l4chat

First things first, and even though he plays for Manchester United, I have to admit that Rio Ferdinand is a fantastic central defender. There’s no arguments from me there. 

But, when Fabio Capello’s regular leader John Terry is ruled out of action for his country, I find the decision to appoint Ferdinand - who is not even captain at Old Trafford on a regular basis - stand-in England skipper a strange one to say the least.

Many of you may now point to the fact that this is a Liverpool blog and that of course I will side with one of our own. But it’s not out of loyalty to Stevie that I’m questioning Capello’s choice of stand-in skipper.

My personal preference when it comes to picking a captain for any team is that the leader of the team should be someone who can drag the team forward when things aren’t going great. Can Ferdinand provide that type of inspiration? Well I can’t remember - off the top of my head anyway - too many occasions where the central defender has dug either his club or country out of the mire when needed. Solid yes, match-winner?  I don’t think so.

Which brings me onto Stevie. Has he proven for club and country throughout his career that he’s the man for the big occasion, or indeed the man who can dig you out of the preverbial s**t? The answer - yes. Anyone remember Olympiakos, Istanbul, West Ham in 2006…or even Middlesbrough on the opening day of this season? And for England, what about Trinidad & Tobago (2006 WC), Andorra (2007 ECQ) or Germany (5-1, 2002 WCQ.

On the contrary, I’m not saying that Ferdinand will do a bad job as skipper, I just think if things are going wrong on the pitch, Gerrard’s your man! Rant over! 

 Picture Taken from Google Images

After another night in marvelling at my Champions League Final 2005 DVD for the umpteenth time, I’ve decided to dedicate my first Quote of the Day feature to one Rafa Benitez, our very own “Special One.” Upon joining the Reds from Valencia in 2004, Rafa came up with this simple but defiant gem, remember it?

“I want the people to be proud of

 the team,

of the manager, of the players, of

the club.” 

We are proud Rafa, we are! Number 19 and number six here we come!

 Picture: Taken from Google Images

Well …I couldn’t have said it better myself to be honest.

Okay, we’re all more than aware that the world is going through something of a financial crisis at the moment, but there are those (and it’s hard to disagree to be honest!) who will say, with ample justification, that Liverpool FC have been going through something of a financial crisis from the moment Thomas O. Hicks Sr. and George N. Gillett Jr. galloped in and high-fived the historic This Is Anfield sign as the new custodians of “the Liverpool Reds.”

And today, ShareLiverpool, the group who hope to fund a complete or part takeover of the club by selling shares to fans, in an FC Barcelona-style membership scheme, announced their growing concerns at the club’s ever-growing debts:  “Even if the current RBS loan is extended beyond Jan ‘09, under the current arrangement it will only be until July, 2009. With both American owners unable to raise money for the stadium, in today’s financial climate, can they raise more ‘real’, unleveraged money to restructure the loan and keep the club afloat?

“If the football bubble bursts, could the loans secured against LFC become sub prime and put the club at risk? Kop Football Ltd has to find £20m plus to service the debt of £245m. How will the debt be serviced?

“Can the owners assure us that Kop Football’s indebtedness is not to be serviced by the club? If it is, how can the club pay it?”

And Dr Rogan Taylor, founder of the ShareLiverpool scheme, said: “This is not a comfortable position to be in at a time when the game’s regulators are calling for a reduction in debt and foreign ownership - not to mention the effects of the global credit crunch.

SLFC board member, Barrie Baxter, added: “ShareLiverpoolFC already represents thousands of fans prepared to invest real money into the club. Raising the required funds won’t be the issue once we have a deal in prospect.

“We’re confident we’ll be able to succeed. We are prepared to consider a partnership with any incoming buyer with the right attitude to the development of LFC going forward. After the experience with the current owners, it will be important for any new owner to ensure that they have the confidence of Liverpool fans.

“We call on the current owners to inject cash as capital to reduce the club’s debt. If they are unwilling or unable to do this, then they should move over and let others that can better serve the club take control.”

