Liverpool falling fast
I wrote an article just over one month ago after Liverpool had lost to Chelsea. It was called "Benitez gets it wrong . . . again". It drew some passionate responses. Many argued that there was nothing wrong with Liverpool and that I was talking rubbish and merely overreacting. I now invite those people to comment again after yet another defeat today, making it 4 defeats in our first 9 games, because there is no doubt in my mind that Liverpool have serious problems.
From having the best defence in the league last season we now have one of the worst. 1 point in 15 away from home and 1 away goal is what we have achieved. Our home form, although better, cannot be relied upon to get us out of trouble. Players playing out of position, players looking uninterested on the pitch - you name it, just about everything is going wrong. We cannot defend, we cannot score. Judging from our pre-season form, the signs were there.
I wrote in my article after the Chelsea game that this season bore a remarkable resemblance to when Houllier got things all wrong when things were going so well. It would appear we have indeed gone down that route again. I hope Rafa can turn things around; Houllier could not.
posted by SKG at 10/22/2006 03:41:00 pm
EFT match of the season for 2008/2009: Barcelona construct a masterclass footballing performance to defeat the reigning Champions League holders and current English champions, Manchester United, by a scoreline of 2-0 in the 2009 Champions League final in Rome
EFT player of the season for 2008/2009: Chelsea central midfielder, Frank Lampard
EFT player of the month for May 2009: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for April 2009: Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal)
EFT player of the month for March 2009: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for February 2009: Phil Jagielka (Everton)
EFT player of the month for January 2009: Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd)
EFT player of the month for December 2008: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for November 2008: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for October 2008: Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for September 2008: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for August 2008: Amr Zaki (Wigan Athletic)
EFT match of Euro 2008: Turkey's amazing comeback from two goals down to beat Czech Republic 3-2 as captain Nihat Kahveci's two goals in the last three minutes sensationally put his country through to the quarter finals at the expense of their beaten opponents
EFT player of Euro 2008: Spain (anchor) central midfielder, Marcos Senna
EFT match of the season for 2007/2008: Liverpool win titanic Champions League quarter-final second leg 4-2 against Arsenal that also saw two of the best football moments of the season - Fernando Torres' top corner strike and Theo Walcott's thrilling run across the whole of Anfield.
EFT player of the season for 2007/2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for May 2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for April 2008: Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
EFT player of the month for March 2008: Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for February 2008: David James (Portsmouth)
EFT player of the month for January 2008: Ronaldo (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for December 2007: Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn Rovers)
EFT player of the month for November 2007: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for October 2007: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for September 2007: Francesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
EFT player of the month for August 2007: Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for May 2007: Carlos Tevez (West Ham Utd)
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EFT player of the month for January 2007: Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
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EFT player of the month for November 2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for October 2006: Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton Wanderers)
EFT player of the month for September 2006: Andrew Johnson (Everton)
EFT player of the month for August 2006: Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth)
EFT match of World Cup 2006: Italy win a thrilling 'end-to-end' World Cup semi-final 2-0 against Germany courtesy of two late extra time goals from Fabio Grosso and Alessandro del Piero 
EFT player of World Cup 2006: Italy captain and centre-back, Fabio Cannavaro
EFT match of the season for 2005-2006: Liverpool win the FA Cup final 3-1 on penalties against West Ham after a Steven Gerrard-led fighback saw the Anfield side recover from 2-0 and 3-2 down to level the match in normal time
EFT player of the month for May 2006: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for April 2006: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for March 2006: Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur)
EFT player of the month for February 2006: Aiyegbeni Yakubu (Middlesbrough)
EFT player of the month for January 2006: Jason Roberts (Wigan Athletic)
EFT player of the month for December 2005: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for November 2005: Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
EFT player of the month for October 2005: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for September 2005: Danny Murphy (Charlton Athletic)
EFT player of the month for August 2005: Wayne Rooney (Manchester Utd)
EFT match of the season for 2004-2005: Liverpool win Champions League final 3-2 on penalties against AC Milan after sensationally recovering from 3-0 down to level the match in normal time
28 Comments:
The defeat hurts but the performance goes deeper. We are that bad now? I'll reserve full analysis until my review.
RedsMan.
10/22/2006 4:05 pm
Absolutely pathetic. Gerrard looks uniterested, Sissoko forgot how to pass and tackle. Alonso was a headless chicken. Where on earths the defence! Kuyt couldnt do anything being upfront by himself against a top team, and Crouch didnt improve much when he came on.
