Liverpool 1 - 0 Sparta Prague (Important Points)

Well it wasn’t the most entertaining of games, up until the last 20 minutes or so anyway, but a 1-0 victory over 2 Legs versus Sparta Prague means Liverpool are in the last 16 of the Europa League.

In the first leg Liverpool were effective at best, but offered no real attacking threat which left a lot of people expecting a much more cavalier approach to the home fixture. This was not forthcoming however as Liverpool were kept in check by a very well organised and very determined Sparta side. The game opened up a bit more though in the last 20 minutes and Liverpool had looked increasingly likely to score as the game drew to a close and finally did so in the 86th minute when Dirk Kuyt knodded home from a Raul Meireles corner. It was a move which Kuyt revealed, after the game, was a planned set piece saying, “We are trying to put some more attention to our set pieces and it worked quite well tonight”

While we were never particularly impressive there were enough positives to keep us happy and ticking over until West Ham on Sunday.

IMPORTANT POINTS

Joe Cole’s Performance: Joe’s Liverpool career hasn’t gotten off to the start he would have wanted, that’s plainly obvious. Between the sending off in his debut, the niggling injuries and the lack of form things just haven’t worked out. His performance in this game wasn’t exactly reminiscent of his West Ham and Chelsea vintage but there was enough on show to help us believe that he will still turn things around. He moved well and showed a confidence on the ball which had recently seemed non-existent. Three times in the game he carried the ball forward intently before making space to get a shot away, twice calling the keeper into action, the other time the ball was inexplicably robbed off his foot by David Ngog. If Joe can kick on he can really help Kenny in reviving Liverpool. I don’t think there is a natural place in our first 11 for him at the moment, due to Meireles’ form and of course Stevie G’s stature but one of the things we have been screaming out for this year is options and an in form Joe Cole is an option that would be the envy of any top club, be that in England or Europe.

Danny Wilson’s performance: As hard as this is to believe I recently heard Danny Wilson written off as a flop due to his £5 million pound price tag. Yes, Danny Wilson. The 18 year old centre half who was an ever present in the second half of last season with Rangers and who won their young player of the year award . The fact is we only actually paid £2 million up front, the rest of the fee is payable based on his, and the team’s performance. Anyway, he is by no means a flop. At 19 he is simply too young to be put into the heart of defence while other, more experienced players are available so he has had to show as much as he can at Left Back. Its not his natural position but even there he has excelled. He is very comfortable on the ball, he’s no Glen Johnson, in so far as he is not a tricky attacking player but he is comfortable enough to pick good passes and not just lash the ball clear. He is quick though, and can use his pace to go past players, and when in possession in advanced areas he can deliver excellent crosses, something which will become more important when Andy Carroll takes to the field in a red shirt. The Scots man is also tenacious in the tackle , even if hios inexperience does get him into trouble at times he has the pace to recover. Kenny Dalglish seems intent on bringing this young lad through the old Liverpool way, by having him serve an apprenticeship and not let expectations build. That is paying dividends so far and if his progress continues in the same vein we are looking at a future Liverpool leg end when watching Wilson. We’ll just have to forgive him for his days as a hun.

Were into the last 16: There is no doubt every Liverpool supporter was broken hearted by last season’s performance, a performance which meant we only qualified for European completion’s ugly younger sister. The early rounds were painful to watch, firstly because of the calibre of completion then of course the standard of opposition, our performances were also severely lacking. We are now at the business end and things are starting to heat up. Supporter interest is growing too as evidenced by a sell out crowd at Anfield for a 6pm kick off on a Thursday night. Its very easy for the media to write off this competition, and any team we face as second best, but as King Kenny himself said in the build up to this game Liverpool fans are an educated lot. We know this competition can do more for our club than simply provide an exciting run, or a trophy. It can excite the players and fans. It can act as a reminder and spring board for the future. There are still big teams left in this competition and each round we progress through is an achievement. The only problems I have with the Europa League (UEFA Cup) are media driven. There is a type of “you’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t” mentality, which was shown last year when we were knocked out in the semi finals and instead of being painted as an achievement it was used as a stick with which to further beat Rafa Benitez. Funnily, Roy Hodgson’s achievement of getting to the final was his major qualification for getting the Liverpool Job, where Rafa’s disappointing performance in “only” getting to the Semi-Final was grounds enough for his dismissal. Anyway, as I was from the beginning, I am excited about this completion and of course the prospect of watching my beloved club fighting for a trophy in my home town. We don’t want to start thinking that far ahead yet though, we are playing FC Braga next with the second leg away from home. Braga are a good side and will be determined to take the scalp of a truly legendary club with regard to European competition.

