Redshadow

Has to be the most sensible post in this thread. Why does the Ian Paisley idiot bang on and on about attendances? What the fuck have they got to do with anything? No-one compares to Manure in that department, even when they went down, but what does it matter anyway? In the city of Liverpool around 75,000 people watch Premiership football every fortnight. In Manchester it.s around 115,000, am I supposed to feel my football support is somehow inferior because they have far more going to the match? What is it, I just don't get the attendance bragfests or arguements, what am I missing? tbf torres danny and stevie are pretty much as bad as each other they're sort of the equivalent of each other as far as fans of their respective clubs go I'd say you're more similar to them than me. 1 Out of towner - check 2 None season ticket holder - check 3 Been to less than 100 games - check 4 Dubious reasons for supporting the club - check McMahon is obviously wasting his time, it's all about money dear boy and Andrews money, in whatever form, is as important as yours or anyone elses.

Has to be the most sensible post in this thread. Why does the Ian Paisley idiot bang on and on about attendances? What the fuck have they got to do with anything? No-one compares to Manure in that department, even when they went down, but what does it matter anyway? In the city of Liverpool around 75,000 people watch Premiership football every fortnight. In Manchester it.s around 115,000, am I supposed to feel my football support is somehow inferior because they have far more going to the match? What is it, I just don't get the attendance bragfests or arguements, what am I missing?

It's because they're inherently lazy. When you've come from three generations of dole scum, it's no shame to go to Lidl in your pyjamas & slippers. For the record, no self respecting Scouse bird would be seen out in pj's AND slippers. Slippers are a complete no no, and having spent Saturday nights in many cities of this country, Liverpool on a Saturday night is one of the best cities in Britain for seeing good looking, well dressed and well groomed birds. With the Ian Paisley sound alike getting stuck in again it would be very easy to have a go at Geordies, especially the birds whose reputation was far from enhanced by Shepherd, but I speak as I find and I've met great Geordies and some who are utter tools, same as everywhere else. We all have a great pride in our cities, Liverpool will always be better than anywhere else for me, I don't feel the need to keep shouting about it though, or putting others down, it's each to their own. This top ten Sky have come out with is a complete nonsense and has nothing to do with football, what will they do next, judge us on how many gingers we've got in each stand?

We're better looking than Swiss cunts and scousers I'll tell you that straight away. Scousers are umpa lumpa types genetically, they're much smaller than we are. This message had been brought to you by StevieLabs Inc. It's just how I find people in the North West, they're genetically fucked up, and the ones who are naturally good looking have a lifestyle that makes them look dodgy. Manchester and Liverpool have Britain's fattest cunts officially as well.

He always wanted to play the same system he played at Valencia but never had the right players. Crouch was never going to fit in to the 4-2-3-1 although he'd still liked to have kept him. Crouch wouldn't sign a new contract and Rafa needed to raise money. It was tongue-in-cheek but it suggests he doesn't fit in with Benitez's vision of what is the sort of player needed to challenge for the league. And he'd have signed a new contract if he thought he wasn't going to spend another season warming the bench for you lot, I'd have thought. I'd agree to an extent but Benitez likes to have lots of options and to change the system in the middle of a match if it's not working. Crouch fell in to the option category. Nobody gets guarantees not to warm the bench, even before they sign they are put straight on his rotation policy.

He always wanted to play the same system he played at Valencia but never had the right players. Crouch was never going to fit in to the 4-2-3-1 although he'd still liked to have kept him. Crouch wouldn't sign a new contract and Rafa needed to raise money.