I feel exactly the same way. We WILL NOT qualify for the champions league next season. We have the new Ranieri, or should I say Tinkerman.
10/22/2006 4:21 pm
"Moan"rinho was right. Liverpool are not EPL title contenders and will be under Rafa. Rafa's system works well with Valencia ...but this is EPL for goodness sake. Rafa's rotation policy is destroying the team and the club. Rafa, get rid of the rotation policy and stick to your best eleven before the club decides to rotate you.
10/22/2006 4:23 pm
Told you we would carve you up! We are winning the league this time, not moan-rin-hoe Chelski, not arse-all, not Litter-pool, we rule the true reds and you had no answer, you're rubbish. Now who's laughing!!!!!!!!!
10/22/2006 4:31 pm
Anonymous, thats really quite terrible of you. You stroke all the flames of bitterness. No good. We need world peace. We must be humble in triumph. ;p
10/22/2006 4:50 pm
I think the United fan is getting carried away.
United have only played one desent
team this season, Arsenal who played them off the pitch.
10/22/2006 5:01 pm
Mid table mediocrity = Liverpool
Luck might get u some places but its never going to pull through a whole season no matter how loud you shout for it to happen.
10/22/2006 5:03 pm
I watched todays game as an outsider, and I was sat there for the 75 minutes laughing at rafa. Personally he's got to see sissoko should be dropped get some width and have stevie in the middle. Hes got pennant who after todays match, probably should never see the left side of the pitch again and hes got that speeedy bastard who could cause full backs problems if he gave them the chance. United didn't even need to turn up today cos liverpool didn't
10/22/2006 5:09 pm
Redsman was celebrating Arsenals wonderfull performance againts man utd and claimed man utd were played of the park or didnt show up....well if that was being played of the park and didnt show up....i wonder what he thought of liverpools performance today :)
10/22/2006 10:02 pm
You can read fully what I felt of Liverpool's performance when I write my Premiership review, now that all the games have been played. Perhaps before you go on to gloat you should read first, I said this above. I didn't 'celebrate' Arsenal's performance. Considering that they had started with two home draws and a defeat, and Utd had gone through Fulham, Charlton, Watford and Spurs, plus the result of this fixture last season, it potentially appeared that Arsenal would be beaten at OT. Man Utd had come from their Celtic match and were not as sharp as they had been prior to Arsenal. Arsenal, despite the above, played very well and got their goal, perhaps a sign of a team with high spirit. They were briefly nearing the relegation zone and since then they have lifted themselves. That is to be admired.
It is very amusing to hear the woodworms come out and gloat and ridicule now after the match yet none of them made any constructive comments on the outcome of this match prior to. Had Liverpool won the game I doubt we would have heard from you unless Liverpool fans came on here to brag, which I wouldn't condone. I would be glad for the victory but as I said before, they are much more to venture through before I can sit back and smile. That's me. I try to analyse how a match will be and state my opinion and others don't like it. Yet since they do not like it, they do not speak or write constructively, they have spite in their words. One fan last season gloated after their team's defeat of Liverpool, even though we had beaten them the same fixture before. After that Liverpool win I didn't gloat yet this person saw it in their wisdom to gloat at us when they beat us.
Last season we had lost twice and won three times in our first nine and I believe we were languishing in 12th or 14th. Our ninth game was a win against West Ham and we went on from then to progress up the table. The difference between then and now is that we have dropped more points but currently in a better position and we need to reflect on this and snap out of this rut we are in. Like last season, we face Aston Villa in our 10th game, albeit they are now more formidable. As for Man Utd, they had five wins and one defeat out of their nine, then went away to Boro and were beaten. Utd go to Bolton next. We are down but we are not out. We will show our resolve.
I don't speak to those who enjoy the victory with humility, but instead to those who come here to wallow in mass glory at the expense of LFC when I say you can gloat after the fact but if you feel such words are credible, you fool yourselves. We have one Chelsea contributer in BJ and not once has he gloated about his side, who appear once again very strong. You win one game and you're on top of the world. It was not so long ago that there were calls for Sir Alex to step down sharply when Utd went through a rut themselves, which I thought was appalling considering the achievements he had brought to the club. I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn one or two of those same voices are gloating here.
RedsMan.
