₦airaland Forum

what is wrong with the team? the played their hearts out yesterday. this is so depressing. I hope things get a lot better.

Every player is a diver potentially. the Rooneys, Eduardos , Van Persies  and the Drogbas have all dived in the past. and they will still dive some more. Drogba and Ronaldo wrote the book on diving, remember when Robben ( when he was at Chelsea) dived to get Reina sent off. What Ngog allegedly did will never be as shameful as that. pls stop bitching and moaning, especially the Chelsea fans, STFU!


But is Ngog really a cheat? did he really dive? In my opinion, the guy avoided a menacing two-footed tackle from the Carsley. if he had not jumped , he would have been seriously injured by now.  Afterward, Ngog did not even complain or protest. so I dont think Ngog is a cheat, he simply avoided the tackle.  but it was not a penalty. AND maybe Carsley deserved it, next time he won't come charging like a slowpoke on skis.

that said, the penalty was a way of consoling us. we deserved to win and Birmingham deserved to lose.

I saw this post on http://www.redandwhitekop.com. so I decided to share this . we make ourselves wiser.



In order to try and dispell a few media fuelled myths that sections of our fanbase seem to have swallowed; here's the full list of players he's signed since he's been at the club (please read the summary below):

2004/05

£2m - Josemi: peanuts and was moved on in a swap for Kromkamp 18 months later
£1.5m - Antonio Nunez: part of the Michael Owen deal and filled a gap for a while. Peanuts.
£10.7m - Xabi Alonso: Massive success and sold for £30m+ in the summer when he wanted to leave
£6m - Luis Garcia: Massive success and sold to Athletico Madrid for £4m
Free - Pelligrino: Stop gap that allowed us to rest Sami for league games, benefitting us massively in Istanbul. Now on the coaching staff.
£6.3m - Fernando Morientes: Pretty much everyone made up when we signed him, top class, but never settled. Sold for £3m to Valencia.
£1m - Scott Carson: One the most highly rated young keepers around. Lost out through injury and signing of Reina when Dudek left the club. Sold for £3.25m.

Total bought: £27.5m

Free - Marcus Babbel: Released to Stuttgart at the end of his career.
£2.5m - Danny Murphy: Xabi Alonso signed to fill the role Murphy had in the side
£8.5m - Michael Owen: Wouldn't sign a new contract and sold before he left on a free. He's done nothing since that is a masterstroke with hindsight.
Free - Stephane Henchoz: Released to Celtic at the end of his career

Total sold: £11m

A total of £16.5m net spend in his first year at the club, with the vast majority of that being spent on Xabi Alonso.

2004/05 net spend: £16.5m

2005/06

£240,000 - Antonio Barragan: Kid for the future. Sold for £675,000 to Deportivo a year later.
Free - Boudewijn Zenden: Signed for nothing and released for nothing. Did a job for us.
£6m - Pepe Reina: In the top 3 or 4 keepers in the world now and still young. One of Rafa's best signings.
£5.6m - Momo Sissoko: Brilliant for a few years, had that eye injury and sold to Juventus when his form dipped for £8.2m. Replaced by Mascherano.
£7m - Peter Crouch: One signing I did question but proved to be a great bit of business. Turned him from a laughing stock into an international. Sold for £11m.
Unkown - Miki Roque: Kid bought for peanuts. Sold again for an unknown amount.
£150,000 - Jack Hobbs: Highly rated 16yr old signed from Lincoln. Didn't progress as hoped and sold to Leicester for a reported £1.5m, although figure not confirmed.
£190,000 Besian Idrizaj: No idea who he is
£1.5m - Mark Gonzales: Cheap player to provide back up for the left wing. Sold for £3.5m to Real Betis.
Exchange - Paul Anderson: Swapped for John Welsh. Sold for £250,000.
Exchange - Jan Kromkamp: Swapped for Josemi. Later sold for £1.75m
£5.8m - Daniel Agger: Blighted by injuries but potentially top class and great signing for the money.
£250,000 - David Martin: Young reserve keeper
Free - Robbie Fowler: Pay as you play deal and no risk involved. Scored a few goals. Released in the summer.

