Liverpool lobby

Sepi wrote:Not sure if people know it, but Downing is also a house DJ.

Imagine if we win something....Downing is gonna DJ, Carroll will get the drinks, and Kuyt and Suarez will dance like crazy

Yet Reina will score all the girls

Is it weird that our last number 19 was into music as well. lol

Liverpool owner John W Henry admits top players wanted to leave the club before his overhaul at Anfield

Exclusive: In an exclusive interview with Telegraph Sport, Liverpool owner John W Henry reflects on his first 10 months in English football and reveals the plans for Liverpool’s future.


Corresponding over email, Henry defends the club’s investment in expensive British talent, makes clear that his expectation is for a return to the Champions League and asks if anything will be done about Chelsea and Manchester City not appearing to take Uefa’s Financial Fair play rules seriously.

He has damning words for the lack of discipline with which the club was previously run and makes it clear that players who were not committed have been sold.

Perhaps most excitingly for Liverpool fans, he reveals that he is looking for a naming rights partner that could make a much-needed new stadium viable.

What is clear is that he is not a hands-off owner but someone who has immersed himself in the project of taking Liverpool from its debt-laden stagnant state back to the summit of European football.

You attended the opening game against Sunderland last weekend. Could you talk us through your day?

I had spent the previous day in Munich studying the Allianz Arena - a truly magnificent accomplishment by Bayern Munich. I flew in late Friday night and Tom, Ian and I met with our supporters committee on Saturday morning. We were amazed at the strength and depth of the committee. It was an important meeting covering a number of technical issues.

Richard Scudamore of the Premier League and David Bernstein of the FA were there prior to and during the match so it was an opportunity to speak with them. I’ve got to know Mr Scudamore, but it was my first time meeting Mr Bernstein. Both are very impressive and seem to be extraordinarily well-suited for their roles.

Did you go down to the dressing room?

Yes.

What did it feel like watching this team you had helped build?

Tom and I spoke as the match began about how many players in the starting line-up had arrived after we had. The fact that Luis Suarez was there despite such a limited period of rest after the Copa America is representative of just how determined everyone in the dressing room is this year.

As you know this is a club with a tremendous history and you want players who understand how important every match is to millions around the world. Our fans don’t even take friendlies in a friendly way. They have expectations. So do all of us inside the club.

This year those expectations are matched by every player. Not every player wanted to be here when we arrived. Kenny, Steve, Damian and Ian have turned that completely around. And you have to give Kenny the lion’s share of the credit.

What are your targets for this season? Is there a minimum requirement for Kenny Dalglish and his team?

Manchester United has done an incredible job of building a young, talented, deep squad. I watched a number of their pre-season matches and they seemed in top form even then. We’ve just begun to build and are years behind them so we don’t expect this to be our year to win the Premier League.

Manchester City seems to have unlimited spending restraint and are attempting to have all-star quality at each position - two deep. That will be hard to beat. This year our goal is to get back to Champions League.

This is a club with a history in European competition and people throughout the world - at least our supporters - yearn for European nights. That’s our first goal. But it won’t be at all easy as there are 6 big clubs - among the best in Europe - fighting for 4 spots.

In your first 10 months in English football, what has impressed you?

The referees impress me. Football officiating is so subjective - much more subjective than any other sport. But the more I watch - and I watch too many matches - the more impressed I am with referees.

It’s impossible to get every call correct because so many of the calls are highly subjective. We have slow motion cameras looking from various angles but a referee is on the move and only has one angle. The most amazing thing to me is how accurate linesmen are on offsides.

I don’t see how they can see when the ball is struck and at the same time determine from their angle if someone is offside. It’s frustrating when they don’t get it right, but it’s so difficult and they are right 95% of the time despite all of the complaining. There are so many things I’m impressed with - that would take a full article.

What has surprised you? Shocked you?

Well, the transfer system and how it works is a shock if you’ve come from American sports. The fact that a guaranteed contract means very little when another club decides that they want your player is surprising. The player suddenly “has to go.”

This is an advantage for big clubs such as ours and I’m getting used to it, but it was a shock to find out that the guarantee only works one way. And of course the sums of money that are spent on buying and selling players is remarkable.

When you first arrived in English football you made it clear you supported Uefa’s Financial Fair Play concept, which begins to be applied this summer. Are Liverpool on track to conform to the rules?

