Everton V LFC Post Match Thread

[Slinky Skills]

It's easy to the get half cut and come on here and spout a load of crap but this is the worst Liverpool team I have seen in 30 years.

roy hodgson,do the right thing and **** OFF

Funny you should say that, 2 old guys standing behind me in the pub who were scousers also said exactly the same thing.

[Neil Young]

Roy Hodgson revealed his frustrations after Liverpool slipped to a 2-0 defeat in the Merseyside derby clash with Everton on Sunday afternoon.

Goals in each half from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta secured local bragging rights for the Blues on a disappointing afternoon at Goodison Park.

Afterwards, Hodgson told reporters: "This was always going to be a difficult game to win.

"We suffered at the hands of an early onslaught, which you invariably do here at Goodison. They put us under pressure and made it difficult for us to get the ball, but towards the end of the first half we started to do better. But I think towards the end of the first half we were starting to more than even the game out

"I thought the shape of the team was good and I thought the quality of our passing and moving was good today."

He continued: "We had plenty of the ball in the second half and we were camped out in their half of the field in the final third for large periods.

"I thought we caused them plenty of problems, but you're never going to get the really clear one-on-one chances when teams are defending a two-goal lead."

The timing of Arteta's goal in particular came as a blow to Liverpool in the early stages of the second period, and Hodgson admitted his team are culpable of conceding too many goals at the moment.

He said: "We are conceding too many goals and yet today I think we were a little bit unlucky to do so. Even in the good spell of pressure Everton had at the beginning, we weren't shipping goal chances.

"But it is a problem that we're letting in goals. We need to score goals to take pressure off the fact we could let them in, especially when you're playing with the sort of line-up we were at the end of the game.

"Good teams score goals and don't let many in and that's what we have got to be trying to do as well. We need to get better in both areas.

"In particular today, one could argue with all the possession we had in the second half and the time we had in the final third, we should have scored because the possibility was there."

The boss added: "We're not trying to disguise the fact this is a predicament or whatever word you want to use. For any team to take six points from eight games at the start of the season and go through that type of bad spell is a predicament. We don't in anyway try to deny that."

Though disappointed with the performance, Hodgson refuted suggestions from journalists his players are suffering from a lack of confidence.

He said: "I didn't see it (a lack of confidence) with Maxi Rodriguez, Gerrard, Meireles or any of the back players. I thought all of those showed plenty of confidence in themselves.

"Fernando (Torres) is going through a bad time, he needs a goal and his confidence is low.

"I wouldn't say it is a question of too many (players) lacking confidence, but people are playing under pressure. That's the bottom line.

"We've taken six points from eight games and every game we don't win, the pressure builds up even more. That will affect people's confidence in the long run."

Reporters quizzed the boss on whether he would be forced to reassess his target of a top-four finish following Liverpool's disappointing start to the campaign.

He replied: "There are 30 games to go and 90 points to play for. I don't know if I would write that off at the moment.

"It would take a really good run of four to five wins on the spin, but I thought there were signs in the game today and who knows, maybe we can get those four or five wins on the spin. That's what it is going to take."

Away from the pitch, New England Sports Ventures' Principal Owner John W Henry and Chairman Thomas Werner took in their first game as Liverpool owners from the directors' box.

Reporters asked Hodgson if he felt as though today's defeat could be classed as a missed opportunity to build on the surge of optimism following the sale to NESV on Friday.

He replied: "Yes, of course I feel that. This would have been the ideal opportunity to turn things around on the back of the entry of the new owners and the way that has been received by everyone. To get a result here and win the game would have been utopia.

"But I can only analyse the performance and there is no point in attempting to analyse dreams. The dream was we would come here on the back of new owners and win the game, but we had to play a game of football."

On NESV's involvement in the January transfer window, Hodgson added: "They're going to be very interested in doing that I think. It's still two and half months off and there is a lot of football to be played, so there is no point in us trying to put all our eggs into that basket.

"The first thing we have to do is start playing and winning matches. Hopefully if we can do that and get ourselves in a better position, then if the owners can find a way to back us and improve the team in the transfer window we will obviously do so.

"Of course the January transfer window is something that interests us. We'll have to do our scouting work for future transfers like any other club, but it's not something that interests us in the coming weeks. What interests me is preparing for Napoli and Blackburn - a game we need to win."

I was watching a different game.

[Neil Young]

I wish he'd just f*** off. I don't care that he's embarrassing himself but he's embarrassing and, worse, jeopardising the club.

[Darkon]

I wish he'd just f*** off. I don't care that he's embarrassing himself but he's embarrassing and, worse, jeopardising the club.

[Darkon]

deleted

[Rigadon]

Roy on LFCTV - "We were unlucky, we did everything we could, we played well"

'should have gone to Specsavers

[JohnDoe]

"This was always going to be a difficult game to win."

**** off, I knew you'd say that, you fergie bumming patsy.

"We suffered at the hands of an early onslaught, which you invariably do here at Goodison.

**** off, why do we need to suffer from an early onslaught from a bottom half table team? Oh that's right, because we're relegation fodder due to your ineptitude.

