The levels of panic are reaching dangerous levels. John Henry's reassuring 'tweets' only stem the tides of fear that Liverpool are failing in the transfer window with flying colors. Journalists offer the small stale carrots of Downing and Adam, and regularly wield the big stick of Champions League football. We are going out of our minds quicker than we are going out of fashion. Liverpool used to rule the football world from atop their famous 'perch', but we in England hate success and those that attain it. We knock down our sportsmen with far more care than we line them up, and nothing gets us up in arms like one of our own doing well. It is no surprise then with our fall from grace in the nineties that there were plenty waiting to stick the boot in. That's the basis for how we have been treated over the last few years, and goes a long way to explaining the current climate of hysteria. Let's go back a small way to the pantomime hero/villain (depending on allegiances) that is Rafael Benitez. He wins the top trophy in club football and reaches another final. 'Fluke' they say. 'Cup competitions are easy' they say. This portly Spaniard is as clinical and measured as he is passionate though, and his obsession with pushing Liverpool to the top includes feuds with management, owners, and the media-proclaimed 'God of Football' Sir Alex Ferguson. Benitez leads his team like a Spartan King- very much minus the CGI six pack- against the footballing world. It is in this same over-extended metaphor that when this small band of men slip up, Benitez' head is promptly toured around the red half of Manchester and his entrails thrown to Bruce and Allardyce. Benitez' lasting impression is one of overspending and underachieving. Figures are rounded up and rounded down in a way that would make Enron blush, and so a man who is still loved by so many on Mersyside is forced to seek pastures new. Step forward the rather reputably rollicking Roy (necessary?). A man so well loved by the media and rival managers that they will do all his sugarcoating for him. I will skip over this particularly painful chapter in our history, suffice to say that when the Liverpool fans were finally heard over the violent face-rubbing of a guy as alien to the club as is conceivably possible, the knives were out again. Since then Liverpool fans have been accused of mistreating Hodgson as they spurred Dalglish to cut short his holiday for a 5 month Honeymoon. FSG have been accused of spending wildly, and not actually spending at all, and didn't even used to be called FSG. 500 players have been linked and even more missed out on. Traumatic isn't it? Now I'm a journalist working for one of our country's fine rags, and i've gotten used to 'sticking the boot in'. Nobody wants to hear about Liverpool's form in the second half of the season. Nobody wants to hear about stable ownership with a pedigree for success being combined with a transfer guru and a footballing legend as manager. What people want to hear is that Liverpool are still well and truly in the gutter. Liverpool aren't willing to pay the same as Sunderland for Connor Wickham (if they were ever interested)? They 'missed out'. Liverpool reportedly bid £5million for Gael Clichy only to see him go to Manchester City for 50% more and 'Man City wages'? 'Missed out'. Liverpool will have this until opinions and fashions are changed, and nobody in the media, no opposition fans, want this to happen any time soon. Henderson bought for £16million plus add-ons? £20million gamble. Phil Jones bought for £16million plus add-ons? £16million 'investment'. This will dog us all summer, no doubt about it. If you're a lazy journalist trying to make your own exclusives and have nobody senior at Anfield confirming what agents, random staff, and sometimes other clubs are telling you, then how can you pin any transfer targets down? The solution is easy. You list odds-on targets like Charlie Adam and mix them with the 'obvious' fits like Stuart Downing. You try to predict moves, but Liverpool went from Poulsen and Jovanovic to Carroll and Suarez, so you aim for the middle. To us Liverpool fans, i urge calm. The same fans that slate Downing and co. panic that we haven't signed him. Do you honestly think that Comolli, Dalglish and a network of scouts put their heads together, came up with Ashley Young, Conor Wickham and Gael Clichy, and are now sat there crying into their proverbial transfer fax machines? John Henry yesterday 'tweeted' that sometimes what you avoid is more important, and the same is true with transfer speculation. If some journalists were to start linking us with decent players they would lose the other 19 clubs worth of fans that read their drivel, so you won't see exciting names until they are concrete. Parry may have left us with a lasting fear but as Carroll and Suarez showed, we can act swiftly and strongly when needed, but we will also negotiate hard and be careful. Either way both transfers showed that we are investing for the long term and if that means taking a few more weeks to make signings then so be it. Suarez was negotiated throughout January, and signed practically as late as possible. Maybe you would rather Carlton Cole had been wrapped up in the first week? There are a million more reasons such as international tournaments, still-closed transfer windows and player holidays to factor in, but i hope this sheds a bit of light on why you won't satisfy your fix for transfer news with paper gossip and 'in the knows', and why Liverpool fans need to clam down and realize just how good we have it at the moment.
Did you write that? It's extremely good. You've expressed all of my sentiments in a well written articulate article. I would like to know how you managed to delve inside my head though...
Well said, watch the boo hoo squad try and discredit it. Liverpool have been universally despised since the '80's by the press. Personally unless its on the official website i take anything the press say with a huge pinch of salt.
Thanks guys appreciate the good feedback! My first real attempt at a 'proper' article, and by that i mean i knocked it out in the last half-hour watching TV. Ze Liverbird funny you should say that as it was pretty easy to write, I think because it has just settled in my head over the recent days/weeks and you've obviously been reading things with the same frame of mind as me. Glad others are finding things as mad as I am. The way people swing from this fabled 'marquee signing' to despair is just encouraging this horrible transfer cycle. I think the biggest myth is that other teams are fine but that we should be worried we've missed out on all our targets, It's just bizarre.
This is an excellent article and I think it echoes the thoughts of true, sensible and calm Reds fans. We should try to ignore as you say ' lazy journalism' , and wait for facts to emerge. As Kenny has repeatedly said, when there is something to say, he will tell us.
