The Vuvuzela Verdict

The World Cup has come and gone. And it’s left a few, hopefully lasting moments in our footballing memory. There’s plenty of reviews on what has happened in South Africa over the past month. Was it the best tournament in living memory? Were Spain deserving winners? Were Holland really nasty? Did the vuvuzela cause any deafness and so on. My review will be a bit different. A bit like those pre-World Cup movies where they build up to the final by featuring different teams. (I’m sure you’ve watched those) Instead I’ll go player for player, not necessarily the best, but those that left a lasting impression on me over the course of the tournament. They’re in no order whatsoever.

Mesut Ozil

A breath of fresh air over a smog covered Schalke skyline. Which was incidentally where Ozil started his career at. Replaced Johan Micoud and then Diego at Werder, if there was one player who the Germans can lay claim changed their whole system of play, it’s our boy Ozil. Drifting from wing to wing, taking on defenders and operating between the opponent’s midfield and defence, he created havoc. His style of play allowed Podolski and Mueller to remain on the wings which made the German offence devastating. A bronze medal for his efforts.

Keisuke Honda

Hands up to those who thought Shunsuke Nakamura would’ve been the mastermind of a Japanese run into the knockout stages. You were wrong. So was I. Shunsuke was perenially on the bench, while Honda was swerving and bending the Jabulani and his hips while beating the Danes and Cameroon at the same time. Listed as a midfielder, he basically played the target man upfront for Japan and did a mighty good job at it. Trapped and shielded well, which allowed Endo and Okubo to join their not-so-frequent but successful forays into the opponent box. The coach Okada had predicted a semi-final spot for his charges, and we all knew that was almost impossible to achieve. But eventually, a crossbar’s breadth separated Japan and Asia, from a win away from the Semis. Proud showing. Read South Korea and Lee Chung Yong too.

Luis Suarez

Should be remembered mostly for his outrageous flapping at the football against Ghana, which hides his poise and balance – ingredients found in an excellent attacker. I say attacker because of his style, a perfect poster boy for the modern striker in which he floats around the hole, swan dives with Forlan perfectly, excellent control, dribbling and superb technique on the football. Plays with a buckteethed smile and always looks happy. Him, Forlan and Uruguay’s enthusiasm in this tournament should neutralize the sourness of a Ghanaian (African) failure to make the final four.

Andres Iniesta

The World Cup winner for Spain. Spain only scored 7 goals on the way to the trophy. However, if ever 1-0s can be convincing for the fans, it definitely is Spain’s method in arriving to it. Controlled and passed, shimmied and dummied, backheeled and flicked to everyone on the field who were accomplished on the football. The old adage is very simple, you can’t score without possession. Spain dominated possession so much that it was very hard for teams to score against them in the rare occasions they had the football – they just didnt know what to do with it. If Xavi was the heartbeat of the team, Iniesta was the veins of the team – supplying the lifeblood to the attackers. Well done Espana, Campiones de Mundo 2010.

Wayne Rooney

As an England fan, Rooney left a lasting (non)impression on the followers of the Three Lions. At the turn of the year when Rooney was scoring right, left and center, I remember saying England might as well not show up for the World Cup if Rooney got injured. Didnt quite work out that way did it? Some attributed it to the burden of expectation, the gruelling Premiership schedule or that the English just didn’t care. Easy solutions to all the three listed above. This was the tournament that finally made England and the English realise what their deficiencies have been since 1966 and end their incredulous claim to be among the favourites every four years. Start from the back, use the midfield and pass to team-mates are among the very basic lessons learnt from South Africa. The Premiership is the largest importer of foreign talent in Europe, maybe that needs a re-think too.

Team of the tournament –

Enyeama (Messi doesnt know me, but if I see him I will say hello – after being named MOTM against Argentina. All round decent bloke.)

Maicon (devastating, huge as a Predator, best player in his position by a country mile)

Mathijsen (Mike Tyson? Might not have the punch of Iron Mike but does a great job of harassing)

Pique (on one hand I have Johny Evans and on the other, nahh he won’t make it… OOPS Sir)

Taye Taiwo (small, zippy, nifty, hard. No, not Evra)

Xavi (runs an average of 12.7kms a match, passed 669 times in 7 matches and still maintains that ‘I love football’ enthusiasm.)

Iniesta (Powder grew up with a skin pigmentation problem, God made up for it by putting in extra points on footballing talent perhaps.)

