#TAW11 Cover
NEIL ATKINSON was joined by Rob Gutmann, Gareth Roberts and Mike Nevin as they look towards Manchester City away on Monday and the imminent arrival of a certain Italian international.
Music this week from Paddy Clegg and Dane Pollard
Paddy Clegg
Paddy is a 17 (seriously, fuck off lads) year old singer from Huyton, he is having a release show for this single at The Zanzibar on September 6th
The song comes out on iTunes the Monday after on Glasgow label Twin City Records, he is also playing as part of LIMF in Sefton Park Palm House on Saturday at 4:05pm
Get on him on Twitter @paddyclegg
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Dane Pollard
Dane has cystic fybrosis. In August 2008 he had a double lung transplant that saved his life. He has written this song as a thank you to his donor and has released it to raise money for cystic fybrosis awareness.
You can download the single or just donate to the cause by going to http://www.lungfest.co.uk/
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Download Issue 11 of #TAW Monthly via iTunes or at app.theanfieldwrap.com for other devices.
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You lot really know how to scrape my bell with your agenda loaded broadcast!!
Wasn’t Mike Gurning’s comment, about Gerrard playing ten yards too forward, made last week? Almost as if you wanted to make the same point again, ‘but this time on radio’ ! Pha! TAW !
You’re like a window in Amsterdam. I can see right through it and there’s some soulless fecker in there doing things they wouldn’t normally want to do for cash! Well that’s my experience any way ;)
That casino banner is fecking annoying!
#corporatebuttkissers
You’re funny you, CrayBo.
Hyypia’s goal vs Juventus for a Liverpool center half goal back post with his sweary knee-slide celebration if you lip read close enough.
Oh and still Hyypia’s goal vs Juventus for a general center half goal back post with his sweary knee-slide celebration if you lip read close enough.
FUCKING BALOTELLI FELLAS!
Just rewatched it. Left-footed volley. If Brighton don’t do well this season I’ll be fuming.
An Open Letter to John W Henry
(because I can’t fit this into 140 characters and I’ve got no other means to express my views publicly)
From the day FSG (NESV) took over at Liverpool I bought into them. I believed in their vision. I knew that would entail exploiting the brand of LFC. It’s not something I like but at the end of the day I want success for the club. It’s a necessary evil. I accept it. I applauded their decisions when they turned their head and looked to the future rather than the past. I defended their mistakes while they were learning about football and the club. I lost friends who were horrified that I wouldn’t hear a bad word about them. I belittled my own son by dressing him in the away kits of the last few years. I tried to justify the leaflets and the statement about the pyro at away games. I criticised people for feeling embarrassed about ‘Being Liverpool’ saying the U.S is a potentially huge market and we have to get in there before the other clubs do. On holiday recently I even bought Dunkin fuckin donuts over the local brand (which actually looked nicer and were half the price). I’ve sold my soul and I’m accepting of it.
I don’t say all that to join the Twitter ‘cool gang’, desperate for recognition from an anonymous, and largely idiotic, following. I say it because I feel betrayed. Seriously betrayed. Only last night I was telling anyone who’d listen that FSG deserved praise too after the Balotelli news. It felt a brilliant time to be a Liverpool fan. I’ve not always been supportive of Ian Ayre but again, I’ve been telling people, this week, that it’s time to give credit where credit’s due. It was all going so well. And now this.
Last season I wrote in the comments section of a TAW podcast that much as I despise Mighty Red and everything it stands for, providing it stays off the pitch, what harm is it doing. Luckily (as it turns out) I was abroad for the first match of the season and didn’t go. I watched it on TV there but was oblivious to what had gone on until last night. Now I hear that bastard thing was on the pitch before kick off. I’m absolutely disgusted. I feel a right cunt for backing your vision now. It’s all over. Shattered. What good can come from this? I’ll not go to Anfield again until I’m sure I won’t see that despicable creature. I’m on thin ice as it is and I can’t trust myself to not run onto the pitch and wring the bastards neck. What next? Will George play ‘Tom Hark’ after a goal and will that thing run on the pitch and celebrate with the players? Will it walk around the pitch while the game is on and try to interact with the fans? Please, don’t do this. I’d rather come home and find David Moyes pleasuring my wife that have to look at that ridiculous spectacle.
Come on, some of us have sacrificed a lot to try and make this relationship work. We just want unity and harmony at our club. This is a sacrifice we can’t make though. It’s too disturbing. Please put a stop to this madness. For the sake of everything that we’ve built I’m begging you to think again. No one likes it. Take it to Asia and set the bastard free or simply have it put down. Please don’t let it on the pitch though. We still have dignity and pride – let us keep that at least.
Robin,
I want to make sure I understand your correctly, and that your post isn’t a slightly-off attempt at sarcasm.
Fenway Sports Group rescued our club from bankruptcy. Three seasons later, despite criticism after criticism of everything from the manager to the players to the very direction and philosophy that was being instituted, we came within a breath of the first league title in over two decades. This season we have our strongest squad, one that will only grow in strength.
And the straw that broke your back is MIGHTY RED? Are you serious?!?
