Season 2012-2013

[Tes]

I'm abstaining on the grounds that with my middle name being Jonah, any prediction I make will be a signed death warrent. Damn it, 16th, survival secured Everton style on the last day.

[Tes]

I thought that was petty from Swansea. Whatever they felt about the deal or how Rodgers went about it at the end of the day they were getting 15 million for a relatively unproven player. To refuse Allen permission to be part of Sundays game smacked of small time club to me. I do understand your point about Rodgers though Dude. Whether we like him or not though I dont think we can do anything other than back him. We cant afford to keep chopping and changing manager so even if his first season in charge ends in a bigger league failure than last season I think Rodgers will still have to get the time needed to turn things around. Hopefully he will get the team performing this season though and the subject of replacements wont even have to be discussed.

I guess they felt justified as the 'gentleman's agreement soon proved to be written in disappearing ink.

Totally agree Juan that we have to place our faith in someone sooner rather than later. 5 in 5 seasons doesn't sound good. Not to mention keep using  our transfer budget on pay offs and compensation. Even if it's hope rather than faith, Rodgers is the man in posession of  the job so it's with him we go.

Qualification through the league for European football (not even the EL) would be the first time in 3 seasons, and as it's an indicator of just how far we've fallen, to qualify for CL football would be a truly major achievement and beyond what we should reasonably expect of the season.   

[Ed]

Completely 

Yeah, i just couldn't enter the season with my expectations any lower!   

Rodgers is a bullsh.itter and (I suspect) is not as well liked in the industry as he likes to believe.

It does raise the question of whether the likes of O'Neill, Jol & Moyes even Martinez will think
they have points to prove when they play us this season. If I'd been slogging my guts out
managing midtable teams in the Prem for years and along comes this guy and lands a top job
after a year!!! It couldn't help but rankle.

Totally agree Juan that we have to place our faith in someone sooner rather than later. 5 in 5 seasons doesn't sound good. Not to mention keep using  our transfer budget on pay offs and compensation. Even if it's hope rather than faith, Rodgers is the man in posession of  the job so it's with him we go.   

I remain sceptical after the Hodgson fiasco, obviously i'll get behind the team but am
reserving judgement on the manager until i hear press conferences before and after
key games and results. I think it's easier to be suspicious at the beginning and grow to
respect the gaffer based on his actions than to start off really positive and slowly lose
faith when all it is is words.

[Tes]

Yeah, i just couldn't enter the season with my expectations any lower!   

It does raise the question of whether the likes of O'Neill, Jol & Moyes even Martinez will think
they have points to prove when they play us this season. If I'd been slogging my guts out
managing midtable teams in the Prem for years and along comes this guy and lands a top job
after a year!!! It couldn't help but rankle.

I remain sceptical after the Hodgson fiasco, obviously i'll get behind the team but am
reserving judgement on the manager until i hear press conferences before and after
key games and results. I think it's easier to be suspicious at the beginning and grow to
respect the gaffer based on his actions than to start off really positive and slowly lose
faith when all it is is words.

Instinct places me in the 'hope' camp, not the 'faith' one at the moment as we've just placed one of the biggest jobs (and they don't come much bigger than getting us back up there being a perennial league challenger) in football in the hands of a manager with one season top league managerial experience. The thing is we don't need to believe he will be successful to support him.

Hodgson was a one off. His track proved he would fail. His way of playing was tortuous. His transfers were beyond a joke.

At least the football we will try to play will be more pleasing on the eye. The second leg against Gomel went how it should have done. It wasn't making heavy weather of a reasonably straight forward task. He's not been blown of course already. They're only tiny reasons but at least they exist. With Hodgson, meh, I'll say no more about him. 

[the dude abides]

It does raise the question of whether the likes of O'Neill, Jol & Moyes even Martinez will think
they have points to prove when they play us this season. If I'd been slogging my guts out
managing midtable teams in the Prem for years and along comes this guy and lands a top job
after a year!!! It couldn't help but rankle.

fair point.

martin o'neill is ten times the manager that our young bullsh.itter is.

he;s been successful at every club he has been at.

[the dude abides]

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner believes that the Reds are capable of returning to the top level of English and European football.

The Merseyside outfit, who finished eighth in the league under Kenny Dalglish last season, begin their Premier League campaign this weekend under the leadership of new boss Brendan Rodgers.

"We know that we are behind, but we are on it," the Liverpool Echo quotes Werner as saying.

"We have a lot of respect, not just for Manchester United, but other clubs in the Premier League, as well as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

"We learned a lot about some of the ideas that they have. For us, we feel that we have work to do. Do we feel that it is possible to get on a level with those clubs? Absolutely. Can we close that gap and compete at the very highest level? Absolutely."

"Can we talk any more undiluted excrement?  Absolutely."

