Anfield Red

Co-owner George Gillett’s push to sell a stake in Liverpool is apparently on at the moment, after reports came out earlier today confirmed that any talks between F6, the Saudi Arabian investment company owned by Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah, and Gillett regarding a sale of the club are ‘on hold’.

“The discussions are now on hold. The idea of buying a stake in Liverpool was put on the table in September but since then nothing happened.”

Gillett, who reportedly flew to Saudi Arabia last week to meet with the Prince, appears to be in a rush to sell off his stake in the club. His visit seemed to confirm earlier reports that a sale was near.

However, it doesn’t look like the process will be quick and easy. Talks between the two sides seem to be progressing, but nothing has been finalised as of yet.

“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,” Prince Faisal himself said last week.

Javier Mascherano wants a pay rise because he creates chances for Michael Owen, according to the Daily Mirror.

Today’s article from the Mirror was lazy journalism at it’s best, a copy and paste job of 3 articles combined into one pile of mumbo-jumbo:

“Liverpool finally completed the £17million capture of Glen Johnson from Portsmouth last night.

But the massive deal – which will earn the England full-back around £4m a year – could force Liverpool to TREBLE Javier Mascherano’s wages to keep him.

Mirror Sport understands that the root of the Argentine’s unhappiness at Anfield is the fact that he is paid considerably less than the majority of the ability to set up chances for the former England star.

The 29-year-old scored 30 in 65 starts on Tyneside and cost Newcastle £41million in wages and transfer fee. He was dropped by boss Alan Shearer for the club’s relegation showdown at Aston Villa and has scored once this year.”

Article link

If someone can shine any light on what “the majority of the ability to set up chances” means i’d love to hear it.

Liverpool-Arsenal affairs have always had a little special tinge to them, a little bit of magic. The Cup Finals of 1950, 1971 & 2001 provided their own drama, late goals, remarkable comebacks and controversial incidents, the Champions League clashes last season were an advert for pragmatism & solidity versus fluidity & idealism, whilst recent league fixtures between the sides have invariably brought with them goals and drama. Especially at Anfield.

But nothing quite like this. This evening, in front of a crowd which seemed to dictate the pattern of the game in a manner which I must confess I have never seen, the two sides served up an absolute classic. Even the 1989 title decider never had this unpredictability, this sheer volume of drama. Even the atmosphere- understandable of course given that when George Graham’s side rolled into Anfield needing a two goal win, the home fans were still in a state of shock of the events of a month previous.

Tonight however, the fans were determined to have some kind of say. And without romanticising too much, I think they did. When the crowd feared the worst, the Liverpool players lifted the tempo. When the crowd got complacent, Arsenal produced the sucker punch, and when the Kop collapsed in a sort of post-coitus fit of despair at Andrey Arshavin’s fourth (yes, fourth) strike of the evening, the players responded with one last leveller to ensure that Liverpool’s title bid is in intensive care, rather than the funeral parlour.

Liverpool needed three points from this fixture, make no mistake about it. Playing 24 hours before Manchester United & Chelsea, this was the chance to heap a little bit more pressure on their rivals ahead of what should turn out to be (reasonably) comfortable wins tomorrow- Everton’s recent record against Chelsea means I am comfortable saying this without fear of being pelted with Toffees.

Arsenal have come full circle this season, the autumn pessimism which brought boos for Ebouè, Bendtner & even Wenger had subsided, and spring had brought new optimism about an ever-maturing crop of youngsters playing typically Arsenal football. Yet they arrived at Anfield off the back of a chastening defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi final at the weekend, and without their two premier strikers in Emmanuel Adebayor & Robin Van Persie, as well as three of their first choice back five- Manuel Almunia, William Gallas & Gael Clichy. Subsequently Rafa Benitez could rightly have expected his side to continue their Premiership winning streak here.

As it happens, they couldn’t. The 4-4 draw- how many times has a side drawn two successive games 4-4 in recent times?- leaves Benitez’s side top of the Premier League table on goal difference, but with Manchester United armed with two games in hand, it is undeniably two dropped points that could ultimately spell the end of Liverpool’s first sustained title assault in twelve years. And like Jose Mourinho’s departure from Chelsea, and most of James Bond’s headaches, there was a Russian to blame.

