Liverpool Fc @ Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings

[Alkano]

Bring back Rafa....

[rahl]

Come on la, do you honestly think the guys have the league in their mind now (if not a month ago)? If a relegation team plays us, we might be accused of kelong!

whatever it is, kenny did the right thing by blasting the team - best thing to do to motivate the players for the final.

[lugi]

I can't believe it is my beloved Pool playing...

Its like 14 losses in the league? Are we talking about Liverpool?

I know I'm crazy, but if a defeat during the FA Cup final can cause heads to roll so that my beloved team can rise again, I'm all for it.

Sad to say, an FA Cup triumph does not paper over the absolutely pathetic league season and some of the clueless performances we had...

Pool teams under Shanks, Paisley and even Rafa will never play like this... if the players do not go out to play for the shirt, who is to blame?

[doppelherz]

Originally Posted by rahl

Come on la, do you honestly think the guys have the league in their mind now (if not a month ago)?

The Liverpool I am used to supporting for more than half my life gave 100% for every game, and nowadays we have bigger squads so yes I was expecting some fight.

[GeMiNiZzzzZzz]

Originally Posted by doppelherz

The Liverpool I am used to supporting for more than half my life gave 100% for every game, and nowadays we have bigger squads so yes I was expecting some fight.

Plus the wages, sponsorship, fan-base and all and all...wat rubbish is it that they are looking forward to the nxt game and be slack at this.

Even the great madrid played the full first 11 before they meet barca and beat them..because they wear the great Madrid shirt and responsible to their fans.

So we do have fans who can accept sub-standard performance on some so-called useless matches to win a cup which is going to prolong some sub standard players and managers tenure

[lugi]

Originally Posted by GeMiNiZzzzZzz

So we do have fans who can accept sub-standard performance on some so-called useless matches to win a cup which is going to prolong some sub standard players and managers tenure

100% agree...No rational fan with any sense of pride in his team will accept this...

[joew2005]

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Dalglish talks up cups
May 2, 2012

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish believes an "obsession" with the Premier League is reducing the value of winning cup competitions.

The Reds head in2 Saturday's FA Cup final against Chelsea looking 4 their 2nd piece of silverware tis season having already lifted the Carling Cup.

However, Liverpool's league form has been wildly inconsistent in the current campaign & a home defeat 2 Fulham on Tuesday night means they hv now dropped 30 points @ Anfield.

Their 8th-place position is well below the standard required by principal owner John Henry, who @ the start of the season felt Dalglish's side shld hv been challenging 4 a top-4 place.

However, although the Reds boss accepts their league form has not been good enough, he does not believe it shld devalue their progress in knockout competitions, having ended a 6-year wait 4 silverware.

"Any competition u enter u 1 2 do the best u possibly can in," Dalglish said. "In the league it is 38 games & @ the end u finish in a position which tells u how successful it has been. In cup competitions there r obviously not as many games & if u get beaten u r out.

"There is an obsession with the Premier League simply becos of wat it holds 4 every club & the value financially 4 every club, the rewards u get 4 finishing in the top 4 & getting in the Champions League. But there is a satisfaction fr winning a cup competition which u don't get fr finishing 5th or 6th in the league.

"We hv already tasted a cup final tis year, albeit the Carling Cup, & getting 2 the FA Cup final shld never be underestimated in any way. It is a fantastic day out 4 every1 & is great reward 4 the efforts & commitment of the players & the respect we hv paid 2 the competition. We think we deserve 2 be there & we r happy 2 be there.

"We will see wat happens. We r in the cup final & there is no guarantee we will win but there is a guarantee we will give everything we hv got 2 try 2 win. The season will be assessed when it's finished."

Captain Steven Gerrard has spoken a number of times in the past of having 2 address their league form & he & veteran defender Jamie Carragher both reiterated tat stance.

However, both insisted winning 2 trophies in a season - the only 2 competitions they realistically had a chance of success in as they were well off the Premier League pace even b4 the campaign kicked off - shld be regarded as an achievement.

"It is a successful season. Tis club is all abt winning big trophies & the FA Cup certainly comes under tat," Gerrard said. "We will assess the season aft the weekend. If we can look back & say we hv won 2 cups we will be happy, but of course we still hv 2 address the problem of our league position."

Gerrard added: "Some of the biggest experiences myself & Jamie hv had over the years hv been winning cups. They r nights when u r successful u look back on with fond memories.

"The FA Cup is special altogether but we got a taste of success winning the Carling Cup & tat will help some of the younger players in the squad & every1 really becos winning breeds confidence."

Carragher insisted putting silverware back in the cabinet @ Anfield was important 4 the club's standing & 4 the players' confidence.