: That's partially why I believe Benitez won't win the title - Torres aside, he seems unable to sign players of the quality that Man Utd and Chelsea have. His desire to spend nearly £40m on two very good but not great premiership players reinforces this. It's a bit puzzling because I thought previously that he was trying to do it on the cheap, but apparently Liverpool are willing to splash the cash - just on the wrong players! Like you'd know! Why am I any less qualified to comment than you? You haven't been seriously in the title race for years, Rafa can't or won't sign players that are good enough also has his rotation system that may save legs for end of season cup runs but is impossible to win the league with. Bet you were saying the same this time last year when he bought Torres or the year before when he bought Crouch. Why do you think you're superior to Rafa and know better than him what players will fit in to his team? He lost 4 games last season, two of which were against Manure, one of the top teams we have to beat to be in with a chance. Having watched his team building progress for the last 4 years I think he can do it, given the time. I did say "Torres aside". And Crouch? Please. You may have only lost four games, compared to "Manure's" (original!) five, but you drew 13 times, along with Blackburn the most in the premiership last season. To win the title you need to take the points from the smaller teams, and not just the big three. You didn't, and finished 11 points behind Man Utd, and 7 points behind Arsenal in third. Never in the race. And I asked whether you felt the same about Rafa buying Torres last summer, not how he's turned out. Crouch was a good player for us and did what he was brought in to do at the time, you can't ask more from a player than that. 4m profit makes it good business in my eyes, but of course, you're far superior to Rafa aren't you? Where did I say that we were in the title race last season? My points were aimed at your superior attitude rather than what you said. It's laughable that you think you know better who is and isn't a good buy for another club. Keane ticks all the boxes for Benitez, I think he's overpriced myself, but then I don't know what role he'll play and if at the end of the season he helps us get nearer to our goal then he will have been worth 20 million, just like Crouch was in his first season with us. I don't know where you've got this 'superior attitude' stuff from. All I did was express my opinion that Benitez won't win you the title, and gave the reasons why I thought this. What's more laughable is your righteous indignation that I've dared to criticise your supposedly all-knowing manager. Try reading back through your posts. Your reasoning was flawed, that was the problem. Benitez buys players to fit in to his team, not neccesarily star players, and I have to say he's upped the quality of the TEAM every season he's been here. Your question mark and the word please after Crouch's name shows how very little you know about the subject you're trying to hold forth on. My righteous indignation, as you call it, has far less to do with Benitez's knowledge and more to do with your very obvious lack of it. Crouch has done quite well at Liverpool. But he's not the kind of player who will help you challenge the top two, or even Arsenal. I thought that was obvious. He may well have upped the quality of the team, but the teams ahead of you upped the quality of theirs even more. You can keep the condescending comments coming btw but it won't get you any closer to a title that you're never going to win. So speaks the voice of ignorance. As I've stated in another post, I'd be happy with a real challenge, I wouldn't ever be so pompous as to say another team will never win it. Manure went 26 years without a title win, I didn't even think they'd never win it. There you go showing your lack of knowledge about your subject yet again. In Crouchs first season we gained 82 points, our biggest points haul in over 20 years and 1 behind Manure,much of that was down to Crouchs presence in the team and a new GK. Arsenal finished 15 points behind us that season, so no it's not obvious.

Arsenal have been at it a lot longer, Wengers been there for 11 years now and so the younger players he was buying years ago should be coming through season on season. Benitez has brought in 25 young players in the last 4 years for both the academy and the reserves. Those and the natural catchment of local players should see us bring a few through over the next couple of seasons. Out of his 4 seasons Benitez has finished above Wenger twice so Arsenal have been far from romping in to 3rd, except for last season which I'd describe more as them rapidly dropping to 3rd myself. Neither can Wenger cut it in Europe. That's not to say I think Wenger isn't a great manager, of course he is. Why mention squad players and fourth choice strikers? There's plenty of quality in the squad to make up a great 1st team but you're right in as much as in a few positions the players coming in behind aren't good enough quality, but you can only do what your budget says you can and each season has seen an upgrade. As far as Yossi goes, he seems confident that he's staying, but Rafa wants Barry and will have to sell to buy which could see Yossi, Pennant and Voronin going, failing someone coming in for Xabi Alonso. I'd like to see both Yossi and Pennant staying but I'd also rather have kept Luis Garcia than buy Yossi in the first place. I am not one of those who say this is our season. If the top two teams have 25m+ players all over the place it's bound to be hard to compete but I'd be more than happy with a real challenge and to carry on winning other trophies. 2 CL finals and 1 semi in four years isn't bad to be going on with.

