Archive for Amanda’s Opinion
S.O.S German Branch
 | By Amanda Musch · Comments |
A couple of time ago the Liverpool’s Supporters Union (S.O.S) have announced that they are opening branches beyond Merseyside. They are starting their global expansion by opening union branches in London, Sweden, and a virtual branch online.
Joackim Lundberg, founder of the Sweden Branch said “I have together with some other supporters started a Sweden Branch, I hope that more countries and cities are following us. We have 69 members”
Scouser Tommy Branch Chair Kevin Reavey commented “As an online community the Scouser Tommy Branch brings together Reds fans from all over the world, which reflects not only the scale of our club’s support, but also how far the real concern over its current state and future direction has reached. The club is at a crossroads and, if we want to safeguard its future, we supporters must unite behind a common cause and speak with one voice.”
There are also plans to start a German Branch run by Thomas Stanke, a red from Bremen. Currently he’s gathering feedback from reds in Germany which would allow him to open this branch. For all German Reds reading this: If you’re interested in joining the German S.O.S Branch do not hesitate to contact Thomas Stanke (bremer@german-reds.de) or go to the German Reds official site german-reds.de for more information. Or do it both.
I have the pleasure to be in contact with Thomas, and recently I had the opportunity to ask him some questions about his commitment to LFC, his S.O.S membership, and about starting the German Branch. I find the result as a very – small – interesting look on the “being a foreign LFC supporter” issue.
Why and how did you become Liverpool FC fan?
THOMAS STANKE: I was born in 1976 in the DDR (The German Democratic Republic; German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik), and grew up in Schwedt/Oder. As far as I can remember, football always has been important to me. I used to play in a team since the age of six. The one who infected my Liverpool was my father; through his passion for The Beatles, and the City of Liverpool.
Unfortunately, in those days, it was rather difficult, to get some information about the club. The one or the other percolated through the Berlin Wall, but first after the political change I was able to becalm my curiosity about the LFC in a proper way; I tried to obtain as many information about the club as possible.
Though for my first live experience I had to wait till 2001: the UEFA Cup final in Dortmund against Alaves. An experience I shall never forget. From that time on I’m trying to attempt all matches in Germany, and within the radius of 800 kilometers. I’m visiting Anfield as often as possible as well.
What does Liverpool FC, and the fan fellowship mean to you?
T.S.: LFC and the fellowship became a part of my family life. Via LFC, and the German-Reds fan clu, I I’ve found lots of friends here in Germany, England, Holland, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and France, and I’m giving myself over to this.
My five-year old son is also already infected with the Red virus … The last summer we both travelled to the 1000 kilometers distant Vienna, therewith he could see the Reds playing live. He’s talking about that ever since, and looking forward excitedly to his first visit to Anfield.
Do you see yourself as a member of a family?
T.S.: YES! Definitely. Every time I’m visiting Liverpool, I’m always received very well, and extremely friendly. I feel at home!
Speaking of which … I have to mention this one experience I made. In 2008 I spontaneously flew over to attend a LFC match, and I had only been able to be in the city for 16 hours. When the taxi driver, who was driving me to the airport, found out that I flew over only for the match, and have been there only for a couple of hours, he didn’t let me pay the for the taxi! I was gobsmacked … !
Since when are you S.O.S member?
T.S.: Since 2008, via a contact to Tommy Keiner!
Why do want to launch the S.O.S Germany Branch?
T.S.: To have the opportunity to make S.O.S popular – or more popular – here, in Germany; and to throw some light on their work. Furthermore there are some issues, which are from especial importance for us in Germany, and which should/could be optimised.
Which aims do you plan to achieve with?
T.S.: Like I said, to clear up the fans, to sensitise, and to enable the German fans to get better information about our Club. To put in other words: to make their fan live easier.
Targets for the future?
T.S.: On Saturday, the 23rd October 2010, the 3rd – and mine second – consecutive annual German Reds LFC Supporters Club (AIB) Branch meeting will take place in Liverpool City Centre. Between 50-70 German Reds will visit the city and join the event. Tommy Keiner will join the event as well, and he will tell the guests about S.O.S, and his live in Liverpool.
