LIVERPOOL FC.

[Coopsie]

There's no denying that Spurs are the biggest laughing stock in the country right now and rightly so after the way the board conducted themselves in the whole Jol departure. The shouting and gloating throughout pre season about how we'll break the strong hold of the top 4, about how the glory days are to once again return to White Hart Lane!!. Well it was clearly false hope and empty promises BUT we were only saying we were going to break into the top 4, unlike the disillusioned fans of a certain scouse outfit.

You see, I'd be more concerned if I was a Liverpool fan (I know Spurs are worse than poor right now). Alot has been made of the money that the Spurs board have shelled out, yet nothing is said about the several millions more that the scallies have shelled out. Benitez has invested a record £26.5 million on signing Fernando Torres from Atletico Madrid. He also acquired Andrey Veronin from Bayer Leverkusen on a Bosman free. Ryan Babel cost £13.5 million from Ajax while Yossi Benayoun from West Ham United appears inexpensive at £5 million. These players are in competition with the existing strikers, Dirk Kuyt who was signed last summer for £10 million and England international, Peter Crouch who cost £7 million, for a place in the starting line up.

Lets not forget the money spent on players like Garcia,pongolle,nunez etc etc.

I know it's not the topic in discussion but I couldn't stop thinking about it last night while I was being kept awake by man flu. If Mourinho (Chelsea's most successful manager ever) AND Jol, (Spurs's most successful manager in 20 years) have been given the push, how on earth can Benitez think he's so safe?. I even see that today he's quoted as saying that it "doesn't matter and Liverpool can afford not to qualify for the next phase on the Champions league" ..

Do any of you share my itching desire to get off down the bookies and have a little wager on a certain Mr Mourinho stomping up and down the touchline at Anfield in the none too distant future?.

[Guest Helston Patriot]

Talking about money spent, and sorry coopsie about mentioning my beloved Arsenal BUT... The Arsenal starting team against scummy utd only cost £37m! Do you know how much the Utd XI cost???? £90.4M! (could rise by £10M - (Rooney transfer bonuses))

So lesson to be learnt here, go shopping with Arsene Wenger!

[Deano11]

Trouble is Wenger buys foreign and is ruining our chances of success as national team where as fergie all though spending more (just because they are english they cost more ??) is trying to keep it british and is a credit to the uk and our nation

[St Darren]

Torres cost considerably less than £25.6m!!

I'd rather be in Liverpool's shoes than Spurs thats for sure!

A win tonight and we're back on track again, undefeated in the league, once things click, Torres, Alonso, Agger back in the side then we'll be just fine!! Oh I remember 2005 so well!! after a defeat to Monaco our chances were written off!!

He came from Sunny Spain to make us great again, oh Pepe Reina, Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres, Rafa Rafa Rafael, Rafael, Rafael, Rafa, Rafa Rafael, Rafael Benitez

[Guest Helston Patriot]

Quality English players are over priced and far too greedy! Why spend £20m on Ferdinand when you could have Toure or Gallas for 1/4 of the price! Why spend £38m on Carrick and Hargreaves when you can get Cesc/Flamini/Gilberto/Diaby/Hleb 1/4 of the price. I'm sure if brittttttish players were not over priced then OTHER teams would buy them?!?!?!?!?! As soon as there is another goood young talent around, Chelsea/United wade in and spend way over the odds! Its just a question of when Chelsea offer an obsence amount for Micah Richards..

I would love to see more English players in the Arsenal set up like the good days (seaman,Adams,Keown,Dixon,Parlour,Wrighttty etc..), but unless FIFA cap transfer prices and wages, it wont happen as long as my ars points down!

[Coopsie]

Agree HP mate, BUT I also agree with iamthebest when he talks of British players (Spurs have signed even more). The thing I hate is 2 weeks ago when Walcott scored his 2 goals, Wenger said he should be recalled to the England squad and we can now put to bed the notion that Arsenal don't produce English players good enough to represent their country. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure that you don't pay another club £12million for a player and then 2 years later call him a player that you produced?

