Liverpool Rumours And General Discussion 2007/2008

Mr Alan

ok cool, apologies Gucci.

I reckon Billy Davies is better than Rafa too, just so ya know.

Tusky

Great performance but would have liked to see Gerrard & Torres subbed earlier to keep them fresh for Sunday. Kewell looked great, really sharp and got two assists. Torres took his goal really well but I thought he started to tire around the 60 minute mark. Kuyt was good and Babel is becoming a great sub for us. Thats 6 goals in the first 1/3 of the season. Really good considering he hasn't started many games. 16 goals scored in the last 3 games in the champions league with only 1 conceded is very impressive.

Kewell, Gerrard or Torres for MOTM.

Guy:Incognito

Tis Luton in the cup. finished 1-0

gucci

Mr Alan wrote: »

ok cool, apologies Gucci.

I reckon Billy Davies is better than Rafa too, just so ya know.

i should know better than be quoting dunphy so its ok man!!

Dub13

gucci wrote: »

thats according to dunphy the great, also he tipped seville for the champions league a coupla weeks ago, so obviously we should be hoping to avoid them!! he claimed avarm grant and harry redknapp were top managers and better football team or something like that

Ok I see....what a clown (Dunphy not you.)

PHB

Torres took his goal really well but I thought he started to tire around the 60 minute mark.

I noticed that too. Wonder will it happen against United?

mike65

Play him for the first 30 then replace him with Babel then Crouch.

Mike.

whatawaster

PHB wrote: »

I noticed that too. Wonder will it happen against United?

ah sure his hat-trick will have sealed the game by then:)

herbieflowers

hopefully!

Mr Alan

reckon he probably just took his foot off the pedal a little, cant blame him.

PHB- i see you set up a new account/username and set up a new liverpool thread?

Mr Alan

Torres best transfer of the year by any team?

Wat a player, we are so lucky to have him.

mayordenis

yea i'd say he'll fade the exact same on sunday and i also predict an exact duplicate of tonights game liverpool to win comforatbly against a second rate team. pundits to say the same.

walshki

Lads,

Anyone see Gerrard's interview on ITV - apparently he said there's stuff going on in the back room that needs to be sorted out quickly. I know there's been much talk of Benitez v the USA but I thought Benitez definitely looked more emotional than I've seen him when he was with the players at full time. Apparently Hicks was in the stadium. We may never know but I wonder if there was some form of meeting before the game and Benitez didn't like what he heard again?

All speculation. Maybe its just to do with the ongoing thing with the Americans and the relief at getting through.

JeanClaude

The Pool have beaten Juve, Barca, Chelsea (twice) Bayer Leverkusen (who had just topped a group with Real Madrid in it)in the knockout stages under Benitez, the only team to beat Liverpool over 2 legs under Benitez is Benfica(Koeman was on his way out the door if we had beaten them). So i'd much prefer a tougher draw, where no-one gives us a chance, remember Paul Merson last year, he laughed at our chances of beating Barca just before the 1st leg..:D

Tusky

PHB wrote: »

I noticed that too. Wonder will it happen against United?

Well he had a month off last month and only played 60 minutes at the weekend so Id say he will be ok. Its good to finally have some good attacking options to bring off the bench with the likes of Babel.

I have a feeling we will see Sissoko starting against utd.

Mr Alan wrote: »

Torres best transfer of the year by any team?

Wat a player, we are so lucky to have him.

Has to be. 12 goals from 15 starts. I love watching him play.

Kanney

Kewell played well today, I was glad to see Torres walking off. If he played the game, in my head I would be expecting the worse in an injruy for Man U, but no. Good to see Masch come back on after Hyypia and him collided.

herbieflowers

Congrats Pool, they really stepped up to the mark tonight. Pressing, not allowing any space, Torres is an immense talent - he will be the best striker in the world in a year

gucci

Tusky wrote: »

Torres took his goal really well but I thought he started to tire around the 60 minute mark.

in fairness alot of the ball was overhit up to him and he chased every one of them and every break off it. midfield was often very slow up to get support of him. against united we would have to be up there quicker.

mike65

Agree, too many balls were hoofed in the expectation Torres could do 0-60 in a nanosecond.

Mike.

Tusky

mike65 wrote: »

Agree, too many balls were hoofed in the expectation Torres could do 0-60 in a nanosecond.

Mike.

He can do it in half a nanosecond.

Mr Alan

Souness aint no ****ing liverpool fan, doesnt think anyone can beat the brittish teams over two legs, Chelsea-Utd-Arsenal.... no mention of liverpool, as if we are some sort of european also-rans.

