Author Archive
L.F.C Writers Wanted
 | By Michael Owen · Comments |
Consider yourself a good writer? Can you type up an interesting story relating to Liverpool Football Club? If so, Walton Breck Road may be the place for you.
Walton Breck Road is a new(ish) L.F.C blog looking for new writers who feel they can contribute some quality pieces either as a guest writer or on a more permanent basis.
To apply simply send your name and a bit about yourself, along with a sample of your work (Word document) to mfowen91@googlemail.com
Thanks,
M. Owen
Final Reminder: Shorty Awards
| By Michael Owen · Comments |
Don’t forget you can watch the Shorty Awards live on their official website, streaming should start at 12.30am GMT.
Empire of the Kop are up for a sports award so come and support them just as you would Liverpool Football Club.
Hopefully we’ll be able to bring the trophy back to Anfield!
M. Owen
Michael@empireofthekop.com
While the debate rages on over Rafael Benitez’ future at Liverpool one argument that seems to favour those who want him out of the club is that money isn’t everything and he should still be able to do a job without it. Well, with clubs trying their hardest to bring in foreign money men and getting themselves into crippling debt it’s hard to see exactly how money isn’t important.
Those who argue money isn’t needed to generate success usually use the example of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. The Frenchman has managed to spend very little in his time as the Gooners boss, instead relying on bringing in relative unknowns and developing the youth team. Indeed, this did prove very successful for the London club, with them collecting a number of league titles, domestic cups and even reaching a European Cup final.
However it’s been fuor years since Arsenal have won a major trophy and the main reason for that is their spending policy. Whilst the way Wenger spends was perfectly suited to football up until the middle of the decade a big change in the league made the Penny-pinching Arsenal financial tactic out of date. That change is the arrival of the foreign billionaires to the worlds most popular football league.
Roman Abramovich was the first true money man to arrive in the England when he took over Chelsea in June of 2003. Although foreign investors had took over English clubs before him, most notably Malcolm Glazer’s gradual aquisition of Manchester United, Abramovich was the foreigner who came in with the sole intention of running Chelsea as a hobby rather than a business, which meant he pumped in hundreds of millions without any real expectation of a return on his investment.
Chelsea, who when the Russian took over were struggling to qualify for the Champions League, are now one of the most formidable sides in Europe, winning two league titles, two F.A Cups and two League Cups, as well as getting to the Champions League final in 2008. There’s no doubt the high spending by the oligarch has lead to Chelsea’s success and it’s a prime example of how important money has become in football.
The only club in England that have truly been able to keep up with Chelsea in recent years is Sir Alex’s Ferguson’s Manchester United, but their financial stability is under-threat with debts that have the potential to cripple the 18 times league champions. The current league champions are currently estimated to be paying £48,00o an hour on interest on their debts. That, of course, is just the interest on its own without even considering the actual debt, which stands at around £750 million. United’s 2009 accounts reported just over £40 million was paid back in interest payments during the year, with the club making an operating profit of £32 million, which means the club would have been in the financial red if it hadn’t have been for the £80 million sale of star player Cristiano Ronaldo.
A large chunk of United’s debt is scheduled to be paid between 2013 and 2015, and that’s got the clubs money men in a panic. Despite how it may have been covered up United had to sell Ronaldo to keep themselves out of the red in 2009 and they’re likely going to have to sell more and more star players into the future, especially with some of the debt repayments due in just three years time. This may be the decade that see’s the fall on Manchester United and it’s all to do with money.
While red side of Manchester may be facing financial collapse the blue side will be significantly more optimistic about their future since the arrival of the leagues second big money man Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi. The oil-rich Arab has personal wealth of around £6 billion, though being a part of the U.A.E royal family will most likely mean he has much more than that at his disposal.
The similarities between Chelsea and City are quite considerable, Chelsea turned from a team challenging for a European place into a team challenging for the league and City have turned from a team struggling to get in the top half in to a team seriously challenging for a place in next years Champions League competition. The similarities don’t end there, Chelsea got rid of manager Ranieri after he proved he couldn’t effectively spend the hundreds of millions at his disposal, the same can arguably be said for Hughes at City. Chelsea replaced the Italian with curent Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho and City have brought in the former manager Roberto Mancini.
Both have made massive progress in a short period of time, and it’s only going to continue into the future unless another billionaire is attracted to a Premier League club.