Steven Gerrard’s Celebrations: Without even being on the pitch Stevie manages to excite the fans. I have been one of Stevie’s harshest critics over the last year or so. I was hurt by his allegiances’ under the previous regime. I don’t think it’s any secret that he positioned himself beside the directors with regard to his support when times got tough. People have said his lack of support for the manager was instrumental in the decision to axe Rafa in the summer. Under Roy Hodgson too his performances seemed purely self serving and not to the benefit of the club. I can however admit that I was wrong. Not wrong with regard to his actions, they were what they were, but wrong in his reasoning. I am right now totally confident in saying Stevie was never acting in a self serving manner, he was doing what he thought was best for the club. In his recent comments and actions it is clear he loves the club dearly. If there was one positive from the transfer of our former Spanish hero, it was the reminder to us all of how lucky we were to have the players who truly love the club such as Gerrard, Carra and Reina . We should enjoy them while we have them. Anyway the shots of his delirious excitement after Dirk’s goal showed a man who was absolutely in tune with the fans. Enjoy his celebrations again by clicking HERE

Just one point before I sign off. A lot of people have been asking me why Luis Suarez is cup tied for Liverpool in the UEFA Cup, while a certain Spaniard is eligible to play for his London Club in the Champions League. It made me think but its pretty straight forward once considered. The Spaniard can play because Liverpool haven’t featured in the Champions League. Suarez cannot play because although Ajax started off in the CL they are now in the UEFA Cup and as the rules states you cannot play for 2 different clubs in the same cup completion in the same season. I hope this clears up the question for you, if there are any further questions please use the comments section below and i’ll be sure to answer. Also don’t forget to answer the new poll in the top right hand corner of this page.

Top 5 - Irish Liverpool Players

Given that it has been a bit slow over the last week as a result of Liverpool being knocked out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle, I have found it hard to come up with a blog. The lack of news regarding off field maters is also due to the newfound (or recently remembered) refreshing code of silence at the club. No longer are there leaks to the press from board room level, no longer is there power struggles from the manager and (for the moment at least) there are no players, or their agents, angling for a transfer away from the club. This of course is something we should be very happy about, unless of course youre a journalist desperate for a story to tell. The closest thing to a story this week has been the “absolutely sensational story” that Kenny Dalglish and Andy Carroll attended a Boyzone concert in the Echo arena, hardly a big story I know but as I said, when there is no real news this is what we have to put up with I guess.

Click here for Proof.

I had already been thinking for a while of doing a series of Top 5’s in different categories, when in Athens for the Champions League Final in 07 my sister and I were drinking with a pair of hardcores on the day of the game and we started going through our top 5’s in various categories and it was a great way to keep the conversation (and beer) flowing, so I thought that this slow week might be a good time to start so here is the first of what I hope will be a new fortnightly article.

Please use the comments section to suggest Top 5’s for the future or debate the entries here.

TOP 5

IRISH LIVERPOOL PLAYERS

5. Steve Finnan – Stevie was brought in by Gerard Houllier after a great season for Fulham after which he was voted into the players team of the season at right back. He was a very steady defender who was quite underrated in his forward play. He didn’t start as brightly as many hoped and there was talk that he would leave once Rafa took control of the club, but this ended up having a good effect on him as he went on to cement his position at right back under the Spaniard. His crowning achievement was winning a Champions League Medal in Istanbul 2005, although unfortunately for the Limerick man he had to go off injured at half time. He ended the game a lot happier of course.The medal marked a signifigant pinnacle for a player who had at that point played in every professional League in England.

4. Mark Lawrenson – Lawro has unfortunately tarnished himself in the eyes of many reds fans in the years since he became a football pundit. His often hyper critical analysis of Liverpools performances are hard to swallow for many. We should not however, allow this to tarnish the memory of a fantastic Liverpool player and a loyal servant to the club for many years. Brought to the club from Preston he became the very epitomy of a ball playing vcentre half. Excellent on the ball and in the tackle he formed a formidable partnership with Jockey Hansen. He regurarly played in the centre of midfield for Ireland and did so at Liverpool on occasion too. His medal haul would be the envy of many past, and present footballers. He was in fact so good that its hard to understand how he seems to know nothing about football when he is on MOTD!