10/23/2006 10:23 am
Your earlier article was full of foresight. I too thought it was a passing thing, but the defeat against Man Utd, leaves me wondering.
If your a Liverpool fan it is certainly worrying & this could be the beginning of a trend that may need some "surgery". Lets hope not, but its definately more than just a rough patch.
10/23/2006 4:30 pm
Redsman...you were singing praises about how great arsenals win was....that they showed so much character...bla bla bla and either side they played united of the park or united didnt show up. I backed that up with stats that showed united had just about as many corners and shots on goals and went on to say Arsenal were the better team and deserved to win but to go as far as saying united didnt turn up or were played of the park when the stats showed otherwise was not only rubbing it in and celebrating Arsenals win. You claim im gloating about united wins? Did i mention anything about the goals, the character they showed to win even without their best player this season or stuff like that? Hell no. Infact i just used ur own words againts you. I said if redsman was celebrating Arsenals win and claim Arsenal played united of the park...i wonder how he feels about liverpools performance tonight. You were upset with that? Well like i said i just used ur own words againts you....its not preety when its used againts ur team right? Please consider other supporters sensetivity before gloating to much about Arsenal beating man utd. Thats all i wanted to say because sometimes what goes around...comes around...
10/23/2006 9:50 pm
My days, your comment is so full of ineptness and inaccuracies that it portrays about you more than your anonymity. There is not one word from you about Utd since we started this site, not one word about Utd since the season started other than the Arsenal game. And you have the cheek to come back here and reiterate your words again?! You didn't read the above comment of mine, otherwise you would have applied it to the issue and realised where I was coming from. How can I celebrate Arsenal winning as a Liverpool fan? Doesn't matter if it was against Man Utd. My opinion was that, in consideration of how Utd had played up to that match, with Arsenal, they did not play as well as. That was clear then, and it was clear above, yet you still evaded reading it thoroughly.
In fact, find my exact words on here, on EFT, and print them. Not difficult, right? Then we will discuss. As for what comes around, goes around...I allegedly celebrated Arsenal's win and therefore it has come back on me with that of yesterday? So couldn't I have said Gary Neville's celebration last season against Liverpool at OT would come around on Utd when we met in the FA Cup tie? You label me and you have not read through my general comments, yet you say that I 'celebrated'? Here are some words from at least two sports writers on that Man Utd - Arsenal game:
"United's major players were struggling to make a first-half impact"
"Arsenal's management of the ball was sublime at times and their five-man midfield made it difficult for United to pick their way through, forcing them to play long balls"
"Such a display earned them their first Premiership win of the season at Old Trafford yesterday and went a long way to undermining Sir Alex Ferguson's bullish belief that Manchester United should be considered Chelsea's more robust challengers. Arsenal were better from A to Z"
"......the more pertinent questions at the end of a thoroughly deserved Arsenal victory concerned the durability of Ferguson's malfunctioning team. Theirs had been an immaculate start to the season, with four successive wins, but their supporters are entitled to be alarmed by their recklessness at the first serious hurdle. They were not quite outclassed, but it was not far off, and it was disconcerting to hear Ferguson use fatigue as an excuse. If his players are tired now, what state will they be in at the end of the season?"
Name them. As I said, it was an opinion, my opinion. Maybe I should have said Man Utd were very unlucky and should have had a hatful of goals, therefore we would have won yesterday, is that how it works? Speak when it is all good, quiet when it is not. Unless someone of the other side speaks and then you feel you must jump in and wade through with fists of fury than words of wisdom.
Your words didn't get to me. Their inaccuracy and ineptness did. It's your opinion, just get the facts right.
RedsMan.
10/24/2006 12:55 am
I didnt ask you about what other writers said or what gary neville did because that had nothing to do with anything. I cant even find the article anymore in which you wrote on the man utd vs arsenal match but im very sure you wrote something that either claimed united were played of the park or didnt turn up when that clearly was not the case. Infact i did clearly point out in that post that Arsenal were the better team but to go as far as to say united didnt turn up and stuff was a bit to much when the stats prooved otherwise.
