Slipperduke's Slippery Column

[Slipperduke]

Liverpool

Liverpool won the battle for fourth place more comfortably than their 1-0 scoreline suggested with a confident, accomplished victory that will send them to London on a high. The fact that this mighty club was fighting for such a lowly league position is a searing indictement on this season's domestic underachievement, but the manner in which they won the battle is proof of their undoubted class and unfulfilled potential. All season long, I've said that there is a title-winning side somewhere in there. Finally now, we are beginning to see glimpses of it.

You might have expected Everton, trailing their city rivals by two points at kick-off, to be the more urgent from the outset, but instead it was Liverpool who left rubber all over the starting grid. Any suspicions that they might be saving something for their Champions League clash with Arsenal were firmly dispelled by a first half of staggering intensity. They threw themselves into this game as if it was a Cup Final and the only surprise at half-time was that they weren't leading by more than just Fernando Torres' seventh minute opener.

At their best, Everton are worthy gatecrashers to the private party in the top four. David Moyes has built a strong, solid structure and then slowly added the players capable of carrying them from mid-table safety to the big time. Unfortunately, when those individuals are missing, Everton can look very average indeed. Some like Tim Cahill, were absent through injury, but others like Mikel Arteta and Yakubu were so far below their potential that they may as well have joined their Australian team-mate on the sidelines. Granted, Everton improved in the second half and stemmed the flow of Liverpool chances, but they still failed to create enough chances and Yakubu's most notable achievement all afternoon was an attempt at the most blatant dive seen in front of the Kop since Didier Drogba last visited. The Nigerian striker is a better player than that.
After another electrifying performance, the only question mark over Fernando Torres is whether or not there is a limit to his talents. We all knew about his clinical finishing and his tireless running, but this was a mature display that showed off an ability to play as a linkman as well. Both teams attempted to open the game up with long balls, but only Liverpool could hold the possession high up the field, mainly because the young Spaniard was showing off a new found aerial superiority. His nod-down to Steven Gerrard just before the break was met with an explosive volley from the Liverpool captain that almost put a dent in Tim Howard's right post.

The victory takes the Reds five points clear of Everton and surely ends the debate over the destination of that final Champions League place. Liverpool will now travel to The Emirates with eight wins from their last nine games, but the more far-sighted of their fans will look at the eight point gap above them and ask a familiar question. Why can't Liverpool play like this all the time?

 

[leeblue]

liverpool will never challenge for the league title with Rafa sticking to his rotation policy, especially early season. Yes they may be fresher for the run in but the damage is done, especially when they do not have the depth in their squad that Man u and chelsea have, look at chelseas bench today, schevchenko, w-phillips, anelka etc. Then look at liverpool bringing on pennant, I rest my case. The fact that liverpool Fc are sweating on 4th spot still baffles me. When I was growing up they were quite simply the best team in the world, winning european cups, dominating the top division, cup wins galore, if they could match chelsea/man u financially then we may see a change in this, as rafa would be able to offer the uber wages on more players

 

[Slipperduke]

The Keegan factor

I suppose it started when I used to look at them in magazines. I'd furtively hide under the covers, terrified that someone would catch me, but not so scared that I'd stop. That was bad enough, but then I'd wait for everyone to go to sleep so I could watch them on the obscure satellite channels as well. I always knew that it was wrong, but what could I do when it felt so right? Society forces you to think a certain way, to behave in a certain manner, but all my instincts were pointing in the opposite direction. I hid it well, I think. When I was with my friends I joined in with their jokes, I grunted in all the right places, but only I knew that we weren't fantasising about the same things. When the lights went out at night and I could roam in the privacy of my own imagination, I never once thought about Manchester United or Arsenal or Liverpool. I thought about Newcastle. Oh God, what are my parents going to say?