That's partially why I believe Benitez won't win the title - Torres aside, he seems unable to sign players of the quality that Man Utd and Chelsea have. His desire to spend nearly £40m on two very good but not great premiership players reinforces this. It's a bit puzzling because I thought previously that he was trying to do it on the cheap, but apparently Liverpool are willing to splash the cash - just on the wrong players! Like you'd know! Why am I any less qualified to comment than you? You haven't been seriously in the title race for years, Rafa can't or won't sign players that are good enough also has his rotation system that may save legs for end of season cup runs but is impossible to win the league with. Bet you were saying the same this time last year when he bought Torres or the year before when he bought Crouch. Why do you think you're superior to Rafa and know better than him what players will fit in to his team? He lost 4 games last season, two of which were against Manure, one of the top teams we have to beat to be in with a chance. Having watched his team building progress for the last 4 years I think he can do it, given the time. I did say "Torres aside". And Crouch? Please. You may have only lost four games, compared to "Manure's" (original!) five, but you drew 13 times, along with Blackburn the most in the premiership last season. To win the title you need to take the points from the smaller teams, and not just the big three. You didn't, and finished 11 points behind Man Utd, and 7 points behind Arsenal in third. Never in the race. And I asked whether you felt the same about Rafa buying Torres last summer, not how he's turned out. Crouch was a good player for us and did what he was brought in to do at the time, you can't ask more from a player than that. 4m profit makes it good business in my eyes, but of course, you're far superior to Rafa aren't you? Where did I say that we were in the title race last season? My points were aimed at your superior attitude rather than what you said. It's laughable that you think you know better who is and isn't a good buy for another club. Keane ticks all the boxes for Benitez, I think he's overpriced myself, but then I don't know what role he'll play and if at the end of the season he helps us get nearer to our goal then he will have been worth 20 million, just like Crouch was in his first season with us. I don't know where you've got this 'superior attitude' stuff from. All I did was express my opinion that Benitez won't win you the title, and gave the reasons why I thought this. What's more laughable is your righteous indignation that I've dared to criticise your supposedly all-knowing manager. Try reading back through your posts. Your reasoning was flawed, that was the problem. Benitez buys players to fit in to his team, not neccesarily star players, and I have to say he's upped the quality of the TEAM every season he's been here. Your question mark and the word please after Crouch's name shows how very little you know about the subject you're trying to hold forth on. My righteous indignation, as you call it, has far less to do with Benitez's knowledge and more to do with your very obvious lack of it.

That's partially why I believe Benitez won't win the title - Torres aside, he seems unable to sign players of the quality that Man Utd and Chelsea have. His desire to spend nearly £40m on two very good but not great premiership players reinforces this. It's a bit puzzling because I thought previously that he was trying to do it on the cheap, but apparently Liverpool are willing to splash the cash - just on the wrong players! Like you'd know! Why am I any less qualified to comment than you? You haven't been seriously in the title race for years, Rafa can't or won't sign players that are good enough also has his rotation system that may save legs for end of season cup runs but is impossible to win the league with. Bet you were saying the same this time last year when he bought Torres or the year before when he bought Crouch. Why do you think you're superior to Rafa and know better than him what players will fit in to his team? He lost 4 games last season, two of which were against Manure, one of the top teams we have to beat to be in with a chance. Having watched his team building progress for the last 4 years I think he can do it, given the time. I did say "Torres aside". And Crouch? Please. You may have only lost four games, compared to "Manure's" (original!) five, but you drew 13 times, along with Blackburn the most in the premiership last season. To win the title you need to take the points from the smaller teams, and not just the big three. You didn't, and finished 11 points behind Man Utd, and 7 points behind Arsenal in third. Never in the race. And I asked whether you felt the same about Rafa buying Torres last summer, not how he's turned out. Crouch was a good player for us and did what he was brought in to do at the time, you can't ask more from a player than that. 4m profit makes it good business in my eyes, but of course, you're far superior to Rafa aren't you? Where did I say that we were in the title race last season? My points were aimed at your superior attitude rather than what you said. It's laughable that you think you know better who is and isn't a good buy for another club. Keane ticks all the boxes for Benitez, I think he's overpriced myself, but then I don't know what role he'll play and if at the end of the season he helps us get nearer to our goal then he will have been worth 20 million, just like Crouch was in his first season with us.