To a lesser extent Aston Villa have also benefited from a considerable cash injection from American Tycoon Randy Lerner, who has overseen the resurgence of the Birmingham club into a serious outfit challenging for European football. While his investment isn’t to the same level as that of City and Chelsea’s owners it still is worth a mention. Under his ownership Martin O’ Neil has spent millions on the likes of Downing, Friedel and Milner and has had to sell very little, with the one of a few major players to leave the club being Gareth Barry who of course headed for City in the summer.
So, back to Arsenal’s current spending system. To put it simply it’s outdated and their success in recent years shows it. While Arsenal will be able to compete for Europe in years to come thanks to having a 60,000 seater stadium in the center of London I can’t see them getting close to the league title again, not with the established money of Chelsea and the emergence of Manchester City as contenders for the best of the rich clubs crown. It has to be noted Arsenal have a particularly good youth team but can you really expect to compete when you’re integrating youth players into the squad and only bringing in one high-price signing every few years? Especially when City and Chelsea will be buying the best in the world window after window.
Saying that things are only likely to get worse on the home front as well. Liverpool’s sell-to-buy policy is less than sustainable when the two rich clubs are spending big. Couple this with £250 million of debt and high interest payments and things are looking gloomy financially for the Reds. Liverpool’s historic stadium gives them a disadvantage as well, especially against Arsenal and debt-ridden United, who both have over 60,000 seats with a host of executive boxes while Liverpool can only boast 45,000 seats and a basic ability to cater for corporate customers.
So, what could happen to the Premier League in the coming years? If City and Chelsea keep their current owners I have no doubt they will end up being the two biggest clubs in the country. If United can’t re-finance they’re going to have serious problems in years to come and even if they can it’s only delaying the inevitable. The only thing that can seemingly save the red side of Manchester from financial meltdown now is new owners willing to invest just as much as Abramovich has at Chelsea. Arsenal and Liverpool’s inability to spend will no doubt see them fall further and further behind the pack, although our lack of a world class stadium may see us falling further behind than Arsenal.
If things continue as they are Chelsea and City may end up being the Celtic and Rangers of the Premier League. Both clubs will likely have the ability to grab first and second place every season and they make look down at the rest of the table for new signings, luring players from all their rivals with promises of big wages and silverware. I may be going a bit over the top, but it’s hard to see this league be anything but a two horse race in years to come, not unless other clubs attract serious investment from a billionaire.
Of course it could go a different way, with the huge taxes now imposed on football players they may be attracted to Spain or Italy, making on of them the most popular league in the world, stealing the Premier Leagues long worn crown. If that’s the case the billionaires may get bored with their toy team and go off in search of something more interesting, leaving clubs like City and Chelsea with huge wages and nobody to pay the bill, allowing clubs who had been in their shadow to take their crown at the top of the table. Ultimately though, the only clubs that will prosper if the billionaires get bored are the next richest clubs in line. This is a game that is reliant on money, even if the bubble does burst on the Premier League.
So, that’s the story of the Premier League and money so far and it’s one which isn’t likely to have a happy ending.
M. Owen
michael@empireofthekop.clm
Pundits: Just Like Managers But Without Guts
| By Michael Owen · Comments |
Rafael Benitez has took a lot of criticism from various football pundits in the media this season, most of which I feel us unwarranted and short-sighted. The real fact of the matter is 90% of these so-called ‘experts’ are only in their jobs because they didn’t have the bottle to go into management themselves.
Firstly let’s look at Rafa’s biggest critic, one Stan Collymore. Over the last season the Brummie has attacked the Spaniard whenever he could for whatever he could. Clearly the former Liverpool forward has an agenda against the manager and seemingly the club on the whole, knocking both whenever he can, either on his TalkSport radio show or his Daily Mirror column. But what has Stan ‘the man’ Collymore done to earn such a high platform in which to voice his opinions? Well, nothing, really. Stan is the classic example of a very average footballer with a very big mouth who craves to be in the media limelight, and will say anything and everything in order to get his five minutes of fame. Many media establishments will happily entertain him by giving him blogs and shows. The problem is Stan has little to no knowledge about anything to do with management. As a player he wasn’t tactically aware and it’s shown into his retirement, with his ridiculous outbursts. Just because you were once a player doesn’t mean you know what it takes to be a great manager, something Mr. Collymore needs to learn.
My final word on Stan is that you might want to note the complete lack of job offers coming his way for management positions, clear evidence of how highly his opinion is regarded.
