My oh my, now that post did strike a few nerves didn’t it! In truth, I was not surprised, as I expect and accept that people see things differently and have their own views, which unlike others, I tend to respect.
Having said that a few clarifications just to puts some minds to rest:
• Whatever I write, whether you agree with it or not, is my opinion and only my opinion. It is not EMPIRE OF THE KOP’s opinion neither that of Antoine.
• By the time I came to write this post, 24 comments had come in, and even though most of you crucified me, some actually agreed with me. So perhaps my reasoning was not all ‘rubbish’ as many suggested.
• People tend to see thing differently, and though I support Red, I don’t see Red. If people write something I don’t agree with I might comment on it, but I’d never say it’s rubbish.
• My article was not meant to be a crucifixion, it was actually meant to be my personal analysis. My personal analysis.
Enjoy your Sunday!
I think it’s sad that you have to justify yourself
Thanks for the clarification Tonio :-)
Agreed, its completely your view, and surely anyone should be allowed to make their own analysis of the situation, i completely agree with what you said, but i can see why others wudnt. However it is your view, and is completely valid, and therefore shud not be dismissed as rubbish.
Respect. I didn’t agree about your letter but I respect the way you handle this.
i actually agree with a lot of what you wrote. wish more fans saw things like that.
Sorry if I sounded harsh Tonio, but most of what you wrote seemed to me to be the same baseless stuff the modern-media publish week in week out. No solutions just a list of problems all happily blamed on the manager. If anything it seemed more negative than you claimed Rafa Benitez’ tactics were.
As I did mention in my comment I’ve agreed with near enough every article you’ve written before that, just not that one.
I guess we all feel the pain differently, and that’s the way it should be. Cornelius more than a justification I attempted a clarification friend. I am still convinced of what I wrote and perhaps time will tell if I am right or wrong.
Michael, we are still in time for solutions but you know how Rafa is. It’s his way or the highway. He is a fantastic manager, but he is stubborn, and his stubborness is not bringing results, and those are the facts! Actually you were extremely harsh but I took it in my stride as I did expect a similar reaction. My article did not have a list of problems, it had what I feel were, again in MY view, a look at committed errors that could have been avoided.
Oh and another thing. Rafa signed a contract knowing very well what we would have been in for. He is calling the shots on the pitch, and he is doing the same off the pitch with what has been put as his disposal. He is a great manager, one of the best around, but the results are NOT coming and most Reds fans a dissappointed as the team is not performing consistently.
“Once a Red, always a Red. It enters your blood and stays there, in the good times and in the bad times.”
You’re own words Tonio mate, perhaps you’d do well to adhere to them. There is the holy trinity of fans, player and manager. The latter two have a job to do, as does the former which is to support. You are one man, as you say you do not speak for us all but in that article you gave the impression you were, you probably don’t even speak for the majority. I’d like to know how you thought the Alonso deal would have allowed us to pilfer some of their top talent? You may be right but you’re assuming it as a given. Have you inside knowledge of the clubs transfer dealings or are you just another fan that believes they can run the club better than the man we currently have but are afraid to say it through being rightfully ridiculed?
David. Agreed about being a fan for life. If I am being critical of decisions taken it does not make me a non-fan, it makes me a worried and disappointed fan. Just in case you did not notice, some posts agreed with my opinion 100%, others rubbished it, but’s that how things go. As for the Alonso deal, we did not need to pilfer. The players I mentioned were all discarded and only Van der Vaart remains on their books. What I meant to say was that with Alonso being so badly wanted by Real we had the better side of bargaining power. People say that selling Xabi a year later probably brought in Stg 20 million more to the Club, but now I ask, would you prefer Stg 35 million or still having Xabi in our side? When things go wrong it’s never one person. I’ve written before that the owners, the manager and staff, and the players all have some form of responsability. It seems that you are happy with what’s been decided so far and the results we are getting. That’s your view and I’m completely comfortable with that.