So why exactly are you so upset and emotional now? Because i said if redsman claimed Arsenal played man utd of the pitch or man utd didnt turn up againts arsenal, i wonder what he would feel about liverpools performance today? That was not even a statement...it was a question. Why are you getting so bitter and emotional and bringing up what Gravy Neville did or what other sports writer said when i was having ago at you for what you said during the arsenal match? Do you want me to post what the sports journalist said about uniteds performance againts Liverpool to rub it in? Hell no i wont do that. Why? Because i asked you for your opinion. If you were hurt, emotional and upset over that, imagine how i felt when you made that statement regarding uniteds form or how united didnt show up againts Arsenal.
ps: I have posted here many times before the arsenal match so yeah please get ur facts right. Thanks
10/24/2006 3:52 am
I will only say that big games do not reflect the ENTIRE season! Arsenal fans may revel in beating Man U...but hey...Man U and Chelsea are still above us in the table...
Liverpool is in the doldrums only because of a psychological pressure...of player rotation, and perhaps also poor strategy and tactics. A loss to Man U doesn't represent the fact that there are still players of high quality in the side - they just now need to ensure that they PERFORM properly in the league. I've also admired many of the players, but I too would single out a couple that may not be up to speed...but every team has an achilles heel. Sissoko is a hard working guy...but I do wonder how he GELS with the rest of the team.
Now onto goals...remember...Scholes and Ferdinand scored...midfielder and centre back...nobody is complaining that the forwards didnt' get on the scoresheet! The overall contribution of the team's effort into goals must be looked at...and set plays etc must surely be revisited. At this moment, I would say that Liverpool just need to find that teamwork that is robust enough in defence...and good enough to translate into goals upon attack. Mid-table doesn't mean anything until after Xmas...and even there...there is a possibility to reach the tight top half without too much trouble.
10/24/2006 5:36 am
Aon, you are so clearly on a warpath that you simply skim through the meaningful words in my comments, deliberately to continue this exchange. You feel in your wisdom that I am 'upset and emotional', you are barking up the wrong tree. I am tempted to leave you there, where you feel you are touching a nerve of mine yet are so remote in that thought.
You could go on about the victory as often as you wish, it makes no difference. LFC fans have been disgruntled about our away performances since the first game and it has not improved. We lost to Utd last year but I showed no disgruntlement then, of course you wouldn't know. Nothing upset and emotional about it and since you believe in that, that's up to you. From where you are you conjure such an impression and stamp it as the correct conclusion, based upon mere words? That's it.
".....Arsenal were the better team but to go as far as to say united didnt turn up and stuff was a bit to much when the stats prooved otherwise."
This is where your argument fails, a major tiret of my attempt to explain to you. Unless you can provide those exact words of mine, you have no credit. I recall saying Utd didn't play as well as they had done up to that match, and made a comparison but I didn't say you were played off the park. Again, you convey your words on the issue as if I made an error, a grave error, where I made none. It was an opinion, how often do I need to reiterate that for your comprehension? How is it you do not get this? I produced those quoted pieces from other writers to convince you I was not the only one of that opinion. Even if I was, it was my opinion. If you had a contrasting one, then simpy state it. Obviously you felt you had one so you only needed to write it.
A number of those who write here find that difficult. Instead of opinionating, they snap. The point now turns the screw. You felt hurt from my words regarding that match and harboured that feeling, releasing your words yesterday through ridicule and spite. You didn't have to state how you felt, one could deduce it from your misunderstanding and your own words. You're saying you could produce what the writers said about the OT game on Sunday, what is the point? To snap back, again?! I stated why I produced the quotes above, quite clear.
You are like a disgruntled school child or student who is shunned and hurt from actions that are misinterpreted and you have only revenge to retaliate with, no reasoning, no common sense, no comprehension. Woods and trees come into mind. I for one do not gloat after one victory, or even two, for I know not of what is around the corner.
You ended with "I have posted here many times before the arsenal match so yeah please get ur facts right." I admit I got that wrong, as your mark here as 'anonymous' is very distinctive.
RedsMan.
10/24/2006 10:18 am
what should be bothering liverpool fans is that man u weren't even that good. there is more room for improvement than failure & if you're going to do anything this season, the turnaround needs to start now. i'm not a liverpool fan but it would be good to see more competition in the league.
10/24/2006 1:32 pm
Well that is it, Liverpool were poor themselves otherwise we could have given a better match. What baffles this Liverpool fan is the ends of the spectrum where at one end we came 3rd, played very well with clean sheets, and at the other end our current form. Fans can gloat about victories, I'm not one of them. Of course I'm happy after a win but I also concentrate towards the next match. Right now we contemplate on what we need to do to improve and that is what I prefer to concentrate on.