For a club to be sustainable for the long-term it is essential to live within those rules. What happens when large deficit spending for a club suddenly stops? The record isn’t very good in that regard.

Quoting Gordon Taylor on billionaires, “History tells you that sometimes, like butterflies, they land on one attractive resting place then move on to another. I’m asking: when it’s time for these people to move, is there a structure in place to enable their clubs to survive?" What about other clubs? You recently raised doubts about Manchester City’s sponsorship deal on your twitter site….

The question remains as to how serious EUFA is regarding this. It appears that there are a couple of large English clubs that are sending a strong message that they aren’t taking them seriously, yet large clubs in Italy are - or are at least taking steps to do so.

Maybe it’s necessary for other associations to act. I believe the Football League has adopted these protocols. They have to be congratulated on that.

Do Liverpool need FFP to be properly applied if they are to compete at the very top level?

We need time to build the football operation and we need to build our revenues. We did that in Boston and we still cannot come close to matching the revenues of the New York Yankees. But we match them competitively.

They are the two clubs that have won the most games over the past ten years in major league baseball. We won’t be near the top of Europe for a while. But we will get there in both regards.

You have made it clear in the past that you would be looking at introducing a more coherent policy went came to transfers, trying to make more objective judgements on players that included statistics, potential development and re-sale values.

Could you talk me through how you have applied this policy? Are you still using some of the principles gleaned from Moneyball/sabermetrics?

First of all let me warn you, there are fictional elements to film Moneyball. It wasn’t a young geek who came up with all of those principles. They initially came from Bill James over a number of years. Bill was one of the first people we brought aboard when we bought the Boston Red Sox 10 years ago.

Billy Beane and his staff in Oakland weren’t the first to use these methods, but they were extremely effective at it. The only reason they didn’t win multiple World Series was that the playoffs in MLB are so much of a toss up in comparison to [English] football. We have been effective because those principles are only one aspect of our baseball operation. We spend a lot of money on amateur scouting and player development.

The nature of markets, and that includes player acquisition markets, is such that sooner or later any set of successful formulae that provide an excess return above investment are discounted.

By that I mean that eventually what was undervalued becomes more valued - sometimes to the point of being over-valued. It’s just a matter of how stubborn executives are with regard to preferring subjectivity over objectivity. At one point only Boston, Oakland and the Yankees placed a very high value on On Base Percentage and we were heavily criticised as stat geeks.

Then we won two World Series and now virtually all 30 clubs believe in the power of baseball’s hidden statistics. So with a limited payroll it’s become very difficult for Oakland to compete despite having some of the most brilliant people in baseball there.

Have you achieved your goals in terms of recruitment and sales this summer? Has the high expenditure of this window been a one-off investment to get you up to speed?

For a number of years players of quality were being sold and players of lesser quality were being purchased. The club wasn’t being run by people with the kind of discipline it takes to be successful over the long-term. It’s odd to be criticised by some who think we are over-spending.

The worry seemed to be that we wouldn’t spend. But we’ve been consistent, we intend to strengthen this club annually but that doesn’t mean we will deficit spend. It’s up to us to strengthen revenues. Only then will the club be strong enough to compete in Europe.

How important is it, again with FFP in mind, for you to lower the wage bill before this window closes?

Not an issue.

A large share of the money you have spent on recruitment has gone on British players (Henderson/Downing/Adam). Was this a determined strategy? If you compare the fees spent on any British, and specifically English, player with those spent on foreign counterparts there appears to be a market premium for buying British talent. Do you believe this is the case? And if so why were you prepared to pay those premiums?

Everyone seemed to think that Liverpool was over-valuing British players this summer. But when the Premier League has the whole world to choose players from and there is a substantial homegrown rule, British players are going to be highly valued.

Look at the prices paid this year for Conor Wickham and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. At Liverpool we have purchased each player for a different reason. It doesn’t mean we are going to solve all of our issues in one season, but we are headed in the right direction.

Could you describe your personal involvement in the recruitment process this summer?

This first year I have tried to be as involved as I could so as to learn as much as possible in a short period of time. Tom and I are always questioning everything in Boston. Always. And that is done in a very positive way because we have very talented people in the key positions.