 What happens next? Who knows? Will ShareLiverpool be able to attract enough funds to launch a takeover bid? Will you be supporting ShareLiverpool by buying a (£5,000) share? Let us know your thoughts on the Share Liverpool scheme and G&T’s ownership of the club thus far by clicking on the comments box below.

Source: www.liverpoolbanter.co.uk

Picture: Taken from Google Images

Okay, if you’re a Liverpool fan like me, there’s a fair chance you too don’t really like Manchester United very much at all. Well having a bit of a scout around YouTube today I found this little gem (or not!). It seems some people really do have too much time on their hands don’t they?

Have you found any Liverpool funnies that you want to share with us? Let us know by popping a comment below. Cheers.

Video uploaded by jhonnyisgreat08.

Reds defender Jamie Carragher today told Sky Sports News that he would support a cap on players wages if it helped to secure the futures of more clubs.

Following FA chairman Lord Triesman’s warning that a salary cap could be introduced to combat the ever-increasing costs in English football, Carragher admitted:  “I hope he brings it in when I’ve just finished! If bringing a wage cap in is going to stop teams going bust, then I’m sure it’s got to happen. The most important thing is the football club.”

 Isn’t it refreshing to hear a well-paid professional speaking openly and honestly in a time when football clubs seem more than happy to be pass the cost of excessive wages onto the fans with prices hikes in tickets all over the country?

Do you agree with Carra, should there be a salary cap imposed in England? Please let us know your thoughts by clicking on the Comments box below.

Source: Sky Sports

Picture: Taken from Google Images

The news that our tough-tackling Slovakian rock Martin Skrtel has been ruled out of action until Christmas, will, for some of our Premier League rivals have been taken as good news given his fantastic early season form.

However, how many other clubs in the top flight could replace such a vital cog in the team with a choice of two international centre-backs? Surely not many. Certainly not Manchester United or Arsenal. Chelsea? Well maybe.

Obviously everybody feared the worst when big Martin went down in a crumpled heap following an innocuous fall against Manchester City on Sunday. But with cultured Danish international Daniel Agger now back to full fitness after nearly a season on the sidelines, and former skipper Sami Hyypia still a more than reliable performer, Rafa Benitez has the welcome headache of replacing class with class.

Yet this hasn’t always been the case at Anfield in recent times. And in the Spaniard’s first two-and-a-half seasons at the club, this certainly wasn’t the case, as he was forced to deploy members of his squad in unfamiliar positions at times when cover was thin on the ground.

But this season, Rafa has the strength in depth to cope with any injury blows that may surface, and whoever he selects to partner Jamie Carragher against Wigan at Anfield in ten days time, he’ll be confident that the team won’t be going out any weaker.

But with Hyypia ineligible for the group stage of the Champions League following UEFA’s new ruling on the minimum number of homegrown players that must be selected in each squad, Benitez will be desperately hoping that Agger can make it through to Christmas at the very least without falling foul of any new injuries.

Do you think we’ll miss Skrtel, or can Agger and Hyypia fill the void? And who do you think Rafa will turn to?

Picture: Taken from Google Images

Have you got the heart for it?

Yes hello all, my name is Chris Davies and every day from henceforth, I’ll be bringing those of you with a Red heart, the latest news, views, chat and gossip from from the greatest city in the world and the inner confines of the greatest football (soccer for all our faithful fans from further afield) club in the world, Liverpool FC.

With a look at all the daily news coming out of our very own Theatre of Dreams, Anfield (only ours has more atmosphere and better fans), I hope you’ll find this new weblog, fresh, enjoyable, informative and exciting as I strive to keep you in touch with and up-to-date with everything Red.

So why not come and join me on a daily basis as we cheer our club on to further memorable moments with a lot of fun, banter and opinion along the way?

And remember…

You’ll Never Walk Alone

Chris (aka kopiteforever)