Total bought: £26.73

Free - Vladimir Smicer: Out of contract and released. Played a small part in Istanbul.
£3.5m - El Hadji Diouf: The best £3.5m Rafa has ever recieved.
Free - Pellegrino: Filled the gap in the last 5 months of the previous season, not good enough and released.
£2m - Alou Diarra: Sold for £2m. One of Houllier's buys.
£2m - Antonio Nunez: Bought for £1.5m and now sold for £2m when didn't work out.
£6.5m - Milan Baros: A Houllier signing sold at a profit. He's done nothing since.
Exchange - John Welsh: Swapped for Paul Anderson
Exchange - Josemi: Swapped for Kronkamp.

Total sold: £14m

2005/06 net spend: £12.73m
2006/07

£6m - Craig Bellamy: Good signing and later sold for £7.5m to fund Torres deal.
£2m - Gabriel Palletta: Played a few league cup games, not good enough and sold for £1.2m
Free - Fabio Aurelio: Very injury prone but a good player when fit. Great signing for nothing.
£6.7m - Jermaine Pennant: Second choice after missing out on Alves. Ran his contract down and released. Attitude stank.
£9m - Dirk Kuyt: Has his critics, but has been brilliant for the money. 15 goals last season from wide and vital to the way we play. Ultimate pro. Great signing.
£200,000 - Nabil El Zhar: Few cameos last season and improving. Injured now. Promising still. Peanuts.
£750,000 - Astrit Ajdarevic: No idea who he is, and released on a free to Leicester.
Loan - Daniele Padelli: Reserve keeper, made one appearance and never seen again.
Undisclosed - Jordy Brouwer: Young reserve.
£2.5m - Alvaro Arbeloa: Bargain signing, great service for a few years and sold for £3.5m when running his contract down.
Loan - Javier Mascherano: Rescued from West Ham, now one of the best defensive midfielders in the world and will probably be sold to Barca this summer for a massive profit. Paid £18.6m for him a year later at end of loan deal.

Total bought: £27.15m

£200,000 - Zak Whitbread: Youngster
Undisclosed - Bruno Cheyrou: Houllier flopped, sold for a reported £1.5m.
£3m - Fernando Morientes: Didn't work out. Cut his losses.
Free - Didi Hamann: Great servant, released at the end of his career
£675,000 - Antonio Barragan: Paid £240,000 for him.
£2m - Djimi Traore: Houllier signing and daylight robbery getting £2m for him
£500,000 - Neil Mellor: Signed as a kid and did a job for a while. Not good enough and released.
£1.75m - Jan Kromkamp: Nunez bought for £2m, swapped for him, who then sold for £1.75m. Stop gaps at minimal expense.
£525,000 - Darren Potter: Acadamy lad, not good enough and robbery getting that much for him.
£1.5m - Steven Warnock: Probably sold to cheap and looks a mistake with hindsight. Good squad player.
Free - Salif Diao: The clearout of Houllier's flops continues.

Total sold: £10.15m

2006/07 net spend: £17m

2007/08


£5m - Lucas Leiva: Brazilian player of the year when signed. Could still go either way but a lot to prove.
Undisclosed - Krisztian Nemeth: Promising youngster currently out on loan in Athens.
£270,000 - Mikel San Jose Dominguez: Youngester plays in the reserves.
£1.8m - Sebastian Leto: Left winger signing but refused a work permit. Sold for £3m.
£20.2m - Fernando Torres: Bargain of the century
Free - Andriy Voronin: Free transfer to strengthen the squad. Plays well in Germany, garbage over here.
£5m - Yossi Benayoun: Took a while to settle but now a key player. Superb signing and an absolute bargain.
£11.5m - Ryan Babel: Highly rated dutch international. Absolute waste of space. Bad signing on reflection, but nobody knew how he'd turn out. Still got potential but he can't be arsed.
Undisclosed - Charles Itandje: Back up keeper signed for peanuts. Now released.
£1.3m - Emiliano Insua: Youngster who is now a full Argentinian international and massive potential. Bargain.
£6.5m - Martin Skrtel: Been off form this season so far, but brilliant last year and a good signing for the money.
£18.6m - Javier Mascherano: Completion of loan deal

