Brian Reade tells it like it is
Never Walk Alone? Liverpool chiefs are pulling in different directions
"The people at the top of Liverpool Football Club never tire of telling the world how special their fans are.
They’re fond of quoting, even miming, those famous Rodgers and Hammerstein lyrics about never walking alone. But behind the sentimental smokescreen lie warring factions so obsessed with personal victory they long ago ceased to care about the misery they’re piling on those same fans.
From the team-sheets to the balance-sheets, from the manager’s head to the owners’ objectives, Kopites no longer have a clue what’s going on at Anfield.
At the very point in history when the club cries out for unity, the blows from above rain down harder.
It’s as though Manchester United being one title away from equalling their own record of 18 has made the management more intent on playing out their civil war.
As though Liverpool’s seven-week presence at the top of the table didn’t just give their fans a chance to rekindle past glories, it gave the men in charge a platform to cement their own futures.
The absentee American cowboys are only united in one goal: To suck as much money out of Anfield and forget they ever heard of the place.
The life president and the chief executive are lame ducks, wallowing in the shame of selling the club so badly and so cheaply. And an increasingly stubborn manager, who refuses to sign a new contract until he’s handed full control of all football matters, seems more intent on all-out attacks on Rick Parry than opposing teams.
There’s schisms and plotting, lying and leaks, inexplicable outbursts and bizarre decisions wholly unbefitting a great club which is now five months away from being repossessed by banks. And in between are a group of players, some awaiting new contracts, others acceptance, many simply bemused at what’s going on around them.
Forget the awful draws, the anti-Fergie rant and the Press leak which forced the Kuwaitis to walk away in anger, what most sums up this unseemly shambles is the treatment of Robbie Keane.
Last summer, Benitez fancied him, but not as much as he fancied Gareth Barry. Parry fancied Keane so badly he paid over the odds, leaving Benitez without sufficient cash for Barry, and fuming.
Almost from day one Keane has felt unwanted, a feeling confirmed by regular substitutions, exclusion from the team and eventually, in a home derby, from the bench. And this week he’s all but been encouraged to leave.
So instead of watching a proven striker winning games, the fans stare dumbfounded at a £20million pawn in a long-running power struggle. Nothing exposes the divisions at the heart of the club more.
I’ve been a staunch supporter of Benitez and I still believe he can make Liverpool great again. I even think he can win a trophy this season.
But right now he seems so hell-bent on winning his own personal battles he’s alienating everyone around him. Tomorrow Tom Hicks and George Gillett will sit a dozen seats apart in the directors’ box, in some fake show of love for a club they’re killing. Equally distant will be Benitez and Parry.
No doubt, if Liverpool win, all will try to claim credit, when it will probably be down to a flash of brilliance from the usual suspects and the passion of the fans they claim are so special.
Well here’s a message from one of them: This year sees the 50th anniversary of Bill Shankly’s arrival at Anfield and the creation of modern Liverpool.
Never in his worst nightmare would he have envisaged his precious club being run in such a destructive and undignified manner.
You love Liverpool? Put away your egos and prove it."
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/column...5875-21084536/
"The people at the top of Liverpool Football Club never tire of telling the world how special their fans are.
They’re fond of quoting, even miming, those famous Rodgers and Hammerstein lyrics about never walking alone. But behind the sentimental smokescreen lie warring factions so obsessed with personal victory they long ago ceased to care about the misery they’re piling on those same fans.
From the team-sheets to the balance-sheets, from the manager’s head to the owners’ objectives, Kopites no longer have a clue what’s going on at Anfield.
At the very point in history when the club cries out for unity, the blows from above rain down harder.
It’s as though Manchester United being one title away from equalling their own record of 18 has made the management more intent on playing out their civil war.
As though Liverpool’s seven-week presence at the top of the table didn’t just give their fans a chance to rekindle past glories, it gave the men in charge a platform to cement their own futures.
The absentee American cowboys are only united in one goal: To suck as much money out of Anfield and forget they ever heard of the place.
The life president and the chief executive are lame ducks, wallowing in the shame of selling the club so badly and so cheaply. And an increasingly stubborn manager, who refuses to sign a new contract until he’s handed full control of all football matters, seems more intent on all-out attacks on Rick Parry than opposing teams.
There’s schisms and plotting, lying and leaks, inexplicable outbursts and bizarre decisions wholly unbefitting a great club which is now five months away from being repossessed by banks. And in between are a group of players, some awaiting new contracts, others acceptance, many simply bemused at what’s going on around them.
Forget the awful draws, the anti-Fergie rant and the Press leak which forced the Kuwaitis to walk away in anger, what most sums up this unseemly shambles is the treatment of Robbie Keane.
Last summer, Benitez fancied him, but not as much as he fancied Gareth Barry. Parry fancied Keane so badly he paid over the odds, leaving Benitez without sufficient cash for Barry, and fuming.
Almost from day one Keane has felt unwanted, a feeling confirmed by regular substitutions, exclusion from the team and eventually, in a home derby, from the bench. And this week he’s all but been encouraged to leave.
So instead of watching a proven striker winning games, the fans stare dumbfounded at a £20million pawn in a long-running power struggle. Nothing exposes the divisions at the heart of the club more.
I’ve been a staunch supporter of Benitez and I still believe he can make Liverpool great again. I even think he can win a trophy this season.
But right now he seems so hell-bent on winning his own personal battles he’s alienating everyone around him. Tomorrow Tom Hicks and George Gillett will sit a dozen seats apart in the directors’ box, in some fake show of love for a club they’re killing. Equally distant will be Benitez and Parry.
No doubt, if Liverpool win, all will try to claim credit, when it will probably be down to a flash of brilliance from the usual suspects and the passion of the fans they claim are so special.
Well here’s a message from one of them: This year sees the 50th anniversary of Bill Shankly’s arrival at Anfield and the creation of modern Liverpool.
Never in his worst nightmare would he have envisaged his precious club being run in such a destructive and undignified manner.
You love Liverpool? Put away your egos and prove it."
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/column...5875-21084536/
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