"We had gone 5 or 6 years b4 tis season without a trophy & in tat time we hv had some great nights - European Champions League nights - but @ the end of your career u 1 trophies 2 look back on as well," the 34-year-old said. "We hv 1 tis season & if we get 2, having been in 3 competitions, tat will be a great season."

While not dismissing the Carling Cup, Carragher said the FA Cup was another step up in prestige.

"Playing 4 Liverpool in a cup final is special but we realise playing in an FA Cup final is a bigger stage than the Carling Cup final," he added. "It is fantastic 4 the club, supporters, manager & players. It is something 2 look forward 2."



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Reds among De Jong suitors - agent
May 2, 2012

Liverpool r 1 of a host of clubs interested in signing prolific FC Twente striker Luuk De Jong, according 2 the player's agent.

De Jong, 21, has dazzled 4 Twente tis season, netting 23 goals in 23 Eredivisie games 4 Steve McClaren's side.

But with Twente struggling 2 qualify 4 next season's Champions League, De Jong is tipped 2 end his 3-year association with the club in search of a new challenge abroad.

The Netherlands international has previously stated a desire 2 play in the Premier League & his agent Luis Laros has now named Liverpool as 1 of the clubs interested in him, but also stressed tat he has no shortage of admirers.

"Liverpool r following Luuk closely. But so r 15 other clubs," Laros told Voetbal International. "3 big clubs tat hv qualified 4 the Champions League preliminaries hv told us tat they r ready 2 open talks with Twente.

"We will keep our eyes & ears open in the next few weeks. Luuk is feeling very well @ Twente, but if the club fails 2 qualify 4 Europe, staying put is a less attractive option."

Everton & Newcastle hv all been mooted as potential destinations 4 De Jong in the past, while Borussia Monchengladbach hv recently emerged as candidates 4 his signature.

[rahl]

Originally Posted by doppelherz

The Liverpool I am used to supporting for more than half my life gave 100% for every game, and nowadays we have bigger squads so yes I was expecting some fight.

It was a poor performance by the team we put out, there is nothing more to play for, we have been struggling at Anfield, so the result's hardly a surprise?

I'd be a lot more concerned if this happened against Chelsea (fingers crossed we will play well in a final for once, against a big team).

[too_hot]

However you slice and dice it, it was a total and utter disgrace.

[hawksbay]

Originally Posted by rahl

It was a poor performance by the team we put out, there is nothing more to play for, we have been struggling at Anfield, so the result's hardly a surprise?

I'd be a lot more concerned if this happened against Chelsea (fingers crossed we will play well in a final for once, against a big team).

just 2 words RAFA BENITEZ

[Xgenre]

Originally Posted by hawksbay

just 2 words RAFA BENITEZ

Your 2 words mean nothing. My 4 words mean more. RAFA, PLEASE COME BACK!

With 13 wins, 10 draws and 13 losses, we shouldn't be looking at players if Kenny's position is in doubt. The worst thing we can do is to buy players that the new manager doesn't want. At 13 losses so far, we have more losses in this uncompleted season than some entire seasons combined!

[doppelherz]

Originally Posted by rahl

I'd be a lot more concerned if this happened against Chelsea (fingers crossed we will play well in a final for once, against a big team).

This is where I hope Kenny drops players like Henderson and Spearing who are very kan cheong on big games and just seem out of it. But with our central midfield crisis, one of them has to start.

My main dilemma is up front, Gerrard played very well just behind Suarez at Norwich,reminded me of Gerrard-Torres, but Carroll always causes Chelsea problems with his "ugly" style of play. So does Kenny go 4-4-2 or 4-5-1?

[joew2005]

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Judgement day for Liverpool
May 2, 2012

Tis is not just abt a victory on the day. Tis is abt a verdict on the entire year. 4 Liverpool, the FA Cup final against Chelsea determines hw their campaign will be remembered, whether the 1st question in their summer analysis is 'wat went right?' or 'wat went wrong?' It determines if the mood is 1 of celebration or of recrimination. Saturday is judgment day.

"People will judge us," Steven Gerrard said, presenting both sides of the argument. Victory gives him the final word in any discussion. "Ppl will say 'yeah, but u haven't done well in the league' & we will say, 'yeah, but we hv won 2 cups'." The Carling Cup was secured in February & Jamie Carragher insisted: "At the end of your career u 1 trophies 2 look back on. We've got 1 & if we win 2, I think it's a great season."

There is a consistency 2 Carragher's case; his fav season was the treble year of 2000-01, rather than 2004-05, which produced their improbable, incredible Champions League triumph, or 2008-09, when 86 points & some superlative football were not enough 2 make them champions.