The idea of having a second team just seems wrong to me. It's not fair. Football isn't a buffet and you get what you're given. I was given Southend and I've never regretted it, but ever since Kevin Keegan turned up at St James Park, I've been casting envious glances up north. I'm starting to get emotionally involved. It's strange, because it's not as if their players are particularly likeable. For every Michael Owen there's a Mark Viduka. For every Nicky Butt, there's a Joey Barton. But when the scoreline from White Hart Lane started flashing across the bottom of my television screen yesterday, I just couldn't stop grinning.

I think it's the Keegan factor that does it. In the last twenty years, football has been hijacked by big business and run into the ground for reasons no more noble than the pursuit of profit, but when Keegan appears for his post match press conference, his eyes gleam with that rarest of commodities; enthusiasm. He has a way of making people feel good about themselves and it's finally starting to pay dividends. I asked him a question after his 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough and he answered me as if I was the most astute journalist in the room for asking it. It was astonishing. I felt like a million dollars. Imagine what it would be like working for him! His only downfall is his honesty and that's why the media hounds him all the time. They know that his openness is bound to lead to a story sooner or later and turning up at a packed press conference wanting to be 'open' is like swimming in a shark tank with a severed artery. They'll eat you alive.

There was a lot of sneering from the press pack when he arrived at St James Park in January. Keegan's opening gambit about football up north being like, "going to the theatre for people in the south," infuriated a number of southern journalists, but it shouldn't have surprised them. This was the Keegan machine in action. For the club to recover, he had to unite the entire city as one and nothing pleases a Geordie more than a well-aimed barb at 'them down south'. This sport is obsessed with money and we've all forgotten that it's supposed to be fun, it's supposed to be entertainment.

Sam Allardyce had put some heavy foundations down for a future of serious, percentage-based football, but the performance at White Hart Lane suggests that Keegan has finally dug them out. Those who suggested that he could never deviate from 4-4-2 are having to eat their words at the sight of his all-out attacking 4-3-3 with full backs flying up the pitch and all the strikers on display. It's full throttle, worry-about-defending-later, cavalier football and I'm starting to fall in love with it. God knows where it will all lead. It could still all end in tears, but back-to-back wins should secure their Premier League status, there's enough talent in that team to challenge for the top six and, you know what? If Newcastle carry on playing this kind of football, I won't be the only one sneaking out to catch a glimpse of them. You'll all be doing it too.

 

[Slipperduke]

Frank Rijkaard

It's a sign of the times that two teams placed third in their domestic leagues can be led by managers under intense media pressure, but Barcelona's visit to Gelsenkirchen, home of Schalke 04, saw two halves of football that went a long way to explaining why.

Frank Rijkaard has come in for heavy criticism from the Spanish press for Barcelona's gradual deterioration from European Champions to La Liga also-rans. There are rumours that the Dutchman is too gentle with his players, cultivating a laissez-faire approach that has seen Ronaldinho grow soft around the edges and claim injury when the medical staff can find nothing wrong with him. Rijkaard politely took a press conference earlier this week, fielding questions in two different languages in an effort to calm the waters, but all the reporters wanted to ask him was whether he thought he was going to be sacked. After watching the way that his side took control of the first 45 minutes in Germany, he might have had a different, more defiant response for them.

Mirko Slomka, meanwhile, has never really been trusted by the German press because of his innate Steve McClaren-ness. He was Schalke's assistant manager and was a surprise choice for the hot-seat in January 2006. He has a tendency to grin at all the wrong moments and Schalke fans are wondering, as the England fans did before them, whether turning a number two into your number one is the wisest strategy. However, the second 45 minutes was, at times, a vibrant display of gung-ho attacking football that had the crowd on its feet.

Tragically, this is a cruel game, and the focus now is unlikely to be on the positives. After Bojan's opening goal in the 12th minute, forged on the left flank by a tenacious Thierry Henry assault, Barcelona's highly paid machinery simply ground to a halt. Five minutes before the break they were content to pass the ball around amongst themselves as if they were playing out the last stages of a pre-season friendly. In the second half, they barely created anything of note at all. This is not Barcelona's way. The Catalans are expected to play with verve and valour, they are expected to be the adventurer. They are not expected to be the man who strolls into his office at 9am, makes one phonecall and then spends the next eight hours messing about on his Facebook site.