Total bought: £70.7m

£2.7m – Florent Simana-Pongolle: Houllier youngster sold wanting first team football.
£100,000 – Daniel O’Donnell: Kid sold
Free – Jerzy Dudek: Released at end of contract
Free - Zenden: Released at end of contract
Free – Robbie Fowler: Released at end of contract
£4m – Luis Garcia: Wanted to return to Spain. Great service.
£6m – Djibril Cisse: Houllier signing sold to part fund Torres deal.
£7.5m – Craig Bellamy: Sold at profit to part fund Torres deal
£3.5m – Mark Gonzales: Signed for £1.5m and sold when didn’t work out.
£1.2m – Gabriel Palletta: Bought for £2m but never worked out. Young defender.
£3.5m – Chris Kirkland: Houllier signing. Injury prone and wanted first team football.
£8.2m – Momo Sissoko: Great signing, good service, sold when lost his form at a profit.

Total sold: £36.7m

2007/08 net spend: £34m

2008/09

Free – Philip Degen: Garbage, but free.
£7m - Andrea Dossena: Italian international left back. Hasn’t settled. Bad signing.
£3.5m – Diego Cavalieri: Reserve keeper. Only played league cup games so far.
£1.5m – David N’gog: Young French striker. Promising.
£19m – Robbie Keane: Everyone made up when we signed him. Didn’t work out and sold back to Spurs for £16m.
£8m - Albert Riera: Spanish international. Started well but jury still out.

Total bought: £39m

£4m – John Arne Riise: Good servant but form tailed off. Snapped their hands off at £4m.
Free – Harry Kewell: Harry who?
Undisclosed – Anthony Le Tallec: Houllier youngster finally released. Fee not known.
£11m – Peter Crouch: Laughing stock bought for £7m. Great signing. Wanted first team football.
£2.25m – Danny Guthrie: Youngster from Acadamy thought not good enough.
£3.25m – Scott Carson: Injury prone and Reina now first choice. Sold at profit.
Undisclosed – Steve Finnan: Sold for a fee believed to be £1m
£16m – Robbie Keane: Didn’t work out.
Undisclosed – Jack Hobbs: Young defender that didn’t progress. Sold for believed to £1.5m.

Total sold: £36.5m

2008/09 net spend: £2.5m


2009/10

£17.5m – Glen Johnson: Big fee, but has been brilliant so far.
£17.1m - Alberto Aquilani: Injured so far but meant to be a class act. Highly rated in Italy.
£2m – Sotirios Kyrgiakos: Last minute signing to fill Hyypia’s shoes. Only money we had to spend.
£160,000 – Daniel Ayala: Young defender, played a few times this season and looked promising.

Total bought: £36.76m

£250,000 – Paul Anderson: Youngster that didn’t progess.
Free – Jermaine Pennant: Out of contract. Poor signing.
Free – Miki Roque: No idea who he is. Bought for peanuts.
£3m – Sebastian Leto: Signed for £1.8m but didn’t get a work permit. Had to sell.
£3.5m – Alvaro Arbeloa: Wanted to leave and out of contract in the summer.
£30m – Xabi Alonso: Wanted to leave. Bought for £10.7m. Great signing.

Total sold: £36.75m

2009/10 net spend: £10,000


Total Players Bought: £228,976,000
Total Players Sold: £145,100,000

Total Net Spend: £83,876,000


So, that’s a total spend of just over £83m in 5 years at the club. An average of £16.6m a year.

The vast majority of his signings have been sold at profit, or if still at the club, are worth a lot more than we paid for them. Exceptions being Babel and Dossena, but we’ll still get decent fees for them when sold as they’re full internationals.