Can't argue with any of that.

That's partially why I believe Benitez won't win the title - Torres aside, he seems unable to sign players of the quality that Man Utd and Chelsea have. His desire to spend nearly £40m on two very good but not great premiership players reinforces this. It's a bit puzzling because I thought previously that he was trying to do it on the cheap, but apparently Liverpool are willing to splash the cash - just on the wrong players! Like you'd know! Why am I any less qualified to comment than you? You haven't been seriously in the title race for years, Rafa can't or won't sign players that are good enough also has his rotation system that may save legs for end of season cup runs but is impossible to win the league with. Bet you were saying the same this time last year when he bought Torres or the year before when he bought Crouch. Why do you think you're superior to Rafa and know better than him what players will fit in to his team? He lost 4 games last season, two of which were against Manure, one of the top teams we have to beat to be in with a chance. Having watched his team building progress for the last 4 years I think he can do it, given the time.

I'm not sure it helps at all because people expect ex players know the inside info on the club, when in fact they know very little unless they spend a bit of time at the club on a regular basis, or are locals still in the area. I've read some of the worst uninformed shit about our club from some ex players than from most journos. The only one who gets it right nearly every single time is Dalglish who is actually at every home match and still lives here. The worst has been Steve McMahon who lives and works in Asia.

Cheers, nice to be made welcome On the issue at hand Robbie Keane, I think if you looked at it neutrally, he has to be normally worth £12-15 million. Now, I'm a bit of a statto (apologies in advance), this is Robbie Keane's goalscoring record in the premier league. Year / Apps /Goals 2007-2008 / 36 / 15 2006-2007 / 27 / 11 2005-2006 / 36 / 16 2004-2005 / 35 / 11 2003-2004 / 34 / 14 2002-2003 / 29 / 13 Now, this is the feats of our spectacular collection of backup strikers last year. Dirk Kuyt 2007-2008 / 32 / 3 Peter Crouch 2007-2008 / 21 / 5 Andriy Voronin 2007-2008 / 19 / 5 Admittedly they don't tell the whole story (e.g. Kuyt was played as a right midfielder all season, Kuyt and Crouch scored a lot more goals in the cups unlike Voronin, Crouch appeared off the sub's bench more than the other 2), but they do illustrate just how impressive Robbie Keane's goalscoring record is. I believe Liverpool are willing to overpay in his particular case, simply because Keane is the player we need right now, I have absolutely no confidence in any of the others deputising for Torres. We really do need a backup. I forsee absolutely no reason why Keane won't score 15+ league goals for Liverpool this season (particularly if he forms any kind of understanding with Gerrard or Torres), and I'll bet my house he'll score more than any of the clowns mentioned above. In for example, Gareth Barry's case we are not willing to overpay because he is a luxury. We really want him, but ultimately he is someone we can take him or leave him (looking at the players we have for his position). Keane isn't worth £18-20 million, but I can gladly accept we're prepared to pay that simply for what he can do for our team. Spot on about Keane. Rafa offers what he feels a player is worth which could be higher or lower than the general valuation. Everyone said Crouch wasn't worth 7 million, Rafa thought he was and so it proved. He's now realised a 4million profit on the lad.

