raise the temperature unnecessarily. However, due to my poor ang-moh and low EQ (and IQ), if you are in any way offended with anything I say below, I apologize first.

Originally Posted by rahl

You stand up for yourself if you want. Don't hide behind screens like "counter-productive argument" or try to backtrack. You stand up for what you typed.

Hopefully, as we progress, you will see that I am still standing by what I wrote and have not backtracked a single bit.

I also do not have to hide behind any screen. There is a reason why I said I don’t want to get into a “counter-productive argument” – more about that later. But anyway, I am sure fellow bros here are matured individuals who can tell whether I am hiding behind any screen or not.

Originally Posted by canthaveenuf

I really hope Cisse don't come back to Anfield. Have never been impressed by him, although he did score some good goals. His misses are more than his hits. But, his speed is really something to be impressed with. But not his face. I think he is the only Liverpool player whom I can't really stand the face of. He is always complaining on the field about his fellow colleagues and always give that "du-lan" look. See already damn buay tahan.

The above is what I posted regarding Cisse. In this post, I did say some good things about Cisse but I also said I didn’t like his face. This is purely an innocent personal comment without any intent of malice. If you notice, it is the first time I mention about Cisse. Have I been attacking him left, right centre? Is it a crime for me to comment about his face?

Originally Posted by rahl

A deeply personal attack on Cisse has become an "innocent comment" all of a sudden - really...

Seriously, can this be considered a “deeply personal attack” as you have mentioned?

First of all, it is not “deep” because I only mentioned his face. Have I kept “attacking” his face incessantly? Or for that matter, have I said anything else bad about him? Secondly, why should I conduct a personal attack on someone I don’t even know? Am I right to say that when one conducts a personal attack, it must be with some sinister intent? What am I supposed to gain out of this attack, if it were really one? Has Cisse been woefully hurt by my comment?

If by saying something negative about his looks I am conducting a personal attack, then, many bros here have also been guilty of this crime. Go around SBF and you will see many negative FRs on WLs. I for one wrote a very detailed negative FR on a certain FL called Grape. Her OKT didn’t even bat an eyelid when he saw my FR. And one simple comment about Cisse from me can bring about such a strong response from a fellow bro? How about some bros here who also said something about Cisse’s hairstyle? How about Owen’s height? I am sure someone mentioned that too. Are they considered to be conducting a personal attack on a Pool player too?

Anyway, back to my original post ……..

Originally Posted by canthaveenuf

….. But not his face. I think he is the only Liverpool player whom I can't really stand the face of. He is always complaining on the field about his fellow colleagues and always give that "du-lan" look. See already damn buay tahan.

The way I see it, any bro who read my post will have one of two opinions:

1.That he agrees that Cisse’s face got that du-lan look or
2.That he disagrees but instead feels that Cisse’s look is OK

Obviously, you do not belong to the first category. On the other hand, if you had belonged to the second category, you would have simply replied by saying that “I don’t agree ….. I feel that Cisse’s looks is great …… I really liked his chiseled good looks ….. “

But, you didn’t. Instead, you posted the following:

Originally Posted by rahl

This is another example when the fan imposes his personal feelings onto the player. Bro AXL is the only person so far who has said something sensible about Cisse (see, we don't always disagree!)

Just think about it - if someone discriminates against you at work cos he thinks your face very dulan or laolan - how would you feel?

To be honest, I was scratching my head (remember my IQ not very high wan) trying to understand what you are trying to say.

Two questions came to mind –

1. How can I be imposing my personal feelings on others? As you rightly mentioned, this is an open forum. By definition, it means that anybody can post anything they want. They can agree or disagree. As such, what powers do I have to force people to feel the same way as me?

2. How can I be discriminatory towards Cisse? Correct me if I am wrong:- if a person is discriminated against, his life would likely be quite miserable right? (for eg, if I am the boss and I discriminate against my male subordinates and instead favors only the ladies, then, the men working under me would be quite miserable right?) Has Cisse’s life turned for the worse because of my comment? The last time I checked, he was still making millions in France. What power do I have over Cisse? What do I gain by discriminating against Cisse?

If what I posted was imposing on others and was discriminatory as well, then, we have loads of such kind of postings in this forum. We post FRs on WLs one way or another – are we imposing how we feel about the WL on others? Are we discriminating one against another?

The answers must obviously be No. So, then why did you post your comments like that? And then it dawned on me. This little disagreement is not about whether you find his face du-lan like me or not. It is not about me imposing my views. It is not about me being discriminatory against Cisse.

Your strong response came about because you are either a big Cisse fan and couldn’t stand people criticizing him, or because you simply don’t like people to talk about other people’s face in this thread.

