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A Warning...
Dear Liverpool fans.
Please don't rise to the bait offered by Droopy in this morning's mailbox, his argument is impotetent at best (see what I did there). Of course Football365 won't print this because they love winding up scousers and then commenting on how many wound up scousers there are in the mailbox, and this warning may come too late, but here's hoping we see this guy for what he is.
That is all.
Paul
...Not Heeded
So according to "Droopy" only Torres, Gerrard, Alonso & maybe Mascherano would get into the Arsenal team? This means neither Pepe Reina nor any of the Liverpool defence are good enough for Arsenal, in spite of the fact that they conceded 10 goals less than Arsenal in the league last season. "Droopy" - you are a moron.
Brian Oliver
...Anybody who refers to Cristiano Ronaldo as CR7 deserves his opinions be rendered null and void. Is this what we've come to? Referring to overrated footballers as if they were a half-finished postal code or a terribly named indie rock band? Perhaps these dim wits do this because when anybody mentions the name 'Ronaldo' only one face springs to mind for me and most fans (at least those of us who realise football didn't begin in 2006 )... and it certainly isn't that preening prima donna from Portugal. It's a buck toothed Brazilian who possessed a sublime brilliance.
CR7? F**k off
N O'Reilly
...Droopy couldn't be more obvious if he was pictured at the bottom of his mail with a rod and a tackle box, but I don't mind biting; it's more fun than finance reports.
So, Arsenal could probably find something for Mascherano to do? You mean, like, add the sort of defensive steel and commitment in midfield that ManYoo so obviously missed whilst being humiliated by Barca?
Yes, Gerrard is a sensational player but before Rafa came here, he was never getting into double figures. Now, under Rafa's guidance, we expect him to get 20 goals. That's what a good manager does - build a platform for his best players to perform on. Implying Gerrard's brilliance has nothing to do with Rafa is like saying Ronaldo carried United the past two years. There's some truth to it, but you're missing the big picture. The day has long since passed when football was about just putting good players onto the pitch and seeing what happens. If you want an example of tactical naivety, I suggest you watch Ferguson blindly throwing Berbatov and Tevez into the fray in Rome. Any idiot with a pair of eyes knew this would have no impact. As for Liverpool not having a good record against the top 4 next season, I'd suggest that Rafa's reputation is built on the fact that he's very good at winning against the top sides.
Speaking of dodgy transfer records, on what grounds are you so sure Ferguson will replace Ronaldo? Is it the obvious promise of Nani or Tosic that has prompted your certainty? Perhaps it's the proposed acquisition of Antonio "Dave Wheelan says I'm better than Ribery" Valencia? Maybe it's the way he signed a great striker for £30m that really added an extra dimension to United's game, or the way he's kept United's midfield chock full or brilliance despite Old Father Time catching up with Giggs or Scholes.
Finally, Glen Johnson is grossly over-priced but is a good signing for Liverpool. While Arsenal have boasted Sagna, United have Evra and Chelsea are ludicrously trying to replace Bosingwa, Liverpool have had Arbeloa. Who never gets beyond the good, but limited Kuyt. Johnson is exactly the sort of player Liverpool need to help us add pace to the counter-attack and initiative on the over-lap. No, he's not Alves or Maicon but he's a good player none-the-less and what's more, he's British so he helps us tick a box for our Champions League squad.
Anything could happen this summer. United may well sign some genius players, Arsenal might suddenly find players with defensive resolve and an unblemished injury record, Chelsea... well anything could happen there, but I'm reasonably sure Ancelotti will do something similar to what he did with Milan - guide a talented but ageing squad to a comfortable top 4 finish. I don't see anything but the running order of the top 4 changing, frankly. But you betrayed your idiocy in the first paragraph; Liverpool out of the top 4? Sounds to me like we've got the Mancs on the run.
Nick Glover, Scouser in Brum
...Matey - wtf are you on about. 6 Paragraphs of absolute toss and a large part of the mailbox. Are you sure you were held enough as a child, cos it appears to be serious attention seeking behaviour.
Reina - Carragher, Alonso / Mascherano, Gerrard, Torres
Given - X (Toure as an example) - Barry - Ireland - Robinho
Lets have a vote please mailboxers - who would you prefer? That was a rhetorical question cos I'm certain even Man City fans would agree with me that Liverpool by far have the better spine.
Muppet!
Man United are 30 goals a season weaker, Chelsea linked with everyone but will ultimately buy very little as no one wants to go there, they can have Pirlo, as he looks a shadow of his former self. As long as we hang to both Alonso and Mascherano, we will be in the Top 2.
