The Years of the Rafalution , Liverpool fans used to look to the future in hope of what could be.
The Years of the Royalution, Liverpool fans look back at the past at what could have been.
This Year, The King is back , and the Liverpool fans all over the world look at each other, for they have all just had their passions reignited.
The end, good riddance .
I just want to start off by saying , We liverpool fans have never attacked Roy Hodgson ” the person” , we’ve attacked Roy Hodgson ” The liverpool manager” I just wanted to make that Crystal clear on behalf of all the Liverpool fans and writers who criticized Roy Hodgson, i’m sure he’s a charming guy who i’d definatly love to have a cup of tea with one day… Like white liquid in a bottle, it’s Milk. We saw through the glass and said “Roy Hodgson is in the wrong bottle.”
To think, we waited 6 months for signs of Liverpool’s performance under Roy to jump start. This article is more of a sequel to last night’s ”The Royalution” article on EOTK I wrote . Am I the only Liverpool writer that’s for the first time writing an article with a smile on my face this season? ( No, being drunk doesn’t count)
I guess that means it’s time for me to retire the song I’ve been singing all these last few months,
( All together now )
To the tune of Hokey Pokey
“ So the Roy came in and the Rafa went out, Draw – Loss – Draw – Loss. The Kop were in doubt, Liverpool are twelfth , Roy’s still in. What the F***s that about?”
Last year Rafa was criticized for not reaching the potential Liverpool should have achieved with the team they had. This year Rafa is being criticized for not leaving a good enough team for Roy to reach the same potential he was criticized for not reaching last year. The king is back, he’s shown his admiration for Rafa and I hope him being back shuts them up….at least for a while.
Roy said after leaving Liverpool “I am very sad not to have been able to put my stamp on the squad,”
Oh Roy, how wrong you are. You’ve put your stamp on this squad alright . You’ve stamped us Hard. Liverpool football club’s become the kind of team you’re used to managing, a Mid tabled club performing worse than we did last year, the year considered the worst in Rafa’s Reign in charge.
The First half of Rafa & Roy’s last season as liverpool Managers.
“to be given the time to bring new players into the club in this transfer window and to have been able to be part of the rebuilding process at Liverpool. “
He’s right, he brought in 5 signings that have all at one point started a game this season to help push Liverpool above the “ failure “ of a season Rafael Benitez had last year. Let’s examine how the 5 signings helped Liverpool Improve .
(bellow are the percentages of the above stats; First 20 Premier league games)
15% Less Wins, 5% more draws, 10% more losses and 8 less points than last year.
Really, Roy ? who on earth could you have bought or done over the transfer window that would not only help you better Rafa’s “ failure” of a season, but do better ? What have Liverpool this season shown that could justify him staying any longer? Name us one game, or even one half?( look at Chelsea’s other losses this season before you think of mentioning them)
Roy may have meant to do the right thing, he may have wanted to do the right thing, bring success to Liverpool . No one will deny that, jokes aside, no he wasn’t sent by Sir Alex to ruin liverpool.We know that. For all I know he may have really worked on it all through the day and had sleepless nights planning our success. The bottom line is, if that was Roy giving 110% , then surely he knows Liverpool isn’t the job for him ?
Just as we fans say players need to have a certain “ class” and “ potential” to play for Liverpool, managers require the same thing, regardless of race. Rafa had a rough relationship with the press due to him not being “ English” . Roy had a rough relationship with the Liverpool fans for him not being “ successful” Which group of people made the wiser choice?
The Return of the King
I won’t even begin to act like I knew how it was like the last time he was in charge, I’ve read lots about it, I’d suggest you read Paul Tomkins’s articles on the King if you’re looking for details.
But that’s the amazing thing about it, how a man can be so loved, that the the millions of Liverpool fans world wide , for at least one second forgot about where we stand in the table. That the Liverpool fans all around the world can let go of how close we were to a title after the 08-09 season. It felt like Liverpool just won the champions league all over again, I felt my passion reignite and rejuvenate
There is one thing I’m confident of writing about in regards of the King being back, for the first time this year we’re going to see Passion. Let me rephrase that, we’re going to see Liverpool Passion. I can’t wait for our next Home game, I feel jealous I can’t be amongst the crowd. Surely it will be more alive than it’s been the last 20 years?
Don’t get me wrong, Rafa did the club right. The 2008- 2009 Season saw Anfield bouncing, his Champions league win, struggles to buy players with the budget, fighting of the media and of his bosses, all deserve credit . But picture it this way, imagine you haven’t eaten a meal in days and someone shoved in your face your favorite meal. You wouldn’t grab for the fork and knife, that’s for sure ! You’d rip right through it and attack it.