 

3. John Aldridge – Aldo is simply the most Irish Scouser in the world, People often talk about how he only played for Ireland because England didn’t want him and he freely admits he never thought of playing for Ireland until approached by Jack Charlton, but so what, once he made his decision he adopted the Irish culture to a T, and has never lost his Irishness even all these years after hanging up his boots. He was bought by Kenny to replace the Italy bound Ian Rush and he did so with aplomb. He scored goals by the bag full and only made way upon Rushie’s return. Its fair to say he was probably bombed out too soon but regardless, he was overjoyed to have played for the hometown club he once supported from the Kop, and the Kop were overjoyed to have enjoyed so many goals from one of their own.

2. Ronnie Whelan – Signed from Home Farm the Dubliner made an immediate impact at Liverpool when he was voted Young Player of the Year and scored 2 goals in the League cup final in his debut season. He turned out to be a less spectacular player than that first season suggested but he was hugely important to Liverpool’s success over the8 years he wore the red shirt. He was still capable of the spectacular as he showed when scoring 2 absolutely spectacular goals against Man U, again in the League Cup final this time in 83. He won 12 Major honours at Liverpool

1. Steve Heighway – When rebuilding his aging side in 1970 Bill Shankly signed your Irishman Steve Heighway from Skelmersdale United in what turned out to be an inspired transfer. The Dublin born winger went on to play 475 times for Liverpool and scored 50 goals. Heighway was a very pacy winger, with incredible control and was a great passer of the ball. His place in Liverpool history was further cemented when he rejoined the club in 1989 to take over the clubs youth academy. While in this role he saw the club produce talents such as Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Dominic Matteo, David Thompson and Michael Owen. He is immortalised by the Anfield faithful with a line dedicated to himin the Kop Anthem "Fields of Anfield Road"

Honourable Mentions:

Elisha Scott (Wish I could have included Elisha here)

Steve Staunton

Ray Houghton

Michael Robinson

Jim Beglin

Jason McAteer

Is this the next generation of Liverpool Heroes?

With the news that Kenny Dalglish has called 5 youth players into the squad for the trip to play Sparta Prague in the Europa League I thought i would do an article on the players in question. Just a little background info on each of them, and a picture so you will recognise them if they end up getting a run on Thursday. Not every prospect makes it but the Europa League can be a good place to get experience and make a name for yourself in the first team..... Just ask Martin Kelly!

First Name - Conor

Surname - Coady

Squad Number - 35

Position - Central Defender

D.O.B. - 25 Feb 1993

Town of Birth - Liverpool

Nationality - English

Conor Coady: Coady played a key role and was captain of England’s Under 17 side that were victorious at the European Championships in 2010. This was England’s first ever triumph at the Championships. He is equally adept at playing either Centre Back or in Holding Midfield, starting mostly for Liverpool U18’s at Centre Back and in Holding Midfield when wearing white. His reputation for England is that of a midfield enforcer who breaks up attacks and starts his own team’s movements. This year he has moved into the senior set-up at Anfield and made his mark in the reserves when helping the second string to a senior cup double in the summer. A composed figure in possession, Coady is also regarded as a player with great leadership skills. I have heard him described as being similar to Carra in tenacity while similar to Stevie G in touch.

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First Name - John

Surname - Flanagan

Squad Number - 38

Position - Right Back

D.O.B. - 1 Jan 1993

Town of Birth - Liverpool

Nationality - English

John Flanagan: Flanagan starred for the U18’s last year and made the step up to the reserve team this season. He is a tough tackling full-back who doesn’t just like to tackle he loves it. He is a fully committed player with a never say die attitude but he also has a good touch and great attacking instincts, getting forward to deliver good crosses into the box whenever an opportunity arises. He is a strong reader of the game which enables him to take up great defensive positions, he also shows an impressive maturity rarely giving away silly free-kicks. If comparing his style of play to a current star, he would be most closely linked with Carra, a player who it’s said that he models his game on.