Ash, London
...I often read the website and this is the first time I've been drawn to write something to you. I have just read the Liverpool Will Drop Out Of Top Four by Droopy and couldn't stop laughing reading it. Couple of points about it are below, and yes, i am a Liverpool fan.
1. I don't think I've ever read an article that long from a non Liverpool fan about Liverpool - congrats on your obsession with our great team. Maybe secretly you want to be a Liverpool fan.
2. Very little quality in our squad? What happened to Reina, in Guillem Balague's tea, of 2008? And Martin Skrtel, Dan Agger? So, in reality, about half of our first team would get in either of Man U, Chelsea or Arsenal's first team. I'd take that as a pretty good ratio.
3. Rafa is a chancer? Great analysis that, how do you define a chancer? Someone who won the champions league? The FA cup? Over-hauled a squad completely which is now full of world class players? Am I missing something?
4. Transfer record, so he's 'splurged' 100m on forwards alone. So part of that 'splurging' was Torres right, a man that you think any 'Football Manager playing Troll' would have know to buy. A player that Ferguson passed on buying by the way. He obviously must not be playing enough Football Manager. On Crouch he bought at about 6 million and sold at 10million, which I believe means a profit, right? Also, Rafa didn't want him to go but he wasn't interested in not being first choice - does Tevez ring a bell on this one? Also on Alonso, Madrid passed up on buying him when Liverpool did - obviously Del Bosque should join the same football manager session that Ferguson is in. All in all, no manager has a perfect transfer record, all managers have had good ones and bad ones (Veron, Nani, Anderson, Tiabi for United) but as long as you generally replace what you have with something better you're on the right track - and Rafa has done that.
5. Competitors will surely improve - They won't be able to replace CR7 easily, that's a fact. There is only a few individual players out there who has the same capability to win a game on their own and none of them are easily purchased at the moment. There has to be a lapse in United after selling him. As for Ancelotti, time will tell. 'Arsenal need more luck with injuries?' - and exactly in the next paragraph you contradict yourself by saying that the absence of Torres and Gerrard from injuries was not a key factor? Give me a break. And you seriously think that a spine of Robinho - Ireland - Barry - X - Given is better than Torres - Gerrard - Alonso / Mascherano - Carragher - Reina??? Robinho was sold by Madrid because he wasn't good enough!!
All in all Droopy, you should really replaced your whole article with 'I don't like Liverpool. Fill in xxx here to show how much I hate them.
Next time, write something about your own team and stop obsessing about mine. Actually, try something about the local team Limerick 37 maybe!
Gumper, Limerick, Ireland
...Dear Esteemed MC,
Winston Churchill once said:
'When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber'
What utter tosh Ive been reading this morning, Liverpool falling out of the top tree before Arsenal do? Droopy, you've spent a lot of time trying to get a reaction (your head must be hurting after all those words, take a break)...you had me at the first paragraph.
Barry (Squawk...pieces of eight) Lewis, London
State Owned?
Just out of interest, are Liverpool the first state owned club in the UK now? Would the cynical amongst us point to the fact that RBS/Wichovia (or the government whichever way you look at it) has decided to refinance a loan in a Labour stronghold? This is the epitome of what is wrong with modern football, its not the fans fault but they welcomed the Yanks with open arms so surely they should live with the consequences; I wonder how Woolworths employees feel after Wichovia pushed them into bankruptcy?
Oh well, at least with this news I can read letters in the mailbox every day telling me about how amazing Liverpool are and how knowledgeable their fans are over the rest of us because they were the best in Europe 20 years ago.
Dan, London
Crocked
Re: Steve Pattrick.
Degen? Are you sure? AN injury? A single injury?? The boy gets injured just looking at a football pitch!! He made about 6 comebacks from different injuries for the rezzies last year. Are you seriously trying to use him as a reason not to sign Johnson? (Also, wasn't he signed on a free? Haven't checked, so don't crazy if it turns out we paid a packet of peanuts for him).
Moving onto Johnson, shock horror, club pays way over the odds for English footballer. Can't even be bothered going into the money involved.
However, in terms of what he could possible bring to the side, I'm pretty sure everyone agrees that the reason Liveprool didn't win the title last year was an inability to break down teams at Anfield, resulting in plenty of 0-0 draws. Now whilst Arbeloa is a good solid defender (although by no means a great defender), he is awful when going forward, sometimes putting a decent ball in, but mostly playing a short square ball inside. Easy to defend against if you have 10 men behind the ball as most teams do at Anfield. Added to the rampaging (that's a joke, folks) right winger that is Kuyt, it is not hard to begin to see why teams were not broken down.