The last Question: your ultimate LFC experience?
T.S.: Every match is an experience. The UEFA CUP final in 2001 remains as THE memory, and of course the many trips to Liverpool. Sami Hyypia’s last match in 2009 against Tottenham was very emotional too.
Thank you for your time, Thomas!
As Thomas mentioned in the interview, he dedicated his life, and a lot of time, to Liverpool FC. During the last friendly encounter with Borussia M’Gladbach he, and 200 reds from Holland, Belgium and France, travelled to Gladbach to support the team. They also arranged a fantastic “Hicks & Gillet Out!” campaign in, and around the stadium, and were even caught be the television cameras. The whole country was able to watch the “H&G out!”, and the S.O.S banners for 30 seconds! Awesome publicity, and a brilliant job.
One more time: thanks for your time, Thomas. In the name of all KOPites.
Here are some photos of the M’Gladbach banner action I mentioned above:
Once again, I am appealing to all German LFC fans: support Thomas Stanke in launching the German S.O.S Branch, and contact him via bremer@german-reds.de or visiting the German Reds official site german-reds.de. Thank you in advance!
Y.N.W.A
For the German version of the interview go to my blog MyRubber-Soul.blogspot.com.
-Amanda
Sami’s unwanted experience
| By Amanda Musch · Comments |
Yesterday’s match day in the German Bundesliga was truly a crazy one. The small teams drowned the big fishes, goals were falling like clockwise, some stars proved their brilliance (Ruud van Nistelrooy), some proved their overestimation (Michael Ballack).
One of the most dramatic matches was the Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s encounter with Borussia M’Gladbach. Nine goals were scored, from which six for Gladbach. Well, our Sami Hyppia’s team lost with a real blast. I felt sad for him, but at the same time felt proud of our ex-red, as he was captaining the team yesterday, which really suited him. :-9 Unluckily, he couldn’t avoid the defeat, and feel proud of his team by himself.
After the match he commented on it in a short, Finnish style: This was a new experience for me. I don’t want to have it again.” *grins*
Though I really feel gutted for him, this comment made me smirk. It is so typical for him.
Sami, I agree. Y.N.W.A
Quote provided by: Frank Nägele
Photo by: dpa
-Amanda
A Dutch-Spanisch connection
| By Amanda Musch · Comments |
It took some time, but finally we gained the first 3 points in the PL under Roy Hodgson. Yesterday’s encounter with West Bromwich Albion ended 1:0, thanks to Fernando Torres’ beauty of a goal (66 min.), but the performance of the whole team was far from convincing.
We started as poorly as we did in Turkey, and the first half made me shudder. We played comatose, were losing the ball, the passes were wrong, the mistakes agglomerated … It was woeful. We played poorly, and considering which team we played, makes the performance even more woeful. I really had to fight against myself to stay positive. I tried to concentrate on the tiny good things. Well, if you are trying hard … Jovanovic and Gerrard were working hard; Poulsen wasn’t nearly outstanding, but for me, he looked quite solid in the midfield. I do want to rate him by now, I’ll give him some time. Alberto Aquilani was given so much time, why not give some to Christian? Maxi looked solid as well.
The second half (at least a part of it) was slightly better: more dynamic, more aggressive and we could have scored more often, but the WBA defense was too good for us. We have to give credit to Albion, as they played very intelligent, covering and defending well, without fear, and a couple of dangerous goal chances. Thanks to our Pepe … He stood there as a one.
The 66` minute was a soupcon of Torres brilliance we all know, and miss, so much. Dirk Kuyt led the break, exchanged passes with Torres, and surged onwards down the left before picking out the unmarked Spaniard on the edge of the area with a perfectly weighted chip. Torres connected cleanly on the volley and found the bottom corner of Scott Carson’s goal.
“These kind of players only need half a chance,”said the WBA manager Roberto Di Matteo, after yesterday’s match at Anfield. “That piece of magic made all the difference,”concurred Hodgson, and there surely were some sparks of the old Torres magic we got used to.