They put us under pressure and made it difficult for us to get the ball, but towards the end of the first half we started to do better. But I think towards the end of the first half we were starting to more than even the game out

Yipee, we started to make the game even against a **** team. **** off.

"I thought the shape of the team was good and I thought the quality of our passing and moving was good today."

**** off.

He continued: "We had plenty of the ball in the second half and we were camped out in their half of the field in the final third for large periods.
"I thought we caused them plenty of problems, but you're never going to get the really clear one-on-one chances when teams are defending a two-goal lead."

**** off.

He said: "We are conceding too many goals and yet today I think we were a little bit unlucky to do so. Even in the good spell of pressure Everton had at the beginning, we weren't shipping goal chances.

"But it is a problem that we're letting in goals. We need to score goals to take pressure off the fact we could let them in, especially when you're playing with the sort of line-up we were at the end of the game.

"Good teams score goals and don't let many in and that's what we have got to be trying to do as well. We need to get better in both areas.

So we need to score goals and avoid conceding them. ****ing genius Roy, you just figured out the game of football! Now **** off.

"In particular today, one could argue with all the possession we had in the second half and the time we had in the final third, we should have scored because the possibility was there."

The boss added: "We're not trying to disguise the fact this is a predicament or whatever word you want to use. For any team to take six points from eight games at the start of the season and go through that type of bad spell is a predicament. We don't in anyway try to deny that."

So **** off.

He said: "I didn't see it (a lack of confidence) with Maxi Rodriguez, Gerrard, Meireles or any of the back players. I thought all of those showed plenty of confidence in themselves.

"Fernando (Torres) is going through a bad time, he needs a goal and his confidence is low.

Fernando Torres wants you to **** off.

"I wouldn't say it is a question of too many (players) lacking confidence, but people are playing under pressure. That's the bottom line.

"We've taken six points from eight games and every game we don't win, the pressure builds up even more. That will affect people's confidence in the long run."

Correction, they all want you to **** off.

"There are 30 games to go and 90 points to play for. I don't know if I would write that off at the moment.

With you as manager, I doubt we'll get 30. Now **** off.

"It would take a really good run of four to five wins on the spin, but I thought there were signs in the game today and who knows, maybe we can get those four or five wins on the spin. That's what it is going to take."

Unfortunately, we can't handle the onslaught of teams like Everton and Blackpool. **** off.

He replied: "Yes, of course I feel that. This would have been the ideal opportunity to turn things around on the back of the entry of the new owners and the way that has been received by everyone. To get a result here and win the game would have been utopia.

Actually, it's a good thing Henry saw how **** you are, so he can **** you off.

"But I can only analyse the performance and there is no point in attempting to analyse dreams. The dream was we would come here on the back of new owners and win the game, but we had to play a game of football."

That's right, and you're **** at this game. **** off.

"They're going to be very interested in doing that I think. It's still two and half months off and there is a lot of football to be played, so there is no point in us trying to put all our eggs into that basket.

Hopefully, you won't get to spend a dime because you'll be ****ed off.

"The first thing we have to do is start playing and winning matches. Hopefully if we can do that and get ourselves in a better position, then if the owners can find a way to back us and improve the team in the transfer window we will obviously do so.

Yes, after we **** you off.

"Of course the January transfer window is something that interests us. We'll have to do our scouting work for future transfers like any other club, but it's not something that interests us in the coming weeks.

My interest is in you ****ing off.

[Shaggy]

[Assassin]

**** off, I knew you'd say that, you fergie bumming patsy.



**** off, why do we need to suffer from an early onslaught from a bottom half table team? Oh that's right, because we're relegation fodder due to your ineptitude.



Yipee, we started to make the game even against a **** team. **** off.



**** off.



**** off.



So we need to score goals and avoid conceding them. ****ing genius Roy, you just figured out the game of football! Now **** off.



So **** off.



Fernando Torres wants you to **** off.



Correction, they all want you to **** off.




With you as manager, I doubt we'll get 30. Now **** off.



Unfortunately, we can't handle the onslaught of teams like Everton and Blackpool. **** off.



Actually, it's a good thing Henry saw how **** you are, so he can **** you off.


That's right, and you're **** at this game. **** off.



Hopefully, you won't get to spend a dime because you'll be ****ed off.



Yes, after we **** you off.



My interest is in you ****ing off.

****ing fence sitter

[Stanbull]

**** off, I knew you'd say that, you fergie bumming patsy.



**** off, why do we need to suffer from an early onslaught from a bottom half table team? Oh that's right, because we're relegation fodder due to your ineptitude.



Yipee, we started to make the game even against a **** team. **** off.



**** off.



**** off.



So we need to score goals and avoid conceding them. ****ing genius Roy, you just figured out the game of football! Now **** off.



So **** off.



Fernando Torres wants you to **** off.



Correction, they all want you to **** off.




With you as manager, I doubt we'll get 30. Now **** off.



Unfortunately, we can't handle the onslaught of teams like Everton and Blackpool. **** off.



Actually, it's a good thing Henry saw how **** you are, so he can **** you off.


That's right, and you're **** at this game. **** off.