Another one of the more outspoken critics of Rafa and Liverpool is Sky Sports own Andy Gray. Ever since his time spent at Everton the big Scot has had a grudge against the Reds (most likely because of the number of times we deprived him of trophies). His never ending comments on zonal marking when we play is bordering on obsessive, despite the fact he never seems to mention it when Chelsea use it to their disadvantage. You could consider Gray not quite as bad as Collymore, after all he’s just another Blue with a chip on his shoulder and of course there’s one other major difference between Gray and Collymore, Gray bottled it. Big Andy was offered the chance to manage Everton not so long ago, a chance he turned down. Surely a pundit who thinks they know better than every manager in the league (bar Ferguson) would be more than happy to take a high-profile job at a former club. Well, clearly not.
One of Andy Gray’s Sky Sports co-workers is also someone who greatly enjoys putting Rafa under scrutiny- Richard Keys. While Andy Gray has the Anti-Rafa stuff covered up in the commentary box Keys has it all sorted in the studios, blaming everything on Rafa and whenever anyone tries to mention the owners he’s very quick to change the subject. What makes him laughable is that he’s never played football at any sort of high level, not even semi-pro. He’s never held a position at a major football club, he’s just a T.V presenter who is paid to make people sit up and pay attention. How a man who has no experience in the game at all gets the chance to voice his opinion to millions each week is beyond me.
The same can be said of TalkSport presenter Darren Gough, who likes to make a joke about the Liverpool manager whenever he can. Yes, that’s right, Darren Gough the cricketer, not the footballer, or the former manager, the cricketer. If anyone’s footballing opinion should be disregarded by decent football fans it’s his, regardless of if he’s played a bit of lower league football before picking up the bat. In fact, the whole of TalkSport tends to be very anti-Liverpool, minus Scouser Micky Quinn. If there was one radio station I’d suggest Liverpool fans avoid for health reasons it’s that one.
Of course, there’s two sides to every story. Some of the pundits out there are the exception to the rule and two I’ve noticed are our own Phil Thompson and former United star Steve Coppell. Thommo as he’s nicknamed often stands up for Rafa and presents the facts, a welcome change from the baseless lies spouted by other journalists that seemingly a large percentage of Reds seem to absorb. It has to be said that Phil is expected to be bias, he’s a clued up Red after all, but that isn’t why I can tolerate Mr. Manchester United Steve Coppell. Despite the former Reading manager only being a pundit for a few of our matches I hold him in high regard, he’s not shock-jockey calling for the managers head, nor will he say the manager is blameless. He has a balanced view and takes into consideration the bigger picture.
What’s the two things that links these two decent pundits? They’ve both been managers in the past. Coppell had a notably successful run at Reading while Thompson served as Houlier’s understudy and stepped in when the Frenchmen had heart problems. That’s the thing, the former managers or at least those with a bit of experience, give balanced and fair view, without an agenda. The talentless ex players and media darlings don’t and far too many Liverpool fans are being taken in by their rubbish.
M. Owen
michael@empireofthekop.com
Selection Headache for Reds Ahead of Stoke Clash
| By Michael Owen · Comments |
With a host of first team players out of action for Liverpool’s trip to the Britannia Stadium Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez faces a selection headache going into the game on Saturday.
The most notable absentees from the Liverpool dressing room tomorrow will be talismanic captain Steven Gerrard and top scorer Fernando Torres.
The two star players aren’t the only injuries the Reds boss will have to address going into the match. Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun will miss out along with winger Albert Riera and England first-choice right-back Glen Johnson.
However the Liverpool manager can take some comfort in the fact that he has new signing Maxi Rodriguez at his disposal to face the Potters after the winger signed a permanent deal of Wednesday night.
The Reds will also be boosted by the return from suspension of Argentine captain Javier Mascherano, who may slot into the middle alongside Lucas Leiva.
Taking all this into account Rafa has a tough job on his hands in deciding who will be in his starting eleven. Here’s my selection
GK: Reina
RB: Phillip Degen
CB: Jamie Carragher
CB: Martin Skrtel
LB: Daniel Agger
RM: Maxi Rodriguez
CM: Alberto Aquilani
CM: Javier Mascherano
LM: Fabio Aurelio
AM: Dirk Kuyt
ST: David N’gog
It’s a tough choice to make, but that’s how I’d line-up.
Stoke are experts in the air so a tall and solid defense is essential which is my reasoning behind dropping Emiliano Insua from the first-team after a string of less than consistent performances.
Although many Reds may have chose Steven Darby over Phillip Degen I thought the full-back put in a decent shift against Reading and made some great runs down the wing and into their box. Last season we had trouble breaking down the Potters and I believe extra pressure from the full-backs may just make a difference.
The middle of the park was a tough choice to make, while I’d like to see Lucas in the center along with Mascherano, with Aquilani supporting Kuyt up front I felt we needed a more attacking option in the middle. With Fabio Aurelio looking like the only candidate for the left side (Babel claimed on Twitter he’s not in the squad) we needed a more attacking presence in the middle than the Brazilian.