Schweinsteger (did decent as a left winger despite his huge frame, think he’s found his best role at the finals. A run from deep defensive midfielder. Cant think of a similar player in this role. Can you?)

Ozil (gives back the meaning to how the number 10 is the most influential in a team. Eventhough he wears 8. You know what i mean.)

Donovan (enthusiasm, pride and will to win. Captain America remade his name at Everton and carried the form all the way before Gyan became party pooper)

Forlan (shame on all of us for only remembering this fella who couldnt score in almost 30 games. Its not always about the Premiership you know!)

*Checkout every single goal from the World Cup by heading to http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b4Vdb*

*This round-up taken with permission from Rants Of A Red blog belonging to fellow MyRAWKite – Haz.

Here is the 2010-11 calendar in full:

August

14 – Arsenal (h)
21 – Manchester City (a)
28 – West Bromwich Albion (h)

September

11 – Birmingham City (a)
18 – Manchester United (a)
22 – Carling Cup 3
25 – Sunderland (h)

October

2 – Blackpool (h)
16 – Everton (a)
23 – Blackburn Rovers (h)
27 - Carling Cup 4
30 – Bolton Wanderers (a)

November

6 – Chelsea (h)
9 – Wigan Athletic (a)
13 – Stoke City (a)
20 – West Ham United (h)
27 – Tottenham Hotspur (a)

December

1 – Carling Cup 5
4 – Aston Villa (h)
11 – Newcastle United (a)
18 – Fulham (h)
26 – Blackpool (a)
28 – Wolverhampton Wanderers (h)

January

1 – Bolton Wanderers (h)
5 – Blackburn Rovers (a)
8 – FA Cup 3
12 – Carling Cup SF1
15 – Everton (h)
22 – Wolverhampton Wanderers (a)
26 – Carling Cup SF2
29 – FA Cup 4

February

2 – Stoke City (h)
5 – Chelsea (a)
12 – Wigan Athletic (h)
19 – FA Cup 5
26 – West Ham United (a)
27 – Carling Cup final

March

5 – Manchester United (h)
12 – FA Cup 6
19 – Sunderland (a)

April

2 – West Bromwich Albion (a)
9 – Manchester City (h)
16 – Arsenal (a) (FA Cup SF weekend)
23 – Birmingham City (h)
30 – Newcastle United (h)

May

7 – Fulham (a)
14 – Tottenham Hotspur (h) (FA Cup final weekend – dates and kick-off subject to change)
22 – Aston Villa (a)

ALL FIXTURES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE FOR THE REQUIREMENTS OF TELEVISION AND/OR FOR OTHER REASONS SUCH AS POLICE REQUESTS AND UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE COMMITMENTS.

For the latest fixture updates checkout LiverpoolFC.tv’s Fixture & Results page.

LFC's World Champions - Fernando Torres & Pepe Reina

Big congrats to our very own world champions – Fernando Torres & Pepe Reina of La Furia Roja! Unfortunately El Nino suffered a tear in his abductor muscle playing in the final, but he will recover in time for the start of the new 10/11 BPL season.

Not forgetting the runners up – Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel from the Oranje team.

LFC players in South Africa:  Argentina – Javier Mascherano & Maxi Rodriguez, Denmark – Daniel Agger, England – Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard & Glen Johnson, Greece – Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Holland – Dirk Kuyt & Ryan Babel, Slovakia – Martin Skrtel, Spain – Fernando Torres & Jose Pepe Reina and *Serbia – Milan Jovanovic

Roy Hodgson Reveals As The New Gaffer In Anfield

A big welcome to Anfield to new gaffer – Roy Hodgson. He has big shoes to fill and big players to convince to stay and fight for the Anfield cause. Irregardless of how some fans feel about his appointment, he deserves all the support from all of us. Set aside the difference of opinion on who should have taken over and also the unfortunate way how Rafa Benitez left. He might not be as highly regarded by many, but his managing experience is vast and varied. He’s been accredited with helping save Inter Milan (how ironic as Rafa is there now) from the brink. His experience there could well be invaluable to us, with all the expected sales of players and the reorganisation of the squad. He has also managed a Swiss side that went into the last-16 of the 1994 World Cup.

“I’m really looking forward to working with your team and looking forward to getting your support, which I’ve seen so many times throughout the years. I said recently that this is one of those clubs where your motto ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is really lived by the fans. It’s a club where you feel you’re not alone. I shall need lots of help and lots of support and I sincerely hope you make sure I never walk alone. That would be my message. Help me to do a good job and I’ll do my best to do it.”  Roy Hodgson – Liverpool’s 18th manager.