Anyway, back to the point. You rightly point out that Utd's squad is vastly more expensively assembled than Arsenal's is BUT they have had success(reclaimed the title from the stronghold of Chelski), Chelski have had success (2 leagues in a row etc).

How much for Liverpool's total squad and can achievements since the Champions League win be construed as value for money as far as the board are concerned?. For the last 3 or 4 seasons every Liverpool fan has been saying "this year the League is coming back to where it belongs", "Look out the Reds are coming,viva la Rafalution", etc etc.

Personally over the last 2-3 seasons I think that Rafa has grossly underachieved and surely now, even the most ardent of Liverpool fans must be thinking that his team selection's and tactics are as puzzling as the one's that cost Martin Jol his Job?. His rotation policy is frustrating, even for the neutral fan. IF Rafa was to follow the lead of Ferguson, Wenger, Hughes and now Avram Grant and play his STRONGEST 11 week in week out and only replace players because of necessity rather than to try and prove a point, I seriously think that Liverpool would be an extremely difficult team for anybody to beat and would stand significantly more chance of winning the league title that they crave.

Remember Ranieri (The Tinkerman) at Chelsea, kept changing the team and formation,got the sack and hey-presto Chelsea win the league 2 seasons in a row. Perhaps if Liverpool follow suit (and even employ the same manager that Chelski did), they would achieve similar success?.

[Guest Helston Patriot]

The only thing that has saved Rafa is the getting to last years Champions League final. If He doesn't reach a final then he is gone....

[Deano11]

at the end of the day guys lets be honest here , i would rather watch manu, arsenal, even spurs then boring boring liverpool i feel like topping myself every time i see them

the trouble with sacking rafa is his spanish legion may want to go with him (all though proberly good idea)

[St Darren]

Could be a result for everyone then Deano!

I'll subscribe to LFC TV for you, put you in front of it for a day, if you're gonna top yourself its got to worth then tenner

[Deano11]

F##k it i will chuck in fiver as well

[Guest Helston Patriot]

LFC TV? Hopefully Crouch will host because he is soooo interesting....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz And he has all this free time from the bench zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[St Darren]

You're lucky he never played the full 90 against you!!! hat-trick last year!!!

[Coopsie]

Could be a result for everyone then Deano!

I'll subscribe to LFC TV for you, put you in front of it for a day, if you're gonna top yourself its got to worth then tenner

Darren, "you bitch" . By the way, he's not lucky that Crouch didn't play the full 90. Benitez is unlucky that he can't see sense and pick his strongest bloody team. Sorry but Kuyt is wank, Crouch is the biggest danger you have and I think if he was given a chance with torres, I think that it would be a combination that nobody could deal with.

iamthebest, you're absolutely spot on again. I can't stand watching Liverpool either and I do find them the most boring thing since the George Graham days at Arsenal (but they did atleast win league titles).

However, I don't mind admitting that I will be watching them tonight in their "MUST WIN" game against that team that have already beaten them but Spurs trounced twice last season. I will be watching it on my nice new 37" LCD TV with my good mate Boris (St Darren also knows him very well), and with them being an English team, I will ofcourse be rooting for them to get the victory they NEED. BUT, we will be drinking copious amounts of Stella Artois to help with the sheer tediousness of watching the paint dry, I mean watching Liverpool.

[ah reckon so]

i also will be watching the must win game but i will be rooting for the mighty bestiktas. This is one of my favourite topics, Benitez is only still there because of what he has done in the champions league, but as i have said before they could concentrate on that and rest key players as they were out of all domestic cups by the end of january.

Although they are still unbeaten in the league at the moment they have fallen off the pace of the leaders again and will end up 20 points off the top come the end of the season again but this year there will be no champions league to concentrate on and with a bit of luck they will come bottom of their group so we wont have to be bored to tears by them in the uefa cup.

