Hari ini dalam sejarah

Kita lupakan sebentar gejolak pemilihan pengurus baru Liverpool. Lebih-lebih lagi sekiranya benar yang bakal dilantik ialah Roberto Martinez. Hanya menambah kerunsingan sahaja.

Mari kita renung kembali apa yang berlaku pada hari ini tujuh tahun yang lalu, Liverpool menentang AC Milan dalam Perlawanan Akhir Liga Juara-Juara Eropah (European Champions League Final). Walaupun kita sebenarnya tidak pernah jadi juara liga sejak 1990, sudah peraturan membenarkan masuk Liga 'Juara-Juara', masuk sajalah. Bak kata orang tua-tua, rezeki jangan ditolak :)

Mari kita ingatkan kembali apa yang kita lalui pada malam tersebut. Bilik tidur aku di tingkat atas. Bilik TV yang ada Astro pulak di tingkat bawah. Anak-anak kembar aku masa tu baru masuk setahun. Bila nak bangun turun ke bawah terpaksalah perlahan-lahan jangan sampai anak-anak dan isteri terjaga. Sampai di bawah, bila aku buka TV, rupa-rupanya perlawanan sudah lima minit bermula. Tengok bahagian atas kiri skrin rupa-rupanya AC Milan dah jaring satu gol. Sedih, belum sempat pun nak duduk.

Persembahan separuh masa pertama Liverpool memang menyedihkan. Harry Kewell tak sampai 20 minit sudah terpaksa keluar. Yang masuk pulak Vladimir Smicer yang sepanjang musim entah berapa kerat perlawanan sahaja yang dia main.

Bahagian tengah dan pertahanan Liverpool habis dikotak-katikkan Shevchenko, Kaka dan Crespo. Crespo dapat menambah dua lagi gol, maka kedudukan separuh masa pertama tamat dengan Liverpool ketinggalan 0-3. Kalau Crespo dan Shevchenko lebih tamak dan berbisa, lebih daripada tiga pun memang boleh.

Berhenti rehat untuk separuh masa kedua, apa yang anda lakukan? Tutup TV masuk tidur, atau bersabar dengan harapan menunggu separuh masa kedua?

Aku masa tu belum lagi solat Isyak. Jadi tutup TV pergi solat dulu. Belum lagi putus asa tapi sudah nak hampir. Lepas solat, duduk di atas sejadah lama sedikit. Bukannya zikir panjang tapi tengah fikir samada nak buka balik TV atau naik atas tidur. Akhirnya, aku bukak TV balik. Separuh masa kedua sudah berlangsung lebih 10 minit. Perkara pertama yang aku perasan, penyokong-penyokong Liverpool dalam stadium semuanya terlompat-lompat. Tengok bahagian atas kiri skrin, rupa-rupanya Liverpool sudah jaringkan dua gol.

Di atas padang, Carragher bawak bola dari bawah. Lepas garis tengah, dia hantar bola panjang leret ke kaki Milan Baros. Baros berada dalam kotak penalti, badan dia membelakangkan gol. Ada pemain Milan yang menghimpit. Lalu datang Steven Gerrard memberi bantuan. Baros, walaupun ditekan dapat menguis bola ke arah Gerrard. Gerrard sampai ke kotak penalti sambil berlari dengan pantas. Dapat mengawal bola tapi diasak dari belakang oleh Gattuso. Gattuso tidaklah mengasak kasar sangat. Gerrard pun sedar Gattuso ada dibelakang mengejar dia, jadi dia pun jatuh. Memang sah penalti pun. Dalam kotak penalti, mana boleh sentuh pemain lawan yang menyerang.

Yang diberi tanggungjawab mengambil penalti Xabi Alonso. Dia memang selalu ambil penalti untuk Real Sociedad tapi rasanya tak pernah ambil penalti untuk Liverpool. Yang selalu ambil Steven Gerrard. Mungkin Rafa Benitez sudah tentukan sebab penjaga gol Milan, Dida pasti sudah mengkaji bagaimana Gerrard ambil penalti.

Alonso memulakan langkah, kamera TV bertukar pulak ke angle depan gol. Alonso sepak, tak masuk! Dida merebahkan badan ke arah yang betul. Mujur Alonso cepat bertindak. Dia meneruskan larian dan sampai kepada bola hanya beberapa mikro-saat lebih dahulu daripada Alessandro Nesta. Terus disepak kaki kiri tinggi ke dalam pintu gol Milan. Bila melihat jaring tu bergegar, tak dapat digambarkan betapa gembiranya semua pemain-pemain dan penyokong-penyokong Liverpool, termasuklah aku yang hilang kawalan sekejap terjerit-jerit macam budak kecik.