Arshavin has a lot of fans in English football. Like myself, plenty of supporters found themselves spellbound by the Russian’s poise, balance, dribbling and creativity both for Zenit St. Petersburg in their successful UEFA Cup campaign last season, and for his country in Euro 2008. His January arrival at Arsenal was hailed as a good move for English football, how nice to have such a player in our league. Well now he can add supporters of Manchester United & Chelsea to his adoring public.

Four times tonight the 27 year-old was afforded a shot at Pepe Reina’s goal. Four times tonight he hit the target. Four times he found the net. The Kop had chuckled midway through the first half as a rare technical glitch saw him spoon an attempted cross embarrassingly out of play, but they weren’t laughing by the time half time had arrived, Arshavin crashing in the opening goal via the underside of the bar after Samir Nasri & Cesc Fabregas had taken advantage of some sloppy play in his own box by Javier Mascherano. Arshavin held his finger to his lips, and he had three more bullets up his sleeve with which to silence Anfield.

Liverpool thought they had gripped the contest tightly with a post-interval surge which simply blew away Arsene Wenger’s men. For twenty minutes after the break, it was the Liverpool supporters yelling “hoof” as Arsenal’s panic-stricken defenders launched the ball aimlessly forwards in a vain effort to stem the Red tide that looked like sweeping the ball into the net with every foray forwards. Twice, the hoofs were not sufficiently hoofed, and led to goals. Dirk Kuyt provided both, landing crosses on the head of first Fernando Torres, and then Yossi Benayoun, both of whom beat Lukasz Fabianski with varying levels of panache. With Mikael Silvestre, Kolo Toure & Kieran Gibbs looking like rabbits in the headlights every time the ball threatened to enter their penalty area, it seemed that more goals would follow.

They did, but both of them fell to Arshavin. Both owed much to errors from Liverpool’s much-improved full backs. First Alvaro Arbeloa committed the cardinal sin of waiting for a ball to reach him, allowing Arshavin to nip in like a Tesco queue-jumper and arrow a sublime right foot strike past Reina from 25 yards, then Aurelio decided the best way to deal with Nasri’s left wing centre was to cushion the ball neatly down towards the penalty spot, where the Russian lay in wait to complete his hat-trick with a skimming right foot strike. This time he did not need to put his fingers to his lips.

Still Liverpool came back, within minutes Albert Riera’s cross had found Torres, and the Spaniard had shifted the ball past Silvestre and smacked it low past Fabianski to re-ignite the Kop’s fire, but after Gibbs had denied the Spaniard his own hat-trick, Benitez’s side fell into Wenger’s trap by chasing the winner late on. Wenger had sent on Theo Walcott by this point, and when Aurelio’s corner was cleared to him thirty yards from his own goal, memories flashed back to THAT run in the Champions League last season.

Away he went, Xabi Alonso backed off, terrified of the pace, trying to buy time. But Walcott had an ally, arriving at breakneck speed on his left. The pass was precise, the first touch was assured, and the finish was ruthless. Julio Baptista scored four times for Arsenal at Anfield a little over two years ago, now Arshavin had written his own name into the history books. The final, decisive blow.

Only it wasn’t. Five minutes of stoppage time was indicated by the fourth official, and within three of them Liverpool had pulled yet another leveller out of the fire- Mascherano heading Alonso’s cross back into the six yard box, and Benayoun seizing on the loose ball to steer in his second. It says a lot about the craziness of the evening that the first thing I heard in the aftermath were the words “get the ball, we’ll win this”

We didn’t of course, even this Liverpool side found securing a fifth goal in two stoppage time minutes beyond their capabilities, but for the second week running Liverpool fans can take not only great pleasure in watching their side involved in a truly incredible game of football, but also enormous pride and heart at the indomitable spirit shown by Benitez’s much-derided troops. No doubt the critics will point to the fact that eight goals have been shipped in seven days by a usually watertight defensive unit, and the realists will surmise that a potential six point gap to Manchester United is unlikely to be overcome by the season’s end, but at this point it seems fitting to simply revel in the drama and beauty of yet another phenomenal spectacle involving Liverpool.

We’ve been here before, haven’t we? Ok so maybe the denouement was not quite so final, nor as last-kick-of-the-last-game-of-the-season dramatic, but for 1989, now read 2009, and for Michael Thomas, now read Andrey Arshavin.

