JRC

Actually, he used to sit near me in the Main Stand, and was a moaning, miserable b@stard. * * The last bit isn't true, but the bit about him sitting in the Main Stand is. Blokes behingd me are serial moaners, and it gets on my t*ts. On Saturday, it was all about how 's****" Zonal Marking is, and was last year. I felt like asking whether that was specifically during the record clean sheet run , or generally in our 2nd best defensive record in the league season, but thought that there is never any point arguing with someone who is repeating an opinion they heard on the telly from someone who doesn;t know what they are talking about, but says it with conviction.

In the first leg, I said to my Lad that Pennant must have thought he'd died and gone to heaven, the way Xabi looked for, and found, him, glued to the touchline, at every opportunity. Let's nit jump to any conclusiond, or write the season off, just yet

Wasn't that Carson? Or was there another one? The Carson one was pretty well unstoppable, tbh. I really wanted Chris to succeed - he was a genuine Boyhood Red, but almost everty game he played in that extended run had him with that forlorn, hands outstretched, palms up look - "how did you expect me to stop that one?" as another moderate on target shot found it's way past him. Reina is our Future, and for that we must be eternally grateful.

US Marketing (of the kit) is entirely the manufacturer's responsibility, not the club's

So Groundshare is in your Top 10 then? Traitor!

He'll have an easy time at Bolton, apart from the crick in his neck as the ball passes over.

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Evans broke the transfer record with Collymore, and was given the support to get the likes of Wright - the England Centre Half - and Ince amongst others (e.g. Leonhardsson!). Evans may not have had the advantage of 4th place getting you into Europe, but that's because the placings are determined by Euro success for PL Teams - and in those days there was only ManU of any Euro staure, or genuine quality - no Chelsea, Arsenal were, for the most, pre-Wenger. So our slipping League positions in the mid-90's were more indicative of the malaise afflicting the club than can be guaged from direct comparisons with today's EPL - last years 3rd was better than anything under Evans, for example. Houllier's first signings were not expensive - Hyyppia, Henchoz, Westerveld etc - as the club was in a genuine pickle at the time - high wages to income ratio and slipping performance, irregular European cash, poor discipline and attitude; Houllier was only given the cash to splash (and waste, agreed) following the improved handling of the squad assets and the successes of 2001 which gave us some of our best financial results in years (and cemented us in G14, possibly crucial to our continued corporate status) - if anything, Evans blew the legacy of the earlier success, Geds at least blew the legacy of his own. No-one is asking for Ged to come back, nor for us to be blind to the failings of his regime - just hopeful, I feel, that the some respect for the positives in his regime, and pleasure in his continued good health and good luck, can be expressed.

All sounds a bit better-natured than the rather sniffy newspaper comments (Mail? Telegraph?) about one of the Hotels being renamed 'Little Liverpool'

FWIW, in Tom Bower's 'Broken Dreams', a scathing attack on the corruption at the heart of Professional Football, and the associated greed, mendacity and hypocrisy of various administrators, managers, agents and club officials, Parry is mentioned as one of the best respected (and honest) CEO/MD in the EPL, and a fine negotiator. Sack him anyway. Top, top post

Haven't we all missed the big question? "with a fairy or £10million (?14m) being mentioned." Who, exactly, was mentioned?

No Alonso either? I thought it was our Xabi that was, allegedly, the centre of attention on those occasions when the boys hit Garlands?

Another point on the unfavourable comparisons being made between us and Arsenal. Apart from the fact that Arsenal appear to be able to have an easier process - better land to build on, council support, more 'opportunities' for return on investment at Ashburton Grove, commercial potential at Highbury - the whole thing came within days of going pear-shaped (remember the Newspaper Front Pages of site apparently shut down while they desperately sorted out a cash injection). Yet it appears possible that we may well complete our ground in around the same time frame as them (c. 7 years). Even so, that ignores the fact that their imperative to move was much greater than ours - yes we do lose out every match day vs MAnU, and even the Toon, but Arsenal have been losing the same and a whole lot more for years - what may prove to be their most productive years, as well. If we have 3 years of lower crowds than Arsenal, that scarcely compares to the last 13 years (sorry to slip into 'Premiership' years, but it's a reasonable mark for capacity crowds) where Highbury held - what 10K leass then Anfield per game? Above all, the Board are undertaking the management of risk. This project, done wrong, could easily break the club.