The team that constantly impresses most over two legs is us,he has no respect. sold his story to the s*n. almost ruinned our club. now licking the arse of Chelsea,Utd,Arsenal. bloke is a joke.

Paul Tergat

I think that come the qtrs if 2 english teams are drawn together (no matter what pairing) its 50/50 on the dot as to who goes through, just so hard to seperate...

the RTE lads are retards, we all know that they talk total shíte


Roll on Sunday!!!!!

Raskolnikov

I seriously can't believe people were/are doubting Benitez. All genuine Liverpool supporters ought to get behind the man and let the American prats know about it.

PHB

I don't think there's any Liverpool fan who has ever doubted Rafa and his ability in the Champions League, I think it's the premiership where the doubts have come from.

sweetie

never cursed as much at the tv listening to those jokers (it must be a comedy routine they are preparing.) I've lost all respect for (His) Sou(r)ness. Surely it's sour grapes that Rafa has done a far better job, he can't say anything good about them. How can they say how the league will pan out with a third gone and we are only (potentially) a few points off the top. Only point he made that was decent was about the posession but I reckon with Alonso back that would change. Hopefully for sunday.:D

Daemonic

Good result. Makes the result against Reading seem more like a Bolton beating Man U style blip than a return to the form we showed after the first international break of the season. Sunday is going to be huge.

whatawaster

I really hope Lucas is drafted in for Sunday. We didn't keep the ball nearly well enough tonight. Benayoun was dreadful I thought, drop him for sunday. Hopefully finnan is back cos Riise will be destroyed by Ronaldo.

Mr Alan

where marseille had the possession is much more relevant.

Mr Alan

only fair for me to give credit where due actually.... thought Riise was decent tonight, usually give him stick, but tonight he did well

whatawaster

Mr Alan wrote: »

where marseille had the possession is much more relevant.

yeah, but we still needlessly tired ourselves out chasing the ball around.

whatawaster

Mr Alan wrote: »

only fair for me to give credit where due actually.... thought Riise was decent tonight, usually give him stick, but tonight he did well

hate to sound like a broken record, but he really didn't imo. unbelievably wasteful on the ball again, didn't offer any attacking threat, and he gave the right winger (valbuena?) too much time and space on the ball.

podge018

That possession stat told absolutely nothing about the game. We went 2 up and sat back and soaked up the whole game, hitting them on the break time and time again with precision. It's exactly how any good team in the world would have played it. Sensible tactics.

Mr Alan

whatawaster wrote: »

hate to sound like a broken record, but he really didn't imo. unbelievably wasteful on the ball again, didn't offer any attacking threat, and he gave the right winger (valbuena?) too much time and space on the ball.

dont worry about sounding like a broken record, usually your right with regards Riise, been saying it for a long time he has tro go, BUT he was much better tonight.

whatawaster

don't know if this has been posted already, but Sissoko had a bit of a rant apparantly

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11669_2961001,00.html

hopefully it's bye bye Momo. It's not the first time he's spoken out either. It's as though he's oblivious to his inability to pass a ball.

Tusky

whatawaster wrote: »

I really hope Lucas is drafted in for Sunday. We didn't keep the ball nearly well enough tonight. Benayoun was dreadful I thought, drop him for sunday. Hopefully finnan is back cos Riise will be destroyed by Ronaldo.

In all fairness, I think that was intentional. When we went 2-0 up the team noticeably sat back and were happy to Let Marseille have the ball and do all the work. When Liverpool broke on the counter attack they were super Clinical. 4 goals from 5 attempts I think ?

whatawaster

Tusky wrote: »

In all fairness, I think that was intentional. When we went 2-0 up the team noticeably sat back and were happy to Let Marseille have the ball and do all the work. When Liverpool broke on the counter attack they were super Clinical. 4 goals from 5 attempts I think ?

i don't think giving the ball away is ever intentional.

mike65

Think of it as fencing - On Guard! A swish of the rapier, that sort of thing!

Mike.

Dont be at yourself

A strong performance hopefully sets us up nicely for the game on sunday.

The team really pulled it out of the bag in the last three games, but Liverpool do play best when the chips are down. After the third group game, I stuck a bit of cash on them at looong odds, so I'm happy enough!

The draw for the last sixteen is going to be tough, but Liverpool should fear no one in the Champions League. Seville are obviously the weak team, their form is all over the place, but I'd love a crack at Madrid.