Liverpool without Steven Gerrard. A bit like a roast dinner without gravy, only more noticeably weak. Take the skipper out of Rafa Benitez’s plans and watch them unravel. The press has been full of it. Michael Essien apparently is the sole reason Chelsea were able to stifle Liverpool at Anfield in midweek, his diligent midfield work squeezed the life out of the Reds’ number eight and set Guus Hiddink’s side on the way to a resounding Champions League quarter final win. The message was clear. Stop Gerrard, stop Liverpool.

How refreshing then to see Benitez’s side respond to their midweek night-class at the hands of Hiddink & Chelsea with a display that not only brushed aside Blackburn, but also this silly notion that Gerrard is indispensable to Liverpool, even in this sort of run-of-the-mill home fixture.

Ok fair play. Blackburn are not Chelsea. Paul Robinson is not Petr Cech. David Dunn is not Frank Lampard (just don’t tell him that). Tugay is not Michael Essien (more like Michael Douglas these days), and Christopher Samba is certainly not Didier Drogba. But just because Sam Allardyce selected a side with a centre back at left back, a left back in centre midfield, a centre midfielder at right back and a Christopher Samba in attack, does not mean that plaudits should deflect away from Liverpool. Here they were, days after the kind of defeat that threatened to derail Manchester United’s Greatest Ever Squad™ a month ago, and they responded in style.

Five minutes was all it took to extinguish the early nerves. Fernando Torres, just as on Wednesday, breaking the Anfield Road net with a superb finish off his right foot. But unlike Wednesday, there was to be no inexplicable implosion from Liverpool’s reshuffled defence. Emiliano Insua & Daniel Agger had replaced Fabio Aurelio & Martin Skrtel, but there were no signs of rustiness from either. Without Gerrard, Dirk Kuyt & Yossi Benayoun took turns apiece to play the withdrawn striker role behind Torres, whilst behind them Xabi Alonso assumed the mental of driving force with a display of genuine world class alongside the Energizer bunny that is Javier Mascherano.

Against Chelsea on Wednesday, Alonso found himself struggling against the Blue tide that descended on the midfield from about the quarter of an hour mark. With only the ineffective Lucas beside him, Alonso found himself chasing rather than scheming, tackling rather than creating. Here, with his enforcer next to him, he tucked the game up neatly in his back pocket from the word go. Sam Allardyce probably helped him, Tugay & Dunn look like a midfield pairing for which the term “have seen better days” was invented for, whilst the South African Aaron Mokoena looked like he was playing with blinkers on before his merciful half-time withdrawal.

It all meant that the lone “striker” Samba was left to forage for possession against Carragher, Agger and co with minimal success. He may well be 6ft 5in, but when you have no-one to head the ball to, and Alonso and/or Mascherano snapping at your heels as soon as you even think about chesting the ball down, you are not going to have much joy. One shot on target was all Blackburn’s attack mustered.

Liverpool by contrast were pinging the ball round at will. Alonso played with 360º vision and utilised beautifully the space afforded to Insua & Albert Riera down the left, Riera had one of his better games attacking the vulnerable Keith Andrews time and time again, whilst Benayoun & Kuyt caused problems either down the right flank or drifting infield. Both could have had their names on the scoresheet in one move, Kuyt heading at Robinson from point blank range before Benayoun blazed the rebound off target. It took Torres to add the second, a fine header from Alonso’s whipped free kick, and Liverpool- like their fans- had the deckchairs and Bermuda shorts out before half time, allowing Agger & David Ngog added the icing in the second half as Blackburn downed tools. It was a walk in the park, just what the doctor ordered.

Benitez takes plenty of criticism for his rotation policy. His argument has always been that it is necessary to take risks early in the season to avoid burn-out later on. In previous seasons this theory has proven hard to justify seeing as though Liverpool have usually been out of contention for league honours by January/February and therefore able to rest and rotate their squad as and when needed, but with this season’s title challenge threatening to linger on into May, the Spaniard’s analysis seems bang on. Liverpool’s players look hungry, they look focused, they look super-fit. One incident in the second half summed this up. Mascherano, just ten days after an oxygen-sapping defeat with Argentina in the Bolivian mountains, charged forty yards to throw himself into a (admittedly needless) challenge on Andre Ooijer. He missed, but was up in a flash and launching himself back into nick the ball away for Riera. The Kop loved it, they always do. It was an indication that this side is not prepared to fold and blame fixture congestion or lack of rest.