Apa yang berlaku kemudian sudah menjadi sejarah. Sepanjang masa tambahan dan sepakan penalti, aku memang sudah yakin Liverpool akan menang. Lebih-lebih lagi bila Shevchenko dalam masa tambahan, depan pintu gol rembat bola boleh terkena tangan Jerzy Dudek dan melambung keluar. Pemain-pemain Milan semasa berjalan nak ambil penalti, semuanya muka dah pucat. Memang dapat diduga, banyak yang sepak tak masuk. Walaupun sebenarnya, kalau diikutkan peraturan, Dudek mengelat sebab setiap kali sebelum pemain Milan sepak bola, dia sudah mara ke depan dari garisan gol. Tapi Dida pun buat benda yang sama walaupun Dudek yang nampak lebih ketara.

Memang kenangan yang manis walaupun aku agak terkilan dan kecewa dengan diri sendiri sebab tidak yakin dengan pasukan sendiri bila ketinggalan 0-3 separuh masa pertama. Tapi bukan aku sorang saja. Ada penyokong Liverpool yang terus tutup TV dan tak buka langsung sampai hari esok. Bila dia tahu berita esok paginya, menyesal tak sudah.

Anda pula bagaimana?
    

Bye-bye Dalglish

“Pemilik sudah membuat keputusan dan saya perlu menghormatinya,”

Fenway Sports Group dan Kelab Bola Sepak Liverpool mengumumkan Kenny Dalglish secara rasmi dipecat.

Walaupun telah menjuarai Piala Carling dan sampai ke akhir Piala FA, prestasi Liverpool dalam EPL sangat mengecewakan.

Pembantu beliau, Steve Clarke, turut meninggalkan kelab, sebagai menghormati Dalglish yang melantiknya.

Kekalahan ke-14 di Swansea pada hari terakhir liga telah meletakkan The Reds di tempat ke 8. Prestasi terburuk Liverpool dalam 18 tahun dengan jumlah mata paling sedikit (52) sejak 1953/54.

Liverpool mengakhiri cabaran liga 37 mata di belakang juara, Manchester City. 

Pembelian pemain berprofil tinggi seperti Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson dan Charlie Adam gagal menyinar.

Undian oleh peminat di internet..

Antara nama-nama yang disebut dalam senarai calon pengganti Dalglish ialah André Villas-Boas, bekas pengurus Chelsea, Jürgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund), Didier Deschamps (Marseille), Alan Pardew (Newcastle United), Roberto Martinez (Wigan) dan Rafael Benitez...kita tunggu dan lihat..

http://simple-mzs.blogspot.com/ 

LIVERPOOL vs Chelsea - Final FA Cup 2011/2012

Lately..emosi Fan Liverpool macam suam-suam kuku je kan..
Kekalahan demi kekalahan dalam liga macam dah lali..
Cuma Hatrik Suarez di  Carrow Road Stadium, mengukir kembali senyuman fan The Reds..
It's ok..season ni aksi di EPL tak menyebelahi kita lagi..

Sembang banyak pun tak guna..JOM KITA FOKUS FINAL FA CUP 5 Mei 2012..
COME ON THE REDS..jangan sia-siakan peluang beraksi di final..gunakan pengalaman masa Carling Cup untuk serap semua tekanan..

Aku just nak share fakta-fakta yang mungkin boleh beri keyakinan untuk kita jadi Juara 2 kali dalam tahun ni..hehehe..WALK ON!

* Liverpool have won the FA Cup seven times, Chelsea have won it six times.

* The clubs have met twice this season with Liverpool winning both times - 2-0 at Chelsea in the League Cup fifth round, and 2-1 away in the Premier League.

* Liverpool's Ian Rush holds the record with five goals in the Cup final scoring twice in 1986, twice in 1989 and once in 1992.

* Dalglish has previously won two FA Cups with the club - in 1986 (as player/manager) and in 1989 (as manager).

* Steven Gerrard has scored in a previous final, netting twice in 2006 when Liverpool beat West Ham United on penalties after the match ended in a 3-3 draw.

FA Cup Final 2012 : Chelsea vs Liverpool LIVE at
City Golf Bangsar Shopping Centre...Nak Join?

Detik suram atau...krisis?

Berikut adalah 6 kekalahan lalu yang amat perit untuk ditelan :

               MU 2 - 1 LFC

              LFC 1 - 2 Arsenal

    Sunderland 1 - 0 LFC

              QPR 3 - 2 LFC

              LFC 1- 2 Wigan

     Newcastle 2 - 0 LFC

Sorrry guys..
babak yang pastinya tidak mahu kita lihat lagi..

Memetik kata-kata:

"There is no getting away from the fact that Liverpool are now in a crisis,". "To lose six out of seven in the league is something the club won't ever tolerate, we can't tolerate that.

"To have picked up just eight points out of 36 since the turn of the year is shambolic - that's relegation form. The fact that this is the worst run in the league since 1954"

said Aldridge, writing in the Liverpool Echo

Apa pun tak boleh..beri peluang lagi atau jual?

http://simple-mzs.blogspot.com/

Every Liverpool Manager Has His Duds

Behind each of Liverpool's false dawn in the last 20 years, there was a manager and behind each manager there were duds, players who most Liverpool fans hate but were strangely favourites of their respective managers.