The Kop have been starved of football all season, come our next home game and they’ll be hungry. True, we have Man utd tomorrow , true we’ll see a team full of energy lead Liverpool. But tomorrow’s game won’t judge Kenny Dalglish’s rest of the season with Liverpool. This may be a new beginning but it certainly isn’t a fresh start. Rafa left a good enough team not to require a fresh start and rebuilding process like Roy stated.
Kenny knows the players and they know him. Kenny knows the staff and they know him. More importantly, Kenny knows the Liverpool fans and that in itself will ensure a better second half of the season.
( Settling in shouldn’t be a hard thing for The King )
What a season it’s been, off field that is. The horrid owners left and new ones saved us. Roy Hodgson failed and the King has finally returned to his throne.
I’ll end this with one of my favorite quotes.
Bill shankly “It was my idea to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. Napoleon had that idea and he conquered the bloody world.”
How close have we been this season to that dream ?Let’s all raise our Liverpool scarfs once again, together. Let’s raise it for a bright Red Future .
And to the King,
Goodluck
and
You’ll Never Walk Alone
To Follow me on twitter – >http://twitter.com/#!/9Ynwa6
Whether people wanted him to stay or not, the way that Hodgson was spoken about by ‘fans’ was frankly, rather disgusting.
I hope that it works out for Kenny because I’d hate to see him treated like that too.
Incidentally, I’d say it was more accurate to state that we’ve been starved of football at Anfield for 2 seasons.
Roy Hodgson, full credit to you for the way that you’ve conducted yourself today, not only in the best interests of the club but also considering the way in which you have conducted yourself in the face of such savage and personalised abuse.
Yes, I’m probably quite happy that he’s gone but in no way did he deserve the verbal onslaught that he received.
People can write what they want in response to this but I would like to wish him all the best for the future. YNWA Woy
Spot on article — good riddance hodgson he would have lead us to obscurity. Welcome the king.
I can’t stop smiling. Everyhing you said was with so much passion and I agree with every word. If we thought that first season with Rafa was bad enough, what Roy did was just plain horrible.
but now with King Kenny back… We probably won’t jump to te top of the table immediately but at least now there’s HOPE, what we never had with Roy. Every game I watched I wasn’t cheering, I was only hoping they wouldn’t loose.
But now it’s great to know I can hope for something more and I love it.
BRING IT KING KENNY! YNWA <3
Thank god, Roy’s gone. All good managers must first make full use of the squad that is in front of him first and then gradually bring in the players that he wants. Can’t understand why people kept saying Roy inherited a mess. He inherited a decent set of players only that he wasn’t able to motivate and organize them into a playing unit and bring the best out of them.
Kenny is a good interim. Lets hope the owners will find a good credible, well respected and effective manager for the long term. Lets get back to where Liverpool belongs – the top of the EPL and Champions League.
I sincerely hope that Dalglish is given ample opportunity to try and steady the ship and get us going again. I was six when he signed for Liverpool and remember where I was and doing the day he resigned. I grew up with Kenny at Liverpool and to say he is my hero is an understatement. What really worries me is the expectation that he will wave a wand and all will be fixed. I am not (and would never) question Kenny’s ability but 10 years out of the game is a long time. Sure he understands the game – there is no-one more qualified in the Liverpool way and he is a football man through and through. However training / player preparation / recovery methods have changed fundamentally from his time in the game. I have no he will be able to motiviate and inspire but he will need time/money/players to get us back to the top.
I’m a fan from nigeria.i love this team so much that i hate everything when we loose.roy’s era i lost my passion.for most matches i hoped for a draw cos loose is imminent.i wish kenny gets the change right.it’s really not going to be easy after all those ruins.with kenny’s passion ‘such that i wished for in roy but which he disappointed me for’ liverpool will be great again.i’m happy cos lfc is happy today
I’m still waiting for the ‘English’ loving football experts to say something. Jamie Rednapp hasnt made one comment about Roy’s defence all season. Andy Gray hasn’t said one thing about why Roy had a negative goal difference still in January, and as for Danny Murphy, that so called football expert who Rafa passed on because he wasnt good enough,Im still waiting for him to say something too. Some people wanted Martin O Neil, Didnt Rafa stuff his Villa team 7 vs 0? The way the English press has tried to negate everything Rafa did, is like how the Tudor propagandists turned Richard III, a noble king into an ogre.
When I read Kenny was back, I nearly fainted from happiness. And the English press are already in overdrive saying it is a mistake.
What is a mistake to them. Well it all comes down to who can knock off Fergie and Man U from their Fu _ _ ink perch. They knew Rafa with the right backing could, so they went into overdrive to destroy him. I bet they are sitting with their London and Man U bosses shitting themselves because the king is back.