Schalke knew that Rijkaard was under pressure and they knew that Barcelona would be rattled if they attacked from the first whistle. Surely then, Slomka would order his men to take the game to their visitors, to play a high line, to fight as if it was, you know, a Champions League knock-out match, maybe? Over 60,000 fans had arrived at this magnificent stadium to see their local heroes battle it out with the aristocracy of Europe and it's no surprise that they booed them off at half-time for their lack of endeavour. They improved after the break and began to get men forward to try and connect with Christian Pander's increasingly erratic set-pieces, but the decision to take off target man Kevin Kuryani with 25 minutes left was baffling and the fans, once again, let him know. You would have thought the 6ft 3inch striker would have delivered eventually, but it wasn't to be.

This game could have salvaged the reputation of at least one of the managers involved, but as it was, it did nothing for either of them. Rijkaard will be relieved to take an away goal back to the Nou Camp, but the style in which it was gained will do nothing to stem the flow of criticism from the fans. Likewise, the Schalke supporters might have had a bit more sympathy with their beleaguered manager had he actually made a fight of it before half the game had passed him by. The extraordinary meltdown of the Greek referee, who gave out one yellow card up until the 83rd minute and then quickly rattled out another seven, only confirmed the suspicion that this was a night that nobody would be able to look back on with any satisfaction.

 

[Slipperduke]

Manuel Neuer

While England’s footballers sulk in their sun-loungers, the rest of the continent will be contesting the 2008 European Championships. Iain Macintosh, who still won’t allow the word ‘McClaren’ to be uttered in his home, runs the rule over some of the potential stars of the summer. This week, it’s the turn of Schalke and Germany goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer

I don't know about you, but I expect certain things of a goalkeeper. I want them to be built like a heavyweight boxer, to look like a bulldog that's run into a wall and to generally give off the impression that they've tried eating with cutlery, but they didn't like it one little bit. In other words, I want Brad Friedel. I'm not sure about these squeaky clean young goalkeepers like Kasper Schmeichel or Joe Hart, they just don't seem nasty enough.

I had a similar distrust of Schalke's young custodian Manuel Neuer and it doesn't help that he looks about 12 years old. He's a local boy, born and bred in Gelsenkirchin and he used to stand on the terraces and watch a certain Jens Lehman play for his local team. Interestingly, Lehman is now Neuer's loudest cheerleader and has reportedly recommended him to Arsene Wenger. The blonde-haired stopper has also been linked with Barcelona, who are thought to be finally running out of patience with Victor Valdes this summer. Joachim Low is likely to take him to Euro 2008 and with Neuer's hero stuck on the bench at The Emirates, it's not inconceivable that he could play a part.

He was certainly in fantastic form against Porto in the first knock-out round of the Champions League. He made a series of crucial saves during the game and then went on to make a superb one-handed penalty stop in the resulting shoot-out. From the highlights package, he looked very good indeed, but I couldn't quite reconcile this green-shirted hero with the flappy-handed child that I saw let the ball squirm under his legs at Stamford Bridge earlier this season.

If Schalke were to take anything from their first leg encounter with Barcelona, Neuer would have to have worked on his handling, but sadly, that doesn't seem to have been the case. With 12 minutes on the clock, Thierry Henry burst in on the left flank and fired a shot straight at the near post. Neuer went to grab it out of the air, but only succeeded in flapping it straight back out to the Frenchman. Henry may not be in vintage form, but he doesn't turn his nose up at opportunities like that. He twisted in mid-air and poked the ball along the goal-line for a gleeful Bojan to convert. And it was all so avoidable.

He's not a bad goalkeeper, by any stretch of the imagination. Unfortunately, Barcelona didn't offer very much at all after the first goal and opportunities for redemption were limited, but there are signs of certain strengths there. In the opening stages of the game, he charged off his line to block Xavi from point-blank range. There's nothing wrong with his reactions or his reading of the game, it's just his handling. I've seen him play three times this season and he's been at fault for two critical goals.

