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Liverpool will not win the Premiership under Rafa simply because he doesn’t care. His selections yesterday, coupled with his bizarre substitutions show the Champions League is his be all and end all. Finishing fourth in the Premiership would be good enough for him as it more or less means Champions League again.
bbc.co.uk
Try and stay positive here. We didn’t get the rub of the green and they did hence 3-1 scoreline that could’ve been totally different. I think Rafa thought the same on about 70mins when his mind was definitely on the Marseille game this Tuesday. Two wins in the next two and we’re still on track. redandwhitekop.com
It’s the realisation that a Liverpool team has thrown the towel in with 20-25 minutes left because we're thinking about future games that’s shocking. We’ve told the world that if things aren’t going for us we’ll walk away and start preparing for our next match.
raotl.co.uk
As much as I love Rafa, I cannot ever accept anybody connected with Liverpool giving up (Istanbul should have taught us all that it's never over!)
football365.co.uk
Someone must tell him concentrate on the league, play the six best every week they are fit, and tell the 20 others you need to get to the same level as the six best.
ynwa.com
Rafa didn’t help himself, in regards to our owners, but there are three or four players who are letting him down badly. I don’t have to tell anyone who they are.
raotl.co.uk
Every employee of Liverpool FC with the possible exception of Stevie had Tuesday on their mind. Outfought by a team desperate to prove they’re not a one season wonder. Two good results in the next eight days will see us back on track, anything else is unthinkable right now.
forums.lfconline.com
Bad performance from the lads, but if we beat Marseilles and Man United we’d be on top of the world.
liverpoolway.co.uk
“What would happen if Tony Blair replaced Steve McClaren? I reckon we’d have two Polish strikers, all tactical decisions would be made by the manager of the USA, we’d invade the Asian Cup and the team would be managed by a call centre in India. Tough on fouls and tough on the causes of fouls.”
football365.com
“Beckham is past it. Why play him when Shaun Wright-Phillips is available?”
bbc.co.uk/606
“England are going to qualify for Euro 2008. McClaren will stay, believing he was right all along. We will be forced to endure the Gerrard-Lampard debate for another eight months. The ‘big’ players will continue in their bubble of believing they are world-class players. The press will have us believing we will win the bloody thing. Great, can’t wait.”
football365.com
“McClaren wasn’t good enough before Saturday. A result in a game which he had no bearing over shouldn’t change this. Tactically, the man is clueless.”
bbc.co.uk/606
“Any sympathy for the Scots? No, thought not.”
chelseafc.com
“I would love it, absolutely love it, if England lost to Croatia at Wembley on Wednesday. I can’t stomach the thought of Wags, slags, media whores, tabloid vermin, patriotic idiots from the Home Counties spouting cack on radio phone-ins and advertisers hitching their overpriced products onto the England bandwagon.”
raotl.co.uk
“Stalin, Rasputin, my mate’s wife Natasha — it’s because of you b******s we still have a red-faced clown in charge.”
football365.com
“I’m sick to death of Steve Bruce bleating about officials. Your team is crap, you don’t have a clue and you’re going down. “We’re not getting that bit of luck, the big decisions aren’t going our way.” Boo hoo.” football365.com
“Avram Grant’s honeymmon is over. Messi, Villa and Alves in January please.” chelseafc.com
“Mr Dave Whelan, can you get off your sunlounger in the Caribbean and please come home and sort out what’s happening at Wigan Athletic.” bbc.co.uk/606
“Derby are the worst Premiership team I have ever seen. They can’t defend, they have no spirit once they fall a goal down, they have no presence in midfield and only one striker anywhere near a half-decent standard. I’ll eat my left arm if they don’t go down.” football365.com
“Big Sam is not up to it. We haven’t played well in any game this season and most of our points have been won through grinding out a result and some luck. We weren’t even this bad under Roeder and Souness. Last season we couldn’t defend. Now we can’t attack either.” talkofthetyne.co.uk
“Liverpool v Fulham. Two observations. Firstly, when You’ll Never Walk Alone was sung a large number of Fulham fans stood up as if it was the national anthem. This was very foolish. Secondly, during the song Fulham fans were taking pictures of the Kop. You all looked like tourists.” fulhamfc.com
“Why do the BBC let Alan Green commentate on Man United games? If a commentator has problems with either the team or the manager then he shouldn’t be commentating on them. It’s not very professional in an apparently neutral, unbiased media organisation.” football365.com