Hopefully, you won't get to spend a dime because you'll be ****ed off.



Yes, after we **** you off.



My interest is in you ****ing off.

You sound ****ED OFF

[Exiled_red]

[Shaggy]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304772804575558122686540264.html

What Now for Liverpool?

By GABRIELE MARCOTTI

Liverpool fans could boil down their seething hatred of their team's owners in two words: "Yanks Out!" It was shorthand for the lambasting fans directed to American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. for their accumulation of debt and lack of results on the pitch. Now, following the club's acquisition by John Henry and New England Sports Ventures in a deal worth $480 million, it seems the cost of shipping two yanks out was bringing one yank in. But Reds fans are no less happy, even if it took unprecedented legal maneuvering.

New Liverpool soccer club owner John Henry is surround by the media and children seeking autographs as he leaves Melwood training ground Saturday after meeting his new players.

The transition in ownership passed through rival legal judgments issued by the British High Court and the 160th District Court in Texas. It included the unprecedented step of a board voting to sell a club against the wishes of its shareholders (a move made possible, according to the High Court, by an agreement reached between the club and its main creditor, the Royal Bank of Scotland, last April which gave the club chairman wide-ranging powers).

And the legal squabbling is far from over. Mr. Hicks, who believes the sale undervalues Liverpool significantly, is reportedly considering legal action over what he called "an epic swindle" on the part of Martin Broughton, the Liverpool chairman appointed earlier this year with RBS's backing with the express objective of selling the club. Mr. Hicks has also claimed that RBS refused to allow him to repay Liverpool's debts of $453 million, a move which would have thwarted the takeover.

But what matters most to Liverpool supporters is that Mr. Hicks and Mr. Gillett are now gone, which explains why Mr. Broughton was greeted by jubilant fans singing, "One Martin Broughton! There's only one Martin Broughton!" to the tune of "Guantanamera" as he emerged from the courtroom on Friday after the judge's decision. It's a safe guess that the usually buttoned-up Mr. Broughton, a former chief executive of British American Tobacco and current chairman of British Airways, had never been serenaded in that way.

When Mr. Henry took his seat at Goodison Park today to watch his new club lose to crosstown rival Everton, 2-0, he was greeted by a banner in the home fans' section which read: "Agents Hicks and Gillett: Mission Accomplished," implying that Mr. Hicks and Mr. Gillett were undercover Evertonians sent to damage Liverpool beyond repair.

But that's just a bit of fun. And Mr. Henry's arrival suggests the schadenfreude is over. According to NESV, the acquisition debt – incurred when Hicks and Gillett bought the club in 2007 – has been wiped out and the annual cost to Liverpool of servicing the debt has fallen from $40 million-plus to between $3 million and $5 million.

He has also stated that a new stadium for the club is a priority, which if anything is an understatement. Liverpool's 45,000-seat capacity Anfield Road stadium is permanently sold out and the waiting list for season tickets numbers in the tens of thousands. In fact, Liverpool hasn't had any new season ticket-holders since 1996, largely because they are such a prized commodity that, rather than relinquish them, fans who pass away, move elsewhere or can no longer afford to go will simply turn them over to friends and family.

The club could probably sell out a ground twice Anfield's size and this, coupled with the current antiquated luxury boxes, amounts to serious lost revenue. Last year's gameday take of $68 million is dwarfed not just by Manchester United (a half hour down the road and with a comparable fan base) and its revenues of $163 million, but also Chelsea $115 million, whose Stamford Bridge stadiums actually smaller than Anfield.

Figuring out what to do with the team itself is a trickier proposition. Sunday's defeat leaves Liverpool squarely in the relegation zone with nearly a quarter of the season gone. It's nothing short of an aberration for England's most successful club, one which hasn't finished lower than seventh in the last 16 years.

Thus far, manager Roy Hodgson, who took over in the summer following the departure of Rafa Benitez, has generally escaped criticism. Mr. Hodgson is a likeable grandfatherly type and much of the blame has fallen on his somewhat spiky and introverted predecessor, whose five-year tenure was marked by highs (winning the Champions League in his first season and taking Liverpool to second place two years ago) and lows (a slide to seventh place in 2009-10 and a difficult relationship with the media).

Mr. Henry pledged his support, saying, "I think we have done everything we can thus far to assure [Mr. Hodgson] that we are not here to make changes, we are here to build." But unless things turn around – and quickly – Mr. Henry's hand could be forced and his next move might necessarily involve a change of manager. Dropping out of the Premier League would be nothing short of disastrous, both financially and in terms of morale. And, however popular Mr. Hodgson is with the English media, there is no escaping the fact that this is largely the same group of players who did far better under the watch of Mr. Benitez.

[Rich]

Can you imagine the shower of ****e he'll try and sign if he's still stalking the corridors of Melwood come January.

[spanky]

Can you imagine the shower of ****e he'll try and sign if he's still stalking the corridors of Melwood come January.

i think thats everyones fear now, also the players who'll be allowed to leave

[JohnDoe]

Can you imagine the shower of ****e he'll try and sign if he's still stalking the corridors of Melwood come January.

He'll sell Agger and buy Aaron Hughes.