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First Name - Jack

Surname - Robinson

Squad Number - 49

Position - Defender

Height - 1.68m

D.O.B. - 1 Sep 1993

Country of Birth - England

Jack Robinson: Robinson became the youngest player to ever feature for Liverpool’s first team when he made a substitute appearance against Hull City in what proved to be Rafa Benitez’s last game as Liverpool manager, he was aged 16 years and 250 days and broke a record previously held by Max Thompson since 1974. Jack is an attacking full back who is said to be quite fond of producing thunderous challenges. Jamie Carragher recently said this of Robinson “"I've heard a lot of positive things about him. I wasn't even in the youth team when I first went full-time and he was a regular at 15 so it shows you he has something about him."

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First Name - Raheem

Surname - Sterling

Squad Number - 31

D.O.B. - 8 Dec 1994

Country of Birth - Kingston, Jamaica

Nationality - English

Raheem Sterling: Sterling is the most intriguing of all the call up’s for this European game. Aged 16 years and 71 days, if he were to make an appearance he would break Jack Robinsons record. As recently as Monday Sterling scored 5 goals in a 9-0 rout of Southend, a scoring record more noteable for the fact that he is not a striker and scored all 5 from the wing. He is a talented winger in the traditional mould with a reputation for pace and flair. It sounds a bit too early to be making such comparisons and this could have something to do with his Jamaican roots but his play is said to be reminiscent of John Barnes. If that statement turns out to be half true we are going to have some player on our hands!

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First Name - Thomas

Surname - Ince

Squad Number - 45

Position - Left Midfield

D.O.B. - 30 Jan 1992

Town of Birth - Stockport

Country of Birth - England

Nationality - English

Thomas Ince: Son of famous Liverpool captain Paul, Tom has been tipped for stardom for a long time even though he is still only 19. Ince can play left wing but he has also looked excellent playing just behind the striker in the Gerrard / Meireles role. In november he went on loan to his fathers Notts County team on a short term loan and scored 2 goals in his 6 appearances.

Liverpool 1 - 1 Wigan (Positives and Negatives)

The train that Liverpool FC has been riding on since King Kenny took over the controls 2 months ago finally came to a bend in the track when Wigan Athletic came to Anfield on Saturday. Following on from a run of 4 consecutive victories in which not 1 goal had been conceded, many people expected Liverpool to steam roller Roberto Martinez’s side, that expectation of course was not based in reality. In reality we had already dropped 2 points against Wigan this season and we had not even fared that well on our previous meeting , going down 1-0. They may be lower down the league table than us but recent history shows them to be among those teams Liverpool can class as “bogey”.

Under the new management regime we have been going from strength to strength with every result and every performance seeming to be better than the last. Things had been improving so much that there was a certain sense of disappointment from many reds after this game. It was understandable i suppose but its also important to remember where we have come from to get back to this level of expectation. The result wasn’t as good as we may have hoped and the performance had dropped below what we had become accustomed to over the last few weeks but there we certain extenuating circumstances. The midweek international fixtures didn’t help, Daniel Agger for one played 90 minutes for Denmark v’s England but was unable to pull on his red shirt on Saturday. Meireles too it seems picked up a bug whilst away and had to be removed from action at half time. Dirk Kuyt, Lucas, Poulson and Glen Johnson also made big contributions for their national teams. I know certain people write off the midweek internationals feeling they shouldn’t make an impact, but i heard a statistic this week which made me think, the statistic said that Barcelona, who are the best club side in the world right now, win more than 80% of their games overall. For games immediately after internationals their win percentage drops to approximately 42%. Put simply, even Barcelona are only half as likely to win a game which comes immediately after an international week.

For the past few weeks i have been thinking of making a change from my usual Positives and Negatives article. It can be hard sometimes to come up with negatives when things are positive, and i wouldn’t want to be thinking them up just for the sake of it. Its not so hard to find a positive in a poor result though and i think that is the most important aspect of the article, so, instead of P&N I am going to try to come up with Important Points from every game instead. The format will remain much the same and at times I will focus more on negatives, the main idea is to keep a sense of perspective after each game.