Now substitute Arbeloa for Johnson, and it looks different: there is a player that will bomb on down the line, get forward, shoot, cross, and generally attack. With Kuyt on the right side of midfield doing the defending, Johnson could be a valuable addition when playing against teams that do not want to attack. Not a great defender, but again, neither is Arbeloa, and against the lesser teams, he shouldn't have to be.
What is much more worrying are the stories of Alonso and Mascherano both doing one. No smoke without fire and all that...
Kieron, Liverpool, Red
...Does Steve Patrick think that (Saviola at £6m), a left-back (Heinze at £5m), and a centre-back (Distin at £2m) and Degen will give Liverpool what they need to win the league?
When was the last time he saw Saviola play, Heinze is finished, Distin won't be content to sit on the bench and Degen got injury after injury not just one.
Only time will tell if Johnson works out, he's English and is excellent going forward so if Rafa thinks he's worth it then that's good enough for me, I'd prefer him than depending on ex-footballers Saviola, Heinze and Degen to win the league.
Art, I'll defo be having Johnson in my FF team
P.Neville Or Le Tiss?
In response to the morning's question: would you like to be Phil Neville or Matt le Tissier, I'll go with option A please, Phil Neville (but I'll keep my own face though!)
Judas ~Would you be Gary Neville or Phil Neville? Now that's a tough one...~ Iscariot, MUFC
...To Dave, who posed the question on who i would rather be, Le Tissier or Phil Neville?
It's a tough one - eternal legend with one club, or a box load of medals to show the Grandkids.
Hmmm...hard to split. I guess i'd rather be the one whose missus has got the biggest tits!
John, Edinburgh
...In respoonse to Dave's mail this morning asking what you'd rather have: talent or medals, it all depends on your view of the game.
Personally I admire Le Tissiers ability and loyalty to his home town club. I think it's refreshing that a modern day(ish) player, with such natural talent, can turn his back on the glory and the riches of other super-clubs and instead turn his attention of minding his current club who were forever fighting off relegation.
On the other hand, I admire Phil Nevilles loyalty as well. Le Tissier was garaunteed playing time at Southampton and that must surely have been a major factor in his decision to stay. The only thing P.Neville was garaunteed was the opportunity to watch his brother play almost every game while he warmed the bench. However, there's no questioning his loyalty to United and his profressinalism as a player. Whilst Le Tissier's weight fluctuated embarassingly throughout his entire career, Neville has reamined ever the professional. What's more, Neville dedicated hours, days, maybe even weeks of his own time to his country. Nevermind that his contributions were minimal or even negative. Every time he was called up he answered that call with 100% effort and diligence - something Le Tiss cannot claim.
So whilst it's great to have natural talent like Le Tissier's, it's utterly useless unless you combine it with the application and attitude of Phil Neville. Le Tissier spurned numerous opportunities to be the best he could have been and in so doing so joined the hall of shame along-side Collymore, Gascoigne and Fowler. All English footballers with the world at their feet and all of them threw it away for mis-guided values which saw them become local cult hero's, instead of the all-time great they could have been. Neville, on the other hand, was born into modest talents and went on to acheive unprecedented success, as a direct result of his professionalism, attitude, determinatoin and hard work.
Harry Boulton - Manchester
...Dave, ITFC wrote an excellent e-mail to you today, making a good point about the difference between the under-achieving (honours-wise) Le Tissier and the over-achieving Neville. I wonder, however, if he missed a salient point - the Neville-type player knows he's never going to be Maradona, so he works hard, trains well, and impresses managers. He'll never be a risk to sign, he'll never cost outrageous money, he'll always be willing to take in the cones after training.
The Le Tissier-type was always the most talented footballer around. At school, on his county team, in the youth system of his local club, in the reserves, and then in the first team. He has never had to work at his talent, and was surrounded by a golden aura of footballing genius from a young age. So his decisions are more erratic, as they are instinctive rather than rationalised (see Ronaldo to Madrid), and the sense of personal glory being the bedrock of his side's success is part of his mentality. Le Tissier stayed in a small pond for this reason, and also for loyalty, for which he should rightly be commended.
The fact is that the Neville-type, like the tortoise, will always succeed. This is why the lower leagues are full of Neville-types (though clearly of less talent than even Phil has), while the equivalent Le Tissier-types are working in sports shops and wondering what might have been. For this reason, I'd rather be Phil Neville, as I'm pretty sure my footballing talent is also comparable to that of a tortoise.
Pete Forsake
...Dave, ITFC, the likes of Le Tissier may not have won a sackful of trophies but his sublime talent has secured him something that the likes of Phil Neville can only dream of: immortality. My 7-year old son doesn't remember Le Tissier in his playing days but, at my guidance, he has checked him out on youtube and now regularly instances him in conversation as a benchmark of footballing brilliance. He also knows all about Frank Worthington, Eric Cantona and Stan Bowles for similar reasons. In future years, I can't see too many young kids youtubing Phil Neville.