It is now working the same way in Liverpool. I want to know why we are doing what we are doing on the pitch and with regard to player acquisition. I wouldn’t be doing my job in allocating resources if I wasn’t able to make sense of the individual steps we are taking within the context of our overall philosophy.

Consequently there is no doubt that Kenny, Steve, Damian, Ian, Tom and I share a long-term, disciplined philosophy that encompasses all aspects of the operation. It’s an exciting time to be a part of this rebuilding effort.

Has there been any progress on the prospects of a new stadium? Is building a new stadium a viable option in the current climate? Your group has indicated in the past that a ground-share with Everton is off the agenda — is this still the case?

I’ve seen a lot of talk recently about ground-sharing, but our position hasn’t changed. There’s no doubt that if a new stadium were to be built in Liverpool from a financial perspective - which is the major issue - a ground-share would be helpful for both clubs. But there doesn’t seem to be any support for that from Red or Blue fans - at all. So how could that ever happen?

We would love to expand Anfield, but there are enough local and regulatory issues to keep that avenue stalled for years with no assurances that once begun it would bear any fruit.

If Anfield cannot be expanded a new stadium is wonderful choice. But the fact is we already have 45,000 seats. If a new stadium is constructed with 60,000 seats you’ve spent an incredible sum of money to add just 15,000 seats.

If the cost is £300m for an extra 15,000 seats, that doesn’t make any sense at all. Liverpool isn’t London, you can’t charge £1 million for a long-term club seat. And concession revenues per seat aren’t that much different at Emirates from Anfield.

That’s why the search is on currently for a naming-rights partner. And that could very well happen.

THE GREAT NET SPEND ROPE TRICK (AND MORE MONEYBALLS)

A brilliant article on how our new owners have made smart business decisions & not spend blind & unwisely. .

A total break down of our spending . . .

A must read for all of us . .

There is a real sense that this is only the beginning. Something special is stirring at Anfield.

http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2011/08/the-great-net-spend-rope-trick-and-more-moneyballs/

I'm pretty sure pool made a thread about that site. Had no time to read it though. :\

Bellamy on his 1st interview. . .

"I've grown up with Kenny Dalglish, now to be signed by him is a massive honour.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/bellamy-why-i-came-back

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/video/Features/Carra-My-top-5-28098.php3

AHAHAHA...........Carra trolling Torres

Hahaha, the smirk on his face when he mentions number 5 is priceless.

Sepi wrote:

HAhaha this made my day. Good to see Marty being appreciated for his....err.... coarse looks.


and......

Definitely see the resemblance there.

lol, Skrtel looks so polished up in that picture, definately a photoshop touch added there xD

He's still my man, though <3

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/next-suarez-in-reds-sights

Damien Comolli has revealed that Liverpool are in talks to develop a partnership that could see them recruit the next Luis Suarez.


The Reds secured the signature of their second Uruguayan last week when Sebastian Coates put pen to paper on a long-term deal.

The negotiations further strengthened the club's links with Nacional and our Director of Football admits we are now close to establishing a formal relationship.

Comolli told Liverpoolfc.tv: "I've got to thank the people from Nacional, the directors and their chairman, because they have been very helpful. They tried to help the player (Coates) complete his will, which was to come here.

"They tried to find a solution for us to make it happen. We now have strong links with them because both Luis Suarez and Sebastian Coates have come from this club and been developed by their academy.

"We are talking about a partnership with them that we would like to create over the next three, four or five years, to see if there is more talent coming through. Maybe we can help them to develop their standards and in turn have the ability to bring those young players here.

"During the Copa America they had 14 players out of the 23 who had at some point played at Nacional or were developed by Nacional. That is a fantastic record for their academy.

"So it is very interesting for us. We already have a strong link with South America through Lucas, Maxi and Luis.

"Since it's been such a success with Luis - and I'm sure it will be for Sebastian - why don't we try to make it an even bigger success by bringing in other players from Nacional?"

14 out of 23 players from Uruguay squad from Nacional

Anyway good to see long term planning from us like these.Hopefully we establish similar deals with clubs from other south american countries and Mexico.

The invisible demon driving on a Liverpool hero



Matthew Syed Updated 44 minutes ago

Jamie Carragher’s need to be Mr Perfect may not sit well at home at times, but he wouldn’t have it any other way, as Matthew Syed hears

It is the Monday after Liverpool’s victory against Bolton Wanderers last month. The Anfield club are third in the Barclays Premier League, riding high after two straight wins, and Jamie Carragher has an additional reason to be cheerful. He has just checked into the refurbished Savoy Hotel in London, a special treat for his wife Nicola, to celebrate the couple’s wedding anniversary.