Here’s a wake up call: as much as you hated Warrior’s kits (and I assure you: you did NOT hate them more than me), who exactly was going to pay Liverpool that kind of money? Here’s a clue: not Adidas, who told us in no uncertain terms that we were worth mid-table money to them. Who else came up looking to shower us with cash? Nike? Puma? Who? NO ONE. So here’s what you do at that point: you act like a grown man and vote with your damn wallet. You don’t buy the SCUBA outfit, or the tribal sleeves, or the Christmas sweater, and you don’t sweat it because Liverpool already have that money and its in Warrior to respond to its customer base’s needs.
Ditto for Dunkin fucking Donuts and Subway. As if anyone forced you to buy them! Or are you going to tell me you bank with Standard & Chartered, too? The important thing is that someone at FSG was able to convince them to shell out money for the club. Period.
Damn, man! Here I was enjoying my Sunday, relishing the fact that United still look inept under a second record-breaking manager in a row, and you go and piss in my cereal. The glass is officially half-full, Robin. Enjoy it!
Jesus mate! Are you for real?
Let me simplify this for you.
I’ve supported FSG from day 1. It’s well documented on the TAW comments over the years. I put our malaise over the past 2 decades down to David Moores failures. When someone comes along and offers all the things that I feel were wrong then it’s a bit hypocritical to go against them.
I didn’t like the kits. My son wanted them. I wanted him to have the kits in the same way I had them growing up. He was happy with them. That makes me happy. You missed the point. Although I thought they were ridiculous I was happy to buy them for my son. I was happy knowing my money was going to the club or companies who put their faith in us.
If I fancy a sandwich or fast food I don’t consider my options anymore. I’ve been going to Subway. An odd part of my psyche makes me feel I’m doing right by my club. That they’ll be more inclined to renew if their sales are up. These days I don’t suffer guilty feelings for buying / eating fast food as I feel morally satisfied about it. Same when I bought the donuts.
So, I don’t want to vote with my wallet and not buy these things. I buy them all happily. I might not like what I’m buying or I might prefer something nicer to eat or it might not be the best option financially but I buy them because, even if in the minutest of ways, I feel I’m supporting my club, the people who backed us and the vision of the owners. That kind of loyalty to a corporation is against everything I stand for. I have surprisingly few modern consumables. What I wanted to point out was – In my support of their vision I haven’t just accepted it but actively tried to help it. I go out of my way to endorse it because at the end of the day my ultimate goal is what’s best for LFC.
I think you need to take note of that – “what’s best for LFC”. I’m embarrassed for you that you say “Are you serious” regarding the use of Mighty Red. Liverpool had to exploit their brand. They had to become more corporate. We’ve done it very well. We’re seeing the rewards. We’re all really happy. Here’s the point I’m amazed you either can’t see or don’t mind, though. They’re 2 separate entities which reflect on each other. The marketing is one thing and the football on the pitch is another. It’s intertwined but not the same vehicle. I can’t accept them becoming one. Mighty Red is the corporate world stepping onto the pitch in the guise of a wretched bird. It absolutely has to be stopped. On match day, George reads the team, the team come out, we have the handshakes and we play and sing YNWA. Simple. What happens if McDonalds sponsor us? Are you happy for Ronald and Mighty Red to have a wrestling match on the pitch? Or for our captain to have, say, a penalty shoot out against Mighty Red before a big game. How about some fit cheerleaders showing their knickers or we could blindfold Daniel Sturridge just before kick off and make him eat 2 donuts to see which he thinks is best.
Listen pal, it’s completely unnecessary to have Mighty Red in a ground with no kids in it. It serves no purpose except to water down our match day experience. Most of us support our marketing of the club. We draw the line though when it turns our club into a laughing stock. When it tries to change the aspect of the club that belongs to us. If you’re ok with this then I pity you and what’s more I’ll shit in your cereal next time.
Robin,
Ultimately, you think Mighty Red is going to be the slippery slope that leads to this:
http://youtu.be/9vzyhra-UEY
Do me a favor. For just a second, just rid yourself of whatever stereotypes you have about Americans and our sporting venues. Google footage from Red Sox ball games, and tell me if any of it looks like a damn carnival.
Here’s what happened: Fenway sports Group has consultants whose job is to maximize revenue, and some unfortunate human being had the even more unfortunate idea to focus on supporters who are parents of young children. Mighty Red is an awful, awful concept, but ultimately it’s a means to get four-year-olds more excited about Liverpool F.C., not some fiendish plot to have Sturridge eat donuts (or whatever).
I’m also going to remind you that there are owners out there who are turning blue clubs into red ones or who are changing their nam and identity. There is a club that couldn’t hire he manager it wanted because he apparently was mental. There are only so many eccentric billionaires or oil sheiks willing to turn clubs into plastic champions. How about we focus on the positives, eh?
Hopefully that gives you some perspective on this issue. If it doesn’t, however, and if you’re still not prepared to accept some ill-conceived ideas on the way to, oh, I don’t know, fiscal solvency, European nights, and hopefully some titles, then at least consider this: Warrior Football, our purveyor of mostly questionable kit, was pulled despite giving us he fourth-best deal in the Premier League. Do you honestly think that Mighty Red would survive if the supporters said, “No thanks” in an organized, vocal manner?