A lot of the signings above have been stepping stones in rebuilding the squad, gradually improving it by replacing players with better ones. Our league positions over the past 5 years and the improvement in our league positions and points totals show the progression.

2004/05: Finished 5th – 58 pts
2005/06: Finished 3rd – 82 pts
2006/07: Finished 3rd – 68 pts
2007/08: Finished 4th – 76 pts
2008/09: Finished 2nd – 86 pts

Is it any coincidence that the progression seems to have stopped this summer? Look at the transfer activity above for this year and it might explain why.

We have a wage bill that is the 5th highest in the league. We can’t afford to pay players £70,000 to be sat on the bench like United and Chelsea can.

Rafa Benitez’ record with signings at the top end of the market is nothing short of brilliant. Robbie Keane being the only flop, but he was sold 6 months later and only a small financial hit taken on that mistake. Rick Parry agreed the fee for buying him in the first place, and common knowledge Rafa wasn’t happy with it; feeling it was far too high.

Where has this myth come from that he’s wasted money on shite players? Have a look through the lists above and try to point them out. There isn’t many.

The ones that haven’t worked out he’s moved on, and not very often has he made a financial loss on them.

The squad is now worth a hell of a lot more than the one he inherited, and that £83m net spend over 5 years is easily offset by the increased value of the squad. He’d recoup nearly all of that through the sale of Torres alone!

He’s worked absolute wonders with the money he’s had to spend. Then take into account the massive amounts of money he’s self generated by reaching the latter stages of the CL every season. Two final appearances, one win. That £83m he’s spent he’s earned the right to spend.

And when comparing it to what United have spent in the same period is flawed, as they already had a title winning squad and all the foundations in place. They weren’t rebuilding from scratch like we were. It also doesn’t take into account their massive wage bill.

When comparing to Chelsea, they spent all their money before Rafa came to the club and just topping up an already established squad.

Man City have spent more than double in the past 12 months than Rafa Benitez has in his 5 year reign.

Do some people still want to get rid of him? If so, you’ve been listening to Martin Tyler's Monkey and the hairy-handed halfwit for too much and unable to look at the facts yourself to form an opinion.

Every manager makes tactical mistakes. Every manager makes mistakes in the transfer market. Despite what the press seem to think; Rafael Benitez appears to make less mistakes than most.

We’re expected to win the league and European Cup on a budget and wage bill that is entitled to finish 4th or 5th in the league. We’ve been overachieving under Rafael Benitez, not underachieving.

I’m not even going to mention the environment he’s working in under them two clowns.

You’ll only miss him when he’s gone….


http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=249365.0

The Europa cup doesnt really look bad. the main thing is the EPL.

YNWA!

our injury concerns are getting better.

Il Princinpino will 'play a part'.


YNWA!!!

Agyrophobia- Fear of streets or crossing the street


Ailurophobia- Fear of cats


Cancerophobia or Carcinophobia- Fear of cancer.



Obesophobia- Fear of gaining weight.

and the fear of being broke.


those are my phobias.

as soon as our injury concerns ease out, we should be up and running . I refuse to think we are out the EPL race , but the Uefa champs league 2nd round is out of it. we can always try to win the Europa cup.

na only hope we get.

YNWA!

we will win. 3-0

contrary to what some fools might think, Benitez is a great manager, he has achieved a lot at Liverpool, infact he has over -achieved.  I only blame the knee-jerker who started this thread. he surely wasn't there in the Houilier era, so he can't tell how far we 've progressed under rafa.

We  can also argue about his alleged failings in the transfer market. but i dont agree with that either. this is a guy that always wanted the best for the team. but the club wasn't really attractive. he wanted Dani Alves, Rafinha,Simao, he couldnt get them , so he had to settle the likes of Degen and Arbeloa,mark gonzalez. my point is he knows the best players but they wont come . we even wanted to bring David Villa from Zaragoza in 2005.

it will be criminally stupid to sack rafa. what do u all want ? sack rafa so that we can go back 5 years. the stupid owners will probably get Klinsmann to replace him like the almost did the other time.

that said, rafa has his own faults but which manager doesn't ? how will any team cope if they lose 5 of their very key players?

u think he was stupid for substituting Torress at Fulham? well u are the slowpoke. torres was struggling,he was barely fit, u are not the manager so u dont know anything about the players' fitness. Moreover we have the Lyon game to think about.

i just hope we get out of this mess so everyone else can STFU.

with the latest injury news, this match is looking potentially harder for us.