Now Liverpool means business.
well put, aaron. Says it all. The article doesn’t give the stats for the second half of the season. Ps danny murphy warrants more respect. What next? Gallows by the shankly statue? I read some of these comments and shake my head.
@onthefence – Regarding your first comment and the last part of your second comment when you ended with ” Ps danny murphy warrants more respect. What next? Gallows by the shankly statue? I read some of these comments and shake my head.” i think my last comment sums it up, although you did so in a much more respectful way to the fans that didn’t act in a wrong way to him Roy hodgson ” the person” than Aaron did, and i respect your opinion as your own. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions.
Regarding your second comment – It’s pretty hard to write about the stats of the second half of the season when it hasn’t happened yet. If you meant Rafa’s second half of his last season, then sure…but why not talk about all the other halves of the seasons Rafa has had too? they’d all still statistically be better than the one we’ve just had.
Ynwa
Well done Nas, good writings there dude. Passion ignited again indeed
He will struggle, you’ll abandon him, and.call.for.data. repeat, but sub hiddink.for.danglishdanglish
Rafa for data
Sorry, new phone
@Nas Y
It seems you gave me more than you intended and it was amusing reading your response for several reasons.
First, you’re the one making sweeping generalizations about LFC fans, not me. From your article: “We liverpool fans have never attacked Roy Hodgson “the person” , we’ve attacked Roy Hodgson “the liverpool manager””. I call bullshit. Clearly happened, was there for all to hear and see, and it didn’t take a trip to the big bad media machine to recognize it. Plain as day.
Second, you try to erect several straw men that I’m supposed to parry so you can knock them down, like how I’m the one that needs to clarify my statement so that the vast numbers of fans you apparently represent aren’t offended. Nope. Not going to do it because I NEVER went down that road in the first place.
Third, my response was to you alone, not to “all” LFC fans, so it’s not my responsibility to placate people to whom I never referred in the first place. Unless you mean that you represent the unhinged side of the our fan base for whom your article provides cover in it’s undifferentiated nonsense to which, being from South Boston, I reply “Go f#@k yourselves.”
So no, you in fact gave me a lot. You gave insight into someone who’s willing to speak in generalities and can’t own up to them. You demonstrated that you’re willing to compromise your own integrity and the tradition of fair play written into the DNA of our club to set up straw men that have nothing to do with a challenge to your world order. And you’ve shown that you have a bit of a god complex by making statements like “If you want to prove a point, prove it right and avoid using offensive swagger to try knock the image of liverpool fans worldwide,” as if you were the representative of all things LFC when anyone with a modicum of literacy and logic could see that I was commenting specifically on your failings as a blogger, not to fans in the LFC family.
wow, you guys! My post leaves me feeling humble!
We can all agree that there is good,bad and indifference in everything and everywhere across the globe, cant we? We are no exception as human beings that love our football team.
We have some superb fans and we have some that ‘let the side down’. I could back the latter up but dont really think that it would be productive.
It doesnt matter which way your managerial allegiances lay- the past 1.5 seasons have been disastarous. And yes, Hodgson’s stats are the worse out of 2 very ordinary sets of stats. I had meant the second half or RB’s final season incidentally, but it’s been and gone, same as the past 5 months.
I dont want to quantify here and tarnish everyone that uses these very good fan sites with the same brush. There are numerous occasions though were people dont just cross the line, they leap over it! Some of the posts are extremely offensive and whether he’s performed as a manager or not the guy didnt deserve such an offensive tirade of abuse. Any one thing that he could be seen to have done wrong people pounced on him. What I was trying to say Nas was that this never used to be the Liverpool way.
I wrote on a different EOTK blog the other day and used my normal sign-in name and the unprovoked and nasty reactions can be very poor and undignified.
I think Aintoine et al do a great job putting so much into this for us fans but I do think that EOTK needs to reinforce the need for usesrs to adhere to groundrules.
I spoke up for Danny Murphy because he’s a fine player and he’s stuck by Woy the man. He’s well placed to be able to defend him. We all know that some of the ex-players can be vocal and sometimes ‘rub the fans up’ but let’s remember that not only is it their job on tv, they earnt some right on the pitch too. Again though, there need to be limits.
Finally, I think that Glen Johnson has had a stinker of a season so far, but to me he let himself down far,far more when he, like some of our ‘fans’ subjected someone to hurtful/personal abuse. Ways and means- I guess that’s what I mean.
Anyway, to Nas and Aaron, I hope you both patch up the differences and all the best.Tim
@ Onthefence – Very much respect your comments mate, YNWA
Whats life without a good exchange of ideas, and the best part about both sides of our arguments is, it was out of passion.Out of the love of our club.