But here’s the thing: Carragher is anxious. He cannot settle. A scene is being played out in his mind, over and over. A small mistake in the 90th minute of the match, which had no bearing on the result, is nagging away at him — and he cannot let it go. It is not only taking the edge off the day, it threatens to overshadow the international break.

“You could call it obsessive, but I have always agonised over my errors,” the 33-year-old says, sipping a glass of water in the lobby of the Savoy. “It’s strange, isn’t it? I have come down to London with my missus, have gone to watch a great show, Ghost, but I honestly feel that I don’t deserve it. My face hit the floor when the slip-up happened — and my wife immediately knew that our break wouldn’t be the same.

“I have been like that ever since I was a schoolboy. I remember playing a youth match at Anfield and, even though we won, I couldn’t celebrate because my performance was below-par. I have always wanted to play to absolute best, error-free. It is like an invisible demon, driving me to train harder, to go the extra mile, in practice sessions and in matches. That is just the way I am.”

Jonny Wilkinson has spoken of perfectionism as a blessing and curse, as have Sir Steve Redgrave and Martina Navratilova. They would doubtless relate to Carragher and his lifelong battle to reconcile his impossibly high standards with his own fallibility.

“Young players at the club say, ‘I have to be like Carra in training’ because they can see that I put in a shift in every session,” he says. “But why should I rest on my laurels just because I have been in the top flight for so long?

“I am always looking to up my game because I feel that I still have something to prove. Even today some Liverpool fans are asking questions about my age and how long I will last. The club has just signed a new centre back [Sebastián Coates], who will be knocking at the door. There is no room for complacency.”

There can be few more honest or eloquent footballers than Carragher. As the interview progresses, he discusses football in all its intricacy — tactics, statistics, training methods — as well as the players he has played with and against. But it is when probing his psyche, the mechanisms that make him tick, that he is at his most compelling.

When I approach the question of why he retired from international football he hardly breaks stride. “Being a squad player is not enough,” he says. “I live for the fight. That is why I got tired of going to World Cups and qualifying games without being a part of the team.

“I did an interview the other day because it was the ten-year anniversary of the 5-1 defeat of Germany and the journalist asked if it was the greatest game I had ever played for England. But how could it be when I only played for ten minutes as a sub? I am not going to take credit for that.”

He also pinpoints another reason for his ambivalence. “It is a funny thing, but playing for Liverpool has always meant more to me than playing for England,” he says. “That does not mean I am unpatriotic or do not care about my country. It just means that, when it comes to football, my pride in Liverpool exceeds my pride in England. It is not a conscious preference, but it does say a lot about me as a person.

“I was brought up in Bootle and my mum still lives in the same house. This is where I learnt to play football and learnt about life. The connection with my roots is not about location, it is about culture and values and millions of other things that are difficult to define. People sometimes wonder why I am quite a modest person, but the reason is simple. If you are flash and arrogant in Liverpool, you are quickly brought back down to earth. That is the way it is.”

Carragher’s umbilical link with Liverpool makes it unthinkable that he would leave the club he joined as a schoolboy (he had initially supported Everton when growing up before slowly and painfully switching allegiance). “My contract is up for renewal in two years, but I would not want to play for any other club,” he says. “Life is not just about money. There are other things, important things, that have a different kind of value. Anyone from Liverpool could tell you that.”

Although Carragher is fixated upon football, it would be unfair to characterise him as a one-dimensional person. Quite the reverse. When we discuss politics he offers a nuanced left-of-centre analysis of social problems (the conversation takes place three weeks after the riots). When we talk about family — he has two young children — he talks passionately about parenthood. To put it simply, he is absorbing company.

I ask Carragher what his plans are for when he does retire from football. “I sometimes fantasise about leaving the game altogether, just to get away from my obsession, but to be honest I love the game too much,” he says. “Management would be a great option, or possibly the media. I read things in the papers or see things on TV and the analysis is sometimes not strong enough.