Expect to see Neuer's name all over the newspapers this summer as the speculation over his future rumbles on. He's certainly got potential, but at the moment he's not a top flight goalkeeper. The similarities between Neuer and Manchester City's Joe Hart are not limited to their blonde hair. Both goalkeepers need a few more years yet before their skills are honed. Come back to me before the 2010 World Cup and I'll wager that Neuer won't be a bit part of the international squad, he'll be the first part.


STAR PLAYER - Manuel Neuer (Germany)
Reactions - 9
Handling - 5
Composure - 7
Total - 21

 

[Slipperduke]

Arsenal v Liverpool

Arsene Wenger was left baffled by his team's failure to beat Liverpool in an intruiging contest at The Emirates, but refused to agree that their opponent's away goal made them favourites to progress to the last four. Arsenal certainly had the better of the game, particularly in the second half when they dominated possession, but when it comes to protecting an advantage in Europe, Liverpool are unsurpassed.

"I think Dirk Kuyt played right-back for the second half," said Wenger, summing up Liverpool's approach to the closing stages. "The whole of the second half was played in their half of the pitch and we were punished by the only chance they had."

This was a masterclass in European football by Rafa Benitez. After Steven Gerrard dared the world's media to find a metaphor other than, "grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck," Liverpool settled into their foxholes and prepared for battle. They weren't stupid enough to sit back and play aimless long-balls in the same way that practically relegated Bolton at the weeked. They stroked the ball around, waiting for Fernando Torres to find space. Their withdrawn players sauntered off the pitch when they were substituted, they took their time over throw-ins. At one point, Andriey Voronin played keepy-uppy on the touchline for twenty seconds. It wouldn't have been a problem, but he hadn't actually taken the field at the time, he was just warming up and waiting for Jamie Carragher to stroll over and take a throw. As an exercise in limiting potential opposition, it was genius and you have to doff your cap to Benitez, he really excels in this competition.

This isn't to say that Liverpool weren't impregnable. TNP columnist John Burridge wrote recently about Pepe Reina's sudden inability to deal with anything whipped in over his head and I think Arsene Wenger may have been reading online. The Spanish goalkeeper struggled as Arsenal violated his airspace on several occasions and you wonder if a little more confidence claiming crosses might have prevented Emannuel Adebayor's opening goal. Their offside trap failed on numerous occasions, allowing Arsenal's nippy strikers to run in on goal, but they just couldn't provide a final ball, or a clinical finish to make their chances count.

Wenger was convinced that his team were denied an obvious penalty in the 68 minute when referee Pieter Vink failed to spot a rather obvious tug by Dirk Kuyt on Aleksandr Hleb and then there was a bizarre incident where Nicklas Bendtner managed to clear a goal-bound shot off the line, a commendable act when its your line that's under threat, a inexplicable one when it's not.

"It's always important to have an away goal," said Benitez afterwards, "and to play at Anfield is an advantage. It's a good situation. Difficult, because Arsenal are a quality team, but better than it was."

Regardless of his caution, it's clearly advantage Liverpool and the 1-1 scoreline means that we're all set up for one of those 'magical European nights at Anfield.' Unfortunately, though that may be an evening of singing, dancing and breath-holding for Liverpool fans, that's 90 minutes of frantic rearguard and a goaless draw to the rest of us. If Arsene Wenger though that his opponents played defensively tonight, I can't wait to see his reaction after next Tuesday's game.

 

[Slipperduke]

Prepare yourselves for another Final, Liverpool fans. Rafa Benitez’s men have got ‘that look’ about them. They’re not pretty, they’ve had their fair share of luck, but you cannot fault their resilience and desire. I’ve got a feeling that, for the third time in four seasons, they’re going all the way.