Anyway, sets us up nicely for Sunday!

NotWormBoy

Wee Liverpool compilation thing that apparently was on before the Marseille match here. Besides it being rather well done - anyone know what the music track from it is? Its been used a few times on a few ads/compilations. I know thats strictly not OT, so I'll post some other stuff...

Didn't manage to get to watch the match, but looking at the stats and having listened to it online, it really was a weird match to listen to as a Liverpool fan. Usually we create a rake of chances - and score shag all (prior to our recent run of rather good goalscoring form). In this one though, we had a few chances and scored a load of them. Saw the clips of the goals and a few other highlights - Torres proves his worth as the 1st choice all-the-time striker. Some delightful touches/turns and a great goal. Gerrard continuing his powerhouse form. Babel really working as the supersub. Nice to see Kuyt get one - he seems to very much be a form creature - maybe this'll kick him up a notch or two. We know he can do the business, but ... like Riise, Voronin and Sissoko, he's short of confidence and his touch seems shot of late. Mind you Momo's is permanently shot, it seems, so perhaps a bad example there. :-) Great to see Kewell doing well - even though he's been a real wimp occasionally - ever since he got that first in Elland Road against Leeds (which I couldn't cheer for being down the Leeds end), I've had a soft spot for him.

Great result, confidence is high for Man United... should be a f*cking cracker!

DSB

NekkidBibleMan wrote: »

Seville are obviously the weak team

Celtic surely?

ShiverinEskimo

Half of Ireland would have an identity crisis if Pool got Celtic.

Torn apart.

kida

ShiverinEskimo wrote: »

Half of Ireland would have an identity crisis if Pool got Celtic.

Torn apart.

Both finished 2nd

raven136

the question is does dunphy actually watch any football?arbeloa has been one of if not ,iverpools best player this year.Masch is worth 17m,its the going rate.
"i dont care what he has done at valencia,how many leagues he won,i just dont think he is up to it"hilarious.

As for souness,i belive 5 years after he was gone that pool were stilll trying to make up for his mistakes.And he has the neck to say he rafa has been extremely lucky.

The rte pundits are no longer even watchable,i dont want them just to be funny and ridiculous,a bit of decent analysis would be nice.They might give out about the beeb and sky but at least they will put up some stats and show where defenders went wrong etc.

Roll on sunday and we will see how these useless players and hopeless manager do.

Wenger might not have benayoun or masch in his team but lets compare his record over the past 3 years with Liverpools.

redspider

A great result for Liverpool last night, and fully deserved. I was sort of not comfortable at the very start though as Torres seemed to be nervous and kept getting his feet muddled up, standing on the ball a coupl of times, etc, and there was a hint of nervousness across the team, not surprising really given the known pressure of this game. But that surging run from Gerrard, and the penalty goal when it did go in (it wasnt well placed I thought) really helped to disperse any nerves. From then on there were good displays, and by Torres of course who was dangerous throughout.

Now Liverpool's line-up was 'light' in terms of defensive attributes, with only one midfielder you could class as defensive (ie: Mascherano). Kewell and Benayoun are light in this aspect. But Gerrard played his heart out and remembered that he can defend as well. Kuyt worked doggedly, but that was about it from him really. It was a solid performance though from Liverpool.

The enigma of Kewell - of course there are many opinions about him. Historically I have been calling him for him to have been let go/sold from the club. Last night though, and in the bits of games he has played this season, he has not shown his skills of old, but he has shown some simple touches, the ability to keep the ball, etc. I think he suits games where we have some luxuries of space and time. In really tough games though, he could be found out. But he did a job last night and that was good to see.

The backs were reasonably dependable, surprising that Finnan wasnt on though. Set pieces were defended well and Hyypia wasnt left exposed to be potentially caught out for pace. Arbeloa did his work fine, Riise a bit less so, he isnt the best defensively and things arent going well for him with his very powerful shot attempts. Hopefully one or two of these will start going in for him when he does get a run out but so far it is not his season. Carra was dpendable, and he didnt do any 'lazy' tackles such as he did for that penalty at the weekend - he is human after all.

Liverpool's set-up was interesting in that the wide players were not attempting to get in high crosses. Looking at Torres, he doesnt like these anyway. Time and time again he didnt even challenge for a header. I've no complains about that as his style is running with the ball at his feet at pace, and he has the speed at this stage of his career to just kick the ball ahead and run onto and be there before the defender. His determination to do this in the box and in tight situations has resulted in numerous goals.