As Antoine tweeted, and broke his personal being-retweeted-record, “That was our 2000th League Victory or 350th EPL Victory and Torres’ 50th Anfield goal.”
A sweet record, nothing to sneeze at! And a couple of minutes later this record could have been made even sweeter, as Steven Gerrard superbly passed to Torres, but this time with less luck.
The final stage of the match became a bit lethargic again, but we secured the victory, the three points, and well … I’ll take that. We didn’t do that much, so the result is completely justified.
As for me, this match was far from satisfying. The new signings still need to settle into the team, the “old” players aren’t fully fit yet, and the team as a whole still needs to wake up, and try to avoid making stupid mistakes.
With Joe Cole returning to the squad after his ban it all should change. With our new boy from Portugal, Raul Meireles, we got a important addiction to the squad, and I can’t wait to see him playing. He was one of the most important players for Portugal in South Africa, and I hope, he will show that class for Liverpool too.
In my opinion, Roy’s signings are good, they just need some time to work out. The fans are very inpatient, but let’s give the new boys some time. It doesn’t hurt.
Liverpool:Jose Manuel Reina,Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger, Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel, Steven Gerrard, Dirk Kuyt, Leiva Lucas, Christian Poulsen, Fernando Torres (Ryan Babel, 89), Milan Jovanovic (Maximiliano Maxi Rodriguez, 60)
-Amanda
Seja bem vindo em Liverpool, Raul!
| By Amanda Musch · Comments |
What can I say about our new boy? Well, he is a very good player. I enjoyed his performance in South Africa. Furthermore, he’s my age group, also born in 1983. And what else? He has stolen my haircut!!! *grins* But I do not mind now, as he’s a part of a family. :-) Show us you’re worth the money, show us what you can. Write history. Make us proud!
Seja bem vindo em Liverpool, Raul!
-Amanda
Manchester City three – Liverpool … nil
| By Amanda Musch · Comments |
Together we are strong!
I won’t judge yesterday’s performance: neither the lads, nor the manager. Better read this coverage instead. Why should I repeat? Well then. I’m trying to stay positive, although it’s very hard after defeat like this one against the “Giants”, like ESPN called City … I leave it uncommented. I am already trying to focus on the our journey to Turkey, rubbing it in doesn’t makes sense, and doesn’t help.
It was a disappointing performance, enough said. Though we, the Liverpool fans, shouldn’t push the panic bottom by now. There’s still work to be done on both sides: Roy Hodgson needs to get to know better the players, and they need to accustom themselves with his way of working, and his tactics. There’s no doubt about that, and furthermore: we all know that! So let’s accept it!
It’s going to be a hard season, it was clear enough before the ball was kicked off against Arsenal last week. A defeat is not amusing, watching the team’s poor performance is a sore. Our lads need to improve, and they know that as good as we do. This is their job.
What can we do then? What is our job? Our duty is to support the team. To support the team as a whole, and each individual player too, even though we may not like his attitude or performance or whatever. Furthermore, we have to support the manager. They all are our club. And they need us.
It is rather unfair to call for Roy’s head at this early stage of the season. Come on, people, give him some time. Have you already seen enough to judge him that hard? The situation he’s in now is quite similar to Louis van Gaal’s after taking over Bayern Munich. The team lost games, was poor in performance, lacked in teamwork, and the critics were very loud-voiced. We all know how I ended, don’t we? I do not say we’re going to win the league (at least not this year), I’m realistic enough, but we have to believe in better times. There’s still plenty of time, teams to be beaten, goals to be scored, and points to be earned. They’re still out there, waiting. Why panic?
Roy Hodgson said: “It’s not the job, it’s the fan’s expectations.”
He’s right. Let’s give him a chance, some time, and – more important – let’s be fair! Come on … We call ourselves the best fans in the world, our motto is “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Let’s prove how good we really are, and that we truly live our motto. To judge is the easiest way.