Matthew Pitt
Chelsea Yoof
Barry from Cork mentions he's not heard about Chelsea's youth team reaching any finals...errr...how about last season's Youth FA Cup final????? Also, we are just beginning to see the fruits of Frank Arnesen's work with the youngsters; Mancienne, Stoch, Sinclair and Di Santo all played for the 1st team last season....and in my opinion, the reason Johnson signed for Liverpool was entirely due to his complete crapness when he was a Chelsea player (and was too scared to give it another go - personally I am delighted as Bosingwa is about 100 times better).
Word according to Media Watch suggests Drogba going to Milan as part of a makeweight deal for the ever-so-old Pato, we're likely to off load the ageing Deco and Ricky (which I am sad about) and as much as I like the little fella, if Tevez wanted to stay in the North West as reported, we were never likely to sign him given the fact that we're in South West London!!
I wouldn't be too quick to write of the mighty Blues just yet Baz, the silly season has hardly begun and I expect some top top players at the Bridge before too long.
Adam T, London
...In response to Barry (Could losing to City for Tevez be the final nail in the coffin?), Cork, Chelsea were runners up in the 2008 FA Youth Cup, losing 1-0 to Manchester City in the final. While I would agree there is a distinct lack of academy players coming through the ranks at Stamford Bridge and playing in the first team squad, I would argue that this is more to do with the mentality at the club than the quality of our young players. Our success in the FA Youth Cup would suggest, along with the fact that many of our youth and reserve team players are capped at school boy, under-18, under-21 level etc, the quality is there and the huge amount invested in the facilities at Cobham (and Mr Arnesen's wallet) may be working. However, the fact that these players don't seem to make it into the first team is indicative of a bigger problem; namely Abramovich's impatience, not that "[there is] no sign of a decent youth system or scouting system". As a Chelsea fan I would love us to give some of the younger players a chance; we're constantly signing average squad players where I feel that the guys in the reserves and coming through the academy should be filling these squad places.
I would agree that Ancelotti does need to bring some new ideas to the club, and this includes a change in attitude towards youth players. However, to say that Chelsea are "one unsuccessful season away from disaster" is just a little over the top.
And just to pick you up on your last point; you say both United and Liverpool have established squads: I think that the departure of Ronaldo and Tevez countenance this view, and although the United midfield may be established in the sense they're all staying at the club, this isn't necessarily the same as saying that they're all particularly good. In Liverpool's case the lack of quality outside the spine of the team has been well publicised, and the fact that either Masc or Alonso, possibly both, are off to sunny Spain doesn't exactly say to me 'established'.
Aaron (I'll leave someone else to talk about "Arsenal becoming a force again")
Defending Mickey
Michael Owen seems to be getting one hell of a bad rap at the moment so I thought I might defend the wee man a little. Please, read on:
Michael Owen Record for Newcastle 30 goals in 79 games - Result: Possibly Hull(!) and back to back relegation
Roque Santa Cruz for Blackburn 29 goals in 70 games - Result: £17m to Man City and possible CL charge.
Craig Bellamy (since 2006) 23 Goals 71 Games - Result: £15m to Man City and possible CL charge.
Carlos Tevez (Man United and West Ham) 41 Goals 127 games - Result: £25m to Man City/Chelsea possible CL and Title charge.
I know strikers do more than score but thats what they're primarily paid to do and Michael Owens recent record, as bad as it is compared to the Young Owen of old, still sits favourably alongside a £57m trio who are generally regarded as top players.
Just sayin is all...
Gary 'Taxi!!' Orford
Yeah, We Laughed At This One Too
Philip Ward, 'A strike force of Frazer Campbell and Michael Owen, supported by Nick Barmby is up there with the best in the league'.
No, no it's not!
Alex JEVONS
Indeed
To all those Liverpool fans saying they shouldn't bother with Silva because Riera gets into the Spain team instead of him; Downing often gets into the England team instead of Ashley Young, who would you rather sign?
Richard Strzelecki
Newcastle's Hideous Kit
Following Rob Christopher's letter on the shocking Newcastle kit could we have some kind of vote on what it looks like (apart from 'totally hideous') ?
Suggestions:
A clown outfit
A deckchair (on a rapidly sinking ship)
Cheezstrings
Banana and custard
Norwich on a bad day.
Ian, LFC fan in exile, Cambridge
Waka Waaaaaaak
Now that ESPN have the rights to the premiership, and ESPN are owned by Disney - would it be wrong to label it 'Mickey Mouse' football coverage...?
Or is that still just ITV?
Aaron Collins