@Cristalz,

i still think u were bias. But I've got to agree with Earlmagic,''Even the best of analysts differ on their opinion of the game''.

yes, as long as she won't beat me up. and as long as she is not a 'tomboy' between her legs.

EARLMAGIC:
@ bgees
I know how you feel mate, but to be honest with you, with a thin squad like ours is now called, then its better if we are not chasing titles on all quarters with injury worries and fatigue.
Arsenal's inexperience will be there undoing, Man city is not there yet, If Chelsea blips in January, and Man u dont find form then we might just be in the mix.
Lots of ifs. dont forget out 2005 Champions league motto "dare to believe" LOL

i agree . lets just walk on Fulham and take one match at a time. I want us to win the F.a cup(at least) though.

@tocdee, u really don't have to blame her. she knows very little about Liverpool.


the match will be difficult no doubt, but I think we can get 3 points. Rafa might not start Aquilani, he will likely start the same team that beat Man UTD.

I'm kind of disappointed we lost the game even if its a Carling cup. u see, silverware matters a lot right now. there are players in the squad who have have given everything but haven't won any.

winning trophies of any kind will encourage the good players to stay and improve- that way we don't get to lose our best players.

i think we should have something to show for at the end of every season be it tea cup or milk cup because a season without a trophy is a failure.

the fringe players like Babel and Voronin aren't doing themselves a lot of good. How do they hope to get into the 1st team when they are always missing good chances to score?

I just hope we take the FA cup seriously.

I hope Wenger answers your prayers by playing your young boys.

Duduspace needs a win more than Wenger. he has been yip-yapping about this match for the past 2 weeks on the Liverpool thread.

@ illusion,
as much i 'd like to explain myself more, i think i should just leave it.

rafa of course has his on faults but a lot of what u read about him and his management are just myths, no facts at all.

ynwa!

hope we improve from here.

he questioned the ref's fitness.

then he blames the ref's experience.

what next if Man utd lose again? Fergie will probably question the ref's sexuality!

illusion, u need to get more info before jumping to conclusions about transfers.

Cristalz:
@bgees
Hey, thanks for singling me out.
Remember that Torres scored first. If he didn't, I doubt that y'all woulda gotten a goal.
Your team played better and pressed harder but the finishing never had that edge. Torres brought that, and after he did, psychological boost took care of the rest.

Still Rafa's fault. Even some of his players think so.

yes , we would not have scored if we didn't have Torres. But how would team cope without Rooney?

every team has its own key players. understand that!!


and what players? give me a link or shame the devil.

maedan:
What can I say?? (****all smiles****) Great game, great score.


I don't mean to gloat, but @eleshin, what did I tell you? My dream score was 2-1 for Liverpool, but I guess I can't complain with 2-0 .

u must gloat. its our time- Liverpool o' clock!!

@illusion ,


sack rafa and hire who?

thank God u are not in charge.


Stevie wanted to leave and how was that Rafa's fault? I remember clearly, he only implied that ' no player was indispensable'. You probably expected Rafa to roll on the floor and beg him to stay.

Na wa for una. You will all probably swallow up ur complaints after this victory.

Great team display from every RED on the pitch.   Aurelio, Benayoun, Lucas , Mascherano ,Agger , Carra and Johnson were awesome and of course El NINO !!!!

That was for all the haters who have been writing and talking alot of shit this past week about us being in  crisis and RAFA being under pressure. No one can sack Rafa right now. The owners are not on friendly terms and the Supporters Union are behind RAFA. so we will sack him.