“Franz Beckenbauer, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Boris Becker, Chancellor Kohl, Bernhard Langer, Michael Schumacher, Steffi Graf, Adolf Hitler. Your boys took one hell of a beating in Munich on Thursday night.” worlwidewanderers.co.uk
Your views on the weekend’s matches
"Did anyone else notice that Gilberto didn't take part in Arsenal's cringeworthy huddle at the end of the game? Gilberto only does it when he wins the World Cup . . . not for a draw at home in the league." - football365.com
"We can talk tactics till we're blue in the face, but the simple fact is Liverpool need more quality all over the pitch. If Benitez or any Liverpool fans believe that players like Riise, Sissoko or Kuyt will ever form part of a league-winning side then they are living in Disneyland." - bbc.co.uk/606
"Goodnight, Mr Allardyce. Enough is enough." - talkofthetyne.com
"Bloody Match of the Day. They showed the goals, said a brief 'Pompey are doing really well', then talked about how crap Newcastle's defenders have been through the years. If Wes Brown had scored a left-foot 30-yarder they'd be creaming over it." - pompey-fans.com
Continue reading "The fans" »
Your views on the weekend’s matches
“Big thudding sound in my town centre on Saturday night as thousands of people fell off the rugby bandwagon. Wonder if any of them will go to see any Guinness Premiership matches this season?” - football365.com
“Hamilton — you are a doughnut.” - chelseafc.com
“A new idea for football: what if three teams played each other on a triangular pitch and each team had to both attack and defend against the other two? I think it would be fun. Imagine Liverpool, Man U and Arsenal playing on the same pitch — I’d pay to watch that.” - football365.com
“Will Clattenburg apologise? Will he be suspended? No. We’re only a football club not a G14 franchise.” - whenskiesaregrey.com
“Was Gerrard’s dive worse than Dida’s? Yes. There was actual contact with Dida. Gerrard just flung his right leg out and fell. Stevie G is a disgrace.” - football365.com
“Rugger: thank God it’s over for another four years.” - uwsonline.com
“Gerrard’s an MBE — if he can’t influence a mere referee when he wants, why bother having one in the first place?” - shanklygates.co.uk
“Sunderland have spent millions and they’re only a couple of points above us. What with them, Reading, Fulham and Bolton losing every week, there is hope for us yet. We might be able to scrape through and stay up, possibly with the lowest points total ever.” - derbycounty.rivals.net
“How the hell did we lose to West Ham? We were by far the better side. That’s the Premier League right there on a plate. Much the better team gets beaten due to one extremely unlucky moment.” - a-love-supreme.com
Chant of the week:
We can see you
We can see you
We can see you holding hands
We can see you holding hands
Leeds United supporters have a laugh at Brighton on Saturday
“Football fans are ruining the World Cup. They don’t know the rules or the players. They sing stupid songs like “No Surrender”, “England Till I Die” and so on. These idiots should go back to wherever they came from, and I hope rugby remains a (perceived) elitist sport. The behaviour of the bandwagon-jumpers disgusts me. However, I am delighted that England won. Let’s go all the way.” football365.com
“I’m totally on the England rugby bandwagon. I didn’t give a monkey’s after we got walloped by South Africa, but I’m bang on it now. Come on England!” chelseafc.com
“I’m not [Frank] Lampard’s biggest fan. I don’t even rate him. In fact, when he was voted the second or third-best player in the world I was flabbergasted. But I’d just like to ask what is the point in booing him? You lot who go and watch England are showing yourselves up for what you are. Clueless.” www.nationalobsession.com
“Kaká signing for Chelsea? Dream on. He won’t come to play for a small club like Chelsea. After all, Chelsea aren’t even the biggest club in London, let alone the country.” bbc.co.uk/606
“Charlotte Church, Max Boyce, J. P. R. Williams, Anthony Hopkins, The Manic Street Preachers, Huw Edwards – your boys took one hell of a beating on Saturday.” rivals.net
“Time to watch some rugby. The bunting’s up, the Pimms is cold and I’ve got my wellies on.” shanklygates.co.uk
“I thought [Wayne] Rooney disrupted midfield yesterday, chasing back and giving away the ball. He has no patience and he will cost us against better opposition. The sooner [Emile] Heskey gets back the better.” bbc.co.uk/606
The chant
There’s only one Teddy Sheringham
One Teddy Sheringham
With a walking stick and a Zimmer frame
Sheringham’s p***ed himself again
Charlton Athletic fans have fun at the 41-year-old striker’s expense
“Rotation has killed our season. Liverpool won’t win the league with Benítez. Settled sides win titles, not virtual strangers. The more Benítez messes, the more this will happen so we better get used to it. 2-2 at home to a poor side is an awful result for a team looking to win the league.”