Finally it comes to something when they are pinning there hopes on Peter crouch as their saviour the guy is useless the only reason i can see for keeping him around is if 1 of the bulbs go in the floodlights and he can reach up and change it for them.

Shankly and Paisley must be turning in their graves.KEEP IT UP RAFA YOU ARE A TACTICUL GENIUS

but this will be their year

COME ON THE TURKS

[Deano11]

predictions on the score then boys ???

[ah reckon so]

0-0 bore draw

BYE BYE SCALLY's :drink:

[Coopsie]

Crouch will inspire them to a superbly entertaining 1-0 win

OR, there's the obvious choice that "ah reckon so" has predicted. Pretty much guaranteed but I'm feeling really adventurous and this man flu has sent me a bit :wacko:

[St Darren]

I'm not making a prediction after last time!!

Macca, you're still 3 Euro's behind and a few league titles as well!!

As someone said, Fergie had 6 or 7 years before he won the league, 13 years before he won the euro cup, what happens when he leaves you?

[Coopsie]

As someone said, Fergie had 6 or 7 years before he won the league, 13 years before he won the euro cup, what happens when he leaves you?

They get a manager with a normal "skin coloured" nose. :clapper:

[Coopsie]

Ofcourse the best scenario for me in the Liverpool game tonight would be for them to keep a clean sheet and for Riise and Torres to get atleast a goal each because it would be valuable points for my dreamteam.

[Guest Tobz]

For a start this topic title is a joke, absolutely ridculous to compare us to Spurs, and to say that we're like watching paint dry..well all i can say to that is did you watch us tonight? I rest my case, hope the record breaking 8-0 scoreline, the biggest scoreline in Champions League history i might add, shuts you fools up :D

[Gillsy]

Thats just it though Tobz you play like you did tonight very well then you play like you did against Blackburn very poor. Good, bad, good, bad. Is that because the team is changed to much?? everyone will have a different say but to me you wont win the league while you don't keep a settled side!! Well done on a good result tonight even though I hate it when you win :D

[Xembla]

Personally over the last 2-3 seasons I think that Rafa has grossly underachieved and surely now, even the most ardent of Liverpool fans must be thinking that his team selection's and tactics are as puzzling as the one's that cost Martin Jol his Job?. His rotation policy is frustrating, even for the neutral fan. IF Rafa was to follow the lead of Ferguson, Wenger, Hughes and now Avram Grant and play his STRONGEST 11 week in week out and only replace players because of necessity rather than to try and prove a point, I seriously think that Liverpool would be an extremely difficult team for anybody to beat and would stand significantly more chance of winning the league title that they crave.

Remember Ranieri (The Tinkerman) at Chelsea, kept changing the team and formation,got the sack and hey-presto Chelsea win the league 2 seasons in a row. Perhaps if Liverpool follow suit (and even employ the same manager that Chelski did), they would achieve similar success?.

But that rotation business is a myth! If you actually look at the line-ups over the last three years, Benitez has been any more wacky than Fergie. From Paul Tomkins:

>>"in the league last season, Liverpool won their most points, on average, when Rafa made three changes. And I'd also pointed out that Liverpool made the same amount of Premiership changes as Manchester United last season (118, at just over three per game), which was also the exact same amount made by Chelsea the year before.

And unlike all the media hacks, I had also previously pointed out that, when it comes to Alex Ferguson supposedly never rotating his main men while Rafa always tinkers with his, the fact was that Gerrard, Reina and Carragher all started more league games than any Man United player."<<

And Ranieri was sacked because he wasn't glamorous enough the Russian mafioso who bought Chelsea!

I don't really like all of Rafa's choices, either (Give me more Crouchy!), but he's privvy to information I don't have, and he's undoubtedly done more research on the oppo!

I would hate to think there's a push-Rafa-out-now movement.

And drawing with Blackburn, at Blackburn, these days, can't really be considered a bad result. Neither Chelsea nor Arsenal have won there, either.

[Graham Martin]

Xembla,

Now lets get back on the TCFC Website and discuss this sensibly.