In my mind, Torres should be an ever-present in Liverpool's starting 11. Of course the likes of Crouch can be used to break things up. Rotate Crouch and Kuyt and maybe Voronin as the other partner in a 4-4-2. Its good to see Torres doing so well in his first season.

Redspider

kaimera

A good win in the end but after 11 mins it wasn't a game tbh.

Marseille offered nothing but I always had that feeling they could/might nick a goal and we'd panic so I was very glad to see Kyut slot home a third just after the break.

Didn't think Yossi was great last night, would have had him off early in the second half myself; Kewell offered more going forward than him but watching Harry defend in the first half and I wasn't impressed; he didn't seem too pushed to close down emn on that left wing. 2 assists tho

The boy Torres really is the bees fucking knees isn't he. Worth above and beyond what we paid already.

Not a great team to play against last night and not the worlds greatest performance but it got the job done given the pressure we were under. Roll on Utd

whatawaster

kaimera wrote: »

A good win in the end but after 11 mins it wasn't a game tbh.

Marseille offered nothing but I always had that feeling they could/might nick a goal and we'd panic so I was very glad to see Kyut slot home a third just after the break.

Didn't think Yossi was great last night, would have had him off early in the second half myself; Kewell offered more going forward than him but watching Harry defend in the second half and I wasn't impressed; he didn't seem too pushed to close down emn on that left wing. 2 assists tho

The boy Torres really is the bees fucking knees isn't he. Worth above and beyond what we paid already.

Not a great team to play against last night and not the worlds greatest performance but it got the job done given the pressure we were under. Roll on Utd

i'm not convinced by Yossi at all. Goes missing in most games. I think we need a top class right winger, like Mancini, and Pennant would be much better back up in my opinion. Hope he goes on to prove me wrong though.

Dub13

Any of you lot coming to the IrishKop.com gig tonight it is sold out so you should try and get there early.

If any one has a ticket and cant go pass them onto to someone to give back to me and i will refund your money as i have a few on reserve waiting tickets.

See you tonight.

A Great win for us lads and the perfect result to get going into the big one on Sunday. I fully expected a result like this as Marseille are doing terrible in their own league while we have been in good form ourselves(APART FROM READING!). Also we just didnt show up when we played them at home.

Alot of Liverpool fans dont rate Kewell, I do. I think hes had so much bad luck with injuries since he arrived and deserves a chance. He was one of the best players in the Premiership for Leeds.....I think in time he will be a big part of the team(hopefully sooner rather that later). The crowd in Anfield show how much they want Kewell to succeed with their funny song just repeating his name. He played well last night & lets hope he keeps it up.

I am confident going into the big game on Sunday, I honestly think we will beat them.

tibor

Spanish Radio interview with Arbeloa, Torres & Rafa after Marseille

Radio interview conducted by Cadena Ser's programme 'El Larguero'. Just as background info, so that it makes more sense, every year come Christmas time the Spanish Lottery has the biggest purse of the year which is called 'El Gordo de Navidad' [Christmas' fat one]and it's pretty much a tradition for the regular folk to buy their lottery ticket in hopes of hitting the big one.

Here's the transcript....


(Presenter) Jose Ramón: Alcalá has already arrived at Marseille’s airport along with Liverpool’s squad, right Alcalá

Alcalá: Here we are ready to travel with them back to England, surely to be a very pleasant ride, I’m here with Arbeloa, who we had last night on the show and we were recalling our chat, when we talked about giving them our blessings from ‘El Larguero’, and, joder, did it ever work!0-4… a commanding victory, and a real exhibition of football today in Marseille. By the way, he is absolutely convinced, beyond any doubt that next round’s draw will pair them against R.Madrid…


JR: Alvaro!

AA: Yes.

JR: I told you…you were going to play, you weren’t so sure last night. I called you so late, nearly 1 am to tell you that you were going to play but you had doubts…or did you know already? [ and didn’t want to say]

AA: No, but I sensed it was possible because I’ve been playing quite frequently and the logical thing was that Rafa would keep the same team more or less.

JR: I told you that Alcalá was bringing you some luck

AA: Yes, lots of luck[laughs]

JR: But he got out of hand eh![laughs]

AA: He did[laughs]

JR: I told him a 0-1 was enough but he went mad, Hala, boom, 4!

AA: In case there were any doubts!

JR: Did he give you the lucky lottery ticket?

AA: No, I’m going to ask him for it now. I think he’s kept it for himself, doubt he will give it to me now.