bbc.co.uk/606
“Two points from three easy home matches is disgusting. Rafa seems lost now that his buddy Pako Ayestaran \ has left him, which begs the question, was Ayestaran the real brains behind the operation? It’s time for Rafa to go.”
football365.com
Continue reading "The fans. Your view on the weekend's matches" »
“Yet again Manchester City supporters prove that they’re part-timers. It’s the best start they’ve made to a season for God knows how long and a chance to leapfrog their rivals across town into second. What do we get? Thousands of them turn it into a fancy dress party and come as empty seats.”
bbc.co.uk/606
“Oh what a beautiful morning — think I’ll pop out, buy some papers and see what’s been happening in the world.”
arseonline.com
“What is the point of post-match interviews?
Example: Interviewer Is the pressure on the manager affecting the players?
Player Yeah, we had a good game today. The lads are positive and we think we can do well this season.
Interviewer Are the players behind the manager?
Player We’re confident. We just need to keep on plugging away.
Interviewer And finally, is the manager's position under threat?
Player Yeah, you know, at the end of the day we’re just focusing on the next match.”
football365.com
“It’s easy to mock Martin Jol, but if he hadn’t spent £40 million in the close season, where would Spurs be now? Relegation zone or maybe even bottom.”
thespursweb.com
“Did anyone else notice the time on the scoreboard when Kenwyne Jones opened the scoring? It was 3.31pm. The same time that Porterfield scored the opener in the 1973 FA Cup Final. Coincidence or a certain someone smiling down from heaven?”
bbc.co.uk/606
“Liverpool are the bully boys of English football. Rafa will not stop moaning, complaining or attempting to influence the officials until they have won the league. They remind me of New Labour. All they need is Alastair Campbell as their PR man.”
chelseafc.com
“Man City honestly look like top four material. We have one of the best managers in the league and were fantastic against West Ham. If Sven stays, we will be title ocntenders within five years.”
football365.com
“I used to like West Ham. What is it like going from being one of the most loved teams in England to one of the most hated. I hope you get relegated and most fans feel the same.”
on-the-terraces.com
“No heart, no brains, no pace, no improvement from last season. I’m fed up of getting so much stick from Gooners and Chelsea supporters. Please Martin Jol play more attacking fooball away from home and leave Berbatov and Keane on forever.”
thespursweb.com
“I think Paul Ince has taken MK Dons as far as he can. It’s time for him to move on.”
bbc.co.uk/606
“We all should have known Lampard would miss his penalty, there was no one in front of him to get a deflection off.”
bbc.co.uk/606
“Quick, Let’s get Derren Brown in a Chelsea shirt. Penalties are all in the mind. Hit and hope is not good enough.”
chelseafc.com
“Marcello Lippi thinks we can challenge for the title. “The big English improver is Manchester City,” the former Italy manager said. “Rolando Bianchi can make his name in the Premiership. They are ready to compete for the English title.” — I’ll have some of what he’s smoking please.”
bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk
“We should just pay up Hossam Ghally’s contract and get rid of him. Hopefully we’ll find some mug to take him off our hands. Jol needs to get on the phone to Harry Redknapp. He’s usually our dustman.”
thespursweb.com
“Mighty Leeds United lost to little Wigan Athletic on Saturday. Fifteen points deducted and heading for Division 4. Bloody great. Life can be so sweet sometimes.”
redandwhitebarmy.com
“Thank you Carlos. Although the story was short, it was sweet. Something many other clubs will never get a chance to experience. So good luck Carlos and thanks for being a Hammer.”
on-the-terraces.com
“Chelsea looked a footballing class below United. Against the best opposition Chelsea invariably look like gritty underdogs as opposed to a top side, even though they often scrape a victory. You would have thought that, with a quarter of a billion spent in the last five years, Chelsea would have had a team capable of playing nice football, instead of being spoilers. There's really no need to play this way with the resources of Abramovich at their disposal.”
bbc.co.uk/606
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