In the end Gerrard wasn’t even required to do much more than excite the Main Stand with a gratuitous jog down the touchline, with Lucas sent on for man-of-the-match Alonso late on. It may only have been a patched up Blackburn- they will stay up but god they were awful yesterday- but Liverpool sent out two clear messages yesterday. One is that this is a side that is strong enough physically and mentally to withstand setbacks and pressure, the other is that Steven Gerrard is not Liverpool FC, he is just the best bit….

You could almost see it coming. Of course the Champions League draw was simply filled with teams who evoked memories of glorious encounters from days gone by. Whether it was Arsenal last year, or Barcelona in 2007 or Porto en route to the UEFA Cup in 2001, or Bayern Munich in 1981, there was a story to be had in the Champions League draw.

But when some wise guy at UEFA mentioned the words “Liverpool FC”, and the words “Chelsea FC” shortly after one another, it was a case of “here we go again”. Deja Vu doesn’t even come into it.

This Quarter Final clash will, quite incredibly, be the ninth and tenth time that the sides have met in the Champions League in the last five seasons. The records make for interesting reading too. Liverpool wins- two. Chelsea wins- two. Draws- four. With the teams locked together on 61 points in the Premier League, there quite simply is nothing to choose between them.

Chelsea have enjoyed a sort-of-renaissance under Dutch manager Guus Hiddink, although I still remain unconvinced that he has managed any results that his predecessor- Luiz Felipe Scolari- could not have. With Michael Essien back flying, and Didier Drogba awaking from his early season slumber to offer a renewed threat up front, the Londoners will be a force to reckon with. It is unlikely we will see the insipid displays offered up in the two league meetings between the sides this season for example.

But with Rafa Benitez signing a new contract this week, and Manchester United following Real Madrid in picking up a hefty beating at Liverpool’s hands, the Reds have no reason to fear anyone. Of course the likes of Porto, Villarreal, even Arsenal, would have been a more favourable draw, and the fact that the second leg will be played at Stamford Bridge is not ideal, but to be the best, you invariably have to beat the best. Accordingly, Liverpool will face the winner of the intriguing Barcelona/Bayern Munich tie in the semi final should they negotiate another all-English battle.

Predictions? It would be daft to make predictions at this stage. Injuries and form can change an outlook in an instant, whilst this fixture in recent seasons has proven almost impossible to pick. There has been one constant of course, games have tended to be uber-tight and competitive, and fine margins (Luis Garcia’s goal, John Arne Riise’s gaffe) have tended to prove decisive. Here’s hoping the ninth and tenth time proves lucky for Liverpool.

So finally it has been confirmed. Rafa Benitez will stay at Liverpool for another five years after he agreed a contract extension that will keep him at Anfield until at least 2014, putting to an end (some of) the speculation that has haunted the corridors of the club for the past eighteen months or so.

Of course we all suspected this was coming, the announcement that Rick Parry would be resigning his Chief Executive post come the end of the season hinted that Senor Benitez had emerged victorious from a power struggle that had reached breaking point over the unlikely figure of Gareth Barry last summer. In that instance it was Parry who seemingly got his way, but as the saying goes “he may have won the battle….”

Benitez is known to have been stalling over a new deal out of fear over the club’s transfer policy. No longer could the Spaniard accept delays in transfer negotiations, and questions over his chosen targets. Benitez requested the kind of free reign over transfers that is enjoyed by the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson & Arsene Wenger. No more lampshades masquerading as tables at Liverpool, Benitez’s side, playing Benitez’s way. And now comes the fun part.

For Rafa to sign such a long-term deal (a five year contract in this hire ‘em fire’em climate is something to be remarked upon in itself), it is fair to surmise that he has been given certain promises from his Superiors with regards to transfer policy. It will therefore be fascinating to see the decisions taken this summer, and whether sufficient funds are made available to turn his good side into a great one. We all know the areas which need to be addressed in this Liverpool squad, it would be farcical to suspect Benitez does not.

Obviously there are certain variables which may assist or hinder Benitez’s long-term buying strategy. Namely who replaces Parry as Chief Executive and, of course, the long-standing ownership issue. With the Kuwaiti bid being sneered at by those in the know as a smokescreen, there to flush out more serious interest, there are still rumours lurking around every Merseyside corner about potential new owners. Benitez is in a strong bargaining position with any suitors, with a reputation enhanced by the past week’s wins over Real Madrid & Manchester United, and was very smart about aligning himself with the supporters in his latest statement. Any new owner would be forced to think very carefully before unveiling any grand plans which do not involve the Spaniard. And not just because the length of contract in Benitez’s inside pocket would demand a hefty compensation should he leave before 2014.