Not 4 the 1st time, captain & vice-captain were singing fr the same hymn sheet. "Some of the biggest experiences myself & Jamie hv had over the years hv been winning cups: the European Cup, the FA Cup, the Carling Cup," Gerrard added. "Those r the days tat u look back on with fond memories."

He was sat in Anfield's Trophy Room, surrounded by gleaming reminders of his & Carragher's past deeds; of achievements in Kenny Dalglish's playing & managerial career; of major honours dating back 2 the 1901 1st Division title. It is an enviable accumulation of silverware &, @ a club where pre-eminence is prioritised, Dalglish said: "There is a satisfaction fr winning a trophy u don't get fr finishing in the top 4."

The top 4 will elude them, but Liverpool's top form has come in the knockout competitions. They r unbeaten in 12 games in cup competitions, including 2 apiece against ManC & Stoke City, & 1 each with Chelsea, Everton & ManU. Neither path 2 Wembley has been simple; both hv been navigated confidently. "Getting 2 the FA Cup final shld never be underestimated in any way," Dalglish added. "It is a great reward. We think we deserve 2 be there."

When Liverpool last won the FA Cup (2006's penalty shootout triumph over West Ham) it was the Gerrard final. These r the stages on which the Istanbul immortal tends 2 excel. The Liverpudlian is alone in scoring in the finals of the Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Cup & Carling Cup, helping his hometown club win each. An illustrious place in history is guaranteed, but with 1 unwelcome distinction: he is the finest English footballer of the Premier League era never 2 win the title.

If the table is the ultimate arbiter, he has rarely been further away. Only in 2005, when Chelsea were champions & Champions League winners Liverpool finished 37 points behind them, has there been a bigger gulf than the 34 points separating the Merseysiders fr Manchester's twin representatives @ the division's summit.

"If we can look back & say we won 2 cups we will be happy but we still need 2 address the problem of our league position," Gerrard accepted. "We r all aware tat we hv underachieved in the league. The squad of players we hv got is better than where we r."

It was a typically honest remark. Rarely 1 2 sugar-coat failure or 2 needlessly hype colleagues, the 31-year-old midfielder believes Liverpool's pool of players is comparable with Chelsea's Champions League finalists.

"I don't think there's much betw the teams," he insisted. "I think u hv got 2 good sides. It's a 50-50 game. It will boil down 2 the small details on the day." Details, whether big or small, seem 2 be a speciality of Roberto Di Matteo in the Italian's brief reign @ Stamford Bridge. "At the moment he seems 2 get everything right," added Carragher.

Jose Mourinho's Chelsea ambition floundered on the Scouse rock in the Liverpool defence. Finals may be the occasions he treasures but Carragher arguably peaked @ the penultimate stage. In both 2005 & 2007, he was Liverpool's sweat-soaked saviour, his indomitability denying the Blues a place in the Champions League final.

As a connoisseur of the rearguard action, therefore, he looked on with admiration as Di Matteo's men held out against the odds in the Camp Nou. "We watched the performance in Barcelona & u can only take your hat off 2 them," he said. "It's something they will always remember."

Memories r made by such heroics. But, he argued, success is measured in silverware. Teams r analysed on the basis of wat they win, not wat they almost achieved. And so, 4 Liverpool, judgment day beckons.

[joew2005]

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Reds planning to spend
May 3, 2012

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner says the club is working hard 2 identify transfer targets & expressed his admiration 4 Fulham forward Clint Dempsey.

Liverpool invested heavily in the squad last summer but, while they hv already won the Carling Cup & could add the FA Cup tis weekend, they hv fallen some distance short of their target of returning 2 the Champions League.

Further spending is expected tis summer 2 bolster their top-4 chances 4 next season, with Werner confident the club is taking strides 4ward.

"Tis season did not go as we had hoped in the Premier League, but we also hv visited Wembley 3 times, & we hv won the League Cup," Werner told Goal.com. "We r confident tat we will be making further progress in the future, & we r hard @ work identifying transfer targets 2 help us continue 2 improve the squad."

Asked abt reported interest in USA international Dempsey, Werner replied: "We never talk publicly abt our transfer targets. However, any team would be lucky 2 hv Clint Dempsey playing on their squad."

Director of football Damien Comolli has already paid the price 4 the team's struggles tis season, but Werner underlined that Kenny Dalglish's job is not under threat.

"We hv great confidence in Kenny," he said. "He enjoys our full support."

[chochochang2]

Originally Posted by joew2005

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Reds planning to spend

hopefully they spend wisely