None as big as the boos when Marseille turned you over at Anfield. Liverpool fans are fuckin shit, I think I've mentioned it before though. Not like you to exaggerate is it Ian Paisley/Rab C wannabe? There were boos at the Marseille game but no more than a handful doing it. Booing isn't something we do as a rule, that's why we're fuckin shit fans. To be honest redshadow, if the plastic scouser torres hadn't typed another moment of wit from his pathetic yank mind, none of us would have to put up with stevie's shite ramblings. I know he's far from representitive of fans on this board sammy, even when the Liverpool comments are negative they're usually said in self defence or a smugness that it's happening somewhere else. All fans do that about all clubs, and if you go on another clubs forum you don't expect to read too many good things about your club. I have no problem with that at all. I can understand the hate of Liverpool as a football club from fans of clubs who haven't been as successful, not sure I wouldn't hate them too if I was born somewhere else, but this guys obsessive hate and jealousy goes way beyond all of that, right through from football, to city, to people, even to the point of telling outright lies at times. Liverpool is top of his hate list by a long way but he doesn't like anywhere that has a bit of success or character. He even discriminates in his own area ffs. The man's a bigotted loser and is guaranteed to provide a reason for the likes of Torres to raise the banter stakes.

None as big as the boos when Marseille turned you over at Anfield. Liverpool fans are fuckin shit, I think I've mentioned it before though. Not like you to exaggerate is it Ian Paisley/Rab C wannabe? There were boos at the Marseille game but no more than a handful doing it. Booing isn't something we do as a rule, that's why we're fuckin shit fans.

Park Life - You always seem interested in clubs scouting systems and things like that, so thought you might be interested in this interview with our chief scout, it's quite in depth, and how I imagine most scouting systems work, with just a few differences to suit different clubs and their needs. Eduardo Macia

I'm fairly sure Redshadow actually supports the club, rather inexplicably wearing it as some form of penis extension (as Torres seems to try to do). Never thought of it like that, although I did fall in love with it at an early age and have never fell out of love with it, so you may be right. Bah, it should read: I'm fairly sure Redshadow actually supports the club, rather than inexplicably wearing it as some form of penis extension (as Torres seems to try to do). No probs Fop, I was enjoying having a penis extension, now you've reduced it back down to size.

I'm fairly sure Redshadow actually supports the club, rather inexplicably wearing it as some form of penis extension (as Torres seems to try to do). Never thought of it like that, although I did fall in love with it at an early age and have never fell out of love with it, so you may be right.

Every team should have a Kuyt. Think of him as a Joey Jones type of player, no great skill but gives his all and more for the team, is supremely loyal and fulfilled his role on the right superbly well in the second half of the season. Even does a bit of tapping up for you on the side. Please elucidate. I would love to play with Keano story in the press today. Fucking carthorse. Doesn't look as though he needs any encouragement. Well done, you've turned his head. Enjoy the bottled tackles / headers, the blaming of team mates whe he is at fault, the roller coaster form, the strops when subbed and the step overs and flicks that never come off. Keane joining Liverpool wont benefit either of us. I don't care whether we get him or not Danny, although I do like him as a player. One things for sure, if he doesn't pull his weight Rafa will ship him, he wastes no time when a player he's bought doesn't work out. I doubt he'll throw strops, no offence meant but he'll be a small cog in a big wheel. He'll either grab the chance with all he's got or he'll be gone.

Every team should have a Kuyt. Think of him as a Joey Jones type of player, no great skill but gives his all and more for the team, is supremely loyal and fulfilled his role on the right superbly well in the second half of the season. Even does a bit of tapping up for you on the side. Please elucidate. I would love to play with Keano story in the press today. Fucking carthorse. Doesn't look as though he needs any encouragement.

162 gross. 69 net.

Every team should have a Kuyt. Think of him as a Joey Jones type of player, no great skill but gives his all and more for the team, is supremely loyal and fulfilled his role on the right superbly well in the second half of the season.

...and Milan bet against themselves at half-time. In Spain, wouldn't Benitez have worked under / alongside a DoF who was buying the players? Maybe he isn't that used to buying his own players and it shows a bit. Because it seems his tactics (especially in Europe) are spot on but I agree with Mr. Pond that Liverpool haven't really progressed in terms of challenging for the PL in the time Benitez has been there. What the reds on here won't tell you is that Benny lost his key helper last year. Pako Ayerstan was very good at his job but we had a far better start to the season without him than with him.

I actually rate Pennant but he was a 2nd choice player after us spending all summer trying to sign Dani Alves with Sevilla upping the price every time we met what they were asking. Pennant is still good back up but Benitez likes attacking full backs with a striker in front playing on the right.