-Amanda
Liverpool one, Trabzonspor nil.
| By Amanda Musch · Comments |
It was a win for Liverpool but whether it will be enough to get us into the group stage of the Europa League remains to be seen. Roy Hodgson made seven changes to his weekend line-up with Steven Gerrard given a night off, and it certainly disrupted the rhythm. The only goal came on the stroke of half time: Ryan Babel finishing smartly from a Joe Cole fine delivery. The second half was better. The introduction of Fernando Torres lifted the crowd performance on the pitch, but it didn’t lead to more goals. Joe Cole had a penalty saved after a foul on Lucas, and Christian Poulsen was denied a debut goal by the referee. All in one it means: decent, we take that, but it could have been better.
Or like our gaffer said: “I think we probably deserved more but can only blame ourselves. We missed a penalty and if do that you can’t blame anyone else. With the second-half performance we deserved a second goal, which would have made the trip to Turkey more comfortable. Now it won’t be comfortable at all.”
True. There were chances enough. First the early header by Sotirios Kyrgiakos. Than the penalty. Then several chances by Torres and then Poulsen’s denied goal. Speaking of whom … Christian looks an intelligent player, with this nice, simple penetrating passes. The firts half wasn’t a smashing one by him, he didn’t look much mobile, but I take that as a warming up. In the second half he was noticeable better, and it could have been a perfect debut for him in the red shirt, but the referee crossed his plans.
In the first half Liverpool haven’t been brilliant in overall. There were few moments but they weren’t enough to capture the Turkish side. The impressive moments came from Soto, who really had a good day. The one who shined was Jovanovic: so powerful, so determined, outstanding.
The one who scored, and the one who nearly did: Ryan Babel and Joe Cole
Ryan Babel scored the goal after Cole’s cross. Very well then. It still didn’t convinced me about him and his staying at Anfield. I truly do not understand why so many keeps on backing him. He was disappointing in the past. He is disappointing in the present. He scored yesterday, fair enough, so what? I can’t notice any measurable development either in his performance or in his attitude. I think many are being unfair against Ngog as they keep on criticizing him despite his superb performance and development. Ryan keeps on disappointing, then he has the one moment and he already is a hero. How does that work? I don’t understand. He brought some fresh air? I’m sorry, when did that happen? Didn’t notice … This is also unfair against Lucas, who’s trying so hard to improve, and the pundits keep on moaning. Speaking of which … The only thing Ryan Babel keeps on improving is moaning. But when he gets the chance to play, and o to show his qualities, he doesn’t. The one moment yesterday? This is so not convincing me. Luckily Joe Cole was sticking around … Ryan needs to change his attitude first, then I’ll – perhaps – back him fully. I do support him, ‘cause he’s our player, but I do not back him.
The second half was much better by Liverpool. Torres replaced Babel and made an immediate impact on the Turkish goal. He must have learned from Kuyt, because he seemed to be everywhere. Fernando was sharp und very impatient to score, and as I mentioned, the team played better straight away but, unfortunately, it didn’t help us to score. The one who got it into the headlines again was Joe Cole. Poor Joey, ay. In my opinion he really did well yesterday, he only wasn’t that lucky with the penalty. A shame, but what can you do? We cannot change this. Just as little we can change the refs’ decision on Poulsen’s goal. What a shame. Trab’s keeper did the most, if you ask me … I liked what I’ve seen from Poulsen, and I’m looking forward to more.
José Reina got his costly mistake against Arsenal out of the system when he denied Umut Bulut a precious away goal with the Trabzonspor captain unmarked in the area.
So what did we learned from yesterday’s match?
That Roy seems to be the right man for us (so far). He seems to get us back on our route. That’s good. That’s very good. I like that. It makes me feel (realistic) positive. We’ve seen a good mix of young and experienced players on the pitch which worked, and I liked that as well.
We’ve seen some sweet moves by Joey. Oh, I love this lad! We’ve seen an outstanding Soto and a shining Jovanovic; my MOTM.
Furthermore we’ve seen our King Kenny in the stands, which always is a delight.
All in one it could have been better, but it always can, so I take the win, and stay positive. We still can do it, the door to Europe aren’t shut yet.
Let’s focus on Manchester City now.
-Amanda