IMPORTANT POINTS

Merieles’ Goal / Performance: First of all I would like to quote myself from my article following our game against Everton “Raul has really started to settle into this team and it was great to see him get his first goal in the red shirt. He has showed in similar positions a number of times this season but not managed to score so hopefully this will be the first of many. He has never really been a goalscorer throughout his career 4/5 goals a season from a deep lying midfielder would come in handy, especially this season!” I might have been wrong about the deep lying midfielder part but in fairness he has only been played in such an advanced role since Kenny took over, but following on from this comment Raul has continued in the same vein picking up great positions and showing phenomenal technique which has now seen the Portuguese star returning 5 goals from his last game. This means he has already surpassed the target expected after he netted his first goal. Not only have Raul’s goals been invaluable in terms of results they have also been great entertainment. Raul has been in flying form all over the pitch and is quickly proving that the fee of £11.5million we paid for him was superb value.

A New Star: Luis Suarez made his full debut in this game and quickly showed that he has more in common with our recently departed number 9 than simply the fact that their names sound-a-like, they also play-a-like. At one point in the first half the Uruguayan dragged the ball in the box in a way reminiscent of a certain Spaniard and with a little more luck would have seen the resulting shot nestle into the bottom right corner rather than rebounding off the post. He also went agonisingly close from a second half free kick but unfortunately the game would end without scoring his second goal for Liverpool. There was more to his game than goals however and Suarez ran his socks off for the cause showing the skill, pace and determination which is sure to make him the Kop’s new star.

Thats six games unbeaten: We may not have won this game but we didn’t lose it either. Even though our performance in this match dipped slightly we managed to hang onto our impressive run of form.

We still have players to return: We started this game with Andy Carroll, Steven Gerrard and Daniel Agger unavailable, 3 players who are pretty sure starters in our strongest 11. When these players return (or in Carroll’s place come in) to the side our 11 will stronger and so will our bench .

A Perfect Day?

Well that worked out even better than most of us probably expected. The big grudge match, which was the culmination of all the fears, emotions and excitement of the previous week in 90 minutes. After the horrible season we have had to endure, until the Kings return, we all felt we were back on the right road. Our path was shaken somewhat by Torres’ departure but the swift action taken by FSG set us back on the correct path. Although our resurgence under Kenny has been instant, the previous 3 wins had been recorded against Wolves, Fulham and Stoke and while they were good performances and great results they weren’t categorical evidence of our return. We needed this win. For much more than just 3 points too. This win was our comeback game. It was a reminder to the whole league that Liverpool have not gone away. We can still compete against the best.

Of course a certain Spaniards debut in blue only added to the game. Well, he added to the game’s build up, he didn’t actually add much to the game itself! When he was substituted in the 65th minute to choruses of “You should have stayed at a big club” he had had less touches of the ball than any other player on the pitch. He had received the welcome he would have expected from his former followers the banners in the travelling Kop were funny and biting in equal measures, Breaking news: ‘ya paid £50m 4 Margi Clarke' read one, while others proclaimed 'He who betrays will always walk alone' and 'Once a red, in our hearts, you are dead, lying Judas’ amongst the banners there was one which stood out as poignant ‘Torres a pawn on our chessboard but the King remains’. Torres’ game consisted of three flash points the first was when Maxi Rodriguez forgot about the transfer window and passed the ball straight to Fernando just inside our half, he ran at the defense before blazing the ball over the bar to ironic cheers. The second was his only real chance of the game which was heroically and typically blocked by a true red in Jamie Carragher. The third was a moment which was surpassed only by Raul Meieles’ goal, it was we when Danny Agger showed a different side to his usual classy game by twatting the Spaniard with an elbow. It shouldn’t have felt so good, but I have to admit it did. Not only did he do it, but he got away with it too.

For all those who had doubted Kenny’s credentials and said he had been out of the game too long he is continuing to prove the doubters wrong with every game that passes. This was another example of his progressive modern tactics, playing a mixture of a 3-5-1-1 and a 3-4-2-1 formation. We passed the ball attractively but not for the sake of it. We played it directly at times with Dirk Kuyt putting in a lot of work up front in holding the ball up. The goal was another example of our improvement in possession with 17 passes being played before Raul struck his latest brilliant effort. This is our 4th win on the bounce now and our 4th clean sheet in a row too and this shows how it is not just in attack that we have improved. Our defense has looked solid and the switch of Glen Johnson to the left seems like a masterstroke. We have improved in every area and we must remember the input of backroom staff Steve Clarke and Sammy Lee as well as the efforts of King Kenny. The main this that has been noticable over the last few weeks has been the return of team spirit and togetherness. In almost every interview you hear the same lines being repeated, regardlesss of the interviewee, the talk has all been about being in it together, and everyone being on the same page. Its no coincidence that this return has coincided with an improvement in fortunes.