I seem to recall he was actually seen in his car, leaving Melwood, just after Fowler left us....presumably heading for the Estate Agents

Compare and contrast.. Henry, his team's leading light, captain and talisman, had 2 vital chances in his team's biggest game of the season - both missed. For the second, he claimed to have a dead leg (presumably from the kicking he had taken) so couldn't hit it properly. Think of another such talisman - 2 chances...biggest game...never mind a dead leg, he could barely walk a minute earlier, but still had enough to hit a 35 yard screamer. Great players - and Henry is undoubtedly that - become legends if they DELIVER when it counts. God bless Stevie G.

Wilson must be the least informed and woeful football journalist in a senior position. If you read his Match report, apart from saying West Ham outplayed us - which they didn't - he manages not to provide any image, insight or adjectival flourish re Gerrards second goal - a casual mention in passing that Gerrard 'smacked' an equaliser past Hislop. If you didn't see the game, you would have no concept of the power, drama or magnificence of 'one of the best goals in FA Cup Final history'. Muppet.

Although - with the strange 'Letter to Benitez' story, Ferguson appears to have been more gracious over our victory than Jose (obviously) or Wenger. I've never heard any public comments in which he dismissed or derided our acheivements.

Collins must have a problem - he did the same 2 years ago after we were awarded a penalty (which Van Der Saar saved). He was so enraged, Coleman had to take him off almost immediately before the Ref gave him a second yellow - he was totally out of control.

Remeber Barmby's late goal against Leeds in the FA Cup? Robbie's dribble and cross from the left wing was better than anything anyone has done for us since...

Nicky Tanner. Once got taken off after half an hour having failed to connect with the ball on every occassion it came near him, and had turned into a quivering mass of nerves. Got a sympathetic clap, but never played again.

I've been to the Sapporro Japanese Restaurant in Duke Street twice in the past 6 months, and both times saw Reds players (apparently getting carry-outs) - first Zenden with a rather attractive partner, next time Alonso and Reina, plus a 3rd fella who may have been his Villareal mate who was over at the time. Clearly a good spotting location. (I also spotted David Weir in Borders, actually looking as if he was going to choose a book without pictures!)

I swapped my Main Stand Season Ticket for a Kop Ticket on Saturday to help a mate. Nostalgic at first as I ended up in roughly the same spec I stood at when the Kop was my Home (and bored my lad stupid with tales of those days and the characters, like Loud Bert). I was absolutely amazed, being used to a spec surrounded by regulars and a few corporates, to see how many tourist parties there were around. No objection to our continental supporters at all, glad to have you around, but I would have guessed around 30% of the crowd. There was a huge contingent of Borussia Moenchengladbach supporters, and from the hand signals going on between different rows and blocks, they were all over the place

I think the point is being missed about what made Kenny the King. Barnes - a living legend for sure, and one of my all-time top ten - was bigger, stronger, a better header, hardrfaster and could go past people at will. He was probably technically as good a passer of the ball as KD. In terms of those traditional footballer's attributes, Digger was more than a match for Kenny. As was, for example, someone like Hoddle, who had fabulous technique. Of course, Kenny was skilful in many ways, but it was not the skill per se that defined his genius, it was his vision, intelligence and football brain. Simply put, he saw patterns, runs, options, spaces and shots on a Football pitch that no-one else did, or could, and had the requisite skill to deliver what was required - often only as much skill as another player might have, but by doing something which they wouldn't even contemplate. The very best Chess Grand Masters have been so analysed - apparently they 'see' a different game on the board from the 'run-of-the-mill' Grand Masters. Such was the god-like genius of the man who will always be the King, that those who saw him in his prime are eternally privileged.