[Tes]

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner believes that the Reds are capable of returning to the top level of English and European football.

The Merseyside outfit, who finished eighth in the league under Kenny Dalglish last season, begin their Premier League campaign this weekend under the leadership of new boss Brendan Rodgers.

"We know that we are behind, but we are on it," the Liverpool Echo quotes Werner as saying.

"We have a lot of respect, not just for Manchester United, but other clubs in the Premier League, as well as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

"We learned a lot about some of the ideas that they have. For us, we feel that we have work to do. Do we feel that it is possible to get on a level with those clubs? Absolutely. Can we close that gap and compete at the very highest level? Absolutely."

"Can we talk any more undiluted excrement?  Absolutely."

So why do we still have the administrative setup that we do.

[the dude abides]

So why do we still have the administrative setup that we do.

exactly.

these owners appear in front of Liverpool TV, or other *media friendly* people.

they need to start being confronted with their management-at-a-distance style.........asked if this style has been successful anywhere else in the world.

they need to be confronted about why they have not appointed a top notch chief executive.

they need to be asked, if they are getting external specialised advice, say re the new managerial appointment.....exactly who is this adviser/s.....or if they are not getting advice, and merely acting on *gut instinct*, if they think this is wise (since they know fek-all about football.

they need to be confronted with the fact that everything they have touched to date at Anfield has turned into sh.ite.......and that the club has gone backwards.....and may indeed be in free-fall.

[Ed]

I note Shiteh blazing a trail in data analysis (Wasn't that our idea originally with the Soccerballnomics?):

http://www.sportingintelligence.com/2012/08/16/are-you-the-new-bill-james-mcfc-will-give-you-data-worth-thousands-to-find-out-160802/

I think we have to look beyond the inflated transfers of MCFC and take note of how serious
they are to remain at the top for years.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18887653

Tbh, it was in these too areas that i thought we could gain an edge  I could further delude
myself by thinking that Ayre installed a secret bunker in Anfield where they're currently running
experiments with Rushie's dna, but i doubt it.

On the upside we're currently above both Manchester clubs in the league as it  now stands! 

[the dude abides]

I note Shiteh blazing a trail in data analysis (Wasn't that our idea originally with the Soccerballnomics?)
Tbh, it was in these too areas that i thought we could gain an edge  I could further delude
myself by thinking that Ayre installed a secret bunker in Anfield where they're currently running
experiments with Rushie's dna, but i doubt it.

On the upside we're currently above both Manchester clubs in the league as it  now stands! 

we are indeed 

re rushie - this present lot would sell our lanky welsh wizard, after 6 months, because he didn't gel immediately.  Or if they had taken over during the lad's great years, they would have sold him (wages too high).

if it's good, flog it.   

as for data analysis......the best data analysis is done not on moneyball, but on football.  Rafa and his colleages had the best software for analysing on-the-pitch data.

but like our best players, rafa was also flogged. 

Our club really has gone from the heights of europe (number one club 4 or 5 years ago), to mid-table oblivion.

And one doesn;t need data analysis software to discover that sad reality.

[Ed]

we are indeed 

re rushie - this present lot would sell our lanky welsh wizard, after 6 months, because he didn't gel immediately.  Or if they had taken over during the lad's great years, they would have sold him (wages too high).

if it's good, flog it.   

as for data analysis......the best data analysis is done not on moneyball, but on football.  Rafa and his colleages had the best software for analysing on-the-pitch data.

but like our best players, rafa was also flogged. 

Our club really has gone from the heights of europe (number one club 4 or 5 years ago), to mid-table oblivion.

And one doesn;t need data analysis software to discover that sad reality.

Not to worry we've signed Oussama Assaidi !!

[the dude abides]

sounds like someone the yanks would be interested in re overhead drones.

[Ed]

sounds like someone the yanks would be interested in re overhead drones.

Geronimo KIA 

Apparently, Fulham and Ajax were interested. Lad's a Moroccan international.
There's some video of him here.

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/reds-agree-deal-for-winger

I hope this signing is the result of pain-staking and diligent scouting.

[the dude abides]

I hope this signing is the result of pain-staking and diligent scouting.

David Brent assured us yesterday that all our new recruits have been extensively researched and have Liverpool values.

Believe that and I've got a bridge that I can sell you.   

More likely some lov-level-feeder at Melwood has spotted the lad on youtube.

[Ed]

David Brent assured us yesterday that all our new recruits have been extensively researched and have Liverpool values.

Speaking of which Brent and Wormer will be delivering a broadcast to the masses on
5 live tonight at 9:30 p.m.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01lt359

Alas, it's not what your football club can do for you but what you can do for your football club
(new subscription service for buying players!)

We'll play them on the beaches!
(nothing on the stadium again!)

Just preparing myself for the empty speechifying