JR: Ask him for it! I told him to take one for you, seriously, and one for Reina. Not for Torres or Benitez because they make a lot of quid and they don’t need to win the lottery…

AA: [laughs] But Pepe also makes a lot eh!

JR: I know, but he’s just become a father and he has to give the daughter an education!

AA: That’s true

JR: I said ‘Give my little Alvaro at least a ticket and if he gets a portion of the big one, say a million Euros, a little something like that would be nice, no?’

AA: It wouldn’t be bad at all[laughs]

JR: Well…fantastic, wasn’t it?

AA: Yes, now to await our next rival and it seems like there’s a good chance for a big Spanish or Italian team, we’ll see

JR: Who would you prefer? I was told you wanted R.Madrid?

AA: Yes, it would be nice. We’ve talked about it and it would be a great tie against a top team and something to really look forward. So if we draw Madrid it would be great.

JR: You would rather play them now, instead of playing them a bit later in the competition?

AA: No, to start off against a strong team is better. I think Fernando is very eager to face them, Rafa also so I think it would be fantastic get Madrid on the draw.

JR: [laughs] Well, Alvaro. On the 22nd, Saturday I’ll give you a call since it’s the draw for the Lottery and I’ll call you to ask you how you are planning to celebrate

AA: Okay, I’ll let you know then! Let’s see if he gives me the ticket first!

JR: Cheers!

AA: Cheers, good night!

Alcalá: Thanks to Alvaro Arbeloa as we head towards the boarding gate here in Marseille and here he is…the man of the night, what a great goal, it was the 0-2 and his third goal in the CL. Smiling, ear-to-ear smile on his face, a happy lad he is…here’s Fernando Torres

JR: Hello Fernando!

FT: Hello, Good evening!

JR: Joder, what a good streak? I’ve given you my blessing, eh?

FT: Yes [laughs], the truth is that things are going well and today was the most important match for me since I’ve been here and we saw that the team has responded very well.

JR: I told Alcalá not to give you the lottery, I sent one to Arbeloa but I said ‘Not to Fernando because he’s rich and besides, he’s already lucky enough’ why would you want to win the lottery, aye?

FT: No, well, to celebrate with the friends it wouldn’t be bad at all

JR: What you have to celebrate are all these goals! You’ve got 12 already so far this season and 3 in the Champions!

FT: Yes, it’s a great thing that these sort of clubs have. I knew that at Liverpool I could keep growing as a player and play with an ease of mind to enjoy what this team has to offer and it’s been that way, no? With players of great quality and playing in a lot of competitions, lots of matches and especially the games like the one today which makes my decision the more worthwhile.

JR: Tonight’s goal was beautiful, how you face up in the corner of the area, get past three and put it in the far post, gorgeous.

FT: Yeah, when the team is playing well and with confidence we’re able to do things like this and today we went ahead so early with Gerrard’s goal and our confidence was really high and you try these things and hope they work and hopefully we can carry this sort of form for the match against Manchester.

JR: You are the team with the highest goal average. Three goals per match, and Alvarito was telling me that ‘Fernando wants to play R.Madrid’

FT: [laughs] No, I didn’t say that…that’s him. No, we know there is a good chance of drawing a Spanish or Italian team and we know we have no choice but any of those teams will be tough. It’s the bad part of qualifying as a second placed team, there are no easy teams but, well it wouldn’t be bad at all.

JR: So, you would like to play them too. Arbeloa was telling me ‘ I want them now’

FT: What we talk about in the dressing room is to play in the biggest stadiums against the biggest clubs, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan…after the final people would like to play them again but they’re all tough. Sevilla are playing well in the Champions. Madrid and Barcelona and Inter are all favourites to win it so you never know which draw will be best. We want to concentrate on the Premier now and hope to be in good form by the time we start the next rounds.

JR: I wanted to talk to you about all the punishment you’re receiving in the Premier from defenders. The other day against Reading they kicked you flat, ,eh?

FT: [laughs] Yes. It’s the way it is here. The key is to learn that quickly and avoid those hits because it’s a lot of those every match.

JR: Is it true that while they’re tougher they’re also more noble?

FT: Yes, I think so. Very rarely you will see a tackle where they’re really trying to hurt you on purpose but rough tackles like the other day are very common.

JR: Hey, don’t worry about Atleti because ‘Kun’ will play. They removed one of the yellows on appeal…and he’ll play in Huelva…

FT: I think it’s fair, no?

JR: Yes, Yes, and he’s taking his gloves with him !

FT:[laughs] Yes, well, they don’t love him so much in that stadium but for players that him, they thrive in those moments.