Whenever I’ve seen Kuyt in the hole supporting the striker I’ve always thought he’s done a decent job. He lacks the pace to be a true winger and I think it brings out the best in him when he’s brought inside, hence why I put him in behind David N’gog.
Speaking of the Frenchmen I was unsure whether he’d be affective against a rough and tumble Stoke side, but with Torres out through injury and Voronin gone to Moscow Kuyt would be the only other real option and I’d much prefer him to be in the hole supporting N’gog than than Aquilani there supporting Kuyt.
While Pacheco has done brilliantly in the reserves whether it’s the right game to give him his first full debut is questionable. Although if he fit straight in he could be ideal to sit behind the striker if he doesn’t fit in it could cause us even more problems, which we just simple can’t risk at the moment, not when a win is needed.
Tell me your choices in the comments section, you might agree or you might think I’m totally off the mark. Whatever you think post it up.
M. Owen
michael@empireofthekop.com
On The Spot: The Europa League
| By Michael Owen · Comments |
After last nights dissapointing result against Reading Liverpool supporters from around the globe will be looking towards the Europa League to add some much needed silverware to Liverpool’s trophy cabinet at the end of this seasons campaign. With the Premier League being a distant, albeit statistically possible, dream Europe’s second competition offers Rafa’s reds their only true hope of bringing a cup home for the supporters.
Many have labelled the recently renamed competition a ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’ but the fact of the matter is Liverpool supporters of days gone by have always held the UEFA Cup in high regard and with nothing but fourth place left to fight for it’s an attitude many current Liverpool fans are beginning to increasingly adopt in the face of extending the clubs barren spell to four seasons. While our past UEFA Cup wins may not be placed at the top of the Liverpool F.C honours list here’s a brief recap of our successful history in the competition.
Whilst left in the shadow of the famous European Cup victories in Rome, Paris, London and most recently Istanbul Liverpool’s first taste of European silverware came in the form of the UEFA Cup under iconic manager Bill Shankly. It was the 1972-73 season and after a host of unsuccessful runs in both the European Cup and the Cup Winners Cup the Reds finally struck lucky in a two-legged tie against German outfit Borrusia Monchengladbach. The Reds stormed to a 3-0 victory in the home leg and despite defeat in Central Europe the Reds lifted the cup for the first time. Little did we know we’d go on to meet the plucky German side on a much bigger stage, the European Cup Final in Rome, a game which saw Liverpool win Europe’s top competition for the first time.
For the two years following the Red Army didn’t make an appearance in the UEFA Cup, instead having unsuccessful runs in both the European Cup and Cup Winners Cup. However in 1975 Liverpool were back in the competition and as with the last time went all the way, beating FC Bruges in two legs played in April and May of 1976. Little did Liverpool fans know but this would be the teams last victory in the tournament before going up a level and bringing the European Cup back to Anfield in 1977. Seemingly great managers have a history of making their mark on the UEFA Cup before the European Cup as this was Bob Paisley’s first European trophy since he took the helm after the retirement of Bill Shankly.
An interesting fact (or at least to me, anyway) as I already mentioned Bill Shankly’s Liverpool won their first UEFA Cup against Gladbach and then went on to beat them years later to secure our first European Cup under Bob Paisley. The pattern re-occured with our second UEFA and European Cups, with our second wins in both competitions coming against FC Bruges. Of course this record was broken when we went on to beat Real Madrid for our third European Cup.
To say there was a long period between our second and third UEFA Cup wins would be a bit of an understatement. Our third and most recent win in the competition came in 2001, some 25 years after we beat FC Bruges in 1976. Of course lots had changed over that period, Liverpool had won four European Cups and more leagues than you could shake a stick at. But for may reds the win in 2001 against Spanish side Deportivo Alves was probably our most memorable win in the competition. The game, which ended 5-4, was won by a golden goal, which although was put down as an own goal I attribute to the super signing Garry Mac. Not only did this represent our first time winning the competition in two and a half decades it also completed the treble-winning season off 2000-01, my favourite as a Red.
So, there’s a brief recap of our great history in the under-rated competition. As many have mentioned since we were knocked out of the Champions League, if it’s European, silver and shiny Liverpool F.C should give their all to win it. IT’s the kind of attitude I like to hear for a competition that gave me my favourite final ever on a mad night in Dortmund.
Here’s hoping we bring home number four this year.
M. Owen
michael@empireofthekop.com