But I must concede that I may have interpreted it all wrong. If so, pls enlighten me.

Which brings me to the reason why I said I don’t want to engage in a “counter-productive argument” over this matter.

If our disagreement had been just about whether Cisse has a du-lan face or not, then, it would have been a small difference in opinion. I can live with that. But, I feel that the issue at hand is more than just that. It is about what one should or should not post in this thread. And this is where you and I differ a great deal. To you, you feel that I shouldn’t have posted about his face. To me, this is an open forum and this is a Liverpool thread. IMHO, all bros here should be allowed to talk about anything that is related to Liverpool, be it the players, their skills (or lack of), their handsome or fuck-type face, the new owners, off-field activities etc etc. We shouldn’t be restricted to just talking about tactics, formations, technical stuff etc like what some bros here suggested. I say, by all means, engage in some harmless fantasy football.

Before this, there was already a huge debate on this matter (about what should/shouldn’t be posted) in this thread. Because of this and also because of the huge gap between our opinions on this matter, I did not want to engage in some endless argument over this. Also, I don’t wish this thread to be hijacked and become a war of words. This thread should and must belong all REDs fans.

++++++++++

I hope that I have satisfied you that I have not conducted any deeply personal attack on Cisse, nor have I been imposing my feelings on others, and last but not least, that I have not been discriminatory towards Cisse or anybody else for that matter.

On top of it all, I hope that you also see that my original post was just an innocent personal comment, with no intention to hurt anybody at all, Cisse or otherwise.

Cheers

[canthaveenuf]

May I now touch on the last bit about “Cisse creating disharmony in the dressing room”.

You wrote:

Originally Posted by rahl

At the same time, the key word in your last para on Cisse has become "may". You like to quote that post again? What's the point of saying "may" if you have no evidence?

For your benefit, this was what I posted originally:

Originally Posted by canthaveenuf

….. He is always complaining on the field about his fellow colleagues …… Basically, he has a kinda attitude problem and may create havoc in the dressing room.

As you can see, the “may” word was still there. I have not changed anything. The reason why I said he may create disharmony was because he was always complaining about his fellow colleagues on the field. I dun know about fellow bros here, but, to me, as a concerned Pools fan, I think it is quite natural to fear that the other players may not like it.

You asked: “What's the point of saying "may" if you have no evidence?” How contradictory. May I ask what does “may” mean to you? To me, it means “it is something in the future, it hasn’t happened yet, and it may or may not happen.” So, if it hasn’t happened, how can I have evidence? If I have evidence, I would have said something like “Cisse has created disharmony in the dressing room by ….. “ but clearly I can’t say that right?

I find it disturbing that you should question ppl when they post about things that may or may not happen. Again, it boils down to the question of what one can/cannot post here. You mean to say that for every post that bro post here, it must be accompanied by some form of evidence? Are we in some kind of police state here, everything must be by “law”. If we need evidence every time we post, this wouldn’t be a forum would it? It would be so facts-based that it should become a portal or a newspaper website, with no room for anybody to post their personal opinions. The point here is that the SBF forum exists because it was intended to allow people to post their personal opinions. As long as people are not spreading sinister rumours, what harm is it to post such comments?

++++++++++

And as bro KLKOOL said,

Originally Posted by KLKOOL

We are all united in our passion for Liverpool despite our differences of opinion.

I strongly agree. We have very passionate ppl here and we all can have our differences from time to time. I do not have any problems with people agreeing or disagreeing with what I say, just like I also don’t agree with everything that is being said here. We should encourage healthy exchange of ideas. But, to do that effectively, personally, I feel that the tone of posts should be moderated and not too aggressive, there shouldn’t be any personal attack, and certainly no wild accusations flying around. Unfortunately, sometimes when you read posts here (not only in this thread), you can’t help but worry that some kind of war will explode, like the famous one in HHH thread which to date is still on-going with no signs of easing.

What is most important is that we wish what is best for what is common to us all here in this thread – our favorite football team on this planet, Liverpool. In spite of our differences, you remain as one REDs fan that I respect – cool boh?

++++++++++++++

To all bros who have spent time reading this, I apologize for wasting your time. As I said before, I had no intention to prolong this argument and had preferred to remain quiet. As it is right now, I have already spent quite a bit of my time and effort just to pen this response. I hoped my efforts have not been in vain in clearing up the misunderstanding.

Cheers

[Cummon]

Wow,bro,you must have sacrificed a cheong session for all the above
It stirs warmth & closeness after reading & am sure Bro rahl will appreciate.

YNWA !