You’ll Never Walk Alone – MyRAWK

Who says Liverpool don’t have quality players?

All of Liverpool’s first teamers (12 in all) will be at the World Cup, representing 7 different nations.

England: Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson and Jamie Carragher
Argentina: Javier Mascherano and Maxi Rodriguez
Netherlands: Ryan Babel and Dirk Kuyt
Spain: Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina
Greece: Sotiros Kyrgiakos
Denmark: Daniel Agger
Slovakia: Martin Skrtel

Via Red & White Kop

We know how hard it is to look at the World Cup games, and then trying to figure out the kick-off times in Malaysia. That’s why our own tech head Mike Tee has prepared an entire schedule of World Cup games all in Malaysian time!

Barely 15 months into his new contract, Rafael Benitez has ended his tumultuous 6-year managerial career at Anfield. The official website at LiverpoolFC.tv has released a statement confirming the news.

According to Rafael Benitez:

It is very sad for me to announce that I will no longer be manager of Liverpool FC. I would like to thank all of the staff and players for their efforts.

I’ll always keep in my heart the good times I’ve had here, the strong and loyal support of the fans in the tough times and the love from Liverpool. I have no words to thank you enough for all these years and I am very proud to say that I was your manager.

Thank you so much once more and always remember: You’ll never walk alone.

–

MyRAWK would like to thank Rafa for all the great memories in leading the club to its 5th Champions League triumph, another final two years later, the thrilling FA Cup victory over West Ham and who can forget – the satisfying double over the Mancs, which included a 4-1 drubbing at Old Trafford.

It would have been interesting to see what the gaffer could have achieved with some added funds to build up the team last season, following the close call to winning the Premiership in 08/09.

Unfortunately, all the boardroom bickering and empty promises from the owners have contributed to nothing but a disastrous environment for a top club to operate in, for both players and manager, culminating in the events today.

It is indeed a dark chapter in the history of Liverpool FC, but as the song says – hold your head up high, and don’t be afraid of the dark.

Hicks & Gillett - Liars Out!

It doesn’t take a hardcore Red to agree that “fooked up” is a bit of an understatement to describe the state of Liverpool FC under the two American owners, Hicks & Gillett.

Early promises of building a new stadium not only failed to materialize, but the club is now being burdened with a staggering debt of over £350million to finance the takeover, not counting interest repayments that are bleeding the club dry.

The Spirit of Shankly describes it best:

The club is in the midst of its worst crisis in history. We are not against the current owners because they want to make money from the club, or because they are American, or even because they have no understanding or concept of our history and traditions. We are against them because they cannot afford to take this club forward in terms of competing with the other top clubs in player signings, they cannot afford the new stadium and are not shy about telling lie after lie to attempt to hide these blatantly obvious facts; and yes, they have persistently undermined the manager, engaged in embarassing public slanging matches and dragged the name of our club through the mud.

So what can we, to call ourselves Liverpool fans, do?

We have two options.

Option one – we stand by, watch, and do nothing. This will eventually result in our club ceasing to exist. You may think this sounds exaggerated, but it is the truth.

Option two – we fight back. We do something about it, and we do something NOW. We do anything and everything that we can to force those two out of our club, and help to secure it’s future.

So what can you do? There are many things…

1. Firstly, invite every single Liverpool fan you know to Help Save Liverpool FC, and urge them to do the same. Many fans are still unaware of, or choose to ignore, our current plight, and they may only get the picture if they woke up one day and our club no longer existed. We can change that. Get people to join this group, so they can be educated on the problems within the club, and join the cause to cure those problems.

2. Have a look at the group’s photos section. Spread these images however you can – set them as your profile picture if you wish, click “Share” to post them to your wall, post them on Twitter, link them in emails, anything. Spread the word, get the message out there.

3. If you are not already a member, join the Spirit of Shankly, the Liverpool FC Supporters Union. SOS is one of the only organisations which is taking our club’s future into consideration and attempting to change it for the better, by trying to force Hicks and Gillett out of our club. Join them, it is £10 to save the future of Liverpool FC.

You can also become a fan of Spirit of Shankly on Facebook.

4. If you ever hear any Liverpool fans saying that the owners are not a problem, or that “everything will be fine”, or something similar, tell them the truth – without action being taken, everything will be far from ‘fine’.