RedsMan.
10/24/2006 1:44 pm
"This is where your argument fails, a major tiret of my attempt to explain to you. Unless you can provide those exact words of mine, you have no credit. I recall saying Utd didn't play as well as they had done up to that match, and made a comparison but I didn't say you were played off the park. Again, you convey your words on the issue as if I made an error, a grave error, where I made none. It was an opinion, how often do I need to reiterate that for your comprehension? How is it you do not get this? I produced those quoted pieces from other writers to convince you I was not the only one of that opinion. Even if I was, it was my opinion. If you had a contrasting one, then simpy state it. Obviously you felt you had one so you only needed to write it. "
I guess some people get preety emotional and defensive when their own words are used againts them. You did for a fact mention that man utd did not turn up in the arsenal match. Just for the record, the argument in that thread started because of that and i posted the soccernet stats which showed the posession, corner and shots on target stats in which almost everything were equal but arsenal edged it because they played better quality football and scored a goal. I felt you were gloating about the fact man utd lost and to say that man utd didnt turn when they had only 1-2 shots less and to go on about how well arsenal played during that much.
In your post for the Arsenal match you were full of praise for arsenals young team, fabregas, adabayour and a host of others and claimed that ronaldo had a poor game when infact he was their best player in that game and many people agreed with that. Well that for me was gloating and celebrating...not because you are an Arsenal fan but because Liverpools main rivals over the years in england, man utd lost.
And you claim ive been gloating and celebrating man utds win againts liverpool?
Did i mention how good man utd were in that match?
Did i mention anything about fletcher or other players?
Did i have anything bad to say about gerrard?
All i wanted was some consistancy in ur post just to show that you were not bias and if you claim man utd didnt turn up when they had about 10 shots on target and some decent chances againts arsenal, i wonder what you would have felt about liverpools performance againts man utd today.
you accuse me of gloating? Once again, please read ur post in the arsenal man utd match and read my post in the man utd -liverpool match and you can see for yourself who was gloating and celebrating and who was just asking a question. To get defensive and make personal attacks like "im a student" bla bla bla just shows how weak your points are that you actually had to make some personal remarks to show how smart you are but it actually backfired and showed how immature you are.
Ps: I browsed trough the thread looking for your comments on the man utd arsenal match but unfortunetly it seems like you have either deleted or edited it because i cant seem to find it. A good way from escaping from what you said back then i guess
10/25/2006 8:06 am
My goodness, you really have a bee under your bonnet. Your entire comment is inaccurate and once again you have skimmed through my words without addressing their relevant points, that is something I expect from one who knows they are wrong. And that is it, you persist in this exchange because you misinterpreted a comment from previous and harboured bad feelings. You have issues, I don't. You felt bad about my comments, I didn't have a problem and no one else has either. Simply address yourself. As for the 'personal' comment, read it properly, it's a comparison in relation to all the facts. Read on.
I wondered when it would be that you would bring in this 'rival' point. Everton are Liverpool's rivals yet I have praised and criticised their progress over the seasons, their players. I have praised and criticised Man Utd over the seasons, I have praised and criticised Arsenal, Chelsea, in fact all of the teams in the English League where I felt it was due. I have criticised where I felt it was due. It is called 'an opinion'. When I have mentioned praise about Man Utd and congratulated them you are missing, cannot hear from you then and as 'anonymous', cannot tell you from any other anonymous contributer. Yet the one time this season, this season, I have felt Utd deserved criticism, and I showed I was not alone in that opinion, you target me with crosshairs. There are few, few LFC fans who would give constructive impartial opinions on other sides, much less Man Utd, and you chose one criticism, amongst the many times I have praised Utd, to have a go. I reiterate, woods and trees come to mind.
You are narrow-minded, you are all Man Utd, that's up to you. Not once have you claimed to have contributed a universal comment regarding other sides, whereas my articles are here on public display. I am a LFC fan, right until I die, yet I have views on other sides, other players, from the Premiership right through the leagues and up to the SPL, even abroad. Because EFT encourages others to speak about football, not just your favorite team. Now if I had a bias view entirely on Man Utd, I wouldn't be here. I could equally have such a view over Arsenal and Chelsea. I am a football and LFC fan, hasn't diluted my support but where I see good and bad, wherever it may be, I state it. You don't like it, that's up to you. But where you pick one 'discrepancy' out of several positives to get on a high horse over, then that depicts narrow-mindedness. It is you exposing yourself. I have said enough. For the record, and you may ask the other members here at EFT, I have not deleted any works on here and if that were to be the case, our administrator would be quite inquisitive about it. But of course, I would delete it as I foresaw you would raise the issue in the future. Had I edited it the main title would still be there and the main body of the article.