Hicks & Gillett have not done much to endear themselves to Liverpool fans since rolling into Anfield with talk of “Roffa” and “Snoogy Doogy” in 2007, and there will doubtless be dissenters towards this latest announcement, but from a personal perspective I believe it is in the best interests of the club. Benitez has his faults, the media fall over themselves to highlight them. But his tactical depth, his physical preparation of the squad, and his attention to detail cannot be faulted. And hopefully now we will get to see how good his transfer eye REALLY is…..

“All hail the return of the King” was the shout at this particular clash. Eric Cantona was given a hero’s reception as he returned to Old Trafford following his nine month ban for a kung-fu attack on a mouthy spectator at Selhurst Park. And that was just from Richard Keys and Andy Gray. The United fans really loved him, despite the fact that his avoidable absence had probably played a huge part in their side finishing the 1994/95 season empty handed.

And when, within a minute of kick off, Cantona had seen his measured pass collected on the burst by Nicky Butt for the opener, the stage was set for an Eric-inspired stroll in the autumn sun. Especially considering Liverpool were wearing a horrific green & white quartered rugby-style shirt, and had Neil Ruddock & John Scales in their back four.

But beneath the aesthetic monstrosity, Liverpool also housed their own “King”. Well, “God” to be more precise. Robbie Fowler may have acted the goat and bleached his hair in the summer, but he was still the best young player around, bar none.

Unperturbed by the Cantona-fuelled love in, he proceeded to run United ragged, latching onto a Michael Thomas ball down the inside left channel, he gave Peter Schmeichel “the eyes”, shaping the go across goal he simply hammered an exocet of a strike inside the Dane’s near post from the corner of the box. Schmeichel never saw it, and he was even more bemused after the break when Fowler shrugged off Gary Neville with consummate ease and steered home a perfect chip with his right foot (it didn’t matter with Fowler).

It should have been Fowler’s day, it deserved to be. But of course with David Elleray refereeing it was always gonna be tough, and the Harrow Headmaster came up trumps for United, awarding a questionable penalty for a shoulder-to-shoulder clash between Jamie Redknapp & Ryan Giggs, which Cantona rolled home, meaning the enduring image was of Eric the King jumping on the stanchion, rather than Robbie the God actually playing well.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is confident he will be offered a new contract soon after revealing he had received positive messages from George Gillett.

Gillett was present at the Vicente Calderon stadium to witness Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid, and afterwards he told Rafa he was doing ‘a fantastic job’. Rafa has not yet been offered a new deal, but remains confident a contract will be offered soon: “I have had some contact and some messages, saying congratulations, you are doing a fantastic job, I am thinking about games and do my job as well as I can. But I think the contract will get sorted, yes.”

George Gillett will be at Anfield on saturday as Liverpool face Man Utd in the Premier league.

Co-owner of Liverpool Football Club George Gillett will be present in the director’s box to watch the Premier league match , despite being far from Welcome by supporters.

Hopefully the crowd will make their feelings known towards Gillett, who co-owns the club with fellow liar Tom Hicks. I for one will be there on Saturday making my voice heard!

Altogether now :

Fernando Torres has told Liverpool fans to make more noise tonight than they did against Arsenal in the last round.

Anfield erupted when Hyypia scored a header to get the reds back in the game, and from then on it was mental all the way through; forcing tears into the eyes of Fernando Torres; something he is not ashamed to admit. He has also sent out a rallying call to the fans, saying increase the volume for tonight's game.

The atmosphere against Arsenal was fantastic and it is hard to believe that it is possible for it to be better than that tonight," he said.

"At the end of the game I looked around the ground and all I could see was red and white flags and scarves and the noise was incredible.

"I have said it brought tears to my eyes and that is true. It is hard to believe that there are any more special places in football than Anfield on a European night."

"I have spoken to all of the players who were here on those nights and they have all told me that the atmosphere was the best they have ever played in. It is incredible to think that it could be any better than it was against Arsenal and I cannot wait for tonight.

"People talk about the power of Anfield and it is true, it really does exist. Some clubs have legends that are not true but at Liverpool the legend of the crowd is true, I know because I have experienced it.

"Against Inter Milan the noise was fantastic but it was even better when we played Arsenal. "I am really excited about tonight because I know the fans will deliver. Then it is up to the players on the pitch to do the same.