Liverpool’s relative success at The Emirates was summed up by the performance of Dirk Kuyt. The Dutch forward isn’t the most popular player with fans, but he deserves their full respect after another industrious display on the right flank. Most observers would have expected Benitez to play another quick, skilful frontman out there as a mirror to Ryan Babel, but the Spanish boss seems to prefer the awkwardness and tenacity of Kuyt.

“He was the man of the match tonight,” said Benitez at the press conference.

“I think Kuyt played right-back for most of the second half,” bemoaned Arsene Wenger, ten minutes earlier.

And there, in a nutshell, is the difference between the two teams. Wenger puts a premium on technique and style. Benitez prefers tactical diligence and coherence. It was interesting to see his treatment of Andreiy Voronin when the Ukrainian came on with a few minutes to go. Benitez was out on the very edge of the technical area, dictating the pattern of play, and Voronin wasn’t keeping up. In the four minutes that he spent on the pitch, he managed to do almost everything wrong, but it wasn’t his poor touch that frustrated the manager, it was his positioning. Voronin wouldn’t tackle back and kept having to be bellowed at from the sidelines. Kuyt didn’t need that, he knew the game plan.

Javier Mascherano is another of Benitez’s favourites and he also put in a performance to savour. The Argentine came under some sneaky provocation from the Arsenal players, eager to tease out another tantrum, but Mascherano’s mouth remained tightly shut. In the quieter moments of this game, it was a joy simply to watch him off the ball. He never stops running, tacking backwards and forwards, sniffing out danger and then suddenly haring after an Arsenal player, reeling him in and executing a perfect tackle.

Fernando Torres and Babel may have been quiet, but it didn’t matter because it wasn’t a night for them. It was a night for defending. It was a night for holding their lines. Arsenal fans are rightly furious about not getting that penalty decision, but you did get the impression that they could have played for another hour and they still wouldn’t have broken the black shirts down.

Benitez was glowing in his praise of Arsenal afterwards, impressed by their ability to change pace, change style and adapt their formation midway through a game. It’s refreshing to see British clubs coming together in Europe without the animosity that usually marks the occasion. However, you sensed that Benitez’s kind words were like those from a family man complimenting his next neighbour’s sports car. He may say that it’s beautiful, that it’s fast and that it’s got a 7 speed gearbox, but secretly he’d never change from his SUV. Sure, the neighbour’s got a car that gets attention, but it can it drive off-road? Can it do 100,000 miles without a service? Can it get him all the way to Moscow? You bet it can’t.

 

[EastStandBlue]

A Man United Liverpool final would be almost orgasmic...

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

A Man United Liverpool final would be almost orgasmic...

... for Sky Sports and the other money-men who are ruining football.

Barca v Liverpool for me!

 

[Shrimper2thecore]

A Man United Liverpool final would be almost orgasmic...

I think it would be ****. I cant stand to watch Liverpool in anoher final, they are so bloody boring its stupid. When they are playing teams from other nations they are ok, but against English clubs they are very dull, as showed last night!!

Also, I just hate them, no real reason, other than I do.

 

[Pubey]

I think it would be ****. I cant stand to watch Liverpool in anoher final, they are so bloody boring its stupid. When they are playing teams from other nations they are ok, but against English clubs they are very dull, as showed last night!!

Also, I just hate them, no real reason, other than I do.

it's a shame united got drawn with barcelona... the other half of the draw is really dull IMO

 

[BrettieAngell]

I think it would be ****. I cant stand to watch Liverpool in anoher final, they are so bloody boring its stupid. When they are playing teams from other nations they are ok, but against English clubs they are very dull, as showed last night!!

What are they supposed to do open the game up at The Emirates? Man Yoo weren't anything special against Roma but it was a good away performance in Europe, as was Liverpool last night.

 

[Slipperduke]

Barcelona

Barcelona booked their place in the Champions League semi-finals with a 1-0 win over Schalke, but they were made to work for it in a game that could have been over by half-time, had the Germans taken their chances. Mirko Slomka's side were timid and over-cautious in the first leg in Gelsenkirchen, but they were ferocious at the Nou Camp, tearing their hosts apart with ease, but failing to convert any of their opportunites. A freakish Yaya Toure goal before half-time killed the game, sending Schalke down the tunnel wondering what might have been.