But by all means, if none of this makes sense to you, and of Mighty Red really is the issue that will cause you to flip on FSG, the. by all means. Carry on.
A couple of things.
1. This isn’t about how Americans do things. This kind of orchestrated pantomime is seeping into English football without the help of American owners. The Pepsi Challenge (or the donut challenge) might be an American concept but capitalism knows no borders. This comes down to crass corporate marketing versus tradition, not cultures (or what’s left of them in such a homogenised world). We’ll make the atmosphere. Always have, always will. We do a pretty good job of it. They can do the marketing and never the twain shall meet on the pitch.
2. There are no 4 year olds in the ground but if there were then they’re going there to see Steven Gerrard, not Mighty Red. You may or may not know but Liverpool don’t need to market match days. The demand far out strips the supply and will continue to once 15,000k extra seats are added. Our kids don’t need Mighty Red to get them excited. Come to Liverpool and tour the city and it’s suburbs. Speak to the kids. You’ll find they have Liverpool FC in their blood. No one will ever find a love for LFC because they saw Mighty Red.
3. If we had good owners (which we do) and they wanted to turn our club blue, would you say ‘why not focus on the positives, eh’. I wouldn’t. And I won’t with Mighty Red. I try and live by a fair moral code but at no point do I think – you’ve been good to me so you’re welcome to shaft me. I do have a little self respect left.
You won’t change my mind mate. I abhor the idea of Mighty Red on the pitch. To summarise, I think FSG have done a very good job all round but I feel by introducing a patronising embodiment of their corporate brand onto the pitch and amongst our team they’ve crossed the line.
Whether you accept it or not, our club has a pride and identity that has been formed through good and bad times as a result of match days. It’s the result of a natural reaction. We want to keep it that way. We don’t want manufactured influences seeping in reducing us to mere spectators of their event. We’re part of making the event. What would Shankly have thought of this?
This is more important than you think. Mighty Red has to stay behind the scenes and be used for corporate events and kids parties. We don’t want the cross over of the corporate world onto the pitch (yes, we have shirt sponsors and advertising hoardings but they’re passive). We don’t want to be interacting with this side of it. We don’t need it.
…..and they call me crazy…
I think you call yourself crazy don’t ya?
Someone on the show mentioned about Balotelli being a moneyball signing and that’s what I’ve been thinking all week. If he had behaved himself, Mario would be a £45 million player, at least. We never pay that sort of money for players. We are only going to get top-class strikers in their prime if they are damaged goods.
If Suarez wasn’t a headcase, we wouldn’t have even been in the frame to sign him. We took a gamble, just about got away with it and find ourselves where we are now – much better off than before Suarez came to Liverpool.
I’m hoping he is mainly used as a sub. He’s going to get sent off now and then and he’s stupid enough to get a red after ten minutes of the first half. I wouldn’t mind it if we managed him well enough to convince richer clubs that he had finally sorted his head out and was now worth three times what we paid – then sold him.
I think any period of good behavior is only going to be a hiatus from his real self and I’m more interested in what Origi has to offer us, anyway. A moneyball purchase and a moneyball sale. We need to be smart like this, as we are competing with teams that are much wealthier than us. We’ll spend the profits on more top-class players with flaws and do the same again.
I don’t see Balotelli as much of a risk at this price. Suarez is far more dangerous to a club. His misdemeanors seem calculated and he’s the sort of guy that could destroy a club, in terms of it’s marketability and the brand. I don’t think Balotelli is smart enough to be manipulative and he just does random stupid things where the damage can easily be contained.
I’ve been trying to think of what player we have signed before that is most similar. Collymore seems closest. Immense power, with genuine class and a head like a drum of bingo balls. Mentally, they are obviously very different characters but I think there are certain parallels.
Anyway, we are a terrifying attacking side once again. Nobody will want to play us.
I may not agree (only slightly) with most of your points but I think the ‘damaged goods’ coming cheap is an excellent point that I’ve not heard mentioned in amongst all the hype this week.
I think you’ve got Balotelli wrong.
Think of the infamous story wherein Mourinho implored him for the better part of halftime to not pick up a second yellow, but Mario did just that within a minute of the second half starting. Now, do you really think Balotelli just stupidly went and did just what he was warned to do? Or do you think that he might have been a tad vindictive?
We’re talking about a guy who at the time was, what, 19-20 years old? With identity and anger issues? I think he just got pissed off at Mourinho – who can be arrogant, insufferable, and snide – and acted out. I doubt he’d pull something like that on Rodgers because I doubt Rodgers would mismanage an emotional young man so badly.
Thank God I missed the biff in a chicken suit. The only good it could be put to would be for punishing players for unacceptable behaviour. Think your bigger than the club? then get yourself inside this lot.
Please preserve our dignity – no embarrassing Disney characatures parading at Anfield.
..oh feck… ohhgh.. is it monday yet?