And this is for u [b]Cristalz, [/b]u see, Liverpool are more than Gerrard and Torress. we showed that today.  When these two are absent or marked out, its left for the remaining players to step up. that's why it is not Rafa's fault.
YNWA!!!!!!!!!!!!

Though it looks hard, but I still think we can prove a point, maybe 3 points even.
YNWA!

Of course, he gambled by buying an injured player. But remember he signed an injured and 'not-yet-proven' Fernando Torres. I'm sure some fans like u had doubts about that too. The same season Spurs got a below average striker for 20 million in Darren Bent! You would have prefered Darrent Bent then no doubt.

But what if the Aquilani gamble pays off eventually? Aquilani is only injured but he is surely one of the best replacements for Alonso.
And he tried to sign to Barry and Van der Vaart in the last transfer window but the money wasn't forthcoming. He tried to sign Barry in the early days of transfer market but money wasn't available and Barry was a little skeptical.
So give Rafa a break, dont blame him for everything.

I prefer Aerosmith.

I'm just getting over last night's defeat, but its all good. we can bounce back starting with the Scummies this weekend.

I think if we had had a little creativity in our midfield yesterday, things might have gone better, N gog was definitely going put one in eventually. Well, thats what u get when u have two defense minded midfielders.

this might sound crazy but without Gerrard and Torres, i still think we can beat Man Utd.

but some very good news :


http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N166157091021-1437.htm
Alberto Aquilani has been named among the substitutes for tonight's reserve league clash with Sunderland - a match you can watch live and exclusive on LFC TV and online.
The Italian international resumed full training at Melwood last week after recovering from an ankle injury, and could now be set for his first action in a red shirt as John McMahon's side look to record their fifth consecutive victory.

The match kicks off at 7pm, but our coverage on LFC TV - which can also be watched online via the e-Season Ticket - gets underway at 6.30pm.

The Liverpool team for tonight's game is:

Martin Hansen
Stephen Darby
Robbie Threlfall
Daniel Sanchez Ayala
Chris Mavinga
Steven Irwin
Nathan Eccleston
David Amoo
Nikola Saric
Daniel Pacheco
Alex Kacaniklic

Substitutes:

Emmanuel Mendy
Dean Bouzanis
Jordy Brouwer
Alberto Aquilani
Vincent Weijl


so cheer up guys, WALK ON!!!

Go Reds GO!

with our present poor form, every opposition is brimming with overconfidence , but they will get shocked just like Inter and Real Madrid in the past.

Go Mighty REDS!!!

the sunderland defeat does nor really imply he is losing the plot.

u need to understand that Rafa played the best 11 he had. Gerrard and Torress were  injured , Mascherano and Kuyt lacked fitness. that s why he started Jay Spearing who had a very difficult game.

i think we lost the midfield and so we lost the game eventually.

and that does not say we are  a 2-MAN team like some imbeciles think. I will leave that argument for another time.

Good times may be very near!


F6 Confirm Talks To Buy Stake In Liverpool Almost Concluded - Report
The Saudi Prince appears to be on the verge of owning a stake in the Anfield giants,
Oct 14, 2009 3:50:45 PM

Liverpool co-owner George Gillett's recent trip to Saudi Arabia seems to have borne fruit, with investment company F6 stating that negotiations to buy a stake in the club are almost concluded.

Prince Faisal bin Fahad bin Abdullah Al-Saud heads F6, and there has been much reported contact between the Prince and Gillett in recent weeks.

This has led to much rumour and speculation that Gillett was poised to sell a stake in the Anfield outfit to the Prince, though both parties had claimed that the discussions taking place between the two men were largely related to the establishment of youth academies in the Middle East.

However, Sky Sports News is now reporting that F6 have released the following statement: "Our negotiations to buy shares in Liverpool are ongoing. Meetings are taking place and we might be in the final stages in the coming days."

Zack Wilson, Goal.com UK

http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/10/14/1560740/f6-confirm-talks-to-buy-stake-in-liverpool-almost-concluded#

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so the Alaafin is the paramount ruler of all yoruba land.