Raul: 

On the Pitch

An inveterate optimist, every year is always “our year” for me.  I’m happy to see that at least some of the more “thinking” posters agree with that view this time around.

I’m not sure whether having lived through the glory years makes me less or more desperate than some younger fans for success but my desire to win is tempered by the fact that I find a great deal of satisfaction and pleasure in having made the best effort possible, regardless of the outcome.  If we can look at ourselves at the mirror at the end of the season and say that we have done that, that we have tried our best, then there is nothing to be ashamed of, wherever in the league we might finish the season.  Old fashioned and perhaps even foolishly romantic but there you have it.

Practically though, this term, with the cast of characters that our manager has put together over the past few years I think that if we make that kind of effort, we have the quality and will find that we are there, or at least thereabouts.  The team to make the challenge is more or less there, the spirit must now follow.  And if there was ever a year for us to have that spirit, this is it.

Gerrard knows that this is the business end of his career.  I do not subscribe to the theory that some trot out about him “not caring” – I think does, enormously.  He needs to show that outwardly a little more this season.  Carragher clearly cares and Mascherano wears his heart on his sleeve too.  Question Kuyt’s ability if you must but his attitude is unimpeachable.  Skrtel plays like he wants to kill someone on the other team and Alonso, if he stays and when he plays, is always bothered about how we do.  If Keane is half the fan that he claims to be, he will have the bottle and I think that is enough of a nucleus to bring the Dossenas, Degens and N’Gogs of the world along and get them to do their best.

Of the new boys, Keane has done nothing to show that it was a mistake to get him, Dossena has impressed after a slow start and N’Gog seems to have the brains that Cisse did not.  I think Rafa has bought well this time around.

So let us see.

Off the Pitch

I’m going to leave out discussion of our owners, other than to say that I would like them out – they lied and they mistreated our manager.

I would like to see a significantly greater effort being made by the club in marketing LFC.  One of the reasons we fell behind Manchester United in the 90s was because their success was seen on TV by the teeming millions in Asia, leading to all that crap we love to deride – shirt sales, merchandise and more money for better players. 

News reports in the last few weeks point to the big enemy making big plans for countries like India, where the television coverage of almost every weekend game has meant that little boys are looking at the Premier League as a credible alternative to the IPL and cricket and, as is inevitable with little boys, are beginning to pick teams to support, however much that might be to the horror of the militant purple bin brigade.  And they will support the successful teams, which is why you will see more kids here with Manchester United and Chelsea shirts than Liverpool or even Arsenal.  Our three biggest rivals are setting up academies and twinning with Indian clubs, sending past players out for coaching camps and getting talented youngsters across to England for training and a taste of the big time.  Things like this are already happening in China and elsewhere in Asia.

We cannot afford to fall behind on this but the club seems to be dragging its feet on taking any significant initiatives in this area.  Whether this is down to Parry or the lying twosome, I don’t know but LFC needs to get its act together on increasing its global (shirt buying) support.  If we want to play with the big boys, we need to at least match their moves.

Perhaps we need to have the second coming of DIC to see this happen.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 7th, 2008 at 11:21 am and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.