For almost the entire first period, Barcelona were nothing but a back-four left open to the elements. The Catalans are capable of some sublime football, but everything depends on Toure clattering around the pitch breaking up attacks and allowing Xavi and Andres Iniesta the freedom to dictate the play. If Toure goes missing, as he did here, the entire edifice falls apart. Slomka's men were like locusts, swarming unmolested across the half-way line, laying waste to everything in their path. They had eleven chances before the break and they should have scored at least three of them. Kevin Kuranyi was the biggest culprit, failing to take advantage of two gilt-edged opportunities in the six yard box.

With Toure's goal to calm the nerves, the second half was more comfortable, but Sir Alex Ferguson won't see anything in the scouting reports to concern him. The latest wonderkid off the conveyor belt, Bojan, zipped about and created a handful of chances and Thierry Henry was guilty of missing an absolute sitter, but Barcelona seemed happier to keep the ball and exhaust the Germans rather than doing anything constructive to end the tie quickly. Jermaine Jones ran his heart out for Schalke, but they couldn't replicate their earlier dominance and the game fizzled out into a scoreline that no-one will be happy with.

Something is rotten in the Nou Camp. Their fans rewarded last weekend's turgid 0-0 draw with Getafe by waving their white hankies en masse which might sound like a tame protest, but in Spain it's the most grevious insult deliverable. When Bojan was withdrawn with 20 minutes to play, the white hankies came out again and Rijkaard was subjected to intense abuse from all sides of the stadium. The supporters have lost faith in the Dutchman and they know that this side is capable of much, much better. Unfortunately for them, it's clear that unless there are dramatic developments in the next fortnight, there is no way that they will be going to Moscow in May. Manchester United will be far too strong for them.

It's difficult to pinpoint what exactly has gone wrong becuase the simple answer is; everything. There doesn't seem to be any balance in their ranks at all. There are a set of world class defenders there and a huge collection of divine attackers, but there is no team. Spanish journalists have been whispering for some time about Rijkaard's lack of discipline and there may be something in that. They seem lethargic and content to do the bare minimum in order to progress. The loss of Henk Ten Cate, their abrasive coach, to Chelsea may have cost them dearly as it was his 'good cop, bad cop' routine with Rijkaard that was at the base of much of Barcelona's recent success.

All the flair and talent in the world is nothing without work-rate and tactical coherence. They are missing Deco and Lionel Messi as well as tubby Ronaldinho, but it's no excuse for a performance as gutless and feeble as this. Barcelona must improve and they must improve quickly because after this display it's clear that it should be Schalke visiting Old Trafford in the semi-finals and not them.

 

[Irish_Shrimper]

Slipper - what paper or website do you write for, if you don't mind me asking?

Enjoyable read as always :)

 

[EastStandBlue]

I don't think I can see past United at the moment. They fielded what was effectively a reserve side tonight and breezed, with a relative ease, past one of the tougher sides in the last 16. The first 30 minutes where almost unbelievable... One of Italy's best sides at the moment torn apart by a line up that usually sees the likes of Derby or Wigan.

I'd worry about Barca against United. They have a lot of promise up front, but if United are at full strength then I really don't think they'll have the prowess to break through Vidic and Ferdinand, with Hargreaves providing extra cover. It'll also be a huge risk throwing in 17 year old Bojan in a fixture that'll more than likely swallow him whole... much like the gloried "Saviour of Italian Football" Alexandre Pato failed to impress against Arsenal in both fixtures for AC Milan.

Barca seem a side completely at a loss. Towards the end tonight, on the edge of the area, Abidal forgot what game he was playing and wrestled a Schalke forward to the ground, paying no attention to the ball whatsoever and, if it had been at the other end of the game, would've undoubtedly been a penalty and sending off.

 

[Slipperduke]

Slipper - what paper or website do you write for, if you don't mind me asking?