So in many ways a perfect day. We won, we played well, Torres had no impact and all this with £22million Suarez sat on the bench and £35million Andy Carrol still recovering from injury. We have had to wait a long time for this season to get going but finally we can now say it has. We still have the UEFA cup to play for and all of a sudden people are talking about us qualifying for the Champions League again. That would be a big ask and is probably not realistic, but the very fact that we are talking about that when just before Christmas we were worried about relegation battles means we are on the right road again.

Transfer Window Arrivals

Our first permanent signing of the summer was one that had been rumoured since Rafael Benitez had been in charge and an outstanding performance in the 2010 world cup, the signing of Uruguayan player Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz from Ajax for a figure which is reported as between £22million and £27million. Suarez has been a huge success in his time in Europe so far, albeit in Holland which is no longer recognised as one of the top leagues. His record for Ajax was a phenomenal 81 goals in 110 games, and I have seen some people trying to say that because these goals were scored in Holland that doesn’t prove they will translate to England which is fair enough, but it doesn’t mean that they won’t. For every example of players who cannot translate their talent between the leagues there are examples of players who can. Ruud Van Nistelrooy, for one, never missed a beat when moving from PSV to Utd so there is every chance Suarez can fit straight in, especially now that he has scored on his home debut.

Suarez was certainly bought to play with our now departed Spaniard but obviously immediately after signing it became apparent that this would not be happening. He is a rare breed in that he is most certainly a support striker who is very creative for his partner and others, but he also scores by the bag full and is a very accomplished finisher.

If the Suarez signing was one that was in the pipeline, our second transfer was a bolt from the blue. Andy Carroll arrived from Newcastle at a price of £35million to become Liverpool’s new number 9. It is a deal which has caused a lot of mouths to drop to the floor. Andy at 22 is a giant. Not just tall but big in stature and strength too, in fact his unveiling handed Kenny the perfect chance to mimic Bill Shankly’s famous introduction of Ron Yeats to the press pack when Shanks called Rowdy a “Colossus” and invited the journalists to “come in and take a walk around him”. Let’s just get something out there, I’m not going to argue with anybody who says that he was overpriced, I will however argue with anybody who says that this was a panic buy and a case of the reds just throwing money out there. There are a whole host of things which add up to mean that his value increased above what you might expect. He’s 22 so add on a few million, He’s English that’s another few million, It’s the January transfer window that’s another few million and of course one of the more important, his club didn’t want to sell. He may not have lot of experience behind him but he has dealt with some things at his tender age that others never do. This year was his debut season in the premiership and just to add on an extra bit of pressure he was handed the number 9 shirt at Newcastle, worn by club legends such as Malcolm MacDonald and Alan Shearer. This pressure didn’t make him wilt, it actually seemed to encourage him to his fantastic start to the season, 11 goals in his 19 appearances so far show this. He is a pretty unique player, the strengths he has don’t come around very often and he brings a completely new dimension to our play. He can score as well as bring others into play (a quality shared with his new partner Suarez). He is a good footballer who can really smash the ball and his incredible body strength teamed with his height can make at times unstoppable in the air something which we have not had for a long time (Yeah Crouch was tall but would you actually call him strong in the air?)

At the end of this window we have something which seemed impossible when we realised Torres was leaving and that is excitement. We have 2 players who when combined could be incredible. People have suggested they could form a partnership similar to that of Toshack and Keegan and if that turns out to be nearly true then the rest of the premiership better watch out! Suarez is 24 and Carroll is 22 so realistically they could form a famous partnership for the next number of years, it’s no exaggeration to say we could very well be better off when now we have 2 players to do the job that for a number of years now we have been relying on 1 man to do on his own.