RedsMan.
10/25/2006 11:47 am
LOL Its funny how people get so offended and and make so many personal insults when all i did was say if redsman felt arsenal played man utd of the park or man utd didnt turn up....i wonder how he would have felt about liverpools performace today.
Ive been visiting and posting in elitefootball for almost 1 and a half years or perhaps even longer. Well firstly stop making stupid childish assumptions that i only post pro man utd stuff because i for once dont think man utd are the best team at the moment, i still think chelsea are to strong. 2ndly i have contributed and posted so many times regarding other issues which include Liverpools best formation and line up, the penalty shootout incident among other stuff over the years. Infact ill try to be perfectly honest with you....i come here to read your post because most of it...especially stuff you wrote last year were preety good.
Unfortunetly...as soon as the season started...i feel you have been having a go at man utd. It started with the rooney suspension thingy and went on about rooneys sponsorhip issues with the fa, your over the world celebration about arsenals fantasitic victory at old trafford and ur recent post...probably yesterday on the man utd vs liverpool match...i dont remember hearing a single good thing about fletcher or how carrick, schols and flectcher played an instrumental part in stopping gerrard, alonso and sissoko. I mean come on...i think you almost mention every single arsenal players contribution during the arsenal man utd match...i was expecting a bit more from you.
You can continue labelling me what ever you want and make stupid assumptions if it makes you happy. Fact is....if you were not guilty of something...you would have never responded so passionatly, make personal insults, make stupid assumptions and more importantly....delete or edit a thread which could have been used to support me.
Im not even having ago at liverpool here. Infact i think within a week or 2...they will probably go on a run winning 6-7 games in a row and should be on the top half of the table by january. Im just upset with your recent actions of late...starting from you having a go at rooney till your comments about the arsenal game which you deleted recently.
10/25/2006 12:32 pm
Sunday, September 17, 2006: "Benitez gets it wrong . . . again"
Anon (12.32PM), I wasn't going to reply to you anymore but I researched our archives, something which you said you did, and the piece you are referring to, the same one you said I either had deleted or edited, consists of comments in the title above. If you can find where I said Arsenal played Utd off the park or didn't turn up, I'll stand corrected. If not, then I expect an apology. Further in that article there is this:
"But certainly Utd were below standard, particularly Rooney, Scholes, Ronaldo and Evra."
You will find that those are my words. You said Ronaldo was Utd's best player, while I chose either Ferdinand or Neville. Your opinion, my opinion. Read it. All. Particularly:
"United were not as sharp as they were before and it was a lil below par by their standards but they were not outclassed or anything...."
Those are your words. I said in reply:
"Anon (7.58PM), I hope you are not trying to paint a picture of a Liverpool fan opinionating against Man Utd because that is not the case. I explained further at 4.59PM that
"Man Utd had lacked the cutting edge they have displayed since the season began. Despite the stats, they didn't seem up for the game enough as they had been previously, those chances would have been better taken otherwise.
You stating [your quote above] is parallel to that. I didn't say they were outclassed, 'not in the game' meant they had not taken the game to Arsenal as they had done previously to Fulham, Charlton, Watford, and as a result Arsenal were allowed to play their game."
It started as an opinion. You turned it into an argument. The comments are fully explained. As I said before, you have an issue.
As for me "having a go at man utd", read my comment in the write-up: "EFT goal of the Week: Ivan Campo!", Monday August 21st. In regard to the Rooney issue, which you are raising NOW, making it another issue to add to the original one, read "Rooney out of order", Tuesday August 22nd, which explains clearly my stance without bias (groan). You even get sound effects now you can criticise, and let me add further that it could have been Gerrard, Lampard, Ashley Cole, the opinion would still be the same. It just happened to be a Man Utd player involved and all is blown out of proportion. The article after, "If Rooney is out of order, Ben Thatcher should be out for longer", I suppose I would mention Rooney if I was bias. Also I made a comment on Giggs in that article.