“An article will say that a certain player or team is underperforming, but there is not enough depth to the argument. They don’t ask why a player is below-par or don’t analyse where a team is going wrong, tactically or psychologically. That is where an ex-player with a bit of nous could add something.”

One of the most striking things about Carragher is that, although he has played at the highest level for many years, his thirst to learn is insatiable. Indeed, this interview came about because Carragher had read my book Bounce, called The Times to obtain my number and phoned out of the blue to discuss its ideas. Needless to say, the conversation was long and probing.

“To understand high-level performance, it is no good just assuming that your own personal journey is the last word on the matter,” he says. “You need to look at the science, read about the experiences of other people and look at the statistics. I try to read as much as possible to get a stronger handle on the science of performance. It doesn’t just help you as a player, it also helps you as a leader in the dressing room.”

Liverpool’s performances have improved considerably since Kenny Dalglish took over as manager in January, something that has not merely had an impact upon Carragher’s hopes of finally claiming an elusive Premier League winner’s medal, but also his sense of self-worth.

“The team has definitely grown in confidence and that makes life, and not just football, a lot brighter,” he says. “When things are going badly, as they sometimes have at Liverpool in recent years, you just want to hide behind corners. You don’t want to see the fans because you know how important it is to them. You almost feel responsible for their happiness.

“People look to players like me and Stevie [Gerrard] to sort any problems out. I love the responsibility, and I would never hide from it, but it can sometimes weigh heavily.”

As Carragher gets up to leave with a firm handshake, it suddenly occurs to me of whom he reminds me. It is a grandiose comparison, perhaps, but, given his authenticity, passion, depth and, above all, his defining belief in football as an extension of community, it is a comparison that Liverpool fans would instantly recognise. “Carra” is a latter-day Shankly. There is no greater compliment.

Highs and lows of a legend

A boyhood Evertonian, Jamie Carragher was part of Liverpool’s 1996 FA Youth Cup-winning side along with Michael Owen — Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard lined up against him for West Ham United.

• Scored on his league debut in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa the next year.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/clubs/liverpool/article3160316.ece

Aguero making City a huge threat...

Chelsea beat Sunderland 2-1...

United still yet to play...

Spurs beat Wolves 2-0 away...

Arsenal got their first win of the season...

We're currently fifth behind Stoke who is 4th by 1 point...

If Newcastle win we'll go sixth...

As long as we can stay close to the top 3, which is currently 12, 10, 9* we'll be alright. The season isn't over.

*United still to play.

ynwa wrote:Aguero making City a huge threat...

Chelsea beat Sunderland 2-1...

United still yet to play...

Spurs beat Wolves 2-0 away...

Arsenal got their first win of the season...

We're currently fifth behind Stoke who is 4th by 1 point...

If Newcastle win we'll go sixth...

As long as we can stay close to the top 3, which is currently 12, 10, 9* we'll be alright. The season isn't over.

*United still to play.

The season certainly isnt over.Afterall we are just 4 games into it.

By the way, Babel scored twice as Hoffenhaim beat Mainz 0 - 4.

And here I was, Sepi, thinking that should I put something else as my avatar for a change..

^^

AVB saying they are investigating the accuracy of Torres' interview criticising his own team mates......looks like the dressing room over there hates him!


I just pity the fool now..what could have been

I'm still under the impression that Torres has a master plan to flop at Chelsea so that we can buy him back dirt cheap.....That way he has made us 50million with which we improved the squad and will be back to his boyhood club at still 27 years old with another 5-6 years to play.

Messiakanino wrote:I'm still under the impression that Torres has a master plan to flop at Chelsea so that we can buy him back dirt cheap.....That way he has made us 50million with which we improved the squad and will be back to his boyhood club at still 27 years old with another 5-6 years to play.

Atletico Madrid? Can they afford him ?

I'd take him back for anything lower than 30m. We need a CLINICAL striker. I highly doubt we'll be in for him if he's for sale though.

I meant Liverpool

I rather keep Carroll who is mentally stronger then Torres and actually wants the shirt to be worn and the Kop to sing his name.

Torres wants simply to binge on tapas and sulk at the lack of atmosphere in the Bridge.

Give the players time to settle and I think we'll see solid returns in the goal tally. Carroll is still not really playing his usual game and once he can get back to that I believe he can get the goals we need. We also have several midfielders who can score a number throughout the season, so that takes some of the burden off the strikers.