Enjoyable read as always :)

Thanks mate, it's The New Paper in Singapore!

 

[Pubey]

Thanks mate, it's The New Paper in Singapore!

*wanders down to WHSmith's to pick up a copy*

 

[Rayleigh Weir]

*wanders down to WHSmith's to pick up a copy*

Presumably the WHSmith's at Changi airport?

 

[Slipperduke]

'You'll Never Walk Alone'

The parties went on long into the night. For the third time in four seasons, Liverpool were through to the final four of Europe's most prestigious competition. Rafa Benitez had asked and the Anfield faithful had provided. The old stadium was rocked on its foundations by the noisy supporters and at the end, with 'You'll Never Walk Alone' reverberating around the city, it was hard even for a lower league cynic like myself not to be touched by the raw emotion of the moment. Liverpool are a special club, there's no getting away from it.

It's easy to see why there was so much interest in them when David Moores decided to sell up. Who wouldn't want to buy into something this powerful? I'm told that Moores only ever wanted the best for his beloved football team. He was aware that he couldn't fund a new stadium, that he couldn't provide Abramovich-like transfer funds and he was terrified that if he stayed on out of pride, he might be the man at the helm as Liverpool sank out of contention for honours, swamped by the wave of new money in the Premier League. Sadly, he somehow managed to put the club in the hands of people even less able than himself to provide for the future.

Tom Hicks' sudden decision to demand the resignation of Rick Parry is annoyingly inevitable. With the city on a high, why not do something to plunge the club back into crisis? In life, I've always believed that you should stick to what you're best at and Hicks excels in making stupid decisions and causing trouble. Benitez has worked extremely hard to rescue Liverpool's season, in spite of the off the field chaos, and for the club to find itself in the ascendancy for fourth place and still chasing European glory is a phenomenal achievement. What will he make of this latest development?

Hicks wasn't even at Anfield for their crucial Champions League match in midweek, he was off in America watching his baseball team start the new season. That's the baseball team whose fans he reassured in a magazine interview, saying that he wouldn't be taking money from them to fund Liverpool, it would be the other way round. I'm starting to warm to little George Gillett, the other member of the duo, who actually did have the decency to make it to Anfield. He's been as astounded as the rest of us by Hicks' behaviour. He has recently said that his relationship with his fellow American has become untenable, but it's their inability to communicate that may have blocked out the only light at the end of the tunnel. Rumours coming out of Dubai suggest that the DIC group are now exasperated by this soap opera and are pulling out of negotiations.

It's a horrible state of affairs and the longer it goes on, the more damage it will do to Liverpool's hopes of regaining their position at the top of English football. Who is in charge of that club? Hicks? Gillett? Parry? It certainly isn't Benitez who now has no idea who he is reporting to, who he will go to for transfer funds and who will have the ultimate decision over his future. It is reported that a number of clubs in Spain have made their interest known to him, including Barcelona. Benitez is an ardent Real Madrid fan, so it's unlikely to happen, but how long before he does seek an escape route?

He wants to stay at Liverpool. His family is settled in the area, he is loved by the fans and he adores the ethos of the football team. But if AC Milan come calling, as they may well do given their parlous position, who could blame him for leaving now?

 

[EastStandBlue]

If i'm to understand this correctly, Hicks has next to no support for this decision in the boardroom and it came completely out of the blue, shocking the board members as much as it did the general public.

My opinion is that he see's Parry as the link between the fans and the board, he's the only lasting member of the old regime and it's quite clear that Hicks has this "My way, or the high way" attitude. He's not quite getting his way at the moment and the situation is becoming increasingly frustrating for him. What's the answer? Get rid of your opponents.

Initially it was Gillett that was on the recieving end of the brunt of criticism from Liverpool fans. He was sent death threats and suspicious packages in the post, but now the roles have switched and it's Hicks who is the pantomine villain.

I think Benitez will leave in the summer. I think he still feels completely betrayed by the Klinnsman ordeal and, if offered a position in spain whether domestically or for the national team, he'll leave Liverpool.