Skrtel's Nips. Outstanding. You have captured the essence of what is going on at the moment. Thousands of Liverpool fans are indeed panicking. They feel that, just because we now have the money, we should already have signed all our 'targets'. Do we really know who our 'targets' are? The answer id NO, perhaps with the exception of Adam, who we've already bid for. I have a good mate who reports on us and the BS for a red top. I've actually heard him making stories up with hacks from other papers when there's no news - they collude. Even a couple of proper Reds who inhabit my local are getting itchy, and one of them's been a season-ticket holder of 45 years' standing. We're back to The Liverpool Way, and long may it continue. I'm perfectly calm. As with Ze Liverbird, how did you get inside my head? I guess it's just the way all 'Rational Reds' are thinking. Nice one!
Like others have said, great article which deserves some rep Some good depth with a realistic insight and some reality checks. Well done, keep 'em coming! Click on the star at the bottom of the post, its on the same line as 'Reply' just on the left. (Be sure to click on 'Reputation' and not the 'Report Post' button
What a pile of tripe this article is! How dare you come on here with your well reasoned arguments and calm logic!? To make matters worse you have astutely articulated what most well reasoned LFC fans are thinking!? You will never make it as a red top journalist at this rate laddy - pull your socks up and post something ill informed, fantastical and panic inducing, preferably simultanously painting scousers in a dodgy light! Well done sir.
Exactly! The best he can hope for is head sports columnist for the Independent or the The Times, and who'd want to do that?!
This is a brilliant article. I believe what Brian Reade said as being sensible.Lets enjoy the ride,we were complaining that we had no money to spend.We now have money to spend,so let the people in the know spend it.They will spend it when they are ready to spend it.As the OP pointed out nobody has an iota who the targets are.They've never been revealed.Jordan Henderson came from nowhere.Have faith in Kenny,He knows what he's doing. Kenny forgive those who have little faith. I'm promoting this to article.As its well thought out and beautifully written.I'm also giving it five stars. Excellent work mate.
BREAKING NEWS: Mata chooses Utd over Liverpool In an interview with Spanish press today Juan Mata confirmed he would soon be playing in Manchester. Mata said: "I lost my Nectar card so i phoned customer support and they were really helpful, i got a new one within 7 working days. I might use the vouchers at Pizza Express!" It is believed the proximity of both a Sainsburies Local and a Pizza Express to Old Trafford was a deciding factor in the Spaniard's decision and he is widely expected to seal a move in the next few days. The news will come as a blow to Liverpool who made him their number 1 target of the decade. Anfield Officials have warned against a mass suicide pact by supporters and have reiterated their desire to sign the most blatantly obvious players on the market, claiming 'You'll know when its in the papers'.
To an extent I understand why the media are the way they are. Middle-of-the-road reasonableness doesn't sell newspapers. It reminds me of Mork & Mindy. Robin Williams once said the network killed that show like they kill all shows: they get a hit so move it to peaktime. As it's peaktime they have to trail it. They can't trail, "This week, Mork does some funny stuff about not understanding silly earth mannerisms, just like last week." It has to be, "This week Mork has a baby!" Already the show has changed from what made it a hit. Then the guest stars start showing up. (It was sad to later see Robin Williams guest-star in Friends.) There used to be two journalists per newspaper to cover football. That was when Mork & Mindy was good. Now even bloody Newsround have more than that at a World Cup. It seems Mork had a baby and it has to be fed on something.
Mata has also said its his dream to share away trips with Michael Owen,as he has trouble sleeping.Mata has said,If I am in the company of Michael Owen,my insomnia will be cured.
The media is unashamedly biased towards Liverpool, have you ever watched football on ITV? No matter what game is being showed there's not 5 minutes that go by without THAT night in Istanbul being mentioned. You should be lucky you still get the attention, because let's be honest, you're not a big club any more, where you once could realistically be compared to Man Utd, you're now no bigger than Aston Villa or your rivals across the city. Please, for the love of God stop wallowing in self pity. Boris Johnson doesn't get much right, but he was spot on when it came to your city. Here, instead of realising your club isn't the great club it once was, you're blaming journalists for negative reporting. Get over yourselves, Christ.
Haha has to be one of the worst posts i've read. There is no wallowing, and if you would care to actually contradict one of my points on fact then i'm keen to hear it. I even reference that we are not as great as we once were. We are however still a 'big club' whatever that is: In April 2010 (even during the disasterous Hicks/Gillette reign) business magazine Forbes ranked Liverpool as the sixth most valuable football team in the world, after clubs such as Manchester United, Real Madrid and Arsenal; they valued the club at $822m (£532m), excluding debt. Accountants Deloitte ranked Liverpool seventh in the Deloitte Football Money League, which ranks the world's football clubs in terms of revenue. Liverpool earned income of £184.8m in the 2008–09 season. This does not account for the £80million Standard Chartered sponsorship deal, or the recent record Warrior Sports kit deal. During the 2009–10 season, Liverpool had the fourth-highest average League attendance for an English club: 44,392 despite having only the 7th largest stadium capacity and a huge waiting list for season tickets. Liverpool were ranked the no.1 team in Europe (Uefa co-efficients) until as recently as 2009 Liverpool were the loudest supporters in the league last year according to an independent study Liverpool have the 2nd largest fanbase in the league, and top 5 in Europe Liverpool are, along with Utd, the top merchandise sellers in the league. Indeed we outsell Real Madrid in terms of overall branded merchandise and are Adidas' highest selling football club Liverpool are top 4 sellers of shirts in the world, with Torres (recently departed) and Gerrard the top 2 shirt sales in the Premier League (based on the number of official club shirts sold domestically and internationally). Carragher also made the top 10. That's just a start. Not a big club? Pah