Enough of this on here..!!

[Guest Helston Patriot]

Xembla,

Now lets get back on the TCFC Website and discuss this sensibly.

Enough of this on here..!!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[ah reckon so]

can somebody pass me a cloth i've got to wipe this egg off my face.

A good performance against a very poor side, the worst i have ever seen in the champions league and before all you scally's get carried away it will be a lot harder in the next 2 games.

St Darren, I know what you are saying about united being 3 champions leagues behind you ( as it is all you scousers ever seem to bang on about) but you have to look at the facts involved, Ferguson was in the process of building a young English side that went on to dominate the premiership for a decade when uefa changed the rules on how many foriegn players could play in a team which led to teams like Real Madrid being able to go out and buy whoever they like to win the trophy but i do agree we should have won more (maybe this year)

[St Darren]

Besiktas were shite!! jesus, I know when you're 4 nil down you tend to give up, but basic marking or lack of, made liverpool look better.

once again, no one would have picked Rafa's team, but at least this time we played 4-4-2, its what you line up with when you're playing subbuteo and its the best way English sides play.

Utd are looking good, but over a two legged game they always look vulnerable in my opinion, in contrast Liverpool come into their own then!

Still, a win in 3 weeks against Porto will see me head to Marseille with optimism!!

My prediction for last night was 3 nil Liverpool with Crouch getting the first

[Coopsie]

For a start this topic title is a joke, absolutely ridculous to compare us to Spurs, and to say that we're like watching paint dry..well all i can say to that is did you watch us tonight? I rest my case, hope the record breaking 8-0 scoreline, the biggest scoreline in Champions League history i might add, shuts you fools up

ONE good performance and you start shouting your mouth off. This "FOOL" is just a realist and as a neutral who couldn't give a shit either way, Besiktas were by far the worst team I've ever seen playing a professional game of football last night..

YES I watched the game last night and Liverpool played OK.Remember that for all your mouthing off and name calling, that team that you HAMMERED last night actually beat you last time round. So how does that rate on the inconsistency scale for all Liverpool fans?.

Then there's the fact that you will have a vastly different team out when you next play because for some reason your manager is too proud (or stubborn) to admit that his rotation policy is just plain stupid.

Well done St Darren mate, bet you were chuffed last night?. Boris certainly left my place with a smile on his face and good on you for realising just how appallingly poor Besiktas were, However, crap prediction mate . Why can Rafa not see that when Crouch plays, Love him or hate him, he makes a hell of a difference for you as a team.

BigG, why don't you just stay on the TCFC website and stay away from this one. From the few replies that you and your beloved TCFC forum users have placed on this site, I find it extremely hard to believe that any of you could discuss anything "sensibly"(Xembla aside ofcourse).

[Guest Tobz]

Calm down Coopsie, just a bit of banter! I'm just defending my team and im sure if somebody came on here comparing Spurs to say for example Derby or Fulham, you'd do exactly the same, or am i completely wrong? Was watching Sky Sports news earlier, they said that a Turkish paper rated every Besiktas player last night at 0/10, which is pretty spot on in my opinion. I predicted a 3-1 win for us last night, how wrong i was!

[Coopsie]

Tobz, why do you have 2 different user names?. 0/10, that is pretty bloody poor...

As for what you say about somebody comparing Spurs to Derby or Fulham, they wouldn't be far off at the moment would they mate?.

Oh, why is half of every line in this topic missing from my pc screen?.

[Guest Ronin]

Quite funny reading all your pre-match comments now that I know the result Good result for the 'Pool but consistency is what counts in this game surely and that has to come from you having a consistent manager which I don't think Rafa is. I'm chuffed at Chelseas 0-0 too Come on the Reds tonight!!!!!

[Guest Tobz]

I didn't know i had two different usernames! . I'm sure Spurs will start putting in some good performances once Ramos gets a few of his own signings in, the team gets used to his tactics and gets rid of some of the deadwood of course!