JR: People in Huelva surely love to watch him play but don’t worry about Atleti. Now we’re in CL places and at the end of next year you’ll see when we play against you

FT: I hope so, I hope so

JR: Well, have a safe trip!

FT: Thank you very much Jose Ramon

JR: Good night

FT: Cheers.

Alcalá: Well, that was Fernando Torres and before we board the plane, here is this man, wearing a suit, with a red tie, Liverpool red, who was on the edge Jose Ramon because he had to win the last three matches and well, 8 against Besiktas, 4 against Porto and 4 against Marseille and Liverpool have qualified. He’s the last one as we board the plane, here’s Rafa Benitez.

JR: Manager, good evening!

RB: Hello, good evening

JR: I didn’t send you a ticket either with Alcalá. Not for you nor Torres because you’re already rich and are so lucky, so for Arbeloa a little bit.

RB: I tell you Joserra, that luck is in love with hard work. It’s one of those phrases you hear all the time and the more you work the more luck you get. So Torres who works a lot is very lucky, Arbeloa is also lucky and so am I.

JR: The match turned out easier than we all expected because after 11 minutes you were up 0-2…

RB: Yes, we knew it would be a difficult match and then the pitch wasn’t in great condition and it was very windy so there were a series of conditions that were dangerous but well, we started really well and the team had the occasion with the penalty that I believe could’ve easily been a red or at least a yellow card and then Fernando’s great goal which put us on the right track. We were very focused, we knew they played well between the lines and we needed to be compact and the team has responded very well.

JR: Rafa, has Gillette gone, the bloke with the razor blades, one of the owners who said was going today…

RB: His son was with us at the Hotel but I haven’t seen him[George Gillette] perhaps he arrived a bit later but I really didn’t see him because we were preparing for the match, etc.

JR: But don’t they go in the dressing room before the match?

RB: No because, well they’re usually in America and the son is here now but he doesn’t come in. Sometimes the president comes in, well, most of the time the former president although he’s still chairman and the chief executive and they spend some time with us and then go up to their seats.

JR: And you didn’t see him after the match either? Does he travel on a different plane?

RB: I don’t know because I haven’t see him. We’re about to get on the plane so I don’t know. I imagine that he came in his private plane.

JR: Ya, well you know how billionaires are! And they haven’t called you on the mobile phone to congratulate you?

RB: I don’t know. I will have to check now because my mobile phone is in the bag but I’ll check. I think they must be happy just like the rest of us because the team won and played well. And now we have to sit down and see how we’re going to go forward for the future, no?

JR: What has to make you real happy are two things, besides the victory of course. But it’s the support of the fans and the support of the players. The way they’ve all come out like tigers on your defense?

RB: Yes, I think that the team have shown there is unity and that they trust that things can work out well and the supporters are fantastic because I had never seen demonstrations and internet petitions and chants during entire games in support of the manager. Usually, fans support a player or such but for managers you’re usually shouted at to leave the club[laughs] but in this case I’m extremely happy to be here

JR: Were you ever approached to manage England? No insinuations?

RB: Nobody spoke to me. There were rumours and such but nobody spoke to me because, first and foremost I’m still Liverpool’s manager.

JR: And would you have dared to manage England?

RB: Why be afraid?

JR: No man, not fear! But a patriot like you! At least tell them ‘Sure when you give us Gibraltar back! Or something.

RB:[laughs] No, look. The Spanish NT which could be an objective for any manager, I think we all think the same way. In the future, because now when you’re still full of energy and hunger, you want the day-to-day aspect and thinking ahead in the future you could consider the NT. The Spanish, the English or any other good team because, in this case, we’re talking about two very good teams.

JR: How are you spending the Christmas?

RB: With the family. We have some family coming over and it’s the typical Christmas eve dinner and such. We try to do that as long as it doesn’t coincide with a match because that’s how it works here. But in this case I think we have a match on the 26th and then on the 2nd so I think we will manage with the schedule.

JR: Well, Merry Christmas in case I don’t see you manager.

RB: Same to you.

JR: I wish you the best my friend

RB: Thank you, cheers.

http://liverpool-translated.blogspot.com/2007/12/spanish-radio-interview-with-arbeloa.html

DeadSkin

I thought Yossi played well last night. He got tackles in and when he won the ball he laid it off simply to another red shirt, not just thump up it up the field.
Kewell, jury is still out imo.
Marseille are a poor side and we took our chances last night and deserved the win.
Torres will just get better and better, class player.