I’m not happy mate, but given your age you should know we’ve been through this before, worse than this and come out at the other end. My worry is that articles like yours will fuel the ever growing calls for Benitez head, whether you meant it as that or not and that if we lose Rafa, who loves this club and has achieved great things with this club (this stopped with the change of ownership) and up until this season has been pretty much consistent in his achievements working on a much lower budget and from a poorer starting point squad wise than many of our rivals. I fear had the Internet been around in 1972 that this club would not be what it is today.
Agreed. The Souness era was not an easy one either. I’ve written a few times that sacking Rafa is not the way forward, but that does not mean I cannot pinpoint what I feel have been errors of judgement. David I may agree that the man loves Liverpool and the Club but we are in a predicament that no one ever even imagined we’d be in 4/5 months ago. We are not the ones taking the decisions, we are the ones that rejoice with success and feel down when things are not going for the better. One always remains a supporter, and voicing your concerns does not make you the enemy. Hopefully a few brilliant ideas in the coming weeks may inspire the team to bounce back to the standards we all expect.
And you couldnt have just put that in a comment reply?
Empire of the Kop is like a bloody forum not a blog or website. Its hardly a blog post let alone an article. Christ.
So, is there no celebration for Leeds?
so then stop posting it 4 others 2 read … this post as well as the first post both is rubbish …
Jimbo what do you mean by not a website?
In order to access this site you need to use a web browser and call a URL and it uses the HTTP protocol with port 80 open.
The site is hosted on a webserver, if you want details it runs on Apache.
Also how do you define a blog?
From Wikipedia
A blog (a contraction of the term “web log”)[1] is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (Art blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (Video blogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.
Do you not think having to play 12 different defenders this season due to injury make have led to the goals conceded, lack of confidence and thus our position? In effect we are the same team as last year – minus those who no longer wanted to play for us.
i actually agree with
u*
hi Tonio,
why do you say that Rafa is “stubborn”?
he was stubbornly sticking with his rotation policy, until last season. then he saw and realise that not rotating was probably better, so he has since ditched the heavy rotation. thats hardly stubborn.
one has to stick with what one believes in to be great. we all know and as you acknowledge, that he is a good manager. lat him do things his way, and trust that if he sees fit, he will change.
further proof of him not being stubborn is the way he offloads some players. Josemi, Baros, Cisse, Gonzalez, Morientes etc. they were all given good opportunities to prove themselves but when he realised that they are not right for Liverpool, they’re sold. as a stock trader, i admire this ability and willingness of his to “cut losses” very much.
just to add a little bit on Xabi’s exit. Xabi probably felln into the above category when Rafa wanted to sell him, and to be fair to Rafa, he did realise that Xabi still has potential. he wouldnt sell unless the “price was right”. this was a very important and admirable factor. in a way, he still belived that Xabi can be good, but if a good price comes in, he’d “cut his losses”. yes, my idea is abit ambiguous here but i hope you see what i mean.
maybe it bruised Xabi’s ego; maybe he really wanted to leave, given that he has a new child; and maybe he had been a liflong fan of Real Madrid. if you recall, Madrid had already agreed to buy him in 2004 but didnt go through with the deal after Perez lost the presidency. now that Perez has returned, things may have gone back to 2004 and Xabi wants to go to Madrid. we cannot tell, and to blame Rafa for his exit, i feel, is not totally justifiable. if it was a murder trial, i would say i would say that we CANNOT say “without a shadow of a doubt” that it was Rafa’s fault that Xabi left.
hope i wrote this (and my previous reply) with sufficient respect. been writing in a bit of a hurry….
me too…i agree with u tonio!!!!
I know how you feel Tonio, people should give reason for not liking a post, rather than just saying we are basically idiots. In the past some people have written back to me and point out wrongs in my tactical changes, some say why, others just try and make me feel stupid. I am only throwing an opinion into the mix, sometimes I know some of my ideas are a little out there, but why not, change is the way forward sometimes, as is going back to basics. Starting go on now, so for anyone who wishes to slate what an Empire of the Kop writer writes, why don’t you get on here and gives us your views!