FOR PART ONE OF THIS ARTICLE ON DEPARTURES CLICK
HERE

Transfer Window Departures

Well the first transfer out of the club in this January window was Ryan Babel who went to Hoffenheim in Germany for a fee of about €6million. Babel was always a frustrating player at Liverpool, when he was on the bench we all called for his introduction as the unknown quantity full to the brim with Speed, Skill and a ferocious drive, but more often than not his impact made little difference. In his first season he put in some mouth watering displays that had everybody thoroughly believing we had a superstar in our hands but unfortunately he never kicked on from there. In fact you could make the argument that he actually regressed as a footballer following this purple patch rather than building on it. I still think Ryan is a quality footballer and he still has the potential to be a very good player, it’s just that he needs to be treated a certain way. He needs to be given top billing and play every week. He might just get that at Hoffenheim but he never would at Liverpool where rotation is now accepted as a necessity, as it is by most clubs who play so many games each season

Ryan was also famous for being a twit-ter, the Howard Webb in the Utd shirt shenanigans ensured this, and although this gained him a lot of bad press it was never anything more than a bit of fun. It was naive and silly of course but I think a lot of Liverpool fans enjoyed it, I know I certainly did mainly because it was just good to see a player react in a similar way to how fans do. Another (less publicised) result of Ryan’s Twitter antics, was this goodbye message he posted just as the details of Torres’ duplicity began to emerge:

“Yeah the football world is sometimes a very strange world !!!

A player who don't play a lot complains and wanna leave but the club don't let the player go

A player who plays every game and is important and very loved at the club wants to leave and get the permission to leave

But that's why we love football,

There is no other club then Liverpool with the anthem " YNWA " !!! #Beautiful

But hey I'm gonna dedicate a few tweets to some lfc fans

Wanna thank ALL of you fans but the ones in particular who believed in me and supported me all those years..

Its definitely a shame it didn't worked out for me and the club, but that's how it is sometimes..

I was blessed to work with one of the greatest football players and I learned a lot

I learn to love the lfc way, the city, the people and I made lots of friends in Liverpool

I learn to love the lfc way, the city, the people and I made lots of friends in Liverpool

And thanks for still following me on here .. #YNWA”

I thought I would print it here for anyone who isn't on twitter as it was a good reminder after witnessing Torres’ actions that it is possible to leave a club on good terms and wish your old club well without getting on the wrong side of your new fore this transfer window opened I never thought there would be a point when I would be wishing Torres could be more like Ryan Babel but there you go.

Then came a transfer which we had feared happening but never truly believed that it would. Our hero, the player we put our faith in, the player we loved and understood like no other and who said he loved us back suddenly let it be known that he wanted to leave. Not only that though he wanted to go to Chelsea, a club with values and history which are the very opposite to what Liverpool hold dear. Over the next few days the level of Torres’ deceit became clear, he had been discussing the move since July and his heart had left Anfield then, as evidenced by his performances on the pitch. When it happened it was so hard to take, I found myself going through the 5 stages of grief, something people usually associate with having their heart broken:

1. Denial – “No way it’s just paper talk, the anti-Liverpool media trying to destabilise us.”

2. Anger – “Well if he wants to go F*CK him”

3. Bargaining – “Well he could still change his mind, it would just take an apology”

4. Depression – “That’s it, were finished. We may as well just write the season off”

5. Acceptance – “Actually, maybe we’ll be alright these new lads could work out even better than he did.

The thing about it is it wasn’t even just the fact that we were losing Torres the player, the very fact that he wanted to leave hurt in itself. Upon signing for Chelsea he threw a few thinly veiled insults at the Liverpool supporters, which were simply uncalled for and was the final act in the dismantling of his reputation. It ensured that he will never be remembered at Liverpool for his phenomenal skill, blistering speed, outstanding goal ratio or beautiful goals. He will be revered amongst Liverpool fans for the pain he caused, as a comedy villain. Closer in reputation to El Hadji Diouf than Robbie Fowler.

Once emotions are put to the side, and the mask has been removed we can stop remembering Torres as the player he was two years ago and suddenly see him as he has the player he really has been for the last year or more, the sulking, injury prone, lazy version of a world class player. Sure he has shown his quality at certain points but never anything to compare to that first season. It’s with that in mind that we must be pleased to have received €50million. I still feel he could come to regret his decision but of course I am biased. It’s still a gamble though, he has ruined his reputation and tainted his character in the eyes of many. If it turns out that he does not win the medals he so desires it will all have been for nothing.

FOR PART TWO OF THIS ARTICLE ON ARRIVALS CLICK
HERE