You said I have been like this since the season began. I have been the same person since EFT began, I haven't changed. Had you pointed to write-ups overall since the site began, you may have had a point. Out of all my comments on Man Utd this season you chose what is now two of them to claim I have a bias against them. Therefore I have developed a bias against them now, which I assume I didn't have last season. Why would I change? It isn't practical, particularly as I voted Rooney as August 2005 Player Of The Month. You said you have been posting on here for practically since EFT began, read my posts last year and actually liked them. Therefore you should have perceived I have no bias towards any team, even LFC.
The "many personal insults" are not so. They go on to explain your attitude in this issue. Changed the attitude and the "many personal insults" would count for nothing. Besides, it is meant to be me who is emotional and upset, no?
"stupid childish assumptions that i only post pro man utd stuff because i for once dont think man utd are the best team at the moment...."
You do not have to believe your team is the best at the moment to be completely partial. And children are too young to make such assumptions, which are based on good sense as I cannot find or even sense any comments under 'anonymous' that I can say were made by you that were not universal. We have means of tracing one's IP address but that is too pedantic and not necessary. I cannot label people over the internet, I don't know them to do so, but I can label their words as an extension of their feelings, as I explained to you.
"i think you almost mention every single arsenal players contribution during the arsenal man utd match...i was expecting a bit more from you."
No, I didn't. Read the forementioned article above.
And that really is it, entirely. There is nothing more to say to you or anyone else on this issue which has unnecessarily dragged on when I have other important things to concentrate on.
RedsMan.
10/26/2006 1:42 pm
Once again you failed to post the article in which you mentioned it but rather posted the comments dealing with the aftermath of the event. You dont have to respond or reply to any of the comment but you should post the original content of the article in which you did mention it. Its funny how you expect me to proove it after you deleted the article.
10/26/2006 3:16 pm
I mentioned you have myopia. I have stated the title of the article under which the comments were made. In other words there was not a particular article to the Man Utd v Arsenal game, the words were published via comments to another article. Just go and research the articles I stated above, it is not difficult. I still expect an apology.
RedsMan.
10/27/2006 9:00 pm
Good honest post SKG.
I think Benitez has a problem if his captain and specialist central midfielder is upset with being played out of his position in the team (playing left midfield at Chelsea and Bolton; right at Man Utd). As Jamie Redknapp said last week in an excellent analysis with Andy Gray post-match: as long as results are going well players may be content to sacrifice playing their best position. Yet this will change when results and performances slide - which it has done so far this season for the Pool. Redknapp twice said that there is no doubt that Gerrard is frustrated - and given Redkanpp's proximity to his former Liverpool teammate I reckon he was saying that with some authority.
Personally I think Steve Gerrard is at his most fearsome when playing in the centre of the park and given license to really attack the penalty box. His ability to do this is far more limited when out on the wings.
As for the discussion between anon and Redsman... I'll simply say that Reds has no agenda whatsoever against any team so to come onto the site with the apparent intention of 'getting even' is deeply unfair.
10/28/2006 9:34 am
Much is made of Gerrard more than anyone else as he is the big player that stands out the most, but it is frustrating because it was working well last season and away from home mostly there is a problem which the side have failed to nail down so far. I trust Benitez to find a winning formula and get us going in that direction. As for Redknapp as an authority to speak on Gerrard, you may find Robbie Fowler and Jamie Carragher are nearer the knuckle to pass a view, since Redknapp had left Liverpool some three years ago.
RedsMan.
10/29/2006 11:51 am
True Redsman, but I reckon there is a very good possibilty that Redknapp still keeps in touch with Gerrard.... and the way he spoke last week you could read between the lines that they had been chatting about this issue... or at least this was my clear impression.
BTW, good win for your team yesterday!
10/29/2006 4:03 pm
Thanks, T, it was well needed.
Anon (10/26/06, 3.16PM), still waiting for that apology. In order to display your maturity I expect you will not disappoint to respond appropriately. When you stir a hornets' nest, present and position yourself suitably or be wary of getting stung.
As much as it pains me to have to explain what you should do, highlight and right-click 'copy' over the titles I referred to, paste them within the search parameter box above to search for them within this site, and I sincerely hope you will find what you need to read. The search engine will not fail you, at the least.
RedsMan.
10/29/2006 9:14 pm
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