Let us begin with Roy Evans. His team reached its peak during the 1996/97 season. Liverpool were top in the league at the turn of the year and were playing some beautiful football. Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman were the focal point in an attacking 3-5-2 formation. The team's defense was also quite formidable with seasoned performers like Mark Wright, Neil Ruddock, Phil Babb and John Scales. Then, in January 1997, Roy Evans decided to thinker. He sold John Scales to Spurs and brought in a young Norwegian defender, Bjorn Tore Kvarme. Kvarme went straight into the first team ahead of Babb and local youngster Dominic Matteo. He performed quite well at first, excelling in defense but posed no threat whatsoever to opposing teams in set-pieces and almost never carried the ball forward from the back. Those were the qualities that John Scales had which obviously went unappreciated. With both Fowler and McManaman suffering from a mini-burnout towards the end of the season, Liverpool's title challenge faltered. They eventually finished fourth in the league. Roy Evans reverted to a more traditional 4-4-2 formation the next season. There are now only two centrebacks positions to fill. Wright, Ruddock, Babb and Matteo were still around but Kvarme remained his manager's favourite. The pressure probably got to him as mistakes began to creep into his game. Most Liverpool fans however were not surprised. While Kvarme can certainly tackle, his distribution and composure with the ball were very poor. But strange enough, Roy Evans continued to play him. And the fans just never understood why.

Gerard Houllier came to the club in 1998 initially as co-manager with Roy Evans. He eventually took sole charge of the team when Roy Evans resigned after a home defeat to Spurs. Ironically, one of Spurs' goalscorers that day was a certain John Scales. Houllier brought many foreign talents into the club. Quite a number of them can be counted as duds but arguably the biggest dud of all was English centre-forward Emile Heskey. Like Kvarme, Heskey performed quite well when he first arrived. Well enough in the eyes of Houllier that he often played him at the expense of Robbie Fowler. And he became England's first choice too during the 2002 World Cup. Soon, however, Heskey began to falter. He was working hard on the pitch but was just unable to score goals. Houllier however remained loyal to him. Heskey was clearly struggling and the fans were getting impatient of him, but Houllier continued playing him at times even on the left wing. Try as he did, he just could not perform. For all his loyalty, Houllier himself finally ran out of patience with Heskey. He sold him to Birmingham City at the end of the 2003/04 season. And that proved to be Houllier's last major decision as he was sacked from his position soon after.

In came the Spaniard Rafael Benitez. Like Houllier before him, who brought in dozens of players from his country, Benitez trusted most his fellow Spaniards. Various Spanish players came and went. Some, like Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso were exceptional, but some others were quite horrible. The names Josemi and Antonio Nunez are first to come to mind. But arguably the two biggest duds during Benitez's time were a Brazilian and a Frenchmen; Lucas Leiva and David Ngog. Yes, Lucas has turned out to be quite a player in the last two seasons, but when he first came to the side, he just looked very un-Brazilian. Magical skills and trickeries are qualities often associated with Brazilians and Lucas did not seem to possess any of those. Hence, many fans began to question, "are you really from Brazil?” David Ngog on the other hand, was supposedly one for the future. But with Benitez, either unwilling or unable to bring in an experienced cover for the often injured Fernando Torres, Ngog was thrown straight into the first team. His finishing was quite good, especially when put through clear on goal but that was about it. He couldn't dribble and couldn't hold on to the ball. Other young strikers in the club like Kristian Nemeth and Daniel Pacheco must have wondered, what was so special about Ngog that he got to play all the time when Torres was out injured? Both of these poor younglings were left rotting with the reserves. They didn't 'rot' that badly though as they helped Liverpool's reserve team win the reserve league in 2009.

Finally, we have the return of the king. Kenny Dalglish was an exceptional player and WAS a great manager. The last time Dalglish managed a team before he returned to Anfield early last year was at Celtic more than ten years ago. That long interval must be one of the main factors why most of his signings so far are duds. The high opinion Dalglish has for Andy Carroll for example, must be one of the greatest mysteries in football. Carroll can certainly head the ball and can shoot quite well too with his left foot but again, those are about the only things he can do. He can't hold on to the ball, can't play one-twos with his teammates and he can't turn his body to move away from defenders. The other major dud is Jordan Henderson. Though he has performed admirably at times, he certainly hasn't performed well enough to warrant such a regular feature in the team. Maybe Dalglish sees in Henderson a player of the same calibre as Ronnie Whelan and Ray Houghton. Both were wide midfield players who often moved inside to link with other players. But Henderson is not yet of the same calibre. So, unless and until he reaches somewhere near to Whelan's or Houghton's level, Henderson should not be a prominent feature in the first eleven.

Every manager has his favourites or perhaps a couple of players whom they really hope and determine to see succeed. But please, keep some sense of objectivity too. When a player has clearly looked out-of-his depth, bench him or sell him off quickly. You may not think the fans are worthy judges of a player's performance but we watch them all the time too. If most fans for example can see what a poor player Andy Carroll is, surely all us can't be wrong, or can we?

* The article above was first published at footballspeak.com

http://footballspeak.com/post/2012/03/27/Every-Liverpool-Manager-Has-His-Duds.aspx